blue eyed freckle

Happy February!!!

2012-02-01T05:10:00.000-08:00

I'm just not one of those bloggers who can juggle kids, business, a blog, AND lots and lots of new tutorials like every single day. I can't. Sometimes I lay awake thinking about how I should be better at this... or that... how girl "A" or girl "B" can do it all but I just can't seem to do it. I hope you all still like reading my blog even though I can only post once or twice a week!

Anyway, I just don't know if I will get to making something new and fabulous this year for Valentine's day so I thought I'd recycle some of my oldies from the blog....

You can make this to wear on your hot bod...

and this to wear on your head....

this to hang in your kitchen

for over your bed (or anywhere really)

forget about going out (it is on a TUESDAY.....) and just make this delicious meal (again with the goat cheese and basil!!)

and this for dessert. oh it is beyond delicious. beyond. especially with a dollop of almond flavored whipping cream.

and if you still have the energy, then dye some doilies to decorate the table!

Happy Valentine's Month!!

I heart fresh basil and goat cheese

2012-01-27T13:48:00.000-08:00

The recipe that began my love affair with goat cheese and fresh basil..... (still my all time favorite appetizer).
And here are some new favorites for breakfast and dinner!

I am not actually a huge egg fan, but I have been trying to cut down on my carbs and up my protein for the same reason everyone else does it...... to lose weight. One day I was trying to make those eggs seem appealing and so I tried throwing in some of my favorite ingredients... and suprised myself with something I really loved!

Goat cheese omlette:
virgin coconut oil (for coating the pan)
eggs
tomatoes
goat cheese
onions
fresh basil leaves
s&p to taste

Coat the pan, throw in the eggs, and everything else (wait a few minutes before you put in the goat cheese). flip it when its ready. YUMMMMMMMMY.

Sorry I am posting a photo of raw chicken on here but I forgot to take the "after" photo!!!
Goat cheese stuffed chicken with red peppers:
goat cheese
red bell pepper sliced (1/2-1 whole one per person)
fresh basil
chicken breasts
balsamic vinegar
1. pound out the chicken breasts until they are thin.
2. spread a GOOD amount of goat cheese inside and top with fresh basil leaves (you can't have too much of either. its impossible.
3. fold them over, stick them in your baking dish and pour balsamic all over them.
4. cut up the red peppers and put them all over and around the chicken.
5. bake for 1 hour (or less depending on the thickness of your chicken---you need to check it) at 350.

now go buy some goat cheese and a basil plant and make these! enjoy.

what? what?!!

2012-01-26T13:04:00.000-08:00

I opened up my gmail a few days ago to find an email from the person overseeing the Atlanta casting for this show. He said he saw my headbands at the Beehive in Atlanta (p.s. go there by the 29th and you can still shop their annual warehouse sale!!!) and was wondering if I wanted to apply for this show!!???!!! It is a chance to have my business "made-over" and win a million dollars. Ummmmm sign me up!

Anyone else want to try? Go here. Its kind of a lengthy process so just be prepared! Franc and I worked on a haphazard storyboard last night (his idea) for the 2-5 min video I have to use as part of the app. I will definitely upload it to the blog once its finished! Wish I had one of my filmmaker friends around to help.

Valentine's Headband Giveaway winner!

2012-01-23T18:20:00.000-08:00

RANDOM.ORG says the winner is...... lucky #50 out of the 52 comments that were left! And that is.... drumroll please....

Jessica Beasley who said: "I love your headbands they are so cute!! I am going to pinterest to repin them right now!"

Please email me and let me know which headband you would like. Congratulations!

If you didn't win, you can still buy one at a discount. I am going to have both sizes on sale (as well as the red ribbon candy headband) in my Etsy shop until Valentine's Day! ($15 for the small and $22.50 for the large)

Mark up your baby's legs

2012-01-20T12:31:00.000-08:00

I thought I had this great idea. So I took out a sharpie (fine point) and started making little diamond shapes on Amélie's tights. Later that night I was coming up with a list of projects to do with my sister and low and behold, there were some DIY heart tights on some indie chick on my pinterest board. dang.

luckily, her tutorial is a little different, so I am going to go ahead and give you mine....

Materials:
sharpie, preferably fine tipped
tights stolen from your kid
your hand

1. Lay the tights on the floor, or put them on your kid. Put a fiiiiiine little dot where the center of each knee is. (I did this without my baby.)

2. draw yo' designs. I made mine asymmetrical, because I am an artist and that is how we do things. but symmetry is fine too, you choose:)

you are done. you can handwash if you are paranoid. I am not, since permanent marker never comes out of Olivia's clothes when I just stick it in the wash.....

Valentine's Day Headband GIVEAWAY!!!

2012-01-16T15:58:00.000-08:00

The perfect accessory to wear in February and all year long! I will be giving away one headband, and the winner can pick either the Fascinator (that's the large one) or the classic felt feather (the smaller one)!

How do you enter??? Just leave a comment!

IF YOU WANT TO ENTER MORE THAN ONCE...

"Pin it!" If you pin this giveaway on your pinterest and tag it "blue-eyed freckle giveaway" (so I can find it) or tag me if we are friends, then you can have an extra entry!

OR if you pin a tutorial or image from my blog (past "pins" aren't eligible) you can enter another time for each pin.

IMPORTANT: please leave a separate comment for each entry so you have multiple times to win. Inlcude your email address and your pinterest link if applicable.

ENDS SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST

a kitchenette for my girls

2012-01-10T13:32:00.000-08:00

I made my girls (though it was given to Olivia for Christmas I will MAKE her share it with Amélie when the time comes!) a little kitchenette. You've seen them all over pinterest, and now you've seen one on here. Only mine is missing the faucet. and an oven handle.

I bought this scrappy weird wood thing for $2 back in May with the intentions of making it into a kitchen and never got a chance. Next thing I know it is Christmas eve-eve and I REALLY wanted to do it, but I am swamped with the fab thing. So I got my husband to do the dirty work (the spray-painting and cutting) and on Christmas eve I painted all the details and sewed the curtains. Done. well minus the faucet (and the oven handle, but my husband put the oven door on upside down so.....). I need to buy the letter "J" at the craft store and make it the faucet (saw it on another one).

The best thing about this baby is that I only spent $2.25 out of pocket! EVERYTHING else I scavanged from various places.

Details:
-little wooden "eggs" from the craft store (that I happened to have) for knobs
-old wooden drawer knobs for the "temperature" knobs
-used contact paper to cut circles out of, cover the stove-top and then spray the red burners on (same with all other detailing)

-the bottom part had a big space and no sides, so I sewed curtains and then attached them with velcro. sticky velcro on the wood part (underneath) and sew-able velcro on the the fabric.

**and thanks to my father-in-law who cut out the burners and the hole for the sink.
and to my parents for their white spray paint!

snow princesses

2012-01-06T07:50:00.000-08:00

I didn't have a chance to finish making Olivia and Amélie the Christmas dresses I started in November due to Fab.com taking over my life for a month. BUT luckily I found this thrifted white tulle, fake fur, and lace dress my mom had given me awhile back. Sounds cheesy, and on the hanger doesn't look like much, but my little princess made it look like a thousand bucks!

she looked so beautiful I HAD to take a photo. lucky for me it was after church and she was tired...

so I got a lot of cool shots like this as she rolled around on the sidewalk outside our apartment!

christmas eve on our way to dinner... pulling amelie's ear...

so amélie gets back!

Amélie's "pull it all together at the last minute" outfit was comprised of my old baby sweater and booties (I recently was given all my old baby/toddler clothes!!!!) and an antique baby dress. (THANKS MOM!!!!)

gorgeous.

Franc and I wore mostly black in an effort to look slimmer... Merry belated Christmas everyone! haha. sorry folks. I am almost done with all my Christmas posts.....

Citrus-Herb Season Salt (makes a good gift!!)

2012-01-04T13:12:00.000-08:00

wait. The holidays are over so why am I giving you gift ideas? well the good 'ol FAB.com sale took over my entire month of December so I am behind on all the things I wanted to blog about! Here is the small gift I made to give to friends during the Christmas season. <----- I am sure I could've made some sort of clever pun to go along with it but that's not really my style.

I liked this gift because A. I was able to make a big batch at once and then I was done (and I had VERY little time to do things like this b/c of the Fab sale). B. It encouraged healthy eating and though I am a huge chocolate lover, sometimes I am greatful when I am not given a bunch more that I will likely consume before the day is over! I figure there must be others that feel the same... C. it is delicious and tastes good on meats, beans, hummus, etc!

I got the jars at the dollar store and I made the labels using photoshop!

CITRUS-HERB SEASON SALT
(adapted from Martha Stewart)
combine:
1/4 C coarse salt (I used kosher)
2 T finely grated lemon zest (I used organic lemons cause ick on the shaving pesticide into the mix!)
4 t dried rosemary
3 t dried thyme
3 t dried oregano
1/2 t each of: sugar, paprika, and red pepper flakes
1 T tangerine zest ** (I added this at the end, its my own addition to the recipe and it seriously upped the ante. It smelled delicious!)

I quadrupled the recipe, got cheaper herbs in the plastic bags, and made this an economical gift! But really, if its not the gifting season just make it for yourself. yum. I can see this being a good teacher gift? (Along with something else.) And if you grow your own herbs you could dry them yourself and put them in... yum! The possibilities are endless.

TOMORROW!!!!!!

2011-12-28T08:42:00.000-08:00

Yes I have too many tabs open.... but here it is! The little blurb giving a small hint of what's to come on my FAB.COM sale tomorrow! woopee! There are more styles and colors than what is shown here and the price will be a good one (cheaper than you can buy them anywhere else). So sign up here and get ready for tomorrow (and Fri. and Sat.---its a 3 day sale).

And I totally thought it was dorky to have my profile photo of me wearing one of my headbands but I couldn't find a better photo of myself that didn't have someone else's head right next to mine. Or at least I didn't have time to search through the 20,485 photos on my computer to find one because I needed to work on my headbands!!!!

wish me luck on this sale! I basically gave up all fun December projects (except one which I will post about next week) and cleaning of my house to make headbands NON-STOP.

Fab and Jessica Swift

2011-12-15T13:22:00.000-08:00

First of all I need to tell you all why I have been S. W. A. M. P. E. D lately. Its a little site called... FAB.COM!!! what?! what?! No its really a HUGE site and they want to sell my headbands on there! So.... I have been making SIX HUNDRED AND FORTY HEADBANDS with my own two hands, scissors, and glue since I found out (late November).

Sign up now and I will let you know when they are up and available to buy! (It is after Christmas, but not long....) and they will be sold at a discount. A good one!

If you haven't heard of Fab.com yet then let me tell you it is the coolest of cool 3-day-sale sites. It features super cool, modern, hip things for your body and home. I fall in love with new things on there everyday.

On another note. Jessica Swift! I bought one of her calendars last year and it has been one of my favorite kitchen decorations all year. Seriously, every month features a new cool design with bright, juicy color and pattern and I can't get enough. And what I love about her calendars, compared to most you find on etsy is that there is actually space to write things in! I love a cute calendar, but I need somewhere to write the stuff I have going on too. Anyway, just thought I'd share!

And while I was browsing her site (love her motto "Live Color to the Max") I saw lots of other things I began coveting...

Seriously? Those boots rock.

Christmas card '11

2011-12-14T18:36:00.000-08:00

FRONT

BACK

I didn't get around to taking Christmas photos of our family, but one morning as we were running out the door (why can't I ever just be sauntering out the door, unstressed, not sweating????) I took these photos of the girls. Olivia's hair is wet and I couldn't get one photo where they were both looking at me. But I know my grandma would want a card and probably a few other relatives. I am not sending them to friends because I am not really that happy with them (and yet I am posting them for the world to see on my blog???). I have something HUGE happening right now that I will tell you about um tomorrow I guess? It is the reason I can't seem to get ANYTHING else done right now.

How about your Christmas photos? cards? anyone have a really cool one they want to share? I need to get the ball rolling earlier next year so we can have something I am proud of!

New Traditions

2011-12-03T18:35:00.001-08:00

This is the first Christmas that we have a daughter who is aware of it being Christmas! I am so excited to start family traditions, borrowing some from my own childhood. My parents always did a great job at creating fun traditions for all of the holidays and I want that for my own daughters.

So I saw the above photo on Pinterest (via Poppytalk) and thought it would be a fun one to incorporate on "St. Nick's." I basically just went to the dollar store, got a few candies and trinkets and wrapped them in crepe paper (from the dollar tree as well), glued the end down and added some scraps from my headbands! The fun thing about these balls (a mexican tradition I believe it said) as that you find more prizes as you unwrap them, which kids love of course.

I stuffed the Christmas ball into the sock she left out on the eve of St.Nick's as well as a few other fun things.

(pictured above with the ball are the cinnamon dough ornaments that I made with my mom. So fun and easy! Olivia thought they were cookies, thus the decapitated one on the bottom right:))

Its beginning to look alot like christmas!

2011-12-03T18:23:00.001-08:00

Before I say anything about Christmas (my favorite holiday of the year!!), I should say something about Thanksgiving since I've been absent in the blog world since november 9th..... (last post).

That cute gal pictured above? Well move over Martha, that's my mom. And she put on one gorgeous Thanksgiving this year!

White, white, white with hints of browns and blue. gorgeous. Are you a little bit jealous of the weather you see outside those windows? I believe it was in the 70's for Thanksgiving....

perfection.

and if you like her style, you should check out her shop. It is filled with super cool vintage goodies and adorable winter slash holiday banners! (There is a rumor I am getting one of those soon... I'm hoping this reindeer one...)

blue-eyed bling bling

2011-11-09T18:12:00.000-08:00

These are new in my recently-re-opened shop! I am in.love. with the greenish gold faux leather on these. The little triangle one is my new fave.

