Not a very crafty weekend......

I've been kind of distracted over here getting my Etsy shop loaded up (expect 2 new charm necklaces this week) so I didn't have much time for crafting or DIY this weekend. We did have some solid family time which is always amazing. Ain't life grand!?? Let's all have a wonderful & productive week, k!? Ha ha ;)

Oh Etsy - How I love thee!!!!

Ok people, I'm shaking things up in my Etsy shop! Can you feel all the shaking (you may want to get in a doorway for safety)!? Ok, here's the backstory: Back in 2008 when I opened my Etsy shop, I mainly sold charm necklaces. I did a few custom orders for weddings, sold a bunch to friends for gifts, and had an every-now-and-again sale on Etsy. Without getting into all the details, for one reason or another it fizzled out, and I took my shop in a new direction. I was busy making flower hair clips for my baby girl and continued to have success making things for friends and family, but not so much on Etsy. Well Etsy, I'M BACK! 2011 is the year that you and I are going to be friends again, OK?!!!!?!!! Ha ha. I just "launched" with my new and improved charm necklace collection and I'm super excited about it. I think they came out really cute and I'm excited to see how they do out there in etsy-land. It's dog-eat-dog out there for sure though! After I listed my first one, I went right to the jewelry section to do a final spell check (I mean, it had not been more than 2 minutes since I hit "finish"), and my listing had already moved down to page 3. No joke. This is going to be interesting, but I'm definitely up for the challenge. So, if you're looking for a cute, inexpensive, meaningful gift for yourself or a loved one, stop by OohLalaCo :) & pardon my shameless plug.

Happy shopping people!!!!

My VERY first sign...

There are SO many great sign-makers out there in blogland providing oodles of inspiration. I decided to give it a try myself (like any DIY'er would do). I got a scrap board from Home Depot for $.55 - awesome. As the ideas were swirling around in my head, I knew I definitely wanted the sign to have some personal meaning. Then, I remembered I had this soap dish. Ok. Let me back up a bit. Before the hubby and I were even engaged, we both graduated from college and went to Europe. We spent about five and a half weeks cruising around France, Italy, & Switzerland. It was A-mazing!! Major understatement. MAJOR. Anyway, We started our trip in Paris, and ended it in Paris. Both of us fell in love with that beautiful city, and 10 days (five on the front end and five on the back) really wasn't even enough to soak in all the beauty. So, back to the soap dish. I've had this for a while and I love the look of it. I decided I wanted my sign to have this look, but with the name of the hotel where we stayed in Paris.

I grabbed my photo album to get all the info (& of course I got sidetracked for about 30 minutes flipping through the pages). Hotel de Suez. A magical place (at least to us it is). Absolutely PERFECT for my little sign! I painted the wood board white and got right to work.

(that's me in the bottom left corner holding some ice cream that we got from a cart).

The hubby grew a beard while we were traveling so he didn't have to worry about shaver adapters, etc. Ha ha, classic).

I printed out some letters using my trusty Cricut (love this thing).

It would have looked cool if I mod podged the paper letters on, but I decided to paint them to give it a more authentic look.

Here is the sign before I took it outside and distressed the heck out of it. I was a bit nervous at first, but I just went for it and I'm happy I did.

Ta-daa!!!!

I rubbed some stain over the whole thing and wiped it off with a rag (just so the wood spots weren't so light). Subtle, but antique-ish looking.

Here's the view from my bed. I get to see it every morning when I wake up and it triggers such happy memories. What a way to start each day, huh!?

Just look at all that shabby goodness!!

I love it, love it, love it! This project only cost me $.55 for the wood board. I had all of the other supplies on hand. Yay! Pretty good for a beginner I think :)

Yippee, I LOVE IT!

The love affair started when I found this frame. You can't tell from this horrible before pic how big this baby is, but she's a biggie. I seriously LOVE her (& her $11 thrift store price tag too).

I am all for a gaudy gold frame at times, but my plan for this one was w.h.i.t.e. oh yeah! Here's the space above my bed that need a serious pick-me-up. So bland and boring and definitely missing that certain something.

SHA-BAM! I'm jumpin' on the chevron bandwagon and I think I'm in love!

The colors are so bright and beautiful! Perfection! Not for everyone, but definitely for me! (Heather Bailey Pop Garden Zag Stripe in Peach purchased at http://www.myheartandsew.etsy.com/). IN LOVE!!!

