Photography.

Whew, January FLEW by!  My baby girl had her first birthday last week.  How did that happen?  I am marching onward into February, which is going to be another brutal month for me, school wise.  I can do this, I just keep telling myself that!

I haven't had much of a chance to sew, my serger has been messed up for most of this month and I just got it back today.  Apparently it had a worn out something-or-other, which is why it was chewing up anything that I tried to serge.  My sewing machine is not being cooperative either.  I think it's time for a new one.  Any suggestions?? 

Instead of sewing, I have been keeping up with both of the 52 week photo challenges I started this year.  Although I don't have a ton of time to take pictures, I haven't fallen behind (keeping my fingers crossed).  Here are a few of my favorites so far...

The theme here was "open" or "responsibility" and this week we adopted a kitten, or we opened our hearts to a kitten and that also means I took on more responsibility.  :o)

I didn't submit this one, but I couldn't resist sharing it, this was day 2 of the snow fun and baby Bella's first time in the snow.  (don't worry!  she was only out for a minute before we brought her in a got her dressed properly)

This one was "my favorite things" something that I love (other than family/pets).  It was taken during our power outage/snowstorm, which is why I am wearing a beanie indoors.

 Everyday tools.

a self-portrait.  I got lucky, perfect afternoon sun, shining in my bedroom window, both girls napping, sometimes things just work out perfectly!

Theme here was "sparkle."  Yay for sparkle toms!

xoxo

crissy

Snow!

LPTG 2/52, originally uploaded by crissybell.

That's right, the snow fairy came to visit yesterday, there's even more today! I am trying to finish all of my reading/grading papers/studying so I can go out side and enjoy it!

School is back in session and is hoarding all of my time once again. So sad.

xoxo
crissy

weekly.

I've always wanted to try a 52 week photo challenge.  So I joined two.  This one and that one.  I am by no means a photographer.  I would love to do it on the side, someday.  

Although, one thing that bothers me is how saturated the world of photography is with "professional photographers."  It seems that everyone who buys a DSLR suddenly has their own business, and is snapping away, making tons of money (ok, I know that last part isn't always true).  Oh how I would love to be able to jump into something like that.  But I don't like to do anything until I am good at it, really good at it, and I am definitely not there yet.  

I've been taking picture for what seems like forever, I always had little cameras growing up, and in high school I took photography and fell in love with it.  

It has now been two years since I bought my little Canon Rebel and my skills have grown so much.  I've read, and read, and read, everything that there is to read about digital photography.  I've spent hours researching online and in books, how to get the most out of CS5 and lightroom.  I know I've come a long way.  But I also know I still have a long way to go.  25,000 pictures later and my little xsi is still shuttering away..  I've definitely outgrown that little camera, but I have also learned so much from it.  Without my rebel, I'd still be shooting in auto mode (terrible, I know).  

So who knows if I'll ever make it to pro level.  Maybe I'll always be an amateur (I hope not).  One thing is for sure, I will ALWAYS love taking pictures, because I can capture moments like this:

xoxo

crissy

Minty green.

I've been having a love affair with mint green for quite some time.  You can tell by looking at my house, there are bits of minty green loveliness tucked all over the place.  You can even see it in my fabric stash and my yarn basket.  I decided to share some of my love for this yummy color with my sister this Christmas. 

I took some fuzzy/soft yarn and a thin stringy yarn and crochet them up into an infinity scarf (there are "proper" names for these yarns, but I'm not about to go search for their labels).  I used a huge hook, 10mm, I think.  It's only two rows of double crochet, so I was able to finish this in a little over an hour.  It is SO soft and looks perfect when wrapped around three times.  I hope she liked it!

 I've been having a really hard time with blogger uploading pics, and now that they finally decided to appear, they are really "warm."  I promise, the chair is really not that orange!

xoxo

crissy

Little hats for little heads.

Since the gifts have all been given and opened I think it is safe to post a few things I whipped up for the holidays.  I made quite a few of these for my nieces...

These are little owl hats made from a pattern by Inner Hooker.  They are a basic ear flap beanie which I think is so cute on little heads!  Easy to whip up in an afternoon, if all the naps align, of course.

xoxo

crissy

Dresses.

Well, I started a little early on one of my goals for 2012.  This December, I actually sewed matching dresses for the girls!  I am so beyond proud of myself.  And no, I didn't finished them Christmas morning, or a 3am on Christmas Eve, or even on the day before Christmas Eve.  I finished these four whole days before Christmas.  Can you believe it?  That kind of nonsense is just unheard of around here!

