Crocheted Butterflies

A little while ago a friend of mine had the cutest crocheted butterfly clips in her daughters hair.  When I asked here where she got them, she told me that someone had crochet them and given them to her.  So this got me thinking that maybe I could find a pattern on the Internet for them and sure enough I found this  great pattern on the Little Birdie Secrets Blog.

Her tutorial was fabulous to follow, and I spent some time at nights (after I put my kids to bed) making lots of fun Butterflies with leftover yarn and crochet thread.  The tutorial includes three different sizes of butterflies.  I had fun trying the different sizes.  As I had the different sizes of crochet butterflies stacked on top of each other I got the idea to stack them together and then finish them off to put on clips.

Here is the finished products, and I can't wait to crochet some more.

Meg's Dress and Pinafore by Olabehle

In March I was busy making lots of fun things.  One of the things I made was this dress found on the You Can Make This website .  The pattern was called Meg's Dress and Pinafore by Olabehle.  My cousins wife had asked me to make this dress for her daughter for Easter and noted that her daughter loves the color blue.

I went on a search to several fabric stores for just the right fabric.  I found just the right pattern at Hancock Fabrics.  They had just put out a new line of fabric, and when I saw it I just new it would be perfect.  The Fabric was a bit pricey so I had to purchase it in two seperate visits so I could use coupons.  I returned home to see what coupons they had online and found a 50% coupon I could use on the first visit (which my hubby was so kind to go and pick it up for me, since he was in the area)  and then I was able to use a 40% off coupon the second visit. They also had fabric in the colors of green and pink in the same line.  I may go back and get more to make some things for my girls.

The pattern I purchased from You Can Make This was an E-pattern, and I found it very well done.  The only thing missing was that it doesn't tell you what they allowed for the hem on the dress, so I put a 1/2 inch hem on the dress (I like the look better), and then continued with the pinafore.

One of the fun things I learned from this pattern, that I had never done before, was hand pleating.  The pattern included the instructions for hand pleating and it was explained very well.  At first I thought I was going to hate it, but I loved it.  I also loved the fact that it gave the dress a more finished look then machine gathering.

Here is my finished project.

I loved this project so much that I have now picked out some Paris fabric at Hobby Lobby to make a dress for my eight year old daughter, and possibly one each for my five year old and baby girl.

Stain Remover Tip for Sharpie or Dry Erase Markers

Am I the only mother who loathes sharpies and dry-erase markers when it comes to kids?  I find that my kids have ruined so many clothes with these types of markers.  Who thought that replacing all the chalkboards in schools with dry erase boards was the thing to do. When I was in high school I never had a problem seeing the chalkboard,  but during my senior year the school started replacing the chalkboards with dry-erase boards, and that is when I started having a hard time seeing the boards and had to get glasses.   Now that I have young children, I dread when my kids come home from school with dry-erase marker on their clothing.  I have had them wear brand new outfits to school, only to have them come home with dry erase marker on their clothes. The first time this happened I was furious, how was I going to get this out?  I put it in the wash (after trying the hair spray trick) and the stain didn't come out.  I was upset beyond words. my daughters brand new dress from her birthday was now ruined, permanently scarred by the ugly black mark!  I then decided to see what I could find online about removing dry-erase marker from clothing.  I finally found a website with a possible solution that I decided to try the next time it happened.  I didn't have to wait very long, and this time it was on my second daughters brand spank-en new Christmas dress, on Christmas (her cousin had received a small-dry erase board from Santa), I was horrified.  I was ready this time though, and hoped with all my might that this solution I found online would work.  To my amazement it did!!  I was so happy, I literally did a happy dance and sought out my husband to show him the results (I am a bit of a freak about my laundry getting clean, I hate spots).

So, this past Sunday, my five year old daughter was wearing a brand new white dress to church and comes out of class telling me how much she loves the smell of the sharpie she used to color her picture with.  As she is telling me this I see the black marker on her brand new dress - why does this always happen on their brand new stuff?  Once again I just died.  So I decided that I would use the same solution on the sharpie that I used on the dry-erase marker and to my amazement, it worked!

