Pink Argyle Crayon Roll

Kirchhoff Home Makeover: Big Girl Room Duvet

I heart the Prudent Baby website/blog. She's so simple and DIY w/o being too granola or "look-at-me-I'm-such-a-crafty-cool-person." (You know...Like I try to do. ;P) She's the one who gave me the 10-Minute-Onesie Dress idea.

Today, I made the DIY Duvet Cover from her site for Presley's big girl room that I've been working on. I have to tell you, this was probably one of the simplest  worthwhile projects I've done. Like really simple. I would almost recommend this as a first project for someone starting to sew. (Almost because of the snaps. I was scared of snaps for a long time. Dunno why.)

And it saved me lots of money on a cover or comforter. I made Presley's with the same pattern in different colors (Modern Meadow's Dogwood Bloom). I guess that would make it reversible. My only advice if you try this tute: Pay attention to the measurements where you're going to put the snaps so they line up when you turn the cover right-side-out.

Kirchhoff Home Makeover: Big Girl Room

Check this awesome freebie!!!

My mother-in-law's 90 year-old aunt, Grant's great-aunt, sooo my great-aunt-in-law, Vera wanted to get rid of a pair of these chairs. My MIL got one of them and plans to reupholster it. I got the other & just cleaned it up some. It's PERFECT for P's new room. Aunt Vera has awesome taste.

Here it is with the pillows I made:

Garden Yellow Nap Mat

Finished current nap mat 1 today. (I had 2 orders on the same day!)

I forgot to take a pic of it open. The customer chose Minky Cuddle Rose in a baby blue color. It's a lovely traditional combination. 

Meatless Mondays & Fishy Fridays

For about 6 weeks now, we've been trying something new in our home in efforts to remain consistently healthier - Meatless Mondays & Fishy Fridays. It's exactly what it sounds like. On Mondays, we eat no meat, and on Fridays, we have fish for dinner. (This is not to say that we won't go meatless or eat fish any other day of the week: It's just that these days are reserved specifically for this purpose.)

G was worried about the Meatless Mondays, but he's been surprisingly pleased. Our favorites so far have been:

Portobello Mushroom Stoganoff

photo from Allrecipes.com

I added salt, pepper, dried thyme, & dried oregano to the mushrooms. The fresh parsley is a must. Served this to the in-laws, and they liked it too. G kept saying, "This is a keeper!"

Brie Quesadillas & Mango Guacamole

photo from Allrecipes.com

I just put slices of brie cheese & black refried beans on the torilla and broiled it until the cheese melted. Super easy.

Our worst Meatless Monday fail - Curried Chickpeas w/ Coucous from the Family Circle Magazine

photo from FamilyCircle.com

I was super excited about this b/c it was exotic and used my slow cooker. Ingredients I had to buy were cheap since I had spices on hand. But not even Lucy, our dog, would eat what Presley threw off her plate. We ended up ordering Wing Stop. So much for meatless that Monday.

New Stuff!

I apologize in advance for the phone quality pics. I was just too excited to search for the real camera.

New Thing #1:
So yesterday was a day for getting and making new stuff. Love those days! I posted about the coasters I made for my father-in-law yesterday. They were so simple and inexpensive that I decided to make some for my living room. Amy Butler fabrics are out of my budget, but her paper isn't! Here's how I can bring a little of her style into my home.

I like the look that the thicker felt pads create when the coasters are stacked.

New Thing #2:
I treated myself to a new bag for grad school from Fossil (in gray). Love it! It's a laptop bag, but it's roomy enough for a spiral and a few other things. It's whimsy, classic, sophisticated, fun, & roomy but not too cumbersome. Can't wait to use it.

New Thing 3#:

I'm so flippin' excited for this! Grant agreed that with all the sewing I'm doing, I need a better machine. 

Currently, I have a Singer basic machine. It's great for the beginner sewer and for someone who sews maybe once a month. (Machine seems to wear out after that.) But I'm doing much more than that, and I want to be able to monogram stuff for customers and personal use.

So I bought this baby last night on Amazon (best price out there).
I couldn't sleep last night because I was thinking of all the ways I could use this. Someone bought a nap mat yesterday, and I hope that this machine gets here before her fabric does. I would love to use this for that big project.











New Thing #4:
My friend recently opened her Etsy shop, Haybird. I was her first sale! Her original pattern peasant top came with a hair bow...and for only $5! What a steal! I bought her last one, but you can message her to make you one.