I smile every time I walk in my room. Maybe it won't continue to be no-man's-land for much longer. a + j = LOVE! (all I did was staple gun the burlap banner in place on the back of the frame, then stapled the panel of fabric over it. that's it. Super duper easy).

Getting Organized - Third post

RULES FOR READING THIS POST: You are NOT allowed to judge me in ANY way! Ha ha! I have "evolved" as a homemaker in many ways, but at times I tend to revert back to my college-self. Ugh. Here goes! This is my closet (shudder). I'm pretty embarrassed about posting this, but I figure what the heck!? we're all friends here, right!? Let me start off by saying that my bedroom is essentially no-mans-land. Basically for sleeping, bathing, & storing clothes. We keep the door closed most of the time because the master bathroom doesn't have cabinet locks or a toilet lock, and little Hayden is in her mischievous stage. Because of this, I let myself off the hook at times and it tends to get a bit cluttered and just plain icky. I'm currently working on 2 projects to pretty things up in there, but for now, I'll start with the basics. Organizing. Here's my closet before (sorry if your eyes bleed after looking at these pics).

Jeans & tanks & God knows what else!!

Shoes etc.

Here's my closet now. Do you hear the angels singing?? I DO! I got rid of a ton of junk. Clothes that don't fit, clothes that are hideous, old shoes (even the new-ish cute ones that give me blisters). Gone! I'm over it!

I'd like to add that my shoe collection is rather pathetic. I am more of a practical dresser these days and when I do want to spruce things up, I typically choose wedges over heels. No Jimmy Choo's or Manolo's here I'm afraid. I found these bins at Target that were the perfect size and the perfect price (I find organizational tools to be rather expensive a lot of the time). These were intended for toys I believe, but with the wheels and the handles, they'll be perfect so I can move them out when I need to vacuum. Someday they may meet my friend mr.spray.paint, but for now, I'm cool with the pink.

So there you have it. It's nothing magical. It's not a large room with a chandelier or a settee, but it works. My Target, Old Navy, & Forever21 clothes look perfect in there (if I do say so myself) Ha ha! It's a beautiful weekend people, hope you all get out and enjoy it!

Daily dose of inspiration

I got breakfast in bed this morning. Not actually real breakfast, but pretend food (cucumber, orange, bread, cookie, & 2 cups of water) from the pretend kitchen of my two little lovies. My daily dose of inspiration. Is there a better way to start the day!? I don't think so!

Not too much crafty-ness going on here today, just relaxing, playing with the kiddos, and running a few errands. Last night I made like a zillion burlap banners (custom orders from friends) so at the moment I'm all crafted out. Happy day to all of you!

Getting Organized - second post of many

Agenda for today: Organize Noah's room - UGH! This room has pretty much been a disaster since Christmas and it is in serious need of an overhaul. SERIOUS! These "before" shots are scary so hang on to your hats people!!! Eek!

Eek!

Double Eek! This one is the most embarrassing...what is all that crap!?

After: Ooooooh, Ahhhhhhh. MUCH better!

I moved his drawers to the right side of the closet because it is much more accessible. I re-organized them a bit and added labels so the stuff he needs to get to is now within HIS reach ("mommy, can you get me some socks please, I can't reach them!" Not anymore, oh no!)

Not the dreamiest labels on Earth (a bit hard to see), but they do the trick for now.

I moved the double rod into my closet because he doesn't really have too many hanging clothes and that real estate at the bottom of the closet is valuable.

I made it so he can actually open his toy box (strange concept, I know).

and I gave the toys on the bookshelf a once-over. I actually moved them and dusted (applause please....I almost never dust). We have train mania going on in the den right now, so that's why one of those bins is empty. I prefer clear bins for toy storage so labels aren't necessary and there's no confusion as to where something goes.

This is Noah's magnet board to showcase his preschool art. A random tid-bit about me is that I love to get souvenirs when we travel. Ever since Noah was a baby, I have gotten him a magnet from everywhere HE has been (not us bringing him back one when we go on a trip without him). That way he can use them to display his art, and also tell the story of all of the places he has been and things he has seen. Plus, then his souvenirs won't collect dust or take up space like snow globes or stuffed animals.

Last but not least, his bed. This is my favorite area of his room. He and I painted that peace sign together a while back, and that little scrap of brown fabric is from his nursery when he was a baby. I can't pass up a thrift store globe if it's $5 or less, and who doesn't LOVE a sock monkey!? I mean really, they're the sweetest :)So, that's it. Second room down, MANY more to go!