Hooded Toddler Beach Towel

School is out so that means summer is officially here! We've already hit the beach and we're ready for more! But another wonderful thing happened to start our summer off right - my sister, brother-in-law and 2-year old nephew took a surprise anniversary trip to Hawaii! Boy was that a shocker! I didn't get much notice of their arrival but managed to make something special for my little guy......



Is he not the cutest thing ever?!? And the hooded beach towel fit him perfectly! :)

Happy summer everyone!

Last Day of School.....

Today is the last day of public school here in Hawaii. (I don't know whether to let out a big cheer or a big cry!) Kailani is graduating from the 2nd grade - unbelievable. I asked her if I would recognize her when I came to pick her up...since she would technically be a 3rd grader this afternoon and she said, "Mom, I don't know." So cute.

Well, I had all these great plans of what I wanted to do for Kailani's end-of-the-year teacher gift but next thing you know........the day is here! So yesterday (yes, YESTERDAY) I decided to make a reversible banner for Kailani's teacher. I've been wanting to make one for some time now and finally decided to do it. Here's how it turned out:


One side has her teacher's name and the other side is of Hawaiian prints. It was a bit of a pain as I made my own patchwork bias tape and appliqued each of the letters but I think it was worth it (and the lack of sleep).

Summer vacation....here we come!

Edited to add: I recognized Kailani after school. ;) AND....her teacher hung up the banner!

Wordless Wednesday - Not a necklace!

Yes. Her head got stuck. Yes. I took a picture before helping her. :)

Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Winner!

Unfortunately the first number that was picked did not leave an email address and one could not be found within their Blogger profile so I had to pull another.......that entry did not have a color suggestion (per instructions).....finally on the third try a valid entry was chosen......and the winner is.......

#53 Eaton Party of Five

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! Please check your email for instructions on how to claim your prize!

I'd like to thank everyone that took the time to enter and give me some feedback on color combinations! Look for some mermaid towels in my Etsy shop soon. You never know, you may find YOUR color suggestion there!

Thanks again!

Eaton Party of Five, please check your email for instructions on how to claim your prize!

Wordless Wednesday - Rastafari Baby?

"Mama.....hair pins please!"

Babe, they are CLOTHESPINS.

For more Wordless Wednesday please visit:

Wordless Wednesday, 5 Minutes for Mom, or Seven Clown Circus.

Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day!

Today is the first day of Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day! YEAH!

This giveaway is being held ALL OVER bloggerland....with International hosts as well! There are over 250 bloggers giving away something handmade! Not only does it provide a fabulous opportunity to win something made with love but it's also a way to be introduced to same talented artists as well as inspirational blogs! This is exactly how I found some of my own favorites!

Of course I'm going to be entering a lot of the giveaways but I also decided (very last minute mind you) to participate as a hostess and give something away as well! What will the winner receive? Drum roll please.....

One lucky person will win a pink and green mermaid towel for that special mermaid-wannabe in their life!

Here is a sample of what it will look like:

But in these colors:


I don't have a picture of the finished product yet because it will be HOT off the sewing machine! Fabric is cut it just needs to be assembled!

Want to enter? Here are the rules. Read carefully please!

Mandatory Entry: Leave a comment telling me what two color combinations would be your favorite for a mermaid towel! Please be sure to include your email address if it is not easily found on your Blogger profile.

Once you have completed the mandatory entry you can earn more chances to win! Please leave a separate comment for each:

1) Become a follower of my blog. Already a follower? Just let me know!

2) Follow me on Twitter AND Tweet about this giveaway. You can Tweet once a day. Leave me a link to your Tweet! Here's some help....you can Tweet this:

Enter to win a mermaid towel via "Mama's a Mess!" http://mamasamess.blogspot.com/2010/05/sew-mama-sews-giveaway-day.html Contest ends 5/20

3) Earn FIVE extra entries by blogging about this giveaway! Post about it on your blog and link back to this thread. Let me know where to find it on your blog! Be sure to comment five extra times for five extra chances to win!

