Instagram Friday {babies, swimming, and haircuts}

Welcome to Instagram Friday!

A little glimpse of life beyond the sewing and crafting. 

 The hubs has been in London all week for work. It made for an interesting week and because my body must have sensed that he was gone it figured why not give you a little scare with the baby. (oh yeah p.s. I am pregnant :) I did somehow survive the first trimester (it was a rough one hence the lack in posting lately) The second is going off with a bang, bed rest. Lots of fun. Should be short though I was only ordered for a few days rest and then taking it easy. The baby is great though and we are both doing fine. Plus, I will never be too upset with the opportunity to see that cute little profile :) So if you are waiting on an email from the past day or two, I am behind, but I will get to everything, and if you still don't hear from me in about a week email me again it may have gotten overlooked (so sorry)

 We did get a pool this week, it was the best 30 bucks I ever spent to beat the heat and keep the kids happy for hours, they like that it is big enough to "swim" in.

 Abbey has made it her job to water the pear tree everyday. She wants them to "grow fast" which is funny because 1. no matter how much she waters they are "winter pears" which means a fall harvest, and 2. she doesn't like pears, but maybe this year will be different?

 I gave Jude a haircut this week. He was about a month past due for one, and I am pretty sure he aged 5 years when he got one. It made me a little sad, but his head is much cooler for the hot hot weather. (like the black eye? Let's just say there will be mo more monkey's jumping on the bed)

 Abbey took the pool by storm...

 I spent some time sorting through the purple and pink jar in search for the perfect button... I am pretty sure that is the hardest part, and also that Abbey though they were all perfect since decidedly purple and pink are her favorite colors.

SO how was your week?

The cure for summer boredom

If you have kids then you may be faced with the question of what to do with them all summer? We decided this summer that the thing Jude misses the most about school is the crafting. I thought well sure, everyone loves to make something. So we started craft time. Everyday (mon-fri) we have a craft time where we make something. Sometimes it is coloring a pretty picture for Daddy, sometimes we make a special snack, and sometimes we glue stuff together. (that totally counts right?) Well for as "crafty" as I like to think I am we were quickly running out of new and exciting crafts to make. So naturally when I got the opportunity to try out the kiwi crate I had to say YES! It was the answer to our problem. 

 Once a month a box loaded with craft projects and supplies come right to your door. This box was all about pirate projects. ALL of the supplies needed to complete the projects are in the box (down to the scissors)

 The crafts are so fun and easy they captivated the kids right away. Abbey needed a little assistance (since she doesn't do scissors yet) But she was able to do most everything herself so she was really proud of the out come.

 Jude was able to do everything himself which he loved. Also not only do you get fun projects in the box but since you get all the supplies your craft supplies grow as well, like these gel markers that draw even on dark paper, we have used them again and again.

 Both kids loved making all of the projects for this box it included:
Pirate hats
Pirate flags :they wore them like a bandana
Eye Patch
Parrot Puppet
Treasure chest (they had treasure hunts all afternoon)
Make your own treasure maps

Easily enough to keep busy for a few craft days even though my kids wanted to do it all right then. (clearly Jude was so excited to get back to playing with his things he didn't even bother to check his shirt which got tucked into his undies :)

Both kids loved it so much we signed up! I can't wait to see what comes next month. And you can add siblings to the box so I got supplies for each kid to have their own of everything and only for a few dollars more. It is nice no fighting over supplies :)

Kiwi Crates also come with fun facts and questions to ask your kids while they are crafting away which is great for learning and keeping the frontier of ignorance at bay :)

So if you are wondering what to do with the kids, or are just looking for something to perk up your month check out Kiwi Crates they are amazing!

Need even more crafting? They have a newsletter with even more great kid tested craft ideas that will keep you busy for a long time.


(totally worth it!)

This post is sponsored by Kiwi Crate. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Link Party #25

Welcome to this weeks Link Party! 

As always you guys are making some lovely, and detailed creations which I love! Here are some of my favorites from last week:

 La Inglestia shared this lovely petal collar she made. I may be as in love with the double collar as she is, what a great detail!

 Frances Suzanne shared this adorable summer top she made. I LOVE the colors and fabric used but also how sweet and simple for summer?

Craftstorming shared all kinds of coolness with a tutorial on how to make branded elastic. What a great detail to boys underwear, or PJ pants, and it can be used for girls too, no more boring white elastic.


I can't wait to see what you guys share this week!

New to link parties? That's totally fine here's what you have to do:

Find a entry on your blog that you want to link up.

It can be ANYTHING (unless it's an ad or something let's keep it spam free)

Say it is a great new project you just made and have been dying to share it with the crafting world. 

the link should look something like this:

http://(your blog adress/website)/(the post you want to link).html

Linking to the post is the easiest way for people to get back to that post.

Then click where it says "click here to enter" 

follow the steps to link your post and create a title, and select your picture.

Keep in mind the picture will be small thumbnail so pick a picture that shows it off the best. 

Lastly if you were so kind to add our button to your page or post, or where every you store your link party things that would be super cool. You don't have to use the button to link up, it's just there for you if you can't live without it. 

cool? cool. Let's get the party started!

