The Best Weekend EVER

This weekend I had an amazing opportunity to attend a vocal recording conference and workshop with the likes of Jenny Phillips, Hillary Weeks, Tyler Castleton and Staci Peters (The producers and writers for the EFY cds), Peter Breinholt, and many many others. (Yes, I brought my camera...but no...I didn't get any pictures. I know.......its sad.) It was a treat to spend Friday listening and learning from their experiences, and getting advice on getting into the LDS music market. (Something I have literally been DREAMING about since I was around 14). I loved every minute of it. But that wasn't even the best part.

Saturday was pretty much the highlight of my trip here to Utah. Me, Mike, Chris (my mother-in-law), and my mom and dad drove to Counterpoint Studios in SLC for me to get the chance to record a demo for the 2009 Young Women's CD. (I love you families and friends, but recording in a real studio???? You just couldn't top that.)

I was beyond excited. Jenny Phillips produced my session, and it was AWESOME! I was in the recording studio, behind the glass, with my $5000 mic, and my sweet head set, and I sang my little heart out. And it was So Much FUN!! I wish I could have had more time, but we were only alotted 20 minutes to record.

I don't know if I'll get to be on the CD. Jenny Phillips, and a few execs from Deseret Book pick the top ten demos, and then those people get the privelege of recording their demo for the CD. For Reals. I can't think of anything better than getting the chance to record lead vocals for a song on the 2009 Young Womens CD. (Well, maybe getting to record lead vocals on the new 2009 EFY CD....maybe that'll come later.) I felt like it went really well, and my dad said he glanced over Jenny's shoulder just before we left, and there was a star by my name. (And ONLY my name.) I don't know what that means exactly, but I'm hoping a star = she liked me. :)

And if you want to hear my demo...just press play below.

And Warning....it's some pretty hard core LDS music. You might not be able to handle it. :)

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Only One Word

There's only one word I can think of to describe what has been going on around our house these last few weeks....

FUN!!!

It all started a few weeks ago for our friend Owen's 4th Birthday party. Miles tried out the pool, with mixed results.

He did love kicking and kicking and kicking his little legs in the water. I think we have a natural swimmer on our hands. :)

And what kid doesn't look stinkin cute in a floppy, protect his skin from the bright hot sun, baby blue, fishermans hat?
Miles loves being outside. And swimming is fun, but to beat the heat, sometimes you just have to get out of town. So we did. Twice! We loaded up the Rav, grappbed some of our friends, and headed to Flagstaff to go camping. Miles did GREAT, and loved the great outdoors. And he loved sitting around the campfire in his chair, just like his daddy.

(His hair is just a *little* out of control. But I think it is so cute all fuzzy like that. It sticks up in just about every direction. Grandma might have to give it a little trim when we visit next week.)

We had so much fun, we decided to do it again the next weekend. I've realized its nice to go places with friends, because I can get a very rare picture that actually has ME in it. Even if it is with my SWEET visor, sunglasses, and camp hair. Atleast there is proof I was there. For once.

I also took Miles to a play date last Wednesday to the Peoria City Splash Park. He is too little to fully enjoy running through the sprinklers. But he did like splashing the water that was already on the ground.

And I loved how cute he was in his little swim suit, rash guard, and funny as heck hat that keeps the sun off his neck, but kept flipping up in front.

You might be wondering....How can I even STAND having a little boy so cute? Well, the truth is, I just can't!! I just want to hug him and love him, and pinch his little chubby cheeks all day long.

Oh....and fill my hard-drive up with millions and billions of pictures.

Here's a couple more. Just in case you didn't get enough. I know I never can.

Laughing with me....

Or laughing AT me. Either way, I'm okay with it. :)

A while ago (the beginning of May) my Friend Tiffany told me about an Apron Swap she was doing. I make an apron, and send it to someone who signed up for the swap, and then someone sends an apron to me. I thought it sounded so fun. And I thought it would be a good chance to stretch my very limited sewing skills and try something new. I told my Mike about my great new find. His response? "why???"

"Why what" I said.
Mike: "Why are you making an apron to send to someone else? If you want an apron, why don't you just make one, and then keep it."

I figured this was just my overly logical husband COMPLETELY not understanding how fun this would be. So, I called my mom to tell her about it. Her response?

"Why?" "Why would you make and apron and send it to someone else. Why don't you just make an apron, and then keep it?"

Okay, Okay.....Maybe I'm the only one who looks forward to getting surprises in the mail. That's REALLY the reason I thought this would be so fun. So, I signed up.

