nursery ~ wall art

 

i have wanted to do some art with embroidery hoops for a long time. 

i know you've seen them all over blog land as well.

it's an inexpensive way to create art work and fill a wall.

 i loved being able to use some of my fabric stash.

it was so fun to spread out all my fabric and mix & match to find a fun combination of patterns & colors. 

i bought all but one of the hoops from hoblob.

the extra one was from good will for 50 cents.....i just had to remove the 1980's, slate blue, puffy goose applique.

if you want to do this yourself, be on the lookout for embroidery hoops at your thrift store...even if it currently has something scary attached to it. 

all you need is the hoop...the other part can be ripped off. :)

anyhow, i love how it turned out...it makes me so happy every time i go in her room. 

 

b.t.dub, these are really simple to do. 

you just sandwich the fabric between the hoops, tighten the screw, & cut off the extra fabric from behind. 

i also hot glue the raw edges down in the back....because you know, i have a love affair with my hot glue gun.

her room is nearly finished. . . well i don't know if i'll ever be finished.

i think i'll always be adding and tweaking as i do with any room in our house.

all of the big, necessary things are done. 

now i'm just doing fun little extras.

i'll be ready to reveal the full room to you soon!

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nothin' much.....

today has been a  full day of errands and appointments.
and now it's almost time to start dinner....and by that i mean, put the frozen casserole i bought at walmart in the oven.
i am on a cooking strike until after this baby is here.


and i bought more girly fabric today because i just can't help myself.
and i bought a tutu.
it was on sale.  it would have been wrong to not buy it.

and by the way... do you do swag bucks?
if not, you really should....if you like free money.
it's basically a web browser that you use instead of google.
and you earn points all the time just for searching online as you normally would.
so it's no skin off your back.
swag bucks are the reason that i always have some kind of credit in my amazon account.
you trade your points in for prizes or gift cards and i always trade mine in for amazon cards. 
seriously, it takes no effort.
so that's my plug.
and if you sign up right now you can use the code AUGUSTBONUS during the registration process and get 50 free swag bucks.  awesomeblossom.
so click here to get started or click my swagbucks button over there on the sidebar --------->

and now for a little sweetness....3 little boy hands loving on their sister. :)

13 days. :) Pin It

how we've stayed cool this summer.

one of the biggest perks of renting a house this year is the pool.
it. is. awesome.
we practically live in that thing.

we weren't sure how it would be...we never thought we'd live in a house with a pool.
it has been the biggest blessing.
it's a salt water pool so it has been really low maintenance. 

now we are spoiled and want to live in a house with a pool forever.
i'm pretty sure we have swam in it every single day since we opened it.

as soon as aj gets home from work, he changes his clothes and jumps in.
the boys love it when he swims.
he does fun things like jumping contests and bull rides.

i do really exciting things, like hang my big belly off a raft and float around.

i've always loved the water but it is especially wonderful when i'm big pregnant.

it's been so great because i don't have the energy to do much these days, but the boys can get their energy out in our back yard, even if it's over 100 degrees for a month straight. ;)

 

the boys love to go down the slide & land on a raft.

sawyer has no fear.
he goes off the diving board & slide over and over.

 

and he's a bit of a goober.....a really adorable goober.

meliyah and her brother kk have come over to swim a few times.

it's been fun to watch them get more comfortable in the water.

the boys love to cheer them on. :)

i'm hoping we have many more days of swimming ahead, even with school starting next week.
judging from the weather so far, we should have swimming weather for a while. :)


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the first of many skirts

so i am loving baby girl's nursery.
everything i have had up in my head is starting to come together. 
i love to just go in there and look around. :)

so far, i've shown you her dresser, her sassy chandelier, her wardrobe, her chair & some accents.

now i want to show you what's going on in the crib department. 


my friend's sweet mom who made the changing pad cover also made her this luxurious crib sheet from the same bubble-gum colored minky.

yum.

i knew i wanted a ruffled crib skirt.
i decided to find some ruffled fabric rather than sewing all the ruffles by hand.
hobby lobby was out but i was able to score a couple of yards off ebay for a decent price.

you wanna guess how i attached the crib skirt?

 yep, that's right.
with my b.f.f., the glue gun.
i swear, i will hot glue anything.
i was going to attach it to the metal frame with velcro like sherry did.
but then i thought, who am i kidding?
i'm not going to take the skirt off and wash it.
do you know that i even "hemmed" the boys' curtains with hot glue?
yep, i have no shame.
and i'm a rule breaker.

