Happy Birthday Madelyn!

My sweet niece Madelyn is turning 3 today!  Where does the time go?  She is such a fun kid to be around (just like her siblings).  Madelyn and I share a special bond...we are the M's...of course both of us with an M name and also being the middle child.

For Madelyn's birthday this year, I decided I wanted to make her a special present, or presents I guess by the time I was done.  Here is what I made.

I spy bag.  I found this great tutorial here and thought this would be a great activity bag for Madelyn, especially to keep her occupied while in the car.

Hairbows.  Madelyn's hair has always been so fine, but this past year it has really grown in and gotten so long.  And I personally think hairbows are adorable!  I think these will also be great for Madelyn as she starts preschool this fall.  I made the bow one using this tutorial and the curly one using this tutorial.  Both super easy!

Tutu and Embellished Shirt

I embellished a t-shirt with a cute fabric and tulle flower.  It coordinates with the tutu I made, I figure every little girl could use an extra tutu.  I know Madelyn likes to play dress up and dance, so I thought this would be a perfect for her.  No tutorial used here (hmm...maybe I will have to create one!)  I love all of the pink and fluff of the tutu and hope she likes it as much as I do!

Close up of flower.

 Tutu, view 1

 Tutu, view 2

And just for good measure, a few more pictures of the M's!

 While she is cute, I don't think we could handle 2 Madelyns.

 Silly Madelyn!

 She rules everything!

Weekend Craft Project

This weekend while I was feeling a bit crafty, I found a cute necklace project.  I used a tutorial from here, making just a few minor adjustments.  I had everything I needed to make the necklace (and a second too).  I had to make the strip of fabric smaller, as my beads were not big enough for the strip in the tutorial, but that was it.  Such a quick and easy project, and I think both of the necklaces turned out pretty cute, if I do say so myself!

Sorry for the mediocre quality pictures, I couldn't quite figure out the lighting situation.  I hope you enjoy anyway.  Let me know what you think!

Colorful print, with large beads:

Gray and white print, with smaller beads:

 Both necklaces:

Close up

Back on the Blogging Wagon?

I have taken a long hiatus from blogging, for many reasons, but mostly because I didn't have all that much to blog about.  But I am going to try and get back on the wagon for this fall.  Hopefully I will be able to post some fun stuff (at least occasionally).

For now, here are some pics from my summer:

I went to Iowa over Memorial Day weekend and got to have an outing with my parents and nieces and nephew to the fish hatchery (yes, home to the famous Decorah Eagles).

Grandpa with his best girls.

 Making sure Drew doesn't go for a swim.

 Madelyn feeding the fish.

 Group shot...can we call it a success since I got one of the kiddos to look?

 Avery striking a pose while waiting for brunch.

In June I travelled to Phoenix for the annual AAFCS conference.  This of course means that I spent most of my time in a meeting room, but in the morning I got to get out (when it was relatively cool in the 90s) to go for walks in the desert.  Here are a few shots of the area that the resort was in.

I spent majority of my summer in an office in Athens preparing for my written comprehensive exams (sorry, no fun pictures of that).  After I finished taking my exams, my parents came to visit.  While they were here we vacationed in the Charleston area, staying on the Isle of Palms.

Finally on vacation after all that studying and 15 hours of taking exams!

One day we went to the Charleston Museum, here are some goofy pictures of my spicing up our visit to the museum (yes I am aware that I am a dork). 

Showing off the tea etiquette I learned in London last summer. 

On the beach!  Beachfront condo was so amazing!

Now my life is back to the office, running data and trying to work towards graduation (meaning dissertation and oral comprehensive exams).  Sadly this was my life this past week (yes, I was actually using all 3 screens), but luckily I was able to beat the data!

 Okay...I promise next post will be less about me and my life and more about crafts or something else fun!