TUTORIAL: Make Your Own Monogram Pillows

as you've noticed by my lack of posting, i've been a bit busy! part of that busy always involves time in the studio, of course. :)

i'm excited to share a tutorial, along with a few variations, for making your own monogram pillows. i've been crushing on the popular number and ampersand pillows for at least a year now but dang are those things expensive.

so instead, i decided to make my own and show you how in the process!


you can find the instructions over on the Fiskars site by clicking: Monogram Pillows by Tania Willis

and in case you missed it, the instructions for the Yo-Yo pillow (shown in the photos above) can be found there too: Yo-Yo Pillow by Tania Willis

both would make excellent Christmas gifts!

speaking of Christmas gifts.....you don't want to miss these other projects by some of my favorite designers:
Miniature Embroidery Hoops by Emma Jeffrey
Four Scarves by Emma Jeffrey
Holiday Gifts for Teachers by Lisa Storms
Creative Gift Wrap by Lisa Storms
Handmade Christmas Gifts by Emma Jeffrey
DIY Gift Spa by Katrina Simeck
Holiday Gift Toppers by Laurie Cinotto

ENJOY!

scrapbooking on the walls.....

so, i don't think i ever mentioned which photo i ended up choosing for the canvas print i had made through Photo-Canvas.

i've been wanting a canvas foooooooooor-ever. because i have wanted one for so long, i wanted it to be perfect and something that i would want to look at for many, many years to come. thus making my decision on which photo to use a difficult one. but i finally........about three days prior to Christmas decided and placed my order.

Photo-Canvas did an AMAZING job and it was delivered to me on Christmas Eve----yes, two days after i ordered it, from the UK......with FREE shipping! wowza! i highly recommend using them for your next canvas order.

here's a closeup of the canvas. the texture is amazing!

the finished size is 18 x 24.

here's where i have it hanging now....

a few pillows are missing from the bench----excuse the random junk sitting on the bench that's not normally there.

anywho.
i feel like it's missing a little something.

here's another view.

so, i'm debating on adding some floating hearts to the wall above the canvas print similar to these floating butterflies i saw over on Cartwheels in my Mind designed by a fellow scrapbooker, Jen Johner.


totally cute, right?

it shouldn't take much time at all if i put my Silhouette machine to work cutting out the hearts. i just have to decide on what paper to use. i'm thinking solid red cardstock and attaching them with gluedots. but i'm so dang indecisive that i don't know what i really want.

decisions like this should NOT be this difficult, LOL.

what would you do?
pattern or solid?
varying sizes or all the same?
flat on the wall or creased in the middle/dimensional?

help a girl out, would ya?

sneakity peek at my kitchen redo!

so, the reason why i'm weeks behind on talking about the rest of my december daily is more than just CHA/scrapbooking deadlines. more than just battling illness and trying to be back to 100%. more than just i can't get my crap together.

(and....i still have 2 posts to go on that december daily. one day i'll catch up. someday.)

it's also because we've had our hands busy with a little kitchen makeover.

it's a pretty big change on a really small budget, in the big scheme of things.

it's something i've been wanting to do for a looooooooong time, but we can never seem to save up enough with all our medical expenses. so we've been doing a little here and a little there.

but thanks to my awesome daddy gifting me and doug each a home depot gift card for Christmas paired with a friend who was willing to donate his talents, we were well on our way to finishing our kitchen facelift. :)

*insert happy dance*

a few years ago.....a little at a time....
we added cabinets.
installed new countertops.
replaced the sink and faucet.
installed new light fixtures.

here's a peek at a little of what we've done since Christmas and what direction we're going in. it's now super bright and fresh. and my favorite color combo EVER. light blue, red and warm, buttery yellow. :)

(new poster i got for Christmas. :) from this etsy shop.)

we're not quite done yet.

still needing to:
get hinges for the cabinets.
add another coat of white to said cabinets.
paint the table top/chairs.
hang the cabinet doors.
find decorative plates.
decide on and install knobs.

speaking of deciding on knobs. this photo doesn't do most of these justice, but i think i've fallen for the round chunky blue ones. or should i do a hodge podge? or should i do a matte finish black knob and mount these to a white wall board straight across as decorative potholder/towel rack???


decisions, decisions.

i also need to decide what color to paint my table. it's currently a farmhouse style with butcher block top and white legs. but it's very well loved with lots of paint splatters and marker stains from all the kid crafting that has happened there over the years.

