Bunting Banner

Well today I wanted to make this cute little bunting banner for Brynlee's room.
My inspiration came from over at Project Nursery.  I love everything about this room and the mural on the wall is absolutely beautiful.  I hope to do this one day! P.S. take a look at the adorable print on the right.  It's so true...to an extent! It's hard to find times to keep every room in our house spotless and organized and sometimes I throw my compulsiveness out the window and have a messy bedroom so I can take Brynlee outside for a walk or watch a movie with Ben.  It's all about priorities!

I didn't have a whole lot of time to work on this project this afternoon because Brynlee was being a pill and having a hard time napping, but luckily I was able to complete it...eventually.

Materials Needed:

• Scissors and pencil
• Hot Glue Gun
• 1 package Miniature Pennants (18 pieces) 
• Scrapbook Paper
• Mod Podge and paintbrush 
• Ribbon 

Instead of using fabric I saved myself some time and I got a little bag of the miniature pennants made out of some type of cardboard.  I got a set of 18 at Porters Crafts for only $1.50.  Measure the amount of ribbon that you need and then lay out the pennants to see how many of them you need to work on.

After that you are going to trace the pennants out on the opposite side of the scrapbook paper that you want to display.

After you have cut out the scrapbook paper.  Your going to brush a small amount of mod podge onto the pennant and then stick the scrapbook paper over it.  Let it dry for about 15 minutes and then apply a light coat on top of the scrapbook paper pennant.

  Once they are completely dry simply hot glue a ribbon to the front of them and hang them up.  You're done!

Canvas Headboard

So I would absolutely love to have a headboard like this one day! But alas we are still college students, only married just over two years, with a little 6 month old so I have to sometimes compromise alter what I would love for our home to look like and be realistic and realize that although I have Pottery Barn taste I have a target budget.


In my attempt to not give up decorating because we are on a budget I have to be pretty smart about the projects that I choose to do.  This is something that I am terrible at! I always have like 15 ideas in my head that I want to do, then I will go and buy the stuff for half of them, and actually do like 2 of them.  So needless to say, in the next few weeks I will be doing more craft tutorials and showcases! I have lots of goodies.

So you don't need to much for this project

• 6 fat quarters of three different fabrics 
• Hot glue gun 
• 6 canvases (choose whatever size will fit your bed I did two rows of three at 16x20 inches)
• Scissors 

First you want to decide on what direction you want your canvas to go over your bed.  Personally I prefer it horizontally.

Then start ironing all of your fat quarters.  You'll really want to get all the creases, crinkles, and whatnot out because once it's on the fabric it's there for good.  You can't iron canvas.  

Start covering the canvas by aligning it to the best of your ability.  I really like the chevron pattern because it's easy to keep it straight.  

Next your going to want to work on the corners.  Start by folding them in like you are wrapping a present.  Then put a small line of hot glue on the canvas frame and press the fabric to the canvas. 

Then put some hot glue on the inside of the canvas wood frame.  Bring in the fabric really tight and press it into the frame.  This will give you nice crisp corners. Do this technique for the two longer sides of the canvas.  Then for the shorter sides just simply put a line of hot glue on the frame and press the fabric to it.  

Your all done now! Just use a pencil to mark where you want each small nail to go in your wall (or use 6 of those velco things, those are the best!) Below is my attempt to line it up the my eyes.  UGH not so good! The hubs is going to have to come home and make all of them straight. Also please don't judge my lamp.  I will happily be changing the cover to something...not so yellow :) 

Happy Crafting! 

DIY Chalkboard

So I have been really excited to do this post!  I got this super cute metal magnet board from my in-laws down in Utah but I just couldn't figure out how to incorporate it into our decor in our house.  I'm absolutely obsessed with teal, turquoise, aqua blue (whatever the heck you want to call it).  It's such a fun spring/summer color that has really made its way into our house lately.  You can find it in our bathroom, kitchen, living room, and even Brynlee's room.  Fortunately it isn't overwhelming, I promise.  Just little hints to add some color and make it pop.

Here is the link to the tutorial that I used for my chalkboard.  http://www.pepperdesignblog.com/2010/01/11/before-after-chalkboard-frame/.

I did things a little different because my budget for this was VERY SMALL! So instead of spending the $20 on the chalkboard paint that you paint on, I opted for the budget friendly chalkboard spray paint.  I had to be really careful to make it even so no bubbles would show.  And I did 3 coats just to be safe, but overall I don't think it made much of a difference.

One thing that you don't want to forget that this tutorial didn't include was that you will need to prep your chalkboard when you are done.  Just take the side of your chalk and rub it all over the chalkboard until it's completely covered and wipe it off with a wet cloth.  Do this at least 3 times.  If you don't whatever you write on your board will permanently be there.

So this is a fun easy project! All you need is spray paint, chalk paint, and some chalk!  I had a bunch of spray paint left over so I also updated an old frame we had to make something cute to put Brynlee's Birth Print  in.  I made this birth print forever ago, and almost 6 months later I am just now displaying it!  Better late then never though.

5 Months Already and Mothers Day

I can't believe how Brynlee has changed in just a months time

So what exactly have we been up too?

