DIY: Vintage Suitcase Makeover pt 1

I've been on a vintage suitcase mission for awhile now and have been able to find some great deals on some really fun ones. The only down side is, they often have an overwhelming "grandma smell". The first whiff is kinda nostalgic but then its just too much, especially because i'm hoping to actually use these suitcases for storage and don't really want to pass that scent off to everything i put in them.

So, i thought i'd show you how i gave this little blue samsonite a makeover.

STEP 1: Remove the silky lining

              -I could pull out most of it but did need some pliers and then eventually some back-up strength from Handy Andy to rip out the parts that were tacked down.

STEP 2: Once the lining was out, there still remained this decaying fuzz stuff which was the backing to the silky lining. I got it wet with a general cleaner and then used one of these scraper things to get it all off.

STEP 3: It still smelled after all that so i made up a mixture of water and bleach and scrubbed it clean

Ta' Da!

Click HERE  see how i covered the inside!

linking to tutorial tuesday at lollipops

baby shower gift fun

I got to celebrate 3 mommas and their new babies this weekend.One was a double surprise shower that was SO, SO fun.  Our church has now successfully pulled off at least 6 surprise baby showers. (one was for baby ben and me!) We're pretty proud of our achievements.
Anyway, I went with some basic go-to gifts: burp cloths, bow-ties and burt's bees. 3 B's. :)

I was pretty excited when i saw this "Extra Energizing" body wash. I knew it would be the perfect remedy for these exhausted moms with newborns! ha, If only sleep could come in a bottle! :)

Since the two mommas at the double shower both had boys, bow ties were, of course, in order . 

(Tutorial HERE)

Here's a detailed pic of the felt applique.

Felt is so easy and so wonderful to work with- no fraying or folding and comes in such beautiful colors

I got the terry cloth from towels that were on clearance at Target. The quality is SO much better than that which you find at a joanns or hobby lobby...
And the tan and blue linen are from old linen clothes of mine. I'm always happy to raid mine or my sister's "discard" pile for fun fabrics to use in projects.

Well, that's all. Baby showers are such wonderful excuses to get creative and enjoy celebrating an adorable new little life.

linking to somewhat simple

sock monkey hat

Are you ready for waaay too many sock monkey hat pictures? great, cause here they are and you'll probably get to see many more in the coming months. :)

Ben got this hat for his birthday from Nana. She and i picked out from THIS ETSY STORE, the gal made it specially for him and then sent it out within a week from ordering.

 It is the cutest thing ever...well, besides the little boy who is wearing it.

 It makes me SO happy i can almost forget how bummed i am that snow is predicted for this wednesday.

 She also makes super cute Owl hats along with other animal/color variations. Go check her out!

it's the little things that make life happy. We love you little monkey :)


linking to lifemadelovelyMonday

DIY: Map Book Favors

Here's a little how-to for the map book favors i made for ben's birthday party. Super easy, but pictures are fun anyway.

ben's "World's Most Adorable 1yr old" birthday party

Here are some pics from Ben's party. You can see the invites here. The theme was loose but worked great with things i already and the style of my house. 

The road atlases i used to make the invites came in super handy for some easy bunting. I loved how it turned out and was kinda sad to take it down. 

And then i just shopped my house: globes, old books, alphabet cards, a vintage suitcase, scrabble tiles, fun fabric, and best of all, a cute baby boy who wore the same overalls that Will wore at his first birthday party. :) awww

The bow-ties were fun to pass out to the guests. i used lindsey's quick no-sew tutorial for these.

Here's Ben's very own smash cake. He wasn't too interested in eating it...poor guy, i hardly put any sugar at all in the cake or frosting so it was probably a bit of a let down! ha.

I love these pictures of Will. He was soooo excited for Ben's big day. side story: in the morning while i was drawing the world picture on the chalkboard, Will was busy writing a sign for the front door with Ben's name on it. As he walked by to tape it to the door, he paused by the chalkboard, and said, "oh wow, that looks great Mom, its so cute!" There's seriously nothing like the affirmation of a 6yr old. :)

We told him that he could help Ben blow out his candle... i thought for sure he would just go for it and get it over with quickly, but instead he gently blew so Ben could take it all in. So sweet.

