manthropologie

Brett asked for a not-so-extreme office makeover.  

He wanted to cool-ize the place.  

(I guess this means he's planning on staying for a while right?)

I told him I'd do it up Manthropologie style. 

I got to work...

sewing navy and white chevron print pillows,

making a dictionary paper covered cork board,

and creating a wall of clipboards.

He got to work...

cleaning out a lot of junk paperwork, 

computer disks (yes, I said disks),

and VHS tapes.

We got to work...

painting walls 

and creating these...

 

Love these lyrics that have been floating around on all kinds of blogworld projects.

Perfect for that artistic at heart worship leader right? 

And my biggest compliment from one of the girls on his worship team...

It looks like Pinterest in here!

Mathro complete.

oh the weather outside is frightful...

I guess us southern Californians need to make up our own Christmas songs.  82 degrees and super sunny today.  Hot enough for these girlies to take a dip in the pool.  That's why they sell bathing suits year round down here. 

thank you black friday

I'd love to be a black Friday shopper.  

a.  I love to shop.  

b.  I love a reason to get up early (other than children crying to get out of their cribs).  

c.  I love the thrill of a bargain hunt

But at this point in my life, my only black friday shopping is in the comfort of my own home, in front of a computer screen.  No amount of savings is worth toting around 3 tired, grumpy children and subjecting them to waiting in lines longer than Disneyland, with much less of a thrill at the end.

I did, however manage to drag the girls out of the house for some Saturday shopping.  I figured these two places would not have the holiday shopping insanity that the mall would.  First stop, Dollar tree.  No black Friday sales there.   At Dollar tree every day is Black Friday.  Second stop, thrift store.  Not a lot of holiday shopping going on there either.  But what do you know, they did have a 50% off sale!  Who knew?  So...

I just couldn't...

 resist...

 

 these beauties form Christmases long ago...

from my favorite hole in the wall thrift store...

for $3.25 total.

Thank you Black Friday for keeping all the other shoppers away form my store.

thankful

 

giving thanks for so much today...

love...hope...peace...

family...friends...home...

 And speaking of home...head over to Life Made Lovely and take a peek inside our lovely home...

blessed

I am blessed...

 beyond..

measure...

my girls, 

my man, 

my home.

christmas in a jar

 

On my last sale table/window shopping trip to Anthropologie, I found some adorable, but not necessarily affordable, mason jar snow globes.  Of course my crafting wheels started turning, and I came up with a rendition of my own (for an absolute fraction of the price at anthro).  So if you want a project to kick off your holiday decor...look no further...

Gather up those mason jars you've got in your stash...or if you're not an obsessive jar collector like myself, head to Walmart and buy a case of 12 jars for under $10.  Micheal's also sells single mason jars in several sizes for $1-$2.  I started with wide mouth pint jars. The wide mouth jars give you more surface area on the lid to work with, especially if you want to use multiple trees.

 Give them all a good shine inside and out before you start working.

Now, head to your miniature Christmas tree farm and pick out your trees.  I had to get a variety pack because Michael's was all out of the small trees (probably due to all those Christmas nuts setting up their miniature cities already). Anyway, I got a bag of 21 trees, 40% off for $13.  They range in size from 3-10 inches.  The small and medium sized ones work great in the pint jars.

 Get your lids ready...

 Play around with the trees to find a set-up that suits you.  Make sure the trees will fit when you put the jar on the lid, and that they fit inside the rubber seal around the lid so it will close properly.  I did some with three trees and some with just one. 

And on to the messy fun part.  If you are glitter-fobic, you could do without... but come on, who doesn't love glitter at Christmastime?!?  Totally worth the mess I believe (as I walk around the house with glitter on the bottom of both feet!).  I'm sure there are lots of different adhesives you could use with the glitter, but I had mod-podge on hand (like every good crafter) so that's what I used.
Dab it on and shake away (the glitter that is).

 Let these sparkling beauties dry thoroughly before you go any further (I speak from experience here).
I went ahead and glitterified all my trees at once to save myself form another glitter bath later.

