Crafty Creations: Purple Snap-Collar Dress

I love this little dress, well I've loved all of them, so no big surprise. The beautiful pleats in the front and the sweet collar are just to die for.

Again the beauty of this dress is that it can go with capris, or shorts as she gets taller. This was a pattern on line for a little summer top but easily made a dress just by extending the hem.

Cutie-patootie Sundress

Here is another of this weeks projects! It took about an hour and a half to make and was super simple. What took me the longest was drawing out the pattern and working on the sizing!

The thing I love about this dress the most is that as she gets bigger I can put it with bloomers, carpi pants, or little pants as a top.

That was the main reason when we found this tutorial online, we just had to make it.

The other great thing about this dress is that the simplicity made it super cheap to make as well. Bias tape was $1.89

Fabric $2.19

(which I still have enough to make a bow or flower and some other accessories)

Thread $0.25

Grand Total: $4.33

I've just started a new dress that I totally designed the pattern for and can't wait to see if it turns out. I will keep you update!!

Zoo Day, Beautiful Zoo Day!

The weather was so lovely last week, we just couldn't pass up a trip to the zoo! I acutally got hot in my capri pants and t-shirt!

The petting zoo was the hit of our day!!
My sweet monkeys!!

It was a little chimp's birthday and the boys were really mezmerized by all the crazy monkeys playing with the party decor'! They were crazy!!

Even though he was scared at first, Morgan loved the goats and even planted some kisses on some lucky nannies!

This is how I felt by the end of the day, but I was so happy to spend the day with my lovely family!

The Long Awaited Diaper Bag!

My camera totally washed out the beautiful pink color of this bag, but I can't believe how it turned out! I am super thrilled and can't wait to carry it starting in June!

Here is another one of the flowers that I made for my bag. I made it bigger than the ones I made for the baby's hair and used a button I found in my sewing box! I love it!

There is a magnetic snap under the flower to close the bag with the flap that snaps to the front of the bag.

Crafty Creations: Headboard

Before:

After:

I have been wanting to recover our head board for sometime but with most interior fabrics costing around $25/yard or more, it was just too expensive! I had gotten this leather-like fabric about 5 years ago on clearance and man was it looking worn. Thanks to a tip from fabulous Desiree, I headed to the 71st Joann's that is closing it's doors to try to scope out some bargains!! I was so excited to find this beautiful silky fabric for 75% off!

Grand Total $11.97

Today's Projects

We made some sweet flowers today, they were so easy to make that we made four of them! I put them on a barette so they could go in her hair, on a headband, or on this sweet hat!

We also made this cute dress and it is reversable, so it's two dresses in one! I have to add some embellishment to the other side and then I will take some pictures!

Here is another one that goes with another outfit!

See, you can put them in hair too! :)

Crafty Creations: Newest creations

Here is the latest addition to my collection! I think these are just beautiful, hopefully she won't be a burpy baby and stain them! hehe

Tommy sewed most of these little shoes and did a fabulous job!

I was present for support while working on the burp clothes.

I can't wait to try these on her little feet!

More Snow!

Going sledding with Daddy!

Seems all we have done lately is go sledding, build snowmen, and drink hot chocolate.....and I wouldn't want it any other way!!!

The boys and I are having a blast with Daddy home and all the fun weather!!

Thrifty and Nifty Thursday: Sweet Deals!

A couple of weeks ago, the Children's Place had some awesome sales going on and for one day they had a code for free shipping and you could also stack a 15% off code with it, making the deals even sweeter!!

I was so excited to get some things for the boys and baby for really cheap (ie. $2.99 for tops and bottoms) and I was super excited to pick up this beautiful coat for the new baby. It was originally $29.50 but I got it for $7.75!! It has soft fir on the collar, bottom, and cuffs....I had to grab it up, since it was such a great deal!

I usually buy clothes from Wal-Mart mostly but when I plan ahead, I can get special things from places we couldn't normally afford!!

I think that's Thrifty and Nifty!

Platypus at 21 Week!

Here are some pictures of our sweet baby girl at 21 weeks!! The tech said that she was measuring in at 15oz and right at 21 weeks! Our Dr. said everything looked awesome and right on track.....(he said I was a super baby maker, tee-hee-hee)

She had her arm up like this when they took the last pictures too, maybe she likes to pose!

