Sunday, January 25, 2009

sledding fun!

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we decided to take penelope sledding on monday, since bryan had the day off. it was a lot of fun. at first penelope didn't know what to think of it, but eventually she laughed and even ate a little snow...i guess every kid needs to try that one out.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

paper 'n' stitch


ACCEPTED!!!

my shop was accepted to exhibit on this sweet newish website paper 'n' stitch. they showcase the most bodacious shops on their site and i'm totally stoked to be a part of it. i will have a shop there from jan 19th to feb 23nd, 2009! so check it out here!

new scarves on etsy!



i've been working on getting some scarves up in the shop! and i posted them on saturday! i've also posted some clipees. i'm working on some free scarf patterns too. so check back.

i have changed blogging locations!

ALL POSTS BELOW THIS ARE FROM MY OLD BLOG AT:
if you want to check out the comments made ora link that has not been updated go check out the original post at:
weebly
bryan's favorite blueberry muffins 01/14/2009
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these are delicious muffins that have a yummy cream cheese filling! i absolutely loved these when my mom would make them for me and now i get to make 'em for my sweety! here's the recipe:
MUFFIN INGREDIENTS:
2 c. four
3/4 c sugar
1t baking powder
1t salt
1/2 t soda
3/4 c orange juice
1 egg
2 T vegetable oil
1 c blueberries (fresh or frozen)

STREUSEL INGREDIENTS:
1/2 c butter
1/2 c brown sugar
1 c flour

grease or line 16-20 muffin tins. mix muffin ingredients with 75 strokes. fill muffin cups 1/2 full. (if you would like to fill with cream chese fill cups 1/4 full and then add 1 T cream cheese and then fill cups until 1/2 full.) Mix streussel ingredients well and sprinkle generously over muffin batter,

bake 15-20 min at 400 degrees
holiday shortbread cookies 01/13/2009
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i know it's past the holidays, but i wanted to share a recipe for some of my favorite cookies! these shortbread cookies are addicting and are easy to make! i dipped some of them in dipping chocolate this time around and i thought it was a really nice touch. here's the recipe:



Ingredients
1 teaspoon unsalted butter, softened, plus 8 ounces (2 sticks)
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Directions Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan with 1 teaspoon of the butter and set aside.

In a large bowl fitted with an electric mixer, cream the remaining 8 ounces of butter. Add the sugar and beat until light. Add the flour and salt, and mix just until incorporated, being careful not to overmix.

Press the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Pierce the dough all over with the tines of a fork, and press the edges decoratively with the flat side of the tines. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle lightly over the dough. Cut into 12 wedges before baking. Bake until set and pale golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and release the sides of the pan.

Let cool before serving, or store in an airtight container for up to 3 days and serve at room temperature.
p=9 MONTHER 01/09/2009
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here's my big 9 month old!!!

penelope is 9 months old today! i cannot say how much fun she is. she has conquered the stairs, but only going up....going down is a little tricky. she has a tooth....this isn't really new news, becuase it broke surface a few weeks ago, but i haven't told you all about it yet. she is such a fun little bug. at her doctors she measured in the 56th percetile in hieght, 34th percentile weight and doing AMAZING . she met all of her 9 month milestones that the doctor has set!!! but the most important is that she is a sweet little girl and makes our lives SO MUCH FUN.
showing off her stair climber skills
rosee clipee 01/09/2009
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here are some clipies that i've made and will be putting in my shop in the next couple of days....once i get some photographs made i think they are so cute in penelope's hair!!! i found the rose patten on joann's website if you want to try to flourish some hats, headbands scarves, mittens and much much more!
SAVE HANDMADE TOYS AND CLOTHES FOR KIDS 01/03/2009
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there is a new legislation requiring lead tests for toys and clothing for kids 12 and under. the testing is $200-4,000 for each product that would be sold. this would put a lot of handmade small businesses out of business!
I wanted to draw your attention to this important petition that I recently signed:

"Save Handmade Toys & Children's Products from the CPSIA"
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/handmadetoys?e

