Wordless Wednesday

Vinyl + Wooden Letters + Paint = Make-over

My kids' rooms in our new house needed a little make-over. Paige's room was kind of dark blue. We tried to just live with it and brighten it up by using pretty, girlie, decorations, but it just didn't cut it. So we painted it a bright yellow (called Summer Sun), which is quite similar to the color of her old room.

I wanted to update more of her room, too. I knew I wanted to do something with the wooden letters that have made up her name since before she was born. I remember picking these letters out and painting them vibrant, primary colors while I was still pregnant. They've hung on both girls' walls ever since.



So, to update her name to match her room and her age a little better, I decided to paint them and make them pop a little by placing them within these "bubbles". At first I thought I'd trace out some circles and paint them in by hand. But then I had a light bulb moment:

vinyl!!!

Enter Marni, at Sassy Sites. I knew she sold vinyl letters, so I e-mailed her and asked her if she could cut just plain circles. She kindly said she could and even went out and got the colors I needed. Yay!! Look how it turned out:




I love the dimension that the wood-on-vinyl gives. I used blue tacky putty to adhere the wood to the vinyl. It's repositionable and holds well. In fact, that stuff has kept the letters hanging tight for 6 years.

I think this was a nice little update. Paige is happy with it, too. Now, on to Madison's!!

Fibers on Friday: My First Amigurumi

Hello friends! Happy Fibers on Friday! I'm glad you're here to join this party dedicated to knitting and crocheting! I had a BLAST this week working on my very first Amigurumi!! Thanks to Kathleen at A Surprise Every Time [..."and it's hard to say if they're happy, but they don't seem much to mind...."] for leading me in that direction!! Maybe someday I'll be as good as her, but NEVER in the story telling...she's a master! Plus, she's an Ani fan....I guess she just rocks my world :-)


I used this monster pattern from Crafty is Cool. It was fairly easy, but I'll admit I had a little trouble with the magic loop thingy to start. I've got it down now. I knit these pieces a little each night. My kids were so intrigued to find out what they'd end up being. But, I wouldn't tell them! So, last night I had a couple of tops and bottoms and the intention of finishing them today while they were at school. Well, I finished these guys, but not a fourth (to make it even for both kids), so they're still in the dark......hahahaha! I love the suspense!!

Wordless Wednesday: If You Build It, They Will Come

Fairy Forts, Flower and Rock Circles, and Love Notes.

Sharing this WW at 5 Minutes for Mom

Meatless Monday: My Gourmet Pizza Creation

Homemade pizza was on the menu the other night. I had the dough made and rising when I realized I had no tomatoes to make a sauce. No problem, we'll go white. I started grabbing things I had on hand and came up with this delicious pizza.

Start with the dough of your choice. I made this food processor dough found on the Cuisinart website, but I substituted 1/3 of the white flour with whole wheat. This is not a huge substitution, but wow does it ever change the dough. I mean it was good...fine...delicious. But, it really added a lot of texture and substance to the dough.

I par-bake the crust first, then add toppings, then finish off baking.

I topped it with:

• caramelized onions
• mushrooms, which I lightly sautee'd along with 1 chopped garlic clove with the onions when they were almost finished.
• sliced pear. Slightly under-ripe worked well. Sliced it thinly and did not cook it at all before adding it to pizza.
• a jar of marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
  
• toasted pecans (walnuts would also be great)
• a sprinkle of Italian seasoning since I had no fresh herbs
• a little mozzarella cheese on top (gorganzola would have been divine...next time)

This pizza was really, really tasty and wholesome and wonderfully filling.

Fibers on Friday: More Crochet

Hello friends! Happy Fibers on Friday! I'm glad you're here to join this party dedicated to knitting and crocheting (or anything else fiber related...sewing?).


I made another crocheted washcloth this week, along with plugging along on my Multnomah Shawl. I'll show you the progress on that next week.

Guys, I really love how quickly crocheting goes!! I love that I have a finished project to show you (albeit merely a washcloth), while still making slow progress on my shawl.

This is the Grit Stitch Washcloth from the Sandy Shore Washcloth Set found on Lion Brand's website. The one I did last week was also from this set; the Double Crochet Washcloth.

I need to move onto something else now....suggestions for a nice step up from washcloths??

I Played with Paper!

My card stash is almost depleted. I MUST get to work at creating more! We have a little boy's birthday party to go to tonight, so I had a little fun making a BOY CARD!! My go-to source of inspiration is Mama Cow Creations because she is the GODDESS of everything paper. She highlighted this week's Card Patterns Sketch and sweetly encouraged everyone to join in. So I did!!

Here's the sketch

And here's my take:


I used Cosmo Cricket's Cogsmo paper kit. I don't know where most people get their Cosmo Cricket paper, but I've gotten all mine through Miss Paper Jane. They always include packets of free stuff in your order. In fact, this chip board die cut robot was in a free pack! They're awesome!

I had fun putting that little guy together...adding googly eyes....and wire antennae with beads! This card is heavy with all those elements, but it will be hand-delivered, so it's ok. I plan on making some duplicates of this card, but toning it down a little in weight so it can go through the mail with ease.

Ahhhhh, that felt good! Hop on over to Card Patterns to see all the other paper playing going on! And hey...join in!