Snow Ruffle Tutorial

I LOVE the way this pillow looks. I love the texture!! What a great tutorial from

{V and Co} on So You Think You're Crafty! I'm really going to have to try this one.

You just gather strips of fabric

Then stitch them onto the pillow in a spiral pattern arranging it so it looks like a little flower.

Over and over again.

Isn't it pretty! I think I might make a duvet cover using this tutorial. I've been searching for a duvet cover with texture on it, but there aren't many out there. So, I might just get a plain one and embellish it a little.

Another Cute Word Book

To see the origin of this post, click {here}.


I've had a run of posts about these word books. I love the idea of using pictures of things they actually see at home to teach them words.


In the last example, she used Scrabble letters to spell the words. This one uses blocks, which is pretty cute, too.

I just think I'll be making one into a board book so my son doesn't tear it apart.

Such cute ideas!

For more details on this book, visit {Say Yes to Hoboken} and {here}.

My Finished Quiet Book

I've been working on this for a while - just a little bit here and a little bit there. But, I really wanted to get it done finally so I decided to give myself a deadline. I gave this to my son for Christmas, so it's finally finished!

For the cover, I found this quilted fabric at Walmart. I sewed these felt letters to the front as well as some buttons. Then, I ironed-on interfacing to the back to give it some strength. I used the same fabric for the inside of the cover. I punched holes in it where I wanted the rings to go to hold my pages in - and I put grommets in the holes to reinforce them. And then I sewed the two pieces together and put some button holes in. It was really pretty easy. The hole punching was the most difficult part.Page 1 is a clock. The hands can move around because they have grommets in them and they are attached to the clock by using a brad. So you can put them on what time it is.

Page 2 & 3 are a stop light and a map. There is a pocket holding the stop light colors so you match them to the right color on the light.

There is also a pocket holding some little button cars attached to the page by ribbons so they don't get lost. You can drive them around the map. I wanted to use micro machines but I couldn't find any...

Page 4 & 5 are Noah's Ark and a rainbow. The ark has a zipper at the top and inside are all these finger puppets.

This page took the longest to make - by far! Those finger puppets took a long time to make. But they turned out really well, I think.

The rainbow colors are pockets so you can arrange the animals two by two.

Page 6 & 7 are a money bag and a counting page.

There are coins in the bag and the number page has velcro on it, so you can attach the coins. There's also a little envelope to put the 10th coin in.

Page 8 & 9 are a missionary page and Jonah and the whale. The missionary tags are from Deseret Book and they say "Missionary in Training" on them. They are a pin kids can wear.

The whale has a zipper mouth so Jonah can be swallowed by the whale.

Page 10 & 11 are a letter and a mailbox. The envelope has crayons, a note pad and some envelopes in it.

And once the letters are written they can be put in the mailbox which has a pocket on the front.

Page 12 is baby Moses in a basket.

The basket strings are un attached so you have to weave them together to make a basket. And that's the end. We've used it once at church and it helped a little bit. My son's still too young to understand a lot of these activities, but I think he'll be able to use it for a long time. I remember using mine when I was a little girl and for that reason it was really fun to make and to give to him.

Snowman Party

Cute idea for a party for all ages from {Homemaking Fun}. They watched Frosty the Snowman, although The Snowman would be a great movie choice, too. And then ate snowman food: mini oreos

carrots

fudge striped cookies with mini reeses on top

pretzels

doughnut holes

And the take home gift: Snowman Soup Mix. (a hot cocoa packet, a bag of mini marshmallows, a few Hershey kisses and a candy cane) with this poem:

Snowman Soup

When the snowmenget real chilly,

they makea yummy brew.

Here's their secret

snowman soup mix.

You can make some too!

Pour the Cocoa.

Add hot water.

Stirwith the peppermint stick.

Toss in kisses

and marshmallows.

It's sure to do the trick.

Winter Accessory

A great way to help a room transition from season to season is to use the perfect throw - as this picture says.

This room looks like it would be perfect during the summer - it has the breezy fabrics and light colors that you want to surround yourself with during those hot months. However, it might feel a little chilly in the winter. But you don't want to have to redecorate the entire space just to undo it all in a few months.
A great way to warm up the room is with one of these. A fur throw is best. They add so much warmth and texture and they work in so many different spaces!

Take the throw out of this room and it feels like summer again, but leave it there and you add so much warmth during those cold months.

Doesn't it just make you want to cuddle up for a few hours!?

Great Quiet Book Ideas

{Nap Time Journal} has some great Quiet Book pages. I like how she suggests looking at Coloring Books to give you ideas for how to set up your pages.

My favorite idea was this one - all kids love tic tac toe!! So cute! And {here} are all her pages in a nutshell.

Peppermint Party

I LOVE peppermint. So when I saw this amazing creation at {Kara's Party Ideas} I immediately started salivating.Such a cute party theme!! I love the way it all looks.

Little brownie balls on a bed of peppermints...

My favorite: peppermint bark...

These glasses are cute - the candycanes hanging off the rim which is covered in peppermint pieces...

Cute cupcakes...

I like this idea of melting little peppermints to fit on top of these brownies, but I think it would be a bit much. I'd probably just put peppermint bits on the top...

Little peppermint wands:

And this peppermint cake is adorable!!

Cute party!

Kitchen Transformation

Every once in a while I find a home renovation that amazes me. I literally didn't think this was the same room! But, after looking closer, I realized it was. {V and Co} did such a good job!



Before this is a kitchen and dining area. I'm guessing the "kitchen" is behind the photographer.

And here's what it looked like afterwards. You may have to look back and forth a few times to believe it. I still do.

It's amazing. Looks like they added French doors where a window used to be and stuck an island in the middle of the room. They painted the fireplace and walls, added some cute furniture and accessories, and it looks like a whole new room. Amazing.