Pendleton chairs

It's been a while since I've done any DIY's around the house. Been pretty wrapped up with Camp Wolf lately but with a broken car and Steve on a camping trip, I decided to tackle two house projects. I've been eying this gorgeous red Pendleton fabric every time I go to the Pendleton Mill and finally found the perfect thing to use it on, my dining room chairs! This was my first ever attempt at reupholstering so the underside is definitely not as clean as I wanted it to be but they turned out SO awesome, They honestly make me so happy every time I glance over at them!

Father's Day gift idea

 I saw this cute idea on Design Sponge a few years ago and thought I'd give it a try for an impromptu Father's Day gift. I followed these steps to emptying the bulb which was way harder then I thought it would be. If I try this out again I'll have to remember to clean the bulb out better and use a smaller block but either way Steve loved his new "trophy"!

DIY travel memories

 

source

You got any big traveling plans for this summer? We are soon to be headed on a very exciting and possibly crazy road trip and I wanted a cool way to document our adventures when we get home. Miles has traveled quite a bit going back and forth to Southern California and Nevada to visit our family but we have yet to travel this long by car and to so many amazing states! Here are a few ways to document your summer trips with fun diy projects but trust me after a three week trip away from home the last thing I'll probably want to do is break out the scissors and glue to craft but give yourself a good week to start recapping your adventures :)

Embroidered map artwork

Travel keepsake kit 

 

Instead of the task of ominous scrap booking, create a quick keepsake memory of travel by making a flip book. Great for maps, restaurants, etc.

Mom's rule!

If you want a fun, unique way to share your photos and memories with the mamas in your life then check out what I made my mom and sister for last year's Mother's Day. Because I'm a little busier then usual right now I decided to keep my gifts simple and enlist the help of my little pal to make cards for four very important woman in our lives. Miles had so much fun painting a large sheet of paper that I later traced his hand print on, cut out and wrote a little message of love on the back. P.S. this was Miles' very first time painting so it made the project extra awesome! Have any special plans for your family this Mother's Day?

Sewing and stuff

 My girlfriend Valerie helped brush me up on my pathetic sewing skills I learned in High School over the weekend. I bought amazing Pendleton fabric last month and have been super eager to use it and now I finally had the chance to have some fun with Miles' clothes. By the way, sewing with a sewing machine is AWESOME! Seriously, why have I been torturing myself with hand sewing everything!? I even got around to making these five minute leggings I've been wanting to do for a while which turned out pretty stinking cute but pretty damn amateur! I'm really excited to learn more about using a machine and I could definitely use the practice on doing a cleaner job but for now I'm having so much fun and am loving the way these patches turned out.

The leggings turned out cute, right?

 At first I wasn't too crazy about this Pendleton print but as soon as I put it on his jacket I feel in love.

I wish I would have centered it better but nonetheless it turned out really cool.
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The Electrik Kids giveaway winner is Donna. Thank you everyone who entered!

About damn DIY time

 Well, it's been a good few months since I posted a new DIY so I thought it was about damn time I shared this fun makeover on one of Miles' hats! One of the many perks of being in Portland is living near the Pendleton Woolen Mill store where they sell AMAZING Pendleton fabric by the yard. Thank God Miles was throwing a fit because I could have stayed there for hours drooling! Well that and the $60-80 a yard price helped me not be too impulsive. Anyways, I did manage to leave there with a few quarter pieces of beautiful fabric for upcoming projects and one being a fun hat makeover for Miles. 

supplies:

fabric of your choice

 hat (I got his on sale at H&M $3!)

sewing pins

needle + thread

scissors

1. Line your fabric as perfect as you can to the hat and pin it in place. Be sure to fold half an inch of the fabric under before pinning so that you have a clean line.

2. Because the top of the hat is round you wont be able to sew the fabric down smooth (make sense?) So I had to cut, fold and then sew until it looked right. I know that's vague but once you're to that point you'll know what I mean.

3. Once you're done sewing, take your pins our and your finished! 

Last minute Valentines!

