Benson and Claire

Have you heard about Benson and Claire yet? I know many of you have, several blogs that I follow have posted about these adorable kids. I was too late to participate in the Bloom online auction, but still wanted to do something to help. I've mentioned before I have an Etsy shop, so for the rest of the year all the proceeds from my shop will be donated to Benson and Claire. Click HERE to visit my shop or HERE to make a donation to them on your own. Happy Holidays!

attempted trash to treasure

I have a LOOONNNGGG list of blogs that I visit on a regular basis, and I am so so SOOO jealous of the all the talent out there. I am NOT one of the those people, which you are about to see proof of...but I SOOO desperately want to be one of "those people."

When I see other people finished product I always think to myself "I would never to think to put those papers/ribbons/colors together...so tonight while working I went against my gut and took a risk (for me) the old me would of done all one design, and then thrown it away. I love the idea I had, I just don't love the finished product, at all. Try, try again I shall!

My loving hubby made dinner tonight (chicken and soup) the soup came in this nice little box, and the husband even said "cool box, unnecessary for soup, but cool" and I said "ooo, gimme it! I'll Mod Podge it!"...then a conversation about what Mod Podge is followed.

The "cool but unnecessary box"
My attempt at being "one of those people"


I didn't make that tag either, I bought it from THIS great etsy store!

Itty Bitty trick or treat

I saw THIS absolutely adorable bag on Sister's Stuff, and ran out the next day to buy all the needed supplies. As luck would have it, Hobby Lobby was having 50% off sale on the bags, and Joann's had 50% off the Halloween fabric! While my little bags are NO WHERE near as awesome as the one they posted, I'm still happy with how they turned out. My kids are still pretty young, and won't be doing too much trick or treating this year, so I thought these itty bitty bags would fit just the right amount of candy. I only wish I was having a Halloween party for the kids I think these bags filled with a few of THESE would make great favors...but we already have more than enough Halloween parties to attend.

My first applique!

Teagan's new favorite movie is "Horton hears a who" so ALL elephants are Horton. I found this awesome template for a elephant iron on applique, and had to give it a try! You know what? IT WAS SO SIMPLE! I love how it turned out, and I can't wait to start adding appliques to all sorts of fun stuff!

Feel like giving it a try?

Get a tutorial all about iron on appliques and a FREE template from this fantastic etsyier!

Then grab some fabric and a shirt and have at it! It's quick, it's easy, and it's fun!

Clean or Dirty?

I made this cute little magnet as a "Happy new dishwasher" gift for my mom. Not only did she get a new dishwasher, but she has re-done her kitchen with a sun flower theme. I'm not a big fan of "themed" rooms, but so far it's turned out pretty nice.

Next on my list is to make one for myself because I am SO tired of hearing "Baby, are these dishes clean or dirty?" from James (my loving husband) I highly doubt that this magnet will solve those issues, but at least I can say I tried. Hopefully we figure out a color scheme for the kitchen soon so I can make one that will match!

This was a super easy project (all of my projects are!) and it was inexpensive too!

Supplies:
Mod Podge
Scrapbook paper
Ric Rac
Coordinating flower
Exact-o Knife
Plain piece of wood
Letter stickers/vinyl
Adhesive (I used my trusty hot glue gun)

Directions:
Mod Podge your piece of wood.
Place Mod Podged side on to the wrong side of your scrapbook paper.
Cut around the wood with an exact-o knife
Add Ric Rac and flower (I used hot glue)
Stick on letters!
TA-DA! An awesome 'clean/dirty' magnet!

Bruno

Bruno is the newest addition to our household, but he's only temporary. We decided that we wanted to give fostering dogs a try, and Bruno is our first foster! He made us seriously regret our decision the first night he was here. He peed on the floor (several times) he wouldn't stop chewing on the kids toys, and then when I took him for a walk he wiggled out of his collar and ran away! I chased him for over an hour, through the woods even! I am covered in scratches from our little adventure, but I finally caught him! He is great with kids, and he's such a lover. He just HAS to be near people. He follows me room to room and just wants someone to love him! I hope he finds his forever home soon...before we get too attached! :)

Crayons, crayons and more crayons!

So as I said Before, Teagan LOVES Mickey Mouse! One day while online shopping I came across a Mickey Mouse mold on Ebay, and my love for crayon making began! She was over joyed with her Mickey crayons, so I started to buy all sorts of soap and candy molds and make lots and lots of crayons! I thought I would share a few of the Halloween crayons with you! Keep an eye out, I would love to do a giveaway, but at this point I don't think enough people visit me! My one follower would be the winner for sure! :)

You can check out the rest of my crayons HERE

Super cute bag giveaway

Isn't that the cutest bag?! I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! I'm sure you do too, so for a chance to win this awesome bag go check out For the Love of Craft! SHE IS GIVING IT AWAY! I KNOW! I can't believe it either!

