From the Archives...

I'm in the mood for springy treats, so this caught my eye to share with you this week.  Angel-food petit-fours!  Perfect for a birthday, baby or wedding shower, or even just a little treat after lunch.

From Parents Magazine, June 2010, page 70.

(Un)Crafty - Painted Chevron Shower Curtain

Hi Mamas!  I hope Mother's Day was blessed for each of you!  Mine was very lovely - spending time with my sweet family.  I also tackled a small, easy, totally (Un)Crafty project this weekend!

You may remember this little house tour post where I realized how completely boring my bathrooms are.  Blah.

Before

I've since hung some colorful artwork that I wasn't using (framed postcards, to be exact) to help de-boring the space, but I decided the biggest problem was the white shower curtain.  I like the simplicity of it, but wanted to add something.

So, I decided to paint a design on the curtain using paint I already own.  The paint may not be the color I would have chosen if I could've spend some money, but it turned out great anyway.

I've been loving all the chevron patterned crafts, so I decided that would be a fun addition to the bathroom.  I found some advice on creating a chevron pattern here, but it seemed a little complicated, so I called my sister for some advice.  Then I measured out my shower curtain, decided how many stripes I wanted, and with a little simple division and addition, I figure out the dimensions I would have to paint.

I laid my shower curtain out on the laundry room floor and measured the points of the pattern first, marked with a pencil and then just connected the dots with masking tape.  This was the most tedious part.  If you want more details on how I measured, leave me a comment and I'd be happy to explain!  After the taping, I was ready to paint.  It was that simple.  I had to be extra careful to get enough paint on the edges so the lines were neat and clean.  I removed the tape from each stripe immediately after painting to avoid any bleeding.  It worked great!

After!

Next up: something to spice up the lower level bathroom.  Hmmm...

Treat Yourself

With Mother's Day coming up tomorrow, its always fun to treat yourself to a little something.  Because you deserve it.  Maybe its a latte, maybe its a babysitter so you can have a few hours to yourself, maybe its a stylish, quality, affordable accessory.

Have you seen my sister's Etsy store lately?

Amy Lou Jewelry is full of designs that are trendy, wearable and totally affordable!  Perfect for any mom (or non-mom) to wear on a daily basis to spruce up your outfits for spring!

A few of my recent favorites:

The Cora Necklace

The Ashley Earring
(only $6!)

The Bailee Necklace...

and The Bailee Earring...to go with the necklace!

You will have to stop by over at Amy Lou Jewelry to see her designs, and maybe pick out something special just for you, mamas!

From The Archives...

I love this idea of an over-the-door wrapping supply center.

You can find similar storage that would work for this option here, at Target (Home Storage aisles) and at Walmart for about $25!

Better Homes and Gardens February 2011, page 79.

So little time...

Blogging seems to be taking a back seat these days...weeks...months.  I have lots worth sharing, but no time to share.  Most days, I don't sit at the computer at all - I check up on a few things via Blackberry, but that is all.  Its ok...I am working on me, working on organizing life, working on getting used to our new life, after the hiatus.

There are a few things going on now that the garage sale aftermath is over (ok, so there really wasn't that much aftermath, but it was a good excuse):

I'm feeling blue related to a number of things (depressed might be a strong word...don't worry mom).  For one: I'm still getting over the pain and sadness we have felt this year.  It seems like it should all the in the past, like a distant memory, but its not.  Its taking me some time to feel like I can trust the good in people again.  Its taking me some time to realize how much of the pain had my pride caught up in it.  Its taking me some time to feel connected enough to God to let go of the "injustice" we felt.  Clearly, I am still processing through it all - unable to quite put into words what I feel.  I think as long as I am actively working on it, I will make progress to feel whole again soon (or maybe not-so-soon).

More blue feelings come from the weather here in lovely Wisconsin.  Blah.  That pretty much describes it.  Spring will never come.  I have come to terms with that.  One nice day here and there.  That's about it.  I can't remember a time when I felt so seasonally affected.

Snow on April 1, 2011

In a climate where our warm weather months are short as is, its depressing when they become even shorter.  Let's face it: with kids, the weather is even a bigger deal, right mamas?  We gotta get outside to explore, learn, and just wear them out!

Command Central Binder from Simplify 101

I'm trying to get - and keep - the house organized.  Trying to put some systems in place so that with the sanity of our new life (hubby's new job), comes a sense of sanity around home, too.  I've been loving our command central binder and have been using it a lot!  Its a great way to start to get some paperwork organized.  I've been doing some filing, sorting and throwing out...it seems never-ending.  Kate over at Centsational Girl had a great post today that gave me some more motivation to keep the organization going.  I also love this idea for a message board that would go in my kitchen/dining area.  The ideas are never-ending...the project list is ever-growing...let's add it to the list.

