Header

So i spent a few HOURS today trying to play around with my header. I want one a la SINML but they are sure harder than they look. I think i have figured it out though.

I assumed it was an animated gif, but it's not, it's a video. A movie. That keeps going. That is why it can be so high quality. {gifs can only be 256 colors} High resolution pictures are a ZILLION more than that usually.

So yes, for now you get the slightly grainy animated gif... a good try, but i will try again soon! I enjoy playing around with the pictures!

Toodles!

First Place

We won a Halloween Costume Contest!!

 I was pretty surprised and amazed! I felt so honored... AND... funny enough... they didn't even think i had made my costumes. :)

And now i am $50 richer... Nice!

Halloween Decorations

Sunday morning i woke up with an itch. An insatiable need to decorate my house for Halloween. It could have been realizing that Halloween was a week away. Or hearing that child predators were forbidden to decorate their houses {yes, where i live i wanted to make sure i was VERY decorated}. It might have been that i was done with costumes and still needed to feed my Halloween hunger.

Whatever it was. I fed the urge. I scratched the itch. I spent ALL MORNING decorating the house. {we get up a 05:30. Yeah. Killer}. I had a blast. I cut everything out with my silhouette machine {Have you seen the new CAMEO? Am i totally coveting it? Of course not... :o|}

We made bats and a web a la Dana @ MADE. Mine are not as plentiful as hers seeing as i have NO black paper. {note to self: buy black paper}. I made pumpkins and ghosts and hung them in the window and a vinyl haunted house with the words "BEWARE" above. It makes me happy. I like hanging out in our little Halloween house now! And since we finished our pumpkins last night {more about that tomorrow} i feel totally Halloweened! :)

I'm in LOVE with Photoshop... i haven;t gotten my official version yet... but my trial is making me happy!

Liebster Award

A few days ago i got a sweet message from a fellow craft blogger Nicole @ Davis Domestications that she had selected me for the "Liebster Blog Award."

It's an award for anyone with 200 or less followers. Liebster is a German word meaning dear, sweet, kinda, nice, good, beloved, valued... etc... Very very nice things! :) Thank you Nicole for being so sweet! Make sure to jump over and check her out!

Pretty sweet, huh? So i figured i would go ahead and give it out too! I won't lie... i don't read too many up and coming blogs. Since my blog is so new, i used to just read the big ones {i know, i need to be better!} But time contrainsts {and i can't figure out that darned RSS feed thing... i actually go to EACH webpage DAILY. Someone want to explain it to me??}

I didn't have to think for more than about 2 seconds on who i WANTED to give my award too... but i was pretty stunned to realize she only had 88 followers. Really?! She is incredible! I have struck up a little blogger friendship {or at least i consider it that} with the fabulous author of this blog. So what blog?

Venus @ Happy Find

Want to see a little of what she has made? I'm seriously obsessed! I found her via Rae one day when she posted a Flickr recap of the Big Butt Baby pant. Omg her bloomers?!... let me say i am dying for a little girl to make some! 

So yes, Venus... You are so talented! So I award you the Liebster Blog Award :) Enjoy! (haha)

Oh yeah... and technically there are rules:
The rules for the Liebster Award are:
1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you.
2. Reveal your top five picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog. (i only did one...)
3. Copy and paste the award on your blog.
4. Have faith that your followers will spread the love too!

Together

I know, i know, enough Snoopy and Woodstock, but they are sooooooooo cute. And i had to show you this:

Seriously? Can any two kids really be this cute?

They love their costumes. They love each other. It's just downright awesome. Awesome! I'm a darn lucky momma! One week and two days!! 

What are you going to be?

Woodstock

I am proud to reveal my darling youngest son, Eldon, as WOODSTOCK! I think the costume is pretty darling. And Eldon actually likes it. Quite a bit. I'm proud of it.

