Birthday Outfit

I made a cupcake onesie and tutu for my little girl's first birthday. For the cupcake I simply folded a wide satin ribbon in half, and sewed the edges together. Then carefully placed it in a cupcake shape, hiding the sewn edge under the ruffles. I was really happy with how it turned out! Yay for cute babies and their birthdays!

Dishes

When J and I got married, we weren't really interested in receiving china as a gift. We knew that we would be moving around quite a bit before finally settling down, and figured any nice dishes would probably get ruined by the time we could actually use them. But, when we moved to Boston- I had a small change of heart, sort of. You can't really call this real china- as the plates are about $2 a piece, but nevertheless I was quite excited to get some cute dishes (that aren't plastic :) ). I scoured Home Goods and Marshalls quite a few times before I found these- and boy did it make my day when I did! To top it off, I found the cute quilted placemats at Kohl's for a killer deal- and I was excited that would add some color to our dining room.

Easy Window Treatments

Upon arriving in our new (old) rental home, we had basically no window treatments whatsoever. One of our favorite parts about this house was all the big windows! However, when you have little to zero privacy, window treatments are a must! I decided to quickly and frugally take matters into my own hands. I cut up our old shower curtain into two panels and hemmed the sides and bottoms to create these window treatments.

This bay window was a little bit tricky because there isn't really anywhere to attach curtain rods- but when all else fails, use the ceiling, right?! I just bought two cafe style rods and drilled holes in the ceiling. These rods definitely aren't meant to hang from the ceiling but they do work pretty well.

For all of you non-sewers out there, this was the first time I had ever sewn anything (that I can remember). And once you figure out how to thread the stinkin' machine, it's really not that hard! So whip out your long lost sewing machine and give it a try!

Positively Delectable!

My new favorite treat these days- Cake Cookies! I've been having a blast lately looking up recipes online (one of the top ten reasons I'm grateful for the internet- so I don't have to own so many cookbooks!) and found this one:

1 cake mix (flavor of your choice)
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes and wabaam! Delicious cookies! I personally love to add frosting to the top, you can also add to the batter itself with nuts, m&m's, or whatever your heart desires. Let your imagination run wild and go make some cookies!
Note: Jan tells us this makes 4 dozen, but I must make big cookies because I don't even get 4 dozen when I double the recipe.

Monogram Makeover

I've been wanting to make a decorative bow holder for my little girl. I'm sure this idea isn't new to the crafting world, but I thought it would be adorable in her room. She currently has a red, pink, and lime green color scheme (tulips). These aren't necessarily the colors I would pick out but when you get free pottery barn bedding you definitely aren't going to say no.
I started with just a basic "E" from Michael's that I got for $2-3 I think. Then I picked out a few fun scrapbook papers and acrylic paint and got to work. I love the way it turned out and am still debating whether to add the ribbon strands to create the bow holder, or just hang it on the wall as is. I think I will add the ribbons- but for now I'm just enjoying my cute monogram.

Linking up to Thrifty Decor Chick's Before and After Party

Paint Colors

When we were preparing to move we were very excited because it was the first time we would be moving into a home, and actually be able to add our own touches. As we all know, the cheapest decorating technique is to spruce up a room with paint. I looked at all different types of stores, searching through their paint chip selection, trying to find the perfect ones for our new (rented) home.

Today I'd like to start with the dining room- Behr Silver Screen.
People thought I was crazy to paint a room gray but I must admit this was the room I was most excited about. The room in its entirety still needs a little work but it is painted a beautiful Silver Screen! And I absolutely love it!

More paint color stories to come!

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