Baby Confessional

I have a little confession to make. I bought three vintage girl outfits at the thrift store long before we decided to add another member to our family. I have kept them tucked neatly away in the very back of my son's long closet. I figured if our dreams of a little girl never came true, I could certainly find some satisfaction in selling pretty vintage baby girl outfits online. I seemed to find them quite easily anyhow.

The gentle textures and dainty details made my heart smile. Whether it was my child or another's child inside those layers, I would still be gratified by having found the baby clothes. Their sweetness was tangible just by existing in my home.

A few weeks ago, we learned that we are indeed having a girl!!!! I am of course beyond happy for this baby's health, no matter which gender, but I almost feel like me and this baby girl were just somehow meant to be. Although I am entering a whole new world of girl-dom, I am embracing the job of momma with all the things that come with little girls. We will have the sweetest balance in our family. I can already imagine the secrets with my girl and the fun dynamics that will make our family unique.

Now these adorable little outfits are being accompanied by even more little girly outfits, mostly from thrift and consignment shops and rummage sales. At some point, I'll have to purge all the teeny boy clothes that I've been hoarding "just in case" for five years. It will be so difficult to let go of those favorite little boy clothes. I might keep some, but most will find good homes with friends and family.

It's funny all the emotions baby clothes can evoke. From the mysterious clothes that haven't had occupants yet to the teeny stored clothes that harbor precious memories of a child that is already 50 times the size of his beginnings. I can't wait to see the face of the little girl that will be filling out the wrinkles in these clothes. We're halfway there!

Easy Budget Picture Collage Wall

I am not very good at following strict rules when it comes to home improvement-ish projects. There was no level or tape measure used in the making of this project.

I've had one sad little picture hanging on my dining room wall for, like, years that needed some friends. I started to put together a few framed pretties after framing Hubster's anniversary card and ultimately decided to make a collage wall.

To begin, gather some of your favorite photos, art prints, and original artwork with repeating themes and colors. The frames should either be all light-colored or all dark-colored or somewhere in between. If your pictures include matting, the same rule applies--go with a monochromatic color scheme. There has to be some semblance of similarity or your wall will end up looking like a hodge podge--unless you're going for that look:)

My framed pictures include one wooden anniversary card, one wooden owl card from Mackinac Island, my official NASM certificate, one thrifted 3D picuture, one free print from here, one painted leaf and one watercolor gift from a friend. I love how each piece has a history and story behind it from family trips to personal accomplishments to wedding gifts. Each one is totally my style too with a vintage/nature theme with lots of greens. The final product matches my record player set-up perfectly with its vintage-y vibe.

The cutest vintage 3D picture ever!

Next, I took all my framed pieces and laid them out on the floor in front of the chosen wall. It took awhile to find just the right arrangement for the wall. The trick is to find a good balance. You want to balance the bigger with the smaller. I also had to balance the white and off-white art backgrounds. Keep all frames pretty close together with about 1-2 inch gaps in between. Add and take away frames until you find the sweet spot.

Now, most professional collage-ers (whoever they are) will tell you to draw out the pattern on paper and get out the level to find the most precise angles. Well, I made this wall without doing any of those things. You may want to at least take a picture of your set-up to refer back to before you get started. I just eyeballed it. I memorized right about where one picture overlapped another and got to work. I'm not the type of girl who likes to fuss over things.

Then, I just hammered away until they were all secure (which is really hard for me to do because I don't like tainting perfectly smooth walls, even if they're my own). You'll want to be careful with the nails too, avoiding any electrical wires and ideally pounding the nails into studs. It's nice when your whole family takes a hunting trip and leaves you with your whole house as your open canvas. Oh the possibilities!

Now, I really love walking past this wall. It really makes me smile. Oh yeah, and the best part? I only paid about $6 for this entire project. I paid 50 cents for the vintage picture and around $3 for each of the wooden cards. The rest of the items were gifted or free!