The fabric is actually a nice, soft minky. I couldn't find a faux fur to save my life. So then i found a nice soft minky and while it was a bit expensive, it is darling darling! And it's super comfy (other than warm) which is desirable in most climates. And maybe in 2 weeks it will be here. But when i was taking the pictures it was a whopping 95 DEGREES. In October. Ay ya ya! Where do i live? {The desert}

The mohawk does fall down and flop a bit, but i couldn't get it to stay up more, and well, i kinda like the floppiness of it! They are too cute together! Jumping around holding hands! They make me smile and are the PERFECT Snoopy and Woodstock pair!

So there you go... Charlie Brown, Lucy, Snoopy, and Woodstock.

Look Mom! I can play hoops!

Family

I love my family.

My kids. my husband. my parents. my siblings. my in-laws. Everybody.

My parents were in town this weekend and we got to spend a lot of fun time together.

It was a blast. We took some family pictures together. Nothing formal, but we got a few really fun ones!

And Woodstock is done! YAY!

Snoopy!

I would like to introduce you to Snoopy {cue dancing Snoopy song.....}

It's done! Finito! Snoopy (or 'Noopy as my son calls him) is finished! I feel so great! Hayden is completely and absolutely in love with his costume. He would wear it all day if i let him {white and two year old don't really mix}. I am just so happy with how it turned out!

For his body jumpsuit, i used this pattern i got for all of $0.99 at Joann {thank you amazing sales}. I modified it a ton, bringing in the sides, changing the feet, the tale, adding the spot, but the jist of it was the same.

For his head, i traced my Hayden's head and then traced a cute snoopy doll we have. I then blew it up to 180x and then reduced and adjusted til i had it just right. I am so proud of that little Snoopy head! :) It's fun when you have a vision in your head and it actually turns out perfectly!!

We had our little photoshoot and i just think he is darling! When i am finally done with Eldon's costume we are going to the local pumpkin patch and going to do a little photoshoot and see if we can get some cute pictures of the boys together {which is so hard BTW}.

So yes, i am thrilled beyond belief! Oh and Woodstock is almost done! Just some hemming and eyes are he will be done!!! YAY! Here's a sneak peak:

{thank you to my boys for humoring me in the 90+ degree weather}

Today I was sewing (Snoopy is aallllllmmooooooostt all done. It's darling. Just a FEW more touches and VOILA!) and I suddenly started laughing to myself. Four years ago when my husband and i got married, heck, two years ago when i got my sewing machine, I didn't have a needle or thread to my name.

I often thought "hmm... i really need to sew this button back on. Guess i'll wait to go home." haha. When i got my sewing machine, my mom had to buy EVERYTHING to go with it, even basics like a needle. Or a single spool of thread. She pretty much thought she was throwing away every cent of that money because no one {husband included} thought there was a chance i would actually get hooked on sewing. HA!

Now?! My house is cluttered with sewing stuff. There isn't a room spared from the disaster (well, maybe the bathrooms...). Nor is there a room without something Made by Me in it. It's fun. It's definitely my passion, and i just love love love it.

And when you are sewing for two things like this:

How can you not love it?

Halloween is in full force here in the Tanner home! It hit me after our little vacation {from Hades} that i really needed to finish up the costumes. I decided to make a mock of Hayden's "hood" for his costume. Can you tell who he is? the fabric can be a little confusing but i'm pretty sure it's going to be awesome! I am so excited! I might take the sides in on the costume. I swear they think 2 year old are 3 times larger than they are...

So yes, i am super excited!!! I can't wait to get it all fixed up!

Can you tell who I am?? :)

Charlie Brown... almost

Charlie Brown is ALMOST done. Here is my sneak peak:

My husband forced me to cut off his head... 

The shorts are a bit tight in the butt {but it's a nice butt... i was just trying to show it off :o)}. The shirt i purchased {for 2.07 at the BX} and added the detail to. Now for socks, a hat (my husband has a massive amount of hair), and shoes! He is pretty excited!! And i am too!