Corner House

Pinterest Love - Emma's Baptism Dress

2012-02-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

My sweet little Emma girl will be getting baptized in about 2 and a half months. In the LDS church children are baptized at the age of 8.

Now, I know that 2 and a half months may sound like plenty to get everything ready, but since I am kinda crazy and tend to go a little overboard when it comes to my kids I am starting to feel like it is coming up very quickly and I need to get to work.

First, I am focusing on the most important part of any major life event for a girl... the dress.

So today I am very excited to share with you a few pictures from my Pinterst board Inspiration for Emma's Baptism. I am planning on designing and making the dress myself. And although I have been dreaming and thinking about my little girl all dressed in white since before she was born I still can't decide exactly how I want her dress to look or even what fabric I am going to use. Ahhhhh!!!! I have make a decision. I know I want her to look sweet and classic and beautiful, yet modern. and I love ruffles.

I pretty much LOVE EVERYTHING about this dress. SO PRETTY! I just stumbled across this dress on Pinterest and the blog it originally came from has been removed. So all I have is this picture. I wish I knew more about it. :(

I love the rows of tulle and the sweet 50s look of the pink one. I think it would look amazing in white... or I may just make it as an Easter dress. Plus there is a tutorial on making hoop skirts (like the one worn under the dress in the picture at Simple Simon.)

I love the lace overlay and full skirt on this one. To me it is very Audrey Hepburn.

I love the ruffle at the bottom and I love the ruffle at the neck line. I do not love the sash or the $800 to $1000 price. Ouch. Good thing I am not planning on buying Emma's dress. I could never afford my taste... or I could afford my taste and my husband would die from sticker shock... No... I just can't afford my taste.

Love the layers of skirts, the pleating where the skirt meets the bodice and the flowers. I would need to grown the dress up a little for Emma.

Very Cool. Don't you think?

Oh SNAP... Why can't I decide?

Friday Night Features

2012-02-24T22:23:00.000-07:00

I have about 1000 projects in the works right now. Included among those 1000 projects (okay more like 20 projects) are several pieces of furniture that need some love. That may be why I was drawn to so many awesome pieces of furniture this week.

Did your jaw just drop?? So cool right? Check out this awesome transformation at Mama with a Dash of DIY Drama.

I want this table and I want this room. Such a cute table form The 36th Avenue.

Another cute little table. This one is from My Blessed Life.

You have to check out this amazing den makeover at Dixie Delights.

AND

I need to make one of these. My new camera didn't come with a thingy to hold the cap and I am constantly leaving it places. There is a great tutorial at B.jane Brewing.

Another Baby Quilt

2012-02-22T20:28:00.000-07:00

I am pretty sure everyone I know is pregnant. Okay well not everyone, but it seems like every day another friend or family member announces she is pregnant. Seriously. I think I know like 50 women who are pregnant. (About 30 of them live in my little neighborhood/ward.) And although I am genuinely happy for all of them sometimes it just makes my lack of baby hurt more or again, or something. (um, in case you have no idea what I am taking about I had a miscarriage about a month ago.)

About the time I found out I was pregnant, a very dear friend of mine (who happens to live about 3 house away) also found out she was pregnant. Our due dates where only a few weeks apart. She already has two cute little girls the same age as my little Logan and Bryce. So we had already joked that this time she would have a boy and I would have a girl so they could all marry each other.

About 3 weeks after I lost my baby, my friend across the street informs me that our friend (the one 3 houses away) who is pregnant is at the hospital losing her baby. I cannot express the heartbreak I felt for my dear friend when I heard the news. I was a total wreck that day while she was in the hospital. It just wasn't fair or right. She was like 20 weeks along.

My dear friend was not as "lucky" as I was. I was able to be knocked out and have a d&c, but she was too far along and had to deliver her little baby knowing he was already gone. I can't imagine her pain, and yet I know exactly her pain.

So that night while she was in the hospital I pulled out every scrap of boy fabric I had, picked out some I thought would work well together and I made a quilt for my friend and her little boy.

This quilt is very special to me. I made it to help her through her pain, but also to help me with my own. I think my own hurt was still too raw and having someone I love go through it just brought all my pain back to the surface.

I used fabrics I loved, like the last few bits of this snail print I used when I made a baby quilt for Logan.