I really think this is an important cause, and I'd like to encourage you to add your signature, too. It's free and takes less than a minute of your time.
penelope's first christmas! 01/01/2009
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merry christmas everyone! it was such a wonderful holiday season this year with our little family. penelope is growing up so fast and it was so fun to spend time with family. this year we were at the sparks' home for christmas eve and morning. we had a fantastic game night and then we read the story of christ's birth. we opened and read letters from elder swan, bryan's step bro, and he is doing awesome in guatemala. on christmas day penelope got a rocking horse from grandma and grandpa sparks...which they made themselves....SWEET! santa gave penelope a wooden rollercoaster and some new clothes!

here's penelpe with grandma and grandpa sparks! thanks for letting us stay with you!

ride 'em cowgirl

penelope can pull herself to stand up to about anything now!!! yay! here i am with my sweet p.
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penelope is trying so hard to walk. she tries to walk around the furniture and won't bend her lets to sit down for anyone.

here's bryan, tanner, kirk and nelson watching one of nelson's kinex toy's that they had assembled. bryan got some awesome headphones for his ipod touch.
RED BARN BOUTIQUE 12/23/2008
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check out my friend kristy's shop! RED BARN BOUTIQUE! she makes and sells the cutest little girl dresses. penelope modeled some of her dresses for etsy.
penelope's hat 12/23/2008
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this is my first speedhook project. i think it turned out well. everywhere i've taken penelope in this hat she's gotten at least one compliment, i think i will be trying to make a few of these hats and selling them in my shop page, so if you are interested click here!
also, i took this patten from a free one on Lion Brand's website, i altered it a bit, but it;s super cute! click here if you want the pattern
penelope crawls...for a couple of weeks now 12/23/2008
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penelope's big achievement is learning to crawl! i love how she's learning how to get where she wants to go. she also stands up to chairs and furniture unsupported...and is extremely close to being able to pull herself to stand. she growls quite a lot...penelope's always been one to explore her sounds! she has made so many funny noises. at one time we thought it was really funny that she way making a nasaly snorting noise and then she went through her loud gasping phase. among all the jibbering and jabbering her personality has really come out...she is an industrious, determined and good natured little girl. the is very fun.
thanksgiving a month late 12/23/2008
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we were able to take advantage of my parents' hospitality and spent the week with them up at snowbird. it was so relaxing! we went to yoga, pilates, watched movies and enjoyed the snowy mountains!
Post Title. 11/09/2008
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'tis the season

christmas is on its way and i'm so excited about it! i found some free christmas patterns on amy butler's web site. she is so good to always post free patterns that make her fabrics look so cute. i think i'm going to start with the tree skirt, because my tree will be skirtless otherwise--yikes! check out her paterns here http://www.amybutlerdesign.com/products/me_patterns.php

also, here are some things i found at anthropologie that i would like to copy! i think i'm going to have a bird themed tree! so cute.
IT'S NOVEMBER! PENELOPE IS SEVEN 11/06/2008
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penelope is enjoying being 7 months! she really is exploring her world. we played in the leaves...and that was wonderful. penelope really wanted to eat the leaves, but they weren't too tasty. she's sort of scooting around and developing preferences for foods (no peas apparently). she is such a fun little chick.
rag doll project 10/30/2008
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some of you might know that i used to make quite detailed beaded dolls. i may post them on the blog for fun...but that is for another day. this last week i decided to try to make rag dolls for penelope. i'm loving the project and intend on improving on the art. luckily penelope LOVES the dolls--mainly because she can chew on their heads and appendages. here they are.
pretend it's not 6 days late 11/06/2008
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HAPPY HALLOWEEN

