the way to my other daughter's heart

is also through crafting. Go figure. Since Madison and I made her Wicked bag, Ellie has been plotting and planning out a library bag. We started the project by riding our bikes to the fabric store and picking out the trim fabric. Then, last night, we spent some time on the computer coming up with various designs. Ellie woke up this morning and told me she was ready to get started .... "Come on, Mom!". Several hours and many mistakes later, the bag was born:

I am quite frustrated with the iron-on transfer paper. We purchased a different brand, and this one does not seem to 'set' as well as the one I did for Madison. You can see the peeling on the corners of a few of the book prints. This was from ironing the inside of the bag once it was pieced together. I'm not sure how it will hold up in the long run, but Ellie certainly is pleased and is excited to take it to the library tomorrow.

I asked Ben if he would like a bag and he looked at me with his quirky little grin and asked, "why?". I think he would be more happy if I could make him a new Matchbox car ... out of metal ... and painted perfectly. Um, yeah no. I'll pick one up for 99 cents the next time I stop at the store.

Our garden is looking great and we are doing some clean-up in the yard in preparation for Ellie's carnival party in mid-July. She has already had her birthday, but we decided to hold off on the party so we could spend some time planning, making decorations and getting creative with the games. I'm sure I will be posting more about the party and all of our ideas as time get's closer. Expect loads of pictures!