Hello? Hey....it's been a while...

It seems the closer we get to the end of the school year, the busier it gets!! I know that I have been the BIGGEST slacker poster/visitor/commenter lately, and I am so sorry! And I would totally understand if ya'll delete me off of your Reader...but then you would miss me, so I guess you just have to accept me....flaws and all! :)

So...what has been keeping me away from the computer lately...?

California...just accept that you will NEVER win the battle of the Berries!!

Yep...it is that time of year again!! We went to the Strawberry Festival in my awesome hometown, Ponchatoula!! I don't know what it is about the soil in Tangipahoa Parish, but they grow the BEST strawberries, period...the end. I came back to Lafayette with FIVE flats...YUM!

Anyway, in honor of the festival and in appreciation of my cousin and her wonderful husband for hosting a fun and relaxing gathering at their home every year, I made this for them.

Can you tell it is burlap? Awesome, right? I used a little spray starch on the green stems to make sure they "stood up" and didn't droop once the banner was hanging...it actually worked!!

The Middle Child's Overalls redo got a little strawberry applique makeover...

And The Boy sported this really fun wagon applique! It seems that the wagon has taken over the boy applique trend, instead of the pick-up truck! I used my Embird software to combine the wagon app with a couple of strawberries!!

For Ms. Priss I attempted an argyle look...not sure if it came out right! I used a piece of matching denim from these pants that were made for the Disney trip to display a cute strawberry applique. Some scrap pieces of a knit fabric were used for the diamond shapes...what do you think?

mmmm....strawberries!

Ok...moving on...I really thought the strawberry banner was inspirational and decided to keep the theme going for these Easter Banners!! One for The Middle Child's teacher....

...and one for me! The ingredients for these cuties are orange burlap, craft felt in assorted colors, scrap fabric pieces for lettering, green bias tape (made or bought), and scrap pieces of various shades of green tulle! Oh and the Teacher's received some ribbon-love on the ends, where I left mine plain.

And if you are interested, I made the string eggs last year using a tutorial from The Crafty Crow...which I can't find now, but I googled it and THIS one works just as well! :) I used Elmer's washable school glue...it worked fine, and was easy to clean the kids after :)

There have also been various creations made for school functions. The Middle Child had Black and White Day last Monday, so of course in true ME fashion, I was busy Sunday whipping this up!

And LOOK...it is reversible so it is like TWO dresses at once!!

I used these sweet ladybug buttons to add a bit of color! Oh, and I KNOW that my pockets are not straight...thanks for noticing! HA!

Ms. Priss had a Book Character parade yesterday. Can you guess whose Biography she chose to base her character on?

The bonnet was made using this SO EASY tutorial!! In case you are interested!

And like I needed another one...

This beauty was my Awesome Man's mother's!! Wasn't nice of his ex to finally give it back? It works beautifully!! The Middle Child has already tried it out and the knee presser lever is a hit!! :)

I hope you all have a nice Easter!! Hopefully I will be back in a more timely manner to show off the rest of what I've been up to!! My AWESOME parents have so generously offered to keep all THREE of my babies next week during Spring Break so I can pull up carpet and try my hand at some concrete floor staining, DIY style...wish me luck!! Oh, and ALL suggestions on this undertaking will be GREATLY appreciated!! Until later...