All Dressed Up With Only One Place to Go..

Trick or Treating!

I raced home from working today (I am getting ready for a HUGE wedding tomorrow) and got the girls ready for Trick or Treating. Jim, the girls and I walked the neighborhood with some of their friends and parents.Superman (Kenny), Peacock 1 (Claire), Hanna Montana (Rosie), Peacock 2 (Lilly) and Fireman (Caden)

We walked the whole hood and got lots of candy. Lilly was a little afraid of the scary ones, but she did pretty well.
The girls got lots of compliments on their costumes. I am glad that I got them done early, because I have had no time this week.

Hope you had a Happy Halloween.

Lilly's Peacock

Here are some pics of Lilly's costume. She wondered why Claire was on the blog, so I want to make sure she knows that her's is just as cute.

Update on the Peacock Costume

Well, after some trial and error and trying to hunt down a xxs purple unitard for Lilly, I have finally finished one of the costumes. I ended up buying a white one for Lilly and I dyed it tonight. I'll have to embellish it tomorrow. Claire's is finished so here are some pics.
The headpiece went together more quickly than I had thought it would. I got headbands at the dollar store and added the "feathers" and leaf shapes in colors that match the costume.
I will be working on a treat bag as well. Hopefully, I can get it done because I am working a major event this weekend and will be gone starting Wed. Let me know if you have any questions about the construction. I'd be happy to share what I learned.

Klackle's Apple Orchard

On Saturday, we went to Klackle's with some friends from Chicago. This is the third year that we have gone. The kids love it. We pick apples, the girls ride ponies and eat doughnuts. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed our time. After the orchard, we went back to our house for homemade soup, buns and Gouda cheese. We also had caramel apples this year. I think that we have found a new tradition!

Photography Workshop

I participated in a photography workshop last week Friday led by Jen Kroll, John Pottenger and Holly Henderson (and Ryan Prins). We had the opportunity to shoot models in different settings and have instruction from all of these great photographers.
The group was a blast. We laughed all day long. An I learned a TON!!! I never put my camera on automatic all day. I had to make decisions about the settings and force myself to take a ton of shots to get the right one. Sometimes it took quite awhile to find the right setting, but when I did it was very rewarding.
Here are a few of the shots. Don't be too hard on me. I am not a professional after all.



Thanks Jen, John, Holly and Ryan for a great class!

You'll Never Guess Where I am Right Now

I am at the DeVos Children's Hospital Sleep Disorders Clinic. Claire was scheduled for her sleep study on November 14, but we got a call late this afternoon asking if we could come tonight. There was a cancellation and they like to keep their schedule full.
We headed off to GEMS (I was in charge of the craft so I had to get them started before we came downtown) and then came here. She was a little anxious, but not bad....Until she saw all of the wires. We had to complete a questionaire when we arrived. It asked how anxious she was on a scale of 1 - 10. I told her 1 was just a little anxious and 1o was really scared. She said she was a 1. Then they came in with all of the leads and wires and she looked at me and said "Mom, change that to a 10." I assured her that they would not hurt and were more like strings than wires (ie; they would not shock her). After all of the hooking up, she thought it was quite amusing.

The Notebook Purse or the Purse Notebook

Awhile ago, Brassy Apple had a blog post about a purse notebook. It was so cute I decided that I would try it when I got a chance.
In a couple of weeks I am taking the girls to Chicago to visit my sister. I am gathering things to do in the car and thought one of these notebooks would make a great journal for the trip.
I stopped by Office Depot and picked up a composition notebook that has a writing space on the bottom and white space on the top for a picture.
I added brown paper and stickers to the front and back and sewed on handles to make a suitcase version.These turned out just as I wanted. I can't wait for the girls to fill them up with great stories and drawings.

We are joining Jim's family on Sunday for a birthday lunch for Karen (his niece). Of course, I had to make one for her too. I asked the Office Depot person if they could cut through the whole composition notebook. He said he wasn't sure, but he'd be willing to try. The cutter thingy they have sliced through it like butter. No problem and for only 75 cents per cut, it was well worth it.
I added scrapbooking paper and some embellishments to Karen's "purse" and topped it off with a ribbon handle. I think that she is going to love it.

I have the Princeton Church craft show tomorrow. I am almost all ready.....I think....

Time to Buckle Down!

Well, time has slipped away once again. I have a show on Saturday and it looks as if I will be sewing every spare minute between now and then. I got a call from my college roommate and she will be coming on Friday and sitting with me on Sat. At least we will have a lot of time to catch up.

I will be making a couple of aprons for samples and I will make sure I take pics before they go with me.

So, if you are in the Grand Rapids area this weekend, drop by. I will be at Princeton Christian Reformed Church on Kalamazoo Ave. from 9-2.