okay so, i measured the distance from the top of the crib frame to the floor plus the width of 3 sides of the crib so i would know what size rectangles to cut out my fabric.
i added 3 inches all around.
i cut out two equal size rectangles for the sides and one long one for the front.
i sewed the 3 sides together...did not hem the bottom.
the fabric is jersey knit so it didn't need hemming....double bonus.
then i {very awkwardly} leaned my big pregnant belly over the sides and hot glued that bad boy in place.

i love the sweet, girly ruffles.

expecting a little girl is bringing out a whole new side of me.
i've never been a girly, girl.
i don't really wear pink or own anything pink.
i do like jewelry & dressing up & painted nails.
but this is a whole new level.
and it's already so. fun.
and she's not even here yet.
15 days and COUNTING!!!!!!


okay back to the crib....

so excited to see her sweet little self in there. :)

okay, off to work on some more girly projects...... it's almost done.
can't wait to show you the finished space!
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instapics

i didn't do great at taking instagram pics this week.
i want to do better at it....just to capture our daily life & routine.

recovered the toybox lid...you saw that pic on wednesday, i think.
the diamond pattern is from when it was sawyer's and the blue gingham was finley.

we're counting down.
18 days today if she doesn't make an earlier appearance.

moxie and a big pregnant belly.

yep.

why we love to eat at flying burrito.
it's like a date lunch thanks to the booth with a tv in it.
the boys get quesadillas with a side of  tom & jerry.
we get a big ol' burrito and some uninteruppted grown up talk.
it's lovely.
and our whole fam can eat there for less than ten bucks due to free kids meals, free kids drinks and aj and i split a burrito.


in other news....

i got a pedicure today. :)
hot pink in honor of little missy.

the nursery is looking so adorable.
curtains are done and ready to be hung.
crib skirt is done and crib sheet is on.
cute pillows are on the toy chest.
i bought supplies for art above her crib today.
pictures to come!! :) Pin It

nursery progress

so baby girl's nursery is coming right along.
i'm antsy to have it done.

so i finally started sewing again after almost a year hiatus.
between moving and being pregnant...my sewing machine was collecting some serious dust.
i also think i got burnt out from all of the sewing i did when i was doing craft fairs. 

it's so fun to be back at it.
so i decided to attack a long-awaited project.

recovering an old chair.
okay so this isn't a great before picture...but you get the idea...

 brown. velour. old.


it's sat in the corner of our bedrooom for years.
we had it in my house growing up.

okay so here it is after i started pinning the white duck cloth on....you can see the brown velour color on the arms.

i used this tutorial from pink and polka dot as my guide.
i did it pretty quickly and pretty imperfectly.
i am sooooo not a perfectionist.
and i just wanted it done...i wasn't super concerned about it looking like a show room chair.
it really didn't take too long...again, because i wasn't being too picky.

i have to say, i really shouldn't quit my day job.
upholstering is not my hidden talent.  
but all in all, i'm happy with it, imperfections and all.
it will be a nice spot in the nursery to, well you know, nurse.

okay don't look too closely.....

a huge improvement on the original, i say. 

i also made that sweet little pillow...love that fabric.

it's reversable with a pink & white dotty flannel on the back.

i also recovered {again} the toybox lid.
the white just wasn't doing it for me...too, blah.

i picked up half a yard of hot pink gingham from hob lob for less than 2 bucks and it looks so much happier now. :)

my friend's mom also made me this super duper soft cover for our changing pad.

i also had her make a crib sheet out of that same bubble-gum pink minky fabric.

so that's the progress so far....it's getting there....

i've got more projects on the way...so stick with me. :) Pin It

thanks, captain obvious.

fyi: it's hot here.
are you sick of me saying that yet?
the weatherman says we are living in historic times.
tomorrow we're supposed to reach the hottest day in recorded history.
and you know what?
i'm not complaining.
yes it feels like someone is blasting a blow dryer in my face when i walk outside.
and yes, it feels like when you open the oven and that rush of hot air comes out in your face....except you stay there and don't move.
and yes, my feet have swollen to something i don't recognize.
nevertheless, i am a summer girl and i will take stinkin' hot summer over cold winter any. day.

the pool certainly helps.
for some reason it has stayed nice and cool and refreshing and i'm so, so thankful.

and seriously, is there any heat that a 10 cent freeze ice pop can't solve? 

okay, i will try to stop talking about the weather now. 

i'm going to go get an icy, icy cup of sweet tea and enjoy the luxury of bought air. :)

{21 days!!!!} Pin It