The stockings were hung....

I absolutely L-O-V-E Christmastime. I'm not sure if it's the happiness that buzzes in the air, the insane amount of shopping, redecorating my house, twinkling lights, the smell of real Christmas trees, warm fires, that special feeling that only comes this time of year, listening to Christmas songs on the radio and being reminded of my fondest childhood memories, creating new memories with my family, or maybe it's that whole getting presents thing.... lol. I just love Christmas and everything that comes with it.

We just finished decorating our house and I just love it. We don't have anything new (yet), but the same ole stuff still brings about a certain magic. Especially my Christmas tree ornaments. I started out with an awesome purple and blue getup that my dad won at Target. He had his choice of any of the pre-decorated tree displays. He picked the purple tree because it is my favorite color. When I moved out on my own, he gave it to me. Tons of lights, ornaments, even an angel and ribbon. I used it for a couple of years. As much as I absolutely loved it, hubby HATED it. Plus it didn't suit our decor nor my personal tastes as an adult. So... I slowly started to buy burgundy and gold decorations. We've accumulated what I think is an acceptable amount. I just love gobs and gobs of ornaments. Some folks like just a handful of ornaments.... I want an ornament every 6" or so.

I'm holding out on the big reveal until the end.... (not like you can't just scroll down anyway lol)

Here are some of my fave ornaments/decorations...

Here are some pics of the process... DH and DD are too cute....

Nutcrackers are creepy and go on the back of the tree....

This tree goes above the door in a window....

Here... (it fits... it's a squeeze, but it fits... and it looks nice from the road)(admire the new floors)

And alas.... the big reveal....

Here she is....

Hannah... I mean Kaytlin's Halloween

I finally got to sew something! My life has been incredibly busy lately... and what's strange is I haven't taken on any additional responsibilities, work any more hours, etc. Hubby started back in school for the fall and his classes have been HARD to say the least. I've had to pick up all of the housework. So.... no crafting =(

Until this.... The best Hannah Montana costume. I made the top, chopped up a denim jacket from goodwill, and paired it with a pair of cute jeans she already had, some bold accessories, and a Hannah Montana wig that K already had. I also made the headscarf and her trick or treat bag. I really wish I had better pictures to share. The sparkly didn't photograph well regardless of lighting.

You can't tell from the pictures, but it's a cowl neckline... the look was inspired by the shirt she's wearing in this picture. This pose is plastered all over HM memorabilia.

I used one of Kaytlin's t shirts as a template for the base of the shirt, then cut a rectangle of fabric and sewed it to the front top of the shoulders section. I didn't have time to use a pattern.

Birthday party!!

I'm waiting on pics from a couple of people, because I didn't get a chance to take very many at the party. I was a little too busy chasing children and entertaining.

Everything was so much fun! Everything turned out exactly the way I wanted it to. All of our guests seemed to have a good time.

Here are some pics of the decor. My mom and step dad did most of it (I was too busy being SICK all week and making her cake, which we'll discuss in a minute)....

I truly regret not taking more pictures!!! We had a big moonwalk and helium balloons tied everywhere.... on the front porch, back porch, chairs, etc.

And now on to the cake.... the final and last MMF cake I'll probably ever make....

It's a crappy pic, again... I'm sorry... I was seriously busy.

I made all of the little boys capes with there initials (hence why it's pretty important to SHOW UP when you say for weeks that you are coming ;-) but I still love you Miss B). All of the little girls got tutus in the theme colors.... pink, black, and white. I didn't have much black tulle so most of them were white and pink.

The little girl wore the pettiskirt outfit featured in my last post. I barely managed to put on makeup and clean clothing. I was sick all last week and I still don't feel that great. I've had a bad sinus infection. Ick. Not contageous though. And, yes.... I washed my hands repeatedly.

We played a game too... my mom (who did most of the work and the cleaning, thank you mom!!!!) hid fondant stars all around the downstairs and outside (it was a last minute game, otherwise I would have thought of something better to hide lol). Girls searched for pink stars, boys for white. The two who collected the most got a calendar (Mustang calendar for the boy, Tink calendar for the girl).

