My newest creation

Last weekend I was finally able to sit in front of my sewing machine for the first time in a LONG time.  I wasn't sure if I would be able to finish the outfit because nothing was working for me at first.

We have rearranged some things and some how my ONLY good scissors and my rotary cutter are both missing.  So cutting the fabric was *fun*.  After taking waaaayyyyy to long to cut all the pieces, it was time to start the actual sewing. I threaded my serger.  This also took way to long.  I didn't realize how bad my eyes had gotten.  It also probably didn't help that I was using black thread.

About 30 minutes later, the thing was FINALLY thread.  Ok, I stepped on the pedal... AND remembered that I had been having problems with the thing the last time I used it.  I had to troubleshoot it which took about 1 to 2 hours but I was able to fix whatever was wrong with it.

Then I was about to sew.... for about 20 minutes! I was just chugging right along when.... SNAP! All of a sudden my needle broke for NO reason at all.  I searched my house and guess what! My spare needles were also missing.  I live 45 minutes away from the closest store and we have to leave to go meet family for dinner in an hour.

I walked away with my head hanging low.  I was feeling defeated.  My sweet pea had to go to dinner without the new outfit that mommy had promised her.

After dinner, I stopped by Walmart and bought some new needles.  I went back home, put the kids to bed, and started sewing.  OH it was so nice... everything was working!

I didn't get to finish the outfit Saturday like I had planned, but I did go to bed happy knowing that it was almost done.  I woke up Sunday and finished the whole thing.  I was pleased that the whole outfit was a pretty quick sew (if I had not run into so many problems).

So week's 1 sew is out of the way.  I am excited to start next week's outfit.  Here are some pictures of the outfit I made.  Please excuse the fact that we still have our Christmas decorations up.  It has been super busy here!

All the patterns I am using in my year challenge come from the awesome ladies at Create Kids Couture (CKC). For the outfit I did last week, I used there Alegra's Pinafore top  and Rihanna's Pants.

I am running a sale on my Facebook page for these two patterns.  Come by and check it out!

I'm Back!!!!

It has been a few years but I have decided to give this whole blogging thing another go around.  Some things have changed since the last time I used this blog but I still love creating.  My favorite thing to do is sew.  I also do a lot of vinyl projects and I run an online digital party invitation store on Etsy.  If you would like to find my shop, just click here.  I also have a small boutique on Facebook called Addie Rye Creations.

I am going to keep this post short and simple.  First I wanted to let everyone know what I have going on.  I was going through my pdf sewing patterns the other day and realized I have close to 100.  I have only used a small handful of them, so I decided that this year I was going to use them all! I am about to start on my first outfit today!  I will be blogging about my sewing journey along the way.

Thanks for reading!

B is for...

Whew!  What a day.  Actually... What a weekend!

I have been busy crafting, crafting and more crafting.

This weekend I finished 2 homemade Christmas gifts, worked on another one as well (just have a few finishing touches to add), started on some holiday decorations but ran out of supplies before I could finish.  I also made a cute gift for my daughter's teacher... which I will get to in a minute, and some scrabble artwork.

I still have to make Riley's Ariel outfit for her party and an outfit for Thanksgiving, plus one more Christmas gift.

My favorite project from the weekend (well actually I did it today) was the Crayon Art.



This project is super easy, fun, quick and it doesn't cost much!

My daughter's Kindergarten teacher is getting married and her name is changing to Mrs. Brown.  I thought that this would be a cute "wedding gift".

I started by finding a B on the net that I liked.  It needs to be something bulking.  Then I started cutting my crayons to make them fit on the letter.  It took me 6 (8pack) boxes of crayons (.78 cents each from Walmart).

Once I had them all glued down, which took me less than an hour, I then put them in this frame.

I got the red mat from Hobby Lobby for $2.99 and the frame was $20 BUT I scored and got it for ONLY $6.

CLEARANCE RACK!!!!

It was on clearance because it had no glass... which I didn't need anyways!  It was also banged up pretty bad.  Quick fix!!!! I just glued the extra crayon bits to any part of the frame that had visible damage!

So for less than $15, I got a wonderful piece of art and a nice gift.

Does anyone else do gifts for their children's teachers.  I remember as a child, everyone gave the teachers presents for Christmas.  I want to do that for my kids' teachers but I am not sure if they still do that!

Paint Choices

Happy Friday Everyone!!!!

As I said yesterday... I am planing on painting my entryway sometime soon.

I was going to go with a burnt orange color but decided against it.  Then I thought about going with a nice deep rich green.  My entryway does not get much sun light so I realized that I better go with a lighter color.