Use a hot glue gun to glue the trees to the lid.  Again, make sure to stay within the rubber seal, or the jar will not close.   And once you stick these babies...they're stuck, so take your time
(again, speaking from experience).

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, how gilttery are your branches...

And since I'm already singing...

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow....

After you've got your trees on, you can add snow to settle to the bottom (or top I guess) of the jar.  I played around with regular sugar, which made the glass kind of dusty (not good) so I ended up using these sprinkles.  You may be able to find something else cheaper than these (almost $4 a jar, and it only fills about 5 jars).  Anyway, fill the jar about an inch, screw the lid on, and carefully tip the jar to avoid getting too much of the sugar on the trees.  Give it a little tap and shake to settle the snow.

And there you go.  Christmas in a jar.

And if you really get inspired, you can use your entire forest in all different sized jars.  

Make some for yourself and make more for giving. 

Happy Christmas Crafting!

get inspired!

I am super excited to tell you about an amazing online magazine I found.  It's called Inspired Ideas, The Christmas Issue and you must check it out.   They call it "a magazine celebrating the crafty life"...could it be more perfect?  The issue from last year, Christmas 2010 is free and has 172 idea packed pages.  I couldn't stop staring at all the loveliness.  You will be inspired to crack out those craft supplies that have been hiding out in your cabinets and get your craft on.  I'm chomping at the bit as we speak!  Enough talk...get crafting!

Don't think I wouldn't let you go without a sneak peek.....

 village houses (from cereal boxes!)

yo-yo tree (genius)

insta-round-here

1.  she's a rock star

2.  and she's a ballet star (hint:  look for the only one following the teacher)

3.  looking way too grown up

4.  making wrapping paper for daddy- happy bday!

5.  pilgrim girl

6.  play-dough at 6am (come on girls, adjust already!)

7.  homework and hot cocoa

8.  lunch outside- mac n cheese with ketchup (daddy has really started a trend here)

lately...

Busy and overwhelmed lately.  One of those weeks where I'm doing another 6 loads of laundry when last week's isn't even put away yet.  But alas, I stop and retreat from the craziness of life to type and ponder.    Lately...

Forced into letting go of two of my loves...diet coke and coffee.  Seriously, if you know me at all, you know this is huge.  Reason?  A mad bladder.  I guess all those years of filling the thing with acid, carbonation, caffeine and artificial sweeteners have caught up to me.  And you know the pain must be bad to turn my back on my two faves.  Will it be hard...you betcha.  

Working on a little Bday present for Brett.  Its a not-so-extreme-office-makeover.  On a major budget.  He wanted something cool.  I told him I'd do it up man-thropologie style.  More to come...

And speaking of Anthro... saw these beauties in the store today.  Going to try to make them for the church Christmas brunch.  Now who in their right mind would pay $38 for one of these?  Seriously people, it is a jar.  A very lovely jar, but a jar none the less.  I'm estimating I can do it under $3 a pop.  Now that's more like it. 

Also... been working on an incredibly exciting project for next week.  All I can say is...wake up from your turkey coma and check the blog next Thursday.   

i phone or my phone?

Ellie's got the iphone bug.  "Can I play on your phone mommy?" About 100 times a day.  She even asked for her own iphone for Christmas (dream on baby).  And this is what my photo roll is full of these days.  Now I could get annoyed.  I could be bothered by the thin layer of scum and fingerprints that is always on the screen.  But I know there will come a time (sooner than I'd like) where her (bigger) hands will be grasping her own phone, texting and calling everyone but me.  So for now, I'll take the fingerprints and Disney pictures.  They are everyday reminders that a sweet little girl is still under my wing.

