Shop update

In the midst of my funk, I have spent a lot of time in my craft room putting out some new lovelies.
It's kind of like a stress reliever for me of sorts.  And the time spent in there, has served me well.
The dresses that I have sewn are some of my absolute favorites.  On top of that,  I am adding coordinating bow ties for the little fellas.  This collection is going to live in some sweet family pictures, I just know it.

Sneak peak?  Ok, check out my sweet little niece modeling the geometric dress in teal.  She's a doll!

I can't wait to get these onesie dresses realeased.. check back for shop updates!!

Have a lovely day friends!

craft room tour

Today, I would like to invite you all over to my home, to see my happy place.  My craft room.




I am one lucky gal that my hubby is crafty in a manly way.
Like he can build things and has a bunch of tools,
and I can show him my hopes on pinterest and he can translate them for me.
Oh, and he's pretty awesome for not only building me this space, but for supporting my dreams along the way...  {cue the Awww's!}

Come on in...

I really wanted a space that would be pretty, yet functional.  A place that could keep me organized and yet also foster a kid friendly environment where my daughter could join me.  Not to mention, stick to a pretty stiff budget for the entire room.  Besides spending money on the MDF and on the organizing containers, most of the room was filled with things we all ready had.  We spent approximately $300 on the entire room.  I was impressed with our abilities to stay in our budget considering this room was empty to start!

My husband built me a huge table in the center of the room using these plans and tweaking them a bit.  It has book shelves on each side and a drawer to keep my scissors and cutting supplies in.  My rotary mat fits perfectly on top, and the table is just the right height for cutting fabric.  We {and by we, I mean the hubbs, but I supervised, m'kay!} built my sewing desk out of a hollow core door and some bookshelves from my basement.  The chairs were dining room chairs that were broken, but with a few nails and some new upholstery, good.as.new.

One of the cheapest and easiest way to decorate on a budget... hoop art!  Each hoop runs around $1.00-$2.00.  I used fabric from my own stash to save on costs.  To add some personality, I used rubber stamps and black fabric paint to display some of my favorite sayings...

yes, really!

The hubbs had a ton of leftover peg board in our garage and he cut a few pieces for me and we painted them up and incorporated them into the room.  I used an old frame and wrapped it in my favorite fabric and added the peg board for a thread holder using some wood dowels.  My mom had some old wooden spools, and I wrapped some fabric strips around them and strung them on embroidery thread as a garland.  The other peg board, we painted with stripes and then added wood dowels and created a wrapping paper station.


I really wanted to organize my fabric to look like a fabric store, in bolts.  I did some research, and did find some organizers to "bolt" your fabric, but since I am cheap and on a budget, I improvised.  I bought some foam board at the dollar tree and had the hubbs cut them to size for me.  Then I wrapped the fabric around them and pinned in place to create my own fabric store!  This alone has been one of my favorite parts of this room.  Prior to this, my fabric was kept folded in a box, and looking for something specific was sort of a nightmare.  And needless to say, by the time I was done, nothing would be left folded.  Problem solved!

I wanted to have a space for Presley to not only use her own creativity but to be able to hang out with her momma.  Presley found herself with her own art table, with all of her supplies within reach.  Her favorite part though, the chalkboard wall.  We often play school together, in which I sit on one of those teeny tiny chairs {perhaps not the smartest of ideas} and she teaches me how to draw squares and triangles on her chalkboard. 

This, my friends, was an old ugly dresser we found on the side of the road.  The hubbs took the sides and face off each drawer, nailed in the bottom and made shelves just the right size for Rubbermaid containers.  A little cleaning and a few coats of paint, I'm left with a great way to organize all of my notions.

Needless to say, I am thrilled to have my own space.  A place to design and dream.  A place to sew and be creative.  A place to blog and be inspired. 

Thanks for hanging out with me in my happy place.

because your puppy needs a blankie + tutorial

It's always hard to refer to your dog as a puppy when she is 42 pounds and as tall as my couch, but she is just that.  A puppy. 

I love to browse the little pet boutiques.  You know the ones that sell dog beds for $200, dog collars for $98, coats, clothes, and my favorite. a doggie blankie for $90.  Granted, that's for the biggest blankie because my puppy is a biggen.  A double sided, padded, pink minky blanket that lays in the bottom of the kennel.  Of course, I wanted my pupp to have one of these designer blankets but not at that price.  And if you know me, then you know the words, "I can make this for $10," came out of my mouth.

