Craft Favorites Friday RETURNS!

I haven't had as much time to cull through blogs for ideas as I'd hoped. But here are a few ideas that are super cute (and look simple enough to complete for Easter)! :)

1. Easter Egg Wreath

I love how my Christmas ornament wreath turned out. This is a similar idea from Frills, Fluff, and Trucks. Oh that I would make a wreath for each holiday. :) Once again, the main ingredient (plastic eggs) is from Dollar Tree! But you can find those eggs pretty cheap anywhere, especially if you are willing to forgo the wreath this year and buy them on clearance after Easter! I have a door hanging similar to this that is a cross covered in eggs. You could fashion styrofoam blocks into a cross and make something similar. So many possibilities!

2. Fabric Covered Birds

Since Asa's room with forest themed with an emphasis on all things avian, these little birdies at The Creative Maven immediately caught my eye. What a fun way to use some scraps... and more Dollar Tree materials! Another idea to store away for when we're on the other side of this move! :)

3. Lamb Pillows

L.O.V.E. these. They were originally posted on The Purl Bee, and then MADE went and created a lamb family representing her own family. I must make a daddy, mommy, and baby lamb. Seriously. I love the ruffly edges. I love the ears. I love the simple face. 5 thumbs up from me! :)

4. Bunny Finger Puppets

The Purl Bee doesn't stop! These felt bunny finger puppets are adorable too. Asa loves puppets... I might have to scout out some felt! I really like how the white felt is paired with another bright, springy color. Perfection with ears (and a cotton tail).

Personalized and Holiday Onesie

When Valentine's Day was approaching I wanted to make a special Valentine's outfit for Asa. His G-Pa and G-Ma sent us an outfit for the actual day, but I wanted something for Saturday as well. And I hadn't made him any clothes in awhile.

I decided to make him an "A" shirt that would work for Valentine's Day and still be wearable at other times. I had the idea to cut an A out of red fabric and cut a heart out of the top for the "hole."

I sorted through several red fabrics and settled on red with white polka dots. I ironed steam a seam to my little swatch of fabric, drew my A on the back (hooray for mirror-image letters!), and cut it out. Finishing the onesie was as simple as placing the A on my onesie and ironing it in place. I plan to go back and sew the edges of the applique to help it last as long as possible, but it's just fine without any sewing as well.

I wanted to share because this is such a simple, easy way to make something special, themed, or personalized, and you do not even have to sew to do it! I had not used steam a seam until recently, and now I am finding SO many uses for it! I am a fan!

Craft Favorites Friday: Completed Projects

For a slightly different spin on Craft Favorites Friday, I decided to post about a few projects that are complete or almost complete around our house. :)

1. Laundry Room sign

I saw this cute laundry room pun on a blog awhile back and thought I would love to make one for my home. I LOVE fun puns. It stayed on my list of "craft ideas" for several months. But I decided January was THE month. I bought the piece of wood at Michael's and already had the craft paint. I played around with different fonts on my computer and used them as a guide. My favorite part may have been drilling the holes for the ribbon. I love power tool projects. :) [I was so excited when Matt received a drill at one of our wedding showers!] In no time at all, the sign was ready to hang. I'm not certain I will leave the ribbon the way it is, but I like it for now. :)

2. Guest Room Headboard

We have a double bed in our guest room without a headboard. I knew I wanted something as flush with the wall as possible to maximize floor space around the bed. I thought I would keep an eye out for a simple iron scroll headboard or something. But in the back of my mind I wondered about making a headboard or faux headboard. I saved pictures here and there I found online of faux headboards, but the idea of using fabric always stuck with me (imagine that!). While my mom was hear visiting last weekend, we stopped at JoAnn's, pillow sham in hand in order to match colors. I looked at some stripes, but the quilt on the bed is striped. I considered polka dots, but they didn't lend a grown up feel to the guest room, happy though polka dots may be. Then we came across a pattern that had the perfect colors and would compliment the quilt. I couldn't believe it! They had just enough yardage on the bolt to cover the 6 canvases I had bought weeks earlier MAJORLY discounted and even have enough left over for pillow to go on the bed. :) For this project, I got to use another tool! The staple gun was perfect for covering the canvases. I even learned how to reload the staple gun. :) All the canvases are covered now and just waiting for a time Matt is home when Asa is also awake long enough for us to hang them (the wall they will go on is a shared wall with Asa's room). I'll post an updated picture when they are actually in place.

