Holiday Boutique

Over this past weekend, I participated in my very first craft selling boutique. It was also the weekend of an amazing block birthday party that included a whole roasted pig, jump house, and beer on tap. Annnnnd the stomach flu for the boys. Seriously, never a dull moment.

I had several reinforcements throughout the weekend to help: my mom, dad, and neighbor {who sold some cards too}. W stopped by throughout the weekend to bring me things I had forgotten at home, feed me, or take/bring back V. I'm so glad it happened so close to home.

My table neighbors were fabulous and sweet. Of course, Juju was the highlight for everyone. If I came without her, everyone would ask where she was. I was never short of arms to hold her while I ran to the bathroom, ate lunch, or needed to sit. It really was a blessing to have so many sweet and gracious women around. 

Another highlight was meeting and exceeding my costs for the experience. Meeting cost was the goal I set out for myself since I had no clue what to expect. I was so excited to get two custom orders while there too. One for a bridal shower that was happening Sunday afternoon. I made it over the night and she picked it up on Sunday morning. 

On the flip side, I seemed to have brought the majority of my traffic. Most of those that purchased from me, I already knew. So I'm not sure if I really needed the boutique other than to have a place to set up shop. I also had plenty of inquiries from strangers on whether I had an online shop. Still have my work cut out for me.  I had a blast, loved trying it out, but with a full weekend away from my family, I'm not sure if I'll do it again. Perhaps, I'll do a virtual store-front first?! 

A GIANT thank you for everyone who encouraged from both near and far. And to my family who supported me through time and energy! This was certainly NOT a one-woman show. ;)

Holiday Boutique // I'm A Seller!

I've been working on some wood + paper goods to sell locally!! The first boutique is in October, so if you're local, please stop by!!! 

Hi.

As you all know, she's here.

I made Vesper's announcement using pic monkey which is a fabulous and user-friendly editing site. I just uploaded her picture and did a few over lays to personalize it. Then I uploaded my finished product onto vista print {also where I get my return address labels} and printed them out. Super easy! My first DIY post-baby. ;) And one I could complete while laying in bed.

We've Been Busy!! {Ombre Mint Dresser}

Projects. Projects. Projects have been filling most of our weekends. We tackled quite a few since I've been on a nesting kick to get things done before I pop. One such project was our downstairs tv situation. It had become quite a situation...

{the before... all manner of bad.}

We got a tv as a birthday gift a few years ago from my parents. We don't have basic tv but sure enjoy movies and hulu. So, it's been sitting on this small entertainment unit right from the beginning. One of those "temporary solutions that quickly turned permanent" as the years piled on. Enter Theo: our tornado toddler. He would get into the DVDs and fiddle with our player every.single.day. It was getting old. Quickly.

So, W found a great deal on Amazon for a tv wall mount and I hunted craigslist {like it was my part-time job} looking for a dresser that would fit our mini-wall's dimensions without being a road obstacle for foot traffic. Found a dresser, but didn't love its look so I knew immediately when we bought it that I'd be re-doing it. But it had a veneer finish. My quick search online led me to chalk paint.

I'd heard of the stuff but didn't really know much beyond the words "chalk paint" "shabby chic" and "Annie Sloan". So after a mini-lesson {there are a lot of posts out there on it}, I learned about its "chalky" or thicker properties, zero prep-work benefit, and that it adheres to pretty much any surface without hassle. I also learned the price point of AS chalk paint. Yikes! So when I found I {Heart} Naptime's homemade recipe, I figured "why not?" All I had to buy was my normal paint in the colors I wanted + plaster of paris. Easy enough.

4 T Plaster of Paris to 2T HOT water
Mix in container until all the clumps are gone
Mix into 2 cups of paint

At the store, I bought my Plaster of Paris {$6}, my normal gallon of classic white, and then four sample sizes of a paint card I liked: graduating shades of mint. I went with a half batch of chalk paint in each of the five colors because my dresser had so many different colors and not much of each. Worked like a charm.

I did minimal sanding since I didn't really want a distressed look for the dresser. I then covered it in a polyurethane protective coat that we already had on hand. I would love to try the wax finish sometime. Heard it really finishes off the piece nicely. Next time. ;)

We mounted the tv, put the dresser in {after drilling a hole in the back of the top drawer for cords}, and mounted my antler project: ebay antlers + white spray paint + gold craft paint

We are loving the extra storage {currently the bottom two drawers are still empty! So huge for us. ;)}, and the simple fact that T is not creating a mess nor are our movies out for all to see {tacky!!} Definitely one of those "feels so good" projects.

{DIY} Advent Pocket Calendar

It sure was nice having a whole week between Thanksgiving and the start of December this year. I was actually able to prep a little for advent and be ready to go December 1st. One of the projects that I wanted to add to this year's list was an advent calendar. We had been using mine that I grew up with and loved, but I wanted something bigger that would eventually include all our kids and be more interactive.

I had pinned a ton of ideas over the year for advent calendars: ones shaped like Christmas trees, made from felt, paper envelopes or brown paper bags, etc. Then I stumbled upon this image a few weeks ago and knew this was the one.

 source

Buuuuut it don't come with a tutorial. So I fished around and found a few more images with the same modge-podged, saggy-pocket, rustic look.

 source

 source

 I bought a ten dollar 6 by 9 drop cloth {canvas tarp that painters use} from Walmart and got to work. {This is waaaay bigger than you'll ever need, but I want to make a tree skirt out of the same material.} All the "extras" I already had in my craft stash: buttons, ribbon trims, pom-poms, doilies, embroidery floss, fabric, felt, sewing machine, sharpie, and paint.

