mommies behind the blog // a dose of pretty

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Sara Mueller from A Dose of Pretty, who asked if I'd be a part of her 'Mommies Behind the Blog' series. I will spare you the details of my subsequent freak out and kitchen happy dance, but suffice it to say, I was thrilled. I've been a long time fan of Sara's gorgeous blog and Instagram. She has impeccable style and makes everything she touches...well, pretty. So to be a included in her series is an absolute honor.

I immediately grabbed my favorite photographer, Ellen Swalley of Red Sweater Photography, because somehow iPhone selfies of me with the kids didn't quite seem like they measured up to the occasion. I'm so thrilled with what she captured!

You can pop over to A Dose of Pretty to read my interview for Sara's series and to see my very favorite photos that Ellen took.

And here for fun are a couple extra snaps:

I have to laugh at this one because my poor parents have mountains of photos in their archives where I'm assaulting my little brother's face in hopes of getting him to look at a camera...while not looking at a camera.

Anyone else notice how quickly those idyllic snuggly bedtime reading moments can escalate to full-on WWF style wrestling? Or in the case of my now strong-enough-to-actually-conquer-mom 8 year old, maniacal armpit tickling?

I was so happy that Sara gave me an excuse to get some pictures of me with the kids and that Ellen was able to capture these moments. I'm always the one behind the lens, so I don't have a lot of pictures with me and them. Also, we wrestle in bed a. lot. and it's a memory that otherwise would probably have never been preserved. I mean, you have to draw the line at total mom weirdo if you set up a selfie-cam to shoot that right? So these pictures are really precious to have.

Thanks Ellen for your beautiful photography, and thanks Sara for having me on your lovely blog. Head over and I'll meet you there!

yummy muffins and the mom side of me

a few years ago, i had the privilege of attending entrusted with a child's heart, a practical parenting course developed by betsy corning, founder of entrusted ministries. i would recommend it to anyone newly wading into the murky waters of parenthood; her guidance has helped me in countless ways as i seek to raise up my precious little ones in the way they should go.

fast forward and through a series of party run-ins thanks to a mutual darling (acquaintance is not a strong enough word), betsy and i found we shared an affinity for the creative whimsy that makes life with kids all the more fun.

i could not have been more surprised or flattered when she asked me to become a regular contributor to the entrusted ministry blog. her website is filled with resources to help moms in the most important of our jobs, and to help us have fun along the way.

here are some pictures from a recent recipe post i did. these muffins are my go-to way to sneak vegetables past picky palettes and into hungry tummies.

go here for the super yummy recipe. i know you'll love them. (and for more of the mom side of me, you can find all of my entrusted posts here). more importantly, stay awhile and visit with betsy. she's got mom help of the highest calliber. and anyone with little ones knows we need more of that!

the perfect swimsuit

swimsuit season's a'comin'. the good news is, my brother is a personal trainer. the bad news is, his workouts are aptly named.

while swimsuit shopping can be panic-inducing in any phase of a woman's life, it is especially difficult for young moms. that last ten pounds of baby weight (does anyone ever actually lose that?) isn't even your biggest problem. your biggest problem is that the cute bikinis that worked on your honeymoon don't exactly feel appropriate anymore now that you're poolside with preschoolers. but everything that is more modest is horribly matronly.

i have found what you need.

assets by sara blakely halter swim dress from target $49.99

this is the suit i bought last year, and though this picture does it no justice, i promise it is the cutest thing ever. it is from sara blakely, the creator of spanx, to whom skinny pants owe sole credit for their comeback.

it shapes you in all the right places, has ruching to cover up what's left, and has good coverage without making you feel like you're old. it is like a perfect, classic 1950's glam retro swim suit. and it looks adorable with a big hat.

why am i telling you this? i am sharing it for the same reason i share any post on this blog: it's something i'd tell my friends about. and if you've kept reading this far, that's you!

so here's to summer, friends, and feeling great in a swim suit.

{top image is vintage vogue}

diy: fabric photo backdrop

chicago is not cooperating.

at christmas card time, i wanted those idyllic vintage-inspired shots of a family hauling their fresh cut tree home, clad in shiny boots and furry hats, tromping through the snow, joyfully singing a carol. there was no snow and it was 20 degrees.

for spring, i imagined us outside in wellies, welcoming blossomed trees and jumping in puddles, twirling umbrellas and looking all bright and british. it was snowing and it was 20 degrees.

so both times we ended up inside at the last minute...henceforth, the need for a quick and cute backdrop.

isn't it lovely? this was really easy to make (i did it the night before our family pictures), but i admit it was a bit more time consuming than i'd originally hoped (thank goodness for coffee and fx movies).

the stats:

skill level: novice
patience level: saint
time: 3 hours
materials: thin fabric, clothesline, scissors, cup hooks
cost: $24


the tutorial:

1. purchase your material

for a wall space that is 6' wide x 8' tall, i purchased 12 yards of fabric. i chose pale pink symphony broadcloth from joann. if you aren't lucky enough to catch it on sale, there are coupons always available here.

when choosing a fabric, make sure it is cotton and fairly thin (you'll be ripping it). the quilting section is the best place to look.

note: i was hanging this on a wall, so it didn't need to be super "full" or opaque. when it was done, you could see through it. if you're hanging it as a stand-alone backdrop, for instance at an outdoor wedding strung between two trees, you'll need about 3X the amount of fabric to fill a 6' space.


