crafting — Smalltown Lovin

{teachers}

May 6, 2011

as the school year is coming to end, teacher gifts have been on my mind. here are a few darling ideas!if only we had a starbucks {sigh} – find free template here

i LOVE this idea

and have already gone to get this made!

this one is great too! maybe with a manicure inside!

the BEST CUPS EVER!

teachers have such an important role on our children. i am blessed to have the most amazing teachers leading lucy. she adores them and has grown in so many wonderful ways through them. i cherish anyone who is building my child’s foundation in a positive way. words are not enough!

Filed Under: crafting Tagged With: gifts

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lucy’s room DIY

March 9, 2011

remember yesterday how i said i was going to attempt to make lucy a tshirt dress? well i made 2 in about 30 min. S-U-P-E-R easy and will most likely fall apart after her first wear. {that is one thing about me and sewing – i make a ton of mistakes. i am so not patient with every step} i got these 2 womens large t-shirts at wal mart AND they were marked down. do what? yes you know you got a deal when the wal mart tag is marked down. i think they were either $3 or$5 shirts. regardless, for under $10 she has 2 super cute new recycled dresses.

here is a little sneak peek into lulu’s little room

we put up rain gutter bookshelves over the beds. soooo inexpensive and looks great too! see a tutorial here

in the opposite photo, i got some vintage inspired falshcards. the whole set was $25. i just saw these for $7 wow! i just hung twine and put them up with laundry clips. this took up a whole big wall – i love that it was so inexpensive to make! wouldn’t these be cute in a boys room? i use the old twine to hang things all around the house. you can’t tell, but i have it above lucy’s bed to hand some of her artwork, i use it in my craft room to hang things that inspire me.

speaking of vintage inspired- is this not the cutest thing ever? find it here

and if you are not 9 months pregnant and due in 2 days and feel like cooking…will you please try this!

Filed Under: crafting

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our last weekend

March 7, 2011

this weekend was bittersweet. as much as i can’t wait to meet the baby, i also feel a slight pain, knowing that my time is to be even more divided. we have a great routine right now and all that is about to be rocked. i know i will embrace it, but it is sad leaving behind this stage. we woke up saturday morning and lucy asked for cookies. well i could not deny my craving as well so at 8am we were baking. dont you love this vintage slip lu is wearing? my grandmother sent her one for her birthday and i picked up this one at a resale store. she adores wearing them, and i think they are timeless! we made necklaces and did lots of twirling. oh quiet weekend – you were special in my heart!when i studied abroad, my bestie and i, would sit here everyday and eat these. they would come out warm and dip them in warm chocolate – oh they were devine! sometimes i want to click my heels and be there again. one day when i have the energy i will make some myself – i think ryan would love! and one day i want to go back and sit here with ryan.

i see this over the weekend and thought it would be fun to make

Filed Under: crafting, Recipes

hello!

March 4, 2011

hello, it is the mean witch here. this is the lovely character that i get to be everydaynot any of these pretty little ladiesjust the dark, mean witch! anyway Lucy was given this castle as a christmas gift over a year ago and we play with it daily. by far one of the best toys we own {bonus: it does not make any sort of noise and requires no batteries!} highly suggest it!

one week from now {if not before} i will be off the OR table, holding a brand new baby girl! C-R-A-Z-Y!

i feel like someone is ripping out my lower back, my feet are swollen, baby _ _ _ _ {there that is a hint to her name} is punching me here and there. needless to say i am just about ready for her to be out of my body! ryan is boarding an airplane in 45 min and i am crossing my fingers nothing happens until he returns tonight.

while lucy is at school and michael anne asleep i made a little shirt for the lu. i purchased this one a while backit is a little boys shirt, but thats why i love my lu is because she can totally rock ANYTHING! i loved the message on the shirt, but don’t want to pay $32 for a whole bunch of tshirts. so i made this one today and think it turned out pretty cute and was under $10.enjoy your weekend!

my post may be a little spotty for a while – i tend to bunker down when new babies arrive!

