nannygoat

A photoshoot

2011-10-22T17:47:00.001-04:00

I wanted to capture the kids with Carson while he is still new and so little so this is what we came up with today.

Our new addition

2011-10-21T17:17:00.001-04:00

Busy lovin' on this little bug.

I can't get enough of him.

Thrift store mirror re-do

2011-10-06T13:00:00.000-04:00

I found this window mirror at a nearby thrift store for $3.99!

SCORE!!!

It just needed some white spray paint...oh, and a clothespin wreath...

I made the clothespin wreath in March with a bunch of old-fashioned clothespins and an embroidery hoop. It was SO easy and I LOVE it!

Perfect!!

Nursery is done... pretty much

2011-10-03T16:46:00.000-04:00

We finally moved the chandelier above the queen bed...

And my hubby spent some time at Home Depot searching for hardware for the crib...
I LOVE the crib bedding I found at TJMAXX (Kenneth Brown "Jumping for Joy").

The wall color is Behr "Ocean's kiss".

I don't LOVE a lot of accessories... can you tell?!

My favorite rooms have contrast through the walls and fabrics but look very clean and clutter free. This room feels peaceful to me because of it's lack of clutter and it's simplicity.

I can't wait to lay my sweet baby boy in his new quiet nursery.

Nursery / Guest Bedroom Update

2011-09-27T17:57:00.002-04:00

Well, we have the "guest bedroom" part of the nursery complete...

Yep, good ol' board and batten... I luuuvv it.

The problem we have now is getting the chandelier over to that side of the room.

Oh, and I have searched every inch of the house and cannot find the hardware for the crib

AN-Y-WHERE!

So, who knows when we will get that up.

Not much of a nursery without a crib!

I think I want to make the crib mobile... maybe. I still haven't found any inspiration so we will see.

Only 2-3 weeks left. I can't believe it!

Giant Ruler Tutorial

2011-09-18T16:00:00.003-04:00

This giant ruler has been on my list of "things to do" since I saw one in my sweet friend Jaimee's house in Kentucky.

Well, I finally "got her dun" 2 years later!

I invited my friend over... since crafting is ALWAYS funner with friends

and we got to work.

(btw- it is "more fun" to say "funner")

We started out with a 8in x 6ft piece of wood...

I white-washed mine but my friend Jamie left hers "all natural"... I don't know which I liked better in the end... I LOVE them both!
Jaimee (in Kentucky... we are talking about two different Jamie/ Jaimees here) lent me her ruler 2 years ago and I made a stencil with poster board (with the grid printed on it... much easier).

This picture shows how long we made the lines to break up each foot into half, quarter, etc.
Make sense?

We started with the 6inch mark since we are hanging the ruler 6 inches off the floor to make room for the base boards and used a black sharpie to fill in the lines on the stencil.

Then we put on the vinyl numbers.
But, something didn't look right...

Can YOU tell what we did wrong?
Of course you can!!

So silly, we originally put the numbers on upside-down!

No worries, we peeled off the vinyl and flipped them around.

We added our last names (also vinyl) and that was all there was to it!!

I can't wait to hang it up and start measuring my kiddos!

Getting serious about starting the nursery... I'm seriously going to start... seriously

2011-08-27T19:57:00.006-04:00

Well, I am officially 33 weeks along and haven't even started the nursery which means I am also officially fReAkiNg out!

This one has been tricky since (like most of you) we don't have endless rooms and so our nursery will double as a guest room so I have to plan around a crib AND a queen size bed.

I don't want the room to scream NURSERY so I'm trying to come up with a flexible color pallet and design.

I think I know what I am going to do and since time is short I'm just going with it.

This is my "jumping off point"...

Yep, that is ALL I have so far.

A bedspread and some frames I painted and covered with burlap to match...

It's not much but it's a start.

Now it's time to get my hands dirty and start painting.

I'm not going to lie... I'm tired just thinking about it!!!

Which is why you shouldn't wait until you are 8 months pregnant (and anemic)to create a nursery!

On a happier note we FINALLY hung the girls chandelier last night!

Isn't she pretty...

Got to go...

Lots to do...

after my nap.

Doughnut Cake

2011-08-15T19:03:00.007-04:00

Let me start off by saying

I AM NOT A PARTY PLANNER.
I see your amazing parties...
The fancy tables with banners and cupcake towers and candy dishes.

The fondant cakes and personalized goody bags.

You amaze me.

I am lucky if I hang up some streamers (although I do have a cute banner... oh, and a chair cover... maybe I'm not so hopeless after all).

My Meg celebrated her birthday a few weeks ago and it happened to be on the day we were headed home from our trip to Utah.

We had 10 hrs of driving ahead of us (fun birthday huh!) so we decided to do a birthday breakfast with our family in Utah before we began our long journey.

I was thinking about doing a "pancake cake" when a family member suggested a "doughnut cake". SOOO easy and look how cute it turned out...

I had to share it with all of you party challenged peeps (like myself).

It was a BIG hit!

Boys room quote

2011-08-13T19:25:00.005-04:00

The family reunions and vacations are over at our house. :(

Time to get back to work on the nursery. :)

I saw this quote on pinterest (yes, I'm obsessed) and I knew I had to have it in my boys room.

I was lucky enough to find the wood plaque already made at a local craft store (Craft Warehouse) and I just used my old foam stamps for the letters.

Can't wait to hang it up!!

A visit from Melissa and some yarn wreaths

2011-07-24T21:57:00.004-04:00

We are back from our family reunion at Lake Powell (FUN) and I kidnapped my sister and her 2 cuties and and brought them back to Washington with me for some much needed craft time!
We always have a long list of crafts to make and this time we both had yarn wreaths with felt flowers on our lists so we were off to Hobby Lobby to pick up the supplies and just 2 nights of netflix movies and chocolate later we had these pretties all done...

This is Melissa's wreath. Won't it be so cute on her black front door?!!

This one is mine. Perfect for this fall. I love fall.

Next on the list:

A burlap wreath for Melissa and a picture display wall for my guest bedroom.

Crafting is ALWAYS funner with a friend...

and chocolate...and a Jane Austin movie...
:)

A Terrific Tea Towel Apron Tutorial

2011-07-02T18:45:00.012-04:00

Our summer is moving full steam ahead and slowly we are checking off our
"things to do this summer" list.
One thing we have been working on lately (which I LOVE!) is recipes for my girls.
I bought them each their own recipe box with strict instructions that they couldn't put any recipes in the box that they hadn't eaten and didn't LOVE.
They are basically starting their own 30 meal plan with all their favorites.
I love that they can keep adding recipes over the years and when they head off to college they already have recipes they know they can make and enjoy.
Hopefully there will be some happy memories of home that go with those recipes. :)

Since we are baking and trying new recipes we thought it would be fun for the girls to make their own aprons.
There are a million adorable apron patterns out there but we wanted an apron simple enough for the girls to totally make themselves and this is what we came up with...

THE TEA TOWEL APRON!
I know... it's VERY exciting...

It is made from tea towels (duh) and it was seriously so easy to make!!

All you need is:
-1 tea towel (2 if you want to add pockets to it)
Mine were 24X14inches and I got them at Tuesday Morning in a pack of 3 matching towels so I can make 2 aprons with pockets out of the pack.
- 6-8ft of Ribbon (I used 7/8in grosgrain)
-matching thread

I used an apron my MIL made for the girls a few years ago as a pattern for the top but you could just hold it up to the person and sketch with a fabric pen where to cut it.

Fold the raw edge over, pin it, and sew it.

For the straps that tie around back we cut 2- 26inch pieces of ribbon and sewed one on each side of the apron.

For the strap around the neck we used an 18inch piece of ribbon and sewed it at a bit of an angle to the top of the apron.

We added another stripe of ribbon to the top of the apron just for cuteness.

My girls wanted 3 pockets so we cut a 5inch piece of the coordinating tea towel and since they were both the exact same size we just marked where they wanted the pockets and sewed the fabric right across the front then I measured and stitched up the front to make 3 pockets.

And that's it!

The Terrific Tea Towel Apron! :)

Girl's Bedroom Reveal

2011-06-30T16:40:00.014-04:00

YEP, we got her dun...

Here is the before... kinda, I'd already painted the first coat for the B&B.

And the After...
(Except for the chandelier that is... who knows when we'll get that pretty thing hung.)

TA-DA!
(I LOVE the huge windows in this room but it does make taking pictures a bit of a challenge... too dark or washed out!!)
I went with the pink and green scheme partially because of these "Sunbonnet Sue" quilts that my mom made for my girls many moons ago.
They are still in great shape and the girls love them.
Thanks mom!

These curtains make me HAPPY!
Polka dots and stripes... my two favorite things!

Meg's side:

Hallie's side:

My girls love to read in bed at night so I picked up these wall lamps from Lowes.

LOVE THEM!!!

The board and batten makes a perfect little shelf to place some pictures of the girls together and an "S" for "Sisters" of course. :)

The wall color is Glidden Spanish Olive but I had the paint lady lighten it about 50%.
It is the perfect shade of green... in my humble opinion. :)

On the left side of the room the window is smaller and lower but I wanted the curtains to hang from the same height so I added these stars to fill the empty space and give some balance.

I'm in love with my Silhouette because I can make pretty butterflies with a push of a button!

I'm so happy with how it all turned out!
Now on to the boys room!! :)

Progress on the "girls room"

2011-06-24T18:43:00.003-04:00

Well, I've worked my tail off this last week and finally finished painting the girls room.

I'm not ready to reveal it yet... lots more to do in the room but I LOVE the color!

It's actually my favorite color.

I'll give you a hint:

Source: google.com via Gertie23 on Pinterest

:) Kathryn

A clean garage, bench, scripture case, and a father's day keepsake... a busy weekend.

