ruffled skirt

On a whim last week I made a birthday skirt for Lucy.
Life's always more fun with a new bouncy skirt....and a cupcake skirt...and cupcakes to eat at school.
This was actually my first time making a tiered/ruffled skirt this way. I've made the Can-can skirt, layered Simple Skirts, the market skirt, Circle skirts, Heirloom skirts (here and here)....but this one was new. It's funny to think how many ways there are to make a skirt.

I was sort of winging it, using one of Lucy's baby skirts as my guide. And I love how it turned out.
Sorry no tutorial here. But I think one is in order.
Layered skirts are just so fun!
And seersucker is the perfect fabric (my obsession continues).
The birthday girl shirt was not made by me.....but good old Target.
"Hi".
(Lucy thought that was funny).
We paired it with leggings and tennis shoes and had the perfect school day outfit for our jumping bean. She's taken to jump roping (or jumping rope?) with her friends. And I've been trying to remember some of the good songs to teach her, "Cinderella dressed in yella, went upstairs to kiss a fella"....
But other than that I'm drawing a blank. I should look up more songs online. I'm sure there's a site for them.
I know I don't always follow through on my "I should make a tutorial for this" ideas. But I'm really adding this one to the top of the list, after a slew of baby projects. Because I do have a lot to share; I just need the time to post it.
We'll get there.
Enjoy your Tuesday.
Ours involves milk, sleep, diapers, milk, and probably another trip to Target for that one thing I forgot.
Bye!

Lucy turns 6

Yesterday our Lucy turned SIX.
I know the past two weeks have gone by quickly....but the past six years? Wow.
She went from being a newborn-Clara-look-alike (or vice versa?) to reading, writing, and jumping rope at school. She's super patient with her brother. She wholeheartedly loves life. And she is a complete ball of energy--rarely stops moving.
With a new baby in the house we took the easy route this year and just had a small family party. I told her that next year we'd do a friend's party again. We took cupcakes to school (using the lowfat cake-mix trick) and spent an evening at Chuck E. Cheese. How lame is that?
She loved it.

And we pulled out the "Being Lucy" DVD that Casey made a couple years, capturing the first few years of her life. Lucy and Owen love watching that thing and it's so much better to have snippets of home videos put together than scrolling through hours and hours of footage.
So in honor of our big Lucy girl, here's a 1 minute video for you (hopefully the music doesn't get shut down).
Jumping Lucy:

introducing, our little sister

She's here!
Clara Rose Willard.
Born Thursday 2/9, 7lb 13oz, 21.5 inches long.
We absolutely love her.
Thank you all for the fun comments and excitement. They were really fun to read while sitting in my hospital bed, getting to know this little girl.

Clara is the best baby I've had so far.
Fingers crossed that things stay that way. But really, she's just a happy girl. Eats, sleeps, and when she's awake, just looks around with her pretty little eyes. She seems so curious.
She has chubby little cheeks like the other kids did, the most hair of any of them (which I'm sure will fall out and come in blonde), and the wrinkliest feet I've ever seen.
The delivery went great....just as you all predicted.
In fact the doctor almost missed it all. I went from being "almost ready" to "um, there's the head. Quick call the doctor" in a very short period of time. My doctor walked in the room, threw on her gear, I pushed, and there was Clara. I feel very fortunate since it's made the recovery all that much easier.
It all felt surreal, moving that fast. But man, there is nothing in life that compares to experiencing birth....whether you're the mother, the father, or the nurse in the room assisting with it all. In fact, after Lucy was born I wanted to become a nurse because I was so touched by the whole birth experience. I started the schooling but didn't get far because then Owen was born. And now with the amount of time I spend on creative outlets, it may never happen. But I have such a respect for the care those nurses gave me. They were all fabulous and I'm jealous that they get to witness births every day. How cool.
We brought the Heart Garland with us to decorate our Valentine's crib.
The nurses all thought it was pretty funny.
And the kids weren't quite sure what to make of Clara at first.
They were super excited and smiled when they saw her...but then glanced out the window, "hey Mom, there's a park down the street!" And when she started crying they both plugged their ears because it was "just too loud."
They've got a lot to look forward to!

Little by little though, they warmed up her.
getting closer and closer,
so we could take a pic of all three kids.
and then it was back to playing games on Dad's phone.
Since we've been home though they've been more interested in what Clara is doing and wanting to help out where they can.
We're so blessed to have another sweet child in our family.
Thank you for your emails, comments, prayers, and thoughts. It's fun to share this moment with you guys. I'm not sure what the next few weeks hold or how much I'll be blogging. I don't feel super motivated for it at the moment. But when the time is right, I'll pop in. And I do plan to do a mini "Celebrate Baby" sometime soon since I have a few baby projects stock-piled.
Have a great week,
- Dana

you knew the decor would come to this...

