Pumpkin Patch

Alright here we go. These pumpkins are SUPER easy (and yes Janet 2 year old proof)! If you can sew a straight line.... you can make these. All of my measurements are subject to change. Play around with different widths and sizes. From my experience the cutest ones are the super fat and short ones or the thin and tall ones, however make them according to how you'd like. I picked out my fabric in warm fall colors from the clearance pile at Wal-Mart. I got about 1/3 of a yard of each and I had PLENTY left over. I chose 5 different colors and one stem color, however you can mix and match if you'd like... let your imagination have fun! For visibility I used black thread on white fabric. It doesn't make a difference but you can match your thread if you'd like.

1. Place your STEM fabric RIGHT sides together and cut a size you'd like your stem to be. I made mine 5 x 3 which was much too tall! In the end I chopped them down 3". I found them cuter and they didn't fall over once sewn in. Cut 6 (or however many pumpkins you plan to make)

2. Sew around the edge. Seam allowance is irrelevant. The closer to the edge the better so you won't have to trim it down later. LEAVE THE BOTTOM OPEN. You'll be stuffing it soon!

3. Clip the corners. This makes the corners crisper on the other side. DO NOT TRIM THE STITCHING! If your seam allowance is to wide... Trim it down as well.

4. Stuff and set aside leaving bottoms open.

5. Like I said before, make your pumpkins whatever size and width you'd like. I went with 12 x10 for my largest one. Cut out 6 pumpkins. Separate the 2 layers and fold them in half right sides together.

6. You are now going to mark a swoop on both pieces along the folded edge. This will give shape to the pumpkin. I marked mine 2" in and 4" down. Obviously this is subject to change based on height and width of pumpkin.


7. Go to your machine and sew a curve in between the two points & trim. DO NOT MAKE YOUR CURVE AS DRAMATIC AS MINE! Mine is bad. It made an ugly point when I flipped it right side out & I had to hand stitch it later. Try to make the bottom point BLEND. Does that make sense?

8. Open fabric and set down on the table RIGHT side UP. Place the stem in the middle Open end to the TOP. Then Place side 2 of fabric RIGHT side DOWN.

The stem should be sandwiched in between and the fabric should be RIGHT sides TOGETHER. 9. Sew around the edge and leave an opening at the bottom.

10. Trim the edges and flip right side out. Stuff. Before you hand sew the bottom you can add a little weight so it will sit nicely.

11. Ta-Da! See EASY! I think I need to make one more super fat one to complete the set. To finish them off I added some ribbon. This also helped make my stems not look so long. If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment and I will try to explain it further. Happy Fall!!

Happy OcTobler

Jakob and I can hardly believe it's October already! September didn't even put up a fight! I can't think of any better way to greet the new month than a beautiful sunrise! I took this from our tiny bathroom window. Just one more reason to love Vegas. Jakob is glad to be finished with his first month of school. Only 1 year and 2 months until he's got his degree!!! Even though the time of the year screams fall the weather certainly does not! I think we're FINALLY out of the 100''s though which means I can wear fall clothing now! I'm rather excited! I made the above pumpkins one night while waiting for Jakob to return home from work. He says their not very "Halloweenish" but I don't care. If anyone wants to know how to make them just leave a comment. Their super easy. It only took me 45minutes to make the 6 of them. Well that is all that is new in this Tobler home. Happy OcTobler < 3

Brotherly Love

Being away from family is hard. As much as I try to make it sound like it's no big deal there are days I would like nothing more than to be able to hang out with my brothers, go shopping with my mom or watch countless hours of Dancing With the Stars with my father because we're the only two who like that sort of thing. Today I logged onto my Facebook account and saw a post from my brother that said:

Steph we need to chat more I'm slowly forgetting I have a married sister and I'm tired of feeling like a terrible person for forgetting :(

Oh Chris thank you for making me laugh. I think I will call you right now so you may be able to remember who I am.

Lucky Doesn't Even Cover It

While in his business class yesterday Jakob's professor asked the 180 students to write down 10 of their goals followed by 10 more. He then asked them to highlight their top three, then their #1. He went down the front row of the class and asked them to share their number one goal. They replied get my masters, graduate, own a house, become successful in my career, and so on. He then said I can see there is a reoccurring trend but I think we need to hear a few more. He then pointed at Jakob and asked the same question: What is your number one goal in life? Jakob replied: To make her smile everyday. No sooner had the words escaped from between his lips when all of the girls sighed "Awe!" The professor then asked: And have you found her? I truly am the luckiest girl in the world!

