out with the old, UP with the new!

every year, i love to decorate for Christmas.  it almost gives me a feeling that i am giving each room a facelift.  it tricks my senses into thinking that i get to redecorate without freaking the hubby out...  but, each year when it's time to take the decorations down, i lose that feeling and it's replaced with an overwhelming "blah" feeling all over again.  well, this year, i vow to keep those sad feelings at bay. 

when i was still teaching, one of my favorite things was to decorate my classroom for each season and/or holiday.  i got to do it in the privacy of my own classroom where my students could "oooh" and "ahhh" and my husband couldn't roll his eyes.  now with children of our own, i feel it is my motherly-obligation to decorate our home for each season/holiday.  right?  i mean, my mother did.  she would set her handpainted ceramic decor out for my brother and i to admire.  when the ceramic egg with the bow-for-a-handle made its appearance each year, that could only mean one thing...jellybeans!!!!  i LOVED helping and admiring the decorations.  truth be told, i still love it!  i have to catch my breath everytime i walk past the seasonal stuff in target!

with decorating for each season comes the #1 thing that makes my husband's gag reflex kick in...spending money.  since this is the first year that i have decided to contribute to my obligation, i have NO decorations on hand other than Christmas ones.  oh boy, how in the heck do i ask my hubby for money to decorate for (gag) valentine's day?  i can just hear his response now..."puhft, what?  nobody decorates for valentine's day.  we don't need more crap. blah, blah, blah."  okay, back to reality.  no WAY am i asking him.  surely i can scrounge around the house and pull somethings together.  right?  well, you betcha i did.  NOT the fanciest decorations but cute enough that my girls noticed them ALL when they woke from their nap the day i did it.  mission accomplished.  enjoy.

poofy tulle garland

paper doily garland and tulle tied garland (bought the doilies at target for $2)

a LOVE picture frame that has a pic of random children... (got it as a baby gift--first time used!)

a pearly-lilac vase with hot pink daisies (got the vase as a random wedding gift--first time being used! and had the daisies from making dirt pudding one year, haha)

red placemats with my go-to candles with tulle bows

a red pennant that i quickly sewed together--very cute (scrap material, pinking shears, ribbon)

be mine garland (made from scrapbook paper, muffin cups, and letter stickers), 2 heart pillows (target $ bins), glittery hearts in my apothecary jars ($ bins too)



merry christmas, happy new year!

sorry for the lack of posts lately...doesn't mean i have been busy creating new topics for the blog though.  hope to update my blog lots in the next few weeks with what's been going on. :)

the girls were sick over Christmas :( so i the fun and fabulous picture i had in my mind for Christmas morning did not go as i hoped.  the girls still had some fun digging in to some presents but not with the enthusiasm i wished for.  nonetheless, here are some cute pix i managed to get of our blessed day.  enjoy!

 Christmas eve watching scrooge

 santa's been here!  santa!!  i know him!

 vintage kitchen--this was my grandmother's and her twin sister's :)

 pillow pet from daddy--sadie is loving it!

 leni is sharing her kitchen with charlie :)

 sadie was up for ripping into some presents

 hmmm...what's in here?

 welcome home!

 leni is wondering if there is room for her since uncle aaron joined sadie...

 leni, checking out the view from inside

 having a snack at their new table from grammy and granpy

 granpy teaching them a lesson--i love how intently they are listening to him :)

 leni is obviously pleased with herself

 sadie and leni thought they needed to taste all of the wrapping paper...

 grammy, helping leni open the girls' gift from uncle aaron (noah's ark)

 leni, the carnivore

 leni, tasting the orange from her stocking

 sadie, tasting hers

 sadie with cousin mallory--sadie LOVED mallory's new light up shoes!

 sadie, chillaxing inside the playhouse

my poor, sick babies... :(

playhouse: mission completed

the playhouse is finished!!  i'm so proud of how it turned out.  i can hardly keep from giving it to the girls before Christmas but will control my urge for precious Christmas morning photos.  completing the house was not near as difficult as i thought it would be.  it sewed together easily, thank goodness.  neil built the frame for it which was not hard either but finding the materials was a different story...  pvc pipe was not a problem but finding the corner pieces sent us on quite the hunt!  after visiting lowes, home depot, ace hardware, and a random plumbing supply store, we were steered towards an irrigation supply company.  the one near our house did not have the right size but luckily their other store on the south side did, shew. 

without further delay, here are the pictures of the final project.  hope you enjoy them as much as i do!!

only one problem that i can foresee...charlie, our cat, has taken quite a liking to the house.  apparently he thinks it is his new personal napping house.  it has been put together for a couple of days now, and anytime we can't find him...he can be found snoozing away inside the playhouse.  check out this feistiness!  reer!

playhouse side 4

last side done!  it was another tricky side to sew but i learned from the last side which made it a bit easier.  this is the final side.  only a few more things left to do...add curtains, add a scallop border, and sew all the sides together.  ahh!  i am so excited to see it finished and even more excited to see leni and sadie on Christmas morning!!

