Petunia+Poppy: The Blog

Find Joy in the Journey...

2012-02-10T12:39:00.002-07:00

I have this printable that I want to share. It's on my refrigerator and as I look at it daily it helps me to keep a good perspective. It serves as a constant reminder to see the good in that day and to remember the bigger picture.

printable can be found here

Growing up my mom and dad worked really hard outside the home to be able to provide for me and my older brother and older sister...so they were gone A LOT. With my siblings being 7-9 years older and gone by the time I was in middle school- I spent lots of time alone wondering what it would be like to have a house full of noise and activity, routines... I just longed to be with my parents (especially my mom- she is the warmest, sweetest , kindest woman I know) and even my siblings who were gone. I remember feeling so jealous of my friends whose moms were home for them when the were out of school and they got to talk about their day, what made them happy, what made them sad...they were heard and validated and felt loved and important. Don't get me wrong, I generally felt loved and I felt important... and I'd like to think I turned out ok... but I craved that constant reminder and security that comes only from time spent daily with those you love and trust the most. So growing up I decided that I would do that and be that for my kids...Fast forward to now, 5 kids later- I have realized that parenting is SO much HARDER than I could have ever imagined! and that I have SO much to learn on HOW that is done!! With my parents gone so much I knew what NOT to do, BUT I needed tons of help on WHAT TO DO to make sure I'm that happy, loving, caring Mom that provides that safe and loving environment I so badly craved ! I have found as a parent with no real pattern to follow that I have had to rely a lot on my faith in God through prayers, the scriptures , instinct, good mothers I know (including my MIL who I really admire)...AND really good parenting books! there are SO many out there...I have read several through out the years and I must say this one is new favorite... I have read it twice and made hubby read it with me the 2nd time

I don't believe that there is ONE great parenting book that has ALL the answers to EVERY parenting challenge... BUT from this book I have found many ideas on ways to help ME be a better and more "in tune" mom. some of the "tried and true" tips I have implemented from this book have actually worked!!

one of my favorites from this book is the "repenting bench" --So I send my kids here when they have an argument or fight and do the "he said-- she said" routine and try to get me to play good cop/bad cop... SO-they have to sit on that bench until they work it out, apologize and are on good terms. If hitting is involved they have to sit and hug for 5 WHOLE minutes!!! that's a LONG time I know...for the first minute or two they hate it! but by the end of the 5 minutes they make the best of it and get silly (pretending to be 2 headed, 4 legged monsters) and it helps break up the contention and they get over it!

It could sort of look like this....

I've noticed that when I am reading my scriptures and reading books like the one mentioned above that I focus on being a happier momma and that for brief moments at a time I find joy in the journey... and when I am finding joy in the journey this is what I get to see...

It's a constant work in progress, BUT

Here's to finding joy in our journey!!!

The Mom Challenge

2012-02-09T10:58:00.005-07:00

I'm sure I'm not the only one who's seen 'The Mom Challenge' floating around Pinterest.

This is the first week, so you haven't missed a thing. The first mini challenge is to EAT DINNER WITH YOUR CHILDREN- no tv, no phones, no distraction. Go to 'Live a FabuLESS Life' to read more, and let's do the challenge together!

.............................................................

I love learning new ways to connect with my children. My husband and I decided to map out a whole year's worth of one on one dates with our kids.

Our youngest is only one year old and so she gets a lot of attention already. We're focusing on our two older boys (5 and 6 1/2) for the dates. Each month, husband and I will switch kids. We have a big board in our room, with all of the date cards taped on. At the beginning of each month, we open an envelope and look at the date for that month. Then we look at the calendar and decide on a day for our date.

To give you an idea of the dates, in January, I took Colson to Barnes and Noble, where we read lots of books, got some soup and a cookie, and he got to pick out a book to take home at the end of the night. Brad took Griffin driving (Griff got to sit in daddy's lap and drive. Only through a parking lot of course. Not on the road.) and then they went out for ice cream.

In February, I made Valentine's Day sugar cookies and Whoopie pies with Griff (he's got a major sweet tooth so I knew he'd love this) and Brad took Colson to the Bean Museum to see the animals.

This has been a really fun thing for us so far, and I think it's safe to say we all look forward to the dates each month.

2012-02-08T11:56:00.001-07:00

My 13 year old accidentally spilled a glass of water on my laptop keyboard last week, while doing his homework . . . so this is going to be a quick post (since I have to use the desktop in my husband's office, while he is working - he gets to work from home when he's not traveling).

I have been in an interesting "funk" lately, maybe just having a new baby while trying to balance my other busy kiddos. I feel a bit more contemplative than normal, and a little blue. Been thinking about heavy things -- maybe it's a hormonal thing, maybe the state of "things" in the world today . . . I don't really know.

But, I found this quote, which I believe with all my heart. It's time to "forget myself, and get to work"!! Service is always a sure way to feel "better". :)

Hope you have a happy week!

*quote and image from the 320 Sycamore blog

Hi Y'all

2012-02-06T07:07:00.000-07:00

I'm Caroline and I'm the "adopted" one of the gang (code for S-I-L... married to their sweet and handsome older brother ;) and I'm so grateful to have married into such a fun group of sisters and I feel honored that they have asked me to be a part of such an awesome blog! I usually am the one scouring THIS blog for ideas...so it should be interesting to see what I can contribute. But I am excited for the opportunity to get to share some fun ideas and tips and tap into my creative side via blogland.

About me...I am a stay at home mama to 5 fun kids (2 big boys and 3 little girlies...ages 11 to 2yrs), they keep my life in constant motion and I LOVE IT! We are a tight knit family that enjoys cooking, working, reading, traveling, playing and doing just about anything together! Growing up I dreamed of having a close family full of treasured memories, traditions and love...I now feel very grateful that I get to fulfill that dream with my own little family! I enjoy learning new things and like to dabble in a little bit of everything (though definitely NOT an expert in anything;) like cooking, photography, health & fitness, kids crafts, sewing and home improvement projects. I love cheesy chick flix, dark chocolate, coke zero, planning family trips and have been known to hang out in my pj's all day sometimes just cause I can. My biggest love though is my family, including these crazy-talented sisters in law:) I love that they share their talents and ideas, and inspire me! Thanks for sharing this cool blog and letting me in on the fun!!

Clean day . . .

2012-02-01T07:48:00.000-07:00

After taking down the "holidays" . . . I always find new motivation to put the house back together and do a good, thorough cleaning. With a 4 month old baby, I've not done such a bang up job this year. But Mrs. Myers Clean Day is my "go to" to help gain a little instant satisfaction in the clean department. I always feel better if my counters shine, and my sink and appliances sparkle.

My favorite scent right now is the basil. I get the sparkle and shine that I seek, but probably the very best benefit I reap from this cleaner is the heavenly scent! To say I love the smell of a house cleaned with this stuff is an understatement. On the website it says the basil scent is good to . . . "ease the nerves and perk up the senses", and boy does it ever (and I need both of those things)! -- Probably why I like it so much . . . it energizes AND relaxes at the same time! Even my boys comment on how much they love the smell . . . BOYS! (I KNOW!) They still have yet to thank me for cleaning, but the fact that they even notice, is just about as good in my book!

*photo from Mrs. Meyer's website - (wish you could scratch and sniff!)

YUM!

(I also use the room spray and soy candle -- for layers of freshness!)

. . . you should try it (they have lots of other scents too)!

2012-01-30T09:24:00.000-07:00

Hi there!
My name is Kjirsten (Keer-sten), and I am the oldest of this sister bunch.

I am married to my favorite person in the whole world, and we have 6 children . . . three boys and three girls, ranging in age from 13 years to 4 months. I am in a wonderful season of life - having both tiny ones and a teenager.

I spend my days feeding babies, doing MOUNTAINS of laundry, cleaning the same things over and over again, running errands, and being entertained by my little ones.

I spend my evenings running my boys around to basketball, soccer, baseball, or football practice, and scouting meetings, etc.. I play hostess daily to lots of neighborhood friends, and can not keep enough food in the house for all those boys! My favorite time of the day is when things slow down and we gather together -- just the family -- to talk about the day and reconnect.

I fear I am probably the least talented of the sisters . . . they are MY inspiration. But I'm excited to be a part of this with them! :)

A little back story . . . I am the oldest of the seven kids in our family. After me, are two brothers (our awsome SIL Caroline, who you will meet, married one of these brothers), and then three sisters, and then one more brother. Sooo, obviously those three little sisters of mine were quite close! I remember many a morning that they would all wake up in the same bed . . . just couldn't get enough of each other. I was in High School when they were in Elementary School, and then I was off to college and missed A LOT of their growing up years. It's evident in all of the"sister" pictures through the years, when you see that I'm missing, that I just wasn't around. I was in Utah (BYU) when they were in Texas -- then I was back in Texas when they were in Utah (BYU). No fair. I just have to say that I am so thrilled to finally get to be a part of one of their "sister clubs"! -- They are some of the most amazing women I know.

Now that we're all "big girls", all married and raising families, our common goals have shortened the age span, and like YOU, we're seeking the good and uplifting things in life.

So excited!

Petunia + Poppy

2012-01-23T16:36:00.000-07:00

It's a new year! We thought it was the perfect time for a little background on the blog.

Carrie and I LOVE being stay-at-home-moms! It's the most fulfilling of jobs, but we felt like sometimes we needed an outlet. We needed to feel like there's more layers to us than just:

MOM. period.

We wanted to find time to do things that didn't necessarily revolve around our kids. We needed to be able to enrich our lives. So, we talked about all of the things we wanted to do or try or learn...knitting, crochet, dancing, singing, cooking, baking, reading, fitness, photography, geography, self defense, and the list goes on and on.

The plan was to get together once a week to learn something new. We also had a list of books to read along with each other. We live a couple hours apart, but thought we could go to her house one week, mine the next. That proved to be too tough with our kids and our different schedules. So we thought twice a month was more realistic, but it still didn't work. We finally realized we're going to have to do it on our own and talk over the phone.

...

ENTER THE BLOG. It seemed like the perfect solution. We can try things out on our own, and then blog about it and even share pictures! This way we get to take the journey together. When we started this whole thing, years ago, we called it our 'Sister Club'. Corny? Maybe a little. I guess it was a throwback to our childhood days. We did stuff like this all the time when we were little. Anyway, now that we aren't having the 'club meetings' in person, we wanted all of our sisters to be involved. Three sisters live in Texas (1 to 3 hours apart), Carrie is in Utah, and I'm in Wyoming. Now we can all stay in touch!

Over the next 5 weeks we will each be introducing ourselves and then we'll all start posting our latest ventures, whether it's something new we learned, a book we just read and want to share, a class we're taking, or wonderful mommy moments. Because, after all, we really DO love being moms. The point of this blog isn't to forget about our children, but just to bring more balance to our lives so that we CAN be the moms we want to be.

Oh yeah, you probably thought I was going to explain the name of the blog since our names are not Petunia and Poppy. Well, we were just playing around with pseudonyms and this is what we came up with. It all boils down to the fact that we liked it! I think it sounds more exciting than Sarah + Carrie...don't you!?

So we hope you're as happy with the changes as WE are. We're excited to welcome all of our sisters on here. We love all of the inspirational women in our lives and these women are the best of the best in our eyes!

A few more friend gifts. . .

2012-01-17T10:00:00.001-07:00

I just haven't been able to find time for blogging lately, but I thought I'd quickly post a few more of my latest crochet projects.

A neck warmer, made with the crocodile stitch.

