I feel like all I do...

... is go to baby showers! I guess that's what happens when you work in a field full of ladies :) We had another baby shower this past week, but this one was a little different because the baby got to be there! He decided to surprise his mommy and come a little early so we missed having her original shower and had to reschedule. It's always fun to have a baby to pass around at a baby shower :) Add 20 teachers who all want to love on the baby at the same time, and you've got an interesting situation. I was smart, I waited until most had already had their turn and left, then I got to hold this precious bundle of joy:

Isn't he cute?! His name is Mason.

So... I've tried to have some variety in my baby shower gifting so I've been searching Pinterest and some of my favorite blogs for inspiration. Here's what I made Mason:

When I spoke with his mom a few weeks ago, she said he loves books so this is the cover of his "MASON" book.

Then I had to add one of my favorite go-to baby shower gifts- the taggie blanket. Mason's mom is a Packers fan.

I hope Mason enjoys the goodies I made him. He is too cute for words! I've got some more projects in the works this week. Plus, I'm taking on some challenges in the kitchen! (Pray for me. This is not a place I'm gifted in.) Hopefully they'll be some fun things to show, and I'm sure some stories to share!

Janessa

Happy Valentine's Day!

The girls and I had a great time this year making their Valentines. I found a super cute idea on Pinterest (yes, I am addicted!) so I gathered all our old crayons around the house, bought a few extra boxes of crayons, found an ice tray heart mold in the Target dollar section and we made super cute crayon valentines. Want to make some your self? Here's what we did:

First, we soaked the crayons for at least an hour.
(I am so thankful one of my fellow dance moms gave me this advice. It makes the peeling process so much easier!!)

Then we peeled and peeled and peeled some more. Rose loved this part and was very good at it! :)

Then we divided the crayons into coordinating colors. This was Belle's favorite part :)

We baked them in a heart mold and a little gingerbread man mold for 15-20 minutes at 230 degrees.
If you try this be sure your crayons are fully melted and then let them cool completely before removing them from the mold.

We put these cute crayons in bags and labelled them "Valentine, you COLOR my world with happiness" and "Happy Valentine's Day for CRAYON out loud'. Yes, I know I'm a cheeseball!

These little guys were fun too!

Now the girls want a set of crayons for themselves so I see more crayon making in our future. It was a great project to do together!

Janessa

Tools for Baby

Belle's teacher is expecting a boy, and we had her baby shower this past week at school. Now up until this point, most of my baby shower creations have been girly to the core so I had to do some major searching for inspiration. My inspiration came from a newly discovered blog that has quickly become one of my favorites. Ironically, it's called Girl. Inspired. She had made an outfit for her son that included a shirt with a hammer applique. I wanted to think a little outside of the box on this one, and ended up inside a box- a toolbox to be exact. Here's how I packaged my gift:

I found a toolbox at Target and used scrapbook paper to make a tag that said "Tools for Baby Lee." Then, I filled the bottom of the tool box with diapers, wipes, baby soap and lotion. It looked like this:

Then came my favorite part of the whole project. I made these adorable onesies:

I used felt scraps and my ever present friend Heat n' Bond, stitched around the edge of each tool with my sewing machine, and we were in business! :) I loved packaging these in the toolbox.

I was so glad to discover I can do boy gifts! :) There's a few more boy baby showers in the near future.

I can't wait to have some more fun exploring and trying new things!

Janessa

What a weekend!

We had a crazy busy weekend! The girls had two birthday parties on Sunday. (I love that we do Saturday night church now!) One was Rose's sweet friend from dance who was turning 4, and the other was their cousin who turned 7 last week. If you know their mama, you know Belle and Rose rarely attend a party without a handmade gift so I went on a crazing making spree this weekend. You think I'd learn by now to plan a little in advance so my weekend sprees wouldn't be so crazy! Here's what I made:

Rose's friend got an art kit, complete with a crayon roll, of course :)  Plus, an extra crayon roll for her big sister.
I put the art kit together in this:

Both my girls have bags like this that I fill up with activities we can do on the go.
We keep the bags in the car, and pull them out anytime we need them. The girls love it! We're hoping Ryann loves it too.

My niece got a spa kit complete with a personalized bath wrap
(just discovered how I could make these from a towel- super easy! YEAH!)

My nephew got a crayon roll too!

So excited about this cute "boy" fabric I found :)

I made the girls shirts b/c one of the parties had a "Rock Star" theme.
This is about as rock star as we get around our house- we're a little more redneck than rock star :)

Overall it was a fantastic and fun weekend, but for some reason I am exhausted...

Janessa

Best Daddy Ever!

The girls are growing up so fast! It seems the more they grow the smaller my house gets. At this point we are in a small two bedroom house, and the girls are sharing a room. I expressed my concern to my sweet husband a few weeks ago that the girls were in need of their own space. He started brainstorming and came up with a great idea. Not only did he come up with the great idea- he actually made it happen this weekend! :) Here's what he did:

The girls had bunk beds and a little space to play, but no space of their own besides their bed. So...

Daddy built super sturdy platforms and turned the girls' beds into loft beds! They love it!!!

He built a platform and we had stairs so both girls can easily get in and out of bed.

Belle loves what she calls "My play spot". She's been under there for hours writing in her diary! :)

Rose likes to take everything out in her spot and play in the living room :)

... or in the middle of the bedroom.

PLUS, as an added bonus- he hung shelves for me so we could organize all the bags we have- school, dance and Awana bags. I love this man!!

So Daddy was officially the hero of the weekend. Way to go Daddy! :)

Janessa

Happy New Year!

I am overwhelmed with the ways God has blessed me! As we usher in a new year, I couldn't let the day pass without highlighting a few of my favorite moments from 2011:

I look forward to the many adventures in 2012! :)

Janessa

My Newest Obsession

I seem to have a lot of these lately! I have been in super crafting mode this week. I am loving having time off from school to spend time with my girls and attack all the Christmas projects I've been putting off. Plus, it's been so nice I've moved my workspace to the table outside so the girls can play while I get all my projects done :) One of my favorite projects this week has been the crayon roll. I am by no means a skilled seamstress so this easy project is right up my alley. Just a few scraps of fabric, a hair tie, a button (you can substitute the hair tie and button with a ribbon) and my good old Viking and here's what you get:

I love it! Plus, you can change up the fabric to make it for boys, girls or even adults. I made one with colored pencils recently. I may just make one for myself to throw in my purse. I don't know about you, but I am constantly digging around in the bottom of my purse to find a pen. This would be a great solution to that problem! :) It's the little things in life...

I'll work up a tutorial on this the next time I make one.

Janessa