The Winners Are...

Give Away Day is now closed. Thank you for playing. The winners are:



And:


Which makes it

and


Congrats! Since Amanda likes the crayon roll and Can't Believe I'm Sewing likes the apron, this works out great. Hope you won something. I am keeping my fingers crossed. :-)

Maker Faire 2009

I just came home from Maker Faire 2009 and my legs HURT! I got there at around 10:30 and left around 5. I didn't sit down once while I was there. There was so much to see I had to keep moving. Having said that, I did NOT get to see the battle bots because there was a huge line to get the tickets and after you get the tickets, you wait in another line to get in the arena. My time was too precious for all these lines. I also didn't have a chance to try Swap-o-rama. There was also a line there to get a machine and a designer and it was near the end of my day when I found it.

A really pretty bonsai tree I saw at one of the entrances.


Another thing I missed out on was the live workshops. They were a lot more spread out this year and I couldn't find the right buildings at the right time. The one I really wanted to see was the making of Coraline but I was too late.

Inflatable flower seating outside and right in front of one of the 4 stages. Really good music.


What I did get to do was to learn about polymer clay, check out the new "makers of food" section and try silkscreening. I was worried that the same exhibitors will go every year and it won't be as fun this year but I was very wrong. Some of the exhibitors I hoped to see again were not there and there were lots of new things to see. DIY science was really big this year. There were lots of high school level stuff. I would be a lot more interested if I were still teaching.

Weird new fruit - looks like a cantaloupe on the outside, has flesh like a honeydew on the inside and is actually a watermelon. It took me a really long time to wrap my mind around this one.


Fresh honey comb. I tried some and the honey part was yummy and sweet. I just couldn't bring myself to swallow the wax part.


This photo does not do this little sandwich justice. The "bread" part is like tiny pancakes made out of corn meal and the inside is pulled pork, tomatoes and avocado. So good!


There were lots of robotic stuff, just as there were last year but much of it is new this year. There were also lots of new crafts and craft gadgets but it was not very commercial at all. Some of the things I saw were not even for sale. You can go on their website to buy them but they just wanted to show off their products and educate crafters.

The giraffe bot is an old timer now. The gliches from last year are all ironed out and it ran very smoothly this year.


One of the many robots roaming the fair grounds.


These are not real robots. This Japanese dude makes these awesome little paper robots by folding paper rolls. Really really cool.


Finally, there were lots of new "rides". The cupcake cars are gone. But there are lots of other new and weird creations.

Kind of a funny ride. I guess the funniest part is the carseat installed on the top for this little princess.


The President-bot ride.


A very grand and romantic looking ride.


The snail ride. The kids really love this one.


So, it was super fun. Next year, I am getting a two day pass and go by myself for one day and go with the kids on the second day. There were lots and lots of kiddie things that I didn't even bother to look at this time but the kids who were there seem super into it.

I think the bot was kicking the kid in the rear.


Monster Foosball.

Give Away Day!

Did you know it's give away day? The internet is such an awesome place and crafters are super generous. So, if you are feeling lucky and would like to win something, check out Sew Mama today for their list of participants.

Oh, did I mention I am giving away too?

I have two different prizes. First up is this crayon roll complete with crayons:






This is the perfect little thing to throw in your bag for that car trip or long meal at a restaurant.

The second item is a surprise apron. It is the exact same size as the ones in my shop. It is embellished with fabric crayons on one side and a cotton print with stars on the other. It measures 15 inches wide and 17 inches long.

Interested? Simply leave a comment to tell me which prize you are interested in. I will use a random number generator to pick two winners on May 31 and will post the winners on June 1. Don't forget to include some way for me to contact you (email address?). I will ship to US and Canada.

Thanks for playing.

Shop Restocked!

Yep, I restocked my Etsy shop. Here are the ways to get there:

1) There is a link on the side of the blog that says "My Etsy Shop". Click on that
2) Type in http://langlangcreations.etsy.com/ on your browser.
3) Click on the "Etsy shop" in my opening sentence.
4) Find me on FB.