I love/hate pinterest

2011-11-08T07:38:00.000-08:00

This DRIVES ME BANANAS. Back in March, when I thought I was buying that house which had all those tans walls, I had the idea to use white contact paper and PAINT designs on it for the baby's room. I had painted these large, abstract flowers using house paint and acrylic paint, and then cut them out to apply to the walls (mine were more like large, long decals). Well, we didn't move into that house, and the apartment we DID move into had/has the horrible textured walls that contact paper won't stick to. So I threw them all away.

Fast Forward to this morning when I saw the above image on pinterest. Oh what a great idea, painting on contact paper. As seen on Apartment Therapy and now going to be all. over. pinterest! I know this shouldn't get to me, and there are rarely ever any completely original ideas (my art teachers used to always emphasize this), but still. I want my blog to bring you fresh, new ideas and things you haven't seen done a bazillion times! And now, because of good ol' pinterest (which I really do love most of the time), ideas like this (and many others believe me) are no longer new. So boo. If I do do it for a future apartment I'll let you know:(

Does this happen to any of you??!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2011-10-31T14:22:00.000-07:00

my only halloween decorations... (besides a little skull banner I made and hung elsewhere and my pumpkins). And now a few photos from our previous halloween festivities!

may I present to you.... QUETZALCOATL!!! part serpent... part bird! I made the wings as inspired by this on pinterest (one of the first things I ever pinned 8 months ago!!). But I made a few adjustments to make them easier to keep on a 2 yr old for long periods of time (and boy am I glad I did). More on that in a sec.

blurry face but couldn't resist the cuteness of her stance. Too bad she totally wiped off the feathery face make-up I did. It ended up just looking like a weird mess.

I lined the inside with some vintage chartreuse sheet fabric

not that great of a shot of them spread open, but I couldn't get her to grasp the concept of turning around and spreading them so that she wasn't looking at me....

Amélie wore the flapper dress I made for Olivia 2 yrs ago. She was a little tired at our trunk or treat party thus the glazed over look in her eyes.

With my mom at the party. I was Bjork... or inspired by Bjork since I didn't actually look at the photo when I made my costume or put on my make-up. For some reason I thought I knew what it looked like, but mine is clearly not the same, so we are going to just say I was inspired by her. I love any excuse to just wear lots of colors and put on something weird. Honestly I wish I could just wear get-ups like this in my normal life.

Handmade Charlotte for Anthropologie!

2011-10-27T13:35:00.000-07:00

The other day I had a dream that Anthropologie called and asked if I would sell my headbands at their stores (the felt feather fascinator to be exact) and I was like heck yeah (even though in my mind I couldn't figure out how in the WORLD I would get them all done). And then they told me I had to make 75 of them to give their employees for free at the home office. And I said no. I just couldn't do it with my 3 1/2 month old baby (and 2 yr old). I didn't have enough time. So the deal didn't go through. I woke up and told my husband that I didn't regret that decision. crazy.

Fast forward to a day later when I found out my fellow Atlantan (okay I was only an Atlantan for 3 yrs) crafter Rachel, of Handmade Charlotte actually had something like this HAPPEN TO HER!!!! Well, I don't know exactly how it happened, but she emailed me to tell me about her new line being sold on Anthropologie.com for little girls!!!! WHAT??? How cool! And get this, she lives on a farm and has 5 as in 1,2,3,4, FIVE kids. What? And she and a friend sewed everyone of these pieces themselves. No India outsourcing here (which having worked for Anthro, I know they do a lot of).

Check out my two faves:

cutest little warm winter bloomers ever

love the detailing on this coat!

So cute right??!! Olivia/Amélie has a pair of her bloomers that my friend Lesley bought me. They are very well made, and absolutely adorable. And Rachel herself? Well she is funny, quirky, and super nice, so support her and check out her line for Anthro!!!

If you didn't already... make this.

2011-10-20T13:06:00.000-07:00

please excuse the grout. I live in an old apartment. can't get the stuff completely clean!! too lazy to photoshop it out:)

I just wanted to repost this tutorial because it is one of the simplest, easiest, most played with things I ever made for my daughter Olivia. I love how many ways she uses these foam shapes. I had only thought of them as being used to make art pieces in the bath/shower, but she sorts them by color, by shape, counts them, puts them on her arms, legs, and belly. The possibilities and educational opportunities are endless! See the old tutorial of mine here.

Trail Mix for the sugar craves (sugarless)

2011-10-13T11:57:00.000-07:00

I went off sugar (processed, honey, etc but not fruit) 3 days ago in an attempt to ease my addiction to it, as well as shed some baby weight. I did this once before (a couple months before I got pregnant with Olivia) and lost about 13 lbs in 2 months without changing a thing else (meaning I still hadn't been exercising, I was eating as much as I wanted to, and I enjoyed fun things like fries and chips occasionally).

This time I am exercising like 5-6 days a week, so hopefully I'll see a change?? I've been exercising like that for 1.5 months and I have lost exactly ONE POUND. Yes, even going off dairy and eating mostly whole/healthy foods. Nice. I hate when people say breastfeeding makes you lose weight. NOT FOR ME!!!!! I digress.

I went off sugar, but I wanted to have something to stick in my mouth in the afternoon when my blood sugar gets low and I am apt to stuff it with cake, cookies, chocolate...whatever I can find. So I made this trail mix out of things from the bulk bins at Whole Foods and my nut stash from Costco. It is D E L I C I O U S. So I wanted to share:

Ingredients:
Raw pumpkin seeds (WF bulk)---these are packed with minerals and vitamins
Sunflower seeds (hulled, WF bulk)--- again, super nutritious
raw almonds (costco--so cheap)---nutrition facts
cashews (WF-prepackaged is cheaper than bulk)---nutrition facts
walnuts (Costco)--never knew how good these were for you!!
peanuts (with skins)--- nutrition facts
raisins and currants (unsulphered--WF bulk)---nutrition facts
Goji Berries (WF bulk)---nutrition facts
**SUNSPIRE grain-sweetened chocolate chips!!! (WF-baking aisle) they are sweetened with grains, no sugar! woohoo! I didn't put a ton in there, but it does really make this trail mix seem decadent. This was the only ingredient that I felt was pricey, but $5 for chocolate chips seems worth it when you are off sugar!

I don't really know how much of each of these I put in... I just made it by throwing the ingredients into a tupperware container and make sure it was a ratio of dried fruit:nuts/seeds that I liked. This mix is so nutritious, so delicious, and satiates that mid-afternoon (or late night) sugar craving. go make it.

Olivia's room, Florida, 2011

2011-10-13T06:42:00.000-07:00

I wanted to do Olivia's room in red and cream with hints of aqua this time around. I was inspired by this awesome vintage dress I bought her this summer. Except then I had to face the annoying fact that I can't paint or do anything fun to these annoying textured walls (no contact paper for me this time around. boo).

I wanted to have her entire room done in the 3 weeks between moving in and having my baby (as well as the rest of my apartment and all the furniture I had to repaint... I completed most everything though! thank goodness since I haven't had a chance to do anything like this since Amélie was born). I went back and forth and became very frustrated trying to come up with something that wasn't already pinned all over pinterest (I love pinning, but I also like having my own ideas!!). I thought clouds! ohhhh so done already. scallops! no did that in her last room... I went around and around.

Finally I decided I wanted to continue surrounding her with abstract art/decoration so that she learns that art doesn't always have to be creating things that already exist (people, animals, etc). Maybe you think I am making this up, but I really do want my children to be creative and open to what art can be.
Anyway, I made the bookpage blobby things you see above. And I really don't love them them. But sometimes I like them. but mostly I don't. You see so indecisive about this room. When she switches to a bed (instead of crib) I will change the wall hangings, but keep the color scheme. Anyway, hopefully someone out there likes them!

long explanation. sorry.

This is my favorite piece in the whole room! Another piece that I painted using the paint from this series of redone furniture... (I did all those pieces with only 2 little paint samples!!). I taped off the legs and used this trick to make sure the paint didn't bleed through. I love the legs on this thing.

Those are the pinfamous ikea spice rack bookshelves. I spray-painted them red.

corner of the room... (the yellow on the side of the bed is leftover from her old room/color scheme, as is the dust ruffle...). made the crib sheet of course. and that big ball/pouf (see here).

I was really trying to get Olivia more interested in numbers without forcing them on her....
These are mini canvases that I spray painted and then glued book page numbers and white paper on. The praying children are from Goodwill. I planned on painting little red triangles around the edges of the "torn" paper edges on them, but haven't gotten around to it.

I do love the way the book pages look around this window though! I happened to have that rug from anthro (when I worked there years ago) that I was sick of using elsewhere in the house. It went perfectly in here!! yipee!

alphabet (Martha Stewart--my mom gave it to me), dress-up box, trash can. exciting.

And here is all the crap I cropped out of the photos:) Thought I'd make this real. I like it when people show how things really are in their house so you don't feel like a domestic failure when you see their blog photos.

So there you go! what do you think?

A little French: Pillowcase Dress tutorial

2011-10-05T18:29:00.000-07:00

Yes, this is a pillowcase dress, so it is easy to make. But no one will even know you made it from a pillowcase when you are done! This project only takes about an hour, but looks like it took you for-ev-ah. And I kinda think it looks like French children's clothing (White, subtle detailing, a little nautical...) maybe I am just dreaming:)

Materials Needed:

Pillowcase (I chose one with a pretty hem)

paper (if you want to make a template of the collar before cutting it out of fabric)

scissors

sewing machine

Ribbon, button, or some kind of closure if desired (I didn't make one)

1. Cut your pillowcase to desired length. I made mine (the left part) long enough to go from Olivia's chest to her knees. You can measure your own chil'rens to see what size you need!

2. Cut out a rectangle with a slit and a hole (this will be the collar) out of both layers of the top of the pillowcase. There is an opening, so the hole can be smaller than your kid's head... I made a template out of newsprint before I cut it out of the pillowcase. Should written down measurements for you all.

3. Fold under the top of the skirt portion of the dress, 2x, and then stitch, using the right side of your presser foot as the guide for your fabric (1/4 in??). I used a light blue contrasting thread for all my stitching.

4. either pleat and pin, or throw caution to the wind like I did, and pleat as your sew, all the way around. This part needs to be able to slip over their head and body and fit around the chest.

5. Sew around the rectangle/collar you cut out (1/4 in seam), leaving an opening on one of the sides.
6. Turn it right side out and top stitch two lines 1/8- 1/4 in. apart (if you want).
7. Pin the front part of the collar to your dress portion like above.
8. with the collar pinned to the dress, sew 3-4 more lines all around the collar (see below), each spaced abt. 1/8 in. apart.

9. pin the collar to the dress so that the top of the opening lines up with the top of the dress portion, and the bottom of the opening in the collar is overlapped with the dress. (see above)

10. As shown above, cut a slit

11. pin the bottom corners of the collar so that they overlap over the slit in the dress that you just cut.

12. Sew on top of the lines that you already made/sewed to attache the dress to the collar (both at the slit and on the left and right sides of the collar).
13. If you want, attach some sort of closure. I didn't. It doesn't need one! I went back and forth and back and forth about attaching linen tape (my mom's idea), ribbons made from the remnants of the pillowcase scraps, satin ribbon, velvet ribbon, blue fabric strips, a large button, a bow..... But in the end I decided I like it just as it was. Its not overdone.

oh and its already been worn, washed and dried here and so sorry, but not ironed. I'd just had a baby when I took these shots! (But I made the dress BEFORE the baby). Sorry. Iron the wrinkles out in your head please.

She was so happy she just couldn't stay still. So you aren't going to get some awesome photoshoot like everyone else does on their blogs. Sorry I really really tried. But this kid wouldn't stay still for two seconds!!!

Honestly it is gorgeous in person, but since it is white, it was really hard to photograph. Just trust me and go make one!

EEK! washi tape magnets

2011-09-29T17:44:00.000-07:00

Good ol' pinterest helped me finally use my beloved washi tape. I have had some of these rolls for 3 years. untouched. And the pretty red ones my friend Danni sent me from Thailand! But I loved them so much that no project seemed worthy of their use. Until I saw and pinned this. And last night I had 40 minutes of free time which I hadn't planned anything for, so I made them....

Washi tape (though if you just used the adhesive magnet strips you could also stick on some scrapbook paper or cool fabric)
+
Adhesive Magnet strips (or other magnet backing found at craft stores)
+
white paper if your magnet is black and not coated with white already.
=

They are definitely not serving a real function right now, but I love how they look on my fridge! Okay now go make yourself some! (Dearest Danni, if you still read my blog I made some for you with the tape you bought me and I will be sending them to Thailand sometime in the nearish future.)

pinky ring worth about fifty BLING BLING....