Filed Under: crafting

{random goodness}

February 24, 2011

i am ever so thankful, for daddy who fiercely loves his girls, for sisters starting to play togetherfor great afternoon naps and even better snuggle time when they are over. i am thankful when i see my kids all snuggled in their beds.lucy spent the day and night with her grandmother…although i very much miss her and all the little moments she brings to the day, it was wonderful to just have one baby to take care of and pay special attention to. michael anne took an amazing afternoon nap. this left me and my bestie ashley lots of time to have a craft day. we made this hairclips for our little lovies. are they not presh? i wish we could lock ourselves in a room for 4 days and craft 24/7. a lot of time would be spent laughing with ash! the rolled flower tutorial came from here

i always have diy i want to do, then never find the time. but this one i really want to do! i have a big long table in my craft room and i feel like if i had a little playhouse, maybe the girls would be more apt to let me create while they play:) maybe i will actually do this one and let you in on a sneak peek of my new craft room!

my friend betsy led me to this book….ryan and i are really enjoying it. thanks betsy! it is such a great little devotional

these are so cute!

i went on meal strike this week! i sat in bed sunday to meal plan and turned to Ryan and said, “nothing sounds good, i am not going to cook all week” he smiled big and said great! lets make it easy! it has been nice not preparing anything, part of me feels a little lost, but have had more time:) i saw this yesterday and it sounded really good! maybe next week i will whip this up for a lunch

im thinking lucy needs to rock this fedora this summer

Filed Under: crafting, Recipes

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photography tips

February 23, 2011

ok here is my tip {2 tips} for the week!

1. ALWAYS have your camera out. mine is always ready to go, i take it almost every where with me. i document our daily life. you don’t have to have a reason to take a photo, just capture your day. there are plenty of things to take photos of,whether you have kids or not. this photo was taken last saturday morning. we were all just playing in the living room {lucy watching a movie, ryan reading the paper, michael anne dancing to lucy’s dvd, and me capturing that toothy grin!} i think kids do better when not posing….just have your camera ready and catch them being them. that’s how i want to remember them anyway!

2. when photographing small children, get on their level. see what a difference this photo makes? the photo on the left,i am literally on the ground. the one on the right i am above her.

the photo on the left is {sooc – straight out of camera} you do not have to have photoshop to get great results! yes the one on the right is a bit blurry, but you can at least see as far as composition what makes a better photo!

my sister and her partner built this amazing banging wall found in this post . it truly is amazing and i highly suggest building one for your kids. yesterday i found this and already called my sister to see if she can help build this for us. i would have loved a water wall as a kiddo – heck i would play with one now!

Filed Under: crafting, photography Tagged With: crafting, photography tips

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learn to knit in no time!

February 17, 2011

yesterday was a magical day

~i got a much needed pedicure with one of my besties.i tipped the lady more than normal because my toesies were in such horrible condition.

~had a checkup with the doctor. at the end of my pregnancy with Michael Anne i broke out in a pregnancy rash known as puppps. it is not very common and pretty much it is your body having an allergic reaction to your pregnancy. thousands of little bumps took over my body {even into the webbing of my toes} needless to say it was a slow, painful, torture. their is nothing that can be done to ease the pain except to get the baby out. so we ended up taking michael anne 2 weeks early. the odds of getting this rash again are slim to none………and well i have it again! it seems to be moving slow, but we will have to see daily how it goes. baby #3 may be here sooner than 3 weeks.

~i got to have a lunch date with my hubby

~came home and kids took excellent naps

~one of my besties is on bed rest in the hospital and has taken up knitting. she made #3 a hat and of course, if there is some type of craft i don’t know how to do, i must learn. so i went to wal-mart and picked up this. i made 2 hats yesterday…one for the wee bit and one for ms manners. it was super easy and it always feels good to make something. thanks for the inspiration mando!this one is for the tiny tot!i can’t believe #3 is almost here. i remember when we found out i was pregnant {what a complete shock!!!!} and then for a while she did not show up on the ultrasounds. we were gearing up for a d&c. one last doctor visit to confirm the d&c {lots of prayers} and there she was! my little miracle. i prayed for her and there she was….now she is almost here and i can’t wait to see her. print below found on etsy

Filed Under: crafting Tagged With: crafting, etsy, michael anne

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scenes from our weekend

February 7, 2011

what a lovely weekend! it had its ups and downs, but overall i wish every weekend was like this weekend…..

~the beautiful snow

~pancake breakfast saturday morning

~annual father daughter dance {lucy has been looking forward to this for weeks and happened to run a fever only hours before…turns out she was sick as a dog and had to come home after being there 30 min}

~long sick night {lucy slept with me so i could take care of her..lots of good snuggling, holding my baby close}

~chicken pot pie

~superbowl watchin while dancing and singing as loud as we could to raindrops on roses and its a hard not life {while wearing summer dresses and shaking pom poms}

~my girls are adorable and my husband so helpful, fun, and loving……i am blessed. i wish i could wrap up all the wee moments in a jar and carry it with me forever!

this is my next DIY project….looks easy enough right? hoping to do it this week!instructions found here

Filed Under: crafting Tagged With: crafting, girls

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