Cutest Gnome

Ahhh, so cute. I dressed Everett up as a garden gnome. It his costume turned out cuter than I had anticipated, it's hilarious. I made the hat and beard and elf shoes. The fleece pants already had the cute knee pads, I attached the suspenders and buttons to his pants and shirt, and he is so hilarious wearing this. I laugh so hard looking at these! I couldn't pick a few photos, I picked a lot...can't even help it. The eyebrows crack me up.

he was SOOO tired during this photo shoot, but he was a good sport, his eyes are all red because he's so sleepy. We went to James and Meikka's right after these pics, and he was asleep before we left the driveway...



He drooled all over his beard, and wanted to eat it too, but overall he tolerated it really well :o)

Okay, this is what I've been working on this week. Binky Clips. I know, everyone makes these and sells them, but I am gearing up for a craft show in Jackson Hole in December, and I am going to try my hand at selling baby items...

the reason is that when I was in Jackson visiting Aaron and Paige and their new baby Annie, I asked Paige if she had a nursing cover, she said there is nowhere in town to buy that kind of thing...WHAT? Utah is really saturated with wares such as the hooter hider and binky clips etc...so one thing led to another, and I am going to be in the craft bazaar in December. I'm going to sell binky clips, bibs(bandana style), nursing covers, slings, and bedazzled onesies. I know a million people do this, but I think that Jackson is a touristy place with untapped market potential for these items, so I'm going to give it a try.

Any tips for selling things at a craft fair or on Etsy (I'll be doing that too)?
I made my own tags!!! My dad made my logo from a photo of my canvas art print of the owls, and my "design" name is "PLaY"

I bought ink jet transfer paper, printed the images out in Mirror Image, and then ironed them onto twill tape...it was really inexpensive and fun! THANKS DAD for the amazing logo!

This is about half of them, waiting to get snaps...
Oh, also, I was totally featured on "all things thrifty" for my damask canvases (that I totally had to rearrange on my wall so they looked right! THANKS meikka! How embarrassing!)

Canvas fun and buckaroo blankie

I just (finally) finished this chenille blankie project...it was one of those that you see at the quilt shop and think, hey, I can do that, SOOO easy! Just straight lines blah blah blah! It took forever! The basic idea is, you take a cute piece of fabric, in this case, this old timey vintagey little boy cowboy print, and three pieces of flannel. You quilt them all together in straight lines about 1/2 to 3/4 inch apart, Then you cut all the layers of flannel in between each line of stitching, When you wash it, it frays since the stitching is on the bias, and it makes chenille! It's SUPER comfy, and so cute. I used some satin blanket binding for the edges. I love how it turned out... a lot. It was totally worth the HOURS of sewing and cutting!

The frayed edges make a ripple-ish effect when it's washed. I like it.

When I was cutting, I had this cool idea, to NOT cut certain parts to spell out Everett's initials. It turned out pretty cool except for the wonky 'M' because I accidentally cut where I wasn't supposed to. I think it would be cool to make like a star pattern, or maybe paisley or something...next time :)

Love these cowboys, I am in love with this style of print/book/art/whatever, I love it.

UPDATE: I have replaced the photo's with the updated ones in the correct order! ;) (I had them switched around, doh! How embarrassing!) So the following photo's are corrected ;)

Also, in answer to your questions, I did use a projector and trace and paint it, BUT after doing the freezer paper, I would ABSOLUTELY say that is the easier way to go FOR SURE! You could enlarge the image on your computer screen, trace it right on your screen, cut it out, iron it onto the canvas, and spray paint it... I think it would be much easier to cut out, iron, and spray!

Okay, So I made some really rockin canvas art, and it was EASY and CHEAP, and I LOVE it!!!

I wanted to do this from "All things Thrifty" but this version was much easier, and cheaper, it was 12 bucks for the canvas, plus like 2 bucks for the paint. Awesome. I would love to paint this wall red, or brown, but this isn't my house, so for now I'll totally enjoy the damask art. I painted while watching/listening to conference :)

This other project I just finished while hanging out with Steph yesterday. It was so easy, and I learned some things along the way....

I took freezer paper, drew an image (The elephants were traced from an image online, the owl was outlined from an image online, but the rest was freehanded by mwah, I'm pretty proud of the giraffes.) I cut the image out with scissors, and an x-acto knife. Then I ironed the freezer paper onto the canvas ( I used a book to brace the back of the canvas while i ironed. I also put painters tape around the edges of the canvas to make a border. The I spray painted a few coats over each one, and voila! CAYUTE custom art. I LOVE it!

What I learned:

Don't rush the paint job. My poor turtles fell victim of ne being anxious to finish, and the green paint bled :( I still love them, but I shouldn't have rushed. The owls turned out PERFECT because I did really light coats.