I went to the store today and picked up some paint samples.  There are 3 that I really like but one I am leaning towards.

I would like a little bit of help choosing.

The first color which is my favorite is called Soothing Green Tea



The second... which I also like a lot and is very similar to the first but just a tad bit darker, is called Extended Olive Branch



And finally is Shadow Green.  I worry that this one will be too bright.  I don't want "Lime Green" walls...



Ohhhh I am so excited about the paint colors and I just can't make up my mind.

I also went to Hobby Lobby today and found some nice little things for when I paint the kids' bathroom... but that is a story for another day!

Well I will leave you to your night now.  Have a good weekend!

A little inspiration

Hello!!!

I have decided that it was time I do a little decorating in my entryway.

What am I talking about?  It isn't an entryway.  It is a small little hallway that just so happens to have the front door at one end.

Right now it is sort of a beige color.  I am pretty sure that it was painted with flat paint because it picks up every little sign of dirt and is just about impossible to clean off.

With 3 young kids, the walls are dirt magnets!!!

There is no current "design" or order/organization to this entry way at all!

The light fixture (chandelier) is over 10 years old.  It is full of dust, dirt, and it is gold.  I am not a fan of gold.... besides part of it is broken! It drives me crazy every time I look at it....

I found a few "replacement" fixtures that I like.

I think my favorite (in both looks and price) is this beauty.

I wish they had one with 4 lights instead of 3.  There is a similar one that has 5 lights but it looks like a bit much for our small entry way.  It would probably go better in a dinning room.

As far as design goes, I am torn between 3 ideas.  Keep in mind that I don't have much room to work with.

The first is this...

I like that there is a lot of storage.  You can even store your shoes under the bench.  Everything has its place and it looks so nice a neat!

Second...

I would love to have a small table in the entryway that  I can decorate as I please and change when ever I wanted.

And third...

This one is a bit boring.  I would have to do something different... I mainly like the amount of hooks and that they are low enough that the kids would be able to hang their own backpacks and coats.

The first thing I would like to do is paint the entryway.  I just really can not pick a color.

I would like a nice warm shade of green or burnt orange.  Any ideas???

I can't wait to get started.... 

Every little girls dream

I am in disbelief!!!! My oldest child is turning 6!

My oh my, how does the time fly.

Every year I usually start planning a month or two in advance.  About 6 months ago she told me that she wanted an Ariel Birthday party this year.  This is the first year we are not having it at the house but I still plan on doing the cake (well hopefully... our oven just stopped working).

I made the invitations about 2 weeks ago.  They were the basic "What, When, Where?" invitations.  I added a few pictures of Ariel and her friends.

(sorry about the bad pictures. I am having problems with my camera so I have had to resort to using my phone which does not take the best pictures.)

They really weren't that spectacular!  Until.... I had the best idea ever.  Ok maybe it wasn't the best but I thought it was pretty darn good and so did my daughter. 

I remembered that we had one of those autograph books from our trip to Disney world last year.  I scanned Ariel's signature and then changed the color to red (which is my daughter's favorite color... plus it matches Ariel's hair).

I put it at the bottom of the invitations and that way it looks as though Ariel signed them herself.  

I mean what little girl wouldn't want a Princess to help plan their birthday party!

Next I have to plan my son's party.  His is 2 weeks after Christmas so I usually like to plan it early otherwise I get caught up in the holidays and then it is last minute.  This year he wants a pirate theme.

What kind of parties do your kids like?

Halloween goodness

I hope everyone had a great Halloween.  I know my kids had a good time!

This weekend was extremely busy in our household.  Friday night I took the kids to the zoo for trick or treating.

Then Sunday we went to the local amusement park for the costume contest.  Our "Jack Sparrow" took 3rd place.

At one point this weekend I realized I haven't done many Halloween crafts this year with the kiddos.  I looked through my cabinets to see what I had.  I had everything to make spooky brownies.

I made my brownies in cupcake pans.  They were super easy and I didn't have to cut them or deal with any big mess.

Ours didn't turn out as "neat" looking.  They still tasted just as good and were a big hit.  Considering my kids are 2, 3, and 5, they lost interest before we got to making the ghost.

I think if I do these again next year, I am going to dip the marshmallows in the melted frosting instead of pouring the frosting over the marshmallows.  It was just to messy and didn't turn out nice and smooth.

I put a few in little Halloween goody bags, printed off some gift tags and let the kids give them to their teachers.

Now that Halloween is over, I need to start getting some ideas for Thanksgiving crafts.

What kind of kid friendly crafts do you all do for the holidays?