My Newest Design: Fit for a PRINCE!

A couple of weeks ago I had a customer email me saying that she loved my "Lil Indian Boy" design, and wondered if I might be able to make a little boy wearing a crown as well. So last night after I put the kids to bed, I drew out the design and digitized it. It's been tested and now he's ready to go!


I can picture how cute this little prince would be stitched onto a toddler's shirt or even on a pillowcase. I like simple appliques. They make projects quick, easy, and I love choosing the fabrics for them, too! Phrases such as, "Mommy's Little Prince" or "Prince in Training" come to my mind. This little prince is now listed over at SWAK! Phew! I guess I probably ought to work on a princess now, right?

And speaking of royalty, I felt like I was given the royal treatment this past week when I received 3 different blog awards from new friends on the web! So gracious... thank you!

Katie over at Katie's Nesting Spot gave me this one. You'll want to check out her blog for great ideas on educational and fun activities to do with your kids. Besides being so brilliant, she is just such a genuinely nice person. Courtney of Sister to Sister also passed this along to me. I got to know Courtney when she was on my team for the Thrifty 50 Challenge. She has some great patterns over at YCMT on making the cutest blankets ever. She is also one of the best encouragers you'd ever meet.

Passing this award on to Christina at Tantrums and Razzberries

Melissa passed this onto me and I also got to know her through the Thrifty 50 challenge. I'll tell you, this woman is a go-getter! I am in constant awe at her energy and enthusiasm for creating. She owns Three Prince Designs and I'm so proud of her because she just got her own embroidery machine! I can't wait to see all of the cute things she's going to do!

Passing this award on to Sarah at Mrs. D.Lightful

And finally, Jennifer of Tatertots and Jello (too funny, sent me this. She's quite crafty and even threw a great Oscar bash this past week. She blogs about her family, decorating ideas, fashion, and more. She's one of those people I think I'd like to sit down for lunch with one day and we would never run out of things to talk about.

Passing this award on to Heather at Eliza and Camille

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

And don't forget The High School Musical 3 Family Movie Night Package Giveaway! Find out more HERE!

I'm in the Mood for Spring! *Centerpiece Idea*

I have to prepare a teacher luncheon today and when thinking about how I wanted to add a little "spring cheer" to the room, my mind immediately went to citrus! So last night I ran to the store, picked up a simple bouquet of flowers, along with some lemons, limes and oranges!

It's so quick and easy! Here's how!

1. Slice your lemons, limes and oranges at about a 1/4" thick.

2. Place flowers into the glass vase. You will want to make sure to choose a vase that will hold the bouquet in tightly. Now slide each slice down into the vase, using a skewer, chopstick or some other similar object.

3. Continue this process until the entire vase is covered with a variety of fruit slices. Beautiful!

I can't wait to bring this centerpiece back home afterwards to enjoy all week long!
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And don't forget The High School Musical 3 Family Movie Night Package Giveaway! Find out more HERE!

Do You Love Troy Bolton Like We Love Troy Bolton?? *Craft Idea & Giveaway!*

The poster has been plastered on her bedroom wall for months. Oh, the anticipation...High School Musical 3 is HERE!!! It came out on DVD just last week and I'll tell you what... this house filled from tween to toddler couldn't be more ecstatic! And besides, we're all in this together, right? (If you didn't get a little chuckle out of that last line, then you may not be ready for a post like this!) LOL!

In anticipation of the "big event" in this household, we decided we had to have an HSM 3 party of course! Complete with pizza, pop, and a whole lot of getting off the couch & dancing, we were not disappointed in the least. Seeing it in the theater was great fun, but seeing it for the upteenth time at home? FABULOUS! (Am I sounding a little like Sharpay?)

Watching HSM 3: Senior Year reminded me of a fun craft I did when I taught school. Graduation hats of course! So Jessica and I put one together for all the kids and it was great fun. I want to show you how you and your kids can make your own HSM3 hats as well! (You may just want to keep this on file for a future preschool or kindergarten graduation!)

And before I get into the craft, I'm feeling very celebratory, so I want to help you throw your own High School Musical 3 movie night for your family! Watch below for the details on how you can win the DVD and a little gift package from JesseKate Designs!

Want to see the hat first? Here it is!


