{DIY} tie the perfect bow

Tis the season for gift giving ... AND last minute wrapping!  If you are like me, you are probably up late at night with a glass of wine and wrapping until your eyelids get heavy.  I haven't even attempted to wrap while Anna is awake.  Disaster I'm sure.  I am starting to run out of giftwrap.  And some of my packages are so small I really don't want to pull off a whole sheet of paper and create a bunch of scraps.  These holiday bows are so festive you can wrap an ordinary box and they'll still make the cut under the tree.



These bows are so simple you'll wonder why you never made them before!  I bought a giant roll of glittery ribbon from Michael's with a coupon.  You'll want to use the kind with wire on the edges.  Wire is the key to a perfect loop.



^ what you'll need : 2 arms length worth of ribbon, scissors, and your box ^
^ Tie all your knots tight! That is the only way to create a professional look that will stay ^

^ make a small bow and pull it tight ^
^ keep making bows one on top of the other. don't forget to keep pulling them tight! ^
^ fluff all your bows creating nice/uncreased loops ^
^ and you are done! you don't even need gift wrap! ^

{mommy mondays} Rockstar Mom // Christine from Just Bella

I'd love to introduce to you, Christine. I fell in love with her at Just Bella awhile ago and she is such an inspiration to me. She is a beautiful lady inside and out and I hope you enjoy her as much as I do.

--

When Lauren asked me to guest post about "how I do it all" I was a little unsure about what to write. You see, quite frankly, I don't do it all, life is busy, especially with a little two year old running around. So while I often struggle to find balance, I do try my best to focus on the positive. I think it's important to remember those everyday moments and to really focus on the things that make you happy. Instagram has been one of the tools I use to capture these everyday moments and to document them for our family. I always have my phone nearby and it's so handy to freeze a moment in an otherwise hectic day. Instagram has become a bit of a digital photo book for us so I decided to actually print some photos and corral all those memories into a book. Blurb has an awesome program that links to your instagram account making it super easy to create. I've already got two and need to make more for 2013 (check out all the details here). Alice and I love to flip through these together and look at those fleeting moments (seriously these kids grow like weeds!). Social media can be a blessing and a curse, it has connected me with some truly amazing people but I know it can create feelings of inadequacy as well. I truly see instagram as somewhat of a "highlight reel" so I think it's important to remember this. No one's life is perfect and "comparison is the thief of joy". Keep doing your best and focus on those everyday moments that make you smile, your everyday moments because, let's face it, we've all got a little dirty laundry hiding behind those sweet smiles ;) Come say hello on instagram and keep up the good work, mamas!

{diy} spray painted champagne glasses // repurpose and reuse

We all have them.  They are courtesy of a company picnic, christmas gift, door prize.  They are etched, monogrammed, and a bit tacky (to be honest).  At the time you think "oh fun!" and then you never put them on display or drink out of them.  Time to fancy them up ladies and gents!  This took me less than an hour. You can even regift with a bottle of wine.

{diy} Anna's 1st Birthday // colorful dots // Recycling Your Baby Food Jars As Thank You Gifts

As most of my fellow new mom's know, these little jars flood the house.  I hated throwing them out, but boy do they clutter.  I must say a big thank you to my friend Carrie.  She saved so many jars I was actually able to pull this off.   They are just the right size for take home snacks.  A big hit at Anna's birthday party.

I used the same design from the paper flags.  See my recent tuitorial on paper straw flags for the how to.

{diy} Anna's 1st Birthday // colorful dots // paper straw flags

These are super easy to make!  They are so easy I feel very confident you don't need step by step pictures to do this!  All you need is cardstock, double sided tape, scissors, and a printer.  

On 8.5 x 11 paper design (in photoshop, Publisher, or Word) little flags 1" high.  You'll get 11 down the page.  Next type out what you want the flags to say.  Leave room for the tiny "v"s at the edges of the page on either side.  (If you aren't very crafty, Sarah Hearts put together a wonderful Word Template you can use.)

Now you are ready to print.  Printing on cardstock is best because the flags will hold their form better on sturdy paper.  Once you have them printed cut flags into strips.