this is the closest picture i could find on the web.

while it would be awesome to buy something different that fits our space better, i'd rather sand the top down and paint it leaving the legs white.

so what color should i paint the top?
yellow?
black?
white?
turquoise?

help a girl out, would ya?

watch out, mama's got a new obsession.

none of the walls in my house are safe because soon enough i will have left my mark on at least one wall in every room. you could say, i've been having a little too much fun with a Silhouette machine that was gifted to me and the one little test sheet of vinyl that came with it.

can i just say....vinyl wall art is so addicting! the first time my step-brother Greg walked into my house he said "your house looks like a scrapbook page" and we all laughed. but, now i'll give him that. with personalized vinyl art the walls in my house really do look like a scrapbook page. and i LOVE it! crooked pictures and all. hee.

and you can see that i still haven't changed the pictures from when i first put them up---except for the one that's in color. i'm still deciding on whether to go all color or stay with black and white. anywho.....rabbit trail.




so the livingroom, bathroom and man cave have been attacked & just as soon as i think of the perfect word/phrase, i'll be adding it to this hallway wall--the first thing we see as we exit the bathroom. any suggestions? i used to have a framed silhouette of Spidergirl leaning against the wall but have since moved it to my bedroom.


the possibilities are endless..........if only the supply of vinyl was too. hrmph!

if you peeked into my home, right now...

after being inspired by my sweet friend Sherry through email today (and every day), I decided to make a similar list. Because blogging without photos is way better than not blogging at all, right!? (she's posting her list tonight). Did I tell you my computer is in the shop, again? Lovely.

so, anywho. here we go.

If you peek into my home right now, you'd see...

• Little trinkets & treasures like matchbox cars and superhero figures parked in unusual places...like the freezer shelf.
• One bed made, and two beds with blankets ruffled begging to be snuggled in.
• The one bed made isn't mine--but I did make it.
• A landing full of clothes & towels--our makeshift dirty laundry hamper, if you will.
• One side of the sink full of rinsed dishes waiting for the diswasher to be emptied.
• Bathroom walls painted a lovely shade of butter yellow...a paintjob that was quickly aborted with only 80% of it finished. (We won't even mention how long ago that was)
• The other 20% of it is white.
• White copier paper tucked into every little corner you can see with half finished drawings created by Ashlyn.
• Little bowls or baskets or purses full of crayons & markers tucked between couch cushions, or cans in the pantry or in coat pockets, or in any free space--pretty much--for when inspiration hits.
• Towels from Doug's shower draped over the kitchen chairs.
• Power cords for the computer, printer, scanner, monitor, etc, in a pile waiting to be reconnected when the computer returns---which may very well be never.
• Pile of shoes by the front door because I can't commit to a storage solution.
• Blankets, afghans, and quilts everywhere you turn because they are cozy and you can never have enough blankets.
• Thermostat set at 67 and rarely gets bumped up to 69...never higher.
• Kitchen cabinets without doors on them (ugh!). Yes. Still.
• Many walls with test splotches of paint on them because I'm very indecisive when it comes to paint.
• A wall of framed kidART leading up to the upstairs.
• A kitchen wall covered with more kidART, unframed, tacked up with pushpins because I think it draws the eye to the cuteness instead of the eyesore that is my kitchen. And you can never have enough kidART.
• Very clean and organized playroom.
• A livingroom wall of my favorite pictures changed to black & white in various black frames.
• KidART taped to the walls & door of Ashlyn's room.
• Mismatched furniture throughout the house.
• A kitchen floor needing mopped.
• A laundry room floor with piles of clothes/sheets waiting to be laundered. (has anyone ever confirmed if laundry multiplies while you're away!?)
• Laundry baskets of clean clothes on the couch waiting to be folded.
• Kitchen table with a scrapbook project & props not put away after being photographed in a hurry this morning.
• A silhouette of Emma on the hallway shelf that I completely adore.
• A hall closet missing a door waiting for a curtain to be made and hung.
• A froggy boot in front of the television in the family room and one on top of the dirty laundry in the hall.
• A child's book on the bathroom floor, open where she left off reading.
• Kitchen table & chairs aged with layers of paint & glitter glue that prove our love for art.
• A blue beta fish happily living in his space on top of the food pantry.
• A majorly neglected flowerbed with overgrown weeds.
• Fingerprints all over the television screen.
• Glowsticks awaiting this evenings edition of dark, dark hide & seek--a favorite evening activity.
• Pretty necklaces hanging on a corduroy fabric covered cork board in my bedroom.
• Tidy closets & out of control clutter in the fridge.
• A newly declared "man cave" decorated with red walls & OSU memorabilia.
  