Another Chunky Circle Scarf (in 'Bone').

A hat. I semi-made up the pattern and semi-followed this one.

I've also been working on some adorable sock monkey hats for a friend, and a baby cardigan, for a group I joined on Ravelry (an online community for knitters and crocheters). I'll get around to posting them eventually.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year's celebration! In true New Year fashion, we're trying to get our lives in order. We're working on getting this blog organized and to define our real purpose in continuing. We hope you'll like our changes. Stay tuned!

Handmade Gifts 4, 5, and 6

2011-12-30T10:23:00.001-07:00

For my husband, I did something I've wanted to do for awhile. I think it's a sweet, sentimental gift. You can't go wrong with a shirt bearing the silhouettes of the little ones you ADORE. Am I right?

I was so excited for him to open it because it was made with love and I was really happy with how it turned out.

At first, he thought I'd cheated and just bought him a new shirt. Then, when he saw that it was our children on the shirt, he thought I had gotten it made.

I think the BEST handmade gifts are the ones that don't look like they're handmade, so I counted this as a huge success. He put it on right away and wore it the next day, too!

instructions here. I got the shirt, fabric paint, and paint brush all on the same craft isle at Wal-Mart.

Griffy's first attempt for a daddy gift was this:

but, as you can see, that didn't pan out. It cracked all over the place.

(idea for the rocks came from here, but we used this recipe.

obviously should have stuck with the one that came along with the tutorial, but we were trying to kill two

birds with one stone, since we were already using the other recipe for another gift.)

Plan B, a canvas painting. Griffy loves drawing and painting and doing anything crafty, so I was actually happy that Plan A failed, because I think this gift was more fitting. Daddy loved it, of course.

I found the canvas at Wal-Mart in the craft section. They came in a set of three FLAT canvases.

And, from Colson: Angry Birds. I ended up pretty much doing this project by myself, but he was happy to pass it along to his dad and claim it as his own. Silly boy. In his defense, he had been a little sick that day, so I know he wasn't feeling 100%.

We didn't get much playing in, before baby took over, but Hubba took his Angry Birds to work, so we'll be able to play with them when we visit him.

instructions here, but I ended up just using my hand to make the pom poms. I think that method is easier and quicker. There's probably more trimming involved to get the right shape, but I'll take trimming over wrapping any day.

I had Brad open Colson's present on Christmas EVE because I knew what Brad had made for the boys and I thought it had potential to make Colson feel a little trumped. . . . .(to come)

{handmade gift 1, 2 and 3)

Hooks and Books

2011-12-29T12:20:00.012-07:00

I'm baaaack!! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Ours was pretty low-key. No traveling or any big plans. We did get a lot of quality family time, though. Just the way I like it.

I'm too late to join the yarn along on Small Things, but I'm still doing my crocheting/reading post. I'm working on a heart garland for Valentine's Day. I say this every year, but Valentine's Day is my second favorite holiday (next to Christmas, of course). I don't know what it is. I just LOVE it! So I'm already thinking about decorations and sweet valentines for my Hubba. Can't wait!

I also started reading Wuthering Heights again. The first time I tried reading this book, I was in high school and I don't think I got past the first chapter. I hated reading in high school. A couple of years ago (when I finally decided I'm a grown up and need to give reading a second chance) my friend (who aspires to be a librarian) gave me Wuthering Heights for Christmas. I didn't have great memories associated with the book but I was going to try. I ended up PORING over it's pages. I remember wanting my husband to read it too, so he could join me in being swept away by a romantic [and also very dark] story. We finished reading the last Harry Potter together about a week ago, so I figured it was time for a new book. I started reading Wuthering Heights to him and two chapters in, I could see he just wasn't feeling it. It's a lot different than Harry Potter, that's for sure. Soooooooo, I guess I'll be reading this one alone, but I couldn't be more excited to get into the story again. I hope my husband will try reading it one day too. I think he'd be surprised.

Handmade Gift 2 and 3

2011-12-23T22:06:00.002-07:00

For my two boys, I felt like I should give the SAME gift. For one thing, they can play with them TOGETHER, but aside from that, no matter how hard you try to get them both something unique, it will always turn into a competition for who's gift is better.

When I saw these tiny little bows and arrows on Pinterest, they just SCREAMED 'little boy adventure', so I knew I wanted to make some for my boysies. I can't wait to see their little faces when they open these. Instructions HERE.

I also made little pouches to put them in. I'm kind of a funny sewer. Sewing is not one of my strengths. I'm a little too impatient to take my time and do it right, so I always just jump right in without any instructions. Which is ironic because it ends up taking much LONGER, trying to re-do all of my mistakes. But, alas, they eventually turned out! {I stuck half of a toilet paper roll inside of them, to give them shape.}

(see handmade gift 1 here)

Another bow headband

2011-12-22T08:00:00.003-07:00

Christmastime brings out my crafty side. I can't stop making things. I made another bow headband for a friend. I used Caron Simply Soft yarn in Autumn Red. I discovered this yarn when I started reading People Webs and I LOVE it. It really is so soft. Perfect for scarves, headbands, and blankets. It's my new fave.

I linked up to Small Things.

Another Chunky Circle Scarf

2011-12-21T13:18:00.004-07:00

You can expect to see more of these scarves on this blog. I can't get enough. They're really easy to make and they're just so cute and cozy!! I love them. I made this one for a friend and I think I'm going to make one for the boys' music teacher, too. I used Caron Simply Soft yarn in Sunshine. Click HERE to see it in creme.

Oh! And baby wore her new hat last night. We went to see the lights at Temple Square and, even though I'm still going to wrap it and give it to her on Christmas, I didn't want her little ears to be cold. I could NOT, for the life of me, get a clear picture, so this is what you get. I think it looks quite cute on her.

Handmade Gift 1

2011-12-20T10:31:00.007-07:00

As I mentioned before, in my family each one of us is making something for the other family members. For my little Penelope, I decided to make a hat that my friend, Kim, told me about. It's an Anthropologie-inspired hat. (There's a flower on there, but it kind of blends in with the hat. Can you see it?)

I love how it turned out! I already tried in on her (because she doesn't know the difference between being surprised on Christmas morning or not) and it's a little big, but it still looks adorable! I used Caron Simply Soft yarn in Light Country peach. For the scalloped edge, because I like the 'daintiness' of the anthro hat, I used 'America's Best' size 10 crochet thread in Light Peach, and a 3.25 mm hook. You can find the pattern HERE.

Sneak Peak

2011-12-19T14:24:00.005-07:00

Christmas is sneaking up on us WAY too fast! I wish I could freeze time.

Each one of us is making something by hand for each one of the other members in the family. Here's a little sneak peak of my gift for the boys.

It doesn't look like much right now, but I think they're going to like it and I'm a bit excited about it. I'll post pictures when it's complete.

Knitting

2011-12-18T13:17:00.001-07:00

Sarah taught me some of the basics a few weeks (or months? I can't remember) ago and I thought it was SO HARD!! I didn't pick up the knitting needles for weeks. I finally decided to give it another go and it wasn't anywhere NEAR as hard as I kept telling myself it was! I think I needed awhile for her instruction to sink in.

I LOVE to learn new skills so this is really exciting to me. I've still got a lot to learn, but there's a whole new world of patterns that will be open to me!!

A Scarf and Some Carrot Shampoo

2011-12-17T12:16:00.007-07:00

I made a spur-of-the-moment scarf today. I was sitting on my bed and noticed this white chunky yarn with silver specks in it. I used it to make the star on our Christmas tree and I was thinking I don't know what I'll ever use it for again. That's when I decided to make a scarf with it! It's as simple as can be, and I love how it turned out! You can wear it down, like a necklace, or fold it around again. I like it both ways. I'm going to give it to a friend, as a Christmas gift.

(the color in the pictures is off. The yarn is bright white)

Here's what I did:

Ch 62. Turn.

Row 1: dc into 3rd ch from hook. dc into each st across. (60 dc)

Row 2: Ch 2 (counts as first dc). Turn. dc across. (60 dc)

Row 3-8: Repeat row 2. Fasten off.

Attach both short ends together to make one big loop.

(also, since I was taking pictures of this scarf, I decided to just slip on the circle scarf I made the other day and get a better picture of it. you can actually see what it looks like now. go HERE)

And in other news, as I mentioned before, I've been trying to decide where to go from here with my hair. I was planning on making some shampoo myself, with a recipe I got from a friend, but I was having a hard time getting to the health food store. One day, I was wandering around Target (when I was shopping for Griffy's teacher gift) and I happened across this shampoo, without even looking. I felt like it was the answer to my hair dilemma.

I can't tell you how good it feels to have CLEAN hair!!!! And it feels good to know I'm not going all the way back to my old ways. It's a nice, happy medium. I'm still going to wash every FEW days, but I'll use this [mostly] organic shampoo instead of baking soda (boo!). I'm also still not using any additional products. And, guess what! My hair is holding curl still. AH, the best of both worlds! Clean AND manageable. Hallelujah!

Teacher gift

2011-12-16T12:03:00.007-07:00

Griff's Christmas gift to his preschool teacher this year, was this adorable snowman. I got the idea from the talented Sarah, of Sarahndipities.

My husband is the one who ended up making it all. Which is good, because he's more artistic than I am. We used a small rolled oats container. He made the top hat out of black paper (the brim is just the lid from the oats). He covered the can in white printer paper, carved a little piece of wood to resemble a carrot, let Griffy paint it orange, drew the basic shape of coal with a black sharpie and had Griff scribble them in. Then he made some holly out of paper and attached a note with some of my yarn that read (like Sarah, of Sarahndipities),

'We 'tissue' a Merry Christmas and a 'Handy' New Year!'

On the inside, we put tissues and hand sanitizer (things she can use in the classroom). When we were buying them at the store, Griffy did NOT like our idea. We finally got him to agree by telling him he could also pick out a candy bar for his teacher. So he picked out the Twix. (We cut a slit in the bottom of the lid, and stuck the Twix bar inside. So there's a little surprise for her in the hat!)

And I actually tested a pattern for Sarah a few days ago, so I had the brimmed hat that I made for that, and stuck it in along with everything else.

When she opens the lid:

After making the snowman with daddy, I think Griff finally understood where we were going with all of this and he LOVES it. He was just a little worried in the store. He wasn't sure we knew what we were doing.

I love how it turned out. Check out Sarahndipities for more inspiration and click on my link (#106)!

Paper Snowflakes

2011-12-16T10:00:00.001-07:00

I love the whimsical touch it can add to a home, to have lots of homemade paper snowflakes hanging from the ceiling, but sometimes it's hard to know just how to make them.

I thought I'd share my FAVORITE tutorials:

Last year we used this one, from 'Here's Looking at Me Kid', and made garlands strung in rows, from the ceiling. SO easy, and they turn out beautifully. We went right back to the same tutorial again this year, but tried using parchment paper, cut into squares, and hung them over the table, and over the old window on the bookshelf. I love them even more!

This is the first time we used this tutorial, from 'Kerli and Animals' (which I also mentioned in this post), and I thought it was ALSO very user friendly. You don't even have to start with a square. We used regular printer paper for these (haven't hung these ones yet but I'll post a pic when we do).

I've seen a couple of tutorials out there, that I don't understand, so I hope this helps someone searching for something a bit easier.

Chunky Circle scarf

2011-12-15T08:00:00.010-07:00

From the moment I laid eyes on this scarf, from People Webs, I knew I HAD to make it.