Other good gallery collage wall resources for those who like a little more structure:

How to Hang Art Groupings
Tips for Installing a Gallery Wall
Wall Art Guide
How to Create a Gallery Wall on a Budget
Eight Ways to Display Artwork on a Budget

DIY Jewelry Organization Makeover

My jewelry collection was an eyesore. Let's just put it at that (you'll see). I would forget about pieces buried in the bottom drawer of my jewelry shelf, all those necklaces had a tendency to get clumped together, and it just gave me a headache to look at it. Finally, in an attempt to make little spaces like this of my home environment more cozy and put-together, I decided to tackle the jewelry organization project head-on. With a little perusing on Pinterest, I put together some rough ideas of what I wanted the finished project to look like and headed to the thrift store.

I went through about three phases of putting this project together over the course of about a week, so I'm going to share those with you in case it provides some inspiration for you too:

Phase I

Thrifting a jewelry holder and giving it a makeover

What began its life as a collector spoon holder (I think??) is now the bearer of all my jewelry.

I went to the thrift store with the sole purpose of finding some old forgotten knick-knack shelf to repurpose, since they're usually quite easy to come by. After perusing the correct aisle, I didn't come across any that I was satisfied with. The selection was pretty picked over at the time I got there, so I went on my next mission in the store, to find some 16x20 frames. By chance, I returned to that original aisle again to return something I decided against buying and did one more quick sweep. This ugly gem was hidden under some other nondescript wooden things. It's really made out of some quite durable wood and had that nice drawer on the bottom for earrings and such. Score!

After work the next day, I took a trip to the hardware store and stood a full 5 minutes in the paint aisle trying to decide what color I wanted this bad boy to be. I had green in my hand, but I was still debating. Our bedroom is green, but what if it didn't quite match? I finally thought, why not make the jewelry shelf match some of the jewelry itself with a fresh coat of silver? While I was at the hardware store, I also picked out two drawer knobs and some ring screws to add to the shelf for extra storage.

The finished product. A HUGE improvement!

Hubster helped me find the right screw length for the side knobs, but I did all the work! These knobs and extra screws on the bottom provide extra storage for longer necklaces and such.

Phase II

Cleaning the jewelry

While I was going through my jewelry, deciding what to keep and what to donate, I came across a few pieces I still really like but that have become quite tarnished with age. With a little research online, I decided to try lining a glass casserole dish with tin foil, sprinkling baking soda over the jewelry, and pouring water over the top. This worked for some of the jewelry, but I had to go back and rub toothpaste on a few items to really get them to shine again. No expensive jewelry cleaner required!

Phase III

Jewelry organization

In order to tame the chaos that my jewelry had become, I wanted the finished project to be as orderly and visually appealing as possible. The first thing I did was gather some silver cardstock from my scrapbooking collection. I made these nice earring cards by simply poking holes in the folded cardstock with a thick tapestry needle that I had, but I'm sure a safety pin would've done the trick. I absolutely adore how my earrings are all organized and easy to grab now. I can get a good look at them all with one quick glance. And none of them are buried in a mess, only to never be used again. In fact, today I'm wearing a pair of earrings I had forgotten I even had!

Next, I strung all my necklaces on the spoon holder thingies, which turned out to be great necklace holders. Hubster happened to have a nail that perfectly matched the silver shelf, so I used that to affix the organizer to the wall behind our dresser. Now all my necklaces are completely visible, making getting dressed in the morning quick and easy.

Before

It pains me a bit to even show this (bad lighting notwithstanding) "before" picture. It's really unnerving to keep my jewelry in such a disarray. And you can't even see the dust bunnies collected there. *Shiver*

After

Not only does my jewelry look much better, but now my collection of glass perfume bottles is also on display again. Those pretties were kind of shoved behind my jewelry shelf and piled on with...random things. Now they're all out for show again, just as I like them.

I've been collecting these pretties since High School

Ah much better

I forgot I even had this little ring holder in all my mess of things. It came in handy since I didn't really have any other viable, convenient place to store my rings. The ring holder came with a matching vintage mirror and brush/comb set that I have on the dresser too. The vintage "dressing table" theme suits me perfectly!

