Sewing Cabinet

I found a sewing cabinet at our Goodwill and had to have it. I have seen so many sewing cabinet projects lately I really wanted to do my own! And of course turquoise furniture seems to be all the rave right now... I wanted it turquoise. I went to Home Depot and looked around and couldn't decide on a turquoise color. I thought the one I liked might be a little too dark. So I opted for the lighter version I liked. Well I mean I like the way it turned out but I probably should have gone with my first choice... Oh well!
Now they all say on here you need a piece of statement furniture.... so this will be in our family room. after we paint the walls. (Right now they are green) and i don't think this will look very well. but we are thinking of painting it a cream color... or maybe a light grey. anyways. we will figure that out later.
we haven't decided what we will be using this for exactly. either just storage of blankets and other things or we considered putting in some built ins to hold our wine glasses and what not (but then again... Nosey Maddux comes to mind... ha ha) so I will figure it out eventually.

I know its a little bright. But I think its fun and with the right accessories it will end up being a great addition to our family room.
I painted her a deep light teal... and then roughed her up a bit with some sand paper... then added on some stain... whatever I had from a previous project. I did not bother staining the inside.... that was just a pain in the butt... i can tell you... for being an amateur... this piece was insanely difficult and A LOT of hard work.

But anyways. take a look. what do you think????


BEFORE:

AFTER:

any ideas on what I should use this for? or maybe what to use for the top accessories???

I linked up at::::::::::






 

Marshmallow Pops

So this will be Maddux's first Halloween!!!! I am so excited. So excited that I bought him three costumes this year. Luckily one is too big so that will be used for next year!!! Pictures of Halloween costumes will take over my blog in a few days :) 

So at his daycare they had a sign up sheet to bring in some things for their Halloween Party. Which I love... because once he goes to school they no longer allow homemade treats... and it is such a shame!!!!! I loved that when I was a kid. 

So anyways. I decided to make dirt and marshmallow pops. Now everyone knows what dirt is... well most people do. simple chocolate pudding and crushed oreos with some gummy worms in there. Now i wanted to dip the worms in chocolate melts to make the worms look more real. but i forgot to buy chocolate candy melts so oh well.... but i did find little Frankenstein buckets to put them in for each kid. so that was fun. No pictures because the pudding is in my fridge and tomorrow morning I will add the oreos. I doubt very much in the rush of the morning i will take a photo... so use your imagination if you really want to know :)

well anyways. I thought I would share these Marshmallow pops with you... because I just found out about these this summer and they are so insanely easy to make and super cute!!!!!! 

Now if your kid doesn't like marshmallows obviously this would not be a good idea. These have been a hit with my nieces... who love marshmallows and sprinkles so these are perfect for them.

well anyways... here are the directions... ready.... 

you will need:

Marshmallows

candy melts

sprinkles

and lollipop sticks 

(found in the cake sections... at walmart... Michael's.. anywhere... and right next to the colored candy melts usually!)

okay so you melt the candy melts in a microwave safe bowl... usually for no more than 2 minutes... in 30 second intervals to check on them... well you put your marshmallow on your stick... dip it in the melt... (don't worry about it being messy... those sprinkles will cover that right up!) then sprinkle on as many sprinkles as you want. and tada... in less than five minutes you have.... 

you can either display them in containers on a table or wrap them up to give out.

There are a lot of colors of melts you can do... or you can crush up oreos... or nuts or whatever to top these with... Lots of options... and OH so easy and super fast... :) 

and also... cute cute cute!!!!!

Embrace The Camera

Well this week has been crazy busy for me at work... plus with Maddux being sick and teething... well its been a little crazy for us... I did not have time to take a photo this week. Well I probably had time... but i forgot.
But Luckily... Luckily
The other morning I did embrace the camera in a way of speaking.
I was getting ready for work and my husband and son were in the living room watching Mickeys Playhouse... well or so I thought. Instead they sleeping. So i grabbed the camera and quickly captured this moment.

Adorable.... Absolutely Adorable :)

Feel free to join the fun at

Blog Hop: 20 Things about me

I decided today I would join the blog hop at Paisley Passions... Thinking maybe i could get a little more traffic on here... but who knows.

But since a bunch of people who have no idea who I am will see this...

i figured I would tell you a few things about me. well 20 things.