I love the beautiful 'Catherine Wheel' pattern. And I'm all about the eternity cowl.

I will definitely be making more of these in every color of the rainbow.

Just a note: If you're wanting to make this, I think it's VERY helpful to read some of her explanations in the comments. She clarifies some questions, making it a whole lot easier and less frustrating.

Homemade Christmas

2011-12-14T08:00:00.004-07:00

I really wanted to add more COLOR to our home this Christmas. Our color scheme is usually red, gold, and creme, but I figured, if we were changing the tree, why not change everything?

Some colorful Christmas pictures that inspired me:

via

The problem is, it's kind of hard to just change it all on a whim, when you have a limited budget and none of your old decorations match, so I did my best. Over the next few years, we'll be able to accumulate more color. (Knowing me though, I'll probably want to switch to an all white color scheme by then.)

So anyway, I brought some color into our home, by making this ornament garland I saw on Pinterest.

Since I was going to need a lot of ornaments, I bought the cheapest ones I could find, from Wal-Mart. They came in sets of 8, for $2.50. AND I used a few of our old red ones, too.

I would have liked to use ribbon to hang them, but I prefer to keep the spending to a minimum, and I didn't have any ribbon on hand, so I used twine. It shows in a couple of places, which bothers me to no end, but I finally had to settle.

We hung it by our table.

(I decided to just leave the balloons up, from Penelope's birthday. That way, we get a little more use out of them.)

I made the wreath from a tutorial on Good Knits

tiny winter scenes

2011-12-14T07:30:00.004-07:00

Every Christmas season, I see these cute little winter scenes in mason jars, and I've always want to make some of my own.

I picked up three bottlebrush trees at Wal-Mart. I soaked them in hot water and bleach for half an hour, like I had seen on YouTube. Nothing happened, so I tried again, with more bleach.

Still nothin'.

Oh well. No white trees for me.

I cleaned them, sprayed them with 'Snow' (I got it at Roberts but I'm pretty sure you can get it at Hobby Lobby and probably any other craft store), and sprinkled them with Martha Stewart glitter.

After they dried, I put some sugar in the bottom of some mason jars, and put the trees in the 'snow'.

I wanted to find a tiny little reindeer to put with one of the trees but never found one. Maybe next year.

I love the simplicity of my little winter scenes. They add a nice touch to our table without being 'too much'.

It's {FINALLY} beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2011-12-13T08:00:00.004-07:00

I feel like we kind of got a later start on decorating than we usually do. We've just been behind this year. We had family in town for Thanksgiving and everything else took a back seat. It took me awhile to get going again. It's starting to look like we're not even going to get Christmas cards out! : (

But the house is looking festive at last, and that makes me happy! We'll start with the tree.

Usually our tree looks like this:

I LOVE it! It's HUGE, and FULL, and BEAUTIFUL!!

But this year we wanted something different. With a curious little one year old running around, we didn't want the big tree falling on her and we didn't want her to break the ornaments. We came to the conclusion that we needed a smaller, more sparse, simply decorated, Christmas tree! It's funny how you get so used to the 'norm'. I almost felt nervous going to the tree lot to look at SMALL trees! Like I wanted to make sure we were doing the right thing. It's just a tree, I know, but I wanted it to feel like Christmas and it usually DOES. . . .with our BIG tree. So I got a little nervous.

But when we got this gem home, we all fell in love with our humble little tree. It's just cute. Not overbearing.

Hubba built a little table for it to sit on, and I got some new, cheaper ornaments in the next few days, while he was at work.

I used this tutorial for the snowflakes. (If you're going to make these, DON'T FORGET her note in the beginning of the pattern! The dc are actually sc!! I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong at first.)

I also got some tinsel garlands and a few small ornaments from Wal-Mart. I added some candy canes and my 'peace sign', and she was complete.

The boys have told me on numerous occasions, that this is the BEST tree and that it's so much prettier than any we've ever had. You can imagine, from what I told you before, (about my self-esteem hinging on my children's acceptance), that I was beaming after hearing that. They were so excited to show daddy the decorated tree, when he came home from work in the morning.

This cotton ball Christmas window is something I saw on pinterest and LOVED the idea of 'snow' around my tree, so we strung up some cotton balls and craft pom poms from the ceiling with thread. I LOVE!!

tomorrow: tiny Christmas scenes, an ornament garland, and a crocheted wreath

Birthday girl

2011-12-12T08:00:00.001-07:00

As I mentioned before, we just celebrated our teeny little girl's one year birthday. I love this girly so much and we had fun celebrating with her. Some details:

1. The 'party' table. We don't do big parties for our kids, with all of OUR friends. Just don't see the point. So it was just the five of us, but I always love to make it special, with some decorations and a cake. (Balloons, tapered candles, polka dot napkins, and small paper plates from Zurchers! Who knew they had such cute party supplies there? I also got some stripey straws there.)

2. Flower Garland. I just bought a bunch of artificial flowers from Wal-Mart. I formed the flowers into a garland and connected them to each other using flower wire (don't know if that's the correct term. I got it in the flower section at Hobby Lobby). Then I cut off any long stems that were sticking out and, voila! A simple way to add some color to the party decor.

3. Chocolate cake with Salted Caramel Frosting. My frosting was too runny but the cake was still delicious. (Note: We don't drink coffee so I replaced that with an equal amount of water and a teaspoon or so of cardamom.) Remember my cake stand?

4. I made Penelope a chevron blanket, from this pattern. There's a similar one for FREE, here.

5. Presents.

6. Our antique store find. Remember this post? Also, tissue paper and tulle flower tutorial here.

7. & 8. Birthday girl, enjoying her cake.

DIY Little Girl Leggings

2011-12-11T09:19:00.003-07:00

Oh. My. Goodness!!! I love these! I always thought I could use old shirts to make leggings for my girls, but I tend to doubt myself until someone else tells me it really is possible. While perusing Made quite a while back I found this tutorial and I was so excited!

I made some cute little green and white striped capri leggings for Addie back in the spring. She wore them almost everyday throughout the summer!

So, when I found a red and white striped shirt at the thrift store (with the perfect amount of stretch!) I knew my girls just had to have some candy cane leggings for the holiday season!

I really wanted to make a pair for both of my girls so I got a little creative. I made Addie a pair of pants from the body of the shirt, and I used the sleeves to make a pair for Ellie. I wouldn't recommend doing that, but it all worked out in the end. They love their new pants! Well, Ellie doesn't really care, but Addie wanted to wear hers for a week straight. I had to convince her to let me wash them.

Crystal Snowflakes

2011-12-10T06:35:00.000-07:00

My kids thought these were the prettiest snowflakes they've ever seen!

Supplies:

Pipe cleaners

pencils

string

boiling water

Borax (found in the laundry aisle at the supermarket)

wide mouth container

First you take the pipe cleaner and cut it into 3 equal pieces. Then twist them together and spread the ends out to make your desired snowflake shape. We decided also to make a J and A for the kiddies.

Then attach a piece of string (I wouldn't recommend using twine like I did. It was too stiff and kind of made the snowflakes flip into each other) to one end of the snowflake and tie the other end of the string around a pencil (or other object that you can set across the top of the container so that the snowflake dangles).

Now, set the snowflake aside. Fill the container with boiling water (keep track of how much you add). For every cup of water you want to add 3 tablespoons of Borax. Stir to dissolve the borax. If some of it just won't dissolve, that's okay...it will still work.

Dangle your snowflake into the water and let it sit. I've heard you should wait over night, but I never really understood what that means. If I put it in at 1am and let it sit until I get up at 7am, is that long enough? Anyway, I put mine in the water at 10:30pm and at 7:30am they were done!

Its best to use one container per snowflake, but I could only find one so I put all three in at the same time. You don't want your snowflakes to touch each other or they'll get stuck together.

When we took them out to let them dry Addie was so excited to EAT hers! I guess will have to give rock candy a try some time soon! (ps. I did not let her taste it!!)

These little beauties are going make it onto the kids Christmas tree in their room. I wanted to hang them in a window so we could watch them sparkle, but I lost the vote!

Linky Love. . . .

2011-12-08T11:44:00.004-07:00

The internet can be a dangerous place for me, if I'm not careful. There are WAY too many crafty blogs and shops that inspire me, I sometimes have a hard time ripping myself away. And then I have an infinitely long list of projects, which only stress me out. Please don't tell me I'm the only one.

Here's just a sliver of the things that have caught my attention lately:

KnitKnit on Etsy. I don't know why, but I can't get those knitted power cords off my mind. They're so random. And I love love love the embroidered felt animal necklaces and the felted cameo necklaces and brooches.

Pumpkin Spice Lattes via Domestic Reflections. Oh my!! I made these last night (sans espresso) for my husband and I as we watched our Wednesday night shows (The Middle and Modern Family) and they were SO GOOD. I made something similar in October one night, but these were SO. MUCH. TASTIER. I will probably be making them again tonight. yum yum.

Can't get this blanket off my mind. From Good Knits.

DIY Clay Lollipop Ornaments on Creature Comforts. Very cute. Since we're already into December now, I'm all about the fast projects so I don't think I'll have time for these this year, but I'll keep them in mind for next Christmas. Scroll down to the end of the post, where she has a few pictures of the different uses for these. All so cute.

The Modern French Tip on Black Eiffel. Love this!

A Beautiful Modern Christmas on 'Sitting in a Tree'.

Paper Snowflakes on Kerli and Animals. We made paper snowflake garlands last year and it added such a festive touch to our home. We WILL be doing this again!

And I only just scratched the surface. I've got a problem!

Peace Sign

2011-12-07T10:44:00.003-07:00

Sometimes crafts are a lot more fun in your head, before you ever actually do them.

I was SO excited to make these pipe cleaner words with the boys. Other than the sheer fact that it provided a way to use up some of my many yarn scraps, I thought my boys would eat. this. up. I thought they'd be singing my praises (I gauge my self-esteem on how many times a day my children tell me they love me and that I'm 'the best'. I may have to re-think this).

DREAM WORLD: The whole family sitting together, listening to Christmas music, sipping hot cocoa, laughing the night away, as we worked our little fingers to the bone, wrapping yarn around and around our pipe cleaner words. Quality family time.

Mmm, not so.

REAL WORLD: One boy (my perfectionist) getting angry that his wasn't just PERFECT and the other (my busy body) getting bored REALLY quickly. Then there was my husband, who was too busy occupying our little girly to join in.

I was a little bit disappointed with the outcome, but I guess I need to be more realistic. If I had REALLY thought it through, I probably could've guessed it would turn out this way.

And at least there's SOMETHING positive that came from me trying to shove Christmas spirit down my family's throat. I DO have a completed 'peace sign' to show for it, which I have hanging on the Christmas tree for now.

craft found here.

winner of our giveaway, posted below ...........

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!!!

2011-12-06T15:14:00.008-07:00

Sorry we're a day late getting this up but, we have a winner!!

Thank you to all that commented. I can't tell you how good it was to hear from ALL OF YOU and get a little feedback.

The winner, picked via Random.org, is.....................

Danielle (!), who said,

'LOVE your blanket! you girlies are getting pretty good at all of this!! Good color choice also! And I love your DIY crafts!'

Yea!! Danielle, we'll have your 'prize' in the mail soon, so you can get to work, crocheting up a storm!

We had so much fun putting this giveaway together, so if you didn't win this time, don't despair. There will definitely be more in the future.

ps I thought I had posted the link to the site where I got my bobble blanket pattern, but it turns out I didn't. I updated the post though, so check here, if you were wondering.

