Lalaloopsy Dolly Fun with Sugar3

Sugar3 is having their All Dolled Up launch today. I made an adorable Mint E. Stripes Lalaloopsy purse to match a dress Karen of Layla*and*Stitch created, and there is a beautiful bow and necklace set made by Tutu Cute Boutique to match as well.

There is a lot of detail on this little purse. I added a lot of beads, sequins, Swarovski crystal beads, and buttons to the little Christmas tree on the front.

Little peppermint buttons line the pink ruffle scallop trimmed purse flap. The aqua purse strap is also trimmed in a pink ruffle stitch.

A lot of detail was put into sweet Mint E. Stripes' face. I used both 100% cotton yarn and thread to create her.


The launch has already started and you can visit Sugar3's Facebook page HERE for your chance to bid to win. The launch is going on until Wednesday, July 3rd, at 3 pm. CST.

Snow Days Put You In The Cleaning Mood

Yesterday we woke up to this beautiful scene.

The girls had their second snow day from school, but instead of sledding and building snowmen, I decided it was time to take on this not so beautiful scene... the scariest room in the house; the playroom.

Yes...shameful, I know. I had always walked passed it and ignored it by shutting the door. I knew it was time to just get in there and do something about it. So I gathered up the girls, mandated jobs for both of them, and put them to work. Our goal was to downsize unwanted and outgrown toys, and organize what they still wanted. Our unwanted toys always either get passed down to their cousins or donated to our local Goodwill store. Hubby brought up 2 shelves that he no longer needed in his office. He just finished organizing his office. I guess you could say that his cleaning bug bit me. At first, I couldn't imagine shelves actually fitting in this room. The thought seemed preposterous to me.

But as things started thinning out and getting organized, the shelves made sense and did indeed fit.


Before, the purpose of the bench was for the lalaloopsys to sit on it. Now the lalaloopsys have a shelf to call home. The bench is now open, inviting, and it is great to sit on while playing the Wii.

I can't wait to start painting. I am thinking a light blue, possibly turquoise with a touch of red accents. I was thinking red and white polka dotted curtains, and a pink, red, and blue crochet bunting hung around the room. ;)

A Birthday Celebration..Kindergarten Style

Zella's 6th birthday was officially Thursday, but we celebrated last night with family and a handful of her classmates from school at a place called Jumpy's.


There really wasn't a theme this year; just lots of colorful fun!
My friend Vanessa made Zella's cake this year. She is the one who made Xiera's fabulous Fairy Mushroom House cake for her party last year and the adorable bear cake for my best friend's baby shower last year. We love and admire her talent for making beautiful and fun cakes.

Inside this cake was even more colorful fun....

Everyone loved it; especially the birthday girl!

She had fun and mommy was able to relax, so it was a win, win all around! Happy Birthday Zelly Belly!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

This year the girls got their very own Christmas tree to decorate and display in their room. Zella wanted a white tree because white and silver are her favorite colors. Xiera loves pink,rainbows, and kitties so she picked out some colorful ornaments to decorate the tree with. She chose the Cheshire cat to place on top of the tree. The girls both decided to make it a Lalaloopsy tree and sat their favorite mini lala dolls on the tree.

To keep with tradition, we took the girls to visit Santa the Saturday after Thanksgiving. They got their lists ready and were all smiles to see their favorite jolly guy.

This year Zella declared that she wanted to visit Santa separately from her sister. So she went first and had a very serious talk with him. I heard something about a Baby Butterscotch Pony. ;)

Xiera was next and they were both all giggles and smiles about something.

The nice balloon lady made Zella a snowgirl.

And Xiera requested a Candy Cane man with a top hat and scarf. (Totally her own creation.) She is so funny!

I just love Christmas time. Don't you?

