I've been Published!

At least that's what my friend, Jen called it when I called her today to tell her my exciting news. The photo wreath I created over the weekend was featured on One Pretty Thing, today! I am a huge fan of that blog and I get so much inspiration from the crafters featured there! I've been told people aren't able to leave comments on my blog right now, and I'm pretty sure it's just a blogger error (I'm a little frustrated with blogger, right now!) so, hopefully people will be able to comment soon. Please rest assured, I know you're out there. I know you're reading! I'm going to check my comments settings again (already have like 3 times and as far as I can tell I've got them set right). Anyway, I just wanted to blog about my excitement and hopefully many more of my projects will be featured!

Photo Wreath

I've been thinking about this project for a few weeks and intended to make it at Craft Night last month at my friend Jen's. Well, last night I found myself home with The Monkey in bed and hubby out at a friend's and I decided to create this photo wreath. I got the wreath from JoAnn's a few weeks ago. Regular price is about $8 and I used a 40% off coupon. I already had all the other supplies on hand. I started by wrapping the twill ribbon around the wreath. Then I used my Fiskars Cutter and circle template to cut the cardstock and patterned paper to mat the photos. I made each of the emblishments and chose the spring color pallette of greens, blues and pinks. The wreath hangs above the airmoire in our living room and our couches are are a deep olive green so this color scheme works well in the space and brings a touch of spring to the room. I punched each of the matted photos and used ribbon to tie them to the wreath.
Once I hung it, the center of the wreath looked bare. I pulled out some canvas, painted it, printed the quote on patterned paper, sewed the felt heart, and added a flower from the same batch of flowers I used on the wreath. I framed it in an inexpensive cherry stained frame that I painted brown. I used my stylus dipped in pink paint to create the polka dots on the frame. As the final touch, I added the pink ribbon to the top of the frame. The frame just sits inside the center of the wreath.

I love how it turned out! Let me know if you create a photo wreath of your own. Leave me a comment with a link!

TGIF

TGIF!!! Woo Hoo! It's the weekend!!! Yipee!!! As a WAHM who works mostly in the field doing home visits, I have had a very busy week. I am so thankful it's Friday and I'm soooo looking forward to the weekend that lies ahead. Oh and (shhh...) it's my birthday on Sunday! So, I'm pretty sure this is going to be a good weekend. I've got lots of crafty ideas for projects I'd like to do this weekend. I'm thinking I may start working on a pair of pajama pants. I want to make a matching set for me & my little one. I know they shouldn't take that long to make, but really, I can only work on them when she's asleep or she gets all up in my business and I end up cutting too much fabric off. Afer attempting a few sewing projects only to end up frustrated by her frequent interruptions, I've realized I will only sew (and cut and pin) when she's asleep.

I also want to spruce up our back patio now that the warm weather has arrived. Given limited funds, not really sure how it will end up. I've got a garage full of stuff (waiting for a yardsale) so if I go hunting in there, I may find some treasures that will make the patio more inviting. I'd like to do some baking and make some cupcakes (for the Monkey to eat when we go out for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory for my birthday on Sunday). And I've got a few other project ideas. I'm really enjoying my paid work but the weekends just aren't long enough. So many projects, such little time.

What are your plans for the weekend? Whatever they are, create something and be good to yourself!

Such a Great Idea!

I've been too tired the last few days to get any crafting done, so I'll show you another link to a really cool project! This door knob organizer is ingenious! I could have written her post about forgetting things on my way out the door. I don't even know how many times I head back into the house in the morning after getting to the car.

I'm trying to figure out if the door knob organizer would actually work for me. I'm thinking a certain rugrat would take everything out of the pocket and totally defeat the purpose. And, of course, that would cost me even more time because I would have to figure out where she decided to put the contents of the pocket. Oh...wait...I could always create a flap with a button so the rugrat couldn't open the pocket! Hmmm...I guess there's my reason to learn to use my button hole feature on my sewing machine.

Create a Birthday Book

Ironically, this is not at all related to my birthday party planning for my daughter's 3rd birthday. It's a recent post on It's A Creative World. Allison Drummond Jones shows us how to use up our stash and create a book to keep track of the birthdays of all our loved ones with pockets to store our cards for them, too, (handmade, of course!). This is definitely one project that I'll be doing! Check it out here!

