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Quick, Easy, Non-Cheesy Grandparent's Day Gift

9/7/2016

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This year, Grandparent's Day falls on Sunday September 11th, just days from now. While our country will also be remembering the great loss of 9/11 this weekend, it seems to me that taking time to honor Grandparents is a fitting way to remember what our country has been through and the legacy  being imprinted on young hearts through the love of generations.

 Whether by birth or adoption, Grandparents are treasures deserving of recognition and respect. With young children, disposable time or money isn't exactly within the scope of daily reality, but fear not! Here's a simple, sweet gift you can make in time for Grandparent's Day this Sunday to say Thank You in a meaningful way.

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Celebrating Fathers

6/12/2016

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You know I love to brag on the strengths & giftedness of others. Well Father's Day is no exception! That's why I jumped at the chance to brag on my Husband and his amazing parenting skills when this parenting reporter asked for entries on "What Dads Do Best".  (Click on the picture to read the whole article.) And I'm more than happy to fight the over-generalized cultural joke/stigma that Dads don't know what they're doing!
It was such a great opportunity for me to sit and think about exactly what Jason does that I simply can't (or don't) do as a parent to Little Lady. The list just kept on growing. She is one blessed girl to have a Father like him. Now that list is going to make a really personal, special addition to an otherwise standard Hallmark Card this weekend!
So I challenge you: before Sunday, sit and think a couple minutes about what your kids love about their Dad. What he does that you don't. How he influences them and what he teaches them that are unique to his personality or strengths. Then write it down and encourage him!! 
Dads in our day and age are not very highly valued, and we as moms don't always look beyond our controlling ways to value them ourselves. We ought to celebrate each and every Father who is leading their family and standing against the current of the increasingly-common culture of passive & uninvolved, or even absent, fathers. So now's your chance! But don't let it stop there, make it a habit to point out how great he is, to him and your kiddos. In the daunting task of parenting, we can all use a little 'atta boy every now and then!

And if you're last minute in getting something put together with young kids, this FREE Printable is perfect! It's fast, fun and totally personal. Kids say the darndest things, so this might just be the best present he gets all day! (Click on the picture to be taken to the Free Printable from the original source: Kinzie's Kreations)
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Babies & Books : Imagination Inspiration

2/24/2016

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"One of the greatest gifts adults can give—to their offspring and to their society—is to read to children." —Carl Sagan
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A Hemmed In 3-In-1 Canopy used as a playmat at the local library!
Babies are drawn to books instinctively: the colorful images and the captivating sounds when adults read them aloud. Sure, it's fun to rip out the pages and bite the bindings too, but that's a small price to pay in raising a child to have a love of books.

We all know the benefits of reading to children from infancy on; every parenting book on the planet will actually agree on that particular baby-raising tip: read to your child from the very beginning! The benefits are endless: Reading promotes healthy attachment and bonding as the child hears your voice and feels your closeness, it's linked to increased brain function and a larger vocabulary, and on and on and on the list goes....

​So, hopefully your little one is well equipped with books of all sorts to read for years to come. But I think it's (almost!) as important to have a special little place just for them to experience the captivating experience of reading. A Book Nook is like a little getaway within your home that helps transport them to far away places because of it's inspiring nature. You can do it as simply or extravagantly as you like: we've got plenty of examples to get your wheels spinning on our Pinterest Board. For me, simplicity is the name of the game (duh!). So for our book nook, we took what we already had (=an unused, finished closet under the stairs) and created a little space just for Little Lady and her books, where her imagination can run wild...
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To be fair, this was all Little Lady's idea. During the first walkthrough of the house, she saw this closet in the basement and claimed it for her own use; requesting a book nook immediately. Before moving day was over, the door was already taken off, and the bookshelf inside. Within a few more days, we unboxed the netting canopy and my old body pillow from pregnancy days. She added her IKEA leaf, a canvas she painted, her preschool diorama and a few little butterflies that used to adorn her bedroom. We used a wall lamp for lighting, tucked into the corner with a switch she can reach to turn off and on. The space was dreamed up and decorated by her, and used by her almost daily!
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For your own space, here's the necessities and a few suggestions
to get you going:

----BOOKS!-----

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Check out BabyLit for all things 'childhood literacy'; and  Follow them @Babylit on Instagram: You'll look no further for a curated collection of children's classics.
[BabyLit]

Plus: Phyllis Harris is a phenomenal children's illustrator who captures the essence of childhood in a whimsical, beautiful way. She's got artwork (see below) and a few books to her credit.
[Phyllis Harris Designs]

-----SHELVING-----

For the Do-It-Yourself'er: Gutters-Turned-Shelves
[DIY Blog]
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Or the Order-and-Assemble'er: (It's even got a little built-in seat!)
[Wayfair]
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-----CUSHIONS-----

