{What I'm Up To}

How is everyone's day so far?!?!?! Yesterday was a GREAT day for me, but today...not so much ;)

I had some news I wanted to share/discuss with everyone! I have had MANY MANY MANY inquiries reguarding larger sizing on the shoes I am offering...as much as I would LOVE to do this, I cannot manage my regular orders, as well as drawing up patterns, sewing and testing them and taking care of my 3 LITTLE kiddos...remember I am a WAHM and my kids come first!

So, with that being said I listed 4 more spots in the shop while I working on finishing current orders and working on the pattern. I will not be relisting anything until the larger sizes are ready to go, so if you were contemplating whether or not to get a pair soon, I wouldn't wait!

I would also like some feedback on what you would like to see with the larger sizing...I was planning on making them with a waterproof soling so that they would be more durable and able to be worn outside considering they will be for older children who are walking. What I want to know is if that should be an add-on option or standard, as the soling would be a bit more expensive?
I also would like to know how many of you are interested in adult shoes?!?!?! I mean, who doesn't want a pair of scrappy shoes for themselves...right?!?!?!?! :D

Lastly, I know I say this all the time, but I wanted to sincerely THANK YOU ALL for all your support! I never imagined that my business would grow as fast as it has! You all are my inspiration and I am SO thankful for that. I hope everyone has a blessed day!

♥ Courtney ♥

{Scrappy Shoes-Zara Aubbie and Gira Amethyst}

I am in LOVE with the two most recent pairs of Scrappy Shoes that I have made! They were both for girls, so I got to use one of my newest fabrics to coordinate with the scraps...and let me tell you...they are just DARLING!!!! Let me just show you:

Unfortunately these scrap options are no longer available. Aubbie was sent in by a customer and I no longer have enough Amethyst scrap for shoes :(

On a better note, I have reached 500 fans on my Facebook page...YAY...and I am working on something BIG to celebrate so stay tuned! Thank you to all my fans for your support!

{Scrappy Shoes}

As usual, it has been a while since I have blogged. I have been enjoying being a SAHM and trying to find my niche in life as a mother/wife/crafter! I have done a few photo sessions for friends that I am really enjoying so far! I don't really plan to get into the Professional world of Photography, however I do enjoy taking photos for friends and just relying on word of mouth to fulfill my LOVE for photography!!!!! Here is a link to my flickr set with some recent sessions :
{Photography}

I have also been introduced into BABYWEARING! uH-OH! I was walking through the mall one day and came across a few women that were carrying their babies in a wrap that I had never seen before...I was so intrigued. They were so kind to invite me into the close knit community of babywearers here locally, and I must say I finally found the best group of women. We are all like-minded in our living habits as well in raising our children...it has been so wonderful to share that with others who feel the same way!

The world of babywearing has also made me new friends all over the US and let me tell you...it is such a great community of women! I feel so lucky to be a part of it. Which brings me to the subject of the titled post...Scrappy Shoes! As I said before, I have been struggling to find my niche in the handmade community, but I am happy to say that I think I have found it ;) All of the mama's that wear their babies are attached to their wraps, so I decided to make something to accessorize those wraps. Let me tell you, they are the cutest things. I want a pair for myself...which I plan to actually offer in the future. Everyone has been so responsive to them and it make me so happy to put a smile on someone's face, or child's face.

So there you have it...that is what I have been up to the past few months...as well as raising my three kiddos who are now 4 (Mackenzie), 2 (Caleb), and 9 months (Logan). They keep me busy enough! And just one more month and hubby and I will be married for 5...wait FIVE years. I can't believe how time has flown.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me and continues to support me in my life travels/endeavors!

Courtney

{December Daily: Album Cover}

Are there any of you guys wanted to use the 6x8.5 inch album size for DD this year, but couldn't afford the kit from Studio Calico? I LOVE Studio Calico, but unfortunately with me staying home eith the kids and not working, the $$$ really isn't flowing unfortunately.
However, with my clever little trick, you'll be able to use the page protectors (sold apart from the kit) and stil be able to use the same album size as Ali!

