Getting all crafty up in here.

Man, I can't believe how motivated I've been!
My beautiful friend, Heidi, over here at this blog, has been really inspiring and encouraging to me. This post in particular. It may seem silly to some, but one of the dreams I have is to be able to love the home I live in and all the things around me.   I believe in the principle of only holding onto things I use or love. With that in mind, I've been uber motivated to redecorate, purge the toys and other stuff, and even make my own clothes.  I think I've found, with decorating and just my home in general, I much prefer simplicity over having lots of stuff.

My friend Rachael gave me seven chairs from her house that she's recently replaced, and when I saw them, I knew what I wanted to do with them! So, I've been scraping, sanding, and spray-painting like a crazy woman. My pointer finger on my right hand is all crampy and I dont care! I have 3 new white chairs in my kitchen and 4 to go for the dining room. And do you want to know why? Because I can't stop looking at this site and getting inspired. 
Here are some photos that have been inspiring me lately:

And those are just a few of the bazillion that I've saved to my 'decorating' folder. Seriously, I am obsessed with Design*Sponge. I know, none of those photos have white chairs in them. But they did inspire me to start making my home more beautiful! This is totally my style; vintage, ecclectic, with a bit of modern thrown in. 
Anyway, so that's what's been on my mind lately. I'm scheming up new slipcovers, pillow covers, curtains, and even new wall colors. (If you know me even a little, you know that I have a problem with changing wall colors on a much to regular basis.)
Happy Monday! What are YOU doing today?

5 Things Friday - holy pictures!

1. My trip to Charlotte! I had so much fun and spent time with some of my favorite people on earth.

i love adia's face in this one! how cute is that?

haven and livvy, his fiance

she loves to read and i love to read with her!

adia

I really love this lady

2.  Bella 'catching' the rain outside the window. I love 'mommy and bella' time!

3.  Finishing a project!  I had a huge men's dress shirt that I turned into a cute summer top!

4.  Playing in the yard with my beautiful family

5. Ash and Ro took a field trip to the zoo with their preschool class and they LOVED it!

Phew! Sorry. Had lots to catch up on! If I don't know you, then I guess those photos were mostly for the grandparents. :) But if you enjoyed them, I'm glad! My kids are incredibly cute.

PS I wanted to say thank you again for participating in my Giveaway!! I loved doing it and I look forward to the next one! (teaser...It'll be sometime next month! And I'll be giving away some other really sweet stuff. You won't want to miss it!)

Have a good weekend!

The WINNER!

Mr. R. Generator picked the winner out of his hat and it was......

#53! Delvesaa "Oh, I'd love the chance! Thank you so much for offering it!"

There's an email coming to you, Delvesaa. Thanks for playing, y'all!! And thank you thank you thank you for all of your sweet comments.  I am so happy you all loved that bag so much. Keep on checking the shop; I post those bags somewhat regularly and love to see them go to those who will love them! Especially you expectant mommies...wish I could just send you all a bag as a gift.

Heck, ya know what? If you're expecting or have a newborn, leave a comment here with a way to get in touch with you. We have business to discuss! :)

A few projects! And day two of the Giveaway!

*If you are looking for the Giveaway post, scroll down or click here!**

I have really been on a roll here.  Seriously. I've been doing projects like ca-razy.  I've been a painting, gluing, sewing fiend, I tell you! Ok, check this one out. I took an old, dated candle holder that I bought years ago, and some white spray paint...

one coat down...

and ta-da! So pretty!

And next, I remembered that I'd bought some thrift store stuff a while ago, with the intention of making a little stand, so I dug them out of hiding.

A bowl, a candle stick holder thingy, some E-6000 (glue), and white spray paint...

and Ta-da! Probably the easiest project I've ever done.  White spay paint to come later... but how cute is that? It'll be great for putting candy in for all the parties I host. (That's a joke. I never host parties. I leave that to Lauren.)
And later this week, I'll post a picture of the finished men's shirt-to-tank top project!

Don't forget to go enter in my giveaway and all the other amazing giveaways over at sewmamasew.com!