3. Valentine's Decor

I had these beads in this hurricane for the Christmas season. When I was packing up Christmas decorations, I decided to leave the beads out for Valentine's Day. I think they add a sweet, catchy splash of color to the den. :)

4. Asa's photos

We recently got to pick up Asa's most recent portraits. Our "first year" package with the photographer includes an 8x10 from each session. We are slowly building a collage of sorts in the hallway. I hung the photo from his last shoot this past week. I love seeing his bright, shining face grinning at me as I walk down the hall. And I marvel how that little baby boy has already turned into the 7 month old Asa. Time is flying.

5. Christmas Cards

In my parents' home, my mom always did one of two things with Christmas cards. She either taped them to the inside of the front door in a cross pattern or she hung them from ribbon off the stairs. When we moved into our home, I looked around wondering where I would display our Christmas cards. I considered and tried a couple of different things, but I settled on covering our laundry room door. We are in the kitchen all the time, so we get to see the cards all the time. :) It is a fun treat to see our family and friends smiling at us while we cook, eat, and play. I am especially excited to start a new tradition I have heard about from several families. When we take our pictures down (very soon, it just makes the door look so bare when they come down), we will be placing them in a basket. Each night before dinner, we will draw a card from the basket and pray for that family. We can keep cycling through them as the year progresses. I am so excited to start this with Matt and Asa!!

6. Silly Sammy Sign

We have a sweet dog, Samantha, who is a 3 year old mutt (Rhodesian/lab mix) and very much a "people puppy." She LOOOOVES her people. She has transitioned to life with Asa amazingly well. One thing she does NOT do well is keep her tongue to herself. She is rather notorious for this (we always work on it and it improves during the summer.... then everyone's legs and feet are covered during the winter and we retrain all over again in the spring when skin comes out of hiding ready to be licked), as evidenced by the hilarious sign my parents gave Matt for Christmas. It now hangs over our back door (the door we use to let Sammy out into the backyard). It cracks me up. :) And it's true. So very true.

Christmas Presents

I only made one set of crafty presents this year, but I am BEYOND thrilled with how they turned out!

I had seen some scripture dolls online, and I thought they were something I could make--and would enjoy doing so.

First I tried drawing my own pattern. I posted about that attempt. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't exactly pretty either. ;)

I ended up using The Black Apple doll pattern, and it worked beautifully! Without further ado, here are the dolls I made for my niece and nephew--the scriptures were chosen by their mom. :)

I can't wait to make more! I already have the materials to make one for Asa, so stay tuned! :)

Lighting the Advent Candle

On Friday Matt informed me that our pastor asked us to light the Advent candle this week. What a sweet thing to get to do as a family during Asa's first Advent season!

On a very unspiritual level, I wanted something special for Asa to wear. We have an outfit for Christmas all picked out and ready to go. But I didn't want him to wear his Christmas sleeper for church today. I have been wanting to try to make him a jon jon/shortall. He has some cute ones, and I think they are oh-so-sweet on little baby boys. Whenever I have looked for a pattern for that type of outfit I have only seen patterns for bigger boys (toddlers), never for infants. After making a decent enough pair of pants by tracing a well-fitting pair he has, I thought I could probably piece a jon jon together by tracing the one he has that I like.

And so I set off to make a Christmas jon jon sans pattern! Ha! I was afraid I might have bit off more than I could chew (as I started sewing Saturday morning). BUT, I spent many feedings thinking through each step and picturing it all in my head. I found some sweet, rich, jewel-y green thin wale corduroy to go with some Christmas tree cotton I had (for a little insert, like if it were smocked across the chest). And miracle of miracles, Asa napped well enough on Saturday for me to trace his short summery jon jon and turn it into a pattern for a long, Christmasy jon jon.

I only had one major mistake where I initially sewed the legs together instead of stopping at the inseam. Other than that, it went really well! I even got the rise correct, which is what I usually have trouble with if I'm not using a "real" pattern!