5 little monkeys swingin' in a tree. . . .

2011-12-05T08:23:00.002-07:00

I was invited to a baby shower for twins, and I knew I'd crochet a couple of hats (because that's just what I always do for baby showers) but I wanted a little something more, so I did what I always do. . . .I called Sarah. She never fails to help me out when I need advice. We make a good team, she and I. SHE makes things, tells ME about them, then I copy her, and I post about them! It all works out. She taught herself to crochet and that's why I started. She learned to knit so now I want to learn. Basically I'm the little sister who's always trying to be like my big sis. She's usually the inspiration behind my projects and I think she needs more credit.

Back to my story.

So I called Sare and she directed me to some adorable little finger puppets on Homemade by Jill, which she had already made for a friend AND for her own little ones.

I LOVE them. They're so cute. I only had time to make them for my friend, but I DO also want to make some for my children. Christmas present?

I printed out the cute little monkey song and made 5 little monkeys and a crocodile (no pics of the croc though. oops!)

I also made a little bag to put them in. I REALLY just made it up, but if you've never made anything like this before and need a little help, surprise surprise, I was looking through our posts that hadn't been published yet and SARAH had already written one up with these links:

http://thecreativeplace.blogspot.com/2010/10/tuesday-tutorial-drawstring-bag.html

http://www.skiptomylou.org/2010/02/18/a-drawstring-bag-tutorial/

I told you we make a good team. Hope you don't mind, Sare!

The piece of fabric I used was 20 in. x 10 3/4 in. in case anyone's curious. I only used that one piece for the whole project, so the finished bag was half that size. Sorry I didn't make a tutorial but check the link above for some helpful info.

The finished bag.

And I made each monkey face a little different than the last, just for fun.

the end.

ps did you enter the giveway yet?

lately. . . .

2011-12-04T08:00:00.001-07:00

We celebrated one year with our little girly.

working on a crocheted wreath, but I ran out of yarn.

We're changing it up this year with a small, sparse tree, so I'm changing up the ornaments, too. I'm working on some crocheted snowflakes.

more to come. . . .

No 'Poo Challenge: DAY 23!!!

2011-12-03T08:00:00.003-07:00

I did it! I reached my goal of not using shampoo for three weeks. Some days were easier than others, but I made it.

I'm still trying to decide where I want to go from here. After all that work, I don't know if I want to go back to my old ways of shampooing daily or every other day, but I'm not loving the waxy build-up that I get with using the baking soda. I also feel very accomplished to have gone this long without using a single product on my hair!

I DID end up washing with applesauce on Wednesday and it really helped. My hair felt much softer and cleaner than it ever has with baking soda. For about a day, my scalp looked a little flaky, but it got better after that. This picture was taken the next day. Once again, I used the no heat curl. You can find the tutorial here, at The Paper Mama. I've become a big fan of this hair style.

You can use regular store-bought applesauce, but I made my own. It's very simple:

Set the oven to 350 F.

peel and core two apples

Put them in an oven-safe dish along with 1/8 cup water, and bake for 15 minutes.

Run in the food processor until smooth.

Then you just use it in the shower, the same way you would with shampoo, being sure to rinse out as well as possible.

I used all of this in the shower, but I think you could EASILY split it between two showers.

Put half of it in the fridge and use a few days later.

ps don't forget to enter our giveaway!!

Its Christmas Time!

2011-12-02T08:53:00.004-07:00

I told my kids at Thanksgiving that we would put up the Christmas tree on the first Monday in December for family home evening. I'm kind of regretting that right now. Yesterday was the first day of December and the first day I really started to catch Christmas fever! But I'm still too lazy to bring the boxes of Christmas upstairs so I guess we really will wait til Monday.

However, that doesn't stop us from listening to Christmas music! Harry Connick Jr. has been a long time fave in our house, and anything old such as Bing Crosby. This year we've also added Come Let Us Adore Him by The Lower Lights. We are big fans of The Lower Lights! If you're here on a Sunday you're sure to hear some.

Here's one of my all time favorites from Harry...

What are your go to holiday favorites?

*Oh yeah, don't forget the giveaway!

MADE: Bobble Blanket {and a giveaway}

2011-11-29T13:22:00.009-07:00

***GIVEAWAY now CLOSED***

I finished my bobble blanket!!

I just love the texture. I can't stop touching it. And it was relatively easy, if it weren't for the fact that I have such a hard time keeping an even tension throughout my projects. There are a few rows in there, that are tighter than the rest {*rolling my eyes*}. As far as stitches go, it's very beginner. You really only need to know how to do a single crochet and double crochet. So those of you who are learning and are ready to take on a bigger project, this would be a great one for you!

I got the pattern here, at the Moogly Blog. The one I made is the baby blanket version but, if you'd like to make a bigger blanket, check out this post, too, which gives some details on how much yarn you'd need, etc.

Anyway, on to the giveaway. . . .

Since we LOVE to crochet and we taught ourselves from library books, we thought it would be fitting to give one of our readers a book about crochet, so that you, too, can learn! The lucky winner will also receive some accessories (yarn, hook) to go along with the book.

The Complete Photo Guide to Crochet:

Some of you may already know how to crochet, but I think it would still come in handy. I would love to own a book like this.

If you'd like to be entered to win, please leave a comment telling us what types of posts you enjoy most: crochet, crafts, furniture, beauty, party, etc.

A winner will be chosen at random on Tuesday, December 6. Good luck to you all and thank you, thank you, thank you for reading!

hats are my friend

2011-11-26T14:38:00.008-07:00

Okay soooooooooo, this no 'poo challenge is getting difficult. It's DAY 17!

I feel yucky.

I didn't think through this very well. I had to show up at the fire station (where my husband works) for Thanksgiving, looking like a grease ball. I wanted to wear a hat but thought that might be rude, so I opted for the ever so popular bun.

I felt disgusting.

Now we've got church tomorrow and Christmas is coming so we need to do family pictures. . . . not really the best time to have a constant bad hair day.

So lately I either wear my hair in a bun or a hat. It's starting to look really piece-y, so even a hat doesn't hide it. Just look at these pictures I took today. You can still see how bad my hair looks, even if most of it is covered.

I tried to do the no heat curl for Thanksgiving but it just looked stringy so up in a bun it went.

Well, I'm still not going to give up. I've come this far and I need to finish. I only have 4 more days until I reach my 21 day goal, but I don't really want to stop until I see results, so I might try an applesauce wash. I'm just worried about being 'flaky' afterwards.

sigh.

What to do, what to do? We shall see.

Sare and I are working on our giveaway. I think we should be ready in a couple more days! Get excited people! Get REALLY excited. ; )

happy thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T20:33:00.005-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Today, I'm thankful for my husband, who works so hard to provide for his family. I'm thankful for my sweet little kiddies and their ability to put a smile on my face at any given moment. I'm thankful for my talents. I'm thankful for the fire station, which is where we had our Thanksgiving dinner this year, since husband was on duty. I'm thankful for my cousins' easy-but-delicious chocolate creme pie, which I've made too many times and I made tonight. I'm thankful that we had a place to be on Thanksgiving, and that we had family to spend it with.

And I'm thankful for YOU!! We're so thankful for all of you out there who read our blog. We know there are only a few of you, but we want to show our gratitude with a little giveaway, which we'll be posting in the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned!

..............

2011-11-19T10:35:00.001-07:00

I am going crazy. I have so many things I want to make and don't know where to begin. Just between homeschooling and being a mom of three, I'm having a hard time figuring out when all of this crafting is going to take place. But that's not to mention all of the other things swimming around in my head constantly, that I'd like to tackle (learn/do/try), like cooking, baking, running, knitting, reading, decorating, sewing, cross-stitching, embroidery. . . .somebody stop me. I could go on and on and on. Sister started teaching me to knit (yes, she's still part of this blog, even though it looks like I took over) but it's HARD. I have this nasty habit of biting off more than I can chew and then getting so stressed out because I can't complete everything all at once.

DEEP BREATH.

I need to pace myself. We'll start by honing my crocheting skills. I REALLY want to make another blanket. I've seen so many pretty crocheted blankets on Pinterest (this and this are on the top of my list) and they're KILLING me. I NEED to make one.

I also want to start crocheting sweaters and cardigans. VERY intimidating, but I want to try.

I ALSO want to make another doily.

the end.

Well, kind of. There's a lot more but I'm trying to pace myself, remember?

{picture. A hat I made back in August, using this pattern}

Bow Headband

2011-11-18T22:21:00.005-07:00

I started teaching a friend how to crochet and it made me really antsy to start more projects, so I made this headband last night.

When I decide on a project, I have to make it RIGHT THEN, so I used my yellow Vanna's Choice yarn I had on hand. I'd like to make some other colors though, and maybe a matching one for baby Penelope. I love how it turned out. It'll be great for an ear warmer in the snowy months.

As for the No 'Poo Challenge, I'm still finding things to be happy about. Like I said before, my hair is definitely feeling greasy, but I'll take that as opposed to how it usually is when I wash with shampoo- flat, lifeless, and completely unmanageable.

My hair has a lot more body and is 10 times more manageable than it's ever been!!

I'm on DAY 11 and I'm going for at least 21 days (more, if it the greasiness starts diminishing).

And one more thing- sorry my pictures are always such horrible quality. I always take pictures at night, in my windowless bathroom, after the kids go to sleep, so this is the result. I'd love to take beautiful pictures outdoors, in the daylight, in a pretty setting, but just don't have the time for that. Or the energy to wrestle three kids. Maybe one of these days. . .

Dirty hair is better than clean hair

2011-11-13T13:37:00.003-07:00

Okay, maybe that's not exactly true, but I haven't washed my hair (with shampoo) for a week, and it sure does SEEM better than before.

I've had a few ups and downs with how I feel about the no 'poo challenge, but today has been an UP.

In my last post I voiced a concern about what I was going to do with my hair for church.

I also mentioned the No-Heat Curl tutorial, on The Paper Mama. Like I said, I've tried the no-heat curl before, but not since starting my no 'poo adventure. After posting that last night, I decided I might as well try it again for church. I figured curling my hair would be the perfect way to cover up the greasiness, since I can't wear a hat or anything. And it would give it a little extra body, instead of sticking to my head.

OH. MY.

I LOVE LOVE LOVED the result and I was so surprised. I expected to wake up on Sunday morning and have a really hard time getting ready, but it ended up being a breeze.

I was in a rush to get out the door this morning (as ALWAYS, on Sundays), so I quickly snapped a shot of myself in the boys' dirty dirty bathroom mirror, but you get the idea.

Now, to understand why I'm so excited about this, you need to know the nature of my hair. USUALLY, when I curl my hair, it falls 15 minutes later. No joke. As a matter of fact, the only other time I've used this no-heat method to curl my hair, that's exactly what happened. And I spray a whole lot of hairspray on it, too. I've tried curling clean hair, dirty hair, using gel, hairspray, surf spray, curling irons, hot rollers, velcro rollers, sponge rollers, leaving it over night, etc. NOTHING EVER WORKS.

SO, you can imagine my surprise when I decided to use a NO HEAT method of curling my hair, without using ANY product, and it actually WORKED! AND it was still just as curly after 3 hours of church and still hasn't fallen.

I did not put one product in my hair!! Like I said in the video yesterday, the natural oils in my hair ACT as product, without having to use any.

