Thursday, May 27, 2010

Results of cutting open the tags

As we came home from school today Little was quite distraught to find that she couldn't put her finger in the loop of the tag on her blanket. This was followed by much sobbing which, of course, made me second guess the act of cutting the tags open. But once I explained to/reminded her, a few times, that it was the blanket that had given her the "ouchy" on her finger and that I wanted to keep her safe, she switched to: " Blankie!! Aah No!!! Aah no!!" Over and over and over again!

So hopefully she gets it and it won't be like the time my Dad accidentally set my blanket on fire for her!!!

xoxo—Lori Danelle

Tried to amputate her finger!

My two little ones LOVE to close doors.
Not softly, but as loudly & as hard as possible.
The bathroom door, the door to their room, cupboard. . .if it's open, and preferably if it will make a loud noise, they NEED to shut it—not paying attention to who or what is near them and may be in their way.

Needless to say, every time I hear a door slam, I cringe a little in expectation of an ensuing wail and little fingers being severed. In many ways, I feel it is only a matter of time: Crushed fingers, or worse, are inevitable.

However, I didn't see this coming.

This morning, Little Sister's left, first finger was in jeopardy.

The culprit? (Hint: it wasn't a door)

Her blanket.

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It could have been any blanket, but this one happened to be a very cute blanket from DwellStudio for Target. But do you see that little, dingy, much-touched tag hanging down up there? Little Sis, like many small children, loves to play with that part of the blanket in particular. She rubs it between her fingers and at night, sticks her finger through the loop in order to keep it close to her as she sleeps.

Still not seeing the issue, are you? Me either.

When I put her to bed at night, I find the tag and hand it to her. I've even helped her get her finger into the loop. Her obsession with the tag is perfectly normal. There's a whole company called Taggies that was built around this knowledge that for whatever reason, kids love the tags!

But last night, as she slept with her finger in the loop of the tag on her blanket, it got so twisted up that it cut the circulation off of her finger! Kind of like how a dog's tail might be docked. It didn't wake her up right away, so by the time she did wake & start crying, her finger was BLACK!! It took about 10 minutes to get it back to a somewhat normal pink. Talk about scary!!!

Later this morning, her finger still showed signs of the event.

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I try to stay pretty level-headed about most things, not freak out too much, and realize that kids are going to get hurt & putting them in a bubble is neither practical nor productive, but from now on I will be cutting open any tags that go into her bed. I never would have thought that something so benign as a tag on my kid's favorite blanket could be a safety hazard, but this could have been REALLY serious! I am so thankful that Little might be quite a bit more in need of some snuggles today, but is still the proud owner of 10 fully functioning fingers!

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Now please, go grab some scissors and cut open any tag loops that may find their way into your child's bed! Blankets, pillows, stuffed animals. . .inspect everything. It's not likely to happen to you, too, but let's make sure it doesn't!!

And, I'm suggesting we only cut open the loops, rather than remove them because I know that Little does like to hold onto it and I don't want to take that away from her entirely – just keep her safe!

Are there any other safety hazards out there for kids that I need to know about? Ones that a novice Mommy would never suspect??

xoxo—Lori Danelle

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

To My Man:

HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY!!!!


Thanks for joining me in this new decade! I was beginning to feel lonely & old!!!

New adventures await. . . ;)

Love you, today & always!!

xoxo—Lori

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Not on the wrong foot anymore!!!

Do you own a toddler?

Does your toddler like to "do it myself!" when it comes to dressing and shoes (not to mention, EVERYTHING else)?

Does this often result in a day spent with shoes that look like this? (Because of course you are NOT allowed to help fix them!!)

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Well, if you, like me, posses one of these independent toddler types, rest assured: Your shoe problems may be at an end.

1. Grab a Sharpie or some fingernail polish.
2. On the inside sole of each shoe mark a dot (fingernail polish) or draw something fun like a small heart (Sharpie) in the same location on both shoes.
3. Instruct your self-reliant tot that when putting on his or her shoes to put the hearts/dots together.

