DIY silhouette ideas

I'm on a mission to attempt a silhouette project this weekend.  We'll see on Monday how far I make it - expect lots of whining.  In the meantime, here are other inspiring DIY silhouette projects which might get you in the mood, too:

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Check out this very cool project featured above from Time Out New York.

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Lemon Tree Creations completed a DIY memo shutter board project and added a neat silhouette to the final touches.

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While I'm in no way qualified to operate a jigsaw, I do think this hardwood silhouette idea is a nice touch to a bedroom from Brooklyn Limestone. 

Of course, hanging anything over my bed still won't incent me to make my bed.

Perfectly imperfect

I ran across this post from Letti confessing her "real life." She mentioned how she had not posted pics of her messy house or talked about her less than stellar moments in motherhood in an effort to be a "perfect blogger."  It made me laugh a bit because perhaps I am guilty of the same. 

In my defense, I enjoy keeping things fun and light so you'll most likely never see an emotionally heavy post on this blog.  But in my effort to share imperfections that make me human, here is my (condensed) list:

+ I do not make my bed, even though I'm constantly considering buying a new duvet.  Seriously, why would I bother? 

+ I tend to stuff clutter in closets believing in the theory that if it looks good on the outside, only snoopy people will notice the inside...and they'll get the avalanche they deserve.

+ I have no intention of breaking Griffin of his pacifier habit until age three for one very selfish reason: my own sanity.

+ We sometimes eat fast food and prepared (frozen) meals.  We could certainly use less of both.

+ I don't care how healthy whole wheat bread is.  I shamelessly love white bread.

+ I am guilty of wearing the same (albeit clean) black track pants nearly every weekend because a) they're comfy and I don't care who sees them each Saturday/Sunday while I run errands, and b) they give the impression that I am coming from or going to the gym, either which cannot be further from the truth.

So there you have it...at least the short list.  :)

I {heart} silhouettes

I've been thinking a lot of silhouettes these days and how it would be cool to make one of each Gravy Kid.

(Image via Design*Sponge)

I'm not opposed those who create them in Photoshop, or crazy enough to do the whole stand-in-front-of-a-light-bulb-and-trace-on-a-wall way, but that'll never happen with two kids under age five.  Instead, I'd prefer to half-fake my way through the project by using a digital image as a pattern. 

(Image via Design*Sponge)

Design*Sponge featured great tutorial on creating your own silhouette by tracing and cutting, and The Vintage Farm has a version where you cut out a photo and then paint the back (clever!).

These would make great Mother's Day gifts!

"Cheep-cheep" kitchen towel

When I bought the dish towels for my last project, it came in a two-pack so I've been jonesing to figure out what to do with the extra one.

I thought it would be fun to try a my-first-applique project and the results were decent.  I printed a bird silhouette I found online and used it as a pattern:

Remember, I'm super-novice when it comes to sewing so just figuring out the zig-zag setting was an accomplished feat.

And I used leftover fabric from the pillowcase dress of shame to create the ruffle:

I'm pleased with the final results!

Share in my envy for good lookin' kitchen towels here.

Shiny new shiner

There's never a dull moment in our house.

Griffin tripped right into the corner of the coffee table yesterday.  We were horrified when he fell because when he hit the table and propelled forward, the corner missed his eye only by about 3/16 of an inch.  It still gives me the willies to look at it, the poor kid.  In typical Griffin fashion, he cried for a bit, dusted himself off, and took off running again. 

We also enjoyed having friends over and Wavey had such a great time hanging out with Abby, her best friend since they were three months old.  They're a hoot together.

The verdict is still out on how much Olivia, Abby's little sister, and Griffin like playing with each other since they still play very independently.  Griffin looks less than thrilled to be around all girls, but the shiner isn't exactly making him a 'looker' to the ladies, either.