All you'll need is:

1/4 yard of fabric
a sturdy piece of cardboard (at least 14x18)
12x12 sheet of paper
hot glue gun
Glossy Accents (optional)

For my cardboard all I used was an empty diaper box...plently of those around here with 2 in diapers! I cut 2 pieces from the box at 6.5x9, one for the front cover and one for the back. So that I don't risk any pattern showing through my fabric I just tore off the printed part of the box. If your box is not printed, just skip this step.

For my fabric I cut two piece slightly larger than my piece of cardboard (at least 1.5 inch overhang on all four sides). I then took my hot glue gun and put a dot of glue in each corner of the cardboard...CAREFUL NOT TO BURN YOURSELLF!!!

Then you will fold all four corner over onto the hot glue...DON'T PULL TOO HARD OF THE FABRIC OR ELSE YOU MAY DISTORT THE PATTERN OF YOUR FABRIC.

Once your done with that part you will squirt a line of glue down one side and bring that side's fabric up to the glue, creating a nice crisp edge...can you see it coming together already?!?!?!?! Repeat this step with the next three sides.

Once your done it should look like this. Now you can cut your paper down to (2) 6x8.5 pieces and glue that over the back of your cover (I used Glossy Accents), now covering up the last of the cardboard and creating a fully customizable album cover...pretty cool huh?!?!?!?! Just repeat this for the back cover as well.

o

I still have a few things I am waiting on to arrive, so until then that is as much as I can show you, but what my plan is now is to punch three holes in my front and back cover (corresponding to my 3 holes in the page protector) and use three large rings to hold it all together!

What is really awesome is that you can do this to make ANY size album you want!!! I have made COUNTLESS numbers of these in 8x8 using chipboard and patterned paper...SO MUCH FUN!

Link me up with your creations using this tutorial.

Logan's Birth Story Album

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly allows you to customize your photo book just the way you want.

Easy Spinach Lasagna

I have a few things that I have been wanting to post, but this is the first thing that was ready to write up so here we go!
I recently made my VERY FIRST Lasagna and it turned out superb, so I thought that I would share the recipe. I used THIS recipe, but altered it quite a bit, making a little lower in fat!

Easy Spinach Lasagna
1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1 lb. italian sausage
1 onion, chopped
1 jar spagetti sauce
1 sm. can tomato sauce
1 pint low fat cottage cheese
1 pint low fat ricotta cheese
1/4 c. parmesan cheese, grated
1 10 oz. package frozen spinach, thawed
2 eggs
1 box whole wheat lasagna noodles ***DO NOT BUY "NO BAKE" NOODLES***
2 c. 2% mild cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a large pot sautee onions. Add ground beef and sausage and brown then add the spaghetti and tomato sauce and heat thoroughly.