Here are the materials you will need:

red construction paper, cardstock OR posterboard
red, disposable plastic bowls
ruler
brad
a cereal with a hole in the center (Fruit Loops, Cherrios, etc)
yarn, scissors, paper hole punch
thin elastic chording - optional (can use yarn as well)

Perfect! Let's begin!

1. Measure an 8 1/2" x 8 1/2" square on your red paper. Here Jessica just measured on one side only since the short side is already 8 1/2" in length.


2. Draw a line where your markings are. Use scissors to cut on line. Now you should have a perfect 8 1/2" square!



3. Now poke a tiny hole through the top center of the red paper, as well as to the center of the bottom of your plastic bowl. Connect together with the brad.


4. Turn bowl over and push the brad outward to secure. Set aside.


5. Now it's time to string your tassle! YUMM-O! Measure and cut a piece of yarn approximately 1 foot in length. Here's a tip that will make stringing the cereal onto the yarn a lot easier! Take a small piece of tape and wrap it around one end of your yarn. This will allow the yarn to go through a lot smoother!


6. String through your first piece. When you come near the end, simply tie a knot around this cereal piece. This will hold as your "anchor" so that the remaining cereal pieces do not fall off!


7. String away! (If you wanted to add an element of learning, you could even have your child make patterns with this step!)


8. For the 2-year-old, however...it's all about the cute little "sneaking" of the yummies. ;)


9. Once you are finished stringing, tie the top of the yarn to the brad on top of the hat.


10. Punch a small hole on each bottom side of the hat with the paper hole punch.


11. Attach elastic or yarn through the holes. Measure hat on your child if necessary.


12. And you're finished! Perfect for celebrating a great family-friendly movie...and I have a feeling that "tassle" just might be eaten by the end of it!


OK, so are you ready to learn how you can win this fun movie night for your family? To win the HSM3 DVD, all the materials to make the hats, and a few other fun surprises and treats to be found all packaged together just for you, here's what you can do!

1. Make a comment to this post! Any comment! EASY! (And if you know of any HSM jargon, I'd love to hear it!) ;)
2. Go to my sidebar and find my "Add My Button" image. Add to your blog and make a 2nd post here to tell me where myself and others can find it! That's another entry!
3. Sign up for my newsletter! (If you're already on, no worries....you're entered!)
Leave a 3rd comment here that you are a subscriber!

And that's it! (Unless of course you want to twitter, blog, tell your best friend's sister's niece about it... wonderful!) ;) You have from now until Monday, March 2 to enter! I'll announce the winner next Tuesday...and then your package will be sent out just in time for a rip-roaring weekend movie night with the kids! Have fun!

My Checklist for a Safe Flight Home...Can You Relate?

Mom 2.0 Summit has ended. Entering the doorway of the airplane, my eyes immediately look to the left. One of my "weirdo-isms" is that I like to make eye contact with the pilot as I board the plane. He sees me, I see him. You know...just so he knows there are real people on board. I'm a mom of 4 kiddos who are waiting for me at home. Somehow, that makes me feel better. Check.

Walk down the ever-so-long aisle to find seat 18B. Taking a look ahead at who my new "neighbor" for the flight will be. I find a young college-aged gal wearing a cute crocheted beanie. Say hello. She nodded. Check.

In the mood to talk? Not really. Glancing over at her as she's reading, "Optimized Implementation of Logic Function" was a sure-tell sign to me if I ever saw one.

But then half-way through the flight, right at the time we were given a choice of peanuts or cookies, a conversation began. Here are just some of the tidbits:

Her: So why were you in Houston?
Me: Oh, I went to this amazing conference called, Mom 2.0. It was all about women and business, blogging and marketing.
Her: Blogging?
Me: Oh, yes! Do you blog?
Her: No way. And I don't read blogs either. Why in the world would I care what someone else had to say? I go to the internet to be alone.

{Chuckle} We are soooo different.

Me: So you're from Louisiana, huh? And heading to Boise State?
Her: Oh, yes. I came home for my sister's wedding and I drank the entire weekend. I am so wasted. I haven't even showered for 3 days. That's why I have this hat on.

{Boy, and I thought I was living on the edge because I ordered a hot chocolate from Starbucks at the airport!}

Me: So tell me more about your schooling. What are you studying? (Conversation continued on this subject for quite a while- I found it very intriguing.She then asked me about exactly what I did and I explained to her those things that I love to work on.)
Her: Oh, my roommate that has body piercings, tatoos, and blue hair loves to do sewing and croqueting. (This is not a typo- she pronounced the word, CROQUETING. I didn't have the heart to correct her. She was really trying to talk the talk...and I thought that was great.)