Without further ado, here is the playdate dress from oliver + s.

I made a 12-18 mo, and a 3T.  Miss L picked out this fabric for me back in October when I caught the sewing bug again.  For a two year old I think she did a pretty good job!  Love the paisley print, so cute!

The collar detail is adorable.  I even found eight matching buttons in my stash that matched the light blue in the print of the dress.  The pattern was very easy to follow and of course I created a few short cuts here and there, mostly in the collar attachment.  If there are any short cuts to be found, I will find them.  

There hidden pockets on each side of the dress which is fun for Miss L to put little trinkets in.  Bella has no idea they exist.  Silly baby.  :)

I am currently cutting out fabric for another set of oliver + s dresses for the girls.  Hopefully I'll have some cute pictures to share soon!

xoxo

crissy

Goals for the New Year!

I try to be conservative with my goal making lately.  It is a bad habit of mine to go above and beyond my abilities and make these lavish lists of a million different things that I want to do.  Then, in the end, I get disappointed and discouraged because there is NO way I can finish it all.

This holiday season I found a balance between what I need to get done and what I want to get done.  By setting very reachable goals I found myself able to accomplish more!

Here's my 12 for 2012, in no particular order...

1. 4.0 for Winter and Spring quarter.

2. Sew an outfit for the girls from each Oliver + S pattern I have (I have quite the collection!)

3. Paint the dressers/nightstand in our room.

4. Plant a garden

5. Visit Hawaii this fall

6. Sell stuff this holiday season in local craft/art shows (start prep NOW!)

7. Participate in a 52 week photo project

8. New camera

9. L lens

10. Read my bible everyday

11. Tackle debt and get rid of it!

12. Love my family and be thankful for everything that I have

What are your big goals for 2012?

xoxo

crissy

Welcome, 2012!

Wow, I can't believe how fast 2011 passed by.  While it was in session, 2011 seemed to drag on, but then looking back, I can't believe all that happened in only 365 days...here are a few highlights of my year.

On January 23rd we added #3 to our family.  Isabella Rae, she was the sweetest little bundle of love, with deep dark eyes, and fine, dark hair, so quiet and alert!  Always observing us.  We call her baby Bella.  What a wonderful new years gift after waiting SO long for her.

In the midst of midterms, in February, I cranked out the pink granny square blanket, the blue one I finished in January, while I was in labor with Bella.  It felt good to crochet again, it had been a while since I had to time to be creative.

In March, baseball started, and brrrr, was it cold.  It was an adventure taking R to his practices with both girls and no help.  Adjusting to 3 kids was harder than I thought it would be!

In April, we took a short trip to Austin for a special wedding.  We took Bella with us, but it still seemed like a lazy vacation only having to take care of the baby!  It was in the 90's when we were there, that is my kind of weather.  :o)

In May the cloud cover began to lift and we were finally able to crawl out of hibernation and go to the beach!  This is what I look forward to every year.  I am not a cold weather person!

June, we were settled in our "new to us" home.  We finally felt like we were at home, so much space, storage, a huge yard, and I finally got my own sewing/crafting area!

July arrived and we took our annual trip to south western Michigan.  We enjoyed ten days with family, on the shores of Lake Michigan.  Sunshine, and sand, I can't ask for much more.  :o)

I was a brave soul in August and took all of the kids to watch the Blue Angels practice, we saw them take off and land.  So cool!  August also brought summer quarter to a close for me (whew! I survived) and I started to study for the GRE.

In September, we enjoyed a week of the hottest days of the year.  After an unusually cool summer, this was a much needed way to end the season.  I tackled the GRE and then immediately started fall quarter.  Yikes, that still makes me exhausted thinking about it.

October brought sunshine, and pumpkins!  Miss L couldn't wait to pick out a pumpkin!  I also started to blog again, after taking a long hiatus. 

This little trouble maker started WALKING (at nine months!) in November.  I wasn't ready for it at all!  Even in the midst of midterms and finals I was able to crank out some fun DIY projects for around the house, can't wait to tackle a few more!

December arrived and along with it came sunshine (wow!) and very little rain.  Being able to see the mountain during sunset is always a nice treat.  I finished a ton of creative ventures, I needed a break from school and time to let my creativity take it's course.

It was a great year for us, despite quite a few ups and downs.  But that is normal, a year of all ups wouldn't be very interesting.

Cheers to 2012, I can't wait to see what this year holds for my family.  Here's to loads of fun, laughter, adventure, and memories.

xoxo

crissy