Hearts, hearts, and more hearts.
I just had to.
Garland's are just too easy to make!
Inspired by Made by Rae's heart garland and based on the Happy Day Garland Tutorial, you know the drill....

I couldn't decide if I liked the hearts going vertical (above) or horizontal (below).
So, you've got options.
And at Christmas time I went a little heart crazy....cutting and cutting and sewing up garlands for gifts.
I paired the garland with cozy socks from Old Navy or a heart tablecloth from Target.
Easy gift!
and perfect TV watching project.

38 weeks, and counting

So.
No baby yet.
I saw the doctor on Tuesday and she shook her head, "I can't believe you're still pregnant."
You and me both.
But yes, I'm still very 9 months.
The strange part is I'm already very dilated but not having any contractions.

Too much info?
Sorry I don't mean to give you a play by play. I just remember when other blogging friends have been pregnant--like Katy Dill with her cute Drummer--and I found myself hopping on her blog each day to see if the big moment had arrived. Selfishly I'd be bummed if it was a tutorial post, cause all I wanted was a baby update! Funny how connected we feel to people we've never met in real life. But hey, you guys are my friends! We enjoy the good times and hug away the bad times together (even if it's through the computer screen)
So here I am.
With my bowling ball.
It's getting tight in there.
And definitely not on account of this place.
Okay, it's totally contributing. But totally worth it.

I'm 38 weeks today.
And I really can't complain. Many women go past their due date and then some. My body's feeling good. But is it weird to be walking around at a 4.5?
I swear this baby's gotta pop out of me at any moment.
At least I've had extra time to enjoy last-minute maternity purchases....
* Jersey/spandex shirt from H&M Maternity (it has amazing stretch)
* Maternity Skinny Jeans from Forever 21 Maternity (not too comfortable for everyday wear but great for date nights)
* Pink Snakeskin shoes from (gulp) Walmart. Hard to pass up $5
* Sparkly headband from Forever 21
Not much longer to go!
I've got my finger's crossed for this weekend.
But maybe I'll see you on Monday....

photo-inspired artwork

Hello photo-loving friends, I'm Dana from MADE--a site for DIY sewing, design, and photo inspiration. And I'm excited to share my spin on decorating with portraits today.
You see, I have a problem when it comes to photography (and sewing for that matter). I love to sew, I love to photograph, I love capturing candid moments, I love sharing projects on my blog. But....
when it comes to decorating our house, I'm a minimalist. And I clam up at the thought of picking "the right photos" for our walls. So instead of just printing a few and trying them out, the front room stays pretty bare. And you guys thought I was a clean person. I'm really just an indecisive one!
One of these days I'll tackle my photo-printing fear. Promise.
But for now I may have found a happy medium: artwork inspired by photography.

Peek at the back wall in the photo below (by Rachael Penman Photography) and you'll see one of my favorite pieces of art in our house.
Here's a close-up view.
A graphic image painting on wood of our two kids, Lucy and Owen:
It's a spin on your standard "photo in a frame", created by Modern Bird Studios. They started with the two photos below which, from a photography perspective, are pretty average. But they remind me of a warm evening outing to see the famous Austin bats. The kids had a ball eating suckers and being silly while we waited for the bats to emerge.
Though the photos above don't seem "wall worthy" for the front room, the painting composite turned out really cool. It totally captures the kid's personalities, and fits with my decor aesthetic. I was thrilled to hang it in the front room.
And more importantly the kids look at the painting from time to time and say, "remember when went to see the bats? And we ate suckers?". I'm glad they associate it with a fun memory too.
(no matter how big Owen gets, that goofy smile remains the same).
Okay, just so you know I'm really making an effort to decorate the house....here's a 2nd example of photo-inspired art from our house.
It came as a surprise in the mail from a blog reader, Sabrina of Slovly. It's "art inspired by sewing, inspired by art".
A while back I created Put Me In the Zoo outfits for the kids, based on the childrens' book.
I loved the artwork and illustrations and just had to recreate the looks through sewing and photos (see the whole series here).

Sabrina was then inspired by my photos to create a watercolor painting of the kids in their outfits. And then she sent it to me! Is that the sweetest thing ever?
I absolutely love it.
and I immediately found a frame and spot for it in the front room.
It's such a sweet replica of the kids, and seems more special than having a framed photo of the kids on the wall. Plus there's something about owning original artwork that makes me feel a little more grownup.

So there you have it.
Art inspired by photography.
Thank you Kristen for having me! Can't wait to see everyone's take on photo decorating. It might be the kick I need to just print some photos out.