There are a few things I would change, of course, like I accidentally cut the top piece of corduroy with the weave horizontal, but it is vertical for all the other pieces (didn't realize I made that mistake until it was all done). But it doesn't look bad. I would make the straps thinner also. But I tend to overestimate seam allowances and such when sketching my own patterns. I was SO excited to go look for cute buttons, too. I was hoping for Christmas tree buttons, but the only even wintery thing I could find was some snowmen. The colors kind of clash, but I can always switch out the buttons if I find some great trees.

Without further ado, here is my creation!

I think Asa will wear this again for our Christmas Eve service. :)

My Ornament Wreath

Here is my version of the ornament wreath in my last post. It was super easy to make, and I love the mix of metallic, matte, and glittery ornaments. :) It cost me about $10 or so in boxes of dollar store ornaments (Dollar Tree, to be specific). I want to go through my stash and find some wider ribbon for the bow, but I'm very pleased with how the wreath turned out. I give the project two thumbs up!

Happy Thanksgiving edition of Craft Favorites Friday

I hope your Thanksgiving celebration was a sweet time with family and friends to truly realize the BOUNTY of God's blessings in your life.

This will be short and sweet, but here you go... :)

Christmas Ornament Wreath

Get your house ready for Christmas with this ornament wreath tutorial from Eddie Ross. I am in the midst of creating one on my own, Dollar Store ornaments and all. :) It's very simple and so far is turning out quite lovely and sparkly. And CERTAINLY more affordable than the ones you can buy in a store. :)

Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more Christmasy crafts. :)

The Latest

Thanks for the prod to update, Ruthie. I've clicked on my blog page a couple of times, but I've often been too tired to know what to think!

Then I read that I last posted we would have our ultrasound in 28 days.... we now have less than a week to wait! So, yes, an update is long overdue. :)

We had a wonderful Christmas with both of our families. We left the week of Christmas for South Carolina to see Matt's family, including our 4 month old niece. It was really sweet to be there for her first Christmas. :) Matt got to go hunting one morning with his dad, although it rained the entire time. They really enjoyed laughing and joking around like old times since the rain meant they didn't have to worry about being too quiet--the wildest wildlife they saw was a squirrel. :) We got to visit with Tyson and some other friends as well. It's always fun to see them and get further glimpses into the 20+ years of Matt before I ever knew him. :)

The Sunday after Christmas we packed up and drove to TN to spend the next week with my family. One brother's family stayed in town and the other got back before we left, so it was really nice to see *everyone.* We had been on a kind of opposite schedule with my one brother's family as far as staying in TN/traveling for Christmas. We both traveled to in-laws' homes for Christmas but were back for New Year's. I'm really glad that worked out. :) I also got to have lunch with friends from my first college Bible study, catch up with friends from my college program, play some Catan (I won!!!) and Ticket to Ride, and finally get to see my sweet friend (who was a bridesmaid in our wedding) who is expecting exactly 2 weeks after we are. :) Most of all, I SOAKED up family time! Some of the family even came with us to Babies R Us to help us begin our baby registry. It doesn't have any gender-specific items on it yet, but we gladly took their advice on the big/gender-neutral stuff! How amazing to have a baby registry?!?

We got back to FL January 2nd. We had the weekend to unpack and settle back in before heading back to work. And since then, we've been settling back into work! :) My class is doing really well. I am really enjoying them (how could I not??), and I even got the "other" big talk out of the way with my principals, letting them know I won't be back next year and will take about the last month of school off this year. My due date is one day after school gets out--even though I think they planned for me to teach to the very end because of that, we did not plan for that. ;) They "handled" the news well. Their only request was that I share the news of me not returning with the parents in my class who have siblings coming up next year and are already asking the administration how early they can request me for next year. I got that done, too, and received a very sweet and thoughtful reply. It's SUCH a blessing to have such supportive parents of my students!

We have been at work some around the house. The wallpaper border backing that previously "graced" the nursery walls is now gone (thanks, honey!). I've started some cleaning out and organizing. And I am enjoying some new things. I received a bread maker for Christmas, and I am really excited to be using it! If you have some great bread maker recipes--bread, dough, etc.--I would LOVE to know about them!!

