the wedding planner

as a little girl, i remember thinking about how some day i would get married. i wear a beautiful white dress and marry a boy and we would kiss and . . . well, the only detail i really remember being specific is that is all occurred outside. in 2010, outdoor weddings are common place and people probably wouldn't think that was a very specific detail, but in 1999, it was not common, it was really discouraged, and i had approximately 3 potential venues to choose between. but, because that was how i had always envisioned my day that was how my day occurred. it was perfect and i wouldn't change a thing.

but, i digress. i knew that one day my little girl(s) would have similar dreams. those dreams were probably expounded upon when josh decided he loved to shoot weddings and really felt a calling to follow that love. but, recently, our oldest has really begun to dream about her day. 

carter has always loved to dress up. she has several pieces that are wedding themed and many more that are not, but that doesn't stop her from creating a bridal ensemble that would make randy fenoli cry.

but recently, that desire to marry switched focus from her little brother to a little boy in her class. she even made a card for him. luckily, her sweet teacher knew how important it was for this moment to be captured. one day, i might even have a picture of it. 


then, on friday before school, carter was busy creating. when i walked in and found this, i knew things would be different when it is her turn.

is it just me or is this an inspiration board?? 


an inspiration board of an indecisive bride (2 dresses, 2 cakes, 2 bridesmaids' dresses), maybe . . .  but since she is only 5, i would say she definitely has a couple of years (or decades) to finalize her decisions. 


and let's hope her choice of bridal gown becomes a little more traditional and less, um . . . disney, before her big day.


can we say bridezilla??

let's pretend . . .

let's pretend that i wrote this post on december 26th.

let's pretend that it isn't full of pictures and really long.

let's pretend you find it at least a little bit interesting.

because these last few months have been one event to the next, i feel like i have been working on projects since early october. after a successful birthday party sunday afternoon, i thought i had a break this week when i was reminded we have a just ducky trunk show. see what i mean.

so, i convinced my very sweet, very patient husband to create the following:

this is a collage of our advent activities during the holiday season. it includes:

writing letters to santa
sibling gift exchange (they each wrapped the gift they bought)
making marshmallow pops (classroom treats)
the alpine village
visit with santa
zoo lights
enchanted forest
making gingerbread houses
and christmas ever at meme & papaw's

let's pretend i remember the activities we did for advent and am not hoping to find the list so i will know next year.

let's pretend i don't have to read my own posts from the linkwithin gadget to remember these things happened. (am i the only one who does that??)

and, so i don't forget, here are some highlights from christmas day:

let's pretend my children don't get all handsie with santa's eggnog and cookies.

ah, the excitement of christmas day . . .

let's pretend they are this sweet to one another all the time. this year, miller was so excited for carter and the stuff she got in her stocking that he didn't even notice his. so sweet.

my little book lover

let's pretend this isn't the only picture we have of the three of them . . .
or let's pretend it is amazing and i want to hang it on my new picture wall.
moments later, spencer started crying and laying her head on the ground. so. over.whelmed.


their favorite gifts:

miller and his new friend he named "pirate miller." miller asked for a pirate costume, so when i decided to make him a doll, i knew it had to be dressed in a matching pirate costume. the look on his face was worth every single sleepless minute during my handmade holiday.

these buzz lightyear hands have been super fun, too. except when all is quiet in the playroom and i am working on something crafty and i suddenly hear  "i am buzz lightyear!"

even though she was super excited about her sewing machine

and her new bike,

it was this gift from meme and papaw that carter said was her favorite.

a nekked spencer shows off her new pink puppy that she loves to push around. this poor girl was extremely overwhelmed christmas day. having never received a gift to open and with very few of her own toys (that poor third child), she didn't understand why people kept taking things away from her so she could open something else.

let's pretend that all the build up of christmas and the celebrating of the season doesn't actually end a little bittersweet and with the extreme desire to immediately pack up all the decorations i worked so hard on making and displaying.

let's just pretend . . .

help!

i have a problem. or maybe it is a condition.

it is called event adhd.
i only recognized it and was able to label it recently.

see, God has blessed me with three children. three children who each have a birthday during a holiday season-easter, back to school and christmas. (yes, back to school is a holiday, especially if you are a teacher.)
i like to celebrate those three children's birthdays. and, i like to celebrate holidays. i like to make things to celebrate all discussed events. but, let me tell you what happens when i go shopping to accomplish said celebrations. when i am supposed to be crafting for this holiday:

i begin dreaming up things for this holiday:

when i search diligently for this child's birthday party:

i find myself instead purchasing things for this kid's birthday:

why do i do this?

event adhd.

see, i told you it was a problem. or is it a condition?
regardless, i need a solution quick so i can finish crafting up a little soiree this weekend!

one year

one year.

12 months.

365 days.