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These will take any area from ho-hum to  impeccably styled. All handmade by a Mama just like you!
[Fly Tots]

-----DECOR-----

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Spark their imagination with children's illustrator Phyllis Harris' captivating wall art.
[Phyllis Harris Designs]
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For the cutest little book bags that little readers can carry all by themselves--check out Swankaroo's Packs! Adorable and perfect for little hands (you can see ours hanging on the antique desk next to our book nook)
[Swankaroo]
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Take a T'Pee anywhere for an instant getaway! Just add books & cushions and that's one easy Book Nook. Done.
[Tnees Tpees]

Here's to reading to babies--in beautiful spaces!

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Daddy, You Have My Heart :: A Quick & Easy Father's Day Project

6/12/2015

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Now that my Little Lady is 5, she’s starting to learn the basics of the sewing trade on her adorable little machine (from IKEA) and I’m sure she’ll will outpace me any day now. So, fittingly, she wanted to sew something for her Daddy this year for Father’s Day. We'll start small. Maybe next year we'll make him a custom tie or work shirt... ;)

Before you say “that’s not for me, I can’t sew”, stay with me! ANYone can do this if a 5 year old can! (Even younger kiddos and their non-seamstress Mama’s!) Hand stitching is great for developing hand-eye coordination, so don't think it's just for girls either! It took us 30 minutes (with stopping to take pictures) and about $1.50 in supplies easily found at Joann, Michael’s, Hobby Lobby or any other craft store. And our computer & printer. That’s it. So, will you give it a try? Here we go…and just to lure you in, here’s the finished product:

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Supplies Needed:
  • Firm Felt sheet (we used 2 colors to match her Daddy’s favorite colors, but you can obviously use just one, you won’t use much. They’re around $0.30 each)
  • 1 Color Embroidery Thread
  • 1 Child-friendly needle (with the embroidery thread in most stores. It’s blunt and has a large eye)
  • Scissors, Glue, cardstock paper and a Marker

                Step 1
Cut out 2 hearts, about 2.5” tall, 2” wide, from felt (I free-handed it for her, she cut)

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A 5th Birthday Party ... Somewhere Over The Rainbow

8/3/2014

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To be honest, when Little Lady requested a Rainbow-themed 5th Birthday party (months ago!), I was pretty stoked. The Rainbow allows for no-brainer decor, is easy to work with for games, and awesome for using up a lot of my fabric/sewing supplies laying around. 
It was a win/win all around, and turned out to be a ton of fun packed into 2 chaotic hours that left us all still groggy this morning!

So, here's the details, should you need inspiration for an all-things Rainbow party in your future...!

(Click on images to enlarge)
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The Food: aren't you supposed to eat a rainbow of produce everyday or something?! If that's true, then I think this spread would have been personal trainer approved. And certainly busy-Mom-approved, since it took about 20 minutes to put together. Sliced fruit and mostly straight-from-the-bag veggies in rainbow order and you can call it good.
Red: Strawberries & Cherry Tomatoes
Orange: Clementine Slices & Carrots
Yellow: Mango & Yellow Bell Pepper
Green: Kiwi & Sugar Snap Peas
Blue: Blueberries & Beet chips (kinda purple actually)

I also added hummus & colorful vegetable chips (I don't remember the brand name, but they're all root vegetables, so gluten free, naturally flavorful and awesome). Done and done.
A rainbow-colored assortment of Izze Sodas would have been fun, but I opted for budget-friendlier & non-sticky water. 
We had 2 dozen Cake pops in a rainbow (made by the lovely & talented Suga Me Sweet here in Denver) and a cake cut into a 5 with rainbow-patterned M&M's (the little ones can help with that job!). 
PS--good thing I didn't go into the cake-making business, even a little 6 year-old dude called me out on making the 5 look like an S. sheesh! The Games were at least a homerun...

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The {Raincoat} :: A Quintessential Childhood Accessory

5/19/2014

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I love this pattern, I love this fabric, and I love the finished product!! In fact, I loved it all so much, I made another one, just for one lucky Little Lady out there! (more on that below...)

A Raincoat really is a childhood memory-maker. Just putting one on, it beckons little wearers to venture out in the rain, jump in puddles, and, as my Little Lady puts it-"go adventuring"! Before I had even sewn on the buttons, we were out stomping through streams and playing in a little forest. The very next day the rain came, and we went running out to make good use of it again! (This time with the buttons-which helped keep its utilitarian purposes actually useful!)

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JV: Defined. Celebrating A New Decade!

