My super kids and More new hats!!

Happy Tuesday to all!!

I first want to tell you how excited I am about the craft fair that will be going on at my son's school on November 6th.  I am in charge of it and so far we have some great vendors.  We still have room for more vendors, so if you are interested, please contact me for more info.  If you want to come shop - it will be a great time to get some of the holiday gifts taken care of.  The fair is from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM on that Saturday.  Hope to see you there.

I also have to brag on my kiddos.  Zachary is going very well in school and is in the Kindergarten play, Goldilocks and the 3 Bears.  He is playing the door - hehe.  He is so excited and is so cute singing the songs and doing the dances.  I know the play will be soo cute!  Kaylee had her first chair test in band for her French Horn - and . . . . she got 1st chair!!!  I was soooo proud of her.  You should also see the things she has been drawing - it is amazing!  She has been taking art lessons from Mrs. Jackson at the school and is blowing my mind with what she can draw.  She has been doing a lot of writing as well in her writing class.  I really love what this teacher has them doing.  One of the stories she brought home last night was just incredible.  I am just so proud of my kids.  :)

I am looking very forward to a much needed retreat this weekend at the Hen House.  I just can't wait and am hoping to get closer to being caught up on my Cutiepies & Critters orders.  I am so happy to be busy, but am trying very hard to keep the turn around time to less than 2 weeks.  Right now I have 20 items on order that I need to get done, so I'm a little over the 2 week turn around time, but hopefully after this weekend, that will change.  Whoo hoo!! 

I have a few new items that I have made for orders and have added to the website for sale.  They are great ideas for the holiday season!  Here are some great pics (thanks to Amanda of Mulberry Lane Studio):

That's all I have for now.  Have a wonderful rest of the week and weekend!
~til next time,
Paula

Filling Orders!!!

Hey everyone!

I am hard at work filling my orders for Cutiepies & Critters and I am loving it!  I just wanted to pop in quickly to show you the orders I filled last night and today.  I just love how they turned out!  I have more orders to fill tomorrow and for a few days I will be busy - yay!!

Thanks for looking!
~til next time,
Paula

More new products at Cutiepies & Critters

Happy Monday to everyone!  Today it is finally starting to feel like fall - yippee!!  I did not think it was ever going to cool down.  We even had a nice day yesterday and the kids played outside almost all day.  We had the windows open and I was crocheting while watching the Cowboys win with my dear hubby, Robby.  It was so nice and relaxing and I hope we have many more days like this. 

I finished some new items that I have now put up in my shop at http://www.cutiepiescritters.bigcartel.com/ .  Here are some photos of the new items:

I'm working on some new Christmas and holiday theme items that I hope to have in the shop soon.  :)  Now I'm off to get Kaylee from school to take her to her dentist appointment.  Have a wonderful week!

~til next time,
Paula

New products in the Cutiepies and Critters shop!

Happy Monday everyone!  I have been hard at work filling orders for Cutiepies and Critters and I hope to keep getting orders and staying busy.  :) 

I have the new "Newsie Hat" and "Mini Newsie Hat" in the shop.  They are a version of a slouch type hat with a band and brim.  They are trendy and seem to be very popular.  Here are photos of 3 custom adult ones that I have made and a newborn size mini one. 

Keep checking the shop at http://www.cutiepiescritters.bigcartel.com/ because I have more hats that I will be adding over the next few days.

I am also getting ready for Zachary's big 6th birthday this Thursday.  He is so excited - only 3 more sleeps (that's how he keeps track - hehe).  Then Saturday Kaylee will be going to Honors Choir tryouts. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!
~til next time,
Paula 

Something New

Happy Tuesday to all!  Well, we survived the first week of school and are on to the second week.  The routine is getting a little easier now.  It has been a challenge keeping up with everything the kids have to get/do and all the paperwork - oohhh the paperwork - ugh!  That was a pain, especially for Kaylee.  One day I spent 3 hours - I'm not kidding - 3 hours doing paperwork for Kaylee's school.  I felt like they had sent ME back to school - rofl!

