valentine banner

Lucy had been itching to get her paints out and I was longing for some Valentine decor so we came up with a plan for a little Valentine banner to hang in the sunroom. 

After everything was dry I glued on some hearts and strung it all up. Lucy looked so proud when she saw it. I'm so excited she's getting old enough to do little projects like this with me. 

Hope you have a fantastic Tuesday!

linking up to:
Dear Lillie

the ruffled nest wreath

I started itching to make a new wreath for our entry over the weekend. I used a straw form to start and wrapped it in a linen blend fabric. Next I ripped a couple of strips of the same fabric and ruffled them using my sewing machine and then wrapped those around the wreath. 

After that I enlisted the help of my favorite apprentice to help me roll the wooden robin eggs in glitter.

Meanwhile while the eggs were drying and after putting Lucy down for her nap I ripped off a piece of moss and glued it to a notecard. {I wanted it to be removable in case I ever want to switch it out but you could glue it right on the the fabric if you want} Next I glued the little nest onto the moss and pinned the card onto the wreath. 

The scene unfolding looked something like this mess...

My eggs were dry and ready to be glued into the nest.

And that's it! It took way less time than I had anticipated which is always nice and was relatively inexpensive to create. I already had the wreath form, fabric, and moss. Everything else was purchased at Michaels. 

 I hope you have a beautiful Monday and a super inspiring week ahead!

linking up to:
my uncommon slice of suburbia
french country cottage
my romantic home
the shabby nest
tatertots and jello
six sisters' stuff
i heart nap time
a simply klassic home

its wed-nes-day

Hey it's "hump day!" I always hated that saying it makes me cringe for some reason. I'm going to work on a birthday gift for Lucy while she naps and do some knitting for the baby. 

What are you up to? I'd love to hear!

burlap "bubble" wreath tutorial

After we took "fall" down this past weekend we needed a wreath to hang in our entry so I found a picture on pinterest that I loved but adapted it a little bit and this is what I came up with today.

Since we are watching every dollar this holiday season I wanted to use materials that I already had. The only thing I bought was a bag of spanish moss. I actually picked up the straw wreath at Goodwill for .99 cents last summer. They are messy but for this project it really fit my needs since it blends nicely with the burlap.You'll also need to straight pins and hot glue. 

Cut your burlap into approximately 4x4 squares. I'm an "eyeballer" and mine were not perfect but it didn't seem to matter.

Next fold a square into a triangle

Then fold the other two corners towards the center of your triangle. You should wind up with a little "bubble"

Take a straight pin and push it through to bottom tip and make sure it goes through all four corners or it will unfold. 

Then simply pin it into your wreath. Don't worry about pins showing they'll mostly all get covered by other burlap bubbles and the ones that don't we'll take care of later. 

There's no need to worry about placement either just keep going randomly, you can always go back and fill in any bare spot.

You'll be surprised at how fast this actually goes. 

All done! Now comes the moss. 

Next I used the glue gun to add moss. The moss can also fill any little gaps or cover any pins that might be showing. 

It will look something like this when you're finished.

Add a ribbon and it's ready to hang.

I also pinned on this little white fabric bird I made to give it a holiday touch. 

I wanted to make something that could be used in virtually any season by simply changing out an embellishment. I hope this gives you a little inspiration to start your week. It was a fun little project to work on. 

Linking up to:

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Hi Sugarplum!
The Shabby Creek Cottage
French Country Cottage
Designer Garden
The Shabby Nest
Shabby Art Boutique
Tatertots and Jello
Funky Junk Interiors
I heart Nap Time
Six Sisters' Stuff
Too Much Time on My Hands

dining room family tree

I hope everyone is having a beautiful and productive day getting ready for tomorrow! I decided to check in really quick with a couple of snapshots of our dining room Christmas tree. I went very simple this year just using ornaments and feathers we already had. I also added a few ripped muslin bows and printed out my favorite family photos from the year onto card stock to really personalize it. I can't wait to go and pick out our giant tree for downstairs tonight! 

Happy cooking/baking/family time! 

**Inspiration for the tree found at Dear Lillie! 

linking up to:

French Country Cottage
The Shabby Nest
Tater Tots & Jello
Six Sisters Stuff
Blissful and Domestic
I Heart Nap Time
Shabby Art Boutique
Hi Sugarplum!
Funky Junk Interiors
Centsational Girl

mod podge tissue transfer to canvas

I read about this really neat way you can run tissue paper through your printer and then mod podge it onto canvas (I used canvas board for this project) and you get the same pretty effect as a printed wrap canvas. You can view the full tutorial here. After my transfer was dry I decided to add some velvet and burlap trim. I also attached a loop of twine to the back so it could be hung. 

I'm very happy with the way it turned out especially for a project that cost me nothing since I just used what I had on hand. These would make great holiday gifts for grandparents. They could also be made smaller and could be used as ornaments!

Happy Wednesday!

linking up to 

the shabby creek cottage, french country cottage, my romantic home, the shabby nest, one artsy momma, tater tots and jello

Let's chat. Pull up a chair and grab a cup of coffee or coco. During our conversation I might tell you how excited I am that the peppermint mocha is back at Starbucks. As much as it kills me to pay $4 for a cup of java it's nice to indulge every once in a while. It's like Christmas in a cup I tell ya!

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Then maybe we'd talk about crafting. My creativity definitely comes in waves, well more like tsunamis. When inspiration hits it's like I can't stop. I can tell I'm on the verge of one these said creative episodes and I'm excited.

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From there I might express my disbelief that the Duggars are expecting their 20th child! 20TH!!! wowza.

Then I would ask you if you've read any good books lately? I could use a few recommendations. I like quick reads due to my short attention span.  Sappy"Nicholas Sparksy" type reads are good but I'm open.

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I might tell you how I had to take Lucy to the doctor yesterday for a sore throat and an ear infection.  I joked to the receptionist we should have our own parking spot out front at this point or get some sort punch rewards card we're there so much. She's been a pretty high maintenance toddler as of late but hopefully things will return to normal around here soon. I haven't been to knitting in about a month because I just can't bare to leave her for a whole morning. Don't feel to sorry for us though we've had tons of visitors come by, play dates, and library classes to fill our days which has been so nice.

{about a week before getting her cast on Nick and Lucy treated me to a morning at the zoo for my birthday}

Then I'd ask you about how you feel about Christmas music this early in the season? I'm a believer in doing the simple things to make yourself happy and if blasting some Nat King Cole "Deck the Halls" tickles your fancy then I say go for it!- No judgment here.

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Have you ever seen "The Bubble" live? He's amazing! I hope I'm lucky enough to see him again someday.

Hope you have a great Wednesday!

sweet tooth

Happy Saturday! We just got home from running some errands around town and now that Lucy's down for a nap I'm headed to the kitchen to bake some of these delicious Peanut Butter Brownie Bites from Dear Lillie. Food craving anyone? I'm not usually one for a sweet tooth but the baby obviously feels differently so I feel inclined to be a good hostess and oblige him. {and I needed an excuse to try out my new anthro birthday apron from Nick}

recipe found {here}

We had quite the Friday night here. Lucy had a little paint party and I plan to turn her lovely creations into something like this. God bless washable paint! 

Hope you all have a beautiful fall day!