Lovin your creations!

I have been so impressed lately with the pretty dresses (and variations) coming through our Flickr group, and being blogged about! You guys are awesome!

When I saw this picture for the first time all I could do was smile! Kymy was so sweet to let me share these pictures of her girls in their Miss Mary Easter dresses! Aren't they sweet?! This confirms my belief that twins  make everything sweeter.

Here she shortened the Miss Madeline into a shirt and paired it with leggings. So stinkin cute!

I came across this dress on Flickr. Can you guess what pattern this is? Trina made this dress using the Miss Lily pattern and just left out the bubble! It looks like a completely different dress doesn't it?!

Now does this look like an ad for Target or what? Alisa let me share this picture of her daughter in a Miss Mary on a red bike...it's just so perfect in every way. Those gals over on Flickr have some really cute ideas, I love the way they are mixin it up. If you have sewn up some cute dresses using our patterns, share them with us! We all like to be inspired by new ideas and pretty fabrics! (Some of my other favorites were HERE, HERE, and HERE.)

A few quick things that I wanted you to know...

1. I'm going to market in May, and I will be bunking with a crazy woman! I can't wait!

2. Put-Put FINALLY had her babies! Twin boys and they are so adorable. There is nothing better than baby goats, seriously, they are so funny. They are both doing very well and we love them already!

3. I have Easter fabric- which I was so preoccupied shopping for that I ran out of gas and had to walk with my mama along the side of a four lane highway to the closest Target! LOL! And it was there that my daddy rescued me, because he's awesome like that.

4. The new Liberty of London line at Target rocks my face off!

5. Ben built us a milking stand!! Goat cheese, goat milk, goat milk hot chocolate, here we come.

6. My lips, tongue, or throat has swollen everyday for over a week now. I'm going to the doctor next Tuesday to see what's up. Have I ever told you that I HATE going to the doctor? They always tell me things that I don't want to hear....I don't wanna go....but Ben says I have to, and he says I shouldn't come home with less than three epi pens that way I can spread them out. Well really he said "so that maybe you will be able to find ONE if you need it." Smarty pants. I guess an up to date epipen couldn't hurt.

7. I can't hardly wait to start sewing Easter dresses tomorrow! I will show you as soon as I get pictures! YAY!

It's 1AM, me and my fat lip (and tongue) should be sleeping by now, hopefully the Benadryl will kick in soon. xoxo, Samantha

What do you think of our new little Miss?

These are the first two "test runs" for the newest pattern!

Let me tell you a little bit about it.....there are pleats on the bodice...

...it wraps in the back (I'm keeping my promise of no plackets, buttonholes, or zippers in my patterns)...

(the scratched up face is from an awesome bike wreck she had this week)

...it ties on the sides with either ribbon or a fabric sash (it also looks nice on the older girls just knotted), the front of the skirt is flat and the gathers start on either sides of the pleats....

...and it's long with and heirloom feel, but it also makes an adorable shirt.

This one hasn't been hemmed yet, but I really like the look of an unhemmed dress! I'm always tempted to leave them this way and just let the girls go outside to run and pick flowers in them! Isn't that silly? It's like the hem is what makes it too dressy to run in or something. These dresses were made out of two old worn out, soft, soft, soft, bed sheets.

Perfect for running in! Spring and Summer are going to love this dress! So my only problem is the name. I want to name it after my little sis-in-law, Olivia Paige, but there is already a pretty popular pattern out there by the name of Olivia. Paige doesn't really sound like her since we usually call her Olivia, or Livy, but then Livy is too close to Lily (which could turn out bad when it comes to invoicing or confused orders).....is Miss Olivia Paige too long? What do you think about the name and the dress?

Botox gone bad....really bad....

OK, so it wasn't Botox, but I have had swollen lips THREE times this week! I figured if I have to look this silly somebody outta get a good laugh out of it! LOL! Too bad it's not both sides of my mouth instead of just the right side, I'd be "stylin and profilin" then! Back in 2006 I used to do this almost everyday, but they eventually found out that it was an autoimmune reaction to my rotting gallbladder. As soon as they took that nasty thing out the reactions stopped for good. Until now. I sure hope if it's another organ-gone-bad that it's one I can live without! LOL! If you think this one is funny I dare you to search "lips" on my blog and see what comes up! It's good stuff. (Nobody get all worried, I have an epipen, my husband is a paramedic, and I can tell if it's getting bad fast. I'm pretty well equipped.)

