Frames, Frames, Frames

Here's a little project I have been working on. I got these frames from my mom because she wanted to sell them in our annual garage sale. (gasp!) I know, I thought there must be some creative way to use these 3 frames. They were just begging me to get my hands on them! (wait...that didn't sound so good..) Anyways, they started out like this:

Then, with a couple coats of white paint and some distressing (you know I love to do this to old frames), here you have an architectural work of art. You like?? It has taken up residence in my laundry/craft room on a bare wall. It is the first thing I see when I walk in. And it makes me smile. :0)

Featured on: DIY Day, Show & Share Day, Feature Yourself Friday, Frugal Friday,

Inspire me: Canopy Beds

About a year ago my husband and I purchased a canopy bed from World Market. We love it, but I feel as though I am not really using it to it's full potential (decoration-wise). So I thought I would look around on the web and get some inspirations.

I just love the earthy tones this bedroom gives from Better Homes and Gardens. The cute little tray at the end of the bed is absolutely exquisite! But what inspires me most about it is the drapery over and around the bed. Very serene.

WhisperWood Cottage is one of my favorite blogs. If you haven't checked her blog out, I encourage you to do so. Very inspiring. I really like the way she has displayed her canopy bed. It's almost like it's own work of art. And those cart nightstands...I cannot get enough of! I will be on the lookout for a pair of those during my next thrifty shopping.

This canopy from Better Homes and Gardens was made out of recycled porch posts. What a neat idea! But I like the way they have the curtains hanging behind the headboard. I think it gives just a little more depth.

This one from Pottery Barn is my favorite! I love everything about this picture. Even though there are no curtains or drapery hanging from the posts of the bed, the architechtural detail of the accessories really accent the canopy bed very nicely. I really like the bench at the foot of the bed. Very practical and great for extra storage space. The nightstand with a tray on top of it is something I might be interested in having/creating. The artwork/papers hanging behind the headboard gives it a bit of interest.

Now my canopy bed isn't white nor does it look anything like this one, but the accessory decor from Better Homes and Gardens is very coastal (which I love!). I really like the color palate of this room. Very bright and cheerful!

So let me know what you think. Which one is your favorite?

You've been framed!

Just wanted to share this adorable picture of my little girl. She loves frames too! Like mother, like daughter! :0)

Happy Hump Day!

Feeling Cozi

I just found this awesome website to help make life a lot more simple. The website is called Cozi, and it's totally and completely free! It helps you manage all of your calendars (i.e. you, your spouse, children, etc.), everyone's to do lists, you shopping lists, etc. You can even jot down random happenings of the day in your family journal. You can sync it to facebook, twitter, and, for all you microsoft office users, you can sync it up to your Outlook calendar that you might use at home or work. Pretty cool, eh? You can also have reminders sent to your email or phone via text message. There are so many cool features on here that I just had to share with all of you busy moms! Here's a quick demo video to show you what it's all about. Please leave me a comment. I am new to this website, and I would love to hear what you think!

I hope you all are having a fabulous Tuesday!

Springtime Cookies

I have an announcement to make: I've been bitten by the "cookie bug". I just LOVE baking cookies! And it gives me the chance to whip out my awesome cookie press! I used Wilton's Cookie Pro Ultra Cookie Press. You can check it out here along with a how-to video.

I got it this past Christmas from my sister-in-law and had forgotten about it since. I love it that it comes with different attachments to make other various shapes such as a heart for Valentine's day, a pumpkin for Halloween, a tree for Christmas, etc. But with it being springtime and so close to Easter, I thought what better time of the year to make these flower cookies! And lots of 'em!

So sit back, relax, grab a cold glass of milk and enjoy a cookie. You deserve it! :0)

Copycat Friday: Paper Dogwood Flowers

Today's Copycat Friday is featuring the one, the only...Martha Stewart. While watching her show on Monday, I was totally inspired by her how-to segment on paper dogwood flowers. They looked so easy to make! And they were!

I felt like my little tree branch from another Copycat Friday post on Tray Transformation needed a little makeover. So with tomorrow being the first official day of Spring, my little branch "grew" flowers...dogwood flowers to be exact. I think it gives it more character, don't you?

