we are family

A family tree has been on my project to-do list for a long time (like, years).  But after seeing a few beautiful family trees on Pinterest (especially this one), I was inspired to finally get started.

I began with a funky old tray that I snapped up last year when one of the closets at church was being cleaned out.  Sure, the paint was ugly, but it had a nice shape.

I painted the middle white and the border Valspar's Dreamy Clouds. Then I put my Silhouette Cameo to work.   I didn't take a picture of all the cutting, but this is just one of those instances I was so glad to have a Silhouette.  About a million tiny leaves later, I was ready to start gluing.

I used mod podge to glue down all the pieces.  The shape of the tray really helped me define the fullness of the tree.  My original plan was just to put this on a canvas, but I think the curvy tray adds a lot more character.

My husband's family went on the left of the tree, my family on the right, and our children are the little acorns below.  For the sake of space, this family tree only has 4 generations, but someday I'd love to make a huge one (like this) and really dig in.

Oscar was excited when he found out he was one of the acorns.  I'm excited to have a long over-due project crossed off my list.

This is what happens when you ask your kids to help you take pictures:

For Silhouette Users

here are the shapes I used for this project:

house of 3 banner

leafless - bare tree, by Alaa'K

4 leaves, by Lori Whitlock

acorn, by Silhouette

6 labels, by Lori Whitlock

superhero gear

Wham! Pow! When Oscar's buddy had a birthday last week, I couldn't fight the urge to whip up a little superhero gear.  And I do mean whip up ... with the help of some cooperative kids, I was able to make this set in one morning.

First up, a quick cape!  Using one of my kid's capes from the dress-up box as the pattern, I traced the cape shape onto one piece of fabric, cut it out, and trimmed it with bias tape.  The velcro closure is topped with the birthday boy's initial to personalize it a bit.

(As a side note, I have totally been converted to making my own bias tape now that I've learned the continuous bias tape method.  Check out this tutorial on Aesthetic Nest ... it will blow your mind!)

The rest of the ensemble was made with a lot of help from the far reaches of the internet.  The superhero mask was made using the tutorial by Hazelnuts and the power cuffs were from the tutorial by See Kate Sew on The Train to Crazy.  The silver fabric is pleather and works great for these projects, because like felt, it does not fray.

On the back of the cape, I added a lightning bolt using the applique patterns from The Long Thread.

Happy birthday, Merrick!  We hope it was super. 

the showoff and the mini showoff

I love a happy sewing accident.  When I was first printing Made by Rae's Showoff Bag pattern, I mistakenly had my printer set to multiple pages per sheet, printing the pages at about 50% size (doh!).  Before I could get too upset, I noticed how ridiculously cute the tiny pattern pieces were ... and thus, the desire to make a tiny Showoff Bag was born.

Normally I wouldn't want to be so matchy-matchy with Ruby, but I had serious bag envy.  I mean, how great is this fabric?  It is called Modern Meadow Herringbone in Pond (by Joel Dewberry).  Love it.

A few changes I made to the pattern:  piping between the top and bottom fabrics, a magnetic closure, and two jumbo-sized box pleated pockets, perfect for hauling diapers around.  I was so excited to have a purse that wasn't a diaper bag, and what did I do?  Pile it high with diapers and kid stuff.  I wish I could pack as light as Ruby.