On a totally different note, I wanted to share something new that I found I could do.  My sweet friend and neighbor, Risa, had an old and pretty beat up photograph that meant a lot to someone in her family.  She wanted to see if I could do anything to maybe restore it, even if it was just a little bit.  I got to working on it and all that digital design work paid off in a totally new and unexpected way.  I have to say that I was pretty surprised at what I was able to do with it.  I know it's not perfect, but I would like to show it to you. 

It was a fun challenge, but not something I think I'd want to do everyday - hehe.  Pretty interesting though, at least I thought so.  :)

Well, I'm off to finish crocheting a hat and try to get a jog in (if it's not too hot) before I go pick up the kiddos. 

~til next time,
Paula   

Back to school and 4 new hats added to the Cutiepies and Critters shop

Hello everyone!  It's back to school time and boy is this time of year hectic!  We have already had Kaylee's 6th grade orientation and in a couple of days we will have Zachary's Kindergarten orientation.  Wow, I can't believe I will have both kids in school now.  I've taken on the Staff Appreciation Chairperson position for Zachary's elementary school PTA this year.  I'm really excited.  Thursday is a luncheon for the staff and I am working on a nice surprise for the teachers and other staff members for the first week of school.  Once I have given them out, I'll have to post photos - I just don't want one of them to see it here and ruin the surprise - hehe. 

Another exciting thing - Amanda took some adorable photos with some of the hats I created in the past few days and I have now added 4 new hats to my shop at Cutiepies and Critters.  Here are some photos of the new hats:

"Little Red Monster Hat"

"Happy Hippo Hat"

"Aviator Hat"

"Purple Bumpy Hat"

Special thanks to Mulberry Lane Studios for these great photos!!

If you are interesting in looking more at these or some of my other hats for sale, please go to

http://www.cutiepiescritters.bigcartel.com/

Thanks and let's get these kids off to a great start to their school year!

~til next time,

Paula

Cutiepies and Critters is open for business!!!

Hello everyone!  I hope you are having a wonderful weekend.  It's going good here - but very VERY hot!  I can't wait for a break in this heat.  :) 

I have super exciting news!  My website for Cutiepies and Critters just opened a few minutes ago and I can't wait to see how everyone likes it.  I have my crocheted hats, baby cacoons, fringe blankets, etc. on there for sale.  Everything on this site is special order, so it will be made just for you!  I am still working on getting my etsy shop up and going as well.  I will be selling items that I have on hand ready to ship on that site.  :) 

For now, I would love it if you went and took a look at my new shop and let me know what you think of it.  I have new products that I will be adding over the next couple of weeks to, so be sure to check back once in a while to see the new additions.  The web addy for the shop is:

http://www.cutiepiescritters.bigcartel.com/
Have fun and . . .
~til next time,
Paula

New hats that I'll have for sale soon on Cutiepies and Critters!!

Happy Friday!  It's the start of another weekend - yay!! This week one of Kaylee's 4th grade teachers, Mrs. Williams allowed Amanda (Mulberry Lane Studios) to take some photos of her adorable new baby, Kali, in some of the new hats that I have made.  There is also a photo of Mrs. Williams' older daughter in one of the larger hats that I have made.  They turned out so cute and I wanted to share some of the photos with you.

These will be available for sale soon (hopefully in the next couple of weeks).  I hope to have both my website and etsy shop up and going by then. 

I have also submitted a digikit to the team and DaisyTrail, so hopefully it will be up in their shop soon - yay!!

Now I'm off to work on organizing my yarn to make more hats/blankets and to clean my house - fun fun fun!!!  Have a wonderful weekend!

~til next time,
Paula

Back from my vacation!

Hello everyone!  I'm back from my vacation to see my family.  We were gone for 16 days - wow!  We spent a few days in Lamar, OK visiting my Grandma Huff.  Then we spent a few days in Broken Arrow, OK visiting my Grandma and Grandpa Mac, and finally we spent the rest of the time in Paola, KS visiting my Mom and Dad.  We took Gracie with us and everyone fell in love with her.  She's a good traveler.  We got to eat plenty of Mazzio's pizza and have my favorite Coneys in Broken Arrow.  It was a really fun time, but I'm glad to be back home.  Poor Robby didn't have such a good time while we were gone tho.  The television went out and the A/C went out last friday and is still not fixed - lol.  We can get it to work here and there by using a stick to get the fan moving - rofl!  We have a wall unit a/c hanging out of our bedroom window and I'm just waiting for the notice from the HOA on that one..tee hee hee!!!

