fridays...

I LOVE Fridays, really who doesn't. Jeremy has Friday's off, he spends a good bit of his day off studying. Have I mentioned he started seminary last week? So with a family, a full time job, part-time seminary, a 1930's cottage and yard in need of much love and attention we can feel a little stretched by the end of the week. That is why we need our family nights- a time to hang out and have fun. Tonight we spent our family night with some of our dear friends. They came over with food. We found food in our fridge and threw it all together for our dinner. The kiddos played and colored while the adults talked. Thanks for coming over Donaldson's!

I love the blurry photo of Emma and Damascus, it truly captures their energy and spirit. Those two are constantly in motion.

re-creating

It has been a while since I have done a re-creating post; finding a new use for an object the would otherwise be headed for the trash. All three of these lampshades were headed in that direction until Jeremy and my parents intercepted them for me. Thanks J and Mom and Dad!

They are currently hanging in one of my favorite rooms in our home, the girls room. I will have to share more photos of their space in the future. Our ceilings are 10ft. tall, so there was a lot of extra space above their book shelves. I needed something for that space and the lampshade frames turned out to be the perfect solution. They hang from strips of fabric tied to hooks in the ceiling. The end of the fabric is tied in a knot through the wire frame, and then a second piece of fabric was tied in a bow around each knot.

Do you have some fun re-creating ideas? I would love for you to share them with me....

what a nice surprise...

I found out today that my blog is featured over on Todays Creative Blog. Thanks Kim for mentioning me! That is a great place to find inspiration from so many others out there in blogland. I visit her blog on a regular basis. So, if you are visiting me from her blog, welcome to becoming home. And if you have a moment leave a comment, I would love to hear from you.

I love sharing ideas that I have come up with on my own or gathered from various locations. Today, upon finding out Kim mentioned me, I felt a little panicked, like I needed to share everything at once. I felt the need to run around me house, which by the way is a huge mess, and take photos of everything I wanted to share. That, however, did not happen because I am at home solo with the girls tonight. Plus, if I posted everything at once, then I wouldn't have a reason for you to come back and visit.

The other day I mentioned I had some cute gift ideas for kids, from my sisters-in-law, who by the way are the best.

The first gift idea I want to share is what Janee made for Emma for her 3rd birthday this summer. Janee is an actress and has spent the last few years sharing her talents with the Barter Theater in Virginia.

She made this adorable set of counting cards using scrapbook supplies and buttons. Aren't they fun! I love the colors!

The next gift idea comes from my other sister in law, Kelly. She is also super talented and made the awesome cake seen in a previous post, as well as this gift for Stella. Stella enjoys dressing up, so they gave her this hat box full of hats to try on. How fun!

Thanks for visiting. Now I must go fold all the laundry covering the sofa.

and the winners are...

Thanks for all of your comments. I love finding out who reads this blog.

Here are the five winners:

Erin said...

such fun products!
I have a mini in my cocoa daisy kit I keep looking at, but haven't started yet...

aday said...

These seriously rock I want to get more into the pendants for a different creative release

Abby said...

Thanks for the tutorial! I can't wait to try them.

krista said...

You have wonderful products! Are they only available online? Thanks for the great products!

Peggy Maier said...

What a cute idea! Very creative - now I just have to hope I win!

If you won, please send me an email with your address and if you would like a package of circle or square pendants-it's your choice!

The link for my email is on the left, right above my flicker photo collage. If you have any problems with that link, you can roll your mouse over the link and my email address will appear at the bottom left hand corner of your screen. You can see what it is then type it into your email.

Thanks again you guys for visiting my blog!

Have a good night.

her first birthday

I can hardly believe Stella turned one on Sunday. We had a fun party for her. Lots of family came in town to help us celebrate.

Though this year feels like it has flown by, it seems like forever ago when she was born. Do you know the crazy story?

Here are a few pictures of some of the details from the party, as well as some of the birthday girl. She loved her chocolate cake made by her Aunt Kelly.









I will have to share some adorable gift ideas from both of my sisters-in-law this week. I just need to take pictures of them. They are both so creative, so stay tuned...

a give away!