And $10 I did.  And for reals, you can too!  This is the easiest project for even the most basic sewers!

You'll need:
Some cuddly fabric.  I went to Joann with pink minky in mind, but right next to it was the softest, plushest, loveliest shade of pink fabric for $2.00 less a yard and I went with it.  And used a 50% off coupon at that.
quilt batting
thread
{I had both of these on hand}

First, measure your kennel.  Mine is 34 x 21 and cut out your fabric.  You'll need 2 of your cuddly fabric, and 1 of quilt batting.

Next, sew right sides together with the quilt batting on top of one of the layers as shown below.  I used quilt batting because I really wanted this blanket to be plush.  Leave enough room in the center of one of the long sides to be able to turn the blanket inside out.  This, my friends, is by far the hardest part of this tutey.. because the fabric is thick!  You'll have to pull it through the machine a little more than usual...



Go ahead and cut those corners somewhat close to your stitching... It will just help your corners look nicer once you turn this lovely right side out!

Ok, turn that puppy right side out and admire your work thus far!  Yes, this project resembles that of a pillow minus the stuffing!!

Turn the edges of your open-ness under and pin!

 

Sew the hole shut.  You can do these one of two ways.  Either with an invisible hand stitch or the lazy way with your sewing machine using the same color of thread.  I chose the lazy way because I was pressed for time, and I will say, you can not tell at all that I sewed it shut on the outside without the invisible stitch since the fabric is so thick and plush!

Let your lil' pup {or in my case, huge pup} give it a try!  Shandy was impressed that her momma bought her a boutique bed for her kennel.  {I didn't have the heart to tell her that I made it, and for less than $10 at that.} 

And there you have it.  Easy, functional, and even a bit boutique.  And best part, not $90.

Valentines

We decided to take advantage of Valentine's Day by having some craft time.
Presley picked out these little Valentines when she was nosing around on my Pinterest.
Yes, she's 3!  Yes, she knows how to get on my Pinterest App on my phone and "look at pretty pictures."

When she saw these little monster pencils, she immediately wanted to get some.
I had to explain to her that you could not just buy these little guys, but she insisted that she "just loved them!"

Luckily for me, Target had the pencils that we would need to complete this craft, so we went with it.
And I have to admit, we had a lot of fun in doing so!

First, you'll need to score these sweet little heart pencils from the one and only Target's $1.00 section, if there are any left. I bought the last 2 at my Target.  If you see some, grab them up for next year.  You need an assortment of pom pom balls, the more sizes and colors the better, as well as some googly eyes.  I found a package of pom poms, eyes, and pipe cleaners at Michael's for like 4.00 or something like that.  Then you have to go stop by this awesome blog, and read her tutorial as well as print the pencil flags that she made for you!  And thanks to The 36th AVENUE for thinking up this little Valentine and sharing with the world for people like me to use!  And the last thing you'll need is a very special little helper.  See mine above!

 

 

 

 

 



Go ahead and hot glue your pom poms to the top of your pencils.  We removed the erasers just like this tutorial told us to.  Presley suggested we give the monsters ears, and I thought it was a perfect idea.  So each monster got a set of eyes and ears.  She really wanted to give them mouths, but they looked scary with mouths.  We decided to skip that for now!

She enjoyed seeing each one as they were finished.  She of course had to name each of them, and pick out her favorites, and claim which ones would be hers. 

We {ok I} signed each of the flags and attached them to their color matching pencils.  Glued those babies on and voila!  I was feeling pretty good!  Until, my daughter says, what about my teacher's?  Do they get a Valentine?  Well crap!  Are we supposed to give teacher gifts for this holiday?  I decided I could whip something up quick.  Ha!  This did not turn out to be quick, but I do think it turned out cute!

Part 2 of Valentine making turned into Teacher clipboard making.  Coincidentally, I had 2 plain clip boards laying around the house for another project.  Found some color coordinating scrap book paper, and modge podged said paper onto clipboards.  {did I mention how much I love modge podge?  It's because I don't!}  We {ok I had lost my little helper at this point to an episode of Max and Ruby} I used a heart from the free printable provided by The 36th AVENUE and modge podged that little baby on, hot-glued some of the pom poms to the top of the clip board along with some googly eyes.  I then attached an extra pencil to the board and YES!  Finally done and loving how cute they turned out!