2011-06-18T17:57:00.009-04:00

Remember our garage a few days ago?

Here is a reminder...

What a difference a day makes.

It is even cleaner today since the garbage and recycling truck have come and gone. :)

Even the garage floor is happy to be clean!

BTW we LOVE our hanging shelves! We made them last summer.

SO nice to have everything off of the floor!

We started construction on the wooden swing set too.

This is what we got done...

It only took us 45 minutes.

Hmmmm.

This is what our kids did while we worked on the 45 minute bench...

I also worked on some (very last minute) Father's Day gifts.

My hubby wanted a camo duck tape scripture bag...

And, I loved this idea for a Father's Day keepsake so we make our own version of it...

All in all a very productive weekend!

How was your weekend? Work on any projects?

Today I am learning how to use the nail gun for the next step in the girls room, WAHOO!

I can't wait!

From LAZY to cRaZy!

2011-06-17T17:11:00.010-04:00

Have you ever started a project that triggers another project and snowballs into what seems like endless things to do?!

It all started with this shed my hubby is building.

It's obviously not finished but we got it to the point that we can start putting things in it while we finish the outside. YAY!

So we attacked the garage with a vengeance and pulled out all the Rubbermaid's full of holiday decorations, clothes my kids have outgrown, and tons and tons of JUNK!!!!

We've spent the last several days in this garage sorting through everything and deciding what goes in the shed, stays in the garage, and (my personal favorite) goes in the GARBAGE!

Of course in the process I came across 6 of these boxes:

You KNOW I had to sort through all the boy boxes and all the girls clothes boxes too since this is our last baby and I'm ready to give the girls clothes away (yes, it was kinda sad but mostly it just feels so good!).

And, with all of this mess going on summer officially began last week so we have some new projects like this wood play set we bought in hopes to keep our kids outside and away from the TV.
I've heard they take 40hrs to put together! Tell me it ain't so...

My girls love to craft with me so we have a list a mile long of all the things we want to make this summer. I can't wait to show you some of our projects!

Happily we did check one craft project off the list yesterday...

Duck tape bags!

The girls had a blast spending the afternoon in the craft room with friends creating these beauties.

(Tutorial found here)

Meanwhile, I figure why not add to the craziness and start on the girls bedroom!

This is what I have so far...

I MADE the curtains! Go me! I love them and I'm so proud of my little non-sewing self for being so brave and even adding cute fuzzy-ball trim!!;)

And here is where we are with the room itself...

Wow, we have a long way to go.

Gotta focus on the vision.

focus, focus, focus

It's going to be great!

Lazy me

2011-06-02T15:50:00.006-04:00

Remember how I am pregnant?

Yep, this is pretty much me for the last 5 months...

Lazy, lazy, lazy.

The good news is I'm finally perking up.
Yesterday we had my ultrasound and... drum roll

Know what that means???

More of this:

And this:

And we are thrilled (still tired, but thrilled).

A new baby means a nursery and a nursery means I have to move all the other rooms around which means I have 3 rooms to redecorate! WAHOO!! Bring it on!

I've found so many fun ideas and can't wait to get started!
Only problem now is convincing my 7 year old daughter that it is FUN to share a room with your sister!
She is NOT convinced.
Even when I showed her some of my inspiration like this:

Source: dearlillieblog.blogspot.com via Kathryn on Pinterest

Or this:

Source: shannonberrey.com via Kathryn on Pinterest

Or this:

Source: decorpad.com via Kathryn on Pinterest

Or this:

Source: vivafullhouse.blogspot.com via Kathryn on Pinterest

The inspiration is ENDLESS!!
Doesn't it just make you want to get up off your lazy, pregnant, ever-growing behind and paint/ sew/ or craft something? Or at least take a trip to Hobby Lobby!!
It does me!
Bout time my friends.

Missing our old Kentucky Home

2011-05-10T16:06:00.007-04:00

The first Saturday in May is a BIG day if you live in Kentucky.

We don't live there anymore (although some days my heart still seems to) but we wanted to do something to remember Kentucky on their big day so we made hats...

Derby Hats.

We wore our hats and we watched the race and we cheered... and we remembered our old Kentucky home.

Details on My Craft Room

2011-04-11T17:19:00.008-04:00

Alright, first things first.

The paint color.

I knew immediately I wanted an icy blue that was lighter in tone than the beige on the wall since this room has no windows (it's meant to be a home theatre). The color I chose was

Valspar Sea Breath.

I left the ceiling the original beige because the ceilings are high and I wanted it to still feel warm. We bought our cabinets at Home Depot off the shelf. They were having a 20%off sale which saved us a lot of $$$. I knew I wanted an island with lots of counter space and then some "desk" areas on the back wall. On the left is where I have my sewing machine and on the right is the area for my girls to do their crafts.

PEG BOARD: We found that you need about 1/2 in space behind the peg board to slide the hooks in and out without scratching up the wall behind it. We cut up some extra wood we had into appro. 2in squares and used those behind the peg board along with a washer in front to keep the screws from going through the soft peg board material. We used 3 sheets of 2ftx4ft pegboard. Starting with the middle sheet then doing the sides (lots and lots of measuring and leveling to get it all right).

I knew I wanted a peg board to help organize but also to bring color and purpose to the wall. The only problem with peg board is that it has to sit away from the wall which looks tacky so I bought and painted this wide and thick molding Behr's Banana Split to make the peg board pop and give it a clean and finished look.

Make sure your molding is thick enough to cover the gap and put the thickest edge up against the peg board.

And there you have it!

Next up: The island counter top and how we saved $400+ and the "K" monogram.

Excuses, excuses, excuses... excuses

2011-04-01T16:30:00.005-04:00

I know, I know... I promised details on the craft room a month ago.

What can I say... I have a lot of good excuses starting with:

Computer on the fritz... grrrr. I consider myself a pretty rational and calm person so why is it when my computer doesn't do what I tell it to do I go completely M-A-D. So, I finally gave up and decided to "walk away from the computer" to save my sanity.

(My honey tried to fix it yesterday by completely wiping it clean and I totally forgot to have him save all my fonts!!!!! )

Excuse 2:

Ummm.... yes, I am pregnant (read: tired, ornery, sleepy, sick, unmotivated, moody, exhausted, nauseated, you get the point). Can I just say the 1st trimester totally STINKS. You feel like crud and you can't fit into anything but you don't look pregnant you just look like you've eaten way too many Reese's pieces, chocolate chip cookies, and nachos... which I have.

Can't wait to get to the 2nd trimester and the "nesting stage" which is usually when I decide to donate everything I own to Goodwill and remodel the whole house top to bottom... love that stage.

Final excuse- my sweet sister Melissa came to visit me for 2 weeks this month with her little girlies. In the past our visits were full of crafting, cooking, sewing, and shopping. Now that we have 6 kids between the 2 of us it was more like cooking, cleaning, laundry, and sleeping. Our 2 year-olds kept us on our toes. It's amazing what ideas they come up with when they put there heads together.... little stinkers.

We had a great time together and although its fun to craft 24/7 we are in a different stage in our lives now and all we can do is let go of our "to-do list" sometimes and enjoy these little ones while they're still little.

So there you have it. My list of "good" excuses. I'm ready to get posting again with details on my favorite things in my craft room (like the pegboard, LOVE it) soon. Well, as soon as I can get my photoshop elements running (darn computer!)

My Craft Room Reveal!

2011-03-04T14:50:00.009-05:00

Well, it is pretty much done... pretty much.

I could wait to post pictures until it is completely done but lets be honest that probably won't be for several more months. We are burnt out!

So, here is a reminder of the

BEFORE:

And some shots of the

DURING:

And finally the

AFTER:

We still have hardware to install and I need to finish organizing the peg board (which I LOVE) and add the trim to the bottom of the cabinets.

But, you get the idea. :)

So fun to see my vision come to life...

Makes my heart skip a beat!

(I post details and how-tos soon)

Linked to:

Show and Share at Just a Girl
Before and After Party at Thrifty Decor Chick
Tatertots and jello

Pom Pom Topiary Centerpiece

2011-03-02T17:04:00.003-05:00

CHALLENGE: Create a centerpiece for 10 tables with a budget of $25 for the "Relief Society Birthday Dinner".

This is what we came up with...

I made the tissue paper pom poms and then cut up some dowels and painted them green.

We bought the clay pots at the dollar store and spray painted them white.

Only thing left to do is add some moss... and some ribbon??? Maybe not.

Only nine more to go. :)

My Craft room and a little inspiration

2011-02-14T22:44:00.007-05:00

When we bought this house we originally planned to use the extra basement room as "the bat cave" for my hubby to sleep in when he worked the night shifts at the hospital.

But, we were surprised to find that a large closet off the hall would fit a queen size bed and would be a much quieter place for him to sleep.

So, that meant we had an extra room we hadn't planned on...

you can imagine my excitement when my husband surprised me a few weeks ago and took me to Home Depot to pick out "stuff for your craft room."

YIPEEEE!!!!!

I literally couldn't sleep for days after.

I would lay in bed and imagine what I wanted to do with MY CRAFT ROOM.

I've never had one before... Just a bunch of boxes in a closet that I had to pull out every time I wanted to craft anything and I have a CRAFT BLOG so you can imagine how often I was digging in that darn closet! So here is what my craft room looked like a few months ago...

It looks very different today

but I'm waiting for a few major items before I show you the "AFTER" shot.
I've been searching the Internet for inspiration and I thought I'd share some of my favorite craft rooms with you.

Sandra from sawdust and paperscraps MADE everything in her craft room with her own two hands! The island is my favorite. Beautiful.
She is currently doing a house tour on her blog.

You have to check it out. You will be amazed by her talents.

Ever wonder what Martha Stewart's craft room looks like?