Doesn't she have an adorable nose??

Here is her sweet little foot! I can't wait to try her little shoes on her!!

Snow Day Fun

Getting all ready to head out and play!!

Let's go people!

Sliding was a little difficult but they finally pushed the snow down the slide!

A cold weather (poor person) treat ~ Biscuit Donuts!

This is a fun treat my mom used to make for us when we were little and it's super cheap and easy! Just buy the cheapest, saddest looking can of biscuits you can find, use something to punch out the middle (I use a pump hair spray plastic lid), and throw them in a skillet of hot oil until brown. I brown one side, then flip. I shake mine in a bowl of cinnamon and sugar or top with chocolate cake icing. The doughnut holes were the first to go!

When using up everything in you cabinets it forces you to be creative ~ and fun!

Crafty Creations: Baby Girl Stuff

Here are my latest creations!

I am LOVING Tom being home during the day!! He has helped me sew, cut, iron, clean, and entertain little ones!! These are some of the projects we have completed so far!

A diaper changing pad for the matching diaperbag!
(pics coming soon)

Tiny Shoes

A Reversable Bib! Yes, the pattern is sideways, but I was trying to use up some scraps.

Another view of the shoes.

The shoes are not perfect by any means, but for a first try and being so difficult and small to deal with, I am pretty happy with how they turned out.

Crafty Creations: Ironing Board Cover

Before:

After:

Before:

After:


My old cover was getting so dingy, burnt, and just gross looking. Have I been cooking grilled cheese sandwiches on that thing?? I had looked at the store for a cover that was cute, but they looked so doubty and frumpy, and I wanted something pretty and fun!!

So I headed to Joann's and picked out this fun cotton floral. It's heavy duty interior decorator fabric, but was on sale and with the fabric and the cord, it was still cheaper than buying one from Wal-mart!! I'm lovin' it!

I think this would make a great gift or home warming present and you could coordinate it with any decor'!

Organizing on a Budget

In my Fresh Start post, I talked about how I really wanted to get on top of the house and get things on a schedule and organized. Well, getting organized sometimes means buying things to stash your stuff in and that can get really expensive. I love bins, baskets, and tubs but our budget just doesn't allow for my house to look like an ad out of Pottery Barn, so I decided to use what I already had on hand.

I have a cabinet in my kitchen where I stash leftover food containers - everything from french fried onion cans, Nesquik tubs, and bulk Pop-tart boxes. I don't keep a ton, just a few in all different sizes and shapes. As I buy something from the store that needs a new home I pull out a container and go to work!

This canister used to have chocolate milk powder in it. I simply washed it out and dried it and now it's ready to become a home to things like gummy snacks, goldfish crackers, or bottles of food coloring. I also used them for little toys, blocks, and hair supplies....the possibilities are endless!

My supplies are things you probably already have on hand scrapbook paper or construction paper, double sided tape, tape, and scissors. If you don't have double sided tape just use the regular tape and it will work beautifully! After holding the paper to the can to measure it I just simply cut it out and start putting double sided tape in vertical lines randomly around the can.

Then just simply wrap the paper tightly around the can and tape the seam with regular tape for extra strength. If your paper isn't long enough to go all the way around, I just simply cut an extra strip of paper and place it on the can first then tape my two sides of my wrapping paper to it.


Voila!! Finished can! It takes under five minutes from start to finish and probably cost me around $0.25 for the paper and tape, not to mention it's also re-purposing something that would go into a landfill!


Here are some of my completed canisters in my cabinets. I just decided to do fun random patterns, but you could easily coordinate your cupboards, play closet, or bath cabinet.

I also have some cute square boxes that I have covered with cheap wrapping paper. They were bulk Pop-Tart boxes and I used them to store things like Easy Mac packages, lots of Pop-tarts, and other sleeves of crackers and snacks. They fit great in my cupboards, I'm able to minimize packaging on my shelves giving me more room, and I can easily pull down the bin to get what I need to.

Here is my cute model, displaying my newest canister!! The boys love to get these down and eat Goldfish crackers out of them and I don't have to worry about the cheap paper bag getting torn or the crackers getting smashed and broken.