I bought the stuff for everyone to make their own hunky bead necklaces, but after K opened her presents everyone was pretty much interested in that. The little girls escaped to the bonus room to put in the Hannah Montana instructional dance DVD and the little boys were still looking for stars lol.... and playing outside.

I'm going on vacation! Keep the entries coming though!

I fixed the giveaway so that anyone could enter, not just people with either a google account or openid. So if you tried to enter before but couldn't, click on over and try again! If you have any trouble, shoot me an email at kaytiebugs@yahoo.com!

So TTFN.... I'm off to Myrtle Beach until next week!

The most beautiful place in Georgia

If you read this all the way to the bottom, I've got a secret to share with you. But first, I'm going to tell you about my weekend.

While Matt was in Panama City scuba diving with his dad, I went to my moms for the weekend. She lives in the North Georiga mountains, the most beautiful place in Georgia. Parts of it seem untainted... everything is small, simple, and easy going. It doesn't take an hour to go 20 miles (and if it does, it's because you had to cross three mountains to get there, not because there was a jacknife tractor trailer and two fender benders in the interstate). People are friendly. Things have a wonderful timeless feel... and everything "old" is embraced with the term "antique". Hence the picture.... see the copper cooking utensils? I told my mom to write in her will that those are MINE! lol

So what did we do all weekend? Well... I worked on those roman shades for my coworker, no fun. This project is much harder than I anticipated. Not to mention the fact that it's HOT! I've constantly got 10 feet of upholstery weight fabric sitting in my lap! It's been quite a challenge, and a learning experience. I am trying to compare it to what quilting would be like... working on such a huge amount of fabric.

We picked tons of tomatoes and peppers. I have so much I don't even know what to do with it!

K went for a ride on Dollar.

I also learned how to make homemade salsa! My mom has a big garden, and all of her family members do too... so they kind of share crop. They all help each other when harvest time comes. We used home grown peppers, tomatoes, and *cough* store bought onions... among other secret family ingredients. I never knew my muscles could actually grow tired from chopping veggies!

I created a flickr set titled 'My Faves'. I just looked at it... and it's like if my life were flashing before my eyes, these would be some of the images that would appear.

What a busy weekend....

Matt and I met an awesome couple at our neighborhood pool last week. The hubby is in a band called 12oz Prophets. They invited us to come to there show at Sportsline in Lawrenceville this past Saturday. We went… and it was absolutely awesome. They are so talented.

www.myspace.com/12ounceprophets

So I made this handbag a while back. I personally love it. I love the ease of use. I love that it’s big but not so big that things get lost. I love how the inside pocket is big but not toooo big, and no zipper to fool with, and I love how the pocket is in two sections. I can easily stick my debit card and spare change right down in there, then easily dig it out! I love the colors of this bag. I love that I don’t have to worry about it falling off my shoulder (because it’s held on the forearm). I just love this bag. I have gotten so many complements on it that I decided to sell another one…. A recreation of my wonderful bag. I didn’t know if it would sell or not… because I know people are funny about things being recreated when it’s not custom clothing, but low and behold I’ve sold TWO! The first one sold within two days of being listed…. Then I relisted it and it sold AGAIN! Within two days!!! I listed it for a third time today; we’ll see how it goes :-).

I redesigned my shop banner, so check it out :-) http://kaytiebugs.etsy.com/ tell me what you think! I know it’s nothing fab… I made it myself… I just cropped around a snippet of one of Sandi’s Farmers Market prints. Wow how creative of me, right? Terrible, I know… but it’s pretty cute and the best I can do. I redesigned my blog too if you haven’t already noticed :-)

And now for something twirly… because I’m in love with twirly these days. I made this cute little twirl skirt for my niece’s 2nd birthday. It’s in Amy Butler’s Coriander and French Wallpaper… from Belle, my fave AB line. I wish Amy Butler blogged… IMO designers should blog, it offers a gateway… a way to connect with people… a way for people to really see a designer as a person versus a name on a slevedge (or tag, or label, etc….). So, thanks to you designers over there in my sidebar… thanks for blogging. Thanks for offering up a daily dose of inspiration. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Thanks. Oh yeah… almost forgot, this paragraph is about a skirt. Duuh!

