Make It/Love It

First off, this was my Mother's Day gift from Dave. He asked me like a month ago what I wanted and I can't believe he remembered and actually got it!! Totally surprised, and very excited. And thus begins my obsession with sewing. (Honey, if you need any birthday/christmas ideas, my machine has really been struggling lately..hint hint) Dave just started tech school, and  he will be out selling alarm systems in the evening when he gets home, so aside from taking care of the kids and home, I really need a hobby to keep me sane. I didn't know crafting could be so strangely addicting. I'm also going to be doing pictures here and there for people, mostly friends and family. I'm not quite ready to pick it back up full throttle yet. It is A LOT of work and I have a few little monkeys (and one big ape) who need their mama.

 My Mother's day was fantastic. What a blessing it is to be a mother, and to be entrusted with these little stinkers. I'm so blessed to be able to spend so much time with my babies. They make life so beautiful. 

I found a craft blog called Make It and Love It and I'm pretty much obsessed. Ha. Even now I went there to grab a link and totally got distracted by a cute stroller bag tutorial. Yeah, it's bad. So I used THIS tutorial to make this grocery bag holder for Pepper's room. It's nice to have bags handy at 3 am when she makes a poopy!! And I used to think these bag holders were only used by old ladies.

I have a few projects lined up for this week, if my machine will cooperate. I almost threw it down the stairs yesterday. So frustrating. This material is for a car seat canopy for my friend whose baby girl is due next month(shhh don't tell)

I purchased this fabric for my Mom and Dave's Mom's gifts...I'm not finished with my Mom's yet so I can't tell but I made Dave's Mom a crochet hook roll. She is always on the go and she likes to take her crochet stuff with her so I hope it comes in handy. It actually wasn't as easy for  me to make as it looked in the tutorial which was actually for a colored pencil roll, I just modified it a bit..ok, a lot.

(Excuse the horrible 3am kitchen lighting)

 I usually don't think about before pictures until I'm halfway finished with a project, but my Mom gave me this old drawer with dividers in it, she gave me the idea to make it into a shelf, so I did. This is the AFTER. 

And then I put all my ribbon on it:) I am such a nerd right now. 

  I got this wood from Dave who got it from my Dad when he was cleaning out his garage and yard. Thanks for all the stuff Dad. We're making use of it. I had Dave cut this wood into two pieces. I didn't sand it or anything because I like the texture. 

The wood peices weren't as big as the one in the catalog, so Jared and I came up with another dinosaur to paint. It was a lot of fun having Jared help out with it. He is so excited about his room. 

Dave and I are planning on making these Pottery Barn inspired beds for the boys, using the plans from Knock  Off Wood, minus the corner unit and stained dark like the ones in the catalog. The boys are currently sharing a full bed and they fight SOOO much. Ashton keeps Jared awake and takes the blankets away. It will be nice for them to have separate beds, the little stinkers. The paintings were inspired by Pottery Barn's Dino room..shown below.

 

I love the clearance section at Lowe's and Home Depot, and I scored this Valspar "Jalepeno Jelly" green paint for $1, along with the brown I used in the Dino paintings. I've finally decided on what I'm doing with the boy's room and this is the paint that I've wanted. This summer I'm going to paint an accent wall in their room in this color. 

I stole this shelf from our living room to put in the boys room also. Until that wall gets painted, we need some green!! I'm making green curtains too.

Here is the finished product, I sanded them a little, stained and then wiped it back off. I love how they turned out, and so do the boys.

In order to redeem myself from that tiny dress I made Pepper that will never fit her again, I made a pillowcase dress out of the same fabric. I guess I need to learn how to read patterns again because I had to unpick this thing twice and it took me 3 hours to make. It was actually a lot simpler than the other dress I made.  HERE is the tutorial with a printable pattern. Don't be like me, read the tutorial before sewing stuff together. The ribbon on the dress was my grandmothers back in the 60's I believe, it said 9cents on the package!

Dave got me these cabinets from a doctor's office he was helping his Dad remodel, they had mauve doors on them so I painted them white. Now all my craft stuff is organized. Heee! I'M A NERD AND I'M PROUD!!

Oh yeah, my Mom also gave me this awesome barn window frame and I put paper in the frames. Love it. AND I can change the paper out for different seasons and whatnot.

 THERE. Took me three days to finish this post, and I was typing one handed.

  I need to find a pattern for a baby sling.