I did, so I looked it up and here it is. Very simple and VERY clean and organized.

A little too perfect for my taste but lovely none the less.
This craft room comes from one of my old Kentucky friends, Melissa at The Polkadot Chair.

Melissa has amazing talent. I have been in her home many times and I swear every corner of it is beautifully decorated. I love that her craft room is busy with all the things she needs out in the open. I wouldn't be at all surprised if this room gets used every-single-day. She is always creating something new and wonderful.

Yep, Heather Bailey's studio. Breathtaking isn't it?!

My craft room will NOT look like this but a girl can dream right? :)

I can't wait to show you what we've done.

Here are a few hints...

We've been busy.

I don't think I have EVER been as excited about a room before.

It's like a dream come true!!

Valentine's Cookie Bouquet

2011-02-04T18:42:00.004-05:00

A few years back my sweet friend Lacey brought me a cookie bouquet for Valentines.

I'm still kicking myself for not taking a picture of it.

I can almost guarantee it was cuter than this one that I made.

Everything Lacey creates comes out beautiful.

Anyway, I thought I'd make some this year to give to the people I love.

All you need is:

A bucket

Styrofoam

skewers

fudge striped cookies

gum drops

gummy hearts

shredded party paper stuff ;) (refer to picture below)

and ribbon (optional)

Start with an upside down gumdrop and cookie...

Top that with another cookie and a heart shaped gummy...

Make 5-7 of the cookie flowers.

I also made some hearts and attached them to skewers...

my silhouette did most the work. ;)

Place your Styrofoam in the bucket and poke your skewers in to create the bouquet look.

Fill the bucket with the shredded paper and tie a ribbon around the bucket.

All done!

Master Bedroom

2011-02-03T13:42:00.003-05:00

It's funny how you can start out with an idea for a room but end up with something

totally different...

(since my husband does have an opinion and my budget does have a limit)

and still totally LOVE it!

My original plan for the master bedroom was to collect items of furniture separately to make it look like it had come together over time and give the room added personality.

My hubby wanted it to match.

For a bed I wanted something with curves... probably in a white or cream. I showed picture after picture to the hubster and he just shook his head. :( No go.

Then one day I walked into a furniture store I hadn't visited yet and I walked around the corner and ran into a bedroom set that took my breath away. It was made of solid mahogany and was very strong and masculine which I knew would be a great balance against the somewhat feminine painted wallpaper in our room.

But most importantly I loved it and I KNEW Trevor would love it.

When I took him to the store I purposely walked right past the set and was thrilled when he stopped right in front of it and said, "Wait! What about THIS one."

I smiled.

We looked at the price... it was too expensive but the salesman informed us that they were selling the floor model because it had a few dings in it and we could name our price and he would ask the manager. We negotiated back in forth (I left for that part... I'm not a good negotiator, it's so awkward!) and came up with an AWESOME price! Go honey!

Enough text already! Here are some pictures...

BEFORE:

AFTER:

The headboard was so high I felt it needed something so I covered a straw wreath with soft fuzzy white yarn and a sparkly snowflake broach.

I LOVE the nightstands... They hold sooo much JUNK!!!
kleenex, chapstick, books, hand lotion, list of things to do tomorrow, glasses... everything that used to clutter the table top

On the opposite wall...
Mmmmmm.

It's NOT white and it is definitely a "SET" but I love the contrast and richness of the dark wood and the cleanness/ calmness of the matching pieces.

I gave my husband a hard time for having so many opinions (that's MY job! lol) but in the end we have a beautiful space and we are both happy!

Yay for compromising with the one you love! ;) And YAY for "scratch and dent" prices making this all possible!!! haha

PS I was fighting this little guy off the whole time I was taking pictures.
He couldn't wait to jump on the bed and mess everything up.
Things don't stay clean and pretty for long around here...
and I wouldn't have it any other way.

linking to

Make room for the King

2011-01-09T23:47:00.005-05:00

Remember my painted wallpaper in my master bedroom?

I still luuuve it btw.

Well, we needed a new mattress...

too many monkeys jumping on the bed:
and I talked my hubby into a King since we've wanted one for years...

And there's The King... on the floor.

But not for long. I can't wait!!

Temporary Playroom

2011-01-06T13:49:00.010-05:00

We miss the playhouse we built in our old Kentucky home.

Remember how we found some extra space behind our wall and turned it into a kids dream...

BEFORE :

(literally a hole in the wall)

AFTER:

I've thought about banging holes in the walls here in search of another secret space but I'm trying to control those urges.

Instead we have named a room upstairs "the playroom".

I have 4 young kids and want that room to be magical for them but I'm still not exactly sure how I am going to do that so I decided to decorate the playroom "temporarily" in a vintage feel.

I made these fabric covered ikea magnet strips the same way my friend Traci did here.

They are perfect for displaying the kids artwork.

(I did one strip for each child)

These curtains were my first attempt at using grommets. LOVE them.

Seriously, I could not believe how easy it was and I love how they turned out... so clean looking! (I just followed the instructions that came with the grommets- which I bought at Joanns)

Got to have a mirror for admiring themselves in their dress-ups...

Nothing fancy but it works.Do you have a room that is temporary... waiting for inspiration... or maybe the money to make your dreams a reality? That always helps too. ;)
Do YOU have a playroom you love or any ideas for me?

I'd love to hear them!!!

Creating a picture wall

2011-01-03T17:37:00.011-05:00

It all started with this picture...

Our first good family picture in Y-E-A-R-S.

It deserved a special place in our home.

I thought this was the perfect wall for it...

But, while our family was visiting us for Thanksgiving we used the "perfect" wall for this...

And I loved it so much that I decided to keep that wall clear for lots of future movie nights!

So, this was the next "perfect" wall choice...
This wall is seen right when you walk in the front door and goes down the staircase.

BEFORE I started hanging pictures I spent months looking for things I LOVE to hang around our family picture.

I've made the mistake toooo many times of buying things just to fill a space. I would get sick of those "things" within weeks and go looking for other "things" to replace them.

A interior designer friend of mines best advice, "If you only buy things you L-O-V-E you will LOVE your space." I agree!!
This time I was determined to make this wall meaningful and ALL about our family.

Once I found every piece I laid them all on the floor and moved things around until I loved it then I grabbed a measuring tape and jotted down how close every piece was to the things around it.

Finally, I centered our family picture on the wall...

I really wanted the picture to {POP} so I framed it in a very simple frame and then added this fancy open frame around it...

On the left side...

On the right side I put the picture of the temple (where my hubby and I were married) a little higher because I knew I wanted to add our family motto to the top and I wanted it to look balanced...

I got this little gem for Christmas...

which I used to make the last component of our picture wall...

I still can't believe I can cut my own vinyl now!!!!

Finally all together...

I LOVE it!
I'm SO glad I was patient and gathered each piece with a purpose.
I also love the texture of it all with the shiny and the rusty metal and the wood and everything!!

It's so hard to say good-bye

2011-01-03T17:27:00.004-05:00

Feeling a little melancholy today...

It's time to put away the Christmas decor

and it makes me a little sad.

Especially when I take down these smiling faces...

so hard to say good bye.

Christmas wrapping paper tags

2010-12-11T18:36:00.007-05:00

Here are the tags for this neighbor gift idea.

I took our family name off and just left the "with love" so you can sign your name.

(Just click the image above to enlarge then right click on the tags and save to your computer)

BTW we just got a new HOBBY LOBBY in Kennewick, Washington. YAY!!

I LOVE their selection of Christmas wrapping paper.

My 3 year-old thought the picture would look better with him in it...

And then the rest of the gang joined in...
Cute little stinkers. :)

Christmas Ribbon Angel Ornaments

2010-12-11T18:04:00.005-05:00

Hello there!

I wanted to share this quick idea with you.

Our Relief Society presidency wanted to give all the ladies a small Christmas gift.

We wanted to give them an angel ornament but we had almost no budget for it so I scoured the Internet for ideas and found this one.

Since we already had the ribbon and glue sticks it cost us $20 to make 75+ of them.

Pretty good eh?!

On the back we added the quote "The errand of angels is given to women"

You can't see the paper from the front.

I LOVE how they turned out.

Neighbor gift ideas

2010-12-04T22:30:00.000-05:00

Nannygoat was featured on U create today. How LUCKY our we?!

U create is sharing tons of great neighbor gift ideas from guest bloggers.

Here is our post...

WHAT DO I GET MY NEIGHBORS FOR CHRISTMAS???!!!

Well, here are some of the guidelines I use for my neighbor gifts:

1. Inexpensive (since I need to make so many of them!!)

2. Meaningful- whether it is personalized for them or it is something that just makes life easier (see idea #3) it is great to give something that blesses their lives in some way.

3. Easy- I hate being "crazy busy" this time of year. It takes the joy out of the season for me so my neighbor gifts HAVE to be easy.

4. Finally, it has to be something that won't go directly into the garbage after I drop it off.

Let's be honest, we have all received some of those gifts before!

With that, here are a just a few ideas for you from nannygoat.

EASY

I love to give handmade ornaments for Christmas.

These are the washer ornaments we made last year. They are so easy and you can personalize it with their name etc. Also, I always put the year on the ornament so it can be a keepsake for them to look back on through the years.

EASIER

I had the idea to make the following ornament this year...

This ornament idea comes from my favorite banners (so easy to make).

I love to personalize ornaments, in this case by using the first letter in their last name.

For more details on how to make this ornament just check out my banner tutorial here.

A little note (make sure you put the year) for the back side of the ornament.

And there you have it. So easy and so cute!
EASIEST

And finally the easiest idea (and what I'm doing for some of my neighbors this year)...

Simply a roll of Christmas wrapping paper and a tag.

