A Little Caper

My little cousin turned three years old and this sweet guy needed a super hero cape! What three year old boy is complete without one? I went for simple, fun and all boy!
I used a fun polka dot and corduroy fabrics!

 I put the two fabrics together and cut them at one time to make things really easy.

I cut rounded tabs for the neck piece. Honestly, I made this part really hard and figured out it did not need to be. I sewed my tabs inside out then turned them right side out. This took FOREVER! Not so super. You can fold the sides under and right side up, iron the sides in place, pin then sew together. That would be very simple, not hard like I did it. My mom always said I did things the hard way. :o)
 I sew pieces of Velcro on each tab so that putting on and taking off would be easy for a three year old. Having to wait for someone to tie those capes on takes too long!

 I sewed the pieces together then flipped the fabric right side out then put a quick seam on the bottom.

 Ta Da!!!!! Instead of using the traditional S for super, I put his initial on the cape to make it personal just for him. And it was a hit! He even used his arms to hold out the cape behind him when he ran around to mimic super flying. :o) Too cute!
I am entertaining ideas for a girly super cape...for my little girl, not me! :o)

Have a SUPER day!
Sarah

Significant Design

From the time I was a little girl, I have always appreciated those things in life that have significance. When my husband and I got married our wedding ceremony was full of the little things here and there that meant the most to us. I had seven bridesmaids because each one of those women meant the world to me and I had to have them there. This aspect of my life carried well over into our marriage and the birth of our daughter. So I am keeping up with tradition and using significance in my home.
My husband and I went on a cruise for our honeymoon but instead of getting a sunburn in Hawaii, we opted to cruise our way up the north-eastern coastline. There were multiple stops along the way but our favorite was Bar Harbour, Maine. Bar Harbour was the perfect combination of romantic, rocky coastline and the Rocky Mountains sliding into the ocean waves. I had never seen anything so beautiful! Over course I had my first ever fresh lobster at the Bar Harbour Inn restaurant that just happened to sit right in front of the beach. We were surrounded by the sounds of splashing waves, the beautiful sights of flowers hanging from the dock's edge, business fronts and homes that looked like they belonged in a very expensive magazine and the smell of salt water and a lobster boil.
I had to recreate these sweet memories in our home and it was a joy because I have always love the eastern coastal decor. And I had a little inspiration from Sarah Richardson's remodel of their cottage on HGTV's Sarah's Summer House.
Unfortunately (well it is probably fortunate for you) I did not have any before pictures of my master bedroom but it was a mismash of things that just never really worked. But here is what happened with a little significant design!
Ok! I love my bedroom! You should walk into your bedroom at the end of the day (or anytime of the day) and want to take a deep breath of relief. When I walk into my room I go back to happy memories, the joy of seeing the faces I love on the wall and knowing I will rest there.

But just like everything else I do...I want to be surrounded by meaning and significance. I will start explaining and telling you how I pulled off my dream room (with the exception that it is a rental and I did only what I could).
The farmhouse bed we got on sale (of course). The funny part, the bedframe is a full size and our mattress is a queen. Luckily the mattress is memory foam so the queen size mattress is stuffed into a full size frame. That was fun! Just don't look under the covers. :o)
The duvet cover is two separate king size top sheets that I sewed together over our existing comforter. I bought a king size sheet set at Target for $40 that came with a top sheet, a fitted sheet and two pillow cases. Then I bought one extra king size sheet at a thrift store for $4. Easy and cheap! Then I cut down the fitted sheet and turned them into curtains! Because I cannot paint the room, the same color and pattern on the window and bed worked for the pop of color.

All the books in the room are family antiques as well as the trunk at the end of the bed. The folded afghan on the trunk inspired the blue for the room and was made by my husband's grandmother before she passed away. I love that we have that blanket!

I went for simple, elegant flowers for the room that are silk but they do not show as much dust. Woohoo! Oh the rocks in the bottom of the rosebud vase are rocks from the beach in Bar Harbour where we strolled on our honeymoon. :o) I know, getting cheesy!

