Happy Holiday's

I finished my daughter's Christmas dress yesterday and really needed to take pictures of the kids in their Christmas clothing to add to our card this year.  We had pictures taken by Carrianne Photography this fall for the card, but my hubby thought it would be more festive if there was just one picture of the kids in their holiday garb.  SO, that meant a lot of quick sewing and picture taking and a LOT of help from my wonderful sister Cathy.  She is a designer.  A fabulous designer.  Who at midnight last night was working on designing my Christmas cards because I waited too long and they need to be done quickly or else they will be New Year's cards.  {ha} 

I know this doesn't surprise any of you who follow my blog. 

Back to the cards.  How fantastic is this design!

Cathy recently opened up an etsy store, so please take a moment to check her out.  She {obviously} designs greeting cards, but also does a range of invitations and if you check out her shop you will see a few examples of wedding invitations and save the dates.  She is so sweet and won't rest until she gets exactly what you want.  I know this because she was emailing me at one in the morning.  Love you sis!

Playing Catch Up!!!

Yes, it really has been now "months" since I last wrote.  November was one hectic month!!!  My eldest turned 7, my youngest turned the big 1 and my sisters and I threw a baby shower for our other sister.  Plus I never posted pictures from Halloween!  So this is going to be my 'catch up' entry!

First off, Halloween.  So Briana got home from school on Halloween to tell me she forgot her owl mask at school.  Of course.  So I took some scraps and glued them to a ear muff head band and I actually liked it better than the fancy feather one!!

Charlie Brown and his little Owl friend

I didn't make the Buzz costume because my middle child is super easy going and wanted to wear last year's costume!

cheeeeeeeese

just because he is so cute.  yes, I made him. 

Moving forward, Briana's birthday was next.  We decided to continue the owl theme and do owl invitations, and under the stars themed snack bar and a sleep under pajama dress up party!  It was great fun.  {and I totally deserved the glass of wine after my sisters deserted me with 16 screaming 6 and 7 year olds!}  But before they left me (it's okay, I would have done the same thing to them!) they helped me set up and try to keep the girls entertained and playing nicely together.  Beth *from Beth Kruse Custom Creations* made Briana's "7" banner and helped me set up the snack bar and Cathy was in charge of organizing, taping, sibling corralling and whatever else I could throw at her!

Snack Bar

Owl Banner

Popcorn and Candy section {BIG hit!}

Cookie Dough Dips

Briana's cake


The following weekend was my youngest birthday party!  Talk about being over booked.  But I got through it, again with the help of my dear family!! 

Charlie loves bees.  He had one in his baby mobile and has just been obsessed ever since.  So his first birthday party HAD to be bee themed!! 

Again, it was only 'treats' on the table, but it was okay being in the afternoon.  I made the bunting banner for his highchair with left over material from the '1' shirt I made for him!  The all the food was yellow and white {and some black} and I made streamers with ribbon and circle and oval cut outs from my Cricut.  Beth made the '1st Bee Day' banner that is also featured in Charlie's cake smash professional prints by Carrianne Photography.

Buzz.  Vanilla wafer cookies

Beth designed these bees to mimic the bees on Charlie's walls!

brownie, marshmallow and wafer cookie skewers

Lemon mousse cups with cool whip

Charlie's smash cake

I even tried to make bee cake pops.  Not perfect, but cute!

I loved this party!

Charlie sign currently resides in Charlie's room!

This will be used the following week for his photography pictures!

Up close view at the bunting banner Beth made

I loved making these! Charlie's month by month pictures framed on "onesie" paper and hung by cloths pins on jute

He has no idea what cake is....

...thinking....

...yea, that's the stuff!

