Category: being creative

inspired…

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…by another Craft Weekend!

I don’t know how Meg does it!

I’ve pinned some of my favorites to my Pinterest boards.

For those of you not on Pinterest I will share them with you here…

Source: megduerksen.typepad.com via stephany @ on Pinterest

I’m still thinking of hosting a craft weekend of my own somewhere at the Oregon Coast…wouldn’t that be fun?!

By the way, I haven’t been blogging as much because I have been completely obsessed with some projects in my home. Hopefully I will be able to blog about them pretty soon.

Thanks for sticking with me…

home is…inspiration.

quick catch up…

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Just a quick catch up from me!

Welcome to all of my new followers, and thank you for visiting!

Between my SITS day, a Facebook feature, and a blog critique party my blog has been busy.

I, however, have not been busy blogging!

I did want to mention a few things I have learned over the last few days…

First, from all the SITS girls that visited and left comments…you all are really nice people!! If I am feeling down, I am just going to go back and read through some of your thoughtful comments. You all made this momma very happy!

Second, I have to start watermarking my photos! I have heard about this a lot…through Instagram, Pinterest, and, most recently, through the blog critique I participated in (you can read more about that here and see the checklist we used here). 

Third, I am far from a “grand opening” of my etsy shop, colton+cadence. I might have a “soft” opening and get a few items in there occasionally, but until both kids are in school this fall I do not have the time to dedicate to it. So, I want you all to stay tuned…I will post on my home is… Facebook page and the colton+cadence Facebook page when I put any items in the shop. So, “like” those Facebook pages to get the most updated information!

Fourth, having a four year old is harder than having a two year old…and I have both! Man, if you have or have had a four year old (particularly a 4 year old boy) please tell me I am not crazy! He’s majorly testing his boundaries and it is majorly testing my patience, energy, and emotions. He is like “dr. jekyll and mr. hyde” lately. Last time I had a not so terrible two year old, I also had a newborn, so I don’t remember much of it…and it really never seemed that bad (although my husband will tell you that I told him otherwise in all the texts I sent him that first year of having 2 kiddos). Anyway, I know {like everything else we have gone through with kids} that this too shall pass, but I hope it passes SOON!

{yes, that blur in the background is his two year old sister}

Fifth, thank you to Jennifer and Amy for critiquing my blog. I found your critiques very insightful and will make some changes based on them! I also had fun critiquing (and visiting) Amy’s creative blog. And, I made a visit to Jennifer’s beautiful blog, as well!

Finally, if you are a blogger (or photographer, or computer geek) how do you watermark your photos?

(for photo software I am currently using iPhoto and Picasa…I make my collages and add text in Picasa)

home is…trying to keep a calm center.

{gallery wall} take two, three, four, and more

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After all the Christmas decor came down the house felt clean, but empty.

So, I started hanging artwork.

I added to the gallery wall at our front entry…

I put up some new artwork in our family room which is mainly a beige neutral room and needed some color…

And, I gallery walled the entire power room (inspired by a good friend who put a gallery wall from floor to ceiling on one wall in her powder bath…I hope you don’t mind, Melissa)…

These photos were just taken with my iPhone on instagram to show my husband while he is traveling for work this week.

As you can see, there are still stickers on some of the frames, and spaces to fill with photos or artwork, but sometimes just getting something done is better than nothing!

I am hoping to do a blog home tour this year…something along the lines of inside the {real} house of an interior designer.

Stay tuned…

home is…filling up walls.

*linking up with…

Home Stories A2Z

Tip Junkie handmade projects

The 36th Avenue

snowball fight

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We got enough snow here in the Pacific Northwest over the weekend to throw a few snowballs.

That’s about it.

A few snowballs.

I remembered that I had pinned a fun idea to one of my boards on Pinterest.

Source: fey-next2heaven.blogspot.com via Stephany on Pinterest

An indoor snowball fight kit!

So, I grabbed some white yarn that I had on hand for another craft and started making yarn snowballs!

I didn’t take a photo of how to make the snowballs, but you can see a tutorial here.

Source: persialou.blogspot.com via Stephany on Pinterest

{I like the idea for using yarn pom-poms for pretty packaging and other decorations}

I wrapped the yard around a piece od cardboard instead of my hand, and didn’t trim the balls, just left them “wild”.

It was really easy and only took about 20 minutes to make 10 snowballs.

I had a poster tube on hand from some art I recently ordered, so I put the snowballs in there.

I haven’t made a cute label for it, but plan to eventually.

So, if we don’t get anymore snow here in the Pacific Northwest we can still have a snowball fight anytime…indoors!

home is…a “snow” day project!

