Butterfly Mobile

Time has flown since the arrival of Baby Magee!  I can't believe it has been 4 months.  A lot of first and changes have happened in our lives like I got a new job, she is attending day care, and she has rolled over. In the frenzy I lost myself a little and I am gaining balance in my life so I can be the best mom and wife possible.  So I have picked up my hobby of refinishing furniture, decorating, and doing all things blog.

First, a project I finished right before Baby Girl arrived.  This butterfly mobile only took few hours to complete and added the first pop of {and nearly only} color to the nursery.  As luck would have it, the ceiling fan and air conditioner cause the mobile to rotate since it is slightly off balanced.  Plus, Baby Girl likes looking at it when I put her in her crib.  I call that a success!

Materials:
Card Stock Paper in Various Colors
10" Embroidery Hoop
Clear Jewelry String
scissors
pencil
c-hook (for hanging)
scotch tape
pin

Steps:

Find butterfly shape or other shape you like online and print/photocopy it to desired size for template and cut it out.  Trace the shape onto the card stock paper and cut them out.  Puncture hole in butterflies with pin near the center of the head (hole placement determines how they hang on the string).  Can also punch multiple holes along the center of the body to "sew" to pieces of paper together.

Cut 20" length of jewelry string for first "chain".  You will want less than this, but this leaves room to play with placement and number of objects you want to hang on each string.  Thread string through pinhole and tie a knot on the bottom side of the butterfly (can be loose at first so you can move loop/knot up or down for spacing later on).  Add butterflies and knots on string to spacing/number desired.  Repeat this for 5 chains.  

Cut four more pieces of string and tie evenly spaced on the embroidery hoop.  Tie strings together and hang hoop so that it is freestanding and level.  Tape 5 chains to hoop and play with placement and length.  Once you are happy with the arrangement, Remove tape and tie chains to embroidery hoop.  Cut excess jewelry string lengths and enjoy!

If this had been a boy, I would have done the same project with leaves in varying colors of green.  What shapes would you do?

The Modern Nature Themed Nursery: Birch Tree Mural

Mr. made it clear he didn't want an overly girly nursery and it was his study that was being taken away, so I wanted something that he would like (but wasn't too masculine--sorry hunter green and maroon didn't make the cut).  

We decided on the birch tree fad and a neutral nature base with pops of color.  I had already painted the room Sherwin Williams Modern Gray right before Baby Girl was in the picture so we kept the walls the same color and embellished the crib wall with a mural.  

Mr. did most of the painting since we were down to the wire on my due date and I was working long hours (too many) at work to wrap everything up.  We took a while to settle on the size/placement of the trees but once we did it was as easy as:

1 {tape off and paint tree trunks} 

2 {Paint Tree Branches}

3 {paint detail & fix branches you don't like w/ original wall color}

DIY Snowflake Ornaments

Happy Holidays!!!  I actually was one lucky girl this year and despite not being able to travel and taking no time off from my job.  My parents surprised me and made it to our place for Christmas Day and we got snow!  

This DIY is a little late since most people are in New Year's mode, but in honor of the White Christmas, I decided to post this anyway.   I saw it on Pinterest a while back and immediately had to pin it.  It didn’t turn out quite as well as had hoped, so instead of giving them as present toppings to the family I hung them on my own Christmas tree.  

My dough kept sticking and the cut-outs kept re-sealing with the rest of the dough.  To compensate, I think I had to add way too much cornstarch which in turn made these guys a little more brittle and dry looking than the beautiful originals.  I think this could be done with the hearts for valentine's day and I may try this again.  Has anyone had luck with this type of project?

You can check out my pinterest boards here and the original ornaments and directions here.  Happy Holidays!

DIY Gifts: Doily Monogram Tote

I've had a hard time living up to this DIY Gift Idea since I did it a couple of years ago.  I saw the monogrammed doily tote tutorial at Ashley Ann Photography found here and attempted it myself using my family member's last names.  

I just bought canvas totes, fabric paint, and doilies at the local craft store and I was well on my way (thanks to leftover supplies from other projects and school).  These were great gift bags for my homemade cookies and could be used later for whatever purpose.  These are definitely a great project that don't get out of hand on time or budget and I highly recommend it to any crafters out there.

The Cat Box Solution: Under the Vanity And Through The Hole

Finally!  We have completed a make-room-for-the baby project and have been home long enough to document it (or enough to share with the world).  The top thing that needed to go from the office for the nursery makeover was the cat litter box hogging the entire floor of the closet.  

Baby + Cat Litter Box = Very Bad

We finally decided to move the cat to on the foyer closet...with some modifications since we have a detached garage and no space in the laundry room.  I wanted the cat's throne set up so that we access it from the regular door in the foyer to maintain it and the cat accesses it through a new opening in our vanity/bathroom area. 

Instead of using a prefabricated cat door, Mr. treated it like the wall opening he did in the dining/living room.  He decided to leave the baseboard alone so we (or another homeowner) can put dry wall back in the future.  We only had to buy one board of door trim and one board of wall trim for Mr. to get to work.  Luckily we have a patient cat and he seems to approve...now we need to paint and redo the foyer closet to store things other than a cat box...after we finish that nursery.

Our newest project: The Veneer Mid Century Dresser

Part of the reason that it took me so long to post my 30 for 30 Challenge this week is because I finally found a mid-century dresser that I liked on the cheap and we made the drive to look at it and pick it up on Tuesday night.   I have been searching craigslist for over a year hoping for the right one.  This one actually happened!  We were pleasantly surprised when we showed up since the previous owners were younger than we expected (the home was in area that is very hit & miss and the owners are currently replacing the 40 year old linoleum that was in the photos).  The dresser has a veneer top and will need some work before it finds a permanent spot in the house, so I am looking into ways we can refinish it and I've decided to show my favorites here.

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I hope to leave as much wood unpainted as possible, but I'll have to see how it goes when I tackle the project.  I'm excited!

The 30x30 Challenge (30 items to make 30 outfits)

I am a little behind fashion world, but thanks to my coworker’s wife, I’m a new fan of Kendi’s 30 x 30 Remix Challenge.  It’s perfect for my ongoing closet makeover goal:  simplify, budget, and clear the clutter.  Budget doesn’t mean boring, I can wear the same piece of clothing twice, and I don’t need to run to the store to every time I get in a fashion rut.

To kick off my closet makeover earlier this year, I purged and started documenting my outfits daily to help assess wardrobe needs, but I was missing out on the remix part of my challenge (and becoming a bit zzzz).   To take the my closet makeover further, I'm going to do Kendi's challenge, Kendi's way.

Kendi's 30 day Challenge Rules:
1.  Use 30 items in your closet (excluding accessories)
2.  Mix & Match chosen items for 30 outfits
3.  Don't shop for the 30 days


I spent the weekend narrowing it down to the 30 items I will be using.  Have I chosen well?  I hope so!