The place card leaves are finished as of last night. I was able to get a little sewing done during Mary's nap, and then miraculously, while Dan was away in the evening at a class at church, I was able to finish them. The miracle-part being that the girls were playing happily and quietly long enough for me to get more sewing done. I can't remember the last time I sewed during the 7-8:30 hour.... When I originally set out to these name cards I wanted to make something that people could take home with them. So instead of writing on the card stock side of the leaves, I just attached a narrow strip of paper for people's names that they can remove later in order use the leaves for something else.

Emma didn't nap yesterday and instead worked on sewing a little pouch. Unfortunately, no nap caught up with her quickly and she had little patience for her mistakes. So, it became a team effort to get the project done with me coaching her on almost every stitch. I also realized in the process that at this age, it's easier for Emma to do overcast stitches, going round and round, instead of trying to do a regular straight stitch. She gets very confused about what side of the fabric she's supposed to be pushing the needle through, gets lots of knots and tangles and before you know it she's tossing the pouch across the bed in frustration. But when she knows that the needle always pushes through from the bottom, it's much easier for now.

The fabric she picked frayed really easily, so I stitched up the sides with my machine for extra strength. Then she picked some ribbon out of my stash for a handle--and of course she picked the thinnest, tulle type of ribbon that I had. But we made it work.

These pictures are so orange because it was such a "floody" day yesterday. They were all taken by desk light--no natural light to speak of.

And before I go--a friday favorite: my new tube of Hemp Hand Protector from The Body Shop. I went to a Body Shop home party on Sunday and this is one of the things that I came home with. In the wintertime, (well all the time really), I get really dry hands. The kind where I put lotion on and within minutes you'd never know I'd used it. They just soak everything in. But this stuff is fantastic. It lasts forever--as in the next day, even after dinner dishes, my hands were still soft; and it smells yummy. It is an earthy smell (as in earth mother) that isn't overpowering or in your face.
I highly recommend it. Maybe I need to become a consultant....

My sister's on her way as we speak for a quick weekend visit. I'm looking forward to sunny skies and playing hard.
Happy Weekend!

***ETSY SHOP SALE ends Sunday***