48 DAYS ....

Okay .... it's time to start getting some stuff done! We've been checking on RSVPs, narrowing down song selections, finding Chad's ring, etc -- putting together all the last details we can here.

What I had in mind for my hair has finally materialized and I'm so happy to have that done, as well as making myself some earrings. I've got a bracelet idea in mind as well but it's gonna require some more tinkering. There's a couple different pieces I made to put in my hair and then made some smaller ones for any of the bridesmaids that want them.


So ready for this day to be here, to be in Montana, to see family and friends, to put complete trust in all the vendors we're working with to create our vision and enjoy the day with Chad!

SUMMER BOTANICALS

My second set of paintings! Here's the Pottery Barn inspiration for $49 a print. My knock offs cost whatever the canvas and paint was. I think it would have been fun to paint the background instead of leaving the canvas white, but I wanted to sketch out my flowers first and the walls in the room they're going into are blue, so I thought the white might look nice against it.

I had a super fun time painting them! I've been perusing websites for other ideas I can try imitate and thinking of places I could put them : )

ROCK N ROLL BIRTHDAY GIRL

Made these for the cutest girl turning 7 in April that I know! Also sent her a pair of jeggings to wear with these fun tops : ) I'm in love with the black and white one. Thinking of making myself something like it that would go great with some killer black boots!

SURE, I CAN PAINT?

I don't remember being super into art class in school growing up. There's a few projects here or there that I remember that turned out well but not many of them were paintings.

My last big attempt to paint art work was inspired by Color Splash on HGTV. I was pretty confident that I could make something for our living room and we had the perfect size piece of plywood. I'm pretty sure what happened is that I bought the wrong kind of paint and went a little crazy spraying it with a water bottle, along with not being patient enough to let paint dry and the colors started mixing together in a bad way.

So instead of painting works of art I had Chad built me a wood frame and then wrapped fabric around it. It works great. And it's easy to change when you want something new.

One of the families I sit for has a little girl and are wanting to do some decorating in her room since she's not a baby anymore. I was super excited to help. Her mom bought some canvases and paint and has given me the freedom to paint whatever.

I looked googled things like art for girls room and what not to get some ideas. Pottery Barn Kids had some cute stuff that I'm gonna do my best at imitating. Right now those are just sketched out to paint this weekend. Two I already have done. Check them out!

She was born in New Orleans and the fleur de lis is a big symbol there. And a whimsical owl (that still needs the bee painted in)

{SCD} CUSTOM ORDER

So excited to share with you my first order via a facebook fan!

She saw a similar pair of mittens on {scd} on facebook and asked if I could make a pair with a dark grey hat to go with them. Here's the set she'll be getting!

The mittens are super cozy. They're made of coordinating wool sweaters and lined with fleece, so they keep your hands very warm. And the hat is both machine washable and dryable!

If you're interested in a custom order, give me a shout!

HAPPY HALL(HOO)WEEN

OWL SHOPPING TRIP

Went on a little shopping excursion to find pieces for my owl outfit. There's not a Michael's or JoAnn's real nearby, but there's Hobby Lobby - which was kind of slim for fabric options but has great selection for all kinds of other crafts (and for some reason, lots of home decor).

Here's what I got:
- 5 different fabrics, 1/4 each (5.91 total)
- Various felt (2.80)
- Felt glue (3.99)
- Elastic (1.29)
- Pillowcase (1.50 ... from Ross)

Total Costume: $15.49!! Plus my time : )

OWL COSTUME INSPIRATION

lady bird | owl mask | wings | owl kiddo
We thought with moving to a new place that we would not have Halloween plans or the need for costumes, but we've been invited to a co-workers Halloween party and for the last week I've been racking my mind for what I can make and not spend a lot on.

Spirit Halloween opens in Bozeman a month or so before, and of course there's costumes at Target and Walmart too. Here there are all kinds of Halloween stores, but a lot of them have the same expensive stuff that doesn't always fit the right way.