I used Red Letter Day prints like my much loved orange ducks that I used to make Bryce's baby stuff.

I used leftover bits from the pin wheel quilt I made for my little sister's baby like the green paisley with the baby bottles in it.

And I used fabric bits that were given to me when I lost my baby.

When I lost my baby many friends brought dinner, or treats, or flowers, but one wonderful friend of mine (who just happens to own a fabric store) let me come over and dig through her scrap bin while we talked and take home whatever I wanted. She knew the therapeutic qualities of pretty fabric and I felt like this was a very fitting use for those fabrics. That was where I got the wood print, green chevron, orange dot and many more. It was like I picked those fabrics to make this quilt. I just didn't know it at the time.

I know it is kinda a crazy quilt, but I picked each of these fabrics because I loved them and I thought she would love them. It turned out perfect for my friend. She is a very fun person with a of personality just like the quilt.

I am so heartbroken for both of our losses, but I am grateful that when she came home I was able to take this quilt to her, hold her close, and tell her I know, it sucks, and I'm sorry.

I think one thing my friend struggled with was that she didn't feel like she was special or deserved any special treatment. Women go through this all the time so why should she feel special. But people die everyday, children die everyday, women lose babies everyday, but every single person affected by those losses is special. Your pain, your loss is yours and it is special. It is uniquely yours and you have every right to feel it.

(deep cleansing breath) Man these posts are hard to write. It is kinda like when you get up in church to bare your testimony. You have so many feelings and thoughts and then you start talking and then you are done and you are not sure you said everything that is in your heart.

I really hope this is the last post of this kind I will ever post.

On a crafty note. I used the yellow brick road pattern as inspiration for this quilt. It is a really great pattern. It pieces together quickly and easily. Also you may notice that I just serged the edges rather than binding it. I made it really thin and I liked the look of the serged edge.

I Got Bangs

2012-02-20T23:00:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned on Saturday I got bangs. It is surprising how doing something as small as getting a hair cut can feel so daring. But is was time for a change, ya know?

Do you love this picture? I am calling it "through my daughter's dirty vanity mirror right after church because her room had a mirror and good light, but the Home Teacher were on their way over so I had to take it quick and not care that the mirror was dirty, self portrait."

Anyway... back to the bangs. I am still getting used to them. I haven't had bangs since 9th grade and back then they were the kind you curled with the big curling iron. Ahhh good old 90's bangs. Hopefully they are cute. I took in a picture of Reese Witherspoon and told her I wanted my hair to look like this. (only longer and brown)

If only all you had to do was print out a picture and you could look like that. Wouldn't that be nice?

BTW, do you like the necklace I am wearing? I made it on Friday. Necklaces like this are super easy to make.

You can use any necklace or strand of beads that are connected or separated by little metal loops. Decide how long you want it and then open up one of the links with a pair of needle nose pliers. I also have a set of jewelry making pliers, but I didn't know where they were right away, so I just used the needle nose pair from the kitchen drawer.

So decide how long you want it, open the link and take off the extra and then close it back up. The use the left overs to make the extra hanging strands. Open the end loops on the extra strands and hook them to the necklace.

Umm I hope that made sense. It really is easy. I have seen strands of beads linked like this for a few dollars at places like Walmart even. So for a few bucks you could easily make yourself a new necklace. Or maybe just up date one you already have.

No-reply Comments

2012-02-18T20:53:00.001-07:00

I have been thinking about this for the past few weeks. Kinda ever since my post about the quilt I made for my baby. So many of you commented and the comments meant so much to me, that I really wanted to respond to each of you, but it seemed like everyone was set to "no-reply comments." Ummm LAME.

Just in case you have no idea what I am talking about. Let me explain. You know how when someone comments on your blog you get an email notification? Well if your account is set to allow people to see you email then when I read your comment all I have to do it click the little reply button and I can reply to your comment. Oh nice..

You may not even know that you are set to no-reply. I didn't at first and then once I changed the setting the only difference I noticed was I often get nice little email replies from people after I leave a comment on someones post.

Now doesn't that sound nice?

Last night I came across a really nice post at Tales of the Scotts the tells you exactly how to change your setting. It is super easy. So may I please suggest that if you are set to no-reply, please just click on the link and follow the steps. If you really don't want to, I understand, I just think it is nice to be able to reply more easily.

