christmas crafts, final round

so this is definitely a different type of craft but when i saw it on { under the sycamore } i knew i wanted to do it for em, grace, and me.

i've always loved to idea of journaling but time usually wins out plus i kinda wonder what to do with them when i finish - am i ever really going to go back and read them...

SO i loved this idea of a perpetual calendar



each day you write down 1 thing that happened. the first year won't be super rewarding, but think how fun it will be in 10 years to look back at all the things that happened on that date.



index cards stamped with each day of the year fill the box



with fun scrapbook paper separating each month



it sits on my bedside table and takes about 10 seconds each night.
so far i've written things like

jan 1 - state beat michigan
jan 5 - logan & cody came to chattanooga
jan 8 - ate with dad in atlanta

not life changing events but definitely fun memories to look back on




next to it sits this pretty little box that jills modge podged for me in all my favorite colors


inside she wrote 31 verses - one for each day of the month - on index cards.
i love reading one each night right before i go to bed.
the best way to end the day.
isn't that the best idea?! go jills.


plus every time i see this handwriting, i think of jills and what a special person she is to me (totally bffl)


so there's my little 2 minute nightly routine with some fun crafts to spur it on.

christmas crafts round 4

what do you get for sweet grandmothers who spend too much time spoiling all the rest of us?
how about something to pamper themselves


first up - lavender rice pads that you can warm up for a few minutes in the microwave and it's aaaamazing. emily made one for me and i often go to sleep with it - james has to pry it from me after i've fallen asleep :)


who wouldn't love some lemon hand scrub and peppermint bath soak?

lemon hand scrub:
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons lemon juice

bath salts:
2 cups epson salt
1 cup sea salt
1/2 cup baking soda
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 ounce or 20 drops essential oils


pour into mini mason jars

and add simple tags with fabric scraps and paper



i saw this cute spoon project from i heart nap time and they were really simple to make with some cheap spoons from walmart, needlenose pliers, beading wire, and beads because you definitely need a fancy spoon to dip out your hand scrub


some fancy, over-the-top slippers top everything off. i saw this idea on ruffles and stuff

cut pedals of different shapes and sizes in 3 types of fabric

layered them largest to smallest

put a few stitches in the middle

added some fancy-shmancy pearls

and stitch them onto some wal-mart granny slippers

ooooh yea, these are fancy

put it all together and you've got a little box of pampering

quick photo shoot

sooo you don't need much to have a fun little photo shoot -



i've seen the cutest chalkboards on etsy to use as picture props - well i was short on time and wood, so i went ghetto style by cutting the talk bubble out of cardboard


and spraying it with a few coats of chalkboard paint


a quick trip to the dollar store & i got poster board and glitzy garland to make party hats and some fun party blower thingies


i cut some triangles out of scrapbook paper and hot glued them to some (newish) shoe strings that i found in james' bedside table - definitely workin' with what i got here, peeps!


i needed a spot with good light (but not too bright) sooo i hung a white sheet over the doors on the kent's back porch, pinned the banner to it, and started taking pictures!



here's a few more important parts:
1. an suuuuper sweet hubby who thinks i'm crazy but goes along with it anyway
2. something to make us laugh - like his new ukulele - because you can't help but laugh when listening to a ukulele
3. an understanding father-in-law to take the pictures for us when i couldn't get the tripod even



and that's it! easy peasy :)

happy new year!

christmas crafts round 3

so this is my favorite thing i made for christmas this year! i read about these rag tag letters here on happy together. i made them out of fabric scraps with some interfacing in between and quilted them.

since mary brooke is obviously suuuper smart, i thought we should get her started on her abc's and number pretty soon :)





i used more of my $1 sheet from dirt cheap for the back of them


and made a fun little bag to hold them all in using this tutorial from made




she was already spelling out her name on christmas morning :)

how cute is she!

christmas crafts 2

so now that all the christmas presents have been opened, i can't wait to show you some of the things i made this year!

i always kinda feel odd about giving things i made - i'm nervous people just think i'm cheap and made something instead of actually buying something... hopefully that's not what came across...

so i've been kinda obsessed with fabric flowers this year. there's a million tutorials for these online and i kinda combined a few. i made headbands, necklaces, and pins. i think they're just fun added to an outfit






i made my mom a little scrapbook. i looove scrapbooking and used to dream about opening up my own store...
anyway, scrapbooks are always so huge and fat so i took some cardboard, covered it in scrapbook paper with spray adhesive, and used those little office rings. this way it's skinny and easily stored aaand i can easily add to it!




these are cute little owls made from this tutorial for some cute little babies in my fam. they were actually really easy to sew and i love the bright colors!


i love big fun rings! these were made out of mini rolled flowers (told you i was obsessed) and buttons


and here's some simple frames that james helped me make out 2x4's and those little plastic, magnetic frames from walmart