It's GIVEAWAY DAY!! updated

Yahoo!!
I heart giveaway day. I think it's totally rad that you can sign up for hundreds of giveaways while visiting people's blogs and telling them you think they're awesome.
So here's how this giveaway day thing works. You go here and see the humungous (how do smart people spell that word?) list of bloggers who are participating, and then proceed to sign up for all of them. Some even ship internationally. (Not me. Sorry!)
And guess what I'm giving away? Wait for iiiiiiiiiit.....

Ta-da! Can you even believe it? A reversible diaper/tote bag. This bag really is amazing. (toot toot.) I've been tempted to keep every single one that I've made.
Here's how to sign up:

1. Leave a comment! Thats it! There's more ways to enter though.
2. For a second entry, follow my lil' ol' blog and tell me you did.
3. For another entry, go to my shop, 'heart' something, and tell me what you 'hearted'.
4. For yet another glorious entry,  tweet or blog about this giveaway and come back and let me know you did.

**Don't forget to leave your email address to contact you in case you win! ex. jensmith at gmail (dot) com**

This giveaway is open til the 25th (Wednesday) at noonish.   I've extended this giveaway until Thursday the 26th at noon!  (THE GIVEAWAY IS OVER! See new post for winner!) I pick winners using random.org, and then I'll email you if you're the lucky one! Have fun!

So grab your cup of coffee,  and head over here to check out all the other awesome giveaways. You can find me at my computer for the next 3 days typing the phrase "Thanks for the chance, awesome giveaway!" about 300 times.

I did it!

I finally made my purse. :) I lurve it.  Don't you? It's hard to tell, but it's about half the size of the reversible diaper bags in my shop.

Happy Saturday! Fun things going on here

I'm gonna pretend that you've already seen every joke on the internet about the rapture today, so let's move on and talk about something way more interesting...

Crafting and home decor! Right?

I had you at 'rapture' though, didn't I?

I got hit with the productivity bug yesterday and decided to do a project that's been on the shelf for a few weeks. I bought this hideous candle holder thingy at our thrift store with a vision of seeing it wear my favorite color. Turquoise. I lalalove turquoise.  Here's what it looked like first.

Yeah. Somebody with pretty bad taste painted that the first time. Sorry if you like it.  Actually, I'm mostly sorry for anyone who had to look at this prior to what it looks like now.

I'm in love! What can I paint turquoise next....

In sewing news, I'm taking this shirt...

and I'm going to turn it into a summer shirt for me. Aren't you just dying to see how I'm going to do that?!

And lastly, here's some fun news! On Monday, I'm participating in the Sew Mama Sew giveaway day! This will be my 3rd time (i think) doing this one, and I think I like it too much. And I'm giving away probably the best thing I've ever given away. Make sure to come back and check!  Giveaway starts at 9 am.

See you Monday!

I'm back!

Sorry about my absence! I was in Charlotte for 5 days visiting some of my dearest friends. My husband knew I needed a break, and it was SO restful and nice! Lots of mixed emotions upon arriving.  In case you don't know, we used to live in Charlotte, right on the street where I went to visit. In fact, I used to live next door! Looking in the windows of that house brought back so many memories; almost too much to process.   I had some wonderful times with my friends, having girly talks, shopping, eating, etc.  And Haven did amazingly well! He slept perfectly and loved playing with his new friends.  And now, being home again, I'm learning that I am very much a creature of routine and being out of one for 5 days really messed me up. ha! As restful as it was, I'm glad to be back on a schedule. Never thought I'd say that! And I sure did miss my family. And I learned a few things about myself.
1: I can't wear empire waist shirts. People think I'm pregnant.
2: I need to have every light on if I'm in a room that is remotely dim.
3: I really really like grits. Made Ryan Internicola style.
4: I pretty constantly think about my kids and not much else.

(As soon as I get some photos from Sooz, I'll post a couple of my trip.)

I did get to go to Ikea though, which is my absolute favorite place to shop. The only recent pictures I've taken are from yesterday, when I presented my kids with some new bowls and cups I got at Ikea. This is what they immediately did with them:

Yep. They still won't eat out of them. I love these small people.

In other news, there is some 'new' fabric up in the shop that I'm crazy about! Check these vintage beauties out:

And so many more coming! My porch is full of these amazing vintage fabrics. I can think of a bazillion things I want to do with all of these, but I lack the time. So hopefully, one of YOU wants these beauties to create with!