Busted!

The potty training bribes were swiped from the bathroom

I heard rustling sounds from behind the couch

Busted! Totally guilty

But now totally potty trained! Way to go Avery!

And Yay for no more size 6 diapers!!

B is for...

Baby

Baker

Bibs

He's drooly.

He's messy.

He likes to accessorize.

Im working to get a pattern I like, this one is ok, but could be better!

More to come!

L O V E

Still snowed in, still crafting!

Im actually really enjoying these crazy winter storms we are having.

But then again, I get super excited over extreme weather announcements and warnings.

Avery and I finished his valentines last night and today we delivered a few to our friends who live in our building. No going outside today!

Here is what I have been up to this morning...

I love seeing so much pink up on my wall. It doesnt happen often enough!

Happy Valentines Day Everyone! Spread the LOVE!

The (First) Great Blizzard of 2010

Its been dubbed "Snowmageddon".

I havent really left the house since Friday. Not that Im complaining! Ive made excellent progress on a new quilt, more on that later.

View from my balcony:

Luckily I scored the number one best parking spot in the whole complex last Friday. A couple of times a day Brad or I will say, "Seriously, we lucked out with that spot!" Ive watch so many people spend hours digging cars out. Im so glad my car does NOT look like this, because all I have to dig it out would be my spatula or maybe my dust pan!

We ventured out on Sunday and came across these two cuties:

This is one of the good streets!

Avery got hungry along the way and so he snacked on a "cracker"

Its a good thing he likes eating snow, because this is what the grocery store looks like! (In all seriousness, we do have plenty of food to feed the children)

Brad took these with his phone at Harris Teeter today, pretty scary.

Luckily, he found ginger so we were still able to have delicious stir fry for dinner.

(Anyone else get Food Network Magazine? I cant stop thinking about stir fry since my latest issue.)

And we are not done yet! NWS calls for another 10-20 inches tomorrow!

Buttercup Bag

I knew I had to make this bag as soon as I saw it.

Thanks to Rae at Made By Rae for posting this totally adorable Buttercup Bag tutorial!

I used some birthday fabric given to me on my lucky number 29 birthday by Aunt Spicy. I love the fabric, but I think for this bag a more sturdy fabric would be better. The lining is of course hot pink.

This was my first time doing pleats and using a magnetic snap!

This bag was so fun to make, you can be sure there will be more buttercup bags in my future!

On a side note, the chair the bag is on is one of my all time favorite chairs. It has a long crazy history and its pretty random that I ended up with it. But thats a story for another day!

A Little Fabric, And A Little Chain

I love necklaces.

Im pretty new to necklaces, before I was mostly an earring accessorizer.

Im acquiring a pretty nice collection!

Here is my latest addition:

Fabric and Chain

It was so easy. Half a jelly roll strip, folded over, sewed, and gathered on the chain.

I used Moda Arcadia by Sanae

Looks cute dressed up or with a plain T shirt and jeans, which is good cuz thats what I like to wear!

And pretty soon I will have a quilt to match! Stay tuned for that...

Thinking it over...

Every January I get this feeling. I want to make changes. Empty out my dresser drawers, reorganize my fabric stash, clean out the pantry, give up sugar, cut bangs.

Update and restyle this blog is also on my list.

Unfortunately not all items on the list will get checked off, I am only one woman after all! And those dresser drawers are daunting.

But the blog is on the top of the list!

And bangs.

Stay tuned!

An the winner is...

Initial Christmas!

by Autumn

Initial Christmas : 15 votes

Ornamental Christmas : 7 votes

I would like to thanks all of you who voted for me!

Brad, better luck next year!

Running score is Brad 2 wins, Autumn 2 wins and one tie

Take a look at years past...

2005

Naming of the wreaths was not invented yet, but Autumn did the pink bulbs (no surprise there) and Brad has the wooden garland and poinsettia.

Winner: Autumn 21 to 17!

2006

Brads "Cranberry Snow" vs. Autumns "Snowflake Surprise"

Winner: TIE!

2007

Brads "Dont Mess With Glitter" vs. Autumns "Glamorous Nature"

Winner: Brads "Don't Mess With Glitter" 10 votes to 5.

2008

Autumns "Golden Spirit of Christmas" vs. Brads "Presents and Poinsettias"

Winner: Brads "Presents and Poinsettias" 23 to 22 votes, a very close year.

Stay tuned till next year, the competition is getting fierce and Ive already started planning.

4th Annual Wreath Decorating Contest!

The 4th annual family wreath decorating contest is here! (applause and cheering)

Below are the two entries for 2009.

The rules are simple, just vote for your favorite! Voting can happen two ways. You can record your vote in the poll to the right----->, or if you are in a household with more than one voter (roommates, spouse, kids, neighbors, chimpanzees) you can email the votes to artsyaut@gmail.com.

Presenting....

Ornamental Christmas

note from the creator: Each of the 200 hours of decorating work that I put into this masterpiece was a pure joy. I only wish that you could see it's magnificence with your own eyes.

Presenting....

Initial Christmas

note from the creator: This "H" is symbol of our family. Each person and memory in our life enriches the beauty just as each berry, that has been meticulously glued on, enriches the beauty of the "H" and the wreath.

Voting is open until midnight on new years eve. I will post the winner as well as a recap of years past on New Years Day.

May the best wreath win!

Christmas Runners and a visit with The Big Guy

The finished Christmas runners are finished and in the mail! They took me forever, so Im glad I only made a few. This was my first attempt with binding, so dont look to close.

We went to visit Santa at his "workshop" by the White House Christmas Tree. Its a really good little set up they have there. A nice Santa and really nice elves. They even take your picture and print out a 5x7 free right there on the spot!

Avery asked for a dragon castle.

Baker just asks that someone, anyone tuck his ear in before next years picture with Santa.