Baby K is kicking away. Last week the fequency and force of kicking increased a TON. Get this.... Matt even felt the baby kick!! I was only 18 weeks! His eyes got HUGE and he grinned from ear to ear. :) He talks to the baby frequently, as do my students. :) In fact, today they were rather excited about paper lanterns they were making, and as the volume of their little voices got a little louder than usual, the baby started kicking like crazy. :) It was fun to tell them, "The baby can hear you! Baby K is listening!" They they all apologized to the baby for being too loud! :) They are SUCH a sweet class, and they are DESPERATE to know if the baby is a boy or a girl. :)

Well, I suppose that is about all for now. I have been so depleted of energy, I have not been a good crafter. I finally decided I need to figure out how to make do without my energy (everyone said it would be back by week 16... it must have gone south for the winter), so maybe I'll get back in gear. :) I know I have sewing I want to do if/after we find out just who this little one is on Monday! I will be sure to update then, so check back next week for, Lord willing, the big announcement! Most of all though, we're praying for a healthy baby. :)

Blessings,
Becca

The tree isn't all that's decked out...

A few more decorations around the house... be sure you scroll to the end! :)

Christmas around the house....

I decided to try something new this year, and I'm taping Christmas pictures and cards to the laundry room door. So far I like it. :)

I also moved our little village to a bookshelf in the living room instead of the entryway table (where I have a nativity this year in its place).


Wreaths are up in the front windows!


And the tree, Spike, is all decked out for Christmas! Spike is HUGE, but Matt LOVES him. He still smells GREAT, and he's been drinking LOTS of water still after a week! He's a keeper. :)


Complete with ribbon (Matt wanted to try ribbon this year) and my new crocheted snowflake ornaments (thanks, Dad and Mom!) that even compliment a snowflake design in the ribbon.

Our Newest Project

We are at home in Tennessee this year for Thanksgiving. We haven't been home since July (I know there are many people who haven't been home in longer than that, but it's been a stretch for us)!, and we are just SO glad to be here and surrounded by family!

Not only are we with my parents, but my brothers, their wives, our niece and nephews, my grandmother, an aunt and uncle, and even my sister-in-law's family--the tables were packed! :) Yes, that was tables, plural. :)

We have so much to be thankful for. Truly, I stand amazed looking over the last year especially, and seeing ALL God has done. In easier times and harder times, they have all prepared us for where we are now and where He is taking us. We would go through them all over again.

We've had delightful and fun times, like our spring break trip to Hilton Head. We've had hard times, like thinking my aunt's melanoma was back (it's NOT, praise the LORD!). We've had scary times, like thinking we would be moving earlier this fall. And we've had exciting times, like some of the projects we've been thrilled to see come to fruition.

I have been working on one project--it's really quite the joint venture--for several weeks now. I think it's finally far enough along to tell you a little about it....





We've been working on it for about 12 weeks and it has a heart rate of 145 beats per minute. It will be complete (at least, in this first stage) around June 10, 2009. All its major organs are in place, and we've even had the delight of hearing it kick (though we haven't felt it yet).





We are thrilled, THANKFUL, amazed, HUMBLED, and rejoicing to announce that we are expecting a baby in June! God is SO gracious to us. I'm tearing up just thinking about it right now. Sorry for keeping it under wraps, but we wanted to make it to the end of the first trimester and to hear the heartbeat before we announced it. We are soooo thankful to be telling you! Please pray for this little one's development and for good health for all of us. :)

At our last appointment on Monday, the midwife said everything is going "perfectly." That, along with the 145 swooshing beats per minute, was music to this MOMMA's ears! :)

I will be sure to tell more soon about how we found out and how things are going. And I'm sure I will have sewing projects and questions for you along the way as we prepare for baby K!

Blessings to you and your family,
Becca

Frugal (Almost) Friday

Last night I needed to drop some things off at the post office, which is so conveniently in the same shopping center as Joann's. What's a girl to do?? I wanted to see if they had any Easter decorations left. I hit the jackpot! They had JUST moved everything to the back of the store for their 70% off after-holiday sale. Since it had JUST been moved, it wasn't even picked over!!

