~Pinterest~

I know it's been around for awhile and

you could say I have a tendency to get stuck in 

the dark ages electronically but......

I HAVE JUST DISCOVERED:

How did I not know how amazing this is?

I am loving it!

I'm still learning the navigation around it

and all but I know the basics....obviously-

I've pinned over a hundred things in a couple days.

My little guy's birthday party is Saturday and I 

am knee deep in pirate stuff.

Pinterest has supplied me with soooo many

ideas and solutions to ideas that I already had in my head

but didn't quite know how to carry out. 

Here are a few of them:

These ships from icandyhandmade.

(click on pictures to go to blogs)

 

How amazing are these?

This is the main thing I was trying to figure

out how to do when I started searching.

Tables turned into ships at

designdazzle 

 Kitchen table turned into a ship at

wants and wishes design shop on etsy.

This is actually a kit you can purchase but

I think I'm going to try and wing it for the party.

These bottles and punch dispenser at 

karaspartyideas

And that's just a peak!

A friend of mine told me that Pinterest

is like "Internet crack and heroine" .

Addicting and hard to stop......

she wasn't exaggerating.

Want to see my pins?

click here.

~wardrobe overhaul~

Back in the days before I became a stay-at-home

momma, I had a REALLY NICE wardrobe.

I worked in a doctors office and I took full

advantage of the dress code. 

I was always in slacks, skirts or dresses.....

even when I went out.  I seldom wore jeans

and in fact, I only owned two pair!

Those were the days when I could spend money

on clothes and not think twice about how practical

it was or if I would be able to wear it with 

anything else. The shoes...well-let's just say

my motto was, "The higher the heel, the better."

I didn't care about comfort and I LOVED

dressing up. I would spend so much time

preparing my outfits each day for work.

It brought me so much pleasure.

It still does......I just don't get to do it much anymore.

After I had my first baby I got rid of most of

my nice clothes within months of giving birth.

I tried them on, they didn't fit the same way they

had before, so I got rid of them out of frustration.

This has been something I have regretted so

many times since then. I didn't allow my body

enough time to recover before getting 

rid of the clothes. The clothes I got rid of

were nice and most of them were classic

pieces that I paid a significant amount of money

for because of that very reason....

timeless pieces that would last.

Now-a year after my last baby, the clothes I did 

keep are fitting me again and I am soooo

mad I don't have the others still.

The chances that I will be able to afford clothes

like that again anytime soon are very slim.

Motherhood and days at home have changed my

wardrobe. Yes-most of what I wore before would

not be practical for my everyday life here with the

kids BUT I could have changed the way I wore

them and what I paired them with. Looking at me

most days now does not convey how much I 

love fashion. It's actually what I went to

college for.....did you know that? 

Although I love sewing clothes and crafts for

my kids and home, I especially love sewing clothes

for myself. I RARELY do that anymore.

So...now I get to the whole point of this story-

my wardrobe is in dire need of an overhaul.

After the holidays are over I am going to make

it a project of mine to get my wardrobe back

to a place that I am proud of. I want my closet to be

a place I go to feel happy and inspired.

Because I don't have the spending fund I did in the past,

I'm going to be doing much of this as 

DIY projects. I will be sharing these with you all

in the month of January. 

30 Days of "momma's makeover"

Some of them will be new pieces I make from

scratch, others from pieces I have re-fashioned.

After months and months of kids, home and

Christmas projects...this will feel like a

breath of fresh air for me. 

If you have anything you want to share 

during this time let me know.....I'll gladly share

the floor with you :)

~Thanksgiving table decorations~

Remember I was saying I wanted to decorate

my table for Thanksgiving dinner?

But I wanted to keep it simple?

Is it coming back to you now?

Well-this is what I came up with:

Nothing too fancy and extravagant but still nice.

I wanted to use things I had on hand and because

I waited until 2 hours before, I didn't really have a choice.

(my daughter's birthday party was the night before!)

First off, I took some tulle I had on hand and tied

it around the backs of the chairs. I then took some

ribbon I had and tied a bow at the center.
I didn't have enough tulle for them to match,
they were all different colors. I did have enough
ribbon so I figured since the tulle was all the same
color palette, the ribbon would bring it together.

The tablecloth was my Grandma's. 

I put it over a plain white sheet.

For the center of the table I put a 

Thanksgiving table runner I've had for years

and never really used. I know it looks better with

some type of arrangement in the center but 

it's just not realistic if you want to fit lots of

food on the table. Plus-it blocks the view when

you're trying to talk to a person on the other

side of the table. So-for these reasons,

I didn't put an arrangement in the center.

For the place settings I got out one 

of my dish sets and placed them on some 

green place mats I have.  The napkins go

with the set of place mats. I've had them for years.

I only had two napkin rings like this so for the

other two I tied raffia around the napkin as if

it were a ring.

This was my favorite part....

the name cards.