The tag says, "We hope you are getting wrapped up in the spirit of the season. Merry Christmas! with love, the _____ family"
I LOVE this idea because it is something they can USE and may make the holidays just a little easier for them (am I the only one who has run out of wrapping paper on Christmas Eve?!)
Just make sure you get it to them before Christmas so they can use it and don't have to store it for a year!
Good luck and Merry Christmas!!
Thanks Kari!

Ornament Wreath

2010-12-03T12:16:00.006-05:00

Do you remember my ornament wreath last year??? Remember how I bought all the bulbs from the dollar store and just hot glued the tops on and strung them on a wire hanger?

So pretty.

Remember when I dropped it and all the bulbs popped off??

grrrr...

I pulled out my Christmas boxes a few days ago and guess what I found...

So sad.

Where did I put that glue gun?

Christmas Burlap Wreath

2010-12-01T17:28:00.007-05:00

I wanted to do a Christmas craft with our family over the Thanksgiving break and this wreath was just the ticket! I first saw the burlap wreath (several different versions of it) almost a year ago and made a mental note to eventually make one.It was SO easy. Just take a wire hanger and bend it into a circle then take 3 inched wide stripes of burlap and poke the hanger through the burlap while folding it back and forth until the hanger is covered in burlap. That's it!

I wanted to decorate my new wreath for Christmas so I make some red and green fabric rosettes and added a little bird and some sprigs of red and white berries.

I DIDN'T glue any of it on (just used safety pins) so that when Valentines comes around I can take off the green and add some pink rosettes etc.

Every holiday you can switch it up and be creative. The burlap makes a perfect neutral background for anytime of the year!

Christmas Mantel

2010-12-01T17:17:00.003-05:00

I'm having so much fun decorating my new mantel (no more big screen in the middle of it!) for the holidays.

This is what I came up with for Christmas...

Something about hanging the stockings (with care) that really gets me in the Christmas spirit!

Do you have your stockings hung?

Thanksgiving ideas

2010-11-23T17:30:00.004-05:00

Remember how my house was going to be full of 26 family members for Thanksgiving? Well, they are stuck in Utah because of road closures so while I wait and worry I thought I'd show you some of the Thanksgiving fun we've been having at our house...This is our "Thankful Tree". It is about 7-8ft tall and my girls cut out a ton of leafs and apples for us to write on and add to the tree.

I love how this helps my family remember how blessed we are!
Look how beautiful it is with all those blessings...

We're hoping our guests will be able to add to our tree.

If they get here safe and sound that will merit several grateful leafs.

We made these cute turkeys from family fun.

They'll act as a place card holder on our Thanksgiving table.

Well, that's it.

I'm off to worry and wait some more...

Wishing you a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving Holiday!!

Don't just sit there, VOTE!!

2010-11-01T11:50:00.003-04:00

I love the United States of America.

How blessed I am to live in a free country where I can make my voice heard.

I VOTED.

Did you?

Finally Dressed for Fall

2010-10-27T13:08:00.000-04:00

So, I'm still trying to figure out my "Fall Look" in this house.

I've never had a mantle without a big screen TV in the middle of it!

Anyway, this is what I've got so far...

Downstairs I made some chubby pumpkins and stuck them on candlesticks...

I used this tutorial (posted by my Kentucky friend Danielle, Hi Danielle!) to make my pumpkins but then added a fabric stem instead.
Yep, that's what I got so far.
Recently found out that we will have 20+ people staying in our home for the Thanksgiving weekend.
I've got a lot to do... Can't wait!!

There she is... a chandelier redo and one very happy nannygoat.

2010-10-20T09:30:00.000-04:00

I've been keeping an eye open for my "diamond in the rough".

Checking yard sales... goodwill... thrift stores.

Finally found her here.

I saw another lady eyeing her but I swooped in and grabbed her quick as a wink.

She was a mere $15.00!

A little spray paint primer (best invention ever!).

Then I spray painted her with Krylon's "Celery" which is a light creamy green color.

Yum.

The Chandelier was missing the candlesticks that cover all the electrical so I made my own.
I bought a plastic tube at Home depot and cut it into five little "candlesticks" then I use hot glue to give it the look of dripping wax... perfect.

Finally, I spray painted the candles white so they looked like this...

We knew we wanted to swag the light so that it hung over the bed in my 9-year-old daughters room so we bought a "Swag kit" from Home Depot with extra long cord and chains.

I made a simple chord cover to soften things up a bit.

So pretty.

But, not quite there yet.

So, I added little lampshades...

MMmmmmm.... there we go.

BEFORE

AFTER

What do you think?

balancing a big room and filling an empty wall

2010-10-13T15:11:00.004-04:00

In our new house we have a great big family room downstairs that we LOVE!

On one side of the room we have this...

We needed an entertainment center with A LOT of storage for all our books, games, and yes VHS movies (I know, I know, I'm a little behind on the technology front).

As much as I would love a huge wall of built-ins or a ginormous Potter Barn entertainment center these 5 bookshelves from Target have been a great solution for a really reasonable price.
See the old window frame on top? My sweet friend recovered it from her home renovation.

It was one of the original windows in her 130+ year old house

and it is one of my favorite things in my house. Thanks again Tiff!

On the opposite side of the room we had a few chairs and a huge blank wall so the room looked very heavy on one side and bare on the other.

Sorry, no pictures of the huge, blank, beige wall.

Just use your imagination. ;0

I knew I wanted to use the wall to display our family photos and I framed each 8x10 in a beefy matted frame like so... But it wasn't enough.

So, I added these "buttons" and some ribbon above the frames ...

and then some vinyl lettering below the group of pictures like so...

The wall is 9ft high and 16ft wide and by the time I finished the display of family photos with the lettering it measured 9ft wide by 3ft high and made a huge difference.

But it still felt out of balance with the other side of the room and since I wanted to keep things very clean and open feeling I decided against adding more furniture/ accessories to the wall and instead picked up my paint brush.

I taped off the wall for 18 inch stripes (making sure I didn't need to paint where I had the vinyl lettering) and took the original beige paint and added white (just like with my painted wallpaper) to create a bit of a contrast without making it too "bold".

I wanted it to visually draw your eye but not smack you in the face.

And here it is all finished...

I LOVE it!

If I had really big muscles I would have moved the elliptical out of this picture but... well, I don't... which is why we bought the elliptical.

Next up for this room- DRAPES!

I already ordered the fabric... can't wait!!!

Elena and "Light up the Night"

2010-10-05T15:30:00.006-04:00

A friend of mine shared the story of this sweet little girl with me and I wanted to help.
If you feel so inclined please take a moment to donate to help find a cure for cancer.

"March 18th, 2010 we went to the doctor because our two-year old daughter, Elena, was low on energy, had a low fever, and was developing bruises on her legs. We were rushed to the emergency room at Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake, and found out the earth-shattering news that Elena had High-Risk Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, ALL. We however are extremely grateful that today this type of cancer is not the death sentence it once was. Elena is now 6 months into treatment and is doing well. She still smiles nearly constantly. It is (insert correct word, I can't think of one that adequately describes this feeling.)... as we think that we would have buried her months ago if we hadn't gotten her diagnosed, or if the cure didn't exist.

Although most children (about 90% of ALL kids) like Elena do beat this cancer it remains a grueling journey with many risks. Elena will get chemotherapy until she is almost 5 years old. Like many before us we are participating in a study to help improve treatment. One of the drugs she gets, Oncaspar, is very effective, but an unacceptably high percent of patients have severe allergic reactions to it, some life-threatening. The study we are on is comparing this drug to a new type of similar drug that researchers hope will have the same benefits with milder side effects. So far Elena has not had a reaction to Oncaspar. This research is very expensive. And much needs done.

Please help our children in the fight to cure childhood cancers. We are raising funds to help with Leukemia research by participating in a walk on October 9th called "Light up the Night." We are trying to raise a fortune by that date to help fund leukemia and lymphoma research. Childhood cancer research is SO underfunded - generous donations are desperately needed so that we can improve treatment and eventually find a cure. Even $1 helps. Please visit our Team's Page HERE to donate. Donations are tax deductible.

Elena thanks you!"

ALSO, my generous friend Cassidy will be donating the proceeds of all sales from her etsy shop to Elena until October 9th so go check it out HERE.

Painted Wallpaper

2010-09-29T06:00:00.000-04:00

I first saw "painted wallpaper" a little while ago

here and here and LOVED it

but

this post by jones design company was the final straw.

I HAD to do it!!
She even has the template you can download!

I decided to make my pattern a little bigger

(because I'm lazy and didn't want to paint as much!)

so I enlarged it before I printed it.

Then I traced it onto cardboard and kept the paper pattern for corners and edges.Just trace, trace, trace and then grab a little paintbrush (the size you want your lines so you can paint it in one stroke) and paint, paint, paint inside the line.

If you're like me you don't have hours and hours to spend on any project so I would paint a few then wrap my paint up tight in a bag to keep it from drying out.

Works great!!

Let me just say that my wall is FAR from perfect but the great thing is you really can't see the imperfections unless you really get close and stare for an awkward amount of time.

Nobody looks that close... except for maybe your mom... and your sister... but that is only because they are trying to figure out how you did it so they can copy you! Don't let the fear of imperfection stop you from doing this!
You will love it!!

Total time spent: About an hour a day for 6 days (to do a 10x14ft wall)

Total cost: $0

I just used the leftover paint from the wall and added a little white paint to lighten it.

What a difference!!!

I can't show you the whole room yet... it's not ready for the public.

(in other words: the bed's not made and it's covered in dirty laundry)

okay, okay,

I'll show you anyway

Yep, that's pretty much what it looks like. ;)

2010-09-27T06:00:00.002-04:00

We bought a brand new house and are busy, busy, busy, making it feel like it's "ours".

