Feeling Out Of Sorts

Today, I’ve got nothing for you.  I finished the shirt refashion yesterday, and it turned out awesome.  I spilled something on the shirt a few hours later, and the photo shoot ill just have to wait.  Sorry, but this pregnant woman is always spilling something on her.  And most of the time it’s on her belly.  My husband made fun of me last night as I drug the garbage can right under my belly and brushed the leftover candy-cane crumbs into the garbage can.  He said, “Well, on the bright side, your belly fits right over the garbage can this way.”  Funny moment, I tell you.

Lately, I’ve felt a little down and out of sorts.   I’ve felt super grateful for everything I have, but also just feeling kind of strange.  I think it’s probably because the rush and excitement of the holidays is over, and the next biggest thing we’ve got going on this year is in April.  I’m used to being in school, and being busy this time of year as well.  And this year, I’m not.  Thank goodness, but it’s a big adjustment as well!  I’m feeling great, and taking care of myself, but I am just not feeling like me.  The good part, is that I know this is normal, and that it’s okay.  I am staying busy, doing crafts, keeping my home clean, and spending more time in the kitchen.  Yesterday I made a cake.  Today I made bread and prepped a lasagna, and I’m about to go make tasty breadsticks to go with that lasagna for dinner.  I’m enjoying my time, but I’m lonely at the same time.  It’s a weird thing to explain. 

Sorry to ramble, but this is my blog.  And if I can’t be real here every now and then, why blog?  I hope that you are having a great week, and thank you so much for reading!  You’re appreciated!

~Lynette~

Wish List Wednesday: Valentines Day Edition

For some reason this year, I am really into getting decorations for Valentines Day up.  Maybe it’s because I’m not in the thick of school work this year, or it could be that we have our own home, or it could be that my husband and I have been together for 4 years tomorrow (wow.  That’s a long time!).   I only have one Valentines decoration, so I will definitely be making some of my own.  Here’s a few of my favorites.  Click on the picture to reach the blog post, and click on the link for the pin via pinterest.

I saw this wreath and fell instantly in love. And the best part, it’s just paper!  Hybrid Chick has a full tutorial for you, and it’s so easy a kid can do it.  My kind of décor!  See the pin for the Paper Heart Wreath here.

Sugar Bee Crafts shows us how to make the same type of hearts, but with a stapler!  Oh, the wreath got even easier.  I will probably be doing my wreath this way.  Check out the pin for the Paper Strip Hearts here.

I also fell in love with this little beauty.  Isn’t it gorgeous?! Craftaholics Anonymous did this with paper, but I bet you could use fabric as well and applique it onto a background if you wanted.  I may be doing this because I don’t really have any cute paper for hearts, but I have lots of cute fabric scraps!  See the pin for the Valentines Specimen Art here.

Well that’s all I have for you today.  Tomorrow I’m going to show you how I turned a regular top into maternity, and how I embellished it to make it fun to wear.  Stay tuned.  Thanks for reading,

~Lynette~

Tutorial Tuesday: Puzzle Cube

It was the week of Christmas, and I still didn’t have anything made for my brother.  I had something in mind to make for my husband, but when I came across this puzzle cube from  …..  I knew that I had to make these.  I had a hard time finding cubes at local craft stores, but my mom had enough in her classroom to share with me.  Thanks mom!

Here’s how they turned out.  The tutorial was very easy to follow, and I loved making these.  The only thing that I had a problem with was that the paint started to chip off after being played with for very long.  I think I will do some touch up paint and then spray with a clear coat to help seal the paint a bit better.  Find the tutorial at C.R.A.F.T to know how to make your own puzzle cube.

Have a great Tuesday and thanks for reading!

~Lynette~

Favorite Things Friday: Flylady, Silhouette Cameo, and Hogan’s Heroes

Hi everybody!  Today I have a few more of my favorite things to share with you.  I have been working on several projects this week, so I can share with you next week.  Some of them have been a lot of fun!

My first favorite thing is the Flylady System.  Flylady teaches those of us that are a little scatterbrained how to keep our homes tidy and company ready at all times.  I don’t use everything in her system all the time, but I make it work for me.  And that is her intentions, to help us with what we need.  The biggest things I’ve learned from her is to use a timer and STOP when it goes off, do things in small increments of time so I don’t burn out, keeping my house clean CAN BE FUN, and to be proud of what I get done each day even if not’s as much as I had planned.  Great system.  You can find her website here.

 

I was a very good girl last year, and I only really wanted one thing for Christmas.  I pooled together all my Christmas money the week after Christmas and ordered one of these babies.  It came on Wednesday, and I have been having a blast.  I have only played around with paper crafts so far, but I plan on branching out to small vinyl and stencil projects soon.  I still plan on doing quite a few projects that won’t involve my silhouette, and I will try to space them out so that those who don’t have one won’t feel left out.  Before I got mine, I got all annoyed with “And I just did this in a snap with my silhouette,” posts. :)  If you want to learn more about the Silhouette Cameo, click here.

