Our Home Valentine Wrap-Up

Wow!  I can't believe it is nearly Valentine's Day!  I don't normally go all out for Valentine's Day.. or any holiday, other than Christmas, I suppose.. but something about bringing a few dashes of color into the house during this gloomy month seemed so appealing to me!  Plus, dare I say, I may finally be in a groove with our newborn who is hardly a newborn anymore since he will be 8 months old!

Anyway, back to how Cupid hit a few arrows into by butt and convinced me to decorate a little around here.  I've missed having a few crafts around the house that make me smile each time I walk past them.

First up, our family room mantle.  I used two Christmas stocking hooks to hold up a curtain rod.  Then I tied pieces of card stock that I placed back to back since both sides would be seen.  On one side, I left it blank.  On the other, I printed out pictures of my *loves*.  I just love walking past it and catching a glimpse of one of my sweet little babies.  Better yet, is when we have guests and I catch them walking up to examine and fawn over those adorable faces.  I even through in a few of Bryan and I.

Next up, is my kitchen mantle.  I cut out some card stock hearts and sewed them together.  Boom!  Easy Peasy Banner!  And It makes me so happy!  It was so easy, that I was able to hold my baby in one arm, feed the hearts through my sewing machine with my other hand.. and even sip some coffee. It was such a peaceful morning since the older kiddos and Bryan were playing out in the snow.  Once the banner was done, it was nap time for the little man and I was finally able to join them out there!  So worth it!

Finally, in the dining room, I made some paper mason jars to fill up my frames.  Whoop whoop! Loving all of these touches of love!

Speaking of chocolate.. I mean, what?  Yes! My mom made me and brought me this!  Does she know the way to my heart or what?  Can I tell you something kinda funny?  When I'm pregnant, I have very few cravings.  In fact, I have more food aversions than I do cravings!  But wham-bam! Once that baby is out, I NEED CHOCOLATE.  Maybe it's because I need caffeine to keep me moving?  Honestly, that's my only theory.  Anybody who has some scientific documents, I'd love to see them!  Maybe then, I could curb this addiction?  ha!  Who am I kidding!  Just keep giving me chocolate!  Thanks mom!  You did a wonderful job and it's almost too cute to eat.  Almost. 

Goodness!  How long after Valentine's Day is it acceptable to keep these hearts hanging around the house?  I just love all the love going around here!  Whether you're spending Saturday alone or with someone you're smitten with, I hope your day is fill with chocolate!  

[Scrap Lumber] Baby Countdown

Holy Smokes, Guys!!  49 Days until this baby's due date!  Well, by the time you're reading this, we're down to 46 days... is that possible?  Wait, let me count again... Oh, crap.  Well, it would be 46 days if I've ever made it to my due date (which I haven't)... 7 days early with our first kiddo & 10 days early with our second... Every pregnancy is different, though.  Maybe this one will decide to stay longer and give me an extra week to prepare?!  Either way, NEXT MONTH we'll add a third little mouth to feed to our family and we couldn't be more excited!!

Hello Spring [Wall Art]

I have had these frames hanging in our dining room for a while and for a long time, they had a map of the United States split up into the 6 of them.  I was never really crazy about it, but I was too lazy preoccupied to find something better to do with the frames.  I have finally gotten around to updating everything and I gave it a little touch of Spring!

We live in Ohio... So, a couple of days ago, it was beautiful, sunny and in the 60s.  Today, there's still just a few snow flakes still on the ground from a recent snowfall.  I may have been a little too early with welcoming Spring, but I can't help it.  It's mid-March.  It's time! :)

Home Address Number Growth Chart with Paint Chips

On Monday, I showed you the new Time Zone Bathroom Art but there was another project lurking in the corner that you weren't able to see from the photos.  I'm sure everyone has seen a billion growth charts all over Pinterest.  Well, our kiddo's bathroom wouldn't be complete without one!  Before ripping out the vinyl flooring and replacing it with tile, and before we painted the walls, we simply just marked right on the wall the kid's growth progress.  It was a fine temporary solution, but we don't plan on living here forever, so I wanted something we would be able to take with us easily.