With so many different and easy (and essentially identical) ways to get there, you have no reason not to check it out, right? I have a few aprons there now but will put more stuff on soon. Here are some of the aprons there:










As you can see, the aprons are one size fits many. I'd say it will fit an 18month old all the way up to a 4 or 5 year old. They measure 15 inches wide and 17 inches long.

This was a custom order I did last week. I think I am going to put a couple of these bags in the shop as well.


This bag is deceivingly large. The girl can put her whole army of loveys plus two little tubs of playdough, a rolling pin, a pair of sunglasses and one of baby's Thomas trains in there. This is also the bag she came home with 26 Easter eggs in.

Dorky?

I really don't know why I do these things to my kids. I guess I have to be prepared to pay their shrink bill in the future.

"Mommy said I look cute when I am dorky. I don't understand that woman!"


"Say cheese!"

What's Up Doc?

We had a preschool lesson with a nurse last week and the kids loved it. They got to play with a couple of real stethoscopes and listen to their ow heartbeats and breathing. How cool was that?

"Thump thump thump!"


"Baby, what does your heart say?"


"That's a picture of the inside of WHAT?"


"What's up, Doc?"


"Let me take your temperature. I promise it won't hurt."


Kiraism of the day:

M: Kira, stay in bed until I come to get you. You have to nap.
K: What are you going to do?
M: I am going to take a nap, too. Don't wake me up.

(I went into my room as a bluff and I lay down for a bit. 30 seconds later, I was asleep. An hour later, I woke up with the baby. The house was quiet so I figured the girl must be asleep. I went into the kitchen to get the baby a bottle only to find the girl sitting at the dinner table, both gates locked.)

M: Kira, did you lock yourself in?
K: Yeah...
M: How long have you been here?
K: 3 days.
M: Oh...
K: Mommy, can I have candy?
M: What candy?
K: The ones you put on the high shelf.

(I looked around and saw the ones I put on the high shelf were already on the table.)
M: Did you climb up and got the candy yourself already.
K: Yeah, the good thing is, I came down. So that was good.
M: You ate it already?
K: Yeah. I wiped my own hands so I don't need your help. That was good, too.

Bubble Crazy

K-H-ism:

K: Stop throwing food!
H: Huh?
K: I said stop throwing food!
H: Huh?
K: Stop it!
H: Huh?
K: That's enough, I am not talking to you anymore!
H: Why?

Waaaaahahahahah! A taste of her own medicine!

Sewing Up A Storm

I've been sewing up a storm and therefore haven't had time to blog or do anything less important (like cleaning or cooking, ha!). After starting to make aprons for me shop (I've made 3... not great progress) I also took on some costume sewing for the girl's dance program. So far, I have made 5 complete costumes and hemmed 15 toweled. I was told I ONLY have 12 more costumes to make. Yippee! In the midst of this, I got a tiny little order to make a bag and baby shoes for a customer. Another Yippee! So, if you haven't heard from me in a while, it's because I am busy connecting with my sewing machine.

These skirts are part of the 5 sets of costumes I made. They are supposed to be petticoats for 5 little girls. Very cute.


These skirts are so versatile that I think I want one. This one that I put on MiniMe is one I made for the girls. See, it can fit me.


You know who else they can fit? The boy! "Mommy, I am confused. Do you want me to be Popeye The Sailor Man or do you want me to be a little girl wearing a veil?"


"Off! Too embarrassing! Stop tarnishing my manly image."

DDR Party

We had a little impromptu DDR party the other day.

Warm up.


Action!

Spring

We had a couple of gorgeous days so the kids and I spent quite a bit of time outside. They've been bubble crazy! I think we own every bubble making contraption there is on the market.

Here are some flowers in our yard. I still can't get over how awesome it is to have a yard!






If you looked closely, you can actually see that the girl is using two bubble contraptions at once.


The girl showing the boy how it's done.


The boy decided bubble blowing is serious serious business.


Hope you are enjoying a lovely spring as well.

Portrait of the Boy

My mom requested a portrait of the boy. It was a lot more difficult than I anticipated. He simply won't sit still and look at the camera. So here's what I took...




















Can't resist sneaking this one in.


BTW, do you say "I snuck one in" or "I sneaked one in"?