Be Mine?

     I don’t have a ton to share with you, but I wanted to give you a little Valentine’s happy!

Picture credit

     First things first – why are cards nowhere near as cute as they used to be?  I went card shopping yesterday (way too late, I know) and was really disappointed.  The cards were just not good…a lot of them were labeled as “flirty,” but were really kind of tasteless, and the rest were just…blah.  I did get one…but it’s not GREAT. 
     I got the fiancé a card and some candy…simple (boring…maybe), but then to piggyback on a conversation we had a few days ago, I made -

     I’m aware that this is not a great picture…but they were still delish!  I know they don’t compare, but the idea came to me while we were talking about Dinstuhl’s chocolate covered strawberries (or as Della calls them – strawbabies).  If you are in Memphis (or anywhere close) then you have got to go – right now!
     The final thing…which is totally unrelated to the previous two…and probably of no interest to you unless you are a teacher or an education major – Praxis test scores went up today!  I’ve taken three of the four I’m required to take (and of the six that I might take just because).  The first one I took was Content Knowledge…and I passed! 193!  A month ago, I took Reading Across the Curriculum AND the PLT…in the same day…aaaaaaaaaaaaand I passed! 181 and 199, respectively!
     I am so relieved that I’m almost done with these, and I feel so much less anxious about the next one (or ones) I have to take!
     There you have it.  Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you, and good luck to anyone who might be taking a Praxis test (soon or not)!

Allyson

Happy February!

    Last night I did my first “big” craft of the year!  I love making fake applique shirts (for my niece, of course), and Valentine’s Day is an easy one to do. 
     Originally, I was going to do one exactly like the one from last year.  Of course, I couldn’t find a red Garanimals shirt…I thought all hope was lost, until I found one stack of three purple shirts (with one in the right size!).  I love purple, but I couldn’t use the black and white fabric from last year.  As luck would have it, our Wal-mart has gotten much better as far as fabric selection goes, and I found some adorable pinky-flowery fabric (for a whole $0.38 for an 1/8 of a yard).

     I’m almost embarrassed to write a “tutorial” for this because it is so easy, but here goes:
        1.  Find an adorable shirt, pattern (I just Googled “heart” and picked the one I liked best), and fabric.
        2.  Cut the pattern out of the fabric.
        3.  Attach to the shirt with Stitch Witchery.
        4.  Sew around the edges. (I went around several times, and it made it look kind of frayed…which I’m loving.)
    That’s it…simple, I know.  I don’t do things that are too difficult – ever.  I’ve done this a few times, and I always think they turn out so sweet-looking without being too fussy!

    …and this is what you get when you ask a two-year-old to smile…
    I love that this is Valentine-y enough to wear on Valentine’s Day, but not so much that she can’t wear it other times.
    I am so looking forward to making more of these!  I already found some ADORABLE Christmas fabric for $0.97…I need ideas on what to do with it!
Allyson

Hearts and Happys

y latest project is a completely adorable Valentine's Day shirt for my completely adorable niece. Because I love simplicity, I found some fabric that I love for less than $2 and used Stitch Witchery to "applique" it onto a red Garanimals shirt.

Afterward, all I did was stitch pink thread around the edges!

So easy, but my niece will look precious in it...of course!