{Logan's Birth Story}

Sorry it has been so long since I have updated my blog, but as I'm sure you know we have been busy. I didn't want to do another blog post until I had this one written and ready...so here it goes...Logan's birth story:
I am now a mother of three and this is the birth story of my last child, Logan Ray Zadik. It was July 21st and I was almost a week overdue with my third child.
1:30 am -I was awoke out of my sleep with some cramping and I decided to get up out of bed and go to the bathroom, to which I noticed I was having bloody show. I thought to myself…”oh my gosh…this is it!!!” I stood around for a little while to see if I was going to have any more contractions, and boy did I. Quickly another contraction came, then another, and another. I decided to start timing them, as well as wake Jason and tell him “um…baby…I don’t think that you will have to go to work today!” To which he replied “oh yea?” and quickly turned over and went back to sleep…gee thanks!
I went downstairs and turned on the t.v. and laid down on the couch to see if I could get a little more rest. My contractions were about 4-5 minutes apart and I wasn’t too uncomfortable. I knew that this was the real deal so I decided to call the midwife to give her a heads up. She said to just give her a call back whenever we were headed to the birthing center. I also called my mom and sister at this time and told them to go ahead and head to the house, considering both of them were about an hour away and I wanted them to have plenty of time to get here. I had no clue how this birth was going to go since both of the other kids birth’s were so different.
2:30 am -I tried to rest on the couch, but my contractions were getting stronger and faster. I was easily able to breath through them still, however I didn’t want to be alone so I went upstairs and asked Jason if he could at least come downstairs and sleep on the couch so that if I needed something he would be there. I had visions of the baby coming so fast that he just pretty much fell out and I was left by myself with no help…silly I know, but hey…it’s happened to people before!
3:00 am –I was talking with Jason during contractions and realized that we didn’t have anyone to come and watch the kids while we were at the birthing center since mom and Kellee were coming to the birth. We quickly tried to think of a solution and called Kristi to see if she could drive over. She just happened to have woken up a few minutes prior and answered the phone and was so excited to come over immediately. Mom arrived soon after I got off the phone with her. She told me that Kellee was unfortunately not going to be able to make it and I was so bummed. She was supposed to be taking pictures and documenting the experience since this was going to me our last child. I decided to call a friend who had also offered to take pictures and she was ecstatic to be offered to join us in this experience. I was still having contractions lasting about a minute and about 3-5 minutes apart, but still able to talk though them.
3:30 am –Kristi arrived and was SO EXCITED! She had never been around anyone in labor before so she was not quite sure what to do. She asked me many questions to which I answered if I could. At this point I decided to sit on the ball and bounce though and between the contractions to get them moving a bit.
4:30 am –Suddenly my contraction got super strong and very uncomfortable. I called the midwife once again and told her we soon would be on our way. We started getting our things together and packing the car up.
4:45 am –We arrived at the birthing center, but no midwife had arrived yet…so I stuck it out in the car through the longest 2-3 contractions ever. It’s definitely not easy to be sitting in a car and having contractions…let me tell you.
4:55 am –Rena, my midwife arrived and quickly scurried inside to get things moving.
5:15 am –Rena checked my cervix…the moment of truth…6 cm…I thought to myself “yahoo…only 4 more to go…I CAN DO THIS!!!” Rena starts to fill the tub up for me to get in. I continue to breathe through my contractions, swaying while holding onto the column for the tub. All I am thinking at this moment is “you can do this…you can do this…not much longer.” I also envisioned a flower blooming and opening up just like my cervix was doing to help stay calm and collected. I think my friend arrived about this time and began to document this AWESOME experience by taking pictures.
5:55 am –the tub was finally ready for me to get into…Oh boy did the water feel wonderful, but when my first contraction came, I wanted to jump right back out! This is definitely NOT where I wanted to be. I decided to tough it out for a little bit and see how things would go.
6:10 am –I had the urge to push, and Rena quickly checked me and gave me the “ok” to go ahead and start pushing when my body told me to…at this point I remember pushing like a crazy woman because I was SO ready for him to be out…
6:14 am –Logan arrived into the world and he was PERFECT!!! Jason got to help catch him and laid him on my chest…it was amazing!!! We checked him over to make sure first of all he really was a boy, then his 10 little fingers and 10 little toes…they were all there and as cute as can be…I remember how quiet he was compared to Caleb who screamed for and hour after he came out.
6:30 am –We waited for the cord to stop pulsating before we cut it…Jason always has the hardest time cutting through those things. They are like super thick rubber bands. Logan and I chilled out in the tub for a few more minutes before I handed him over, rinsed off and got out and headed to the bed.
6:40 am –I held him for a little bit while they went and got the scale to weigh him. I remember trying to guess what he would weigh…he seemed long, but not too heavy. My guess was 7 lbs 14 oz…and I was WAY off…he weighed 9 lbs 3 oz!!! We had another football player on our hands. They handed him back to be and we tried out our hand in breastfeeding…instant latch…that is the best feeling and bonding moment when your newborn latches onto you for the first time. I was also in quite a bit of pain from the cramping so I took some ibuprofen. Logan and I were thoroughly checked out and made sure that no problems arose as the time passed. At one point Jason had to leave to give someone from work something so I had him pick up Mackenzie so that she could come and see her new brother. Jason told me later that when he went to pick her up she was still asleep. He went in to wake her up, patted her on the back and told her that baby Logan came out while she was asleep, to which she jumped out of bed in excitement to see her brother.
7:20 am –Logan and I took our herbal bath and washed up
7:45 am –Jason and Mackenzie arrived with breakfast!!! She checked out all his 10 toes and 10 fingers and we counted them.
8:00 am –We took a few family photos (minus Caleb) and got dressed and packed up to head home.
9:00 am –HOME SWEET HOME!

(don't worry...nothing yucky!)
***unfortunately I couldn't get these to show in order...sorry***


Created with flickr slideshow.