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4. Ta-Da!!!!

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(Don't you just love her tattoos that won't go away no matter how much we scrub??)

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The results??

One very confident kid-o that is so proud of him or herself & one Mom who can feel good about give her child the tools to succeed! And of course, no longer having to remind yourself that it's not important that her shoes are on the wrong feet, it's more important that she feels that she's accomplished something new, all by herself. . .See? Everyone wins!!

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Now go out there and empower your kids!!!!! :)

xoxo—Lori

now if anyone can help me with why Big Sis insists on wearing both pj shorts AND pj pants to bed at the same time, I'd be much obliged.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

You should be proud of me

If you know me, you would know that I have a very difficult time deciding NOT to make something. I take a lot of pride in what I create, love the act of taking something on the verge of the junk pill and making it something you would never part with or a plain flat piece of fabric into your favorite new garment. And to be really honest, I LOVE people's reactions when they found out I made it. I hope I'm not alone on that and didn't just release some dirty little secret about myself! But perhaps I love the accolades a little too much.

Which is why you should be proud of me.

The Girls have a Spring Fling concert thing at school on Thursday. They're doing a 50's theme and asking the kids to dress up in the style of the musical Grease. Big Sis's class was specifically told to wear a poodle skirt if she had one—which she doesn't, but that was not a problem!!

I immediately had visions of the other moms oohing and aahing over how cute Big was in her little poodle skirt. I imagined them being a just a little bit jealous of the superiority of the poodle skirt that I made compared to the one their daughter was wearing. (Are my own insecurities showing?)

So Monday night I went to the store, bought my fabric & ric-rac (every poodle skirt needs a poodle on a ric-rac leash, right?) and was all set to sew the skirt up Tuesday night with Wednesday as a cushion if some went totally wrong. I was pleased with myself. I wasn't going to work myself into some crazy frantic stress-fest.

Then on Tuesday I picked Big up from school and while I was talking with her teacher mentioned something about going home to sew a poodle skirt. I was answered with a sort of blank stare and a stammering, "Oh, didn't you see that one of the other moms was going to provide them for all the girls?"

!!!!!!!!!!????

So I was faced with a choice. And for me, it was a tough one. (because I'm ridiculous. I know.) Make my beautiful skirt anyway and show up the other mom (at least that's how it was going to go in my head), or be very grateful for her generosity, an evening of being able to focus on things I wanted to do rather than the poodle skirt I had to make, and let this mom my in the limelight and receive all the accolades.

I'm sure for you it was a no-brainer: Put the fabric in your stash pile and never think about it again! Unfortunately, I'm not so sane. I had to wrestle with it.

But I'm happy to report, that I DID let go.
Sanity won out.
I chose not to wrap my self-worth up in that toddler sized poodle skirt.

Small victory. But still a victory. :)

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Nashville Hatch Show Print Poster

Last week I talked a lot about Hatch Show Print. The reason is because my company, Griffin Technology, has teamed up with Hatch to create a poster to raise money for relief efforts for the flooding we had here earlier this month.

The fun part (for me) about this poster is that I had (a tiny bit) of input on its creation! SO, I do not take credit, but it was fun to be back at Hatch and be involved in such an amazing project.

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These are limited edition posters (only 250 were printed!) and every penny spent on these posters will go to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee's Metro Nashville Disaster Response Fund. (that's a REALLY long name. . .) If you're interested in getting your hands on one of these posters and helping out Nashville, they're being sold for $100 at Cool People Care.

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(photos by Bradley Spitzer)

In addition to these posters, we did something that was unique to Griffin as well. We printed up iPhone cases!!

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(photo by Bradley Spitzer)

I got to be involved with the actual creation of these as well!

