Social Salutations

Friday I'm In Love - Spring is in the Air!

2012-02-24T07:59:00.000-05:00

I can honestly say that we haven't had much of a winter this year. All in all, it's been pretty mild. BUT, we had a taste of spring weather this week, and now I am YEARNING for the days of sitting outside feeling the warm sun on my face. Even though it never got truly cold, and to my daughter's dismay, we haven't had any snow...I'm ready for spring.

That brings me to my favorites this week. And I'm a bit in love with some of the spring projects I see starting to pop up out there. Let's get started, shall we?

I am LOVING this moss covered flower pot nest from Alyssabeths. Nothing says spring like a bird's nest - and this one is just beautiful. Check out her blog for the tutorial - and, while your there, take a look at the items in her Etsy shop. GORGEOUS!!

The daffodils are all starting to bloom here already, and these paper flowers that Crystal made remind me of those. She also shares the tutorial over at A Pumpkin and a Princess - these flowers are so pretty! You know I'm a sucker for paper crafts! I think I may have to make some of these myself!

I absolutely LOVE this Spring Chalkboard Wreath that Kathryn made. The colors are so bright and cheerful, and the pom poms are adorable! I am loving all of these fun tutorials - check this one out over at Destination Craft!

Ericka from Willow Creek says she is obsessed with patina right now, and after seeing these Patina Flowerpots - so am I! I love how she displayed them in this old Pepsi crate - just perfect!

And finally - Jamie from Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom had me at NO SEW! How cute is this Ruffle Tote? My daughter would absolutely FLIP over this! So great for spring - the colors make me so happy!

I hope you enjoyed my favorites this week! If you were featured, feel free to grab a button from my sidebar.

Happy Friday Everyone!!

XOXO

Nursery Artwork

2012-02-22T07:17:00.000-05:00

After we found out that we were having a boy, I found some vintage storybooks at an antique store in town. I immediately was inspired to create a room around the pages in these books. I loved the bright colors and whimsical nature of them. When it came down to it, I found two side by side pages titled "When You Grow Up", and decided that those would need to be framed.

After looking through blog after blog, inspiration board after inspiration board - I knew that I needed to create a gallery of artwork over the crib. I'm not gonna lie - galleries scare me a little. You could end up with holes in the wall that don't need to be there, and then have to stop everything you're doing to patch and repaint. Not fun. I decided to go for it anyway.

So, last weekend, I ventured out to Walmart and Hobby Lobby on the hunt for frames. They had to all be sleek lines, but I knew I wanted a mix of colors. I found what I needed and returned home to figure out what I was going to design to go in them!

I have been looking for an excuse to make some "Keep Calm" artwork, so that was kind of a given. I decided on "Keep Calm and Dream On" since it was going over the crib.

In keeping with the color palette of the storybook pages, I then decided to make an alphabet print.

I have a lot of yellow and aqua in the room, but wanted to draw some more attention to some of the other colors as well. I wanted something simple, and more on the modern side to balance out the vintage I had going on in the room. This is what I came up with.

Hubby did most of the hanging (I am not very skilled in this area), and I just love the final result. Here she is:

Not sure if you've noticed - but I am only giving sneak peaks at some of the projects in the room. Until it's complete - I don't want to reveal too much. Soon though!! I can't wait myself!!

XOXO

Linking Up To:

Friday Flair @ Whipperberry

Potpourri Friday @ 2805

My Coveted Electrical Spool Table

2012-02-20T07:51:00.000-05:00

Coveted, you ask? Um yes. That would be... coveted by moi. Ever since we (meaning hubby) finished this project for the nursery, I keep going into that room to stare at it. I am, to say the least. a might bit obsessed with it! To think of where it started, and how it turned out - it just makes me giddy. When did I become such a total dork?

Let me tell you the story of this table. About seven months ago or so, I got a call from my friend Ginger from The Savvy Shanty. She was out yard saleing and came across a bunch of wooden electrical spools sitting next to a dumpster on the side of the road. "Do you want one?" she asked. My response I believe was "What in the heck are we going to do with those?" Trusting her judgement, I hopped in the car and drove over to meet her to put these ugly, Georgia red clay covered, spools in the back of her SUV.

I totally forgot to take a before picture - but it looked something like this (except red and mineral covered from the clay):

Once the thing was in my garage, I knew the backlash I was going to get from hubby. We already had like 7 wood pallets sitting in there - he was not going to be happy that I was cluttering his space with even more roadside trash. I was right, but he let me keep it - even though I had no clue what I was going to do with it.

No clue, until Ginger sent me a link to this table she found.

It was like angels started singing to me. It was perfect for the nursery! Jackpot. I needed this table. Now, every time I walked past that spool in the garage I stared at in in glorious wonderment - it was going to be perfect.

This is where hubby comes in. I can't take any of the credit for making this table. It wasn't my idea, and, other than printing out the directions and handing them to hubby, I kind of had nothing to do with the final outcome. He pressure washed it, sanded it, inserted the dowel rods, painted it, attached the casters to the bottom and even carried it upstairs to the nursery. He did a AMAZING job on it.

Here it is, the final project. I. AM. IN. LOVE.

One more piece of the room complete! This weekend, I shopped for frames to make a gallery for above the crib. I designed a bunch of artwork too, and we hung everything up yesterday, I'll share some of those tomorrow. Hubby spent the weekend making open shelving for above the dresser (similar to the shelves in my office). Those should be hung soon - can't wait!! All that's left after that is to hang the curtains (which should be arriving this week), and to order the bedding! Wahoo! Can't wait!!

Have a wonderful Monday!

XOXO

Linking Up To:

Friday Flair @ Whipperberry

Potpourri Friday @ 2805

Junk In Their Trunk

Our Delightful Home

Friday I'm In Love - Unique Accessories

2012-02-17T08:10:00.000-05:00

TGIF! Time for another round of Friday I'm In Love!! Sorry there was no post last week - I had my entire house ripped apart for carpet installation - and boy did it turn out fabulous! Such a difference from what we had before - and just in time for the new baby!

This week, I started finding and LOVING some pretty unique accessories. I totally am in need of some new jewelry, hair accessories, bags - you name it. It's been awhile since I have bought or made anything like this for myself. These ideas gave me some huge inspiration - now all I need is some extra time to make them!!

How stinkin' adorable is this Sock Flower Clip made by Betsy at Anna Nimmity? I LOVE the socks and boots look right now, and this just puts it over the top! Super cute!!

Speaking of over the top - the layers in Nicole's Boutique Headband are wonderful! I love the textures and colors she used. Visit her over at Shabby Beach Nest where she shares the full step by step tutorial on how to make it!

I love the fabric and patterns that Esther from Happy in Red used for this Reversible Tote and Kindle Case! I just got a Kindle for Christmas, so this one stuck out for me - I think I may need to attempt this one (uh oh - she's sewing again! Look out people!).

These Ombre Headbands by Ginny at Chasing Sunshine are simple AND gorgeous! The final outcome is awesome - I love the sheen in the thread! I need some of these!!

And finally - this Crochet Pearl Bracelet is so unique and beautiful! I don't know how to crochet, but if I did, I would totally make this! Mindy from Bacon Time did a beautiful job on this bracelet - you could totally rock this with jeans or for a fancy night out!

Those are my favorite for this week! If you were featured, feel free to grab a button from my sidebar. I have more nursery projects to do this weekend - we are finally starting to wrap everything up! We finally finished the wooden electrical spool table (which I will share soon), and this weekend I will be working on accessories and artwork.

Happy Friday!

XOXO

Bubblegum Fun

2012-02-16T07:25:00.000-05:00

You may remember a few weeks ago I featured an adorable bubblegum necklace from One Charming Party in my Friday I'm In Love favorites. I said I was going to make one for Addie for Valentine's Day, and well - I stuck to my promise!

The instructions required using a metal skewer to poke holes in the bubblegum. Hubby was hovering over me the entire time saying "I know you - you're going to end up stabbing yourself". SO TRUE - I am a total klutz!! So, he discovered a way to make the skewer slide right through the hard gumball. If you heat up the point of the skewer with a lighter - it goes right in, no slipping or chance of "stabbing yourself". Just a little tip!

The necklace was super easy to make, and Addison LOVED it! I think these would also be great for party favors as well - may have to do these in July for Addie's birthday party!

Have a great Thursday! One more day till the weekend!!

XOXO

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T07:45:00.002-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day everyone - are you all LOVED up?? Addie was so excited this morning - I surprised her with a new Valentine's dress to wear to school, a small box of chocolates (which will tempt me all day), and a cute handmade bubble gum necklace (which I will share later after I have a chance to take some pics).

In the midst of putting our house back together post carpet installation (which, by the way - I LOVE!! It looks so flippin' fabulous!), I made some cutie Valentines for Addison to take to school. After posting all of those awesome ideas last week, I stumbled upon one more that I absolutely fell in love with! Danyelle over at Dandee made these adorable friendship bracelet Valentine's for her daughter's class a few years ago.

I loved the idea, and while she provides the printable file for the cute little cards, I decided to make my own and put my stamp on it. (I wanted to take the easy way out and use hers, but couldn't pass up the opportunity to design something).

This is what we ended up with. Instead of going out to purchase embroidery ribbon for the bracelets, I decided to use some baker's twine that I already had in the house. The colors were perfect for Valentine's Day, and I figured boys and girls could both wear them.

I told Addison yesterday to keep her Valentine's a secret - WRONG move. Telling her to keep a secret is basically the same as telling her to announce it from the rooftop. For instance, the baby's secret name? She told her bus driver, teacher, kids at school and anyone else who will listen. Sheesh. So - of course she told all of the kids about the friendship bracelets before the day came. Oh well - pick your battles, right? LOL.

I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day full of LOVE!!

XOXO

Taking a Few Days Off...

2012-02-09T08:34:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone. I just wanted to write a quick post to tell you that I'll be taking a few days off - we're getting new carpet installed!! This is probably the thing we most needed to get done before the baby comes - our animals have kind of destroyed the carpet we have. It's kind of a shame actually. We have only lived in this brand new house for 6 years, and when we built it, we upgraded to the highest quality pad and carpet. Well, 6 years of animals, baby, and wear and tear have done it in. Not to mention the coffee spills (totally my fault).

