2paws Designs

Friday Freebie: Destination

2012-01-27T08:00:00.029-05:00

Living close to the airport and directly in the flight path, Dylan has had a fascination with planes since his early days. The photos on this page were from our first visit to the General Aviation Terminal for lunch and airplane viewing with friends:

Supplies: Audrey Neal's Flight Path kit ("destination" banner recolored); Karla Dudley's Digi Essentials 2; Myriad Pro & Verdana fonts.

I ended up creating a template while working on this page and thought it would be a good way to restart the Friday Freebie posts for the new year! The template is12x12 and features 9 layers including photo & paper masks and journaling. It's free for personal use only.

Click here to download the Destination template

Enjoy!

Have you missed one of my previous digital freebies? Click HERE to find them. And, don't forget to subscribe to my feeds so you won't miss future freebies!

Infant Car Seat Cover

2012-01-26T08:00:00.021-05:00

Another winter baby expected in our playgroup, meant another car seat cover. This time I went with a fun polka dot fabric:

I used the same soft yellow flannel for the inside:

As with the infant car seat cover I made last fall, I again referred to a couple of online tutorials - Sutton Grace: Infant Seat Canopy Cover and Make it Do: Baby Car Seat Cover Tutorial.

Supplies: 1-1/3 yard of each fabric; thread; velcro.

New Fort

2012-01-25T08:00:00.050-05:00

Two years ago, we bought a Step2 Kangaroo Climber for Dylan from Craigslist. We've frequently referred to it as his "fort." He's loved it, but also outgrown it. Too tall for the doorway (occasionally forgetting to duck!) and had mastered climbing up & over both sides - it was time for something bigger.

First time down the slide. March 2010

Last week searching Craigslist again, I found a Woodland Climber for a good price. I wasn't certain it would fit in our CR-V, but, thankfully, a friend offered to help and Sunday afternoon we brought it home. Dylan was ecstatic about his "new fort" even though it was in a pile of pieces on our patio!

Monday afternoon, with the rain subsided, we headed outside to clean it off and put it together. Oh, yes, there was still a good bit of sogginess and mud in our backyard, and it was chilly, but that didn't bother him at all. He was so excited to help me clean each piece and assemble it. He was even pointing out which piece was next (without directions!) and telling me what to do. So funny!

Helping clean & assemble the new climber

Right as we finished, the new owner of the Kangaroo Climber arrived. I wasn't sure how Dylan was going to react, but he did great. He climbed on it again while I showed it to her. Then helped us take it apart and carry pieces to the car. He even said "goodbye" as it left to create happy memories for it's 3rd family. A bit bittersweet for me, I'll admit, as it's one more sign my little boy is growing up! But I can't deny the happiness on this little face after climbing up into his new "big" fort for the first time:

A very happy big boy. :)

Movie Day

2012-01-24T08:00:00.029-05:00

For a playgroup gathering last summer, we let the kids watch Cars:

Moments after this photo was taken (and the movie barely on) most of them had moved on to the toys. :)

Supplies: Design House Digital's Digital Scrapbooking Day Blog Hop 2011 collaboration kit; Miss Mint's Movie Night kit; Robyn Meierotto's Kraft FunDay elements; Sara Schmutz's Nursery Rhymes elements; Just the Way You Are font; photo - Totally Rad's Bitchin' B&W and The CoffeeShop Blog's Vintage actions.

Tea Wallet

2012-01-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

One of my good friends went out of her way to help me yesterday and I wanted to do something to say thanks. Knowing her love of tea and how much she travels for work, I thought a tea wallet could be handy to stash her favorite tea in her purse or briefcase.

Closed

Interior with pockets to hold several tea packets

Exterior

I followed this tutorial at Is It Naptime Yet? blog. The only change I made was to use a hair elastic instead of a fabric or ribbon loop for the button closure.

Supplies: fabrics (Robert Kaufman & Moda); thread; elastic; American Crafts button.

Candy

2012-01-20T08:30:00.001-05:00

On a cool February day last year, Dylan & I met up with Allison & C at Crabtree Valley Mall. The highlight was visiting the candy store to see the "world's largest gummi bears."

