If you need some gift tags...

There are some great ones available online for FREE! Like these from Jessica Sprague: Or these from Design.Wash.Rinse.Repeat:

And these from Inside a Black Apple:

These ones from Creature Comforts have matching envelopes too: (lots of other great printables on her blog if you look around)

Click the pictures to go to the free printable downloads.

Stockings

If I ever make stockings for my family, (and I would like to someday) I think I will go with wool felt styled after these ones from Hable Constuction. I love the simple whimsical designs, and I think I could manage something similar. (and for much less than the asking price at Hable!)

Babies

Trailer for a movie coming out in April about 4 babies in different parts of the world- from birth through the first year. I dare you to just watch it once!

A couple things to get you ready for Christmas!

Time is flying with the holidays coming, and especially with a new baby and I'm giving myself permission to not do a lot of the things I want to do so I don't get stressed! I'm way behind on my blog reading (so forgive me if I haven't left any comments lately!) but I have come across a couple of things I really wanted to share- first, a list of 30 great ideas for neighbor gifts from How Does She HERE. Lots of really unique ones there, also, Little Birdie Secrets has a bunch of cute ones HERE. Next, Shabby Princess has a free download for some ADORABLE Christmas recipe cards! You can get them HERE.And finally, Creating Keepsakes has a great set of Christmas quotes you can use for cards, gift tags, place cards or whatever and you can get those HERE.

One of my super talented friends has FINALLY opened up her etsy shop and has really cute, unique holiday photo cards, so go check out Lilly Mae Designs HERE.

Among other things...

I'm thankful he's finally here! Harrison joined our family officially last Friday morning after a long night of labor- a healthy 7lbs 12oz and we're all doing well! More pictures soon, I've got lots of things to catch up on, number one, sleep!

So are you going tonight??

If so I'm jealous! I am planning on being in the hospital having a baby, and if I'm not, I'm going to be REALLY jealous! This baby is taking his time and already giving me trouble- PAINFUL contractions every night since Monday, but not enough of them to send me to the hospital. (just enough to have me waking up miserable all night) And so the happy pregnant lady is no more, my family is stuck with the tired, irritable version of me. I found the New Moon version of Sweethearts yesterday at Walmart and they make me smile. I can justify buying them (even thought he candy is disgusting) since I can't get lifesize Cardboard Cutout Edward, or my own little Pocket Edward. (term coined by BusyBeeLauren )

So if you are going, enjoy yourself! I wish I had tickets now!

2 New Things I'm Doing For my Baby

I'm not exactly an "all natural" type of mother, I love disposable diapers, I sometimes buy organic, sometimes not, I have no issue using chemical cleaners etc, but there are a couple of things that do concern me, first, the BPA in baby bottles, and second, the fire retardant chemicals used in crib mattresses. (all mattresses in the US actually) I first heard about BPA before Mr C. was born but when I saw the price tag on the "BPA free" version of my bottles there was no way I was going to replace them. This time I'm a little more concerned, and discovered Evenflo glass baby bottles have really good reviews, and they are really affordable! I ordered a box of 6 4oz from Amazon for $12 and thought that was a deal, but today I stumbled on a box of 6 8oz bottles at Big Lots for only $6! (I like wandering around Big Lots from time to time, they get some good stuff!) Anyways, I'm excited to see if they live up to my expectations, and hopefully they don't all break. I am going to nurse this guy as long as I can but in my experience, that is only a couple months before we have to use formula.

NEXT- this one was new to me just a couple months ago. My sister started sending me information about a Dr. in New Zealand who has done extensive research on SIDS and concluded that the cause is toxic gasses emitted from crib mattresses. At first I didn't take it very seriously, but the more I thought about it and the more I read the more I am convinced that it makes sense that it could responsible for a lot of unexplained crib deaths. The solution isn't a new mattress, it's simply wrapping your crib mattress with the right grade of plastic to keep the chemicals from seeping out into the crib where they can collect and create a toxic environment. You can buy BabeSafe mattress bags from several stores online, and read more about it HERE. I got one and it does make me feel a little less worried- if you have a baby or are planning on having one, it really is worth taking a minute to read the information.

Sunburst Mirrors

I love all the super creative designers out there who share their cute projects with the rest of us! I think these sunburst mirrors are really cool, and perfect for the holidays with some glitter and stuff! Click HERE to see the simple instructions for these cheap decorations on Full House.
PS- have you been in a Target store lately? They have huge hanging paper ornaments decorating the store, I want some!
PPS- if you were impressed by my list of accomplishments in the last post, go back and notice how many things are still "in the process" and not finished yet, not so impressive really!