We went to my moms house Saturday... up in the mountains. Beautiful place. I sooo wish I had my camera. My mom has a BIG garden... mostly tomatos, peppers, herbs, etc. Actually half of her family up there (her inlaws) have a garden. They all grow different things and share with one another... and help each other. We went to a relatives garden to pick blueberries... something I had never done. Kaytlin was in absolute HEAVEN. They don't use pesticides, and although it would have been best to wash them first, Kaytlin was eating berries right off the bush. It was the cutest thing. She had a bucket and was filling it up. She loves tomatoes too... LOVES... she was picking them right off and eating them. She does that at home too. It was so cute. We made off with about a half gallon bag of blueberries and a bunch of tomatoes. The child ate so many berries and tomatoes I'm surprised it didn't make her sick! I really wish I had my camera... it was such a pretty moment.... huge blueberries everywhere, a cute little Kaytiebugs dress on my kiddo (and on her cousin), setting sun on the mountains, and all of us scooping up as much free produce as our buckets could hold!

PS- if you notice any random 'J''s... those were smileys when I was writing this in word... but when I copied and pasted it over, they all turned into J's! AAH!

Living Vicariously

Deep inside me lies a hippie wanting to break free... wanting to wear really flowy clothes, long natural colored hair, liberal views, an organic vegetable garden, nose ring, college degree in something really "useless", and a bunch of really mellow acoustic music (which I already have a lot of) etc.

Beside the hippie is this goth-y person who wants to wear up to the knee boots with 6" heels, lots of shiny pleather clothes, black hair with pink highlights, a lip ring (and some other rings that aren't really for others to see lol), a CD book full of metal music (which I already have a lot of), and that "I DON'T GIVE A CRAP WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT ME!!" attitude.

But unfortunately neither are really who I am on the outside (or on the inside very often... if I had to pick one I'd pick hippie)... so I just clicky clicky all around flickr.

Just wanted to share.

Still wondering who those top six are :-)

My Top 6 Visitors...

Who are you six people? You six people that regularly check my blog? There are six people that have read my blog 15-25+ times in the last month. It makes me feel loved :-) I'd like to know who you are. Hopefully no psychos! Hopefully I'm clicking you as much as you're clicking me. I like checking my google analytics. I like to see where my traffic is coming from. I think it's cool that people in Malaysia and Austrailia (and 8 other countries) have visited me this month. So... you six people... who are you? Leave me a comment! Don't feel like a psycho... I have blogs that I check a few times a week too!

I have had a little business lately. Finally! I posted the skulls and crossbones outfit on ebay. It went for a whopping $13. Whipptee... not. Oh well... it's money I NEED. I posted the AB hair clips on ebay yesterday for $4. My ebay id is coachlover930, if you feel inclined to check me out. 100% positive feedback :-). I just keep telling myself that you've got to start somewhere. I sold a custom order for two shirred purple gingham check tops... a mommy daughter set. I'm just about done. I was trying to finish them before I went out of town on Thursday but I ran out of elastic thread Wednesday night and there was NO WAY I was going to Wally world at 11:00 pm for more when I had to get up for work at 5:30 am.

I made two things for myself!! Here's pics of one (mind the unkept lady with no makeup and frizzy hair... lol). It was my first time working with jersey knit fabric. Talk about a PITA!




