A first attempt- Dress Making

I know I have a son. Trust me, he is ALL boy. He loves anything sports, cars, and climbing. However, in my new adventure of sewing there are very few things to make for a boy compared to little girls. I decided a couple of weeks ago to make my first dress. I say first, but technically I think the first round of Megean dresses were for my dolls around age 7. Poor dolls.

I have the amazing opportunity to spend my days in an inspiring group of crafty ladies online. They are such an inspiration with each of their talents. I have seen some amazing dresses. I chose the pillowcase dress for my first project. Unfortunately, all of my pillowcases are white but I did have an awesome piece of orange fabric from a very awesome lady.

The orange screamed Auburn to me (this scares me, my heart sings Roll Tide Roll...not the other words). I knew that it was meant to be a dress for my cousin's adorable (seriously she is super cute) little girl, Lyndi.

It was quite the process and I learned quite a bit. At the end I enjoyed it quite a bit, took it on a visit to my granny's house and received many, many tips on how to improve it on the next time around. Someday I can only hope to have a fraction of my granny's sewing talent.

Here it is, not perfect, but not horrible and definitely a cute addition to Lyndi's already adorable closet.

New Camera for New Milestones

It has been a while since I posted, but I promise I am still here :)

A couple of weeks ago Huddy practiced throwing with my Canon Rebel XT. Unfortunately, cameras are not built for this type of activity. I dropped it off at the geek squad for repair and they told me it would be a few weeks. June 27th was the anticipated return date, so I called and was told to call back in 2 weeks. This morning I received an unexpected voicemail from the geek squad. It said I had been approved for an exchange and to come in to pick out a comparable model.

I was pretty excited and bummed at the same time. I have a lot of great memories with XT. It had been there through a lot of major milestones and we had found a comfort with one another. The tech informed me it had been "recycled" due to parts no longer being available.

I eagerly awaited to find out what my new camera would be and then felt letdown when I saw that a Nikon had been placed on the sheet. Don't get me wrong, I know Nikon is a great brand. It is as good as Canon in my book, maybe better in a lot of other's books, but I am a Canon girl now. I had also just bought my dream lens a couple of days after the great camera accident.

I kindly asked if I could please get a canon instead since a nikon would not fit my accessories. I was shocked when he said sure and that he would just put what I bought the camera for (3 years ago) plus the tax I paid on a giftcard.

It was at this moment I was happy that Spencer had not made the trip with me. I have no doubt we would have not went home with a camera. I chose the canon T3 to capture the next milestones in my life. I am pretty excited about it and feel like an old dog learning new tricks. The interface is a lot different and overall the updates since 2008 are quite impressive. The first thing I noticed was how much lighter the T3 is vs the XT.

I feel like I am back at square one and ready to take on the adventure of a new camera, plus a new lens. Wish me luck, follow the journey, because I can promise it will be well documented.

It is unfortunate when you realize you must take a picture of your awesome new camera with your letdown of a camera called the droid x.

Camera Love

Beach Bag

I am so excited about our beach trip this weekend. We are headed for a one night stay to celebrate my 25th birthday! I was feeling a little bummed about turning 25, but honestly my life is the best it has ever been...so I am accepting 25 with thankfulness.

Our beach bag from last year disappeared after the move. Since it is just one night, I can't justify spending a lot of money on a bag. So I took this as an opportunity to play with my new toy, and birthday present from Spencer, my sewing machine!

Unfortunately, due to the tornado Hobby Lobby is no longer standing and Hancock fabrics has been closed. The only option for fabric has been walmart. I am going to be honest that the days of a big sewing section in Walmart is long gone. It is now one aisle of pre-cut packages of 2 yds of fabric. The selection is ok at best and a tad boring for my taste.

But guess what, I am a lucky girl. A couple of ladies from my crafting group sent me some amazing fabric. I chose a bright yellow from one of the packages to go with my tealish blue I picked up from Walmart.

After searching many, many tutorials/patterns I found one I liked. It boasted being big and easy to carry. Well with a toddler, I can just imagine the load of things I will take for our one day beach trip. I tried it out and loved it! So here it is, my completed beach bag. It is not perfect and I could definitely improve my sewing skills. But who cares, it serves its purpose and that is what counts.

New Blog!

If you are following this blog, please take a moment to check out my new blog. It is for my company, The Individuality. This blog will follow the creative explorations of my company, my goals as a designer, and my progress as a business owner.

I also plan to include updates on my clients and the wonderful things they are doing. I have some amazingly, creative clients and it would be selfish to not share what they are creating.

So take a minute, follow the new blog, share it with someone and enjoy :)

The Individuality Blog

I am still here.