• Two girls sharing a bedroom, emma's old bedroom is now the playroom, the previous playroom is now my studio and my studio is now the "man cave". Phew. That's a lot of moving stuff around.
• And not a single Christmas decoration in sight. Yet.

Try to make yourself a list....then slap it on a layout and call it done! It should be fun to read again in 10 years, eh?

lost.......

in a sea of pillows and blankets...and a reinactment of Finding Nemo.



not really sure why we ever buy toys for the kids, as pillows and blankets and empty boxes seem to satisfy them just fine.

when ashlyn was a toddler and Finding Nemo first released on DVD, she was mesmerized by the movie. and when i say mesmerized, i mean it in the strongest sense of the word. she could sit and watch it 3 times in a row without budging an inch. *could*, but didn't. but she did watch it frequently enough that for my own guilt, i switch it to play in Spanish mode every other time she did watch it so she could maybe learn a little something in the process. hahaha.

it's still a favorite.

stay tuned this coming week for some giveaways and details on my next class!

i have a diva & a tomboy.

last month i was randomly taking photos throughout the house for no other purpose othe than just playing around with settings on my camera trying to learn some new things.

and i captured this.


now, to the untrained eye, this simply looks like a family coat hook. but to me, it tells so much more of a story. the juxtaposition of the princess bookbag with the spiderman hoodie just makes me laugh.

you see. i have two little girls.....my princesses. but, one of them is nothing of the sort. one we call pretty princess and the other spidergirl. really, they couldn't be more opposite of one another.

ashlyn looooves to put on aromatic lotions and body splash.
emma? not so much.

ashlyn hates to take a bath because she doesn't want to mess up her pretty hair.
emma? the girl could live in the bathtub and be totally content.

ashlyn wears tights, dress shoes and a skirt *almost* every day.
emma? she prefers anything and everything spiderman all the way down to the shoes (including her under garments!).

ashlyn could eat candy.....sweettarts, jawbreakers, bubblegum, tootsie pops......etc. all.day.long.
emma? none of that. just chocolate.

ashlyn dreads---with a passion---having to get up in the morning and go to school.
emma? she wakes up happy as a lark begging to go to school---right.now!

ashlyn is a total night owl and a crankbutt in the mornings.
emma? asleep by 9pm (sometimes earlier) every.single.night. but also up at 5am rearing to go for the day.

ashlyn has long flowing hair and wants her hair even longer.
emma? she's got a short slinged bob cut and she's begging for it to be cut again because "it's growed to long momma."

ashlyn flits about the house with her purse in tow stuffed full of anything and everything girlie.
emma? she is always carrying her spiderman glasses or her techdeck skateboard or a matchbox car.

ashlyn hates peanut butter.
emma hates jelly.

ashlyn loves her milk.
emma won't even let a drop pass her lips.

i could go on and on and on. i never thought two girls from the same parents could be SO drastically different! but i love them both more than anything and i wouldn't change a single thing about them!

ashlyn went to school dressed head to toe in pink......including these shoes. when you're 7 all shades of pink match, right? it's a sight to see for sure. (shoes from OldNavy)


emma went to school dressed head to toe in red, with these boots. and it's not raining. she finally outgrew the watermelon boots. *sigh* (boots from Target)


anywho. that's all i got for today.

there's only one problem with this room...

here, let me take you on a virtual tour first.

THIS is the playroom.
here's the view as you walk down the steps from the kitchen. looks inviting enough, i think.


the first corner you see. that big white cabinet is FULL of art/craft supplies----not mine. just for the kids...oh and a few barbie things.


a view of the overall room......lots of room to be creative and play and learn and explore...and it's even organized....bins labeled making clean up a little easier...


fun visual art on the walls...
some storebought


some mommy made art...


and some kid made art...


cute stuff hanging from the ceiling...


a computer station even.......and my studio RIGHT.BESIDE.THEM...


so, tell me.....
why is it that they have toys strewn all about the house, shoved under their beds, in their closets, in their dresser drawers, decorating my bedroom, abandoned on the bathroom floor, piled in corners in the livingroom, garage and kitchen????

