mother's day handmade!

there's something extra special to me about a handmade gift. it doesn't have to be anything fancy... a sheet of paper stickered and scribbled by my little girl is definitely a treasure! but sometimes it is extra fun to be given something handmade that is a bit of a splurge, made extra valuable by its beauty and meaning as a gift.

that describes my mother's day gift from my family perfectly! i'd had my eye on this etched on my heart charm necklace from bon bon charms for months now... stamped in sterling silver with mine & hubby's initials on it. well, look what came in the mail just a few days before mother's day:
isn't it lovely? i love the simple little packaging as well. i immediately started wearing it, and it looks perfect with the silver "k" necklace matt gave me when kenna was born [that i've worn almost every day since then!].
i even had it on the morning i gave birth to finn! see it hiding down there under his giant sweet cheeks? [that was literally right after he was born!]

they make the sweetest little jangly noises when i walk, like a tiny windchime. all i need now is a little "f" charm to go with them!

happy mother's day!

spring mantle inspiration!

i saw this photo on a really great blog [really great because j.j. is not only a fun crafter with cute style, but an amazing singer/songwriter]:

firstly, let me say i can hardly get over this mantle itself... the stone fireplace? the adorable painting? the chunky ledge & oh gracious those huge corbels. LOVE.

not surprisingly, it's pretty similar to another inspiring mantle from the lettered cottage i wrote about awhile back:

note to self: i still really want to make a ginormous chalkboard. & a numbered plate.

so once i regained consciousness from my corbel envy, i got to work on my mantel, using what i had on hand... starting with several thrifted freebies from not too long ago- a broken up old window frame, and a mini chalkboard & wooden letter. well, truly starting with one very stark white empty mantel:

the reverse side of the window frame had some lovely old chippy, very pale blue paint on it, so i layered it right on top of my mirror. then i made the letter into a mossy monogram with the help of a little dollar store faux moss leftover from christmas:

these mossy letters are a pottery barn knock off that have been showing up everywhere because they're so cheap & easy to make! all i did was cover the letter with my 'squiggle & squish' method- one nice big squiggle of hot glue & then squish the moss into it. repeat section by section until it's covered! i added a length of pretty jute ribbon the the back & loosely knotted it for hanging:

[next time i would paint the whole thing green first so that the letter doesn't show through & the back isn't so ugly! i didn't even think about it until i hung it up & you could see the back in the mirror.]

see what i mean? whoops.
but it's so pretty when it's done! i glued a little moss along the edges to, to make it a little fuller & to be sure the edges were covered.
then i wrote a little spring message on the chalkboard & tucked it off to the side. [& you can see the perfectly chippy blue paint!]
nothing fancy, but better than nothing to fill up all that white mantel space! it's a little pastel-y for my liking & could use some big hurricane vases or urns or something on either end, but it'll do for now. especially knowing that summer is just around the corner & i'll want to start all over!

easter basket love!

easter is rapidly approaching & it's one of my favorite holidays. maybe even more so than christmas when it comes to celebrating the life of my savior... if you think about it, it's pretty amazing to celebrate his birth [christmas], but how much more so to celebrate the fact that he would sacrifice his own life on the cross to save mine? [easter]

i have to admit, i think easter baskets are a fun tradition for the littles, since death & resurrection are kind of deep topics for them at a young age. not that you can't start teaching them early, but i think it's cool to focus on the new birth & life we have through salvation in Christ- a major gift he's given believers that we celebrate on easter.

so, if easter weren't like, you know, this weekend i'd be using this tutorial for a wrapped piping basket by v & co. to make coordinating baskets for the kids. however, the only way i see 2 easter baskets getting made is in the dead of night between a.m. feedings.

in other words, not likely.

but look how cute.

and look how easy! although i do find v & co. in particular great for making not-so-simple stuff look as though it is really easy & no big deal- she's just talented that way. hers look uniquely homemade but not cheapo crafty & sit so sweetly and well-constructed on the table holding eggs. i'm a little concerned that mine would look wrinkly & slouchy & would be sure to be covered in melted chocolate & jelly bean slime before i could even get a picture for the blog.