Still here- nesting, don't give up on me

I was listening to my favorite radio guy, Dennis Prager, the other day and he spoke about a friend who found out he was dying of cancer. His friend something about how it's interresting that we all are walking around living our lives like we aren't going to die tomorrow, until we find out we are going to die tomorrow, and suddenly everything changes, our focus, what we do, and how we look at things is different. That struck a chord with me (on a not-so-deep level) because I've been pregnant for 9 months, and for the majority of that time I've ignored the fact- I've been living my life as if I wasn't going to be having a new baby, and suddenly it's hit that I'm going to have another baby! Probably in the next week or so! So I've been busy. Painting is done, I still have a few small room accents to finish up, hopefully tomorrow. My hospital bag is almost packed, Christmas cards are being designed, birthday (Miss G's is coming up) and Christmas shopping is well underway, tiny onesies, pj's and blankets are clean and folded and the carseat is installed! I finally packed up Halloween decorations yesterday, and accepted that the cute plate display I started but didn't finish,(picture and instructions on Design Mom HERE) and my Halloween album will have to wait till next year to be finished, and that's ok!

I'll have finished room photos soon, the pink turned out pretty I think, I got confirmation from my talented sister in law and her sister that it's a good color, and they gave me some other good tips- it's coming together! I found a darling toddler bed on Craigslist, the first good thing within my price range I've ever found there actually, and though Mr. C isn't sleeping in it yet, he thinks it's the coolest ever. Now I need to sleep, because that's something else I won't be able to do much of once this new baby joins us!

Painting

One room done, (being painted anyways) One more to go...

Does that pink scare you?

It scares me a little, but I really liked these rooms from Serena and Lilly:

I have some cute white eyelet paper lanterns to hang above the bed, and am going to put some white vinyl decals on the wall to help break up the pink.

Wish me luck!

Halloween '09

Can you see the resemblance?

The only thing I had to buy for Halloween this year were her Ruby Slippers.

Posing for the camera, of course! And you know I love my printable, iron on transfers, I found the picture online and ironed it to a stained shirt! (that's cream soda in my hand in case you were concerned)

I'm not generally a fan of my "mantle" in the first place, but it just wasn't looking right this year so I had no problem letting the kids put up their creations! During our long week and a half of everyone being sick, we found these "face parts" on Family Fun and the kids cut them out and glued them on paper pumpkins, then they went crazy making ghosts and other stuff. I liked them!

Confessions

So a while ago I made a goal to not spend a penny on clothes for the rest of 2009, and to not get a drink from Sonic more than once a week.  I meant it, I really was committed.  But I cheated.  On both.  I meant to confess, I was going to, just putting it off, but I heard from a friend who said she's been feeling guilty every time she bought clothes, thinking of me NOT buying clothes so I had to come clean!  I really have been doing pretty good, first we decided to do family pictures, so a couple purchases HAD to be made (right?)  then I got my $10 Gap card rewards coupon, and I decided it would be silly for me to NOT buy that purple dress, since I only had 1 dress that still fit me and a good 6-8 Sundays left.  Then I was buying a baby gift for a friend and realised Harrison NEEDED to have a few new cold weather basics since Charlie was a summer baby, and then today I really blew it at Old Navy, just going to "peek" if they had anything left in their Halloween $2 sale,

and then I saw they were doing 50% of kids clearance, PLUS 30% off Stuff & Save and well, I don't even need to justify that!  So there you go, I hope I didn't make anyone else feel bad for buying clothes!  Or going to Sonic.  Sometimes you just need a Route 44 Dr. Pepper more than once a week, especially when you go and they give you a receipt with a coupon for a FREE one you know?

Covered Clipboard Organizer instructions

Since a few people have asked, here are my basic directions- get a clipboard.  Cover surface with Mod Podge and smooth on a sheet of pretty scrapbook paper.  (measure and trim around the clip at the top,) Add a layer or 2 of Mod Podge on top of the paper if you want.  For the pocket, I just got a piece of white cardstock and trimmed it to be the width of my clipboard, which was about 9" and 8 1/2" long, and then folded down 4" on the top and bottom and that left me with about 1/2" in the middle to hold stuff.  Then I made little accordian folded strips out of colored cardstock for the sides, and  I attached it together with double stick tape.  Then I put some patterned paper on the front of the pocket, and cut a scalloped circle and initial on the Cricut and stuck those on top of the pocket.  If I did them again, I would either use double sided patterned or colored cardstock for the pocket, or line the inside of the pocket too.  I got the pocket idea from a blog called OurBigEarth and you can see their detailed tutorial HERE.  I think I first saw these simple modern looking ones on Martha Stewart: 

But you could get really crafty with ribbon and chipboard etc too.