I just had to share this wonderful solution for all those Mothers out there, who are just like me and loathe the sharpie and dry-erase markers when it comes to kids.

Here are the things that I now keep on hand in my laundry room:

Here is the dress with the ugly black marker stain:

After blotting with rubbing alcohol and then scrubbing what was left with Murphy's Oil Soap:

Look at my perfectly clean dress, free of ugly black marker stain, making this Mommy very happy!!!

The House that went from Drab to Fab - Girls Room

Shortly after the outside repairs were done on the house, we found out we were expecting our first baby.  We immediately knew what our next project would be, but did not know how huge it would become, and the time it would take to accomplish the task.

The room we chose as the babies room was across the hall from our room and as you will see from the pictures it had some very ugly, old, and worn paneling.  This room also had two entrance doors to it; one from the family room, and the other from the hallway.  The light fixture was hideous, to say the least, and consisted of one light bulb on a two light bulb fixture, and the glass cover was missing.  The carpet was an ugly maroon, and very dirty.  We suspect it was installed in the mid  1970s.  The moldings were broken and in some places missing completely.

The door shown in the picture above became obsolete and the only access to the room when finished was from the hallway, giving the room more functionality.

 My husband worked tirelessly tearing all the old molding and paneling from the walls and what should he find below...hideous wallpaper.  He then worked on opening the closet to its full potential. The original small door that was on the closet, only allowed easy access to half of the closet space.

The room pretty much received a total makeover.  The plugs were recessed into the walls (most of the plug boxes in our home were boxes against the walls, making it hard to have any furniture flush against the wall), new light switch and plug covers, new moldings, Sheetrock to smooth out the wavy, damaged walls, the outside wall was furrowed in a bit to add insulation.  Upgrades included new moldings trim, and rosettes, hardware, fan light, carpet, blinds, textured ceiling, bead-board style wainscoting and the walls were painted a light green with a sage green sponged over the top.

I became pretty stressed in February, when this project was not quite done and I was due the end of February.  The room was such an intense project that my Hubby spent all his extra time on it.  The carpet was delayed (causing me more stress) and was not installed until the Friday before my due date (which was Sunday).  Lucky for us the Baby ended up being 4 days late (amazing since I was so stressed out).  This room became my favorite room in the house and when I walked in it, the light was rejuvenating and the room felt as though I was in a completely different house.  It was hard to believe that this beautiful room now existed in such a drab house.

Ready for Baby:

At the time of sell.

March Madness

March has kept me super busy with several projects (Bows, Headbands and Easter Dresses), Daughters Birthday Party, Sons Birthday, my 8 Year Old's daughter's Baptism and Easter.  Thank goodness my kids have Spring Break the first week in April, so we can all just relax and have fun.

Here is a sneak peak at one of my projects.

Spring Fever

I am beginning to have Spring Fever.  The snow has finally began to melt at our place and I am so excited to start working on our new yard.  I am also very excited for Easter as it is one of my favorite Holidays.  I am currently working on Easter Dresses for my girls and one for a cousins daughter.  Since I am working on Easter projects I wanted to share a few new bows and headbands I have been working on.

A few weeks ago a friend came to visit and brought with her her daughters Easter dresses and asked if I could make matching bows and a headband to go with them.  I was so excited to get started and here are the results:

Butterfly Bow:

This was made to match the dress below.

Floral Bow and Headband:

This Bow was made to be worn alone or clipped to a headband (below)

 This bow was made to match the dress below.

 I loved the color combination of the pink and purple bow so much that I made my Baby Girl a headband also.

Headband Frenzy

I have been on a Headband making frenzy, whether it is Baby Headbands or Little Girl Headbands, I just love making them all.  Here are a few of my latest creations:

Shabby Ivory Baby Headband: I am in love with shabby flowers.

Red and Black Fancy Headbands: 

Regular Headband

Baby Headband

Black and Blue Baby Headband:

Valentine Crafts

A couple of years ago my Sister-in-Law at the time shared an awesome place with me, The Wood Connection. My first project was making my girls' names with the wood letters that they sold and have since done several projects.  At The Wood Connection they allow you to take pictures of their finished projects on Display,so you can have ideas on how to finish your own.  You can also purchase the paint, paper, glue, ribbon, ect., making it a one stop shop.  The Wood Connection also has a blog in which they give tutorials on how to finish your wood projects along with their latest items for sale.  One of the things I love about this store is they have a play area for the kiddos, which for a busy mama like me, usually having 3 to 4 kids in tow, makes shopping there much more enjoyable and the kids are entertained.