Supplies: Erica Coombs's Jan Swatch Challenge Freebie patterned papers; Spencer Nugent's Sketchy Elements vol. 1; Michelle Underwood's Posie Add On (tape recolored); Jen Allyson's Real Simple: Polaroid Frames; Rhonna Farrer's Celebration kit; Stamp Act Jumbled & Just the Way You Are fonts.

Valentine Envelope Chair Backers

2012-01-17T08:00:00.110-05:00

Inspired by cute Valentine's envelope chair backers at Pottery Barn Kids, I pulled together a few supplies to make a pair for Dylan's Ikea LÄTT table & chairs set. I changed the design of mine slightly for a more "masculine" look by leaving off the scallops and replacing the large heart with a button.

Supplies:
- white felt (I used a packaged 36" x 36" sheet; smaller sheets would also work)
- white & red thread
- velcro
- red embroidery floss
- 2 red buttons

Start by measuring the chairs you want to place the envelopes on to determine your envelope size. I made my envelopes 11" wide by 8" high. Since I opted not to add scallops, I was able to cut each envelope as one large piece. With help from my assistant, I drew out the design using fabric marker and traced one of our china dinner plates (Pottery Barn, fittingly!) to create the curve at the opening end:

After cutting out the envelope shapes, I measured the top of the chairs to determine the size for the straps. To do this, use a tape measure to go all the way around the top of the chair where the envelope will attach - remember to overlap for where the velcro will affix. My straps were 9" long by 1.5" wide.

I folded my large cut piece into the envelope shape and held it to the chairs to determine strap placement. Knowing I wanted the straps at the outermost point and near the top, I decided on 1" in on each side and 1/2" down. Pin straps at the desired locations and sew onto the envelope piece:

Add a strip of velcro to the top end of each strap. Add the second piece on the opposite end & opposite side to secure to chair later. I literally took the envelope to the chair again after sewing on the first piece and used my fabric marker to note the location for the second piece ensuring a good, snug fit:

Fold the front up, pin and sew along both sides and the bottom at 1/4" in from edge:

Sew along the two angled edges of the flap, also at 1/4" in, to add definition, if desired. Next, hand stitch the red embroidery stitches just inside the lines you sewed by machine - all three sides of the flap and the sides and bottom of the envelope. I used DMC floss #321.

Finally, add button holes to the flaps. I used my sewing machine's button hole option to do this (tip: use fusible interfacing on the backside of the flap to stiffen and make this process easier). Hand stitch a red button on each envelope to create closure.

Finally, place on chairs and enjoy! If you create your own, let me know - I'd love to see. :)

Dec 4th: The Tree

2012-01-16T09:00:00.000-05:00

The day of the tree ...

Supplies: Simply Tiffany Studios Holiday Edition Template Album; Robyn Meierotto's Cupcake patterned papers & Dated stamps; Sara Schmutz's Jolly kit; Tweet, Tweet collaboration kit from Oscraps; Deena Rutter's Jolly Holiday elements; Just the Way You Are font.

Little Fairies Stroller Blanket

2012-01-13T08:00:00.026-05:00

One of my projects for this week was sewing a stroller blanket to list in my Etsy shop. I've accumulated quite the stash of fabrics in the last year and need to work through some!

This pink flannel called "Little Fairies" was one of those fabrics. Such a cute print. I paired it with a very soft white minky dot fabric.

The overall blanket size is 28" x 30" - thus the "stroller blanket" name as it's just the right size for use in the stroller, car seat, tummy time or even sleeping. It's close in size to Dylan's Cars blanket (also flannel/minky dot) that he's slept with constantly for the last year.

Supplies: flannel; minky dot; thread; ribbon tag.

Reading

2012-01-12T08:00:00.031-05:00

Dylan & my mom reading one of his favorite books - I Spy Little Wheels.

Supplies: Jen Papadimitriou's January Blueprint Challenge template; Sara Schmutz's Strawberry Patch labels, Bicycle Ride freebie & Recollect patterned papers; Karen Funk's Claire patterned papers; Karla Dudley's Sunkissed patterned papers; Shannon Hegarty's Lighthearted patterned papers; Ellie Lash's Detour patterned papers; Robyn Meierotto's Fashionable Fall patterned papers; Anne Langpap's Citrus Freeze kit; Janda Everyday Casual font.

