1 week and counting...

by Holly

For any of you in the Southern California area, the Queen Bee Market starts next Friday.  Check out our link.  There will be many amazing vendors offering their finest creations.  Mollie and I had our planning meeting today, and hopefully we will be ready.
In the meantime, my kids had a hankering for some old school fun (while momma was sewing away).  Do you guys remember slip-n-slides?  I think that back in the early days (really, I am NOT as old as this may seem) slip-n-slides started out as big black trash bags opened up with a hose running down them.  Turn on the water, and it's instant fun time!  Thankfully, they have evolved since then.  Some have amazing bells and whistles, but my kids would have settled for the trash bag version.  Anything with water, and they're good.
About a week ago, my husband put out a facebook plea for any unused slip-n-slides that our kids could have the pleasure of adopting.  A great family in our church, whose boys are older, kindly gave us theirs.  The boys were so excited to try it out yesterday, and I was glad to have a little extra work time.  Here's how it went...

   (he didn't quite get the sliding on your belly concept, but close enough)

Again, it is the simple things that sometimes bring the biggest giggles.  A piece of plastic and a garden hose and they were good to go.  I'm looking forward to this weekend with my family and enjoying the simple things.  Happy Friday!

Trying to Simplify and be Thankful

O.K., here it is... our motto "creating beauty in simplicity."  I think that this is what Mollie and I are striving to achieve.  Life is complicated enough.  Sometimes you just gotta stop and think about what you are trying to accomplish.  I have been thinking a lot about this lately as I am reading an AMAZING book (did I mention that it is amazing) called "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp.  In this book she is aiming to write down 1,000 things that she is thankful for.  1,000 gifts from God that might otherwise go unnoticed unless she took the time to put pen to paper.  She struggles, and then it gets easier and easier and she finds more and more joy in the process.
So, I am striving to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard as the case may be) and focus on the simple things.  Focus on the simple beauty that is my life.

Here is #1  pink flowering bushes in bloom outside my dining/sewing room door
           #2  little boy giggles when they find out they get to go play at a friends house after school
          #3  strawberries and whipped cream and the joy it brought little man today
         #4  easy patterns  (a life saver for Easter since I waited till the last minute and couldn't find ties anywhere for the boys)

That's my start.  What are you thankful for?  What gifts do you not want to go unnoticed?  Write them down today.

Just had to include a pic of my little men with their ties.  They are my most precious gift!

Lazy Hazy Beach Days!

by Mollie

We are blessed to live in San Diego.  The other night my hubby R and I packed up Z and went down to the beach for a dinner picnic.  We stopped by Mickey D's (McDonalds) and grabbed some eats off the dollar menu (guilty!) and went to enjoy the sunset.  Z is really finicky about sand on her feet (such a girl) so we eased her in by letting her keep her sandals on for awhile. 

it really couldn't have been more perfect.  Warm weather and a beautiful sunset.

We went searching for rocks to splash in her bucket...

we chased the waves as they tries to get our toes wet...

God is so good to make this magnificent creation...its only our duty to go enjoy it right?!? Here's to many more perfect family nights at the beach. 

Redesign

by Mollie
   I love candlesticks but I dont love their price.  I have been wanting some silver candlesticks to decorate my table for awhile now and everywhere I go they are out of my price range.  So i opted for a little redesign to get what I wanted. Awhile ago i picked up these really hideous candlesticks from Target.  Its hard to tell in the picture but they are a metallic aqua color.  They were originally $14.99 a piece (yeah right!!) and they were on double double clearance down to $2.98 a piece (more my style)  i snagged those babies up. 
 

I really liked their shape and that they were made from a lightweight material.  Once i had them home i cleaned them up from all the sticky goo from multiple clearance stickers and was ready to spray paint! 

 I got out my trusty can of silver matte and went at it.  Its not perfect in some places so don’t look to closely but for around $6 I got my "silver" candlesticks I had been wanting.
 

p.s. I put baking soda in my vases with artificial flowers.  It stabilizes the arrangement and I like that extra pop of white. 