[please tell me someone else has that problem too?]

but yes. definitely on the "one day" list.

dear blog...

dear sweet crafty blog that i would love to have more time & crafty energy for, to write thoughtful posts in with new projects & beautiful photos...

i haven't forgotten about you.
i'm just too busy with the toes right now.
& the sweet head smell.

& the little gurgles & the nursing 12 hours a day/night & the wild & crazy 2 year old big sister.

but i'll be back.

thrifty goodness!

in addition to the little red rainboots, i've had some good luck with thrifting recently that i'm pretty excited about!

usually my thrifting trips are mostly about clothes for the kids than anything else- they're small & cheap & usually not worn out yet since wee ones outgrow their clothes so quickly [often you can even find things brand new with tags!] but the other day, i stopped by our little local student share shop [like a thrift shop only available to students] & found a petite haul of crafty goodness!
the amazing thing about the student shop is that it's free- what better way to satiate a need to craft than with free materials? guilt-free.
the two letters most likely originally spelled out 'baby' but i figured i could use both since our last name starts with a b. i'm thinking one for the new baby nursery & possibly one for a spring front porch wreath!

the chalkboard, though small & unassuming, i'm super excited about for taking pictures like these, probably at birthdays or with a love note on anniversaries or to send far-away relatives fun photo messages in the mail [or even email!] this is my friend nancy ray's amazing photography site, just scroll down until you see the super cute photo booth-style photos with the chalkboard messages.

i know they're only like $1 brand new, but $1 saved is $1 that makes you not mind if the item ends up sitting in your craft room supply stash until you have almost completely forgotten what you were going to use it for.

hopefully that's not just me.

when i saw a lovely pile of large-ish white frames at goodwill a few weeks back, i could immediately think of 3 maybe 4 projects i wanted to do with them... & at the nice size of just a little bigger than 11x14, they were irresistable at $1.50 each! so i snapped up half a dozen, thinking that if all else failed, i could paint them all black, get some photos in there & then add them either to the black & white wall in our dining room or create a little gallery wall where all the frames are the same size & look beautiful.
they're not the most high-quality frames of course [& the terrible fruit prints will have to go!] but once they're painted or crafted into something else altogether & up on the wall, i won't even know the difference! 3 of them [i think] are headed for the boy-nursery-on-progress, definitely one to the guest bathroom, & possibly the other 2 are headed for big sister's new big girl room.

yay! can't wait to get these little guys into their next incarnation & show you!

booty goodness.

no, not that kind of booty. ahem.

these little boots just happened to hop in my basket at goodwill the other day... originally intended for baby brother when he was still on the way here.
$4 later they came home with us and though they were super cute up on the big brown dresser in his nursery in progress, the minute they were on toddler-level, look what happened:
yep! hijacked by big sister. she just can't help herself- she's crazy about boots. here's more proof:
these ones weren't thrifted [the hat was!] but rather bought brand-new in desperation at the threat of snow. the pom poms on the back are only slightly adorable & what 2 year old doesn't need pink boots?
this pair is truly vintage- handed down from me when i was her age, circa the early '80s. anytime she can get her hands on them, they go straight on her feet [even if she's not wearing anything else, obviously.] i just love how much she loves them!

not that we're wishing for rainy days necessarily, but what could be more cheerful than little red rainboots? too cute.

thing 2!

i'm excited to say that our little thing 2 has finally arrived! we barely made it to the hospital in time & he was almost born in the hallway... but he's here safely & big sister is elated! [read the full story here!]

finnegan walker

i'm trying to live through these early constant-nursing days & catching up on sleep when i can, but my list of little boy crafts is waiting in the wings!