My most recent projects were for Valentines Day which unfortunately I was unable to complete by Valentines (hopefully they will be finished for next year and I will share those then).   My two oldest daughters love to help me paint the projects and since doing wood projects is something my Sisters and I have in common, we love getting together once a month to work on our projects.  The added bonus is that since 3 out of 4 of us have kids, my Mom also comes and entertains the Grand-kids which is awesome, except for my 7 month old Baby Girl has become a major Mama's girl and decided that as long as I am present no one can touch her, making it almost impossible for me to get much done on my projects.  But my sisters have been great to help me paint and at least make some headway on my projects.

Here are a few from last year that I completed and I love the way they turned out:

The House that Went From Drab to Fab - The Beginning

In 2003 my husband and I decided to buy our first home.  My husband suggested we buy a fixer-upper, and gain some sweat equity.  After many weeks of searching and touring many houses (with crazy floor plans) we found a quaint cottage style bungalow.  Despite its appearance of disrepair, we focused on the positive potential in our little "Diamond in the Rough." With its three bedrooms, all on the main floor, it was a rare novelty in the area.  It was also the only home we looked at that didn't require a stroll through a bedroom to get to another bedroom.  We loved the nice big porch, decent sized kitchen and abundant storage in the hallway (also a rarity in the area).  The negative aspects included a musty animal odor, a basement full of rubbish, outdated tile counter tops, ugly brown paneling in every bedroom, an old window swamp cooler that no longer worked, stained burgundy carpet straight out of the late 70's, broken doors, holes in the walls, 50+  year old linoleum tiles in the kitchen, and the walls that were painted had a thick layer of smoke damage from the old fireplace (which wasn't to code).  Seriously, what were we thinking when we decided this was the one!  The only nice thing in the house was a newly tiled shower (but the urine stained grout on the bathroom floor distracted from that).  We made a reasonable offer, and after a day or so of negotiating, we settled.  As soon as we moved in the deep cleaning ritual to bring new life into this old home began.  I hated all the holes in the house, so I would just put decorations everywhere trying to hide the ugliness.  We knew it would take time and money to help this little home regain respect, and we started to prioritize and budget for the repairs.  The slow process of fixing up the house began.

Due to money being held back at escrow by the lender, the first thing we did was work on the painting of the eaves and windows.  My husband began the process of sanding the underside of the eaves. One day after several hours he determined the sanding to be in-effective. When I arrived home from work I found that he had torn all the eaves down.  I was in total disbelief at the sight.  Instead of painting the old rotted wood, he installed new vinyl soffit and fascia.  The application added depth to the eaves that enhanced the roof line, provided better ventilation for attic space, and gave the home a new crisp and clean aesthetic.

Next we replaced 10 windows, two doors and a storm door.  This left only 10 windows that still needed to be scrapped and painted.  We didn't have enough in our immediate budget to replace all of the windows just yet.  The front and back doors were immediately replaced because they both had large gaps around them creating drafts that could be felt from several feet away.  We also replaced the front screen door with a beautiful glass "forever" door. The front picture windows had "Queen Ann" style perimeter grid included to match some of the interior details of the home and add character and "curb appeal."  My husband worked tirelessly scrapping and painting the exterior of the remaining windows, giving them fresh new life.  He also learned how to cut glass and replaced all the cracked basement windows and re-glazed them. The frumpy trees hiding the porch were removed, and the remainder of the garden was pruned. We then added 300 tulip bulbs as frosting to our newly decorated cake.  The tall vent coming out of the right side chimney of the house was cut down to a more reasonable size. Finally the holes and cracks in the cement skirt on the house were re-stuccoed, and then painted to add contrast and depth.  We installed a new porch light, hung a house number, flag mount, and hose rack, removed paint drips on the old brick, and adjusted the rain gutter down spouts.  Making the home look good on the outside made it more enjoyable to pull into the drive way.  Looks can be deceiving though, and mild depression set in every time we walked in the door and realized how much interior work still needed to be done.