2011-09-19T05:41:00.000-07:00

Olivia likes to give her animals a little "bling bling," and I love finding them propped up and posed in different places around the house. Makes me think of the rap song from high school (hence the title of this post). Turns out it was a little Lil' Wayne singing that chorus (I'm guessing that maybe only 2 people that read this blog even know what song I am talking about??).

p.s. I listened to the radio version..... (the real one is pretty dirty).

dance dance tu tu

2011-09-13T17:57:00.000-07:00

image

Olivia started her first creative dance (ballet and tap) class today. I really want/need to make her a little tutu to wear. Today I copped out and sent her in a little tutu-ish skirt from the Gap... But I have big plans. Okay I have no plans. I just know I need to make her something that is hopefully somewhere in the vicinity of the these beauties (found via this lady) Now where to find the time....
(and to all you bloggers out there with an infant and a toddler who have a blog and a shop and are STILL FINDING TIME TO BLOG.... how in the hello! are you doing it???!!!)

and when I find that time (is it in a pot at the end of a rainbow?) I will surely be making one for me inspired by this beaut. And I'll stand up against a pale wall with my new glasses on and a cardigan buttoned up backwards. I will definitely be sucking in my stomach.

off topic, but I really want to copy this cool dress for either the girls, or for me.... bye bye for now!

Let's Talk Food

2011-09-06T11:43:00.000-07:00

It all started here. On January 29, 2010 I bought myself a Blendtec Blender and opened my world to the idea of drinking spinach. I was an avid green smoothie drinker for a long time (okay like 10 months) until.... I got pregnant. I couldn't even stomach the idea of drinking spinach even though I knew you couldn't taste it! Sad. Then my friend Lesley decided to change the way SHE ate, and taught everyone hew new ways on her blog. This made me really want to revamp the way I ate again (I was raised on the healthiest of foods growing up thanks to my mom, but I had veered off the straight and narrow:). But it was hard being on such a tight budget and having a slightly resistant husband (though I must say he is open-minded to most of it). So I decided to put it off again.

Then I had this little cutie pie (8 1/2 wks ago!) and she didn't seem to like the dairy (non-stop farting among other things!!!). So I went off of it (mother of the year right here<-----). All of the sudden everything I wanted had cheese or cream in it! yikes. So I did some research which turned into my new addiction---researching healthy vegan (vegan because their recipes are dairy-free) cheeses, desserts, ice-creams, etc.

And now I am in the process of totally re-doing the way I feed my family, because the more you read the harder it is to keep on eating the same way you always have. For instance, the "Vegetables" side of my grocery list is now jam-packed. The rest of it is pretty bare and mostly just has whole foods like nuts, dates, raw honey, agave, chia seeds, spelt flour, etc. I can't even believe it when I look at my list!

My new goal is to eat around 50-60% raw foods per day, and the rest all whole foods. I am definitely not going to be crazy about it all though. I think it is good to have moderation and to not cut yourself off from others because of your diet, when it can be helped. We are only going to eat humanely-raised meat/animals, and only 1-2 times per week (which really helps with our budget!). Anyway, sorry if I am rambling about health food on an art/craft/design blog....but:

Here are a few of my new favorite tried and loved recipes from my new favorite websites!

flourless choc. chip cookies (gluten and dairy free naturally!)

choc. chip cookie dough babies (like lara bars)

Deep dish cookie pie

All from chocolate-covered katie (she has tons of super easy, yummy healthy desserts. This is where I started and I have loved every single thing I've made from her website.)

vegan mac and cheese. YUM!!!!

I think this is one of my favorites to peruse and read. Kind of a cheesy name ("Oh She Glows") but greaaat recipes. These pb crunch balls taste like butterfingers. But they are healthy and vegan!

and carrot cake oatmeal!

Carrot cake smoothie (alternative to greens---carrots!) from RAWxy.

Gorgeous blog and delicious recipes. Vegan Tacos (the "meat" is made of walnuts ground up with other things). She is good at explaining all the nutrition behind different foods, esp superfoods. Its very educational and makes you WANT to eat all these healthy things! "My New Roots"--she also writes a recipe on mondays for Martha Stewart (Whole Living I think?) but I've never looked at it.

And lastly, Roost. (Cashew Brioche). This is maybe the most gorgeous of all the food blogs. It isn't vegan, but it is based off of some crazy (SCD) diet she and her husband have been following to get rid of the symptoms of Crohn's disease. He is now off medications he has been on for 10 yrs. Anyway, its gluten free, mostly grain free, mostly (not all) dairy free, etc. They use nuts to make up their flours, and let me tell you the desserts on this site look spectacular. I can't wait to make one of them!

And are you wondering how I've felt about not eating any cheese, milk, or my beloved Blue Bell Ice Cream (which I had been eating at least 2x a day since the middle of my pregnancy)??? I feel GREAT! I haven't been sneezing or getting any sinus infections like all the rest of my allergy-plagued friends (I normally get them too). I don't feel bloated or in any pain after I eat (I think I have always had a little issue with dairy, but I didn't really care b/c I wanted to eat it). And I don't even MISS IT!!!! There are so many fantastic alternatives and I am having fun learning how to make "dairy" out of things like nuts.

Okay hope I haven't bored you all to death. But seriously, even if you aren't interested in changing your diet, try some of these recipes out. They are good! And if you want more ideas for healthy recipes, follow my food board on pinterest!

Oh and do any of you have healthy suggestions or links to recipes you love? Leave a comment!

SheBlogs SheBlogs

2011-09-02T13:03:00.000-07:00

buy this here. I know I want one!

get the tutorial here

Check this girl out. I swear I read her blog and felt like she was articulating my own thoughts! But Funnier! She is blunt, she is real, and she is a riot to read. Oh yeah and she sells super cool mobiles and makes crazy awesome 80's inspired shirts for her daughter.

my favorite night of the week and Bjork

2011-09-01T10:33:00.000-07:00

This photo has nothing to do with this post but I love it. Love the petals, the colors, the eye make-up. Maybe I should be Bjork for Halloween. Did I ever mention that one of the major things that attracted me to my husband when I first met him was that he was buying a dvd of Bjork's music videos? I knew he would be good for me. Afterall... how weird could I possibly seem to someone who likes Bjork???

It's my favorite day of the week! why? Because my mom comes over to watch Project Runway with me (and my husband....). I realized my mom was my best friend when I got to college, convenient since I was on the other side of the country from her. I came back to Florida for one other year since then (I graduated over 12 years ago so...), but we lived in Miami which is over an hour away. The next two years may be the only 2 years I ever live this close to her, so I treasure every second I get! Anyway, she comes over, we watch and critique and drink Dr.Pepper. Its an awesome night. Hooray for Thursdays!

side note: I got 4 hrs of interrupted sleep last night. Normally I get at least 5-7 (uninterrupted). I want to die. Don't sign up for "Mommy and Me" classes when you have a 2 yrs old and a 2 month old nursing infant- NO FUN. I was a sweaty stress mess this morning.

whatya think?

2011-08-31T18:40:00.000-07:00

I got some new glasses today! I have been coveting these for awhile now, but didn't think they would actually look good on me, so I went on a virtual search for an alternative. Found these ones and I am in love! (I mostly wear contacts, but I haven't bought new glasses in about 3 years so I was due for some new ones.)

I'm holding up some uncut headbands (I only find moments here and there to work on them, and tonight is one of those nights--why am I blogging???), because I thought if I just left them like that, uncut, they would make a nice wall hanging! You know, on trend with all the native american-y, feather-y, triangle-y, muted color-y stuff that is going down right now. And I have a new felt feather-y design I will {hopefully} be putting in the shop in the next month (stores are my priority right now)!

My apartment: Headboard re-do

2011-08-30T09:32:00.000-07:00

If you've been reading my blog for the past few years (or even better, since 2008- when I started it), then you have seen my bed go through periodic changes. I really just get bored of the same thing after awhile and I have to switch it up! Before I show you my most recent (and favorite) version, I will take you down memory lane (haha):

One of my very first posts! This was my bed when we first moved to GA and I was teaching high school art (hadn't started selling my headbands really yet) and my husband was in a masters program.

My bed along with the guest post I did for Made By Lex back in March 2010, Olivia was 8 months old, my husband was in med school, and I was doing blue-eyed freckle stuff in a major way.

In July of 2010, when my husband, Olivia and I all went to Europe, I purchased my favorite bedding of all time: this Orla Keily duvet! And to make it better, it was on sale (in PARIS???weird) and its a king size, which I just temporarily have sewn smaller until the day we can afford to buy a king:) This photo is from my valentine's bunting post.

I don't know if you have noticed, but for all these years I have been trying to make up for the fact that we have no headboard. One day we will be able to buy a real bed frame I suppose, but for now we just have a cheap metal one that the mattress just sits on, while I attempt to make "headboards" out of random things. Well, the time has come. Not for a real bed by any means, but I have a real headboard to stick behind our cheap metal frame at least! I purchased this caning KING size (that seems to be all I can ever find) board at my favorite local thrift for about $20. And I loved the caning, but wanted the trim to be a different color. So..... 1,999 coats later (and it was paint+primer!!!)....

I had my favorite headboard of all time! Its a hot chili red to match the shapes on the duvet (which, while in FL, is not filled with a comforter because it is too darn hot! I just leave it empty like a sheet). And the bench at the end of the bed is another of my favorite things I re-did---it had been painted gold with black speckles on the wood parts--ICK! But I bought it for $5 and repainted the bottom with white. Thanks to my mom who found it for me!

White Flutter Baby Mobile (tutorial)

2011-08-16T13:47:00.000-07:00

Amélie's room has been a design enigma for me. I just can't seem to figure out how to make all of Olivia's old stuff work right in there! And with her little mini-crib (got it on craigslist for $25 and painted it gray) in that big room, I feel like it will never look right. Anyway, one thing I DO like about her room is the mobile!

I was trying to figure out how to make something that didn't add MORE busyness to the eye while still making it interesting for her to look at. So I decided to hide the fun part, and make the rest white and easy on the eye! Here is my little tutorial.

Materials:

Stiff paper for base of cones (I used vinyl that I eventually removed but I suggest cardstock)
notebook paper
glue (elmers, pva, etc)
little cup for water/glue mix
cheap paper (notebook, copy..)
tissue paper
hotglue/gun
paint (optional)
permanent marker
paper doilies (dollar store)
string, hooks for hanging

1. wrap paper into different sized cones and tape together

2. a)tear the cheap, thin paper (copy paper) into little squares, and mix glue and water 1:10 ratio (I didn't measure mine but I am guessing) b.) dip the papers into the glue mix and apply to the cones. do a few layers to make it strong. c)let dry over night

3.cut strips of the tissue paper about 2-3 inches wide and the entire length of the paper. zig-zag one side.

4. cut a line in-between each point of the zig-zag (you are creating the flutter!)

5. Before you do anything else you need to take your marker and draw designs inside the cones (this is the surprise! Your plain white mobile actually has lots of interesting things to look at, they are just hidden inside!)

6. hot glue the strips around and around starting at the bottom. I made some cones that had strips all the way up to the top, and some that just had a few rows at the bottom.

7. OPTIONAL: For the cones that just have flutters on the bottom, you can paint the top part of the cone. It seems unnecessary but up close it looks really nice that way.

8. sew a few strips of doilies, varying sizes. I did 3 doilies on each strip.

9. hang em up! I used thick string to hang the cones. I tied a big knot at one end, poked a hole at the top of the cone, and strung the knot so that it it was inside the cone, leaving the long string to hang it with. I used thread to hand the doily strands. (And I used "c" hooks and "eye" hooks to hang them all on the ceiling.)

This is what the baby sees........

and this is what YOU see! ahhhhhh. If anyone makes this I would love to see your version! Shoot me an email!

Before I had the baby...

2011-08-11T05:43:00.000-07:00

The month before I had Amélie (I found out how to put the accent on!) I was working on lots of projects because I knew it would be a while before I could do any of that again (and believe me, everything that I didn't finish beforehand is still sitting there waiting. and waiting.) I have lots more to show you all, but for today I am just going to give you a peak at a few random things I did that were inspired by pinterest!

I made 22 meals and froze them! I knew a few people would bring me meals, but I hated the thought of grocery shopping and making dinners while trying to balance a newborn and a toddler. I've seen this a million times on pinterest but never got the guts to try it until now. I bought THIS book which teaches you the secrets of freezer cooking and also has tons of recipes! I probably could have figured out most of it from researching more on the internet, but its nice to have all the info in one place. Here is what I made:
pizza dough/kits (with cheese and veggies already portioned out) 4 nights
tortilla soup (4 nights)
chicken/cream cheese/beef rolls (4 nights)
chicken enchiladas (3 nights)
pulled bbq chicken (3 nights)
Hawaiian chicken (3 nights)
pre-cooked and pulled chicken for a tortilla salad (1 night)
A lot of these meals are just needing rice, fresh veggies, or some tortilla chips which is no problem. And let me tell you these things have SAVED me! I think this is my new way of cooking. First of all, it takes me no time to have dinner ready and then I am only spending around $30/wk to get the rest of the essentials (milk, bread, fruit, veggies, and some fun stuff). I DO use coupons though, so that helps. My initial cost for the freezer meals was only $60. I didn't buy any fancy meat though, like I would've liked (fancy as in free-range).

Okay I could go on and on, but let's just say freezer cooking is the bomb!

I saw this several times on pinterest and though it might be overdone, I still kinda loved it. Its this picture frame, and I just cut a piece of board to fit the frame and painted it with chalkboard paint, and spray-painted the frame yellow (no priming). It had two holes so I used my trick to hang it:)

Last, it was my husband's birthday (and then Olivia's) so I wanted to put up some simple decorations for our family parties. I had seen these on pinterest as well, and let me tell you they take very little paper and time to make! so simple (and so much cuter in person)! I didn't have time or energy to make anymore decorations though and since it was just my parents, brothers and sisters coming over I didn't feel any pressure to put on something over-the-top. I still haven't taken them down...

No time to blog but go read this!