I got some pine cones out of my Christmas

decorations, stuck a fall leaf in it and placed

the name card in it. I got these name cards
at Michael's last year after Thanksgiving
for 50 cents a package. There are 12 per pkg.

It was just us and my husband's Grandma for dinner

so we were all able to fit at the kitchen table.

Grandma kept commenting about how pretty the 

table looked....she loved everything about it.

The funniest thing she said about it,

"Oh my...you even have matching dishes!"

She loved the napkin rings and wondered what 

the heck they were....she'd never seen them before.

She couldn't get over the tulle around the chairs,

"What is this material? I've never seen it before.

WOW...it's beautiful."

We had a great dinner and even had enough room

on the table for the food:

Considering I had to throw it together at the last

minute I was pleased with the outcome.

I love setting a nice table. I wish I had the 

opportunity to do this more often.

I hope your Thanksgiving was filled 

with all things beautiful that you love.

~personalized cupcake toppers~

My little lady turned 1 a couple days ago.

I can't believe it. 

WOW....that year flew by!

For her birthday I decided to make cupcakes

for everyone instead of a cake.

I thought about buying some cute cupcake

toppers but got a great idea to make 

some with the pictures I've been taking of 

her at each month mark.

I loved the way they turned out

and everyone had fun looking at them.

 

 I know the pictures aren't the greatest but

I think you get the idea. 

To make them I printed up the pictures,

cut them out and then just used clear packing tape

to cover and attach them to the toothpick. 

For the rest of the toppers I tied ribbons around

the top of the toothpicks and called it good.

 

I learn so much with each party I have for the kids.

What I learned from this one:

cupcakes would have photographed better if

they were lined up on something flat instead.

Also-don't wait until the last minute to get things done.

Have it done before the actual birthday so I can 

enjoy the birthday with them :)

This week my mind is on one thing:

Pirate Party.

My little guy's birthday party is in one week

and I have A TON of stuff to do. I want to get it

finished within the next few days so I'm not scrambling

at the last minute and stressed out. 

I have found some super cute ideas.

I just got introduced to Pinterest.

HOW DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS?

I love it!

Now if I could just figure out how to use it.

Linking up with Positively Splendid.

~semi-homemade girls outfit~

The little neighbor girl had a birthday

yesterday and this is what I made for her:

I call it semi-homemade because I bought the

shirt and just embellished it to match the skirt.

The circle skirt is soooo easy.

I found the tutorial for it at MADE.

I have made these for all my nieces. 

I think they are so feminine and cute.

I can't wait for my little lady to be big enough

to wear skirts like this.

I made the leg-warmers with socks I 

bought at the dollar store.

These are so easy to make. 

I'll put a tutorial up here soon for that....

you can do them in 5 minutes flat.

This semi-homemade stuff is my kind of style

I've decided. It's quick and easy. It's inexpensive

and it's just what a tired momma like myself 

needs right now. I think you may be seeing more

of this semi-homemade stuff from me in the future.

~christmas countdowns~

Want a super easy gift idea for your

neighbors, friends or sibling with kids?

I made these Christmas countdowns 

for some folks I know and I want to share

them with you.

The center snow-flake is painted with

chalkboard paint. Each day you erase it

and put the new number of days on it. 

My little guy can't wait to write the new

number on each day. 

To make this you'll need:

-any size frame with glass

(I used 8X10)

-scrapbook paper

-ribbon

-chalkboard paint

-tape

-hot glue gun

-printer or stickers for words

-wood disc ornament thingy

(whatever shape you want)

-embellishments of your choice

To start off with I used my Word program

on my computer and printed up the

words "days til Christmas" on my paper.

Next, I fit the paper to the glass of the frame

and wrapped the double layered ribbon around

the glass and paper and taped it in place.

Like this:

Not very pretty from the back but no one will see that.

After you have that done put the whole thing back into the 

frame and attach the frame backing board.

 

From the front it will look something like this:

 Now the fun part:

go ahead and embellish this however you'd like.

I used fancy snowflakes I got at the dollar store.

Hot glue them directly to the glass and ribbon.

Once you're done embellishing you can put your

little chalkboard piece on.

I was initially going to make a hanging ribbon

with the chalk attached but instead decided

to use the ribbon as a pocket for the chalk.

Like this:

That's it.

I made 4 of them in a short amount of time.

  33 days and counting!

I'm not ready for Christmas yet and it's 

driving me insane.....

Once I get thru 2 kids birthdays and

Thanksgiving dinner (all in 12 days)

I can focus on Christmas.

I hope I don't go crazy within that time.

I'll keep you posted on that :)


linking up with Positively Splendid.

~damaged goods-update~

Remember the library book I damaged

a while back that they were going to 

make me pay for?

This here's an update to that story......

 

So-I go back to the library to

pay for this book. In return, they were

suppose to give me the book I had damaged.

I thought I would give it one last ditch effort

before I forked over the cash for

this MINIMALLY damaged book.

To start off with, I dealt with a different 

person this time. A really sweet young gal.

