Clemson vs VA Tech

Another beautiful day for football. It was Military Appreciation Day in Death Valley, and we came home with a WIN versus the Hokies. 

Sickness was warded off this time, so the whole family was able to be at the game.

It was cooooold in the morning, but as the sun started to come out, it warmed up nicely. I'm showing off my 23 week bump!!

 

I love this picture with Hubby. He's not much of a belly-toucher...so I'll take what I can get!

 

While one's still cooking...here's his little love. Stuck together...these two are. 

 

 And these two too!

 

The pom poms for Military Appreciation were of course, red, white, and blue. 

 

 I wanna know how they pack those balloons. Seriously. How do you make a flag?

 

 They're so gorgeous as they're released, and our Tigers run down the Hill onto the field. 

 

Only three more home games left before the end of the season. It will be a looong month of November, but I can't wait! Especially now that it's getting colder. 

Real football weather should include scarves and boots. 

Guest Posters Needed

Two of my girlfriends are expecting their first little miracles, and we are expecting baby #2, so I have been crafting up a storm around here! 

From baby showers, to maternity clothes, to baby things, my craft room has exploded with all things BABY!

I will be doing a series in a few weeks sharing some of these tutorials with you, but would LOVE to add some other crafters/bloggers to the line up as well.

If you have a fun craft, nursery idea, baby shower theme, maternity fix, or Mama-must-have that you love to create, or have created.....get in on the fun!

I would prefer new submissions that have not been published, but if you have pictures from a fantastic baby shower you've thrown, with all of the decor, food, and awesomeness, we would love to see it!

If you are interested, please e-mail me with your Name, Blog, and project idea at gritsandgigglesboutique@yahoo.com to let me know.

Once I get a list, I'll lock down a date!

Thanks Crafty Friends!

{Tutorial} Tulle Dress

Today I'm bringing home another tutorial for the Halloween season! This guest post was over at FreeTime Frolics as part of their Halloween Masquerade series, celebrating the food, costumes, decor, and parties that we all love at Halloween.

I've had to hide this TuTu dress from Gray for the past few weeks, because she insists on wearing it all. the. time. It's a good problem to have, but I want it to be intact for Halloween! After next week, it's all hers.

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I'm Jenilyn, author of Grits & Giggles. I love to share my adventures in sewing, crafting, and being a mommy! I'm so excited to be at FreeTime Frolics today to share with you how to put together a TuTu Dress fit for a princess!

My daughter's favorite song is "You Are My Sunshine". She sings it all day and it never gets old to hear! She loves to dress up and twirl, so I knew for Halloween she needed a sparkly tulle dress. I wanted it to be golden and beautiful, just like the sunshine in her favorite song. 

 

Let's get started!

Materials:

1" Elastic

Tulle- 100 yards for a 2T size

Flower Clip

Coordinating Ribbon

 

Measure around your little girl's chest. This is your elastic length. Overlap by 1" and sew the ends together. You want it fitted, but not too tight. 

 

Measure her height from her chest to where you want the tutu to fall. Multiply this by 2 and add 3". This will be your tulle length.

ex: my measurement was 20"....so my tulle length was 20x2+3= 43"

Cut strips of tulle this length and the width of your spool. You will need a LOT, especially if you use a light color. 

 

I place the elastic band around my leg for support. Place 2-3 strips of your tulle, in different colors, together and fold in the middle. Slip this under your elastic band.

 

Then pull the ends of the tulle through, creating a knot. Don't pull it too tight yet, as the elastic will stretch when you do. Wait until you're finished to tighten. 

 

Continue tying these knots all the way around the elastic, alternating colors and combinations. Gently tighten your knots when you're done. 

 

To add a halter strap, cut a long length of your ribbon, and tie a similar knot, between two knots of tulle. 

 

Clip on your flower clip and you're done! Your tutu dress is ready to be worn and twirled in!

 

It flows beautifully, and sparkles in the October sun.

 

Thanks again for having me from Grits & Giggles!

Check out some of my other Halloween and Fall Tutorials!

Painted Pumpkin Trio 

Funky Halloween Wreath 

 

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*Happy Crafting*

{Tutorial} Trick or Treat Baby Feet

I'm bringing home my guest post tutorial from See Vanessa Craft today to share with my Crafty Friends! This project was done for her "20 Crafty Days of Halloween" this month, celebrating all things Halloween!