2011-08-02T07:30:00.000-07:00

Sorry peeps, having an infant and a toddler isn't quite as hard as I thought, but it leaves no time to blog! I am hoping that this baby, who sleeps like a pro, will quit the nightly marathon feeding from 7-10 pm! I can't do very much because of it! Anyway since I CAN watch PR and nurse I did that last Thursday night (and again last night with my mom) but instead of giving you MY opinion, let me link you to A Little Gray, because Jessica said all the things I thought but she is a much wittier writer. Go there now and laugh at the "Terrible Pants Parade."

And her name is......

2011-07-12T13:06:00.000-07:00

The day she arrived. Olivia likes her....sometimes!

with her daddy

unfortunately this serious contemplative pose is the only one that came out okay...

she has dimples!!!

It took the Social Security lady telling us she needed our papers by 8:30 am in order for us to choose a name for our new baby... If you don't remember we had troubles deciding. Alas, the nurse visiting our room at that moment helped us make the final decision, and the name is......

AMELIE FRANCES KORTMAN!!!!
Amelie (Ah-may-lee) (from the list---in the end my husband and I agreed on either Madeline or Amelie) **also happens to be my favorite movie ever, but that is coincidental....ish.
Frances (because of Francisco-my husband's name, Francis-my father's middle name, and Francisco-my husband's great grandfather)---and because you may remember he really liked the name "francisca" and was really trying to get that one in there at the last moment!

She arrived after a very easy delivery (yay!!!!) on Thursday, July 7, 2011 at 11:45 am. 8lb 1 oz, 20 in.

SIDE NOTE: thanks to everyone who has let me know they can help me out with my blog! I was contacted by someone who actually said they could help me do the whole thing!!! Thanks everyone for offering your knowledge and expertise, I really appreciate having so many people that read my blog, and ones that were willing to help me make it better.

MY BLOG NEEDS HELP!

2011-07-05T10:50:00.000-07:00

Is there anyone out there who reads this blog that would like to help me make this blog prettier/better functioning/etc etc? I am clueless about all this html stuff and there are some things I really want to change! I need help! I don't have a lot of money to spend, but I CAN offer lots of shout-outs, a free ad on my blog, and headbands, and uh you name it:) PLEASE HELP!

Shabby Apple Sale!

2011-07-04T05:17:00.000-07:00

If anyone wants to buy me this dress from Shabby Apple... then just so you know you can get 20% off almost everything (excludes bathing suits) if you enter SUMMER20 at checkout! (that would make this dress $67 instead of $84... pretty sweet deal!). Click on the link on the right side of my blog under "sponsors" to be taken to the site!

pottery barn wall mural

2011-07-03T19:45:00.000-07:00

In April, when I was still in Georgia, a friend asked me if I could do something to her daughter's walls. She gathered a few of her favorite ideas, which happened to all be from the Pottery Barn Kids catalog. Normally I try to do my own thing/idea but she really liked the one above, and I figured why not just do it for her? I don't always have to be original and it was pretty and really perfect for the room. Just thought I would share my version and how I did it!

(sorry for the crappy photo quality, I only had my point and shoot camera when I took these! )

Materials:
pink cardstock
darker pink tissue paper
brown wall paint
green cardstock/scrapbook paper
hot glue
3m removable wall tabs

1. draw out (with pencil) the basic tree shape
2. paint the trunk/branches with the brown wall paint (I only needed 1-2 layers)
3. cut out 3 different-sized flowers out of the cardstock and tissue paper
4. bend the cardstock flowers by holding in the middle and lightly scrunching so they have some 3 dimensionality
5. hot glue the tissue paper flowers to the cardstock flowers.
6. cut out a bunch of leaves and hot glue them in pairs.
7. cut the 3m tabs into much smaller squares and adhere them to the flowers and leaves.
8. attach them to the wall! done!

Cheap Furniture make-over (with some painting tips)!!

2011-06-29T20:04:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wonder if when my husband is finished with medical school and we are FOR THE FIRST TIME making a decent amount of money, will I still be repainting thrifted furniture? Or will I just buy some new stuff? I tend to think it will be a mixture of both. I really love making the decor in my home. It's a way to create and express myself artistically even if I am not currently working on my fine art (paintings, etc). Anyway, long intro but here are my 2 latest re-dos!

BEFORE: $20 sideboard with hutch on top (wood covered in veneer).

1.Lots of taping (making SURE I got perfect little diamond points)
2. seal tape with clear polyurethane to prevent leaks under the tape! (a little tip I learned from some furniture blog a few months ago!!!-best tip ever)
3. primed
4. painted and peeled tape while still wet. (Though since there were other dried coats underneath I still ripped paint off in a few spots. If you can take the tape off before the 4th layer then you have more luck and this usually doesn't happen:) )

AFTER!!!! I LOVE this thing. I still haven't unpacked all my books or display-type things, so it remains empty, but I love it even just like that!

BEFORE (well we are going to pretend since I really didn't take a shot of it before...) $5:

1. taped around the top circular veneer part
2. FORGOT to seal the edges of the tape, and painted 2 layers of Behr paint and prime in white.
3. taped off a bunch of stripes
4. SEALED THE TAPE WITH THE SAME WHITE PAINT.
5. painted the aqua color and immediately took off the tape
6. painted a layer of polyurethane b/c the original paint was flat.

ewwww! I LOVE it!!!!

AFTER! yay! To do these two projects all I bought were the sample sizes of white and aqua ( and I actually painted a third piece as well with the same paint). The samples only cost $2.50 each, but since they only come in "flat" I had to polyurethane over top (I already had some). So for 3 pieces of furniture I only spent $5 on paint, and $27 (including the 3rd piece not shown) on furniture! That works VERY well into our student budget!!

Hanging things on walls

2011-06-20T19:51:00.000-07:00

I've been doing a lot of unpacking, painting, and hanging lately and since I have learned a few tricks over the years for doing these kinds of things (mostly from working at an art gallery and then doing display for Anthro), I thought I would pass my knowledge on to you! This isn't a super fancy fun post, just a tip or two.

Hanging something with TWO holes in it:

I recently bought this uber-popular frame from IKEA (which I painted yellow). It had TWO holes in it. So fun trying to get two nails or screw to be lined up and in the exact spots right?? RIGHT! Its really easy with this trick!

1. put a piece of masking tape (I couldn't find mine--still packed away so I used packing tape) across the two holes.

2. Mark or punch a hole using a pen or marker

3. Put the entire piece of tape on the wall and draw a line from one hole to the next using a ruler.

4. use a level (or in my case-- a very sharp eye:) to make sure the line is level.

5. put your nails or screws right through the dots where you punched/marked them!

How to hang a piece of wood without wire, alligator hooks, etc:

I started with 7 of these fajita plate holders (scored them all for $1 total!)

I took a piece of painters tape (I found it!) and marked a hole. I also tore off the sides so that this same piece of tape/template could be used for EVERY PLATE. READ: I didn't have to measure anything for any of the other plates---I USED THIS SAME PIECE OF TAPE WITH THE HOLE IN IT FOR ALL OF THEM.

First I drilled a hole straight in (a shallow hole, NOT all the way to the other side!!)

Then I went in at approx. a 45 degree angle and drilled a little bit.

(sorry no photo for this part). THEN 1. I took a LONG piece of masking tape and put it on the span of the wall where I wanted to hang all of these plates. 2. made sure it was level (eyeballed it) and then marked a dot every 10 inches (I pre-measured the wall to make sure they would all fit). I marked the dots ALL at the very top of the tape as my guide. 3. I put a nail through each of these holes at the exact-ish same angle ( I just tried to go in pretty straight).

And then I hung them!!! (and took off the tape). I was going to paint the insides in a gradient of some color, but I am liking them just how they are for now. Don't pay attention to the shelves on the left. That is a before-and-after I meant to show later. Pretend you never saw it:)

I hope these tricks help you out! I also have some painting tricks I'll share with you next time...

oh and I am 37 wks pregnant tomorrow. eek. It gets harder and harder to work on this house. The poor baby's room is kinda getting the shaft. I figure she won't really care.... I'll make it cuter later.

I'm Back! and I'm Hungry!

2011-06-15T11:18:00.000-07:00

How to make your own microwave popcorn!!!! Can't wait to try this!

looks delicious. You could eat them alone, pair them with pasta or french bread, or rice...

I made a version of these but I added peanut/almond butter, agave, flax, and dried apricots to mine. they turned out great and I froze the extras for later!

Goat cheese? yum. tomatoes? yum. eggs? well my husband loves them, and I am sure paired with the other two (and stuck in a pita or on toast) I might like this too!

I love fresh basil, tomato, and mozzarella, and I loved grilled cheese, so this would be a perfect lunch!

Ice Cream Bread. TWO INGREDIENTs. TWO! top that with some butter. yum.

Refreshing and perfect for summer. or winter. or anytime of the year! I love asparagus in pasta.

Made these last weekend. Brie and raspberry paninis. delish!

my mom made this the other night (yogurt, zucchini, tom, pasta). It was SO GOOD!!!! I am making it tonight and bringing it to a neighbor (just had a baby) as well!

So hey, I know I've been gone for a month, but it's been crazy around here. I looked and looked for a place to live, entertained my toddler, found a place (finally), moved in, unpacked boxes (still doing this), repainted a bunch of furniture (still doing that), and I've been running around trying to get everything done and ready and checked and blah blah before this baby comes. ALL WITHOUT A HUSBAND. Yes I've been solo since the first week of May. Luckily I have family here, but still its alot to try and do THIS pregnant!! (I am 36 wks).

So that's why I haven't blogged. Its just another thing and I couldn't justify spending the time on it. Anyway, I am back, 4 wks. until this baby is supposed to be here (and not a moment sooner-- not ready), so I will try and blog my heart out until she comes! Thanks for staying with me!

Catching up...

2011-05-16T17:52:00.000-07:00

I've moved down to Florida and I am still homeless (well not really since I am staying with my parents, but homeless and in I CAN'T catch a break on finding something to rent!). I've been busy trying to run around and get all my affairs in order down here and so my blog has been neglected! sorry!

anyway, above are a some coordinating outfits I made for the baby (still nameless--but I TOTALLY tallied up everyone's votes to see what you all thought! Bridget was #1, and Thea was #2), olivia, and I to wear after she is born! I made them out of old shirts of mine that I was going to throw away. I just need to make something for Franc now--maybe a bowtie?

In other news I did buy two vintage/antique couches, a side table, and a lamp today! I will definitely post photos when I take them.

don't leave me! or else this little munchkin will be very mad.... don't worry, I will be up and posting one day soon again. promise:)

Fringe-y top tutorial (NO SEWING!!)

2011-05-05T11:05:00.000-07:00

I am moving tomorrow to Florida (May 6) so it may be a few days or more before I get another post up...fyi. Anyway, this is a SUPER easy little way to spruce up an old shirt! And I am going to show you how!

Materials needed:
-shirt (I converted an old shirt of mine into a smaller one for my daughter, but you can just use a shirt that already exists)
- t-shirt fabric (either by-the-yard or from an old t-shirt you don't mind cutting up)
-steam-a-seam
-pinking shears
-iron
-scissors

1. cut strips to your desired width and length. Pink the bottom edge of each strip.
2.Using regular scissors cut a straight line in between each pinked point, but don't go all the way to the top! ...leave a little space up there!

3. apply a small strip of steam-a-seam to the long, non-pinked edge of each strip

4. lay them all out on your shirt and decide how you want them spaced. Remove all but the bottom fringe (leave the most southern strip on the shirt and remove the top ones).
5. Iron that first one on. Repeat by adding each strip on top of the previous one, making sure you overlap the fringe to disguise the straight line of the strip before.

And you are finished! Sorry I don't have my cute little model, Olivia to show you this one on. I think I will make a version for myself as well....

Pimp my house...

2011-04-26T11:10:00.000-07:00

well, as it turns out NOT my house. The lenders decided not to give us the loan 2 weeks before we closed. And we tried everything in our power to make it still happen, and it just wouldn't work. Near perfect credit and enough income, but there are are little details that just made them say "no." And well, it just must not have been meant to be. It was VERY hard for me at first. I have a sketchbook filled with little painted rooms/mock-ups I did as I was deciding how to decorate my very first house. So I was a little let down when it all went to pot:( BUT MOVING ON!!!

We aren't going to buy, but rather KEEP renting. ugh. But I swear I will get a single family house or something as close to it if I can find one in our budget (and renting something smaller than what we would have had is going to run us at least $300 MORE per month then if we'd bought that house!!!!) grr.

anyway, I am putting up some of the inspiration I was using for the old one, and though I probably won't get to paint my rental, I can still dream of the future...and share it with all of you in the meantime:)

I love the color schemes of the top two photos, bright but classic (I tend to go with bright and funky, but I am trying to be more classic if possible!!!). My last statement completely contradicts this next one: I would love couch in the photo on the bottom left... (maybe slightly different, but definitely digging the mixed patterns. my couch is close, but not quite there). And I will definitely be doing one of those painted IKEA rugs (not sure what pattern yet) for my new pad. I am getting sick of all my anthro rugs that I've had for the past 6 yrs.

1. chalkboard contact paper. At least I can keep this idea, since contact paper works in rentals:) Not sure if I'll do a calendar or if I'll do it for the play area, but I definitely want some!
2. oh how I love the chartreuse walls next to the white bookshelves, and esp. all those little pops of color... one day.
3.I was planning on doing fat stripes (either grey or aqua) in my living room. Not so much anymore, unless I do them with contact paper. This rental house maybe covered in contact paper....
4. I can still do this one! I want to refresh some of my furniture (that I painted LAST time I moved and was pregnant:), and I like the two-toned look.