 I love color, but color that invites not scares away. Blues and yellows go together so well so I chose a soft yellow to compliment the navy blue.

The yellow side tables used to be black and before that they were white. I like the yellow! And the pretty glass lamps are awesome finds from Goodwill. They had gold finishes on the base and towards the top so that was fixed. I paired them with pretty, new lampshades and now they are my favorite lamps in the house!

 We replaced the old knobs and pulls with pretty glass knobs.

I love pearls! I wore pearls on my wedding day and most of my jewelry has pearls on them somewhere. It reminds me of the journey and process it takes for a pearl to become the beautiful perfection it is. There is hope in that. We are always a work in progress! Philippians 1:6

 I never throw away cards and I am glad I did not toss this card. The word PEACE signifies what I want for anyone that enters my room.

This is one of my favorite pieces in this room. This star quilt is over 100 years old and is a family heirloom. My mother-in- love gave in to me not long after my husband and I got married. I never knew what to do with it so I would hang it over a chair or in an odd spot where I know it would be safe from spills or tiny fingers.While dreaming up my master bedroom, I watched an episode of Sarah's Summer House on HGTV and she was buying antique quilts for her guest rooms. Being kinda pouty, I thought " I want a pretty quilt for my bed too". Light bulb! I took the quilt down to my room and it has been a perfect compliment in that room ever since!

We bought this window pane on Route 66 and it sat in our garage for a year and a half until I thought that it would bring the charm I wanted into the room. I simply printed out favorite pictures on printer paper and taped them to the window panes. So pretty!

 Oh another cool story! Of course I was back in Goodwill but on a quest for something completely different when I run into this gorgeous white (of course king size) quilt. I had wanted one more quilt to cover the brown bedsheets when I folded back the duvet. The brown was just not working with the rest of the room. The white quilt was perfect. The kicker...it was $9. It is now adorning our bed!

 I believe that this pillow is one of the most significant pieces in the room. Every other piece in my room is significant in its own way but this pillow is a constant reminder of God's sovereignty in my life and in my family's life.
Matthew 10: 29-31 says "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." 
We knew that, in the hardest days, were taken care of by the One who gave everything for us. The bird on that pillow and the others that decorate my house are pretty accessories but they ultimately remind me to put my hope in the only One who can truly take care of me!
Surround yourself with significance because that is what you are!
Love, 
Sarah 

A Little Here A Little There

I love walking into house that is decorated in a way that makes your eyes travel all over the room. I recently visited the house of lady that is a professional interior decorator and I loved everything I saw! She had incredibly unique ideas and I loved sitting and trying to absorb the beautiful decor. I was there for three hours and my eyes never stopped moving! I love unique touches that make your home you and makes it special for every person that enters the door.
In my own home, I love the color yellow and the sunshine it brings but I also love shades of blue that contain calming and relaxing effects. I have tried to take different elements of color and make each one meaningful for the room it is in. For example, our rental kitchen is beautiful (our landlords remodeled) but it is dark. I brought in yellow to brighten it up but not too much so that you get a yellow punch in the face. Also, the living room is large and white so to soften and calm I like to use the combo of dark brown and different pattern to anchor and blues to calm. So fun!
These are just the fun little elements that keep your eyes moving and enjoying what you see. :o)
In this photo I found this flowering plant at a local consignment shop and saw the idea of using corks to fill the bottom of the jar. It is still in progress because I save corks any time I can but it is taking a while to fill the jar. :o) The books are handed down antiques and the M is a Hobby Lobby find that I covered in paper. Super easy!

 

This bowl was also a consignment find but and the tiered cake plate a little project that I showed in the Tea Time blog way back. Each piece needed some pizazz!

I had some fun with some yellow and green to bring some color to the kitchen!

The glass dome on the top tier, I thought, added a cute and unique tough that you do not see very often...and honestly I love them and would put them on everything!