I told her that I was there to pay for a book

that they told me I had to replace

 because it was "un-usable". She went in

the back and got the book in question and looked

at it herself and said, "Are you kidding me?"

She agreed with me, the damage was barely

recognizable and the book was far from

ruined. She told me she couldn't over-ride the

fee without an approval from her supervisor...

but she wasn't there that day.

Long story short.....

I ended up speaking to the library manager

that day and she thought it was 

ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS that

they had attempted to make

me buy a new book. 

They reversed the fine and put the book 

back on the shelf. 

Can I get a woot woot?!

I wasn't kidding or exaggerating when I told

you that the damage was barely noticeable. 

 

~blessings~

Do you decorate for Thanksgiving or do

you skip that and go right from 

Halloween to Christmas? 

I've always dreamed of decorating a beautiful

table for Thanksgiving dinner but I haven't 

as of yet. It doesn't seem realistic once

you get all the food on the table. 

Sure, I've seen TONS of beautiful table settings

but let's see how that looks with a feast on

the table and a bunch of people sitting there too. 

That being said, we are having a very low key 

dinner this Thanksgiving. Just us at home with

our little family and my husband's Grandma.

I think I'm going to take a stab at a pretty 

table dressing this year. I want to keep it 

really simple and toned down and most of all

REALISTIC.

So-on that note, let me share with you

another of my Thanksgiving decorations.

I made this a few years back with some vinyl I

got from an old high school friend at a girls

reunion party we had. The wood it's on is

from my Grandpa's old barn. Although I

love the way it looks I don't recommend 

using barn wood on vinyl projects unless you

are prepared to spend lots of time trying to 

get it to stick! This was a bugger.....

After I got the vinyl attached I embellished

it with a bit of fall foliage that I got at Michaels. 

It's one of my favorite Thanksgiving decorations.

To me it symbolizes the two things I am most

grateful for in this world.....

Family AND Friends.

The wood is representative of my 

Grandparents, the legacy they created

and the love my family has always offered me.

The vinyl is representative of my friends

and the joy and support they have

always been in my life. 

Some of you are familiar with the saying on it..

it's from a church hymn. Just saying it out loud

makes me laugh and smile. It takes me back

to a church pew, sitting with the Dana girls,

holding back laughter as we are listening

to the lady in front of us belting this out

in her best opera voice.

I can hear it now.....

"Count your many blessings. Name them one by one."

....and I am laughing again!

If you thought this was going to end on 

a reverent note, you were wrong. 

~kids jammies~

One of the traditions in our home that

has been passed on from my childhood

 is new jammies on Christmas Eve. 

I usually make these each year 

because they are soooo easy.

It's also usually the first on my

list of Christmas projects that I complete.....

for the same reason....

because they are so easy. 

For my little guy's pants I used a

NEW LOOK pattern #6131

 For the top I bought a plain t-shirt at

Walhell for $4 and put an applique on it.

For my little lady I used 

McCall's pattern #3665 for the bottoms.

(Thanks for the patterns Nanc!)

The bum has ruffles....

I love that.

 For her top I took one of her

plain onesies and added sleeves and

a heart applique. I thought adding the sleeves

would be a piece of cake. I'm not gonna lie here....

it was a pain in the butt! It was awkward trying

to get it into my sewing machine at the right

angle and sew on such a tiny piece of

material. It took me way longer than it

should have. Next time will be better.

I'll give you one guess to figure out

where I got the fabric......

If you guessed the box of fabric from 

my Mom you were right! I'm telling 

you-that is really the gift that keeps on giving.

To say it's a box is a little understated.

It was actually about 4 boxes. 

Looks like I can cross these off the list.

Next up-

slippers.

Wish me luck.

My boy has high expectations for these.

He wants them to look like a bear or a deer?!

We'll see what I can come up with.

~bookshelf re-do~

I've been looking for a little tiny bookshelf

for my little lady's birthday.

I don't need something permanent yet,

just something for her little board books

temporarily until she gets a little taller.

I want to eventually install 

some nice ones on the wall. 

I couldn't find one small enough and

realized finally that I would have to 

make do with something else.

I found a small bathroom shelf at 

the Salvation Army for $2.

I wiped it down and disinfected it

before spray painting it glossy white. 

Next I cut a piece of fabric to fit the 

dimensions of the back of the shelf.

I used spray adhesive to attach it.

Be sure to flatten it down on all sides and 

ends with a credit card or something. 

 The final step was gluing some ribbon onto

the edge of the top shelf. I ripped it off thinking

I was going to replace all of the edging but 

realized as soon as I did that it was going to 

be more work than I wanted to do.

Because of this I had to cover it 

with something else.

I used some ribbon I had on hand.

 I am pleased with the final result.

It will do for now,

especially taking into consideration 

that it only cost $2.

I had all the other supplies on hand.

Knowing my little gal,

this will be a great form of entertainment

for her. She'll rip the books out,

look at them, chew on them and

then try to stack them back on it.