The Blossom On The Vine

Free For all Friday - Google +

2012-02-10T00:05:00.000-08:00

I just heard the news...

Google Friend Connect will no longer be available starting April 1st!

That's right...no more followers and no more following your favorite blogs! :(

Whats replacing it? Google + circles.

You can get a widget for your blog HERE.

I got mine and I'm still trying to figure the whole thing out! If I were you I'd hurry up and get one and start following your favorite blogs there before you loose access to them from Google Friend Connect.

Add me and I'd be happy to add you back! Here's some incentive...I'm having a big give away on Monday from one of my FAVORITE bloggers...Shawni from 71 Toes!!! So be sure to Follow me and come back on Monday to find out what it is and how to win!!

Have a Safe Weekend!!! XOXO

Thin Out Thursday - 5 day plan

2012-02-09T00:05:00.000-08:00

Here's a 5 day plan for every day of the week! I'm going to start doing this along with Jillian Micheals 30 day shred! I'll let you know how it is next week!

I loved that they were printed cute...I'm going to print them out and have them by my nightstand :)

Good Luck this Week!!! ( I always need it! )

What I Wore ( and Want via Pinterest ) Wednesday - Pink Ruffle Sleeves

2012-02-08T05:11:00.000-08:00

Leaf Necklace - Forever 21
Pink Tee - Forever 21
White Vest - My sisters Closet ;)
Skinny Jeans - Charlotte Russe
Gold Flats - Target

Here's a close up of the cute sleeves on the tee!

And I just had to show off the fun earrings! These feather earrings are from forever 21 ( of course, seriously more then half of my jewelry comes from there! )

Okay Lately I've been drooling over anything navy blue...I'm just SO drawn to it! I would LOVE to have any of these beauties! All found on Pinterest...Follow me Here!

And wouldn't you kill for these shoes!! LOVE THEM!!

Linking up with...

Tasty Tuesdays - Chocolate Chip Cookies

2012-02-07T09:40:00.000-08:00

I have had a few people ask me for my chocolate chip cookie recipe so I thought I'd share it to everyone!

( Preston is younger in these pictures )

Ingrediants

2 1/4 cups all - purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter or margarine, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 cups (12 ounce pkg) chocolate chips

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake in preheated 375 degrees for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown. Makes about 5 dozen cookies!

Do not melt your butter!!! If you have made cookies in the past and they are always so flat its probably because you are melting your butter. Just get it soft enough to mix and your cookies will be fluffier.
I never cook my cookies the whole 9 minutes, I always take them out as soon as the ends start getting a golden color
Don't leave your cookies on the pan! As soon as you take them out of the oven put them on the cooling rack! Your cookies will continue to cook if you leave them on the hot pan.

I'm Linking up with 33 Shades of Green!

Mommy Monday - Finding Beauty

2012-02-06T10:03:00.000-08:00

This weekend was great. We didn't do anything super active or out of the ordinary but I really tried to keep my eyes and thoughts on what was going on and trying to find the beauty of it all. I love my kids ages. Preston can throw a fit like there is no tomorrow, he's sometimes naughty and talks back but boy is this kid fun and outgoing! I love his excitement for life and how much he enjoys being outside and playing hard. And sweet Lylah has grown out of her colicky stage and is the happiest sweetest girl. I love squeezing those thunder thighs and kissing those chubby cheeks! Some of my favorite simple moments of this weekend were...

Seeing this cool guy! I was getting ready and Spencer was out back with our kids. He called for me to come out and take a picture. Isn't this owl gorgeous! I couldn't believe he was just chilling in our tree...i was hoping he was going to live there but he was gone the next day. I also loved how excited Preston was that he was there.

Preston also started calling Lylah "Pretty Lylah". Melts my heart.

Thursday night my hubby and the men in his family went racing go carts. His dad forgot his gear and on their last run for the night his uncle gave him his neck brace telling him he probably needs this more then him. My father in law ended up flipping his go cart and it landed right on top of him. That neck brace probably saved him. He's pretty beat up but he's okay. So thankful for that inspired act.

My sister in law was in the Junior Miss pageant on Saturday. She did awesome and looked beautiful. As i watched I thought about how lucky I am to have her as a sister in law. She's so fun and funny, she loves my kids and they sure do love her, and shes such a good example. I loved how so much family came to support her. We had a couple of rows full of family. This is what family is all about...the unconditional love and support.

I love the one on one time I get with Lylah. I've always felt bad for the 2nd child...they don't get that attention the first child got. So when I have moments of just me and Lylah, I am so thankful that I can give her all that attention. I love how she soaks it all up too. She LOVES it!

At church yesterday Lylah peed all over her dress. There was another new mommy in the mothers lounge who whipped out a onsie for me to use. She was so sweet and I was so thankful. I love my church and all the wonderful people there.

I also taught my 8 year old class yesterday. One of the little boys asked if he could see Lylah. He started saying "superman" in a weird voice and Lylah was laughing SO hard. It was sooo cute!

Preston stayed with my sister while we went to the pageant. He was so excited to go over to her house. I love how much he enjoys her and kamden! And I'm so thankful they live so close!

I love watching this boy sleep. He's so peaceful and sweet. We came home and he just wanted a "blanky" and to sit right next to me. Next thing I know he fell asleep. I love him.

Him and his cousin Isaac decided to play in irrigation water yesterday during the super bowl. They were having so much fun that i figured oh well. This is one of those moments where you decide to fight to get him out or just let him be and let his clothes and everything turn into a muddy mess! He's a boy...he deserves a few moments like that right!?

Life really is so Beautiful.

