And The Winner Is...

Thanks to everyone who participated in my first giveaway!

I appreciated all the comments. It's always nice to know

this blog as fun for you as it is for me.

And now, without further ado....

the winner is...

Brooke S. Rochon!

Congrats! I'll be sending you a message and the 

hair clip will be on it's way!

Lily Bloom

Yesterday I discovered the lovely little handbag brand, Lily Bloom. I was at T.J. Maxx looking for boots for my daughter and of course their purses at the front of the store caught my eye. I instantly fell in love with these bags!

They are so cheerful and the price was amazing.  They are also made from recycled plastic which is always cool.  Most bags were only around $16 - $20. At least at T.J. Maxx they were. I'm pretty sure the original prices were closer to $55. Sadly enough, I walked away empty handed. They had enough in stock for me to contemplate the purchase for a while. We'll see. I have plenty of bags already. Maybe if I budget extra carefully this next week I'll have a little money to play with and treat myself to something fun. :)

My Tutorial On ME SEW CRAZY!!

     I'm so very honored to have a tutorial featured on Me Sew Crazy today. Jessica seems to be a woman after my own heart! She loves spending time with her family, loves to sew, and is a Sister in Christ.

So please head on over to see what I've been up to!
Ballerina Headband Tutorial 

My First Giveaway!

I figured it's time for our first GIVEAWAY! Yay! 

Many blogs have sponsers who give products away for such contests, but since I have only myself, 

I made something special just for you.

I will be giving away ONE silk and  feather,

hand beaded hair clip. 

Aren't they GORGEOUS? It's one of my favorite things to make because they remind me of

little silk party dresses.

Here's how it's going to work.

You must first make sure you are a follower of my blog 

then leave a comment at this post mentioning which color you like best. Teal, or White.
The contest closes on Sunday night and I'll draw a name on Monday.

I'll announce the winner on Tuesday, July 19th.
Have fun and good luck!

Our Nursery

     Here's a peek into our nursery. When we first painted it, my goal was to keep it gender neutral so the walls are a light apple green and our main accent color is blue. We had our daughter first so the other accent color  was pink. When our son was born, we switched out the pink for orange and I put up the maps and other boyish wall art.
     These colors are pretty much throughout my entire house. I love the fresh feeling they give. I want my house to be cheerful, relaxing, and promote creativity. I also want it to be a fun place for my kids to grow up in.

Here's a list of most of the items in the pictures and where we got them.

Passed down to us or bought second hand:

Dresser cabinet, rocker, bookcase, dark brown basket, bird pictures,

lanterns, map, crochet blanket, and most of our children's books!

 Ikea purchases:

Rug, blue wall shelves, blue chair, and mobile.

 Target:

Orange baskets and polka dot pail

 Photographs on the wall:

Nelson Fotography

Pretty much everything else was given as shower gifts. 

We are so blessed to have such generous family and friends!

My First Batch of Homemade Laundry Soap

I was simply THRILLED when I found this recipe for laundry soap by  

diyNatural.
One thing I love about this recipe is that it's powdered. I could make small batches at a time 
and not store multiple gallon of the stuff in my house.

diyNatural has tons of recipes for beauty products, cleaners, food etc. 

This is the first idea of theirs I've tried. 
I don't want to be accused of stealing their recipe so please visit their site for all the details! 

You just use these simple ingredients which my husband picked up at Walmart.

(My little helper is sooooo serious!)

Ivory Soap

Washing Soda

Borax

This is very easy to make and really cheap. I'm excited I can put it in my cute little canister too! :)

J Crew Knockoff Necklace Tutorial

A couple years ago J Crew was selling these beautiful necklaces.

I loved them and figured I could make something like it. So I made this:

Well, I wanted to show you how I did it, but there were NO pearls at the craft store last time I went. That was really strange and very disappointing. I rarely get out to go shop like this so I had to make do. These pretty blue beads caught my eye and I figured I could still make a fun necklace so that's what I had to work with for these pictures. To be completely honest, I like the pearls better.

First of all you'll need this ribbon-like trim. I have no idea what it's called, but they sell it in the trim section of the fabric store and I believe this one is 100% cotton. It's very inexpensive which is a bonus. I used 2 yards for my necklace.
I also used large beads, a beading needle and beading thread that's kinda like dental floss.

I took my "ribbon" and found the middle. You want to start in the middle so you get an even number of beads on each side. I didn't do that with the black one and that's why the necklace knots at the end of the beads rather than in the back.
Then I simply knotted my thread and started to sew my beads on. The key to this necklace is to make it evenly uneven. Does that make sense? You want to alternate from one bead, to two beads, then maybe three singles, and you fold the ribbon between each section. A couple stitches with folds and maybe a twist makes for an interesting necklace. You want to look like you didn't try too hard, but you need to step back and make sure it's turning out okay.

When you finish the first side, knot your thread then knot the ribbon where the beads end.

Now go back to the center and complete the other side the same way.

That's really it. Tie the back into a bow and enjoy your new necklace!