L. A, (Lack of Apprise)

On the Tobler party line 2 weeks ago, Kyle (Tobler brother #2) had suggested to Jakob that we meet them in L.A for the weekend. Last Sunday on the party line the suggestion was once again presented to us and Jakob and I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to spend some time with them if we could both clear our schedules. After some rearranging we rented a car a drove down to L.A. for a two night visit. Only they had no idea that we were even coming!

SURPRISE!!!!

I was under the impression that Jakob had spoken to Kyle and he was under the impression that I had spoken to Kim however neither of us felt the need to check just to be sure. I was so embarrassed to have just shown up on their step and 12:15 in the morning. Talk about humiliating!! Regardless Kyle and Kim were super accommodating and as always very sweet, we had a wonderful time!!

I have no idea what came over me but these are the only 2 pictures that we took! We spent the afternoon with Kimberly while Kyle interviewed at USC. The three of us went to this MASSIVE museum and I bet we only looked at about 1/4 of it. We left however feeling very cultured. After picking up Kyle we braved the L.A. traffic (which is ridiculous Jakob and I have vowed to never live in L.A.) to check into the next hotel in Santa Monica. It was only a few blocks away from the beach which was super cool and there was a faris wheel right on the beach.

It amazed me how fast the weather changes in L.A One minute it was warm and sunny and just like that (insert fingers snapping here) it was fogged right over. So instead of driving we walked to looking for a place to eat dinner in the nippy ocean air. (Let's remember I live in VEGAS now. If it dropps down below 80 I'm cold.) We stumbled upon Buca De Beppos and asked for a table for 4. After hearing it was a 45 minute wait we all said forget it and went on our merry way. Half way down the street the manager yells after us and says that they could seat us right now if we wanted to be in the kitchen. It was quite unique it was just like any other booth but instead of being surrounded by other tables we were right in front of the line watching our food being made. Slightly Strange but Very Cool.

We had a wonderful time even though it was short and unexpected. Next time I vow that I will check and recheck to make sure all parties are informed of our plans. Thank you to Kyle and Kim for being so wonderful! We love you guys and can't wait to see you all at Christmas!!

I Only Have Eyes For You

For awhile now I have been considering getting some new glasses. My old pair is a few prescriptions behind and I thought it was time for an upgrade, only I didn't want to fork out upgrade prices. I was so excited when Rachel (sister-in-law and a kindred spirit when it comes to deals) posted about this super cheap site for glasses. Here I am getting ready to head of to work sporting my brand new specks. I absolutely love them!! I have started an addiction that I am unable to contain, but they're so cheap how could one not go a little crazy?

Happy Birthday Jenna!

When I asked Jenna what she wanted for her birthday I didn't even mention the picture Jakob painted but I thought that I needed to do something for her. At once she said that she wanted a monkey hat. Done and done I thought, it's super easy, quick and adorable! That is my idea of a great birthday present. I made some variations on hers however. I wasn't all that fond of the ear covers so I scrapped those. I made the red "hat" part bigger, made the mouth curve a little bit, and put tan on the inside of the ears. Personally I like it better. Don't we look cute in our hats? Happy Birthday Jenna! I love you!

Raw Talent

It was my friend Jenna's birthday back in August however with so much going on in both of our lives we weren't able to see each other until this past Friday. Crazy!! Anyways, one day she came over and saw the painting that Jakob gave me for Valentines Day and she said she wanted one. Perfect birthday present. I'm so excited to finally be able to show off what Jakob's done!

I love watching Jakob paint. There is something so calming about it. I love seeing how talented he is! He boggles my mind. Yes, I am crafty but artsy no way. I can hardly draw stick figures. Some would say it takes a degree of talent to paint a screaming child's face which I would have to agree, but at the end is just a face paint, it in no way compares to what my husband is able to accomplish with just a pencil and some water colors.

The image to the left is "Robert Best's" version of Barbie. We loved the green dress so Jakob kept it fairly similar.

The mini girl to the right was his trail and error girl.

Tada! Here's the artist with the final embossed and signed copy for Jenna. She loved it which made him oh so very happy. He's now starting to organize his own website so he can sell paintings. I'll post more information on that as it unfolds.

Isn't she stunning? I'm so proud of Jakob! It was really hard to part with the original but she was painted specifically for Jenna and I know she'll love her. I can't wait to see what Jakob decides to do next! Happy Belated Birthday Jenna!!!