Not to mention doing all that stuff you have to do with brand new houses like:

Building hanging shelves in the garage...

Window coverings for EVERY WINDOW IN THE HOUSE...
so our neighbors don't have to see us in our underwears... your welcome.

Hello expensive btw!! But, it has given me lots of opportunities to practice my immature sewing skills as I am making curtains for all of those windows. Can't wait to show you what I'm learning!!

Painting walls... because I'm just not a beige-all-over kind of person.

I made it for 3 months and just about lost it so now I have one beautiful blue wall in my master bedroom and ahhhhhh, it feels much better. More on that later.

And just a little crafting on the side...

You KNOW I had to make one of these beauties.

What is it about creating something... it just makes me smile.?!?!

You can't see me but I'm smiling right now... ;)

New to me

2010-09-18T16:21:00.004-04:00

Hello there.

I've been busy:

Moving across the country to our new house...
Enjoying my new view...

And my new niece...

And spending time with my family on a new beach.

Finally feeling settled in and ready to create something "new".

Nice to be back. :)

Losing Focus

2010-03-25T17:14:00.010-04:00

I have a love/ hate relationship with blogging.

I love it because it opens me to a whole new world of ideas and information and creativity and gives me a place to share my thoughts and ideas and projects. Not to mention meet new people like YOU! I LOVE it!!

The hate (lets say dislike- hate is a strong word)part comes in because I sometimes find myself spending WAY too much time on the computer. I have 4 young kids and I can't tell you how many times they have stood next to me asking me a question over and over again, trying to get my attention as I jump from blog to blog.

Anyway, I feel I am losing my focus... gotta take a step back.

My kids will only be this little for a "little" while and I just don't want to regret how I spent this time.

So, thanks for being so good to nannygoat. Your comments make me smile (LOVE that part too)and I will see you in a "little" while... that rhymed

PS This is just a much needed break... I'll be back

You guys rock

2010-03-23T13:35:00.010-04:00

Seriously, thanks for all the comments on the Cricut.

You gals LOVE your Cricuts- that is FO SHORE!

And I had my hubby read ALL of your comments (I had to tie him to the chair)

and then I showed him some of the Cricut's magic:

(I haven't scrapbooked for 2 YEARS! It is SO much easier this way.)

("This is stuff I did just over one weekend... imagine the possibilities honey!")

And it WORKED!

He said I should get one. (Squeal!)

Since so many of you mentioned other digital cutters like the Silhouette I am checking into those too....

thank you!!

Now to convince my husband...

2010-03-18T15:26:00.004-04:00

because I WANT one...

a Cricut Expressions that is.

My sweet friend Jessica loaned me hers to play with for a few days and I am LOVING it!

I racked my brain for a quick project to test out this magic machine (ps cricut is not paying me for this ;0) and I found an Ikea 10x10 mirror and of course some scrapbook paper.

This tree is on the serenity cartridge... I adore it...

A little Mod Podge.

I CANNOT believe how easy that was.

The hardest part was picking out which font to use!

I hear it can cut fabric and vinyl too! Check out this flower... I am salivating... I need a cricut.

Attention all Cricut owners

Please, I am really considering buying one and I want to know what you think about yours. What do you love? What do you hate? Would you buy it again if you could do it over?

This puppy is not cheap so I would really, really, really appreciate any thoughts on it!
THANK YOU!
(and thanks again Jessica)

Make your own floating shelf... one of my favorite things

2010-03-16T12:18:00.008-04:00

Before we leave this house I wanted to share one of my favorite things.

We redecorated the boys room soon after we moved in.

(check out the "before")

I got this idea from a family in Utah who remodeled their home and added crown molding and 1x4 plywood to the top of each of their door frames. I loved how it made a little shelf at the top of each door where they could display little items.

I decided I wanted to use the same idea but make it a floating shelf and use a 1x6 so I could display larger accessories.

This is how we did it:
All you need is

-1x6 plywood

-2x2 plywood

-crown molding (we used 4in but you could do 4-6inch)

Measure how high you want the shelf and mark it. We put the shelf at 74 inches from the floor. I think it is perfect height. It is high enough that the kids can't reach it, you won't hit your head on it, and you can't see the dust... perfect!

I just used painters tape to mark the height on the 2 walls we were putting the shelves on.

If you are using the 4 inch crown molding you will need to shave off one corner of the 2x2 so the molding will touch the wall and the 1x6 as seen in the picture above

(if you use a larger molding you may be able to skip that step).

Hold the 3 pieces against the wall and make sure they fit before you screw anything in. We had to keep shaving more off the 2x2 before it would fit just right.

Now, find the studs and screw the 2x2 plywood into the studs so you know the shelf will hold.

(Sorry, no pictures. I did this before nannygoat.)

We trimmed off the corners of the 1x6 where it came to the window so it wasn't this big corner sticking out.

Now, attach the 1x6 by screwing it down from the top into the 2x2.

Finally, attach the crown molding with finishing nails into the wall at the base and the 2x2 piece at the top.

Caulk the corners and edges and you're done!

Beautiful isn't it!

What a difference this little shelf makes.
I love how I can have the cutesy stuff in the room but the kids can't get at it and it doesn't take up any needed space (you can only put so many things on top of a dresser my friends).

I especially love that it draws the eyes up (away from the mess on the floor) and you can't see the dust! Does it get better than that?!

WARNING: This shelf is made for lightweight items. I don't think it would hold anything too heavy. In other words don't blame me if you try to display your bowling balls on it and it comes toppling down... it is not my fault. ;)lol

You will be seeing this again in my next house (btw we are going next month to pick one out... don't you love house hunting!!) but I think I'm going to add a little something to change it up a little. I'm getting my inspiration from my friend Traci this time. Can't wait to do it and show you... you (and me) will have to be patient though... we don't even have a new house yet sillies. ;0

PS I got my Downeast shorts and I LUUUUVVV them. Seriously, I'm going to need a few more to make it through the summer (especially since my fav capris don't fit anymore. I blame it on the baby...er 15-month-old)
PPS or is it PSS I won ANOTHER giveaway here. WAHOO! I haven't gotten it yet but I am excited.

Super easy arm warmers/ baby legs

2010-03-12T18:26:00.000-05:00

My daughter wore these "arm warmers" I posted in 2008 the other day and got lots of compliments. I thought I would share how I made them again since they are PERFECT for this time of year. She puts them on in the morning and when it warms up in the afternoon she just pulls them off and throws them in her backpack.

RE-POST

When I saw this tutorial on Little Birdie Secrets (LOVE that blog!) I couldn't wait to try it out, especially since my girls love to wear short sleeve shirts even in the dead of winter.

It's so easy. All you need is a pair of socks (knee-high for baby legs or kids arms and thigh high for adult arms) matching thread and scissors. Just cut the feet off of both socks then turn the sock inside out and fold the raw edge over and whip stitch it. THAT"S IT!!

So cute and comfy. I have to make more 'cause my girls are fighting over them!

Now I can't wait to make some "baby legs" for the new babes. (The tricky part is finding boyish colors/patterns in a knee-high sock.)

On the home front

2010-03-10T15:12:00.006-05:00

Wow, the last few weeks have been crazy around here!

Our house was officially "listed" on the MLS last Wednesday and the craziness began. We received phone calls just hours after the listing for showings and I became a crazy cleaning machine. I cleaned and cleaned (while my boys made messes on the other side of the house where I wasn't looking) then we spent hours in the car, at the park, at the store, at McDonald's etc. waiting for the people to look at our house and then leave (please).

I was a little stressed.

Cleaning all day and then dreaming about cleaning (and people breaking into my home pretending to be Realtors) all night... It could take months to sell our house.... How am I NOT going to lose it?!?!

So when we got an offer on Saturday I was thrilled and when we got an even better offer yesterday I was ecstatic!

We took the offer.

Yep, 7 days of showings and it is official, we have a contract.

What a blessing.

So happy for us...

So happy for them.

I hope they make as many happy memories in this house as we have.

It will be hard to say good-bye...

it is our "home" after all.

I WON! I WON!!

2010-02-26T13:08:00.005-05:00

There are so many great giveaways these days all over the blogging world but honestly I rarely enter any of them. Why you ask... because I look down and see there are 279 comments and I think -There is NO WAY I would win.

Well, the other day I was reading one of my fav craft blogs, 30Days, and saw she was giving away an item from Downeast to TWO lucky readers and hello, I LOVE downeast and well to make a long story short I took the risk (539 comments people!) and...

I WON! I WON!!!! I WON!!!!!!

Yep, so I am gettin' me some of these cuties:

Can't wait till spring to slip them on.

And yeah, I'm pretty much entering every giveaway from here on out! ;)

Thanks again Mique!!

Courage Jar

2010-02-24T15:16:00.000-05:00

I got this idea from my friend Kristine... who got it from our friend Amy. :)

I love to find great mothers and then pester them with questions about their parenting ideas and of course copy them!

I ain't no dummy.

I've been trying to encourage my kids to do things that challenge them and might even be a little scary. I feel like it is getting harder and harder for our kids to do what is right and often they stand out because of it and sometimes even get teased for it.

So this is our "courage jar".

When any of us (including Trevor and I) do anything courageous we get to decide how many fuzzies we think we deserve to put in the jar (up to 5 for each act).

It can be anything and is different for each of us.

For example Megan gave herself 3 fuzzies for talking to her friends about not gossiping about another girl.

Hallie gave herself 3 fuzzies for asking a boy to stop saying a bad word.

We all added some fuzzies for attending a county meeting to support a friend and express some of our concerns to the elected board.

Campbell got some fuzzies for working on some of his potty training goals (I'll leave it at that).

and so on...

When the jar is full (150 fuzzies) we are going either here or here for an over-nighter and a little family fun.

