Halloween Skirts {2012}

It's tradition now....

Halloween Wreath.

I'm over at Polka Dot Pixies sharing my latest addition to my Halloween Decoration! Hop on over and say Hello! 

Summer List 2012: Art Day

Every time I have the urge to purge all my scrapbooking stuff, we do a craft like this, and then I'm so happy I have it all. This project didn't cost me a thing! And it kept the girls busy for a couple of hours. And then a couple of more hours playing with them!

 Yes, our little friend Grayce is at our house again. Her little sister is sick sick so we offered to have Graycie over for a day long playdate. The girls are in hog heaven. I'm wondering at what point they will get tired of playing together. Thankfully it hasn't happened yet!

 I saw this cute little craft on my friend Erin's blog. She made owls using empty toilet paper rolls. We took it a step further and decided to add butterflies and ladybugs to the mix. Thanks for the idea Erin!

Addysen's: An Owl and A Butterfly

Elodie's: 2 Owls

Graycie's: A Butterfly and A Ladybug

Easter Mantle and a Winner.

We found out a few days ago that we can stay in this house until this Thursday. The original plan was to be out this weekend, drag all of our stuff to storage, stay in a hotel for a few nights, drag our stuff out of storage and back in to a uhaul, then make the trip to Arizona on Friday. Thankfully, the new owners of this house took some pity on us and agreed to move in to this house next weekend.

While it made our weekend a lot more enjoyable, I took it as a sign that I could atleast decorate my mantle for the weekend. Long enough to take a picture. All the while Christopher is tapping his foot wondering why the heck, of all the things we need to pack up, there are still decorations out! Picture Edward Cullen in Breaking Dawn packing up when he finds out Bella is pregnant. That is Christopher.

I would have done more to my mantle if we weren't moving. I had plans to make a grass wreath. And the blocks are suppose to say SPRING on them. I got all my letters cut out and then realized my mod podge had been packed away....Bummer. Next year for sure.

The winner of the Easter banner is....

STACY

Happy Monday!

Easter Banner and Giveaway!

I know this one is super late. And I should be packing, cleaning, and moving. But I couldn't let that stop me from finishing up my Easter Banner. This is the last banner. I started making banners last year for the 4th of July. I'm so happy how they have all turned out and that I've been able to give away one.

We found out today that we will be moving back to Arizona NEXT WEEKEND so I won't be able to decorate my mantle for Easter. I am pretty bummed about it so whoever wins this banner make sure to take some pictures and share them with me!

As you can tell from that little speck of green, I still have all of my St. Patrick's Day decorations up. I did buy Easter M&M's though.




Leave a comment and I will have the girls pick a winner on Sunday. I will mail the banner on Monday!

GOOD LUCK!

St. Patrick's Day and a WINNER!

I had so much fun with my mantle for St. Patrick's Day. I feel way more festive about this holiday and while we will be doing some traveling ON St. Patrick's Day, I have some fun things planned for the week OF. Should be fun.

Let's start with the best part.

My 4 leaf clover wreath.

I love love love my valentine heart wreath and was racking my brain on how I could make something similar for St. Patrick's Day. And this was born. I took 2 styrofoam hearts, cut them up, and glued them together. They didn't look like much naked but once I got all the felt on it my 4 leaf clover appeared. I took a piece of the leftover styrofoam and glued it to the bottom to serve as the stem. Do this part before you start your felt. I will admit that cutting All. Those. Circles. is the least fun part. And just when you think you have enough, you have to cute out about 400 more. No kidding. It was worth it for me but I can see why no one else would want to do this. My thumbs were so sore by the end. I use pins not hot glue. But the beauty of it all is I will have it for years to come. And when I am sad that I have to take down my valentine wreath I can be happy to put up my 4 leaf clover wreath!

Moving on. No mantle is complete without some subway art. You can get that here.

I looked high and low for St. Patrick's Day M&M's but couldn't find any. I did find them sorted by color at Party City (Thank you Jen) but they wanted 7 buck per bag and I would have needed at least 2, maybe 3 to fill up my jar. And then no one could eat them because I paid $20 for them! So I just went to Sams, bought the xxlarge bag, spent 10 minutes sifting through the bag for all the green m&m's, and voila. Cheaper AND everyone can eat the rest of the colors. Just leave the green ones alone!

I'm really happy with how my green blocks turned out. I had home depot cut the wood for me and had a friend cut the vinyl for me. I distressed the edges a bit too. I'm wishing now that I would have done 'pot o' gold' in gold vinyl but I didn't have gold vinyl and it seemed silly to purchase a whole roll for one project. It's the curse of DIY. You always think of more clever ideas AFTER the project is done!

I had leftover green felt and couldn't resist making cute little clovers for my jars. These were a semi-pain to cut out but so worth it. One of those 'sit on the couch, pull stuffing from said couch, and stitch them up while I watch tv' sort of projects. Love those.


