diy: summer umbrella wreath

When I first spotted this wreath on my girl Casa Greer‘s blog, I knew it was the pop of happiness my front door needed.
All it took was inviting my crafty friend (gillian) over for motivation, a foam wreath from Michaels, and stack of umbrellas from the dollar store….and wa la:
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umbrellawreat

How can you not smile entering a house with a summertime umbrella wreath?
© 2011 “Le Musings of Moi”
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if you thought deer heads were cool…

….wait till you see this flamingo head!
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Kind of amazing, right?
When my sweet crafty friend Gilly, (or she simply answers to “sweet crafty friend”), showed me this link, I knew it had to be mine.
The problem is though, when it comes to crafting, I need her to be present in my house in order for it to ACTUALLY happen.
Today was that day.
And oh what a happy day it was.

That little gal just has a way about her that absolutely makes me smile.
I mean, she just totally makes ma heart happy.
{i’m talking about the flamingo here….through Gilly has the same effect on me as well}

So, I basically followed the rules from the tutorial, except that I used a boa (from Michaels, $2) and wrapped that around instead of doing all that sewing.
I can be crafty, but not THAT crafty.

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She was the perfect addition to the “kids wing” of the house.  

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I think combined with their art gallery, and hand print canvas’…
Ma Fa-mingo (as Chloe calls him) most definitely completes it all.

Love.
© 2011 “Le Musings of Moi”
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quick sweatshirt diy w/ribbon

Well, since I had the ribbon out….why not see what else I could do with it.
Or in other words, distract myself from what really needs to get done….
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There….
Now I’m ready to sassy up the weekend.
© 2011 “Le Musings of Moi”
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she makes me crafty

Sometimes in life you just get lucky, and God blesses you with a person like this:
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Meet my sweet friend Gilly (aka Gillian) whom I love and adore…

And when I say “friend” I mean long lost soul sister because we swear we were separated at birth.
Ya know, if we had been born the same day and year and all that.
Which we weren’t (same month though, sag’s unite!)….but still….
It’s crazy how similar we are.
Lovers of:
pizza 
organic (on non pizza days)
tattoos
talking about poop
pete yorn
bright colors
forever 21
thrift stores
jesus
vintage furniture
decorating
reality tv
chunky jewelry
sweets and chocolate
Non lovers of:
whiny kids
grumpy husbands
{can i get a whut whut?!?}
And while I won’t go on and on about all the ways she makes me happy, I will go on and on about all the ways she makes me crafty.
Take a look at all she’s taught me so far….
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{wreath for chloe’s room}
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{front door wreath}
tutorial here
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{tissue paper flowers…may change them to different colors eventually}
tutorial here

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{fabulous felt flowers}
Kind of fun, ya?
You should also see the cute little hair clips she just busted out for Chloe out of nowhere…
{too lazy to snap pictures at the moment, but i will}
Now normally I’m not the crafting type, as I’d rather pay someone to make me handcrafted things…
but I guess that’s when you know you found someone special.
You know….when they make you crafty.
I just have to draw the line at scrapbooking.
Sorry.
I tried it once…and I got kicked out of the club.

I’ll stick to felt flowers.
Swoon.

© 2011 “Le Musings of Moi”
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the blessing box

One of my new years goals was to spend more time being intentional with my life.  And since that can a broad statement, I decided to narrow it down to parenting, my thoughts, my friendships & marriage, and my time with God.
{how’s that for narrowing it down?}
I tried to come up with ways that I could accomplish all that on a daily basis.
I needed daily reminders.
While I already tend to read my devotions {almost} every day as well as I read one to Taylor every morning before school, over the months there were many days I forgot.  Yes, life happens, but a devotion takes all of five minutes, so really there’s not a lot of excuses.  So, that was goal number one.  Read my own devotions, as well as Taylors every single morning.
In case you need a good one, I highly recommend Jesus Calling for adults, and Jesus Calling for Kids.  They are amazing.
Then when I saw this post on Design Sponge, I knew I had found the PERFECT way of being intentional around my home that could include every member of the family.
She created what she called a Vintage Postcard Calendar Journal, and it looked like this:
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I was instantly drawn to it, and it became my obsession to recreate it not just for myself, but for each member of the family.
And instead of it being a calendar journal, I decided to change it to a blessing box.  Where each day each one of us would record the blessing of the day in our individual boxes, and then file that dates card to the back to be added to the following year.
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How much more intentional can you be when all day long you are looking for the blessings rather than focusing on the problems?
And I am SO excited to begin Taylor (and eventually Chloe) on theirs since good habits started as children are so much easier to maintain as adults.
And in the many years to come, you eventually have a box FILLED with blessings to reflect on in the times when life may seem impossible.
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For ours, I followed the directions from Design Sponge only I used scrapbooking paper as dividers.
For Taylors box, I used kid themed paper, and for Jimmy’s, I cut up pictures from a surfing magazine and used those.
{not the bikini clad girls, but the actual waves/landscape shots}
I wanted each box to reflect our personality.  
To reflect us.
In addition to those things, I’ll also be reading more books….
on parenting, on loving better, on growing more.
As well as making it a point to read my bible nightly before bed, 
and having intentional time of prayer…
One step at a time…
falling forward towards growth.