Simply Crafty Saturday - Bow Board and sneak peek into Lylahs Room

2012-02-04T07:12:00.000-08:00

Happy Saturday Everyone!

I am excited to show you a little of what I am doing to Lylahs room! I am almost done but today I will show you a little sneak peek! Her bow board! I really didn't want to spend too much money on one of these but she has a lot of bows and I really needed something to put them all up on. Well I had an old big frame that was in prestons nursery that I didn't use in his "big" boy room. I also had some old knobs that I took off his changing table and replaced with some pink girly ones. I also found scrapbook paper and ribbon that matched her room all in my house. So this project was completely free for me! Don't you love those kind of projects!?

I spray painted the frame silver and hot glued everything else! So simple! And while I was spray painting I also painted her basket that holds diapers and such silver as well and added a big pink flower.

And since I'm giving you all a sneak peek...here are her new knobs! So cute right!?

Here is the bow board with bows!

I can't wait to finish her room!

Valentines Ideas

2012-02-03T09:26:00.000-08:00

I have been searching for cute Valentines Day Ideas for the Hubs and the kiddos. What better place to look...Pinterest of course! Here's a few things I found...

Just click on the picture to get to the source! You can follow me on Pinterest HERE!

Have a FABULOUS Weekend! XO!

Thin Out Thursdays - For Starters!

2012-02-02T00:00:00.000-08:00

How many of you have extra weight? Mine comes from babies...2 of them in fact. Oh how I love them dearly...but I really hate this fat! So in effort to help myself and hopefully others as well I am starting... Thin Out Thursday!

I have probably tried just about every diet and it turns into an epic fail. Sometimes I loose weight but i always seem to gain it back. So this time its not a diet...its a life change. I want to change my mind set and just eat completely healthy and make working out fun and a part of my life.

So for starters I wanted to share this picture I found that a friend posted to facebook.

Now doesn't that make you feel better!! Loved it! :)

I started trying to do better and working out a little with "Jillian" a couple of weeks ago. I've been a little off and on but I'm ready to get pretty serious.

So far I've lost 7 lbs! Ya not really huge "biggest loser" numbers but at least its something, right!? I'm excited to share what I'm learning...the good and bad and hopefully you'll follow me on my journey! And join in! It's always more fun to loose weight together!

Here's to loosing 45 lbs by summer!!!

What I Wore Wednesday - Navy Stripes

2012-02-01T08:47:00.000-08:00

Anchor Necklace - Forever 21 ( From my sister in law Alyssa! )

Navy Cardigan - Papaya

Navy Striped Shirt - Marshalls

Grey Straight Skirt - Shade

Boots - Forever Young

This is what I wore Sunday to church! I am in desperate need of new church clothes though and this is what I wish I had...

Anthropologie

Maurices ( so cute with a bright Cardi! )

Downeast Basics

Oh how I wish I had a money tree to go shopping with right now! Happy Wednesday!

Linking up with the pleated poppy HERE!

Tasty Tuesday - Five Spice Turkey and Lettuce Wraps

2012-01-31T07:10:00.000-08:00

This last week I've been on Pinterest and trying out new recipes. We tried Five-spice turkey and lettuce wraps and I think they tasted awesome. I decided to make it because we LOVE PF Changs lettuce wraps but these didn't really taste like those. Don't get me wrong they have a really good taste to them but it's just not the same taste.

So Try them! And what makes them even better is that they are only about 280 calories per serving and they are pretty filling! Yum!

Ingredients

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup instant brown rice
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 pound 93%-lean ground turkey
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 large red bell pepper, finely diced
1 8-ounce can water chestnuts, rinsed and chopped
1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon five-spice powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 heads Boston lettuce, lettuce seperated
1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs, such as cilatro, basil, mint and/or chives
1 large carrot, shredded

Preparation

Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add rice; reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add turkey and ginger; cook, crumbling with a wooden spoon, until the turkey is cooked through, about 6 minutes. Stir in the cooked rice, bell pepper, water chestnuts, broth, hoisin sauce, five-spice powder and salt; cook until heated through, about 1 minute.
To serve, divide lettuce leaves among plates, spoon some of the turkey mixture into each leaf, top with herbs and carrot and roll into wraps.

It's really simple to make! I think the most time consuming thing is just chopping all the ingredients!

Mommy Monday - Terrible Twos and Teething

2012-01-30T08:46:00.000-08:00

It's Mommy Monday! Okay as I was trying to think about what to post about today and all I could think about was the 2 struggles I am having with each of my babies.

First, my 2 1/2 year old. He has started this "terrible twos" thing everyone talks about. I swear just in the last month or so he has started with some major fits. Followed by hitting me when hes mad and telling me "no" and talking back. What happened to my sweet baby!!?? I've talked to few people and I've realized this stage is normal but I really just want to try and kick it in the bud before things get worse. I've heard of people using the marbles and jar method. Put a marble in for good behavior and take one out for bad and when its full they get a reward. Or the sticker chart method. Has anyone out there figured out something that works well? Any ideas would be SO helpful!

Now for my baby. She's 4 months old and shes already getting her first tooth! I was trying to remember when Preston got his first tooth and it just seems like hers are coming in earlier. She's done pretty good but just wondering if any of you mommies out there have any tips on what could make them more comfortable and happy? We of course are using baby oral gel and baby tylenol if necessary but any other ideas?

Even though both my kids are going through tough little stages, they both can be sweet. Especially to each other. Love being a mommy!

Simply Crafty Saturday- Fringy Baby Blanket

2012-01-28T00:05:00.000-08:00

My cousin made me an ADORABLE baby blanket for Lylah when she was born and I have been in love with it ever since. Not only is the fabric just as cute as can be but its a big blanket and we love big blankets over here!