1. I am new to Motherhood. My son is 10 months old... and everyone says oh they grow up so fast... and well they do. Its so sad. Well its exciting and sad all at the same time. I go back and forth with my feelings on it.. as i am sure so do the rest of the moms out there. I don't pretend to be a perfect mom. i am as far from perfect as they come. But I do my best.. and i love that little boy unconditionally. and really that's as perfect as i ever will get. there will be days when i want to cry... but there will be days i will cry out of complete happiness. I figure it will be a roller coaster ... and well I am happy to enjoy the ride. I do however... hope that somehow i gain more patience. Not just motherhood but with life in general. Because I could really use some of that. 
But anyways....
This little man just takes up my whole life now. I cant remember life before him. its weird how that little person can just completely consume you. Its an amazing feeling... like nothing else being a mom. I take 10000000000 pictures of my son and love to post them for Family and Friends to see...  I am always in such awe over every new thing he does.
But now I have realized I am the crazy woman who talks to her son non stop while shopping. I will hold stuff up and say well what do you think... does this lamp match the curtains... and I am sure people without children think i am nuts. well i know they do. i was that judging person thinking that woman is crazy.... :)

2. My husband is the funniest person I have ever known. No matter what he can always make me laugh. which is the best quality I say I could have found in a partner. Because we will go thru so much in our lives together... good.. bad... really good... really bad... but in 50 years and I am still laughing. well that sounds perfect to me.

3. My family means everything to me. and i mean everything. I am insanely family oriented. and really would prefer a day hanging out with them more than anything else. I have five beautiful nieces. and i mean it absolutely beautiful. Our family is the opposite of perfect... and man do we pick at each other and get annoyed with each other. but at the end of the day those are the people that matter. and will always matter. I know that... and i am lucky enough where they realize that also.

3. I have a dog named Nala. She was our first child. and I actually have her listed under children on my facebook page which seems to confuse people. but this dog... she isn't just a dog. she is part of the family... She is an amazing dog. I am not quite sure how she turned out so good. I guess I have to give credit to my roommates in college... well mainly Rob. I am pretty sure he has a lot to do with how great she turned out. Thanks Rob :)

4. I am unnecessarily shy and awkward with people I don't really know. Its something my mom tried to correct my entire life by throwing me into dance... softball... pageants... anything. to help me get over it. well I can tell you that being on stage didn't bother me... playing softball... didn't bother me... but still had to take speech twice in college because my hands shook so bad and i would end up crying. its weird. its unnecessary. and if i know you i will talk and talk and talk... its ridiculous. but oh well. guess that's the way it will always be. I hate when shyness gets mistaken for snottiness. but well i guess people that get to know me just realize how awkward i am.

5. I didn't go to my high school reunion. I am quick at letting people out of my life. i don't hang on to anything... and once its done... well i don't see the point in returning i guess. and this goes for everything. I think everyone has a rough time in high school. and for me. its not holding a grudge but i wasn't too sure i wanted to surround myself with people that make me feel awkward and it just brings back bad memories. I mean I can tell you I am friends .. i mean really friends with less than five people from my high school. so.. anyways ... my point being... i tend to let people leave my life easily. There are some i do not though. i have a death grip on some people (Lauren).

This is not a great quality. but well its one that i do have.

6. I went to college for 7 years and I am not a doctor. More like i wasted a lot of my own money trying to figure out what i wanted to do and more importantly who i was. I don't really regrett this. i regret that student loan payment... but that's it. I ended up having to transfer to eastern... and really went thru ummm 3 7 majors... then figured it out.. and between ISU and EIU i met an amazing group of friends that I cant imagine my life without. and I met my husband... so really i have no complaints. well except that student loan payment. which I will be paying off until well until Maddux probably starts college... wow

7. I love soda.. and coffee. I am a complete caffeine junkie. its almost disgusting. almost. and i should add that i put 3 creams... and 8 packs of sugar in my coffee... now i have you grossed out don't i?

8. I love watching movies... a lot. but after having Maddux this doesn't happen. and if it does i fall asleep in the middle of it. or i get antsy and decide to start a new project. weird how much i have changed. but really that's my only time to do anything anymore is from 8pm on. so its a race of unfinished projects after bedtime. man i miss sleeping. i really do. part of me cant wait til hes a teenager and i am screaming at him to get up because its already past noon.

9. If i won the lottery i think i would take some classes to show me how to correctly use my camera. because i don't use it correctly at all. but would love the time to learn how. but i probably need to play the lottery... hmmm.