{Chuckle} We really do come from 2 different worlds don't we, I thought.

But you know what?

I LOVED IT. I loved every bit of our conversation. Two totally different people, 2 completely different lifestyles, 2 people whom will probably never meet up again.

Learning something new & interesting on a flight home? Check.

And finally, coming home to 4 very happy kids and the #1 husband in the entire world? Now that's a checkmark every single day.

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So happy to be home! I'm getting my "craft-groove" on again and I'm going to have a super-fun give-away tomorrow, so be sure to check back!

A Few More Pictures from Mom 2.0 Conference...

Here are a few more pictures from the Mom 2.0 Summit that I wanted to share!

Shall we start off with the keynote speaker, Guy Kawasaki? This guy is UNBELIEVABLE! What a wealth of experience and knowledge! And I absolutely loved the conversation he shared with Karen Walrond. Guy is the founder of Alltop and the author of 9 books, 1 of which I am reading right now.

And then I just fell in love with this gal, Karen, who moderated his conversation with the audience. So full of life and spunk, she is the blogger and owner behind Chookooloonks. If you want to find absolutely gorgeous and authentic photography, you have to take a look at her site. Amazing.

What a thrill it was to also meet these 2 ladies. Being a stalker of lovely fabrics, I've been a fan of J Caroline Creative for a long time. She's got all the designer fabrics you must have on her site! Also in this picture with this is Patricia Zapata who is an AMAZING graphic artist and the owner of A Little Hut! She even has a book that is set to be released in August. I can hardly wait! You can find out to pre-order here!

April from Sweet Life in the Valley was also there and it was fun to meet someone who loves this kind of stuff as much as I do and doesn't live too far from here! She's got a great lifestyle blog filled with great ideas.


And finally, here is one of my "horoes" in the industry, Barbara Jones. This was our 2nd time meeting and she was as warm and sincere as she was the first time we met. She owns One2One Network. She was formerly the Director of Marketing for Columbia Records and then several years ago decided to leave it behind to start her own company based on the premise of the importance of word-of-mouth marketing amongst women. It really is an incredible concept.

Overall, just a FANTASTIC conference. I have been so inspired and I'm still trying to process it all. Thank you Kirtsy and OpMom for a wonderful conference in Houston!

Houston, We Have Landed!

Wow! I'm just about ready to hit the hay after a very long day that began at 4:30 this morning. Our flight to Houston was just perfect- sat by one of the nicest women I have ever met, Suzie. We enjoyed a wonderful conversation from start to finish. I loved hearing about her new 6-month old grandbaby she was off to visit, her relationships with her children, some of her hobbies, and life experiences. Visiting with her made a 2 1/2 hour flight seem like no time at all.

Once we arrived to the airport, we were greeted by this lovely space cow holding the Texas flag. Hmmm... interesting to say the least. Have you ever seen a cow in space? Hey, what can you say...it made a good photo op. :)

After renting a car and speaking to another sweet, sweet gal at the Hertz car rental, (Shout-out to Deborah!), we were off to find the 4 Seasons Hotel. Check out this stoplight that popped up everywhere around downtown. No, my picture-taking is not sideways, this is the way the light is facing. Wow...who knew.






Have I told you how NICE the people in Houston are? SO AMAZINGLY NICE. I think I'm going to like this place. AND I enjoyed the BEST baked potato soup I've ever had over at Pot Belly's. The name probably says it all. Very, very yummy. Even the man serving us the soup thanked us for choosing their place as our first stop in Houston. He said we were now part of their family. LOL - AGAIN, NICE.

OK, enough about my journey here.... I'm sure you want to see some of my favorite pics of the day so far! I will have tons to share, but I'll start here with a few...

I know a lot of you out there love the gals behind "5 Minutes for Mom." Well, yep, it's official. We love them, too. Twins interviewing twins. TOO. MUCH. FUN. I think I could sit and talk with them an entire day. We laughed and laughed. The interview will be on 5 Minutes for Mom sometime here soon.