*linking up with…

Todays Creative Blog

Home Stories A2Z

4 sleeps ’til christmas {december blog giveaway}

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If you think that’s exciting, how about a giveaway?!

I meant to get one on here earlier in the month, but got overwhelmed with my own holiday decorating, playing, crafting, and gifting.

So, here we go…

And, as I promised, a happy elf…

To enter, please answer the following question(s) with a comment below:

What is a favorite Christmas/holiday tradition that you grew up with?

And, if you have kids, how are you sharing that tradition with them?

For (4) additional entries you can:

{to be official, please mention each additional entry in a separate comment to count}

Deadline is Friday, December 23rd at 9pm Pacific.

Winner will be announced on Saturday, December 24th!

And, while the winner will not receive the package until after Christmas, there are goodies you can use year round, and others you can look forward to using next year!

{there may even be a couple of extra goodies in the package}

home is…giving joy to others.

the happy elves

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One of the traditions I have at Christmas is to give everybody in our immediate and extended family an ornament.

Some years I buy different ones for each person.

Some years I buy similar ornaments and personalize them with their name and the year.

Some years I make them.

Some years the kids make them.

Some years I forget to give them.

This year I was inspired to give handmade ornaments.

I just finished the last ones up today.

This was my inspiration…

Source: memoriesoncloverlane.blogspot.com via Stephany on Pinterest

Although we have a backyard full of pinecones I opted to go a bit of a different route with my “merry and bright” color scheme.

In general, I used these instructions from Martha Stewart,which make these elves…

Source: marthastewart.com via Stephany on Pinterest

Instead of using pinecones I used plastic ball ornaments and instead of using wooden beads for the heads I used model magic clay.

I also changed the shape of the shoes.

I drew the faces on with Sharpies, but would love to find a different way to paint the faces. And, I used white model magic clay…in the future I would use something with more of a skin color tint to it.

Other than that I am more than pleased with how they turned out!

My elves can’t stand up on their own, but they hang on a tree just fine.

Each ornament is unique for each person in our family…all 21 of them!

Four elves are hanging in our tree, 12 elves are on their way to New York, and 5 elves are still working on getting packaged up to get sent to Colorado!

I took some photos of the 9 that are still here at our house last night…

taking a joy ride in one of our Christmas decorations…

and on the kids toys…

and just hanging out in the playroom…

and helping with the Christmas decor finishing touches!

Tomorrow, I will be posting a giveaway including one of these elves and some other holiday goodies.

home is…having a little holiday fun.

*linking up with…

Todays Creative Blog

tatertots and jello

{holiday home tour} bits and pieces

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I am still working on some last minute decorating and then plan to get the house cleaned up and enjoy some time with the kiddos and Ryan once the weekend rolls around.

Here are some photos of our family room.

You will notice the trolls on the mantel and a project that I borrowed from Pinterest.

I am using the same fabric covered bulletin board to display our Christmas cards from family and friends as I did last year. Only this year I added a string of lights with ribbon tied on it as a frame {a Pinterest find}.

I also made a garland for the windows in the family room.

As you can see, I am not sticking with the traditional red and green of Christmas.

Once I get the craft room {or dining room table} cleaned I can show you the decorations I have in there.

I still have a few projects to finish up before I can get to that!

You can also see our playroom, backyard, and mantel on my {holiday home tour}

Stay tuned…

home is…may your days be merry and bright!

*linking up with…The Shabby Creek Cottage, Just Sew Sassy, Today’s Creative Blog, I Gotta Create, and Bleak 2 Unique

{colton+cadence} the dolls

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I’ve been doing instead of dreaming around here lately.

Well, to be honest, I am still dreaming of a craft room where I can accomplish all my doing, but the dining room table is working out for now.

I’ve been using my sewing machine, and I am addicted!

Between finding new ideas on Pinterest and trying them out on my machine I am having a blast.

Here is my latest project.

Meet Colton…

and Cadence…

…the dolls.

My mom used to make handmade dolls when I was little. She made them for my sister and I. Made them for gifts. And, even made life sized dolls that were used as “gag” gifts for 40th birthdays, etc.

I wanted to be able to do this for my kids, too.

And, I can!

I found this pattern and tutorial online, and tweaked it a bit.

{There were quite a few ideas and patterns on Pinterest and etsy, as well}

I plan to make lots more of these dolls in the future.

Look for them in my future monthly giveaways and possibly at colton+cadence.

On a side note , the first version of the Cadence doll went missing after only 24 hours. She is either hiding in the house somewhere, or somewhere in the SW Portland area. So, I quickly made a second version…with yarn pigtails.

home is…handmade.

*Today I am linking up with Today’s Creative Blog

Todays Creative Blog