cup cozy packaging

Well, I've been picking my brain over a good way to package these cozies for Christmas, and I think I've done it! I'm making this template available for you all, in case you need a handy way to gift these as well. I went ahead and printed mine on cardstock craft paper, but they look just as lovely on white cardstock. Download the template here.





They're a little loose on the 'cups' but this gives you the option of filling them with a couple of tea bags or a packet or two of instant coffee...happy gifting! And don't forget to sign up to win a cozy here. Oh and PLEASE respect the art and only download these for personal use!

A cozy cup of tea

Okay, okay, I know I only 'pinned' these a mere 11 hours ago, but I was dying to try them. Since the wee bebe will be on her way so close to Christmas, I have to stock-pile gifts early. And my goodness are they addicting. I love the way they came out and I experimented with different stitches, thread colors and felt embellishments. Yay for some cold weather to keep me away from that outdoor painting project...





And the best part is I have one for winning! Just leave a comment here with your easiest go-to DIY Christmas gift idea and you'll be entered to win this bunted cozy. I'll even throw in a couple of those yummy pink Tazo teabags. I'll announce a winner next Wednesday, the day I'll officially be 36 weeks, yikes! Good luck!

dresser revamp

I've been looking and looking and looking for the perfect bebe dresser. Something that was fanciful, gorgeous, cheap and in need of a complete makeover. And could fit a changing mat. Well, I couldn't wait any longer, I was literally starting to freak out over it thanks to my obsessive need to nest and organize, so I went where I knew I could find something cheap. It also helps that I found something white, because that meant no painstakingly annoying painting in my future.

So here it was, in all it's boring and blah glory:

Notice the missing handles, and the knicks and dings? Well, you can't really see those from back here, but trust me, there's a whole corner there that someone jammed into a wall accidentally. Lucky for me, I didn't care and it was only about $115 for the dresser in as-is condition. I could live with that!

And here it is after some minor adjustments:


Minor adjustments included taking sandpaper to most of the edges and drawers to blend some preexisting scratches and to give it a more worn, shabby chic look. Next I recruited a good friend who just happens to live next to a Hobby Lobby in the midwest. She did a little hardware shopping for me and I ended up with about 15$ of new handles, which would have cost me a whopping 55-60$ if I had splurged at Anthropologie. The drawer revamp took me about an hour, if you include lining the drawers, if not, it was about 20 minutes. And cost me about $135 dollars. Not bad considering all the dressers in those bebe boutiques will run you around $700+.

Before, with yucky boring knobs:


After, with rustic looking white hardware:


And I even lined the drawers in some adorable paper I had laying around. I know I'll be the only one to see this, but I like the added touch:


I can already foresee a dual naptime for both bebe and Sadie, she seems quite attached to that chair:

clip on clip off

So I became a little obsessed with making these pacifier clips, ever since I saw this tutorial and this one on Pinterest. Dern you Pinterest! As if I didn't have enough to do, you have to torment me with all your brilliant and creative ideas.

Now making these was SO simple, that I can't possibly ever bring myself to buy one. No matter how cute it is. And that's saying a lot for me. I loosely followed the tutorials, but I used mitten clips from the dollar Target section {4 for $1, holla}, ribbons and some pre-made embellishments {felt stickers anyone?}. I didn't want to put the embellishments directly on the clips however, since I thought about them inconveniently popping off in the future. Instead I opted to put them above the clips, where they will see much less finger time. I attached them with hot glue and sandwiched the ribbon between an embellishment and a felt circle. The flowers were made by me and attached the same way.




I also tried some without any embellishments:


Now I obviously don't need this many clips, so a bunch of these will be put aside for upcoming bebe gifts:

still here

Just grow grow growing. I'm making a bebe people! This is exciting! I never really though I would be pregnant, never imagined what it would be like, never hoped and prayed it would happen to me, but now that it is, it's pretty nifty.



I'm still working on the nursery. Waiting patiently for the husband to decide the right time to put the crib together, planning the dresser revamp pending the arrival of some much needed new knobs, and deciding what each drawer should hold and why. Yes, I'm ridiculously organized like that. The gifts are waiting in boxes downstairs and I have a whole laundry basket full of things to be washed, folded and sorted. This is the kind of busy work I live for.