I'm hoping to get my etsy shop going soon and I'll have some cool jewelry to sell on there that my Mom and I made while I was visiting, so be on the look out for that.  I've also been making some new crocheted hats and thanks to Amanda, I'll have my very own website for my children's hats/photo props very soon too.  I'll be sure to announce once I have them up and going. 

Not much else new here.  Looking forward to going to the Vera Bradley private event tonight - YAY!!  Have a great rest of the week and . . .

~til next time,
Paula

Scary day - I'm back on Facebook!

Well, I did it - something I said I never wanted to do again, but since I'm going to be starting a new business venture - I kind of had to.  So - I'm back on facebook - hehe.  Now - I just have to figure out how to work it. 

And - we have the new name for the etsy business we are going to start (by we - I mean me and Kaylee).  So..... drumroll please .......

Cutiepies And Critters
Thanks Amanda for coming up with that adorable name for us!

I can't wait to get it all started.  We will be selling all sorts of stuff from baby items/photo props, to scrapbooking things, to dog toys.  Basically, we will be making whatever we get the urge to make - rofl!  I'll be sure to let you all know as soon as we have stuff available for sale.  :)

Okies - I have to run and set stuff up!  If you're not already there - add me as a friend on facebook and you can become a fan of my cutiepies and critters page!!  Yeah!

~til next time,
Paula

I've been crocheting and a prayer request

Hi all!  I hope you are having a great start to summer.  I've been spending quite a bit of time with my kiddos at the neighborhood pool and crocheting some cute photo props and baby stuff.  I've also been working on a new digi kit that I hope to have done in the near future.  ;) 

I want to tell you about my dear friend, Joni, and what she has been going through.  She has just recently found out that she has a serious infection in her knee that she had replaced a few years ago, and the infection is more than likely in her hip as well.  She will be going in for surgery on Thursday and I would like to ask that everyone pray for her that the surgery will go well enough that she won't have to have more surgery, and that she will have an easy recovery (as easy as possible anyway).  I have made her a prayer shawl that I will be taking to her on Tuesday, so Joni - if you read this - you'll know what's coming - hehe.  Anyway, I recently found out about these and think they are a great thing.  If you have not heard about them, it is a crocheted or knitted shawl/blanket that someone makes for another person who might be going through a rough time or illness.  The maker of the blanket prays for the recipient while making it and it is supposed to bring comfort to that person and let them know that they are cared for and being prayed for.  If this is something you might be interested in doing, Lion Brand yarns has some free patterns on their website.  All you have to do is register on their site - it is free also - then you can have access to these and many more free patterns.  Here is the one I made:

 
As I mentioned earlier - I have also been crocheting some photo props.  I'm hoping one day to open an etsy store to sell them and some of the other crafts that Kaylee and I make.  We're working on finding a name for our shop - so if you have any ideas - I would love to hear them.  :)  We are wanting a name that will show that we do all sorts of crafts and maybe even that we are a Mother/Daughter team.  Ok - back to the props - hehe (I get easily distracted - squirrel!!! - rofl) anyway - here are some photos of the props that I have made so far:

Well, tonight my and Robby's 13th anniversary.  We are planning to go out to eat, and possibly to a movie.  The movie we want to see really bad, Grown Ups, isn't out yet - bummer!  But at least we'll get a little time by ourselves at dinner.  Speaking of that - I'd better run and get ready.  Have a great rest of the week!

~til next time,
Paula

Kaylee's Alice In Wonderland Play - A Huge Success!

Wow - we have had a busy couple of weeks with Zachary graduating from Pre-K, Kaylee finishing 5th grade and leaving elementary school, and Kaylee's big play. I've got so many photos for you that I'm having to split them between 2 posts - lol.  Zachary's photos are in the post below - be sure to check them out.  He was just darling! 