Organizing and Decorating:
1.I've always like the idea of the pipe clamp things with the mason jars. Combine it with painting the insides of them and it could be very pretty!
2.Chandelier... I think I could make this with beads and embroidery hoops. If my infant (only 10/11 wks to go), toddler and my business all give me a little time off so I can do it:)
3. you can't tell from the bottom left photo but this is chicken wire and clothes pins! Great alternative to bulletin boards!
4. These are actually bookshelf frames you can buy, but I think I could make them cheaper with thrifted shadow boxes all painted the same color (take out the glass and backing).

Blue-Eyed Freckle'd religion....

2011-04-22T10:39:00.000-07:00

Since it is Easter weekend, I thought that this post might be appropriate. Its a little religious which doesn't really go with the rest of the blog, but since my religion is really part of my entire life, its no wonder that I eventually had a religious art make-over on here:) Anyway...

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we have been counseled to have pictures of Christ in our homes, to remember our Savior and what he has done for us. We are also told that having pictures of the temple is a good reminder in our daily lives of how we should be living, and what we should be striving for (to go to the Temple you need to be living your life worthy to enter--very morally clean). I have never had pictures of either of these things in my home...oops.

Its not that I didn't want them, its just that I never liked any of the paintings of Christ (from an art standpoint)--except maybe some Byzantine pieces, or others that I would never be able to afford and I wanted a real one, not a print. As for the Temple, I wanted a picture of the Temple I was married in (Orlando) and there aren't any really cool photographs of that one out there either (other temples, yes, mine-no). So I decided a couple years ago that I would make my own of both (the Temple and Christ). But I also decided to only work on them during General conference (happens 2x/year) and so I finally got around to making them this year!!! Here they are:

THE BEFORE:

BEFORE: (I bought this at Goodwill and it was a little... eh... I don't know, not my thing)

AFTER: I just painted right on top of the existing painting, nothing amazing, but at least it fits in better with my decor...). The other one was varnished, but this one is much more matte. Except I left the varnished border (minus the bottom left corner, oops).

A painting of the Orlando Temple. I just looked at a photo online for this one. Again, nothing spectacular art-wise, but it is much more style.

Pretty around the neck: Spring Capelet Tutorial

2011-04-20T20:00:00.000-07:00

I saw a shirt in the Anthro's spring catalog last year that had a little caplet at the top (attached to the shirt). I had torn it out as inspiration, but when I went to make my own version of the shirt I decided it would be better if I could remove it and wear it with lots of shirts! I apologize that this tutorial is coming umm 4 months after I made it, but I've been a little distracted with life lately:)

MATERIALS NEEDED:
-fabric 54" long (1.5 yards)--I used linen, but you can use other fabrics as well. sheer, cotton, whatever you choose! I think flowy fabrics would be prettiest.

-contrasting fabric for making your own bias tape (I didn't actually cut mine on the bias b/c it was only used on straight edges), or pre-made bias tape

-sewing machine and supplies

1. cut two pieces from the fabric: 4"-5.5" X 54" (the long strip for tying around the neck)
and 8 1/2" x 54" (cape).

(this is how I attempt to cut it all the same width: I move the ruler down a bit at a time, and cut toward the inch mark.) I prefer this to marking it repeatedly down the length.

2. pin the bias tape around the ENTIRE long, skinny strip (in my photo I hadn't finished) and sew.
3. pin the bias tape around ONE long edge of the 8.5" width piece, and both short edges and sew. (see below)

4. sew a long-length stitch down the un-"taped" edge and then pull the string to gather.

5.pin the long strip on top of the cape part, making sure you center the strip. sew.

DONE! Love this thing. I seriously regret not taking photos of it much earlier in my pregnancy (I am about 7 months in this photo). I had envisioned photographs with a cute shirt and jeans tucked into my rainboots. But this is what happened.... the most boring, uninspiring outfit I could possibly wear! At least the caplet makes it more interesting:)

I love that it is kinda preppy, kinda funky. I think the next one will be some flowy silk or something fancy:)

HELP!

2011-04-13T10:46:00.000-07:00

So a couple months ago we found out the baby on the way is going to be another girl, yeah! Only problem? I used my 2 favorite names on Caroline Olivia.... and we had a perfect boy name picked out (left over from when we were naming olivia--Asher Fernando (middle name is my husband's grandpa). Now we are just fighting back and forth about a name for this new baby girl (who will be here in 3 months!!! ahhh!)

I need your help, or well I would just love your opinions:) Even if you are someone who NEVER comments, please do!!!

Here is a list of names that I liked, and ones Franc likes (beware), can you leave a comment with your favorite?

NAMES I LIKE:
bridget (top of my list)
collette
madeline
amelie
juliet
viviette
georgia
marin
parker

NAMES FRANCISCO LIKES:
Gabriella (top of his list)
Francisca (close second---eek!)
Fernanda
Dorothea
Thea
Hermione (no joke)
and a whole lot of others that I have blocked out of my memory.

The mobile that never was.

2011-04-12T18:09:00.000-07:00

When I was pregnant with Olivia I made and made and made things for her nursery. One of those things was going to be a mobile of little mom and baby animals. I made it but then when I hung it all the animals fell off (I just hot-glued strings to the eggs, but I should have done something more secure). Anyway, I never got around to re-doing it.

So, the other day I decided to rip all those strings off the animals and so Olivia could just play with them! And she loves making them "boing boing boing" around the house. Glad all that work didn't go to waste!

(To make these animals I bought paper-mache'd eggs from hobby lobby, painted them, cut out little felt parts and hot glued them on).

new in the shop...

2011-04-07T11:52:00.000-07:00

I've been selling a few of these in one of my shops in Atlanta, but had yet to make some for my etsy shop (which has been pretty neglected for the past 3 1/2 months.... oops).

The design is inspired by an accessory I saw in Paris and in a French magazine awhile back. I am absolutely in love with how these look on as well as off. Too bad my husband isn't around at the moment to take a photo of me wearing one so you can see (he's studying for exams)...

anyway, head over to the shop and pick one up! It would look adorable for Easter, Passover, or just to add to your spring wardrobe.

yuuum. make these and eat them right now!

2011-04-06T17:14:00.000-07:00

THESE. ARE. SO. GOOD. My friend Shannon made these a few weeks ago and let me try one. I was in heaven! I finally got around to making some myself tonight, but I made a couple substitutions that made them slightly healthier??...ish. And they were still so good!!! Here is the original recipe. To make my healthier version:

--substitute the 1/3 C of oil with 1/3 C of applesauce (eliminating the fat....)

--For the flour, it calls for 1 3/4 cups of flour. I did 1 C of WHOLE WHEAT and 3/4 C of white flour. (more whole grains....)

and keep everything else the same! OH! It says it makes 6 muffins, but I got 9 out of it and they were still huge. You could easily make it into 12 med. sized ones and call it a day.

Do you love grilled cheese? I never really cared much for it growing up, since I hated cheese (I know what WAS I THINKING???) but as a grown up I've developed a love for melted cheese (still won't eat it cold). My dad makes AWESOME grilled cheese sandwiches and I was craving them the other day when I saw this image on pinterest. I have already made it twice. yuuuuummmm.
Here is the original recipe/site.

I never actually looked at the site, just the photo, so I missed the whole apple slices thing, but I bet that would taste good too. Here is how I made it:

Ingredients: bread, avocado, cheese, cooked bacon (I used turkey bacon), salt, butter

1.toast your bread (I had no idea what a difference this could make in your G.C. until my dad did it)
2. butter each slice on one side (not a low fat way to make it, but OHHHH the difference)
3.add slices of cheese, avocado, and bacon, then sprinkle with salt
4. put them in your frying pan or grill until the cheese is melted, making sure you get both sides.

Eat it.

Potty Training Pants Tutorial

2011-04-01T10:12:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I realize that this tutorial will only be interesting or useful for a few of my readers, but since I really love this idea and it has worked out great for us so far, I thought I would share with the few who care! If you like it, then spread the word about these things! They are money-saving and great! Here goes...

HOW TO MAKE POTTY TRAINING PANTS (from stuff you already have).

Materials:

old diaper covers/bloomers (preferably the soft cotton jersey kind) I used Olivia's size 3-6 month ones mostly--since they aren't covering a diaper they are the perfect size.

burp cloth/diaper cloths (gerber or whatever you have, I had the cheapy kind because she went through a zillion a day as an infant)

fold the diaper/burp cloths in thirds, long ways

pin the cloth into the diaper cover.

sew around the entire rectangle, and then down the center to make sure the cloth doesn't get all bunch and folded up on the inside after wash and wear.

How easy was that?? and you saved yourself some moolah! These are even better than the store bought ones. They absorb more:)

And if you ware wondering why not just use pull-ups?? well, they absorb so much that its like wearing a diaper, and so kids tend to potty train slower from what I hear. These have worked great with Olivia and we potty trained her at 18 months. (I will do a whole post on that soon, I've just been too lazy to write it!)

Just bought our first house!

2011-03-29T11:20:00.000-07:00

So yes, my husband is still in Med school, but I just couldn't bear one more year of apartment living. Plus where we are moving (South Florida) it costs more to rent than to buy right now (well, for the kind of house we can afford). Either way, our expenses are tight, but in a house I get... a BACKYARD!!! and a DRIVEWAY!!!! These may not sound like much to you, but since I will have a toddler and a baby, these are 2 things I didn't want to live without. (I am so glad this is my last month of hauling a toddler, diaper bag, and 100 lbs of groceries up the stairs while I am pregnant).

anyway, this is our first, little (its only 1600 sq. ft) starter home. And we will only be in it for 2 years (not worried about selling b.c everything EVERYTHING everything we looked at sold before we could even get our hands on it--in this price range (low).

enjoy the tour! These are all photos I took right after we signed the deal.

The back. Yes, its vinyl siding, not my faves, but this isn't the house we'll be in forever!

Fenced in backyard. not necessarily the best view, but I don't care because of the following scenario:

Olivia: "outside? okay. outside? peaaase!"

ME: (in our new house) sure! let me just open these doors and you can go play in the backyard. YES!!!!!!!!!!!

all new stainless steel appliances?? YES! cherry wood cabinets? not so much, but we'll see if I have the energy to repaint them white.

Lots of counter space??? YES!!!!!! speckled granite? not so much, but at least they are nice and new.

Brand new washer dryer!!!! woo hoo!

(this says: wish it had wood floors, but that's okay. Not a fan of the tan paint (throughout the whole house....) but I have lots of ideas for that. I LOVE all the light in this room.)

TWO walk-in closets in the master??? AWWW YEAH. Franc will get at least 1/2 of one of those:)

The tiling in the bath? Nothing a shower curtain can't hide. At least its all new, esp. the grout.

2 Kids rooms. yes! Can't wait to paint these!

kid bathroom

Hallway to dining room, kitchen, and future playroom/studio (its bigger than it looks, and there is a small part of the wall that juts out to divide the dining area). I am so happy that I can see my backyard while in the kitchen so Olivia can play!

CONCLUSION: I am THRILLED to not be in an apartment anymore--soon. And even though this house isn't everything I've ever dreamed of, it is more than I could even wish for at this time in our lives. I am so excited to live in it and I have a million ideas going around in my head of how I can decorate it! Hope you guys want to see them all, and what I do, b./c I have a feeling I'll be posting about it all:)

SHABBY APPLE WINNER!!!!

2011-03-28T05:22:00.000-07:00

guess who RANDOM.ORG says won this dress?????? The very first person who submitted an entry!

Out of 143 entries, number 1 is the lucky winner:

Taylor {Sew Much Love} said...Oh sweet giveaway! I love every single one of their dresses but that Madison Ave one you posted is my absolutely favorite! Well here's to hoping!

congrats Taylor!
And for everyone else: don't forget you can get 10 percent off anything on shabby apple by using the code:

blueeyedfreckle10off

at the checkout!!

Dyed paper doilies

2011-03-24T17:24:00.000-07:00

A month ago I dyed a huge batch of wool felt to make my spring headbands out of (which I have yet to put on etsy since they all went to stores... sorry I'll get some on there soonish! Of course you know I always love to throw other things in the dye and so along with some of Olivia's clothes went about 100 paper doilies (from the dollar store).

I have been wanting to dye some ever since I saw an idea in M.S. magazine on putting dyed doilies on top of wrapped presents. But I might like these ideas below even more...

To dye doilies:
1.Fill a portion of a pot, tupperware, or kitchen sink with hot water (doesn't need to be too too hot).
2.Add some RIT dye
3.separate the doilies and submerge them in the water.
4.leave for about 5 min. no more (they are so thin they could disintegrate).
5.Take them out all stuck together b/c they have more strength in numbers:)
6.put them out in the sun/outside (on top of thick papertowels or something) to dry, with a rock to weigh them down.
7.Flip them over to get the other side drier, or bring them inside, separate them, and let them dry some more.

pretty! A garland for a party, or Easter, or maybe over my baby-to-be's bed (oh P.S. ITS A GIRL)

Or the ever popular party poofs, but made with doilies! I love the hand-dyed look too, because it would give the poofs a little more depth with varying values of color.

P.S. If you haven't entered the Shabby Apple Giveaway then do it now! only 89 entries so far, those are some good odds for winning a really cool dress! (you have lots of ways you can get multiple entries too!)

Shabby Apple Dress Giveaway!!!!

2011-03-22T05:12:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to do this giveaway for YOU my loyal readers (and a bit jealous since it means I don't even have a chance to win it)! If you haven't heard of Shabby Apple (women's and girl's dresses, bathing suits and accessories), then you need to head on over right now, because you will be drooling over all of their affordable, adorable, yet modest pieces.