  I dont have a fireplace or a mantle so my dining room table is my place to put decoration for the season. I love how they balance out my table display and I like changing out the candles for different seasons and occasions.  Most importantly, I love not spending a lot of money and getting a lot of enjoyment out of something... Blessings!

pardon Minnie Mouse in the picture... I think she was taking a break from being "loved"

Our newest arrival at YeLLoWMeDaiSY

No, Mollie hasn't had her baby yet.  Thanks goodness!  Just thought I'd pop up a pic of the latest fabulous diaper bag to join our ranks.  (Note to anyone reading who doesn't need a diaper bag... this bag does quite well carrying non-baby items also.)  She will be making her grand debut at The Queen Bee Market on May 6th and 7th along with many friends that Mollie and I have been working very hard on.

I love the bright, summer fabric on this bag, and the numerous pleats give this bag great volume.  It has four pockets on the inside as well as a special "mom pocket" that is perfect for a cell phone or anything that mom may want to stash away.  My favorite detail is the dahlia print band with the little blue button.  I'm a sucker for buttons.

Just wanted to show you guys some of what we are working on.  It is so fun being creative, and so hard not to keep everything that comes our way.  Happy Maundy Thursday everyone!  Hope you all enjoy this special weekend!

Free Spirits

by Mollie

 My dear friend and i laugh about being free spirits a lot. We have found in our personal experience that when someone calls you a free spirit its just a polite way of saying “you are a little crazy and irresponsible, but you’re sweet so its cute.”  The dictionary defines free spirits as “ One who is not restrained, as by convention or obligation; a nonconformist”  So to all you wonderful people out there who can’t seem to get their house perfectly clean no matter HOW HARD THEY TRY, or who arrive fashionably late, whose kids are a little smudgy because you taught them how to get good and dirty…. 

 Join us in being free spirits! Sometimes you gotta break the rules and jump in the puddles!

Polka Dot Easter Egg Day!

by Holly

Spring Break has hit our house this week.  All the boys are home and I am looking for fun, creative things to keep them occupied.  Unfortunately today was a bit chilly and gloomy outside, and I am busy inside getting ready for the Queen Bee Market.  So, today was polka dot Easter egg day.  (I'm sure it is an official holiday in some country somewhere.  Estonia perhaps?)  I was really looking for something simple, not too messy, but fun results.  This little project worked out perfectly.


We started with 2 blown out eggs, 2 pencils with erasers, craft glue, and plates of glitter (Yes, glitter.  You gotta have some fun mess factor with boys.)

The boys dipped their erasers in glue (I poured out a little on a plate) and then had fun putting little polka dots all over their eggs (they started with 1 side of the egg  first and then did the other side).  When they were done they gently rolled their egg in the glitter.

This project was perfect for them and, since the little man was napping, it was quite a peaceful way to spend our afternoon.  Easter is a special time in our household as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.  It holds a lot of meaning for us and I love spending these spring break days with the boys talking about all the events that occurred during this week over 2000 years ago.   Loves me some family bonding!

I even tried to make my own egg using little flower shapes cut out on my cricut.  I made them into stickers with my xylon (double sided tape would work too), painted the tops of them with glue, stuck them on the egg, and then rolled the egg in glitter.  Not quite the Martha Stewart finish I was looking for but, like I said, it was peaceful so that's a "good thing", as Martha would say.  And now we have a little bling-bling to display on our mantle.
Now, only 6 days left of crafts to think of....  Happy polka dot Easter egg day everybody!

Pancakes for Dinner...

by Mollie

Pancakes....warm, doughy, sweet, soft, fluffy, delicious.... need I go on? 

 My wonderful husband R just smiles and pulls out the syrup when he smells pancakes at dinnertime.  There is just something wonderful about breaking the food rules and having breakfast for dinner, it almost feels naughty and I love it.  When I am pregnant breakfast is my food of choice. No matter how sick I feel or how NOT interested in food I am, i can ALWAYS eat breakfast.  We thought our daughter was going to come out a Frosted mini wheat because of how often I ate cereal.  Now that I am in my 3rd trimester I am making breakfast a lot more. Luckily as long as you give her some syrup to dip her food in, Z will eat anything mommy puts on her plate. Its one of my favorite things about being a grownup - pancakes for dinner. Go ahead...try it tonight!