i cannot believe halloween is over. time has gone so fast! halloween this year was a lot of fun.penelope was a caterpiller! i don't really know if p really knew it was different than any other day, but she did really like her costume...it was quite warm and snuggly. we started out the day at wasatch elementary to watch aunt megan parade around her school. penelope got dressed up (why not) and anna and josh (a cute tiger) joined in on the fun! we met bryan for lunch at j dogs and ate a hot dog with an orange bun...ooo that place is so good. we then went over to my mom's to help get ready for the annual halloween donut party. bryan and i dressed up as characters from pacman...fun!
cute cousins
the fam
beautiful witch
farewell cody d 10/30/2008
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my cousin cody dillman left for his mission yesterday. he is going to ventura, CA. i'm super excited for him and i know he's rock out there. we took some pics of his fam...click here to see those! here are a few of penelope while we were visiting them this last sunday. i don't have many photo's with penelope and her grandparents...so i took one with her and my mom. she was less cooperative for the photos with bryan and i... silly goose.
MEREdITH'S CORrESPONDeNCE PROJECT 10/30/2008
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i have a friend working on her bfa final project at byu. she is doing a project on correspondence. she letter pressed a great number (i'm not sure how many) and sent them out as post cards asking everyone to respond in some way to her and also send back the card she sent them. i'm so excited to see where this goes. here's her card and my responce.
crochet yay! 10/30/2008
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crocheting is a skill that i've been working on for some time. i almost had a shell blanket finished for penelope when she was born, but since then i've been more motivated to make fun stuff. i found an instruction book at soel boutique on how to make these super cute toys. here are a couple of my favorites! i'm in the process of making some crocheted Christmas ornaments for my etsy!

i also have had the desire to make mittens. i thought i would like to knit them, but i'm having difficulties learning how to knit in the round, so i crocheted them for penelope. they are big so they might be gifts for some other small hands i might know....I AM NOT GIVING UP ON KNITTING. i am promising myself to knit something fabulous someday...not today...or tomorrow.
our family picture 10/19/2008
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my cousin cassie was nice enough to take our little family's picture after i'd shot a few of her family. here they are...penelope wasn't really happy, so we don't really have a smiley one...we might have to take another one in a few months, but i think they are pretty great!
HAPPY BIRTHDAYS 10/19/2008
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october 10th
Happy birthday Chris...the big 23. i've loved having you as a younger brother. i love you and i'm proud of you!

october 15th
Happy Birthday dad the big 49! i think you're the best dad a girl could have asked for! thank you for your patience and you love. i love you.

october 25th
Happy birthday mom...the big 29! you are so fun. you're so dedicated and i truly admire you!
corn belly with the sparks 10/19/2008
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on saturday penelope and i went to the corn maze up at thanksgiving point with krystal, aaron, lincoln, grandpa & grandma sparks and tanner. it ended up being a lot more than a corn maze! they had a lot of amusing things. they had a big maze dedicated to david archuleta, a children's maze, a haunted maze, a haunted creature, some bike/car things, jumping pillows, baby pig/ baby goat races and much more. we had some fun! penelope enjoyed the corn in the maze, she tried to eat it and then she fell asleep. the lady who was at the entrance of the maze told us it would take 45 minutes....LIAR. we were in the maze forever and we ended up cheating and getting out via the emergency exit. it was a fun trip. we'll have to go next year when penelope can enjoy more af the attractions.
these are the only pics i got before the camera battery died...SAD!
a new coat for penelope 10/19/2008
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a week or so ago, when it was very cold i decided to get to work on a project that i've been planning for a while. a new coat for penelope! if you recall the 6 month pictures of penelope...i bought that fabric to make penelope's coat, but it was so pretty i decided to make it a photo backdrop also. i used the kimono pj top pattern and enlarged it, added a hood, added a layer of batting and then lined it. it was so fun. hopefully i made it big enough for next year also!
diaper rash sadness! 10/18/2008
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penelope has her first diaper rash. i am so sorry for her poor little bum. i really have been trying to find out how to help her out. i've heard a few solutions--the original desitan, aquaphor, lanolin, bag balm or just air drying. ANY SUGGESTIONS?
so i was thinking of a few future projects.... 10/18/2008
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these are a few things i truly enjoy. i am going to try to copy them. they are from anthropologie...my FAVORITE STORE, since i can't afford a whole lot from there i will mimic!