I also made dresses for Kaytlin and I to wear to my cousins wedding Saturday. Kaytlin's was made of a satin fabric (similar to what's used for prom dresses and such... that weight). That was a lot easier than I thought it would be. But it had a zipper... so you know that was all jacked up. I'll get it one day. It was only my second time trying to do a zipper. I'm a little shy when it comes to people complementing the clothes I make. Usually I don't even mention the fact that I made it. My mother and aunt made it quite clear a few times that I made both of our dresses. Mine, in my opinion, was awesome. It was super easy to make, I love the fabric, and I got a couple of complements myself :-). I'll post pics soon. It was a lilac and blue hyacinth print fabric, shirred at the bust, halter straps, just-below-the-knee length. It fit perfect. It hid my flaws VERY well, it accentuated top and blended in the curves. I'm going to start making shirred dresses and tops for moms to go in my shop (as soon as I find time, I'm still working on that to do list!). They truly are awesome. I'm not just trying to sell my stuff here lol. My bust looked good, it was modestly covered, it was very comfortable, and very figure flattering. I'm going to do a few different fabrics for moms because the style itself is very versatle. I'd wear that dress to church, a wedding, or some other formal event... but if a different fabric were used, say a vintage cotton, it would be great for hanging out with friends.

I took some gorgeous pics of Kaytlin at the wedding location, it was beautiful. It was at this bed and breakfast in Nc. Gorgeous scenery. I took some shots of her sitting by the lake, in a gazebo, in an arbour type thing, playing in the garden, it was awesome. Too bad they're all on my moms camera because mine died!! And she's got a 2mp p&s camera... so the quality won't quite be the same... not that my camera is anything amazing, but for a p&s (point and shoot) it's pretty darn good! Especially with outdoors/well lit shots! Hopefully I'll be able to find someone who's good at paint.net or photoshop to edit the pics... she's got a nasty boo boo on the bottom of her chin. Plus, by the time we actually got a chance to sneak off to take pics her dress was already dirty. I think I can edit out the dirt and food on the dress, but I don't think I'm talented enough to get rid of the big boo boo.

Anyhoo... I'm going to post another pair of button clips in my shop, hopefully tonight. I actually made them for myself to wear with my dress but I forgot them sitting on my sewing table. How me. Adios!

A weekend ALL TO MYSELF?! HELL YEAH!!

My daughter likes cupcake stuff.... earrings, necklaces, shirts with a screenprinted cupcake, etc. Lately I've been shopping a lot for this kind of stuff. Lots of cupcake love in my house.

I finished my moms curtains. I also made a pot holder with some scraps. I'm going to write a tutorial for making it because it was pretty simple. I'm also making some really easy aprons with the scraps... one for my daughter and one for my mom. Both will stay at her house. They'll be so cute! I usually don't sell tutorials, I just give them away, but I could really use the $$. I thought about maybe charging just a couple/few bucks for a tutorial of both the pot holder and the apron.

Kaytlin is going to my moms all weekend and hubby is going to be out of town tonight, back tomorrow evening, then gone all day Sunday. So I'm going to have LOTS of fun being able to just SEW without interruption. It is going to be AWESOME! I'll be working on a dress for K to wear to my cousins wedding next weekend.

*NEWS FLASH* This just popped in my head. I got SO ANGRY the other day because Kaytlin climbed up the entertainment center (it's a good 5' tall) grabbed her Hannah Montana fabric, then went to the little basket of goodies on my sewing table and grabbed my FABRIC scissors that are super sharp, then she persued to chop her Hannah Montana fabric into shreds. Who was supposed to be supervising her? Daddy!

K was digging through my pattern drawer last night and pulled out this one that appears to be a flower girl dress... it's really dressy. She's BEGGING me to make it for her. It's beautiful, don't get me wrong, but do I really want to spend all that $$ to make her something that she'll never really get to wear anywhere other than home? Casa fabrics are on deep sale this weekend at Joanns... maybe if I feel like wasting some $$ I'll make it for her. Geez, I'm such a sucker.

Oh I almost forgot... I got another sale! Well, it wasn't an etsy sale, but a sale is a sale and that makes me happy!! Two purple shirred tops, one for mommy and one for daughter. I'll be working on that this weekend too! I've never made anything for a baby, wish me luck!