My Little Superheros

Note to self... don't ask my kids to "model" BEFORE snack time.  They tried to give me their best superhero stance while showing off their capes (available soon through our etsy shop), but one click of the camera and they were done.  So, this is what we got.  We all tend to get a little grumpy around here come snack time.  (Although they are still pretty darn cute, in this moms opinion, and I appreciate their "heroic" effort)
Now, having 3 boys was what I had always wanted and it is exactly what God has blessed me with.  Our oldest, we'll call him J, is almost 9 (crazy!).  W, our mischief making charmer of a middle child, is 5.  And S, the one who gets them ALL in trouble, is 3.  They are my biggest cheerleaders.  They think, at the moment, that this whole YeLLoWMeDaiSY thing is quite an adventure.  They LOVE watching me sew and they are great sports when I have them constantly running up stairs to get me the water bottle (for ironing) that I keep forgetting to bring downstairs after I do their hair every morning.  But, we'll see how long this lasts.  The fact that momma may not be able to help them as quickly as before may get old fast.  Then again, maybe this is a lesson for everyone.  Me, how to manage my time better in order to get everything done.  Them, how to be a little more self-sufficient (I would like to stress the word "little".  It's not like I expect them to make their own dinner or anything.)
All this to say, they are my little superheros.  And they have the capes to prove it :).

Getting aHEAD of the game

Holly and I have been sewing like crazy to get ready for the Queen Bee Market! Its been a lot of fun but also a lot of work. One of the things I have been making are these hats. Now these hats are for boys but I am short of boys in my house. My hubby only wears baseball hats and the rest of us are girls! So for the pictures I had to had some fun flowers (from the pleated poppy)

 I taught myself how to sew when I was in high school so I was pretty impressed with myself that I could actually figure these bad boys out! I love sewing and I feel like I learn something new and a better way to do something every time I sit down at my machine. 

Z working her magic on the "runway"

We have lots of different fabric and cute lining material for these hats. I guess I should go get started cranking these hats out! Only 3 weeks until Queen Bee!!  ok..Have a great day peeps. Blessings!

Spring has sprung!

Banners tend to ring in the seasons around my house. Wouldn't want anyone to get confused since the weather around here can get a bit weird (85 degrees in January is not uncommon). But it is definitely spring around here, and I LOVE it! Everything seems clean, fresh, and new and I am feeling adventurous.
Please allow me to introduce myself, my name is Holly and I am now half of YeLLoWMeDaiSY. Mollie and I have joined forces in our creative efforts and I couldn't be more excited. I have always loved making fun things, have always had my wonderful husband saying, "you should try to sell some of the things you make." But I have never had the courage to put myself, and my stuff, out there. That's where Mollie comes in. Together this is going to be quite a ride.

I am a stay at home mom of 3 boys, each one a little bit crazier than the last. I love being "girlie", although sometimes my wardrobe would prove otherwise (more out of necessity than anything else). I taught myself to sew just after our first son was born almost 9 years ago (gasp!) in order to keep myself busy during nap time. I started with curtains, made some dresses, LOTS of handbags, and have now moved on to all things boy (at the moment, but I'll explain more about that at another time). Mollie and I are working together to get some fun things made for the Queen Bee Market coming up May 6th-7th. If you are in the San Diego area you should come check it out at the Del Mar Hilton. It will be my first attempt at putting myself out there. Now this could be perfect for me, and my family. A great way to express myself and get a little extra income. Or, it could be a huge flop. Either way, I am so happy that Mollie and I can do this together, that our kids love hanging out together (since our little ones will be seeing a lot of each other), and that our husbands are humoring, er... supporting us.

Mollie and I have a lot of fresh and new things that we are working on, so stay tuned. I love spring!