I can't believe how long it's been since I've last updated the blog! EEKS! I told myself that 2016 would be better and my goal was to try and post at least once a week! That obviously has not happened! 2015 was a great year and I was so hopeful that 2016 continue with that streak! I totally jinxed myself on that one! My oldest son's birthday is just a few weeks after the holidays so the days blur together! Add to that a family medical emergency and quite honestly I have no idea where January went and where February is going!!

My oldest just turned five. FIVE!! I know it's such a huge milestone, but instead of doing a party this year, we opted to take him to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate. He'd only been there one other time (when he was about 18 months old, so definitely too young  to remember!) And a few days later I quickly remembered why I've avoided the place! Germs! So many freaking germs, especially this time of year!! Needless to say the ENTIRE family got hit and we were pretty much out of commission for two weeks! We've never all been sick at the same time, so this was definitely draining! Add to that Blizzard Juno decided to hit while we weren't feeling well! Helping shovel three feet of snow with a massive sinus infection = total bummer!! And, as if that wasn't enough, my mom ended up having a fall and broke her hip! So she landed in the hospital for a week, and is now in a nursing home until she is strong/healthy enough for hip surgery!! Just keeps getting better and better!

I decided to work on something different to get my mind off things. Ever since I started seriously sewing I have always wanted to quilt but never found the time, or maybe just never had the patience for all the piecing?! I ended up going through my fabric stash and found two larger cuts of fabric that would've been perfect for a small lap quilt (the cream floral prints that I based my quilt on are Fresh Fusion and Cream Floral Explosion from the Legacy Studio Line).  I added some pops of brighter fabrics into it and made probably the simplest lap quilt ever. There was no rhyme or reason to which fabrics went where, and they were simply just strips of rectangles stitched together. Since I don't have any experience with stippling or doing any other crazy quilt designs, I opted to just do a straight stitched to quilt the blanket together. I'm actually quite pleased with how it turned out and am glad I can finally say I've quilted something! The quilt is perfectly sized to be used while sitting on the couch. I'm actually going to pass it on to my mom once she's out of surgery so that she will have something to get her through her recovery. She's never been a fan of big blankets, so it's just the right size for her to use while she's resting! Now that I've finished this first quilt, a second one is definitely not out of the question!

I ended up making my first one for my neighbor's daughter. She had just turned two, and even though her birthday invite said no gifts, my son was adamant that I make her a doll! (Typically handmade dolls are what we've been gifting to some of our friends for their birthdays, but it had been a while since I've made one so I'm actually quite surprised my son even remembered!) He even picked out the fabric for her dress and was excited to make a card to go with it and give it to her! Since he started preschool last year, he was invited for the first time to a classmates birthday party. Let me tell you, that was a BIG deal! So, now whenever we get invited to other parties, there is definitely a LOT of thought that goes into these presents!

I absolutely love this doll! The dolls I've made in the past have been cute, and even with pigtails and such, but this doll seems so "grown-up" to me! Her style is adorable, and her little bun? Super cute! This doll is slightly taller than ones I've previously made, she measures about 19 inches tall, and her skirt/tutu is removable as well! I've already got quite a few fabric combos in mind with this one! I've also bought more wool felt  in an assortment of colors (seriously, I  had no idea that there was such a huge difference in the quality of wool that can be purchased locally, and those that are specifically for these kinds of crafting purposes! I'll never go back to store bought felt!)

I've been busy keeping the shop stocked these last few months. I'm trying to get a little ahead of the game and stock up on some back to school items so that I'm not scrambling around in August! Since my reusable snack and sandwich bags are always a hit, I've also added some allergy alert styles. The reusable containers that I've carried have always been popular that I decided the reusable snack bags would be beneficial for those who need to indicate allergy alerts for school! The safe snack reusable bags come in sets of two in my shop.

As always, any of my lunch bags or containers can always be customized with specific allergy/dietary restrictions on them!

Original Artwork

The artwork itself was sent to me via email, so I converted it into a black and white photo to trace more easily. Once I did that there was a lot of the background that would trace with it that needed to be cleaned up. This was the most tedious part of all. There were a few times that I'd have to enlarge and retrace smaller portions of the picture in order to get some of the detail that I needed!

Artwork in black & white, and traced version

The end result turned out great, and I think my niece was pleasantly surprised when I came thru with her request for her birthday! I love the idea of turning kids artwork into graphic tees, so I definitely think I'll be doing this more once my boys get older and start drawing more!

Final result!

Our oldest turned four back in January (in case you couldn't tell, I'm very behind on blogging, and I realized that I started this post back on February 3, and it's now March 4?! Apparently February decided to fly by!) Since we decided to throw a party at the house this year instead of an indoor venue, we let him pick out his theme, which was none other than a Lego party! Obvi, since he lives, breaths, dreams about Legos all.day.long!  But wouldn't you know that as popular as Legos are there are absolutely NO Lego themed party supplies ANYWHERE! We kept the party very simple- let me tell you, before having our second baby I was ALWAYS on top of my game- super prepared about EVERYTHING! I feel like now, I am just treading along and I'm lucky that I get out of the house dressed every morning! (It probably doesn't help that this winter season the germs have been kicking my butt big time! Both the boys were sick around Thanksgiving that lasted pretty much till Christmas, and when they weren't sick, I've been fighting off whatever else they've given me! It has been a constant battle this year with staying healthy!)