I cut and hemmed a piece of the drop cloth to measure about 36 inches long by 31 inches wide.

We have a little wall between our kitchen and eating are where our thankful tree was so I figured I'd hang this there too. So, I worked off the wall's size. I had several burlap squares leftover from my bubble burlap wreath project that I used for placement and pocket size. Then I just started switching some of them out for fabric and felt squares. And that's where the laborious, time-consuming part came in: decorating each pocket. Oh, the hours spent! And the mess that my kitchen table withstood!

I didn't plan ahead nor really tried to spend too much thought on any one pocket. I wanted it to look slightly messy and non-uniformed.

Once the pockets were decorated, I sewed each one in place. With the burlap ones, I went over them twice just to make sure wee lil' hands wouldn't tear them. I added three tab on top and stuck a wooden dowel through them. The last thing I did was tie some ribbon to each dowel end and hung it up!

Filling them was fun! I've been wanting to purchase a nativity set that the boys could role-play with for awhile. After some hunting, I decided on the Little People's set which has a bazillion pieces {make sure to get the one that has the shepherd!!}! I picked that up at Wally World along with the drop cloth.

I wrapped each nativity piece in some brown kraft paper and washi tape. I mingled the pieces with some chocolate and "activities tags". The tags are basically index cards that I added ribbon and tape to. I looked over this list and picked several that fit our family and the traditions we like to do during this time of year: Christmas lights drive, bake cookies, watch a Christmas movie, do a Christmas/winter related craft, have a picnic next to the Christmas tree, and make this year's ornament. I also tried to include a few "service"/acts of kindness type activities too. I was really inspired by this blogger's kindness project from a few years back. Hoping we can add more of these as the years go on and the kids are more capable!

I half-jokingly told W that this advent better end up as a heirloom after all the time I spent on it. It seriously took 3+ days to complete. Labor of love. But I love how it turned out and know it'll get many more years use out of it in the meantime. Our Christmas count-down has begun!

Burlap Bubble Wreath

Welcoming fall--one burlap piece at a time!

A girlfriend and I spent a craft night creating this fun burlap bubble wreath to welcome fall. I immediately loved its messy, non-uniformed look. Once we figured out the first 'bubble', the rest fell into place. We did add the extra step of wrapping the wreath in burlap before adding the bubbles too. That way we didn't have to worry about unwanted styrofoam peeking through. Whole thing took just a few hours.

I added a little berry bunch and an "S". I got a small wooden one, traced/cut some paper then mod-podged it on. I hot-glued some twine to it and tied it around the wreath to keep it secure. 

Much closer to being ready for fall!

Featured! Hooray!!

 

My "Rise & Shine" pallet art was featured on tatortots & jello a few days ago!! Yippie for colorful creations. I loved the tin can lanterns and the amazing quilt also mentioned. So many creative projects!

Rise & Shine {Pallet Art}

Mmmmkay, so I know how I mentioned here that I was working on a piece?! Way back in MARCH?! So, that piece. I didn't really love it. It took up the dining table for way too long since I just couldn't get to finishing it. I was forced to move it into the garage where it was abandoned. Until last week. 

Leave it to crafty inspiration or whatever, I lugged my big pallet canvas back into the house one night and just got to work. I actually already had some words stenciled on it so I had to work around those and cover them as I went. I was inspired by this google image...

{source}

With some frog tape, sponge brush and craft paint, I just went for it. Most of it was free hand and I worked pretty quickly through it. No lolly-gagging this time. I just wanted to create something and finish it. Well most of it.

I used the cricut machine to make stencils for the "Rise & Shine" then painted those on a few days later.

 W hung it up with some screws, wire and a heavy weight picture hook.

Ta-da!

This is what it was meant to be...right?! It's such a fun bright piece that lightens up our downstairs!

It looked a little lonely up there so I added something else. Excited with my version of the "pallet art madness" trend!

Rise and shine and give God the glory!

Circle Garland Tutorial

I became a circle garland fan with our dining area re-do. I'm finally getting around to that tutorial. For this garland, I used felt but the one hanging in my house is made of paper. Both are great mediums to use. Obviously, felt is much more durable and hardy than paper. But the steps and outcome are the same.

I started with tracing lots and lots of circles.

Cut, cut and more cutting.

Into stacks.

Next, I worked out my pattern...

 Then dumped them into bowls...

Almost good enough to eat, eh?

Seriously, love felt.

Time for assembly! Basically, I just fed the felt circles through the feed-dog and the foot; making sure to keep the foot down the entire time. Once it catches, it moves through on its own. Continue to feed the felt through and adding each new circle until it catches. Don't worry if a few stitches pass before the next circle catches, the spacing won't matter in the end.

I kept my bowls close so I could just grab a new circle fast and feed it through. The biggest pain is keeping up with the pattern and getting circles in fast enough.

And out comes the garland on the other side.

In no time at all, you'll have a super long garland...

Ready to hang up...

or wrap up for transfer!

Easy way to add some whimsy to a room or party!