2. cut fabric into (4) 3-yard long panels

you are dividing your 12 yards of fabric into 4 equal pieces. each piece will be roughly 9' long (doesn't have to be perfect), giving you 6" to tie at the top and 6" to pool on the ground (well, more than that because the rope will sag, but close enough). if your space is taller or shorter you can adjust accordingly.


3. use scissors to cut slits about 2" apart across the top of three panels (save the fourth panel for later)

if you imagine your panel as a rectangle, these cuts should be on one of the short sides. try to space them somewhat evenly, but don't worry at all about it being perfect.


4. tear the fabric into strips down the long length of the panels

use the slits you cut at the top as your starting point. it should rip very easily down the length of the panel. this is where i sweetly asked the hubby for help. it took 10 minutes per panel to rip them into long skinny strands. the edges naturally gain some texture as they fray.

it'll start to look like a party pretty quick! the most annoying thing about this were those little straggly strings that come off of ripped fabric. i should have cut them as i went along, as they led to all my strands getting tangled later. i'll let you make your own decision, but don't say you weren't warned.


5. use scissors to cut slits about 6-10" apart along the top of the fourth panel

 

you're going to rip this last panel the same way as the first three, only you are making much wider strips this time. you want five strips total from this one, so you can space your scissor cuts however far apart is needed to achieve that. 

these wider strips are going to be used to create the fatter more ruffly "fringe" strips you see in the backdrop.  

6. rip the fourth panel into five fat strips

7. use scissors to make slits 1-2" apart along both long sides of each fat strip

again, you are using the scissors to get you started so you can rip the fabric.


8. pull toward the center and rip fabric to create fringe along the sides

tip: be careful to stop the rip when you get to the center, leaving about an inch between the fringed sides, otherwise you'll tear your piece right in two! (and if that happens, like it did to me, don't panic. tie two fringe strips back together with a knot. it will just add more texture).

another tip: i realized late in the game you can just fold these length-wise in half to make your cuts & ripping and do it in half the time. duh!

again, it's totally ok if nothing is evenly spaced, some strips are bigger than others, or you have to tie a few knots to keep it together. this project is very forgiving, and actually looks better without perfect uniformity.



9. cut clothesline to size

i made my length of rope the same as the width of the wall with a few inches left on either side to tie knots on for hanging.


10. tie fabric strips onto clothesline

i used a double knot to tie each skinny strip to the rope. (save the fringe strips for later). do not worry about making them all exactly the same length. eyeball it.

this should have been the easy part. but remember how i said those pesky little string stragglers would trip you up? it was quite the task to untangle the pile i had been offhandedly tossing all my fabric in. i don't know exactly how you can avoid that, but i'm going for full disclosure here.

you will eventually have something that looks like this:

as you tie the strings on, you can slide them together on the rope. the picture above shows what they looked like pushed together once they were all on. much to my dismay, they only filled about two feet of space rather than six.

this picture shows what it looked like when i spread them all evenly across the length of the rope, to fill the six foot wall. there is a lot of wall showing through. so, again, if you need this backdrop to be fuller, you'll need more fabric.



12. tie on the fringe pieces.

space these across the rope in a bit of a random pattern. mine went like this:

|    | |   |   |

(in other words, not perfectly even in spacing).


12. hang your rope using cuphooks.

screw your cuphook into the wall, then tie a knot at one end of the rope. loop the knot over the hook.

put another cuphook on the other side of the wall (at the same height). grab the opposite end of the rope and pull it taught. you'll have to really pull as the weight of the fabric makes the rope sag quite a bit. you don't want it to be perfectly straight across the top; just a gentle slope.

knot the second rope-end around the hook and you're done. stand back and admire, then turn off the coffee pot and go to bed. or stay up even later snapping photos of your finished product for instagram.

this last picture (above) was taken by my darling dear photographer ellen swalley of red sweater photography, before she shot our family pictures.

i'm so glad i made this backdrop and thrilled with how it turned out. if only the kids had stayed in one place for more than a second, i'm pretty sure our family picture would have been epic.

{update: we actually got a few of the kids sitting still! i'll refrain from posting them here...but if you want to see our shaggy dog and where not to put a mustache, feel free to stop over at ellen's!}

goodbye school room

i'm planning to homeschool all of my kids for kindergarten (one down, two to go). i love giving them an extra year of childhood, reading out loud, field tripping everywhere, and spending that precious time with them before they're real school aged kids.

to house (and display) all the paraphernalia that homeschool brings, we turned our unused dining room into a school space. over one summer, i had the kids decorate all the letters of the alphabet to get the room ready for september. clothesline criss-crosses the ceiling to show off fresh artworks. backyard treasure hunt finds, handprint projects, and watercolors adorn the walls. the little table that fits perfectly now will all too soon be outgrown, and i daily savor watching the coloring and creating the kids do while sitting at (or laying under) it.

but as fun as this space has been, getting organized has to take priority. the meager and mismatched storage in here is overflowing, and on the other side of one wall, in the mudroom, a mountain of backpacks and snowclothes are going to avalanche soon if something isn't done.

so, ryan is at 8-1/2, which means demolition is coming in the next few weeks. we're reducing this room by half (and making it a real office), expanding the mudroom and adding a main floor powder room lest we all go insane.

before we power up the saw and start cutting out flooring, i'd like to say a proper goodbye to our sweet little school room.

ok, i'm good. now where is that sledgehammer?