Silhouette Challenge: Time Zone Bathroom Art

First, I'd like to take a minute to thank all of the Veterans who protect our family and our Nation on this Veteran's Day.

So, it's been a really long time since I've mentioned the kid's bathroom.  We have been busy dragging our feet putting the finishing touches on everything.  That's real life.  It happens, and it's amazing.  Unless, of course, you were holding your breath waiting for this bathroom art that I just finished for the kid's bathroom.

I decided I wanted to use clocks somehow.  I found these inexpensive clocks at Target for just $6.99 each.  From there, I was stuck for a couple days trying to figure out what else this bathroom needed.  I liked the idea of keeping it less rubber ducky or under the sea theme and more educational.  Which, realistically, I doubt the kids would ever even notice the walls anyway.  That's real life, too!

After a little searching around, I couldn't believe I came across (and didn't already know!) about a cute blog called Dream A Little Bigger.  It was there, that I found a ton of hard work already done for me (and you!)  Allison already traced out all 50 states for our Silhouette-ing pleasure!  I couldn't have been more thankful to have found this gem!  You can get them all here!

I had to resize them all a bit to fit into a better scale with the rest of the states.  This took way longer than I would have ever expected, but it was so worth it!

Of course, so many states fall into weird half-in-half-out of time zones.  I didn't stress about it too much.  I typically just moved the whole state into the time zone that most of it fell into.  It definitely wasn't as messy of divides as I expected.

I used craft paper from Jo-Ann's to cut out the shapes using my Silhouette Machine.  I then, Mod Podged it all onto painted scrap wood I found in our lumber pile.

The strip of wood below the states is also a scrap I was able to paint.  I tricked my husband into hanging it for me.  He simply drilled it into all of the studs on the wall and I was able to go back and fill in the holes with wood putty, sand, and re-paint.  The hooks are from Home Depot and I tricked my husband into centering them up under each board.  I'm a firm believer wisher that the kids will be able to hang up their own towels soon.  We even hung them lower than usual to accommodate the little ones in our lives.

This is the first month I've had the privilege of participating in the Silhouette Challenge!  I couldn't be more excited to be apart of this wonderfully creative group of ladies!  If you're interested in joining, we'd love to have you!!  Simply fill out the new member request form, and Lauren from The Thinking Closet will get you squared away!

If you're looking for more creative Silhouette projects (and I know that you are!), check out these amazing ideas below!  Be sure to leave them some comment love and have fun discovering some new (to you) blogs!

Janice

DIY Ironing Board Hanger by The Turquoise Home

Santa's Christmas Countdown by Tried & True

Nautical Anchor Pillow Tutorial by The Thinking Closet

Christmas Card Ornament with Free Cut File by unOriginalMom

Thanksgiving and Christmas Dual Sign by Architecture of a Mom

Itching to Etch by Get Silvered

Snowman Tag ~ Silhouette Challenge by Whats Next Ma

Thanksgiving Sign by Chicken Scratch NY

DIY Horse Silhouette Pillow by Rain on a Tin Roof

Sketching on Fabric by The Sensory Emporium

Paper Leaf Garland by Lil' Mrs. Tori

DIY Blessing Board - Silhouette Challenge by One Tough Mother

Christmas Pillow by Create & Babble

Glass Painting with Reverse Stencils by Givemeapaintbrush

Chalkboard Thankful Tree by Cutesy Crafts

Bottoms Up! MYO Wine Tag by From Wine to Whine

'Happy Holly-days' Tags for the Swap by An Elegant Touch...

Thank You for Dinner (Card) by Everyday Paper

Advent Star Christmas Countdown by My Favorite Finds

Geometric Fabric Bowls by Please Excuse My Craftermath...