My other favorite this thing is Hogan’s Heroes.  My awesome husband ordered me the WHOLE boxed set of Hogan’s Heroes.  I love this show because it is guaranteed that you will laugh out loud at least once during the episode.  They are also only 20 minutes long, so you can watch one if you don’t have much time.  Longer shows bug me sometimes because our evening time is short around here some nights, but Hogan is a great length.  You can find Hogan’s Heroes on Amazon here.

Hope you have a great weekend!  See you next week with some fun projects.

~Lynette~

Wishlist Wednesday: Crayon Bowl, Lost Sock Bag, South of The Border Sandwiches

Hi everybody!  I've felt more like blogging lately, so we'll see how long I can keep this up.  I hope you don't mind posts more often.  Maybe I'll actually start getting a few more readers if I can keep it going.  Today, I'm going to show you a few of the things I've been pinning lately.  And because I have some upcoming maternity projects on the way, here's some non-baby/maternity wish list items for you!

(all the pictures are linked to the original blog post.  The links at the end of the description take you to my pin on pinterest)

I found this just a minute ago, and loved how it looked.  It's a crayon bowl.  Now how fun would that be in a kids craft room or classroom.  I wonder if you could tip it upside down and draw with all the colors of the rainbow at once.  I may have to try it!  Check out the crayon bowl pinned here.

I don't know about you, but I can't stand it when I have missing socks.  I just bought a package about a month ago of tall, warm cozy socks for myself, and I already have 2 socks from different pairs missing.   Ugh!  What's a girl to do?  Why, make a sock bag of course.  Throw all your socks in the bag after you take the off, keep them in the bag during laundry, and wha-lah!  No more missing socks.  You can add fabric for each child/person in your family to mark the bags for easy folding/putting away.  Check out the handy lost sock bag pinned here.

And for our final item, something to eat.  Of course, because I'm doing a lot of that lately (like every 2 hours-no joke!).  I have been wanting to try these scrumptious looking South of the Border Sandwiches.  I may have to hold out until summer so I can use garden fresh tomatoes and cucumbers.  Because garden stuff just tastes better!  Check out the South of the Border Sandwiches pinned here.

Hope you're all having a fantastic Wednesday!  Thanks for reading.

~Lynette~

Tutorial Tuesday: Painted Doily Apron

*On Tuesdays, I try to show you either a tutorial I created, or feature a tutorial I’ve followed.  I hope you enjoy today’s project!*

Hi there everybody!  I finally have a project to show you.  Isn’t that great? :) I am finally feeling like crafting after a couple months of exhaustion from early pregnancy.  Then it took me a month or so to get back into the swing of things and actually want to craft!  I have recently been playing with paper and fabric paint (but not together).  It’s always fun to branch out and try something slightly different (even if it is still super easy to do!)

I found this tutorial from Maybe Matilda several months ago, and fell in love.  I found an old shirt and tried it.  It turned out cute, but I ended up not using enough paint…my sister saw it and said, “You have something on your shirt.”  I sheepishly told her that I painted it there….She laughed and said…”Oh sorry!”  So I decided to try to redeem myself by trying the same technique and using more paint.  This time I got an inexpensive ready to embellish apron from Michael’s, and went to town.  It turned out awesome.  I love it, and because it’s a gift I may need to make myself one too. :)

I took pictures of the process, but I did everything exactly like Rachel did, so I decided to simply refer you over there.  I also used the fabric paint medium, and like this option because I can get the cheap paint and use it for more than just fabric.  And like she says, it does well in the wash too! :)

Hope you’re having a great day!

~Lynette~

Happy New Year, and a Little Secret! :)

Happy New Year everybody!  We're not even going to review last year's new year's resolutions.  But I will say that we have had a wonderful year.  I was a bit sad when 2011 ended actually.  I graduated with my bachelors, we bought a house, and we found out that we'll be having a baby boy in April 2012!  We are so excited to welcome this new addition to our family, and I'm excited to begin being a stay at home mom.

You can look forward to several baby and maternity projects in the near future, because my clothes are definitely not fitting right and maternity clothes aren't very cute and super expensive and hard to find in my area.  There are only a couple stores that carry them, and most are expensive.  So between Ross, Target, and a lot of Refashioning, I hope to get by during the next 3-4 months. 

As of today, my sewing machine is at the shop for the 2nd time in a month.  My pedal is spastic, so I may be needing to get a new one ordered depending on what the Bernina repair man says.  So sewing project may be on hold, but I will be showing you some new things very soon!

Happy New Year!
Lynette
p.s.  What did you accomplish last year that you're proud of?