Our apartment was small, dark, cramped and made us all stabby. Justin and I moved in there when I was pregnant with Maddie (nearly 4 years ago… WHAT.) and we quickly outgrew the tiny space with the accumulation of baby stuff. Then I decided I liked to make random crafty crap all the time, but there was no place to do it OR store all my stuff. Add another baby and all his baby debris, Maddie’s birthday presents, Christmas presents and I swear I’m having heart palpitations just thinking about how awful it was. To be honest, we were all getting stressed out and depressed in there and were in desperate need of AIR and ROOM and LIGHT.

Now we have all of those things and I can’t help but happy dance every time I walk through the front door. :) :) :)

Things are coming together around here, but Maddie’s room is the closest to being done. I haven’t painted the walls an adorable color or created any fancy wall murals or a built in reading nook (thank you Pinterest, for setting the bar extremely high), but at least she’s unpacked and decorated.

Here are a few photos…

Tiny beds make me gigglesnort. It’s like it belongs to a tiny person! Who’s tiny! You know what I mean. And I love that she has reindeer slippers.

What do you guys think I should do in the big space above her bed?

My dear friend Alyssa gave me the print of the little girl and the deer last year for my birthday and I’ve been waiting to find the perfect place for it. The shelf was thrifted and I gave it a new coat of paint. On it, there is a little cross-stitched “M” which is kind of hard to see, a squirrel figurine and a framed page from an old Little Red Riding Hood book. I made the kite to hold her hair bows the other night in – literally – 5 minutes with some cardboard and vintage fabric.

Her nightstand drawers hold her many books (the child LOVES to read) and a few of her favorite things sit on top. OBVIOUSLY, the picture of her daddy and I made the cut. This nightstand was actually mine from when I was a little girl, hence the sticker residue and nail polish drips. It’s getting a makeover soon.

The big green “M” was a gift from my sister in law and the mushroom nightlight is from Target. The manners and other story books were all gifts from her auntie Steph, auntie Anna or my Grammy. I made the deer thingy in the frame, and it’s just a few flocked stickers on a cut up paper bag.

Hey look, a wreath! An owl! Some pinwheels! And gumballs! Speaking of, DON’T EVER PUT A GUMBALL MACHINE IN A 3 YEAR OLD’S ROOM. Bad call on my part. I had to hide her money jar after I found her with 4 pieces of gum in her mouth.

Also, hiiiiii. I’m squinting in the reflection of the Red Riding Hood print. Awk.

Maddie’s dresser has a bunch of random stuff, including boxes that hold her hair bows and clips, a cupcake jar that holds her jewelry, Mary Poppins that used to be mine when I was her age and a rock. I have no idea where she found it or why she insists on keeping it because it looks like a turd.

You guys don’t get to see the other side of the room because it has all her toys and miscellaneous stuff I just threw to the side to take these pictures. Honesty: You’re welcome!

I’m SO sorry for being nearly a week late on this, guys. Let’s just get right down to business and take a look at the awesome projects we all completed!

Here’s mine:

A wonky doormat! I kind of love it, though it weighs about 80lbs (or the amount of exactly 3 Posh Spices).

Here’s what YOU made:

A truly mindblowing bedroom makeover – Googiemomma

An adorable yarn wreath with the cutest red flowers EVA – Ramblings and Such

Cross-stitch iPhone case (THE CUTENESS IS KILLING ME) – Daylight Rising

Recipe: Yummy home made pizza rolls – That Thing Called Life

A magnetic board  (I LOVE THE CHEVRON!) – The Self Life

A Ruler Growth Chart (next on my crafty list) – It’s a TenHarmsel Trio

An sweet Button Monogram – Planning365

A Beaded Chevron Necklace Tutorial – DIT&O

A Super Hero Cape for those little superheroes in your life – Rhinestone Raindrops

A striped entry wall (done by my friend Natali & it looks even more amazing in person!) – The Thinking Blonde

A towel bar for the kitchen island – Ms. Redo

A pretty rosette yarn wreath – A Day in the Life…

Maps of Love (to document where you’ve traveled with your significant other) – Krug the Thinker

Recipe: Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Salad – Miss D, Living Simply!

