DIY Family Wedding!

One of my amazingly beautiful step-sisters got married this weekend.  Meet newlyweds Josh and Kasey Day! Aren't they ridiculously cute?!

The past week has been filled with wedding prep, wedding crafting, wedding baking, and family gatherings. Goooood times!

My (step)family is scattered all over the U.S.  So times when we can all get together are pretty special.

My little man and his mustache sucker wedding favor.

Hudson has only seen his cousin, Nan, a few times but they're pretty tight : )

This pic of Andrea and Tye cracks me up every time I look at it. Crazy kids.

The beauuuutiful twins.

Fancy homemade strawberry champaign cupcakes!

My little family : )  24 weeks along with boy #3!

The wedding was filled with family-made details. This was my first attempt at a wedding cake topped by the hand-carved cake topper my step-brother-in-law made.

Instead of a traditional guest book I put together this tandem bike + fingerprint balloon poster per Kasey's request. Each guest left their print and initials. Such a cute idea!

And this is the art I made for the front of their wedding invitations-- inspired by one of my vintage floral pillowcases and Josh's love for chess.

My step-mom has quite an arm ; )  

Congrats to Josh and Kasey! We're soooo happy for you! Love you guys!

Arian

Crafting Legacies

 Andrea and I spent the afternoon keeping Papa company at his house while my mom is out of town for the week. We chatted, cooked, did some laundry for him---easy stuff.

 We also spent some time rummaging through Granny's old crafting wardrobe that still has a lot of her patterns, supplies, and unfinished sewing projects.

 I didn't even know she crocheted but apparently at some point she was quite the doily and lace maker.

 There are yards of handmade lace, tiny vintage crochet hooks, and a giant tin of old buttons.

 I see where we get our habit of organizing by color. : )

 And there are boxes of antique necklaces, tiny wrist watches, and beautiful brooches that belonged to Granny or some of her relatives. I love seeing what my grandma and great grandmas thought was beautiful.

 It's stuff like this that keeps me crafting. How cool would it be for my great-granddaughter to wear my favorite jewelry or a dress I made (like the green dress in the first pic that was Granny's) or my kids' kids' kids to warm up with something I crocheted.

Like maybe this scarf I finally finished for Andrea's birthday.  I used this pattern. I didn't add the tassels and I think my edging turned out differently than the pattern shows. But I love how it turned out and it was a fun challenge to make!

Tomorrow morning we find out if our December baby will be a boy or a girl!! I'll be excited either way. We love having boys and there is something really special about raising boys to be great men. But having a girl would also be pretty sweet too! We'll see!!

Either way, I plan on swinging by my favorite indie yarn shop right after the ultrasound to get gender-appropriate yarn on our way to vacation. My December baby needs at least one mommy-made blanket to keep cozy : )

I'll pop in here and let you know!

Arian

First hats : )

 I crocheted my first baby items--two little baby hats that I'll be taking to one of the plethora of baby showers I'm attending in the next couple weeks. So. Many. Babies!!

Cute, right? I had a ton of fun making them and I recommend this pattern (that I mostly followed) to any beginning crocheter like myself.

 Suuuper busy weekend planned--- 2 baby showers, 1 birthday party, 1 dinner party, 1 baby dedication/baby dedication party, and leading worship with my sis in all 5 services at Crossroads! Back to back to back good stuff!  And I'm sure I'll be toting along a ball or two of yarn and a crochet hook just in case I have a moment of downtime. : )

 Happy Friday!
Arian (and Jude) ; )

March 31st.

(venting beeeegins here....)

Man!! Life has been full of unexpected turns these days! Andrea and Tye's life took an unexpected turn (here) so they'll be coming home March 31st. So my mom, who had bought a ticket to go to South Africa in April hopped on a plane today instead. And we just got word from our landlord that he wants to use spring break to do some work on this apartment so we have til March 31st to MOVE OUT! Hellooooo mad dash to find a place to live, round up boxes, pack, and move to....we don't know where yet!

 This month was already going to be pretty jam packed with exciting creative ventures of my own, music video animating with Daniel, business dreaming/planning, and lots of family in town. Moving and house hunting under a tight deadline was NOT in my plans.

BIIIG sigh.

(aaaaand venting over.)

Who knows! Maybe our next place will be awesome...a place where we will finally have the freedom to host and paint and play and run and plant and feel at home like we've been wanting to. Maybe God is swooping in to rescue us and take us to a better place. Our own yard?! Our own laundry?! Maybe!!

And the art will go on! It keeps me sane! I'm sure my sketch book, crocheting projects, and iced coffee will be close by at all times for when I need a creative break from the moving business.

Thanks for letting me vent : )

Better get to cleaning and packing!

Arian

Softie Love

This week had just floooown by!! It's been great, though!! If you've been checking our pic-a-day blog you've seen some of the celebrating, crafting, shopping, playing, ridiculous video-filming we've been up to this week. Andrea and Tye, on the other hand,  have been adventuring all over South Africa and have been w/o much internet access for the past couple weeks so Andrea will catch up on uploading her photos soon. I do know the photos will probably include some wine-tasting, safari-going, ocean-gazing, and shark swimming.

My lovely helper, Laura, and I will be working hard this afternoon on a new collection of cuddly characters to add to my shop. And I've also got a new batch of book plates to add. Lots of good stuff coming soon. So check back!

Arian : )

Crochet Victory!

 Yessssss.  After 2 "how to crochet" ipod apps, multiple you tube tutorial videos, and roughly 37 failed attempts, I finally figured out the "granny square". Victory!  I know it's one small step in the world of crocheting but I can finally check that off my Christmas vacation to-do list. : )

So now I just need to decide what to do with this new power of mine. Granny square garland?

(here)

Granny square afghan?

(probably a granny square baby blanket is more realistic)

Or do I venture into new territory? I looove this pillow!

and this one...

and this hat is pretty sweet too. So many color combo possibilities!

I'm just looking forward to having a reason to make frequent runs to this little yarn shop Jude and I recently discovered within walking distance from our house.

Soooo pretty : )

Are you guys crocheters? I'd love to see what you've made. Post links in the comments and I will be sure to check them out!

You know what else I'm excited about??....WARMER WEATHER!!! I know it's probably just temporary and there's probably another snow storm in our future. But driving with the windows down and the sun roof open has been gloooorious! Hope the weather is lovely in your neck of the woods!

Arian : )

Party Girl

 I finished the crocheting project that's been like therapy for me just in time for my little friend Ruby's birthday!

 It was such fun to work on and I'm anxious to start a new project. I downed a few apps for my ipod and have been bookmarking inspirational photos.

Well, hopefully Miss Ruby enjoys her little party banner. Jude turns three next week so maybe I'll get started on one for him!

(Jude trying to get some love from the birthday girl. She was uninterested. He's never had much luck impressing the ladies.)

Arian : )

Bag Lady

 My dad is in town for the weekend! He got here late last night. Snow somewhere along the way in West Virginia set him back a couple hours so I got out the sewing machine to keep me occupied while I waited up for him.

 I've been wanting to pair these two fabrics together for awhile. So I made this simple tote bag. The inside fabric is a retro-licious remnant from Granny's stash and the outside fabric is soft and sturdy upholstery fabric from my favorite discount fabric store.

 I'm definitely a "fly by the seat of my pants" kind of sewer-- no pattern, no planning, no measuring...just wing it.  It's good for my soul that way.

The boys (and I!) are glad to have PopPop in town, as you can tell by today's pic-a-day. It promises to be a good weekend : )

Muuuuuch Love,
Arian