Kaelin's Closet

It's Been A While...oh And I Almost Forgot About the Giveaway

2010-06-30T08:46:00.000-07:00

Hello to everyone. I know it has been a while since I've been posting...but it has been one crazy summer so far. K and I started a new job at our YMCA working with all of the kiddos there. It has been a lot of fun. K has had a hard time learning how to share, but she's a three year old only child...it's to be expected right? To top that off, my dear, sweet husband has been gone training for six weeks now. He is scheduled to get home TOMORROW. But alas, it is not going to be for long. The Coast Guard has reactivated him to active duty for sixty days to help with the oil spill clean up (thank you BP) and he leave again on Sunday (yes I am aware that both Sunday and Monday are national holidays....the Coast Guard isn't observing this year). So this means another entire summer with out Greg (this makes three summers in a row). I am used to it by now (sad), but K is already having spells where all she wants is daddy. It's going to be a hard couple of months.

I guess a perk to having just us girls around though, is I am doing some fun stuff with the kid. Every Wednesday here in PA, there is a free concert on the pier. This includes a huge bubble machine and tons of chalk for the kiddos to run around and play with. Not to mention that the music is fun.

Oh yeah...I almost forgot about the great giveaway that Stash Manicure is having right now.

You should check this one out for sure!

Summer, she is a-comin'

2010-06-13T16:15:00.001-07:00

With Greg ever so busy with training so far this spring, Kaelin and I have had a lot of "just the girls" things goin' on. But, so far the weather this spring has been less than desirable...that is until this weekend - YAY! K and I just knew that we had to spend some time out in the ever elusive sun while we had the chance. I first thought about going to Salt Creek (a staple in our outdoor repertoire) since the tide was something like -3 feet...but an injury to my foot threw that out the window (insert sad face here). What was there to do that didn't involve too much walking? In the words of the Super Sleuths, "think, think, think!" Besides a scenic drive in the county (not too suitable for a 3-year old), the only thing I could think of was...having the car slobbered on by some really HUGE animals at the Olympic Game Farm in Sequim.

So, K and I bought 2 loaves of bread and headed out. The yaks were the first big animals that we came up to...and they had no issue with sticking their entire head in the car to get a slice of bread. Man, oh man, did those guys smell bad. The bears were my favorite - they do tricks for you! But by far, the scariest part was the American Bison! Right when you enter the park, there is a HUGE sign that says, "DO NOT FEED THE BUFFALO! They will charge your vehicle!" Having been a frequent visitor to the park, I already knew of this rule, so we were out of bread by the time we got to the bison. The people in front of us...not so much. They had 5 or 6 bison around each of their vehicles eating right out of their hands. So when it was our turn to drive past them, guess what they were expecting? BREAD!!!! And we had none. One of the big bulls got upset when I had my windows up all of the way and decided that he might like to nudge our car just a little (from the front and then from the rear after we had well passed them)! SCARY!!!

To our surprise, the park was having a fundraiser for their predator exhibit (to build new enclosures for the big cats and wolves) and that included face painting and bouncy houses!!! Kaelin nearly leaped out of her skin to get over there!

After nap time, it was still to nice out to not do anything. So out came the "Poor Man's Slip'n'Slide," aka a blue tarp and sprinkler, and the tricycle. K had a good 2 hours out playing in the sun.

This morning, we woke up to clouds and wind, but earlier in the week I had made plans with myself to go strawberry picking at Graysmarsh Farms. So K and I got up and dressed this morning and headed out. An hour and a half and 13 pounds later....K and I called it a day. It was much colder than yesterday and the wind was a-blowin', but summertime is ever so close. Now we're off to make some strawberry jam!

YAY SUMMER!!!

Marilyn's Maze Giveaway

2010-06-08T19:15:00.000-07:00

A dear blogger friend of mine, Marilyn of Marilyn's Maze, is having her 100th Blog/1 Year Anniversary giveaway.

Swing by her blog and check out all of her Great stuff!!!

Strawberry Fun

2010-05-28T19:42:00.000-07:00

I blogger that I follow is having a fun Strawberry Giveaway.

I really love this time of year and the way that even looking at a strawberry gets your mouth watering. Summer is gearing up and this giveaway would be the perfect start to summer for any crafter. Stop on by and enter to win!

Airplane Traytable Cover for Kids

2010-05-18T10:27:00.000-07:00

I don't want to say that I am a germaphobe,

but after I watched a special on Oprah a few months ago

about how germy airplane tray tables are,

I am super cautious when I am flying.

Traveling with a three year old makes matters worse

(especially when that three year old is very handsy).