the only one problem with this room???? THEY.NEVER.USE.IT.

help me think up something fun to do with this room because right now it's a bunch of wasted space. i've been threatening for a long time to take it over and use it as my studio. oh my, how i'd love all that space.

any ideas?

i thought i'd have to go grocery shopping tonight.

but upon further inspection, i think we're gonna be alright for a few more days.


apple juice: check. check. check. check. (how'd we end up with so much juice?)
milk: check.
chips & cheese dip: check.
sliced cheese: check.
shredded cheese: check.
dippy sauce (ranch dressing): check.
mini carrots: check.

all of the above required for smooth sailing for the kidlets.



the devil's juice (coca cola): check.
red bull: check.
sweet tea: check.

and momma and dad are happy campers too.

she said.....and little repurposed idea.

she said...
"kiss me lips mama." and my heart melted.

and as a little thank you for sharing your ideas with me....i have one for you! this works for little girls and adults just as well. when i was thrifting a few weeks back, i found an aisle with several coffee mug trees for 25 cents to 50 cents each. i immediately started thinking about how i could repurpose it for use in a different way and an idea was born. so i grabbed one and took it home. it is now at peace in ashlyn's room.

slowly but surely.

getting back into the "new" normal routine. lots of 10 minute chores, then 20 minute resting going on. 'bout the only way to keep my sanity, get things done, and still rest my back. thanks for all the well wishes and prayers.

kidney foundation is making their way here monday morning, so i'm in simplify mode.

so i started in emma's room this morning. the dresser is now empty of outgrown clothes and in a bag for donation. then moved to ashlyn's room to clean out her top dresser drawer which was a discombobulated mess of anything and everything that didn't have a home.....tights, belts, headbands, headphones, etc.

now i've shifted gears and am currently thinking of a way to make the hall/linen closet a bit more efficient in terms of storage. you know when things are being shoved and cleaned and organized and there still isn't room that it's time to get rid of some stuff. so while i'm thinking i come down to the livingroom, open the laptop and jump on IM to ask doug a few questions. the conversation went like this:

me: are you ever going to use that shaving cream warmer again?
him: ummmm
him: probably not.
him: i don't know.
him: i really do like it.
him: but i use gel now.
me: so, do you want me to keep it on the off chance that you might want to use it?
him: yeah
me: k, great.

a minute goes by.

him: i'm thankful for red bull (he worked overtime yesterday and this morning, been up since 5am)
me: tired, eh?
me: i'm thankful for trashbags.
him: lol

that about sums up my week. focused on getting stuff outta here, room by room, 10 minutes here, 10 minutes there.

so two things i'm looking for a solution for:

1. shoe storage---currently they all stay at the front door where they come off. with this lovely ohio weather we go from sandals to snowboots back to rainboots in a span of 3 days.

2. belts and tights in the girls room. any suggestions other than throwing them in a drawer? that's not working too well for us right now.

and now, i'm outta here to go get ready for work.

studio storage.

1. Framed Lace Cardstock, 2. Repurposed Window Frame, 3. Repurposed: Tarlet Pans, 4. initials, 5. Repurposed: Tea Kettle, 6. jars, 7. Repurposed: Bundt Pan, 8. Pegboard Storage, 9. Pegboard Storage, 10. Repurposed: 2-tier serving tray, 11. happy corner!, 12. Ribbons, Buttons, Tags, oh my!, 13. CREATE, 14. Mail Organizer: Cardstock Scrap Storage, 15. Prism Cardstock, 16. Storage Shelf/Dresser, 17. Karen Foster Design Stickers, 18. side desk, 19. Repurposed Storage: Tea Kettle, 20. Repurposed Storage: Bundt Pan, 21. Milk Glass and Icecream Pedastal, 22. Garden Box: Ink Storage, 23. Metal Plates, 24. Scrapper's Floss, 25. Adhesive Storage: Open, 26. Adhesive Storage: Closed, 27. Repurposed: Tartlet Pan, 28. Repurposed: Condiment Server, 29. Studio30. Not available


last post about the studio, i promise. it's getting a little old, eh? sorry. but some of you have asked to see. if you have more questions, just leave me a comment. (psssst....if you click on those blue orange links, it will take you to each picture to see it bigger and you can see more comments.