So - in between work, and my many braxton hicks contractions, I am trying to get all of the crap off the carpet (no small feat, let me tell you). I spent my morning in the guest room - 2 hours in one room alone....not good - especially when that's the one room no one ever goes in. I still have to do my office, master, addie's room, playroom, nursery, great room, stairway and halls. Oh yeah, I'm screwed.

I will try my best to do some favorites tomorrow, but to be honest - it's probably not happening. If I don't talk to you tomorrow - have a wonderful weekend! I'll try to pop in when I can. I'm sure our Saturday will consist of putting the house back together!

XOXO

Pinterest Inspiration for Class Valentines

2012-02-08T07:26:00.000-05:00

I always wait until the last minute to start thinking about what to make for Addie's class valentines. Why do I do this? I have no clue. I'm always rushed trying to pull something together, and will usually end up blog surfing for ~~hours~~ days trying to find some good ideas and inspiration. This year, however, Pinterest has come to the rescue. I have said it before, and I will say it again - I don't know what I ever did before Pinterest!!

Here's some fun ideas I found - so cute!

Pinterest via I Heart Naptime

Pinterest - Thirty Handmade Days via Tricia King

Pinterest - themotherhuddle.com via Jaimelyn Nye

Two Shades of Pink via Lolly Jane

The Teacher Wife via Anna Moon

The Crafting Chicks via Jamielyn Nye

Armelle Blog via Melissa Kohler

I have been inspired, and now at least have an idea on which direction I'm heading. Guess I better get started - she has a pretty big class!

XOXO

Ombre Lampshade - My Take

2012-02-07T06:27:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend - hubby and I got to work on some more projects for the nursery. One is still a work in progress (hubby's), and one actually got completed (mine). To his defense though - his was a MUCH larger project. Mine involved a little shopping, some gluing, and well - that's about it.

So, a few weeks ago I came across this Ombre Lampshade over at Vintage Revivals and kind of FELL IN LOVE with it! I instantly knew that I wanted to do a version of this for the nursery.

I used Mandi's very detailed tutorial, and had no issues at all when it came time to make my own.

I ended up buying the lamp base and shade from Target (after a a long, unsuccessful trip to Walmart, Hobby Lobby, Kmart and Big Lots). I wish I would have went to Target first, but - who knew I would find this cute lamp base ($9) and the shade ($7).

Once I had all of my supplies, I started wrapping with yarn. It actually didn't take as long as I thought it would to complete this project - and I LOVE the final outcome. Here's my version of Mandi's Ombre Lampshade:

Super cute, right? Now we just have to finish Hubby's Electrical Spool project. All that's left is a little painting!

XOXO

Linking Up To:

Junk In Their Trunk - Link it up Wednesday

Friday I'm In Love...With Bustin' A Move!

2012-02-03T08:50:00.000-05:00

From the looks of it - you guys have been BUSY!!! All over the blogosphere I have been seeing the outcome of HUGE projects, like entire room renovations. It's pretty inspiring - you guys have been bustin' a move! From kitchens, to craft rooms to bedrooms and more - it amazes me what you can get done when you just go for it.

There were a lot of transformed spaces that I saw this week, but here's a few that caught my eye.

Jen from A Place To Call Home shared her bedroom makeover - what a great space! She has lots of cool elements in the room, including a fab chevron table, and shares the tutorials for each. You have see the entire space - it just looks so calm and relaxing!!

I lost it when I saw this craft room (ahem, Studio) space. Brook from Being Brook totally outdid herself! I LOVE the homemade craft table - isn't the color awesome? Such a cheery room!

After years in the making, Katie from Creatively Living shared her master bedroom reveal. I must say it was worth the wait! It looks so soothing - I would love my master bedroom to look like this. I don't know if I would ever want to leave it!

What a transformation! You need to check out this kitchen makeover by Jody at Homey Home Design. She has so many fabulous ideas - right down to chalkboard cabinets! LOVE!

And finally, one more bedroom makeover from Shes.No.Martha. I fell in love with the breezy feeling of this bedroom. Looks like something you would see out of a Ballard catalog, doesn't it? Perfection!

Amazing, right? Doesn't it make you want to jump up and tackle that room you have been pondering over for months or years? So inspiring!

If you were featured, please feel free to grab a button from my sidebar. Happy Friday everyone!

XOXO

Down and Dirty Valentine's Craft for Kids

2012-02-02T07:33:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I needed a project to do with Addison. She loves to make crafts with me, and she's getting to the age where she gets pretty creative with what she makes. Before Christmas, my mom bought her a small tree for her room, and she got pretty attached to it. She loves it because it was a gift from her mimi, and couldn't bear to take it down after the holidays. I told her we could decorate it for Valentines Day - and every other holiday after that if she wanted.

We went through my stash of paper and chose anything we could find that was pink or red. I just ran a few sheets through my cricut, cutting hearts in various sizes. Then we punched holes in the top and tied some bakers twine into a loop to hang them. She already had a bunch of pink ornaments on the tree, so we left those and just added the hearts. Easy - and Addie loved hanging the hearts on the tree!

After that, I asked if she wanted to make some garland to hang on her window. This was the fun part where we actually got to decorate stuff. We sat on the floor in my office surrounded by paper, punches, scissors and gluesticks. Addie wanted me to make some hearts, and she would decorate hers herself. Whenever I made a suggestion, so informed me that this was HER project. LOL. OK - it all yours!

Once the hearts were complete, we strung them up and hung them. Super easy and fun project. She had a ball.

Can you tell which ones were made by mommy?

I think, along with the tree decorating, this may become a new tradition for every holiday.

Have an awesome day! It's Thursday - yay!!

XOXO

Dresser for the Nursery

2012-01-31T07:26:00.000-05:00

To say I'm nesting would be an understatement. In fact, I'm starting to freak out a little bit about not having the nursery done. What if this little one comes early? AHH - I can't even think about it.

Going into the weekend I had one thing on my mind - refinishing/painting Baby H's dresser! Originally I was going to use chalk paint, but I just couldn't rationalize spending $80 on paint when I got the dresser AND a nightstand for $75 off Craigslist. Just didn't make sense to me. So, instead, hubby has been working hard on stripping and sanding. In fact, he got such a jump on it that I didn't have time to take "proper" before pictures. I had gone out to run errands and he had already started stripping (the paint that is), so I snapped some during pics instead. Here's what we started with (don't mind the messy garage):

The dresser itself is Basset - and it had been well loved (with lots of layers of white paint) for years before it ended up here.

I really liked the French Linen color, so I found a paint color that was similar at The Home Depot - Behr Olivewood. I had thought about staining the top in a walnut color to match the crib, but in the end, we ended up just painting the whole thing.

For the knobs, I wasn't sure what I wanted - so I headed over to Hobby Lobby to check out what they had. As I was standing in the knob isle, I wondered why there were so many people crowded into that space. Then I realized that all of their knobs and pulls were 50% off. SCORE! I picked up, and put down, a few different choices, until I found these stars. They were perfect! In the basket they went, at only $1.50 apiece!

They didn't have any pulls that fit, so luckily Home Depot was just across the street. I ran over there and found these. Simple, but the color matched and the price was right. Once again - in the basket they went.

I am so thrilled with the final product. It looks perfect in the room against the light aqua paint. Exactly what I wanted. Once more project down!!

This weekend we tackle the electrical spool table. That should be interesting. I already have hubby strategizing to figure out how it will work. The crib will be delivered on Thursday - moving right along!! Starting to feel a little better, but I won't rest until it's all done!

XOXO

Linking Up To:

Friday Flair at Whipperberry

Baby Love

2012-01-30T07:29:00.000-05:00

Well - I'm 31 weeks now. Only 8 more weeks to go until we meet the little munchkin that has been bouncing around in my belly!

I'm definitely feeling the third trimester now - it's starting to get hard to move around. The swelling has begun - although so far not as bad as in my first pregnancy. With Addie, she was pressing on my main artery, and I had pretty severe edema - so swollen that I was unrecognizable. Of course, the 70 lbs I gained with her didn't help either. I ended up on bedrest for the last 6 weeks, and I'm happy to say (knock on wood) that this time around - I'm not experiencing a lot of those symptoms. My blood pressure has been pretty under control, and I have been managing to keep the weight gain down as much as I can. Don't get me wrong - as of my last dr. appointment - I have already gained 29 lbs - but compared to last time - I feel like a skinny minnie! I was huge in my last pregnancy - seriously, you wouldn't recognize me!

It's all for this little man though. On one hand - I cannot wait for him to get here. I keep imagining what he's going to look like. Will he be a blondie like his daddy was? Will he get hubby's curly locks? Will he have my lips (or lack there of)? I just can't wait to lay my eyes on him, kiss his chubby cheeks, and curl my finger inside his little hands.

On the other hand, I think this will be our last little one. This pregnancy has gone so fast, and I am trying to enjoy every movement, every anticipation, every moment. I love seeing Addie's face every time she gets to feel her baby brother move. Yesterday we were standing in line at Chick Fil A in the mall. Addison put her hands on either side of my belly and kept kissing it over and over again. We were in the middle of the food court, and even though we were surrounded by people, it was the sweetest, most intimate moment. One that I will cherish and remember forever. Something so simple, but it warmed my heart so much.

We are so full of love for this little boy, and he hasn't even arrived yet. Only 8 more weeks. Eight long, but very short weeks. Our lives will change again forever. I never in my life could comprehend how much a child can change your heart - filling it with more love than you could ever imagine. Little boy - you are so loved. We can't wait to meet you!

Thanks for listening everyone. I love that I can share this experience with all of you. Have a wonderful Monday!!

XOXO

Friday I'm In Love - Dresser Edition

2012-01-27T07:48:00.001-05:00

Going into the weekend I have one thing on my mind - refinishing/painting Baby H's dresser! The thing has been sitting in my garage for months, and it's finally time to tackle it! I've got my color all picked out and purchased and I'm ready to go. Of course that didn't stop me from pa-rousing through other people's projects to see if there are any extra finishing touches I might want to put on it.

