One Day Closer To You

Hello all, I know it's been a few months since I have made a blog post. I mean well. I promise myself to blog more. I plan to blog more. Then I get busy or lazy, whichever you want to call it, and before I know it, MONTHS have gone by since I last blogged.  Anyway, I have a sewing to do list about a mile long, maybe longer. The first project on my list is some doll clothes that I promised a friend I would make so she could use them at her craft show next month. I have been doing EVERYTHING BUT sewing these doll clothes. I don't know why but my heart and mind just cannot get on board with making these dang doll clothes. They're so easy to sew together, but I discover that every time I sit at my sewing machine to sew them, I just can't. Weird right? Yep. So here's what I've done instead of doll clothes.  I made shorts for myself because it's freaking hot still in Florida despite being "Autumn." Also because no where is selling shorts/summer cl...

Unicorns are all the rage lately so when I was asked to make a unicorn dress for a birthday girl, I couldn't help but ask if the party needed unicorn horns too!  These little babies were the perfect party favor! And the birthday girl got a special blinged out horn! 

Chick fil a does this awesome cow appreciation day every year and this year I made Piper a cow dress! I used CKC Patterns  Marissa and  Cassidy and KPD  Jo's wrap for her headband!  She received many compliments on her dress and enjoyed her free nuggets! We can't wait til next year's Cow Appreciation day!

So one of my many duties as a seamstress is to promote my work and the patterns I use. I have the honor of working with several companies to test drive patterns. :) Here is a sweet little pattern that is due to make a great gift idea. It’s the  Dollhouse Quiet Book by Rebecca Page Patterns. Recently this pattern has been updated to give you add on options! The original book has front and back cover options as well as a living room, bedroom, fishing pond, camp fire, and tent. It came with three animal stuffy friends. The fun thing about this pattern is customizing it! You get to choose the pages to include in your book! It's an excellent scrap buster. The pages were the only things I needed fat quarters for. Every other piece can be cut from your left over fabric from previous projects!  AND I am hosting a guest blog sew along for Rebecca Page Patterns beginning TOMORROW!!!  You'll need to join  this group  and check that you are going to the event! Belo...

A friend of mine recently won a trip to Disney and asked me to make her and the kids some mouse ears. As a native Floridian and someone who has been to WDW many, many times in her life, I can tell you Disney is EXPENSIVE! Especially when you take two kids. Cause kids want everything right? So she asked me and I of course said yes! I love challenging myself to try new sewing and crafting projects. I was able to get everything to make for three pairs of ears for less than the cost of a single pair of the branded ears. It was a pretty interesting experience. One I may or may not do again. Who knows?! Anyway here is a picture of the finished ears. I'm shipping them out this week and hope to be able to update with surprised faces!

I previously mentioned that my husband went back to school to secure a better job and in the past few months, my life has been so completely out of the norm for me. I'm finding the balance between everything to be quite difficult. I struggle with blogging the most. It's a lot easier for me to get on Instagram or Facebook and type a few quick posts, attach the photos from my phone, and go than to get on the computer and type up a blog. I don't have to save photos to my computer or track them down when I want them. They're all right there. And there isn't an official app for Blogger! Go figure! I promise myself to do better from this post forward about making current blog posts.  This is one of my most recent sews, the  Meghan Wrap  by Rebecca Page patterns. This dress is super easy and the twirl factor is amazing. Pj couldn't stop spinning. It is sure to make you feel like a princess. 

When I thought we were settling in, a monkey wrench was thrown. My husband had decided to pursue a career that would afford us a bit more money, better benefits, and more flexibility in our schedules.  All it required was six months in school before he can be hired. Six months is quite a bit of time to worry about the what ifs. Thankfully, I have been able to stay sane by still sewing.  The first few months were a bit rough what with moving expenses on top of Sam's birthday and Christmas expenses. Things are slowly balancing out into a new normal. Until we move again in a year or so to HOPEFULLY our forever home. *fingers crossed so hard*  Anyway, I figured I would share a few of the things I've sewn over the last couple of months that have helped me keep my sanity.  Now that we are temporarily settled into our apartment, I should be able to get back to blogging with semi regularity. Again my fingers are crossed for this. I migh...

Once again I have tested a new pattern for  CKC Patterns!  Introducing Effy! This beautiful pattern comes in top, tunic, and dress length. You can make it with a snapped romper bottom for the little babies. The details on this dress are exquisite. Lace trim, no lace trim. Flower at the waist, no flower. You can use a sheer overskirt and solid bottom skirt. It pairs well with shorts and leggings. So many options. AND it is GORGEOUS!                                