Last night, I took it out of the bun I had it in, brushed through it, gave it a side part, put a stretchy headband on and twisted the hair around the headband like she does in her video. Then I went to sleep. I woke up, took out the headband, and brushed through my hair. I pinned the top back (because the crown is too greasy to wear down, I think), and that's all it needed! It took all of five minutes to complete!

after church:

Just the same as before church.

I have a BIG smile on my face right now. I feel like I've made a wonderful discovery. I like fixing my hair and trying new hairstyles, but it's usually a lot more time consuming than this. Not to mention the little fact that I didn't have to damage my hair in any way to get results. No heat, no chemicals. Pretty awesome if you ask me.

I'm quickly becoming a huge no 'poo advocate!!

No 'Poo Challenge: An Update

2011-11-12T11:29:00.003-07:00

So today makes DAY 5 of not using shampoo and I am definitely feeling like a grease ball, but it'll all be worth it when I look in the mirror and see soft, shiny hair, full of the body I never knew I could have!!

Because that's what's going to happen, RIGHT??

Until that day, I'll continue finding ways to hide my hideous, 'in-between stage', hair. I find that I prefer hats when the crown of my head is REALLY greasy (like the second day after washing with BS) and buns ON the days of the BS wash, like today. I don't know WHAT I'm going to do for church tomorrow. Should be interesting.

HATS:

BUNS:

SCARVES:

links:

sock bun tutorial on Cheeky Chicago

head scarf tutorial on Keiko Lynn

no heat curl on The Paper Mama

(I've tried this, but not since switching to no 'poo, so I'm not sure what it would look like. worth a try, though)

Oil Cleansing Method

2011-11-10T16:21:00.000-07:00

The Oil-Cleansing Method, or the OCM, is a method of washing your face that I found on Crunchy Betty. Instead of washing with SOAP, you wash with OIL. The idea is that like attracts like, so the oils will grab the dirty oil on your face and replace it with clean oil. Or something like that.

When I reached the old age of 25, I felt my skin start to change. I'm now 29 years old and my skin looks dry and dull and it breaks out on a regular basis. I guess I kind of felt the same way about trying this out, as I did about the 'no 'poo challenge'. My skin's not doing so hot as it is, so I've got nothing to lose. I figure what's the harm in trying it out and seeing if it's the solution to my skin problems?

I did my first oil cleanse on Monday night, and washed with honey the next morning (tutorial here). I've continued the morning/honey, night/oil routine since then. So I've done it a total of three times and I can't say enough good things about it. Sounds strange, but I get so excited to wash my face every morning and night. That's what happens when you're seeing results.

Now, mind you, my after pics are with make-up on so I know it's not completely valid, but I'm just feeling so much better about my skin, I felt like I HAD to share. I'll do another 'after' post in a few weeks, when I've been doing it longer. Something important to note about the make-up, though, is that I usually wear foundation, concealer, AND powder. In these pictures (which I took yesterday- DAY 2), I'm only wearing a little liquid foundation to even out my skin tone. And that's how I've been doing it since starting my oil cleansing routine. I'm not nearly as self conscious as I was just THREE days ago!

I cannot believe I'm about to show the world my broken out face. Am I crazy!

EEK! I'm just going to press 'Publish' before I can change my mind.

before (right side):

I've been breaking out along my jawline and it seemed no matter what I did, I couldn't fix it. Until the OCM, that is.

after (right side):

this was the area that saw the biggest change. right after washing for the first time, I saw a difference. It didn't completely clear up (that would be impossible, I think) but there was a considerable change.

before (left side):

after (left side):

before :

after (don't mind the oily hair):

So, this was just after TWO DAYS and I've now been doing it for THREE!! My skin feels softer, smoother, clearer, and my confidence has been boosted. I'm LOVING the fact that I don't have to cake on the make-up to cover up all of my many skin flaws.

I just can't wait to see how this goes after a few weeks!

The oil mixture I use is 1tsp castor oil, 2tsp avocado oil. I massage it into a wet face for about two minutes, then get a washcloth completely wet with hot water. Ring it out and put it on my face for 15 seconds to soften the oils. Then I just wipe my face clean (I don't even remove my make up beforehand).

I pat it dry with a towel and that's it!

here are the links to Crunchy Betty again:

Oil Cleansing Method

check to see the different oils she suggests. you kind of have to figure out the right mixture for your skin type. I chose to use avocado oil because I think I have dry skin.

Honey Cleansing

GOOD LUCK!

Crunchy Betty Blog

2011-11-09T14:39:00.007-07:00

Okay, some of you may think I'm a liiiiittle crazy, and maybe I am, but I'm going to stop using shampoo. You heard me! I'm not using shampoo anymore!

'Why', you might ask? Because it sounds so crazy that it JUST might work, that's why.

I'm not a huge fan of my hair as it is, so when I read on Crunchy Betty (which I'm mildly obsessed with at the moment) that there was such a thing as not using shampoo, and getting prettier hair, I was on board. I've read a lot about it in a short amount of time and have to admit that I'm scared. MOST of the reviews I read were GOOD, but there are always the horror stories. If you'd like to join me, I'll be doing updates on the blog. Click here for Crunchy Betty's instructions.

(I have to say, I felt like the biggest DORK sitting in my bathroom, talking to a camera. Hopefully I get a little more comfortable with it, the more I do it.)

Le Case de Cousin Paul

2011-10-04T14:51:00.004-06:00

I love these light strands from Le Case de Cousin Paul (found via Oh Happy Day). Would they not be perfect for virtually ANY holiday/party? Green, red, pink, white for Christmas (or even blues)- black, greys, and white for Halloween- browns, orange, cream for Fall. So pretty! Sadly, they're only in Europe but I still like to look at pictures like these, just for inspiration. Maybe you could make something similar with a strand of lights and a tutorial like THIS ONE, from Reese Dixon.

What a SUPER Day!

2011-08-15T00:10:00.002-06:00

Carrie made our nephews super capes for Christmas a couple years ago and they've been a big hit. Jack dons his daily, so I decided little miss Addie needed to be able to be 'super' too. I asked what colors she wanted but all she would say was pink. So one side of the cape is pink, and the other is patterned after Tinkerbell colors (her yellow hair, green dress, and white puff on her shoes).

I just made up a shape and cut out identical pieces from each color (I just used some cheap broadcloth). Then I sewed a super symbol (made out of felt) to each.

Then, with right sides facing, I sewed them together (leaving an open space for turning). I flipped it right side out and stitched around the edge again to make it look finished. I added Velcro to the neck and it called it done!

The kids had a blast! There's no time for a posed shot when there are so many 'super' things that need to be done!

Wee Little Stitches

2011-08-12T20:32:00.003-06:00

I found these Pixel People patterns by Wee Little Stitches via Happiness is. Kinda makes you want to learn to cross stitch, no?

Happy Fourth!!

2011-07-04T16:36:00.006-06:00

The Fourth of July Weekend has been lots of fun! The boys went to see some big hot air balloons with their daddy on Saturday, we all went to a parade this morning, and had a barbecue afterwards, with some friends and family.

{tutorial for paper pinwheel cupcake toppers, from The Long Thread}

{tutorial for dot banner, from Talkin' Chow, Playin' House}

PROUD to be an AMERICAN!

Linky Love and the finished high chair

2011-07-01T12:00:00.011-06:00

I contribute to a little blog called 'Save the Date for Us'. It's a place for a few friends to record our dates with our husbands. The goal is to go on one date, every week, for a year. I absolutely LOVE being a part of this project and I'm so thankful to have been invited! Although I'm behind the other girls (because I started a couple months in), the Mr. and I have gone on so many fun dates! Before joining in, date nights were a thing of the past for us. It just wasn't a priority. Now, we make time for it and we have a lot of fun thinking of what we're going to do each week, even if it's just a quick date in the living room, after the kids go to bed. DATE NIGHT has taken on a whole new meaning.

Last week, for our date, we picked out some paint for the high chair that I mentioned in my last post. We found this high chair at the antique store, for $25. We sanded it down a bit, applied a coat of primer and two coats of paint (Royal, 'Waffle Cone').

BEFORE

AFTER

AH!! So fresh. I'm loving this and can't wait to see my little Sweet P in it. I just finished this today and she's taking a nap, but we'll be using it by dinnertime!!

For my next project, I'd love to make a little seat cover for this. I know it's kind of a random project, but if anyone has seen a tutorial out there that could help, just point me in the right direction!

A little fun with furniture

2011-06-26T19:02:00.006-06:00

We made a stop at the antique store and found SO MANY things that we LOVED, but we settled for this desk (and a cute little high chair. Pictures of that, later).

We made it out of there for under $60!! Talk about GOOD prices! The desk was only $25!!

It's from The Peabody-Stiggleman Co., so I imagine it must have been sitting in a schoolhouse over 100 years ago. Pretty cool!

We didn't need to make a big change. We really just wanted to see the natural wood, so we sanded it down and then put a couple coats of varnish on. Now it's nice and shiny. Beautiful. I'm so happy to be rid of that paint!

I love all of the little marks and imperfections. There were a lot of spots that wouldn't sand down very well, so there's still some of that green paint in spots, but I wasn't trying to make it look brand new. I couldn't be happier with the outcome.

Now my Colsie has a place to do his schoolwork, other than the couch, where he used to end all of his lessons in the supine position.

Crocheted Barbie Doll Dresses

2011-06-21T18:35:00.002-06:00

Oh my goodness. This is funny. If Penelope ever plays with Barbies, I'll have to remember this.

Pattern found at Crochet Spot.

New Old Baby Stroller

2011-06-02T19:35:00.005-06:00

My little girl loves babies. She actually cried in Toy Story 3 when 'Big Baby' falls of the back of the truck into the street. Needless to say, her doll stroller gets used quite a lot! However, before she really got to use it for dolls the kids used take turns pushing each other around.

The fabric was not made to support their weight, and it broke. It's year and a half later and I FINALLY got around to making a new insert. We all love it! I took a bunch of close up pics so I'd be sure to remember how it all was supposed to go together and then I cut it all apart and used it as my pattern.

I made mine out of canvas because I thought it would be able to support more weight (not that I'm encouraging my kids to use this as their own stroller, I just know its gonna happen whether I want it to or not) and because it was a remnant I found on sale!

This baby will definitely get a lot of use!!

Coffee Table with Wheels

2011-05-01T15:17:00.002-06:00

I mentioned ana-white.com before, in this post.

We loved the look of THIS unconventional, factory cart, coffee table on her site, so we (and by 'we' I mean Hubba) built one, adjusting the instructions to our own needs.

We can ALWAYS use more storage, so he made the top with hinges, to store some books inside.

The wheels gave us the most trouble. I'm pretty picky when it comes to our projects. When I like the look of something, I'm not going to settle for less than perfect. I believe that, if it's not going to look like the picture, it defeats the purpose of building it yourself. You might as well shell out the money for the original. If you're going to cut cost by making it yourself, you don't want it to LOOK like you made it yourself. I LOVE when people come over and ask where we bought our bookshelves. That means we did our job.

Anyway, the only similar casters we could find were antique, heavy duty ones, which I LOVED, but they were WAY beyond our budget. We were -this close- to just buying the expensive ones, when Hubba worked his magic and found THIS site. He searched "cast iron", and found some four-inch casters for about $12 each (as opposed to the antique ones, for $40+ each). They were brand new, and shiny, which is NOT what we wanted, so we spray painted them with Rust-Oleum Hammered paint in black, and I'm really happy with the outcome.