Yeah, it's Wednesday! We are doing a little better. Today I dropped Emma off at preschool or away school as we are starting to call it, and came home with high hopes of knocking a bunch of stuff off my to do list. I have no idea what happened, but the morning flew by and I felt like I got nothing accomplished. Ahhh-that's the way it goes I guess. The weather has been really nice the past few days, so I took the girls to the Sonic for lunch and let Emma play on the playground there. It was so nice enjoying the breeze. I really think it helped me relax a little. I MUST spend more time outside now that the weather is starting to change.

Onto the giveaway! I thought since I posted a tutorial below for making pendants, I would give away some packages. Leave a comment. I will do the drawing on Monday, September 17. I will draw a couple of names, so you don't want to miss out!

Also, be sure to check on the shopblog. I have added 3 new sizes over there!

And, do you need some more ideas for how to use d. reeves products? Check it out here.

Have you made anything with d. reeves products? I would love to add pictures to the blog. You can inspire others in their creative pursuits!

Pendant Tutorial

Supplies:
Pattern Paper
Krylon Paper Finishes Spray adhesive- I purchased mine at Hobby Lobby
craft knife
pendants
crop-o-dile or other small hole punch (not pictured)

After you have selected the paper you want to use for your pendent, peel both sides of the brown protective wrapping off the pendant.

Determine what part of the paper’s design you want on the pendant.


Cut the design out, leaving some extra space to allow for easy handling.

For the bird pendant, I punched the circle out with my circle punch. Then I attached it to the green and cream paper with a tape runner.


Place your paper on the cardboard outside.

When I go outside to spray the glue I usually put the pendants separately in my pockets. This prevents them from getting scratched and from the glue landing on them.


Once you thoroughly spray the paper, pull the pendants out and press the paper firmly to the pendants. You could even use a one folder or a brayer on the back to ensure a firm bond.

Let the pendants dry- I usually bring them inside to dry

Once the glue is dry or you can’t wait any longer, use the craft knife to trim the excess off. I used it for both the square and round pendants. For the round pendants, I also used some small Fiskers scissors to finish off little bits of paper that were hard to get with the craft knife.


It is great to use double sided paper so the pendants look finished on the back. If you choose a single sided paper you can finish off the back by attaching paper or stamping on the back. I applied ledger paper to the back of the square pendant using a tape runner. I stamped on the back of the circle pendant using distress inks-this can make for a nice personal gift.


Use the small side of the hole punch on the crop-o-dile to make your hole in the paper. Then add your jump rings which are included in the package.

Here is the finished product! They kind of look like vintage wallpaper.

A quick and easy project. These would make great gifts too!

I would love to see what you make!

a bit of a delay...

I am sick, Stella's sick....so the tutorial and giveaway post will be up on Wednesday.

Thanks for understanding the unpredictability of a small business operated primarily by a mom, out of a home, with two lively little ones.

d. reeves design house

I have had a lot of questions about making acrylic pendants. I will be posting a tutorial for making them on Monday. I will also be hosting a giveaway, so be sure to come back and visit next week.

Have a good weekend. I will spend it by filling orders and finishing up (hopefully) some house projects.

first day of preschool, first day of MOPS and some dress up

Emma started preschool today. Yesterday, we went up to her school to meet her teachers and explore her classroom. I know she is going to love it. I love her teachers. I never expected to take her to preschool, we had talked about homeschooling for years, before kids were in the picture, in fact, even before we were married.

After having such a positive experience with Mother's Day Out, we felt like Emma would enjoy going to preschool at the same place. It seems like the best thing for us right now. I am so excited about all of the extra things that will happen this year like donuts with dad and tea with mom. I also signed up to help with the Valentine's party-yeah!

With preschool and Mops today it made for a pretty crazy morning. The rain didn't help, neither did my bad attitude. Oh, thank goodness for grace and mercy.

This certainly made me smile:

amy butler

I thought I would share that she has some free downloads on her site.

There are some cute paper craft downloads

While you are visiting her site check out some of the new products. LOVE IT!

These bags are so cute

This kit is available now

Enjoy!