Thanks,

BTW, I got a bangs today. SUPER exciting I know. :) I think they are pretty cute. I forgot to take time to get a picture today, I will have a get a picture soon.

Friday Night Features

2012-02-18T01:04:00.001-07:00

Friday already? Man this week has flown by... except today. The kids didn't have school today and it was a very full day at home with the kids. All day long it was "Mom can I play with a friend? Hey mom can I play with a friend?" I think over the course of the day 10 kids (including my 4) came through my front door. And yet somehow my house was cleaner at the end of the day that is was at the beginning.

So lets see what you have been up to...

I love this desert table from Grey Luster Girl. The whole thing turned out so cute! Go check it out. Can you believe she was worried it wouldn't come together.

Mmmmmm. Pretty.... I just adore Aubusson Blue Chalk Paint. Check out this makeover over at A Bit O' Whimsy.

I love this idea from Tuffet Whimsy. I have so much pretty fabric on my mind lately it would be nice to keep it in view and out of the way.

Somehow CUTE just doesn't seem to cover it. There is a tutorial at A Little Inspiration.

How great it this fabric? There is a really great tutorial at Flamingo Toes. She makes it look so easy.

Seriously?? Can you believe this room from The Painted Hive. It is SO well done. I love that table.

Valentines for My Valentine

2012-02-15T13:47:00.002-07:00

I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day. Mine was a little on the crazy side. I spent all day running running running. And since I spent 2 full days just doing stuff with the kids and for the kids, I am now spending today cleaning cleaning cleaning.
But really quickly I wanted to share the valentines I made for my hubby. I would have shared them earlier, but if I had he would have read my blog and ruined the surprise.

We don't do big expensive Valentine's Day gift, but Scott can always use more snacks to have at work.

The nuts are my favorite. It is so over the top for a thing of nuts. I just hot glued some cute paper right over the label. It is such an easy thing, but makes a big impact. I always try to remember that little trick for parties and stuff. That way you can totally make even the mayo and mustard match the party.

I kinda had to laugh about the amazing wife part. I am not really that amazing, but lets face it most any wife is amazing. We do so much. Sometimes I wish I had a wife... you know what I mean. Someone to do the dishes, make dinner, put away laundry, take the kids to the doctor, go to the store. I guess there are always nanny/maids. That would be nice.

Okay, I am going to go clean my Very VERY gross house before my sweetheart gets home from work. Have a great day!

Heartbreaker Tees for My Boys....

2012-02-13T21:42:00.000-07:00

after all, have you seen these boys? They are breaking hearts left and right. Although, I am their mommy so I may be biased.

Oh man I am a lucky woman to have such cute Valentines!!!

I meant to make these shirts earlier, but I never got around to it. So I decided to make them today anyway since I think the boys can wear them anytime and they will be super cute on Valentine's Day.

They are SO easy to make. You will need a tee shirt (I would suggest white, Bryce's shirt just says Heartbreaker because I couldn't see thought the grey stripe), the words Future Heartbreaker printed out in a size and font you like, a sharpie, some kind of red jersey knit (I have a drawer in my craft room where I put the kids old clothes that I think might come in handy for things like this, so my red jersey is an old pair of PJ bottoms), an iron and some of that wonder under fusible stuff.

Start by printing out the words. Then tape the shirt to the window and tape the paper to the inside of the shirt. I know this picture is very backlit, but that is the idea.

Then take your Sharpie and trace the letters. I like using an extra fine point first and then fill it in with a fine point Sharpie. I think it gives cleaner lines.

Then iron the sharpie to really set it and get the shirt all nice and flat. Have I told you before I have ironing issues??? I iron almost EVERYTHING. Just not underwear, bedding, and towels. (oh and socks... that would just be crazy. Unless you happen to iron your socks and then it is totally normal.) Anyway, yes iron it nice and hot and really well. This will keep the sharpie from running when you wash it. oh and wash them in cold water.

For the heart I cut out a little template, ironed some iron on adhesive on the back side of the red knit, pinned on the heart, and cut it out.

Then just cut the break in the heart and iron that bad boy on. Now, I chose to do a quick running stitch along the outside to really hold it down, but depending on the iron on stuff you used you may not have to sew it down. My theory is "if it is for a boy you had better make it tough."