That's a wrap! I feel much more comfortable in my room now that I don't have to look away from my dresser. Tackling these small spaces in my home, one at a time, has done wonders on my comfort level. I am so completely satisfied with these results and pretty satisfied that I tackled this project all myself.

How do you organize your jewelry at home? I'd love to see pictures or hear about your solutions too.

Lately I've Been...

• Sewing Build-A-Bear accessories for my Peanut's stuffed animals. Those clothes get expensive and I found the perfect DIY projects online.
• Fixing a workout bra that I somehow melted in the dryer. Didn't even know that the fabric store carried bra hooks until I went looking for fabric for the above project. All I had to do was cut down the strap to the right size, burn the raw edges down with a lighter and sew the new piece on. So glad to have saved that one, since it fit really well. I'm mighty proud of my re-purposing skills on this one.
• Re-seaming a thrift store T-shirt I found in college that I still like and has been sitting with pins in it for like 7 years. Ha!
• Thrifting some necessary household items like 16" x 20" frames and some supplies for a jewelry storage makeover I plan on doing.
• Spray-painting that thrifted shelving unit for my jewelry. I believe the wooden shelf I bought was once a spoon holder for collectors. Oh, you just wait and see what I did to it. I even went to the hardware store all by myself to DIY this one.
• Hanging a collage wall in my dining room. I see these art displays in all my favorite home tours and decided to tackle one all by myself. It turned out sooo cute. I found this adorable $.50 vintage 3D picture that totally makes the wall. I'll be sharing pictures soon.
• Trying to keep my house from turning into a bachelor pad/frat house. Roomie just bought a beer brewing kid and a Soda Stream to add to my already cluttered counter space. Thinking of reworking the space a bit. This stuff doesn't blend well with my vintage-chic aesthetic, as you might imagine.
• Putting together bags of stuff to take to the thrift store. It feels good to get rid of more than we're bringing in sometimes, especially when things start accumulating beyond my comfort level.
• Registering for an EIN number with the IRS. I am now a registered business owner!
• Eating soup alone at home while Hubster, Peanut and my Daddy-O go hunting. I'm really relishing this time alone.
• Cleaning (finally!) one of the dreaded spots in my home. We have some high windows that accumulate spiders and webs and dust and ick. Whenever I clean it, I feel like the whole house is somehow much cleaner.
• Making my bed with the brand-new quilt that I sewed. Can't wait to share pictures of it on here soon. Just looking at it makes me happy.
• Starting a new e-book project that I hope to launch on here in a few months. It's in the baby stages right now, so I don't want to share too much.
• Buying tickets to the Sports and Fitness Expo being held in my town this weekend. Can't wait!
• Trying so hard to figure out how to connect my camcorder to my computer. I have a new cord on its way after a Radio Shack one didn't work. I really want to add some workout videos for y'all. I may have to bite the bullet and buy a new, more laptop-compatible camcorder.
• Dreaming up another trip "up-north" in October or November. I want to make this a regular tradition if we can swing it and Hubster can successfully get off of work. We stayed in Crivitz last year.
• Writing up a job posting for the open pastoral position at my church. Since one of the committee members knew I was a writer, he thought I'd be the perfect person for the job. I like to help where I can.
• Adjusting to having a child in all-day Kindergarten. Paying for hot lunches, meeting teachers, already dealing with bullying, packing snacks, collecting Box Tops, etc etc etc. I already get up at 5:30 to work out, run, and get ready, but we've somehow been running late anyway. This school thing is like a whole new world for me. However, I just love looking through the Scholastic Books order forms with him. I get all giddy like I did in school when those pamphlets come out. My wallet is never more open than it is for a Peanut who gets excited about reading and learning.