<br /><br /><a border="0" href="http://www.shwinandshwin.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x393/theshwins/tuesdayparty.jpg" /></a><br /><br />

The Pleated Penny {PDF pattern&tutorial}

 **Updated**

Thanks to some great testers! The pattern is now for sale in the shop.

 The top or dress has button closure at the shoulder and some lovely pleats on the front and back.

 It can be worn loose and flowy for the casual cool summer look. (worn here with the honey pie bloomers)

 Or it can be worn belted for a more dressed up look. Lots of fun with tons of options. It's the perfect little summer top.

 Comfortable and breezy or...

Belted and hip the top will be perfect for any summer occasion.

Find the Pleated Penny Pattern HERE

Winner! Winner! We have a winner!

So I am a little late in posting this, but we have a winner from the Terra's Treasures giveaway!
The winner is: robertkaye

Congrats! I will be sending you an email soon!

See you tomorrow with a free pattern and tutorial! (whoop whoop!)

Instagram Friday {and a guest post}

Today you can find me hanging out at Melly Sews where I am sharing a dress for her sundress series. So pop on over and say hi!

Now on to the peek into life beyond sewing (which has not been happening much anyway :) 

 The kids love to play on the "rock wall" the floor to ceiling fireplace wall, Abbey decided her Zebra was a rock climbing Zebra, her conversation was pretty funny.

 Our kids LOVE spending time with their Great Grandparents. There are no cousins in the family on either side (it's a true shame) so our kids get a lot of quality time with grandparents, great grandparents, aunts and uncles. They love it really.

 We have been doing lots of summer crafting to keep busy and entertained as well as doing some learning this summer (more on that later)

 Jude was in desperate need of a haircut this week, which he looks much better and his head feels much cooler. Oh and the black eye? Let's just say there will be no more monkeys jumping on the bed in this house since he learned the hard way mom is always right :)

This last picture is actually from my brother in law, but I loved it and they loved checking out the ducklings and guinea pig at our neighbors. She has about 20 ducks and 15 cats and the kids LOVE visiting the little petting zoo.

So how was your week? Are you melting in the summer heat? Going stir crazy with kids home?

Strips&Dots Tee {fabric marker fun}

Since it is summer and sewing/blogging time has been a little harder to come by I thought I would post a few guest posts I have done that never got shared here, (along with some new things now and then :) 

This is a re-post of a guest post we did for UCreate.

HI Ucreate readers! My name is Shauna and I blog over at Shwin&Shwin I am beyond thrilled (like pinch me I am dreaming) thrilled to be guest posting on Ucreate today. Kari is beyond kind to invite me and I am pretty sure it is a dream come true. I may have done a ridiculous happy dance when I read the email and my kids may have rolled their eyes and swore their mom was losing it. maybe. So first came the task of what to share.... Oh boy this was big and I thought of all the cool sewing projects I could share, I do after all run a blog that is 90% sewing. Then I said no, I will share a project that anyone could do and have fun with. So I give you the stripes&dots tee {spring addition} Stripes and dots are my two favorite things and this wraps them up into one super cute shirt, but you can use the same technique to make nearly any design imaginable. And guess what?? It is super easy! Woohoo! Let's get started shall we?

You will need a tee shirt. I used a granimals tee from wally mart for around 3 dollars. You can use any tee you have on hand, perhaps one that has a stain? You could cover that bad boy up and then bam! New shirt. You will also need fabric markers. They come in tons of colors and can be found at nearly any craft store. I am using this nice pastel set today you know due to the whole spring thing. You will also need tape, I used painters tape but any tape will do, and a ruler and some cardboard.

Now to prep your shirt put cardboard inside to protect from any leakage, and it helps give a nice smooth surface to color on. Then with tape and a ruler measure off stripes going up the shirt. You can make the stripes as wide as you like. When taping pull the shirt so it is snug but not super stretched. The tape should also secure it to another piece of cardboard or a table so that the shirt won't move on you.

Now grab your marker. There are a lot of different markers out there, my favorites for this type of project are the ones with a marker like tip. They are the easiest to use.

Color between the lines. I alternated colors but you can use one color to do the whole shirt. I also like the "vintage" or worn look to the stripes so I color up and down quickly across the shirt if you want a more solid look color slower and fill in all the white. For a deeper or more bold color go back and color it again.

When you get to the sleeves just color up to the sleeve and then tape of the sleeves when you are done with the front and color them the same way.

Once you are done remove the tape. Markers dry super fast like a min, so you don't have to wait for it to dry. You will see nice crisp white lines. Sweet deal right?

Now for the back you can tape of stripes again and do the back the same as the front, or for fun you can do polka dots. I used all the same colors and drew dots all over the back.

The last thing I did was add a little iron on vinyl to the bottom. Just because I am seriously addicted to the stuff. I bought mine through silhouette and used my silhouette to cut out the design but you can also cut a design out with scissors or a scalpel and iron it right on to any shirt. (you can see more about how here)

That's all there is to it. Easy right? And it is dry and ready to wear right away so if you are bored with your clothes you can jazz them up in no time and wear it right out the door.

