Taking Shape

I know I just posted yesterday, but truthfully those pictures were overdue for posting anyway. Today's photos were just too exciting not to share. Plus I have a "lost" picture of the flooring.

 

 

It's totally covered now, but it's some beautiful wood, let me tell you.

 

 

Whoa! There's some walls in those hills!

 

 

 

 

View of the back.

 

 

Notice: our first set of stairs to the master bedroom. Sweet!

 

 

Front wall.

 

 

Things are going so well right now, and the weather will hopefully cooperate in some of the following days. I will continue to post as there are pictures to share.

 

 



The Ground Floor - Plus Puppies and Potties

The house is coming along. The kids are growing up.

 

Needless to say, we've been busy.

 

 

The deck went up first because the material was available.

 

 

Then the material arrived!

 

 

We now have a deck!

It's ironic because we planned to have a deck on our other house for years and never got it. Now it's the first thing we have before a house.

 

 

The foundation is up!

We have the floor in now but I didn't get a picture of it before they covered it up with plastic to protect it from the rain. It looks very close to the deck planks, but it's nice tongue and groove plywood and we plan on staining it.

 

 

We've had help from family and friends, including Nick's cousin from Mississippi.

 

 

Bird's eye view!

 

 

She's ready to jump in and start hammering!

 

 

We've also inherited a new family member.

 

 

Meet Saige.

She showed up at our land one day, and Nick brought her home.

 

She's very sweet and loyal. Smart and trainable, she's everything our other German Shepherd was not. She loves Nick, like, annoyingly so. She likes Ryder too, but he's been going through a "scared of dogs" phase. This pictures shows great progress for him because he actually went up and petted her on his own. Tonight he was playing with her outside all by himself. I think they're going to end up being great friends.

 

She'll do anything for Nick.

 

 

Another big milestone: Ryder is in the midst of potty training.

 

 

He's been doing fantastic for just getting started. Yesterday he only had one accident the whole day, and that was with only one week under his belt! However life gets pretty consumed by this process so some things have slowed down a little. We tried going camping this last weekend. He did okay using the potty in the camper. But we ended up coming home because the local trains going by kept waking Sabrina up. Just as well, it was less fun camping with a potty trainee and an infant who can't walk. Next year they'll be older.

 

 

Just had to share this adorable picture of my girl.

 

I'm still working on projects here and there, just not finishing them as quickly as I'd like. I might have another tutorial coming up soon. Will keep things updated as they come!

 

 



Ryder Ridin' High!

Ryder loves the movie Planes.

 

 

It was the first movie he ever saw in the theaters and ever since he has had a definite fascination with airplanes. Lucky for him, he has an aunt who is a pilot. He's gotten to try his hand at flying airplanes on a simulator, and he's pretty good at it for a 2.5 year old.

 

Today, he got to fly in a real airplane.

 

 

Accompanied by his dad and his aunt, Ryder got to have an amazing experience that few ever really get to enjoy.

 

 

Sportin' his aviator jacket and headset.

 

 

Daddy was having fun too!

 

 

Peeking out at the world below.

 

 

Such a view.

 

 

That's the face of a kid who had a blast!

 

 

And this is what happens on the way home.

 

 



Camping In Tyler State Park

We had planned to go camping this weekend.

 

Then we decided, oh, maybe not.

 

Then, at the very last possible moment, we decided, well, sure!

 

So we went camping.

 

 

We decided to go somewhere close so we chose Tyler State Park. This was the first time I have ever camped there; my only other visit to this park was a bike ride that I'd just as soon forget (I am not an extreme bicyclist). But upon an extended stay to this particular park, I have found it to be quite nice. They have many trails and a lovely lake where anyone can fish, rent paddle boats, and play on their dandy playground. We had lovely weather this weekend so it just made it super nice.

 

Recently, my aunt and uncle moved to the area. They were(are) big campers and had this awesome little pop up camper that Nick couldn't help but dream about having one just like it. Well, they were super sweet and traded this nifty little camper for Nick doing some work for them. So awesome! We are so happy to have this little thing! Needless to say, Nick has been itching to try it out, so we did.

 

 

Ryder enjoying the great outdoors.

 

 

 

 

Walking some trails. Sabrina couldn't help but watch Ryder and me.

With a little one that requires carrying everywhere you go, it's hard to do much trail walking. Next time maybe.

 

 

The playground at the park was very nice. Ryder absolutely loved it! We took him there three times. He got to meet all kinds of kids and went down the slides a million times.

 

 

Sabrina going down the slide!

(I don't know that she liked it that much.)

 

 

Getting ready for bed in the camper.

 

 

Nick always looks good.

(Let's just say that camping doesn't breed glamour in my case.)

 

We enjoyed this weekend so much; the weather and, frankly, space from technology. We needed this time together as a family.

More updates on the house coming soon!

 

 



Scrap Fabric To Hairpiece: Pant Cuff Clip

Little girl bows and hair clips are so much fun! There are so many ways you can make them; the possibilities are endless! I love dressing my daughter up with a bow, and I can't help but want every type I see! Lately I've been eyeing these more sophisticated type bows/hair clips that lay flat against their head. They had been in the back of my mind, secretly tapping at my brain for a diy project spotlight, and the opportunity arrived whilst working on another project.

 

I was working away hemming several pairs of pants, minding my own business, when I realized that I had all these little cut off pieces of fabric in so many neat colors.

 

 

What oh what could I make with them?

 

 

Answer: hair clips.

 

Sweet! Reusing and making neat stuff!

 

Here's what you need to make some of these cute little clips:

 

Cuff cut off from a pant leg approx. 1 1/2 inches tall

(size can vary depending on the size you want but this is based on the ones I made.)

coordinating thread

sewing needle

felt for backing

clip of choice, I chose the alligator clip

button for the center

hot glue or E6000

 

Alright, as I said, you start with a piece cut off from a pant leg

 

 

What was handy about this is that it already had a finished hem on one edge.

 

 

Take your sewing needle and do a large running stitch all along the rough edge (the edge you want gathered).

 

 

Once you sew all the way around, pull the thread to gather up the fabric. Tie it off securely.

(In this picture I had tried to do this running stitch on the machine and found that it is much easier to hand sew it).

 

 

Here's what you got so far.

You might need to press it to help it lay flat.

 

 

And that's it. Bow made. Now all you have to do is finish it off.

 

 

Select and sew on your button. This will cover up your goofy looking center.

Cut a circle out of the felt big enough to cover the back side of the goofy looking center. I traced my button to get the right size.

 

 

This will also give you a smooth surface to glue your clip to.

 

 

Using either hot glue or E6000, glue the felt to the backside of the bow.

 

 

Glue your clip to the felt.

 

 

Finished!

I love all the different buttons you can use to dress these up!

 

 

So cute!!

 

 

My precious girl! She's looking so good in her new clips!

 

Now, for the headbands. I wanted a slimmer, sleeker band to go along with these chic little clips, so I decided to make them out of big people bands.

 

 

Just bought a package of women's hair bands. I used Sabrina's head as a measurement and pinned the size.

 

 

I looped it over itself and hand sewed it together. This way I can let it out later and it can be used at its original size in the future. Also, the loop makes a nice place for the clips to be attached and keeps them from sliding all over the band.

 

 

Darling, precious, and sooo sweet!