And the moment you have all been waiting for. The winner of the banner is...

TIFFANY CLARK

Message me your address so I can mail it on Monday!

Think Green.

I"m not sure where this burst of creativeness came from over St. Patrick's Day. I've never had that much affection for this holiday. I went back and forth about making a St. Patricks' Day banner. I mean, a holiday smack dab between Valentine's day and Easter doesn't always get the attention it deserves. And if Mars isn't making any St. Patrick's Day M&M's (at least at my Wal-Mart. I haven't checked Target yet) you know it's a lost cause....

But as soon as I saw the cute St. Patrick's Day fabric, I knew I needed a banner. And with a banner comes other decorations. Subway art, sifting through the regular m&m's to pick out all the green ones, felt clovers (Oh you know I did), green blocks, and a four leaf clover wreath. Cuteness!

I'm loving the green as much as the red and pinks of Valentine's Day.

Somebody pinch me!


If you would like to win the other banner leave a comment. I will do the full Mantle Reveal on Friday and pick a winner!! The banner will get mailed on Monday!

Valentine Bags.

Can I check something off my to do list from LAST January? Something I started, realized I started it too late and was getting ready to have a baby, and shoved it in my valentine box for the next year. Well, here we are. The next year. And while I'm still not completely done with this project, it's safe to say the 2 most important bags are done!

And now I'm kicking myself that I didn't suck it up and do them last year! I. Love. Them. And every time I glance at our table it makes my day so much better! Next year I will pull these out earlier and try and throw something in them every day leading up to Valentine's Day. This year, I'll just put a bunch of little things in them on Valentine's Day.

After seeing them, Chris said "Valentine's Day: The next Christmas!" I don't agree at all!

I tweaked my bags a bit after finding this tutorial this year. And I have to say, once I got the hang of it and Elodie's bag was done, Addysen's bag came together quick! It does help to cut all your fabric ahead of time. I still have to do 3 more so I'm hoping I can say that once I'm completely done. My goal is to have the rest of the bags done for Valentine's Day.



{And now that I'm looking at these pictures, I need to run an iron over these bags!}

Where dreams come true...

Remember how I posted before about how I made 9 skirts in January? Here are 2 of the 9 I made.

I can finally post this as the box made it's way safely to Melissa's house yesterday. I couldn't call Melissa all week because I was so excited about sending the package and was worried I would spoil the surprise. I finally broke down and talked to her yesterday and casually slipped in a "so...when does your mail run?" Our conversations usually don't include questions like this so of course she was suspicious! But thankfully she didn't pry and I was able to steer the conversation away from mail!

Mace and Melissa are taking their kids to Disneyland next week. I knew early on that I wanted to make their girls some cute Minnie Mouse Skirts. The rest snowballed from there. The bows were necessary. I found the red polka dotted beads and then a necklace for Gracie became necessary. And one night laying in bed, I thought about making minnie mouse shirts and they would not leave me alone! Once I made them I was so glad they bugged me for so long!!

Besides being giddy about it being a big surprise, I want another trip to Disneyland so my girls can wear this outfit! I love it!

I also justified it because we are trying to make a trip home during Spring Break and if we do, Melissa and I are already planning Graycie and Addysen's 4th birthday party. And this can be their birthday outfits. Totally makes sense!

I gave one request to Melissa. I need a picture of the girls with Minnie Mouse at Disneyland!

I know our great friends are going to have an amazing trip! And I'm so glad a little part of me can go with them!

A Bouquet of Hearts.

I love felt. I love quick projects that bring instant gratification. I love naptimes when I get the chance to release my crafty energy. I love Valentine's Day. And I am in love with my bouquet of hearts to add to my collection of Valentine decorations! And bonus, no need to water and they won't die on me! They look so pretty on my dining room table. Breakfast crumbs and all!

These cuties will also be making a reappearance when I do the girls valentine pictures next week.

Tooth Fairy Pillow

Elodie lost another tooth over the weekend. It was so loose that it came out while she was eating oatmeal for breakfast on Saturday morning! Thankfully the whole "losing teeth stage" hasn't been too traumatic on any of us! *Cringe*

I had been wanting to make a cute pillow for Elodie to put her lost tooth in for the tooth fairy for a while now. Up until now we had just been putting it in a ziploc bag. And thanks to my best friend Pinterest, I came across some really great ideas!

I liked this tutorial/idea best and besides the white felt, I had everything I needed to make it happen. From start to finish it took me about a hour.

The tooth fairy can finally come to our house tonight! Right after she stops by the ATM for some cash!

I feel like we should name her...she is so cute!


The envelope on the back.



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I wasn't planning to give one away but my friend Cindi suggested it! Nice move Cindi! And well, they are so easy to make.... Leave a comment and I'll pick a winner on Friday! And bonus! Whoever wins can pick if they want a boy tooth or a girl tooth!