 the watering can velcros on this side too.  a girl has to water her flower box and garden!

the corn is pickable from the stalks...

the lettuce and tomatoes velcro to the side and the carrots are pickable from the dirt

can't hardly believe i have accomplished this much already.  so glad i decided to make it for the girls this year.  i really think they are going to love it!

get it together for Christmas sake!

neil and i are hosting the family Christmas at our house this year.  that means a few things...1. i now HAVE to clean the house 2. we don't have to leave the house all day (woop woop) 3. the house must be decorated wonderfully.  ok, now i can totally do all of those things with no problem.  my house definitely could use a good cleaning.  i LOVE not leaving the comfort of my own home on Christmas day.  and, i have a crap-load of decorations that have accumulated over the past 10 years.  i mainly got some hand-me downs from my mom, since she has a bit of a problem when it comes to buying decorations ev-er-ree year.  some i got as gifts thanks to $150 worth of gift certificates to the rushville pharmacy (yep, for those of youses that don't know bout that there pharmacy, not only can you pick up hemorrhoid cream but you can also get fine stemware, collectible keepsakes, or seasonal decor).  i have also bought a few things at kohls when they have been on sale. 

december rolls around and it's time to put up the decorations.  i was SO organized last year when it came to taking decorations down.  i put them in plastic crates and labeled them according to what room the decorations went in.  this year will be easy right?  right!  unfortunately, this is the first year that it finally donned on me that NONE of my decorations "go" with each other.  it really seems like a hodge podge of holiday throw-up.  at least i have a common theme for the Christmas tree...red and green.  but now that we inherited a fake tree for our basement, i need to get a new theme for the family room tree and the room in general.  since the room has creams, browns and blues, i decided to stick with it and try to keep it simple.  kind of a natural look. 

the first thing to tackle was the mantle.  i obsess over pottery barn catalogs all year, but especially at Christmas time.  i LOVE how they decorate their mantles.  gorgeous garlands, ornaments, candles, and mirrors.  sigh...i don't have the luxury of going all out with mine.  my mantles main focus is the freaking tv that towers over it.  truth be told i like having it there other than Christmastime.  so, back to the mantle.  i bought nothing new just use a little spray paint on some stars that i had from the girls birthday.  i am hoping to make some apothecary jars to put on the right side with some snow and ornaments in them instead of the snow globe and willow couple.  here's a pic.  just ignore espn.  i do...

i made a decoration too.  i spent a total of 10 bucks.  i had the burlap, spray paint, sandpaper, jute, and jingle bells on hand.  i got the candlesticks, circle plaques, acrylic paint, decorative nails, and finials at hobby lobby all 50% off, (ok, not the paint or nails but they were 99 cents each).  i went to home depot and asked for 2x6 scrap wood cut down to 3 8" pieces.  FREE!!  a little bit of time and work and waa-laa!

want to make some of your own?  click HERE to get the instructions!

i also made a center piece for my kitchen table.  LOVE it.  i only bought ornaments from the dollar store 2 for $1, 3 mason jars from hobby lobby at 50% off for $3, and a milk jug from goodwill for $2.  not bad for $6.

i googled for ideas on how to display Christmas cards.  always love to get them and always want to set them out.  but, A. i'm not paying for a metal display and B. i'm really not into taping them to my doors or door frames.  thanks to googling and to people that blog, here is the cheap but cute idea for displaying them.

yep, ONE card so far.  glad to see i'm not the only procrastinator.

ok, last thing.  through blogging i came across this adorable idea for a Christmas countdown.  can't remember where though, so sorry i can't link you up.  but it was easy.  all you need is a frame (i used an 8 x 10), 1 sheet of Christmas scrapbook paper, vinyl stickers, chalkboard paint (i used spray paint but you can use the other kinds), and shelf liner.  i cut a circle in the shelf liner then stuck the other part on the glass to use as a stencil.  paint the circle, let dry, then use the stickers to spell out "days until Christmas".  cut the paper down to the size of your frame and waa-laa!!  adorable and fun.

happy crafting!!  



playhouse side 3

shew!  another side of the house done.  this side was a bit more challenging when it came to sewing the flowers and birds.  lets just say...it was for the birds!  ugh.  the sewing was difficult only because of all the material i had to deal with while sewing around all the little curvy sides!  but...SO worth the effort in the end.

the watering can velcros on so the girls can "water" their flowers!  here's a closer look.  of course, their little hands will be much cuter holding the watering can...

3 down, 1 to go.  then it will be time to add some final touches, like curtains and an adorable scalloped roof, then sew it all together.  oh my gosh!  can't wait to see it all put together!

playhouse side 2

i finished another side of the house!  just had to share...

the apples can be "picked" and put into the basket :)

maybe in another 48 hours side 3 will be complete?