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?

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?? :)

Pajama Pants

The other day i was reading Ashley at Make It Love It's post about baby leggings. While she said they are "boy or girl" I couldn't see past the pink and yellow to think of a boy. Until i was sitting with my son, putting on his pajamas, and i realized, these are the exact same pants! So i decided to make some of my own... and just a little differently...since i have a whole bunch of knit laying around that was meant for some other not done project :)

They are perfect for playing outside....

And of course wonderful for going to bed... (or just being boys in bed)....

I added a ribbed knit cuff instead of just sewing heming it. And honestly i didn't read the tutorial. She just inspired me when i realized that they were the same! That is how the boy's pajama's are and i liked it that way. Below is my tutorial for how i did mine. As you notice, I made them fairly large. I hate making things just right and two weeks later realizing they have outgrown them. AND with cloth diaper bums, they need LOTS of extra room! (my two year old still wears a diaper at night).

Soooooooo easy.... i am going to have to make another pair. OOO and i bought the pattern for Dapper Dillingers AND the Tee for Two. So excited! Coming soon... along with Halloween costumes... Oh so much to sew! :)

Leaves Are Falling Skirt

I made a new skirt! I am finally making a good dent in the fabric my mom gave to me for Christmas this last year. I loved this fabric and originally it was supposed to be a dress, but i thought the print was a bit too much for a dress. But i love the skirt.

It's just a big flowy Maxi skirt. I love wearing it. It is super comfy. I made a lining for it also, and an elastic waist so it really is just like a pajama skirt! It was my first time ever really working with knits, so i have a HUGE learning curve. My machine doesn't like them much, but my serger was a miracle worker! :o)

....and tomorrow is my birthday! woohoo! i'm *almost* 25 years old. A quarter of a century....

Playtime: Playdough

Happy Labor Day! To me, Labor day means the pool is closing AND I get an extra day with my husband. Oh... and it generally means my birthday is a few days away! 

So today we decided was the perfect day for a play day... with playdough. Is it bad to admit that my kids have never played with playdough before? well, they  haven't. But today, was our first day! Our one year old was pretty apathetic, but my two year old LOVED it. We had a blast. So here is the recipe:

Playdough:

1 cup Flour

1 cup Water

2 teas Cream of Tartar

1/2 cup Salt

1 TB Oil

food coloring

It's really easy and it stores really easily in a plastic bag in the freezer! I will definitely be making more!

Applique T-shirts

Our little Eldon has a lot of hand-me-down shirts from his brother. Well, actually, most of his clothes are hand-me-downs from his brother. And being such, a good few have quite a few stains. Not horrible ones (those mostly get thrown out) but ones that make it so it's not a "public approved" shirt.

So I decided to experiment. When Hayden was younger, as my first sewing project EVER my mom taught me how to applique a onesie with fabric and just a running embroidery stitch. I love love love doing it. So i decided to try to cover some of the stains with fabric and embroidery.

Since it is football season (and my husband is raving mad about BYU) I knew a football shirt was necessary, and then the blue shirt just called out to me for fish. I traced *and slightly modified* the images from the computer by placing a blank peace of paper against my screen. BEST WAY EVER to trace and image. If you need to make it larger, simply save the image and zoom in. Make sense? If you have any questions i can take pictures to help it make sense. After I just cut out my fabric, applied Heat-n-Bond to the back, and embroidered around them. I did figure out a trick though! *yay!* I always seem to get Heat-n-Bond onto my ironing board or my iron which is so not a good idea! Soooo... i have a solution!

I just love love love love love love the way they turned out! Now two NEVER worn shirts will become regulars in the rotation! I have a few more shirt i might just have to experiment with! Just a fun and EASY project!! Now it's your turn!

No-mess Bib II

I made another "no-mess bib." I also tried to throw together a bit of a rough tutorial for if anyone wanted to make one. I love this so much! It could easily be modified for any type of chair. If anyone wants me pattern i can scan it in, just let me know! The directions are in the pictures!

I'm so glad i found my bias tape! I love the bias tape version even better than the bib here. I had lost the tape before, but i really like both version. I made this one with a little more "extra" space because the last one was a wee-tight for my wiggling little guy. He kept popping the snaps off! I can't tell you how much i love this bib! If you have a chair like this... IT IS A MUST!

(i love my little model! :o))

No mess bib

I made the jump... and cut into my Amy Butler Temple Doors laminated cotton. Such a beautiful fabric. Very different to work with, though. The bib was a pretty easy sew. I am going to make another one too... So many options!!

I really love it. And best of all? It worked!!! Even with a dinner of noodles, cabbage salad, and peas, he managed to only drop 4 peas and 2 noodles on the floor. That's a miracle! 

He doesn't mind it too much. He likes to put his foot up by the table so that is harder, but it seems pretty comfortable. He is just too darn darling! I can't believe he is turning ONE in THREE days!!!! I might pass out! I forbid it, actually. Anyways, take a look at the pictures below!

How to make a Paper Airplane

Airplanes are in our blood around the Tanner home. With a F-16/commercial airline pilot Poppa and a Aeronautical Engineer Father (aka Aeroenginerd) our boys are destined to be airplane LOVERS. 

My husband (Mr. Aeroenginerd) is really good at making paper airplanes. Hayden is ALWAYS asking for a paper airplane, and, well, i just don't know how to make them. So together as a family we created our paper airplanes. These planes fly AWESOME! So good ahead... make one (or a million) your kids will love you for it!

No mess bib mock up

Our almost *tear* one-year-old sits in a seat that attaches to our table. We bought it for our two-and-a-half year old because we liked how he sat at the table with us. Problem is, it has always caused the worst messes EVER. There is about a two inch gap between the child and the chair which means when food misses the mouth {which is often} it goes right on to the floor. Gag. Our floors have to be vacuumed multiple times a day. Or... they are just not vacuumed {shhh... i didn't tell you that}. We have tried all the "food catching" bibs but alas, they hardly work. or they are too stiff... etc.

So i decided to come up with a solution. I bought some super beautiful Amy Butler laminated cotton...{mmm... nice fabric!} and am busting at the seams to cut it up.

BUT at $20 a yard i decided to make a mock {or two} before i butchered the beautiful fabric. Good plan. Because i definitely had some mods to make. Here is the first take on the new bib:

Sidewalk Chalk

I've recently decided that at least once but preferably twice a week we are going to do something creative with the boys like playdough {my boys have NEVER played with playdough} or painting or sidewalk chalk. So when i saw a post for sidewalk chalk on Pinterest I had to try it out.

Review: I wasn't the biggest fan of the consistency of the stuff. I actually own some of the Crayola sidewalk chalk and it didn't paint anything like it. It did better in the morning before our outside cement wasn't 100 degrees but still. I think it needs something other than cornstarch. I will do more research and let you know what i find.