Words With Totes

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I've been experimenting with my Silhouette machine and working on some cute totes for my shop. This is my first completed one, Live.Play.Love.



I used my tutorial for the bike with "flowers". And I used the same method I used for AJ's Dino Tee for the lettering on this bag. The bulk of the bag is unbleached cotton and I used various designer fabrics for the rest of it. It measures about 12" x 14". I lined the entire tote with batting (I love using these totes for laptops so I have to make them sturdy!).









This tote is now in my shop!!

On a sidenote, AJ has been asking for one of these lately



He's convinced daddy is going to get him one when he gets home from work. Good luck buddy! It would be nice to have one of these in this 100 degree weather though!

Linking up to these parties.

Obsessed Much??

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AJ and I have both been sick so I haven't had much time to sew. But yesterday, I did get to paint during his long nap!

I should never have picked up a can of spraypaint. It's addicting! I started off with these candlesticks.



They're beautiful as is, but as you can see, I am surrounded by dark and bland colors. Chocolate brown walls in my dining room, beige walls in my living room, beige sectional, and allllll my furniture has an espresso finish. My dining room table, the dresser that my tv stands on, my end tables, my two bookcases on either side of my window, and another bookcase in my entrance. That's just not ME! These candle sticks didn't stand a chance.



I had bought this Valspar paint the same time as the Mediterranean color. This one is called Summer Leaf. Yesterday, when I went to get groceries I bought some more $2 samples. Did you know WalMart sells samples? They even come with their own brushes. I looked around for something else to paint and spotted yet another espresso colored item. This bowl usually has pot pourri in it so the perfume has damaged the inside of it.



I sanded down the inside and then lightly brushed it with a Glidden sampled called Amethyst Jewel. There wasn't really a need to sand it afterwards because I didn't paint it completely. And the little indents on the bowl were the perfect touch. But I did sand it just a bit (didn't really make a difference).



I hope my husband doesn't freak out when he gets home and finds all these "girly" colors sprinkled around our house.





But to be quite honest, I don't think he'll notice!! Have a great weekend!

Linking up here.

PRAY

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First of all, I just have to say that I have the most amazing, supportive and beautiful friends in Blogland! I was feeling really crummy yesterday and you guys showed me so much love with your sweet sweet words! I immediately felt better and after a long talk with my husband (and a good cry), he reassured me that my job was a lot tougher than his. Strangely enough, last night my son got really sick with croup and I was more grateful than ever to be able to stay up all night with him without having to worry about taking him to daycare the next day. God really has a way of opening my eyes and showing me how blessed I am. Whew! I guess we all have days like that, huh?

Moving on, I've been working my way up to work on a big project. For some reason, I am really scared of painting my furniture. I'm afraid I'll mess it up BADLY. I have a really dark bookcase in the entrance of my house that I am dying to brighten up. I bought a few paint samples last week and what was the first thing I painted? My shoes! That same day, I asked my hubby to paint this sign too.



I know it's not a piece of furniture. Baby steps, baby steps. He spraypainted it the same color as my flats.



I went to WalMart this morning to get groceries and happened to remember to get this.



When I got home (after I put away the groceries), I started to distress my PRAY sign. I had no idea what I was doing. I just sort of scrubbed all the edges and lightly passed over the surfaces. This is what I ended up with.



And then I placed it on it's new home next to this cute pillow.





While at the grocery store, I also took Laura's advice and bought myself a $5 bouquet of roses. I love how they look in mason jars. Ofcourse, I'm not quite as good at photographing them as she is!

So do I pass the test?? Am I ready to take on this bookcase?



I'm still a little scared! But I will do it eventually, once I settle on just the right color. I also have to keep in mind that I'm repainting my walls soon so I have to coordinate this with another color. I think I decided on slate-colored walls?? I guess the question marks don't really make me sound too sure. We'll see! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and enjoy it with your families!

Breakdown Mode

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I am feeling so lousy right now. I hate when I obsessively think about something over and over to the point where I feel so inadequate and depressed.

I'm a stay at home mom and although, I am usually really happy about this and I absolutely love being able to stay at home to raise my son, there are some days that I feel guilty. Is this normal? I feel like everybody just thinks I'm lazy and don't want to work. The truth is, I only get four years to spend with my son. I don't want to put him in daycare while I'm fortunate enough to have the option to stay at home with him.

Am I selfish for doing this? I know my husband doesn't LOVE to work and would give anything to be at home with my son everyday. And ofcourse, our household could use some extra money. I don't think anybody would be opposed to the extra income. Everytime I think about this, I feel sooo guilty. I feel like I'm not contributing to my household or my marriage. Why do I feel like this? My husband has never said or done anything to make me feel like this. He's never asked me to work and put AJ in daycare.

I know my job is an important one. I know my son is lucky to be able to stay at home and be raised by his mommy. I'm not the kind of person to feel anxious to get out of the house for at least a few hours a day. I'm perfectly content being a stay at home mom. In fact, I'm more than content. I feel complete. I have a purpose. But do I? Or am I just being selfish? I'm not exactly the best at keeping my house clean and making well-balanced meals.

