Girly Gift

I had a super relaxing, quiet weekend with my best friend. It was straight up medicine. I had actually been fighting something that caused me to feel really crummy, but it was a lot easier to hang, chat, bake, and create than to manage and parent children all weekend. It was good timing for a mommy break. So thankful to my wonderful husband for keeping the boys so I could enjoy a kid-free weekend.

Heidi's sister-in-law is having a baby girl in March, so Heidi threw her a shower this past weekend. It was beautiful. I came down to attend the shindig for two reasons: I've become fond of Caimbrin over the years and I wanted to show her my love and support, and because Heidi wanted me to help her in the kitchen before the shower. We had so much fun baking and making :) I'm sure Heidi will be blogging about the frilly shower in the next few days, so keep posted on her blog to see the girliness.

I found a fun "happy stacker" pattern from Heather Bailey a while back and finally decided to make it. Can I just say, this was way trickier than it looks. I got to see it in baby Cora's nursery before I left Florida and it was just perfect in there! So excited for Caimbrin and Brian. May God bless you two and your new coming addition.

Can't wait to see baby Cora playing with her new toy!

Coffee Love

I hate to throw away any container that is glass or metal. It's weird, yet has proved to be beneficial many times. I have a plastic container downstairs that is full of spaghetti sauce jars, wine bottles, coffee tins, baby food jars, etc. You just never know when you might need one for decor, a gift, or a cute project. I rummaged through the bin this time and pulled out an old coffee canister for a project. This was my inspiration. I found it on the Family Chic blog.

I wanted a bigger version so that's why I used a coffee canister instead of a soup can. I didn't really like the white, so I left the tin its original color. Also, so that it would stand out more, I chose to use a ribbon I had instead of embroidery thread.  I used a knife to poke the holes and then a kabob skewer to make the knife slit round (I'm sure there is a better way). I finished it off by using a little red acrylic paint around the top and bottom to make it pop. Parker picked out the pink flowers for inside the tin, and voila!

I've got some exciting news for my next blog. Parker and Graham have both made had a big accomplishment. Can't wait to share!!!

Burlap Heart Wreath

I was looking for some type of wreath to put above my mantle and came across this one on the My Blessed Life blog.

There was no tutorial at the time, so I just decided to give it a shot with cardboard, burlap, and hot glue. It took forever to make but was super simple. I cut out a heart shape from a cardboard box. I chose to make it with a heart hole in the center to give it more of a wreath-y look, but you could use a solid heart shape too. Then, not meticulously, I cut strips of burlap into squares. The squares were not all the same size but stayed around the four to five square inch range. Then, I grabbed the center of the burlap squares and gathered all the edges away from the point like you would tissue paper before you stick it in a gift bag. I then added a dab of hot glue to the point of the burlap square and placed it at the bottom of the heart. You essentially do this for the rest of the heart placing the burlap squares closely to one another. You decide how "dense" you want your wreath to be. The closer you put the glued ends of the burlap squares, the more dense your wreath will be. I cut out two smaller cardboard heart and wrapped them in yarn because the burlap wreath looked so lonely up there by itself.

I'm off to figure out whether my second (loud) blessing is ready to potty train or was just messing with me yesterday when he repeatedly (like 8 times!) went potty for his older brother. Wish me luck. And patience. And lots of floor cleaner. :)

Heartstrings

After finding this pillow on the Ucreate blog, I decided I wanted to make two for my sitting chairs in the living room. Actually, I really just wanted to make covers for the pillows since I like the size and shape of the pillows for the chairs and they'll need to be converted back to "normal" after Valentine's day. They turned out cute. My stitching is a little messy around the appliqued hearts. I'm still trying to get use to my new awesome machine ;)

I should add a button for closing the back cuter, shouldn't I? Aight.

Hill of a Time!

So, we have a huge hill for a back yard. Welcome to Charleston. It's so hard to find any property in the city that isn't on the top, side, or bottom of a hill. Our hill has always been annoying to me until Friday. We got a small amount of snow and since this year has basically been void of the pretty white stuff, I decided we had better get out and enjoy it. After bundling up for the 23 degree frigidness, we climbed halfway up the hill. Actually, just the boys did while I stayed at the bottom. David got them set up and let 'em fly. I caught them at the bottom to keep them from flying off the wall. It worked perfectly. There was so much laughter coming from those two little boys. I think David and I had just as much fun until I tried to sled down the hill, flew off the wall, and landed on my butt in the mud. Not cool. That was enough for me.

Later this week, it's suppose to hit 65 degrees. This is wild people. I can't believe how easy winter has been this year. I'll take it!

Paper and Felt

These few little projects are super easy and won't break the bank. If you are like me and like to craft, you may not even have to hit up the closest craft store. 

Card stock paper and a stapler. 

 

An old frame and scrapbook paper.

 

More scrapbook paper. For someone who doesn't like anything about scrap-booking, I sure do use a lot of this stuff.

 

Felt and some messy zig zag stitching ;)

 

I used a heart punch to make uniform felt hearts, but you could cut them out too. If you can sew a straight line, you could totally make this little heart banner.

Yesterday, I worked  on some pillows. I'll share soon. I had to bring my sewing machine into the playroom so that I could actually work, but the boys just gathered around and watched me sew. They are fascinated by the machine. How old do they have to be before I can teach them to use it? Needless to say, the pillows took a lot longer than necessary. Today, I'm off to go sledding with my boys. It's finally snowing, so we're going to take full advantage. They are so excited! Stay warm. I recommend hot chocolate, a super cozy blanket, and a good book for this winter weather.

a little obsessed

Okay, so I have to admit something. I'm a little obsessed with pom poms. (Yes, I am sure you've noticed and I am just stating the obvious.) Why? I have no idea. Some people get fixated on chevron, burlap, or owls (the list goes on). I just happen to really like the texture and feel of Pom poms. I can imagine how much I'll hate them in a few years and/or months, but for now, I'll use the for everything under the sun. Sorry. It's not that I lack diversity, but new ideas for their use keep popping up. First there was the garland idea. Then the Christmas tree decor. Then even my packages got embellished with the fluffy little balls. 

What now? Well, I've been stalking these cute lil' pom pom flowers for a while.

(Images are from here, here, and here.)

Since Valentines Day is coming up, I used the opportunity to bring these bright little flowers into my house. I originally was going to make a large bouquet, but opted to keep it simple this time. Maybe I'll add to it for spring. :)

One fantastic blogger I like to follow posted a project where she converted an old vase into a lovely little piece of art. (Check out her blog, Sugar and Cloth, for some great ideas!) Thanks Ashley for the inspiration!  It made a perfect home for my pom poms.  :)

More LOVE-ly projects to come!

Feeling the Love

Thought I'd share one little project I finished for Valentines Day. It took only an hour. The possibilities are endless, so create your own love ;)