Oh lets play catch up....

Ok so I've been a little MIA here... sorry about that. I'm still trying to find time for everything... kids, hubby, cooking, crafting... and blogging. The good news is I think I've got timing worked out and should be able to post more regularly here... so we'll see how that goes.... :)

So I've been working on my Mantel...This is my first holiday season (fall through winter) with a mantel of my own to decorate... and honestly I couldn't be happier.

I'm going to decorate it for all of Fall (Sep-Nov) using most of the same materials. It should be easy since they are all the same "season". So first I'll start with my basic "Fall Mantel" then I'll show you how I've morphed it into my "Halloween Mantel" then finally it will turn into my "Thanksgiving Mantel". Check them out!


Also I want to give a little shout out to Shannon at This Crafty Mom's Blog, she hosted a giveaway that I won!!! :) Its always nice to win a little something :)

Here's the adorable headband I won:

It looks AMAZING on princess Audree. I really like the way it fits her and she's even left it on longer than any head band before it... and trust me I've tried tons! I think its the soft elastic. Such pretty colors too!

You can check out the maker of this super cute headband here at her: Etsy Shop or FB Page

Around the House: [Fall Mantel]

Its a mix of things I've bought over the past few weeks plus pieces of decor I've had in my home. This will be our mantel until about three weeks before Halloween..

Here's more details of whats on my mantel

A.     Mix of sticks I bought at Ikea about 10 years ago trimmed down then I added fall leaves I bought                from Michaels.

B.     Fall arrangements I made from fake flowers purchased at Michaels

C.     Pumpkin Lanterns... $2.50 at Target, I LOVE Target

D.     Mirror purchased at Homegoods 

E.     Hanging Clock purchased at Homegoods 

F.    Fall pumpkins are a mix of real and faux, I think having both helps with the overall appeal

This post was shared with:

Ginger Snap Crafts

DIY Tuesday [Painted Canvas Art]

 I'm currently working on my fall mantel which I will debut here on the first day of fall. I am VERY excited about it all; fall, pumpkins, cool crisp air.... and my first home with a mantel to decorate!!!

Ok now for some painted canvas art!

I was thinking of something fun I could do with the kids that would look good on my mantel... I saw this on pinterest [the pin] (where else?) and I immediately knew I had to do this with the twins.

Quick DIY: 

You'll Need:

1. Craft Paint:  Black, Orange and White
2. Letter Stickers
3. Paint Brush
4. Canvas (8x8)
5. Little Feet (not pictured here....)

I painted Orange where I was going to place my BOO! Stickers...

After the paint has dried....

Place your stickers.... (I did a little over kill with the orange but eh)

Paint your canvas... Black! Over the stickers...  I totally held my breath as I painted over these!

Let your canvas completely dry... I did two coats of black paint....

Here's the fun part... you'll need these

and these

SO I'd love to show you pictures of how I painted their feet and made the footprints... HOWEVER... This operation took both me and my husband, which left no one to take pictures... 

I had envisioned both feet for both kids but we thought it would have been a little crowded so we went with one for each.... 

Here is the after:

Audree's on left and Aidan's on the right

Now... for the big reveal...... I had my fingers crossed. 

I used an knife to lift up the stickers. I took extra care to not cut the canvas or scratch the paint underneath. 

IT TOTALLY WORKED!!! And I LOVE the way it looks!

I added eyes and mouths to the ghosts and a small 2012 in the corner.

Halloween Canvas Art

Looks good on the mantel :)


More mantel pieces to come ... :)


This craft was shared with:

I'm Topsy Turvy

Live Laugh Rowe

Ginger Snap Crafts

DIY Tuesday [Painted Onesie]

Two things bought on this super cute DIY project...

First: a while ago I saw this super cute post, I loved it and was inspired by it...

Second: I saw this a few weeks ago on pinterest [the pin]....

Today I was cutting into a celery and honestly everything came together! 

Here is my attempt at a painted onesie for my little girl 

Materials Needed:

Onesie

Baby Qtips (I got these off brand ones and they SUCK but they were great for this project)

Fabric Paint 

Celery Stalk

Yarn or string

First I made my celery rose on the Onesie.. and I really like the way it turned out!

Celery Stamped Rose

There are many ways to do this but I kind of wanted to do something quick and easy.. so I used yarn.

I draped it in a three chain necklace way and taped the ends to the top of my onesie. Next I dipped my Qtip into black paint and made guide dots over the yarn... this was just to give me an outline.

I removed the first string and filled in the rest of the chain.

Repeated that process for all three chains. 

And heres the finished product:

I think she likes it! :)




This craft was shared at these link parties:

Im Topsy Turvy

Lil Luna

Ginger Snap Crafts

One Little Mama

Live Laugh Rowe

Fox Hollow Cottage