I have a ton of cook books from my collection when I was single and the huge collection that my wonderful cook husband had when he was single. So what does a girl do? Decorate!!! I grabbed a stack and accessorized!
I have always believed a few things here and there add statements and character to your home. Make them unique to you and your family and you cannot go wrong!
Have a unique to you day, :o)
Sarah

Vacation

Hey all! I have been on vacation in Texas for a couple of weeks but I will have a new post as soon as I get home!

Getting Organized

I will just be honest right off the bat...I am soooo not an organized person. My hubby, who's hangers in his closet are all one inch apart, tries and tries to keep me organized but it is for not. I do try...I do... really! But there are just so many more interesting activities in life. :o) But in the spirit of compromise, and because I love my husband so, I got out his label machine and got to work organizing our spice cabinet in the kitchen.
Mark loves to cook (and I happily cheer him on) but the kitchen looks like a tornado hit it when he is done. I don't mind because the food is so good! So to aid Mark in his chefness, I went to, joyfully, shop at World Market for kitchen supplies!
Here is the before shot of our lovely spice cabinet: not horrible but needs some spicing up. Hahaha!

 

My World Market finds!

I decided to buy spices in bulk (which you can find for a great price at Vitamin Cottage) so the basket is for the extra that does not fit in the jars.

So Pretty!
Now on to the organizing!

Each jar got a spice/herb and a nifty name tag so as to not confuse each other :o)

And the pies de resistance!

 Now the question is: Will it stay this way? :o) And my OCDC (as Mark calls himself) hubby loves the organized look and, to my joy, is still cooking away! There may have been a small, underlying reason I have our cabinet looking so spicy! But he doesn't need to know that. :o)
Spice up your day!
Love, Sarah

For My Mama

As I have stated before, everything that I create, craft or re-purpose I prefer to give them life with meaning. The details, time and love that goes into what I do means a great deal to me, and hopefully to the people the gifts are given to. That is how I show love. That is my love language when it comes to giving love. To meet people's need right smack dab in the middle of their heart. That is success!
So this attempt to love on someone came around Mother's Day. So I had a challenge in front of me because my mom can out craft, out paint and take on Martha Stewart and win by a land slide with one hand tied behind her back. She is good! I learned sooo much from her!  On top of all that, my mom is one of the most loving, beautiful, caring person you could ever meet. She makes Paula Deen look grouchy. :o) If you could not tell, I love my mom!
None of the ideas that I could come up with were even remotely close to how much I wanted to express my love to my mom.
Then I was walking around the wonderful land of Hobby Lobby and inspiration filled me.
Mom is always in the kitchen coming up with yummy and health recipes. Check out her blog for recipes at nannaskitchen@blogspot.com. She has had different aprons through the years but it was time for a new, sassy apron!
The fabric at HL is so stinkin' cute and I found three different patterns that just looked like my mom. I used one of my current aprons as a template and added my own touches to given her new apron significance and love.

My mom's office at home is a bright pink, gray and black so I couldn't really go wrong with these colors. Plus how cute is polka dot, hounds tooth and damask together. So pretty! 

 I pre-made pockets and apron ties so that they could be sewn between the reversible pieces for clean look. 

 Now how could I pass up a little bit of tasteful bling. :o)

 Here is the finished look on the front, complete with a sufficient amount of pockets and frill!

 I added embroidery to the pockets but forgot to take a picture before I sent it. :o/ Next to the flower on the top pocket I embroidered Nanna Jo (which is what my little girl calls my mom) and the name of her grandkids on the pockets. (My sister's idea!)

 Here is the reversed side. My mom's style can go along with how fun or stylish she feels when she cooks!

This apron was my second attempt at an apron. I made one for my daughter a while ago and it does not look this nice. :o) My advice when you attempt a sewing project like this is take your time and add as much love as you can. I'm sure the person you are making the apron for is worth all the love and effort you put in...I know my mom is! :o)
Hope love fills your day,
Sarah
P.S. Mom loved her new apron!