Tape to straws.  (You can get paper straws on Amazon for an affordable price.  I just used cheap and plastic colored ones from Walmart) Then cut out little "v" at edge.  This gives you a true flag feeling.  Easy right?  And super festive! Enjoy!

diy of the week: "hand" painted ornaments

so i'm taking a little break from the eucharisteo.  why you ask?  well have you tried to write 1,000 things that make you feel joyful?  easier said than done!  seriously try it... especially after a long frustrating day.  it'll definitely make you realize you don't need to sweat the small stuff (and yes, just like the book says its all small stuff).  I'm postponing the rest until next month.  I'm still writing them down but as the list gets longer I am finding its a bigger challenge!

i wanted to FINALLY blog about Anna's first craft project.  ok yes, she is only a few months old and i doubt she'll have any fond memories of doing it but it sure was fun for me! this would be great to do every year and see how much she grows.

"hand" painted ornaments
{the goods}
a child's hand
clear plastic ornaments (plastic is perfect so you never have to worry about it breaking)
embossing clear stamp pad
glitter or embossing powder
embossing gun
ribbon
hot glue gun
plastic or paper towel (just to lay out so you don't get glitter everywhere)

{get to crafting}
take the child's hand and stamp it on the stamp pad.  place child's hand on ornament.  sprinkle a fine amount of glitter over the stamped hand print.  shake off excess glitter.  heat print with embossing gun (but don't overheat and melt the ornament!).  let cool.  take ribbon and make bow.  hot glue bow to top of ornament.  hang and enjoy!

diy: the poof

I found this lovely poof pattern via Pinterest (follow me!).  Immediately I knew it was the perfect accent for the old rocking chair in our nursery.  (Built by my husband's grandpa)  The pattern is really pretty easy and super fun.  I used this super funky Martha Stewart yarn.  It was much thicker than what the pattern called for. Positive side, I love that it held it structure.  Negative side, it held its structure too well.  I was unable to get a rounded poof.  Mine is a bit oblong.  However, like everything else in my life its not perfect and that's ok with me.

Let me know if you are interested in me making one for you!  I'd love to make this again.

to be continued...

So I haven't been posting much this week or last.  I've been busy preparing this house for baby.  I've also been knitting.  Here's a sneak peak at my next fun project.  I can't wait to get it finished.

DIY seat cushion and back

Our nursery is coming together.  I've taken a two week sabbatical from this blog to get things in order.  I spent quite a bit of time visiting family for baby showers then this week was busy washing and hanging up baby clothes.  We sure do have a lot of pink!

One of the most special elements in baby's room is a rocking chair from Brandon's grandparents.  Brandon's grandpa has a special talent for canning.  He has canned thousands of rocking chair seats and backs.  I love this rocking chair because of its sentimental reasons.  However, I know I'll be spending a lot of time in this chair and its a bit hard.  So I decided we need to make a seat cushion and while we were at it... a back.

I am a huge fan of Eric Carle and Leo Lionni sketches.  And when I found this fabric at IKEA I thought "BINGO!"  So I bought 2 meters at $6.99/meter.

Basically, to begin you will need to make a pattern.  I used drafting paper because that is what I had on hand.  You can use parchment paper, tracing paper or anything else translucent.  Just draw out your the shape of the seat and cut out.  It was easiest for me to draw one side.  Fold the paper in half and cut out the pattern.  This way the sides were completely equal.

Next lay out the pattern over the fabric.  Pin the pattern to the fabric.  Before cutting, you'll need to leave 5/6" extra around the outside.  This will be enough space so you can get that nice "poof" to your seat.  You'll need to cut out a bottom and a top for the seat.  Next, place the right sides of the fabric together and sew the outer edge.  (I recommend a sewing machine for this)  Leave enough of an opening so you can get your hand in and stuff.  Next, bring the fabric right side out.  You can now stuff and sew up the hole by hand.

If you want to add ties you'll need to cut out a large strip and sew up the one side.  You'll also need to pin this to the wrong side of the fabric before you sew the top and bottom together.  If you forget, you can always just sew the ties to the bottom of the seat.

