craft night-valentine's day

I have been in the lovey-dovey mode for a while now and am getting very excited about Valentine's Day. I have never thought it to be a sad holiday, but then again, I am a little holiday happy.
So I co-hosted (with Aymee of course) my first craft night and it was a blast. We made Valentine's Day banners. Here's a taste of mine in the works and then done followed by some some yummy treats, and some of last year's and this year's projects.


We of course had to have cupcakes. The topper is just a 1' heart cut out on my cricut using the "Plantin School Book" Cartridge. I then hot glued them on tooth picks. I added glitter glue around the edges of some, but then stopped. I didn't love it.

These are red-velvet cake cookies Aymee made. They were inspired by Bakerella. If you don't know her blog yet, you'll want to. It is amazing. You use a cake mix and add only 2 eggs and 1/2 C of oil. Then roll them and plop them in powdered sugar. They will crackle out like that when they are cooked. Taste great, easy to make, and cute as ever!

Our party favors. They were the cutest little heart candles. The tag is embossed. A cute twist instead of just writing on it.

I took a bunch of old hearts and 2-toned painted them so that when sanded the under color would come through. I then measured them for vinyl letters and used my cricut and the "Lyrical Letters" font for the words. I really like how they turned out, I just have to figure out what to do with them now! :)

I love little things in frames for holidays. Here is one I did last year with just things I had around.

These were done with my cricut and the "Child's Year" cartridge. I absolutely LOVE them!


This was done of my cricut as well, using the same hearts that I used for my cupcake toppers. The edges of the printed paper are inked. The glitter heart is just cut our of glitter paper.

Last year when I up dated these letters with glitter(they were hideous before but only $.25 at a garage sale)...they inspired...

....these. (sorry, I don't know why the picture is sideways)They were just to clusters of very out-dated painted hearts. Your local thrift store is a great place to pick these kids of things up. Up-dating is not hard, especially when you can buy them for like $.50 each.

I was in a huge burlap mode last year and came out with some really cute things. This heart is just a long gathered piece of burlap on a coat hanger that is bent into a heart shape.

This was made with scraps of burlap and wood I had. I just nailed them on. I used my Cuttin' Up Cartridge on my Cricut for the letters. Freezer paper makes a great iron on stencil (as long as you used the shiny side down!).

I love these matching banners. They are over mirrored window's in my kid's toy room.

baby blessing party

It was so fun to put on a girly party. And I went all out. I didn't have a budget to use for it, so I used things I had, with the addition of about $4 in tissue paper. My sweet family pitched in with the food and of course Aymee helped me pull the whole thing together. It was a great success. From the decor, to the food, to the people, to the special occasion, I will remember this day forever.
The pom-poms are a Martha Stewart creation that I just love. I saw them at my neighbors and just fell in love...plus they are SO easy to make.

I am not a huge lace fan, but maybe after this party I will become one. I LOVED the way the lace looked on the banner and continued that on the tables. I loved the look of the pink under it and was very grateful for a mother-in-law who always has the stuff I need!

The banner I made was with my cricut machine using the cartidge Sugar and Spice. The Hand/footprint was done by Amy at Tiny Touches. Photography was done by Bella Photography. They were FABULOUS.

One of my main secret desires was to have a dessert table. And we did! :) I loved it. There were so many yummy treat. I buggy is from a cricut cartridge, Sugar and Spice -created by my good friend and available at Wal-Mart. The cupcake toppers were cut and stamped with Stampin' Up things that my sweet neighbor let me borrow.
The cupcake stand and the tip used to make the swirl were found a Joann's. Very affordable and I just love them...I didn't have to buy mine though, my mom got them for me for my birthday and I was so excited about them. This was their debut and they did a great job! :) Cupcakes are so in right now and I now know why!

This has been the BEST drink dispenser ever. I got it at Costco and if they ever come back I'm getting another one.

homemade (just like her)

Little girls are so fun to dress up. I have had fun with my new little one and have made a few cute outfits for her.
This was her first outfit for church. It was fun to make. I consulted with my good friend Aymee, who is a crafty queen. (and yes, her outfit was made out of her left over material from her room!)

I got this cute outfit from Children's Place and had to make a little cupcake shirt to go with it!

This one was made with iron-on jewels that I got from Wal-Mart. I was a little wary of them at first, but they haven't come off and I am loving them. Easy, cheap, and they stick! I thought it would be perfect for her ruffled jean skirt.

And here is her blessing dress that my mom made her, complete with french knots! It turned out so beautifully. I LOVE IT! I made a cute headband to go with it, and the bracelet was supplied by Chloe's girl cousins.

christmas on a budget

I saw the cutest nesting dolls at a children's boutique and wanted to get them for my little girl, but with a price tag of over $25 I wasn't about to snag them off the shelf...so what does any mom on a budget do...she finds a way to still get want she wants.
I picked up some wooden nesting dolls at Hobby Lobby for $4 and painted them to look like the ones I loved. After I painted them I added a coat of clear gloss spray paint and it made all the difference.

Not bad if I do say so myself! :)

This is the tool belt I made last year for my son. I got the idea from here.

chloe's room

Let's start with what has been my big on-going project since welcoming my beautiful baby girl. I didn't know her gender until her birth, so it has been a fun whirlwind trying to pull it altogether.
It's been done for awhile now, but I did just finish the mobile. The bumper is next week. Let's hope it turns out. I'm excited for it.
Some notable things in the room:
The art piece is a watercolor of Chloe's Great, Great Grandmother S. The rocking chair is an antique given to her by her Grandma T. The recliner is an antique from her M side. The dresser was given to us by a neighbor who was moving, I just antiqued it and added pink nobs.
Everything was made by myself and my mom. The lamp shade was just white until recovered. The doll was inspired by a doll a saw at a craft show(I wish I knew who to credit). The mobile is inspired by Natalie, who introduced me to lollipopworkshop, and the inspiration for this post was Alana, who I ran into at Robert's last night! :) Funny how you can find inspiration in the most random of places at the most random of times!

me, myself, & U

I decided to start this blog for a few reasons. I have been wanting to do this for a while now, and I finally got the kick I needed.
Since having my daughter I have been very inspired to craft. I love crafting and have found that it is a great outlet for me. Then last night I finally got the wind I needed when someone asked if I had a blog where they could see some of my stuff....
So here it is.
This blog will contain the things I have made, created, copied, designed....all with a little help from you...whether you are the inspiration or the one helping push me a long.
Hope you enjoy it!