There you have it!  Our monster-eyed valentines for Presley's preschool class! 

Happy Valentines Day you little love birds!! 

Lessons learned in painting

Let me preface this post with this... I hate strongly dislike painting!

As I think I have mentioned a few hundred a couple of times, my husband and I are in the process of creating my craft room!  YAY! 

However, with this, has come a lot of work.  Like seriously, I couldn't lift my forearms Sunday from all the paint rolling that ensued over the weekend.

And the best part about doing things cheap and on a budget, and the fact that everything I am painting is laminate, means I get to do 2 sometimes even 3 coats of blessed paint.  Hoo-ray... NOT!

My paint friend, {always a nice friend to have}, recommended that I use oil based paint on the furniture.  Great, he is the expert and oil based paint is what I bought.

What that expert advice failed to mention is how to remove said paint.

Picture this!

I take the princess to pre-school and get home and put on my old paint clothes, so excited at the fact that I had approximate 2 and 1/2 hours to.myself to work on my room.  I painted my bum off.  I also managed to get paint all over myself.  Up my arms, in my hair, even on my nose.. how in the?

I was pushing it close, trying to use up all the paint in my little tray before picking up Presley, about 20 minutes until I had to rush out the door, I decided to clean up.  I put the paint brushes in the tub, ran some water over them, used my hands to clean them up, and I realized at that moment that I had failed miserably with clean up.  Not only was the paint not coming out of my brushes, but was now covering my hands and was not coming off with water! Kind of resembled oil and water.. hmm how about that!

So... I tried to google how to remove oil based paint, only to find that proved difficult with paint all over my hands... In a panic, I grabbed a towel and tried to wipe off as much as possible.  Lucky for me, I had to jump in my car and drive like mad to pick up PJ, yep, covered in paint.  Yes, it was still on my nose.  Good times, friends!

By the time I got home, the paint on my hands was dry and I was able to ask google what in the heck I was supposed to do to look like a normal person again.  In case you ever get stuck in a pickle like I did, just know that baby oil, olive oil, even canola oil will remove oil based paint.  It will take a little work, but it will remove it!

And because I am terrible at keeping secrets... how about a little sneak peak??  Ok, ok you twisted my arm!!

Valentines Day Pinspiration

After dropping off Presley at school a few mornings ago,
the teacher asked me if I could organize the Valentines Day party for PJ's preschool class.

Of course, I'd love to!

And if you know me at all, then you know my mind immeidately starting fleeting to all of the cutesy things I have been seeing lately all over the web.
And I got really excited, Oh we could do {fill in the blank} and yes, they would love {fill in the blank}.  And then I remembered that I am talking about 3 year olds here and a party that is a mere 45 minutes.

Keep it simple!  Right? Right!

However, in my internet browing frenzy, I found some adorable essentials for Valentine's Party throwing.

via

drink straw flags = perfection

via
And whats a party without Sugar!

via

via

Enjoy your party plannin you little love bugs!

a place to get my craft on

My fantastic husband is getting me the best birthday present this year.
He is building me a craft room.

You'd think for someone who loves to craft and sew that I'd have a huge, dreamy space.
but the reality is I don't.

As a matter of fact, anytime I want to sew, I lug my sewing machine and serger downstairs,
and set up shop in our formal dining room.
and by the end of my sewing session, the room resembles that of a tornado.

As I plan and dream and try and figure out to use my space best, I am excited but also a little overwhelmed by it all.  {I don't like to make anything easy}
So if you are from HGTV and reading this, sure go ahead and come gift me my dream craft room.
My husband wouldn't mind a bit!

The most important part to planning my craft space is
O.R.G.A.N.I.Z.A.T.I.O.N {wow that took some thinking, shift + letter, then period, repeat}
right now, nothing is organized, and often when I do try and tidy up,
it takes me even longer to find what I am looking for.
I want every single thing to have a special place.

A cutting table is also necessary for this space, as well as, plenty of fabric storage.
and of course a desk, big enough for both my sewing machine and serger.
and an office section, where I can keep my computer and have a designated space to blog.