I found some amazing dresser revamps this week - and of course, I am going to share them with you now.

Seriously - I swooned over this dresser that Kristi from KrisKraft refinished for her son Ryan's room. Every single detail of this dresser is perfection - from the stained drawers, to the numbers, to the jute wrapped knobs. The styling is great too - wow!

Laura from Ms. Smartie Pants is also working on a nursery for a little girl named Hadley. This pink dresser is adorable - LOVE the color and the way it looks in the room. You have to head over and check out the whole space - it's absolutely fantastic!

Todd & Jodi from Cottage Charm Creations fell in love with the Zinc finish from Restoration Hardware and decided to tackle it themselves. The finished product is gorgeous, to say that I'm impressed would be an understatement! Isn't she purdy??

Rhonda from Home. Made. was inspired by vintage textiles and refinished a dresser to resemble a french grain sack. Absolutely genius! She picked this up for $50 and made it look like a million bucks. Simple. Classic. 'Nuff said!

And finally - I love the blue-gray color of these dressers mixed with the white cabinets and drawers. Jill and Chantelle from Bungelow 47 did wonders with the original pieces they started with. You have to head over to see the transformation. The finished product is just beautiful!! I wish I lived in Michigan so I could pay a visit to their shop!

That's all for this week. If you were featured, please feel free to grab a button from my sidebar. I am so inspired now - CAN'T WAIT to get started on little man's dresser now!!

XOXO

A Sweet Valentine's Accessory

2012-01-26T17:34:00.000-05:00

Yes, I have fallen off the face of the earth once again - work has been insane this week, and I have been crashing early every night (I couldn't even make it through American Idol last night). Lame, I know! I worked on a few things last weekend that I haven't had a chance to post, so here goes.

It's been awhile since I have made some new accessories, and Addison was in need of a few headbands to match the new outfits she got for Christmas. This year, Santa tried hard to stay away from the ever-growing pink wardrobe, so he incorporated some red, blue, purple and green into the mix. With Valentine's Day rapidly approaching, I decided to make a headband that can serve a dual purpose. I forgot how much fun these are to make!

In the end, I asked Addie if she would like the inner petals of the flower to be red, pink or white. She chose...you guessed it - PINK! Oh well, best laid plans, right? I shouldn't have asked!

That's it for now - after I post my favorites tomorrow I can share the rest of the projects from last weekend as well as the ones we have planned for this weekend!

XOXO

Linking Up To:

Friday I'm In Love....With LOVE

2012-01-20T08:33:00.000-05:00

I have been dragging my heels on the Valentine's Day projects, but this week there was so much inspiration out there that I can't help but make some stuff this weekend. Addison had a little Christmas tree in her room this year that she just cannot bear to take down, so I told her we could have a craft weekend and decorate her room (and the tree) for Valentine's Day. In looking for fun projects to do with her, I came across these amazing Valentine ideas!

Nikki at Everything Under the Moon made this super cute yarn wrapped floral wire and pom poms with things she already had in the house. I love resourcefulness - especially when it comes out this cute!

Looking for some fun sweets to send to school with your little sweet? How about these adorable mini gluten-free red velvet cupcakes? Taryn from Design, Dining + Diapers shares the recipe for how to make these little cuties.

I absolutely fell in love with Rebecca's pretty patterned hearts that she made with her kids. This is definitely an easy project I can make with Addie this weekend - and they look so nice on the window with the light shining through them! Just as her blog is called - this project is Simple as That!

OK - so I WILL be making this gumball necklace as a Valentine gift for Addison this year. I found the tutorial for this little lovely over at One Charming Party. How stinkin' cute, right?!?!

Last, but not least - here's another great Valentine's Day Art project shared by Jamie at The Letter 4. The project is easy and cheap and all she used was paper, Mod Podge and canvas! I heart this (pun intended).

If you were featured - feel free to grab a button from my sidebar. Have a great weekend everyone!

XOXO

Home Office Update

2012-01-19T07:13:00.000-05:00

Not to beat a dead horse, but I realized that I never posted pictures of the office with artwork/memo boards hung. So, I decided to post them today! This room has been complete for a few weeks, and I must say that working in here every day is such a joy. I feel so happy and inspired when I walk in - I think it actually makes me more productive. I want to be in here - whereas before, I would look around and think about what I wanted to do with the room, which made me anxious.

So without further ado, here she is. In the last photo you'll notice that I kept around a little friend.

Having this file storage in the space has made a world of difference!

I kind of like the contrast of the girlie girl room and the manly deer. So - he stays for now!

That's it! We still need to finish up the window treatments, but for now, it's home. I love it!

XOXO

Linking Up To:

Free Printable - Valentine's Day Subway Art

2012-01-17T07:37:00.000-05:00

Some of you are getting a jump on your Valentine's projects - I am not one of you yet. I have other fish to fry (even though I need to start thinking about Addison's school valentines soon)! BUT - last year, I made this Subway Art, and thought that I would share the file with you! I have been getting more and more requests for printables in my Etsy shop - so it seemed like a good time to start offering some to all of you!

To print - just click on the file below. It is sized to fit an 8"x10" frame. Enjoy! But please, I need to ask that you use this only for personal use. By the way - the red frame used in the picture above was purchased at Hobby Lobby. I just happen to notice last week that they are still selling this frame (and it was on sale)!

I hope you get good use out of it! I think this artwork will be making another cameo appearance in my house this year.

Before I get going - Carol H. was the lucky winner of the bracelet giveaway from WobiSobi last Friday. Carol - if you are out there - I have been trying to reach you! You have 24 hours to claim your prize, or I will need to choose another winner! Email me!!

XOXO

Linking Up To:

Whipperberry

Nursery Inspiration - It's Crunch Time!!

2012-01-16T07:59:00.000-05:00

I spent all day on Saturday getting the remaining "junk" out of the former craft room. We are FINALLY ready to paint (you know where I will be this weekend)! There's only 9 1/2 weeks to go - it's kind of unbelievable how fast this pregnancy is going compared to my first. I guess that's what happens when you have a 5 year old that keeps you super busy!

We finally registered last week, AND have decided on a name! Because it took us so long to decide though, Hubby and I agreed not to tell anyone until Baby H. is born - we just can't risk someone putting a bad vision in our heads. You know the kind: "Oh - I knew a ____ in elementary school, he picked his nose all the time and never bathed". Yup - not the vision I want of my son to be. So, a secret it is!

Now, we just have to get the nursery started...and finished. As I was cleaning out the room this weekend, I was trying to get a final mental picture of what I wanted to do in there. I have had a general idea for quite sometime - it's still the same as what I shared a few months back. Kind of a modern vintage, colorful look. But until I got it down on paper, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed, and just couldn't picture it.

So, yesterday I did just that. I made an inspiration board. Some of the pictures (like the crib and curtain fabric) are what will actually be used in the room. Other items, like the dresser, are placeholders. We actually bought a dresser from Craigslist for $75, and I plan to paint it with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in French Linen. But since I didn't have a pic of the actual dresser, I found one that was a similar color to get the effect.

I'm going back and forth between painting the walls white and painting them a very very pale (almost white) blue. As of now, I'm leaning towards the blue. The chevron fabric swatch is what the curtains will be made of - LOVE this fabric! The chair is a placeholder but looks almost identical to the glider we bought for Addie's room - and will be reusing. The little bookcase? I have a wooden electrical spool sitting in my garage right now, which I plan to use for that project.

My vision is finally complete! Now, we just need to get started.

Have a great Monday!!!

XOXO

Friday I'm In Love with Organizing - and a WINNER

2012-01-13T08:19:00.000-05:00

I think I have a winner to announce today - right? YES! To celebrate my Blogiversary, someone is going to win two bracelets of their choice from WobiSobi! Wanna know who it is? OK, drumroll please........

The WINNER is.... Carol H.!!!!! Congratulations Carol! I will be in touch to get your info. Thank you to Anne at WobiSobi for giving away such an amazing prize!!

Now, on to my Friday Favorites!

I am NOT, by any stretch of the imagination, an organized person. Ask anyone who has dropped by my house without an hour's notice - they will tell you - my house is always in complete disarray! That doesn't mean I don't try! For me - it helps to stay organized when I make cute organization projects. If it has a cute place to go, I will usually (ok, eventually) put it where it belongs. This week I found some fabulous and adorable ideas to organize my life - and I just had to share them here!!

The first project I found is this adorable DIY Lucite Tray from Chelsea at Two Twenty One. I just love this for bathroom or bedroom storage - what a super cute idea!!

Next, Carolyn at Homework set out to make a fabric covered storage box. When it didn't turn out the way she would have liked, she wrapped it in string. I LOVE the final result! Isn't is great when projects don't go as planned, and end up turning out better in the long run??

Next, I found the blog I Heart Organizing on Pinterest. Jen has so many amazing ideas and tips on her blog, and this Boot Organizer is one of them. What an great way to store boots in an easy access entry way! Ours usually end up all over the house!

The behind the cabinet door storage of this ribbon memo board is awesome. I love this idea for coupons and little dittys from the mail for my kitchen! Diane from In My Own Style shares the full tutorial on how to make it - go over and check it out!!

Finally - Desiree from The 36th Avenue shared her Craft Room Makeover this week. One of the projects was this Polka Dot Pin Board. I love this!! I wish I had another bulletin board laying around so I could make one of these too! So cute, right?

Loved all of the great ideas I found out there this week - it was hard to choose!! If you were featured, feel free to grab a button from my sidebar. Have a fabulous weekend everyone!!!

XOXO

Chicken Wire Memo Board

2012-01-12T07:47:00.000-05:00

Another project to cross off the list - this is getting addictive!! I bought this gorgeous wooden frame for $2 at a yard sale and it has sat in my garage for months.

I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it, but it was waiting for the office to be complete before I could actually start the project. Hubby is probably glad that I am finally completing projects and he is starting to get his garage back!

I decided to spray paint the frame with a white gloss, and I bought some fabric at Hobby Lobby that matched the decor and accent colors in the room. Last but not least - I went to Home Depot and bought a small roll of chicken wire (that stuff is more expensive than I thought it would be!).