Ben has been working really hard in his training class.  He won't really tell anyone because he doesn't want to brag but I certainly will gladly brag about him! He beat his company's record for the length of time to graduate from their training program during assessment.  The record was 8 and he beat it by 2 in just 6 days!  He's a rock star and has people fighting over him to get them on their sales team.  Plus the fact that he is crushing their goals also means that we get larger commissions as well! Pretty much things are looking great at this new job and he works with a bunch of really awesome people.  I have been just having a good time with Brynlee and have been working hard making our house a home and decorating and cleaning.  It actually keeps me pretty occupied.

Brynlee has been changing on a daily basis.  It amazes me the things that she can learn in just a few months.  She is now 27 inches long and weighs 14.5 lbs.  Here are some of her favorite things to do

• Has rolling over from both sides down packed.  She's a professional and still loves her tummy time.
• Loves to sleep with her Hippo and we take it pretty much anywhere.  She'll snuggle her face into it or try to eat the hippos head.  It's just adorable

• Lunges forward and can pull her body a little bit at a time to try to crawl.  It's really funny she just buries her head into the floor, sticks her butt in the air, and goes.  Sometimes she get's rug burn so I try to always have a blanket under her.
• Absolutely loves being thrown in the air! I'm way to nervous I'm going to drop her so Ben always does it and it's fun to hear her giggle and squeal

• Supports herself sitting up with her hands.  Not super long but still impressive! 

• She can take the binky out of her month- and when she tries to put it back in it goes in the opposite direction

• Loves reading with her momma! Every night before bed time we always read one simple board book  and then we read a real story like a Dr. Seuss book, Good Night Moon, or On the Night You Were Born, or If the Savior Stood beside me.  Afterwards we read a chapter in the Book of Mormon and then we sing a couple Primary Songs and say a prayer.  It's a really great way to end the day! 

• She thinks Peek-A-Boo is the funniest thing in the whole world but only with me.  Ben and others have tired to do it and she'll just stares that them but when I do it she cracks up so hard! It's the funniest thing

And just a few more because I think she is absolutely adorable

My first Mothers day was on May 13 and it was really special.  I am so happy to have Brynlee as my daughter and that I have an awesome husband who is so helpful and is an awesome example of what a father should be.  I was extremely spoiled this Mother's Day with a few presents and some breakfast burritos before Church.  I told Ben that next year I really don't need anything but a good nights sleep.  I got this perfume, handbag, and the most beautiful necklaces.  It has a small vintage heart on it that looks weathered with a small pearl and a really small pendent with Brynlee's name hand stamped on it.  After we got home from Church we had crockpot cream cheese chicken with noodles and a salad it was delicious! We then went and took a walk around the Falls and just had a relaxing evening.  It was a perfect Mother's Day.  I really reflected on what I can do to be a better wife and mother and how I can be an example for our children and help them stay on the right path.  

   

We have been having so much fun this last month with our little family.  Pretty much every Sunday and Saturday we take a walk around the falls and we feed the ducks and geese that are there.  Ben even was able to have a goose come right up and eat out of his hands.  Fortunately Brynlee was not at all interested in the geese and was supper content in the stroller                                             

Am I the Only One?!

So we have our first set of family pictures set for May 26th, and I am only slightly getting stressed out about it.  Since I haven't lost anywhere near as much weight as I had wanted to by then I am feeling 1) totally self conscious, 2) embarrassed about my post baby belly and 3) uncomfortable in front of a camera.

We haven't taken actual professional pictures since the just over 2 years we have been married- so it's a pretty big deal for these to look good and for me to feel good in them.  We decided to take them up at the gardens at BYU-Idaho because the flowers should be in bloom, there aren't many people there on a Saturday, and it's right next to the wheat fields ( I wanted a couple there too, if possible).

So since I can't magically make 20 lbs just fly off my waistline I have been searching and searching and searching for the perfect outfit to hide all the flaws.  There's positives and negatives to shopping.  Positives- I love looking at clothes and finding ones that fit and flatter.  Negatives- spending money and realizing that I am not longer a svelte size 4 and more like....actually I'd rather not mention ;)

Ben has been pretty understandable about the whole thing and agreed to let me get my hair done that morning (because I absolutely hate curling my own hair- it takes me like 3 hours, so having someone else !) and to also get my nails done.  What a guy right?!  I think he also knows that if I feel better I'll be happier and therefore look better, and then he doesn't have to hear me complaining for the next years about our pictures.  Some people probably think that family pictures are no big deal- but they are really important to me! My family never took pictures growing up and I really wish we had, so with our family I want to make sure that we have pictures and writings to go along with our memories.

So I have like 3 different outfits that I like, but none that I love and feel totally hot in...so I'm still searching but we have Brynlee's and Ben's clothes picked out...Of course Brynlee is going to be the cutest one out of all of us! She is definitely adorable and a total ham in front of a camera- she's a really smiley baby but when she see's a camera or a cell phone she get's really serious most of the time.

I've found a few family pictures that I have really liked and want to do something similar to it.  I don't want a million just posed pictures (just a few), I like things to be natural as well and just having fun.  But if we could get a good one of ALL of us smiling (and me not looking like I have three chins) then I would be in heaven.  I love bright colors, and when people aren't matchy-matchy and I just hope that I can stop stressing out about them and just enjoy a fun afternoon with our little family.  If anyone has any tips with taking family pictures with a 5 month old- please share! I can't be the only person who gets stressed out over family pictures right?