I narrowed my list down to:
- a sunflower (my original idea from months ago)
- a lady bug
- 20's flapper

And then while I was blog surfing this morning, I came across this lady bird costume and from there did a couple other searches for some ideas to be an owl. I'm so excited to have a project to work on and a costume that will be original!

BABY "K"

Customized Baby Shower Gift

- "Onesies" for Baby "K"
- Pacifier clips
- Burp clothes

DIY: REFINISHED COFFEE TABLES

BEFORE:Here's the story.

Chad's mom was moving to Bozeman and we went out to look for furniture for her new place. He found an ad in the paper for a loveseat for $100 so we went to take a look. It was pretty much brand new and gorgeous and our style. The older woman selling it said she liked us so much that she'd give it to use for $75. We bought it, for us!, thinking we could get the matching sofa and give his mom our old furniture.

I was able to track down the store where she bought it from, but the series had been discontinued. After a little looking, I found the same exact style set in leather (the loveseat we bought is a suede-microfiber kinda fabric). About a year ago, along with buying the sofa, we got a matching chair. . .and about a month ago decided to buy the small ottoman to go with the chair. .it's here, just have to go back to Great Falls to pick it up!

Nice, new furniture of course spurred a whole redecorating of the living room. Kept the same lamps, found a new rug. .. and still had the coffee tables, which we really liked but the finish of the bases were a little bit industrial for the warmer feeling that was starting to happen. Chad is great at coming up with ideas for my decorating and craft dilemmas and suggested painting the bases - perfect!

Rust-Oleum makes a spray paint that has is brown with a hammered look when it's done drying. It took about $20 for 3 cans and tada - new tables. They came apart super easy, the paint was easy to use, it dried quickly and they look great.

AFTER:

PROCRASTINATED PROJECT: BUMPER BLANKETS

They are DONE!!

Well. . . The Winnie The Pooh blanket has been done for about a year. Which was about 2 weeks after I accepted this little project. Someone asked if I could take apart the bumpers from their kids' crib sets and make them into blankets. Seemed like it'd be pretty quick and easy. The first one was a breeze, simple to take apart and arrange to re-sew. It was finished before this little boy's birthday, but I thought that his big sister may be upset if she didn't get her blanket then too, so I waited and life went on and I kinda forgot about the second blanket.

When I finally started the second blanket it was not so easy. Whatever company made it sewed the heck out of it. . . it was kinda hard to find good pieces to use that didn't have holes all over it from where the old stitching was. Eventually I got it all taken apart and then was not looking forward to re-assembling things. So it sat some more. And more. . .and more. I got so close to finishing it and just needed to get the binding on. .. and then we were moving. So it sat a little longer while we packed and unpacked and then got busy with other things.

But I've had a super productive weekend (a painting project coming soon!) and there are so many other things I've got going in my head to do, but promised myself I'd finish this before starting anything else.

They are done . . . SIGH!

PERFECT RECIPE BOX

I have many cookbooks. How often do I use them? Rarely.

Every now and then when I'm looking to make something for the first time, but so often it's a cookie recipe I got from my mom or something I tore from a magazine or something scrawled on the back of an envelope. All these lonely and random recipes needed a home. I was not having much luck finding a recipe box and figured it wouldn't be that difficult to make my own.

I decided that I did not want it to have a top and that it would be something to keep out. I found a 5x5?? box at Micheal's . . painted the inside. . .mod podged some paper to the outside . . .created some dividers for different types of recipes . .. and ta da! . . .perfect recipe box : )

And it looks great next to my pear colored Kitchen-Aid . . .

CUSTOM ORDER --> tote bag

First "custom order" bag! I have a similar bag (mine has a flap that goes over the front) that lots of people admire. One gal liked mine so much she asked me to make one for her. She told me the colors she likes, wanted it open on the top and with lots of pockets! The "front" side has 2 small pockets, the "back" has one big pocket (great for slipping in a magazine!) The inside of the bag is lined with many different sized pockets for pens, keys, and more. I love mine, I hope she's enjoying her new bag just as much!