{ Ms. Sassypant's Room }

I'm not sure how to start. I've talked about Ms. Sassypant's room for far too long & now I'm finally going to show it to you. Like I said in the last post, I was hesitating to post about it because I wanted it to be completely finished. But, my mom's right...so, here we go...a work in progress.

Remember that Anna Maria Horner fabric I talked about way back when? It was a bit expensive so, I only bought a yard & a half of it. I wasn't sure what to do with it. I thought I would just make a pillow until that wonderful blog, whatever, posted about her play room & I found the perfect curtains! I ended up having the perfect amount of fabric for them.
I pretty much copied her curtains exactly. I love the top stitching & the raw edges. It sure makes it a quick & easy sewing project. They are made from the $2.50 flat sheets from Walmart just as whatever suggested.
And the fabric piece on the bottom is pleated. Cute, huh? That whatever gal sure is a creative girly.
I was talking to my mom a few days ago about how I could not find the right nightstand for Sassy's room. Her bed is so tall I just wasn't having luck finding anything. Then my mom had the fabulous idea of using shelves.
Yay, Mom! As soon as I hung up the phone I ran to Lowe's & bought these 2 white shelves for $15 each. And a bonus...they are super easy to vacuum underneath. I couldn't fit the vacuum between the legs of her old one & it drove me crazy!
Her duvet cover came from Anthropologie. Still working on what to do with the pillows. I like to make it easy for my kids to make their beds. I figure less pillows means more of a chance they will actually make it. I just bought the tin heart above her bed {$9 at a store in Utah} & stuck it up there. I can't figure out what to do above the bed. Maybe the heart is fine but, it seems too small. Yes? No? I would love some suggestions for that & the pillows.
I had the hardest time getting pictures of the full curtains. They kept turning out so dark. There's one more panel on the left. I hung the white wooden rod on those things you use to hang a rod in the closet {I'm not sure what they're called} at either end. She didn't have enough room between the window & wall for finials.
Here's the other side of the room. There are two bulletin boards on each side of the dry erase board. I covered the cork board with black & white polka-dot fabric. The dresser & bed were garage sale finds from way back when that I painted white.

I made these two A's. The bigger one I made just today along with the butterfly picture on the other shelf. I'm going to post more about those later.
Well, there you go. It's been fun because Sassy loves it every time I add something new. She, especially, loves the curtains. I would love it if you had any ideas or suggestions that you could share.

{ One of My Projects }

Well, by not showing you my sewing projects for so long, I'm afraid that it is going to be a huge let down now that I'm finally getting around it. But, here we go... I really wanted to try making these adorable shirts that one of my favorite blogs, whatever, featured. She has really fun ideas & I couldn't resist trying out some of them. Here's my attempt...

What d'ya' think? It was so much fun & the girls love them! I'm sure I will be doing more of these. The idea for the curtains I made for Ms. Sassypants room also came from the same blog. I haven't wanted to show you her room because it isn't completely finished yet. My mom keeps telling me to just blog it already. I know she's right so I will try my darn hardest to show you the work in progress tomorrow.

Also, I thought I'd show you a few close-ups of my son's room. Just a few ideas. When it came to hanging his favorite posters I decided to do something a little different. See the Return of the Jedi poster? I bought a cheap, plastic poster frame, threw the black plastic frame parts out, drilled a hole through the Plexiglas & the cardboard that came with it on all four corners, & screwed it straight to the wall with nuts & screws.

Here's a closer picture below. I tried to find some good size screws so it would look a bit industrial.

His headboard, obviously, is a chain link fence gate. Super cheap from Lowe's.

I just set it on the bed frame & pushed the mattresses up tight against it. I did put some little chair pads on the backside where it makes contact with the wall so it wouldn't scratch it all up.

And here are a few tricks that I'm sure everyone is already wise to. I didn't want to use a bedskirt in his room so I covered up the box spring with a fitted sheet to make it look a little nicer.

And lastly, don't want to see that ugly pillow inside the pillowcase? Use two. Just put each pillowcase on the opposite way of each other. That's all folks. Let's talk more tomorrow. :)

{ MORE Organizing & Ashley's Blog }

So I totally meant to show you at least one of my sewing projects today but the kids didn't have school & I wrangled my son into cleaning out his room. Yikes! It is something I have been putting off for quite some time because it was scary in there! My son likes to save stuff. You know...like pens that he's taken apart, nuts & bolts he finds in the gutter, little people he's made out of twisty ties. He's 13, by the way. Usually, I clean his room while he's at school so he doesn't see what I throw away. It sounds mean, I know, but dog-gone-it he never misses the stuff I throw out. But today I wanted to get rid of some things that I felt I needed his permission so he go to help. And, actually, he was really good about it. We, also, ran to Target & bought him a much needed sheet set & coverlet. He decided that we needed to rearrange his room too. It felt great to get into all those corners & dust & vacuum everything out. Here it is after hours of hard work.

I try to let him do kind of what he wants in there as far as posters & such. We got rid of a lot of the posters today but, I'm sure there will be more as time goes by. But for now...ahh...so clean!

Hey! I also wanted to tell you about a fellow blogging friend of mine. Ashley from Domestic Fashionista has a way cute blog & has just opened up a way cute etsy shop.

She is so creative! In fact, here are a few of the things from her blog that she's made for Valentine's Day...

Fabulous ideas, right? Her blog is full of them & she's having a giveaway to win something from her new etsy shop. So go on over & check it out & tell her I said, "hi"!

{ I'm Back }

Okay, so I thought about blogging while I was away but, I was just too busy sewing & having fun with my family. I never could find the time to do it. But, I'm home & I can't wait to show you the things I worked on. But, before I show you my projects, I want to show you a project that my sisters, Canary & Ape, worked on.

We set up two long tables & turned my mom's family room into a sewing "sweat shop" {that's what my dad called it} for the week. My sister Ape came over one day & helped slipcover a chair for Canary. Here is the thrift store find before...

And here it is after my sisters worked their magic...

Wow, huh? They made the slipcover out of a white, quilted fabric & then painted the legs black...

Later, Canary decided to play around with my mom's sewing machine & stitched this bird {traced from the Anna Maria Horner fabric I used for Ms. Sassypants room} onto the bright pink polka dot fabric. Then she sewed it onto the black & white polka dot fabric & made it into a pillow. SEW cute!

It's always the most fun when you create as you go, don't you think? I can't wait to share my projects with you next week! Have a great weekend!

{ Organizing & Giveaway }

I've been really slacking lately with my posts! I've been busy trying to catch up on all my household duties, which is leading me into an organizing frenzy! Help! I can't stop! :)

Thrifty Decor Chick is having an Organize & Declutter party so, it sounds like I'm not alone in my frenzy.

I am also getting ready to leave town this Friday. I am going to visit my family in Utah for a week! I am so excited! I'm taking some sewing projects with me. My mom is always such a huge help with our projects. But, I'm mostly looking forward to hanging out with my family.

Also, I wanted to let you know that Kasey over at Lola B's is having a fabulous giveaway!

Kasey is so sweet & her blog is great. She inspires me to make my home beautiful. She also has a really fun online shop called Lola B's Boutique. She is offering a choice of prizes. The first is a surprise package of fabulous items from her shop {$150 value} or her design services, meaning a full room styling package {$200 value}. Go to Lola B's blog to find out more.

Now I must head over to Kasey's blog so I can enter the giveaway myself and hopefully win! Oh, and I hope to keep you posted on my sewing projects next week. I'm planning on curtains for Ms. Sassypants room & curtains for the little girls' room, some skirts, applique shirts & if I get all that done...it will be a miracle.

{ Celebrate }

Well, I told you I wouldn't get this banner finished until the next birthday. Boo turned 3 today!Good thing for those deadlines. This one was made from the same pattern as the Halloween banner I made back in October. We actually celebrated Boo's birthday last night so, I didn't have time to add any extra ribbon. Maybe by the next birthday. :)

I looked all over blogland to see if I could find the person with this idea & couldn't find it. I would love to give her credit, cuz heaven knows, I wouldn't have thought of this myself. Aren't they hilarious? Boo kept pointing at each one & saying, "Me...me...me...me..."

I couldn't resist making a party hat to match. I have never made one before but, it was easier than I thought. The family was on their way over so I scrambled to find stuff around the house to add to it, which was mint green tissue paper & mint green checked ribbon. It took about 5 minutes. She loved it & it cracked me up with it's tall pointiness.

Happy Birthday, Boo!

{ ENJOY }

Geesh. I didn't really mean to go this long without posting but, our nice relaxing Christmas break has turned out to be very busy. Fun, but busy. Happy New Year! We had a nice quiet night here at home. We played games, watched movies & ate junk food. I wanted to make it a little bit special for our kids so, I found this cute idea on the Joys of Home blog. She decorates a tree for New Years. What? A theme tree? I'm all over that.

I found this little white tree at Walmart, on sale for $4.44 & I got the silver disco ball & star ornmaments for $3 at Target. Gotta' love those after Christmas bargains.

I grabbed a package of Happy New Year horns & hats to add to the tree.

It's a little boring on it's own so, we added color on the dinner table. I will have fun looking for a few more things to add to the tree next year but, it turned out very fun & it cost only about $16 for everything on the table. And the kids LOVED it which, is the best part.

So, now I've just got to finish writing my goals down for 2009. I recently discovered a fun blog called { A } & she talks about choosing a word for the year. I loved the idea & have been thinking about it for the past couple of weeks. I've finally decided that the word for me for 2009 is...ENJOY! Being a mother of four, sometimes in the every day life of motherhood I forget to slow down & notice the little things that will pass by me too quickly. You know..."Don't cry over spilled milk.", "Don't get caught up in the thick of thin things.", "Live in the now." I am looking forward to enjoying 2009. Oh yah, and excercising more, getting more organized, finishing that list of crafts I've wanted to do and... :)