365 very fast days.

days filled with wonder.

days filled with smiles.

days filled with diapers.

days filled with laughter.

days filled with joy.

days filled with each other.

days filled with everyday life.

some days filled with tears.

one day filled with a sucker. one very happy day.

days filled with love.

365 days.
12 months.
1 year.

we are so blessed to have you in our lives.

happy birthday, sweet girl!

on christmas day, on christmas day

merry christmas!

the stockings were hung . . .

with the joy of having a baby this year (well, technically she was born last year, but she won't be a year until after christmas ;) is the not so great joy of making another christmas stocking. when i thought about how much i didn't want to make one, i somehow decided to make three.

my parents would tell you math is not my forte.

my idea was compounded by the most amazing fabric i found in the late summer. at first, i was just going to buy a fat quarter, but i decided to buy a yard for some reason. apparently, it was for this:

isn't this fabric sweet? i combined it with some vintage chenille, some twill tape and bells to create a bigger, more relaxed stocking (just what my kids need-more toys!).

of course, this fabric was not going to make the perfect stocking for a little boy, so i made one that looked like this:

i planned to add their initial hanging down with the bells, but i kinda ran out of time so i decided i could add it next year if i still wanted to.

and, since i haven't yet, i will leave you with a few images of christmas at our house:

jingle bells

tinsel tree decorated with my vintage knee hugger collection

vintage pink & aqua ornaments and an accordion paperback prettied up with a vintage pin

sherbert green milk glass santa fairy light

a vintage holiday card and the little house i made

we have two other trees as well, but the only pictures i have of them were taken by carter. what's that? you want to see them, too. okay, but just remember, these are not the cleaned up, so now you can take pictures type of pictures. these are the sure, you can take a few pictures, just let mommy check her email for a few minutes and sit down for a second after a full day at preschool type of pictures. you know what i mean, right?

this is our family tree complete with random toys and after school sonic treat on the side table. this tree is pre-children and full of breakable little bits and pieces begging to be touched. as much as some people say give in go kid friendly, my love of christmas says just add another tree. so we did . . .

i'm letting it all hang out now. this picture is before the advent calendar was introduced and the junk board was cleaned up. and, the pink tree currently resides at my parents house as both kids got new ones from michael's for super cheap. but, the green tree, the green tree is a favorite of mine as it looks like dr.suess to me and is full of all the fun, kid-created ornaments i receive each year from preschool. it resides in the playroom across from my craft spot so i have had lots of time to look at it recently!

okay, i still have shopping to do and gifts to wrap, so that concludes the tour. next stop . . . target. again.

merry christmas eve eve!

A B C, it's easy as 1 2 3

i didn't really have an idea this year for teacher gifts and i needed 5. 5, people. i needed something i could make so it might be cost effective, but i wanted it to be something they might like, too. my mom always says in gift giving it is the thought that counts . . . and i say, if you don't put thought into it then it doesn't count. not bitter, i'm just sayin' . . .

i saw this tutorial a while back but didn't think about recreating it because it was a large project- large as in big in size and number, and i didn't have the space for it. but when i was perusing the anthropologie site, i saw something i already own, the printer's letter stand, and it came to me.

i began the project with a wood candle stick and a wood circle from the craft store and a wood block from my very gracious and meticulous father. (he even accommodates my crazy requests when i need them the next day, but i think it secretly makes him crazy . . . well, maybe it isn't a secret!)

details: the candlestick is more than 1.5" wide at the top so he cut a block thick enough to cover  it. therefore, he cut the blocks from a 2 by 6 approximately 5.5" wide. why 5.5"? because that is what looked balanced to us on the candlestick we chose. you can adjust measurements based on your pieces.

where were we? okay, glue your candle stick to your base with whatever glue you have handy. we used elmer's wood glue.

then, we glued the block to the top of the candlestick.

after the wood glue dried enough (remember, i'm in a time crunch), i painted them with my favorite spray paint, heirloom white and canyon black.

after my scarf exchange, i finished up the details.

for the details, i used burlap, decorative tacks, the cricut and the winter woodland cartridge, black acrylic paint, a sponge brush, twine and jingle bells.

i cut out burlap rectangles slightly smaller than my wood block. then, i created a stencil using the cricut. i cut 4.5" letters from the winter woodland cartridge and painted the letters black. i would not have used a sponge brush typically, but i didn't have the right type of brush and i started this project at 11 at night, so i am pretty sure my local craft store was closed. regardless, the sponge brush worked and that is what matters, right?

after the acrylic paint dried, i tacked the burlap to the block using the decorative tacks.

next, i tied jingle bells at the ends of a piece of twine, wrapped it around the candlestick and called it a night, or morning.

when i was finished, i was a little jealous i had already bought all the candlesticks in the city. i need one, too.

if you need another teacher idea, i made these using this tutorial for the girls who work in my pod with me:

it makes wearing a lanyard way more fun!

i'm still crafting away. how about you? what are you trying to pull off with only 5 crafting days left?