(iCandy) Wetbags

This past week I finally made something that I have wanted to make for EVER!

Wetbags.

Huh? What is a wetbag?  Well... it is the greatest thing ever.  I first discovered them a few years when someone brought them to a Favorite Things Party.

They are a basic lined zip pouch, but instead of being lined with fabric, they are lined with a waterproof material!  (I used a white shower curtain liner I bought at Target.  I believe the material is peva)

They are great for SO many things:

Just to name a few.

And they are quite easy and fun to make.

I made mine big enough so they can be used for a variety of things... I cut my rectangles 14" wide by 13" tall.

There are a million lined zip pouch tutorials out there, but since I have a hard time spatially with linings, I used this one.  It is perfect.

The only thing I did different from the tutorial, is increased the seam allowance just a bit (1/8") when stitching the liner together, so it fits better in the pouch.  And I topstitched a couple of my bags just under the zipper so the liner doesn't get caught.

You FOR SURE need to make yourself some...I promise you will LOVE them!

(iCandy) Name Hunt Wall Art

I'm obsessed with street signs!

Where I grew up, every street was a number...I lived on NE 163rd Place...and the only 'named' streets were ones that went from one town to the other...like: "Woodinville-Duvall Rd" (which ran from Woodinville, to Duvall...fancy that!)

Anyways, so I love living in a city where all the streets have fun names...

I'm also obsessed with decorating with meaningful words...thus my latest piece or wall art:

Our Name Hunt Wall Art

I noticed pretty quick when we moved here (and I was pregnant with Ivy) the Ivy Circle sign off of a major road we drive up and down...

Since then, we've tracked down every name in our family, as well as some visiting cousins.  

We all hop in the car with the camera, and go on a name hunt...it's a fun little Sunday activity.

 Anyway, I know this won't work for everybody... but I think its a fun way to decorate...keep your eyes peeled when you're driving around...or type your name into 'google maps' like I do...with your city, or a surrounding city, and see what you find!  Maybe you can go on your own name hunt!

{ps...I know, I know...what the devil is that weird thing behind the pictures?  I'm trying to disguise our eye-sore of an electrical box with something fun...just ignore it and it'll go away!}

(mini-tut) last-minute laundry bag

This week, I re-organized my girls' closet.  

Whew!

The way I rearranged it, there wasn't any good place to stick their laundry basket, and who really wants to have a big ole laundry basket in the middle of a cute room?

My neighbor (and best friend/craft-genius) made a cute laundry bag using the same utility fabric that we used {here} to hang on the wall behind her girls' room door.  It's big, it's washable, and it's hidden behind the door, rather than sticking out like a sore thumb!

(ps, she also was the originator of this cute Easter craft)

I grabbed her bag to use as a pattern, and I happened to have all the stuff I needed to make it!

I made the whole thing last night in about 15 minutes and I'm pretty excited about it!  (plus it was free!...my fav!)

(iCandy) Aaron's Book

A few months ago, I finally got around to a project that I had been meaning to get to for a few years.  

When we adopted Aaron, (read that story here) we discussed how we wanted to approach the topic of adoption with him.  We didn't want to just have an awkward discussion one day, we just wanted him to always know.

So we decided to make a book, just for him, telling his birth story, and how he came into our family.

I wanted his book to be a board book- one that would last.  No chance of ripped pages, etc.  I did a lot of research and discovered that there aren't that many options.  I wanted a decent sized one, and many companies only make tiny ones.

Finally I found a company, Hullabaloo Stories, who makes a larger board book.  I bought the book, and the next step was to send in our story and photos.

I wrote up the events leading up to and after Aaron's birth, and my husband took it and made it into a story for a little boy.

The story begins begins:

Once upon a time, there was a Daddy, a Mommy, and a Sissy. (Aaron's nickname for Emily) They all wanted a baby brother.

Mommy and Daddy decided to adopt a baby, and waited and waited for a special baby to be born so that they could take him home.

It goes on to describe the phone call we got from our case worker and the trip to Detroit to pick up baby.

Everyone fell in love with little baby Aaron as soon as they saw him.

The story continues with describing their stay in Detroit while waiting to be able to go home.