Roman Blinds with adorable fabric! (another on my to-do list!) – Home Sweet Haselton

Rope Doorstop (I NEED) – Jennifer Baker

A cute cute cuuute Rag Quilt – OCD: Obsessive Creative Disorder

DIY Spray Paint Artwork  - Myers Maison

Recipe: Chile Relleno Casserole – Creative Mammas

Build your own tents for your kid’s room – A Nest for all Seasons

Recipe: Cheddar Baked Chicken – Tales of a Library Lady

Was I kidding when I said ‘extreme awesomeness”?? Yeah, I know. These ladies KILLED the challenge. I am so proud!

Thank you guys SO much for making this party a success! You didn’t make me look stupid, so I pretty much love you forever and ever. Amen.

But to be fair…

She did work pretty hard on that dumb thing. And I was the one who bought the wrong kind of Styrofoam. Sorry, Maddles.

(I love how Jack be creepin’.)

I’m the one who hassled you all to finish up your Pinterest projects by January 15th so we could have a big celebration and then didn’t follow through because I haven’t had internet since Thursday and I’ve been busy MOVING INTO A HOUSE and cleaning and unpacking and losing my mind (but more on that later), but I mostly just wanted to say I’m so sorry for being Flaky McFlakypants, let you know that I’ll have a roundup of all the awesome projects you completed and show you mine and now I’ll end this super long run on sentence with a big fat I LOVE YOU.

A friend of mine was telling me about this show and how much I would love it/hate it/barf when I watched it, so I set that thing to record and finally got around to watching the horrors last night. Have you seen it? DID YOU GAG? I mean, I gagged, at least 45 times during the goat head segment alone. Okay, I’ll stop being all vague and explain.

The episode highlighted 5 or so people who are extremely consumed with the idea of saving money. I’m not ragging on them for trying to be frugal, it’s just the lengths they go to save VERY little are just… I don’t even know. Watch this clip about a lady who doesn’t buy toilet paper for her family. Keep an eye out for the STAINS.

You saw the stains, right? gaggfaklsdjf;alksdfjgag

There’s also a guy who goes dumpster diving for funsies and collects a bunch of random crap to give his wife for their anniversary. Like, he actually presented the gifts to her while they were out to dinner in a ceremonious fashion, right before he asked the other dining patrons if he could have their leftover food. Classy fella, that one. What exactly would you do if your husband gave you an old tea kettle with mysterious dumpster stains on it? I was asked this same question, and I can honestly say I would first beat him over the head with said kettle, then promptly drown myself in the moldy dumpster water it contained. There’s… there’s just no point.

So after Justin and I watched the show, we were so inspired by all the people who could think outside of the box that we started coming up with our own winning money saving ideas. It’s our new thing now, and our goal is to make our ideas as gross as possible. I’ll be washing dishes and Justin will come in and be all, “I have another good one. Clean all your old hair out of the drains, dry it out, then use it to stuff pillows for the couch!” And I’ll be like, “Why don’t we rinse out that bag the hotdogs came in and I can carry my makeup in it!”

Today I was hanging out with my brother and he came up with some pretty inventive ones too.

Old grapefruit peel as a key catcher on your entry table.

Old shoe becomes the perfect charging station! (Notice the cord running through the hole? I die.)

Soda can vase... a frugal gift for that special someone.

Don't throw away that toothpaste tube! Cut off the end and you have a glasses case. (Thanks for the high fashion model pose, bro.)

It’s all about upcycling, people. Now go find that show and watch it.

Over the weekend, I came up with a simple centerpiece idea for a Mickey Mouse themed baby shower. I pretty much just used the supplies I had on hand and –> FAIL <-- didn’t take photos of the process, but it’s easy enough to explain.

Materials for base:

• A mason jar
• Red filler (Red Hots, red M&M’s, Hot Tamales are great candy options) – BUY ENOUGH SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO IMPROVISE WITH TISSUE PAPER, MMK?
• Two white buttons

Materials for Mickey’s head:

• Go chop off Mickey Mouse’s head… if you laughed, you need help.
• 1 Large Styrofoam ball
• 2 Small Styrofoam balls
• 1 wooden dowel
• 2 toothpicks
• Black paint & brush (I used acrylic craft paint)
• Glue

Process:

1. Paint the Styrofoam balls black and allow to dry for a few hours.
2. Stick the dowel in the large Styrofoam ball. If it wiggles around too much, use some glue to secure it inside the “head”.
3. Put a toothpick inside each smaller Styrofoam ball and stick them into the larger one to form a head with ears.
4. Fill the mason jar with red candy (or whatever your brilliant little mind came up with) and stick the dowel in the center. My mason jars were on the smallish side, so I had to saw the dowel in half for this to work. Also, I ran out of Red Hots and since the party was 2 hours away, I improvised with red tissue paper for the top portion. YOU DON’T HAVE TO. It looks cheesy, dude. I’m aware.
5. Glue the two white buttons on the front of the jar.

