Coast Guard Duty and a Dress Sneak Peek

Sad sad day in Sugarplumland today.  My sweet Mr. SPC is heading off to the Coast Guard for the next 9 weeks.  We woke the kids up at 7 this morning to make the drive to the airport to drop him off for his morning flight.  The kids usually don't get up until around 9 so getting them up at 7 meant we were met with a couple grumpy buns for a bit there.  But, we made it there and said our goodbyes and we just made it back.

Being a military family is something special.  It's really just amazing to see my husband accept his duties so readily, and even with the threat of a year long deployment someday in the future, he is still willing to lay his life down for the lives of many others.  He serves us at home everyday, and serves his country at the same time.  I just can't thank God enough for the man he made for me, and the man he has allowed me to fall in love with.

Mr. SPC and my Dad at Boot Camp Graduation last January.

In just shy of 70 days we'll be going back to pick him up on his birthday.  If all goes well, he'll be one rank higher in the USCG and he'll be one year older!  In the mean time, we'll Skype a lot, pray for him a lot, and miss him a lot.  I'll also be sewing a lot and trying to keep my mind and hands busy to pass the time quicker.  I've currently got a spring dress in the works that I'll be offering very soon.  It's out for photos now, and once I get those back and make sure I get a bunch of these sewn up, I'll make the listing live.  For now, here is a tiny sneak peek to tide you over until I get the real pictures back.

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Indianapolis Children's Museum

So, as you know, Mr. SPC is in the military.  The US Coast Guard to be exact.  We're surrounded by men in the military Devin's two younger brothers are in the Coast Guard and the National Guard, I also have a little brother that's a Marine, and we have countless other people in our extended families that have served or are also currently serving our country.  It was only a matter of time before my husband joined up and did his duty as well.  I'm so proud to be his wife!

Anyway, he's leaving on Jan 31 to go to Charleston, SC for some training and he'll be gone for around 9 weeks.  In fact, Lord willing, he comes back the day before his birthday.  So, we've been looking around for things to do with the kids before he leaves.  We researched Disney on Ice and Monster Jam (and, if I'm honest, I bet my kids would have liked Monster Jam better lol) and decided that the tickets were just out of our budget at the moment.  So, we finally settled on the Indianapolis Children's Museum.  It's one of the top children's museums in the country and it's only about an hour away so we spent the day there on Saturday.

If you live in or around central Indiana I highly recommend it.  They give a 10% discount to military families and kids 2 and up will need a ticket and so will the parents.  Right now they have an awesome Hot Wheels exhibit, a super impressive dinosaur exhibit, and a bunch of other amazing stuff.  It's 4 floors of exhibits and activities and things to see and learn.

Dieter and Rylea riding motorcycles in the Hot Wheels exhibit at the Indianapolis Children's Museum.

Dieter's favorite thing to do was the planetarium.  I didn't get any pictures of him in there, but when we told him we were going to watch a movie of the stars he was super excited.  We got inside and he said, "mommy, where's the TV?"  The Mr. and I both tried to explain that the ceiling was the TV, but he didn't get it until it actually started.  That boy loves him some planets and stars!

Rylea's favorites were in the Dino exhibit.  She got to dig for dinosaur bones like a paleontologist, and seeing all the big dinosaur skeletons was pretty impressive too.

What the museum looks like from the street.  There's dinosaurs breaking out all over the place.

Rylea unearthing some dinosaur bones.

A super fun family outing for us overall.  And, a bonus, since both of my kids are now potty trained (can I get an Amen?), we didn't have to lug a giant diaper bag or stoller around the place and we were free to roam wherever we pleased while visiting the potty just a couple of times.  I'm going to enjoy my next 5 months of diaper free goodness!

Sugarplum Freebie: Valentine's Day Printable

Valentine's Day is quickly approaching, and I've been trying to find some cute, free, non-character Valentine's that I could print from my computer and let my kids sign (or color in Dieter's case) the back and then we could send them to family and friends.  I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for so I made my own and I'm sharing them with you here.  There's a boy and a girl version (one with a bow on the mustache and one without), so you can please the masses on the big day.