After a couple of days, they met Aaron's birth mommy.  She loved Aaron very much, but was not able to take care of him.  Since she loved him so much, she wanted Daddy, Mommy and Sissy to be his family.  She knew that they would give baby Aaron lots of love, hugs and kisses.  Daddy and Mommy love her so much and are so thankful that she brought Aaron into the world so he could be their son.  

For that, she is their angel.

The book concludes with a family picture, and discusses how grateful we are that Aaron is in our family.

Maybe soon there will be another baby for Mommy and Daddy to adopt so that the whole family can be even happier.

We started to read this book as a family to Aaron when it arrived.  I wasn't sure how he would react to the story, but he didn't react at all.  He enjoys seeing all the pictures, especially "baby Aaron."

I am so glad we had this book made.  It answers any questions he might have about his adoption, and hopefully he will have this book as a comfort throughout his life.

In the meantime...

We were approved last June to adopt again.  We are in the waiting phase- waiting to be chosen to be the parents of another precious baby.  We don't know what is in store for our little family... but we are hoping and praying that we will soon cross paths with a birth mother who will be our second angel.

(iCandy) Boo Boo's Pillow

My Grandma is the queen of really fun songs.  

She sings songs that her mom taught her (and they are quirky, and hilarious...and the most fun old songs ever made!) and she sang them to my mom, and to me, and to my children...aren't my kids lucky!?

My kids especially associate one song that she sang to them with 'Boo Boo' (as they called her) and it's this:

Now run along home, 

and jump into bed, 

say your prayers, 

don't cover your head.

Just one more thing, 

I'll say unto you:

You dream of me, 

and I'll dream of you!

It's the most darling song, and any time my kids and the cousins would be with Boo Boo, they'd all gather together before bed and sing that special song with them.  They loved it, and she loved it.

A couple of months ago, I got the idea into my head that I needed to preserve that memory for my kids with Boo Boo.  I wanted her song, in her words, stitched by her.  

I called her and asked her if she'd like to do this project with me:

 I wanted to make a pillow for each of my kids, 

and each of my siblings kids with her special song on it.  

Even though she was so sick, and probably not up to the enormous task of embroidering 11 songs, she agreed to help me.  She wrote the song out for me, and she and my mom traced it onto muslin so we could begin hand-stitching the songs.  

 She was able to begin 1 song.  She got through the first two lines of the my daughter Scarlet's pillow, {below} and then she passed away.  My mom and I finished the rest, and I tried to crank out the pillows in time for Christmas (it happened for my sisters...but not me or my brother)  But, I was able to give my kids their pillows on Valentine's Day!

I'm so grateful to have listened to that little prompting when I got it, and get my Grandma to at least write that song down in her handwriting, so that my kids could have something special to remember their Great-Grandma by. 

If you have the chance now to do something similar....do it!  a recipe, a poem, a song, a story...

these memories are priceless!

(Happy Birthday) Me Sew Crazy Patterns

Well, it's our last giveaway today.

Hasn't it been fun?  Lots and lots of goodies and chances to win.

I'm sure you all know and love the blog Me Sew Crazy.  

Jessica is one talented and fabulous lady.

Not only does her blog showcase her amazing creations and tutorials, but she is the founder and creator of SewSet, an innovative and extensive online pattern directory.  And she also has started a pattern shop, which has ADORABLE patterns:

Today Jessica is giving away 

all 5 of her patterns in her shop to two winners!  

So fun.

To enter this giveaway, you can do any or all of the following.  Come back and leave us a separate comment for each thing you do for more chances to win!

1. Like iCandy on FaceBook

2. Like Me Sew Crazy on Facebook

3. Follow Me Sew Crazy on Twitter

4. Go to Me Sew Crazy Shop and pick your favorite... come back and tell us!

5. Tweet the giveaway

6. Share the giveaway on FaceBook

My Favorite Pins

So I thought I would share with you my top five favorite pins this week.

#1 DIY BUTTONS out of polymer clay. (I can't wait to try this!!!)

Source: Sew Chibi

#2 DIY STAMPS! (Imagine the stamped fabric possibilities!)

Source: Lines Across

#3: Chevron Quilt (I really really want to make one of these!)

Source: Orange You Glad

#4 Single Piece Placket Tutorial (So helpful!)