It's just one of those days. I need some thoughts and I need to know that I'm not alone. Am I alone in this? Does the fact that I feel guilty about this actually make me guilty? I know that today's society expects moms to return to the workforce and find childcare for their children. Is there no place for traditional values anymore? I don't want to offend anybody with this post and I hope I didn't. I wish I were brave enough to let my little angel go. The truth is, I even cry when I think about him starting school and not being able to spend all my time with him.

All I want to know is, as a stay at home mom, do you ever feel like this?

I think I might delete this post.

Mini Boden Knock-Off

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Have you ever heard of a store called Mini Boden? I love love love their clothes for kids. But it's a little pricey. When I saw a dino shirt in there, I knew I had to make one for my baby! AJ is going through his Dino stage right now (I think it's lasted over a year now... would we still call it a stage?) He is so smart! He even knows the names of most dinosaurs- and he's TWO years old! One of his favorites is the Triceratops, but he calls it a T-Top. So I made him his own "Mini Boden" shirt with a T-Top!



This plain white shirt cost $2.99 at Hobby Lobby. I have to go stock up on more. I used navy gingham on fabric interfacing to cut out the image on my Silhouette machine. Then I just ironed and topstitched the T-Top onto the shirt!

I asked him to show me his T-Top shirt so I can take a picture and this is what he kept doing! Too cute!



I took him to the mall to play in the indoor playground while mommy flipped through her new catalogs. There is NO WAY we can play outside right now. It's 108 degrees! But my little dinosaur had fun anyway!















Can you tell he got a good tan this weekend?? I'm so glad I got to take him out of the house for awhile. Poor baby has been cooped up all week, since we got back into town. Today was his day!

I'm linking up to these link parties!

Messenger Style Bag

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I have been wanting to make one of these bags since I first started sewing and today, I finally did!



I think I'll call it The Alexis Bag, after my sister because she is going back to nursing school in the fall! I really admire her so much. She had stopped school to stay home with her daughter, Morgane. But now that Morgane is old enough to start pre-school, my sister is going back to school. Her name is Vivian but her middle name is Alexis. Real quick background story on our names... My mom is obsessed with "Gone with the Wind" (as am I). She named Vivian after the actress who plays Scarlett O'Hara and she named me after the character's daughter, Bonnie.

Anyway, Vivian is pretty much the best cook ever! She makes up her own recipes and I am so glad she lives down the block from me because I'm ALWAYS eating over at her house! She just started a blog, vivre where she's posting some of her recipes and kitchen adventures. Go follow her!



So this bag is just awesome. I think it's perfect for students. I added slots for pens and highlighters and two giant pockets. I just love all the fun bursts of color. And it's for sale in my shop!






On a side note, I think grey is my new favorite color. Seriously. I'll have to write a post about it in the future. I might even paint my living room grey. Stay tuned for that!

Linking up here!

Spraypainted Flats

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**If you have used this tutorial or any others by Pink Stitches, please post your pictures on the Pink Stitches Flickr Group! I'd love to see your beautiful creations and feature some of my favorite projects!**

I must be crazy! Who else would spray paint their shoes??!



Well, honestly, I had seen another blogger do this so I guess I'm not the only crazy girl out there! If you'd like to join in on the craziness, here is what I did.

Start off with an old pair of flats.



Stuff them with newspaper or paper towels and tape off the rims.



I think any spray paint would work with this project but I used Valspar (They only had Gloss in the color I wanted but the shininess will wear off with use).



Start spraying! If you don't trust yourself to distribute even coats (like me), ask the hubs to do it. Aww, he's wearing the shirt I made him!



Let dry for a few hours.



Peel off your tape and admire you new shoes!



If you're wondering about my weekend, I had a blast in San Antonio with my family! Unfortunately, I forgot my camera!! So the pics will have to wait until I can steal some from my sister (who blogs at vivre). I've got a lot of stories and adventures to share with you but I'll leave them until I can get my hands on those pictures!

Sharing this post at these fine places.

More Crayon Rolls!

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Yesterday, I was making a custom crayon roll for Laura of Live.Laugh.Photograph. My original plan was to make about five of them so I can put them in my shop. That was a no-go. My husband ended up working on his truck for the majority of the day and I had to entertain my son.

I only got to make two crayon rolls while AJ watched Dinosaurs on YouTube. I had totally forgotten about that show! Do you remember it? "I'm the baby, gotta love me!" I could hardly concentrate on what I was doing because I kept getting distracted with the show. At one point, I rolled up my chair next to him and watched an entire episode. My stomach hurt so much from cracking up!

You much watch this episode: "Dinosaurs- Terrible Twos"
Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3

I hope the links work. You won't be disappointed! They need to bring this show back!!

Anyway, back to the crayon rolls, Laura asked for one exactly like the one I made for Morgane but with an aqua lining.






For the other crayon roll, I used some Cars fabric for the outside and the same red alphabet fabric that I used for AJ's crayon roll.






This one is now in my shop. If you are interested in a crayon roll in a specific color or fabric, please contact me! I will be more than happy to make you one! Or you could check out my Crayon Roll Tutorial and make one yourself!

I might be MIA this weekend. I'm going on a little mini-vacay to San Antonio. I'll be taking my iPad so I might be able to blog or post pictures while I'm there. If not, then I'll see you on Monday! Have a fantastic weekend!