hello world

It's been a while since I last posted. Please accept my apologies. Life happens, ya know?

Here is what has been going on with our little family:

1:: I started back school a few weeks ago. I'm taking 3 online courses and things are rockin' there. Doing everything online has changed my life! It beats a 3 hour lecture class, any day.

2:: Avery had strep throat last week. He ran a fever for 3 days and had painful headaches. Poor guy was feeling rough. He stayed so warm that he didn't even want to cuddle like he normally does. So, so, so pitiful. 

3:: A Pre-K school has been decided on for Avery, and I'm still in denial that he's old enough to go to Pre-K. {He's really old enough to go to kindergarten, but with a late August birthday, I think holding him back is best.}

4:: Trevor was accepted into the gifted program at school. We are so proud of him!!!

5:: Little Rat {the Beta fish} was flushed the other night. Poor fishy was on it's last fin, and we euthanized him via the sewer method. A new fish, Kitty-Kitty, has since taken up residence in the fish tank.

6:: I've still been in a crafty mood. Yarn wreaths have swept my imagination and are now in production in my living room.

7:: I bought a monogram machine the other week. Be prepared for monogram madness and applique awesomeness to hit the blog soon!!!


 Now that you are caught up, I hope you have a marvelous Monday and an awesome week!

crafty mama on the rise

Chris went on a guys trip last week, so I went on a crafting spree at home. 

The little person inside my head that says "you want to be a crafty mama" just got the best of me. 

And so off to Hobby Lobby I went. 

I first taught myself how to crochet. 

I've been using an online blog that teaches crochet.

The girl who did this online tutorial did a great job!

I caught on fast and I've gotten the hang of one type of stitch.

I'm ready to make a masterpiece!

I'm also working on a disappearing 9's quilt.

It's a secret present, so we'll talk more about it later!

Have any of you been crafting lately?

a few projects {home}

 

{Updated frames & pictures}

 

{I took most of the black frames and painted them to give the hallway more color}

 

 

{Name art I created. I love how these turned out!}

 

 

{I love this airplane. So cute. The books behind it were my daddy's when he was a child. I love the colors of them. 

monday night {crafts}

 I've had a few projects going on at home {pics coming soon}, so I've had my paints and brushes out quite a bit lately. Last night I was painting away on some picture frames and my crafting companion, Trevor, wanted to join in on the fun too. I can always count on him to keep me company during my crafting frenzies. :-) 

 

I always try to keep a few extra canvases handy so the boys can paint masterpieces. Trevor was excited about the flat {panel} canvas. He said it was much bigger and easier to paint on than the other ones {stretched canvas}-I have to agree with him on that!

 

He thought and mulled over all the color paints we had and thought of the perfect picture to paint.

I think the painting turned out beautiful!

home makeover {small budget edition}

First off, let me apologize for all the black boxes on my blog. Apparently Google+ albums control your Blogger pictures. If you delete anything on Google+ you lose what is on your blog. Bummer. Big, big, big bummer. Weeks worth of having to go back and try to figure out which pictures were where in my near future kind of bummer. But let's not dwell on that, I'll get us up and running normally soon, I hope.

I finally uploaded the pictures of all my redecorating. My OCDness and girly nature kicked into overdrive when I moved into a bachelor pad. Poor Chris, he never knows what's going to change around here these days. I think I'm almost done with the redecorating, but don't hold me to that. One trip to Target or Hobby Lobby could result in more rearranging, hammering, or painting than my sweet Chris would care for, but he loves my anyway, so we're all good!

 

It's all still a work in progress, but so far, I'm loving it!!!

Fall Wreath

Isn't it cute?

Avery's Birthday Party Decorations

I made several items for Avery's birthday party this year. The banners were super easy, as were the cupcake toppers. I was delightfully impressed with my artistic abilities, you know, since I don't have many. Anyway, I'm going to start selling my banners, cupcake toppers, and stationery. I'll post information to my website as soon as I finish getting it set up.

Avery's Birthday Invitation

I've been feeling rather crafty lately. I've always made Avery's birthday invitations, but this year I wanted to make all kinds of stuff. True, I did make a ton of stuff for his 1st birthday, but last year I didn't get all "into" it.

This years theme is fire trucks. I gave Avery several choices and this was what he chose. So far I've made the invitations, two pennant banners, cupcake toppers, and thank you notes. I'll post more pictures soon and possibly a couple of "how to" post if you like what you see.

My First Ever, Homemade Wreath

I must confess, I did not come up with this idea on my own. However, I am pretty doggone proud of myself for successfully completing this wreath, on time, for my mother, on Mother's day. It was a very simple wreath to make considering I didn't go out and pick numerous sticks and bind them together, rather I went down to the local Hobby Lobby and picked out the twig wreath and bought pre cut fabric. The entire project cost me less than $20. If you would like to visit the blog where I got the idea from, go to Our Best Bites and check out what else you can do with these dainty little flowers.


To make your own wreath, you'll need:
Twig wreath (or make your own if you please)
Fabric. I bought precut fabric that was 2 1/2" x 42"
Fabric Glue


Here is a step-by-step picture tutorial from Our Best Bites:

Here is my attempt at the wreath:

Lima Bean Wreath

Start out with your base wreath. I chose to use straw.
I used Lima Beans and hot glue.
Glue the beans on your wreath . After you're done, you can spray paint it any color you would like.
I haven't finished mine yet, but here's the basic idea of what you'll end up with:

Courtetsy of dana-made-it.com