Contest is open to US & Canada residents only (sorry International friends!) One winner will be chosen via Random.org at midnight Eastern Standard Time on Thursday, May 20th. Winner will be announced here on this blog as well as be sent an email notification. Response is required within 48 hours or a new winner will be selected.

Thank you to Sew, Mama, Sew! for the opportunity to participate in this incredible blog party! Check out the grand list of giveaways here!

GOOD LUCK!

Betsy Ross Plays Nintendo....

Been out of the blogging loop for a bit. Things just got hectic all at once!

One thing that took up quite a bit of my time was making a costume for Kailani's class performance. Each student in her class is to represent an important person in history for their wax museum. Kailani chose Betsy Ross. I finally finished her costume yesterday:

I let her pick the pattern and the fabric. She really wanted a solid colored dress versus one with prints but I convinced her otherwise. We came to a bit of a compromise and she chose a "quiet" print (as she would put it). I'm relieved that the dress is finally completed! I can't see myself making another one.

By the way, did you know that the present day Betsy Ross likes to play Nintendo?

She sure does. And if it's a Pokemon game it's even better!

Good luck to her and all of her classmates! Looking forward to the performance!

A Head's Up Worth Mentioning.....

Tomorrow starts Sew Mama Sew's grand giveaway week! There are over 250 bloggers/sites that will be giving away beautifully made handcrafted items and/or supplies!

I'll be entering a lot of the contests but this is the first time that I will participate as a hostess and give something away. If you take a look around my page you should be able to figure out what is it! (Hint - "Twitter").

Be sure to come back tomorrow!

Mother's Day & Mermaid Towels

Happy Belated Mother's Day! Hope all the moms (and those that play the role of mom) had a wonderful day yesterday!

We spent Mother's Day at my favorite beach. It's a little out of the way but it's so worth it!


A little snacking, a lot of swimming and Kailani even tested out the mermaid towel that I made. She gave it two thumbs up! She wore it all over the beach and wrapped up in it to dry off. I've been considering making some to put in my Etsy shop but can you say, "TONS of bias tape/binding?" We'll see. I already have the towels to make more...like a pretty pink and green; blue and green; pink and purple, etc. but I just need some motivation (and time)!

I also (unknowingly) learned to appreciate photo editing a little more. Take a look at this picture that I took of the girls at the beach (pre-get-the-picture-now-because-once-they-get-in-the-water-they'll-never-get-out):

Here is what the original photo looked like:

Ahhhhhh.....beautiful white sand......crystal clear blue water.....and.... oh. Hello? Half-naked girl crawling on the beach in the background. I didn't even notice her until after I uploaded the picture to view it! I'm sure some people would appreciate the non-cropped photo but for this mama I'd prefer the bathing beauty OUT of my picture. Wow. (But I admit...it gave me a good laugh!)

Have a great week! And if you made anything recently link up with Skip to My Lou's "Made By You Mondays!":

And at "Everything Etsy - I Made It!"

Marble Magnets - Teacher Appreciation Week

It's teacher appreciation week! Time to let your kid's teacher know that you appreciate them! So what to do? What to get? What to make?

My kiddo was no help:

Me: "Does she drink coffee?" K: "I don't know."

Me: "What's her favorite color?"

K: "I don't know."

Me: "What does she like to do?"

K: "I don't know."

Great.

I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to try making some marble magnets - they've been on my to-do list for some time. There are a lot of tutorials on how to make them but I used the one on Not Martha (clever blog title don't you think?)

For my first attempt I'm happy with the way they turned out! It was super easy to do, inexpensive, took very little time and required only a few supplies (magnets, silicone glue, flat marbles and decorative paper.) I kept thinking of more words to use but decided to stop at twelve.

I'll definitely make these again....but tweak a few things like the font that I used, the size, etc. We are putting the marbles on a magnetic dry erase board and wrapping it up. Next time I'll put them in an empty Altoids tin, or better yet a tin with a clear window on top? Has anyone seen these and/or know where to get them? (Update: I found some at Oriental Trading Company)

Hope Kailani's teacher likes it!