Woody

2012-01-10T08:00:00.040-05:00

Dylan has become quite the fan of Buzz and Woody since our Toy Story Halloween. I wanted to give him a Woody toy that was a gift from me to Trent when we were dating. Somewhere along the way it disappeared. We truly had no idea what had become of it. Luckily, when I was up in the attic putting away Christmas decorations last week, I opened another box purely by chance and found Woody inside. Dylan was so excited when we gave it to him. Woody's had quite a few new adventures since.

This week's 4 Play challenge and the monthly scraplift challenge at Design House Digital inspired me to get Woody's story scrapped.

Supplies: Celeste Knight's Menagerie patterned papers; Dana Zarling's Lakeside Worn digital papers; Karla Dudley's Crazy In Love elements; Kate Teague's Handy Frames Neutrals; Times Roman font.

5k Training

2012-01-09T08:00:00.005-05:00

With my cute little workout buddy strapped in the jogger, I hit the pavement last week starting my training for a 5k in April.

Supplies: Sara Schmutz's Star Spangled paper pack 1; Audrey Neal's Pinned; Robyn Meierotto's Kraft FunDay alphas; Jen Allyson's Nostalgia 2 Labels; Janda Everyday Casual and Another Typewriter fonts

December Daily - 7th

2012-01-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

Slowly getting back into creating pages for our December Daily album (albeit out of order). The highlight of December 7th was getting together with our playgroup - we decorated gingerbread men and played.

Supplies: Simply Tiffany Studios Holiday Edition Template Album; Robyn Meierotto's Fun & Festive papers; Sara Schmutz's Jolly kit; Teletype and Just the Way You Are fonts.

International Space Station

2012-01-05T08:30:00.003-05:00

Thanks to a tweets from Katie at Discovering the Southern Part of Heaven (@southrnptheaven) and the Morehead Planetarium (@moreheadplanet) yesterday, I learned that the International Space Station would be passing overhead and visible just before 6pm last night. Dylan and I bundled up and headed out in the cold with our cameras to watch the event.

Here are my sooc shots (minus a little cropping on each - lots of sky!). The tiny white dot is the space station.

ISO 3200, ss 1/8, f5.6

Dylan's sooc photo of the moon using his Little Tikes digital camera (I confess, he was so cute putting the strap over his neck and playing photographer just like mommy!) ...

ISO 60, ss 1/5, f2.8

Shoot and Edit: Best of 2011 sooc

2012-01-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

Looking back over my SOOC shots for the Shoot and Edit challenge last year, I picked 16 of my favorites:

Several of them were from the last few months - I definitely feel more confident using my DSLR and think the photos show the improvement. My personal favorite SOOC shot of the year - the sun setting over Lake Crabtree:

ISO 100, ss 1/1000, f5.6

Thanks to Jill Samter and Ashley Sisk for hosting the challenge! I enjoyed playing along and learning both more about my camera and about editing.

Mr. Potato Head Parts Bag

2012-01-03T08:00:00.007-05:00

One of Dylan's gifts from Santa this year was a Mr. Potato Head. Given he only has the basic kit so all the pieces fit inside the potato, but the "trunk" never seems to want to stay closed. When I saw an idea on Pinterest to make a burlap bag to store Mr. Potato Head and his parts, I knew I needed to make one.

Lucky for me, I had burlap on hand bought for another project before Christmas that never came to. It then took on life as a tree skirt (we had forgotten we needed a new one until the tree was up. I really want to make one vs buying another so I wanted an easy cheap fix this year - duct tape & burlap cover a tree stand nicely!). Now that our tree is down, and with a goal to make a new tree skirt by next Christmas, I was willing to cut up the burlap for this new project.

In a short time with Dylan working nearby at his craft table on a Play-doh project, I sewed up the bag using the burlap and leftover ribbon from his toddler belt. I later added the felt Mr. Potato Head during his nap time. Now all the pieces store nicely and we can toss the bag into his toy box.

Supplies: burlap; thread; 5/8" ribbon; felt; buttons (eyes); Aleene's Tacky Glue.

December Daily 2011

2012-01-02T08:00:00.023-05:00

I really love the December Daily album I created last year. It ran from the start of our Christmas festivities on Nov 30th (visiting Santa) to Jan 1st (final celebration with family). The entire album was digital and I had it printed as a Shutterfly book. This year, my goal was to do the same.