Another important touch, I want to have an area of Presley's craft supplies.  A shelf that is all hers.
Sometimes blogging and sewing and having a handmade shop can take away from time with her.
As much as I try not to, it happens.  But, if she can be alongside me, then it makes it better. 
Not to mention, she is getting to express herself creatively, and that's important to me.

So ya, the hubbs has his work cut out for him.  I am beyond lucky that he is a good DIYer and can make pretty much everything I want for this space.

Between planning and discussing and pinning, I am starting to get a vision and ready to get this project underway.

my craft room inspiration board

1.    2.   3.   4.   5.   6.   7.   8.   9.   10.

I am really excited about this project, and even more excited to have a place of my own.  One more step closer to my goals and dreams of this little hobby becoming a business.

Any advice or organization tips for a craft room are welcome.

Have a creative day lovelies!

helping out those little butts...

What is better than a naked little baby butt?
Ok, a chubby little baby butt, right you got me!

c/o willow brandt photography

Imagine that same cute little butt that has been in the same diaper for 3 days.
I am sure you are wondering, "why would any parent do that?"
because these parents can not afford something as basic as diapers.
something I as a mother, took for granted.
Just another staple I had to purchase.
Came with the territory of having a baby.
To think of having to choose between my electric bill or gas money to get to work or diapers for my baby is a concept I had not given much thought.

Until,
I came across Happy Bottoms

Did you know that every 31 minutes, a child in Missiouri is born into poverty. source
Programs such as Food Stamps and WIC do not provide for the funds to purchase diapers. source
Cloth diapers are not an option for these low income families.  Most of these parents do not own a washer or dryer and laundrymats, for the most part, do not allow them.  source
A child that stays in a soiled diaper for extended periods can get sick, or infection, or worse fussy.  And fussy babies are more likely to be abused babies. source

Happy Bottoms is a local Kansas City organization that distrubutes diapers to low-income familes in need. 
And I am talking about a lot of diapers.  Like 50,000 a month, source.  Yes, that's a lot of diapers.  Happy Bottoms accepts financial donations as well as diapers.  You know those 15 size 2 diapers you have lying around because your little outgrew them?  Those can also be donated, because Happy Bottoms will repackage these and distrubute them.  People can make a donation or even host a diaper drive. 

Pocket Full of Lovelies {the shop} has partnered with this organization and will be donating 15% of all sales.  If you would like to get involved or become a part of the cause, push the contact button above and give me a holler.  There are so  many ways we can get involved.  Not only in Kansas City, but nationwide.

From the words of Happy Bottoms, The Butt Stops Here.
We are so excited to be involved with this program!

a shop update...

Finally... Pocket Full of Lovelies the shop is open.
as this is a work in progress, I am pleased to announce that phase 1 is currently up and running.

This phase includes all things newborn.
Hand dyed cheese cloth and stretch wraps to swaddle those babies in newborn photos.
Hats, headbands, bow ties, neck ties...
all the essentials to help you have amazing photographs.

Who shops at Pocket Full of Lovelies the shop? 
new parents, grandparents, gift givers, and photographers.
Your photographer will be pleased to use these in your photos or
your clients will be estatic to be able to choose these for their photos.

Check back as each phase opens in the shop. 
I am so excited to be able to offer a shop that includes all those things you need for your photos.
As I love photography and planning outfits and styling photo shoots...
My shop will take that love and make it a place for you to not only shop for photography props, but also allow me to help you style your photos.

What's in the works around here?
My favorited dresses will return as well as coordinating boy shirts and accessories {yes! both boy and girl} and accessories for momma's...

family photos will look put together and having the ease of stopping by and shopping at one shop is going to make it easier for everyone.

Can you tell I am excited?

Click on the Shop tab above to take you to the new store and here's a little sneak peak for you!

all pictures c/o willow brandt photography

Sorry if the above just gave you all a massive dose of baby fever...

Oh and see that Happy Bottoms button over there on the ole' sidebar  ------------------->>
I'll be telling you all about that tomorrow!

family pictures + what to wear post

If you've been around her for a while then you have probably heard me mention my fabulous photography friend molly from willow brandt photography
well lucky for me, I am able to have a friend that will photograph my family and let me do some pretty silly things that work about oh 50/50 I'd say. 

recently, my friend molly did Presley's 3 year photos as well as our family, and let me just say that I have the cutest dang daughter she has done it again and these photos melt.my.heart.

and yes, I have the cutest dang kid ever... Yes! biased!  So besides showing off my little family, I thought I'd share with you a guest post I did recently about what to wear for your family photos. 

and Yes, I still have a few Christmas DIY posts left as well.  I'll get back on that, k? forgive me!

could you not just eat her up.
she is adorbs!

melting!

daddy's girl

mommy's BFF

my little family...