This Giveaway is for the green L'Amour dress shown above! I love how lightweight and breezy it would be for summer, and the color of course is great. To enter just scroll down below (and you can also get a 10%off code).

Here are a few of my other favorites...

Gondola

Cortez

(this one has cool details you can't see that well in the photo)

Casablanca

Madison Ave.

Spanish Steps

And that was only a few!!! They have alot of the dresses in different colors, you just have to look under different categories/themes.

Okay, now how to win the L'Amour (green) dress (ENDS Sun. March 27 at 11:59 pm):

( giveaway is for US shipping addresses only)

1. Leave a comment stating why you like Shabby Apple Dresses and/or which is your favorite

MAKE SURE YOU INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS (or a way to contact you)!!!

FOR ADDITIONAL CHANCES (leave separate comments for each):

-"like" Shabby Apple on Facebook (and you will find out about more promotions etc!)

-post this giveaway on your Facebook (and include @blueeyedfreckle in your link)

-blog about it and include a link

-become a follower of blueeyedfreckle (either facebook or the blog--if you aren't already)

(GIVEAWAY ENDS Sun. March 27 at 11:59 pm)

Even if you don't win, you can still get 10% off everything on their site by using the code

blueeyedfreckle10off

Throwing a party anytime soon?

2011-03-14T18:55:00.000-07:00

I am in charge of an interest group at my church where each month we get together and learn about a different topic (I find someone who is talented in that subject area, or knows alot about it to teach us).

This month we are learning about planning a great party (kids, showers, etc), so since it was on my mind I thought I would do a post of inspiring party decor! Enjoy:)

images from my pinterest boards

source

I know big tissue paper poufs are all the party rage right now, and I should be over them, but I thought these two clusters kind of went beyond the norm. I love the contrasting textures in the first image.

source

a great alternative to the poufs!

source

I love how simple these would be to make!

source

for a 50th.... or you could do it for any birthday (or anniversary)!

source

cute for a little girl's party

source

cute wrapping with cupcake liners!

source

what to wear to your party or for a fun photobooth (with props)

source

or wear confetti, pom-poms and flowers!

And you can try out my birthday hat tutorial from Olivia's "O" themed first birthday party!

Ruffles and stripes= fabulous t-shirt upgrade

2011-03-08T20:28:00.000-08:00

I told you I would give you a tutorial for this one. I loved it so much that I made 3 more for my daughter, and one for myself! The tutorial will show you how to do it to an existing t-shirt, but I will also give you tips on doing it from scratch!

Materials needed:

striped fabric (or other patterned fabric)
old t-shirt or t-shirt material
cotton/jersey/other non-fraying material for ruffles and sleeve trim

1. cut a strip of fabric as wide as you want, and long enough to be doubled and extend a couple inches from the bottom of the shirt.

2. Sew the strip together down the long sides only. Turn inside out and press.

3. lay it on your shirt and pin it down

4.Cut strips of the jersey/cotton/non-fraying material double the length of your striped strip that is on the shirt already. Mine were about 1.5-2" wide.
5. ruffle your strips. (you can sew a long stitch and then pull the strings to ruffle, or use another method).

6. place the ruffles under the strip and re-pin.
7. Tuck the extended end of the strip under the edge of the t-shirt and pin down.

8. top stitch both the ruffles and the striped strip, using a 1/8" seam. (I just line up the edge of my fabric with the inside of my foot as shown.)

9. cut out 2 sleeve shapes, making the top curve larger (higher arch) in order to give it extra fabric you can gather/ruffle for a puffed sleeve.

10. using a 1/8 seam sew a long length stitch without back-stitching along the curve of the sleeves. Gather by pulling the strings.

You can put the sleeves in like this tutorial... or you can try a method I saw on this blog! I love this new method and it allowed me to take in the sides of this t-shirt that was too large on me anyway!

11.(if you want to do the new method) cut the sides open on the t-shirt.

12. Carefully cut the sleeves off along the curve.

13. Gather the sleeve until it fits in the cut out sleeve area of your t-shirt and then pin right sides together. Sew along that curve. Repeat for the other sleeve.

14. Turn the entire shirt inside out (right sides together) and sew it back together, as well as the open ends of the sleeves! Easy!

15. Cut out a 2 in wide strip long enough to go around your arm and have an inch left to sew together the ends.

16. Gather the bottom of the sleeve first (like you did with the top of the sleeve).

17. Sew the ends of the folded over strip together, trim the ends, and then pin it to the gathered end of the sleeve. sew down.

18. press all sewn seams on the shirt and you are done!!!

IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A KIDS VERSION FROM AN OLD SHIRT:

1.use the bottom seam that already exists and place a t-shirt on top to create your pattern. cut out a sleeveless shirt shape (2 pieces).

2. Make your sleeves the same way, but before you put them in, add the folded over strip first (if you want--it is easier for the tiny little sleeves, but it won't have a gathered bottom).

3. cut another folded over strip--or use the existing t-shirt collar off the old t-shirt--- and pin it to the neck curves on the front and back

4. sew the shirt together just at the shoulders, and then follow the rest of the tutorial the same starting at step #13!!!

My favorite shirt ever!!!!! Sorry I didn't include a photo of me wearing my version, my husband has been too busy and I can't get a photo before the sun goes down! Olivia is much cuter anyway:)

bright, happy color for an overcast friday afternoon.

2011-03-04T15:33:00.000-08:00

Some vivid color I've been "pinning." Hope it brightens and inspires you this weekend. Enjoy!

(if you want to follow my boards go here.)

1.cabinets (maybe I'll do this in our future home!) via

2. rug via

3. dress (I'd love to own or make) via

4. floating umbrellas via

5. pillows made from sweaters via

6. yarn wrapped gifts via

Upcycled iPad or Kindle cover tutorial

2011-03-02T10:10:00.000-08:00

I am so in love with this case. Every time I pull my iPad (a Christmas gift from my parents!!) out of it I feel happy. I run my fingers over the stitching and look at all those pretty colors and it seriously just makes me giddy! I wish I could hang it up and display it I love it so much!

I have always wanted to make a dresden plate (that quilted circle on the case) quilt. Ever since I bought this 70's quilting book at Saver's long ago, I knew I wanted one of those for my bed. Problem is?? I have never gotten around to making one since a queen-sized quilt is such a large undertaking. (The only quilt I have ever made was for Olivia.) Anyway, I finally made a dresden plate and it was for my iPad. perhaps another reason I love this thing oh so much!

Tutorial for Making an iPad or Kindle case (with or without the sweater and dresden plate)

Materials:
*old sweater (optional)
*scraps of fabric for the dresden plate (optional)
*piece of felt to back the dresden plate.
-zipper (specific sizes see below)
-pieces of fabric big enough to fit your kindle/ipad (or just fabric for the 2 linings if you are doing the sweater version)
**The kindle cases I made for friends had vinyl covered fabric or leatherette on the outside to make them water resistant (i.e. good for the diaper bag). This is optional also (unless you are doing the sweater version)

this is a photo of a photocopy of a magazine photo of the actual object...

first of all, here is my inspiration for using the sweater. It is from the January issue of Marie Claire Idees (My all time favorite magazine for home/sewing/crafting/decorating inspiration. We used to buy this every month to be inspired when I did display at Anthro.)

First we will start with how to create your pattern for the case.
1. lay your kindle/iPad on a piece of paper.
2. lay your zipper down in the direction you want it to open (in this case horizontal) and this will be the entire length of your case pattern.
ZIPPER SIZES:
kindle: horizontal= 9 in vertical= 7 in
iPad: vertical= 9 in horizontal= at least 10.5 in (which doesn't exist so you have to buy a larger zipper and just sew it shorter when installing it. you can use kitchen scissors to cut off the remaining zipper)

4. create a 5/8 inseam around the k/iP making sure you have enough excess room on the inside (this shouldn't be a problem since you are using the right sized zipper).

If you want to just make a lined case with water resistant fabric or regular fabric go to this tutorial and the rest of the process is there (no need to repeat since this is the one I used!).

If you want to make yours similar to mine then keep reading, though you will also end up at that tutorial in the end!

5. Make yourself a dresden plate pattern piece, making sure before hand that the circumference of the circle will fit on your case. (If you go to that link your can download a pdf of the pattern piece I believe. I scaled mine down from one I had in a book.)

6. cut the pieces out of scraps of fabric leftover from old projects!
7. lay them out on the scrap of felt, pin them down, and then stitch in place using a simple straight stitch.

8. you can see the simple stitch I did on each piece above. I then did a fancier stitch on top of that one, connecting the two pieces that were side-by-side. If your machine can't do this, then just do a zig-zag stitch.
9. go around the inner and outer circles with your zig-zag or fancy stitch as well.

10. cut around the plate leaving just a little trim of felt on the inner and outer circles.
11. Using your pattern (made earlier), cut out 2 rectangles from an old sweater (I used scraps I had left from this project).
12. Sew the dresden plate down onto one of the sweater pieces.

13. In order to prevent your sweater from getting all wonky and stretched out, you also need to cut out a piece of fabric (won't be seen) to line the sweater. This will add more water resistance, but its really to keep the sweater stable.
13. sew the sweater to the lining (inner inner lining). I just did a 1/8 in seam around the whole thing.

(if you look closely you can see the edges are where I stitched the backing). I love how 3-D, thick and textured this becomes with all the layers.

To finish the case and put the lining and zipper in, follow this tutorial. SO EASY!!! and beautiful! enjoy!

see! fits in their perfectly. all nice and cozy:)

color and stripes

2011-02-23T17:51:00.000-08:00

Kate Spade Ads (oh so colorful and inspiring) + This Tutorial + Ikea fabric (+ photoshop) =

(In my ideal world I would have taken multi-colored streamers and laid them across the grass to mimic the painted road stripes. photoshop had to do.)

The tutorial I followed to make this skirt was SO EASY!!! And it links to a great tutorial on putting in invisible zippers which have always daunted me. I plan on making another one of these skirts after I have the baby. (note: I added my own trim and I deleted the bow from the tutorial.)

Below are a few outtakes from out photoshoot. I had fully intended on being shot alone, but Olivia would have none of it. luckily she's so cute it only added to the pictures!

you can see my belly sticking out in this one!

I never know what to do when I am "modeling" my creations. At this exact moment Olivia walked into my shoe/ I kicked her and knocked her over. OOPS!

she can't resist her momma and I can't resist her! (FYI: Olivia is wearing an Oilily dress that I scored at a thrift store (along with a bunch of awesome French clothes) for $3!!!!!! I was so stoked when I found it.

awkwardly trying to get a shot of my skirt...

And since I can't get enough of the stripes... I made this for Olivia!

I made this for her Friday night and had her model it the next morning. I can't get enough of it!

(she was staring up at a dog on the balcony and barking at him.)

Tutorial (for an adult size and child size) coming soon!

I also made these a few weeks ago using some of my favorite Ikea stripes. Olivia LOVES these to play on, lean up against, etc. So glad I took the time to make two (one for the baby) because they are easy but labor intensive.

and.... a sneak peak of a colorful tutorial coming soon for one of my favorite upcycling projects of the new year!

"On the Go" Bird Game Tutorial

2011-02-21T10:32:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I told you that I had discovered my new favorite person to hate (not really obviously): Made By Joel. I seriously love everything he makes for his kids and I was so inspired that I decided to make my own version of this simple toy/game he created awhile back.

What I love about this Bird Game is that it gives them enough options that they can use their creativity to come up with many different versions of a "bird." Enjoy!

Materials:
cardboard (I used the flaps of small box)
Kitchen shears (much easier to cut with than regular scissors!)
sticky velcro
acrylic paint (craft or art)
paintbrushes, cup, water
OPTIONAL (to make a bag):
2 squares of fabric (small--I used discarded t-shirt sleeves)
sew-on velcro
felt
hot glue

1. draw out your bird (or other animal) parts.
TOP: wings (I did lots so I could paint them different colors)
MIDDLE: legs, 2 pairs of feet, one pair of shoes, 1 eye and 2 different beaks
BOTTOM: Large wings
R. SIDE: Body, head, eye

(here is a close up)

2. Paint all your parts! This is the fun part:)

3. cut up your velcro pieces and place them on your bird body and parts so they can be stuck together! MAKE SURE YOU PUT ALL OF THE SOFT VELCRO ON THE BODY AND ALL THE SPIKY VELCRO ON THE PARTS (or vice versa). That way everything is interchangeable.

(I put some pieces on the back so that feathers could stick out from behind the body as well.)

You won't be able to resist playing with the bird yourself!

Now for the bag.
1.Cut your letters out of felt and hot glue them on the bag leaving room on the sides for sewing.
2. you can make a little bird face too if you want (see below)
3. If you need to, fold over the top edges of your fabric to create a seam.
4. Sew on your velcro pieces so that they will match up when your bag is finished
5. With like sides together, sew the 2 pieces on 3 sides. FINISHED!

(inside of the bag)

This is great to bring in the car, to church, or anywhere else they need to be entertained on the go!

Check out my bio on....

2011-02-21T10:00:00.000-08:00

Twig Creative! I was so flattered when Michelle, part of the Twig Creative Duo asked me to write about my current artwork ("artwork" being all encompassing). Check it out here!

Gathered Collar T-shirt Re-Vamp

2011-02-17T20:30:00.000-08:00

I love the way a basic t-shirt fits my body. But seriously, they aren't very stylish, which is why I am always trying to find ways to make them cute! (As seen here and here and here.) So here is my latest!