I did have my hesitations. Let's just say...I've never been a very "lucky" person. I just knew it would be my luck to end up with a swapping partner who never sends an apron. So, I decided I would just buy double the fabric. Then I could make one for someone else AND for me. I'm such a little smarty! :)

The theme was "Summer". So I picked out some fun, flowery Amy Butler fabric, bought a pattern (because I wanted to learn how to use one) and went to work. My mom helped me do the first one while I was in St. George. It was my "practice", and I gave it to Rachel while we were there. It was cute. And I was proud. But I wasn't fond of the pattern, so I went at the next one on my own.

I've been working on it for a few days, and was ALMOST finished. All I had to do was attach the front pocket to the apron. And PRESTO! It would be complete. So, I pinned the apron in place and started sewing. This is what it looked like before the sewing began.


So I was just sewing right along and thinking....Wow. This pocket is a little harder to sew than I imagined. For some reason, it just seems "thicker" somehow. Wierd. And I just kept sewing. At LAST, I finished my last stitch on the pocket, snipped the threads, and pulled out my apron to admire my handiwork.

There was only one problem. The apron didn't look quite like I had imagined. This is what the front looked like.




If you can't tell, while I was sewing the pocket on, the whole top of the apron had been tucked under, and was now sewn to the back side of the pocket. So basically the apron was folded and sewn in half. And to make matters worse, I had DOUBLE top-stitched the pocket on. That means TWO ROWS of stitches were holding my apron in half.

go ahead. Laugh. I understand.

So, after puffing out my cheeks to hold in the curse words, I went to work unpicking, and unpicking, and unpicking.

and let me just interject here that I have to do all my sewing during Miles' nap-time. That makes the time available to me to do crafty things very limited. Hence the mental curse words.


So I unpicked my stitches, re-sewed the pocket, and worked with the fabric to get all the little "holes" left by my stitches to go away. And I ended up with this pretty little thing.


It gets dropped in the mail tomorrow. A whopping 5 days before the deadline. And I am proud of myself for not procrastinating completing it until the very last minute.

And incase you are wondering, I still haven't received MY apron in the mail yet. (The deadline to send is june 9th, so there's still time.) But no worries. I have the apron I will make for myself already cut out.

I've been sewing almost every day since I've been home from St. George. Thanks to my Mother-In-Law for letting me use a SWEET vintage Singer 401a sewing machine. It was the machine she learned on, and I L-O-V-E it.

Awhile ago I mentioned something about an Etsy shop. And I have been working my fingers off trying to get things ready. It's only taken me about 3 months longer than I thought. :) And there's still a little more. The problem is that as soon as I make something, someone I know wants to buy it, or I have a shower to go to and I take it, before I get it photographed and uploaded. But I finally DID photograph a few things. So, here's another (not so sneaky) peek.


Diaper and Wipes holder made from the "Dick and Jane" series fabric by Michael Miller. LOVE this, and I'll have lots of combinations of the fabric available.

Baby changing pad, topped with super easy to clean Vinyl dot fabric by Michael miller. Changing pad is lined with a thin cotton batting for a little "cush for babies tush", and backed with solid blue or red durable cotton fabric. I am in love with this. I just gave one at a baby shower, and already have a few requests for some more. I have a super cute brown and pink flower pattern for little girls that will be making its way to the shop soon too.

And here we have a nice big, slobber proof, baby food proof, smear whatever you want on it, and just wipe it up, easy peasy, "shirt bib". I should have posted a picture of the back. But you can put baby's arm through the arm holes, and the bib sleeves help keep baby's clothes clean. The pocked on the bottom helps catch drips and spills before they stain pants. Made from the same laminated fabric as the changing pad. Just wipe with a wet cloth, and thats it.

And I think this is my very very favorite. At approx. 20"x24", this super snuggly blankie is the perfect size for the carseat or stroller. Babies can't help grabbing hold of the soft minky fabric on front. (comes in red or blue), or snuggeling next to the vanilla satin lining on the back. Blankey has a layer of flannel in the middle for extra softness. And the best part is I can customize any of the items with any of the fabrics. Like the blankey, but want a blue minky center with the Dick and Jane word fabric instead of stripes? No problem.

And there's so much more! But I just couldn't help but show these off a little. They aren't in the shop yet. I'm still working on writing all the descriptions, pricing and uploading. But SOON. Very Soon. I have more styles of Bibs, big blankies, burpcloths, rag quilts, and nursing covers too, in a variety of fabrics for stylish moms and babies. So Stay Tuned!!! I can't wait to finally, finally, finally be making a little progress. Mike doesn't have class tomorrow. So, I'm hoping to get a little extra help on the baby wrangling front to take more pictures and get things uploaded. So, if you have a shower or something you will be going to in the next few months, keep me in mind! And ofcourse, my wonderful friends and family will be getting a very nice discount! :)