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Monday, December 31, 2012

bring it on 2013...

Today, as the Christmas decorations come down...
those sweet handmade ornaments put away...
the lovely Christmas cards of 2012 stored back...

I try not to be sad as I usually am after the Holidays.
Instead, I am trying to look ahead into 2013 with a new perspective.

Reflect and Reorganize
and most importantly set some attainable goals for the new year.

I mean sure, I'd like to lose 10 pounds,
and get more organized,
and keep a tidier house,
and get out of debt...

and while all these are goals, resolutions, whatever you choose to call them.
They are things that I can work towards, but can't be too hard on myself if I don't reach them
this year.

However, with the new year, I feel big things coming for ME and this BLOG and my SHOP.
I have dreamed and dreamed and planned and planned of where I want this to take me.
and I am going to follow my heart.

I love having this outlet to pour my heart out,
and my shop to keep me thinking creatively,
and those special people that encourage me and keep me going.
 
My goals for 2013
be present
follow my heart
simplify
love
have faith
stay positive
play the lottery... {just kidding, but a little money wouldn't hurt either}

and everything else should fall into place.

Here's to 2013, I can't wait to share all the BIG and EXCITING things that are soon to be happening!


source








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Friday, December 28, 2012

a whole lotta christmas + a recap in photos

Another Christmas come and gone.  We definitely had plenty to celebrate.. and celebrate we did!


we partied and white elephant-ed


we baked and ate lots of yummies
we got sick with the flu and snuggled.. and watched plenty of Elf.
s

 we visited Santa and played


with cousins


we waited and anticipated Santa's arrival


 and opened plenty of presents


 spent lots of time with family

and even got a little present of our own made my the sweetest girl I know. 


and if you're stopping by from the mrs and the momma blog, welcome!  grab a seat and make yourself at home...



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Thursday, December 27, 2012

better late than never...

Merry Christmas...
Hoping you all had a lovely holiday!

thanks to the lovely danielle burkleo for this card design


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Tuesday, December 18, 2012

family pictures + what to wear post

If you've been around her for a while then you have probably heard me mention my fabulous photography friend molly from willow brandt photography
well lucky for me, I am able to have a friend that will photograph my family and let me do some pretty silly things that work about oh 50/50 I'd say. 

recently, my friend molly did Presley's 3 year photos as well as our family, and let me just say that I have the cutest dang daughter she has done it again and these photos melt.my.heart.

and yes, I have the cutest dang kid ever... Yes! biased!  So besides showing off my little family, I thought I'd share with you a guest post I did recently about what to wear for your family photos. 

and Yes, I still have a few Christmas DIY posts left as well.  I'll get back on that, k? forgive me!

could you not just eat her up.
she is adorbs!

melting!



daddy's girl

mommy's BFF

my little family...
 
 my dress // francesca's. cardi-target. boots-macy's. leapord belt-target
his sweater// oldnavy. button up-gap
her dress // pocket full of lovelies 
{yes, I made it}
watch for similar dresses very soon!
 
enough about what I wore,
let's talk about what you should!

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Today, I am here to talk to you cool cats about {what the heck to wear for your family pictures}
Why am I credible to talk on such a subject? Well, I am not really, but I like photography, and I like clothes and sometimes I get a vision..
call it what you will, but sometimes my mind thinks in photo shoots... {or blog posts, or tweets, ahh}
alrighty peeps, onto the topic at hand!