Once the frame was painted, it was time to cut the wire and fabric and staple it to the frame. BUT - I don't own wire cutters or a staple gun, so I called my friend Ginger (from The Savvy Shanty). I knew she would have them - and I was right. So last Saturday I drove the long (7 minute) trek to her house (with the frame and completed bulletin board so I could show her my other fun project). I am so happy I enlisted her help! I have never worked with wire cutters, or a staple gun before and it would have taken me 4x the time to complete had she not helped me!

In the end - here is the final product - I LOVE it!! It was worth the wait!

LOVE the way it turned out!! I need to take some pics of the room finished with artwork and memo boards hung. I'll work on that and upload them soon!

Today is the last day to enter my blogiversary giveaway!! Don't forget to enter!

Linking Up To:

Office Wall Art

2012-01-11T07:30:00.000-05:00

In addition to my bulletin board (and one other project which I will share tomorrow), I decided that I needed a little artwork over my desk. I had a few 5 x 7 wooden frames sitting around collecting dust, so I did what any girl would do and spray painted them white.

For inside the frames, I wanted something personal, but fun. I finally had the idea to do some state art - not just for the state I live in now (GA), but also for the state I grew up in (you can take the girl out of Jersey, but you can't take the Jersey out of the girl)! Then, just the states (in matching colors to my office of course) weren't enough - I also thought they needed a little pizazz (that's the Jersey Girl in me) - maybe some chevron?

Here's what I ended up with - and I'm kind of lovin' it!!

Please don't mind the lighting again in any pics of my office. It had been raining a ton, and I have no overhead lighting - only the glow from lamps. My office doesn't get any direct sunlight as it is, so on a rainy day you can imagine how dark it gets in here!!

What do you think? It makes me happy every time I look up while I'm working. What's not to love about chevron???

Hope you enjoyed!! Stay tuned for my last office project tomorrow - it's my favorite! And don't forget to enter my giveaway - winner is announced Friday!!

UPDATE: By request, my state wall art is now available in my Etsy shop and can be personalized to the city and state where you live!

XOXO

Linking Up To:

Junk In Their Trunk

Burlap Bulletin Board

2012-01-10T08:05:00.000-05:00

I want to start by reminding you to enter my blogiversary giveaway!! I pick the winner on Friday and only have 2 entries so far - your chances are good to win! Now... on to my regularly scheduled programming.

In addition to the shelving in my office, I was in much need of some memo board space. I am a piler - anything that I need to keep near me (passwords, phone numbers, etc) that I use on a regular basis always ends up in a pile - UNLESS I have a handy dandy bulletin board! So, this past weekend I spent some time making some cute memo space.

The first thing I did was to update a free bulletin board that I got when our renters moved out and left it in the garage - score!! I love free stuff! This is what I started with:

I taped around all of the edges so I could paint it white. After the painting was done, it looked like this:

Then I just measured and cut some burlap - you know I needed some burlap in my office! I spray mounted that to the cork and then applied basic silver thumb tacks all around the edges so they had that nail head look.

Here's the final product! I had a few leftover thumbtacks so I hot glued some buttons on to make some cute decorative pushpins. Now I just have to get some stuff up there - don't worry - It will be covered in memos soon enough!!

Another project off the list!

XOXO

Linking Up To:

Junk In Their Trunk

Thrift Me

Social Salutations is One!!

2012-01-08T00:00:00.000-05:00

Well, it's here! One year ago today I launched Social Salutations, and what a wonderful year it's been!! There have been many ups and downs in my life over the past year, but one thing that has been a constant comfort for me has been all of you. I have met so many amazing, talented people this year and have developed many friendships with people that I otherwise would never have met. Crafting is my outlet - I seriously think I need it to stay sane. To be able to share this passion here, and to share it with those who have similar passions is just amazing. Thank you for everything - you are what keeps me motivated to keep writing and sharing my life and crafts!!

To celebrate I want to show my appreciation by doing a fun giveaway! There is one amazing blogger in particular - Anne from WobiSobi, who has been my biggest supporter from day one. She was my first follower, and has become a great friend. If you haven't been over to WobiSobi before, you need to head over there. Anne shares some amazing DIY re-styling tutorials and projects. She pulls together some pretty amazing styles AND makes incredible jewelry. In fact - she has offered to giveaway two of the bracelets you see in this photo - any two - your choice!! Just leave me a comment below telling me which two are your favorite, and I will announce the winner on Friday!!

OK - Let's take a trip down memory lane now, shall we???

One year ago, I was laid off from my job as an Advertising Account Manager. It was at that time (and I had a lot of time on my hands) that I decided to focus on building up my stationery business and thus started this blog. That was it - the blog was a way to market my stationery. Since then - it has become so much more than that!!

In the beginning, I needed a way to keep up the blogging and crafting - a reason to be held accountable. I also had a ton of projects on my to-do list that needed to get crossed off - that's where the 30 Day Craft Challenge began. Some days, the crafts came easy - and others - I struggled a bit. Here were some of my favorite projects from the challenge:

Anthropologie Knock Off Necklace

Yarn Wrapped Pencil Holders

Etched Glasses

Learning to Sew

Valentine's Day Flowerpots

Mod Podged Playroom Table

This year, we had some bad news. My mom (my best friend) was diagnosed with Stage 2 Cervical Cancer. She underwent chemo and radiation, and is finally out of the woods. She is a fighter and I admire her positive attitude and drive to beat it. I spent a lot of time in NJ in the first half of the year, and in a way - being out of work at that time was a blessing in disguise. It gave me the ability to go up there and help her through her medical treatment, and also the ability to help out with my sister's baby shower (my mom just didn't have the energy to do it all)!

BUT - amongst the bad was also good! My sister had her first baby - a beautiful girl named Brooklyn! Throwing her shower gave us a much needed distraction from everything else that was going on, and my mom and I ended up having a great time working on everything together!

Nicole's Allstar Baby Shower

In May, I started my new job, and this blog suffered a bit - but I think I have finally worked out the scheduling. Of course once this baby boy arrives, I will need to shuffle things around a bit again! There are so many wonderful projects that I have done since then - here are just a few of my favorites:

Custom Bat Mitzvah Scrapbook

Numbered Kitchen Chairs and Kitchen Makeover

Summer Front Porch Makeover

Bright and Cheery Headband

Summer Mantle

Custom Thank You Cards

Addison's Birthday Crown

Thanksgiving Tablescape

Ruffled Tree Skirt

The best part of this year by far though has been finding out we are expecting our second child - a boy!! We feel so blessed and are so excited to meet this little guy in a few short months!

Thank you again for all of your love and support! I can't wait to see what the next year brings for Social Salutations!! Don't forget to enter to win those awesome bracelets!!

XOXO

Friday I'm In Love AND Inspired!!

2012-01-06T07:21:00.001-05:00

It's the New Year, and a great time to start getting your 2012 bucket list together. My list? Let's see... Finish the office, Decorate the Nursery, Paint and Organize the laundry room, frame the downstairs bathroom mirror (that was on my 2011 list as well) - the list goes on. My picks today are all just projects I found where talented bloggers either kick started their 2012 To-Do List, or just inspired me to get a move on mine!!

The first is Betsy Speert's Kitchen Makeover on a budget. She helped a friend give a fresh new look to her kitchen by removing her cabinet doors and creating open shelving. Beautiful!!

I absolutely LOVED this Vintage French Script Fruit over at Confessions of a Plate Addict. Debbie took some time to cross a fun project off her list, and the outcome is awesome (and FREE)!!

How gorgeous is Linda's Entryway Makeover?? I am a sucker for board and batten and a dark gray paint color. You have to check out all of the before and after pictures over at It All Started With Paint!!

This is a project I would love to make - maybe even for the nursery. I spied some of these wooden crates at Michaels last weekend and tried to figure out what I could do with it. Jackpot!! LOVE this storage idea from Kara at June and Bear!!

And finally - I just thought these champagne cork magnets that Missy from Lookie What I Did were adorable!! I would love to make some of these for my office (I guess I need to by a magnetic board, huh?). Too cute!!

Hope you enjoyed looking through these inspirational projects as much as I did! If you were featured, feel free to grab a button from my sidebar. Have a great weekend everyone! Mine will be spent crossing some more projects off my list - can't wait to share them with you!

XOXO

11 Weeks to Go!!

2012-01-05T07:18:00.000-05:00

No craft to share today - but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy! I have been cooking - well baking actually...a bun....in the oven! Yes, I'm a dork I know! I'm 28 weeks today, so by my calculations I only have 11 weeks to go! We had to schedule the birth this time - and the date is March 23rd. So, unless this little boy decides to come early - there are only 11 weeks left!

There is so much to be done - he still needs a room - and a name. We cannot decide on a name!!! I like Benjamin the best, hubby likes Christian. Then, there are the floater names that keep popping up a lot - Dylan and Reid. What's your favorite? Help us choose!!

Here I was at 26 weeks - getting bigger! Don't mind the rats nest bun on top of my head!!

And here I am now - at 28 weeks. This little boy is growing and active - very active - and I'm loving every minute that I get to feel him move around!

So, what do you think about the names? Leave me a comment and tell me your favorite. Hopefully if there is an overwhelming consensus it will help us decide. You guys are the best!

XOXO

Fresh Start to 2012

2012-01-04T13:52:00.000-05:00

As much as I loved my holiday decor, I was surprisingly very excited to take it all down. I couldn't wait to redo my mantle and built ins to just my "everyday" look. I wanted something simple - something that could stay up for awhile. Something tells me I'll be pretty busy over the next few months and I need something that can extend until at least spring. Valentine's decor (at least for the mantle) probably won't be happening this year!

I kept it simple - and kept the window up there (I know its getting old), and added a mirror and some other stuff like candles. Easy peasy, black and white - can't go wrong, right?

And for the shelves - same color scheme. I was surprised to find all of the black and white stuff I had lying around the house just waiting for a home. Love that nothing had to be made for this - it was already done!

I made the shadow box awhile ago to decorate my old office (my office when I actually worked at a company office that is). The other black frame was decorated and used there as well. along with the european frame and black and white box (which I purchased at Hobby Lobby)

Love it - and done. Fresh start for 2012!

