Artists I Adore - Sarah Crutchfield

This past week was my Sarah's 6th Birthday. I can't think of a better artist to spotlight this week than her.

She wrote in permanent ink on the floor. We left it for a while and did manage to eventually get all of it off. 

Sarah's first sewing lesson. I made the mistake of buying her a kid's machine another day thinking it would be better for safety. We quickly abandoned it to return to this machine. She does a great job watching out for her fingers and this machine actually works.

She has a very special sense of style.

AND  - she lost her first tooth today while she was at school. Wow, was she excited.

This girl is going to do great things and I can't wait to see. 

The one where I finish another project.

So here is my third finished personalized pillow. This pattern has become my new favorite go-to gift for  birthdays for young kids. At least I know that nobody else will get them the same thing, right?

And I don't care what anybody says, that's a hug. He did this just after he opened it up. It made me happy. Happy 2nd birthday to one of Sarah's favorite little buddies! 

Aidan Pillow

Today was my nephew Aidan's birthday. He had a pretty fun Angry Birds party. And I actually finished his birthday gift an entire hour before the party. I really need to get better at planning ahead for this stuff. 

Before I left I asked him to pose with his pillow. He's such a good kid he humored me for my picture. I really enjoy the light saber battle going on in the background.

I know this one is blurry but he looked so stinkin' happy to me when he opened it. It made me feel pretty good.

The stitching looked really cool on the inside before I turned it right side out. This was the first time I've tried satin stitching using my new sewing machine. It's not as easy as it looks, that's for sure. 

Pre-Stuffing

Post Stuffing

So, that's one crafty finish for me. And one happy birthday for the Birthday Boy. 

Happy Birthday!

This week is Miss Pretty Pretty's birthday.

She's very, very excited about it.

I just thought you might like to know.

Happy Birthday to Jon!

Jon had a birthday.

He's 40 now.

Go ahead, sing if you want to.

Days before the party I told him I ordered a cake with a vulture and black frosting.

But I didn't.

We had Notre Dame birthday cake.

And cupcakes with the Chicago Bears 'C' on them made by Liz. Apparently they were very well made, because the server won't let me load the photo. It says I don't have permission to use "this item". Well ok then. Anyway, they looked great and they were delicious. Thanks again, Liz!

There were many, many grown up friends, but apparently I failed to take many photos of them.

But we did get this shot of the pyromaniac clan of boys burning marshmallows in the fire pit. 

The theme for the party was food. Jon is a big fan of food. All kinds. So rather than bringing gifts, I asked friends and family to bring food that was special to them. Something they are famous for, or something they especially love. Also, Jon really loves spicy food so many people took advantage of this fact and brought deliciously spicy delights.

Jon also hung a white sheet in the garage and projected the Notre Dame game onto the "big screen." Thankfully, the team got the birthday memo and racked up a win for our big party day.

We had such a great time celebrating Jon's 40th birthday.

We may just have to do all of this party stuff more often around here.

Here's to 40+ more years with my Jonny.