Paper Carnival by Home At Eight

Silhouette Cameo Tutorial: Dual Sided Business Cards by Black and White Obsession

In Case of Emergency Baby Bag Tags by Tossed Salad Life

Christmas On My Mind by Creative Turn

Jingle all the Way! by My Paper Craze

Christmas Lights Garland by Making Home Base

We Are Thankful by 4 You With Love

Seattle Skyline Silhouette by Sowdering About in Seattle

DIY Stenciled Mugs by Coley's Corner

Additionally, I linked up to these great parties:

The Inspiration Exchange {No. 25}

No Sew Popcorn Costume for Baby

Update:  Voting is now open at Create Craft Love!!  So do me a favor, head on over HERE & vote for this adorable Baby Bag of Popcorn!  Lucky #47!  I'd love you for ever!

I'm not much of a seamstress (yet).  Which is why I love felt so, so much.  You can cut it and it won't fray, you can hot glue it, and it'll stay for (almost) ever!

I threw together this halloween costume for my little man in about 15 minutes.   The most annoying part of the whole process was waiting for my hot glue gun to get hot enough!  The entire thing is made from felt except for two pieces of ribbon that I looped through slits I cut in the felt which I used to tie onto the baby carrier.

I bought the felt by the yard at Jo-Ann's and was able to use a single sheet of white to wrap around the front of me & the baby carrier.  I then cut (imperfect) straight strips in red.  This is a 15 minute project, no yard sticks required for straight lines!  Nobody will notice, anyway!  I finished it all off with a little label that just says "Popcorn".  Just incase anybody gets confused ;)

I used this costume last year and it's going to be hard to resist shoving my little man back into that carrier for this Begger's Night... Oh wait, his 30 pounds of heft should deter me from that, thankfully!

Have you started on Halloween costumes for your munchkins yet this year?  I am tossing around so many different ideas for my two gremlins.  I just need to decide soon and get a move on!

Janice

P.S.  I entered this costume in a contest over at Crazy Little Projects!  You should go check out all of the other wonderful ideas if you're looking for more inspiration.  

I linked up to these fabulous parties:  

Tatertots and Jello

                                                                    A Glimpse Inside

Crafty Bats

I explained yesterday that I am all about super quick crafts these days.  Well, this one was probably more cheating than the banner I threw together.  But I can't resist sharing this because these bats are just too cute!

You can find the outlines for the bats here!

I used the smallest bats at one corner and progressively had them grow larger by the last window.

Silly, Spooky, Simple Spiders!

I am a huge fan of fast and easy crafts that I can start and finish in a nap time... maybe two.  This silly project was not only fast, but super inexpensive!

All of the supplies... minus the spray paint & hot glue, were found at Dollar Tree!  

Here's what you'll need to pick up:

• 3 foam "carvable" pumpkins
• 24 pipe cleaners
• 1 bag of Googlie Eyes

Yup, that's it!  5 bucks!

Not a complicated project here!  Spray paint your pumpkins, hot glue a bunch of eyes (I used almost an entire pack on these 3 pumpkins).  Then, arrange 8 pipe cleaners per pumpkin however you want!

These pumpkins were literally cracking me up while I was making them.  I bought these pumpkins planning on making some sort of "topiary" with the three pumpkins stacked on each other.  I'm sure that would have been cute, too... but I couldn't resist this somewhat spooky, silly, simple spiders!

So there you have it!  What have you been working on lately?

Janice

I linked up to these fabulous parties: 

Clean And Scentsible

Home of the Free

Happy Memorial Day! I whipped up this sign for practically pennies to use for my mantle.  This took me just two evenings to make but if you were really dedicated, you could make it in one, I'm pretty confident in you!

What to do with those Derby Hats

I went to a fabulous Kentucky Derby Party this past weekend hosted by our good friends, Natalie and Craig.  They served Mint Juleps, had more food than anyone could ever possibly consume, and enough laughter to fill their home.  It was a perfect party.

Do you see how amazing Natalie's hat turned out?!  I just love those giant pink flowers as well as the purple and black feathers!  It was tough getting a good shot of us since we couldn't stop laughing.  Those crazy hats were in the way the entire time!  I can only imagining how frustrating some of the hats at the actual derby must have been.  They were some HUGE hats there!