M.A.E.D.S.

 my life at too early o'clock this morning

I am going to start a club... an organization... a movement.   M.A.E.D.S.  Mothers Against the End of Daylight Savings.   I can't believe this hasn't already been done, really.  I know I'm not alone in this.  There can't be even one mother who is happy about the inevitable "fall back".  The initial transition is the worst...being awakened at what seems like the middle of the night by wide-eyed-bushy-tailed toddlers, only to have them crash mid morning.  And no matter how late you put them to bed, they can't seem to reset their little internal clocks.  Even when you finally do get used to it,  its still a major bummer with carpooling and  handing out after school snacks at dusk.  So please, lets join together... unite... and fight for the light.

been thriftin'

It had been a while. 
And it was worth the wait. 
Just take a look at my treasures (Ellie thinks thrifting is "treasure hunting".  Its my way of convincing her that thrifting is actually an activity she can enjoy as much as mommy does...today her treasure was a paddle ball...almost as thrilled as mommy)
Anyhoo, today:
apron- I have to admit I gasped at this one-perfectly completes my apron collection (the towel was another score today!)
thermos- extra 40% off was the deal breaker
vinatge books- love Richard Scarry!
suitcase- been dying for one to make this for Leighton- stinkin' cute right?!
Berenstain Bears mug- the start of my children's mug collection for the girls...one down two to go
wooden clip hanger- to display our thankful calendar
doily table runner- stumbled on that treasure after putting back all the little doilies needed to make this (maybe someday)
vintage Santa mug- couldn't resist the cherry nose
Okay, I think that will hold me over...for a while. 

granny shares her granny squares

Okay, its decided.  I have the most amazing mother-in-law there is to have.  The only problem is she lives half way across the country.  And our visits are never long enough, or frequent enough.  But this week she got to come out and spend some time with us.  And as usual, she brought gifts.  And not just the kind she picked up in the airport gift shop either.  Ones that she spent hours and hours on stitching, sewing, crocheting, knitting, quilting (I told you she was amazing).  Adorable smocked dresses for the girls, hand quilted trick or treat bags, hand knitted beanies, a fall table runner, and a granny square pillow with a story behind it.  Please note the first picture.  This was back in the summer when we took a trip out to Tennessee and Judy showed me (for at least the tenth time) how to crochet.  This time my goal was granny squares, a whole blanket afghan of them (Judy informed me that blanket are purchased form the store, afghans are knitted or crocheted by hand).  I raided her scrap yarn bin and made off with a stash of beauties (fig. 2). And I began to granny.  And boy did they look pretty (fig. 3).  About 3-4 squares in to it, I decided a blanket afghan was a bit lofty for me so I decided it would be a pillow.  About 8-9 squares into it I decided maybe even a pillow was too lofty and settled for a pillow front.  About 12-13 squares late the entire project went on hold.  Like a 5 month hold.   Enter Judy and her completely perfect granny square pillow.  The granny-ing granny saves the day.  I guess this means I'm back to the original goal of a blanket afghan.  Maybe one for Leighton's baby doll crib is more up my alley.

beyond redicerous

Check this out. It is beyond redicerous.   Apparently moms are going nuts over trying to get their kids to be exposed to chicken pox.  Nuts enough to host parties with chicken pox infected kids in hopes theirs will catch it.  Nuts enough to buy contaminated toys, blankets, jammies and even lollipops to spread the disease to their kids.  Are you kidding me?  I thought we were trying to avoid getting our kids sick.  To quarantine those with the pox in hope they don't so much as breathe on our children.  And then there's the even more (as if that's possible) redicerous side...the moms who are using their poor sick kids to make a buck.  "Here Bobby suck on this lollipop, snuggle with this teddy, wear these jammies...Now quick give them here, I've got an order in Arizona for a contamination party pack."   Absolutely absurd I say.  Absolutely absurd.

you must make...

Once a month, moms at Brooklyn's school bring in baked goodies to bless the teachers.  Each month is a theme...tomorrow is pumpkin day.  And due to the overwhelming success of these guys here, I decided to make them once again.  Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies with cream cheese frosting.  (Only problem is this time I was out of powdered sugar so they are frosting-less- sorry teachers- but they are still super yummy!)  I'm telling you, you must make a batch before fall turns into winter... before pumpkin gives way to peppermint.  Eat them for breakfast with your coffee or keep them in the fridge and eat them cold (even more delish!).

under cover baby

It has been suggested we start calling her Blanket (like the famous Jackson baby).  

I guess this is the only way to get a little alone time around here.  

You may find me under my blankie soon...