10. I am easily annoyed with people who want to tell me how great they are, thin they are, smart they are, or how much money they have. sorry to bring up a negative comment... but this is probably one of my biggest annoyances. you will never ever ever here me say these things... i am the exact opposite if someone compliments me i almost feel the need to tell them something bad about myself... because i don't know. its weird. but anyhow... onto the next one.

11. I am hoping to take on a more old fashioned way of parenting. I think a lot of the values we learned... or our parents learned... or grandparents have been lost in the generations. Some of the new ways of parenting are good. but i am hoping that i can be strict enough to instill some of the old fashioned values upon my children. For example I believe no tv at dinner... i believe in making forts in the living room... i believe weekends are meant to spend with my kids becuase i work all week. I dont want to get into too much controversey on this issue... but for the most part i think the way my grandparents/parents did it.... thats the way i will prefer to do it :) 

12. I go to a Lutheran Church... we go quite a bit. but would say we should go more. However Maddux doesn't always like the playroom and its hard to get him to sit thru service. so i am guilty of skipping it because its easier on me...  Once our schedules slow down and Jerry is home more on the weekends this will get easier :) so hopefully we can attend more.

13. I hate that i can buy my son a 50 dollar toy with no problem. but i sit there with a 12 dollar shirt at target and debate and decide... well i just don't need it... weird how that happens.

14. i have not been tanning in almost 2 years. however. i think i might go again. being pale is not fun. not for me. and it bothers me in every picture lately.

15. I just took a new job... and even though it was insanely scary. i am reassured that this was the best decision for me. and that makes me really happy. big decisions... i am not good with.. but this decision well looks like I did a good job.

16. My favorite color is Green. and my husband still doesn't know this. if you would ask him.. he would swear to you it was pink. i believe it was pink the first year we met and even though i have hinted that I'm really not into pink anymore.. well lets just say... my Christmas is usually the color pink. pink everything. but he means well.

husbands just don't always pay attention.

17. a lot of people think i am crazy for how much thought I am putting into my sons birthday party. its his first its a big big deal people!!! and people will say you know... you are going to have to keep doing parties like this for him if you do this one that way. well DUH. of course. that's the plan. I understand that people don't get all excited about this kind of stuff. but i do. i love it. i cant wait.... and think i am crazy think what you want. this makes me happy. let it be.... I am a little obsessive I know... but oh well :)

18. three of my favorite places to go on Saturday - Starbucks, Target, and the Goodwill.

19. I am new to DIY projects. but I think I am getting better. and I just bought a Silhouette machine. I keep forgetting to buy transfer paper... so one day i will get it. but anyhow. I love getting ideas from other blogs and trying them out myself.  I love how ambitious these other mothers are and its truly inspiring!

20. I love Fall and Winter. my two favorite seasons. I am not all about summer... which people are probably gasping at right now. But I love the cold.. I love the holidays. when i think fall and winter... i think being surrounded by family... and Christmas lights... everywhere... and hot chocolate... mmmm so excited the holiday season is approaching.

Thanks for reading :)



Playroom Wall Art

So a few weeks ago I got a silhouette but I have been so busy I haven't had a chance to really play with it yet.... but tonight I finally got to start and mess with a project using it :)

Well anyways ...

For Christmas this year we decided we are going to put together a playroom for Maddux. We are going to give him a few presents to unwrap. But I think for him walking into a room full of toys will be way more awesome than unwrapping. So We have been brainstorming some ideas off of one another to figure out what we are doing. We have decided on bright fun colors... we are going to give a hand at painting some stripes on the walls... building our own book shelves and I have been looking online for some inspiration for wall art for his playroom.

Well tonight I decided to give one project I had in mind a try. I have seen people make these button trees for a while now and I am just in love with these... and i wish i could find where the one i saw that added GROW onto hers... which i LOVED. but I am pretty sure she linked up to a party somewhere... and I cant seem to find her again :(
So i decided I would make my own.

Which meant I got to play with my silhouette... So i cut out a bare tree from the silhouette some birds... a boy swinging and the word grow.

and ended up with this...