11/15/2013

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That's one handsome man right there! And I get to call him Husband!
Today he turns 30--a big number & even bigger milestone. High pressure for coming up with an awesome gift! But I'm not a great gift-giver. I wish I could think of super thoughtful, perfect-for-the-person-and-occasion kind of unique gifts. I know a few people like that and I'm always humbled by their kindness in the gifts they give that the receivers are touched by and really remember.  Nearly every person who receives something from me receives something handmade...I'm sure it gets old, especially the ones that don't come out like they look in my head, but I can't help it. 
This one is kind of like that. I think it may be one of those "aww, it was the thought that counts!" kind of gift. 
But really, no matter what it looks like, I hope the message behind it speaks for itself.

So since 30 is really an age where you feel fully 'grown up', like a legitimate adult, I thought it would be cool to describe in words the man he's become. And I thought it'd be even cooler to collect those words from people in every sphere of his life. People close to him, people with differing world views from him, people from work, school, church, family, the neighborhood...

It was really neat to see this word picture come together, because they all describe him perfectly! And when all these people's perception of Jason is brought together you see a consistency of character throughout all parts of his life.
I think that's remarkable. 

What people see at church is what people see in the medical clinic. What his family loves about him is also what his friends love about him.
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And I can & do affirm every single word. Every word captures a part of him that I adore, that I laugh about or that I admire.

I look at this word picture and think "Dang, I'm a lucky woman to be able to walk hand in hand with a man like that!!"

He loves well, leads well, laughs often & does it all with a subtle, gentle strength that exudes his Savior, Jesus.

Here is JV: Defined.
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Yea, it's a rough draft. The OCD in me will most likely paint it all over & redo it. I didn't evenly distribute the words between the two letters so the J is all legible and the V, well not so much. Classically, I misspelled a big ol' word, right in the center. (Did you catch that?! It's blaring! How do you spell FAIL?!!)

Well, I hope you appreciate the thought, babe! You are an indescribable blessing. I'm so so very thankful to our outrageously generous God for giving me YOU to journey this life with. I'll still be celebrating that gift when you're 90!!!
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The {Red Trenchcoat} Pattern Review

9/29/2013

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Somewhere recently I saw a picture of a brightly colored trench coat that instantly sparked The Crazy in me--I needed to make a skirted, bright Trench coat. ASAP. 
First, I needed a pattern. Thank You, HobLob for perfectly-timing your 99-cent Pattern Sale and having just the one I was hoping would exist.

First of all, you'll notice the big bold "EASY" description. Um. No. At least not for me it wasn't. I actually got through the pattern without ripping out any seams, but the thing took probably 5 hours, had tons of Hand-stitching (my nemesis) and didn't even factor in the button or tie-belt detail. Both finishes I had to make up myself. (Not that hard, I realize, but it made it that much longer.) "EASY" in my book is fast to put together and all on the machine. So word to any sewists out there: Beware. You can do it, but it'll take a heck of a lot longer than you expect an "easy" pattern to take. (I made version C).

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Then, Fabric. Thank You, Denver Fabrics for your amazing selection, at wholesale prices. (And thank you to you gals who helped me decide colors via text message while I was in the store-- you know who you are ;) )
The Red is a Poly Poplin and the Lining is a super-soft silver something-or-other (I didn't even look, I was sold at the softness). All for 17 bucks. YES.
Here's a few images of it in process...
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Top Front
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Love that gorgeous Lining!
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Top attached to bottom. That rough Lining edge had to be hand sewn shut to keep the seam hidden from the outside (I hand-stiched using a Blind Hem technique-See below)
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I should have slip-stitched the armholes with the liner to cover the seams, but I hate sewing by hand. So I said, 'Forget it, I'm serging that closed. And I don't feel like changing the thread color. No one will see it.' Well now it drives me nuts. 
Serves me right.
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Because the pattern didn't include a waistband tie, I ran out of fabric. Instead of driving 1/2 hour to DenFab for more, I crossed my fingers and went on a hunt at Joann. Thank goodness I found a matching shade of red (the hardest color to match, by the way) in a similar-weight, slightly ribbed fabric. Can't even tell, right?! (I also scored Buy One, Get One Free Buttons in a iridescent kind of Grey to match the liner.) I put a belt loop in the back center and one under each arm on the side seam, then tacked the belt in place a few times to keep it from folding or twisting.
I also omitted the shoulder pads. For obvious reasons. (the primary being that it's not 1993 anymore. Enough said.) Because of that, though, I had to gather the top of the sleeve a little bit to fit-no biggie. Looks good that way.
Aaaaand....TA-DAA!!

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    Wendy, owner & designer of Hemmed In, shares inspiration for living simply, bits and pieces of running a small business, and a sneak peek into the journey of domestic adoption.


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