Cute right!? Well I started looking it over and realized that this lovely blanket would be a breeze to make!

For the fabric you need 1/4 of a yard for each printed fabric and then 1 3/4 of a yard for the plain rectangle and the backing.

You sew each peice together with the fabrics backs to eachother and then sew the backing on leaving about a 1/2 inch or so for the fringe. Then you cut around the blanket and the rectangles. Throw it in the wash and your done! So simple and oh so cute!

My sister in law is having a boy so I got to pick out some boy fabrics ( i hate that the selection for girly fabric is a million times larger! ) Luckily we found some pretty cute fabrics that went together pretty nicely. I like things to go but they don't have to be too matchy matchy in my opinion. Her husband is a HUGE football fan and I was sooo excited when I found some football helmet fabric that went along with the other fabrics I found. I also didn't want it too babyish because these blankets can last through the toddler years as well...Preston loved it, I really think I need to make him one too!

Isn't the size perfect! Look how well you can wrap your baby up with it too...

One of my pet peeves about the smaller baby blankets is that your ( mine anyway ) babies always kick their little feet out of the blanket. This has lots of extra fabric to keep those cute feet covered!

Close up of the Fringe...

Roll it up and tie it with a bow and its a perfect baby shower gift!

Yay for Saturdays! Off to my sister in laws baby shower I go...I love anything to do with babies! :) Hope your guys weekend is Fabulous!

Fresh Starts!

2012-01-27T10:28:00.000-08:00

I'm back! Wow I haven't been on this blog in such a long time but I really have some fun plans for it and I really want to start keeping it up! So get ready to see me around these parts again :). I have a fun idea for each day of the week so I can post about all the things I love...some of these ideas I've taken from other blogs and I'll link back to them and feel free to link up yourselves!

Mommy Mondays - All things Mommy!

Tasty Tuesdays - Recipes and Restaurant Reviews

What I wore Wednesdays - My outfits and all about the style I wish I could buy and have!

Thinning Out Thursday - Loosing weight and all about health and fitness!

Free-For all Fridays - Whatever I want to post about!

Simply Crafty Saturdays - How to's and Fun Crafts!

And I'm giving myself a break on Sunday! I'm excited to start this up and I hope you'll follow along!

Headboard

2011-07-26T09:00:00.000-07:00

About a year ago I found this headboard on Craigslist for 20.00. I have been wanting a headboard for my bed for forever and decided that this one would be perfect to paint.

(Sorry for the horrible picture, for some reason I only took pictures with my lame phone)

My sister-in-law graciously offered to help me with any project I needed done so I decided to get this thing out of my garage and get it painted! We painted it a couple of months ago...I have just been a HUGE slacker and haven't posted anything on this blog for such a long time. Sorry!

All my bedroom furniture is black so we painted it black to match. I love it!

Quilt #2

2010-12-26T04:09:00.000-08:00

I made another quilt this year for my mom. I found the pattern HERE!

I used the same soft fabric but in red for this quilt. I seriously fell in love with this quilt...i almost kept it for myself. I think I have to make myself one now :).

Quilt #1

2010-12-25T04:00:00.000-08:00

It's finally Christmas and I can finally post some of the projects that have taken up a lot of my time. These were gifts and so I had to wait to post them...

This was the quilt I made for my dad this year. My Grandma had given a bunch of denim to my mom and i begged her for it haha. It was already cut in little squares so I sewed four together and got about 9 inch sqaures. Then I found some cute fabric that was kinda "manly" too. I really loved how it turned out!

I used super soft fabric for the backing...what you would find on baby blankets. This is the first piece quilt I have ever made...its not even close to perfect, one of the things I really need to perfect is BINDING...gosh its harder then it looks ha. Besides the imperfections I am really happy with how it turned out and I just hope he loves it!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Fall Wreath

2010-11-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

I found this wreath HERE and was so excited to create a more "fall" version of it. I didn't want to use as many rosettes because I like that I can still see my wreath and I wanted to add the mustard-ee yellow because its a beautiful fall color. And I added little green leaves for more color and dimension.

Also, I've seen A LOT of people adding their initial to the middle of their wreaths and I think its adorable! With a "C" though I had a hard time finding one that would hold in place and not fall over and look crooked all the time. I finally found this one at JoAnns and it works perfect because the top of the "C"comes down enough that it doesn't move around all the time.

I LOVE how it turned out! My sister loved it so much that we had to make her one as well, we did the same thing with hers but added a "W" in the middle. The "W" is harder to hang so we connected it with wire and then added a bow to the side just for a cute factor. Its adorable!

Clike HERE for the step by step directions!

Little Pillows

2010-11-06T19:42:00.000-07:00

Remember the pillows me and my sister in law covered for her couch? Well we made 2 cute little pillows to go with them. They are just adorable!

Amy Clark Photography

2010-10-20T14:50:00.000-07:00

"Hi! My name is Amy and I am a natural light photographer. I have always had a passion for photography, but it wasn't until I got my first SLR camera in 2006, that I became addicted. Since then I have taken classes, attended workshops, and read many books along the way. I love to take photos of real life and capture the connection between family members. What started out as a hobby, has now evolved into a semi part-time business mostly for fun but also allows me to feed my little addiction of photography:)"

Take a look at her Blog here and all her adorable pictures! She is an amazing photographer and she is giving away a free session! Go to her blog to enter!

Snuggie Blanket

2010-10-15T19:41:00.000-07:00

My little sister recently found out she is expected a little boy! We are so excited...and so we decided to start making some cute baby stuff. Today we made Amy Butlers Snuggie Blanket find the book HERE for the directions.