Well hi, hello! I wanted to share Miles' Valentines that we sent to our families this year. I found this ADORABLE diy on The Paper Mama's blog and couldn't resist making our very own. If you're looking for a great last minute Valentine for your family or friends I would totally suggest this one. Very easy instructions and was almost under $10! So cute right!?
On a side note, tonight is our last night at my moms. So sad but SO ready to go home to my husband and kitties! Three weeks is a long time to be away from home let alone with a little guy in tow. Thankful for my time with my wonder family and friends but can't wait to see papa!

DIY awesome denim jackets

Hey friends, I know it's been a little quiet around here but we have been on the mend from the flu. No fun at all but thankfully Miles seemed to dodge the pesky sickness! In between taking care of my sick hubby and chasing around a crazy boy, I managed to do a pretty cool and easy DIY for my kiddo's denim and I LOVE the way they turned out.

 supplies:

 fabric of your choice (choose a cool pattern that will stand out)

 denim jacket or vest

sewing pins

needle + thread

scissors

1. Cut a basic outline of the fabric you're going to sew.

2. Line it up to the jacket as best as you can, pin it down and do your final cutting so that your fabric is perfectly placed for sewing. 

3. Sew the fabric to the denim, take your pins out and your done!

A few tips...

- I hand sewed mine but feel free to use a sewing machine.

- I chose to work with the top half of my vest but another cool idea is to add more fabric to the front of your denim next to the collar and about the top pockets.

This was another fun addition to one of Miles' jackets! I had the red leather fringe burning a hole in my craft pile so I finally decided to use it on my kiddo. It looks totally wild and maybe a little silly but I absolutely love it!

Pinterest to-do list

Well Pinterest, you have done it again! I thought it might be fun to share a few of my favorite Pins each week that I will try and do myself. Fun, right!? Are you on Pinterest? Follow me!

I'm pretty sure I saw this project a few years ago but I love this idea and would like to start it this year.

Such a cute valentine! I should make one of Miles to send to grandpa and grandma!

Yum!

I love this little sweethearts leggings! I am crazy about the knee patches and am going to try and make a pair for Miles. We'll see... One of my goals for this year is to start sewing again and hopefully start a small children's clothing line of leggings, ponchos and vests. I better start brushing up on my skills asap!

Miles' first birthday party

 Miles' birthday party was terrific! Unfortunately, a lot of the photos from the party were either blurry or super bright from the flash so I'm sharing the best from our evening. Miles was such a sweet boy the whole day and enjoyed all of the love and gifts from our friends who joined the party.

 Adorable, right!?

  The desserts were amazing and huge thanks to my sweet friend Melanie who baked her buns off the night before for us. I can't bake and that's a fact so she really helped this mama out!

 I followed this really easy tutorial on how to make these woodland animal party bags and they turned out great!

 

 Joanns was my go to for most of the decorations, plus I'm cheap and they always have coupons and sales. The cupcake garland was really easy to make. All I needed was twine, colored cardstock, sticker letters and some baby free time and there you have it, personalized bunting!

Since we were going for a woodland theme I thought it would be cool to incorporate slices of wood to the table. Thanks to my dear ol' husband for being resourceful and cutting up branches we found in our alleyway. For the centerpiece "M" I used moss cloth that I cut to size and hot glued to the cardboard letter.

 Birthday boy!

  He had fallen off his chair right before we sang to him so he was pretty adamant about being held instead of playing with his cake. He did look pretty darn cute wearing his cowboy hat with frosting on his nose though :)

 

 Miles took some good shots at his pinata!

The damn thing was so hard to break that eventually we just had the kids jump on it till they got to the candy.

 Pooped out!!

What a day

I made this birthday hat for my boy!

I got these sweet critters at Target and added sparkly party hats to there cute little heads.

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 Yes, it's after midnight and yes, Miles is still up but I don't even mind because after a dark day like today all I want to do is eat him up and hold onto him forever and ever. Our aching hearts and loving thoughts are with the victems of this weeks shootings here in Oregon and in Conneticut...