 You can click on the image and save it to your desktop to print it, or you can find it in Google Docs here for a higher quality print.  Orrrr, you can email me at sugarplumcuties(at)hotmail(dot)com and I can send you the orginal files.

I printed ours on some white cardstock and then let the kids go nuts on the back.  Easy peasy.

Happy Early Valentine's Day!

Beauty Tips: Products I Love

This is, in no way, going to turn into a beauty and fashion and style blog, but I love reading blog posts from other women on what they're favorite products are or what they can't live without on a day to day basis so I thought I'd compile my list here too.  Keep in mind, I'm cheap.  I don't buy department store brand anything, and if I can't find it at Walmart or Target, then it's not in my possession.  We're a military family on a super strict budget at this season in our lives so no splurging here!  If you're looking for more high dollar, upscale products, skip this post.  :)

Makeup

Top to Bottom, Left to Right

1. L'oreal Paris Magic Lumi-Primer - The best thing ever.  My mom in law bought one of these a few months back and I was interested so she let me use it one day.  I'll never put make up on without this under it ever again.  My foundation covers so much better and much more evenly with this primer on underneath.  I've never used any other primer before so I don't have something to compare it to, but this stuff rocks.

2. Revlon PhotoReady Makeup - This is the foundation I use everyday.  Well, on days I wear makeup anyway.  I like it a lot, and paired with my primer, it gives me good coverage.

3. Revlon PhotoReady Powder -  I like to brush the powder on over my foundation to get rid of the shine that seems to stick around on my face.  Makes for a more finished look for me.

4. Maybelline New York Lots of Lashes Washable Mascara

5. Maybelline Fit Me! Bronzer Pressed Powder - I put bronzer on my cheekbones and a tiny bit on my nose, forehead and chin (all the places the sun might naturally hit you).  I don't use a lot since I'm a super fair skinned person, but I like that it warms up my face a little bit.

6. CoverGirl Cheekers Blush, Classic Pink - I always brush a  little blush on right over my bronzer on my cheeks.

7. L'Oreal Paris True Match Naturale Gentle Mineral Concealer - I've been using this stuff for a couple of years.  I put it on right after I put #3 on.  It covers my zits and red scars (from a freak dog attack accident) really well.

8. Maybelline New York Define-A-Line Eyeliner

Hair

Left to Right

1. Organix Shampoo and Conditioner, Cherry Blossom - I've never used a shampoo or conditioner that has smelled better than this stuff.  Oh so dreamy.  You can get it at Walmart.  I use the Organix line of shampoos and conditioners all the time.  I wash my hair every other day, and I can still smell this on my hair on the non washing days.

2. Bed Head Curlipops 1'' Styler - Best invention ever.  I have long hair so I separate my hair into bigger sections and curl them for a couple seconds and then pull the curl out while it's still hot so I get a great curl that isn't too tight.  I love it.  Word to the wise: wear the flippin glove or you'll be rocking a burn wound for a couple of weeks.  It's sooooo hot!

3. Organix Shine Spray, Cherry Blossom - I spray this stuff on my hair while it's wet out of the shower and then I give it 1 or 2 more sprays after I either straighten or curl it.  Again, the.smell.is.awesome.  It really boosts the shine value.

4. Remington 1'' Flat Iron in Purple - My old trusty flat iron.  It's cheap and it's hot.  Does the trick!  My hair has this really annoying wave to it.  Not curly, not really straight just somewhere in the no man's land in between so I either have to go full out curly or go straight for it to look presentable.

FAQs: Volume 1: Sewing

I get a lot of the same quick questions from time to time on a bunch of different things so I thought I'd compile some answers here for quick reference.  If you ever have a question, comment, suggestions, or just wanna chat you can always email me at sugarplumcuties@hotmail.com and I'll do my best to answer you that same day.