I think Chalene's book was just the kick in the back end I needed to make myself even more productive than a Type-A person like me already is. I can't believe all the things I've checked off my to-do list already. I use Wunderlist on my phone and it's a true lifesaver and life improver, plus just seeing all the check marks I've accumulated already makes me happy. I have my to-dos broken down into "Today," "This Week," and "Soon." Every day I try to do one thing to tackle one aspect of my priority list. For example, my home environment is one of my priorities. Therefore, many of the above listed items are helping make my environment more desirable from cleaning to small space makeovers. Another goal is setting up more of a solid personal training side business, so I am planning on networking at the Sports and Fitness Expo I signed up for and I finally signed up for an official EIN number (so simple to do, it's pathetic). I'm taking steps each day to make this dream more of a reality. It's really quite simple once you break it down into steps.

There's something about fall that makes me feel like nesting. The little bit of chill in the air outside makes me want the inside to be the most cozy place my family could ever enjoy. Listening to the sound of Feist and blowing trees while tackling all these projects is just making my heart swell. I've decided that fall is officially my favorite season.

What have you been up to?

Recent Thrifting Adventures

I set out on a mission: to dress up for Thrift Shop Day at work. I mean, how could a thriftaholic like me turn down a challenge like that?

So, I made my way to a local thrift shop that has a dedicated dollar section where they hold all of their...um...real gems. I was easily able to pull together an outfit for $5 and cracked up doing so.

I found some awesome stretchy electric blue leggings, a polyester house shirt with pockets, a gaudy orange knit shawl and a fabulous retro flower purse. Accessories were a $1 pair of shoes, orange and blue beaded necklaces, and a vintage head scarf. It's difficult to distinguish all the patterns and everything that's going on in this picture, but you get the point.

I guess it wasn't quite as "out there" as I thought. Several people just thought that was what I was wearing that day, forgetting it was thrift shop day. Haha! I'll let you know though, the purse, the shoes and the scarf will definitely be going into my regular rotation. I totally dig the retro purse.

On the same trip though, I was able to pick up some amazing "normal" items as well. I got Peanut some more button-down plaid shirts (his go-to look) and Hubster some brand new-looking jeans.

For myself, I snagged the following:

The cutest purple tank top. Upon examination, it even appears to be homemade. I love handmade any day of the week. I'm so glad I get to give this hand-crafted shirt a good home.

A cute tank by Canadian designer Point Zero that makes for a super-cute workout shirt

And my favorite find of all. I spotted this cute little clutch purse, buried in a bin, under a pile of wallets. I saw the tag on the side right away and thought, this must've been made by some cute little creative girl on Etsy or something. It had a ruffle down the front and was just so so cute. Once home, I had to look up the designer on the tag, Lisa Lill Studios. Check it out for yourself. This little clutch retails for $99. Um... SCORE!

I swear, thrift shopping is like treasure hunting for me! What is your favorite secondhand score?

DIY Yoga Mat Holder Tutorial

If there's one thing that makes me feel like I'm contributing to a more sustainable lifestyle, it's by reusing and recycling items that I already have or have bought secondhand for new uses. One such project that was born from my recycling efforts is this DIY yoga mat strap.

I used the black holder that came with my yoga mat (from Target) as sort of a guide when designing my mat holder. The way the strap loops around itself inspired me to produce something similar with a more aesthetically pleasing piece of fabric.

A scarf is the perfect piece of long piece of finished fabric that you can use for this project, and you can usually find scarves in an array of colors and patterns at your local thrift store or your closet. Mine was from St. Vincent de Paul. If you wanted to use other fabric, simply stitch up the edges and then follow the steps below for the looping effect.

You'll need a scarf, sewing machine (you could do this by hand), and thread that matches your scarf.

1. First, you'll want to loop one end of your scarf around itself the way this black strap does.

First loop one end under the rest of the scarf:

Then, loop the end back over on top of the fabric and pin the short end in place.

Do the same with the other end and pin in place.

Then, sew along the edge where you pinned the scarf together. Be sure that the wrong sides of the fabric are facing each other when you sew. Repeat on both ends. You could definitely do this simple sewing by hand.

