These Walls Do Talk!

Those of you with young children know that it is hard to find a place for all the artwork that makes its way into your home. I know at our house, my husband and I struggle with what to display, what to tuck away and save, and what to just pitch (because, let's face it, we can't save it ALL).

A couple years ago I had the developed this idea of making easily changeable frames in my son's room to switch out some of the constant influx of masterpieces that he brings home from preschool. I started with just empty frames on the wall in which I would clip (or tape) the pictures. However, I recently added cork boards into the frames which made a huge difference. They appear much more "finished" now and it is so easy to change out the art work. Plus, they really add a fun touch to his room!

I got the frames and little letters at Michaels and spray painted them to match his room. You could also buy plain black or white frames and skip the lettering for a little bit more "sophisticated" look.

There are many doodles/quicky drawings that don't make it into the frames - we save the frames for the special pieces. I love the pride and the smile that shines on my son's face when he walks in and notices I have displayed a new picture!

Not Made with Dishtowels!

I made my mother an "artist tote" for Mother's Day. She paints and is taking a class in the fall - so I wanted her to have a fun bag to take to class with her. I like how it turned out - although - I think I could've/should've made it a little bigger. But it is definitely big enough to carry a couple pads of paper and supplies - so I think it will be fine. And my mom liked it a lot! :)

And then, for my sisters (which I actually made first to practice) I did little clutches or "night out" purses. These are fun little handbags to carry your cell, some lipstick, etc. in - not your everyday mommy bags. ;) I used this tutorial... which was very helpful and they turned out great!

So, I've had a couple of fun weeks doing non-kid projects... but I feel some kiddie crafts coming on. Stay tuned!

The Boudoir Completed

Here are a couple more pictures of the completed bed re-do. I love the way it brightened up the room (our old comforter was a dark green with gold and Burgundy/red tones) and I didn't have to change the wall color or anything other than the bedding. The best part? I think I spent about $50? Maybe $75. I made the duvet cover out of a pair of "clearance" king size sheets and a beautiful shower curtain I found at TJ Maxx. Plus, the shower curtain was big enough that I made matching shams and then used half of it for a shower curtain in our master bath (and standing stall size) - so we're nice and coordinated up in here. And the sheets are 500 count I think - so nice and soft. The pictures on the wall are new enlarged images of pics I took but the frames we had. The pillows on the bed are a mixture of some I made and some we had.

The new duvet cover is currently being put to the test by being washed and dried. Someone pee'd the bed. I won't name names. It wasn't me. Or my husband. Or Brother. Or Mighty Boy. Ahem.

Anyway - spring time is a great time for freshening up the house! Loving it.

More decor

This past weekend I sewed a new duvet cover for our master bedroom and I'm working on pillows. Duvet covers are harder than I anticipated! It's the SIZE of it. Trying to keep it all straight. Oh my goodness. I do love how it turned out...here's a sneak peak picture. I'll post a picture of the room once I have it all done.

A quick Before and After

Editing to Link up to a Goodwill Party Post! Scroll down to the old banguet chair!

I've been doing some improvements to my work area (I mainly work here... but am organizing and making changes that will allow me to do more of my sewing and craft stuff up here too - as opposed to the dining room table). Here are some pics of what I did this week. I've had fun - but, like all projects, the starting is more fun that the finishing for some reason.

An old filing cabinet in the garage. Ugly.

A $3.99 chair from the Goodwill store. Ugly.

The space - I know this looks like a holy mess... but I had pulled everything out of it's place and had a huge pile of fabric scraps, etc.


Ta-Da! - My little workspace. I just use a laptop, so I will be able to easily move it and set up my sewing machine. So far - I'm loving it! Note the chair and filing cabinet - so much better, huh?!

The Dog Days of ... Spring

The weather where I am is slowly getting better - but I stress... slowly. I am so ready for a constant, undoubtedly SPRING season. I think the grayness has gotten in the way of my creativity and motivation to do much lately. My Etsy site has been quiet during this time - which is most likely due to a few different factors, but not the least of them being that I just haven't felt like making many new things or marketing much lately.

However - I did enjoy this project last week. I made the little doggy bed pictured (second picture) for our new puppy, Mighty Boy. He has been the recent excitement at our house and is keeping us busy (in a good way)! It is our first family pet and we couldn't have hoped for a better little guy.

We made this last weekend!

So my daughter was devastated when we didn't win a cake in their school cake walk last Friday night. To calm her sobbing - I said that we should make a cake together the next day. Yes - she thought that was a good idea. And she would like a "Pablo" cake. For those of you without young children - Pablo is a character (the blue penguin) from a show called "The Backyardigans". So - thanks to Nick Jr. com - we were able to get some ideas and voila! You will notice it's my son who actually helped - but baby girl was duly pleased!