My baby is too big and too wild to model for us so we used his teddy bear instead haha! I love how it has a hood and a tie to keep the baby bundled!

A close up of the cute fabric my sister picked out!

My cute prego sister sewing away!

Update

2010-10-13T20:56:00.000-07:00

Alyssa sent me a picture of her pillows in her living room and I had to post it...aren't they cute!? I love the green and brown...she had red in there before and the green and white just lighten everything up. I love it :)

Pillow Slipcovers

2010-10-13T10:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday me and my sister in law Alyssa made some slip covers for her couch pillows. We kind of made it up as we went but they turned out great! We only finished the three big pillows which are the basic ones, we weren't going to add anything to them. Next week were going to do 2 more smaller pillows that will be more decorative! Here are a couple of pics of the pillows...

We didn't want to mess with zippers or buttons so its just your basic slipcover. I love it and the material she chose is sooo cute! I want to cover my pillows here pretty soon and I'll take more detailed pictures of how we did it and post a tutorial.

Life is Good

2010-10-12T00:08:00.000-07:00

I won a blog award...my first blog award EVER! I'm pretty excited and definitely flattered. I don't even keep up with this blog as often as I should...this may inspire me to do better! Tara at *junkrestore* gave me this fabulous award...check out her site, she creates and gives life to beautiful pieces of furniture. I honestly LOVE what she does and only wishes I had as much creativity as she does! Thanks Tara I really do feel honored that you chose me!

Now I get to pass the award on to six bloggers that inspire me!

Ok, so here's the criteria:

To accept the award you must link back and thank the person who gave you the Life is Good award. Answer the 10 questions below and then pass it along to 6 other blogs of your choice.

Here Are The 10 Questions:

1. If you blog anonymously are you happy doing it that way; if you are not anonymous do you wish you had started out anonymously so you could be anonymous now?

I don't blog anonymously. I am who I am and I'm not trying to hide anything. This is my craft blog and I don't think I have anything personal on here but I do have a private blog that I keep up with a lot more than this one. It's more about my life and I don't really hold anything back BUT because I know there are some creepo's out there I do have it private ( but if you'd like an invite just let me know and give me your email address! )

2.Describe one incident that shows your inner stubborn side.

Me...stubborn? haha I'm so much more stubborn than I should be! Man oh man do I need to work on this. I'm kinda embarrassed to admit but I'm probably as stubborn as they get. I HATE when people tell me what to do...even the slightest hint of someone bossing me around drives me absolutely crazy. Just like tonight...Me and my husband were driving home and my car needed gas, he then began to tell me about how some gas stations have better gas than others and he wanted me to make sure I went to the better gas stations so that we can try and keep our car lasting as long as possible. Well the gas station I always use is across the street and it didn't make the list. I didn't like the conversation at all and I wouldn't agree and say that I would go to these other gas stations. Why? Why can't I drive not even a mile away to the better gas station? Sometimes I'm a brat...I'm working on it :)

3.What do you see when you really look at yourself in the mirror?

I think the mirror actually makes me look better...I look at pictures and I think to myself "ummm....excuse me...this isn't what i saw this morning!" Does that happen to you?

Anyways I usually see a happy girl...I see some changes I'd love to make but I'm happy with myself...my extra 20 lbs of baby weight isn't all bad all the time haha. Who is completely and truly happy with themselves? Not many and I'm definitely no different.

4. What is your favorite summer cold drink?

In this valley heat...its good old H2O. With lemon of course :) I actually especially love getting water from sonic because I LOVE their ice!

5. When you take time for yourself, what do you do?

I really don't spend a lot of time just for me. I hardly ever do anything without my son. I love being a mom and i hardly ever want to leave him behind. But when I do I really try to get together with some girls! I need girl time sometimes...just someone to chat with and if we can fit in some crafting and some good food then I'm in heaven :).

6. Is there something you still want to accomplish in your life? What is it?

Boy do I have a LIST of things I still want to accomplish...I mean come on I'm 22 for heavens sake! First and foremost is being the best possible Mom I can be. And I still need to accomplish having a few more kids as well! But there is nothing else in this world I'd rather do than raise my children and be there for them in every way possible. My main goal is to better myself so I can be better for them. My baby boy is my pride and joy and I wouldn't have it any other way and I seriously can't wait to have more kids running around in my home.

I want to be debt free...so far we are only in debt for our house and I can only imagine how it would feel not to pay mortgage payments each month.

I want to travel and do service around the world and I want to take my kids with me.

I want to be happy with myself..inside and out

I want to write a book and be well educated in the things that I love. My religion and parenting are on the top of that list.

Geez I could go on and on but I'll stop there...

7. When you attended school, were you the class clown, the class overachiever , the shy person, or always ditching?

I don't necessarily like sharing this but that "stubbornness" side of me really showed in my school days. I was some what of a rebel and liked doing what I wanted to do when I wanted to do them. I didn't get bad grades in school and when I applied myself I did really well BUT I didn't like applying myself that often. I ditched A LOT and actually got scared a little about graduating. Some of my teachers threatened me about missing too many classes but like I said I still did do good in my classes and they passed me. Gosh could you imagine if they didn't!? My senior year me and one of my best friends would ditch and tie quilts haha doesn't that sound kinda funny? I wasn't out doing bad things...i was crafting and shopping :). I had fun in school but I do wish I would have applied myself more.