Too much color can be...awesome!

"Why do two colors, put one next to the other, sing?"
Pablo Picasso

I have been off blogging for a little while due to... well... life. But I had a little fun and I documented that fun to share with you all! All my crafting was to try to create some new life for our house that seemed to become dreary over the course of the winter. Is my house the only one that does that?
I am so inspired by the beautiful blossoms of the crab apple trees outside my window, the bright yellow and pink of the tulips popping out of the ground and the gorgeous shade of spring green (which is my favorite) of the trees that line our street. My home needs color! The kind of color God created. Color that makes you sigh, relax and appreciate life in all its shades!
My first victim... my daughter's room! I went color overboard in her room! I converted her toddler room to what we now loving call the Big Girl Room. Out went the convertible crib and in came two matching antique twin beds soon to be painted a bright color of which I cannot decide. Her matching bedspreads are three shades of pink laced with green, orange and yellow in square patchwork designs. Of course these coordinated with the two shades of pink on her walls in horizontal stripes and checker board squares! The bed skirts are polka dot green and white and the compliment the polka dot pillows in brown and white. My favorite pillows are the green and white polka dots and yellow lemons! The fabric is adorable. Did I mention the pillow cases and bed sheets are aqua blue? Her room is very happy!

I honor of ALL the color in my sweet baby's (who often tells me "I'm not a baby!") room, she needed some artwork to tie it all together. I was inspired by many different types of children's artwork that I researched along with the blossoms on our crab apple tree. (And the blossoms are the only thing good about that tree!)

I found a huge, old (of course) cork bulletin board for $4 at Goodwill and I painted the frame white to contrast the pink of the walls. 

 I used different colors and patterns of scrapbook paper to make the blue sky background, the brown branches of the tree, the green, leaves and the orange, white and pink blossoms. The birds were made of yellow and bright blue paper so that they would stand out and be a focal point of the artwork. 

I want everything I do to have significant meaning to the person I do it for and for my daughter, I chose a verse from Ephesians that was her daddy and my prayer over her life.

 

 The white and pink dots are just acrylic paint but I'm not convince I love it. It may change to something like scrapbook jewels or pearls.

    The finished product!
Next blog: Pictures of the Big Girl Room!

One thing God has taught me through the process of loving color is that color doesn't have much meaning if you don't know the Source of its brilliance.
Have a color-filled day!
Sarah

Monkeys and owls and giraffes....oh my!

I have to admit that I am one of those annoying guests at baby showers that does not bring what is on the registry. I now know it is annoying cause it happened to me when my daughter was born. :o) However, this time I may have stumbled on to something wonderful!
While trying to figure out what custom item I could make for my yet-to-arrive-nephew, I struggled with feeling creative enough to make something that would be cute enough for his nursery. My sister-in-law has created the most adorable nursery in different shades of blues and greens and browns. It is modern, streamlined but oh so cozy. I love it! Now could I produce something that would fit that decor? I did not think so.
However, when my family and I were helping with some of the renovations in their house, my sister-in-law wanted me to make a bed skirt for the crib. That I could do! But I loved the fabric so much and the accents of jungle animals that I became inspired to make handmade stuffed animals. I wanted my new little nephew to have something made special just for him!
I went online to sort through ideas and and to grab some extra inspiration and I fell in love with a few animals and then was able to create my own style from the bigillion that I saw. After a day of drawing, cutting, sewing and stitching I had one monkey, one giraffe and two owls for my nephew's room! Tell me what you think!

Homemade Stuffed Animals

 I did not do a step-by-step instruction for this but they are pretty simple. I drew pictures of what I wanted then built off of that idea! I added details from different ideas that I researched and this is how my homemade stuffed animals turned out!
Can you imagine the hours of imagination and play going on in that little boy's room? Oh to be a fly on the wall!
Go squeeze a favorite stuffed animal and have an awesome day!
Sarah