I saw the light

Before

Ok, I can finally post about one little project I have been working on here and there for a while now. It really isn't quite finished as Matt will need to put a layer of polyurethane on it, and I have a couple more small touches to do to it. But as much time as I feel I have spent up close and personal with this project, I am ready to be d.o.n.e. and post it.

I noticed this cute lamp at Kirklands a while back before we even knew whether we were having a boy or girl. By the time I decided I wanted it, the lamp had been marked down to clearance and our local Kirklands no longer had an "N". As usual, my mom came through for us and found the appropriate letter at a Kirklands near her.

And thus, the fun began! The lamp was two shades of green which is far from Natalie-ish (or at least the colors of her room). So I pulled out my cheapo craft paints that I used to paint the chipboard letters for her name and started painting.

Painting and painting

And painting.

Painting some more.

And yet, still painting.

I made the mistake of not sanding the lamp before I got started. It had a glossy coat over it which made the initial coats of paint I tried adding look like a tiny yellow film over the green. Matt is sitting beside me as I type this and wants to be sure that I add in the fact that he told me before I started that I needed to sand it or to just spray paint it. Of course, being the intelligent wife that I am, I ignored his silly advice ... and paid the price.

The lamp and I have been one now for what feels like half of my existence. I cannot begin to tell you how many layers of yellow I added. It felt like 47,000 (but I am afraid that would be an underestimate). Anyway, I think it is safe to just say if you do decide to paint something, check first to see what type of material is already on the surface and make your life easier by removing it first! Lesson learned.

So as much time as I spent painting this thing, you can now understand why I want to say "sayonara" to the lamp and put it on Natalie's dresser where I don't have to work on it anymore!

The rather easy part was adding some matching ribbon over the existing green ribbon and spicing it up a little with some beaded trim. Here is the result:

After

Like I said, there are a couple of other things I'd like to do to it, including adding a little wooden butterfly near the bottom. This thing was so close to being totally complete that I couldn't resist making a post for it. Matt is getting closer to completing his big project, so hopefully I will get to share that with you soon. He is doing a great job so far! I just wish I could help, but it involves chemicals and stain, so Natalie probably wouldn't be too happy with mommy helping with such things!

Matt's suggested title for the blog was "I love lamp".

a little crafty help from my friends

This is a post for all of you scrapbookers and card makers. Maybe you can give me some tips!

I had never ventured into the world of card making until last year. It all began when I decided to make my own wedding invitations due to not finding what I was looking for at a reasonable price. After much trial and error, I finally settled on a simple design I liked. That initial project led to card making for everything else, and I haven't stopped since.

Photo by Hope Photography
 Wedding card made by Etsy seller

 

I left one card to the professionals -- turning to Etsy for help. I had an Etsy seller customize a handmade wedding card from me to Matt, based on my descriptions of what I had in mind. I loved the finished product and how she used a lot of straight lines for a more masculine look, combined with the elegant portions that would be considered much less masculine. I doubt I could have created this same format on my own.

The Cuttlebug machine is very user friendly and quickly
produces die cuts and embossed patterns.

 

The only problem with my card making hobby is that I look online and am inspired by such creative handmade cards, but I don't know how to mimic that creativity most of the time. I researched a little on embossing back while making wedding invitations and failed miserably in the attempt. I would still like to master embossing (the style where you use powder and heat) some day if any card makers have any good tips or know of a great tutorial.

Fortunately, I received the Cuttlebug machine last year for Christmas, and LOVE it! It has been great for dressing up my cards a little more. I love handmade cards with different textures and layers. It is definitely my favorite card making tool, and I highly recommend one if you don't already have it. Anyone have a Cricut cutting machine? Any opinions on those?

The internet is overflowing with site after site of scrapbook page designs and cards. It can be rather overwhelming, so if you have a favorite site, please recommend it to me! Here are a few creative cards I just found, and I included a link below each card to the original location for where I found each of them. Some of them have tutorials for how the card was made:

Friendship card

Season's Greetings card

Birthday card

Sending Love card

Special Friend card

Thank You card

And here is a link to a neat tutorial I found while looking for cards. I had never heard of using crayons for this before, so I thought I would share in case anyone else wants to check it out. I will definitely have to give it a try!

Click here to go to the mel stampz blog for a tutorial using the Cuttlebug and crayons

Here are some questions for you card makers:

• What is your most prized card making tool?
• What five items do you think are the most essential for making cards?
• What is the best method for attaching paper/embellishments? (I use glue dots -- is there something better?)
• Do you cut out, assemble, and arrange all of your items for each card before attaching anything?
• Do you have any tips or tricks to better card making?
• What card making site is your favorite for inspiration?

double dose of reality with double digits

So it begins.

Yesterday, we surpassed 100 days until Natalie time and are now 98 (or less!) days away. Hitting the double digit mark last year during all the busy planning for our wedding day is still fresh in my mind. I experienced a combination of emotions -- excitement that the big day was inching closer and a nice dose of freaking out at how little time we had left to plan. Once we made it to double digits, the wedding day arrived in what seemed like hours instead of days.

