I was thrilled to see an "Inspired By Nature" Challenge on Craftster.  Something I have enjoyed doing for some time is watching the birds who come to feed in my backyard.  They inspired me to carve these stamps in their likeness.

Though many birds visit us daily, I have chosen my favorites to carve and share.

Each stamp was carved on white PZKut Material (this type is no longer made, I just stocked up on it a while back).  I used a laser printer and iron to transfer my image.  An exacto knife and Speedball Carving Nibs were used to carve the designs.  All images were stamped in black pigment ink.  I used some Crayola Colored Pencils to color in each design.

The stamps will now be hidden in letterboxes and placed in nature for fellow letterboxers to find.  


  

I am trying really hard to not just pin stuff on pinterest, but to actually make things as well!

The very oldest pin on my "Things to Bake" board { http://pinterest.com/weeshare/ } was the swirl cookies from Prudent Baby.  I have REALLY wanted to make these for some time.  So, finally I did!

My daughter is almost 3 and really enjoys helping me bake.  I usually measure out the ingredients and she will pour them in.  She also likes to help stir, though she doesn't usually get too far with it!

I let her choose the color for our swirl cookies and she chose purple-- her most favorite color!

We also used SIX different kinds of sprinkles for these cookies.  I was only planning to use 2, but they took far more sprinkles than I had planned for.  So, six it was (this made my little one VERY happy!).

These cookies are pretty easy, but have a lot of steps and a lot of waiting.  So, though they took a few hours to make, a lot of the time we weren't really doing anything with them.

Just in case you're wondering-- they were as tasty as they are cute!

Just over a month ago, we moved to Charleston SC.  While packing to move, I came across this amazing vintage "I Survived Hurricane Hugo" tee in my tshirt stash.  My husband and I picked it up years ago when we were thrifting.

When news of Hurricane Irene came, I remembered the Hurricane Hugo shirt and knew that I made to make my daughter a Hurricane Dress.

The pattern is the Sienna Dress by Lil Blue Boo.  A few modifications include shorter sleeves and a lengthened dress.

All blue pieces of the dress are from the Hurricane Hugo shirt.  The dark green pieces are from an old Oakland Athletics tee of mine-- also thrifted, but too small now that I am a mom!

I love the dress and my daughter does, too.  She can dance in it, and that's one of her main requirements.

By the way-- no hurricane damage here.  Hope you survived the storm as well as we did.

[The Honeybee Dress]

I have recently became hooked on the Sienna Dress pattern by Lil Blue Boo.  It's easy to follow, easy to modify, and the perfect way to use up my overflowing craft closet of old t-shirts.

This dress is made from just one t-shirt.  I actually won it in a giveaway last year, but it was too big for me.  However, the graphic was just too great, and I knew it was destined to become something else.

So... you have The Honeybee Dress!  I completely reconstructed everything-- the sleeves, the neckline, the body of the dress.  

My daughter loves it and I do too-- what more could you ask for?

I also received from my wonderful partner, Heather!  I am so glad she liked her package and I have to tell you, she sent an amazing group of things for me!

Okay- here we go!

3 pictures that show everything she sent:







D- Delicious felt food and dress up rings... I think my daughter thought the pancakes were real and she had a ring on just about every finger

E- exciting fall freezer paper t-shirt... I know this is for me, but the stencils look so great that I am thinking of making it into a dress for my wee one

S- Super Scrapbook Owl Frame... yes, it is super.  I think it's my favorite thing... AND it matches the fabric I just picked out for baby girl's big girl room perfect!!

I- inchies... there are 4 that when put together make a cute owl and it has a quote around it!!


R- 2 sets of refrigerator magnets and Raileigh's 2009 Christmas Ornament... magnets are stripes and sponge bob and very cool... ornament is a wreath with her name and the year

E- 3 pair earrings and handmade envelopes... I love the earrings, but I think Raileigh does, too!


E- extras... handmade paper, yarn, ornaments (made from buttons- how cool is that), bags



Yes, I do have the best partner ever who spoiled me!!  I love everything!!!

I made this dress form the Sienna dress pattern by Lil Blue Boo.  I made it for my niece, so there are no modeling pictures.  It's parts of three different t-shirts.  I LOVE this pattern- very easy to follow and many different options for customizing!  So, look for many t-shirt dresses in the future!

I made this dress in plenty of time for my girl to get several wears out of it before Halloween.  But, she wound up only wearing it once- to a craft event at Michael's on Halloween morning... oh well.  I did different straps with this one and I liked them a lot better.  I had a hard time with the ribbons on previous ones staying tied.  I will definitely be doing more straps in this style in the future!





And check out what the balloon did to my sleepy girl's hair in the car

For Halloween, I decided I wanted my almost 14 month old to be little red riding hood.  I decided to make the dress one we could use again, not just for a costume.  I made the Paper Doll Dress by Lil Blue Boo.  It was very easy to follow and the pattern even includes a tute for how to make buttonholes without a buttonhole foot for your machine!  The cape is from a Simplicity pattern.  The pattern was awful and I eventually ditched it and just winged the cape.  I had so much fun making her costume and she had a GREAT time trick-or-treating







Thanks for looking!

I received my wonderful SIX shirts from beeker!  I love them all!  Without further ado, for your crafting pleasure, here they are!  (Please don't mind the weird faces my daughter is making.  It was cold out when I was taking pics and she's 13 mos. old )

This owl one is my favorite!


The leaf one is my husbands favorite!






I think this one is Raileigh's favorite- she has been carrying it around everywhere!










Thanks SO much for the wonderful shirts!

I just love making these pants.  And with lil blue boo's super easy tutorial, they sew up so quickly!  I made her another pair just like the first pair only in a different color.  I also made her a green pair from a well-worn Potato Festival t-shirt I picked up at a thrift shop many years ago.  They are constructed from the sides of a shirt (armpit to the hem) and the designs are designs from each of the shirt, machine appliqued on.