 

 my dress // francesca's. cardi-target. boots-macy's. leapord belt-target

his sweater// oldnavy. button up-gap

her dress // pocket full of lovelies 

{yes, I made it}

watch for similar dresses very soon!

 

enough about what I wore,

let's talk about what you should!

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Today, I am here to talk to you cool cats about {what the heck to wear for your family pictures}
Why am I credible to talk on such a subject? Well, I am not really, but I like photography, and I like clothes and sometimes I get a vision..
call it what you will, but sometimes my mind thinks in photo shoots... {or blog posts, or tweets, ahh}
alrighty peeps, onto the topic at hand!

* inventory your house! what the hey does this have to do with getting your family dressed? well, it has a lot to do with it. I'll explain. why do we get pictures taken? because we want to display our beautiful selves all over our house, right? for other people to see when they come over and they can say, "dang, girl you look so good in that pictures" why, yes I do! thanks! so, look around, where are these pictures going to hang or sit? is your room formal? casual? what colors are in your room? take this into account when picking out outfits...
* another word of advice... research your photographer people! if you like sit-down-smile at the camera portraits, then pick a photographer that does those types of photos. if you like candid-maybe I am smiling, maybe I am laughing, maybe my butt crack is hanging out {no really, mine was in one of my pictures, no joke} then pick a photographer that has that style...
* the days of everyone looks the same in white shirts and khaki pants are long gone my friends... instead, try and pick out a few colors that everyone can incorporate in their outfit and coordinate not match... don't be afraid to mix unexpected colors and use accessories. COLOR is in folks! one of my {go to places} when I am trying to decide on Color is design seeds ... check it out.. you can search for palates and a pretty picture is included to help you if you are more visual like I am. you can search by palate, like autumn, summer, and so on! this is a good place to start... go there, like NOW! but come back and check out the rest of this post, m'kay?
* coordinating your outfits... this is huge. it's ok to mix patterns and colors, right? but don't put the same color and pattern on every person. pick outfits that encompass your
color palatte and then divi up those colors... if your scheme is mustard yellow and gray with pops of turquoise, put baby in yellow with a bold turqouise headband and yourself in a great gray dress with a pop of bright teal jewelry on your wrist and a mustard scarf and put dad in a plaid turquoise or shirt and dark gray wash jeans...
* scan your closets... pictures, as wonderful as they are, well, let's face it, can get pretty spendy by the time it's all said and done. well worth it, yes! look through your closets, do you think your husband looks hot in that shirt you bought him to wear to dinner last month, or maybe the baby looks darling in the new blazer you bought for grandma's birthday party {yes, they make blazers for the baby, too dang cute}. use that fave piece of clothing to help inspire the rest of your family look.
* use props... some of the time, your photog will have some for you to use, but if you are using these pictures for birthday invitations or for christmas cards and you want a specific look or feel, buy it and bring it, and communicate this to your photographer. check etsy or your favorite blogs for ideas... check your house, that special quilt that has been in the family for 100 years, bring it and sit on it {it washes} and you'll find your pictures not only look amazing but have a little bit of sentiment as well. believe me, photographers, {bless them} and their super cool editing skills, have a way of making aunt betty's ugly blanket look awesome in the photo... {I don't know how they do it, but they do}
* and last, we all do it, spend countless hours scanning pinterest. get inspiration from what other people have done. do me a favor and {wait for it} actually click on that super cool picture that you like and go to that blog or website and look around.. you may find more inspiration than you knew possible. seriously, if you like that one picture, chances are, you'll like the rest of what you will find after you click to the new page! try it, k?

well, take from it what you will. I hope someone draws some inspiration from this little post and has some crazy good family photos in the near future..

I have to get my roast out of the crock pot, and make my instant mashed potatoes before the hubbs gets home and figures out my secret! {I almost sounded domesticated, huh?} but seriously, the best choice garlic instant mashed potatoes are bomb!
you're welcome...

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thanks for listening lovelies
I'll be back soon!
xoxo