For my last post of 2010, I thought I'd share my 10 favorite projects of '10!

1. I made this easter dress for Lula in March.

 

It was my first attempt to sew a dress for her...(and only attempt, I haven't done anything since)

Maybe I'll make another one in 2011!

2.  In May, I made this personalized tote bag. Lula still takes this to the nursery in church every Sunday.

4. Also in May, I made this modern silhouette for Mother's day.  I still plan to make some for myself.

5. In July, I made these cheap and easy curtains using sheets for Lula's big girl room.

6. I also did this DIY lamp makeover for Lula's room in July.

7. In September, I made a tiny giftcard pillowcase.

 

8. In November, I made a felt garland for the Christmas tree.

9.  I also made over some garage sale chairs in November.

10. And in December, I made this winter wreath.

May everyone have a blessed and happy new year!

A peek into Jane's room

Jane's room is basically Lula's old nursery with a few added items and some rearranging.

I finally got around to hanging a few remaining pictures, so I thought I'd give you all a peek. Virtually every item in the room was a DIY project in some way. 

Here is the adorable tiny hutch I found at an antique store for $12 that I spray painted green for Lula.  We put it in a different spot and hung the vintage word game toy and pink frame.

I also made the flag banner which I love. The "Jane" blocks were made by Aunt Kodie for Christmas. Adorable!

We found the crib on Craigslist before Lula was born for very cheap and it has served us well! 

I decided to add the lanterns for Jane. She loves looking up at them.

My mom and I made the gender neutral bedding for Lula and it has worked great for Jane as well. We used 2D zoo fabric by Alexander Henry and the orange dots are Amy Butler. 

The changing table was my childhood dresser that I painted white, sanded the edges for a vintage feel and added new hardware (all while I was 8 mos. pregnant with Lula!)

The curtains used to be long, but after we rearranged the room for Jane, we cut them to make valances. It lets a lot more light in this way.

And here is the rocker that I got from that same antique store for $50. It looks perfect with Jane's quilt on it...and Jane! And it's super comfy.  I also love that I can put it somewhere else in the house eventually since it doesn't scream "baby nursery".

I think she likes it!

I didn't include great pictures of her awesome bookshelf that we repainted, but you can see it here.  Also, the artwork that I made can be seen here!

Pillowcase Curtain

Since my sheet curtains were such a popular post (many friends have ended up making them for their own homes!), I've decided to post about my kitchen curtain that I made out of a lovely vintage pillowcase.

I knew I wanted a red and white little valance for the window above the kitchen sink. When I came across two pretty little pillowcases at an antique store, I knew I had found the perfect thing for curtains!

I still have the other pillowcase as it sits on Lula's bed and looks adorable.

I fell in love with the hand embroidered flowers.  The pillowcases were only a few dollars each, which was a steal!

To make the curtain, I simply cut the pillowcase the length I wanted.  Then, I sewed a casing at the top for the curtain rod.  Since I used the bottom part of the pillowcase for the bottom of the curtain, no hemming was required!

It's the perfect thing for my kitchen.

linked up with:
allthingsheartandhome
thethriftyhome
sewmuchado
bluecricketdesign
wandering wednesdays
someday crafts
tearose home
thrifty thursdays
remodelaholic

Another Yarn Wreath

After seeing my post on the yarn wreath that I made, my friend Leslee decided to try her own. She sent me the pictures of the finished product, and I love it! I just had to share:

This just goes to show how many options there are for these wreaths. I love how she used 2 colors of yarn and bright flowers. The other clever thing she did, was she simply pinned on the flowers instead of gluing them like I did. This way, she can change them out if she wants. I wish I would have thought of that!

So simple and adorable. 

Here is mine again, in case you missed it!

These wreaths are addicting!

P.S. I have been featured on two blogs this week! Check out sewchatty  and bellabeforeandafter. Thanks for the shout out, ladies!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

May you find great joy in the miracle of Christ's birth this season as we celebrate the true meaning of Christmas!

 

"Mild He lays His glory by. Born that men no more may die. Born to raise the sons of earth. Born to give them second birth."

Finally, There are Four!

I finally finished Jane's stocking....2 days before Christmas. At least it was done in time! Now there are 4 hanging on the mantle.

Last year, I whipped up 3 cute felt stockings and cut out a fourth, knowing I was pregnant.

So, all I had to do was figure out what to put on the front (I decided on ornaments) and sew it together.

 I still need to put her name on it, which probably isn't going to happen this year. But, at least it's done and hanging in it's appropriate spot, waiting to be filled!

The inside is lined with some red and white Amy Butler fabric.

Hopefully Jane will enjoy it for years to come!




linked up:
today's creative blog
bella before and after
my craftie life
lady bug blessings

A Festive Weekend

Here is a summary of my weekend in pictures:

We hosted a little Christmas party with all of the girl cousins on the Kapple side. It was a pretty wild and fun evening with 8 little girls full of sugar running around. We had a blast.

The girls got very creative with their cookies:

Maybe we should open up a cookie shop and sell these creations:

Even Jane got one. Her hands are huge for a 4 month old. She's really advanced.

On Saturday, my sister-in-law, Kodie hosted a pillow making party. We made heart shaped pillows to donate to the Cardiac patients at St. Joseph's hospital. 

My brother, Adam received his own heart pillow while he was a patient there this fall after having open hear surgery, so we decided to return the favor!

On Sunday night, I came up with a delicious dinner using the random ingredients I had on hand. Reid and Lula really wanted to make it onto the blog, so here they are.

This spinach and bacon quiche was delectable. I will post the recipe at the end.

And after endless sleepless nights since Jane has decided to wake up every 2  hours + battling a cold, Reid surprised me with some beautiful and festive flowers:

And now for that quiche recipe

Spinach Bacon Quiche

(adapted from allrecipes)

5 eggs

1 cup milk

5 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp paprika

1 10 oz. box frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1 1/4 c shredded cheddar cheese

1 deep dish frozen pie shell

Beat eggs, add all other ingredients and pour in pie shell. Bake at 400 for 40 minutes.

And The Winner Is....

I randomly drew a name for my first giveaway!

The winner for the fabric cards and the mug rug is....

Shenais who said "love the material- so clever! thank you!".  

Thanks everyone who entered and hopefully this will be the first of many giveaways!

DIY Wooden Picture Frame

If you are stopping by homemade ginger for the giveaway, you still have time to enter.  If you don't know about the giveaway, head over there now!

Here's what I've been working on lately:

As I was brainstorming for some craft ideas for my MOPS group, I came across several tutorials on  making these wooden frames using scrapbook paper. We ended up doing it in MOPS and I even had a craft night with some friends where we made more.

We used these $1 frames from Michaels

And some matte finish Mod Podge

Brush on 2 coats of Mod Podge, don't be afraid to use quite a bit.

While it's still wet, lay the frame face down on the paper. I used a vintage dictionary page for this one:

Flip it over and smooth out any bubbles and wrinkles. I just used the card that came inside the frame to do this:

After it has dried for a few minutes, use an exacto knife to trim around the edges. This does not  need to be perfect.

See how ragged mine looks?

Now you can sand down the edges so that the paper is flush with the frame.

Now you can brush a few more coats of Mod Podge on the front.

Once it's dry, you can add any embellishments. I did my new favorite felt flowers on this one:

I added some ribbon and a simple flower to this one:

And some fun ribbon and a flower to this one:

What a fun and personal way to give someone a picture of your family for Christmas!