Weekend Project

2011-04-25T14:08:00.003-06:00

I made this shrug from a pattern I found on Lionbrand.com. It took me a good three days and 3 skeins of yarn (Lion Brand Homespun, in Fiesta), but I finished it on Saturday and I've already worn it twice since then. I'm wearing it right now, as a matter of fact. It's so warm and cozy.

Ruffle Fabric

2011-04-22T23:17:00.008-06:00

I know, I know, every one's already done ruffle fabric. Well I finally tried it out so now I want to blog about it too! I found this adorable dress while perusing blogs and fell in love. Then I read the tutorial and fell in love all over again. 20 minutes! Seriously?! So I ventured over to Ruffle Fabric and bought me a yard (ps - the fabric got to my doorstep 3 days later!).

Me Sew Crazy...How much do I love this site?! She makes the cutest little things for her daughters. This dress may be the first thing I tried from her site, but it won't be the last!

I just followed the tutorial that Jessica laid out. I have to admit, my dress took far longer than 20 minutes. I'm still really new to sewing and super timid around my machine. That being said, I made the dress! I wanted Addie to try it on to make sure it looked right and she wanted no part of it. However, when I finally got it on her she wouldn't take it off! She just walked around the house modeling and twirling for everyone to see. There was so much fabric leftover I decided to make one for Ellie baby too!

For Ellie's, I just used one of her dresses as a pattern. I folded it in half, placed it on the fabric's fold and cut the front pattern piece. I readjusted the fabric, flipped the dress over, placed it on the fold and cut out the back pattern piece. I sewed it together and voila!

A little note for other beginners who are as impatient as I am. I stitched around the neck far too tight, and it resulted in some curling. Next time, I would definitely take the time to test some things out on a scrap piece first.

I loved the little belt Jessica made for her daughter's dress, but I didn't have anything like that to match the coral fabric I chose. So I looked through my scraps and found some antique white fabric and whipped up an elastic belt. I also think this one by Ruffles and Stuff would be beautiful. Then I added a rolled fabric flower. You could really do anything...just have fun!

Easter Crafts

2011-04-22T16:50:00.005-06:00

My little Jack-a-doo LOVES to do crafts! I guess that's part of being a 4 year old. We've been trying out some Easter crafts lately and I want to share some of our faves!

Egg Creatures from Make and Takes:

We found the idea for these cute little guys on Make and Takes. We made more bunnies, chicks, and a carrot, but I can't find them anywhere. I think little Add probably took them to nap time with her. The kids (2 and 4) REALLY loved this one! They couldn't do much of it themselves, but they told me what they were making and where to put things, so it was still their creation. The orange egg in the picture was made by Jack. He worked the pipe cleaners all by himself. He tells me its a carrot! The blue Mommy Alien is my personal favorite. Can you see her earrings?

You can go to Make and Takes for the instructions, but what I did is grabbed any crafting supply I thought I might need and got to work. We used plastic eggs (obviously), foam craft paper, pipe cleaners, wiggly eyes, jewels, a permanent marker, a hot glue gun, and our imaginations. We're going to set these out tomorrow in hopes that the Easter bunny will fill them with candy and hide them for us to find!

Water Color Eggs from my friend:

We did this today while Addie was sleeping. I printed off some egg shapes and we colored designs in the eggs with a white crayon. Then we colored over the egg with watercolors and the designs magically appear! Jack didn't really get it until I painted an egg and "I 'heart' Jack" appeared. Then he got really excited and said, "This is so DANG cool! This is SO dang cool!." He didn't always push hard enough with the crayon, and his pictures didn't always appear, but he loves to paint so it all worked out!

Little Chick from Kaboose:

I just saw a picture of this in Google Images and we made up our own, but for the purpose of the blog I decided to dig a little deeper and found the instructions on Kaboose. We made ours with foam craft paper. We cut out an egg shape for the body, traced our hands for the wings, and made up our own shapes for the legs and beak. Jack did most of this himself. I drew the shapes and he cut them out and glued them on. He was very proud of his creation.

This picture is a little sneak peek at tomorrow's post...Easter dresses for the girls!!

See you then!

Chore Chart and a craft for the kids.

2011-03-28T10:22:00.001-06:00

We've been feeling the need, lately, to get organized and find a better system for our daily chores. Everyone knows that kids will be more likely to cooperate if you make it FUN!

We decided to make BUG MAGNETS, to chart our progress each day. This is a great idea, not only for chores, but also just for fun with the kids, to hold their art up on the fridge, OR don't even make magnets. Just make bugs for the kids to play with!

Supplies needed:

paper (in any color of your choice)
pencil
scissors
permanent marker
hot glue
craft glue
clear beads (those kind that are flat on one side)

the rest are optional, depending on what you want the finished product to look like:

magnets
black beads (for heads)
wire (for legs and antennae)
wire cutters

Start by tracing one of the clear beads onto one of the pieces of paper

Decorate (or have your little ones decorate) however you like. We made bumble bees, ladybugs, water bugs, etc. The boys even just scribbled on a few. It all looked good in the end.

Cut your circle out and use the craft glue to cover your bug entirely.

Press your bead onto the bug.

It will look cloudy and white at first but should dry clear.

Then use the hot glue gun to glue a magnet to the back.

You can stop here. . . .

OR get creative with wire and black beads, making legs, heads, and antennae.

Here are our finished bugs.

And here are the completed chore charts. (We got a little antsy and just made them by hand)

Each day, as they complete their daily chores, the boys will move the bugs into the appropriate square.

At the end of the day, if their chart is full, they'll get a token (we also made magnets out of the tokens).

Once they've earned 10 tokens, they'll get a surprise. This is usually a family outing or a one on one date with mom or dad (think out to the movies, getting ice cream, making a craft together, getting a new book to read together).

We've been doing it for a few days and, so far, it's working out great! The boys get excited to do their chores because they like to move their bugs. And they know that if they fill up their chart, they'll get a token!

Been busy

2011-03-23T16:48:00.003-06:00

Be back soon.

Edible Paint

2011-02-26T17:49:00.003-07:00

I'm not really feeling this weather. Inspiration is at an all-time low.

Not to mention, we've all been sick in my house for over a week.

Since I'm not really feeling up to blogging, I thought I'd just post a quick idea to do with the kids. I did this with my 4 year old a few weeks ago and he LOVED it!

So here's the secret:

Evaporated milk.

That's it! Just add some food coloring and you've got yourself some cheap, edible paint to use on marshmallows, popcorn, graham crackers, and whatever else you and your little one deem worthy.

Have fun, and let's hope this weather lets up soon, so we can play outside again.

Amy Atlas

2011-02-16T07:00:00.003-07:00

Amy Atlas is my hero. I mean, really. Could this be any cuter?

My three year old turns FOUR in just a few days. Oh how I wish I could pull something like this off.

Love is in the air!

2011-02-13T16:08:00.010-07:00

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY !

Okay, I realize Valentine's Day isn't actually until tomorrow, but I just had to share these free printable cards that I found. So, if your little ones have school parties tomorrow, and you have procrastinated, or just haven't found something you deemed worthy, check these out!

This is my personal favorite. I showed my husband and he didn't get it...I love vintage! You can find these vintage cards at Vintage Holiday Crafts.

My little guy will be using some free printables from The Long Thread. I love how there is a lined space so he can write his own name.

Hopefully you'll find something you love too. Have a Happy Valentine's Day!

Painted glass

2011-02-10T14:56:00.010-07:00

I posted this idea for Valentine's Day, but decided I'd like to create something I'd use more often, so I went to Michael's for some 'Vitrea 160' (a water-based, transparent paint for glass) in turquoise and amaranthine (#s 11 and 7, respectively).

You want 160 because it remains transparent after baking. I also bought some paint thinner.

Then I stopped by the thrift store for some candlesticks and mason jars.

I poured a tiny amount of paint, along with about two drops of thinner, in a small tupperware bowl, stirred it around, and painted it on carefully with a paintbrush (with some assistance from my 'helper').

Then I baked it in the oven for the specified amount of time. I think it was 250 degrees for 25 minutes or something close to.

I haven't yet decided what to do with the candlesticks, although I LOVE how they turned out.

But my mason jars are being used to add some life to my previously colorless kitchen. The different shades were achieved by using different paint thickness. I used the least amount of thinner for the darkest one, more thinner for the one on the left, and the one on the right was created when I painted the Vitrea 160 on and then wiped it off with a paper towel. The words are now highlighted with blue but the majority of the jar is clear.

Pillowcase dress

2011-02-07T15:16:00.004-07:00

I used some of my Wal-Mart fabric to make a pillowcase dress for baby P. It was pretty easy, despite my boys breaking my seam ripper. . . . for the SECOND TIME.

sigh.

I guess I'm on a doily kick. I sewed one on because I thought it was a good complement to the fabric's vintage quality.

Pillowcase dresses appeal to me for many reasons.

1) they're extremely easy to make (imagine how much easier they'd be if you actually use a pillowcase!),

2) they're extremely cute,

3) they're extremely versatile. Right now it's cold out, so I put a long sleeve shirt under it. In the Spring she can wear it without anything under, as a light summer dress. And, as she gets bigger, she can wear it as a shirt, with skinny jeans or shorts.

and 4) you can be creative. I love a good reason to use my creativity. Use bias tape OR ribbon for the ties, you could add lace or ric rac to trim the bottom, you can add buttons, ribbon, doilies, or fabric flowers to the dress, you can use a print OR a solid color. Endless possibilities.

I used a couple different tutorials, from Freshly Picked and The Needle and the Damage Done.

If you want to try this, here's a tip for when you attach the elastic:

1) measure your baby's collarbone

2) mark the elastic (don't cut it yet)

3) feed it through the hole with a safety pin

4) sew next to your safety pin, to attach the elastic

5) pull the safety pin to make sure the elastic is now sewn to the fabric

6) if it IS, take the safety pin off (still don't cut your elastic yet)

7) now pull the fabric to the side until you see where you marked the elastic.

8) sew at the mark

9) once again, pull the elastic to make sure it's attached

10) NOW, cut your elastic

This was the only place that gave me trouble. I didn't catch the elastic and it was pretty difficult. . . .you know, not having a seam ripper and all.

Doily Pillow: MADE

2011-02-05T10:00:00.002-07:00

So. . . . I love the one I posted before and would love to make one like that, covering the whole pillow with doilies, but I did it this way instead, partly because I wanted the pretty fabric to show and partly because I don't have many doilies and I want to use some of them in other projects.

Our little sister's birthday is today, and I made this mini pillow for her. I didn't have a pillow form so I used leftover fiberfil I had from stuffing a crocheted lion. I used the white doily that I crocheted because I thought it added a special touch and made the gift more thoughtful.

happy birthday sistee!

Yeah, I'm an 80 year old woman.

2011-02-03T13:02:00.005-07:00

I wanted to try something new with crochet and, since I've been wanting to make that doily pillow, I thought I'd make my own DOILY! Yes, I know I can buy doilies, and I'll do that, too, but I thought it would be a fun thing to try out.

I used this pattern.

It was a good challenge, using that teeny tiny size 10 steel crochet hook and size 30 crochet thread, and it's most definitely not perfect, but that's why I like things handmade.

The finished doily is small (about 4 inches).

Next, I want to try the cobweb doily or the Lace Wheat Doily.

Oh! And check out this beautiful fabric I found at Wal-Mart for $1.50/yard!!

There were seriously over 20 patterns that I loved but I came home with 6 different fabrics (7 yards, total) for just $10.50! Talk about a steal!