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I'm so excited to be back at See Vanessa Craft today to share with you a fun Halloween project! One of the cutest things on the planet HAS to be baby feet, and I wanted to make sure I captured mine while they were still little. What better way to do that then to make an art piece to use for years!

 

Today I'm going to share with you how to make "Trick or Treat" wall art using precious baby feet.

 

Let's get started!

 

Materials:

 

11"x14" Canvas

Acrylic paints

Paintbrush

Vinyl letters or stencil

White glue

Glitter

You will also need a set of tiny baby feet! If your child's feet are larger, you may need a larger canvas, or make your wording smaller so everything fits.

 

Place your acrylic paint in a bowl and take it outside. This can get messy!

Paint your baby feet however you like. I liked the black and orange stripes. My little one tells me that paintbrushes on your feet "tickles", so expect some sqirming!

 

Press the feet firmly onto the bottom of the canvas.

 

Use your paintbrush to carefully touch up any bare spots on your footprints. They don't have to be perfect, just fill in where it really needs it.

 

If you have a cutting machine, you can make a vinyl sticker or stencil of your wording. If you have a steady hand...just freehand it!

 

The font for my wording is "Mirage Gothic". You can download it for free HERE. It's perfect for Halloween!

 

Apply your wording to your canvas above your feet. Make sure the feet are dry first so there's no smudges.

 

To add some fun, use your white glue and draw some spider webs in the corners of your canvas.

 

Sprinkle them with glitter, and shake the excess glitter off.

Once it's dry, use a brush to remove any excess glitter that stuck to the canvas.

 

You're done!!

Add it to your mantle or buffet to enjoy this Halloween season. Make sure you write the year or your baby's age on the back to remember when they had those tiny footprints!

 

Thanks again to Vanessa for having me over!

 

Stop by anytime and visit Grits & Giggles for more fun projects for any holiday!

 

Halloween Wreath

Painted Pumpkin Trio

Fall Frames
 

 

*Happy Halloween*

Patterns for Fall

With the holidays coming up, it's time to start making a winter wardrobe for your little girl!

 

I used the Morgan Dress pattern to make this fall dress for Gray.

 

Don't let her face fool you...she loves it! 

 

She picked out this funky retro micro-cord for her dress.

 

By extending the sleeve pattern just a few inches, I added the long sleeves, perfect for fall and wintertime!

 

You can find the Morgan Dress pattern as well as many others in the Grits & Giggles SHOP.

 

There are also patterns for bags and clutches.

 

Don't know what to get for that teen or young adult on your list? A new clutch would be perfect!

 

Family Pictures

While in the mountains, we were able to take LOTS of great family pictures. By the end of the trip, Gray thought everywhere we stopped was for picture taking...and I guess in a way, it was!

I'm always behind the camera, so this time we took the tripod, used the car hood, and I handed the camera off to Hubby to make sure we had some equal camera time! 

On the way up, the leaves were so beautiful. There was a checkerboard of orange, red, yellow, and green for as far as the eye can see. 

Gray loved seeing all of the colors. 

She wanted the sunroof open the whole time so she could watch the trees go by.

We visited a few outlooks on our way to stretch our legs, and of course, take in the scenery.

The city of Gatlinburg was covered with fall decor. Pumpkins, straw, mums, scarecrows....

Gray LOVED the giant pumpkins and squash.

There are natural rivers all over the mountains, so we pulled off to find a couple. It was a little too cold to wade into the water, but we did some rock hopping instead.

This child likes to ham it up for the camera. And Mama loves it when she does!!

No vacation is complete without a little spoiling, so there was ice cream, milkshakes and kettle corn to be eaten!

At the Apple Barn, we were able to make use of their wonderful fall decor and get some much needed family shots. How perfect is this display for picture taking?

It was sunny and chilly while we were there, perfect for coats and warm boots.

Gray takes lots of opportunities to give her brother a big hug and kiss. 

Hopefully she's as affectionate when he's really here.

This year's Christmas card picture? Perhaps!!

Even when she's not smiling, that face just melts my heart. So gorgeous.

We snuck in a few belly pictures too. Baby didn't know he was having his picture taken. These are at 23 weeks.

That is one happy baby...right there.

It's not very often with busy work schedules and hectic lives that we get to just take off on a vacation. This one was so much fun, especially because Gray remembers where we went and what we did, and could really enjoy it this time!