I brainstormed for a couple of days about

what I could do to minimize the germ interaction

when I fly with my daughter.

Of course I have sani-wipes in my purse,

but I wanted something that would slide over

the tray and that she could eat on. I also wanted something

that would keep all of the "activities" that we bring on the plane together.

So this is what was born....

The top is vinyl so it can be cleaned. Also, games like tic-tac-toe can be slid under the vinyl and grease pencils can write on the vinyl (you can use the same game sheet over and over then!). There are three pouches on the front for pens and colors and snacks. The underside of the cover is another pouch that holds paper and coloring books. I also added a strap so that my daughter can carry it on her own. The cover in the pictures is now the 3rd one that I have made...one for my daughter and two for some friends of ours. All three are a bit different...but I love them.

First Camping Trip of the Year

2010-05-17T13:12:00.000-07:00

The weather was too good to pass up a camping trip.

We loaded up the car and

headed out early Saturday morning.

We weren't quite sure where

we were going to end up,

we just knew a general direction for where we wanted to go.

Once we found a spot, we quickly got to work on getting the camp set up...

...and then we got to the relaxing!

There were some great views from our camp.

And of course there was nature!

We played around and had a lot of fun.

We had a great time and can't wait until the next camping trip!

(Kaelin was passed out before we hit the main road)

Great Givaway

2010-05-12T08:44:00.000-07:00

I came across a great blog, The Workshop Window, with a great giveaway going on until May 16th. For all of you gardeners out there...this is fantastic. Even if you aren't a gardener and just like great vintage things, this giveaway is for you too! Check it out here. Here's a couple of pictures of the giveaway too!

Kaelin's Garden

2010-05-12T07:56:00.000-07:00

Kaelin and I planted our container garden about a month ago. She is leaning about how seeds turn into plants, so we started everything from seed (besides the tomato and strawberries) so that she could see the whole process. Kaelin gets so excited when she walks up to one of the pots and sees seedlings growing...she says, "Look, look, look mom. They are growing up like me!"

I thought I would post some pictures of the start of our container journey

(I am used to and more comfortable with a traditional garden patch in my yard...but we're in a rental house that didn't have a spot already and I didn't want to put that effort into a rental house).

We've got our

Peas & Carrot

and

Lettuce & Tomato pots

Short and Sweet Carrots

Basil

Cilantro

Flat Leaf Parsley

STRAWBERRIES

I am looking forward to our harvest

and will keep you posted!

My Mom is Joining the 21st Century

2010-05-11T22:44:00.001-07:00

I love my mom to death...

but she is not the most

tech-savvy person around.

The other day, she surprised me by

telling me that she bought a Kindle.

My mom is an avid reader, so it makes sense

to have whatever book she wants to read

in the palm of her hand.

I was just taken back by her techie-purchase.

So moving on,

I was skimming through the

Freebies for Crafters blog,

and clicked on the blog of Christina in Vancouver, WA

called The Sometimes Crafter.

She has a ton of free tutorials

and happened to have a tutorial for a Kindle Cover.

Needless to say, I had to make one

for my mom and surprise her with it.

On a little side note...

I had a great score at

Goodwill the other day.

I bought a picnic basket for $1.99.

I spent a little bit of time today

making a new liner for it and sprucing it up some...

Kaelin and I had a great picnic lunch at the park today!!!

A Little Something

2010-05-10T23:43:00.000-07:00

So I admit it...I am addicted to blog surfing.

The other day while getting my "fix"

I stumbled on a great blog. The blog's author, Anna,

has alot of great tutorials

(which I am always interested in).

I decided to undertake one of her tutorials

for a Gathered Clutch.

This is what I did in about

2 hours tonight

(I don't think that my next one will take as long).

This is a great little clutch

that is perfect for quick trips out of the house

or if you don't like carrying a big bag.

It is about 5"x8" and has a spot for cards and

two additional pockets inside.

I might just make a few of these for Christmas or birthday gifts!

YAY!

Mother's Day and Marymere Falls

2010-05-09T17:50:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day has been good to me. Greg woke up with Kaelin this morning and let me sleep in (I still was awake at 7:00 like normal, but just staying in bed was really nice). I came out to the living room, and Greg was making pancakes (for the first time in his life). They actually turned out really good for a first timer, a little crispy, but yummy still. To top off a great breakfast, I dint' have to lift a finger for the whole day. Greg cleaned the kitchen, switched out the laundry, vacuumed the floors and put the laundry away (my least favorite job of all). Then, all three of us jumped around the living room listening to oldies and having fun.