-Also, iron it down really good. When the paper gets wet, it ripples, so do light coats and make sure it's ironed down well.

total price: Canvas 11.20 (on sale for 5.60 at Hobby Lobby for a 2-pack) Spray Paint I already had. I think it would work with craft paint too, it would just take longer, and might be harder to keep from bleeding
Sad bleeding paint

Happy not bleeding paint ;)

Three Months Old

Woah. Three months. This kid is growing like a weed, really. I don't know how much he weighs but I'm pretty sure it's more than 14 lbs. He is SO happy these days, it's easier and easier to get him to smile :) He's pretty irresistible in the morning after he's had a nice long sleep, he is SO happy! He's still a great eater, and we dropped his late night feeding so now he eats about six times a day, takes 5 naps, and he eats around 8 or 9, and then goes down fro the night. He wakes me up around 7 to eat and snuggle me in bed, it is heaven. He loves sucking on his hands, so when he finds them, he drools so much his shirt is pretty soaked. He still just yells at me when he's hungry, poopy, or tired. He loves being held in the sling, and he likes to be swaddled tight and to suck on a binky when he's ready to go to sleep. He can hold up his head but he still hates tummy time, but he really likes his bumbo seat (see second video below). He is perfectly content to watch me clean and cook all day, oh and he loves to be read to, he likes looking at pictures. At conference he was cracking us all up because he was watching it with what looks like real intent...such a reverent boy!
I made these pants out of a pair of adult shorts (that were $2 at my downeast store)....I feel like a rockstar. I think they are SO cute, and they were super easy because all the hard parts were done already, like the waist band etc...I've got like 4 more pair in the works! I also made a pocket and sewed it onto his polo (that I also got at my downeast store ;)
A bit concerned...
munching on those hands....delish!




he's had enough, wants to be snuggled and put to bed!
Well, that's our little Everett, three months old!

Videos

So, here is a batch of video's from the past oh...six weeks or so. This first one was this morning, and if you only watch one, this first one should be it, and the second one, both really cute...his first laugh (hard to video yourself while munching baby tickles, sorry bout the poor camera-action)

Okay, I just started putting him in this bumbo chair, he loves it, and it's helping him get a stronger neck...we were eating dinner and had him n the table with us, he was just so happy to be at the table with us!

This is of Ben's Band playing at the Payson Farmers Market, we came at the end of the show, the song they're singing is one that Ben wrote :) Then we went to this waterfall called the Grotto up Payson Canyon, it was beautiful and the last part of the video is Everett keeping himself from falling asleep by smiling, it's pretty darn cute

The last two are camping, some parts are dark but I still wanted to keep them...

And the beginning of this one is for our Nephews Seth and Jacob...from the Ninja master9 It's a really cute on-going game/thing they have, and they write letters back and forth to each-other and send them in the mail, even though we only live 15 minutes away...it's pretty cute)--Also in this first one, John warms up baby wipes in a pan over the fire so when we changed the baby he wouldn't be so mad...that's love! Okay and the very last part, you can't really hear what's going on in the video, but John was really cute Talking to Everett about loving the great outdoors etc etc, it was hilarious, but you can't hear it! Bummer! It's still cute though

Blessing

Okay, finally I can post about the blessing, I don't know why it took me a month to do it! Anyway, it was awesome... this is from my journal that day...

Everett was given a beautiful blessing today. John blessed him with parents that love him and will teach him the gospel of Jesus Christ. He was blessed to know that his Father in Heaven was proud of the decision that he made to come to Earth. He was blessed with a testimony of Jesus Christ and His gospel. He was blessed with Charity and Faith and that he would be a leader in the church. The spirit was a beautiful witness of the mission that this little one has on earth. I am humbled to be his mother. Everett Michael Lance was surrounded by family and friends in the priesthood circle of the blessing, a really impressive number of family was able to be in town, and he was so calm and sweet during the blessing. Afterward John held him up for all to see, and with his eyebrows raised he looked out and his little chin quivered earning a giggle and adoration from the congregation, and a big “awe” in unison. That’s our boy! Grandpa Lance also spoke about living the gospel wherever you are, and John spoke about the priesthood in the home. The meeting was beautiful, the spirit testified of the truth, of forever families, of Jesus Christ and His gospel.

What we've been up to

Okay I check blogs every day. I have something I could blog about every day, but I don't...I am SO lame! If I have time to check blogs, then certainly I have time to write a blog!

So, what have we been up to, the readers digest version...