Linking Up To:

Home Office Makeover - Work in Progress

2012-01-03T13:07:00.001-05:00

Well....at long last - my office is almost complete! I have been wanting to make this room over for almost a year, and with the baby coming we finally got a swift kick in the butt to get it done! Basically we had some major re-arranging of rooms to do. You see, the baby's nursery was my craft room (you may remember this room), and we had to move all of that stuff out of that room and combine the craft room and office into one space. I am actually very glad we had to do this because I was constantly having to run up and down the stairs since my computer was in the office and all of my craft supplies upstairs. I always ended up bringing my craft supplies down and working in the office anyway!

So - this weekend, we got to it. It starting with the painting of the room - a much needed change from the builder grade paint we originally had. I chose Sherwin Williams Zircon 7667. I love this shade of gray - it's the perfect neutral but brightens up the room a ton!! Then, Hubby built me some custom shelves to give me some much needed storage.

Here are the before and after photos. Like the taxidermy? Aren't I a nice wife for letting hubby hang his deer in my office?

I still need to hang some artwork and organizing stuff over the desk - that's this weekend's project!

Didn't hubby do a great job on the shelves? I love them!!

These hanging file boxes are just those cardboard ones you buy at the office supply store. I decided to cover them in decorative paper, and love the gray and green color combo!

That's the office - what do you think? I am so happy with it so far. Now I just need to finish decorating over the desk and the window treatments and I'm all set!! Ahhh - feels good to have one project crossed off the list.

Linking Up To:

Link it Up Wednesday @ Junk in Their Trunk

Friday I'm In Love - Week Off

2011-12-30T16:24:00.000-05:00

Hey Everyone!!

Well - with our baby boy coming - my craft room needs to get transformed into the nursery. And, with that, all of my craft ~~crap~~ stuff needs a home before I can even begin to start preparing the baby's room. We are 12 weeks out, and hubby and I are starting to feel the crunch. So - this weekend we are getting the office ready to become my craft room/office. We are knee deep in painting and projects so I will be taking a hiatus from Friday I'm In Love this week.

Wish us luck - there is much to do!! I will be sure to share my progress. HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Here's to 2012!!

XOXO

Christmas 2011 Recap

2011-12-27T08:02:00.000-05:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! Ours was spent with family and great friends, and LOTS of food! (I am going to be getting a weight gain lecture from my doctor at my next visit for sure). The holiday went by so fast - it was a total blur. We did manage to get some shots of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day though, so I thought I would share the day with you all.

On Saturday, we attended a fabulous service at Northpoint Community Church. The theme of the message was all about Jesus being the light of the World, hence the sunglasses that Addie is wearing!

Every year, our family tradition is to bake a birthday cake for Jesus, and Addison has full reign on the cake decorating.

Before bed, she always leaves out cookies and milk for Santa, and a carrot for Rudolph. This year, we were out of carrots, so we left him some spring mix instead, LOL.

After that, we are off to sprinkle the reindeer food on the front lawn. It helps them to be able to find our house - works like a charm! Then Mommy heads inside while Daddy and Addison sit on the front porch and listen for Santa! Each year, Addison hears Santa's sleigh bells and promptly darts upstairs and gets in bed. It is by far, the easiest bedtime of the year!!

This year, before Christmas Morning began, we had a little visit from the Police. Yup - our alarm was malfunctioning and we thought someone was trying to break into the house. This will forever be the year when I remember my husband standing in the hall with a shotgun in his boxer briefs! (He's gonna be so mad I told you that detail!!) Thankfully there was no intruder and everyone was safe.

Then, groggy and tired, Mommy and Daddy got up to watch Addison open all of her presents from Santa Claus. She was so excited and he brought her everything she wanted!!

We had such a great couple of days! Now it's back to work - man that went by fast!!

xoxo

My Holiday Home Tour (and a chance to win $300)!!

2011-12-24T08:00:00.001-05:00

Well....it's here - Christmas Eve!! We have all done the preparation - the decorating, the baking, the shopping and the wrapping (well 3 out of 4 isn't bad, right? I still need to bake my cookies today). All of this leading up to seeing the joy and excitement on my little girl's face both tonight as she goes to bed, and tomorrow morning when she realizes that Santa has shimmied his large self down our chimney (wait - we don't have a chimney) and left a big pile of goodies!!

By far, my favorite part of Christmas is the decorating (okay, and the presents). Some of you have seen parts of my decor, but I thought I would compile them and add a few more things for the full holiday home tour. Read all of the way down though - because I have details on the present part - find out how you can win $300 from PennySaverUSA and Mogasa by entering their "Craftmas Contest" - it's really easy to enter!!

Let's get started with the entryway.... Welcome!!

As you walk into my house, you enter my two story foyer. I love to decorate the banister for any holiday I can - I think it just brings so much warmth into my home!

As you turn your back, my dining room is off to the side. You have probably just seen these photos, but here are a few of my favs...

Walking through that little archway in my foyer, and you land in the Great Room. The first thing you see is the tree...

To the right of my mantle are my built-in bookshelves. These are always fun to decorate - especially for Christmas!

Had to add the little peppermint photo frame that Addie made in school!!

This is just a little vignette I threw together on my side table...Addison love to play with the little Santas.

I wrote Merry Christmas on the platter, and added some trees. Addison needed to embellish a bit and went back and added the snow and the sled on the left side! Too cute!

My kitchen was fun to decorate this year with the new paint color on the walls. I am loving the blue in each and every season!

That's it for the tour today! I hope you enjoyed it. Now on to the fun - who wants to win $300??? Here's how you can enter. PennySaver USA and MOGASA.net (their mobile garage sale app) are sponsoring a "Craftmas Contest". All you have to do is head over to their contest page and submit one of your Christmas Crafts! The top holiday craft photo will be the lucky winner of $300!! Make sure you download the free app - it's really cool and tells you where all of your local garage sales are - AND it will give you the edge to win $300 over $250 (for non MOGASA users). I can't wait until garage sale season so I can test this little puppy out!! Head over there now - the contest ends 12/29!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS from the Hayes Family!!!

Linking Up To:

Friday I'm In Love...with Peeping

2011-12-23T08:34:00.000-05:00

Peeping - WHAT?!?! You heard me correctly. This week, as I have begun crossing things off my list, I have had a little bit more time to peep into other people's (bloggers) holiday home tours to take a look at how they have decorated for Christmas. All I can say is, wow! There were so many to choose from, and if I could have added them all to this post, I would have.

Since I obviously can't showcase their entire home here in this post, I will feature my favorite aspect of each. Then, I encourage you all to hop over to their blogs to see everything! There were so many unique and creative ideas - I need to get pinning for next year!!

Desiree's home from The 36th Avenue is gorgeous! She has a very special tree in her home that she calls the Never Forgotten Tree. On it are photos of passed loved ones to be remembered and celebrated. I love this idea so much - my eyes well up thinking about it!!

I have seen bits and pieces of Holly's home over the past few weeks featured in various linky parties. Once I hopped over to her blog, Down to Earth Style, I pleasantly surprise to find an entire home tour! My favorite part of her decor was the sled on her porch with her house number painted on it. What a clever and adorable idea!! Check out the rest of her home though - it's gorgeous!!

Donna over at Funky Junk Interiors never disappoints. She is so unbelievably creative, and I love popping into her home on a weekly basis to see what she gets her hands into next. Her holiday home tour? Wow. She has a stepladder tree. YES - a tree made around a step ladder!! Who thinks of that?? LOVE it!!

I have featured Aimee from It's Overflowing in the past - but I just keep getting drawn to her projects!! Her home is adorable, and she always comes up with something new. My favorite holiday idea of hers was the use of yellow in the kitchen! Who would have thought to use yellow as a Christmas color? Aimee, that's who!

And finally...the home tour at Jennifer Rizzo stopped me in my tracks! I had never visited her blog before, and am now a new follower! I just loved her whole holiday theme, but her kitchen was my favorite. I loved the clean simplicity of her window dressings over the sink. I have a similar layout in my kitchen, and I think I may need to do something like this next year!!

If you were featured, feel free to grab a button from my sidebar. Thank you all for letting me peek into your homes for the holidays. I truly enjoyed the tours!!

xoxo

Holiday Home Tour - Dining Room

2011-12-22T08:20:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone! Well, you have seen my Christmas mantle and tree in my great room - I hope to be able to take some pics of the room in it's entirety before Christmas. In the meantime, I thought I would share my Dining Room with you! Because the walls are a shade of green, that is the one room where I usually go with all traditional colors. This year, I did the opposite and went totally nontraditional with teal, copper and gold (and some sage green tossed in for fun)!

Hubby picked out that birdcage - completely embellished and adorned at one of my favorite wholesale decor shops - LOVE it. That was the item that kicked off this look.

The runner on the table was made from drop cloth remnants from when I made my tree skirt.

I scored these glass hurricane vases (for free!) a few years ago when I hosted a Party Lite party. I added a white pillar candle from the dollar store and some copper and teal ornaments that I used on my tree last year.

Here's a close up of Hubby's birdcage - didn't he do a good job picking it out?

I ended up with extra garland and lights this year since I made the new goods for the mantle. This grapevine used to hang over my kitchen window, but I thought the dining room needed a little sparkle too!!

I made this wreath to hang on the mantle last year, but it was a perfect addition to the dining room window this season. I added some bookpage rosettes to bring some earthiness to the bling - and of course the peacock feather had to be a part of the festivities!

Here's a close up of the garland. The ornaments were added to extend the color scheme through the room. Sparkle and shine!

So that's the dining room - hope you enjoyed it. I smile every time I walk past this room!!

I will try to take pics of the rest of the house so I can post them by Saturday. I just need to do some - Ahem - cleaning first!! LOL.

XOXO

Linking Up To:

Hear the Angels Sing...

2011-12-21T08:15:00.000-05:00

I refuse to pay for cards, especially holiday cards. I am not going to say that I didn't consider it though this year - I think I waited a bit too long to get everything designed and out the door. I had a lot of gray cardstock on hand, and always have a steady supply of white, so I went to work - using what I had in the essence of time and moolah!