a little background: this room has been 3 years in the making. little by little, definitely not overnight. the desk was made by my dad using wooden doors that aren't predrilled for a knob. they were $15 each. we constructed a support for underneath and raw 4x4s hold it up. it's set up in a "L" shape. each door is 8" long and 30" deep. they are attached on the underneath with metal braces so they don't shift. the total cost of supplies was a little less than $85. the hutch on the top of my main area was found at the side of a dumpster just as a neighbor was moving. in perfect condition. FREE. everything else is storage from garage sales or goodwill or just given to me. oh, paint color was found at walmart: Late Tomato mixed in a higher grade paint. i've learned to be resourceful and i love thrift shopping. recycle and reuse. or frugal to a fault. i'm always thinking of ways i can use things in non-traditional ways. oh, and the pictures don't show it too well, but the room itself is really, really small. it's 9ft x 11ft. maybe that big. i'm probably guessing generously. what you haven't seen is underneath the desk. i use every last inch of space in that room since it's a shared craftroom with the girls.

anywho. anyone want a little package of scrappy goodness? i'm gearing up for a purging of the supplies. gotta keep it under control before it overtakes me. and the companies i work for are soooooo very generous. (heh. you thought i bought all that stuff, eh?). leave me a note in the comments and i'll send something your way!

happy thursday!

there is a method to my madness.

first of all.........my new favorite quote....

"life secret=most things in life are worthy of making the laundry folding wait." --stacey kingman.

so very true stacey, so very true. :o)

as i've talked to many people over the past few days, it seems that i'm not alone in the sometimes overwhelming struggle to get laundry folded and put away. so when it gets to the point of no return, this is what i do:

STEP 1: gather and dump.

all the clean laundry is taken to a central location, usually the livingroom----this time it was the playroom---and dumped in one huge pile. ash was at school and emma was home with me. shhhhh......i used pbskids.org as a babysitter for 20 minutes while took back control of the laundry situation.

STEP 2: line up baskets.

one basket for each of us (4), one for towels, one for sheets (not shown), one for clothes needing hung up (not shown)

STEP 3: start sorting.

people usually look at me like i'm crazy when i suggest doing laundry like this when they have an overwhelming amount. but for me it works. reason being: since i work part-time outside the home AND work from home designing, i have to use my time wisely. when i sort by person, then i can take 5 minutes here or 10 minutes there to fold one basket and i know that every single thing in that basket gets put away in one location. if i fold a load right out of the dryer, it takes double the time to put away because i have 5 different places to put stuff away. it works for me.

STEP 4: multi task.
use chunks of time to fold here and there. i folded these sitting in the bathroom while i was supervising emma taking a bath. then i folded 3 more baskets while watching american idol----the only thing i watch on tv.

i'm soooooo rooting for david.


this my friends is why i refer to my life as a constant organized chaos. but it's my life, and i LOVE it!

hey nena, look!

i use the kids artwork around the house. i cut the smaller ones down and use them on the fronts of cards, hang it up on the fridge, taped to the walls, tacked to the walls in the studio, and sometimes frame them. art hangs everywhere in our house really.

not very many are framed though. it never even crossed my mind to frame emma's art from the other day.

but nena suggested it in my comments. and i thought, ya know what. yes, i should frame it. so i did.

so there it hangs, in the playroom, just above eye level to the right of the computer corner---right above my printer/scanner shelf.

and it makes me so incredibly happy!

not so happy = loads upon loads of clean laundry that needs folded. it got a little ignored over the weekend when i was busy cleaning the studio, and the playroom, and paint. and it got ignored again yesterday while i played lincoln logs with emma, and did some art, and burned CDs, and made homemade chicken and noodles. all incredibly worthy of the laundry being ignored.

so, now. i MUST go fold that laundry.
happy tuesday my friends!

progress.

because i know you're all waiting on the edge of your seat wanting to know if i made my way through the mess...........i'm an relieved to say, i have NO MORE PILES!






and just so you don't think i'm hiding anything with all these closeups.....




i just finished painting the hallway. yes, the one that's been long neglected and waiting patiently to be painted for oh, say, at least a year now. (anybody noticing a pattern here?)

it's done! painted. still wet, actually. the kids were begging me to let them paint too. no way was that gonna happen, so i busted out the cardstock and some craft paint and they went to town. can't share until they are dry.

now, i'm going to go reward myself and make my studio all messy again.
making pages.
just. for. ME.
imagine that.

happy sunday my friends!
ps. i took a million pictures of my storage ideas, if anyone is interested, i'll share those another day. let me know in the comment! :o)