Specimen Cloud Art

Specimen art may or may not have been "so yesterday" but I have a perfect frame to use and I still love it.  So here we go!

Easter Egg Garland

I wanted to make something for the dining room for Easter.  I already had a ton of plastic eggs that I didn't really have a plan for yet.  Then, I saw a simple egg garland from a cute blog called Atkinson Drive.

Paint Chips to Flash Cards

This is a super simple and free idea to do for your kiddos.  Our oldest is really into learning colors right now, while our youngest is really into eating and destroying anything he can get his hands on.  This becomes a problem when we start going through multiple sets of cardboard or paper flashcards that you can find at a store.  I can't even tell you how many sets have been slobbered on into no recognition.

Spring Cleaning: Master Bathroom Closet

How is it that areas of the house always seem to get out of order just when you think you've tamed them?  I have this love hate relationship with our linen closet in our master bathroom.  I love it as soon as I clean it out and organize it.  I hate it when I have to do the dirty work.

This is what greeted me as I went to get a new towel this morning from our closet.  It's wanting to be organized with pretty white baskets and everything.  But things are just out of control!

My St. Patrick's Day Birthday

My great birthday weekend started by getting my driver license renewed.  Happy Birthday to me!  Everybody's favorite gift. Am I right?!  Fortunately, the whole process went very quickly and it was over before I knew it.

Friday was very unexpected!  My husband arranged for our very good friends, Natalie and Craig to come over and surprise me.  Natalie took me out to get a pedicure (so very needed).  We had a little champagne and some great girl time.  It was so nice to get away from the house and kids for a couple hours.  Did I mention that Craig and my husband, Bryan, looked after the little ones while we were out?  When we got home, they were putting the finishing touches on the cheese fondue and the chocolate fondue for dessert.  I could just squeeze their cheeks!  How thoughtful, right?  I'm ashamed to say neither of us documented any of the evening... 

New Spring Mantels

I updated our mantel in the kitchen with some more spring and Easter decorations.  I showed you the bunny banner a couple days ago.  I also added two hand painted pieces of shale that I made last year, a vase with some moss, a spray painted jar with paper flowers, & a small, live potted plant with a shamrock banner connecting them.

Bunny Banner

So remember when I told you about my mom?  Well, I was at her house and she had the cutest bunny banner.  Being the sweet lady that she is, she already had a few extra bunnies cut out that she gave to me.  She used adhesive backed scrapbooking paper. I didn't even know this existed!

Apparently you can find such a thing at Jo Ann Fabrics.  She used her Silhouette machine to cut out the bunnies then placed them on some dark burlap.  From there, I was able to cut the burlap to size and punch some holes in their ears.

Spring Wreath

I feel like it's time to decorate for Spring.  However, every time I get my things together to start making something, a snow storm comes through.  Two nights ago we got the heavy, wet snow dumped on us.  It was certainly not like a January snow; where the snow is so fine it's just powder.  And the air is so crisp, it hurts to breath.  It was quite the opposite.  We were playing outside the other day and it was almost too warm to move too quickly.  Bryan had to ask me for a cup of ice water to combat the sweat dripping down his face from rolling giant snowballs through the yard.

So until I feel like Spring is truly on its way, I'm going to share with you the wreath I made last year.  I just purchased a grapevine wreath that you can find at almost any craft store.  This one was from Jo-Ann fabrics.  You can get this size for $4.99 (but be sure to use a coupon)!  The flowers are all made from felt and the ribbon I found at Hobby Lobby.   

Turning a Picture Frame into a Chalkboard

I feel silly even calling this a tutorial.  It's not really.  I had this old picture & frame that I purchased on clearance at Ikea about 4 years ago.  It has been sitting in the basement with no purpose or home since we moved to this home so I finally decided to put it to work! Can you guess what I'm going to do?  Yup!  I tried to tell you that it wasn't much of a tutorial!

First, you'll want to take apart the picture frame.  You can set that aside. I happened to like the black frame (for now) but if you wanted to change it up, you could easily put a few very thin, even coats of whatever color tickles your fancy.