For this year's Christmas Cards I decided to use a picture from Halloween - sound weird? Well, Addison dressed up as an angel this year, so it only seemed fitting for a Christmas card! I wanted an antique look, so I added a little grain to the photo and changed it to black and white. The rest was designed in photoshop and mounted to the white and then gray cardstock.

I love the look of my wrap around labels, and this is what I came up with. I wanted to match the red font in the card, but wanted to keep it simple. Here is the return address side:

Some of my cards go local - real local, like in my neighborhood. We all hand deliver our cards to one another, so there wasn't really a need to print their address on this particular label.

They are finally all done and out the door (except for two more that need to be hand delivered). Yes, I know - what am I waiting for - Christmas is in 4 days!!

xoxo

Linking Up To:

DIY Gift Idea - Marble Magnets

2011-12-20T07:07:00.000-05:00

So, I did a little brainstorming with my boss on some diy gifts for our clients. We threw around a bunch of ideas, but in the end decided to make marble magnets. I was very honored because she asked me to make them! This was a fun project - so much fun that I ended up making a set for Addie's teacher as her gift. This was an easy project, and you can find the full tutorial over at Not Martha.

For the client magnets, I used portions of our logo (the boxes) to make gift boxes. I ordered all of my supplies online since we had to make 80 sets of them, but I know you can get all of this at Michaels or Hobby Lobby.

We wanted the magnets to be useful, so in addition to our logo, I designed some simple phrases, printed them at Kinkos (you definitely want to use a laser printer if you print your own), and punched them with a 1" circle punch.

We have gotten some great feedback on them - our clients liked them alot!

So that brings me to Addison's teacher. For her, I designed a custom label as well - had to incorporate some pink (Addie's favorite color)!

For these, I punched the circles out of white cardstock and let Addie go to town coloring and designing her own. I wanted something more personal, and let Addie put her creative touch on them. She was so excited to help mommy craft.

Sorry for all of the shadows. These shots were all taken before school so the sun had just come up. Not the best lighting.

All-in-all, this was a super easy teacher's gift - AND totally different. It's nice to know her teacher will have a gift that she can use for years and can remember Addie every time she uses them.

xoxo

Linking Up To:

The Christmas Mantle Reveal

2011-12-19T12:54:00.000-05:00

Sorry I was MIA this weekend - my holiday shopping was in full swing, and I am almost done. Whew!! But, the time is here!! I am finally ready to post my Christmas Mantle - I am so giddy to share it with all of you!

Here she is, in all her glory: the yarn-wrapped letters, stockings, garland and all! I hope you like it as much as I do!!

I tried to do a little combo of stuff purchased, and stuff made. The window you have all seen before from me - but I love it. I added a wreath that I bought at a local decor shop that I fell in love with.

I bought this bronze deer at an antique store last year for only $15!!

The glass jars you may recognize from my Thanksgiving table - I decided to reuse those. The tall candle holder? That was made from Dollar Tree finds - a glass candlestick glued to a tall cylinder vase! $2!!

The "I Believe" sign was a gift from my friend's dad. He is a whiz at wood working - this doesn't even begin to display the amazing work he does. I loved it though and had to include it.

Can't believe Christmas is less than a week away!!! I am not going to want to take all of this down!

XOXO

Linking Up To:

Friday I'm in Love...White Christmas Style!

2011-12-16T07:46:00.005-05:00

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas! Unfortunately, I think my chances here in Atlanta are pretty slim to none - it was 68 degrees yesterday. So, the next best thing of course is to bring the white indoors. I always admire white decor - probably because there is no way humanly possible that with my 5 year old, 2 dogs, and well....me - that I could EVER have white decor. I'll admit it - we are a bunch of slobs - at least as far as keeping white white. I have stopped buying my daughter white shirts because the first day she wears them, they come home stained.

These ladies, however, have mastered the White Christmas, and deserve some recognition (and an applause)!!

Let's start with Pattie at The Shabby Chic. Her entire house is amazing - I struggled over which shot to use here in this post. How gorgeous is her mantle?? I am drooling over here - see - I already would have gotten it dirty!

I saw Renee's mantle last week over at Where the Grass is Greener, and have been saving it to share in this post. You need to check out her entire living room decor - it's so beautiful!! I love the touch of green she used here - perfect!

Once again, Miss Lucy from Craftberry Bush has holiday decor that makes me swoon. Lucy - everything you do is so gorgeous - please just come to Atlanta and make my house your next project. I bet you could use some warmth from the cold Canada winters?? My house is always open!!

I loved this mantle display from Laurie Anna's Vintage Home. Aren't those chairs awesome? Love the white trunks too (which in my house would be covered in fingerprints...sigh).

And finally - there is something about the white simplicity of this mantle that I just love!! Tiffany over at This Bliss Life did such a great job putting this together perfectly! It's just right.

If you were featured, please feel free to grab a button from my sidebar. Thanks for all of the great eye candy everyone!

xoxo

Light Garland

2011-12-15T07:13:00.000-05:00

I was over at an Antique Gallery a few weeks ago, and one of the booths had this beautiful light garland with a ton of white and natural fabrics tied onto it. I absolutely loved it and snapped a shot with my cell so I wouldn't forget about it.

Last weekend I got to work, and put Addie to work as well, and we cut lots of fabric strips to make this loveliness! Once again, took longer than anticipated, but I more than love the way it turned out. Hubby gave me yet another compliment for this one!

Here she is with the Lights Off!

AND with the Lights On!

Oooh, there's a stocking - you're seeing more and more of the mantle - a whole corner! :o)

You are probably going to be so disappointed with my mantle with the way I have been talking about it. Oh well - this is fun, right? Have a wonderful day!!

Linking Up To:

Stocking Embellishments

2011-12-14T08:08:00.000-05:00

I bought these white stockings about 2 years ago, and decided they needed a little pick me up. I don't know about you, but nothing picks me up quite like a little bit of burlap!

I didn't want to permanently sew or glue the flowers on, just in case I change my mind in the future, so I fastened them on with safety pins. Aren't I so smart?

And a close up...everyone need a close up, right? How bout one in each color?

This is another sneak peak of my mantle in case you were wondering....

I wish I could show you all three stockings hanging in a row, but I don't want to spoil the big reveal!! Can't wait to share the final product!

Linking Up To:

Christmas Subway Art

2011-12-13T07:05:00.000-05:00

I actually made this Subway Art last year, but I pulled it out for another season. I think I may have gotten the original idea from House of Smiths - but it was a year ago, and I have baby brain - so don't quote me on that!

For the past two years, I have been using a Turquoise and Copper Christmas color scheme in my Great Room, but decided this year to go back to red and green basics (with a little rustic cottage thrown in). This subway art, which premiered in my foyer seemed like a good fit for my built in shelves.

I will take some photos of the rest of the shelves all done up. I think they are close to complete, but I don't know if I'm sold yet.

Here's another pic of the art, in case the first angle wasn't enough, tee hee!

Merry Merry!! Happy Happy! Have a wonderful day!

Linking Up To:

Joy to the World!

2011-12-12T08:32:00.000-05:00

I hope you had a WONDERFUL weekend! Mine was filled with frantic shopping and working on some holiday gifts for my clients at work (which I'll be sharing soon).

OK, I will not lie to you. Making these yarn letters was not fun for me. I thought they would be a super quick project, but each letter took me about an hour or so to make. Not so joyful!

But, in the end, I am happy with them, and they make a nice little edition to my Christmas Mantle (which I am not sharing in its entirety yet!!)

Here's a little sneak peak of my Mantle. You have to wait for the rest!! It will be trickling in little by little over the next few days or so.

Short post today, but there's a lot more to come. It feels so good to be crafting again, AND writing. Oh how I have missed all of you!!

Linking Up To:

Centsational Girl

Friday I'm In Love...With DIY Gift Ideas!

2011-12-09T19:11:00.000-05:00

There has been no shortage of Holiday Decorating out in the blogosphere this week, but I decided to take a different route with my favorites for this edition. This week I want to focus on DIY Gift Ideas. Let's face it, for most people - money is tight this year, and I know I would rather receive a handmade gift - how 'bout you? Here's some fun projects I found that won't break your bank!

I loved these DIY Soap Wrappers from Funkytime. These would make a great Teacher's gift or stocking stuffer! Sibylle even shares the printable file to make these very wrappers!

Calendars are always a great gift to give - everyone could use one, right? Jaime Lyn over at Crafty Scrappy Happy shared a tutorial to make this calendar using Cut It Out Frames! This came out so cute - just in time for the holidays! PS - she is doing a giveaway on her blog right now to win some of these frames, so head over there and enter!!

I absolutely love these Lump of Coal gifts from the gals at Eighteen25. How stinkin' cute right? The best part? The coal is edible! I know a few naughty folks that I could give this to!

These DIY Photo Coasters would make such a great gift for a grandparent! Liz from The Quick Journey shares a tutorial on how to make these - AND they are super inexpensive (she got the coaster base at The Dollar Store!!) LOVE!!!

And finally, I couldn't resist this DIY Heart Bracelet from WobiSobi! Anne always has the best ideas and tutorials - wouldn't this be a fabulous gift for a friend or sister?

If you were featured - feel free to grab a button from my sidebar.

I hope these ideas have helped you plan out some gifts for friends and family! I know which ones I will be making this year! I need to get a serious jump on my gifts - I am so behind!!!

XOXO

Pretty Paper Packages

2011-12-08T06:30:00.000-05:00

I love wrapping presents, and usually I get 95% of my Christmas Gifts purchased on Black Friday - not so much this year. I pretty much still have all of my gifts to buy! I hope I can get it all done in time - this weekend isn't looking so promising for shopping. I just hope I have them in time to do some fun wrapping! I have found so many amazing Gift Wrap ideas on Pinterest, I just had to share...

Newspaper Wrap

Found on Pinterest via Attention 2 Detail

Found on Pinterest via Blue Purple and Scarlett

Natural Wrap

Found on Pinterest via 100 Layer Cake

Found on Pinterest via Style Me Pretty

Found on Pinterest via Tonia B.