What were your goals?
How’s it going so far?

  © 2010 “Le Musings of Moi”
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fashion friday: diy attempt

 Okay, so we all know by now I am not so much a crafty person (scrapbooks stay away!!!), but when it comes to fashion, I really wish I was. So when I saw Maegan’s DIY shirt/vest thing, I was relieved that finally there was something I could actually attempt! All I needed were scissors and a t shirt, and that, I was thinking I could handle.
Surprisingly I didn’t mess it up, and I was actually pretty happy with the results! I thought for sure Jimmy would know that I had made it, but when he got home he mentioned how cute it was, and was shocked when I told him I had made it all by myself. I felt like a 4 year old showing off my arts and crafts.
So, here it is. My version of Maegans DIY.
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I should start calling my Fashion Friday posts, 101 ways to wear a Hanes tank…
So, the skirt is thrifted and it’s huge on me, I actually wore it when I was pregnant with Chloe. Hence the belt, which is from Forever 21.
Shoes: Steve Maddens from TJ Maxx
Necklaces: Chain- doubled up, thrifted. The other one is from etsy and has my babies first initial on one side, and their birthday on the other.
Okay, now it’s your turn! If you have a fashion related post from today or this week and you want to share, link up here!
© 2009 “Le Musings of Moi”
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how to make your own baby wipes

If you know me, you know this is so not me.
I’m not into homemade anything.
I don’t cook, I don’t scrapbook or stamp, and I’m even planning on *gasp* giving my baby formula!

*moment of silence for those who need to judge*

Okay, moving on….

I am all about saving money with this next baby because of all the money we’ll be spending on said formula. (for those who need it, go back to the moment of silence.) So when my friend Mari told me about making baby wipes, I was so excited. Mostly because it’s easy. I’m not up for pureeing baby food or cloth diapers, but if something is quick, easy, AND saves me money….then sign me up!

So, here’s how you do it just in case some of you want to try!

Homemade Baby Wipes
An EXCELLENT option for parents who want complete control over what comes in contact with baby’s skin (and a great way to save a buck or two!)

1 roll standard paper towels
1 tablespoon baby oil (or other preferred skin-friendly oil)
1 tablespoon baby wash
1 cup warm water
if desired – 1-2 drops of your favorite essential oil;
1 3-qt capacity reusable sealable container (I use the Rubbermaid #6 “servin’ saver”)

Directions:
1. Slice paper towel roll in half; set aside unused portion for next batch of baby wipes. Remove cardboard from center. Place roll half on its end in the container. Cut two slices on top so you can easily pull wipes through.
2. Fill measuring cup with 1 cup warm water. Add oil and baby wash. Mix well. ( Note – if you put the wash and oil before water, you’ll end up with a bubbly mess). Pour mixture evenly over roll. Cover container. Wait at least five minutes before using to allow for maximum absorption of water.
3. When ready, pull wipes from center of roll. Usually just one or two can do the trick!
*Bounty so far has proven to be the only paper towel that will actually maintain its shape and durability for such a “difficult” job.
YIELD: A standard sized roll of Bounty will yield 56 wipes per batch (that’s 112 wipes per roll). If you buy a roll that has the smaller “customizable” perforations, you’ll get even more wipes.

Lastly, if you end up purchasing the new Super Rolls they have now, you’ll need to double the recipe so that your wipes aren’t too dry: 1 – 3/4 to 2 cup water, 2 tablespoon oil, 2 tablespoon wash.
Serves: Depends on Roll size
Preparation time: About 5 minutes

© 2008 “Le Musings of Moi”

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