bathroom makeover

Here is my new bathroom...for the kids of course! And I was so excited about getting this project done I forgot to take a before picture. Believe me it is SOOOOO much more fun now. When you can't paint(or frankly just don't want too) or can't do what you would really like to do, you buy a very FUN shower curtain and then take a drive to your local teaching supply store for all your amazing sea life wall art, laminate them a little poster puddy and wa-la! A bathroom makeover! I think I love it just as much as the kids do!

Minestroni soup

I have made this minestroni soup..TONS OF TIMES...but this time, it was sooooo heavenly. My husband even said it was one of the best bowls yet! Now I am asking myself what I did different. I just wish you all could have tasted it!
Here is the recipe:
1/2 lb cooked ground beef with minced onion
20 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 can of each drained and rinsed: garbanzo beans, kidney beans and green beans
diced fresh carrots, 1 cup of grated zucchini
some oregano, basil, garlic salt, 2 beef bullion cubes and 1 20 oz can of water(the tomato can) salt and pepper, (you need to season it to taste)
Simmer covered on Medium heat until carrots are cooked. turn off and let it sit...that is the key and don't let it hard boil-that changes the taste. Enjoy!!

Works great in a crock pot or on the stove. I have even made this camping in a dutch oven before.

Bean Bag jelly beans

Here are the bean bags I made for my kids thanks to this great idea from the Purl Bee

http://www.purlbee.com/the-purl-bee/2009/3/17/bag-of-beans.html

With all the felt scraps I had laying around the house along with pounds of beans in food storage these were made up in no time!

Easter Dinner Invitations

Here are some easy and fun invitations that you can make for that dinner or party you will be having.

This is what you will need:

egg template (hand drawn or google it)

double sided scrapbook paper

adhesive

scallop punch

First you will need to trace the egg shape onto the back side of your paper.

Now cut them out.

This is why I used double sided paper so both sides are colorful !

I printed out everyone names onto card stock who will be invited to dinner and punched the names out with my scallop punch.

I also typed out the invitation with date and time and place to fit inside the shape of the egg. I then put my egg template under the paper and traced it's outline so I knew where to cut. I then glued that to the back side of the egg.

And this is how I chose to complete them. I cut off the extra scallop and added a paper flower to the front of the egg.

There you have it, easy and cute invitations for your family and friends!

Happy Easter!

one chic apron...

This is my chic apron that I made for myself using this awesome pattern and instructions. http://lululollylegs.blogspot.com/2007/07/lined-apron-tutorial.html It was so fun that of course I just had to make one for my daughter and I to match. I made mine reversible so I get two aprons out of one and i can spice things up in the kitchen!!

This is my daughters....I added the pom poms for her.

This one is mine! Does it just not scream fun in the kitchen!!

my letter R

A friend and I got together last summer to make something that we could use to display our family name as home decor. Well I loved how mine turned out so I use it on my front door. Go to your local craft store and buy a wooden letter, paint it, use scrapbook paper and any little trinkets you like, ribbon, stamps to spell out your name and mod podge it together and there you have it. Oh and I even used upholstery tacks in the corners for a fun look as well.

Buttercup Purse

Speaking of birthdays, I found this great pattern for a purse and I knew I just had to make one for my daughters birthday and they are the perfect size for any little girl and her mommy to play with. Here is the pattern:http://madebyrae.blogspot.com/2009/02/free-buttercup-bag-sewing-pattern.html It is a great pattern, I made both of these in about an hour.

Happy Birthday!

An upcoming birthday in our house inspired this creation. A banner that will become a tradition to hang up whenever we have someone celebrating a birthday.

It's made out of felt and connected with rick rack. I used some spray adhesive to hook the letters on. I just picked a font on the computer I liked and increased the size before printing them out and then traced onto the felt. Simple and easy and the best part reusable!

Happy Birthday!

The kids room

Here are a few things around the kids room that I have "crafted" or come up with to make it a fun room. There are so many things you can't do when renting but there are So Many things you can do. Take a look around...

decorate plain wooden frames with fabric

decorate a plain clock with fun stickers

Make your own curtains and hang them up using a shower curtain rod. Works great!

Let your babies know who they look like the most by hanging

up a baby picture of their mommy and daddy.

magnets boards are always a fun way to display pictures and you can

change them out or just leave your favorites hanging up.

This is a great way of personalizing any room. And it doesn't matter how high you display them (like this one on top a bookcase) they won't hurt anyone if they so happen to get knocked down.

My kids room is one of the most favorite places in our home. Who wouldn't love a room full of toys, books, stuffed animals and cool decorations like these :)

2009 family journal

No matter how much blogging I do I still enjoy the hand held, tangible things like a good scrapbook. And since I am not a good journal keeper but want to be this is what I did. So with the help of some free, down loadable sheets I came up with my very own "Our nest" 2009 journal scrapbook. Take a look at the source of where I got such a great idea. http://www.kmckaydesigns.com/ This is such a great site!

Toddler Bed cover

For this project I bought 4 yards of fabric for the cover and with the extra scraps I had from other projects I made flowers to decorate the blanket. Not only is it super cute it's also reversible. A super cheap way of dressing up that toddler bed.

Easter garland

Here is my $2 creation thanks to an idea from Martha Stewart. There was no way I had the time to blow out real eggs so I bought plastic ones from Wal-mart and they worked perfect since they already had holes to thread the ribbon through. Add some scrap fabric and there you have it, a nap time creation!