January Giveaway- Valentine Headband

For this month's giveaway, I will be sending one happy winner, this cute little headband

Perfect for Valentine's Day!! It has 3 little fabric rosettes, a stuffed hand stitched felt heart, vintage lace bow, a fluff of tulle, and a bit of sparkle in the pink flower button to bring it all together. The band is stretch lace so it will fit almost any size head, even an adult!

So, leave a comment on this post and tell me what your plans are for Valentine's Day, or, if you're anti-Valentine's Day (but still want the headband) tell me why you don't like the day.

Get an additional entry by sharing this giveaway on Facebook and leave me a comment to let me know.

Two entries possible, please leave your email in each entry comment so I can contact you if you win.

*Giveaway open until midnight on January 31st. Any entries received after midnight on the 31st will not be counted.*

4 Weeks of Bleh

So, almost 4 weeks ago, I came down with something yucky. It wasn't too bad, but after years of feeling yucky all the time (except during my first trimester of pregnancy, that was the best I'd felt in years...weird, huh?) I was starting to get a lot better and felt good most of the time. So when this bug got me, it really cramped my style. I was just getting used to having energy and no pain. Then I was attacked. And this thing is really kicking my butt. I didn't notice that much when I got sick before because it was so normal for me to feel awful. Now I feel like it's the end of the world!

I'm feeling really behind on everything. Cleaning, laundry, cooking, reading, sewing, blogging, email. I've even gotten way behind on just sitting at the computer catching up on my favorite blogs. There are currently over 200 new posts in my Google Reader and I just can't bring myself to check them out. There are dishes in the sink and laundry on the couch. There are even several boxes that still need to be unpacked from our move almost 2 months ago. Like I said, I'm really behind. But, I will remember this, my most favorite quote right now:

“My joy is not derived from the flawless execution of my goals.

My joy each day is derived from the person and

work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Only God gets his to-do list done each day.

I need the cross of Christ each day.” -C.J. Mahaney

Even though I am not feeling that great and can't even seem to finish a to-do list, I have joy because of what Christ has done for me. I fail and sin constantly and having so much that I am behind on just reminds me of what I am failing at! But to know that no matter what I get accomplished each day, that my joy is found in Him and because of Christ, God can delight in me, makes me so glad.

I feel like I can't even write a coherent sentence, but I hope you get what I'm saying. Being way behind and receiving grace from my family reminds me of how sinful I am and the grace I receive from God because of Christ.

I'll stop trying to share what's in my head right now because it's hardly clear to even me. I think I'll go take a nice hot shower and try to rest before Elora gets up from her nap. Oh, and then I'll get back here and share this month's giveaway! Check back for your chance to win :)

Bedroom Decor for My Husband

Now that we're in a bigger house, I feel the need to decorate a little more than I ever have. We've always lived in small places and they've been totally loved, but really under decorated. It seemed like there just wasn't enough space to really decorate other than with some basic curtains which were more for utility than for beauty.

We moved in to this house on December 1st and Christmas decor went up. When it came down 3 weeks ago I realized that the white walls and white blinds really needed some permanent help. It was just a little too sterile. But I also realized that I am a scaredy cat when it comes to decorating. I can't commit to fabrics and colors and placement of photos and shelves...or anything! I have a million ideas but am too afraid to execute any of them. Lame. So, I decided to just go for it.

But I was unsure of what to do in our bedroom. I wanted some fabric that Corey described as "retro in a bad way". He also said it was too pink. Boo...but then he said I could decorate however I wanted to. Well, I decided to love him more than myself and I chose a more masculine palette. And I'm so excited about it! Here's what I chose:

I had to work with our brownish/taupe colored comforter and I am so happy I found this collection. I have seen a few of these fabrics in other colors but this palette is perfect for us. Pretty prints and manly colors create a beautiful compromise that I think we will both be very happy with. I just ordered the fabric today and I am so excited for it to get here. I am planning on finishing the bedroom by Valentine's Day because I think it would be a great gift for my sweet husband. Our own little retreat in our home.

I'm so excited!

From now until Valentine's Day, I am hoping to feature projects and ideas inspired by my husband and ways to love him more.

I love a good sale!

Went out to find some fabric for an order and found an awesome sale. Beverly's was having a clearance sale and the fabric was $1-$2 a yard and some was 50% off. I got 17 yards for about $30. I was planning on not buying any more fabric until my sewing room was organized...but I couldn't resist! Besides, I've had my eye on a few of these beauties for months, so when they went on sale for $2 a yard, could I really justify not buying them?!