8. If you close your eyes and want to visualize a very poignant moment of your life what would you see?

Poignant means life changing right? Well so far it would have been getting married and then having a baby. I think having a baby was more poignant though. I am and have always been an open person and I feel like I've shared my life with lots of people and it was easy to be married and combine my life with the one I love. Yes we had some fights and it wasn't all a cup of tea so to say but I've never been happier and I feel as if I stayed the same person...UNTIL I had Preston. That's when my life turned around. I was no longer the selfish girl I was before. I would give and do anything for that boy. He's changed my way of living and doing things. I see things more clear and have a better picture of my life. I feel like I have a better understanding of whats important and I love where my life is right now because of it.

9. Is it easy for you to share your true self in your blog or are you more comfortable writing posts about other people or events?

In regards to my private blog...I'm totally comfortable sharing everything. Sometimes I wonder what people may think but then again who cares. I am who I am and I just hope that's good enough.

10. If you had the choice to sit down and read or talk on the phone, which would you do and why?

Um this is a tie. It just depends on who is on the phone. I could talk and talk to my mom or my sister but most others I like to read their blogs and then every once in a while catch up with them in person. I LOVE reading though...one of my favorite past times for sure!

Ok, so now comes the part where I pass this award on to 6 others!

So, I am passing on this "Life is Good" award to the following people:

Ashlee at Infertility Spoiled Eggs
Cassie at reUse*reInvent*reDesign
Any of the lovely ladies from 4 sweet peas in a pod
Tawny at Posh-Blvd
Ashley at Our Happy Nest
Shawni at 71 Toes

It was hard to choose but these blogs are daily reads of mine and inspire me in a crafty, spiritually or just uplifting way.

Posh-Blvd Givaway!

2010-10-05T16:42:00.000-07:00

One of my friends is now selling these fabulous hair accessories! She is extremely talented and her stuff is to die for! She has graciously decided to have a giveaway for 2 of her Halloween inspired headbands

Isn't it adorable!? So I think you all should enter! ( Even though I really want to win myself )

Go to her blog Posh-Blvd to enter and to find out how to get in some extra Entry's!

How to : Small Table Runner

2010-09-29T08:28:00.000-07:00

Okay so I'm finally going to post a "how to" for the small table runner. What you need for this is :

Fabric ( I used scrap fabric and I used 12 different designs ) If you were to buy I would buy 12 different fat quarters and then a different fabric for the backing ( I used all fabric i already had, so I'm guessing you should buy around a half a yard for the backing and siding )
sewing machine
thread
fabric scissors
I used a 6 1/2 " hard plastic square and a 3" and 4" circle to cut everything out

Okay so first you want to cut out your fabric. 12 6 1/2" squares, 12 3" circles, and 12 4" circles.

Then your going to want to decide your pattern. Because I used so many different patterns, I wanted to make sure that no pattern was right next to eachother. And I wanted to make sure I loved it before I sewed anything together.

Okay so now that I have my fabric all laid out I'm going to sew on my circles. To make sure that I sewed them on in the middle I would fold my square vertically and horizontally, I pressed hard so you can see the crease marks. Do the same thing with your circles and you'll be able to line them up and pin them. After that begin sewing on the circles and then connect your squares vertically, 6 on each row.

After you have that sewn your going to pin your 2 sides together at each corner so that your corner of each square will meet up. Then sew that together...

Now after you have your 2 pieces together you are going to sew on your backing fabric. My fabric was larger so I just laid it on top of the fabric and cut around it leaving extra fabric so that I fold it over. I folded it over twice and sewed on all 4 sides. ( I didn't take a good picture of that, sorry! )

In this pic you can see what the sides look like when its all sewn together. Okay so this is it before is washed. its really cute how it is...depending on what you like you can throw it in the wash and your ends on the circle will fray and look more worn. Like this...

And here's a picture of the finished product on my table with my halloween decorations!

My plan originally was going to put it on ETSY and sell it but I fell in love with it so I'm keeping it for myself! But I'm going to make more with some different fabric and I'll probably sell those ones haha. I also have the long table runner that I will sell since my table isn't long.

Sneak Peak

2010-09-27T09:21:00.000-07:00

So I had a lot of smaller left over peice's from my scrap pile so I'm using all the rest and making a longer table runner. This weekend has been crazy but I will get to the tutorial's and finish this one as soon as i have an extra minute...for now enjoy and sneak peak!

Small Table Runner

2010-09-23T18:22:00.000-07:00

I'm way excited about this table runner. It was so much fun to make and I LOVE how it turned out! I used scrap fabric that I already had...I think it has a vintage feel with a modern twist!

I'm going to wash it so the ends on the circle will look more worn...Ill post a little later on how I did it and what it looks like washed and then Ill add it to Etsy...Let me know what you think!

Etsy!

2010-09-20T18:32:00.000-07:00

I know I know I've said I wanted to start making and selling some things on Etsy for a long time now and I'm finally doing it...a little. I just added a couple of beaded bracelet watches and I have some more watches and other crafts to add soon!

Take a look and and definitely drop by from time to time...I should have some new things every week! Enjoy!

School Bag...

2010-08-06T09:26:00.000-07:00

My little sister was up visiting and we decided to make her a new school bag. I actually bought the pattern for this bag, which is a first for me, I've never followed and cut out a pattern before! But it was fun and we loved how it turned out. The pattern I used was Simplicity 2617. So if you want to make this bag run to joanns and pick this pattern up!

We sewed vertical lines throughout the front to give it a quilted look.

The back is really simple with a added pocket!

We also thought it would be super cute with a leather strap instead of fabric and we thought about adding some fabric flowers to the band in the front. I'm hoping to make another bag for myself and adding those little details!

Wooden Sign...