Q: What kind of sewing machine do you use?
A: I use a Brother XR-9000.  You can see it on the Brother website here.  I got it at Costco a couple of years ago when it was on sale and I had a coupon.  I love it, and I will probably never sew with anything other than a Brother until maybe one day when I can afford a more upscale sewing machine.  This one has an automatic needle threader, a long arm for sewing things like sleeves, and an extra long arm for quilting.  It comes with a million different presser feet, a bunch of extra bobbins, and a really awesome manual and DVD for visual learning on how to thread the machine and sew.

Q: What kind of serger do you use?
A: I use a Brother 1034D serger.  You can see it at Amazon here.  I actually bought it from Amazon last Valentine's day, and I have no idea how I survived sewing for 4 years without a serger.  It's worth every penny I spent on it, and I've often thought about buying a second one and keeping it set up as a 3-thread serger to do rolled hems.  I have 2 of these bad boys now!  I leave one set up for a 3-thread rolled hem and the other is set for a 4-thread serge.  Threading the machine was hard the first 1 or 2 times but after that, it's a breeze, and changing blades is super easy too.  The DVDs that come with the serger are awesome and show you a lot of different serging techniques.  I highly recommend it.

Q: What kind of coverstitch machine do you use?
A:  I have the Brother 2340CV.  You can see it on Amazon here.  My dad sent it to me for Christmas 2014 and I'm dying over it.  I don't know all the ins and outs yet but I've used it on a few projects and it's sooooo good.

Q: Where are some good places to buy knit fabrics?
A: Buying knits is sometimes tricky.  Lower quality knits are thin and harder to sew with and are less than ideal for sewing clothing, so you have to really pay attention to the description of the knit in the listing.  When in doubt you can always email the shop owner and ask more specific questions on the weight and drape of the fabric.  That being said, there are a couple of places I love to buy knits from, and I'll just list them here in no specific order.

• Girl Charlee
• Purpleseamstress Fabric - on Facebook
• Funkalicious Fabric - on Etsy
• Nature's Fabrics
• The Fabric Fairy
• JoAnn Fabrics
• Ixat - She is located in Korea so shipping to the US is high, but her knits are awesome, and so far I have not been disappointed with the quality.
• Harts Fabrics

Photo Editing

One question I am often asked is what photo editing software I use when posting pictures to my Facebook group and page.  As much as I wish I did, I don't have Photoshop right now, so I use a combination of a few online editors to get the job done.  Before I offer advice of any kind please understand that I am in no way qualified as a graphic designer or anything remotely close to that.  Quite frankly, I stink at logos and fonts and photo editing in general, but there are a few programs I've found that have helped me stink less.  Maybe.

Microsoft Paint

Believe it or not, that old program that you used to use to draw goofy things on your computer is good for photo editing too.  If you have a PC you have Paint.  It's usually somewhere in Programs -> Accessories depending on what version of Windows you are running.  You can crop images, add shapes, add text, resize, etc.  I use this program a lot if I want to add text using a specific font on my computer.  I also use it when I'm resizing images like for creating my Facebook banners.  You can upload a picture in there to edit, or you can start from scratch and create your own images.  I created this banner using just the features in Paint:

iPiccy

iPiccy is on online photo editor that I think is like a 'lite' version of Photoshop.  You can add layers much like Photoshop.  There is also an "autofix" setting that will automatically fix your photo, and lots of other presets like a cartoonizer and pencil sketch setting that are fun to use and see how they make your photos look.  You can also add textures, text, and stickers to your photos, and all the features are completely free.  The only thing you can't do in iPiccy is create photo collages which brings me to my next program.

PicMonkey

PicMonkey is just straight up awesome.  They upload stickers and fonts on there that coordinate with the upcoming holidays.  So right now there are a bunch of cool edits you can use for Valentine's day.  Some of them are Royal features, which means you have to pay for them, but some of them are free.  The best thing about PicMonkey is that you can use it to create photo collages like this one I did here:

Honestly, the best way to get better at editing and creating images on the computer is to just jump right in there are start messing around with all the features and see what happens.  If you have any other awesome programs  you use leave them in the comments section so we can all benefit!