Now for some reason, Martha Stewart has taken the how-to instructions for this fun craft off of her website. Not sure why. I'll let you know if it pops back up. But I do have the template if you would like to try making these little flowers. They a super, super easy to make. And I made a ton of them!

Hope you enjoyed this week's Copycat Friday! Happy Spring!

Luck o' the Irish

I love this time of year! It just means spring is just around the corner! It also gives me a chance to do a little baking in the kitchen...

This year I decided to make some clover sugar cookies. Yum! I was completely inpired by Martha Stewart (who is also my inspiration for this week's Copycat Friday) to bake these delicious cookies. The recipe is time consuming since you make the sugar cookies from scratch (of course! Would Martha do otherwise??), and you also have to put the adorable little clovers on the cookies. Aren't they cute?


To put the clovers on the unbaked sugar cookies, you simply sift together 1/3 cup powdered sugar with 1 teaspoon green food coloring. Then print and cut out this template and center it on the unbaked sugar cookies. Using a small sieve, gently shake the green sugar mixture on the template, peel off the template, and voila! A beautiful clover cookie! Let the cookies chill in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes, then bake at 325 F for 14 minutes (depending on your oven). Easy peasy!

I placed the cookies in my cookie container that I decorated with green tissue paper (from Christmas...I recycle!) and these fun printables from TomKat Studio. Festive, huh?

Happy St. Patty's Day!!!

Copycat Friday: Crazy about Cards

My latest obsession is making tons and tons of cards. Any type of card for any occasion: birthday, thank you, or just a hello. They are loads of fun and don't take up too much time doing them (compared to 12x12 scrapbook pages that somehow take hours).

The blog I am copying from today is at Two Peas in a Bucket. I have gotten so inspired from Kristina Werner's Finally Friday Videos. So check out the tutorial videos, and I am sure you would be inspired to make tons of cards like I did.

I had so much fun doing them and even added my own little flair to some of them! :0) Hope you enjoyed this week's Copycat Friday! See you next week! Have a fabulous card-making weekend!

Feeling blah about blah-ging

Sorry I've been M.I.A. for the past couple of days. Haven't exactly been in the mood to write for some reason. Things have been a bit rough. The other day my daughter was getting into the kitchen cabinets (as do most 15 month olds), and she somehow managed to grab onto the pizza stone. I was trying to multi-task by cooking dinner while trying to keep an eye on my child, but alas, she pizza stone fell right on her big toe. At first I didn't know what happened amidst all the screaming and crying. Then I saw her black and very bloody toe. My heart sank. I thought her toenail fell off or something. Thankfully it was a cut by her cuticle and was badly bruised on the lower part of her toenail. I cleaned her up, put antibiotic ointment on it, and wrapped a band aid around it. I felt like the worst mother in the world. I know other moms go through this, but I guess I had to experience it all for myself. She is much better now (it's amazing how quickly little ones heal!), but I am still recuperating. :0/

On a much, MUCH lighter note: I am very excited about Copycat Friday. I have been making TONS of cards lately and am anxious to share them with you. Please feel free to share any projects that you have "copied"!

Zen for Jen

Another birthday means another new look on life. I always use my birthdays as a time to reflect on the years past. So my "birthday resolution", similar to a new year's resolution, is to do yoga every morning (including weekends). I feel that it would be a fresh start each day with the added bonus of becoming more flexible and staying in shape. Plus, I feel that I really connect with my body, which is tough when you're a mom.

But I don't pay for expensive classes at a gym, and I don't do just random stretches and call it "yoga". I simply go to Exercise TV or Hulu and choose from the many options of a 10-20 minute workout. It's so easy to just do in the comfort of your own home. You could even invite a few friends over to have a little "yoga party"! Be sure to have some healthy snacks and water available for your guest since yoga can release toxins from your body.

So go check it out and enjoy!

Copycat Friday: Cupcake Party

This past November we celebrated my daughter's 1st birthday. She's our little cupcake. So of course, we had to put together a fun cupcake party! I got tons and tons of ideas online, so here are just a few people that inspired me during my crazy party planning.