Valentine Mantle And a GIVEAWAY!

I just LOVE Valentine's Day! And the fact that it comes right after Christmas makes it so much more fun! You know, your coming down from that holiday high...and then there is Valentine's Day! Right there to pick you up! Love it!

I started decorating for Valentine's Day over the weekend. I would have done it earlier last week but I just finished my banner last night (while Chris was out with work buddies watching LSU get their butts kicked: I must say I'm happy I didn't watch it. Just hearing about it gets me all irritated! Christopher kept sending me text with the score and I finally told him to stop texting me unless LSU scores. I never heard back from him ) I always like to get full use of my decorations and they make everything so bright and cheerful! Who needs to wait until February!? And of course the girls are in love with the pinks and reds. Such a fun holiday!

As always, I have enough fabric to make 2 banners. If you would like to win it leave me a comment and I'll have the girls pick a winner on Friday!! Good Luck!




I may have squealed out loud when I sewed this heart on!

It's not complete without a fabric flower.

I'm still overly obsessed with my big felt heart I made last year. And love it even more so high up on my mantle! Sigh. I miss those pictures on the wall....

Red gumballs and mini felt conversation hearts. I spent all of last week hand stitching them. I had a ton of leftover felt from my big conversation hearts and banners I made last year. So I just used a little heart stencil. And the funny part? The stuffing is the batting from our 10 year old couch. There is a hole in one of the cushions right at my lower back. Why buy stuffing? I told Chris when we finally get rid of these couches we will always have a bit of them with us when I pull out our valentine decorations!

I still haven't decided where I'm going to put up my heart banners I made last year. Maybe down the staircase. And my dining room is tucked in a corner now so to put my conversation hearts on the dining room table seems silly. Not that we have a lot of visitors but I want to be able to look at them every day. For now I just threw them on the brick and the girls can play with them. Which is the idea anyway. I made extra little hearts so I tossed those in too. They make for great counting and sorting lessons for Addysen.

*GIVEAWAY CLOSED*

Snowflake FHE

I saw this idea floating around pinterest and knew it would be perfect for family home evening last night. The only down part to this activity is you have to wait until the next day to see your ornament take shape.

-First you will need white pipe cleaners, borax, glass jars, and boiling water.

-Start boiling your water.

-Shape your pipe cleaners into what ever shape you want. Elodie wanted a gingerbread man, Addysen wanted a pretzel, I attempted an actual snowflake, and Christopher did a star.

-Place 1/3 of a cup of borax in the bottom of each jar. I used old peanut butter jars that were plastic. It worked but since the water was boiling hot, my jars didn't hold up. I had to toss them all afterwards.

-Pour your boiling water into the jars. Enough that you know your ornaments are going to be covered but not to the tip top.

-Take your shapes and tie a string around them. In the blog where I found the idea she attached her string to a pencil. I didn't do that part. I just had enough string so that it hung over the side and there was no chance that it would fall into my water.

- Then put them in the water. Like this:

-They have to sit over night but when you wake up in the morning and pull your ornaments out of the jars they will look like this:

Addysen's Pretzel

Elodie's Gingerbread Man


Chris' star

Cool huh? They are all so sparkly and the girls thought it was the neatest thing ever. That borax. Who knew all the things you can do with it!

Christmas Banner and a giveaway!

So....

I finally finished all of the family photoshoots I did while I was in Arizona. 13 total. It was a lot of hours in front of the computer but I did it. Put the last one in the mail last Wednesday. 3 days later than my original goal. But everyone was patient with me and I appreciate that!

Because all of my naptimes and after bedtimes were spent editing pictures, I haven't been able to do anything for myself. Which means the Christmas fabric I bought before Thanksgiving has sat in the JoAnn's bag it came in for a few weeks now.

Not anymore. My original plan was to have this done last week. But then I ran out of red thread. So it had to wait until Friday. Then it rained all weekend which means I couldn't take a picture of my banner. And while it's still overcast outside, it is what it is. As for the banner. It came out even cuter than I thought it would in my brain. I say that every time. Which is a good thing because why would I put up a decoration I didn't love.


I especially love the green pompom trim. Cute to look at, not so cute to sew on. Don't look too closely.

And no banner is complete without a fabric flower. As Addysen would say "DUH!" We dislike that she says it but it's not the D word (AKA: Dumb) or the S word (AKA: Stupid) And don't worry. I have since ironed out that wrinkle. Don't deny it. It was the first thing I noticed too.


This fabric will make a reappearance once I get started on the girls Christmas skirts. Oh the fun to be had!

I made 2! DUH! Who wants the other one? Leave a comment and I'll have the girls pick a winner Wednesday night. And because there is confusion sometimes as to when the giveaway closes, lets say you have until bedtime Wednesday night. AKA: 7:30pm SHARP! Because we don't mess around at bedtime!

*I will mail it on Thursday. The 15th. AKA Our 10 year anniversary.*