Those same emotions are coming back -- only this time, it involves a tiny human, completely and utterly dependent on me and her father for survival. Whoa.  One morning this week while still in bed, when it hit me that our days of just the two of us are numbered, I looked wide-eyed at Matt and said, "I don't know anything about babies!" He smiled back at me and nonchalantly said, "Welcome to motherhood."

And here we are, 98 days until Natalie is due to be here, and the clock is ticking. We are diligently working on her nursery and preparing as best as we can to be parents. And yet, I would assume like all mothers-to-be, I wonder how on earth I will manage to conquer this thing called motherhood that generation after generation before me made it through. As my belly grows, and I wonder whether that tiny thing doing construction inside of me really is a baby and not an alien, I still struggle to grasp reality. I will soon be a mother. I will boldly go where woman after woman has gone before. [Can you tell we have been watching Star Trek?] And though I will fail miserably here and there throughout this journey, I hope and pray that I can some day look back on the experience and realize I gave it my best for my sweet child.

sewing tears

The finished table cover.

Look to the right at my gorgeous, professional-quality table top cover -- hand-sewn to perfection. ... Ok, I am having one of those crazy pregnancy dreams again. See below for the actual story.

This blog post has been brewing for several days now. I've been planning to get to it, but alas, here I finally am. I was reminded a few days ago of just how human I really am. I would love to log into my blog and type away an award winning post about how all of my crafting projects turn out to be masterpieces.

I found this photo of the cruel merciless machine.
Sewing on the floor -- smart, eh?

Instead, I find myself here laboring over the keyboard, painfully eyeing my new enemy just a few feet from me on the floor. This heavy white contraption with a name tag of Kenmore mocks my every glance. Some may refer to this utterly disgraceful piece of equipment as a sewing machine -- I refer to it as my arch-nemesis!

Battles with sewing machines aren't a new thing for my family. It runs in our blood. I became a little more like my mother when my battle began a few days ago. I'm not sure if my mom and I both purchased our sewing machines from the same cursed batch, but both have led to tears.  It may just be the pregnancy hormones, but I fussed at mom because we had a miscommunication about how I was supposed to sew something, and I cried about the mishap afterward. Now I understand why she despises sewing.

Even Penny felt my pain.

I haphazardly made it through one small sewing project (just don't check to see if the seams are straight!). When explaining my struggles afterward to mom with this project, we had a good laugh over what led to my (far) less than perfect creation. I guess it is safe to assume that sewing pins to hold the fabric in place would have been an intelligent investment!

The project - to sew a small table cover to hide
this table top. Got a great deal on it at
Hobby Lobby! Paid $24 for a $70 table.

In reality, I realize I cannot blame any sewing machine for my inabilities. The last time I truly sewed anything substantial was a pair of boxers in home economics class my freshman year of high school (nearly 12 years ago). And let me tell you - they were nothing to write home about. So I stand by my response when my mom questioned me many years ago on how I will sew, cook, iron, etc. for my family when I don't have the skills to do so -- let momma do it. When Natalie gets here, I will make sure she knows how much better Nana is at sewing so she can run to Nana and ask her to make her Halloween and school play costumes. Oh what fun Nana will have! (Better her than me, right?)

On an unrelated note -- I think it is safe to officially say now that I am over being sick! In the past few weeks, I've only gotten sick two or three times. I'm feeling like my old self again - except for this crazy feeling in my belly that feels like an organ pulsing sporadically.

knob-o-rama

I have been meaning to do a blog post all week. There is plenty to blog about - not necessarily a lot worth hearing about to others though. I have been busy with various things. Particularly, a little trip to the land of Big Orange, and I got caught up in some family history research for a few days (I accidentally just typed "years" ... I guess it really has felt like years), but when I get a good lead, I just keep rolling on. It makes me feel like an investigator trying to solve a big mystery - a fun mystery though.

Anyway, the day is coming to a close, and here I still am without a blog post, so here goes! Tonight, I have been looking online for drawer knobs for a particular piece of furniture. I know, I know - you are thinking, "Is she really going to talk about something as unexciting as drawer knobs?" I will keep it short! Usually, I like to stick with traditional looks for more practical reasons, but for this, I'm going for cute and playful.

While looking for knobs, I was surprised to see all the whimsical options out there. I found these and think they are quite adorable, but not exactly what I am looking for.



How cute are these?! They are hand painted by a seller on one of my favorite websites for creative items: Etsy! Since I am posting this seller's work, I will provide a link to her Etsy shop in case you are interested in checking out her other items. You can view her shop by clicking on her logo below.



Ok, I just looked even further into this Etsy shop, and I am in love. I love these two colors together (which is probably why you will find them throughout much of my house). Too bad I need something cheaper for this small project. This may call for a little creativity for the husband and me.



There are even cute floral ones. You can find about any design on Esty. Now I just wish I had a need for more drawer knobs! They are a fun way to add a small touch of character to any piece of furniture.



Oh, the possibilities that exist in the world of decorating - if only our purses were a little deeper! That just means we have to be a little more inventive and come up with other ways to make things work with what we have. Hopefully next time I will have something on my mind to blog about for you other than drawer knobs!

P.S. - my better half came up with the lovely blog post title.