Here are the first three pages from my 2011 album starting again on Nov 30th with our visit to Santa ...

With other things (making Christmas gifts, working on Dylan's stocking, etc) eating up my time during the month, I pushed off further work on the pages until after Christmas. Now I haven't decided when I will complete the album. At the moment, the final week of December is still just a bit too raw. Losing Chester on Christmas Eve took the magic out of finishing this album. I need some time to decide how to properly mark the day and yet remember him too. Then hopefully I can add the 2011 book to our collection.

Supplies: Simply Tiffany Studios Holiday Edition Template Album; Sara Schmutz's Jolly kit; Deena Rutter's Jolly Holiday kit; Robyn Meierotto's Fun & Festive elements; Audrey Neal's Dotted Dates.

Shoot and Edit: week 51 edit

2011-12-30T08:00:00.032-05:00

My edits for this week ...

For the plane shot, I used Ashley's Nice & Easy action tweaking layers to taste. Cropped the photo to remove the light posts and added a vignette.

For the observation deck photo, I again started with Ashley's Nice & Easy action. Merged all layers. Then used the Gold Glory action from Momaziggy's Jewel Tone Wash Collection, again adjusting the layers to taste, to add a warmer feel.

Join in the fun with Jill Samter Photography and Ramblings and Photos:

Shoot and Edit: week 51

2011-12-28T08:00:00.029-05:00

Last Friday, the weather was gorgeous so Dylan & I headed to RDU's Observation Park to play and watch airplanes. He had a great time in the sand box while I got a chance to experiment with the new 55-200mm lens my dad gave me for Christmas. I had a hard time choosing one photo this week so I'm sharing two here.

It was fun being able to finally zoom in better on the planes! (My other lens is 18-55mm.)

ISO 100, ss 1/250, f5.6

And, I played around with a number of shots of the observation deck. Need to experiment further to get the flare how I want it, but still liking this shot:

ISO 3200, ss 1/1000, f5.6

Join in the fun with Jill Samter Photography and Ramblings and Photos:

Knitting Needle Roll

2011-12-27T08:00:00.023-05:00

My mom started knitting again a couple of years ago. She's made a number of beautiful items including sweaters and hats for Dylan. For Christmas, I decided to make her a Knitting Needle Roll to store some of her needles and other tools in.

Rolled up.

Open

Flap lifted back

I used this tutorial from the blog at Warehouse Fabrics Inc. Be aware that the tutorial was based on fabric in 54" and 56" widths. Plan to buy slightly more fabric if you use 44" width like I did.

Supplies: fabric; Coats & Clark thread; velcro; American Crafts ribbon; D-rings.

Saying Goodbye

2011-12-26T08:00:00.060-05:00

After Cali's safe return to us a week ago, I breathed a sigh of relief and was ready to move on to Christmas celebrations. Sadly, things turned bleak again just a few short days later. Friday night Trent & I realized that something wasn't quite right with our other cat, Chester (his paws grace the banner at the top and inspired the name). After a quick online search and a phone call to a friend, Trent took him to the emergency vet closest to our home. Our initial thoughts, and the vet's, was that it was simply a case of a blockage in his urinary track and he should be home by Christmas Day.

I was shockingly calm and collected as I put him in the carrier for Trent to take him as well as when Trent returned home later. It wasn't until a call at midnight, just 2 hours after he had left our house, that things began to take a different turn. I won't go into the details. Suffice to say, as we learned more, it became more evident the path we should choose. We loved him immensely, but didn't want him to physically suffer more as well as, selfishly enough, us to suffer more emotionally or financially. We are grateful for the staff at the emergency vet. Grateful we noticed something soon enough that his pain could be managed in his last hours. Grateful we got to spend some time holding, rubbing, and talking to our sweet boy. Telling him much he was loved and how sorry we were that we wouldn't have more time with him but how blessed he was to get the best gift this Christmas - the gift of Heaven.

There are so many things we will remember about him ... his loud purr, his pokey-paws, how he loved to snuggle in our bed on cold nights, the way he'd lay across my hands at times while I was trying to type on the computer or walk back & forth in front of the monitor leaning his head toward me for a kiss, the way he'd sit in Trent's lap and hug his leg ... and so many other little details.