Materials Needed:

T-shirt

1/2-3/4 yard of fabric (though you won't use it all) OR A Large Men's dress shirt (that's what I used)

Bias Tape 1/4" to 1/2" double fold (1 pack)-- or 3/4-1" single fold

buttons

Puffy Sleeve pattern piece (or look here on how to make one)

sewing supplies

1. Create a strip of fabric that is 54" long (I was using a men's shirt so I just cut two pieces and sewed them together) and 5 inches wide.
2. lengthen your stitch (on your machine) to a 4 or 5 and then sew one line 1/4" from each of the long sides of your 54"x5" strip.
3. pull those strings to gather up the strip.

4. trim the excess pretty close to the stitching w/o cutting the stitches.

Now get out your bias tape (that stuff that you see near the thread and zippers in the fabric store).

5. Mine was some vintage cream single fold, so I had to fold it over (as shown) and press it in half with my iron.

6. I then took the bias tape and sandwiched the folds around the raw edges of the gathered strip (and I pinned it obviously).

(here is what I did when I had to turn corners)

6. I then laid it on top of my t-shirt, around the collar as I would want it to be placed.

7. Then I took a fabric/sewing pencil and outlined the outer edge (where I would want to cut the t-shirt collar off).

8. Can you see that faint line where I had sketched? (I moved the gathered piece up from it so you could see.) That is where I cut the t-shirt. note: I only cut the front, not the back, I wanted to wait until I had sewn it on to cut the back off.

9. You can do this part earlier or later than now, but I am going to insert this part of the tutorial in now. You need to sew 3 strips of bias tape into loops for buttons. Sew them on. DON'T PUT THE BUTTONS ON UNTIL THE END (I had to re-do mine).

(again disregard that I already have buttons on mine)

10. Put your t-shirt on and get a feel for exactly how you want your collar to lay and then pin it down. (or you can just sew it exactly how you drew it on the t-shirt, but I found that mine needed to be tweaked a little bit and I ended up overlapping the ends more than I had thought).

11. Sew it in place, and then put in your buttons so that they correspond with the loops.

12. For the puffy sleeves I did the EXACT same thing that I show in THIS tutorial, so I didn't repeat it. The only difference is that I bound the edges with my bias tape so that it matched the collar. (Again if you don't own a sleeve pattern, or have only a regular sleeve pattern and you want to make it a puffy sleeve, then look at this tutorial.)

FINISHED! I love mine! And if you are wondering about the random location I chose to pose, well it was because 2 seconds before there were giraffes behind me. We were at the zoo. Unfortunately they were all gone by the time I got a good shot and olivia wasn't running away....

Made this (and you can see my pregnant belly)

2011-02-16T05:50:00.000-08:00

(In these photos I was 18 weeks and now I am 19 weeks, so I am probably a tad bigger.)

Anyway, I adorned this cardigan using this tutorial on Grosgrain Fabulous and I am in love with it! I used to hate this cardigan, so definitely worth my time and effort. Just wanted to tell you all about it so you could make one too! And I have some new tutorials coming your way soon, so look out for them! Enjoy your Wednesday... I am potty training, so not sure how enjoyable mine will be:)

Valentine's Recipe: Pumpkin Cream pasta with Goat cheese and Roasted Tomatoes

2011-02-14T10:41:00.000-08:00

Okay, so this isn't really a Valentine's recipe, but it feels delicious and fancy enough to be worthy of a stay-at-home Valentine's dinner! I made the recipe up (parts of it) after eating something similar at a hip, delicious restaurant here in Atlanta called "Two Licks." (There dish had goat cheese ravioli, which would be delish, but I don't always have time to make stuff like that.)

Here is a step-by-step, and then I will follow with the recipe! (you know, its so blog trendy to show the step-by-step).

Cut up some cherry tomatoes, spray a pan/dish with oil, and broil them for about 8 minutes.

Boil your pasta of choice. I did Rigatoni.

Heat up your olive oil in a large pan/pot (mines a combo) and add the garlic and onion. saute.

In a separate bowl, pour in your pumpkin, chicken broth, 1/2 of your sage, and the half&half (I used light cream from whole foods, but no big diff.).

Once the onions are soft, add that bowl of ingredients to the pot/pan. Reduce to med/low and simmer for 10 minutes.

It'll look something like this... Stir Frequently and season with S&P

Pour the strained pasta into the sauce (or vice versa depending on the size of your pots), and toss to coat. Pour in 2 T of the cheese and mix well.

Top with remaining sage and parm, as well as some slices/chunks of goat cheese, fresh basil, and the roasted tomatoes. YUUUUUMMMM! We devoured this dish. Enjoy!

Pasta with Pumpkin Cream Sauce, goat cheese, tomato and basil

Pasta of your choice

1 /2 of a Vidalia onion chopped fine

3 medium cloves garlic (or a spoonful of minced)

Dried (or fresh) sage, to taste

1 tablespoon olive oil

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

3/4 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup fat free half & half (or low fat heavy cream)

salt & pepper

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

goat cheese (room temp)

cherry tomatoes, sliced in half (1/2-1 carton)

fresh basil leaves (chopped slightly)

Directions:

Bring a large pot of to a boil over medium-high heat. Add sald and pour in the pasta and cook according to package directions.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook for 3 minutes, stirring, until they have softened. Stir in the pumpkin puree, chicken broth, half & half, and 1/2 of the sage. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the sauce is slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste; keep warm on the lowest setting.

Drain the pasta and add to the sauce, then add 2 tablespoons of the cheese and mix well. To serve it: top with remaining sage, parm, slices/chunks of goat cheese, roasted tomatoes, and fresh basil leaves.

Pom-pom heart t-shirt (not just for valentine's day!)

2011-02-09T13:07:00.000-08:00

Its a little daring I'll admit, but its so fun to wear and I can't help but love it! If you keep on reading I'll show you how to make this good-for-valentine's-day but also good for any other day t-shirt!

Month's (maybe a year??) ago I cut that photo above off of a Glamour cover and stuck it on my inspiration boards. And since I am all caught up with my headbands lately, I 've actually had a chance to work on some of these projects I've been meaning to do forever! anyway, that was the inspiration.

1. I gathered a bunch of different red, pink, coral, and orange yarns (and long strips of t-shirt leftover from this), and my trusty pom-pom maker (you can also use this tutorial to make them without one).

2. I then made a whole mess of pom-poms, periodically laying them out to see how big of a heart they would make.

3. I then laid them out on my t-shirt and pinned each one down.

(NOTE: if you are pom-pom-on-t-shirt weary and you want to do a more subtle version of this shirt, I would stick with thin strips of t-shirt material and thinnnnn yarns when making your pom-poms. They lay much flatter.) ALSO, make a narrower heart then you would think. Mine nicely curved around each of my boobs which drew unnecessary attention (I guess with smaller boobs this would be helpful?)....

4. Lastly, HAND-SEW them down. I tried to machine sew them, and bent my needle. no good.

And you are finished! Try it on and take a photo! Wear it on V-day or any other day you want to wear your heart on your sleeve-- I mean boobs.

I decided my plain old porch backdrop would not suffice for this mini photoshoot, so I taped a piece of Ikea paper table cloth (that I scalloped) on the wall. I then put my camera up on Olivia's little table and set it to timer. These are the kinds of things I have to do to get a photo of myself around here.... Wish I'd had a larger piece of that paper in the background. oh well.

And here it is! My poofy heart shirt!

AND THE WINNER IS.......

2011-02-08T18:55:00.000-08:00

Random.org says that #40 is the winner!
"How did I miss this. I read EVERY thing you post?!?!?!
Going to FB now!"---Mistylynn
(please either leave your email in the comments or email it to me so I can get your address!)

congratulations Misty! Thank you to everyone for entering, for you super nice comments, and for reading my blog! I appreciate each and every reader.

Don't forget the giveaway!

2011-02-07T11:16:00.000-08:00

Today is the last day to enter the giveaway for these babies! Don't delay! and help me spread the word!
Only 15 people have entered so you will have a VERY good chance at winning! ends Feb. 7, 2011 at midnight!

yum-oh-yum-oh-yum!

2011-02-07T06:58:00.000-08:00

smitten kitchen

dinner party

This weekend we went over to our friends' house to play Kinect (super fun and a good workout!) and have dinner. I had to bring dessert, and I wanted it to be good. My friend Lisa has a "Dinner Party" blog where she puts together meals for her own diner parties from various recipes she's found-mostly across the web. And that's where I found this delicious recipe (via Smitten Kitchen). It is the most gourmet dessert I have ever made (I had to brown butter and whip eggs for 10 minutes!) but it wasn't hard at all and it tasted so delicious! You must try it out!

Check My Momma Out!!!

2011-02-04T10:20:00.000-08:00

A few months ago my very cool mother started a couple Etsy shops. Grandpa's Pocket and The Kitchen General. She came up with the name for Grandpa's pocket because she absolutely loved her grandpa and whenever she would see him, he always seemed to have something fun for her in his pocket (candy, trinkets, cards, etc). If you look at her ad to the right, you will see a photo of him in the background.

Anyway, my mother has an eye for vintage/antique things. So she picks them up as she shops around, and then lists them in Grandpa's Pocket! Whenever we go home my sisters and I try to call dibs on different items in case they don't sell (or she just gives them to us). Its fun having a mother with such awesome taste! If you don't believe me, check some of her current items out (below)...

How cool are these Vintage Wedding Cake toppers!!!! I mean seriously. If I were doing my wedding again I would totally figure out a way to decorate with these! (If not on the cake, then perhaps by the guestbook??---I had a vintage typewriter that people typed out their message on).

and how about these pretty vintage shoe trees? In one of my all time favorite colors. How pretty to display near your boudoir.

These are vintage hand-embroidered wallhangings. How pretty! I love embroidery and that is one thing I KNOW I will never take the time to do. Takes waaay too long, better to just buy someone else's pretty work:)

I. want. these. glasses. My mom has an awesome collection of vintage frames she sells on her site, but when these came up I started to covet...

Awesome patent leather purse that I could totally see Joan on "Mad Men" carrying around.

And lastly, this colorful (and my favorite combo of colors as well) French "Milles Bornes" card game! This would be so cool as decor (line up the cards in a grid on the wall), or to use for collage, or for decorating a children's room... I don't know but I seriously love these cards! (I am a sucker for French stuff....)

Bunting gloves tutorial and a GIVEAWAY!

2011-02-02T19:31:00.000-08:00

Remember this inspiration post from the other day (above photos and more)? Well, I really WAS inspired and so I got to work... making these:

And I love them!! I actually bought the $1 gloves awhile back to do some sort of holiday tutorial but I was never inspired to do anything until now. It was super simple, so I give you a tutorial annnnd a chance to win these very gloves! (Love them but I am moving to Florida....)

Materials needed:
plain gloves
wool blend or recycled felt (the cheap kind at joann's)
embroidery floss
emroidery needle
hot glue

1. cut small triangles out of various colors or shades of felt.
2. place them on your gloves to decide how you want them configured.
3. put a TINY dot of hot glue on each triangle and place it on the glove (this will hold it in place while you embroider).

4. cut a length of embroidery floss and take apart two of the strings, instead of using all the threads. (you will use the other threads when this one runs out).
4. tie a small knot at the beginning of one triangle (I did it on the outside because it was hard to get inside the glove and do it, but if you can, that would be even better). I used a dab of hot glue on the knot so it won't come loose.

5. embroider the "V" part of each triangle (don't need to do the 3rd side) until your thread runs out. Then start a new one (when you end the other, tie a knot and dot the hot glue).

And there you have it! your own bunting gloves!

And now you can win them! Yay for a GIVEAWAY! So here are the rules:

TO ENTER: Just leave a comment. Then...

FOR ADDITIONAL CHANCES you can do the following:
   -Become a follower and tell me (for new followers)
                      - become a FACEBOOK FAN!! (see bottom right column of this page)
   - Blog about it and leave a link in my comments
   - Facebook it and leave a link
   -twitter it and leave a link (is that possible?)

THE GIVEAWAY ENDS MONDAY NIGHT AT 12 am (PST), FEB.7

Happy February!

2011-02-01T10:23:00.000-08:00

Last year's banner (see tutorial)-- which I didn't want to cast aside just because I made something new this year... so I put it over the bed! I mean what better place to put hearts than the over the place where all the loooove happens..... gross katie.

(I got my all time favorite bedding- Orla Keily- in Paris last summer on sale for $60!!! I was stoked. It was a king, but I just sewed it smaller and left the extra fabric on the inside for when we finally get to upgrade our bed:). Oh and I made the shams and the small red chevron throw, and annilygreen custom-made the smaller rectangular pillow.

And this year's banner! I made this thing in less than 30 minutes, and I would give you a tutorial, but seriously is it hard to figure out??? I cut out a jillion hearts (felt), sewed them into 3 long strips, and then tacked them up on the wall. done. It isn't anything super fancy, artsy, or original but it seriously makes me happy everytime I look at it! And I am really not that big a fan of hearts or the valentine's day color scheme...

And check out the V-Day headband tutorial I did last year! Enjoy:) Happy February!

Dear Joel, You Make Me CRAAAZY! (with jealousy)

2011-01-28T06:01:00.000-08:00

Have you all seen the blog "Made by Joel" yet??? I just saw it for the first time the other day thanks to Annie. One look and I wanted to simultaneously die of jealousy because of his awesome, yet simple ideas, and yet I wanted to give him a big hug and say THANK-YOU!!! I have always wanted to make more of Olivia's toys, and now, thanks to Joel Henrique I have very simple ways to make fun toys for her! Below is just a smattering (is that a word?) of what you will find on that blog.

spool turkeys

branch forest

simple marionette

velcro robot

walking deer

(A simple marble maze)

(a woodpecker that pecks and oscillates as you pull the rubberband)

Check them all out here. Prepare to be awed.