Now I need to seriously get a move on organizing. My father in law took the little one for the day, Corey is off playing disk golf, the sun is shining, and I am cleaning! Or...maybe sewing.

My New Bag

I have been carrying around a generic looking diaper bag for about 15 months and I was getting pretty tired of it. It's big and neutral (for my husband's sake). But my husband doesn't carry it much, and if he does, he treats it as if it's going to explode, which is how he thinks all purse like bags should be carried by men. I figured, if he's going to hold the diaper bag with such disdain, he can hold a pretty "diaper bag" with disdain.

Enter, the Lucious Bow Tote

I love this bag! It's so fun and pretty and functional. I wish I was bold enough to make mine using all those different prints and patterns like the one in the picture above. Mine is not so daring, but I love it just the same.

It's the perfect size for a few diapers, sippy cup, snacks, wallet, and cell phone. Now that Elora is past the infant stage, we don't need a ton of stuff to go out and it's nice to have a more manageable (and prettier) bag.

Valentine's Day

I don't know why, but this year I am really excited about Valentine's Day. Every store I go in to has decorations and themed clothes and tons of cards...and of course I am loving Valentine fabric! For some reason I am totally sucked in to looking at all of the sparkle-y pink and red decorations. I have no idea why I am so drawn to all the glitter and lace.

Maybe it's because for the first time in 7 years, I'm not planning on staying up until 2am for several days in a row assembling bouquets. See, I used to be a floral designer (well, I still am. I just don't work in a shop) and I have worked at a flower shop for 6 of the last 7 Valentine's Days.

When Corey and I got married, I told him that Valentine's Day is not about romance. It's about crawling in to at 3am bed for a few hours of sleep before rushing back to the shop at 7am to load the delivery vans. It's about taking a long, hot bath by myself to try to relax some of the aching muscles once the holiday is finally over (and trying not to fall asleep in said bath...which happened one year, good thing Corey was there to save me!). It's about working like crazy to bring romance to other people and just hoping that at midnight you can still count to 12.

This year might be different. We might do something on Valentine's day. I say "might be different" because I could still be called upon by the shop I used to work at to help out for the big day. But at this point I am free, and I am loving everything pink, red, and glittery. I am even sewing Valentine dresses and bow ties for my Esty shop.

For now, I am getting lost in Valentine's Day projects all over the craftyblog world. Here are some favorites:

Window Garland from Noodlehead

A Roundup from Skip to My Lou

And here are some free printables on Ucreate

I wish I had a kid in school so we could make dozens of Valentine's for classmates and teachers! How fun!

Tuesday's Treasury of Tutorials

Sorry about the alliteration...I just couldn't help myself.

I'm thinking that I'll start a bit of a regular post wherein I post a bunch of my favorite tutorials from the week. So, to start us off, here are the tutorials I used to make Christmas gifts last year (weird to say last year when it was like 2 weeks ago!).

Like a lot of other crafters out there, I have a TON of tutorials and ideas bookmarked. I keep mine on Diigo and love that I have a little button on my browser so whenever I see something awesome, I just click the button and save it. That way I can close all my browser windows so my husband doesn't freak out.

So, for Christmas I decided to actually use some of those bookmarked tutorials (instead of just trying to remember what ideas I'd seen and make up my own way of doing it). So I just wanted to share a little bit of what I've been making...

First up, a dress for Elora. This is based on one of my favorite tuts from Prudent Baby. The Peasant Blouse Tutorial.

Made this little crayon caddie for my nephew. He hugged it and loved it so much, it was adorable.

Next up, I made these wrist warmers for my 14 year old sister. And they had to be in zebra fabric since she is crazy for it right now.

I made two of these aprons, one for my sister and one for my sister in law. Unfortunately I didn't get a good photo of either one, but I'll share this bad photo of my sister in law's apron.

This is probably the most quilting I'll ever do....made this growth chart for my parents (sorry for another bad photo).

I also made a few gifts without tutorials and I am thinking of possibly making tutorials for them. So...maybe soon I'll actually put up a tutorial! That would be quite exciting. In the meantime, check out these tutorials and have fun!

Under Construction

If you are here and everything looks crazy, I'm sorry. I'm trying to clean up my blog for the new year. I am hoping to find something simple, pretty, and clean so it's easy on the eyes. Bear with me as I play around here! :)