A zillion hobbies

It's official... I have hobby ADD. I just want to try it all!!! The more I shop on etsy the more I'm like "I want to learn how to do THAT!".

I haven't even mastered the hairbow thing yet and I'm already ready to move on to something else. I'm going to stick with the bows for now though... because I want to make some to match the outfits I sell. I want to learn how to crochet/knit... mainly because I want to make us a couple of those adorable hats with the flowers on them. I'm having a custom handbag made for myself. I'm really excited. The bag is knitted and lined. She's already knitted it and it's ready to be lined.

I think I might hold off on adding any new items to my shop until after I get my surger. I think I have just about convinced my husband to let me use our yard sale earnings (this weekend!!!) to buy one. If not then DEFINATELY by my birthday in June... or there WILL be HELL to pay! lol. The SSSF did good until I found my paypal debit card. My paypal account is now at $0.00. Addicts will do anything.... I'm going to keep making new things... just hold off to start adding them.

Oh geez I JUST remembered that I have to make my mothers curtains BY this Friday or she is going to kill me. AAAAHHH! When am I supposed to find time to do that?! I'm still trying to finish that top I started over a week ago!

I did manage to knock a few things off my loooong to do list though... I made the fabric covered button clips (as you can see), finished the Amy Butler dress, I stocked up on some hair bow making supplies.... and well that's it. I suck.

Here's todays to do list (it helps me remember if I write it down)-
* Clean out closets in search of more yard sale goodies
* Start moms curtains
THAT'S IT!!! I must do these two things and cannot cloud my thoughts with other tasks.

First sale, weekend projects, etc.

I got my first SALE!!!! First to go was the punk whimsey tutu... then within a couple of hours later, someone accepted an alchemy bid I placed, then a few hours after that I got another accept from an alchemy bid! I was packing up the punk whimsey tutu last night and just felt so accomplished, so proud! I've made things for people before and gotten paid to do it, but this was my first sale as an actual business with a name and everything. Hubby seemed to think I was a little overly-excited about it lol.

I bought this awesome AWESOME pattern last night. I can't wait to start it! I just want to ditch my current project and start working on it! I have this burgundy paisley fabric that I picked up at Joanns about a month ago. I didn't know what I'd do with it, because it's definately not something that would make an adorable little girls outfit. But I just loved it and had to have it. Now it has a purpose. Since I didn't have the fabric with me, I just had to pick a solid color for the lining... brown. It looks like it's going to be fairly easy to make... at least I hope!

Over the weekend I whipped up an outfit for Kaytlin out of two vintage pillowcases. One was a pillowcase dress/top... it comes just above the knee. With the other pillowcase, I made capris. It is sooo cute. Here's a pic of it. . It was super easy too. I think I'll write a tutorial on making a pillowcase dress from actual pillowcases. It took me a little less than two hours to whip together this outfit.

I really need to sit down and start working on some charity things. I also need to do a PIF (pay it forward) for etsy since I made a PIF purchase.

I ordered and received two yards of Amy Butler fabric. I'm sew in love with it. I just don't know what I'm going to do with it though! I can't decide! I want it to be something wonderful!

I also bought this skirty-like fabric. I really like it, but it's not "me". I bought enough to make two skirts. This pic does not do it justice, but I took it as I was running out the door this morning, so it's the best I've got for now.

This here is the longest living cut flower. I think I might write the Ginness people and see about getting my world record. This was in Kaytlin's Valentines Day flower arrangement (yes, we buy our 4 year old flowers for V-Day). It is now 3/19 and this flower is STILL lookin' good!! We bought it from the grocery store on 2/14!! PS... this pic was so much prettier full size.