2010-08-06T09:17:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the flash in the middle of the sign ( my camera is no good ) but this is a sign me and my friend made for another friends bridal shower. To make a sign like this you need...

Cricut Expression ( or just vinyl letters that you could buy already precut )

Vinyl

Fabric

Buttons

Ribbon

Spray paint

Saw ( or you can get your wood precut and home depot to the size you will need )

Hot glue gun

Okay first things first cut your wood to the size you'll be needing. Then spray paint in a well ventilated area, once dry you can start adding your vinyl. We used the cricut expression with Storybook and Platinum Schoolbook cartridges for our font. First you lay down your BIG letters, which was our friends new last name. After that add on your little letters. To dress it up we decided to add ribbon to the sides and some fabric flowers with buttons in the middle!

Beaded Watches

2010-08-06T09:06:00.000-07:00

Okay so I haven't posted on here in SO long....sorry I'm a slacker. I have done a few crafts that I'll post today and hopefully I'll be able to keep this blog more up to date! Well a few months back me, my mom, and my sisters decided to make beaded watches. It was easy and lots of fun. Something anybody could do! What you need to make these watches is...

Beads! Any color, any size...its fun to mix the sizes of your beads

Bead and Jewelry Cord ( we used "stretch magic" size 1mm )

Bead Divider ( a bead that has a hole on each side so that your able to connect the 2 strands together )

4 clasps ( to connect the bracelet to the watch )

Solid Bar Watch face ( we bought ours at sarahwholesale.com )

The first thing you would do is cut your cord...make sure its long. Fold it in half and place a bead right in the middle of your cord, then place a clasp on each side. Proceed to place the beads on each side of the cord ( make sure you place your 2 dividers one close to the top and the other close to the bottom). Once you've placed beads on both sides and you like how it looks and you've measured it around your wrist, then add the other 2 clasps with another bead in the middle and tie a really tight knot. I ended up tying mine quite a few times. And if your cord is short it will be VERY difficult so make sure you give yourself enough cord! Then clasp your watch face on and your finished! Simple and oh so cute!

Wreath #2

2010-02-19T14:52:00.000-08:00

Okay so I decided that my first wreath just wasnt what i really wanted haha. I really wanted something a little more simple. Well I found a wreath at Target that I just loved but it was like 30 $ and i figured that I could make one that looked just like it. And I did! It was really simple too and alot cheaper. I just used a regular round wreath and I used some fake flowers. I would just stick the end of flower into the wreath and then take it out put some hot glue on the end and then stick it back in so it would stay in there really good. I applied them all around the wreath and thats how it turned out! I love it...this is really more my style and more of what i wanted on my front door!

Wreath

2010-02-10T14:25:00.000-08:00

I wanted a wreath that I could use all year ( besides christmas ) that was bright and cheery and I thought that it would be fun to create my own. It is sooo simple to do. You can buy a "plain" wreath and you just pick out the flowers and accesories. After that you stick it in the wreath where you want it to go and your done! I also wanted to get a sign or something to go along with whatever holiday is next to put in the middle of the wreath. Its almost Valentines so in the middle of mine it says "LOVE". Hope you like it!

Fabric Flower Necklaces

2010-01-31T09:05:00.000-08:00

Me and my sister Corinne decided to try and make necklaces yesterday...it was so much harder than I thought it was going to be ha. Im not going to tell you how we did it just yet because I swear there has to be an easier way and we are going to figure it out. I do think they turned out super cute but just TOOK FOREVER! We hope to make them faster and to be able to sell them...( just has to be worth our time ). But let me know what you think and if by golly you know how to make those fabric flowers super quick PLEASE let us know!!! Thanks!

House Warming Gift Baskets

2010-01-22T19:26:00.000-08:00

I dont know about you but I LOVE finding a good deal. My husband asked me to put together a gift basket for the people he has sold houses to and I had a limit of about 25.00 for each one. So I was determined to find things on clearance and get the most out of my money. With the after christmas sales still going on I was able to find some sweet deals! So I wanted to share with you the kind of deals that are out there right now and give you some ideas for a house warming gift basket as well! These baskets would be great for any kind of gift actually, birthday..etc. I wanted to find things that everyone uses in their homes.

Okay to start us off we need a basket...this one I found at Joanns for 50% off so I got it for 5.00! Its really cute and can be used for alot of different things.

Then I found this frame on clearance at target for 7.00, not really the smokin deal i was looking for, but its a nice thick wood frame...definantly doesnt look cheap. So for 7.00 i personally think it was a pretty good deal.

These chocolates I had coupons for! So i got each bag for about 2.00...not too bad!

This was the best deal of them all! I love these scented oils...i was originally looking for a candle but i went to the clearance section and they had all thier holiday scented oils on clearanace for 1.98! I dont know why Pure Vanilla is considered a holiday scent but im glad it was haha!

Then I added one of my oven mits that i showed you how to make earlier...isnt that fabric cute? And they are really cheap to make as well...doesnt take much fabric at all.

And Lastly I made a Thank You card for Spenc to write in and put on the baskets.

Pic of the Basket and Goodies!

And now its all wrapped up and ready to go! I stayed within my budget and I really feel like its a pretty dang good gift for what i spent!

Hot Pads!

2010-01-16T16:39:00.000-08:00

Im so sorry I havent posted! I left town and things got crazy but I am back and I promise Im going to be alot better! Well I just finished making some hot pads! Im making some housewarming gifts for the people spencer sells houses to and im going to add a pair of these in that gift...what do you think? Im also gonna make a few and add them to my etsy so hopefully ill have that up and running with things for sell on that soon...keep an eye out! Well ill let you know how i did them...