After all, hearts are not the only things they break. :)

I didn't make a tee for Emma (She already has like 4 Valentine's Day type tees) but I still had to include her in the photoshoot. Note her extreme lack of teeth. The two on the top are totally gone and the two on the bottom are just barely coming back in.

I hope you are all ready for the BIG day tomorrow. I know I will be up very late getting things ready.

My Valentines Mantle and Friday Night Features

2012-02-10T21:27:00.000-07:00

You may find this surprising, but I didn't own any Valentine's Day decorations. Like nothing.

I decided to fix the problem by buying a pack of Valentinesy paper. I love cute paper and I was able to buy the paper pack with a 40% off coupon. SWEET. First I made the wreath and today I used it to decorate my mantle a little.

Love It!! I especially love that aqua is now a valentines color. It is so cute with pink and red.

The paper is Love Me by Minds Eye. Just in case you were wondering.

So lets see what you all have been up to... There is so much to love this week.

I love this button covered monogram from Love of Family and Home.

How cute are these Valentines???? You can check them out at Funky Polkadot Giraffe.

Love the colors, love the prints, love these cute letters from Positively Splendid.

I guess I got a thing for buttons. I adore this simple art from Southern Lovely, don't you?

A Valentine Wreath Kinda Thing...

2012-02-09T23:02:00.001-07:00

I really wanted to make some kind of Valentine wreath, but I didn't want to make another paper wreath. So a kept trying to come up with some other kind of cute wreath not out of paper, but in the end I decided to use paper and not wreath.

It was really fast and easy.

To make one you will need seven 12X12 scrapbook papers. 4 for the white layer, 2 for the heart layer and 1 for the dot layer.

You will need to cut the papers into strips. Four 7X12 inch strips for the white, four 4.75X12 inch strips for the heart layer, and two 2X12 inch strips for the little one.

Fold them accordion style. It is best if you flip the paper over so it is wrong side up and then fold it up. Like the accordion up on its side.

Tape the back side together...

so they look like this.

Push the middle down and hot glue the centers.

Then I glues the yo yo things together, glued a cupcake paper to the stack, and then I glued a cute little thing in the middle.

To finish it off I glued a cute little bow to the front to hang it with.

I like that is it not your average wreath. When my husband got home from work I asked him if he thought it was cute or if it was weird. His response... "Can it be both?" I guess I good with that. :)

Cutting Edge Stencils Winner and Monster Cake

2012-02-07T20:51:00.003-07:00

And the winner of the $50 gift certificate to Cutting Edge Stencils is.....

Jeanne who said...

"I would love to use the Designer Stencil "Vine" by Diane Paparo Studio on my focal wall in the master bedroom. I LOVE your wall! You did such a great job!!! Great color too!"

She didn't win because she sucked up to me by saying how much she loves my front room. She was chosen at random by the random number generator app on my phone. I guess it was just good karma. :)

Okay Jeanne please contact me because I didn't see your email anywhere and if you don't contact me I may have to have my phone pick someone else.

For those of you who didn't win please enjoy some cake.

I recently made this cute-e-cute monster cake for a baby shower. The monsters were modeled after the monsters on the shower invites.
Sorry no tutorial since they are pretty straight forward. I used different size circle cookie cutters for the eyes and dots, and I covered little tootsie pops with fondant for the green guy's eyes. I love the orange guy's toothy smile.

Friday Night Features

2012-02-03T21:42:00.000-07:00

Oh you talented talented ladies...

Here are a few things I have fallen in love with this week.

I LOVE these crates from Running with Scissors, especially the one with the animals. But that are all pretty awesome.

I suddenly have the urge to cover things in silver leaf. It may have something to do with this dresser from My Champagne Taste.

Cutest Cheesecake EVER!!! From Hungry Happenings.

Isn't this dress from Melly Sews SERIOUSLY sweet??? I am such a sucker for seersucker. (That was lame of me wasn't it.)

You have to go check out this totally SWEET Sweet Shop Bakery Birthday Party at Five Foot Twelve Creations.

Front Room Sneak Peek and Cutting Edge Stencils Review

2012-02-01T23:00:00.000-07:00

Have I told you I have been working on getting our front room all pretty and front room like? Cause I am.

I still have a LOT of work to do. But in the meantime would you like a seek peek??? Good because I am SO excited to show it to you.