I decided to keep decorations to a minimum and just simply put a few small pre-built Legos around the playroom and put out a large table for the kids to build Legos on. My son is VERY particular with the sets that he has, once they are built, they are built for good and he plays with them in it's built form! One of our first playdates that we had at the new house, I had completely forgotten about his Lego sets and at the end of the playdate, all his sets were taken apart! Let's just say, I had a very distraught little boy!! So, for the party we actually put away all his sets and left out just the bricks for people to build! We are very lucky in that my husbands parents kept his entire collection of Legos from when he was younger, so we had a great collection to begin with!!  I decided to put out a few small tubs filled with Lego pieces for the kids to play with. I decorated the tubs with some Lego themed vinyl. They turned out pretty cute and since I am planning on redoing the boys bathroom in a Lego theme, these designs might make it's way into their new bath!

Since none of the local shops had cakes with a Lego theme (as much as I'd love to buy a custom cake from a small business, I could not justify spending more on a cake than on the food itself!!) I decided to go the easy route and make cupcakes topped with chocolate minifigures! I found the candy molds on Amazon for a pretty good deal and used the colored candy melts from the craft store. B had picked out funfetti cake mix and we decided to do a variety of sprinkle toppings on them!

All in all he had a blast at his party! Being four on the other hand has proven to be a somewhat tricky age for us as parents! We sailed through the twos and threes without any problems, but fours?! My goodness, our patience has been pushed to the limits and we are definitely tested every.day!!

Seriously, I could not believe it! Mind you, it was after 11pm at night when I came across the article and was half asleep, I did a complete double take! I cannot tell you how humbled I am by this! I have some of the best customers, family, and friends anyone could ask for!! Crafty Natalie is so tiny compared to so many of the shops on Etsy so trust me when I say that I am truly  grateful for those of you who wrote me in in the tips for locals! Two weeks later and I am STILL blown away by this!

I decided to make a few cuter shaped ones than just the plain squares- love the bear and the whale, but definitely a bit of a pain to get the grains into the parts that are curvy! I've also thought about putting essential oils, such as lavender or peppermint, into the rice sacks for a more calming and soothing pack; these would be great for even for adults when we have migraines or headaches! I also read that people are making smaller rice sacks and using them as pocket hand warmers! What a great idea now that winter has hit and the temps are dropping! Pretty sure there will be a few snow days coming up soon that hand warmers may come in handy!

It's been a while since my last post! The holidays have come and gone and it's a New Year!! Just wanted to say thank you to all that have stuck around and supported me and my little shop! 2014 was a great year! We had our second baby and built our forever home in the process! In hindsight, having a baby and moving at the same time is definitely not ideal!! Trying to sell  a home with two little ones, even more stressful! But we managed and we are settled in nicely in our new home now! I've managed to get back into the swing of things! Taking six months off kind of put me in a rut and I even contemplated closing my shop down, but I'm glad I didn't! If anything, the holiday madness of craft shows and custom orders helped get me excited for all the fun things that I've had planned in my head! I'm looking forward to this new year and creating more unique gifts for everyone!

So, first I'll show the camera strap cover!

A few summers ago, I had several requests for camera straps. (Is it sad that this photo was originally taken back in 2012 and I'm just getting around to showing it now?!) This is one of the ones I made to show as a sample. These covers are fun because they can be easily swapped out (there's no way you'd catch my husband carrying this around!) but also give your standard black strap some "personality"!

Last summer as we prepared for our trip to Disney World I decided to make a new strap, not just a cover. I ended up choosing a gender neutral fabric that would be fun- Pac Man! I bought a pack of leather swatches from Michaels to use as the tabs on the strap, and took apart a small dog collar to get the smaller, durable webbing to use for the straps. I ended up just using the slider pieces from my existing strap since I didn't know where else to buy any!

I personally love these actual straps more than the cover version!  I know some people like the extra padding with the covers, but I don't like to wear a lot of bulk so the actual strap version is more my style! Once I can get find a supplier for more of the hardware I think I'd like to include a few in the shop!

Chuy's Copycat Jalapeno Dip

• 1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Dip
• 16 ounces sour cream
• 1/4 cup roasted green chilies ( I used half of a canned jar but man, I bet fresh roasted chilies would totally make this dip!!  I also read on some other copycat recipes that people were just using salsa verde, so if you don't want to buy green chilies and have salsa verde on hand, I'm guessing it would work just the same!)
• 1-2  jalapenos, sliced (if you are worried about spiciness you can always deseed it, or only use one!)
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/3 cup cilantro
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup milk to thin it out

• Blend everything together, refrigerate and serve cold! It should make almost 3 cups of dip- but trust me it will go fast! Great with celery and carrot sticks too!