I'm working on Easter dresses (and maybe another cute pattern) so I will be back soon with lots of sewing! xoxo, Sam

PS. LOL! I just had this funny (probably Benadryl induced) thought! How hilarious would it be if this picture seriously ended up in Google as a "Botox gone bad" image?! It would be my luck! LOL! OK, off to bed with my delirous self....

Bike Riding Adventures

We have been really into bike riding lately. I love it! Really I've always loved it, I was a HUGE bike rider as a kid. I think just about every kid in our neighborhood growing up had to get a new bike every Christmas because we had just wore the old ones out! My kids are old enough now that we can ride bikes together!!  It's awesome! Maddie can't ride on trails yet so I've been taking the kids to a church down the road to ride in the parking lot.

When we were there the other day we stopped and sat on the curb by this drain to eat a granola bar and drink some water, as I was putting the trash back in the bag.... my keys fell out and DOWN THE DRAIN. I looked at Molly and said "Did that just happen?" She looked back and said "Uh, yeah, it did. Do you have more keys?" Well the fact of the matter was no, I didn't have any more keys! But I was kind-of excited about being stranded! I said "Well, I guess we will just have to play survivor man!" We play survivor man a lot, but knowing that you are really stranded makes it so much more fun!

We looked around for things that we could use and Molly found this bit of wire. We decided that it would be perfect if we could just find a stick long enough to reach all the way down into the drain. The kids went to the woods and came back with a few long sticks and one of them was perfect.

We wrapped the wire around the stick, held our tongues just so, and fished the keys out!

Then, a little disappointed that our first solution worked so well so that we couldn't enjoy the we-are-really-stranded feeling any longer, we saved our piece of wire (like any good survivor would do, duh) and got back on our bikes.

The kids are outside loading the bikes into the van right now so that we can go riding, I'll let you know if anything interesting happens. I'm sure that if we don't get into a little bit of trouble then we will just make some up, but really....that real stranded feeling does spoil pretend adventures for a while!

Kidding Season on the Caffee Farm

Kidding season is not over yet, we still have one more mama due any day, but I wanted to share these pictures before I got too far behind. I have to say that we have learned so much over the last few weeks! It has been so very full of the joy and excitement that new life brings, life lessons, struggles, hard work, and yes....even a little pain; but I feel even more now than I ever have that we are in the right place. Ben and I sat  last night and talked about how we never imagined that we would end up here, on a farm! It's like somehow over time it has just become who we are, like some sort of instinct brought on by having all of this beautiful land. Our children are naturals and they love it more every day. The bonds that form between us while we work as a family for a common goal are incredibly strong, equally incredible is the bond that we feel toward our animals and this soil. I found this "Farmers Creed" tonight and I loved the way it explained so many of the things I was thinking perfectly.

Farmer's Creed

I believe a man's greatest possession is his dignity and that no calling bestows this more abundantly than farming.

I believe hard work and honest sweat are the building blocks of a person's character.

I believe that farming, despite its hardships and disappointments, is the most honest and honorable way a man can spend his days on this earth.

I believe farming nurtures the close family ties that make life rich in ways money can't buy.

I believe my children are learning values that will last a lifetime and can be learned in no other way.

I believe farming provides education for life and that no other occupation teaches so much about birth, growth, and maturity in such a variety of ways.

I believe many of the best things in life are indeed free: the splendor of a sunrise, the rapture of wide open spaces, the exhilarating sight of your land greening each spring.

I believe that true happiness comes from watching your crops ripen in the field, your children grow tall in the sun, your whole family feel the pride that springs from their shared experience.

I believe that by my toil I am giving more to the world than I am taking from it, an honor that does not come to all men.

I believe my life will be measured ultimately by what I have done for my fellowman, and by this standard I fear no judgement.

I believe when a man grows old and sums up his days, he should be able to stand tall and feel pride in the life he's lived.

I believe in farming because it makes all this possible.

- 1975 Author Unknown

Our little Abby lost her fight this evening, and even in that I learned something about myself. I learned that It's much harder to watch a helpless animal suffer than it is to let go after they are gone, that at the end of the fight you can feel good as long as you know you did your best, and once more, that life is precious and not to be taken for granted. Our little twins Bo and Lizzy are strong, healthy, and as sweet as they can be.

