My Two Girls

Jackie was a rescue pound puppy, we think a border collie/lab mix. I called her my little pig and sometimes Patricia when I first got her, about 11 years ago. She was 6 months old and I got her as a companion for my other healer mix dog, Simon (who ended up being adopted by a physician friend on his farm, and even saved his life.) Jackie was very sick and I had to tend to her all night long for quite a while. I thought, "THIS must be what it would be like to have a newborn!" Well, no, after having three newborns, I can honestly say she was WAY harder. When I met my husband, he was able to tame that wild beast of a puppy and that is how I knew I loved him. Even though he momentarily lost her when he dog watched her as I traveled out of state for the birth of my first nephew....

I thought I had trained her to stay off the couches, only to discover she has now adopted this chair.

Being a dog owner/companion, I always thought I would NEVER allow my kids to put her in second place. When I became pregnant with my first, we had to start to train her to not sleep in our bed. She is an old gal now, cataracts and lumps and lots of allergies and smells and old lady quirks... and it is true, she does get the back burner of attention when so many kids are under foot. But, we still love to cuddle when we can find those moments of peace. She's my little noodle chup.
 

Homefront: Colorful Spring Easter Mantel

There are few times a year when pastels can be made front and center, so I embrace it when I can. The mantle/ikea expedit shelf was done a few weeks ago, (shocker), but it didn't ever feel *just right*. When I brought this sweet smelling hyacinth home last night, I knew just what to do. I wrapped the flower pot in a scrap of burlap and tied it off with a pretty pink, polka -dot bow, just like how I did my mason jar craft (tutorial here).

I received this Velveteen Rabbit book as a gift when I was 7 years old. The Jesus picture came from this visit at a lovely antique shop. It appears that I like bunny rabbits. One day, I will add lambs and chicks to my Easter line up. But really, a beak mask just wouldn't be as cute as a bunny ear headband.

I used my white frame once again as a wreath holder. Makes a cute impact on an otherwise lonely wall.

 Do you need a quick and easy Spring Easter wreath idea? Visit my diy tutorial here!

Homefront: The Nursery of Elisabeth Rose

 Miss 'Liss is 10 months old and I am finally getting around to posting nursery pics! This was a fun and rather simple project, full of collecting and thrifting and creating, and yet I still have more ideas. This isn't really her room. This is her corner, in my room. We are short a bedroom so she stays in our for now. There are plenty of perks in that... for now anyways. Turquoise seems to be a theme with me, even my boy's nursery was turquoise and blue. I guess I either a) really like the color or b) it's always available and since I thrift a lot, I get what I find!

Wooden chandelier is from uncommon. I draped the turquoise beads on for fun. I have finally replaced the changing table knobs with faux mercury glass ones from Hobby Lobby, so just imagine it ;)  Pillows are thrifted vintage, chair was a free roadside find.

I made this rag garland, and it's about 6 feet long. Some of the fabric in there is from pajamas that my big ole pregnant belly ripped open. I kid you not. Sentimental, maybe, or just plain weird? I talk about how I made this here. I love a little touch of metallic and would like to incorporate more in this space, but for now, I hole punched gold circles out of a gift bag and hot glued them onto a white ribbon. Glittered star was a garage sale find. I totally love this project, and it was practically free and a large centerpiece for a wall.

These IKEA curtains were perfect and on sale for $4! I wish there were more. I didn't want to hang curtain rods, so I tied them up with twine. Stuffed bird is thrifted, the lamb rattle plushie and is the first official baby toy gift to Elisabeth.

This IKEA crib we bought from a friend. We sanded it down and spray painted it, because I was just *so* desperate for a white crib. Crib linens and that adorable owl are also all thrifted.

Miss Rose. This was two months ago, and she has grown several inches of fluffy hair and a tooth since!

I pulled out my 80's vintage toys! Of course, they weren't vintage when I had them as a kid! Hugga Bunch, Kermit, Miss Piggy (my sister's actually), yellow Honey Bear, white Popple, Ellaroo from the Wuzzles, Pluto, and some other little sentimental ones. The pink and ivory lambs were mine and my sister newborn gifts. (awe). And the little thumb sucking money I got the day my little brother was "born" into our family! (He was adopted from South Korea, so we had a special ceremony.) The white wicker shelf is a garage sale find.

I see you!  That is the corner of our bed and Elisabeth's favorite spot to play. That is where I sit in front of the mirror to do my make-up, and she loves jumping all over me as I struggle to do my eyeliner. Fun times! Now, I simply give her some baby treats in the crib until my eyes are done.

 They loves each others.

 It's always puppet time. Speaking of our old toys, this was my husband's rat puppet as a kid.

 And here is what we usually look like in this room. Sleepy! But having her so close makes it easy to quickly take care of her at night. So that is it. Eventually, I will get around to showing the room in its entirety, after finishing up a few other projects in here.

 

Linked to Everything Etsy's Crafty Girl Linky Party

 

Homefront: A Balloony Birthday

I wanted Caleb to have a little surprise for his 5th birthday when he came home from school, so I made a balloon doorway for him. There were balloons laying around his room so he could play with them, before his brother came home from school. He really had such a blast!

 

 

He is so excited to be a 5 year old big boy!

I have my mom's cake decorating box from when we were kids, so we have a lot of vintage pieces there. These dinosaurs once graced a cake of my brother's when he was a wee kiddo.

Caleb has been asking for a monster truck for years now, and he has gotten lots of cheaper

 remote control cars, but this was the real deal that he tested out when we went to Bass Pro Shops.

 

And of course, no party is complete without balloon popping belly fights! And no pants.

 

Homefront: Valentine's Mantel Decorating

I shopped a 90% off Christmas sale recently and got tons of berry garlands and goodies for next year. So, I thought I would try and use some for my Valentine's mantel. I usually keep them fairly tame, like those from 2011, 2010 and 2009... but I really wanted to throw some pink fluff in this year. 

 

All I bought for this craft was the pink felt heart for $2. Everything else I had around the house, and it became this:

See? All it takes is a little bit of ingenuity, hot glue and random supplies to make something cute. That center heart is just a simple pipe cleaner. You can buy the jewels at craft stores, or order them from me here in silver or an assortment of colors!

This heart I made a few years back was cute, but I wanted to glam it up and pinkify it to match my other heart. I used red nail polish on the black outer edge and pink glitter.

 She's all new and pretty in pink.

 

Yes, my IKEA Expedit bookcase makes a perfect "mantel" for decorating, since I no longer have a fireplace. Hmmm... do you think I should have added more pink or red? (My husband firmly declares, "No.", though men can still like pink.) What is your color of choice for Valentine's Day?

 Here, I used simple flower vases with Valentine's socks pulled over them.

My shabby green candelabra I painted a few years is still going strong, and getting more shabby chic by the year. She has lost some prisms, so I have to do some replacing.

This is a vintage letter/napkin holder I got for .50 cents at a garage sale. I gussied her up with some ivory paint, than dry brushed her with a pinky red, (my tutorial here). Actually, I may have made the paint a little milky by adding water, but basically the same technique.

 Love this print, by The Black Apple.