Old Navy Presents Super C-U-T-E!

I saw this commercial on the TV last night and I was blown away! This was a well put together commercial and Old Navy has got me SOLD! I want everything she is wearing, from her clothes, to her shoes and accessories. I even want her hair and make up!

I'm going for her jeans and they're on sale right now till 2/24 so HURRY and get some jeans for $19.50!!! Or if you're an online shopper,(which I am but since having the baby I might need to try some jeans on first before buying :]) go visit Old Navy!

Singer Sew Very Easy House Party & ArtsCow!

My birthday was Friday the 18th and it was a good birthday! :-) I had some mommy friends over, all of whom I have met thanks to BabyCenter! It was my daughters first real interaction with other babies and at first she was scared but she got used to it! She skipped her nap and stayed awake for 5 hours! (she usually naps every 2-2.5hrs) My husband came home with an awesome cake and flowers and my day could not have been any better. (picture editing compliments of Picnik)


Onto other things! I got an email from House Party to apply to host a Singer Sew Very Easy house party! Cross your fingers for me! The party is to take place Friday, May 6 - Sunday, May 8. Here are some highlights of hosting this house party:


If selected as a host, you will receive:

• Complimentary use of a new SINGER^® Confidence Stylist^™ sewing machine
• Attendance to an exclusive "Host Only" machine orientation
• Special offers and discounts for you and your guests from Viking Sewing Gallery and Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores
• A complimentary copy of Ready, Set, Sew! DVD with projects from "The Martha Stewart Show"
• An exclusive sewing project and sewing tips created by the experts at SINGER^® Sewing
• A FREE Party Pack including lots of other goodies for you and your guests

Interested? Go apply!






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I also wanted to share a great photo gift website, ArtsCow.

From the website: Create unique photo gifts by putting your favorite faces onto our complete range of customizable photo products. Whether it’s rekindling fond memories with our photo mugs and photo key chains or reminding grandparents with photo gifts such as watches, umbrellas and photo bags, ArtsCow have them all. In addition, we have over 30 different versions of photo books, prints and photo canvas prints to choose from. Browse through our range of photo products for gift ideas for any holiday occasions and special events.




Why do I like this website? When you sign up on their website you receive email offers for free photo items. The catch is you have to pay shipping and you have to put in the code on your account before it expires. I've missed too many opportunities for good photo gifts so make sure you check your email often! The most recent one they sent was for 10 free photo books. You have a year to use them and you can do 3 per month.

I found out about this website when they were giving away free mousepads, completely free! I am still using this mousepad and the quality of their products are outstanding. Customers can post reviews of photo items they've ordered as well as pictures. Through these pictures you can see the quality right from the customers hand. Check it out!

Jeep Liberty Limited Urban Terrain Stroller

So Valentines Day came and went, very fast I might add. My husband had off so we took advantage of museum month and went to the aquarium thanks to Macy's half price pamphlet! We had a blast!

Now to review the stroller I received as an early birthday present from my aunt! :-)

Jeep Liberty Limited 3 Wheel All Terrain Stroller by Kolcraft

I did a bit of research before choosing the stroller that would be in our family for some time. I always knew I wanted a three wheeled stroller and thought of the possibility of jogging. This stroller is NOT a jogger but Jeep does have a more expensive stroller that you can use for jogging. 

I was torn between this stroller and Baby Trend stroller. I chose this stroller because the reviews were much better and you can't beat the quality for the price. With this stroller the only bad thing I read as far as reviews go was that its too heavy/bulky. I agree somewhat, I am a pretty strong lady so I don't complain much but the bulky factor is testy sometimes! It fits in our car though so I am very happy.

About the stroller:

-Infant car seat compatible (chicco key fit, graco safe seat, graco snug ride, & peg perego primo viaggio SIP)
-Front swivel wheel turns easily (also locks in place)
-iBaby sound system for iPod and MP3 players (this I have not tried yet)
-Easily fold, one hand and stand function (getting it to open is weird but not tough)
-Entertainment tray with horn, car sounds, & music (its too far for our baby to use, maybe for bigger kids)
-Dual cup and snack tray
-Large basket plus removable cargo bags (I like the basket but its not deep, its long, I feel like someone could just grab my purse and go!)
-Grow with me 5 point harness (not much to say about this)


Overall, I give it a 4.5 stars! I love the way it maneuvers, and you can move it with one hand. It's a bit big so I've run into a few things so I wouldn't suggest it for stores with small aisles. Its a must for an all day adventure. It needs batteries for the music and the steering wheel toy so make sure you get AAA and AA. Our baby is 7months and the shoulder straps are a tad large but I do feel she is safe in there. There is definitely a lot of room to grow. 

This stroller fits well in our family and I plan to use it for future kids! My husband is 6' and he doesn't kick it when he "strolls" it!I recommend this stroller and right now its $128 at Amazon! Check it out!

COMING UP: my birthday is tomorrow!, We're moving into a house! (its been such a busy month)

Mommy has been a busy bee!

It's been a while since I have posted! So much is going on and not to mention earlier this week I haven't been feeling well, but I am back! I hope I was missed a tad :-)

I'll start with my daughters Valentines Day Dress! I did a "pillowcase" dress without using a pillowcase and made some baby shoes to go along with it. The dress turned out great but I don't think this is my favorite dress. It is easy to make and I would suggest having some ribbon for the ties but I myself just made ties with contrasting fabric that I used for the shoes.