So, many of you know that Sam began second grade on Thursday. Tradition states that a school supply list will be distributed prior to the school year beginning so students have time to get their supplies. Y'all. I bought ALL the supplies. When we met his teacher, I asked her if there was ANYTHING not on the list that she would like or need for her classroom. She said snacks, so you know what I did? I went to walmart and BOUGHT a class snack for Sam to take. Today is his third day of second grade and y'all, on my way home from dropping him off, I was listening to a local radio station. EVERY ONE of those radio personalities were COMPLAINING about having to buy school supplies. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. Are y'all listening? THEY COMPLAINED ABOUT HAVING TO PAY FOR 4 YELLOW HIGHLIGHTERS. They said it was X dollars to get all of the supplies on the list. If parents don't buy the supplies, you do know who has to buy them right?? Right? TEACHERS Teachers who already...

I mentioned in my previous post that I sew samples for  The Caffeinated Momma Custom Fabric This week I sewed up some gorgeous, soft cotton Lycra in some amazing prints. First up, I made a dress for my daughter in these beautiful mint dandelions, a print I requested!  This fabric was soft and supple. It drapes beautifully and has a nice weight to it, not too heavy or too light.    Then I SEWED FOR MYSELF! Something I rarely do either because of time or let's face it, body self consciousness. Anyway, I had been meaning to make the stardust tank by Halla Patterns and I finally did it with the second print of fabric from TCMF. These gorgeous black and white stars paired so well with the galaxy print I had in my stash. They are perfect together. I was a tad worried that the white would be see through, but it's pretty thick for white fabric!!  The preorder for these two fabrics and several more amazing prints is open until August 5th!! The...

So many things have changed in the life of my family since my last post.  My husband has transitioned from the U.S. Marine Corps to civilian life. We moved back to Florida in December 2015 to be closer to our families. We have add a daughter to our family, Piper. I'm a stay at home mom again to our kids, and I am focusing more on my sewing.  I am currently a brand ambassador for  Rebecca Page , a tester for  CKC Patterns , and a strike off seamstress for  The Caffeinated Momma Custom Fabric . All of these have been WONDERFUL opportunities for myself and my family. They have allowed me to expand my skill set and learn more about my self. I'll be using this blog to not only tell you about myself and my family, but also to promote these brands and show off my handmade items!  Now I'll tell you a little about myself.  I'm Lerinda. Mother of two, a seven year old son and one year old daughter.  I've been married to my sweet husban...

I intially wrote this to be a Facebook status, but it got too long. I decided it should be a blog post instead. I haven't blogged in a long while.  Okay, so I haven't posted for a few days about pregnancy and infant loss awareness because it's very difficult this month, so I'm gonna speak to you from the heart. When I was pregnant a year ago with Liam, I was ecstatic. We had been trying for over a year and I had just given up hope of being pregnant again without fertility drugs. It had been so easy to get pregnant with sammy. We didn't really try. I knew nothing of the "prime time" to get pregnant in a cycle. I didn't know all the things you shouldn't eat or do.  With Liam, I charted. I took my temperature daily. I kept notes. I got mad when things came up during that "prime time" in the cycle and we weren't able to baby dance. (Sorry Danny, for getting mad about that.) And then, right when I told Danny that I wanted to make a doct...

This is what 23 weeks of pregnancy and 23 days in the nicu looks like.  We received Liam's remains and his clothes today. I am a wreck all over again just when I was feeling like I could cope. His blanket has a blood stain. His remains are about the size of a half dollar.  I wouldn't wish this on anyone ever.

I'm going to be real with you for a moment. Having Liam shifted my perspective immensely. I try to no longer fuss about small stuff. Yes, from time to time, I fail on that because of my mood, but I try to keep my perspective. Having a preemie is not easy. It has, like everything else in life, pros and cons. Our son was tiny, but a miracle. We loved him, but it was stressful to love him. I say stressful because when you think of babies, you think about holding them to show that love. With a preemie, it could be days before you get to hold your baby. Or in some cases, weeks and months. You get my drift. It was agony not being able to be with either of my sons, one separated from us by miles and one separated from us by meres slivers of plexiglass.  Anyway, one of the cons of having a preemie baby is the money. It's much more expensive to take care of a baby who born before a gestation age that they can thrive without tubes and wires, medicines and intervention. I know, I...

So we live ten minutes from a beach. Which is both a blessing and a curse. It's on base, so usually there is less crowding if you go at the right time.  But as my title states, any day can be beach day. It was a bit sunny and kinda warm today if you count temps in the 50s as warm. (I'm looking at you Florida.) So I checked sammy out of school a tiny bit early and we went to the beach for some mental health. Those are my favorite trips.  We didn't stay long but we had fun and found a few Sharks' teeth.