{before}

{after}

DIY bird crib mobile

I have all kinds of craft ideas now that I'm not working and have ample time on my hands.  I know this time will come to a close when baby shanks arrives so I'm trying to soak in my last weeks of freedom.  This week's project.. making a crib mobile for my sweet baby girl.  Thank you to Pinterest for continually flooding my right brain with motivating and inspirational craft ideas.  It is because of you that I continually have a project going.

So I started looking at crib mobiles.  I saw this and fell in love with how colorful it was.  However, there is no way I'm paying $150 for a mobile. 

{puka puka design}

And then I found this adorable fabric bird mobile on Etsy.  However, I didn't want to pay $85 plus shipping to Canada. 

{annie's mobile boutique}

I also really liked a simple tissue pom mobile.  But I had already fallen in love with the birds so I couldn't let them go.  I also thought $40 for a pom mobile was a bit expensive.  (I'm sure you are beginning to think I'm a penny pincher!)

{little nest box}

Then on Pinterest last week I found a blog that had a free pattern for the birds.  BINGO!  To get the full instructions you'll need to click on over to Spool Sewing.  So this is really easy to do everyone.  I used scrap fabric I already had.  (I did buy a few small swatches from Walmart in their craft section.  Each was $2.  I think I used about 6 different swatches).  You will also need different size sewing hoops (I used 3), thread, needle, batting, pipe cleaners or fake flower wire, and hot glue.  I cut out the fabric using the pattern from Spool Sewing. Then I sewed (by hand... on the machine would be much easier but I don't have one) and stuffed the birds.  Then I glued them on to the hoops.  I also glued on these paper flowers from Paper Source ($15) that I already had in my scrapbooking box.  Next I made poms out of colorful tissue (I bought a pack from Walmart for $4).  For a pom tissue tuitorial visit Natsprat.  (I made them half the size she makes them in her blog).  Next I hung up the hoops with the thread and attached to the ceiling with a small screw hook.

DIY Painted Rug

We just moved in to this duplex and it has all hard wood floors on the first floor.  I was in desperate need of a large area rug for under the sectional and coffee table.  So I started scouring the internet looking for an option.

I loved these ...

{west elm}

{west elm}

{west elm}

Unfortunately, for the size we need the cost of one of these rugs was going to be $500+.  Yowza!  I'm not paying that for a rug in a rental house.  So... I started looking up some other ideas.  I found an idea where you can paint the Erslev flat woven white rug from IKEA.  Cost of this rug (in Canada) $70.  Bingo!  Now we are talking.  So I found all of these amazing people out there that have created something brilliant out of a $70 rug.

 

{a little bit of everything}

{the house of smiths}

{designsponge}

{sarah wandering}

{charm home}

{diddle dumpling}

I love the dhurrie patterns above but I have no patience for stenciling.  And I'm pregnant so I knew I was just setting myself up for failure if I tried anything like that.  I used the instructions from Oh Sweet Escape to get me off the ground and running.  For complete instructions I would reference her site.  You'll need plenty of FROG painters tape, 2 quarts of latex paint, 1 large bottle of fabric medium, paint roller, paint pan, large 4 qt bucket, plastic sheeting, and a yard stick/tape measure.  In a nutshell,  lay out your pattern with painters tape over the rug.  This took me about 4 1/2 hours (I'm also 26 weeks pregnant so I had to take some breaks).

Then mix the fabric medium and latex paint together in a large bucket.   I used 3 quarts and 3/4 of the bottle.  Note, Oh Sweet Escape says her paint lightened two shades when she applied the medium.  So I went with a darker than desired shade to start with.  My paint really didn't lighten so the rug turned out a little darker than expected.  Once pattern is laid out roll paint over rug.  Be careful not to roll too heavy or the paint will seep under tape.  This takes about one hour.

Wait one day and then pull off the painters tape.  The FROG tape works really well.  I had a few minor bleeds but it doesn't look too bad for a handmade item.  You can touch up if needed with a small brush.

And here is our end result.  I think we spent less than $200 on all the supplies.  Much better than $600!  It took some time and a little patience but I think it was an overall success.  I would do this again.