He was sorely missed yesterday and will continue to be. Each of our cats has their own stocking with a small frame ornament attached. I removed Chester's on Christmas Eve and hung it on our tree. He will be with us in memory especially in that simple way each Christmas season. Rest in peace our sweet boy. Thank you for ten and a half wonderful years.

Shoot and Edit: Holiday Traditions edit

2011-12-23T08:00:00.024-05:00

I loved Dylan's smile, but disliked the darkness of my SOOC shot this week. For my edit, I started with Ashley's Nice & Easy action - adjusting the layers to taste. Merged all. Then used The CoffeeShop Blog's Storybook Vintage action to give the image a softer, warmer look.

Join in the fun with Jill Samter Photography and Ramblings and Photos:

Gift Idea: Fat Quarter Bag

2011-12-22T08:00:00.020-05:00

With a couple of fat quarters and coordinating ribbons, I made these cute bags for my nieces by following a tutorial at Make & Takes. They turned out so cute I almost wanted to keep them for myself! They are large enough to use for a bag to tote dolls and other treasures or as a purse.

Supplies: Heather Bailey fabrics; Coats & Clark thread; grosgrain ribbon.

Shoot and Edit: Holiday Traditions

2011-12-21T08:00:00.015-05:00

One of my favorite holiday traditions is baking ginger snaps. I let Dylan "help" me last year (mostly play next to me with a bowl of flour - see Day 14). Yesterday, he was much more hands on. Donning his craft apron and standing next to me on a chair. He helped pour ingredients and even do a little hand mixing of the flour & spices (without too much of a mess!).

I decided to use this photo this week simply because it does capture our fun and, amazingly, he really did look at the camera & smile! Maybe I've taken too many photos? He definitely shies away whenever he can so this was a big moment. I dislike the darkness and hope to brighten it up during my editing later this week.

ISO 3200, ss 1/80, f5.6

Join in the fun with Jill Samter Photography and Ramblings and Photos:

Relieved

2011-12-20T09:00:00.000-05:00

Saturday night, after a fun party with friends and Dylan tucked into bed, Trent & I realized something wasn't right. Both of our cats "disappear" when Dylan is around, but usually show up during nap times and after he's gone to bed. Chester was with us. Cali was no where to be found. We literally turned our entire house upside down looking. We realized she must have slipped out the door on us and I went out into the cold to look around our yard and call for her. Nothing. To say that was a restless night for me would be an understatement.

Flyers - grateful to have been able to pull these down!

Sunday I spent the entire day emailing neighbors, knocking on doors & handing out flyers to other neighbors, posting online notices, searching alone and with Trent & Dylan as well as making a visit to the county animal shelter. Around 5 I had a gut feeling that I should go look again and was about to do so when Trent told me a lady had just called saying she had seen a cat marking Cali's description on Saturday evening - a slight ray of hope! But further searching and knocking on doors afterward ended empty handed again.

Dylan (right) and friend searching. No, she wasn't in these mailboxes. ;)

Yesterday, started off with me searching our yard and calling for her. Once the temperature was above 40, I strapped Dylan into his stroller, bundled up, and we went searching again. We bumped into one of his 2.5 year old neighborhood buddies and grandfather out for a walk looking for her as well - so blessed we were to have friends helping us!! After an hour and all of us cold, we began walking back to our homes. I knocked on a couple more doors I had previously missed down the street from us. After her sighting in the neighborhood behind us, my focus had been there. I spoke to one man who was home with his son. Nothing then, but within an hour this man would be the one to call and tell me he thought he saw her go into his neighbor's backyard! A neighbor I never met before yesterday. A true Christmas blessing. I retrieved my sweet, scared girl from under a grill. Tucked in behind the gas tank and under a grill cover - a safe spot from the elements. She relaxed in my arms immediately.

Finally home!!

We're all so relieved to have her home. She and Chester are still readjusting (I guess he had gotten used to being *the* cat of the house in her absence). Otherwise we're pretty much back to normal. I am so grateful for that and that I can finally answer the question Dylan repeatedly asked on Sunday, "Mama, where Calicat go?"