I've got plans for some doily pillows and cute little dresses and skirts for baby girl.

Once Wed: Fabric Pom Pom Tutorial

2011-02-02T06:30:00.001-07:00

I started a monthly craft night with a group of friends and did a little searching for some projects. In the process, I found these cute fabric pom poms at Once Wed.

I love how they turned out, but it took me awhile to get the process down so I thought I'd do my own tutorial.

Gather your supplies:

paper lantern (I got three in a box in the wedding section at Wal-Mart, for $10)
fabric (I got 2 yards. I'm sure you could get by with 1 3/4yd)
pencil
fabric scissors
glue gun
glue sticks
hard surface for tracing (I used a quilting mat)
circle for tracing (I used masking tape)

Fold your fabric a few times and trace your circle onto your fabric.

Cut all of your circles out.

You definitely want to fold your fabric as many times as you can while still being able to cut through it easily with your scissors. You don't want to have to cut out 200 circles by hand!

I was able to fit 26 circles onto my fabric and there were 8 layers, so I only had to cut 26 circles to get 208 in all.

Now you want to make your petals

Fold a circle in half

glue a dot (or a line perpendicular to the crease) in the center of the crease

and fold again

Tip: I leave the glue gun at the crease and fold over the gun. Just makes it easier.

You have your first petal

Make the rest of your petals.

Grab your petal in the center, like this

Put some glue on the tip,

and place the point onto the uppermost part of the paper. Push down and hold for a few seconds, right at the base of your petal.

Keep attaching the petals around the top.

and continue on until you've gone about halfway down the lantern.

Turn it over and start at the top again.

Then keep filling it in until the top and bottom meet in the middle.

After filling the whole ball, I had some leftover petals. I used them to fill in any empty spaces.

note: I didn't use ALL of my circles. I had a pretty big stack that went unused (I'd say at least 4 of my stacks of 8). As long as you space your petals out pretty well, it's okay if every little bit of the lantern isn't covered.

so this is the end product(sorry for the changing colors. I worked on this throughout the day, so it was nighttime by the time I took pictures of the finished pom pom):

I replaced the tissue pom poms above the baby's crib, with this more durable fabric version.

Before:

After:

Since they light up, they work double duty as a night light!

Before and After: Gold frame

2011-01-28T00:02:00.004-07:00

I found this gold mirror at DI a couple years ago and never did much with it.

I finally decided it was about time for it to have a purpose in our house, so we painted the frame yellow and we painted the mirror with chalkboard paint.

and hung it in our kitchen. Perfect solution. Now we have a place to write notes to each other, to do lists, recipes, etc.

Blog Love

2011-01-27T07:41:00.002-07:00

My friend told me about All Things Thrifty and I spent way too much time on the internet afterwards. It's filled with fun projects and how-tos, from reupholstery to glazing furniture.

I'm so excited to try some projects inspired by this blog!

FHE Board and Mini Clipboards

2011-01-24T09:22:00.001-07:00

The Crafting Chicks have done it again. This is a great idea to keep the fridge clutter-free. I'm always throwing things away and re-organizing my fridge, but it's a rare thing that it looks THIS good:

Wool Felt Applique

2011-01-22T10:05:00.000-07:00

How cute is this little pink house from Sew, Mama, Sew? What a great project for a little girl's room!

Tutorial here.

Girl Scout Cookie Recipes

2011-01-20T15:05:00.008-07:00

Trefoils, Samoas, Thin Mints, Tagalongs. Mmmmm!

My Hubba has always loved the Samoas but MY favorite are the Thin Mints. We'd put them in the freezer and eat them cold. Yum!

I want to try these copycat recipes, found on Shine, with my boysies. They like to help out in the kitchen (especially when helping results in warm treats in their tummies).

::I have a couple little projects to share soon. In an attempt to bring a little color to my kitchen, I made a few changes that I'm really liking. So stay tuned!::

Let's face it. . . .

2011-01-19T09:56:00.001-07:00

Soap dispensers are not typically cute. But, Design Sponge has the solution. Go here for the easiest tutorial EVER and say goodbye to sticky peeling labels!

Scarf slash Shawl

2011-01-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

I want to try making this Anthropologie-inspired scarf/shawl. The tutorial can be found in the Pretty Ditty archives.

Starburst mirrors are EVERYwhere!

2011-01-17T07:40:00.000-07:00

I found a great little tutorial for making one yourself on Crafty Nest, a newly discovered blog that I'm a little bit obsessed about right now! Never would have thought of doing this. So many creative people out there! If I try this, I'll make mine gold.

Spotted

2011-01-16T09:22:00.003-07:00

I spotted this silhouette wall on Some Girls Wander by Mistake.

I'm really liking how it snakes onto the adjacent wall. And I love the old frames in different shapes and sizes. I'm storing the idea away for a future decorating project.

Doily Pillow

2011-01-15T06:57:00.000-07:00

Check out Smile and Wave, for this tutorial on how to make a doily pillow. I love it!!

I might have to start a doily collection.

PILLOWS!

2011-01-14T09:07:00.001-07:00

Okay, friends! Get ready for a treat!

I found this felt flower pillow tutorial on The Crafting Chicks. I've been thinking about getting new pillows for the living room, for a long time but WHY are pillows SO EXPENSIVE? Really? Can anybody tell me? This is a good solution to getting something cute on the cheap.

We had bright colors in our living room for awhile- oranges, yellows, greens- but I was ready for a change so I gave those ones away and brought some of our more neutral pillows out.

I was determined to make this project work with what I had on hand. I already had a boring creme pillow from IKEA. I wanted to use creme felt to match, but didn't have enough. I ended up using white batting and a couple squares of white felt. All of the whites don't match exactly but I don't think it's too noticeable (hopefully) and I really like how it turned out.

So here's how it looks for now. Until I decide to bring in more color. Which is inevitable. I'm kind of fickle when it comes to decorating my home.

I'm a little impatient and took this pic at night (sorry it's so dark)

Couldn't have been easier.

Or cheaper, which made Hubba happy and that makes me proud. : )

And here's where it gets good. I saw a very similar pillow at Z Gallerie about a month ago, when I was thinking about changing our pillows.

It's on SALE right now for $35. Regularly $50. And the petals are made of wool/rayon FELT!

Also at Z Gallerie, this adorable pillow for $100:

Hmmm, I wonder if I could come up with a tutorial for this one?

Making the house look pretty for my Valentine.

2011-01-12T18:58:00.020-07:00

Okay, let's be honest, really it's just for myself. I don't know that my Valentine really cares what the house looks like.

My boys LOVE to have a craft to do so, the other day when my {almost} 4 year old (can he really be that old?) asked me to do crafts with him, I thought 'this is my chance to do a little decorating while he stays occupied with a craft'. I got to thinking and looking through my craft shelves, and I came up with a 'LOVE' banner and some coffee filter flowers.

(not so sure about my terminology here. These are just things I've seen around the blogosphere, that I wanted to try)

I love how my Valentine's Day banner turned out.

Inspired by these, which I posted last year, and the lollies I found here, I made this banner with brown craft paper, pages from an old book, small red heart doilies leftover from last Valentine's Day, and a glue gun.

I freehanded some letters onto poster board, cut them out, and used spray adhesive to glue on some Martha Stewart glitter.

Then I used tacky glue to glue the letters to the hearts.

I hung the lollies and flowers on a pom pom garland with clothespins.

........................................................

I think maybe one of my New Year's Resolutions should be to post more tutorials. I NEVER think to do step-by-step pictures until after the fact. I'm making that my goal-MORE tutorials. Maybe I'll even do my very first VLOG!

This time, the thought came after I had already made the banner, so no step-by-step pics for that, BUT I took a few pictures of the coffee filter flower-making.

This is what it looks like when it's done.

Very simple.

You need: coffee filters, glue gun, glue sticks, and a stapler

Start by taking one of the filters, holding it upright,

then you just want to scrunch up the bottom. Messy is good. You don't want them to be perfectly folded.

staple at the bottom, to hold the 'petal' together

You need six of these 'petals' and one regular filter to make HALF of the flower.

now flatten out the coffee filter and then just scrunch it up in the middle

Now it should look like this (below):

take your glue gun and just put LOTS of glue all over it.

one by one, lay FIVE of the 'petals' onto the glue, covering the whole circle.

Put some more glue in the middle and glue the last 'petal' in the center.

Now it looks like this:

as the glue is drying, I hold it from the bottom and mold it to the shape I like

Make another one of these.

Put some glue on the back of one of the halves,

and stick them together to make the FLOWER

VOILA!! .

I made the smaller ones using baking cups (cupcake holders).

Shop Sweet Lulu

2011-01-08T09:00:00.004-07:00

My little G has a birthday coming up in about a month! I love all of the party supplies at Shop Sweet Lulu.

You can't find cute things like this at Partyland.

If I can convince Hubba, I'd like to get some of the striped straws. I'm such a sucker for striped paper straws, I don't know why. AND maybe a banner-although I can always make one.

Valentine's? Already?

2011-01-07T14:22:00.006-07:00

I thought this would be a good (cheap) way to decorate the table for Valentine's Day. I found it on My Backyard Eden via Apartment Therapy. It's a faux version of ruby Depression Glass and you make it by buying inexpensive glassware (from Goodwill, DI, or the Dollar Store) and spraying it evenly with Krylon Stained Glass Paint. Brilliant!

As our readers well know from past years, Valentine's is probably my second favorite holiday, so I believe it IS time to start deciding on some decor. I think I'd like to make a ruby candy dish along with some candlesticks.

Click on the link to My Backyard Eden for the background on Depression Glass. Maybe I'm a big dork but I thought it was pretty interesting. You learn something new every day!

Happy 2011!

2011-01-01T14:28:00.003-07:00

{image via ginny branch}

I can't BELIEVE it's 2011 already! Where has the time gone? Happy New Year, everyone!

Here's to a good one full of projects to complete, treasures to discover, pretty rooms to dream of, and resolutions to achieve!

Stella & Henry

2010-12-30T09:03:00.005-07:00

My little Sweet P is now one month old and such a joy. We love her so much!

Speaking of babies, I spotted this beautiful unisex nursery via Stella & Henry, via the June/July issue of Lonny magazine. I wouldn't mind a nursery like this for P. I'm loving the grasscloth on the walls. That would look great in more than just a nursery.

I'm kind of into textured walls lately.

Last Minute baby projects

2010-11-30T15:01:00.004-07:00

I finished our silhouette plaques! I used this tutorial for the silhouettes and I used the basic idea of this one for the plaques.

I purchased a crochet pattern for a diaper cover from Just Born, on Etsy and have already made one for my baby and a couple for friends. They're SO EASY and so cute and tiny. Can't wait to see baby in this!

And way back in October of last year I did a post on these little fabric booties. I made some today and they, too, are such a simple project. I actually had all of the supplies already, minus the 1/8'' elastic. I used two layers of canvas in place of the bonded fleece

(and I actually didn't use fusible interfacing because I didn't read the instructions well enough. Next time I'll do it right, but they still turned out).

D-day is tomorrow!

I feel very prepared now that all of my projects are complete.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T08:20:00.003-07:00

*idea found here

While browsing A Lemon Squeezy Home I found this fun idea. Thanksgiving dinner can take an eternity to make, especially when your little. I love her ideas to keep the kids entertained while they wait. My kids will definitely be playing the roll a turkey game later!

We're off to spend time with family and eat way too much delicious food! Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

MADE

2010-11-17T10:41:00.010-07:00

Before I get to my post, I have to say congratulations to SISTER!! Sarah had her sweet baby girl about three weeks ago and she's a little doll.