I was thrilled to get the following for just over $10 (it should have been over $36)!


I thought the bunny candy jar was adorable with its little crooked smile. :) The two boxes of eggs on the right are paper covered, and I'll use those for hanging from a tree/tree branches. The two boxes of eggs on the left are for a wreath. I have a grapevine wreath I like to change up for the various seasons. They had a really cute Easter wreath with these eggs around it (stuck in with florist wire). I could have bought the wreath for $9 (not bad), but I bought these eggs for about 1/3 of that price, AND I can use the wreath I already have (one less thing to store!). I'm so excited!

Easter Excerpt

Our pastor posted this excerpt on the church blog this week. I found it encouraging in light of the celebration of Jesus' victory and resurrection on Easter tomorrow.

Aslan turned to them and said: "You do not yet look so happy as I mean you to be."

Lucy said, "We're so afraid of being sent away, Aslan. And you have sent us back into our own world so often."

"No fear of that," said Aslan. "Have you not guessed?"

Their hearts leaped and a wild hope rose within them.

"There was a real railway accident," said Aslan softly. "Your father and mother and all of you are—as you used to call it in the Shadowlands—dead. The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning."

And as He spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before. (C. S. Lewis, The Last Battle, New York: Collier Books, pp. 183–84)

Christ has died. Christ is Risen. Christ will come again. Hallelujah!

Valentine's Craftiness

Here are a couple pictures of Valentine's Day craftiness...

Here are the Valentine's card holders my class made. My team mate showed me how to make them--aren't they fun?

And here is a Valentine I made for Matt while hanging out with Trish on Thursday. :) It totally took me back to the days when my oldest brother was in college, and Mom and I would cut all sorts of crazy stuff out of magazines to make silly notes to him. :)

Dear Valentine...

My Valentine...

What is his name? Matt!

How long have you been together? We have been married 2 years and 4 months (the day after Valentine's Day), and we have been together for about 2 additional years before we married (10 months of dating, 1 year of being engaged). :)

How old is he? 27

Who eats more? It depends on what food you're thinking of, we each have our favorites. He is an ice cream fiend. :) I love Chili's chips and salsa.

Who said I love you first? Matt... and then I freaked myself out that I was making my heart that vulnerable, so the poor guy waited a couple months before I said it back. But when I *did* say it back, he KNEW "this was it." :)

Who is taller? I am (!)

Who sings better? We both like to sing along with silly songs in the car. He would probably say I sing bettter, but I like it when Matt sings, too.:)

Who dances better? Neither? hehe

Who is smarter? I could never do Matt's job, and he says he could never do mine. We have marveled over how perfectly our strengths fill in each other's weaknesses.

Who does the laundry? I do.

Who pays the bills? I do (I have more time at home since I get off earlier in the day... and also I took a basic accounting class in high school and am just enough of a nerd that I LOVED it.).

Who sleeps on the right side? Matt

Who cooks dinner? Usually I do, but Matt grills (especially in the summer) to give me a break. :)

Who drives? Usually Matt.

Who is more stubborn? Hmmmmm.... we probably tie there. ;)

Who kissed who first? Matt kissed me (my first ever)

Who proposed? Matt

Who has more friends? Matt has more friends in FL, I might have "more" outside of FL, but you know how girls hang out in groups... and I moved when I was little, meeting a variety of people.

Who has more siblings? I do

Who wears the pants? Matt, and I am thankful for his love and leadership. :)

Christmas Crafting

Joy received the Jesse Tree ornaments I made her for Christmas in the mail today (I gave them to her on Christmas morning lacking the final step--appliqued but not sewn into their final, pillow-like form, and asked for them back (eek!) so I could finish them off). I mailed them on Saturday, and they arrived! Woo hoo! So, now I feel like I can show you the final "product" without giving away the fun of her seeing them first. :)

Here they are...























I actually have a couple more to upload (there are 28 in all), including a couple of my favorites. I love, loved, LOVED working on them. It was so sweet to be able to rehearse the Gospel as I made them and to think of my SWEET sister while I sewed. :) As I was telling someone the other day (because it still blesses and amazes me after growing up with 2 brothers and no sisters), she's known me over half my life. What a gift to me!