Friday Fotos: Summer Love

I love having the chance to visit all of the fellow Designing Moms' blogs...
This lovely foto is from Designing Mom Rubyellen's blog (MyCakies) and her hubby in Sonoma. 
Have a happy Friday and weekend everyone!

Friday Fotos: Welcome Soul Valentina...

A BIG congratulations to Designing Mom Rubyellen and the birth of her baby girl: Soul Valentina Bratcher. What a beautiful name to go with a beautiful "baby cakie"!

Make: Family Sketchbook

by Designing Mom Rubyellen


We have this family sketchbook sitting on the coffee table of our family room. It is ready for when anyone feels ready to do a little drawing, coloring, doodling, scribbling. Though, it's more like scribbling for the babes and doodling for me and Ben. It is a wonderful way to encourage creativity and keep track of your everyone's drawings. The family sketchbook will be sure to capture lots of memories and fun!

Shop: Are you Still Using Plastic?

by Designing Mom Rubyellen

Now, I like plastic. There are some uses in which having plastic is very helpful. I can't think of any at the moment, but I am sure there are. Nevertheless, when it comes to my girls, I try to avoid plastic when possible. Therefore, I have switched to stainless steel cups. In my research for the best stainless steel cup for my girls, I decided between the Safe Sippy and the Klean Kanteen . I ordered both from The Soft Landing and they came in very quickly. Now, originally I loved the Safe Sippy's look. It looks like a baby bottle from the future, just plain cool, but then I grew to despise the cup because it kept leaking (at least for me). I immediately contacted The Soft Landing and they sent me another complimentary Klean Kanteen to replace my leaky Safe Sippy. We absolutely adore Klean Kanteen!!! We love it so much that we immediately ordered an extra set in a different color, one for milk and one for water.

So if you want to take a step towards green, I highly recommend Klean Kanteen! I am sure that others may have had a better experience with the Safe Sippy, but I think Klean Kanteen is the way to go! Plus, you match with your kids as they have sizes for adults.

Make: Recycled Scraps Necklace

by Designing Mom Rubyellen

I have a large growing pile of fabric scraps. I refuse to throw them away because I am sure they can be used for something. I have been seeing different types of interesting necklaces made of buttons, tulle, and fabric. Then, I figured why not make one out of my scraps...
I think it made my white shirt a little less boring. This was so quick and easy to make.
How to make a recycled scraps necklace (which is very similar to the straps on my braided tablecloth bag):
1. Take your scrap fabric, I cut a .5''-1'' snip and tear the rest of the fabric down for a nice frayed edge. Used 3 different fabrics for each strand.
2. Take 3 of the torn pieces and tie the ends together with a rubber band.
3. Braid the 3 pieces together and tie ends together with rubber band when done.
4. Repeat steps 2 & 3 for more strands. Remember you can make the strands any length you want, if run out of fabric, just weave more into the braid.
5. Once all the strands you want are braided, gather one end of each strand together and straight stitch together with sewing machine. Repeat for the other ends of the strands. Snip off any excess.
6. Gather ends of the necklace and sew together (snip excess) or a ribbon can be sewn at the ends to be able to tie the necklace closed, but I just sewed both ends together.
7. Voila! A nice way to make use of all your lovely scraps. Sorry if the directions get you a little lost, but it really is easy. I promise. You will have so much fun making them and figuring out other ways to do it. It will become you new addiction, trust me, it has already become mine...

Designing Moms: Meet Rubyellen

When I saw pictures for Rubyellen's introduction, I became enamored right away. What a beautiful family! I so appreciate the spirit and creativity that Rubyellen infuses into her family life. Her daughters Brave and True could not be luckier to have such a talented mom. Please help me welcome Designing Mom Rubyellen!


Name: Rubyellen

What I do:

I have always enjoyed the creative side of things since I was a little girl. One of my fondest memories was creating Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle dolls out of brown paper bags for my little brother.

For years, I have dabbled in different art mediums from drawing to painting and now sewing. Though I had a love for art, my love for children was stronger and I majored in Child and Adolescent Development and eventually became a teacher.

When my eldest daughter True was born, my career as a teacher was cut short. Since I decided to go into "early retirement," I had to learn to budget. While trying to be wise, but still funky and stylish, I started experimenting with felt and fabrics to come up with accessories and clothing for her girls. Thus, I was able to merge my love for art and children together.

What inspires me:

I continue to grow, learn, and get inspired from my daughters, Brave and True, and my husband, Ben, as well as many artists and the beautiful world around me. I am addicted to so many wonderful blogs.

What our typical day is like:

Ben leaves really early for work, so I am usually up at around 6AM. Early mornings, are my quiet times to either read my Bible, pray and get to some emails. When the girls wake up, it is a cycle of eating, reading, crafting, cleaning up their mess then putting them to nap. We do this all over again in the afternoon. Nap times are important for them (and me) because that is my work time. I have no idea what I am going to do when they no longer need naps! When my husband comes home, I beg him to cook dinner because he is a much better cook than me. He is very creative in the kitchen. He makes anything taste good... I am glad I married a creative dietitian!

Why the name "Cakies":

While pregnant with my girls, Ben and I could never agree on a name, so we called them "babycakies" until we decided on some names, which was after they were born. Hence, it was the perfect name to call my blog and shop because Cakies is for the "oh so sweet and little."