I never knew yardwork was so dang hard!! We have spent hours and hours working on JUST the front!! We haven't even started on the back! At first, we used a spike aerator and seeded... well, that was a waste of time and money because it didn't take. So Matt and I got out there with a hoe and loosened the dirt in all of the bare spots (which, as you can see, there are plenty of), seeded, then gently scooted the dirt around to somewhat cover the seeds, THEN put pinestraw on top of it. Oh I forgot to mention that we had to dig dirt from this hole in the back yard and move it in the wheelbarrow to cover the uneven spots/dips along the driveway due to years of neglect (thanks to the old owners, there's a big hole which needs dirt to be put on top of and grass seed planted, we figured since it was already there we might as well borrow some dirt from it). Our neighbor let us borrow his plug aerator (more expensive, much better), so he did that too.

We dyed Easter Eggs on Sunday. In my whole life, I've never been able to get the stinkin' eggs to be as vibrant as the ones on the box. I followed the directions and everything!

Spring is in the air

My trees are blooming! This is our first Spring in the house... so I had no idea they were flowering trees!

Surger Selling & Savings Fund (SSSF): Part 1

I posted my beloved Coach bag on Ebay last night. $77 BIN or bid, it's $.01 no reserve. Check out the listing here for more pics.

In an effort to help grow my Surger Savings Fund, I gathered all of the random change from all around the house... there was a big pile on top of the washing machine, a good bit in the office, of course tons scattered on top of mine and Matt's dresser. I have also been tossing change into this Tiffany & Co. bag for a while now, it's about 2" deep with change. And there's some in a box in my dresser too. I haven't counted it yet, but I'm hoping it's at least $30. I'm really hoping the Coach bag will sell for at least $70... then I'll hopefully have $100, which means I'll be ALMOST HALF WAY TO MY GOAL!!! My goal is $250. All you ladies with $1000 machines, don't laugh :-). No, I can't afford to spend that much on a machine.... I didn't even spend that much on my living room furniture (which is still quite fabulous I must say, we got it at the Rooms to Go outlet here in Ga. for quite a steal $800)... see pic below.

Now that I've mentioned the Tiffany & Co. bag, I just remembered that THAT would have been a great thing to sell for $$! I had this awesome tag toggle necklace and matching bracelet that were originally around $600 I think (I've had it for a while now... plus it was a gift so I really shouldn't know how much it costed, but I do lol). Anyways.... here's the sad story of the Tiffany set gone missing- The set was inside my purse. I left my purse sitting on top of my car while I buckled Kaytlin into her carseat, I was waaaaay out in the boondocks. Well, I forgot to grab it. It was a Coach Carly bag so it was big and kinda floppy, and of course not zipped. It flew off the car a few miles down the road. A nice Christian woman picked it up, found my cell inside, and called my mom. I got the purse back, but the Tiffany jewelry was nowhere to be found. She said all of my things were scattered all over the side of the road and she grabbed what she saw. I don't think the lady stole it because she would have also kept the $300 bag if that was the case lol. DANG ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!





Hmm.... what else can I sell??? My other Coach bag is beat to hades and back due to the whole flying off the car incident, so that's out of the question. Since ebay has upped there seller fees so much, it'll be really hard for me to do what I did last year and just have a big ebay yard sale, selling any and everything that I no longer need or want that's worth more than a few bucks. We're going to have a big yard sale in a few weeks.... and we've got lots of furniture and other big stuff we're going to get rid of, but the majority of that $$ is going to go towards house improvements.... we need so many things. Well, we don't really NEED them.... but we really WANT to fix the hot tub and the big screen that the old owners left for us. With the big screen fixed, we'll be able to decorate the bonus room! Which I kinda started on last night and want to blog about, but this one is already getting really long so I think I'll leave it at that.





In conclusion.... check out my bag I'm selling, check back for more things I'll be selling for surger $$, and don't forget to check out my etsy store! Kaytiebugs.etsy.com All purchases will get be a little closer to my $250 goal!! One more thing.... if you have any tips on how I can earn a little extra cash (aside from getting a second job... I only need $250 lol) let me know. THANKS!

Here's the living room furniture I was talking about..... well, half of it at least :-P