Birthday Party Planning

My daughter's turning 3 in May. The first birthday is all about the adults celebrating baby's milestones. The second birthday, not as exciting. My daughter didn't fully understand the excitement of a birthday at the age of 2. But now, after lots of birthday parties at preschool, playing birthday parties is one of her favorite past-times. So, I figured her 3rd birthday party should be just as fun and as special as she is! After all, a birthday party is all about celebrating the fact that she was born and that's definitely something that deserves an extra special celebration. So...with her birthday about 8 weeks away, I decided to develop a plan that allows us to throw her an extra special party on a budget with handmade details. Here's the overall outline:

1) Decide on the Guest List
2) Decide on the theme
3) Invitations
4) Food
5) Cake
6) Decorations
7) Games
8) Party Favors

So, I'm going to post about each of these steps and you can join me in our birthday party planning. Stay tuned! It's going to be such a fun party!

Meatloaf Muffins

These are SO yummy! I've seen the idea of making meatloaf/meatballs in muffin tins before and it's a great way to serve them to kids, but this recipe is amazing! It calls for Stove Top Stuffing Mix! To quote one of my fave cooks, Yum-O! These are definitely a new favorite of ours. You'll find the recipe here. *

The only downside is that I realized Stove Top (at least the Turkey flavor that I used tonight) is not safe for my little monkey. One of the foods she's allergic to is soy. She is able to handle soy oil and soy lecithin because the soy is highly refined which changes the soy protien enough that she doesn't react to it. Most kids with soy allergies are able to tolerate soy oil and lecithin. But, Stove Top contains hydrolyzed soy protein. A quick google search and a visit to KidsWithFoodAllergies.org, confirmed that hydrolyzed soy protein should be avoided by those with soy allergies. If your child has a known soy allergy please consult with your doctor before feeding your child soy oil or soy lecithin. ;)

I had made this recipe for dinner tonight because I thought it would be a yummy family dinner that would be safe for all of us. Fortunately, when they were in the oven, I decided to double check the ingredients on the Stove Top and found the soy listed. Just another reminder that as a POFAK (parent of a food allergic kid), I must check every label, every time and read all the ingredients to ensure it's safe for my little monkey.

By the way, I prefer to refer to myself as a parent of a child with food allergies, rather than a parent of a food allergic kid. I've spent several years of my life surrounded by people with disabilities and it's always best to recognize "the person" before "the disability" or special needs. But, in this case it's a mouthful and the common term among parents of children with food allergies is POFAK which definitely rolls of the tongue easier than POCWFA, don't ya think?


*If you avoid eggs or don't have any on hand, you can sub 2 Tbspns of applesauce for 1 egg. That's what I used in this recipe and it was fabulous!

Altered File Box Turned Craft Tote!

I still haven't decided on my Tidy Up Basket. But, I thought I'd share my craft tote with you. Last month when I was packing up for Craft Night at my friend Jen's, I was wishing I had a box with a handle that I could stash my supplies in for easy transport on craft night. The next day, as I was browsing one of my fave thrift stores I came across this box! When I found it, it was plain beige and it really good shape. So, being the Crafty Mom that I am, I scooped the thing up for a mere $3.00 and reached for my glue gun, mod podge, ribbon and patterned paper and voila! I now have a stylin' crafty tote for craft night!

A Tidy Up Basket

That's what I need. I feel like my craft space is in a constant state of needing to be tidied up. It's seems as though I am constantly putting things away, yet my desk is always a mess (Perhaps it seems that way because it actually is at that way!). You see, the fact that hubby & I actually share this office space means that when he meets with clients, he needs some space on the desk I use for crafting. So, he tells me "Hey, so and so is coming over, clear some space". So, I basically take the stuff that's accumulated on the desk and shove it to one end of the desk, thus "clearing space". Not a very efficient or organized method. So, I'm left with a pile of supplies and miscellaneous things at the end of our not so big desk that then need to be put away or searched through when I'm doing my next project. I think if I had a "Tidy Up Basket" I could contain all of the stuff and set it out of the way when hubby needs the space and then put the items away where they belong when I have a free moment. What do you think? Sounds like a good system, to me. Off to find a basket...