My cute kids

I have kids...did I mention that?  Of course, they are the priority - all the time.  They keep my on my toes.  They are funny, cute, challenging, crazy, resilient, and wonderful.  I don't need to say much more, but because I am trying to be a better mom (we had lots of movie days before the hiatus, while I was in a "woe-is-me" state) and give them all the love and attention they deserve, and more.  It doesn't leave much time for chatting on the phone, emailing, and certainly not blogging.  I usually try to blog after bedtime or during nap time and I often do more than one blog post in a sitting, then schedule them to post on different days.  But, even that strategy hasn't been working lately.

(Un)Crafty - Stenciled Tray

Ages ago, when shopping at Target, I found some little wooden trays in their bargain bins.  They were $2.50, so I bought two to experiment with.  I just finally finished the first - its a gift, but it turned out great...good enough that I kinda wanted to keep it.  :)

This is such a special gift and even though it isn't much, there is special meaning behind it.  Our friends did something so special for our family.  We were so blessed by their generosity.  I knew I wanted to do something special to be sure their actions did not go without notice.

I started by sanding the wooden trays, wiping them down, and then using a spray primer to cover.  Part of the delay on this project is that you can't spray paint while the weather is freezing.  We had a looooooong winter here!

Then I coated the tray with some regular paint I had left from this project.  Because I used a dark primer and the paint was light, it took many many many coats to cover evenly.  Oh well.  I used a foam brush and it was such a small surface to paint, it was quick!

I was inspired by Jen at Tatertots and Jello when I saw her quatrefoil projects.  I downloaded and printed this stencil on cardstock.  Cutting out the pattern was the most difficult part of this project!  Then I just traced the stencil, making sure center the pattern on the surface.

I used some Metallic Folk Art paint from JoAnn's that I found on clearance to make this tone-on-tone color combination.  Then I coated the tray with some protective spray to keep from damage from water, scratches, or heat.  I love how the tray turned out - totally luxe for just a few bucks and a bit of (un)craftiness.

The tray can be used for anything!  Everything looks better with a tray: end tables coffee tables, kitchen counter, bathroom, bedside table...I can think of a million places to put these!  Luckily, as I walked past the bargain bins this week, I saw one more lonely tray sitting there, so I snatched it up!  This time, it was on "clearance", so it was only $1.75.  I'll have no problem working out a place to put it (or someone to gift it to!).

This tray was filled with some casual goodies for our sweet friends.  

"Much love, deep gratitude, many blessings"

(Un)Crafty - No-Sew Embellished Dishcloths

A while back, I made this dish mat with the help of my crafty mom and sister.  I do not sew (have I mentioned that??...only about a million times!).  The fabric was so cute that I wanted to think of something to use the scraps.  We had noticed how raggety our dishtowels were around this house so I decided to try to embellish plain new dishtowels with the fabric...and without sewing.

You will need:

1. plain white flour sack dishcloths (I bought mine at Target for $3.99/set of 4)

2. Sheets of Stich Witchery (available at JoAnn's)

3. Damp towel

4. Iron/ironing board

Scissors

The first step was to wash my new dishcloths and dry.  Any shrinkage will happen before you embellish.  Then I decided on a few simple shapes to cut out of my fabric.  I am a little obsessed with these simple birds, so I drew them and traced them onto my fabric.  Then I cut them out.  I also did geometic shapes like circles (see below), squares, and stripes.  In the end, my favorites are the birds and the circles.  The shapes with straight edges seem to fray the most.

Once your shapes are cut out of fabric, trace and cut out the same size from your sheet of Stitch Witchery.  The Stitch Witchery will bond your fabric shape to your dishtowel.

Then use your iron and a damp towel to fuse the fabric to the dishtowel.  Just follow the simple directions on your Stitch Witchery package.  Its something like this: fuse your fabric to the dishtowel by placing in desired location, covering with a damp towel and heating with your iron for 10 seconds.  Repeat on reverse side until bonding is complete!  Its really so easy!

This will be your final, finished product!  I have found that after many washes, they are still holding up well!  In fact, they seem to get softer and more pliable with each wash.  I plan to make many more!  I think these would make a great hostess gift or housewarming present.  The total time to make all four of the towels was about 1 hour - its a great start-and-complete project for naptime!

Happy (Un)Crafting!