This post is about my musical diva, Kaylee.  I know I'm her Mom and all, but I just have to tell you that watching her up there on that stage belting out those songs and acting like I've never seen her do before, I was just shocked and could not believe that it was actually my little girl up there on that stage!  I was so proud I was about to bust!  One of her classmates came up to her after the show and told her that she needed to be on broadway - what a compliment!!  For the many of you who came to see the show - I really appreciate you showing up and supporting her.  I know it meant the world to her.  I also have to say that ALL the performers did an excellent job!  It wasn't just Kaylee - the whole production was unbelievable.  Many people said they could not believe that this was an elementary production, but that it was something they could have paid to see at Casa Manana.  I have to agree, and a big part of that is due to the wonderful job done by the art/music teacher, Mrs. Shannon Jackson.  She is a phenomenal woman that is so talented and really knows how to teach and motivate the children.  She has been such a blessing to Kaylee and to all of Remington Point Elementary - Mrs. Jackson - if you are reading this - you are awesome and we can't thank you enough for all your hard work and dedication!!  Now I have to show you some, ok, many photos of the play.  I think you'll be able to tell even from just the photos how great it was.  So without further adieu...

Okay - now you have to read my next post about my little boy that I am equally proud of.  Keep reading.  :)

Zach Pre-K Graduation

This post is about my dear little boy, Zachary.  I was so proud of him and he looked so cute in his little graduation hat, although I think most of the festivities were lost on him - hehe.  He was just interested in the cookies and the fact that Meme and Papa were here to see him.  That boy just LOVES his Papa!!  Anyway - here are some photos of the evening for you.  :)

That's a ton of photos, I know - but I just had to share them with you.  These are big times here at the Phillips' household.  Now hopefully we can calm down and enjoy our summer!

~til next time,
Paula

Happy Birthday to Me - hehe!

Sunday was my birthday and I had a fun day with the kids.  We went to Scarborough Fair.  It was hot and muggy, but fun.  The kids especially loved the bungee (sp?) trampoline thing.  They were strapped in with bungee cords on each side and they jumped on a trampoline and the bungee cords made them go super high.  They were both doing flips and everything.  Thanks to my neighbors, the Ellison's, for going with us and helping so much with the kids.  Also - thanks to everyone for the wonderful phone calls, cards, and e-mails wishing me a great day.

On a different note, I have several friends having babies and grandbabies, so I have been working for a while now (off and on) to make crocheted blankets for them and some other goodies.  I want to share some photos of one of the gifts I just sent today.  :)

The cupcake and lollipop are made from baby washcloths.  They were so much fun to make. 

I also made some gifts for the kid's teachers for the end of the year.  They are little notepads with sticky notes inside.  Thanks to Pam Bonham for showing me how to make these.  We used cardboard and covered it with paper, then used the Zutter "Bind It All" machine to connect them.  I was so happy with how they turned out.  For the initials on the covers, I used Pam's Cricut machine to cut them out of cardstock.  I then glued them onto the cover and put stickles on them.  Once the stickles had dried, I went over them again with Diamond Glaze. 

I'm getting ready to have a very busy rest of the week.  Kaylee's play is on Thursday and Friday.  For those of you who would like to attend, it is at Remington Point Elementary School on Old Decatur Road in Fort Worth/Saginaw, Texas.  You take 820 West past I-35 and exit Old Decatur Road.  Turn right onto Old Decatur Road and go down about 1/2 mile or so and the school is on your right before you get to a street called Longhorn.  The showtimes are:

Thursday, May 27th at 8:30 AM

Thursday, May 27th at 6:00 PM

Friday, May 28th at 8:30 AM

If you plan to attend the Thursday night performance, I would try to get there at least 1/2 hour early to get a seat.  I have a feeling there will be a lot of people there that night.  Robby will be going to the evening performance while I will be going to Zachary's Preschool graduation that same night - lol.  It never fails that they will fall on the same evening.  At least I will be able to go to both morning performances.  I still can't believe that Zachary will be a kindergartener next year - WOW!  And then to make it even worse - Kaylee will be starting middle school!  I feel OLD!!!  hehe. 

Well, I have to run and pick up Kaylee from play practice.  Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and I'll talk to you all again soon!

~til next time,

Paula