That's all you have to do, and you have a handy little carrying strap for your mat. Pretty easy, right?

I do think I would've liked a little bit longer scarf to create a longer shoulder strip. I can fit this one around my arm, but it really is more the length of a hand strap. I will surely take a trip back to the thrift store for some more scarves. This makes a great gift for the health nut or yoga enthusiast on your list. And it literally takes only a few minutes to put together, once you get that looping thing down.

I'm thinking about doing a giveaway with one of these. Let me know what you think in the comments. If you do use this tutorial, leave a link for me so I can see what you made. Happy sewing!

Show and Tell

C'mon, we can still have show and tell as adults in a virtual world, right? I think so.

Well, the story is that I was completely inspired by this post from Rachel Denbow over at Smile and Wave to make a quilt. I have never felt anything close to desire to sew a quilt before. I thought they were too fussy, too old-lady, too time-consuming, and all those other really bad stereotypes. Boy, was I proven wrong! Rachel actually made it seem doable to me--and stylish! I actually wanted to make one. If you know, me, that doesn't seem possible. But, on a quilting adventure we will go.

The lucky recipient of my very first quilt is my little nephew who turns ONE this Sunday. I chose colors that were youthful, but that would still grow with him, the theme being yellows, greens and browns. Some of the pieces are leftover from a Christmas stocking that I made him, so it will have a special link. I used a 40" x 60" fleece blanket as the backing, so the size of the blanket also leaves room for him to grow. I chose a pre-made fleece blanket for my backing, because it's cheaper to buy a fleece blanket at the store than to buy fleece fabric by the yard. Go figure!

I made my own binding using the "cheater method" that Rachel recommends. I am all about "cheats" and "shortcuts" when it comes to sewing, as long as it doesn't affect the integrity of the finished piece. And actually, making binding from the leftover quilt fabric is so much more amazing than just buying premade binding. It matches and it's so pretty.

Here is the final product, all bundled and ready to be presented to one handsome little guy. I hope he snuggles his face into it as he likes to do with other soft things. That would truly warm his auntie's heart.

See that stack down there? That is the beginning of the next quilt I plan to tackle. I want to make a quilt large enough to fit our bed and warm enough for my husband's liking. He didn't even mind that there were a lot of pink vintage florals, as long as the quilt is warm. It will be three layers "deep," with the quilted cotton top, cotton sheet backing (rescued from the thrift store) and a plush fleece blanket for the lining. That oughta do it, right? Then, my Peanut has me on commission to make him a quilt too, even though his great-grandma already sewed him a beautiful one. Who am I to resist his request though? Warms a momma's heart.

Can't wait for the next round of show and tell. It will mean that I have finished quilt #2. I mean, wow! I never thought in a million years I would be showing you a quilt I sewed. Anything is possible with the right motivation. Thanks Rachel!

Birthday Banner DIY #2: Lace Doily Banner

The second installation in my birthday banner series is the Lace Doily Garland.

Thrift stores are littered with doilies, and they are often quite reasonably-priced. I always wondered what I could do to rescue those pretty little lace things. I would never put them under lamps or use them as coasters like in times past, but I thought they must still be good for something this day and age. Enter, the birthday garland.

I happened to find a stack of lace doilies that were all exactly the same. This works perfectly for a banner, but I think it would look neat with mis-matched ones too.

All I did was measure a piece of white thread the entire length of the banner. Simply place the doilies side-by-side to figure out how long you need the thread.

I then started at one side and folded each doily in half. Once halved, I sewed big stitches across the top. These don't have to be perfect by any means, they should just do the job.

Continue on down the line until all doilies have been attached to the thread.

Leave extra thread on both sides to make loops for securing the banner later. I knotted mine in a loop.

Then, hang as desired. I made an actual "happy birthday" banner to go over the top using alphabet stencils and scrapbook paper, similar to my last one. I think something like this would also be pretty to use for DIY wedding decor too. Enjoy! Oh, and Save the Doilies!