Custodians of Beauty

Since she is willing to keep hats on for more than 5 seconds,  I decided to make a special birthday crown for my daughter this year. A crown seemed like the perfect pattern. I had a few requirements. The pattern needed to be simple, made from felt, adjustable, and reusable for birthdays to come.  I designed a removable velcro patch. The patch has a cut-out number "2" with a blanket stitch around the outside. It'll be fun to choose different colored felt to make a patch for when she turns 3 next year. After the first crown pattern was cut out, I pinned it ontop of another piece of felt and sewed around the points. Using two pieces of felt makes the crown sturdy and keeps it from flopping over when placed on the head.  Ready to cut along the crown pattern. I left both ends of the crown open in order to slip the elastic band through. The velcro strip was centered and sewn on the front. Using a smaller scissors next time to cut around the small...

I don't buy very many hair things for my girls. Why? Well, there are plenty of fun (and easy to make) ideas on Pinterest, so why spend the money, amiright? If I find something cute while I'm out shopping I usually snap a pic so that I can try to make it myself. Sometimes I can whip it up in a couple of hours, sometimes not. It all depends on the complexity of the design/ assembly and, of course how long my girls are down for a snooze. ;) This darling little bow caught my eye. Simple, yet delightfully cute. I decided to make a few and attach a hair clip to the back.  I found this  free template from the Kiki & Company blog . She has a step by step guide for making the tiny bows. No sewing necessary. All you need is colored felt, a glue gun, scissors, and alligator hair clips. Hobby Lobby sells alligator clips in bulk packages. I have my felt pieces cut out and ready to glue. Bow pattern pieces Little helping hands  ...

Sweet Dreams by Firmin Baes "...motherhood is a journey that is treacherous and torturously lovely by turns. It feels impossible but it is infinitely worth the undertaking." - Audrey Assad, catholic musician, wife and mother

Ptak Reunion circa 1960 Gearing up to attend the Ptak Family Reunion this weekend. It'll be the first time in a long time that all 11 children (my aunts and uncles) will be together. It's going to be a blast! So many "littles" running around and plenty of cousins to catch up with. Not to mention the fabulous potluck meal and "Grandpa Ptak's Memorial Happy Hour" on Saturday evening serving Stanley's Manhattans, Pat's Old Fashioned's, and Mike's Boundary Water Cocktails.  My sister and I volunteered to design the inaugural tee shirt for the special occasion. She designed the graphic while I researched prices, vendors, and managed the shirt orders. It was fabulous to collaborate with her on the design. Seeing her artwork transform from simple sketches to the refined final design was remarkable. Her illustrations are attractive and stylish and her designs are fresh, yet have a hint of old-timeliness.  Story behind the graphic... T...

God the Father by Paolo Veronese (1528-1588) "Let us be who we are, and be that well, so as to honor the Master Worker, whose handiwork we are."  -- St. Francis de Sales

Who can resist seeing a baby in a cute knotted headband? I've had this project on my "to sew list" for a couple of months.  Instead of buying fabric, I thought I'd make  a trip to Dig and Save to search for a couple of jersey knit shirts. Those of you who have been to Dig and Save know that you go there to, quite literally, DIG . All the clothes are dumped into huge bins/boxes. Nothing is sorted. There is no order whatsoever. You just pick a bin, and dig till you find something you like. And when you find that one-of-a-kind Ralph Lauren leather jacket, it's like finding the diamond in the rough!  Shirts I found at Dig and Save After digging around in the clothes bin I was happy to find a polka dot halter top, an extra large salmon-colored shirt that had tiny paisleys and flowers on it, and an off-white floral/dot patterned nighty.   Score! And I found these three items in less then 10 minutes of digging! What luck! Clothes are only $1 a pound he...

Queen of Mothers by Charles Bosseron Chambers "Jesus Christ, after having giving us all he could give, that is to say, the merit of his toils, his sufferings and bitter death; after having giving us his adorable body and blood to be the food for our souls, willed also to give us the most precious thing he had left, which was his holy mother. "  -- St. John Marie Vianney