Three Years later the white gate was added.

Here are exterior photos of the house at time of purchase...

and at time of sell...

Photos of the Tulips in full bloom (annually in March).

My Miss Priss Boutique DIY Headband Kit

Back in August I came across some adorable DIY headband kits by My Miss Priss Boutique.  Through "liking" her page on Facebook I saw that she was doing a deal on Groopdealz for the kits - $17 plus $2.75 s/h.  So, I thought I would give it a try since I had just delivered my new Bundle of Joy.  The kit was great.  It came with everything needed to make several different headbands and clips.  You can buy the kits in My Miss Priss Boutique Etsy shop, and be sure to like her Facebook page to be notified of upcoming deals and events.

Here is the fabulous kit I received with all that is pictured (along with instructions and felt):

Here are the Headbands and clips I made with it.  Four headbands and two clips.  The pink and black headband is made with the chiffon flower in the kit.  I used my own black elastic and black jewel to complete this particular headband (I just love pink and black together).  I also added my own Skinny blue ribbon to the blue and pink headband along with the rhinestone button.  I do have one suggestion, if you plan to use the pearls, sew them onto your head pieces/bows otherwise they will easily pop off over time.

Baby Headband Holder

Over the last year I have become a bit obsessed with making baby headbands, especially for my Baby Girl.  It all started with a friend asking me to make a bow/headband to match her daughters cream colored blessing dress.  She brought me the left over materials to use on the headband.  I had so much fun making it, and it turned out fabulous.  Since then, I have made several for my Baby Girl, and I needed a fun way to display them.  I came across this pin on Pinterest which took me to "the letter 4" website with the tutorial  (since then I am unable to find the instructions on the site).  With the help of my hubby (he attached the wire and hung the frame), this is what we came up with.  I love that by doing this it created an awesome wall decoration for my daughters room, as well as a place to hang her many headbands.

(pin from Pinterest)

Supply List:

*Frame (I used a 16x20 from Hobby Lobby)

*wire (I used floral wire)

*industrial staple gun and staples (my husband used screws and then wrapped the wire around them)

*clothes pins (Mine were from Michaels dollar bins)

*one awesome perfectionist hubby (don't let him get too far, you'll need him for hanging the frame after it's assembled), or better skills than I have with a stapler or cordless drill.

For hanging:

*Drywall anchors and screws

*Stud Finder (or awesome hubby)

*Level

*Tape Measure

*Masking Tape

*Pencil

The Finished Project:

Starting Over

 Please join me on my new blog adventure.  I have decided to take my blog in a new direction and use it as a way to share the things I have been able to make for my home and family and also share where I found the patterns or ideas for my creations.  I will not only be including crafty projects, but home projects my Husband does  (Yep I married a Handyman, who loves to beautify our home with custom moldings, flooring, wainscoting, gardening...ect.)   I have therefore changed the name and will be adding more then just bow posts.  Over the last 6 months I have discovered Pinterest and I am in love with all the fun pins people have shared.  I will continue to share my latest bow creations (with 3 girls I am obsessed with making lots of fun bows and it is a huge stress relief for me).

Fun with Bows over Christmas Time

I had several requests for Bows at Christmas time.  Here is just a few Custom Bows that I made.

This Fluffy Red Sequin bow was made to match a Christmas Dress that had a Sequined Bodice and Layers of Tulle on the skirt:

 This Trio of Red Roses was a lot of fun to make.

 Fancy Baby Pink and White Headband

 Medium Black and White with a touch of Pink.  This Bow was made to match a Black and White dress which had a pink sash:

Medium Hot Pink.  The request I received for this bow, was something less fancy then the Medium Yellow Bow, but with more spunk then the White Ruffle bow I had done previously:

Fabric Rosette Trio.  A friend of mine came over with some scraps of Fabric left over from a dress she had made for her daughter and asked that I make some Rosette clips for her and therefore 2 Rossette trio clips and a trio brooch were made.