Pictures and Treasury Sharing

I "Lala-Love" this Lalaloopsy Treasury created by mailebaldwin. I am thrilled to see my Pillow Featherbed Cloche hat featured in the mix too! ;)


A little over a week ago I did a photo shoot for my beautiful and talented mother-in-law, Karen. God has blessed her with a gift in music. She can play the piano and sing both beautifully. She is creating her own Christian music CD and had asked me if I would be her photographer for the CD. Of course I said yes.
Our first photo shoot was done on the abandoned railroad track where I had taken pictures recently of Xiera modeling the Lalaloopsy dress.

This was a bit of a challenge for me because I am used to photographing toddlers and children at play or non moving objects such as flowers. Karen made the shoot fun and relaxing.

We then packed everything up and went to a second location; at the old covered bridge.

What a gorgeous location this was. There was something serene about this place which made me feel at ease and confident. I think Karen would agree.


Karen and I are both very happy with how these pictures turned out. It was so nice to branch out from the usual pictures I take and try something new and exciting. I am looking forward to my next photo shoot; a maternity session for my best friend. :)

A Little Lalaloopsy Fun

Xiera and I had a bit of fun modeling and photographing this precious Peanut Big Top Lalaloopsy Dress created by Jayne of Baby*Grace*Designs. We decided to do the photo shoot on an old railroad track that is no longer in use. I think that the simple background made this whimsical dress with it's vibrant colors "Pop!"

Xiera said "Mom, it's like Peanut Big Top is hitching a ride on a train to go to the circus!" I just love the way she thinks!

Xiera hasn't been much into modeling anything lately since she is now 7 going on 8. She feels that modeling boutique is for babies and little girls. But when I told her it was a lalaloopsy dress, she was all smiles and was so excited to do this for Jayne. She hasn't worn pigtails in so long either but she told me that since Peanut Big Top had pigtails that she had to have her hair in pigtails too. Sew sweet!!
And let me just tell you what a perfect dress this is to twirl in!!

On our trip back home after this photo shoot, we drove past a piece of artwork in town that resembled a circus tent. Needless to say, we HAD to get some more pictures with the "tent".

A New Lalaloopsy Themed Bedroom

The girls' new big girl room is FINALLY complete. I painted their room blossom pink where it was once banana creme yellow. We took down all of the princess and ballerina items and went with a new theme....Lalaloopsys!
I found a nice and talented lady on facebook who created the neatest scrap art I had ever seen. She made the scrap lalaloopsy character art pictures you see on the wall.

I found the picture frames at the local dollar tree. I then used krylon spray primer and paint in watermelon, ivy leaf, pumpkin orange, and blue ocean breeze to bring out the fun on those dull and boring frames.

We hung shelves in the corner of the room to display some of their favorite lalaloopsy dolls.

I think they look so cute sitting up there side by side with their little pets.

The window treatments were originally the blue dot window panels on target's website. I purchased 4 of them and found that they were a bit too long. They were hanging on the ground once hung and I knew with the baseboard heaters this could pose as a problem. So I called up my sweet mother-in-law(because I am terrible with a sewing machine.) and had her hem the drapes and use the extra 2 feet cut off to make valances.

I found another amazing artist on facebook who painted the lalaloopsy characters displayed on the other side of the wall. I just love how whimsical and adorable they are.

In the corner of the room I decided to make a special little place for the girls' American Girl dolls. So that they have their own "room". The Powerpuff Girls like to visit them on occasion too. :)

A lot of the same is still displayed on their dresser but with a touch of new.

I placed a picture of both of the girls in the center of the dresser with their names diplayed on both sides, along with the beautiful porcelean dolls their grandmother and great-grandmother had given them as gifts. We found the fairy house last fall at a craft bazaar and I think that it is one of Xiera's most treasured items. She enjoys poking around in it every day to see if her little fairy has visited her. Sometimes her fairy leaves little glitter trails and eats the little snacks she leaves her. ;)

Their wooden nursery name letters still matched perfectly so I hung them beside each of their bunk beds.
I hope you have enjoyed this little tour of the girls' new bedroom. My next dreaded task on the list is the scary playroom which looks more like a storage site these days. :o