Two weeks left for ME!!

Now, onto what I MADE:

Yes, I completely copied hers, but I liked her color scheme and happened to already have those exact supplies (minus the wreath form). When I went to the craft store, they didn't have straw wreaths, as she suggests, so I just got a styrofoam wreath and used the instructions from the wreaths I made last year.

I wish I was better at taking step-by-step pictures, but I always think of it after the fact. If you're going to use a styrofoam wreath, you also want to buy:

batting

floral pins

a roll of tulle

instructions:

1. cut the batting into long strips about 2 inches wide

2. wrap the batting tightly around the wreath until every inch is covered.

3. next wrap the tulle the same way, on top of the batting and pin in place with the floral pins

4. THEN you can start wrapping with yarn and follow danielle's instructions from here

So many possibilities with these wreaths. I have a bunch of ideas I'd still like to try. That is, if Hubba's willing to let me spend more money on mindless things like crafting. I can't help myself. I'm addicted!

My next project is silhouette portraits. I've been wanting to make these for AGES and finally took the time to learn how to do them. I'll post the finished product hopefully soon.

Some helpful hints, if you'd like to try:

silhouette plaques at Thompson Family-Life

DIY at Casa Sugar

Knock-off Wood

2010-11-14T09:00:00.001-07:00

Awhile back my friend, Mindy, told me about Knock-Off Wood (now called Ana-White.com). It's a site that gives all kinds of plans for building furniture. If you haven't yet seen this site, get ready to be hooked. With knock-offs of popular stores like Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, and West Elm, you'll soon have a long list of projects. At a HUGE discount.

We've built two knock-offs so far, and have a list of things we'd still like to make.

The first piece of furniture we made was this bookshelf, from the Bedford Collection at Pottery Barn.

We made THREE of the bookshelves, stacking two of them to make a bigger shelf. The purpose was to house all of our homeschooling supplies and it's been great. We're able to store books, craft supplies, games, paper, files of the boys' work, puppets, and my yarn for crocheting.

All three of the shelves- hardware and everything- cost us $500. At Pottery Barn, just ONE of the simple bookshelves, without drawers, will cost you $419. On SALE! And the one with drawers is $500. BIG SAVINGS. We saved about $1000! We LOVE to save $.

The next project we did was the Stratton Storage bed by Pottery Barn. We have a queen bed and this cost us $170 for the wood and screws. We happened to already have a gallon of paint leftover from a past project, so that didn't cost us a dime. Once again, the queen Stratton bed without baskets, is $1000, so that's $840 in savings!

Then we found milk crate baskets from Target for $20 each. They weren't the size we wanted, so we had to use two per cubby hole (that's 12 at $20). So add another $240 and the grand total is $410 as opposed to the 1300 we would've spent on the bed and baskets at PB!

So, if you've had your eye on a beautiful piece of furniture, but just can't shell out the money, take a look at the site. If the item you want to make isn't already on there, send her an email and see if she can work up some plans for the item you want to build. Good Luck!

Find plans for our projects here (bookshelves) and here (bed). She also has plans for king-size, twin, daybed, drawers, headboards, etc.

8 DIY wreaths from Apartment Therapy

2010-11-13T15:49:00.005-07:00

I want to make some of these wreaths before Christmas. We're getting the house in order for the baby's arrival in a couple weeks and we'll most likely decorate early for Christmas, since who knows how much energy we'll have with a newborn in the house (and I refuse NOT to decorate for Christmas). SO. . . .it looks like I'll have to find some time for this project pretty soon. I ESPECIALLY want to make this one:

BEAUTIFUL!

I LOVE the colors! It's a lot like these ones I made last year.

Easy No-Sew Cape Tutorial

2010-10-28T10:06:00.003-06:00

I made this little cape for my unborn baby P, using instructions Petunia pointed me towards, at Ruffles and Stuff. I changed it up a bit, sewing buttons on, so mine obviously isn't truly a 'no-sew' project, but still really easy. And I opted for a lace tie, just because that's what I had available in my craft bin. I love how it turned out and can't wait to see it on baby. I'm hoping it'll fit her around 12 months old.

Have you checked out this cute blog, yet? So many fun ideas. I'd like to try the 'She's a Lady' cardigan next.

PETUNIA + POPPY Wedding

2010-10-22T09:00:00.001-06:00

We got to make a hair clip for this beautiful bride's wedding and we think she looked GORGE!

We also made this belt for a wedding last year.

Tutorials from Sew, Mama, Sew!

2010-10-20T16:14:00.005-06:00

There are some great tutorials for baby things (and mom things, too!) over at Sew, Mama, Sew. I only wish there was more time in a day because I want to make EVERYTHING.

I'll at least try for the Kimono Baby Booties at Home Spun Threads

and the Boppy cover from Make Your Own Baby Stuff. All of my Boppy covers are for boys and I can't find any cute girly ones, so I've been wanting to make my own. I just didn't want to make the pattern up myself.

Take a minute to check out the rest of the tutorials (click the first link in this post). There are a lot of great projects.

If you're looking for more to do.

Burp Rags

2010-10-15T09:09:00.004-06:00

I found this great tutorial for burp rags on Diary of a Quilter.

Even if you're not pregnant, this is a really good gift idea for baby showers. They're so easy, you can just make a bunch at one time and keep them in a drawer or basket until you're in need of a baby gift.

And it's a great way to use up some of those little pieces of fabric you've got lying around. I just used my leftover fabric scraps from the quilt. I think these are way cuter than ones you can find in stores.

Finished Quilt

2010-10-14T07:52:00.002-06:00

First off, I made that soup last night and it was a big hit at my house.

Like, a BIG hit.

My boys couldn't get enough of it. If you're trying to decide what to make for dinner tonight, I strongly suggest you try it out. I'm not much of a cook either, but this was pretty easy.

.......................................................................................

Now that that's out of the way, I finished the baby's quilt (a long time ago, mind you. I'm just not very good at posting my projects) and I love the finished product! I can see how this could easily become a hobby of mine.

I used the charm pack baby quilt tutorial from Diary of a Quilter, although I didn't actually use the 'charm pack'. I just cut out my own squares. This was my very first quilt (note: Petunia made THIS one, posted back in July. She was my inspiration.) and it really wasn't too hard, with these step-by-step tutorials.

I used this tutorial for the binding.

Hubba was jumping at the opportunity to help me out with this picture. He couldn't hide his enthusiasm.

Here's the back of the quilt:

and the top:

I used greens, yellows, and blues, not because those are the nursery colors, but because those were the fabrics that caught my eye. I've still been able to add some pink in the nursery and it's coming together just fine. (although I think I DO kind of have an eclectic style.)

If you're on the hunt for a good fabric store and haven't had much luck, go to Broadbents on 100 E. in Lehi. SO good. Love the selection and the store goes on forever with everything from baby clothes, to tea sets, to candies, to yarn, to vintage toys. Even though it's a little bit longer of a drive for me, it's always definitely worth it.

Want to make one but don't know where to start? Here's what I learned:

Basic supplies you need to get started- a quilting mat, rotary cutter, and ruler. These are a MUST for accurate and easy cutting and measuring.
You want your ruler and mat to be the same brand because the measurements will match up better
I got all of these things at Broadbent's and they were very helpful and didn't make me feel dumb for having no idea where to begin
expect to pay a little extra money up front for these types of supplies, but then you'll have them for future quilt-making
cut down on time and stress-level by sending it out to get 'quilted' rather than doing it yourself. I took the finished quilt top and back (about 5 inches longer than the quilt top on all four sides) to The Quilting Cottage in American Fork. They did a great job. 1 penny/sq. inch plus the cost of batting and thread (both provided by them)

And PLEASE send us a picture if you make one. We'd love to see your creations!

sc{dot}dragonlily{at}gmail{dot}com

Our most recent pickings from the garden. . . .

2010-10-13T15:44:00.003-06:00

There was WAY more than this. Hubbs took a bunch to work with him because there's no way we could've eaten it all by ourselves. Now I just need to find something to make, using all those tomatoes and bell peppers.

Tonight I'll be making some Butternut Squash Soup. Recipe found on my cute cousins' blog, Talkin' Chow, Playin' House. Too bad we don't have any butternut squash in our garden.

babies on the brain

2010-08-23T10:42:00.001-06:00

I've been busy with lots of baby projects lately. I can't seem to turn it off. Every time I lie down to sleep, my head starts swirling with ideas.

I started a baby quilt

(first one ever, but I used these directions. So easy. I didn't purchase a pack, just picked about 10 different fabrics and cut my own 5x5 in. squares)- I've been finished with the quilt top for awhile and finally sent it out to get quilted last week. When I get it back I'll do the binding and be done! I can't wait!

I've made a lot of crocheted baby boots, moccasins, and booties. Here's a couple:

and I'm slowly making progress on the baby nursery

(ie, corner of mom and dad's bedroom).

Stay tuned for more.

xo- Poppy

Look what I got

2010-07-29T16:17:00.004-06:00

Picked up this little beauty today...

I'm excited! Who knew a laminator could make me giddy?! I've already found some fun ABC flashcards and games I want to laminate for my kiddos! My favorite site at the moment, Confessions of a Homeschooler.

Petunia+Poppy: The Blog

Find Joy in the Journey...

The Mom Challenge

Hi Y'all

Clean day . . .

Petunia + Poppy

A few more friend gifts. . .

Handmade Gifts 4, 5, and 6

Hooks and Books

Handmade Gift 2 and 3

Another bow headband

Another Chunky Circle Scarf

Handmade Gift 1

Sneak Peak

Knitting

A Scarf and Some Carrot Shampoo

Teacher gift

Paper Snowflakes

Chunky Circle scarf

Homemade Christmas

tiny winter scenes

It's {FINALLY} beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Birthday girl

DIY Little Girl Leggings

Crystal Snowflakes

Linky Love. . . .

Peace Sign

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!!!

5 little monkeys swingin' in a tree. . . .

lately. . . .

No 'Poo Challenge: DAY 23!!!

Its Christmas Time!

MADE: Bobble Blanket {and a *giveaway*}

hats are my friend

happy thanksgiving!

..............

Bow Headband

Dirty hair is better than clean hair

No 'Poo Challenge: An Update

Oil Cleansing Method

Crunchy Betty Blog

Le Case de Cousin Paul

What a *SUPER* Day!

Wee Little Stitches

Happy Fourth!!

Linky Love and the finished high chair

A little fun with furniture

Crocheted Barbie Doll Dresses

New Old Baby Stroller

Coffee Table with Wheels

Weekend Project

Ruffle Fabric

Easter Crafts

Chore Chart and a craft for the kids.

Been busy

Edible Paint

Amy Atlas

Love is in the air!

Painted glass

Pillowcase dress

Doily Pillow: MADE

Yeah, I'm an 80 year old woman.

Once Wed: Fabric Pom Pom Tutorial

Before and After: Gold frame

Blog Love

FHE Board and Mini Clipboards

Wool Felt Applique

Girl Scout Cookie Recipes

Let's face it. . . .

Scarf slash Shawl

Starburst mirrors are EVERYwhere!

Spotted

Doily Pillow

PILLOWS!

Making the house look pretty for my Valentine.

Shop Sweet Lulu

Valentine's? Already?

Happy 2011!

Stella & Henry

Last Minute baby projects

MADE: Bobble Blanket {and a giveaway}

What a SUPER Day!