Anyway, it has been working great so I thought I'd pass the idea along.

Thanks Kristine and Amy.

Birthday Banner Redo

2010-02-24T10:36:00.005-05:00

I know I am not the only one with piles of scrapbook paper in a closet somewhere gathering dust.

And so I loved this idea from Kami at No Biggie to take this cheap birthday banner:

(which I already had... who doesn't have one of these?!)

And simply cover it in scrapbook paper:

Kami cut her letters apart but I wanted to keep it all connected so I just traced the letters, cut them out, inked the edges, and glued them with mod podge.
So easy and what a difference!

Not as fancy as my other Birthday Banner: but I can't be all fancy all the time. ;)

(go here for the fancy banner tutorial)

Bandanna Dress and a belated Valentines

2010-02-17T00:36:00.006-05:00

I bought bandannas ages ago for this project and finally got around to it.

Can't believe it took me so long because it really is as easy as she says it is!

I do have a few recommendations though: I added a little stitch over the ribbon right in the middle as to prevent my daughter from continually pulling the ribbon out of the pocket.

I also used a thinner ribbon (she used 1 1/2in my is 5/8 and 7/8), I found it much easier to keep tied.

Same pattern + $2.50 towels from Target + a little more ribbon=

Valentines Dress

too bad we were both too sick to make it to church for her to show it off:(

30 Meals Review

2010-02-09T08:52:00.007-05:00

Well, according to my Google Analytics (and all the emails!)

you are still working on your 30 meals. Good for you!

Want the 30 meals binder cover? Download it here.

If you are new to nannygoat then you are probably wondering what we are talking about!

30 meal plan... huh?!

Well, if you want to make dinnertime a breeze, grocery shopping more efficient, save money, AND have your kids love EVERYTHING you make for dinner... then you need to check out the 30 meal plan.

It is ALL about simplifying and making life (specifically dinnertime) pleasant... is that possible?!

Now, if you LIKE dinnertime chaos including you searching through cupboards and flipping through endless recipes TRYING to come up with SoMEThiNg to eat all while your children are screaming at each other (due to low blood sugar of coarse) and begging for treats then you DO NOT want to do the 30 meal plan... enjoy your anarchy.

But, if you like peace and happiness and yummy food then JoIn In!

Make your own Valentine Cards

2010-02-06T14:50:00.009-05:00

Here is last years Valentine card.

Simple and sweet.

Did you see this Valentine card at 24-7-365?

Brilliant!

Yep, I had to make my own.

My kids school doesn't allow candy so my kids will be

holding glow sticks instead of suckers for their friends.

Love it!

(whoops, I forgot the apostraphe on Valentine's ... already printed it... oh well)

Something was missing

2010-02-04T23:34:00.001-05:00

I've been feeling (for several months now) that our house was missing something.

Something important to me... and everyone else living in this house.

Something I wanted to be able to see daily and something that those around me could see and enjoy and hopefully feel something inside.

A few weeks ago I found the something in the back corner of Lowes by the garden hoses and yard gnomes that are covered in dust

and I bought it and I rushed home to open it

and carefully... reverently hang it up.

I love this country.

Hanging this flag is my way of saying...

I am grateful

for God

for freedom

for our founding fathers

for those who have lost their lives to protect those freedoms

It is also my way of saying...

I am here

I have a vote

I can make a difference

I will stand for what is right and true and good.

I will fight for my family, my religion, my values... for the USA I know and love.

I am an American.

So join me. Accessorize ;) your house with something that matters.

Hang a flag and make your own statement.

(Then take a picture and post it pretty please. I want to see.) :)

Sewing with my girls again

2010-02-04T17:47:00.004-05:00

I saw this on Made by Rae and thought,

PERFECT!

A sewing project I can do with my girls

and I already had the felt... bonus!

So I put them to work cutting out the hearts and then

we sewed them together lickety-split and...

WALAA

How easy is that people?!

appliqued onesies

2010-01-30T16:39:00.009-05:00

I found out yesterday that my hubby's cousin is expecting

twin boys!

How fun is that!

So I got right to work making one of my favorite baby gifts- appliqued onesies.

I especially love the little boy's neckties.
(tutorial at Crap I've Made)

Then my 8-year-old made the mistake of saying those two little words:

I'm bored!

So, I put her to work creating her own applique. Look how cute it turned out!

She sewed most of it by herself and used the super-cute fabric Kari at Ucreate sent me.

I've decided we need to spend a lot more time together sewing.

We are both learning and it's fun!

PS- I gave up on potty training.

He's not ready...

or maybe I am just lazy and unwilling to do more laundry.

Either way I'm done...

for awhile...

a long while.

Glass Pendant Necklace

2010-01-26T16:47:00.006-05:00

I am so excited about this beautiful necklace my friend Traci @ Amazing Mae made me!!!

It has two 1inch tiles with a picture of each one of my kiddos on the four sides.

I love, love, love it!

She can make one for you too. Just go to her etsy shop and click on "request custom item".

Yep, I pretty much wear it everyday.

Thanks Traci!

BTW:

Still not crafting...

instead I am potty training...

my 2-year-old that is...

I would much rather be crafting!

Feeling good, thanks to you

2010-01-18T06:39:00.005-05:00

Thank You ,

Thank YOu,

Thank YOU!

I can't tell you how much your comments about our move to Richland, Washington have helped me!

Everyone who lives there or near there seems to love it and that gives me hope that we will love it too.

I'm still cleaning and organizing and not crafting... sorry.

Between Christmas and now getting my house ready to sell... well, crafting is not high on the list. But, no worries, I can never go very long without creating something!

And until then I am looking at YOUR blogs and enjoying YOUR creations.

Wow, you people are talented!

Speaking of talented, my friend and neighbor (and visiting teaching partner- Yes, I am LDS for those of you who asked) Traci at Amazing Mae is making me a soldered glass pendant necklace with pictures of all my kiddos. I can't wait!!

Have a wonderful Monday!

Won't you be my neighbor

2010-01-09T11:16:00.023-05:00

Wow, life has been busy around our house.

Too busy... and I don't like "too busy".

Over the holidays my hubby and I celebrated our 10 YEAR anniversary, Wahoo!

Not only does this anniversary mark 10 years of marriage but also 10 years of school. That's right, my husband has been in school/ training full-time for our entire marriage, 10 YEARS!

But all that changes soon...

This summer he finishes up his residency in emergency medicine and at 32 we will finally get to be real grown-ups with a real job... I'm a little nervous.

We've been students for so long (and when I say "we" he is the one in school but when daddy is in school the whole family is in school... you know what I mean).

The good news is he has already lined up a job in Richland, Washington (tri-cities area). The bad news is we don't know anyone there and we have to sell our house and leave our wonderful friends in Kentucky and move across the country. :(

Such mixed emotions.

So while the blogging world is busy cleaning and organizing, well I am no exception, only that I am cleaning our cute little home (and taking lots of pictures) so we can put it on the market.

This is what I've got so far...

My front porch swing. Here's the before.

Wondering what is above my cabinets??

It's fake grass and I love it!!

See my funky framed chalkboard in our loft/ craft room/ playroom? I still love, love, love it!!

And of course you remember that $5.00 dresser the "silly lady" sold me.

Inside the playhouse of course.

This is my girls room with their "blooming" dresser.

Boy's room re-do.

Remember my master bathroom re-do?
I added some dark brown ribbon to the sides of my curtains to give them more weight and tie the brown in on that wall.

I still have a few rooms to go.

It feels so good to de-clutter...

if only it would stay this clean!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2010-01-01T19:44:00.004-05:00

Wow, what a year it has been for nannygoat, thanks to all of you!!!!

Really, I can't tell you how much fun we have had and how much we love to read your sweet comments and see your projects. Melissa and I do this blog totally for fun because we love to craft and we love to share our projects with each other. Actually, that's how the blog started. I moved 1600 miles away from Melissa and so I started a blog just so I could show her pictures of my projects on the new house and she could tell me what she thought.

I never imagined it would turn into what it has. This year nannygoat's stat counter has gone from a few hundred hits a day back in January to now thousands of hits every day.

Holy Cow peoples!

Thanks for reading friends.

And now a re-post of nannygoat's most popular post of 2009.

Here it is:

OUR PLAYHOUSE

(originally posted 6-11-09)

I little over a year ago my hubby told me he wanted to turn the attic above the garage into a bonus room. I thought he was CrAzY since the only way we could do it financially was if we did ALL of the work (and when I say "we" I mean "he") and he is a very busy resident. Not to mention the fact that he has never built a room before.

Anyway, make a long story short, HE DID IT!

During the process we found there was a little nook in the back of the attic and at first we thought we might just wall it off but then we decided it would be perfect for a little "playhouse" for the kids, especially since it opens into their playroom.

I keep adding stuff to it as I find new things (on sale or at garage sales of course) but this is how it has turned out... so far.

BEFORE :

(literally a hole in the wall)

AFTER:

I want to put up a little roof face that comes out of the wall with wood shingles eventually but that is at the bottom of a long list of things to do so we'll see. Until then I think this iron piece gives it the shape of a rooftop.

I ordered this vinyl "Welcome" sign from Scribble it. You can't really tell from the pictures but the rod iron piece and the "welcome" sign are chocolate brown.

I LUUUVVVV it!

Remember, I am just learning (notice I didn't say "can't", baby steps people) how to sew. These curtains are actually placemats I found and loved the colors so I just folded over one side and made a seam for the curtain rod.
This window is perfect for puppet shows too!

Here is the inside of the playhouse.

See the artwork display in the back? Just a 1x4 piece of painted wood with clips mounted on it.
Easy!

Remember the silly lady that sold me a dresser for $5? She also sold me this gold framed mirror for $3... I love that silly lady.
I spray painted it with a high gloss turquoise and put the kid's "dress-up" clothes next to it.