I think if I had more time, these would’ve turned out better. Can you imagine how cute a Minnie one would be? A bow on top? Adding little skirt somehow? STOPPIT RIGHT NOW.

(Also, the chevron towel is from Target. I saw you eyeballin’ it.)

A friend of mine just had an idea. A spectacular idea. An idea I think we can all get behind (that’s what she said). So you know how we all spend like, 20 hours a day on Pinterest and have all these awesome ideas floating around in our heads but never actually tackle any of the projects because we’re spending 20 hours a day on Pinterest? Or is that just me?

Don’t lie, I see all your pins.

Well, Jami suggested this idea to a group of her crafty blogger friends: Pick a project on Pinterest and umm, do it. But do it in a fun and very public way! (TWSS)

Here’s what’s happening:

We’re challenging ourselves and all of you to choose one thing you’ve had your eye on. A new recipe, a new hairstyle, a fabric covered pot, a sunburst mirror, a centerpiece for your future wedding, WHATEVER. Sometime in the next two weeks, complete your project, post a photo to your own blog, then come here and share your accomplishment with the class. We’ll all be able to see each other’s stuff, get even more ideas and inspiration, and hello!? We’re putting our Pinterest obsession to good use. Win-win-win!

Again, your assignment is:

1. Complete a project based on something you’ve seen on Pinterest.
2. Show off your mad skills on your own blog.
3. Come back here fill out the form at the bottom of this post to link up your entry. Deadline is January 15th.

Also be sure to check out all the other blogs who are participating. These girls know their DIYs: What the Graham?!, Baby Gators Den,Design Build Love, Hernando House, Merrypad, and The Stucco Bungalow

Here are a few things I’m considering…

Who’s in?! And you better not make me look stupid. I don’t want to have to show you the ugly cry.

So apparently, I’m really into repurposing toilet paper rolls. I found this idea on — WHERE ELSE?! — Pinterest.

These little guys are going on our Christmas tree this year, which is getting a fun, whimsical, handmade makeover. I’m looking forward to making more ornaments with Maddie (and Jack, if his little fat self will cooperate). Yay for silly kid trees!

Follow me in Pinterest, won’t you?

A while back, I mentioned that I was making a gaggle of crepe paper flowers to go on a wedding cake. The photos just came my way and I’m actually really pleased with how the cake turned out! It was my first run with crepe, so they aren’t perfect, but I think they look pretty darn cute on top of that yummy cake.

Lovely cake by Frosted Cakery | Photography by Chance James

Hey there, purdy lady. I have a fun little tutorial for you. Remember my felt rosette tutorial from a while back? The one where I said to cut a spiral in the felt and roll it up like a sleeping bag? Well, this flower is basically the same…

BUT BETTER.

Materials:

• Felt
• Scissors
• Glue gun

Cut a decent sized square of felt.

Cut a spiral with a scalloped edge. Trust me, it seems harder than it really is.

(TWSS)

Take the outside edge of the spiral and start rolling it up tightly. Dab glue along the inside edge as your rolling to hold all the layers in place. If you need a better explanation, see the simpler rosette tutorial.

Finish the flower with a nice little dab of glue and voila!

Now if you want to make a larger flower, just repeat the process. Cut a new spiral with a scalloped edge, but instead of rolling it into it’s own flower, glue the outside edge to your first flower and continue rolling. I sure hope that makes sense… brain is hurty after a long day.

Here’s a single, double and triple sized. I was about to seriously carried away with the large one and had to reel myself in before it ended up being the size of my face.

You could technically start with a larger square of felt to end up with a larger flower, but sometimes I like to make things difficult for no reason at all, sooooooo. Yeah. It works for me to do it this way though!

And this is what it looks like when you start making a bunch of random flowers for a wreath, but don’t have a wreath to put them on. Hair clips, perhaps?