Thank you all for sharing this beautiful farming experience with us! We hope to be back soon with pictures of more babies!

Oh my.

Abby, our baby goat, is sick and I am just beside myself. She was fine on Friday night, but by morning she was very sick. We took her to a neighboring farm on Saturday morning and our friend Beth (she's like the goat doctor in these parts) gave her antibiotics and treated her for pneumonia. Abby seemed to do much better after that until this morning...she is getting worse now. Beth is coming this evening after work to give her more antibiotics. She laying on my chest asleep right now, I just gave her a bottle....

It may sound silly to get all worked up over a little goat, but you can't help but fight for them....

I'll check back in soon. xo, Sam

Two more babies!!!

(Sorry for the bad picture, it was taken with my phone.)

These two little sweeties were born about an hour ago! Ben is home today so I was able to sneak away for a moment to give you all the good news! Rachel (the goat) is a great mama. We haven't had to do much to help her, so things are not as busy as they were with Belle. It looks like we have one more mama ready to go any minute so I better get back down to the barn. By the way- Molly was just as tickled as a new mama when she read all of your comments about Abby! She is so proud of her new babies!

Our Little Abby

She already has us wrapped around her little hoof! This one little baby and our other expecting mamas have had our lives turned upside down for the last week! LOL! My house looks like a tornado hit, we are all a little sore and tired, but we wouldn't trade it for nothing! I don't have much time tonight because I really need to get some sleep while I've got the chance, and it's already after midnight, but I wanted to at least share these two videos for all of the kids who have been waiting to see little Abby.

 

This first video is A-MAZE-ING! Ralph is sometimes more attentive to Abby than Belle, her mama. It's so sweet to see this big ole dog being so sweet and motherly with little Abby. He's such a good pup.

This video is of mama and baby, it's so sweet! Seeing an animal take care of their young is truly a beautiful experience. We are still waiting on more babies so we are spending a lot of time down at the barn, but I have been updating as often as I can from my phone on Facebook. So if you want to be in the know about our newest babies check in there! I hope you enjoy these videos friends! I hope to get a slide show of our favorite pics up by tomorrow, we will see!

We have a baby!!!

No time to talk but I wanted to tell you! Mama and baby (Eve, it's a girl!) are doing just fine and the kids are crazy happy! I've gotta go, I need to grab a bite to eat and get back to the barn!

Update:: We changed her name to Abby because today is our friend Abby's birthday! I didn't get any video, but I will  be back soon with the whole story!

It's time for Faq's.

It's about time I put up a page for our Frequently Asked Questions. I know that I spend a lot of time answering the same questions, I'm sure that a lot of people probably wonder but don't have the time to ask, so it's time to bite the bullet and write it all out! This doesn't mean that I don't want people to email me with questions! Not at all! I just want to make it easier for you to find out what you want to know quickly because I know that, like me, most of you have little ones and you don't have loads of spare time. So now I need to ask you a few questions! What do you want to know? Is there something that you have always wondered about us? Is there anything that I haven't covered here that you just want to know, or something that we have covered but you would like to know more about? As soon as you start asking I will start filling that page up! Thanks friends! If you have a question that probably won't be asked much I will answer it in the comments section today, it's a lazy day here on the farm (still no baby goats) and all I plan to do is watch movies, stay warm, and answer questions!

Sanuks gone wild!

This was so much fun!!! I got to do whatever I wanted to three awesome pairs of shoes without any pressure at all, I didn't buy them so the money issue didn't hold me back, Bron only said "lets see what else you can do" and left it at that (which was so cool, because I felt free creatively to make something that I would like for me and not feel like I needed to please the people who gave them to me), and I basically had everything I needed here.

In the beginning my sporty Mary Jane looked like this....

....then I cut a hole in the top. I hope they don't mind! I looked over at Ben as soon as I made the first cut and said "I totally just cut up a new pair of Sanuks!" LOL! From the first moment I knew I wanted this pair to either be a Mary Jane or look like a Mary Jane, so I put my pattern drafting skills to use in a whole new way, and drafted a curvy strap to cover up what I didn't want to see. I LOVED this pink surfer girl fabric and knew immediately that it would be perfect for these shoes. I added a wooden button to keep a sort of earthy casual feel. The rep for Buttons Etc. gave me those buttons at our last market and they were just perfect for this!