Letter magnets

I first came across the idea for these great magnets at the wonderful blog Mod Podge Rocks . I use to actually be a little anti Mod Podge, but that blog has 100% changed my mind! I'm officially a lover of Mod Podge, so you should definitely check out and see all the amazing things you can do with a little Mod Podge!

Ashlee at Pretty Partridge was the brains behind these adorable magnets! For the whole tutorial go here.

The only difference is I use vinyl instead of chipboard!

I got my vinyl letters from this awesome Etsy shop.
I found an awesome deal on the wooden circles here (.08) I got the "seconds" they are cheaper because they have small defects, but you are going to paint and cover them anyways, so it works out great!
For SUPER strong magnets I found this wonderful Etsy seller.
I used scrapbook paper that I found at Hobby Lobby!

Baby shower

I got to throw a great friend of mine a baby shower! There was no "theme" it was a couples shower, so I didn't want to make it too girly. This was also my first attempt at a baby shower...and the only other one I've been to is my own...so I gave it a go. I have to say I'm pretty happy with how the diaper cake turned out....but my attempt at decorating the actual cake, not so much. I think it was a crafting failure...but I gave it a try and I'm proud of myself for that! :) Here's a look:

M-I-C...K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

Teagan is the biggest Mickey Mouse fan ever! She loves anything and everything that has Mickey (or Minnie) on it! She has about million stuffed Mickeys and Minnies, her bedding is Mickey Mouse...so I made her these to hang on the wall. I'm not sure If I will just add a hook to the back, or hang them with ribbon..but either way I'm sure she will adore them! I wish I could say this was all my idea, but it so wasn't! I saw similar ones on E-bay, and I already had all the supplies on hand so I just made them myself. It was so easy, I would venture to say that it takes little to no skill. So little skill that I made a few other sets for friends that have themed rooms for their little ones!

Interested in a set?
Supplies:
4 x 4 plaques ( Hobby Lobby .50 each)
Paint and brushes
Mod Podge (or similar)
Stickers of your choice (oriental trading, smile makers, or E-bay) I suggest Ebay (this seller) where you can get 15 stickers for $2.00 and cheap shipping! BUT the other two suppliers are great for a larger quantity at a lower price.
Ribbon (unless you prefer to hang them differently)

Directions:
Paint the edges of the plaques in coordinating colors
Paint the inside square of the plaque white
Add stickers and Mod Podge over to seal!
**I told you it was THAT easy!**

Welcome Home Daddy!

My husband has been away on "business" all week. He got lucky and had to go a class that happen to be near his home town in California, so a free trip home for him! Anyways he comes back tomorrow and the kids have missed him terribly (me too!) I wanted to make his homecoming special, so we are surprising him at the Airport tomorrow when he lands and the kids will be wearing these cute little shirts. It took me two trips to Hobby Lobby to get these done ( 1 letter 'E' short). I love how they turned out for the most part, I tried to use a little stick figure iron on that was suppose to be "daddy" but I wasn't patient enough and pulled the cover off too soon...live and learn!

Ugly orange bathroom

We have tons of renovations that we would love to do, but of course don't have the money for them right now. The whole house needs new flooring terribly and by the whole house I mean even the bathrooms... the BATHROOMS ARE CARPETED, EWWW! We are so disgusted by the carpet and it's number one on our long list. Along with the carpet, one of the bathrooms is also bright orange, the pictures don't do the brightness justice, it's much more intense in person! I have some before pictures for you to enjoy. I hated the color so much that the day after we closed I was over priming the walls. Too bad that's as far as we've got, hopefully I will have some after, or at the very least some "work in progress" pictures for you soon! It will be the kids bathroom so we plan to do a kid friendly design, but still make it guest friendly. Well wish us luck on our first home improvement!

The Lake House

Hi! My name is Stevi and I am a happily married mommy of two! Teagan turned 2 in July and she is our little princess and then there's our tough guy Maddox who will be 1 in October! We just recently bought our first house, and I figure why not also start my first blog to keep up with all the improvements we plan to (eventually) do!

So why the lake house? Our house is not ACTUALLY a "lake house"...but while we were house hunting we had names for all the houses so we could keep them straight. They were all pretty self explanatory, like the hot tub house (the house with a hot tub), the new house, the bar house (had a bar in the basement) and of course the LAKE HOUSE! Which is just near a lake, and that was the best selling feature! We love the lake, and the kids do too!