Even after I cut the pattern pieces bigger since the last incident of the purple toe (earlier post), the shoes STILL didn't fit!! :-( I think maybe the elastic was too tight. Trial and error, trial and error! You can find the tutorial for this dress here. She uses bias tape and that is something I have not worked with yet but I am sure I will in the future!


Valentines Day Mini Photo Shoot:

And here is one of the dress without the jacket:

Not so bad eh? :-) I still need to edit the photos but picnik.com is being a P.I.T.A.!!! It's having problems making a secure connection with my computer. I am bummed! I did some editing with fotoflexer.com but I don't like them as much. I guess I will have to settle since I tried EVERYTHING to make it work!

I'D ALSO LIKE TO SHARE, a gift for my Aunt's birthday. Her birthday is this Sunday so I sewed her a few small things. Here they are:

We have a flower pin, pocket tissue holder, checkbook cover, and keychain wristlet. You can find the checkbook tutorial here. The rest of the tutorials are in my previous blog posts :-)


Hope you enjoyed!

COMING UP: Valentines Day, Jeep Liberty Stroller Review.

HAPPY FEBRUARY!

February is here already! Can you believe it!? There are a few things I am excited about this month!

-Valentines Day
-Filing taxes (which means hopefully another car!)
-My Birthday!
-Going back to work (which isn't extremely exciting but 2 incomes is always great!)
-Getting back to pre-pregnancy weight (10-15lbs to go, this is the month!!)

I can't believe it has almost been a year since I stopped working! Its now time to get back on it however because Mommy and Daddy want so much for our little one. I can't believe how much time is flying, she will be 7months this month! Tomorrow she gets her shots but today she isn't feeling so well; hopefully we won't have to postpone the appointment.

On to other things - SO, I know I said checkbook cover coming soon, BUT, I ran out of black thread so I will have to make yet another trip to Jo-Ann's!

I did however make some baby shoes!! The first try went well, I had a few pieces that were backwards on each shoe and the elastic wasn't tight enough (also my first time working with elastic) but the second pair turned out much better! The pattern I used was 0-6ms and one shoe was a tad smaller than the other and gave my baby a PURPLE toe! She will not be wearing those again but its all fun practice!

Here are the shoes I made with this tutorial . Its a very easy pattern, just make sure when you are doing it you follow the pictures or print the page out. I just wrote the instructions down which explains why my first pair didn't turn out so well! ;-)

^^These are the first pair. Eek I know!

^^Second pair, not perfect, but much better! I really am learning as I go. *Don't you just love those little legs :-D*

COMING UP: Baby Valentines Day outfit (shoes included!), Hubby's Valentines Day present, Black History Month.

I'm SEW Excited!!!

OK! After some trial and error and a few trips to Joanns, I have finally finished my second sewing project on my machine! (my first project was a cube for my daughter which turned out pretty well!) Right now I am working on something for my Aunts birthday. Her birthday is February 13, so I've been trying to figure out some simple and easy things to make her since I am a beginner.

I finally made a keychain wristlet (this one I am keeping and you will see why). First I would like to share what I have learned so far. I still can't believe what a huge learning process sewing is! Since first starting the keychain wristlet, I have learned:

-more about my machine!
-how to sew a straight line
-I can adjust the pressure of the presser foot to help easily maneuver fabrics
-don't sew with dull needles!
-to make sure I read tutorials 2-3 times before I start
-to cut fabric with precision (this is key when sewing! It will make your creations come out more professional looking if you really take your time)
-to finally wind the bobbin (when I first received my machine, there was a preloaded bobbin all ready to go for me so I just kept with it)
-I am getting more familiar with how to thread the machine without the manual :)
-that my bobbin tension may be too tight
-that I got WAY too excited when I finally completed this project. (I literally ran around my home and jumped with joy that I made something I can use! Its very exciting)

So finally, here is my keychain wristlet that I made with this tutorial. NOTE - She recommends using a heavy fabric such as cotton canvas which I didn't do because I don't have that but mine turned out just fine! I just used one of my more firmer fabrics. That is the next thing I need to learn, fabrics!!!

So obviously you can see my stitches and they're very crazy but I will work on that for the next one. What matters most is that I can use it!

COMING UP: I'm going to try my hand at a checkbook cover, Valentines Day photo shoot with my baby, a talk about the stars, & my birthday!

Enjoy your weekend! :-D

The Best Blog For Beginner Sewing!!

Since I am new to sewing, I have been searching and searching for tutorials, books, whatever I can to learn more and more. What I have found is lots of pictures or good instruction but it hasnt been enough for me. Of course, there's no better way to learn than actually seeing. I stumbled upon this awesome blog called Couturier Mommy and 95% of her blogs are video!!

I'm so happy I found her because even when I looked for videos on youtube, what I wanted wasn't coming up. Now I feel confident enough to go back to my sewing machine and try again. (I just suffered a major sewing fail for the most simple thing. MAYBE I will post pictures but its pretty terrible!)

Anyway, here is her blog . I hope you enjoy her as much as I do and she is as helpful to you as she is to me!