In the meantime, I have some pacifier clips to make, and some onesies to embellish. Along with a little bit of shopping to do. Bebe girl needs some church clothes!

repurposed drawer

I bought a small two-drawer dresser last year and the sad sorry thing has just been sitting in the basement, waiting desperately for a makeover. Although, after spending only $5 on it, I don't feel so bad. The drawers don't fit quite right anymore though, so I plan to paint it all and use baskets for storage instead of the drawers. So now I have two lone drawers. What to do, what to do...I know! I'll turn them into sliding under-the-bed storage. Genius! So with a bit of paint, a drawer pull and some wheels, I now have a tidy place to store extra anything. Blankets, magazines, fabric etc. These would be great for kids toys too, like all those legos no one ever wants to put away.

I really should have painted the sides, but I was feeling lazy:


Neatly tucked away:


Had an empty hole left from the previous handle, so I filled it with some scrapbook paper:


Voi la! Just paint, screw in the wheels {I had to use a small piece of pine board on the inside for support} and add your hardware of choice.

a bebe shower

This past week has been a whirlwind. As of last Saturday, we didn't have power. We miraculously kept ourselves warm by the fireplace for a couple of nights, but finally surrendered to mother nature and bad circumstances and drove ourselves to Rhode Island for a couple of warm nights at my mothers residence. I had visions of everyone huddled around our fireplace breathing cold air and wishing I hadn't actually decided to go through with my baby shower. But alas, Wednesday morning we came home to a warm house! The power was back and so was my spirit. Time to bake and clean and hot glue decorations! We hosted the party at my abode, because it was easier to accommodate everyone AND I wouldn't have to lug gifts around, a win-win yes?

Marybeth put on her superwoman cape and did an amazing job with EVERYthing. I helped, but she planned planned planned and baked her little heart out. And she managed to stress over details like clear punch cups, pink chocolate and rolled silverware. She's a saint in a pink tutu. We also had some help on the days prior from Ruth, and the day of from Sara and the Husband. Without everyone working hand in hand it wouldn't have been such a fantastic day. And a huge thank you to everyone for buying me stuff. I am seriously a little less worried about bebe's arrival now that she'll have clothes and blankets and places to sit/lay/swing. Up until now the plan was a towel on the floor or the bassinet!

Ready for lots of photos?? Here are the favors, felt flower pins and chocolate chow mein nests:




Delicious treats:










Some yummy food:




Gifts galore:


Since we're still stumped on a name, I thought this would be a good idea:


And a little photobooth fun: {disregard the non-matching rug and the green painters tape, the loss of power seriously delayed any progress on the porch this week!}






And an ode to some of my favorite people who couldn't be here: {But not all, since we could only fit a few stick people on the plate, sorry Melissa and Tina!!}


All in all, a fabulous day and this wee bebe will look back on this one day and realize just how nuts her mother is. If she hasn't figured it out by then...

fall into me

The leaves are sad. They tried and tried to make a glorious appearance this year, but every time they started to glow, the rain came and washed them out of their trees. So now there are just a lot of sad lonely brown leaves laying around everywhere. I have managed to catch a few bright spots:


Well, lots of things have been happening around here. I've managed to have a few photo sessions on the better weather days. I turned 34. I grew about 97" in my belly. Maybe not that drastic but it sure feels that way. I've been working almost full-time, as in 6 out of the last seven weeks which is awesome, but also very exhausting. I am officially 33 weeks along, with no child birthing classes in sight. I keep trying but for some reason I live in the part of the state that's anti-natural. If only I lived in Oregon...

Marybethy was oh so very kind enough to get out her camera and spend a Sunday with us, shooting a few wonderful pictures for me to cherish:

this old foreclosed home: a 'main' to 'guest' bath

Well here's our upstairs {guest} bathroom before picture. Nasty yes? They really loved blue at the time, so the sink, shower and even the flooring all matched. Lovely. Those we knew we had to change. Then we realized the walls had to go too. They were a very thin plastic panelling, painted over, a bad decision all around. And that trim? Ghastly!

Once we had it down to bare walls we started making our design choices. The four piece tub we installed is fantastic. This is actually the second house we've put one in and they're very easy to install and even easier to keep clean. There's no grout to worry about so the white stays white for the long-haul. We also opted to match our vanity to the downstairs bathroom since we loved the countertop so much. This one has plenty of space for our guests to spread out and get ready. {The blue may end up changing, but for now I love it and the husband just deals with it.}







The only complaint we had about this bathroom, was the space. It's extremely tight when you have two people getting ready in the morning. My husband would bump into the doorknob all the time and that really drove him nuts. Luckily, for him, there was a bigger better badder bathroom on the way...

The nursery has promise

It doesn't have any furniture, but it has promise. Well, it does have a pink chair:


Great prints that make me happy:


Some lovely canvas art:


A small pink mirror in desperate need of a clean:


And a bow holder inside the closet, made by moi:


Nothing matches really, and I like it that way.