Happy 1st Birthday Ben. You sure are loved!

Oh, and here are the little favors for all the sweet cousins and siblings...

And....just for my own fun, here are 2 pictures of Will on his 1st bday wearing the the little overalls. :)

Linking to  lollipops

fallishness randomness

If you are in need a some new blog fun and lots of great laughs you should (if you haven't already!) go meet Jami at  hello from the natos.

 She is seriously one of the funniest people ever. 

 But she's also real and honest and her family has a really awesome redemption story.

 jami nato also happens to be quite crafty and that is where i got my inspiration to make these burlap covered pumpkins. Aren't they cute?! I've had several of these fake pumpkins i got for next to nothing a couple of years ago and have never known what to do with them...Now i love them.

here's another little bit of fallishness. 

Have you seen what our fireplace area looked like before we painted it?? Here's a picture just for you.

Blech... I hope this inspires anyone who is on the fence about painting indoor brick. i think it is just about always a very good idea. yes indeed.

Oh and did you notice that super lovely globe in the picture above baby ben's head?? 

My wonderful mom bought it for me at a little vintage craft fair hosted by our favorite family pumpkin farm. It has a little sticker on the front that says 1954!!! and it was only $8. I am in love. I am also in love with the fabulous dust stenciling all over the shelf. It took many weeks of not dusting to achieve that effect.

Well, i guess that's probably all the globe pictures you'd want to see... 

Hope you're having a great weekend...wow, i just said weekend. and its only wednesday. I think i might be looking forward to this weekend a little too much. Five of my best girlfriends from junior high are getting together for a sleepover. This will be the first sleep-over we've had together since we were all 14. Pretty excited about this. :)

linking to lollipops

Book-Inspired Finger Puppets

One of Ben's little buddies had his first birthday just 7 days after his own. For this special guy i bought a book by one of our very favorite children's authors, Sandra Boynton and then made these simple little finger puppets to make it extra fun.

I finished them while watching a movie with handy andy, and besides the teeny scraps of felt all over the couch and the long hot glue strings "EVERYWHERE" (quote by handy andy), it was super easy and lots of fun and i can't wait to make characters from another book.

Speaking of picking out another book, what are your children's book favorites?? I'm kind of wanting to expand our board book library.. i think the majority of what we used to have has been eaten or destroyed by the older 3. Suggestions please :)


linking to  sugar and dots and sewmuchado and let birdz fly

DIY gift for kids to make

I think my oldest, Will, might turn out to my crafty buddy. Last year he saw a version of these "monsters" in a craft book for kids and became super passionate about making them. He wrote out a list of at least 15 people he wanted to give them to as Christmas presents. I think we ended up finishing about 5, but i loved his enthusiasm and i loved that he could be involved in the whole process. 

Here's one he made for his dad for father's day

For Ben's birthday, Will set out to make one for his little buddy. Here's how your little kiddo can make one too!

1) Dig through old knit shirts and felt scraps until your kiddo finds the perfect material for his or her "buddy".

2) Help him draw an outline.

3) Draw and cut out shapes for eyes, mouth, patches etc.

4) Sew OR hot glue. We decided to sew this time because Will was interested in using my machine. He loved pressing the foot and helping me lead the fabric through.
**However, hot glueing (inside out) works GREAT too and is faster/easier in some ways.

**The first year we were a little more detail oriented and Will got to practice using a needle and embroidery floss to stitch around the eyes, mouth and pirate patch. This takes a LONG time, so we gradually ditched this step, even though it is cute.

5) Stuff it- one of his favorite parts! (In the ones we made last year we added dried beans after we stuffed
6) Then glue or sew the bottom shut.

7) Give it to the birthday boy

8) If the recipient doesn't act interested, shove it in their face while making obnoxious monster noises! :)

 linking to: jaqsstudio