Embrace The Camera/ Sick lil Man

Last night Maddux woke up in the middle of the night screaming.... not once... twice... but five times.  Poor baby had such a hard time falling back to sleep and then when he finally did it was for at the most an hour. I knew something had to be wrong, since I started a new job I couldn't take off of work to be with him. Luckily I have an amazing husband and he took off from school (hes a teacher) early to take our baby to the doctor. And sure enough lil man has an ear infection. Hes a little over ten months old and this is our first experience with ear infections. I can tell you I am not at all a fan. Not at all!

So today when I got home from work... this is how we spent our night together... cuddled up doing everything I can do to make my monkey butt feel better.

Poor baby.....

briefly feeling better....

back to wanting to cuddle

walking the floors....

and back to cuddling....

Everyone send some love to my lil man to start feeling better quick.  This is the worst part of being a mommy.... him hurting and nothing I can do to fix it.  Tonight was more of him embracing the camera for me... but here's an honest post... both of us exhausted .... and feeling terrible.

Wicker Furniture

So we had a breakthrough moment this weekend. Maddux is standing :) It is awesome!!! He has been letting go for a while and standing a little bit. but now... its a real little person that just stands up in the middle of the living room and applauds himself for being so big. Its adorable... He will just stand there and clap like "look at me mom!!!!"
I cant believe he is already getting so big.... Time goes by so fast.

Speaking of which. I plan on next year spending a lot more time outside. he will be big enough to run around and such and play on his little tiny tot swing set and such. So I decided I should start thinking about our outdoor patio.

well I saw on
http://jessicaleighblog.blogspot.com/
That she took wicker furniture painted it a fun color and added accents and it was absolutely adorable. So i was on a hunt for some wicker furniture to try her idea :)  So i finally found some. well i didnt but a woman i knew found it and sent me the link on CraigsList. Thanks Patti!!!! :)
So I know its the end of the season... and its not finished yet but its adorable so I thought I would share. Before looking at it though I plan on getting some little side tables and painting them bright orange to tie them all together and some other decorative accents and of course some flowers next spring. but here are the photos now. I plan on adding hopefully some outdoor lanterns and such :)

Heres the before photo without the loveseat because i didnt feel like dragging it out of the garage to take the photo. and Yes i took this at night but I was getting ready to paint it when I realized I should take a 'Before" photo!

 And here is after I painted and put new cushion covers on :)

I like the teal and orange :) Cant wait to put it all out next spring!!!!!!!!!
But now its going in storage for winter!!!!!!













                          

Chair Leg Candle Holders!

I have seen several people on line make candle holders out of Chair legs, Table Legs, Lamps... etc.
So i decided to give it a try. I went to Home Depot and grabbed two Chair legs for about 5 bucks a piece... cut them down a little bit... sanded them painted them...then sanded them.
this was actually pretty easy... and I am always looking for candle holders. I really want to try some longer ones soon that i can put next to my fireplace :)

Heres some pics...

Linked up at::::

http://tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com/2010/10/weekend-wrap-up-and-shadowcase-giveaway.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FOivM+%28Tatertots+and+Jello%29

Centerpieces, Cupcake Stand, Yoda and Etc :)

Okay so these are the greatest pictures... but its late... and i was in a rush so bear with me. I tried to spiffy them up a little... but well i will get better pictures the day of the party.

so i have been wanting some tiered serving platters for the dessert table...and at the dollar store i kept playing around with plates and candlesticks... and well they happened to have tin platters which i decided would work. I spray painted the plates yellow and the candlesticks red... If anyone does try this. i would suggest leaving the plates silver and just painting the candlesticks... the spray paint did not work well on these. maybe there is a better kind. but hey this works for what i need :)

I have been thinking about purchasing a cupcake stand for a while now... but this weekend I was looking at my empty boxes and came up with a plan.  I decided this would work for what i need. the top tier will hold Maddux's smash cake. and then i will place cupcakes on the middle tier and then also around the bottom... so it will work like three tiers... for it being free... i just used a bunch of stuff I had around here... it turned out pretty good :) So if you are in need of a cupcake stand I would say save forty bucks and decorate some boxes... :)

and centerpieces... these i took in a rush. I am making these for each month... I filled popcorn boxes with a photo of maddux during that month, some dollar store circus figurines, tickets, pinwheel, and some circus items attached to doll rods.  These are adorable and these pictures really dont show it...

and on a side note... i went into the GW on a limb the other week.. and ran across an almost new yoda costume :) So now Maddux has a costume for his daycare Halloween Party and one for trick or treating... Heres a preview of our little Yoda :)