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These are sale for $50 and again, just a limited run of 250 were made. These can also be found at Cool People Care. For more pictures of the whole process, check them out here. You'll even catch glimpses of me. :)

So if you're interested, act fast! These will go quickly and once they're gone, they're gone!!

xoxo—Lori

Things Litte Sister says:

Well, Little doesn't talk too much yet, so "things she says" is a bit of a stretch, but this is still funny, so I'm sharing.

For whatever reason, both girls around the age of 2 have fallen in love with the song "Happy Birthday." I imagine because they can personalize it.

So this morning as we drove to school, instead of the normal verses with every person on the planet that Little Sis knows, she insisted that I sing to each individual goldfish cracker before she would eat it. It was quite funny!

And in my head I was thinking, Happy Deathday would be more appropriate. . .but also a bit morbid! :)

xoxo—Lori

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Better photos of the fingerprint cutting

My friend Brad, who just happens to be an amazing photographer, and well, takes photos for a living, agreed to take photos for me of the fingerprint cutting. So, I thought I'd share. :)

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His looks a little bit better than mine. Thanks Brad!!

And when I can cut & design like this, I will be supremely happy.
( I know, most of you would think this was torture, not fun!! What can I say?)

Rob Ryan timelapse at Pick Me Up gallery from karl sadler on Vimeo.


Isn't that incredible????!!! Geez. . .I've got a ways to go. . .

xoxo—Lori

Friday, May 14, 2010

Found out something fun!

This last week I've been spending a lot of time at Hatch Show Print as my company is working with them to make a poster to help raise funds for Nashville Flood victims. It's fun to be there because about 5 years ago, I actually got to work there as an intern and was able to be part of the designing and printing of the posters using the amazing art form of letterpress.

This time around however I found out something REALLY cool!!

I'm published!!!

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I guess a couple of years ago one of the posters I did that was part of a special series we were commissioned to do was printed in the book New Vintage Type. This is Brad, who still works at Hatch and was one of the poster's creators as well. He is also the designer doing the new flood relief poster for us (with the most minuscule amount of my input). :)

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My poster is the brown & red one on the right that says "Honky Talkin.'" (We were provided the text. . .)

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And now I feel the need to explain the purpose of these posters just a bit, because that copy is quite cheesy. . .

They were a promo piece for a major paper company. We printed on different types of paper that they were highlighting and each poster then had copy that played on the paper. So thus the really crazy/strange copy.

Anyway, I'm published and that's really fun.

(At one point that poster was hanging up at the Nashville airport as well, but I didn't see it the last time I flew, but as I had my hands full with luggage and 2 kids, it really didn't seem like a good time to go looking for it. But if you happen to fly into Nashville & see it, let me know!!)

That's all. :)

xoxo—Lori

. . .seems like I should be able to get a free book or something. . .

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Fingerprint Paper Cut Art

I tried something new tonight. About 2 nights ago I had this idea. . . and then forgot about it. But luckily I remembered again later the next day and quickly set to work figuring out the preliminary steps—how to get the clearest possible fingerprint. Turns out the best method consists of scribbling on paper with a pencil and packing tape.

Tonight I finished the tricky part.

Cutting the design out with an X-acto knife.

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That's my fingerprint!!!

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I've got a few more things planned. I think they would be great to do for a wedding. Do both the bride and the groom on the sheet of paper. Or you could do a family "portrait" with a series of them. And kids would love the fingerprinting process! And to see your fingerprint blown up like that is really quite cool! Never realized my fingertip had wrinkles! :)

I'm just a little excited about them and my other ideas of what else I could do with them, but too excited to wait and work that all out before I show you the very first one!!

So, what do you think???

xoxo—Lori

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

I am such an amazing parent.

I am such an amazing parent that Little Sister put herself in time out after hitting Big.

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Your kids do that, right? ;)

(I had to stifle the laugh as she climbed up into the "naughty chair." It was rather cute.)

xoxo—Lori

******I've been thinking about this and perhaps Little is a better parent than me. I wasn't even going to put her in time-out!!

Monday, May 10, 2010

Quick, fun & colorful coasters!!