Clip it up- getting more organized

As much as I try to be laid back, relaxed, anything goes, etc. I have realized that as my kids get older, and I get more of them, I need to have systems and routines and be more organized.  These clipboards are hopefully going to help.  I've been wanting to do them for a while, originally they were just going to be covered in a pretty paper with our first initials, but then I saw one that had a pocket and I knew mine needed to have pockets.  I finally finished them yesterday and I don't want to put stuff in them because I think they are so pretty!  (but I will use them, and it will help clear off all the junk on my desk!)

Time out is exhausting...

More Family Pics

I mentioned earlier that we had our family pictures taken, they turned out great despite me being very pregnant and anemic, and a certain almost-six-year-old trying to ruin every picture by pulling some goofy face, and a certain 1 year old trying to run wild the entire time!  Our photographer was Troy Brinkerhoff and he just does an amazing job.  He somehow always manages to catch the kids looking beautiful and photogenic! If you book soon he's running a great fall special for families, go check out his website HERE. (he does weddings and babies and everything else, too.)

It's hard to choose favorites, I could show you tons of them!

Recipe Cards- another free download

*reposted 5/29 with updated download link- thanks!

I'm not entirely finished yet, but I got my first batch of recipe cards typed up, laminated and punched and I love them! It's hit me that I only have 3 weeks give or take a few days before my life gets turned upside down and inside out with a new baby and I have several projects hanging out there unfinished, time to get busy!  Anyways, I really love my new recipe cards, I'm going to put my top 30 or so easy dinners on one ring, (idea I got from Nanny Goat forever ago) cookies and deserts on another ring, and then the rest just in my recipe box.  If you like my recipe cards I put them in  PDF file and you can download and print them by clicking HERE.

(yes, I am having fun making my own free downloads)

Exciting!

Tip Junkie featured my little spider web candle shades! It's one of my favorite websites because they always have tons of "tips" for everything from all over the blog world. You can see the other Halloween ideas they featured today HERE.

Creepy Vellum Spider Web Candle Shades- free download

Edit: 9/10 download link updated! Let me know if you have any problems opening it! Thanks!

I played around with a spider web template from Martha Stewart's website and came up with these printable candle shades! I printed mine on vellum, but it would work just as well printed on regular paper. You basically just have to cut the sheet in half lengthwise and trim edges, secure each wrap in a circle with double stick tape and then set your little "lantern" over a tealight in glass. (or if you are like me and have little hands around that won't leave them alone, get those little battery votives and drop one in the middle.) You can download the spider web sheet by clicking HERE. They are my favorite Halloween decoration at the moment! I have big plans for the wall above them, stay tuned...

If you use these, I have one tip, I put the printed side on the inside of mine, so it's hard to see the spider and web in daylight, but when it gets dark they look really cool, and you can see the design inside when you look down at them.

Make your own PB Pirate Pumpkins

We are on round 2 of the fever bug, 2 kids on the mend and the other 2 down now- today I told them we'd make some Halloween decorations. I can't get out to buy the felt but I love this idea from Living with Lindsey: She made her own patterns to make the Pirate Pumpkin kits she saw in the PB catalog. You can see hers and get the patterns HERE.

Feeling a little like this guy...

My mom has one of these and I was thinking of him last night as I went to bed, thinking about how our week off from school is not looking so fun now that we've got 2 sick kids over here. I think we all feel a little bit like this guy today.
PS Mr C thinks it is the scariest thing ever (besides the skull head who's eyeballs and teeth pop out while he screams) and Miss E thinks he is the funniest thing ever because she is sure he just needs to go potty.

Rob Ryan Papercut artist

I saw this awesome, sweet print and decided I have another favorite artist to add to my sidebar list- Rob Ryan creates amazing artwork with paper and scissors. Reading this one made me cry a little: You can see more of his sweet work, and read his blog, or find his shop HERE.

These are adorable! Free download...

Head over to design.wash.rinse.repeat to download these free pumpkin pop toppers from Celeste! I am in love! Click HERE.

I'm a winner! Thank you!

No, not the grand prize, but I did win a first prize in the Jose Ole Recipe contest and got a $100 gift card to Cooking.com! Thank you SO, SO much to anyone who voted for me, you're the best! (And thanks Jose!) Now I have to decide what to get~ I know I want one of these for sure:
What would you get?

Everything was worse in the 80's

This is taken from a dating video in the 80's- you will laugh out loud.

Pumpkin Bars Recipe, per your request!

So my mom is actually the only one who requested the recipe, but it's the best pumpkin bar recipe out there in my opinion (especially when my friend Gina makes them) and I wanted to share it with you. Plus I needed a reason to show off one of my cute recipe cards! I made 6 different colors and designs, for different categories of recipes and they are simple and cute if I do say so myself! I'm still typing my collection and I can't wait to have them all done, laminated and stuck on rings!