Found on Pinterest via Songbird

Yarn Wrap

Found on Pinterest via Babble

Found on Pinterest via Lion Brand Yarn

Found on Pinterest via Older and Wisor

Fabric Wrap

Found on Pinterest via Tiffany Kelley

Found on Pinterest via Babble

This and That Wrap

Found on Pinterest via Older and Wisor

Found on Pinterest via Creature Comforts

Found on Pinterest via Crate Paper Blog

Found on Pinterest via Good Housekeeping

Found on Pinterest via Real Simple

There were many more ideas, but these were my favs by far! I can't wait to get wrapping!!!

Hayes Family Ornament

2011-12-07T21:45:00.000-05:00

In my last edition of Friday I'm In Love, I posted this beautiful ornament From Gardners to Bergers. I really fell in love with this, and just happened to have a half dozen empty clear ornaments sitting in a box waiting to be used!

So, in lieu of using the French sheet music, I decided to personalize them. I just typed each family name (including Baby H) in different fonts on a sheet of paper, cut them into strips and inserted them into the ornament. Then I just added some ribbon and twine to the top, and voila! Instant ornament!

Here's a little closer of a shot. You see I actually typed "Baby H" as we still have not decided on a name for our little boy. I thought it would be cute to look back on these next year when he is 9 months old. Hopefully he will have a name by then! Wink.

XOXO

Linking Up To:

Centsational Girl

Link It Up Wednesday @ Junk In Their Trunk

Fa la la la la - Holiday Cards

2011-12-06T06:13:00.001-05:00

So, I bet you didn't know that these pics have been posted before, huh? I actually put these up on my original blog, and this post has been archived here since last January. BUT, since many of you probably have not see these, so.....I thought I would share them again.

About a year ago, I did a booth at a local Holiday Bazaar and featured a ton of my Holiday Card and Personalized Stationery designs. Here are some of my favorites:

This is a set of personalized notecards - great for a gift. It's actually still for sale in my Etsy Shop!

I love these embossed gift card holders - also still in my shop.

Airmail!

Custom Photo Card

This was actually the Hayes Family holiday card last year!

Some mixed media with the use of burlap, book pages and felt!

Custom Photo Card

Custom card (with glitter!)

Love this Christmas Tree Subway Art

Some more personalized stationery - this one is no longer available

Some pre-packaged designs I made for the show:

Still have this in my shop - set of 15:

This one too: Set of 15

This was a picture of my booth

I am busy now designing our family cards for this year - not so sure what I want to do... Maybe I will use the subway art tree card - OR something completely different. Either way - gotta get a move on!!

Have you ordered your holiday cards yet? I just happen to know someone who takes custom orders! (Shameless plug).

XOXO

Linking Up To:

I Heart Ruffles - Christmas Tree Skirt

2011-12-05T21:42:00.000-05:00

Once again, I was inspired on Pinterest - this is becoming a trend, no? When I saw this Ruffled Christmas Tree Skirt at Miss Mustard Seed, I almost fainted. It's gorgeous, and NO SEW!!! Hello? SOLD! I could not wait to get my little fingers working on this project!

And boy did I get my fingers working! This puppy took me about 8 hours to make and LOTS of hot glue burns - but is was so worth it!!! The poor little bean was squished in my belly for 8 hours as I was hunched over the fabric, so I took a lot of breaks.

I am so proud of this skirt, seriously proud. This thing was a labor of love, and I really do LOVE her!

I love those darn ruffles - aren't they so fun?

Here she is under the tree... much better than the stained, old and worn skirt I threw away last year!!

See the mass collection of ornaments on the right side? That was Addie, she tends to group all of her ornaments on the same branch, LOL. I leave them there though - that's where she wants them! (I have actually found that if I move them, they always end up back on the same little ole' branch).

Merry Christmas from the Hayes Household!

Linking Up To:

Centsational Girl

Metamorphosis Monday at

The Coveted Yarn Wreath

2011-12-03T21:38:00.001-05:00

I have been busy like a little Christmas Elf getting my craft on and making lots of projects for Christmas! Are you ready? This wreath kicks off the Christmas Craft Frenzy!!

I found a wreath from Two Junk Chix on Pinterest months ago, and knew that it was it was the perfect replacement to the one that I have had on my front door for about 8 Christmas seasons. Isn't she pretty??

I loved the idea, but wanted to mix it up to make it my own, so I changed up the color scheme a bit and added some pine cones. Hubby actually told me it was beautiful! I must have done a good job, LOL!

Here's a closeup - I love the way the colors compliment my front door color!

Two Junk Chix provided a full tutorial on how they made the original - so hop on over there if you want to make one of your very own!

Happy Christmas Crafting, you little elves you!!

Linking Up To:

Friday I'm in Love... With Christmas Time!!!

2011-12-02T07:28:00.001-05:00

I love this time of year so much! I think the only thing I don't like about it is the fact that it's only a month long!! I have been a busy beaver here over the past few days working on some projects for my Christmas decor. My house is a total mess, and I hear hubby literally groan everytime he walks down the stairs. This morning I heard him exclaim "This place is a DISASTER!!" LOL - sorry hubs, give me the weekend and it will be back to normal, I promise!

Of course I have been drooling over all of the Christmas projects in the blogosphere lately - nothing like blog surfing to get you in the holiday spirit! Here are some of the MANY holiday projects I have found lately. Just to pre-warn you - my Friday favorites will probably revolve around Christmas throughout the month of December - you don't mind though, right?

Almost a month ago, I saw these ADorABLE Pinecone Map Ornaments over at Turtles and Tails. I have been waiting for my Christmas post to share it. Barb found inspiration on Pinterest, and this is her version - isn't it so cute??

Here's another project that I found a few weeks ago and have been itching to share! I am so in love with this burlap stocking from Maggie at Sweetwater Baby! I am so inspired to make one of these of my own - which could end up being a disaster. Maybe I will just order some of hers!!

Some of the holiday projects I have been working on involve yarn - so when I saw these Yarn-Wrapped Star Ornaments over at live.laugh.rowe, I fell totally in love! Kelly shares the complete tutorial - and they look pretty easy. LOVE!!

Who doesn't love a good snow globe? These Anthropologie Knockoffs are just awesome! Aimee from Its Overflowing has done it again. She made these on a budget and they look like a million bucks! The mason jars are the best part. Thanks for sharing the tutorial Aimee!

And finally, I am so happy to have found this idea over at From Gardners 2 Bergers! I bought a dozen of these clear fillable ornaments with the intention of making some snow filled ornaments with Addison. We filled about 4 of them with Styrofoam balls, and it made such a static-y mess we both got annoyed and stopped. So now I am left with 8 more ornaments, and wasn't sure what to do with them...until now! Becca made these super cute French Christmas Carol Ornaments using music sheet graphics from The Graphics Fairy! Thanks for the idea Becca - I am so making these!

If you were featured, feel free to grab a button from my sidebar! I hope everyone has a great weekend! I will be hard at work trying to get my house back in shape - wish me luck!!!

Announcing with Love...

2011-11-30T07:14:00.001-05:00

Hey there! So in between working full time, hosting Thanksgiving for 16, preparing for Christmas and making a baby, (sound like your lives? I know I am preaching to the choir here) I have been working on a few stationery orders. This one was extra sweet because it involved a picture of an adorable baby girl! A dear friend of mine had her first baby a few months back, and she asked me to make the announcements. I was beyond excited - I don't get to do these much! She pretty much turned me loose with the design, and I gave her two options. This was the final look!

I also designed some custom label wraps, which of course coordinated with the look of the announcement. I have blurred out all some of the information here as to keep addresses private.

Here's a close up of the wording.

Of course as I am uploading these photos I am noticing that the soft colors aren't showing up very well. Darn it. Can someone give me lessons on taking photos of stationery??

Well, you get the idea anyway. Sometimes my images look great, and other times they are hard to read. Very frustrating. Yes, I am venting to you all now I realize. Probably TMI. I am open to pointers! Have a great Wednesday!

Holiday Tablescape

2011-11-29T07:07:00.001-05:00

I know, I know - I am as sick of fall stuff as you are! BRING on the Christmas decor! But I was a day late and a dollar short in posting my Thanksgiving Day tablescape. So... you have to endure the fall motif for one more post. I drew a lot of inspiration from my Friday Favorites two weeks ago. (I had a houseful last Friday, I apologize. I didn't post my favorites, oops. This is why I need to start scheduling my posts.)

I loved Finding Home's tablescape so much - so you'll see some resemblances here. I used what I had to make it my own, and my many Thanksgiving guests (16 to be exact) loved the look.

I went to Hobby Lobby last week with the intention of buying burlap for the table runner, but alas - they were out. I substituted with muslin - which you will see make a return very soon in a future post.

Almost everything I used I either had on hand, bought at the Dollar Tree or Walmart. Those harvest plates? Walmart - $2.50 apiece. I decided to use this opportunity of hosting Thanksgiving for 16 to buy some new digs. Of course, once Baby Boy H is born, we will be one short...

The prayer tag idea was from Finding Home. I duplicated the prayer, and printed it on kraft paper, which I then crumbled up in my hand and smoothed out to give it a worn looking texture.

So now - Fall is officially over for me. I spent last Sunday putting up the tree, working on my mantle, and starting to put out the rest of the Christmas decor. I don't think it will all be completely finished until this weekend. I can't wait to share some of my holiday projects with you - I have a lot planned!

Save the Date!

2011-11-23T07:17:00.001-05:00

I have been hard at work over the last few weeks trying to finish some large stationery orders - and finally, they are done....and I am so proud! One of my best friends is getting married in May, and she asked me to make all of her wedding stationery, starting with her Save the Date cards. I was honored, to say the least, that she wanted me to have such a big part of her special day.

I met with Kerri and her hubby-to-be about a month ago to discuss wedding color selection and invitation styles. Kerri's favorite color is purple, and both her and hubby-to-be have a ~~minor~~ major love for stars (they even both have a star tattoo), so we knew I had to somehow incorporate those elements. We decided on a design, and they turned me loose!!

