Little Retro Aprons for kids and dolls.

4 posts in 1 night. I really have to get on here more often.

My mom got me this really cute pattern and fabric for aprons for children with matching doll apron.

They are adorable aprons with ric-rac detail and pleats. the fabric is perfect for aprons. 

The pattern is Little retro aprons for kids by Cindy Taylor Oates

and the fabric is a collection called Handmaids by j. wecker frisch and quilting treasures. 

Organization tips, fall decor and crochet headband

Fall has arrived, the weather here in Jersey has been pretty cool and weather changes bring crochet desires.  

I made Savannah this double strand crochet headband. for the bow, For the headband

Remember that last tutorial? I decided to use the polyshades on this picture frame also. It was brown before.

My fall decor needed a little updating and Michael's was having a great sale so I made this outdoor planter for my front porch. I got the flower pot free, put in a green floral foam block and bought a whole bunch of artificial fall bouquet's and a bag of decorative pumpkins and gourds. The pumpkins and gourds are attached with a thin piece of copper wire. It cost less than $20 to make.

My husband and I have always been big on finding great clearance deals. He got this plant stand on clearance at Lowe's. It always drove me nuts because it was ugly and took up space. I has a glass top with suction cups that hold on the legs, it also had a tall plant light with a pot that fit on top. I gave away the plant light, covered up the table with a piece I made a long time ago and decided to use it to display some pictures in my living room that have never really had a home. This adds a great look to the living room.

If you can't tell I've been going crazy tying to get my house organized and looking a little more updated.

We have 3 closets in our house and this one shown is the biggest of the 3. They are not big enough for a decent shoe rack and don't hold more than 3 winter coats. Old house problems!

Jake found these awesome and strong little shelves at Target for around $17, they were meant for the basement but it fits perfectly in the nook of this closet and It holds the 3 diaper bags I have to have, my shopping totes, the boxes of crafts for the kids, and all my mailing stuff for eBay.

 This is another great organization tip. I keep gift bags that are given to us for birthdays etc... only the ones in great condition (those bags are expensive) and store them in this inexpensive rubbermaid tote. It also holds tissue paper and gift tags.

 Then I hung a large gift bag from a hanger for all the large gift bags and overflow.

I'm in the process of painting my outdated metal front and back doors. It's coming out great, will post again soon, Lord willing.

Electric fireplace makeover

 Jake got this electric fireplace on the side of the road about 2 years ago. What a great find! it was in perfect condition and even works. I'm not too great at the before and after stuff since I spontaneously re-do things. The center part was brass, it was an eye sore and just recently I have been getting better at decorating and figuring out what my style is.

 After:

 I wanted the wood to be dark and a friend told me to use gel stain. Just an FYI it is impossible to find gel stain. I stripped and sanded the wood and after all that work, Jake told me it was a wood veneer and it became so thin after all the work I put into it that the wood probably won't take the stain. I tried an espresso colored oil based stain, and that was just a waste of time.

 Then after going all over town looking for gel stain I found this amazing stuff called PolyShades at Home Depot. It is oil based polyurethane and stain all in one but works like the gel stain in that it covers more than penetrates the wood, but without the mess of having to wipe off excess. I only used 2 coats and it comes in many traditional stain colors and satin or glossy.
 I would say this is the best stuff to use on a wood veneer. You do not have to sand first.
 I used the classic black in Satin and I still got a lot of wood grain showing through.

Princess photo props, Abby Cadabby Costume.

It's been so long since I've posted so I'm going to try and do a couple in 1 night.

Jake and I (mostly Jake) have been working on the addition on our house just about every single night. It is a lot of work for 2 people especially with the kids. My dad has been an awesome help also.

Since last time, Savannah had her 3rd birthday and Nolan has started taking steps.

I created these photo props for Savannah's party. They are made out of thin craft foam. I hand drew the templates then cut them out, glued together and added a stick. I have the templates for Cinderella, Ariel, and Snow White so hopefully I will have time to get some made for selling.

This is where I got the idea from, it was a pin from an Etsy site.

 Savannah is going to be Abby Cadabby from Sesame Street for Halloween. Of course I had to make the costume myself. I used a somewhat simple dress pattern and added the ruffles to the bodice. I hand gathered strips of tulle and connected it with the skirt. There is a zipper up the back and I plan on having her wear a pink shirt and pink leggings under since it is always cold here for Halloween, and I made yarn hair that I will connect to a headband.
Nolan is going to be Curious George. His costume is much less complicated. He is wearing a brown hooded sweatshirt with brown corduroy's  I'm going to make a tail and ears.