Not one purple pair in my closet

Wavey's class has been working on a rainbow theme, and on one project, the kids were asked what certain colors reminded them of.  Some equated the color blue with skies and flowers; or the color red with ladybugs and lollipops.

Never one to be predictable, Wav answered the inquiry as follows:



I mean, doesn't everyone have "pants" come to the forefront of their minds when thinking of things that are purple?

Being present to win

Things sometimes get busy, and I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir here.

When things get kind of nuts for me, there's sometimes an inadvertant shift of priorities and I have to remind myself that if I'm not present with my family, I may later regret it. 

Cue the Chapin song "Cat's in the Cradle."

A Design So Vast occasionally discusses "being present" (this is my favorite post), and reminds me to enjoy what I have now, stop grappling for what I may not have, and to live in the present.
 
Always keeping the "be present" message in the back of my head, I was thrilled when I stumbled upon and bought this cool little print from Raw Art Letterpess to hang in my studio:

Free printable: DIY candy-colored gift tags

I'm a big fan of spring season colors, and to share the love, here's your free DIY printable gift tags from Good Gravy!  

Featuring candy-colored hues, these print-and-use tags are perfect little dressings for any gift big or small, and I intentionally designed them without specific messaging so they're applicable year 'round and for all occasions. 

Happy gift giving!

Get your craft on: Painted glass bottles

Inspired by this post, I had to try out painting the interior of a glass bottle to give good reason for why I hang onto glass jars obsessively.  The results: good!  Check it out:

I started with a clean canning jar and a paint sample in Honolulu Blue.

I slowly poured the paint in and swirled it around until it coated the sides.  Note that I did not do this step over my leather bench, despite what this photo may suggest!

Once the sides were adequately coated, I inverted the jar over a paper plate and used a wooden skewer to help tilt it so the excess paint would slide out without pooling around the entire rim:

And voila!

44 + $200 = best birthday ever

Wavey drew me a nice picture at school for my birthday on Friday.

She couldn't remember how old I was but knew it was the same digit twice, so she guessed the following:

Not that there's anything wrong with being 44, but I would have preferred 22!  At least I'm aging phenomenally well, according to this picture.

PS: I went out to dinner with my husband on Friday night and we were pulled over for speeding.  The officer let us off with just a warning, or else it would have been a $200 ticket!  THAT was a birthday present, to say the least!

Birthdays with a side of bacon

Today's birthday really snuck up on me.  I don't have many complaints because I still get carded...probably out of pity from waitstaff and cashiers, but I'll take it where I can. 

And while I don't normally ask/want birthday gifts, I did jokingly tell my husband that I certainly wouldn't refuse a membership to this:

Mind you, despite my deep affection for bacon, I don't think I could quite stomach the membership cost, let alone the shipping rates.  But I can still dream the salty cured dream. 

Mmm, bacon...

"40 bags in 40 days" update

While I'm continually spring-cleaning my house, the tally of my "40 bags in 40 days" challenge reached between 30-35 bags.  It felt good to purge, reorganize and repurpose a lot of things.  Here are a few before/after photos:

I received a great comment from a reader suggesting I get a shelf to replace the stand.  What a difference that made!  We've also moved a bulk of the toys to the finished basement where it's easier to shut the door and hide the kids' daily tornado of toys.

In the kids' room, there is a little step up area we call their "library" which includes a ton of shelves my dad built.  The shelving for the room is great...but only when in use:

Of course, no matter how much you pick up the house to make it nice, there's a kid who'll still insist on resting in the dog's bed.

Three little birds, outside my doorstep

Late last summer, a sweet little cartoon video for Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds" played on Noggin (aka Nick Jr.) quite often and the Gravy Kids really got into it. 

The song became our little family anthem and so when I saw this original multimedia artwork by Lindsay at Paint Me A Picture, I knew it would be a perfect addition to the kids' room. 

Wavey even recognized the reference the moment I showed it to her!

Singing don't worry about a thing cause every little thing's gonna be alright...