Starting with the envelopes, they wanted a more casual feel, so we decided to go with a kraft paper and custom label wraps.

The card itself was designed and printed on white cardstock, backed with a deep eggplant.

The design was very "them" - it fit the description of what they wanted perfectly, and they were so happy with the results! I can't wait to start on the actual wedding invitations!!!

Friday I'm In Love (and a Special Reveal)

2011-11-18T07:22:00.001-05:00

I am thankful for a lot of things: My family, this beautiful baby growing inside me.... the fact that you haven't ditched me in my absence over the last two weeks! It's been a crazy few weeks here. My family came to visit from NJ (pics to come), I was in the hospital for pre-term labor (scary, but turns out I was just dehydrated), and...super exciting - we found out the gender of the baby!!

So, before I get into my favorites this week, I wanted to share the joy and excitement with you all. Yes - I have it all captured on video! Want to know what we're having? Watch and find out (please pardon my annoying voice)!!

We are so excited, and thankful, which beings me back full circle to my favorites for the week! I am a glutton for punishment, and have decided to host Thanksgiving for 16 people this year. So, this week, I have been frantically searching blogs for decor and recipe ideas, and I must say, I have found such great inspiration!

Laura from Finding Home has created the most beautiful Thanksgiving Tablescape!! I love the mix of mediums, from the wheat, to the rustic wood, lace and tweed! All of the photos on her blog show the detail - you have to check them out!

These napkin rings are easy AND thrifty! Christina from I Gotta Create shares a tutorial on her blog for these little beauties. How adorable? I love the organic feel (goes well with the wheat centerpiece from above)! Hmm...my wheels are turning!

And once again - from my favorite recipe blog, Dashing Dish, comes this scrumptious Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake (with Gingersnap crust). GET THIS - each delicious slice is only 185 calories!!!! I heart you Katie!!

Here's another Fall Tablescape that I absolutely fell in love with from Aimee at It's Overflowing!. Pottery Barn, eat your heart out! LOVE the antlers and Peacock feathers - this is gorgeous!

And finally, there is something to be said about simplicity! How great are these Acorn Napkin Rings by Kim at Savvy Southern Style? They look so great with the gold acorn napkins - adorable!

If you were featured, feel free to grab a button from my sidebar! I hope you enjoyed sharing in our baby excitement!

Friday I'm in Love with a Touch of Grey

2011-11-04T07:57:00.000-04:00

Well...don't I have quite the song title collection going in my post header this lovely Friday morning? I now have the Grateful Dead song "Touch of Grey" stuck in my head, and I think it may be there all day. LOL. That's ok - I love that song anyway.

Now that I have gone off on a total tangent, let me get back down to it! There are some weeks when it gets to Friday morning, and I realize that I haven't had a whole lotta time to blog surf that week, and it gets down to the wire. This was one of those weeks. So, this morning, I just started poking around to see where my mood takes me. Today, it went grey - probably due to the blustery weather I woke up to this morning. In any case, I was really feeling these projects today, they called to me, and they are beautiful.

This Key Rack was my inspiration for all of today's picks. Rosemary from Villa Barnes did such a wonderful job on this. It looks so aged - like it's been around for a hundred years!

I am just loving Jaime Lyn's Bedroom Makeover over at Crafty Scrappy Happy. Girl - good for you for having the guts to paint your bed - I need some guts like that. I have a dining room table in much need of some TLC right now!! Thanks for the motivation - this room is gorgeous!

Melissa from Shabby Love turned this old crib mattress into a beautiful inspiration board for her craft room. Not only do I love the mattress, but I love the items she uses for inspiration - so creative and gorgeous!

OK, so we all know where I stand on Nurseries right now - I'm a might bit obsessed. Doesn't this room look like it came out of the pages of a Restoration Hardware catalog? Kristine from The Painted Hive not only did an amazing job with the room, but her photographs are beautiful as well! Rooms like this are the reason I cannot decide on a theme for little peanut's nursery. There are too many beautiful options!!

And last, but not least, this New York Subway Sign Dresser brings me back to my days of working in Manhattan. I love that city, and any daily reminders I get of it make me smile. This dresser from Lindauer Designs is no exception!

If you were featured, feel free to grab a button from my sidebar. I hope my favorites have brought you all the inspiration that they brought me! Have a fantastic weekend!!

19 Weeks and Getting Antsy

2011-11-03T12:16:00.000-04:00

Aahh, baby love!! Momma's belly is growing fast, and I am getting very antsy to start the nursery. Next Friday is a big day - we find out what we are having! Our ultrasound is actually on Wednesday, but we have decided to do things a little differently than last time.

My parents, sister, brother in law and little niece are all coming to visit from NJ next Thursday, so.... we decided to get the gender sealed in an envelope and plan to do a "gender reveal" party on Friday. After the ultrasound, I will drop the envelope off at my friend's house, and she is making us a cake for the party. The inside of the cake will either be pink or blue, but we won't know until we cut it!! We have invited family and close friends over, and we will all find out at the same time. Waiting those extra two days will be torture, but being able to share this moment with everyone will be so amazing!

So, I have been frantically pinning nurseries, and now think that I have had way too much time to think about it. I can't decide what I want (for a girl anyway - the boy is decided on). Here are some of the fun ideas I have added to my ever growing baby room pinboard.

This is the aqua and yellow (with some other colors thrown in) vintage kick that I have found myself in. I think this is the direction I am leaning for either a boy or a girl.

Via hartandsew.blogspot.com

Pinterest via Tabitha Snyder

Via belleandboo.blogspot.com

Via spearmintbaby.com

Via Thompson Family-Life

What do you think? I believe I'm kind of in love with this look.

Halloween Wrap Up!

2011-11-01T12:09:00.000-04:00

I know you are all sick of Halloween, as am I! I just couldn't help doing a little wrap up of the big day. This year, Addison decided that she wanted to be an angel for Halloween AND this year, I decided to make her costume. My initial thought was that it would be a cheaper alternative, however, I quickly realized that I ended up spending the same, if not more than if I had just bought it.

BUT - I must say that this was her best costume yet, and I was really proud of my efforts! I didn't make the wings (bought those), but made the dress and the halo. Look at my little angel!!

Front

Back

Close-Up of the Flower & Feather Detail

Halo

Me and Addie

I decided to go as a Pregnant Woman, LOL

Love this picture!

Sweet Innocence

Addison had such a blast Trick Or Treating! What a great Halloween we had! Lots of fun and candy. I have to try to keep my hand out of Addie's candy bucket - I think that's the real challenge! Next year, I will be planning two costumes! One for Addison and one for the little peanut!

Linking Up To:

Halloween Wreath Tutorial

2011-10-29T09:45:00.003-04:00

Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday. There is something about the darkness and mystery of Halloween that gets my creativity flowing. For those of you who may have missed my tutorial over at The CSI Project last week, I just wanted to share a fun Halloween Project with you!

The supply list is simple (and cheap): A Wreath Form, Black Crepe Paper, and Hot Glue - that's it! You can also add a little sign, or any other embellishments, to make it your own.

Cut a long piece of crepe paper and wrap it around the wreath form. To make sure it stays in place, add a dot of hot glue to the beginning and end of the wrap.

To make the flowers, cut 24" strips of crepe paper - there is no set amount that you will need - I cut a bunch in the beginning to have them ready, and then just added as I went.

Start out by crumpling up the end of the paper, and then begin wrapping it around itself - twisting the bottom as you go. You will end up making a pointed end at the bottom.

Dab a dob of hot glue at the base to secure the paper as you wind. I glued mine about every 2 times around.

Then, just keep on going around and around, gluing as you go until you have formed a flower.

To set, wrap the tail around the base of the flower and secure with hot glue. It should look like this when you're done:

Finally, just start gluing all of your flowers to the wrapped wreath form.

Try to keep them close together, and stagger them if possible so that it looks filled in. That way, all of the flowers aren't lined up in a row. When you are done, it looks like this!

To add something fun to the base of the wreath, I used floral wire to add a sign. I bought this one at Dollar Tree last year, but you could also add a homemade one as well!

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial! Happy haunting everyone!

Linking Up To:

Social Salutations

Friday I'm In Love - Spring is in the Air!

Nursery Artwork

My Coveted Electrical Spool Table

Friday I'm In Love - Unique Accessories

Bubblegum Fun

Happy Valentine's Day!

Taking a Few Days Off...

Pinterest Inspiration for Class Valentines

Ombre Lampshade - My Take

Friday I'm In Love...With Bustin' A Move!

Down and Dirty Valentine's Craft for Kids

Dresser for the Nursery

Baby Love

Friday I'm In Love - Dresser Edition

A Sweet Valentine's Accessory

Friday I'm In Love....With LOVE

Home Office Update

Free Printable - Valentine's Day Subway Art

Nursery Inspiration - It's Crunch Time!!

Friday I'm In Love with Organizing - and a WINNER

Chicken Wire Memo Board

Office Wall Art

Burlap Bulletin Board

Social Salutations is One!!

Friday I'm In Love AND Inspired!!

11 Weeks to Go!!

Fresh Start to 2012

Home Office Makeover - Work in Progress

Friday I'm In Love - Week Off

Top 11 Posts of 2011

Christmas 2011 Recap

My Holiday Home Tour (and a chance to win $300)!!

Friday I'm In Love...with Peeping

Holiday Home Tour - Dining Room

Hear the Angels Sing...

DIY Gift Idea - Marble Magnets

The Christmas Mantle Reveal

Friday I'm in Love...White Christmas Style!

Light Garland

Stocking Embellishments

Christmas Subway Art

Joy to the World!

Friday I'm In Love...With DIY Gift Ideas!

Pretty Paper Packages

Hayes Family Ornament

Fa la la la la - Holiday Cards

I Heart Ruffles - Christmas Tree Skirt

The Coveted Yarn Wreath

Friday I'm in Love... With Christmas Time!!!

Announcing with Love...

Holiday Tablescape

Save the Date!

Friday I'm In Love (and a Special Reveal)

Friday I'm in Love with a Touch of Grey

19 Weeks and Getting Antsy

Halloween Wrap Up!

Halloween Wreath Tutorial