Whew! Great day for me!

Coasters As a Host Gift

So Presley broke one of my father-in-law's coasters while we were in Tampa. Oops. Something else to replace....

Bingo! A good excuse to try another tutorial!! I've been wanting to try this tutorial on Prudent Baby's website. Verdict? Super easy, super cheap, & super cute! Here are mine:

All four

The paper stack I bought came with a page of diecuts that I added on the top for extra punch.

This one is my fave. The seahorse is cute. I think it should be the new owl.

See the palm tree in the background?

I thought this one was cool, too - Not as cute as the seahorse. :)

I made my backs a bit different from the tutorial & used cork Contact paper & felt adhesives from Lowe's verses the felt & rubber cement. And I didn't use another sealant like she did. 

For 16 cents a tile, I think I might make some for my living room soon.

Airplane Toys & Other Thoughts

G, P, and I travelled to Tampa this past week to visit the father-in-law.  P drove a boat, and we got to spend some quality family time on the beach. Our least favorite part - the plane ride. We were "that family" with the screaming child. She just couldn't sleep and was way overtired.

Thankfully, a friend gave me a toddler traveling tip that I thought I'd pass on to whoever reads this. She suggested I purchase several dollar store toys, wrap them, and bring them out one at a time when the toddler gets bored, fidgety, whiney, etc. So that's what I did. I hit up Michael's Dollar Deals Aisle, spent $30, and ended up with this loot.

This was a fabulous idea! Other than the hour that P was screaming when she was sleepy and wouldn't sleep, these things kept her entertained both on the plane and while we waited in the airport. (We fly non-rev, so there's a lot of wait time.)

putting bracelets on her feet :)

Another p.s...Never, ever bag check your stroller. Always, always gate check it, even if the gate handlers suggest you bag check.

    

my $250 maclaren is busted :(

Kirchhoff Home Makeover: Big Girl Pillows

Still on P's big girl room, which I may need to hurry up on b/c I think she's trying to crawl out of the crib. Eek!

I finished the throw pillows using First Bloom Modern Meadow fabric and this tutorial from Sew4Home. I didn't use their flower tutorial though. I tried, but it turned into a huge craft fail. I ended up going with DecorChick's way b/c it required no hand sewing, only my trusty hot glue gun! :) I could get carried away making those suckers.

Painting With a Twist

Colorful Blossoms

My friend Evan and I tried out the new Painting With a Twist shop at Firewheel. (They have them all over the U.S.) I have to say that this was a very cool way to spend an evening. It's pretty much a paint-along class. You sign up for something you'd like to try, and an artist shows you step by step how to create it. The most interesting part was how everyone's painting looked different in the end.

It was all girls in this class, and most of us were drinking wine (bring your own). If you go, bring a snack, too. It was very informal and laid-back. Oh, and invite me! 

My Painting

Poor thing has to hang out randomly on the bookcase until I get my act and decorating sense together in the living room.

Renata from Poland was our artist teacher.

Me, talking as usual. Evan, concentrating very hard on what the teacher was doing.

Seriously, it was a good time. This is not a posed smile.

I was desperately seeking the teacher's approval. I don't think mine was one of her favorites.

All finished. I'll drink to that!

Collection Walk

Still reviewing various toddler activities. See the original post for links that will give you great ideas on what to do w/ your toddler.

Going to the park isn't new for us, but going to the park with a purpose is. My prediction was that this activity was going to be a hit. Presley is always picking up odd objects and inquiring about them (in her own little way). This activity was going to let her do that, and then we were going to bring home those items to do stuff with later.

All you need for this one is a bag or container of some sort. You go outdoors - we went pretty early since it gets too hot quick - and let your toddler pick up, examine, and bag whatever suits his or her fancy (w/ in reason, of course). Ideally, they would be picking up items from nature like sticks, rocks, mulch pieces, leaves, etc. I did let her pick up a piece of ribbon though.

On any other day, I think this activity would have been perfect. But she was grumpy this morning and just wanted to swing. I couldn't get her interested in a walk. I finally got the hint when she plopped down in the dirt and just stared at me. It was pretty humid, so I don't blame her.

We are going to try this again b/c there are lots of things I wanted to do w/ the items. Compare them to pictures of the same item in one of her books. Glue them to paper or whatever for art. Paint the leaves and use them as "stamps." Maybe start a "favorite rocks jar."