Painted Clog Organizers

2011-01-27T06:01:00.000-08:00

do you remember this inspiration post from awhile back??? (Above is the photo I was inspired by, not my photo.)

well... back in June I went to St.Louis to visit my grandparents, aunts and uncles, and while I was there (shopping at the best "antique mall" ever) I found these clogs. I think for the 3 of them I paid around $8. sweet. (The plain pair are a men's size 10! They are HUGE!)

If you want some hanging clog organizers too, then here is my tutorial (super easy):

Materials:
spray paint
sand paper
acrylic paint (craft or art)
spray sealant/topcoat (clear)
paint brush
drill/screwdriver

1. sand the clogs so the paint will adhere well.
2. Drill holes in the heel so that you can easily put a screw through them to hang on the wall (I haven't done this yet...)
3. Lay the clogs on some newspaper and spray paint 2 coats (let dry in between).

4.I then painted a white strip around the rims of all 3 (2 coats). I then did a thin stripe of the burnt red-orange color, so that it would be easier to do a scallop trim without getting in to the white stripe.

5. I then free-handed some scallops (I wanted them to be irregular). If you want them to be all the same you can pre-draw them with a pencil first if you are weary of free-handing with paint.

6. Spray them with a coat of sealant/ finishing coat so that the paint doesn't easily scrape off. ( I haven't done this yet either because I may want to paint some more on them...)

Finished! I couldn't put them up on my wall yet, because we are moving to FLORIDA in May (well I am, my husband has boards and a 1-month rotation to complete before he meets me down in West Palm Beach--where he will be doing rotations for 2 years).

Anyway, I am in love with them and I can't wait to hang them on my wall and store my scissors, paintbrushes, and markers in them!

Sweater to swiffer= pretty clean slash clean pretty

2011-01-25T20:13:00.000-08:00

1.you start with this (or something like it), a sewing machine, your dry swiffer, and some pins.

2. you turn it right side up, put the swiffer on top, then fold over the top and bottom edges (I cut out the tag first).

3. you pin where you will need to sew. I pulled it toooo tight the first time (which is the photo pictured above), and ended up having to make another one b/c I couldn't pull this one over the swiffer! so pin it looser than you might think.

4. remove the swiffer and then cut out your rectangle, leaving about 1/2 inch on the sides.

5.Turn it right side out, curl the raw cut edges under, and then sew down each side. (I did a lot of backstitching to make it sturdy)

6. Stick it over your swiffer, spray some floors with your homemade (or not) cleaners, and watch it work beautifully, and look beautiful while doing the job! (I usually use microfiber towels on my swiffer, but turns out this works even better because of the rougher texture.)

Color, oh color how you make me so happy!

2011-01-25T10:34:00.000-08:00

source??? can't remember

One of those art pieces that makes me go "dang it!!!! Wish I'd created that!" Incredibly inspiring.

Just discovered this beautiful blog from ~~the Netherlands~~ some where (Finland?) in Scandinavia... and even though I have seen a million little sewn banner-y things (I made one recently myself), this one still catches my eye and makes me sing inside with all those vibrant colors.

found this ad for a cute line of clothing (German) called "Bonnie and Buttermilk" here (a beautiful Dutch blog).

I can't remember when or where I came across this Japanese designer, but I am IN LOVE with everything in her shop. If only it didn't all cost so much! But when you look at the pieces and read the descriptions you can see why its so.

Oh I just die over these mittens. You could wear these while hanging those banners above. haha.

Hope you all enjoyed this colorful inspiration on this cold, grey, winter day!

Make it for Your Man... The Handpainted (Vintage) Tie

2011-01-24T06:12:00.000-08:00

Back when I was making all those holiday gift tutorials, I came up with this idea for the men. Unfortunately I never got to posting it until NOW! But V-day is around the corner, and oh are men the hardest to shop for...

While every guy might not like to wear vintage ties, the ones who do (like my husband and brother) are sure to like this gift (I gave these to mu husband and brother for Christmas and they loved them)!

Materials needed:
acrylic paint (either the art kind or the craft kind will do- I used both)
Vintage ties
paintbrushes
tape, contact paper, etc if you don't want to freehand it.

Some of my favorite of Franc's vintage ties ( I bought them all before we even met, and now he wears them). For this project I actually used ties of his that I HATED instead. I wanted to try it out on something that I wouldn't mind messing up on before I ventured into the cooler ties! (I prob. won't touch the cool ones though, they don't need anything added)

There are many ways you can paint a tie. For this tie (which I don't have a finished photo of.... sorry), I used masking tape to paint some red-orange stripes of varying widths. I stopped just above where he would tie the knot around his neck. It really looked great, not even like paint in the end!

For this one I layed down contact paper that I had cut into mountain-like shapes. The contact paper didn't stick very well (I think b/c the tie was 100% polyester), but it stuck enough to get the general shape. I then ripped it off and filled it in on my own.

I don't have a finished one of this tie either, and I ended up using a paint marker to add a few more details...

And lastly, this tie (my favorite). I just free handed it. It was probably the hardest one to do. NOT because it was free handed, but because of the rough texture on the brown parts of the tie. It made it hard to keep a smooth line as I painted.

Here is my husband trying to model..... (he modeled the tie before it was finished).

Anyway, I hope this inspires you to try some tie-painting as well! I thought it was pretty fun, and it made for a fun, artsy, original gift. I feel bad when I make things for everyone and don't take the time to make something for my husband. Especially since he always tells me everything I do is so great. (he is ver supportive of my artwork and blue-eyed freckle ventures).

The Zen of Clean Toddler Painting...

2011-01-20T19:54:00.000-08:00

When my husband Francisco asked me what I wanted for Christmas I couldn't think of anything. I just told him to figure out something I would love. Easy right?? Ha, its cruel I know. But this man really knows me and he got me things I definitely wanted but never thought to ask for! Among those things was a....

Buddha Board! Its a board that you paint on with just a brushed dipped in water. Franc was a little bummed when I exclaimed it would be great for Olivia. I wasn't bummed at all! I have been wanting to paint with Olivia more, but its just so messy. This board dries a few minutes after you paint on it, so it creates no waste and no mess! I also enjoyed it, especially taking photos of the images it created as the water evaporated from the board (pictured above). (we bought it on amazon.)

I'M STILL HERE!!!!!

2011-01-17T18:10:00.000-08:00

I am so sorry that I haven't posted in about a month! a month! And I don't have a really good excuse. Mostly I've been realllllllly lazy and I've had a hard time getting back into the swing of things. Does anyone feel like that? 2 week vacations (and INCREDIBLE pregnancy tiredness) always throw my "go, go, go, make, make, make" mentality for a spin. But I think I am getting it back. slowly. In my time "off" these are some of the things that have been doing...

(above) Playing with Olivia in the snow for her very first time (which she loved!!!!) while being snowed in (Atlanta) for 4 days.

Teaching Olivia what to do with all the make-up she keeps playing with ( I love this photo because she looks like an old lady with her blue eyeshadow).

Olivia's been trying out pigtails and cleaning out all of my supply drawers.

we've played a lot with pretend food, while wearing awesome sunglasses....

And I have been 100% addicted to playing this game on my new iPad (my parents got it for me for Christmas, thanks mom and dad!!!!).

seriously, if you like regular boggle, then you will LOVE the boggle app. I have had a hard time picking up a book, making a headband, or doing ANYTHING productive after Olivia goes to bed at night, because all I want to do is play boggle. I tell myself, "just one game," but then I can't stop! addiction is not good.

so, the point of this post is to tell you that while I've been lazy lately, I will be back on the blog again. promise!

Around here.

2010-12-16T20:04:00.000-08:00

I've been growing a baby! Its 10 weeks old now. This one is making me tiiiiiired. And of course I am hungry but I hate food, and then I caught a cold which turned into a sinus infection which made sleeping impossible for a week until I finally got some antibiotics. Just glad that I.C.E was over when that happened!

While I was sick, I thought "hmmmmm Olivia really needs a stuffed nativity to play with." And so I made one. Snot dripping, head hurting, like a crazy woman. ( I would have made a tutorial if I hadn't been so sick.) I always loved the one my mom had, but alas I haven't been able to interest Olivia in playing with them at all! Maybe if I just hang them on the tree.....

sdf

This "wise" guy is my favorite. I decided that I would just interpret their outfits how I would have wanted them to be dressed. Lots of color.

Around here we've been dancing to Holiday tunes and sometimes we think its fun to wear the ornaments on our arms while we are dancing:) (all olivia's idea)

Handmade and Fabulous (gift series): Oldies, but Goodies...

2010-12-13T12:15:00.000-08:00

Want to upcycle a shirt for your girlfriend? Then check out my "Wanna Be a Girl Scout" tutorial!

And this one is good for just about anyone, young and old. The Placemat clutch and Big Bow (also good for pillows) tutorial!

Handmade and Fabulous: Agate Druzi Slice Necklaces

2010-12-09T17:19:00.000-08:00

Simple, inexpensive to make (though if you try to buy a premade one they retail around $30-$100) and a really pretty gift to give!

what you will need:
jump rings
pliers
looong chains (or short if you prefer)
Agate Druzy Slices (I bought mine at a gem and rock show for $2 each, but you can get them here for about $5 each (when you buy 6)

1. Take your VERY long chain and double it over (if you want 2 lines of chain on each side, like the necklace on the far left) (or keep it normal, like the other 2 necklaces).
2. put one end through the agate's hole, and bring it up to meet the other end
3. At the base where the chain and agate meet, create a knot. (I just kept both sides of the necklace together as I did a regular square knot.)
4. Use a jump ring to connect the two ends of the necklace. (Use your pliers to pry the ring apart.)

DONE!

What We've been wearing.

2010-12-09T11:42:00.000-08:00

I love dressing Olivia up. She is young enough that I can pretend she's my barbie doll still. And I will be sad the day she thinks everything I pick out is stupid!
Olivia's wearing:
hand-me-down shrug
handmade dress
gap leggings
handmade babylegs (I just cut off the bottoms of adult knee socks)
"Old Soles" shoes

Not such a cute expression on my face, but oh well. I think I was in a hurry to get out the door.
What I'm wearing:
Cardigan from TJMaxx last yr.
knit dress from TopShop (London)
Spandex leggings from American Apparel (warehouse sale-$5)
Forever21 shoes
Blue-Eyed Freckle bow clip

Ahhh when there were still leaves on the trees:
Anthro cardigan (old)
Vintage dress
Am. Apparel leggings (warehouse sale)
Old Navy shoes

And there you go! I love doing these posts because it gives me motivation to think about what I am going to wear. Like I used to when people saw me during the day.... I love creating these clothes "paintings!"

Handmade and Fabulous: Trendy Pillow---ornament

2010-12-02T16:19:00.000-08:00

Striped Pillows seem to be all the rage these days (I love them too), and so I decided to make a miniature version of one for this simple ornament tutorial. (see end of tutorial for another fabulous idea)

I had to make 22 of these for an ornament exchange thing I am doing with some ladies from my church, so even though I probably could have made something more detailed and "Blue-Eyed Freckle-ish", I decided to go with the pillows because you get to use fun colors and patterns, and its easy to make 22 of the same thing relatively fast.

Materials:
2 kinds of fabric, you will need a little more than double the amount of one of the fabrics
leather, pleather, ribbon, ric-rac,trim... whatever you heart desires
scissors,sewing machine, hot glue gun (or needle and thread)
stuffing

1. decide what overall size square you want, and then add 1/4" to all sides (i.e. if you want a 3" square, then it would end up being 3.5x 3.5).

2. Cut 2 squares the same size (your desired dimensions)

3. Sew them together with a 1/4 in seam (right sides together)

5. Trim down ONE of the sides (pick which pattern you want less of), so that the square becomes the right dimensions again (like 3.5x 3.5).

6. Sew your trim/leather etc.. down on top of the seam.
7. Cut another piece of fabric out as the back (same dimensions).

7. Get your trim read, and make sure its a big enough loop to go over a needle-y branch.

8. Make a sandwich, putting the trim loop in one of the corners. PIN DOWN.
9. Sew around all sides, leaving a small space on one of the sides.
10. Turn right side out and stuff it.
11. Hot glue or hand sew the opening shut.
DONE!

I love mine, and now I think I should make a large version for my bed! Wait!! I have a GREAT gift idea! Make this SAME PILLOW in a LARGE (life) size and an ORNAMENT SIZE as a gift for someone!!! PERFECT!

Handmade and Fabulous: Painted Shoes

2010-12-01T16:26:00.000-08:00

(Yes this is an old tutorial of mine.)

This is not one of those "spray paint your shoes" tutorials. No, this is something for the artist-at-heart on your gift-giving list. It involves some imagination (you come up with your designs), but it is SO MUCH FUN to do! For Gift-Giving I would either buy some inexpensive shoes, or some cool vintage heels from the thrift. I really want some painted dress shoes...
Here is the super easy tutorial:

Materials:
*an old pair of leather shoes
*acrylic paint (the art kind, not the craft kind)
*paintbrush
*pen (if you are scared to freehand)

1. decide what colors you want to paint the shoes, and what designs.
2. If needed, use a ballpoint pen to LIGHTLY draw out your designs
3. Paint directly on the shoe!!
4. Let dry for a few hours before wearing.

I painted these 3 years ago and they have still held up! hooray!