It adds a fun pop to the boring white tee.

And my daughter loved hers so much she was jumping for joy... seriously the girl loves to jump.
Thanks again Karri for having me! It was so much fun creating for Ucreate!

Feel free to come visit Shwin&Shwin anytime for:
Sewing 101 lessons
Clothing Tutorials
Hair and Skin Posts
Patterns (free and from our shop)
And much more :)

Link Party #24

How is everyone's summer going? Our summer has been wonderfully busy so far, I think that happens as kids get older, days used to all be the same no matter the season, but now that kids are school age summer is different, kids expect to be entertained and it is HOT! Ok maybe it is hot every summer but this summer seems even hotter already. So I have some fun tutorials in the mix, some fun guest posts coming up and I think Shwin is even coming back with some summer skin tips! But there likely won't be the fun everyday post schedule, you know because instead of sewing I am playing in the water with the kids, and instead of blogging I am sipping ice cold lemonade with my feet kicked back after a long hot day, that kind of thing but Link party is still here! I love seeing what you are creating! Oh and if any one has a yummy summer treat they would like to link up, I have been dying to add a few new ones to the menu.
So last week you guys did it again with super creative projects here are some of my favorites:

 Things for boys shared a tutorial for making those convertible footed pajamas, my kids have a few pairs like this but they are all fleece and that is too hot for summer but a thin jersey would be perfect and there feet always get cold since they fall out of the blanket at night and we turn the temp way down at night (the hubs hates a hot house for sleeping) I can't wait to whip up a bunch!

 Fil a l'agulla (I hope that is the right blog name) Shared this adorable jacket she made as a pattern tester. I LOVE the jacket the fabric is so classy and what a great style! Amazing!

My Craft Discovery shared this great project she made a reversible car seat cover but when she couldn't find a boy fabric she liked to go with the other side she painted her own. I love how it turned out and how creative!

I can't wait to see what you guys share this week!

New to link parties? That's totally fine here's what you have to do:

Find a entry on your blog that you want to link up.

It can be ANYTHING (unless it's an ad or something let's keep it spam free)

Say it is a great new project you just made and have been dying to share it with the crafting world. 

the link should look something like this:

http://(your blog adress/website)/(the post you want to link).html

Linking to the post is the easiest way for people to get back to that post.

Then click where it says "click here to enter" 

follow the steps to link your post and create a title, and select your picture.

Keep in mind the picture will be small thumbnail so pick a picture that shows it off the best. 

Lastly if you were so kind to add our button to your page or post, or where every you store your link party things that would be super cool. You don't have to use the button to link up, it's just there for you if you can't live without it. 

cool? cool. Let's get the party started!

<br /><br /><a border="0" href="http://www.shwinandshwin.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x393/theshwins/tuesdayparty.jpg" /></a><br /><br />

Terra's Treasures Pattern Giveaway!

Have you guys paid a visit to our awesome sponsor Terra's Treasure?

It's a delightful shop full of cute and easy patterns to sew and incase sewing is not your thing, she even has items ready to go, so you can still get in on the goodness. So wondering what exactly you will find there? Well if you follow us on facebook then you have probably seen us gush over some of the cuteness. 

 Like this super cute Easy sundress. She has it available in several sizes, and seriously how cute?

 Or how about a cute frilly tee shirt pattern?

Let's not forget about these cute monkey pants which can be used for a boy or girl. 

And many more just check out Terra's treasures for more.

The best part of the day? Terra's Treasures is offering one lucky winner their choice of 3 patterns! Whoop whoop!

To enter:
Check out Terra's Treasures and leave a comment with the 3 patterns you just have to have.

Extra entries?
(Leave a comment for each entry)
Visit Terra's Treasures on Facebook and "like" her page. (which is a great place for updates on new patterns)

Pin an item from Terra's Treasures.

Blog, tweet, or facebook about this giveaway.

Giveaway ends Friday June 22 at midnight (MST)
Winner will be announces Saturday June 23rd.

Goodluck!

Instagram Friday

Welcome to Instagram Friday! On Friday this week even... what do you know. We had a pretty great week this week enjoying sunshine, heat,and relaxing.

 We hit the 90's in May this year which means one thing... Cherries are ready nice and early this year! We like them while they are still just a bit tart, but the tree is still loaded so I am sure we will have some of the dark super sweet cherries as well, there is just something about the sweetness that is a bit much for me. Best part of fruit trees? The kids don't beg me for snacks they just nibble off the tree outside.

When my Shwin was in town she brought this elephant necklace with her and then somehow it got left behind :) I am not sorry though, I kind of love this little guy.

 Jude has been all about drawing masterpieces lately, this one is him on a sail boat, and then a shark came by and so wolverine came to fight the shark. Makes sense to me.

 I love this dog, he is the best little guy and those ears are just awesome, he is our little yoda dog.

Abbey was enjoying a fudge pop, and by enjoying one I mean it was melting faster than she could eat it so she kind of bathed in fudge pop. I told her I would just hose her down when she was done and she ended up hosing herself down when she was done, which was pretty awesome.