-House Hunting...we were looking for a house (HOORAY!) went to see a ton of them, and fell in love with one, made an offer, didn't get it (BOO!) so we decided to stay put in Lane and Debbie's house, get out of debt, and enjoy our ward some more (John was called to be Young Men's pres the week after Everett was born, and i LOVE serving in Young Women's) So we've still got our eye on the market, but likely won't be buying a house till next summer

-Cooking, yep I've been making dinner every night...I haven't done this on a regular basis since we've been married, it feels good to plan, shop for, and make delish and nutritious foods that we both love!

-Cleaning, I feel a major sense of accomplishment that my bed is made every day. Laundry is washed, folded and put away on a daily basis, and the kitchen is clean daily, the bathrooms get cleaned once a week, along with the vacuuming and scrubbing the kitchen floor once a week.

-Crafting, just finished making a swaddler/sleeper for Everett...it's really cute, I will show pics later :) Also some blankets in the works for him, and some really handsome outfits :) AND I'm working on a Halloween costume for him, I would let it be a surprise when I have pics of him in it, but I can't keep it in...he's going to be a garden gnome! LOL...can't wait, I giggle every time I think about it! I'm also getting myself pumped for a scrapbooking marathon. I am more behind than I care to admit, aren't we all??? (Wait no, not all of us, my mom is SO on top of everything, she's always caught up!)

-LOVING our baby...he is this seriously giddy stage right now, he smiles so much! A couple times he gets so excited he almost laughs, but it's more of a squeal, it's really funny because he can't seem to smile and hold his head up at the sane time, so he gets all wobbly, and looks super bashful...ahhh, he is SO cute! Still sleeps through the night, hates tummy time, loves bath time, is SO happy in the mornings, and is growing like a weed!

-Visiting family, we visited Jenni and Justin in Nebraska with James and Meikka over labor day, and Steph and I (and the baby) drove down to Ariziona to visit Nate and his family, (My mom and Dad were also visiting them, it was a surprise to them that we came, we hid in the bedroom, and left the baby out in the living room asleep so when they came in, they just saw Everett hanging out, it was a fun surprise!)

-Camping!! We've been camping! LOVE it! Everett is a great sleeper, and it's so nice to get up to the canyon, we went with Jarom and Steph a couple weekends ago, and last night we went by ourselves :) We're also going camping to southern Utah for our Anniversary :) I loooove camping!

Welp. That's about it. That's the update. I honestly feel a load off my shoulders...

Show and Tell

So, most of the people who read my blog are people from my side of the family, people I grew up with, people who have known me for a long time...so those people don't know the other side of my family, John's family. This post will highlight this wonderful family I married into, give a face to the names I talk about :)

On Everett's blessing day we had all the family together which doesn't happen all that often, so we hired a good friend in our ward, a former Salt Lake Tribune photographer to take some awesome family photo's :)

This is Lane and Debbie, the parents of my sweetie-kins and seven other kids

This is the WHOLE family :)

This is Lane and his SIX sons :) Left to right: Jared (youngest-14), Joseph, Lane, James, Jeremy, Jeffrey, and John (yep all their names start with a 'j')

ALL the boys

The ladies, Jenni, Debbie, and Jana. Jana Lives in the basement of Lane and Debbie's house where John and I live

ALL the ladies

All the siblings

Grandma and Grandpa with all the grandkids Seth, Phillip, Lia, Amelia, Everett, Jacob

Everett was SO sleepy, and it was CRAZY windy here at the park, but we could not get him to wake up for anything...I think this photo is cute, John laughs and says he looks kind of like Benjamin Button...creepy

The whole gang

James and Meikka's family, we spend a lot of time with these crazies, LOVE THEM so much, we go camping together, play games, shopping, and lots of hanging out and eating delicious food. They live 10 minutes from our house, and John and James are BFF's. Their kids are So hilarious and fun, and Miekka and I are kindred spirits because we both LOVE to find good deals. Jacob, Lia, James, Miekka, Seth.

This is Jenni and Justin's family, they moved to Nebraska last year and we miss them all the time. We spend labor day weekend at their crib in Sidney Nebraska. Jenni is the super crafty one who also is a stellar photographer. Amelia and Phillip are their kids, Amelia is a crack up---constant entertainment that one. We miss them!

And then there's us, our cute little family. Sigh. The wind was SO crazy, as you can see by my spastic bangs, I was ready to shave my head by the time the afternoon was over!

CRAZY BANGS!

LOVE this one!

At one point when they were taking pictures of the boys and I was sitting down on a bench with the baby, the photographer came over and said we had to take advantage of the wind blowing my hair OUT of my face instead of in it...lol

Anyway, that's the Lance clan. I know it's way late, but I will be posting about the blessing and stuff next time...don't judge me because I am an out dated blogger!