We spent some time out with nature today too. We drove out past Lake Crescent, to a popular hiking spot called Marymere Falls. We weren't the only ones with this idea, but the weather was nice and who could ask for better company! We came across a lot of big trees (that Kaelin just had to be photo'ed in front of) and even a couple of deer.

We were all in awe of the size of these trees!

We got a couple of good family shots too...

Kaelin was our little adventurer.

She was rock climbing, blazing the trail on her own, and being an explorer.

Here are some more of the pictures that we took...

To put a perfect end to our outing,

there were Forget-Me-Not's everywhere.

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers out there. I know that it is a hard job, but it is the best job in the world!

The Three Girls

2010-05-03T13:15:00.001-07:00

So, with Mother's Day coming up this weekend, my sister and I were conspiring to do something crafty for our mom. At Christmas, we had bought our mom a frame that was supposed to hold pictures from a photo shoot of all three girls, my Kaelin and her Haley and Aubrey. But higher powers had other plans, and my sister and her girls couldn't make it home for Christmas and the photo shoot was only done with my Kaelin. Now our mom has an empty picture frame just waiting to be filled with something of the girls'.

Being that we live in Washington and my sister lives in Texas, another photo shoot was definitely out. So my sis and I decided to make fabric silhouettes of the girls to fill our mom's empty picture frame.

I printed their names directly on the fabric strips (I was hoping it would work...and it did - YAY!). The silhouettes were picked out from photos that my sister emailed back and forth and then traced onto some iron-on adhesive. All three of the "girls" and their names are going to go into the 3-floating photo frame and finally fill the empty spaces. Happy Mother's Day Mom!!!

I loved these so much though, that I made a silhouette of Kaelin for me and one of each of my sisters girls for her too. Then I made some for Grandmas and Great Grandmas! Once I figured out how I was going to do these, I was a silhouette making machine!

It's Up and Running

2010-04-24T12:04:00.000-07:00

So, I finally took pictures of all of my goodies for my shop on Etsy.com. There are mostly earrings on there for now, but I am making more bags, toys, clothes, shoes, and mobiles this next week. As the weather gets nicer, I find it harder and harder to sew...but if these goodies actually sell, then I guess I have a job to do!!!

These are the two bags that I have made so far...I have some corduroy ones on the table for this week. The bag on the left has a matching changing pad and both bags have 7 pockets.

These little shoes are my favorite though...They are made out of felt that I embroidered. They are so stinkin' cute!!!

I will keep you posted when I add new items to my store!!!

So It Begins...

2010-04-23T22:26:00.000-07:00

I guess I will start by introducing myself... I am Elizabeth, but as you get to know me, Beth is what I go by. I am a stay at home mom to a 3 year old little girl, Kaelin (hence the title of the Blog). I love to sew (both by hand and machine), scrapbook, stamp, paint, garden, and cook. Everything I know is self taught and I love to be inspired by the people and things around me. I am always on the lookout for new ways to do traditional crafts as well as great old school projects.

I started out mostly making things that revolved around my daughter. Before she was born, I started out by making baby blankets and crude diaper bags (I have never really liked using patterns). As I developed my technique, my creativity branched out. I started quilting, making baby clothes (dresses and cutesy girl stuff of course), toys, and better diaper bags. The older my daughter gets, the more "creations" I add to my repertoire.

One day, a friend of mine told said, "Gosh Beth, you could totally sell these!" Going off of that (and a little bit of encouragement from my husband) I decided to open my own storefront on Etsy.com. I don't have anything posted on there yet, but I am taking pictures of what I have tomorrow so that I can get to selling. If it sells, great!!! If not, I am sure that I can find a ton of adorable friends who need an original from Kaelin's Closet.

So here I am, fixing to jump off of the cliff and into the world of handmade, crafty, goodness...let's get it on!!!

Pocket Full of Posies

2010-04-23T22:13:00.000-07:00

I made some of the cutest little flowers the other day. I found this tutorial on a blog that I follow, Polka Dot Pineapple. When I saw them on her blog, I just knew I had to find a reason to make them (any reason would do). It just so happened that I have a friend who was renewing her vows with her husband, and I wanted to make a little something for them. I did jump the gun a little and made the bouquet and boutonniere before I talked to her about it...turns out that she didn't need them... ... ...

That was quite all right though. My daughter was in love with the posies that I made and was walking around the house telling me that she was getting married too (she is 3 and I think her dad would have just died if he had seen her). She went into her dress up box and put on her "wedding dress" and was being as graceful as a 3 year old can be. (picture to come)

It was the most precious thing I have ever seen. Thanks again for this and all of your great tutorials Lettie!!!