Wooden Birthday Hat

I have a few projects that I am working on right now - #1 Bailey's Pink and Purple Princess Dress Up 4th Birthday Party (Say that 3 times fast!) and #2 Disney World Outfits! I have already made a few things for Disney World (Ariel's Costume, Minnie Ears, & a few embroidered shirts). The decorations for her party are coming along smoothly...hanging tulle pompoms, a tutu for the dessert table and last night I finished the centerpiece for the dessert table...a wooden birthday hat! I need to start taking pictures with my camera instead of my phone because the pictures make everything look dingy. Her party is one month away...so come back to check out the birthday party photos and all the outfits to Bailey and I will be wearing to Disney World!

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Christmas Decor

I put up our Christmas Tree over a week ago. I didn't have anything to do and I wanted to relax on my Thanksgiving break. I finished the red stocking for our front door (ribbon holes were put in later). I would have made it with polka dots but Blake said, "No. You put polka dots on everything." Yeah, I might but it is for other people! So here is the plain red stocking. Merry Christmas!!!

New Hobby - Wooden Door Signs

I have been seeing a few "friends" on Facebook getting into making adorable door signs and knew I had to give it a whirl. I love decorating so why not have a door sign for every holiday/season! So I started looking up door signs on different websites and clip art that I could draw out and came up with a few fun designs for Christmas and Baby Shower Presents. There are a few more I am working on right now that I love but they are not ready to be shared :) What I love about this hobby is it's fun to do....maybe not the cutting and sanding part but the painting is fun. I love that I can do it in my living room while watching TV and being with my family at the same time. Bailey and I talk while I paint while she is playing or watching one of her shows. So this is the beginning of one of my favorite new hobbies.

I made this present for my wonderful parents with a vinyl "W".

I made this stocking for my fabulous In-Laws with a vinyl "M".

Roll Tide Elephant on our front door. I love this little guy :)

(I tested the staple gun out on a scrap peice of wood, but I pressed too hard on the elephant and the bumps came out! Oh well...you can't tell from a distance!)

Bunco Ornaments for 2 Bunco games coming up with ornament exchanges.

Baby Gift for Little Will.

Baby gift for Isabella and Little David.

Baby Shower Project

I have been very busy the past few weeks getting ready for my good friend's baby shower. I made 2 bibs, two diaper cakes, "D" & "I" painted letters, 2 little stuffed elephants, 4 dozens cupcakes, 23 blue and pink elephants with "S" on them (forgot to take pictures!), some fabulous strawberry limeade punch, and a wooden green elephant to hang on the door. Here are my creations for her shower!

This & That

I am still very excited about starting the process of owning a business but first things first - I am going to have a website on etsy.com selling personalized cookies and handmade items. I want to get this process going before jumping into real estate, buying furniture, refrigerators, tables, chairs....the whole package. Plus, if the website takes off then I will make enough income to not work when we move for Blake's training in the next year. I think what I am most excited about is the possibilities...there are options and it's my ideas and my motivation that will make it happen. My best friend is so excited as well which makes it fun to bounce ideas around with her.

We are STILL redecorating (meaning my house is still in disorder...going on week 3) Bailey's room to a gymnastics/dance theme and on Tuesday we started painting the new knobs for her dresser. I wish I had a picture of us working on it together. She loved helping me and then yesterday I did all the detail work on them and she said, "Oh mommy, those are so pretty! I helped paint those." I normally opt out of messy activities with Bailey just because I avoid cleaning when I don't have to. I am trying to be better at this so I am trying to find ways for her to help decorate and be involved with her new room transformation. There are a couple more craft ideas I have in store for it that she will be able to help me with. One thing I LOVE TO DO is make something beautiful out of something used, old, or cheap. I spent $6 on 12 chunky, round, wooden knobs and a few bucks on paint that will transform her old dresser (hand-me-down from when Blake was a child) into a fantastic staple for this room.

Yesterday I went online to Amazon.com to look at embroidery machines - the last time I looked the cheapest one I could find was $700 which is way too much to spend on a "hobby". But for some reason those machines have gone down in price! I was so excited so I texted Blake about it while he was golfing....I wrote like a whole page of reasons I needed it, reasons it was a FABULOUS price, ways I would use it, ways I could make things for him.....on and on....I got back the infamous "ok". I then did a few little clicks and it is on the way! Then I texted 3 close friends and they were just as excited as I was - I love how girls get excited for you! I am using Christmas money to pay for it which is good for many reasons: 1) it can stay in the box until after Christmas so I do not have to be overwhelmed with starting a new hobby 2) no one can ask me to do orders during Christmas 3) I don't feel guilty for purchasing something that wasn't "needed" but really really wanted for quite some time.