I cut 8 strips of fabric at about 9 inches tall and 2.5 inches wide ( 2 of each print )

Then i sewed them together...( In 2 sets 4 for the front and 4 for the back )

I then ironed the the seams flat

The I started the pocket...I cut out another strip of fabric at about 8.5 " long and 4" wide. I sewed the edges and then turned it inside out and sewed it together. It will be inside out so turn it around, i then added buttons to each end.

Place that strip in the middle of your fabric and sew a box around both buttons leaving the middle unattatched, that way you can put your hand through it. Then layer it with 100 percent cotton batting, and a second layer of heat resistant Insul-Bright thermal batting.

I then cut a really long peice of fabric for the edge ( my fabric was cut in a yard and i just cut at about 6" wide all the way down ) You fold the long edges and sew them to make a clean look and pin it around the edge so that both sides are even. ( I just folded my edges trying to line up the stitch ) and then sew all the way around. I forgot to take a picture of it but i added a little hook to one side and applied it on with a sewn on button.

This is how it will look in the back!

Dont look at my ugly hand and bitten nails but thats the front and you can place your hand in the slot so it will help it from slipping

And heres the finished hot pad hooked on my oven!

Christmas Stocking

2009-12-12T08:10:00.000-08:00

I decided to make my little boys stocking this year. Mine and Spencers stockings I bought a couple of years ago and i couldnt find one that matched our plus down the road i would never be able to find enough for all of our familys stockings to match. So Spencer and mine do match but Im going to make all of our childrens so that theirs kinda match and look alike too. I really like how prestons turned out but im wondering if i should add a snowflake on the top right side? Let me know what you think would look best cause im really debating it. Well let me show you how I did it...I used:

Fabric ( about 1/2 a yard for the white and 1/2 a yard for the print )
Sewing Machine
Hand needle
Thread
Thick colored thread
Ribbon
Letters ( I found mine at Joannes for .50 cents each and they apply as a sticker and you just iron it on )
Buttons
Pins
Iron
Ironing Board
Hand Towel

What I did first was cut out fabric that I had folded over so there was 2 sides ( I used 2 peices of fabric for the back and the front for added thickness and also when you look inside the stocking you see the printed cute side of the fabric not the back side ) I did the same for the top white fabric and the fabric for the hook at the very top. Before I sewed the fabric together I hand sewed the snowflakes on to the front. Its really simple...I just made it up as I went, snowflakes can look really however you want them to so have fun with it! I also added a button in the middle of each. After that I added the ribbon to the top white part. I also hand stitched this on with the same thick blue thread. ( If you use a sewing maching it will scrunch up your ribbon ). Then I sewed it all together! The white part folds over so keep that in mind when you sew the top ( sew it on inside out so when you fold it over the ribbon is showing ) When thats all done iron the Letters on however you want them, I planned on doing it vertical but his name was too long so I ended up doing it horizontal. I also ironed the white folded part down since its soo thick it didnt really want to stay where i wanted to but after ironing it stayed pretty good. Well thats it hope you like it and if you have any questions feel free to ask!

This is the top ribbon.

Close up of the snowflake.

Birthday Cards

2009-12-10T19:01:00.000-08:00

Birthday cards! One is for a little boy and the other a little girl. For both of these I used the cricut for most everything. ( Boy do I LOVE my Cricut Expression ). Here is a list of what I used for both cards:

Cricut Expression
Storybook Cartridge
Colored pearl embellishments
flowers
buttons
glue

For the boy card above I cut out 2 backrounds one just a little smaller than the other and pasted them to the card. I placed " Birthday Boy " in the center and embellished it with the colored pearls and added little owls the the corner. And thats it. :) My lettering does go off the card on both sides so if you were to do this card exactly then you may not want to use an envelope.

Then we have the girly card. I always have so much fun doing girly things cause you can add all kinds of cute embellishments! But for this card I just cut out a peice of paper the exact size of the top of the card to cover the entire front. I added the crown in the corner and placed 3 little flowers with buttons in the middle and also some colored pearls around the crown. Then I placed "Birthday Girl" on a seperate little piece of paper and put that on the opposite side. Finally I added flowers to the top right. Oh and again these are also on 5x7 cards.

*Both of these cards will be on sale at ETSY very shortly!!

Card Making

2009-12-10T09:27:00.000-08:00

Making a card is so simple to do cause you can make any way youd like! But if you want a card that looks like this ill show you how! What I used:

Cricut Expression Machine
Storybook and Essentials Cartridges
Black and Red Ribbon
Scrapbooking paper ( I used ones with lots of glitter and that are super shiny for a more christmas feel and effect )
Blue Button
Pearls ( White and Blue )
Glue

This is a 5x7 plain white card, you can find these at walmart, micheals, joanns etc. for really super cheap they usually come with matching envelope and with a fair amount in each package. I used my cricut expression to cut the backround, scroll, snowflakes and letters. But if you dont have a cricut you can find stickers and embellishments that look very similar. After I had everything cut out i applyed the backround paper first...i placed it where the edges are touching the end of the card. Then i placed the red scroll in the center and embellished around the scroll with pearls, buttons, and the snowflakes. After that apply "Let it Snow" at the very bottom. To finish attach the ribbon to the very top.