* inventory your house! what the hey does this have to do with getting your family dressed? well, it has a lot to do with it. I'll explain. why do we get pictures taken? because we want to display our beautiful selves all over our house, right? for other people to see when they come over and they can say, "dang, girl you look so good in that pictures" why, yes I do! thanks! so, look around, where are these pictures going to hang or sit? is your room formal? casual? what colors are in your room? take this into account when picking out outfits...
* another word of advice... research your photographer people! if you like sit-down-smile at the camera portraits, then pick a photographer that does those types of photos. if you like candid-maybe I am smiling, maybe I am laughing, maybe my butt crack is hanging out {no really, mine was in one of my pictures, no joke} then pick a photographer that has that style...
* the days of everyone looks the same in white shirts and khaki pants are long gone my friends... instead, try and pick out a few colors that everyone can incorporate in their outfit and coordinate not match... don't be afraid to mix unexpected colors and use accessories. COLOR is in folks! one of my {go to places} when I am trying to decide on Color is design seeds ... check it out.. you can search for palates and a pretty picture is included to help you if you are more visual like I am. you can search by palate, like autumn, summer, and so on! this is a good place to start... go there, like NOW! but come back and check out the rest of this post, m'kay?
* coordinating your outfits... this is huge. it's ok to mix patterns and colors, right? but don't put the same color and pattern on every person. pick outfits that encompass your
color palatte and then divi up those colors... if your scheme is mustard yellow and gray with pops of turquoise, put baby in yellow with a bold turqouise headband and yourself in a great gray dress with a pop of bright teal jewelry on your wrist and a mustard scarf and put dad in a plaid turquoise or shirt and dark gray wash jeans...
* scan your closets... pictures, as wonderful as they are, well, let's face it, can get pretty spendy by the time it's all said and done. well worth it, yes! look through your closets, do you think your husband looks hot in that shirt you bought him to wear to dinner last month, or maybe the baby looks darling in the new blazer you bought for grandma's birthday party {yes, they make blazers for the baby, too dang cute}. use that fave piece of clothing to help inspire the rest of your family look.
* use props... some of the time, your photog will have some for you to use, but if you are using these pictures for birthday invitations or for christmas cards and you want a specific look or feel, buy it and bring it, and communicate this to your photographer. check etsy or your favorite blogs for ideas... check your house, that special quilt that has been in the family for 100 years, bring it and sit on it {it washes} and you'll find your pictures not only look amazing but have a little bit of sentiment as well. believe me, photographers, {bless them} and their super cool editing skills, have a way of making aunt betty's ugly blanket look awesome in the photo... {I don't know how they do it, but they do}
* and last, we all do it, spend countless hours scanning pinterest. get inspiration from what other people have done. do me a favor and {wait for it} actually click on that super cool picture that you like and go to that blog or website and look around.. you may find more inspiration than you knew possible. seriously, if you like that one picture, chances are, you'll like the rest of what you will find after you click to the new page! try it, k?

well, take from it what you will. I hope someone draws some inspiration from this little post and has some crazy good family photos in the near future..

I have to get my roast out of the crock pot, and make my instant mashed potatoes before the hubbs gets home and figures out my secret! {I almost sounded domesticated, huh?} but seriously, the best choice garlic instant mashed potatoes are bomb!
you're welcome...

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thanks for listening lovelies
I'll be back soon!
xoxo


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Monday, December 17, 2012

snuggles + prayers


For 3 years, 1 month, and 24 days, I have snuggled my baby.  And with the recent events, I find myself snuggling more, just holding her more, praying more, appreciating more, thanking God for what I have. 

Praying for those families and chidren directly affected by what happened in Conneticut.  And prayers to all of the anxious parents today as they dropped off their children at school.  As for me, I will keep snuggling and praying and trying to keep it together.  Trying not to live in fear.  Trying to keep positive in hopes that it can spread to those who need it.


 

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Thursday, December 13, 2012

Hoop Art Ornament

Really, this is too easy!  Like for reals, I didn't even take pictures of the step by step because there's nothing to it.

Hoop Art.  I love it!  It's fun, the sky's the limit, and above all else it's cheap.  I like to embroider, but like anything it definitely takes practice... and well, I am working on my lettering.  I found the littlest baby embroidery hoops at the craft store, and thought they were so cute.


so, I turned them into ornaments.  All you need is some baby hoops, some fabric for your hoops, some embroidery thread and needles, a little hot glue, and something to hang your ornament with.  Easy peasy right!  I loved these so much that I actually sent these out as gifts to friends and for ornament swaps.  and I should have taken a picture of the one's I sent because they definitely got better each time. {this was my first}

all righty friends, there you have it for today!
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Wednesday, December 12, 2012

christmas rag quilt tutorial

Last year, when I was "homeless" {OK there's my dramatic side again}
the hubbs and I sort of went crazy in buying Christmas stuff for our house that was being built.
Including some oh.so.comfy Christmas flannel sheets...

I was so excited to get these puppies out of the package and get them on our bed...
and then Presley asked, "mommy, where's my Christmas sheets."
shoot, major mommy fail!  I hadn't bought any.  Oops..
I ran to target to get some flannel sheets for her bed, only to find they didn't have any cute Christmas ones to match her room, so I opted for some polka dot flannel, and knew what I had to do to make my princess happy.. I ran over to Joann and bought some Christmas flannel prints in hopes of making her a rag quilt. 

Now, I have never made one before, and had never really been in love with them, but was on a time crunch and didn't want to spend weeks making her a quilt for her bed like I did with her last one.  Coincidentally, flannel was 50% off at Joann {score} and I got a few yards of a few different prints in hopes I could throw something together.