Another class act in the industry and one of our favorite people- Gabrielle Blair, or "Design Mom" as many know her. Her other company, Kirtsy are the ones behind this entire conference, along with OpMom. Just unbelievable. I can't even begin to imagine the undertaking something like this would be. And of course, everything has been done to a T. Look what was awaiting us when we arrived. A bag full of goodies and some homemade cookies that were to die for! You can even find the recipe HERE! (And yes, even Ryan found a fellow brother to share the opportunity of carrying a pink gift bag and getting away with it. :) So glad Heather and her husband, Len, are here!)



We made some new-found friends with these gals! They were so fun to talk to! And get this... Erin, who is 2nd from the right is the daughter of my next-door neighbor at home! Small world!! Erin owns Schlosser Designs. Christy, a total hoot to talk to, shares tutorials, projects and craft challenges on her site here. And the tall one, oh tall one, Deb, is the owner of Mumbo Jumbo, which showcases her days of being a mommy and an incredible artist as well I might add.

Another new favorite of mine and an old favorite of Kim's (does that sound right?)is Allison from Petit Elefant. I think "GENUINE" is her middle name. So sweet, and has been such a long-time supporter of YouCanMakeThis.com. Kim has known her for quite a while, so it was fun for the two of them to get caught up and share ideas.

It was also fun to meet the slightly edgy, but ever-so-funny Trisha of MomDot.com. Speaking to her about CAPSIA laws and other trends and movements that are out there, led to a very intriguing conversation and lots of laughs as well.

And finally, one last picture for today. Here's a picture of us with 2 more of our favorite people- Heather Carson and Holly Buchanan. We met both of them at the Start-Up Princess Retreat that was held in Midway last November. Heather is the owner of Visit Memo and is a very talented graphic designer. Besides being so smart, she is an amazing mother of 6 children, including triplets! She just makes me smile. Holly Buchanan is the fabulous author behind, The Soccer Mom Myth. When Mike and I went on a little vacation last November, this was the book I brought with me and read cover to cover. She has so much insight and I look forward to hearing from her again at this conference.

OK, I hope I haven't bored you with showing picture after picture, but these are just SOME of the many we have met today. I look forward to what our day will bring tomorrow and all of the things I will learn from in each of the workshops!

You're Never Going to Believe This...

...but I'm going to Houston tomorrow!!!!!!!! I still can't believe it myself. I'm going to be attending the Mom 2.0 Summit!



It's crazy! Just last week I was thinking how much fun it would be to go, of all the different things I could learn, and of all the amazing people I would be able to meet. Kim and Ryan are attending and have had their plans for months. I was so excited for Kim and eager for her to come home and tell me everything she learned and who she met!

Then it happened.

My husband, my #1 supporter and fan,(Yes, he even makes comments on my posts), called me from work today and said in a very insistent voice, "You're going."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

And the rest is history. I still can't get over it. I have so much to do to get ready now, I can't even think straight! And the cherry on top of it all, is that Kim and I have 2 brothers who live in Houston. The 4 of us kids have not been together in one setting for 6 years. 6 years! Can you believe that? So I get to see them and what a happy reunion that will be as well.

And if any of you out there will be going, I would sure LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to meet you!!

"Smooth" & Silly Way to Welcome Home the Gal with New Braces!

My 11-year-old daughter got braces on her teeth today! OH...the flashbacks of braces! The worry of how they will look on, the adjustments of eating, and the aches of those first few days came flooding back to my mind. We took her back to school after the appointment so that she wouldn't miss too many classes, and as I came home I thought it might be a fun thing to do something nice to welcome her home. Besides, it was a great way to keep my 2 younger ones entertained in creating something special for their big sister.

So out came the scissors, aluminum foil, and some tape. Boy did they have fun cutting up squares!

Then we made "snakes" with the aluminum foil!

I printed out some letters from the computer and cut out. Jacob taped them to the front door.

Here's little brother and sister eagerly awaiting for her arrival home!

And this is how Jess was welcomed home after a very long day.

Can you imagine the cute smile that appeared when she rounded the corner?

Of course the best part, was that our favorite smoothie was waiting for us inside! Would you like the recipe? Here it goes!

The JesseKate Concoction Smoothie :)

1 cup vanilla soy milk (Regular milk is OK, too!)
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
2 handfuls of frozen peaches
1 tbsp flax seed (I add it to just about everything!)

Blend until smooth! We topped it with a few sliced strawberries. YUMMY! Makes enough for 2 tall glasses...just perfect for my beautiful gal with a silver smile and the mom who feels her pain!