Gift ideas for a little girl

Wow Christmas is rapidly approaching and I feel as if I have nothing done! I have been trying to organize my Christmas list and sort out what items were to be purchased online, what items were to be purchased in store and what items were to be handmade. While doing this my mine wondered back to a gift we gave my step-daughter last year. She is very into all things American Girl Doll. Now for those of you who don't know, American Girl Doll is a very cute and even educational line of dolls, books and clothing for little girls ranging in age from 2yrs+. Although be prepared to get price tag whiplash!! They aren't cheap!

So back to the gift. My step-daughter wanted a cute little bed for her doll. But we really didn't see paying $145 for a doll bunk bed. Heck that was more than the doll!!

So I started searching Wal-mart and Target...and found this for $20+.

It came with some light pink boring bedding...so I purchased some small pieces of fabric that coordinated with my step-daughters bedding. I made small duvets, pillows and mattress covers. voila customized American Girl bedding! If you didn't want a white bed, a sweet little can of spray paint could fix that! I think all together I had $30 in this gift...It sure beats $145!

Happy Shopping and Merry Christmas!!

New Find

As I was surfing the net this morning, I came across a website called Wallies that sells wall decals and cutouts. My head automatically began to spin, thinking of all the ways I could use these sweet little things. And of course I couldn't resist not sharing it with you.

They offer:

Cute as a button Seasonal decals...Peel and Stick...easy peasy and easy to remove.

Pre-cut designs

How great is this...chalkboard on vinyl sheets!! This would be a great way to turn a cabinet door into a chalkboard with out actually disturbing the paint/finish of your door. Or you could cut small rectangle pieces and stick them to canisters/containers for labels. The possibilities are endless.

What a cute way to allow your child the freedom to decorate their walls. These peel and stick play decals can be repositioned.

Each element of the decal are cut separate, allowing you to place them anywhere and design personalized murals. Check out their website HERE

Merry Christmas!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2 Corinthians 9:15 – "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

Better Homes and Gardens

I may not have all I want...but I have all I need!!

I hope everyone has a warm and blessed Thanksgiving!!

Monogramed purse

Recently, a dear sweet friend of mine celebrated a momentous birthday. I wanted to give her something that would be very special so I decided to make her a monogram purse.

I purchased:

1/2 yard of fabric to use for the outside (face fabric) of the purse (the black polka dot)

2/3 yard of fabric for the lining of the purse & monogram (the red print)

1/2 yard of white felt for quilting

Decorative ribbon 1-2 yards
1/8 yard of coordinating fabric (will be used for the monogram)

Copy of a letter printed from the computer

I cut out my purse in both the face fabric, the lining fabric and the felt.

Next I pinned the face fabric to the felt.

And quilted these together using my sewing machine.

I then printed a large "b" from my computer and cut it out in two sizes. I used two coordinating fabrics, one for the smaller "b" and one for the larger "b". I hand stitched these two letters together using a decorative stitch. Finally I stitched the double letter to the face of the purse. I added decorative ribbon to the background.

Once the detail work of the purse was complete, I stitched the purse to the lining and attached straps.

The end result:

I think it turned out pretty good...and my friend loved it!

**Today I'm linking up to Met Monday's at Between Naps on the Porch**

Talk to ya soon!

Loads of Laundry

Laundry Rooms!!!
To be honest with you, I have never considered decorating my laundry room until I started blogging. Yes I had seen beautiful laundry spaces all organized and accessorized in magazines or online but never really got the urge to decorate my own. In its current state, my laundry room is a "junk jail" that happens to house the washer & dryer! It's amazing, things in our house that are "homeless" will find refuge in the laundry room. So I decided to bite the bullet and get it done. Besides, having a beautiful place to work always helps the work go a little faster...Right!!

Like all good designers do...I began an inspirational hunt for ideas I could utilize in my laundry haven. Then the fun part of clearing out the space will come next. That means finding a home for all the homeless items and removing those annoying metal shelves. Sound like a helper job...Oh kiddos!!! teehee

My Inspiration

I found this wallpaper at Waverly.com and absolutely fell in love with it. Instantly I thought of beadboard paneling with this vintage looking paper above it. And what girl doesn't love pinks and browns! :) Now that I have a color scheme...its off to choose the other elements for the room.

This laundry room has several element I would like to use in my own...the chandelier, wallpaper and the cute vinyl lettering on the wall not to mention the cabinetry above the w&d.

I like the compartment shelves...maybe it would make staying organized easier.?? (fingers crossed)

Definitely need a place to hang wet clothes...thats a must!

I do need a decorative shelf above the washer to help hide that water supply box. However, mine would need to be considerably lower than this one.

This last picture is just for kicks. I only wish I had a new washer and dryer that I could enclose within cabinetry. Great idea for a w&d that is located in a heavy traffic area. Also, the large glass canisters are a great idea for detergent and clothes pins.

Well guess I need to put on my work gloves and dig in! I'll keep ya updated!

**All the above pictures excluding the first are from Better Homes and Gardens**

Talk to ya soon!

Lunch Break Find

I was having such a blah day at work yesterday, I decided to go do a little retail therapy! First I hit Ross and found this darling little white candy dish which I love love love. I think I will place it on a small decorative plate and house my kitchen sponges inside it...or maybe take the lid off and put a little tea candle inside it. The possibilities are endless!

Next I stopped by the fabric store and picked up a yard of this beautiful country yellow fabric. I've got a few projects in mind for this little pretty as well. I'll share those projects in a few days!!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day!!

Talk to ya soon!

A little late...My window treatments

I had all intentions of linking up to Funky Junk's "Saturday Nite Special-Window Treatments Party" However, things just didn't work the way I had planned. So...four days late...here is my kitchen window treatments.

Like most women out there, I have a little bit of a rooster theme going in my kitchen. So when I found this cute farmhouse inspired fabric...I just had to get it.

I wanted a simple treatment that was easy to remove and didn't require permanently attached rods. My plans are to one day install a continuous cute-as-a-button little country shelf above all three of my windows in my breakfast nook. The window on the far right of the nook was turned into my plate display shelf (Click HERE to see that project). I don't have before pics or during pics...just finished (this was a pre-blog project).

I started out by measuring my windows and adding six to seven inches to my width measurements. This is to accommodate the slight swag in the top. Next I measured 1/3 of the way down from the inside top of the window. I used these measurements to draw and cut out a pattern on a $5 discounted white bed sheet. I know what your thinking..."why is she ruining a perfectly good sheet to make a pattern?" Well, once you use the pattern to cut out your decorative fabric...you can use it as a lining for the back of the treatment.

After cutting out the body fabrics, I cut several strips of plaid fabric on the bias to make the piping trim. Now I know there's another name for it other than piping...but I can't think of it right off hand. Anywho, I stitched the bias strips of fabric together making one long strip of fabric which was then folded around the piping. I sandwiched the fabric covered piping between the right side of the decorative fabric and the bed sheet lining, stitching these layers together. Please note..the piping should be turned inward when you sandwich it between the top fabric and lining. That way when you turn it right side out the piping will be on the edge of the treatment. Make sure you leave a small opening to allow for turning the treatment right side out. I used the same plaid fabric to make three little tabs and two decorative ribbons. I sewed the tabs to the top of the treatment and tied the ribbons around the ends. I know this was kinda hard to explain without step by step pictures...but if you have any questions you can leave it in the comments or send me an email.

Since I missed Saturday Nite Special, I'll be linking up to Transformation Thursday over at the Shabby Chic Cottage

Talk to ya soon!