Immediately after getting home, I went to the ole Internet to get some ideas.  Like I said, I wasn't particularly fond of the square rag quilts and was thrilled when I found this tutorial from Dana // The Wonder Forest.  Unlike others I had seen, no squares but instead used strips and there you have it!  I was ready to rock and roll. 

First, devise a plan... I had two different penguin prints that I wanted to be the main focus of the quilt,  I also had some red snowflakes, black and white chevron, pink polka dots... I decided to that I wanted my penguin strips to be 6 inches wide and my non penguin prints 3 inches wide.  In cutting, I added an inch to allow for seam allowance.

I cut 6 7inch strips of each penguin print and 6 of the other fabrics at 4inches long the whole width of the fabric...
 and then cut your quilt batting the same sizes as the fabric strips you just cut.  The quilt batting I bought was from Joann and was on a huge roll and yes I felt ridiculous carrying it to the cutting table but I managed.  The quilt batting will be longer then your fabric strips, but that's ok, don't take the time cutting it to the right length! yet!
 press your strips...
 now make a sandwich.  one flannel strip {right side out}, quilt batting, and another flannel strip {also right side out}
 pin your sandwich together to ensure it isn't going anywhere...
 now's the time to even up those strips... just take your rotary cutter and cut off the excess fabric and batting...
 lay out your quilt the way you want it... I knew mine was going to be a little too narrow but I was planning to put a border around the outside to help with this... but, I got lazy and didn't end up adding it after all...
 sewing a line down the middle of each strip is basically your quilting...
 now start sewing your strips together. 
 front side view..
 back side view...
 I had enough fabric left over to make my own binding to finish off the project... it's super easy to do with a little ironing and a lot of steam...  I cut several 3 inch strips for my binding...  iron {with steam} one half of your strip to the center..
 and repeat with the other side..
 and now iron in half again.  I have no pictures of attaching the binding step because my mom always does this step for me.  I know right! I am spoiled and doing the binding is not my thing, but she is a pro at it.. so it's just easier.  but if you don't know how and want to do your own binding yourself, here is a wonderful tutorial to teach you how.  I know I should probably review it myself, but for now, this little trade works for my mom and I. {don't judge}

after attaching the binding, you are ready to do a little snipping...


snip your seams every so often...
throw it in the washer and snip again... all of those loose threads and what not...

 then get to snuggling...
this little princess is very happy with her Christmas quilt...
 
 
cost
flannel // on sale 3.99/ yard {6 yards total}
quilt batting // 50% off 4.99 per yard {2 yards total}
thread // 2.99



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Tuesday, December 11, 2012

yarn wreath + my little helper

I was super excited to do this post, one because I wanted a fun wreath for my vision of my Christmas mantle, and two because I am in love with my new camera and will take any excuse at shooting some pics...
and having the best assistant/wreath model around helps as well...

here goes...!


supplies:
yarn
wreath
felt
fabric
glue
scissors
I bought the el cheapo wreath from wally-wold...
You know, the straw one that's like 2.99 or something crazy like that.
And I am so lazy, I didn't even take off the plastic wrap.
Hey, it worked out just fine.
I left it on because said cheap wreath sheds straw like mad...
So, dab a little hot glue on the backside of your wreath, place your yarn over glue,
and get to wrapping...
no exact measurements.
Eyeball it,
and be prepared for a nice forearm workout.
<finished yarn wrapped wreath>
modeled by the cutest 3 year old in her Ariel night-gown
that turns her into a princess when she wears it.
Yes, it's true.
I ripped a strip of my red stripe ticking for the wreath holder...
cut several olive green felt leaves
and a handful of red circles...
pinch leaves and add hot glue at the base to give them some dimension
hot glue leaves on just so
and then your red circles over top like that...
{good descriptions or what}
just peak at the picture...
it's pretty stinkin easy!
finished product, ready for hanging...
mine went to my mantle
on my picture frame turned chalk board
and I think it fits nicely up  there!
I've been trying to dabble in the whole chalk art thing...
the secret?
Hello! a chalk pen.
did you know about them?
I have been trying to write with my daughter's big, fat sidewalk chalk
and then wondering why the heck mine looks like poo.
yes, chalk pen
I love you!
Mommy, take my picture..
this I have been hearing a lot lately
she gives the cheesiest smiles ever
and I want to have every single one on camera
you know, for when she is in high school and I need leverage...

the time will come...
no but for real...
I love this little face
and never, ever want to forget it!

the skinny
wreath // 2.99 wally
yarn // sale 2.99 each
felt // .39 each

there you go,
make a wreath!
and retire the fatty sidewalk chalks and get a pen.
I'm pretty sure I am going to start painting walls in chalkboard paint
because I am officially obsessed!

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