And she shall be called...

Baby Girl finally has a name!!!  We're so excited for her to be here!

Christmas Wrapping Paper DIY

I have always loved the plethora of options for beautiful wrapping paper at Christmas time!  I love choosing a color theme to use on my gifts, and love wrapping each one with anticipation of the joy that the recipient will feel when they unwrap it!  I actually bought a roll of double sided paper at Sam's 5 years ago when we first got married, and I STILL have it!!!

This year, after a few pinterest pins, I planned on keeping things simple.  I was going to use up some old yarn, and try a plain look...which I did...until I had an idea!!!!

My brown packages looked a little bare, so I thought I'd recruit a certain 2 year old to help me with my task!

So, here's what you'll need:
1. Brown packaging paper- I got mine at the Dollar Tree, which I totally love!
2. Paint- you can use craft paint, or I used Crayola washable since T Man was the one painting
3. Bright yarn or ribbon
4. Stickers
5. Gift tags

Once the package was wrapped, I let T go to town with the paint.  Since red and green are complimentary colors (meaning they are opposite on the color wheel...meaning if you mix them, they make brown :/ yuck), I had him start with green and white.

Immediately after the green and white paint (because he's 2 and has a short attention span :), he got to choose stickers and apply to the box.  We talked about who the gift was for, and what sticker he would like to put on their package.  This was his favorite part.  He LOVES stickers, and remembers who he picked them for!!!

Once the green and white paint was dry, we added pink and red.  He really likes using 2 colors at a time, and it really brightened the boxes!!!

When they were all finished, I added the yarn and the gift tag.  I love the adorable little tags that I found at Hobby Lobby!!! 

Having T help me with the wrapping has made each gift even more special.  I also love seeing his excitement over the finished package!!!  He showed Daddy his package with great joy when he got home from work, and Andy was pretty thrilled, too :D

Paper Trees Tutorial

This year I am making all of T Man's teacher's Christmas gifts!  He has such wonderful women in his life who are coming along side of us to mold and shape him into the man he will be, and I am SO thankful for all of the love they shower on him!  He LOVES going to school and Bible study, and is just a little sponge!!!

Ok, onto the project!!!  This year, I made Christmas hangers for his Bible study teachers to hang in their home!  The best part was, I already had all of my supplies!!!

Here's what you'll need:
1. 11x14 canvas or canvas board.  8x10 would also be a good size!
2. Scrap paper!  I used pages from old wall paper books that my mom has.
3. Fabric scraps...I liked that there was a change in texture on the tree.
4. Mod Podge
5. Staple gun
6. Ribbon
7. Sharpie or paint pen

First, cut your paper/fabric into different sized strips.  Next, apply a thin layer of Mod Podge to your background paper, and attach it to your canvas.  Be sure to apply pressure all over for about a minute to work out any wrinkles or air bubbles that might occur.

Once your background is attached, lay our your fabric and paper scraps on top.  Your tree does not have to be a perfect triangle, or even go straight up!  The more you place your pieces a little "less perfect," the more whimsical it will look!!!  Once you like the placement, stick them on there with another layer of Mod Podge!  Don't forget to add your star at the top! :)

As a final touch, I added the family's name to the canvas to personalize it.  With or without this step makes these canvases a great holiday decoration!

Tape it up!

Yesterday, T Man brought home a goodie bag from one of the girls in his MDO class for her birthday. Among the normal party favors was this tiny roll of tape! Upon closer inspection, it had little girls on it!!!!

I immediately emailed her mom to find out where she had found such a treasure!!! Turns out, her mom shares a love for craft tape, too, and said she had found it at Meijer!

Obviously, I had to go there. :) T and I headed over to explore after bible study, and while searching for the small 6 pack, I found this!

 

 Can you believe it?! 30 of these adorable rolls, 9 ft each!!!

Among my favorites are the houndstooth, Japanese dolls, and the zebra print!!! This big box was a MUCH better deal than the six pack, so I got this and will be sharing with mom. :)

Be sure to check them out! They are SO cute!!!

Smash Baby Book

Hey! It's been a while, and I haven't shared my good news with you yet! We will be welcoming a baby GIRL to our family on Valentines Day! We are so excited! I have had SO many ideas rolling around in my head, hence my giant Pinterest Board, and this is one that most recently popped in!

I have been super fascinated by the whole Smash Book idea, and actually have 2 of the books already! I can't seem to help myself when at the craft stores, and am drawn to them like a moth to a flame!  When I saw their new Baby book, I thought, what a better way to make a baby book for her than to make a baby book for her!

After flipping through their Baby themed book, I decided that it really wasn't for me, and chose to go with the Retro theme instead.  I love the color palette, and a lot of the pages can be made to fit a baby book, in a quirky sort of way, of course! :)

As soon as T Man went down for his nap today, I cracked this thing open!!! I had so many ideas floating around (call it nesting, if you will :D), that I had to get started!!! I began painting the front cover, but since that isn't done yet, I'll save it for a later post!

Sorry this next photo is flipped! :/  I've got some of her ultrasound pics on the left, and the inside right side of the cover will have her name and her life verse :)

This next spread has the church bulletin from when we thought of her name!  We're not fully decided that this is her name, yet, but we both seem to love it!  It's a great story that I will share later, and I'm glad I kept the bulletin for her book! :)

This goofy little guy on the right will be covered up by a picture of her on the day she is born.  Under it it says, "You would protect this pretty face too."  LOL!  See, not a baby book, but fits in a quirky sort of way!  The left has spots for all of her birth info, and names of those who came to meet her!

I love this next page!  I added a clear envelope to put our hospital bracelets in, since T's are just floating around his book! I don't want them to get lost!  The rest of her ultrasound pics are on the right, and I can add other special hospital things into that pocket, too!

Here are a few more pockets, because, let's face it, we all have things and stuff that we love and don't want to loose!  I hope she'll put fun little items in these :)

And lastly, one of my favorite details!  My mom found this kit at a little stationary shop in Chicago during our Sketchbook Project Vaca.  It had a Library Card set in it!  Since they're basically extinct these days, we were falling over ourselves excited at this little treat!  I happened to find them when I was looking for something else today, so I added it to the last page of the book!!! :D  I have a date stamp, so I'm going to add today's date, my Sprinkle date, her birthday, and then let her fill in the rest!  SO fun!!!

I've had so much fun working on this book so far!  I can't wait to add pictures of her and T when she's born!  Once we pick her name and I make the front, I'll share as well! :)

Recent Customs

 I wanted to share some custom pieces that I've created recently for clients.  Some sweet friends of ours who we met in birthing class had twin boys a few months ago!  Their daughter was born about a month before T-man, and we were excited to celebrate their new additions!

These are 2x4 foot canvases, and I just love how they turned out!  My favorite part was that the names were entrusted to me before the boys were born! I was sworn to secrecy, and kept my lips sealed!

 This next mural was for a friend of a friend!  I fell in love with this nursery the moment I walked in!!! The beautiful lilac color was so calming and gorgeous!  Once again, since we were doing a monogram, I was entrusted with the name of this little one!!!  Now that she's here, I know sweet Nora must love her gorgeous room!

And, this is Winter's nursery!  Again, this was a friend of a friend, and her nursery totally fit this couple!!! I have gotten so many compliments on this adorable little tree, and the coordinating pink furniture!!! 

I had to hold on to a lot of these photos until the babies were born, but now that they're all here, I wanted to share!!!  Hope you enjoy!

Things that make me happy today :)

Sketchbook Project 2012-Chicago Trip!