I promise I have not left my blog. Although it might seem that way. Life has been really busy lately and due to the lack of internet for so long, the blog was put to the side. I have been playing catch up with work since the day internet was restored. I feel like no matter how many hours I put in each day, I can not catch up. However, I am beyond happy for the work :)

On a good note, new things are coming. Specifically, a blog redo. I will no longer be using this blog to follow the adventures of my company, The Individuality. It will now have a separate space to show off my work. This blog will move back into it's original purpose, more of a following of my personal endeavors as a mom.

I have a joined a wonderful crafting group through another website, and they have inspired me to pick back up my crafty side. This blog will serve to follow those adventures.

Spencer recently bought me a sewing machine and I can't wait to show off the progress I make as I jump back into the world of sewing, it has been a while. So bear with me as these changes emerge over the next couple of weeks.

And a sneak peek...

Logo Love: Giveaway Corner

I loved working on this logo, almost as much as I love this website!

http://giveawaycorner.blogspot.com/



Logo Love: Melli's Trinkets

I had a wonderful time working on this logo! You can check out more information on this company in my previous blog!

Creative Mom - Melli's Trinkets

Entry 2: Creative Moms!

I love Melli's Trinkets! Melli, the owner creates jewerly with a personalized touch. In my opinion it has quite the artsy flare to catch anyone's attention. I personally couldn't help but grab a really cute handmade pearl necklace from her Etsy site last night, as a small mother's day treat to myself.



Image courtesy of http://mellistrinkets.blogspot.com/

 I also have the honor of working on a completely custom branding package for this company. I love letting my creativity out of the box and working on something that is a bit "edgy". I can't wait to show off the logo once the final is approved, very soon. Take a moment to check out her blog and etsy page. If you hurry, she has a special for Mother's Day!

http://mellistrinkets.blogspot.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/melliburger?ref=si_shop

WIN one of my products!

Today is your chance to win one of my products, a Children's Gift Tag Set! The Individuality is being featured on the amazing blog, Giveaway Corner. If you aren't already following this one, you should. Each day a different item is featured to be given away. Entering is easy, simply input your name on the form and click submit. You can also score extra entries by following on twitter or facebook for most giveaways, including mine.

So take a moment to enter to win today and everyday!

My Giveaway: http://giveawaycorner.blogspot.com/2011/05/thursday-may-5th-today-we-are-giving.html

April 27, 2011

I can honestly say that this was the scariest day of my entire life. Nothing else compares and I hope nothing else ever scares me this much.

We were prepared for bad weather. but did not realize just how bad it would be. I was busy working away and listening to the weather for my parents in North Alabama. They had lost power and I was fearful of bad weather sneaking up on them. As our sirens went off, I went ahead and put our pillows/blankets in the hallway. Our hallway is open to the living room and blocked off by a baby gate. I put Huddy and the boys (Boyd & Blue) behind the gate as Spencer and I continued to watch the weather coverage. I joined them and grabbed Huddy's small crib mattress, just in case.

As we watched the tornado roll in on CBS 42 coverage, I began to panic. I panic in small thunderstorms, so Spencer was trying to keep me calm and assuring me it was not near our home. As he looked closer at the live video, he realized it was really close to our neighborhood and then we heard it. He rushed under the mattress with us and we all clung to each other as the wind got stronger. I do not know how to explain what we felt and what we saw. It was unreal and nothing like I have ever seen. We could see large trees flying past our front window, next our grill went by and then the house began to shake. As I prayed a fearful prayer, Spencer held us all tight. What seemed like forever, was only a matter of seconds and when it was over, the smell of tree filled our home.

As we emerged from our hallway, we first saw that my office was full of leaves, twigs, and water. Then Spencer glanced out the front door and took off. A house across the street was under a massive tree. The next several minutes were a blur to talking to neighbors we have never met and coming together to make sure everyone on our street was safe, luckily we were. We had no clue just how bad it was, until others from streets over streamed into our area and then moved on to help others.

The rest of the night was sickening. The night air was filled with darkness and the glow of emergency lights. The sound of sirens echoed into the night and the following day as well. We were shocked to see the change of the landscape of a city we adore. I am not sure that the pictures that flood the internet and scroll across the tv do justice for what my eyes have seen. We were blessed to have only a small amount of damage and all of the lives of our little family spared. My heart breaks for all of those that have been affected in such a worse way and while I am ready to return to my home, my eyes fill with tears at the thought of what my city will look like when I return.

I am confident that not only my city, but all the areas of the South will come together and reach out to help one another. There are so many ways anyone, from anywhere can donate their resources in such small ways. I encourage anyone reading my story to find a way to help out those who really need you right now. I am not sure of all the resources, as this is my first day back with a computer, however I will provide the links that have been brought to my attention.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Toomers-for-Tuscaloosa/127019264041188

http://www.facebook.com/ALTornadoAnimals

http://www.servealabama.gov

http://www.alredcross.org