Smash Cake Photos.  Yes, they are awesome.  Some work went into them, but I am so so so happy with the results!  I brought a few things you've seen from the birthday pictures so I will keep it short.  He wore his number 1 shirt and the hat I made for his Charlie Brown costume for some of the pictures.  And Beth's bunting banner was featured in the background of others.  I made all Charlie's cakes because of his allergies but that worked better because I actually like how the 'bee hive' appearance turned out!

http://www.carriannephotography.com/

I recommend Carrianne to anyone in the Lake County (Illinois) area.  She is a phenomenal photographer and she is amazing with children.  I have been blessed to have four shoots with her in the year I've known about her and I have to say I shouldn't be surprised by how many wonderful shots she takes, but I always am when I get my CD!  Thank you Carrianne for being so awesome!!!!

Last but not least, we have Sarah's baby shower. 

Sarah is an avid gardener.  She loves nothing more than being outside planting and pruning...well maybe her puppies.  Oh, and she is pregnant, so I'm sure the babe will fit in there too!  {hehe}

So of course we did a Garden theme!  There were cupcakes that looked like mushrooms, a garden of peas and carrots (on top of cupcakes), fresh fruit, doughnut holes that looked like acorns, cake balls that looked like heads of lettuce and potatoes.... So much more!  I also made cakes to go in the mason jars that are on the table.  Beth took care of all the arranging, artwork and designs and I helped her by baking.  We are a good team!  Cathy made these awesome candles out of artichokes and asparagus.  I am so proud to be a "Stoeckel" and a part of the creativity that went into this day!!!

Our Garden Veggies

Fresh raspberries in November!  How exciting!

Mushroom cupcake and mini pies

a variety of cakes in little mason jars

The acorn doughnuts

Pie Pops!

Beth's center pieces are beautiful!

Cathy's fresh veggie candles were really cute too!

And here is Sarah.  Such a beautiful expectant mother!

My little one giving her little one a hug

Beth's girls giving baby Owen some love

This is my sister Beth.  She never has pictures of herself in her blog! 

My children and their aunt.

What a great month November was!  December has been full of sewing projects and Christmas decorating, so maybe by February I will have another post.  {smirk}

Halloween's a Hoot

Have you heard?  Owls are "IN" right now. 

My seven year old is kind of obsessed.

Her idea of a perfect costume was to be a blue owl with white feathers.  I searched {Pinterest} and found a few examples that were really adorable!  I took all that inspiration and made her costume.  It is finally finished!  I started with an old shirt that she won't wear anymore and stitched lines of the "feathers" I had cut out from coordinating fabrics.  I did this on the entire front and back.  {WOW} Then we wanted to add wings!  I took panels of felt and measured how much I would need (if she were to raise her hand in school for example) and intended on sewing them to the shirt she will wear under the costume.  However, when she heard this idea, and reacted, I decided it wasn't worth the drama!  We will be safety pinning the wings on this Monday.  {she wins yet again}  Originally I was going to make the mask from a technique found {yes, again on Pintrest} using a fabric doily and fabric stiffener, however, when I found a doily at the fabric store, I decided NOT to spend the $9 on it.  The plastic masks and feathers were very conveniently next to the doily's and together only cost $2.50, so voila, a new idea was born.  I chose white feathers and clear jewels to decorate.

This year's costume is no where near as elaborate as last year's, but I think it is JUST as cute!

Twirl Dress

Every girl loves to spin in a pretty dress.  It's especially fun if the dress is long and flowy, and has 16 panels of pretty fabric to look at while you twirl!

I just finished this beautiful pink and purple (among other colors) twirl dress for a client's daughter's first birthday.  Since it isn't her birthday yet, I don't have any pictures of her wearing it {and I think if I put my lil guy in it my husband would frown} So when I have a picture with a child in it I will re post!

But for now....

So pretty. 

I also made my boys tee shirts for our upcoming family portraits.  Hopefully the dreary Chicago October skies turn sunny by Sunday!!  I made the boys matching shirts with the letter from their first name on front.  The fabric coordinates with Briana's twirl dress!! 

Keep your fingers crossed we have great weather! 

To purchase a dress or tee, visit my shop!