Source: Little Kids Grow

#5 Letterpress Art Print (I need this in my office!)

Source: Le Farme Etsy Shop

Happy Monday!

(Happy Birthday) Author: Melanie Jacobson

We have another great giveaway for you today!  You may remember us talking about our fabulously funny author/friend from {this post}or maybe {this post}...or perhaps {this one}.  Jen and I are both huge fans of reading...and our friend Melanie is a writer with a wit to her writing that just makes her books fun to read.  I think they're great sit-at-the-beach-and-read-a-fun,-light-hearted-book, kind of book.  

Here's a little info on Melanie Jacobson:

Melanie Bennett Jacobson is an avid reader, amateur cook, and champion shopper. She consumes astonishing amounts of chocolate, chick flicks, and romance novels. After meeting her husband online, she is now living happily married in Southern California with her growing family and a series of doomed houseplants. Melanie is a former English teacher and a popular speaker who loves to laugh and make others laugh. In her down time (ha!), she writes romantic comedies for Covenant and maintains her humorous slice-of-life blog. She is the bestselling author of The List, Twitterpated, and Smart Move. Her fifth novel, Second Chances, hit shelves in October, 2013.

Because Melanie recently came out with her 5th novel, entitled Second Chances, she has generously offered to give a lucky someone a free copy, along with a copy of her first published book, called The List.  

{click on the book title to read a summary of the books}

To wine this fun pack of books, you must:

-like iCandy on facebook

-tweet or post on facebook about this giveaway (1 entry for each post)

-like Melanie's Facebook author page

-follow Melanie on twitter @writestuff_Mel

(Happy Birthday) Raspberry Creek Fabrics

Boy do we have a great one for you today!

Have you clicked on over to Raspberry Creek Fabrics lately? 

It is always so fun to browse their amazing selection of fabric.

These are just a few that stood out to me... believe me there were so many more!

There are some amazing new markdowns going on right now too... of some of her most popular lines:

Dress Up Days

Seaside

Super Star

Divine

Delighted

So not only are these lines on sale, but iCandy readers can get 10% off anything in the shop till the end of the month with the coupon code "ICANDY."

SO READY FOR THE GIVEAWAY???

Get this...

Diana from Raspberry Creek is giving away a $50 Gift Certificate to her shop!

***********

To enter this giveaway, you can do any or all of the following.  Come back and leave us a separate comment for each thing you do for more chances to win!

1. Like iCandy on FaceBook

2. Like Raspberry Creek Fabrics on Facebook

3. Go to Raspberry Creek Fabrics and pick your favorite... come back and tell us!

4. Tweet the giveaway

5. Share the giveaway on FaceBook

(Happy Birthday) Shwin Designs

Happy Valentine's Day!  

I am off on a long weekend (minus kids) to Vegas this weekend!  

Where I will eat some good food, see a show, hike to hot springs and run The Color Run!  

Such a needed break.

Anyway we have another fun giveaway for you today!

Shauna blogs at Shwin and Shwin and is the creator of 

Shwin Designs Pattern Shop. 

She is a super talented clothing designer, and her shop has SO MANY adorable patterns.

Here are a few of my faves:

Today, Shauna has offered to give away 5 of her lovely patterns 

to one lucky winner!

To enter this giveaway, you can do any or all of the following.  Come back and leave us a separate comment for each thing you do for more chances to win!

1. Like iCandy on FaceBook

2. Like Shwin and Shwin on Facebook

3. Go to Shwin Designs Pattern Shop, choose your favorite and come back here and tell us!

4. Tweet the giveaway

5. Share the giveaway on FaceBook

(iCandy) Valentine Flashback

Happy Valentines Day!!
We thought it might be fun today to take you back through a couple of our Valentine projects from years passed...just in case you missed them when we were only 1-year old!  

Enjoy!

ps, we also did a series called Pink Week last year starting {here} if you want to check out some of our favorite blogger's Valentines projects from then, too!

Valentine Placemats

Pink Ruffles Skirt

Valentine V-neck

Cookie Sheet Valentines Day Countdown

Spring Chick Skirt: Cupid Style

Chair-Back Valentine Envelope PB Kids knock-off

i {heart} u blocks

ruffled heart tee