Hogan's Nursery

We're expecting our new little boy in a couple of weeks, and I finally got around to putting all of his room together! I think the nesting phase has finally kicked in.

 I made the name sign above his bed, along with the quilt and bedskirt. I was really drawn to a black & red theme for the room, with rockets. I made the star stickers out of vinyl on my Silhouette.

A crafty friend of mine made the pictures here. They fit the room so perfectly, she knows me so well!

 This is an upward view of the mobile hanging above the changing table. The tutorial for this is at Nap Time Crafters.

 This is my diaper stash--I've got a basket for disposible and one for cloth.

Close-up of the bedding.

The same crafty friend made this great mobile. I was wanting to make one just like it (but probably wasn't going to get around to it). It's like she read my mind!

The rocket pillow was made by the same friend--LOVE IT! I also repainted a thrift store lamp and recovered the shade to match the bedding.

We were convinced at first that we were having a girl, so I bought a matching girly-printed swing and car seat. When we found out it was a boy, we weren't too disappointed though--it just meant I could try my hand at recovering them! This is a pretty simple slip-on cover made from fabric and minky.

Close-up of the slip-on.

This isn't my favorite craft project in the room, but I figured I would picture it. I painted over a thrift store frame.

 Here's the car seat that I recovered. It's probably my favorite project in the room. I just couldn't believe I was able to contour it right!

I clearly need to thread the straps through before little Hogie comes.

I'm also pretty proud of this car seat tent I made. It's from a small duvet cover from IKEA that I bought years ago and never used.

This is a door decoration that my daughter and I made together for the hospital.

 Rug: Target. Kitty: Shelter

View from the rocking chair. I put up the moon light (from IKEA) for late-night diaper changes. I need to figure out a way to secure the cord though.

Another crafty friend made a door sign for me. She made some years ago for my older kids that say "Brother" and "Sister," so we knew Hogan had to have one too! 

Thanks for looking! I'll be linking up here.

Birthday Month: {Birthday Balloon Wreath}

Both of my kids were born in August.

The. Hottest. Month. Of. The. Year. 

And we're not really sure when the cat's birthday is, so we just made it in August too.

Therefore, I have renamed August as "Birthday Month." I kinda like the idea of making a new wreath for each month (it keeps me on my toes), so I made a unisex balloon wreath for our month-long fiesta.

Close-up. Fabric & paint. Yes, I smudged it a bit:

I'll be linking up here.

Fun With Frames

My hubby works for a bakery and he's been bringing me all sorts of goodies lately. I'm not talking the sweet, chocolate-filled kind. I mean leftovers. Leftover ribbon, leftover boxes, leftover frames. All things that the company has discontinued using. It's awesome.

He brought me one the other day that was a good color for the kitchen. So I made this:

I am in love with the Early Bird fabric line from Cosmo Cricket and while I was shopping etsy for it one day, I found these lovely scrapbook tags instead. I didn't really know what to do with them, but they were cheap, so I snatched them up!

When hubby brought home this frame, I knew I had found my project:

Aren't they cute? Double-sided too:

The frame was a bit roughed-up, so I took a piece of sandpaper to it, just to make sure it looks intentionally scratchy:

I used spray adhesive to tack down my tags and flowers. Then I adhered it to somem leftover corkboard peices:

I used the cork so that I could put some pins in the tags (so that they'd look specimin-like):



I think it's a nice way to dress up the white space!

That's not the only framed project I've been working on though. I re-made an old, ugly corkboard into a new inspiration board for my sewing table: 

I got the idea from Tatertots & Jello.

I will be linking up to these great parties this week! And don't forget to come back on Friday and link up anything you've been working on too!

Valentine Banners & My Very First Giveaway!

I have been rather excited about Valentine's Decorating this year. Pink has certainly grown on me since I had a baby girl!

Here's my kitchen:

I just finished this banner. Spelling out all of "Happy Valentine's Day" seemed daunting, so I just went for "X" and "O":

This plate was so simple with the Silhouette! I just bought a plate from the Dollar Tree and cut the vinyl for the middle. Took less than 5 minutes:

I used the flowers to decorate for Thanksgiving, but I thought they complemented the existing colors of my kitchen, so they stayed. Here's a Mod-Podged X & O I made last year at a craft night:



I made a second banner too. This one is for my mother-in-law's classroom:

And now, (drumroll, please!) for my first giveaway!

Right in time for Valentine's Day, I have this uber-pink wood picture frame!

You can easily clip in a new picture of you and your sweetie (or your kids, or your dog) each year!

To enter:

Just be (or become) a follower! Then leave me a comment saying that you are.

Easy!

I'll pick the winner on Saturday around 5:00 pm, central time. Then I will email you so that you know you won!

I'll be linking up to these great parties!

Goodbye Uncle and Hello Paint!

We said goodbye to my brother this week. He's off to Iraq today, actually. He joined the Marine National Guard and has been in training in California and Nevada for a long time. He only got to come home for 7 days before being shipped out too. I know Finn enjoyed seeing him again, and I did too. He's scheduled to return home in December, but hopefully he'll be back sooner!

Since I didn't have anything else to do this week, I decided to put some paint up in the my new living and dining rooms. The blankness wasn't bothering me until Scott mentioned it. Now, it's all I can think about! I need stuff for my walls! And it's snowing and cold and I have no time to go get it with 2 little kids hanging off me! Big problems, huh? I can tell you that I am dying to decorate with these (But I need to get things painted first). Anyway, I painted my living area with "Vanilla Brandy" and it turned out a LOT different than I thought. It's still growing on me. But at least the brick red is gone!

I forgot to get a "before" shot, but here is one in progress:

And here is one of the somewhat finished playroom: