owls: final stage

Today was the final stage in my owl making project. I love doing this! I have never made actual toys before. I am totally hooked now. Let's just say I will not be spending ANY money at a retail store on toys for my kiddo's this year. {crafts 2000, however, yes. I will most definitely need supplies.} My kiddo's can finally get clothes this year for Christmas...I usually have no money to buy clothes after all of the money spent on toys, so now I will be able to buy nice clothes and make the toys. ;) Yay me!

.I think they are quite adorable - if you ask me. :)

"hoot hoot" - says the owl

I have been so busy these past few days that my head is still spinning. In the midst of my cleaning fetish this week, I have been meeting up with old friends and getting crafty. My newest 'thing' is Etsy.com. Where I have found so many great ideas for making toys for my kiddos.




Here is what I am working on now. This is just the first stage. Felt. Now I just need to purchase my embroidery thread & batting. I have so many projects that I need to finish before Christmas. I know you are probably thinking, "Christmas is 4 1/2 months away!" Yes. Yes it is. However, when you have a 3 year old, and are pushing 8 months preggo - a girl only has so much time on her hands. lol. I have so many cute, unique toys picked out to make. I am so excited!

{first stage}

*tee hee* isn't he cute?

LR - Master BR - Kids Room - CoMpLeTe

Okay. So I have been a pretty busy beaver the past few days. lol. Yesterday was supposed to just be 'Dining Room Tuesday'. It actually turned into 'Dining Room & Living Room Tuesday'. ha ha. I didn't take pictures of the living room. It does look pretty awesome, however. I just didn't get around to taking pictures of that room. Today was supposed to be 'Master Bedroom & Bath Wednesday'...and you guessed it...I had to do more than one room. lol. It was calling out to me...the kid's room...it was saying..."Clean me too!". ha ha. So - - today I organized, sanitized, and thoroughly cleaned the Master Bedroom, Master Bath, & the Kid's room. {I didn't take pictures of the bathroom...I may do that later. I still have towels hanging up and the floor was still wet in there. So...more pics from that later.} Here are some things I did in the rooms:

1. Vacuumed each room.
2. Moved furniture & vacuumed under everything.
3. Windexed windows & mirrors.
4. Dusted each room.
5. Cleaned out & organized each closet. (which was alot considering our Master alone has 3 HUGE closets. And the Kid's room has 2 HUGE closets.)
6. Organized toys in Kid's room.
7. Swept & mopped bathroom floor.
8. Sanitized and cleaned bathroom sink & toilet.
9. Sorted laundry for each room.
10. Emptied bathroom trash.
11. {still have yet to scrub down shower/bath tub}
12. {this afternoon will consist of organizing 'underneath' the bathroom sink.}

1. Baby and munchkin are going to share a closet.

2. My 3 year old's 'birth' day items. Includes: lamby, piggy bank, first curl, first tooth, tooth bank, Precious Moments train {which btw: I still need to get his 2 year and 3 year sets *sigh*}, and his baby bunny bootie musical figurine.

3. CARS wall decor {my son loves Lightning McQueen.}, his Amish rocking chair, and his froggy potty.

1. CARS wall decor, his dresser, toddler bed, and his bucket of blocks.

2. Changing table for our new baby boy due this Fall. {art on wall is out of a Martha Stewart magazine.}

1. Stars & moon mobile found at T.J. Maxx for $5. Crib found at yard sale for $40 {mattress included}.

2. Leaf wall decor {removable} found at yard sale for .25 cents. Changing table project {see how that worked out on my older posts here on my blog.} I am still working on finding 4-8 white wicker baskets with either white OR sage liners somewhere...for the bottom 2 shelves.

1 - 3 = photos out of a Martha Stewart magazine that I cropped and framed for our Master Bedroom. I love the color scheme!

I absolutely LOVE hydrangeas! :)

1. Baby bassinett for new baby's arrival.

2. Nightstand in our bedroom. {yes that is MY 'Hello Kitty' tea cup alarm clock.} I adore Hello Kitty. ;)

1. Our Master Bedroom {bedding is from JC Penney. Wall art found at T.J. Maxx for around $15. Lamp - Wal*Mart $8.97. I adore this color scheme in our room! Chocolate and blue! :)

*sigh* well - one more thing accomplished today. I feel pretty good. Now to relax for a bit with some juice, then to hit up the Master bathroom to scrub down the shower/tub and organize the under storage below the sink. Gotta get all of this finished in time to get a shower and head to church!! AAHH!

Dining Room Tuesday

Today was 'Dining Room Tuesday around here. My mission: to completely clean, sanitize, and organize my dining room. Here is what I accomplished:

1. Cleaned & organized Hutch. {inside and out}
2. Vacuumed carpet & 'shoe' rug.
3. Emptied closets, organized, vacuumed, dusted, & filled stuff back in.
4. Washed down kitchen table & dusted chairs. {febreezed cushions as well.}
5. Alphabetized DVD's.
6. Windex-ed windows & mirrors.
7. Dusted blinds.
8. Swept off front porch & watered flowers in flower pots.
9. Organized hall closet.
10. Swept 1/2 bathroom floors & mopped them.
11. Cleaned toilet & sink in 1/2 bath.
12. Organized medicine cabinet in 1/2 bath.
13. Emptied trash in 1/2 bath.
14. Vacuumed stairs.

{above left} Coat closet - diaper bag, basket filled with my son's summer shoes, basket filled with gloves, hats, caps, hand sanitizer, lotion, and a lint roller. {above right} mini broom, husband's running/walking shoes and 'loafers'.



{above left} 'junk' closet - includes games, art work & supplies, scrapbook supplies, gift bag/wrap box, bin full of maternity clothes I am currently borrowing from a friend at church, bags full of stuff I am getting rid of at a yard sale I plan to have in September, sewing bag, eco-friendly 'green' bags, etc...{above right} games, art work & supplies, gifts for friends, wedding scrapbook.

{above left} DVD shelf (alphabetized) with my willow tree figurines and Longaberger. {above right} Wall decor & my wonderful yard sale find of the summer, an Eddie Bauer wooden high chair with all the bells and whistles ($15).

My front window. Valance found at yard sale for .25 cents.

{above left} Our 'shoe' rug. No shoes on the carpet in this girlie's apartment. ;) {above right} Kitchen table - decorated with my Longaberger salt and pepper shakers and cream and sugar set.

{above left} Hutch (middle section) {above right} trash can, hutch, and wall decor.

Dining Room - I love my hutch. :)

I feel so much better when things are spotless!

"Kitchen Monday"

So...today is the start of my 'daily-scheduled' cleaning week. Today I started with the kitchen. *whew* I am so tired. I just finished up. I must say I have got to be in 'nesting' mode or something. lol. I usually clean every other day at our apartment. Lately however...I have felt the need to 'super' clean the entire place! ha ha. I have decided to make a list for the entire week. Here is what today looked like. {I will update every day to show exactly what I did each day.}

Kitchen Monday:

1. Clean out refrigerator.


2. Scrub & sanitize countertops.


3. Organize drawers & clean/sanitize them.


4. Wipe out & sanitize cabinet shelves.


5. Clean and sanitze toaster.


6. Clean stove.


7. Clean microwave inside & out. {tip: take 1 c. hot water, place in microwave and heat for 2 - 3 minutes. open microwave door, then immediately shut it. let cup of water sit inside for 10 minutes - then remove cup of water, and wipe down inside with paper towels.} {also - it is a good idea to wash the glass round plate first in your sink, dry it, and then do the above instructions.}


8. Sweep & mop floors.
   

We have a simple little apartment - but I love it. Kitchen is smaller than I would like, but the bedrooms and living room size make up for it. ;) Well, I am absolutely exhausted now. I think I will take a little cat nap on the couch. Tomorrow is 'Dining Room' Tuesday. I am excited to clean out the coat closets. It seems that the one closet always catches the junk. {ex. yard sale stuff, sewing kit, scrapbooking supplies, board games, gift bags, 'go green' re-usable grocery bags, etc...} In short - too much stuff. It will be good to have that room clean. Good bye for now.

something old - something new

Aah. Well yesterday was a pretty busy day. Not only did me and my guys {hubs & son} spend the day together in town, I also came back home to work on my newest project. I started with a walnut/oak Jenny Lind changing table and came out with a freshly spray-painted, white table. It still needs another coat...but I ran out of paint and I have been too tired to run out and get another bottle. Being almost 8 months preggo and dealing with 100 degree heat do not mix. I repeat - do not mix. So hear is what it looks like. For now. ;)

I know the shelves look funny...but for some reason the paint didn't want to stick to it like I thought it would. It is made of a different material...not wood...more like...'fiber board' maybe? Not sure. Hoping that another can will do the trick. If not, then for the shelves I will just put down a layer of white rubber shelf paper.

.next project.

I believe my next project is going to be my living room. I am in desperate need of some new interior design in this room. {sitting in my rocker in living room as I type.} What exactly do I need to get it done - hmm. A few things. They include:

• Tan/Light Brown slipcover for my couch. {currently primitive stripes}
• Art/Decor for 2 walls.
• 2 medium size table lamps. {modern}
• Handmade {by me, possibly} fabric end table covers.
• Wicker baskets (2-3) for my entertainment unit. {I store my son's toys inside.}

*hoping to get this done by November. At least. Whew. We shall see...

{to do list}

my goal today = spend time with my guys {hubby & son} out on the town, have lunch at one of my favorite cafe's {Panera Bread}, shop for some 'post preggo' clothes at NY&C {because they have $4.99 deals in the back of the store that are simply irresistable}, pick up some scrapbooking items, pick up a quick cupcake treat at a local cafe, possibly head to the bookstore, & then come home to spray paint my newest project. {see below}.

.I plan on making my oak/walnut (whatever it is right now) table into a beautiful white changing table that will match the crib I purchased at a yard sale earlier this season.

.scrappy kind of day.

Well what do you know...I made it through another day. lol. I figured I would probably be regretting my 'late night' scrapping venture right about now...but I am feeling pretty good. I decided yesterday to clean out my scrapbooking closet. That turned into a chore. I don't have any regrets though. I managed to put a few things aside for a yard sale I plan to have in September...trashed some things that simply needed to be trashed...then organized the rest into categories. I haven't been able to scrap in about 2 years. Believe me - if you are a mom, you know what I am talking about. ha ha. My son just had his third birthday - I just scrapped his second birthday and beyone. If that tells you anything. But I am making progress, and that makes me feel good. Accomplished. I like that feeling. Today I plan on doing even more. I have been out of the 'loop' for so long it is nice to get back in and start having some 'mommy' time. {which believe me - is much needed around here.} I may post some pictures later of some of my scrappy pieces. Trust me - word of caution right now...I am not an artist by any means. So - my scrapbooking isn't 'perfect'. But - that is what scrapping is all about - ones own design. It doesn't have to look perfect OR like everyone else's. Maybe that is why I like it so much. Because it is MY own work. ha ha. Will post again soon.

.brand new.

.okay - so I am brand new to the blogging world. so bear with me until I figure it all out. lol. I will start out with a 'great find' post. Here are a couple of my favorite yard sale finds so far this summer.

.Eddie Bauer wooden high chair with 'cherry' finish.

'fabulous find' price $15.

.have I mentioned that I love SuMmEr?.

.Changing table with storage.

'fabulous find' price $30.

.white baby crib (with mattress).

'fabulous find' price $40

These are just a few of my GREAT finds this summer.

As a MOM I try to:

• Find the BEST deals on anything I NEED to buy.
• Stick to a budget no matter WHERE I shop. (yardsales or no yardsales.
• Make everything I buy from a yardsale, look like new by cleaning, re-finishing, or painting it.
• Live simple. Don't make things harder on myself by setting 'out of reach' goals for purchases.
• ^^ example ^^ I may LOVE Pottery Barn...but I am NOT going to go out and buy it for regular retail price. I will 'craigs list' it, or try and find it at a yardsale. Usually I have GREAT luck with finding JUST what I want and need for just the right price.
• Be crafty. (which is a new development for me. lol.) I have been in dire need of inspiration for a while. Pretty much my whole life. I don't know how much money I could have saved over the years if I would have just made my own stuff. - ex. Christmas gifts, holidays, wedding gifts, clothes, toys, and much much more.
• Take advice from others and see what they have to offer on how to save money and live simpler, by making my own things.

sorry this blog post was SO long. hope to post again soon. this was sort of fun.

- - must get off the computer before my 3 year old makes an EVEN bigger mess of my 'once was spiffy' living room. - -