I swore years ago that I would never paint anything orange in my house...

You should never swear. ;)heehee

So there you have it. Our new playhouse.
P.S. Literally 5 seconds after I took these pictures my two-year-old came through and destroyed all of my "staging" efforts. Real life at our house is NeVEr this clean. ;0

Nannygoat in Top 10 tutorials for 2009

2009-12-31T11:07:00.002-05:00

I'm so excited!

Our Funky Bow Holder tutorial was one of

Ucreate's TOP 10 Tutorials for 2009!!!

How cool is that?! Go here to check out the others.

Thanks Kari!

Displaying Christmas Cards

2009-12-17T17:57:00.005-05:00

Am I the only one who has to decorate a mantel with a Ginormous TV in the middle of it??? It's kind of distracting don't you think?!

I love to hang our stockings from the staircase and display all of our Christmas cards from the mantel. All you need is a long piece of string and tiny clothespins.

I love to look at the mantel and see so many faces I love and miss.

Make your own christmas cards quick and easy

2009-12-14T07:45:00.001-05:00

Every year I have grand plans of getting a professional photo taken of our family in the fall and then using those lovely photos for our Christmas cards but it seems like every year things get crazy (or I'm pregnant and we don't need any pictures of THAT) and it just doesn't happen. Well, this year it "didn't happen" again and last week I had to come up with something quick.

I thought I'd share with you what I did just in case you are in a similar situation... it's not too late to get a great Christmas card out.

First I bought a Santa hat from The Dollar store then I found the spot in my house with the most natural light. We are lucky to have a lot of big windows in our home so natural light is easy to come by. I created a back drop with a white sheet and took pictures (turn OFF the flash on your camera... you will get much better pictures with natural light and no flash) of each of my kids wearing the Santa hat.

The pictures looked something like this:

Then I used this tutorial for selective colorization.

Now you can just take this photo to Costco (or snapfish or whatever) and use one of their cards OR you can easily create your own card using photoshop/ elements like I did.

I LOVE this site for FREE digital scrapbooking kits and she just posted a beautiful Christmas kit you could use for your card. When your all done just print them out at your photo store (I paid 13 cents for each card, WAHOO!).

BTW- If you are wanting to learn more about how to use your digital camera or how to take better pictures (who doesn't want to take better pictures?!) my dad has a great photography blog in fact it's The World's Best Photography Blog . ;)

He used to own a photography studio now he just shares his expertise and photos on this blog.

Check out 10 Cool Features of your Digital Camera you Should Learn and Use. He goes into detail about each feature and has a lot of photos to illustrate!

Scrunchy Scarf

2009-12-13T09:57:00.009-05:00

Melissa and I saw these scarves at Hope Studios and HAD to make some.

Melissa wearing her scarf in Utah.

Me wearing my scarf in Kentucky.

These are sooooo easy and inexpensive to make. I made mine a little longer than the tutorial suggested ( I did 108 inches long or 3 yards instead of the 72 inches or 2 yards that the tutorial suggests).

I bought 3 yards of the jersey knit (I used my 40%off coupon and so I paid $7.00 for 3 yards) and I made 5 scarfs out of it!!! I'm going to JoAnns tomorrow to get some more fabric and elastic thread. For that price I can make one for all the ladies on my list!

Save the Date STEP 2

2009-12-05T08:25:00.016-05:00

If you don't know what the heck we are talking about and you need to catch up just read this intro to our "Save the Date" organizer and then check out STEP 1 here.

Disclaimer: If you WANT to have excuses for missing special days (i.e. birthdays, anniversaries, holidays) you DO NOT want to make this "Save the Date" binder. You will no longer have an excuse and everyone will know you are just lazy.

(I'm still struggling with this idea myself... I like having an excuse as lame as it may be.)

Of course if you make these as gifts then they will have no excuse for missing YOUR birthday! ;)

Now for Step 2:

This page goes behind each monthly divider. Just write the names of your loved ones next to their birth date so at a glance you know all the birthdays in June for example.

Download and then print 1 of these (for February- 29 days) here.

Download and then print 4 of these (for Sept, April, June, and November- 30 days) here.

Download and then print 7 of these (Jan, March, May, July, Aug, Oct, and Dec- 31 days) here.

Next is the AWESOME info sheet so fill in each section with the info for each person with a birthday that month. This makes everything so easy. No more excuses for missing birthdays.
Download the Information sheet here.

Here is the holiday page great for keeping track of traditions, recipes, and new ideas you want to try the coming year. Put one of thse pages under every month with a Holiday you celebrate.

Download holiday page here.

These Christmas pages will help you keep track of who you are giving to, what the budget is, ideas you have, and what you purchased. Oh, and it is a reat place to jot down where you hid the presents so you don't forget!

Download the Giving-to list here.

Download the individual gift list here.

Put this birthday page under the months of your husband and children's birthdays so you can plan in greater detail.

Download Birthday list here.

Finally an Anniversary page to help you and your spouse plan ahead and don't forget the babysitter!

Download the anniversary page here.

THAT'S IT! You are going to be so organized you won't know what to do with all that extra time (I have some laundry I could use some help with). :)

For step 3 I will take pictures of my binder and show you how I put it all together.

and

Save the Date STEP 1

2009-12-03T13:42:00.012-05:00

All right, here are the first few downloads to start your "Save the Date" binder. You need a 1inch 3 ring binder to put all of these files in.

Download Binder Cover here.

Now you need the month tabs.
Download January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December.

(This is how we did our month dividers but you can obviously make different ones if you don't like these. )

When you print them out (on card stock) they will look like this:

You need to measure over 8 1/2 inches and then cut around the month tab like this:

I rounded the corners on my tabs.

Laminating the monthly dividers is optional.

Then punch holes into the pages to fit into the binder.
January through September punch holes to fit in the top 2 rings like this:

October through December punch holes to fit into the bottom 2 ring like this:

And there you have it. Step 1 complete!!!

We've never used the file sharing before so let us know if it all works please! :) Thanks

and

Save the Date Intro.

2009-12-02T13:09:00.002-05:00

It's the Christmas season.

It can be so hectic, overwhelming, and expensive!

Our families are stepping back this year and focusing on simplifying, spending less, and feeling the meaning of Christmas more.

For that reason nannygoat wants to share ideas with you for Christmas that will be simple, inexpensive, and meaningful.

First, we have to get organized. This binder is something Melissa and I came up with a few weeks ago after we had this conversation:

K: "What should we get mom for Christmas this year?"

M:"I don't know. What did we give her last year?"

K: "I can't remember... has she mentioned anything she might like in conversation over the last... ummm... year??"

Our conversation then led to how we have dropped the ball on birthdays this year too and next year we want to do better at sending a card or calling or emailing or at least doing SOMETHING on everyones birthday.

So we started brainstorming and came up with something that I think will change my life forever :) and of course we want to share this idea with you!

This is great for getting yourself organized and it is a PERFECT gift idea to give to someone you love. It will bless their lives and like we said this season we are focusing on meaningful, simple, and inexpensive ideas.

(sorry to my friends who have been waiting for me to post this for weeks)

This is the binder cover.
We will have the files for you to download all of this in later posts. This is just a preview.

A tab for every month with a list of birthdays and holidays for that month along with extra pages full of information to help you remember everything.

Now some of my favorite pages.

THIS is what makes this organizer different and what I am so excited about!
Fill out these sheets with all the information you need to remember your loved ones special dates. It includes all the ways you can get a hold of your loved one (address, phone #, email, facebook, etc) to tell them "Happy Birthday". Oh, and when you BFF mentions to you that she loves that thing she saw at the store today hurry and write it down under "gift ideas" so when her birthday or Christmas comes along you know exactly what to get her!

This page is great for this time of year to keep track of who is getting what. I also write on it where I am hiding stuff so I don't forget that gift I bought on sale in July that is tucked deep under my bed and also how much I've spent on each child.

Just make sure the kids don't get a hold of this information! We also have a page for Christmas exchanges like with family, friends, neighbors etc. so you can keep track of who is on your list and you don't forget teachers, bus drivers, mailman etc.

I LOVE this page. I have it under every month that has a holiday and it reminds me of what traditions we do and any new ideas we may want to try for that Holiday. My family is young so we are still trying out new traditions. Some traditions stick and some don't and this way I can keep track.

THERE IS SO MUCH MORE TO SHARE.
I'm so excited about this. It is just what we need and we hope it helps you too!
We will post the files and detailed instruction soon so stay tuned!

and

Ask and you shall receive

2009-11-18T00:05:00.008-05:00

I am so glad you all liked my little Spool Dolls! I think they are so fun TOO!!

These are slightly different than the original ones I showed you. I used candle cups on these ones instead of the spools and painted the bodies with a design. For the previous shown dolls I painted the body and then Mod Podged paper on them.

Either way... Fun, Cute and Easy!

Here it goes:

As for the request to see all of the dolls, here they are!

There was 1 more head in the pkg than there was bodies, so I started a little African American doll but never finished it. That is the one you can see part of the head on a picture above. I used the end of the brush and did messy dots all over for the hair and it was looking really cute, I will have to finish it eventually.

our 15 seconds of fame

2009-11-16T22:15:00.004-05:00

So... Did you see Studio 5 today???

Nannygoat was totally on it! I'm still giddy from it all.

Okay, I don't live in Utah so Melissa recorded it and then took her digital video camera and pointed it at the TV so we could all watch it on YouTube together... Hurray!

Are you ready??

Watch it here.

AAAAAhhh! Did you watch it ? Crazy huh.

Okay, I had to laugh that the "gunk" wasn't coming off too well on TV.

Maybe it needed to soak a little longer. lol

So now we just gotta keep an eye out for all the paparazzi...