We're down to 2 of those "thirsty stone" coaster from the original 8 and even one of those is only being held together by the cork backing. I've been meaning to make some fabric ones for awhile and FINALLY got around to it this weekend. I LOVE them because 1. they're not breakable, and 2. it's fun to have little bits of color all around—even under your glass! The girls love them too and have been found playing with them. I'm not quite sure what they're playing, but they are entertained, so I'm happy. :)

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These are fun to make for yourself—or give as a fun hostess gift! I actually made 2 more sets after I made mine for my Mother-in-law & Sister-in-law for a fun little Mother's day gift. Here's a tutorial I put together so you can whip up a set or two. Enjoy!

Start by cutting your fabric into 4 1/2 x 10 inch rectangles and batting into 4 x 4 inch squares.
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Fold the fabric in half, right sides together using a 1/4 inch seam allowance.
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Sew up 2 of the sides, leaving one side open and making a pocket.
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Clip the corners on the folded edge.
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Turn and press the fabric right side out, using scissors or another tool to push the corners out.
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Flip the fabric back to being wrong side out—you don't have to worry about getting the corners back out—and lay the square of batting on top, lining up the edge with the folded edge of the fabric.
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Sorry, I don't have photos for this step as I can't do & take a photo at the same time! From here your going to turn the fabric right side out again, this time engulfing the batting as you do it. It's very similar to how you would put the duvet cover on a duvet—only on a MUCH smaller scale! I personally, stick both of my thumbs into the corners of the pocket. Then place my fingers on the outside corners and push it through. Try and get the batting all the way down into the pocket and as smooth as possible, but a small bit of bunching isn't going to ruin the coaster. :)
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Once the batting is inside, fold the fabric down over it, inside the pocket with one side of the fabric folded over the batting. Pin in place.
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Starting 1/8 inch in, sew a seam all the around the square 1/8 inch away from the edge.
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Then, line the edge of your presser foot up to the stitching you just made (approximately 1/4 inch). Set your machine to stop with the needle in the downward position or do this manually if you don't have this feature. Sew along each side, stopping approximately 1/4 inch away from the perpendicular seam. With your needle down, pivot and turn the corner, keeping your presser foot lined up to the previous seam and continue sewing and pivoting until you reach the center, using the previous seams as guides. Back-stitch to lock your stitch.
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All done!

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Make as many as you like in as many different fabric as you'd like or keep them all matching. Either way, lots of fun and a little way to add some color around the house.

My girls put ours to use right away!! They thought they were the greatest.
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If you make some, be sure to send me pictures!! I'd love to see them!

xoxo—Lori

Friday, May 7, 2010

I've got pillows!!

3 more to be exact!

I used some of the words you gave me. . .and have some more in the works, in case you don't see yours—which is probably the case as you gave me more than I've had time for!!! :) But more are coming because I loved your ideas!!

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And I tried something a little different.

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I noticed on the first one I did how nice the stitching on the back looked. So I thought I'd do a pillow with just stitching.

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And I did one with no words at all. :)

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Hope you like them!!! You can find them over in my etsy store if you don't just like them, but love them. . .

xoxo—Lori

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Nashville

Sorry, it's been so quiet around here this week. I actually have some things to share with you, but right now life is turned a little upside down here in Nashville.


Even though we ourselves are OK, this is what surrounds us and has become a big part of my day. The road I go down to get to work is still flooded, so it's still taking me about an hour to get to work. The enormity of the situation and the devastation is just horrible! Everyone knows someone who's belongings or even their house is ruined. One of the girls I work with is still stuck on her street with no way to get out even though her house if fine. It's all just crazy.

Here's an article
that has done a good job of compiling images from the area. Quite a few of them were taken just a couple of miles from either where I live or where I work, like the one below.


Luckily it has been sunny since Monday, but Friday it's supposed to rain. . .hopefully just a sprinkle, because I'm not sure we can handle any more than that.

xoxo—Lori

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