Im going to start making alot of cards and having them for sale on ETSY...Happy Birthday, Thank Yous etc. so keep an eye out for them! ( It may take me a couple weeks to have everything posted on ETSY )

Curtains

2009-12-08T10:19:00.000-08:00

I desperately needed curtains for my slideing glass door in my kitchen. I couldnt find any curtains long enough that wouldnt cost me an arm and a leg so i just bought regular black curtains for the door and matching curtains for the two other windows in that room. I found some really cute fabric on sale at 40% off at Hobby Lobby that i fell in love with, to add to the bottom of the curtain. I ended up needing to add about 10" to the length. I also found some cute ribbon to add to the top to kind of bring it all together. What I needed for this project was:

Curtains
Extra fabric ( about 2 yards )
ribbon ( i got 2 )
Sewing Machine
Scissors
Pins
Thread
little hooks

What i did first was let out the bottom of the curtains and cut out the fabric at about 12" so we had extra fabric to fold over and sew. I then proceeded to pin the fabric to the bottom of the curtain and sew it on. I also placed ribbon above the fabric and then again at the very top of the curtains and sewed them on as well. With the extra fabric I made tie backs to hold my curtains back during the day. I just it in a rectangular shape folded it over and placed a folded ribbon peice in there as well and sewed it all together. I found little hooks to place on the wall and the tie backs fit perfectly and actually tied it all in. I love how it turned out!

I couldnt have done this project without the help of my grandma...( i didnt even have a sewing machine at the time...) Thanks for letting me use yours and for all your help!

Entertainment Center

2009-12-08T09:52:00.000-08:00

This is the last thing i refinished ( for a while anyway ) its an entertainment center that my husbands aunt and uncle gave to us when we first married. They had it i think for a little over 10 years and so its deffinantly been used but it was still standing and still holding a tv perfectly haha. The wood grain just isnt my style and since the color of my walls are pretty dark I decided to paint the entire thing white. Again most of the things I used are the same as the chair and the bench but again:

Sand paper ( if needed...I only had to use it on a couple of spots )
Paint ( I used spray paint but I used a TON of cans so next time for big projects i think im going to stick to a bucket and a brush, so whatever you feel more comfortable using )
Primer ( I definantly needed a first layer to help cover all the knotty wood )
Plastic or Paper to lay down
Protective mask ( Dont breathe in those chemicals )
New hardware ( I found mine at Hobby Lobby for about $2.50 a peice )

First I took the doors off and cleaned all the dust out of the entire hutch. I sanded down a couple of spots that were rough. I then started priming the entire thing, once that was dry i put on a layer of paint. ( In a couple of places it needed a second layer also ). *Tip* When i was doing this project it was almost a 100 degrees outside and it was turning a couple of spots yellow that i had to paint over so be careful with how the weather is...being super hot is not that good and also watch out for the wind, it could blow particles into the paint and dry there. Then I screwed on the hardware and put the doors back on and moved it back inside. It looks a hundred times better. :)

Outdoor Bench

2009-12-08T09:31:00.001-08:00

This is another project i wanted to refinish. This bench has just been outside and this is what nature has done to it. Its very faded and the paint and wood is peeling off. This project is just about the same as the rocking chair but again I used:

Sand paper
Spray paint ( about 4 cans )
Plastic or paper ( for the ground or surrounding items you dont want painted )
Protective mask ( cover your nose and mouth! You dont want to be breathing in those chemicals)

This time I had ALOT to sand down, it took about an hours worth of labor to get it smooth and even then it deffinantly wasnt perfect. I Then sprayed it down with a hose to clean off all the particles and get all the dirt of the metal parts of the bench. After it had dried all that was left to do was paint! I ended up just painting the entire thing black and I really love how it turned out. You can still see that the edges are still not entirely smooth but it gives it a rustic look that i really like. If you want yours to look brand new just spend more time sanding it down untill the entire bench is even. I added some cute pillows and Im done! Soo much better!

I love to give recognition to those who deserve it so thanks to my sister Corinne for all her help sanding and painting this bench with me! Doing things like this is soo much funner to do with a friend!

Childs Rocking Chair

2009-12-08T09:13:00.001-08:00

This project I wanted to make this rocking chair look new again. I actually had this rocking chair when i was young so its a little over 20 years old now and it was getting a little dinged up. All of my babys furniture is white so i wanted to paint it that way to match everything else. What I needed for this project was:

sand paper
about 2 cans of spray paint
plastic or paper ( to lay down on the floor so you dont get paint everywhere )
Protective mask ( so your not breathing in all those chemicals )

First I sanded the entire chair. I did all my painting outside so that i wouldnt have to smell the paint all day but i just layed down plastic on my porch and i layed the chair upside down so that i could paint the bottom first. After it dried i painted the front and double checked that everything was covered. *Tip* depending how dark your wood is to begin with and your wanting to go a light color, you may want to get some primer to put on the entire chair and let dry before you spray the paint on. Once its dried your all done and ready to use again. This is how mine turned out!

First Post- Wooden Blocks

2009-12-07T22:00:00.000-08:00

Yay its my first Post! How Exciting! Well these projects were done a while ago but they are super fun and EASY to do. They are just wooden blocks and you can make them to say anything you would like. For these projects you will need:

Wooden blocks or letters
Scrapbooking paper
Accessories- buttons, flowers, ribbons, etc.
paint
glue
scissors
If you are going to paint the blocks/letters do that first. ( In the first picture i also used little wooden letters spelling preston...i painted those as well ) wait untill completely dry.
cut out scrapbooking paper ( whatever designs you choose ) into squares for the blocks and with the letters i just traced the blocks onto the paper and cut them out. For the blocks I cut out squares for each side of the block.
Glue the paper onto the wood. *Tip* Use just regular stick glue...the wet glue shows through the paper.
Add on any embellishments you would like
And your done

So easy wasnt it? I love how they turned out and Ive gotten alot of compliments on them. Let me know if you liked them and how yours turned out!