I've heard they're ruthless...

yep...

they should be here any minute...

Yep, We're pretty much famous.

2009-11-16T12:42:00.003-05:00

So I got an email this week from Studio 5 on KSL in SLC, Utah.

They found nannygoat and wanted to share this tip from nannygoat with the women of SLC on their show today.

So yep, we are pretty much famous. ;)

Need a unique neighbor gift? You've come to the right place!

2009-11-11T10:28:00.012-05:00

We've been really excited to tell you about this Christmas idea.

Melissa and I were brainstorming what to do for neighbor/ friend/ VT gifts this year.

We were trying to think of something unique and special that we could MAKE for our dear sweet friends and neighbors

and then it hit us...

with a hammer, over and over and over...

Isn't it PURDY?!

This is what we used:

-1/8" steel stamping set (bought from habor freight back when the washer necklaces were all the rage)

- Two washers 1in and 2in in diameter

-Ribbon

Put any message you like and your friends and neighbors are sure to love these one of a kind ornaments!

******UPDATE*****

To answer your questions: 1. No, we did not paint the washers with anything. We bought them at Lowes and I just picked the ones that looked the best (not all scratched up).

2. The big washer is just a regular round 2 in. washer. (It is not smaller at the top)

3. We did not glue the washers together, we just tied them with the ribbon.

4. We followed this tutorial to stamp our washers and darken the letters.

Hope that answers all you questions. Good Luck and we would love to see yours when your done!

Your neighbors are going to love you. :)

and

All Pretty'd Up

2009-11-03T09:46:00.002-05:00

5 days and 3 glue sticks later...
here she is.

(did you get to Dollar Tree in time to get some of these beauties?)

I just put her on the door for a photo shoot. I think it's a little early for Christmas decorations... maybe in a few weeks... er days... I'm feeling kinda anxious this year.

Out of curiosity...

When do YOU put up your Christmas Tree/ decorations??

Spool Dolls

2009-10-31T00:45:00.003-04:00

I saw similar style dolls at a friends house and thought Avery needed some.

Heck, why not personalize them a little and make Jeff and I and the grandparents.

Should have done the lips a little darker... First time.

Kinda silly, Kinda fun!

Avery seems to like them... banging them on everything in sight that is:)

Ornament Wreath

2009-10-28T13:18:00.006-04:00

I saw this beauty last year on Eddie Ross and put it on the "to-do" list.

A few weeks ago Melissa and I found these beautiful ornaments at... get this...
The Dollar Tree!
Seriously, go there today and buy them before they are all gone!
(this is why we crafters have to plan ahead!)

I followed this tutorial and it was looking SO PRETTY! I went to hang it up on the door and take a picture to share with you when I slipped and ...
Dropped it!

Half of the balls broke off and I screamed and tried not to cry.

So if you'll excuse me... I have a date with my hot glue gun.

Skipping October

2009-10-25T12:29:00.007-04:00

October has been a cRaZy month. We started the month out in Idaho and ended it in Florida.

I do not have one Halloween decoration up in my house...
not one.
So, I thought I would share my SPOOKY banner and glitter pumpkins from last year.

At this point I don't think I will pull out my fall decor either ( can you say party pooper?).
I'm thinking Christmas.
I know, I know, it's only October but when you're crafters like us you have to plan ahead right?!
Christmas crafts here we come.
Oh, and we have a GREAT friend/ neighbor Christmas gift idea for you!

My Special Day Chair Cover Tutorial

2009-10-12T12:43:00.010-04:00

Okay, here it is in all it's glory...

My Special Day Chair Cover Tutorial!!

First things first my friends.

1. Measure the back of the chair you will be using. Be sure that you measure the height from the seat up and the width on the top and bottom. This is the most important part to assure that your chair cover will fit nice and snug when you are all done.

Add 1/2 inch to all sides for your seam allowances.

2. Trace your letters on to your iron on adhesive paper (heat n' bond or such).

We found a font we liked on the computer and printed it off for our letters.

Don't forget to trace them backward on to the paper side of your adhesive, then iron on your fabric and cut them out.

3. Iron on your letters one at a time and then sew around it.

We went with the couple times around messy look since well, the once around was pretty messy and didn't look nearly as cute!

REMEMBER: Don't get ahead of yourself, make sure you are sewing your letters on before you sew anything else together. Trust me on this one... it will make your job MUCH easier!

4. Now for the 'MY'... We used a 5/8 in grosgrain ribbon and folded and tucked it to add dimension.

Take is slow and just continue to fold and adjust the ribbon while you sew till you get the look you like. Lower your needle into the fabric then lift the foot and you can turn your fabric every which way.

5. Cut your fabric for the back of the chair the same size as the front PLUS enough to overlap at the center and to add hook and loop.

About 1 1/2 inch added to the middle of both back pieces should give you enough to have 1 inch overlap and 1/2 in seam allowance.

6. Sorry, no picture: Sandwich, right sides together, the front piece, ric rac and the back of your chair cover (after you have finished off the back center and the bottom 'hem'!) Sew around the outside edge of your sandwich.

If you haven't already added your hook and loop, do it now (you could have also sewn it on when you finished of the back center edge).

WHAA LAA!

Could it be any cuter?

and

My Special Day

2009-10-11T08:47:00.005-04:00

Been out of town... now I'm back. :)

This is one of my FAVORITE things Melis and I made while she was here.

We got the idea from Little Birdie Secrets, here.

You can use it for any special occasion... who wouldn't feel special sitting in that chair?!!!

Seriously, so so so fun to make!

I got to be the first to use it on my birthday (while eating my favorite pumpkin dessert, YUM). Let me tell you, I felt sPeCiAl! ;)

What do you think... Want a tutorial?

and

Don't be cheap and lazy like me: Glass Etching

2009-10-05T08:46:00.006-04:00

Well, Melissa is gone and even though we still have a house full it seems so quiet around here. We ALL miss her and baby Avery (especially her little... okay, not so little high-pitched squeals ;).

Back to life I guess which is kind of a bummer for me but hey, fall is here and I LUUUVVV Fall.

Time to start sharing all of our crafts, wahooo! We were soooo busy and have a lot to share with you.

I thought I would start with my first attempt of glass etching.

I wanted to do a scalloped edge around this raised bowl. So, I followed this tutorial at Create Sudio. Well, I kind of followed it up until it said "dump a ton of the Armour Etching Cream on to your stencil" at which point I thought -This stuff costs $12.00 I'm not wasting it- so I laid out a thin layer of etching cream and lived to regret it.

After washing it off it looked terrible! Needless to say I had to do it again to try to even out the mess I made. In the end it turned out fine but next time I do this make no mistake, I will follow the directions instead of being cheap and lazy (oh, and she says you can reuse the etching cream so it is not so wasteful... so there you go).

ANyway, here is the result:

Not perfect but hey, it was my first try. ;)

Thank You!!

2009-09-23T13:05:00.002-04:00

The Pumpkin recipes are AWESOME!

I can't wait to try them all... ummm, like today.

My sis is the best.

Don't you worry, we are still crafting away and taking lots of pictures.

I can't wait to share everything with you!

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY

2009-09-20T18:02:00.007-04:00

As Kathryn mentioned I am here... we are together again at last!! Oh the crafting we are accomplishing. Problem is, we are to busy crafting and feeding the children and cleaning up after the children that there is NO time to post about all the crafting:) That will have to wait till after I leave. ANY HOW!! The reason I am really posting to say...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATHRYN!!!

What can I say about Kathryn? She is just the sweetest best big sister a girl could ever ask for! She is an amazing mother and such a good wife to her hard working husband. She is always a shining example to me. I call her for advise and help all the time and I don't know what I would do without her!

I still want to be just like my big sister!

So I was thinking about a gift we could all give to Kathryn for her birthday and to show her our appreciation of all of her great crafting ideas and inspirational projects...

PUMPKIN

Kathryn loves all things Pumpkin flavored so I am thinking let's all share with her your favorite pumpkin treat recipes.

She will love you!!

... more than she already does!!!

Can't wait till Monday

2009-09-12T16:08:00.005-04:00

Okay, I think I'm going to do it... I'm scared... but... I think I'm going to do it... maybe.

Now for some BIG news!

Guess who's coming to visit me in Kentucky...

(if you don't know who this is just look at the right sidebar ;)
For 3 WEEKS baby! You know what that means...

There will be a whole lot of crafting going on around here.

Next week we are meeting up with our very creative friends from Amazing Mae, The Polka Dot Chair, and Create a life you love.

Don't worry, we will take lots of pictures and share all of our projects with you.

Also, I'm starting to think about Christmas, are you? I have an idea for neighbor/ friend gifts but I have to try it out to see if it will work first so stay tuned.

PS I went yard sale shopping this afternoon and I hit the mother load! A table saw and china cabinet (that needs a little TLC). SCORE!

Stain My Oak Banister?

2009-09-08T18:00:00.013-04:00

Did you see this over at Southern Hospitality?

Here is her banister before:

(Whoops ladies, I got a little confused! This "before" photo is from Censational Girl who also stained her banister. Go here to see her amazing transformation. She also painted and added moulding. You'll love the "after" it is BeAuTiFuL!)

Now, here is Southern Hospitality's Before:

Okay, you are not going to believe this...
are you sitting down???

Here is the after:

Be still my heart...
I Luuuuvvvv it .
Now, here is my banister:

Look familiar?

Censational girl sanded and prepped all of the oak. Southern Hospitality just put on the stain without any prep work.

I'm a little nervous about staining it but how can I NOT do it??
Of course I would also stain the wood on the steps (it is the only hardwood in the house so I don't have to worry about it matching anything else).

Has anyone else out there done this?

What do you think...
should I do it????