Mr Crafty - Revisited

I set up some older posts to auto post while I was gone!

I am not the only one who is crafty around here. Mike can be pretty crafty himself. He made this bookshelf a few years ago for Blake. We saw something similar in a catalog but it was pretty pricey. I want to say it was Company Kids, but I'm not sure. Yea, it looks cluttered, but I have learned that there is no point in trying to keep it tidy looking!

This idea also came from something we saw, this time it was a Target ad. They still sell it in the stores, I believe it's over $50 and it's a lot smaller. This one he made is as tall as I am. Once again, major clutter.

And as I mentioned before, I wanted to make a monogram out of colored pencils for Blake's kindergarten teacher. We finally got it done. Mike actually did most of it. He painted the frame for me and attached the canvas (who knew Michaels doesnt sell anything but pre-cut mat board?) But this canvas was the perfect size. He also cut the colored pencils for me. I think it turned out pretty good! I'll have to post again with the other thing I made for her out of a mason jar and crayons.

I might post again tomorrow with what I found today at the catholic thrift. If not, have a great Memorial Day weekend!

A Sneek Peak & a Plea for Help

Sorry for the lag in posting! I have things I want to share but we've been so busy. It seems like there is so much going on right now. I think I need a break! Thankfully, we are going on vacation, starting tonight! We like leaving at night so the traffic isnt so bad and the kids are sleeping. But as soon as we come back from vacation I've got to get busy with Layla's birthday party.

Anyway. Even though I'm not decorating for Easter this year (we will be back in time, but what's the point of decorating now?) I decided to join in on the Eggstra Fun Egg Swap, hosted by Shara from Monkeybox. It was kind of a last minute decision, and then I got completely stuck on what to make. But I finally came up with something. Here is a little sneek peak. Yes, it took a lot of thread!

And now my plea for help. I guess the combination of Morgan's birthday last month and everything else going on, I havent done much for Layla's party. I did finally decide on some invitations though. This is what they will look like. I found them on Etsy, the seller is Dimpleprints. Arent they cute?

However, these invitations are really all I have. Although I did save the pom poms from Morgans' party last month to reuse. I tried looking on Etsy and Flickr for ideas. Oh, by the way, the theme is Ice Cream! I guess the colors are pink and blue. Possibly purple. Or yellow. Or green. I get different answers every time I ask her. Either I dont know how to search on Flickr, or I'm just not having any luck. So while I'm away, could you share some ice cream birthday ideas with me? I would really appreciate it!

New Arrivals & a Giveaway Coming Soon

Spring is the time for new. New blooms and new babies. Hopefully we'll take care of some blooms tomorrow (we need plants!), but we already have some new babies. They joined us last week. When we heard it was "Chick Days" at Tractor Supply, Mike took the kids down to pick out a few. This little bantam belongs to Blake.




This little Rhode Island Red belongs to Morgan.

I think this is a Straight Run chick, and it belongs to Layla.

So cute!

Of course, they're too little to join their older, much larger friends, so for now, they live here. On our porch.

On another note, I was recently contacted by Jamie with CSN Stores, wanting to know if I'd be interested in doing a review or a giveaway. Of course I said yes! If you havent heard of them, you should check them out. They have a huge variety of products! Everything from home bars and bar accessories, to pots & pans, towels, baby gear and more! It was such a hard decision, deciding what to review. In the end, I went with functional. I'll get to that later. But the good news for you is I am also having a giveaway! One lucky reader will win this 6 piece Pyrex Mixing Bowl set! This picture is slightly different, I couldnt find a good one to use, but you can find it here. Giveaway post coming soon!

Hopefully tomorrow we'll get some new plants, and maybe some seeds, in the ground. We also have football practice, dance class and my last college class until after spring break. Then next weekend we have a birthday party (4th in a row!), a football game and then we leave for vacation! I hope you have a good weekend!

A Tweet Celebration!

Finally, a week later, I'm getting around to sharing Morgan's birthday. Lot's of pictures, sorry! The theme I decided on was birds. Here again are the invitations. I made these up in Word.



Now for the decor. I just love these things! I am definitely making more for Layla's party. Which is next month! Looks like we're going with an ice cream theme. Isnt that air vent ugly?!




My first bunting! I'm going to hang this in their room.




One of the cupcake trees.

Candy covered pretzels...

and marshmallows, in thrifted milk glass!

I knew as soon as I saw one that I wanted to make a photo banner with a photo for each month.

A little box her Nonnie bought for her, holding utensils.

And another little bunting (paper this time).

And the piece that I was the most worried about... the cake & topper! Pardon my less than lovely frosting job. I was in a rush and did it that morning before the party because I had ran out of vanilla the night before!

Layla has requested one of these for her cake as well.

To keep the kids busy, they painted bird houses. I found some really cute ones for $1.00 each at Michaels. We used leftover egg cartons to hold the paint.

I am pretty dissapointed with the pictures I got that day. The sun was too bright and there was so much going on. I was still getting stuff ready when everyone started arriving. But here is my little girl, heading out to see the dog.

Check out that cutie bootie!

Here you can see her t-shirt. She loves her animals!

Now it's time for cake!

But, it didnt last long!

Thank you to everyone who helped me with ideas on this party! I think it turned out really cute. Now I guess I better get busy on the next one!

Shabby Shamrocks

First, I want to say, Morgie's party turned out really cute! I'll share soon, I promise! But first I wanted to share something I made over the weekend. Like many of you, I'm sure, my kids have to wear uniforms to school. Their colors are blue, red & white. So I was thinking to myself, what can they do for St. Patrick's Day so they don't get pinched? (Layla at least, I'll have to think of something else for Blake!). I love the shabby fabric flowers that are all over the place, so I was playing around with drawing some at work, and I came up with this! Shabby Shamrocks!

They are so easy! This is what I started with. I folded a piece of paper in half, and then in half again, and drew a heart like shape in the corner.

After I cut it out, this is what I had. I also cut out a little stem shape.

I took the piece that I cut out of it (sorry, no pic of it whole, but I'm sure you get the idea!) and seperated it into 4 pieces. I only use 3 for this. Again, no picture of the next step, but I glued these pieces onto another sheet, and cut it out. That way I had one solid pattern. Then I just pinned it on the fabric and cut them out. Two layers of each, and some felt for the back.

I also decided to do a couple of round ones.

Here's Layla modeling one for us.

I'm linking this up to Categorically Crafting at Someday Crafts, the St. Patty's Day Linky Party at Craftaholics Anonymous, Look What I Made at Creations by Kara, Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog, I Made It! at Everything Etsy and the DIY Project Parade at DIY Show Off. Also to Hair Crap Linky Party at A Girl & a Glue Gun & The Accessories Challenge at The CSI Project.

I think I might try putting a few in my Etsy shop (it's a work in progress!). Have a good week!

One Year

My baby girl turned one today. :( How did this year go by so fast? We had Mike's parents over for cupcakes since today was her actual birthday, but the poor girl had her 1 year checkup today, so she wasnt feeling it. But I though I'd share a picture from each month.

A few things about her...

1. She LOVES animals! She goes crazy when she sees them and starts grunting & bouncing. The cats arent really a fan.

2. She says "woof!" and "bye-bye". "Mama" is questionable. She was saying what sounded like it, but I assumed she was just babbling. Maybe not since she said bye-bye after that?

3. She loves bananas! She gets very excited when she sees them.

4. She also loves her siblings! It's so cute to see her play with them. And they still love her :)

5. She has the cutest little curl that sticks out on the left side of her head. Adorable!

Happy Birthday my sweet Morgie! We LOVE you!