I wish I could get a good shot from the side wearing these because they are so cute, but you know how it is taking pictures of your own feet.

Next up was the black pair.

These are my gypsy shoes. Oh my! I have a hard time being inspired by black, but I came up with this paisley design that included a crochet flower.....you know how I love a crochet flower...and how I Love to crochet flowers.

I have to admit, these were my least favorite because I just couldn't decide on what to do, but I still really like them especially with jeans.

My artistic shoes started out like this.....

These are my favorite!! I wanted a hand drawn look, kinda like doodle stitching! I marked it out in pencil first but I wouldn't let myself go back and make it "perfect", that would have ruined it! I used the Sanuk slogan "Smile...Pass it on!" because I liked the thought of having these little hearts grow and grow until there was one big heart at the end, all because of a smile.

These will be so cute this summer!

They look cute with jeans too! I LOVE THESE!! Well, what do you think? Do you think I improved them or should I have left them all alone? LOL! Be gentle....

Colorful lace tutorial. It's cold and dreary outside....

...but it's nice and bright in here!

(In case you are wondering what that is hanging from her neck. it's an antique key, tied to a strip of fabric...she's hoping to find the secret garden someday that it goes to. I don't question her.)

I've been making the girls and I a little stash of colorful headbands! I'll tell you how I did it.

 I always  keep the basic craft paint colors here like red, blue, white, and yellow; then I can mix those to get any color I want. I mix my colors in small bowls then I water it down a little with water and mix it well. Keep in mind that the color won't be as bright when it dries, so make it a little brighter than you think it should be. You want a watery consistency, but you don't want enough water to fade the color. Then I put the lace in and let it soak up all of the color, sometimes I have to kinda squeeze it into the lace if I didn't mix enough. After that I lay it over the sink to drain out all of the excess water.

When I feel like it's done dripping I hang them over the sink on my mini clothes line, you could use the shower rod (just be sure that you put it somewhere that if it does drip you will be able to clean it up easily). By the way- I almost didn't want to take these down because they looked so happy and colorful hanging there over the sink. I really think they made doing the dishes a little easier!

When they were completely dry I rinsed them out with a little fabric softener and hot water, let them hang dry again, and now they are colorful, soft, and ready for ribbons! Do you see that wide lace there on the spool in the background? I'm going to try a little something with that next. I'll keep you posted on that. The kids and I used this same method of watering down craft paint to make tie dyed shirts back in the summer and after being washed several times they still look good. There you are my dear friends, your very own how to color lace tutorial, now go forth and color your world! And then come back here and tell me about it!

Update: This is the exact brand of paint that I have, I got it a Wal-Mart.

Miss Mary has an Etsy shop!!!!

You all know my sweet sis-in-law, Mary, she opened an Etsy shop for the little shoulder bags that she has been sewing. Go visit her! She is so excited about having her own shop, and I am so proud of her. My sweet girl. The name of her shop is Made By Miss Mary. Isn't it sweet to see a girl so young sewing? Oh, I'm just so proud of my girl!

The Caffee girls dress up and a mini-project!

A few weeks ago I needed a little headband for Maddie. I wanted one of the lacy crochet ones that you see everywhere now, but I really didn't feel like crocheting one. So I came up with this quick and easy project and decided to share it with you! All you need is a piece of lace that has holes along the top and a thin piece of ribbon long enough to go around your head and tie. Work the ribbon through the holes (I used a bodkin and it only took seconds), add a little seam sealant to the ends (you can tell I didn't do that on this one), and you are done!

They are so girly and sweet! I think we are going to try making some colorful ones by painting the lace with watered down craft paint tonight, I'll let you know how that goes. How cute is that kid?

Those little eyes just melt me...and that spaghetti sauce on her cheek.....

Back to the headband! Isn't it so cute on her?

Today I was needing to fix-up a little after being in PJ's for two days (I had pink eye, great fun). Do you ever get like that? I just feel so cruddy after a while and a little make-up and cute hair can make me feel so much better. Anyhow, I decided to try out the headband for myself and I really like it!

(I know I look goofy in this picture, looking the wrong way and all, but I wanted you to see the front so excuse the silliness!)

It makes me feel like my ponytail has a little style. I'm definitely making more of these! Anything that can make such a difference with so little effort is the perfect project for me! What do you think?