The whole cupcake theme started with TomKat Studio's blog with her daughter's 1st birthday. I just LOVED how she decorated everything! So I grabbed her birthday sign idea and sort of created my own in a similar fashion.

For her highchair (which is where the main event takes place), I found this adorable highchair skirt at 1st Wishes, but didn't exactly want to pay the price. So my mom thought she could make on herself. We bought some pink toile and pink ribbon, sewed the ribbon on the edge of the toile, and hot-glued the whole thing on the highchair. It looked absolutely PERFECT!

And what would a cupcake party be without cupcakes?? Inspired by Bakerella, I wanted to create these adorable cupcake pops. But sadly, I was pressed for time. So I cheated. I took some jumbo pink marshmallows, covered them in chocolate melt, and then topped it off with some pink icing, sprinkles, and a red M&M. It was a hit! Everybody went crazy over them!

While getting my monthly dose of Parent's Magazine, I found these cute little cupcake party favors. And they looked super easy to make. And they were! I basically cut a paper cup in half, filled a sandwich bag with jellybeans tying it closed, placed it in the cup, and hot-glued a red pom-pom on top. Easy peasy!

As far as games, we played one game (since she's so little, that was about all she could handle). We had a Cupcake Walk! It was so much fun! It was even better watching the birthday girl dance to the music while everyone danced around her. A memory I will always cherish. Oh, and being a mom and all, I just had to include a pic of her in her birthday outfit. I found that little cupcake iron-on at Hobby Lobby. Perfection! :0)

B-E-A-Utiful day!

I have been racking my brain all day trying to think of something creative to write. No projects to report. And on a day like today, I don't feel like being couped up in my house painting, embellishing, etc. It's beight and sunny, and it's about 64 degrees outside. So without futher adieu, my daughter and I are going to go run and play. I love being a mom!

Oh, be sure to check back tomorrow for Copycat Friday. I might just be using your ideas as inspiration for my next project!

P.S. It's my birthday on Saturday..the big 26.....boooooo...

Inspire me: Tea Time!

With spring just around the corner, now is the perfect time for a nice, warm cup of tea. Today I stumbled over to Creature Comforts and found a FREE printable of these adorable little teacup tags. The best part about it is that after you print them out, you can paint them with different types of tea. So clever! I am definitely going to use them for my next tea party. It would be PERFECT for fun invitations or thank-you cards!

Check out her blog (which also comes with a step-by-step tutorial), and you too can create them for your next tea party. It's such a fun DIY-er! :0)

Feeling beachy

Can I just tell you how much I love to scrapbook?! I dream about it all day! Here's my moto: eat, sleep, scrapbook. :0)

Okay, maybe there's more to life than just scrapbooking, but it is TONS of fun! Anyways, I just wanted to share with you a little page I did a while back for my daughter's first year scrapbook. For some reason, this page seemed to get the most attention. I had a lot of fun doing it. I even drew the little footprints on the "sand". I did many, MANY more pages (about 65) in this scrapbook, but I didn't want to bore you all with every page.

So, whatcha think? Please tell me. I enjoy reading all of your thoughts and comments! :0)

Just another Manic Monday...

Like my title? Sorry, I had this song stuck in my head...felt it was appropriate for today though.

Do you ever feel like you're just going through the motions? Well, I feel like this from time to time. I know that being a stay-at-home mom contributes to this, given the strict routine I have my daughter on. But there are times when I just need a change of pace, ya know?

Let me just tell you a little about myself. I am VERY project-oriented. I LOVE projects! They keep me focused, and rarely start something without having this constant urge to finish them. But there's always one project that seems to never have an end...renovating. I recently decided to take my rather large laundry room and turn it into a laundry/craft room. It's my space, my project. It is also something that has taken about a month to complete (because there's always something else going on, i.e. chasing a very curious toddler around the house).

Anyways, I am having "decorator's block". I am trying to find a creative yet inexpensive way to make this room functional yet decorative and serene. Any ideas are certainly welcome!

Although, I did find these cute little buckets hidden in my garage. I completely forgot about them!! They were part of the decor at one of my many baby showers. Ah...the many possibilities for using these...