Do you LOVE it??? Because I LOVE it??

I really wanted an updated vintage wall paper look.

So I used the Anna damask stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils.

First I painted the ceiling and then I painted about halfway down the wall. The wall color is Lagoon by Martha Stewart from Home Depot. Just in case you were wondering. Cause I know you were all like "Wow, that is an awesome color." I know this because I say the same thing in my head just about every time I walk by this room. Umm Okay, moving on.

Cutting Edge Stencils come with a top stencil so you can easily get the design in the harder places like the corner at the top of the ceiling, so I decided to start there and used that pattern for the rest of the stenciling. See, I just used the top of the ceiling as my level. That way all around the room it had the same pattern by the ceiling. Then I did rows down with the full stencil. I also used the stencil level to make sure the pattern stayed level as I worked my way down. With some patterns the level might not be that important, but with this pattern it really helped.

For the actually stencil paint I used a faux glaze mixed with some of the ceiling paint, and then rolled with some Martha Stewart mercury matalic galze. I used one of the little foam rollers with a very little amount of paint in it. I really wanted that old wallpaper look and I feel like the mix of the 3 really makes the pattern have that quality. It is really pretty when the sun shines in the room, because little bits of the mercury glaze pick up the light. You can kinda see little bits of shiney in the picture above.

In case You are wondering, yes stenciling was a big job. I spent the better part of 2 days doing it. But it was fun and goes pretty quickly. If I had just been doing like one wall or a smaller room it would not have been a big deal at all. And I think I have totally caught the stenciling bug. There are about 3 other stencils that I have plans for now.

But more on that in a moment...

The really time consuming part was the board and batten. Oh man that took FOREVER. So much cutting and then so much nailing and then so much caulking and sanding and then more caulking and sanding. Then painting, and painting, and painting and then in some spots... more painting. I was so sick of white paint by the time I finally finished.

First I want to share a few more pictures of my soon to be done (I hope) front room.

Can you see where I am going here?

SO Cutting Edge Stencils is giving away one of their awesome stencils to one lucky Conner House reader.

Go HERE to enter the Cutting Edge Stencil giveaway.

Cutting Edge Stencils Giveaway

2012-02-01T22:00:00.000-07:00

Have you been dying to try stenciling?

Well here is your chance...

Cutting Edge Stencils is giving a $50 gift certificate to one lucky Corner House reader.

They have a ton of really cute, high quality stencils. I recently used their Anna stencil in my front room.

But now I have my eye on...

The Julia stencil

The Polka dot stencil

and

how great is the Nagoya Craft stencil.

To enter to win the $50 gift certificate all you have to do is go over to Cutting Edge Stencils, look around, then come back and tell me the name of the stencil you had your eye on. That is a mandatory entry, but you do not have to be a Corner House follower to enter.

For more entries you can
1. Follow Corner House (or if you are already a follower)
2. Like Cutting Edge Stencils on Facebook
3. Like Corner House on Facebook.

Please leave a separate comment for each entry.

The giveaway will close 2/6/12 at midnight.

Good LUCK!!

My New Camera

2012-01-30T22:43:00.000-07:00

My birthday was on the 21st... the big 3 0. I am quite okay with being 30. After all, I am married, I have 4 kids, my husband is done with school, we have a house... yeah 30 sounds just about right.

Anyway, among other wonderful gifts, I got a new camera. YAY! I am still learning how to use it, but I have to say I think it is pretty awesome. It is the Sony NEX-3.

What I love about it? Well it is smaller that a traditional DSLR camera, but still has interchangeable lenses, a full manual mode, and it is 14.2 mega pixels. (I haven't used gone manual mode since my film camera back in college so it will take me a bit to remember how to use it.) And it has awesome features when it is on automatic. My favorite so far are that I can just turn it on and press one button and it will automatically blur the background for me. Awesome. And it has 50% larger image sensor so it produces better image quality and works well in low light. Like the low light at the Utah Natural History Museum. Seriously. Check out these pictures. I mean, I know they aren't award winning photographs, but never could have taken these pictures without a flash or a tripod with my old camera.

Emma had a field trip to the museum last week.

I was glad I got to go with her. These pictures were taken on the automatic mode since I had only had the camera for a few days and I was chasing after a group of second graders. And they were all hand held and with no flash. LOVE IT! Like where did it even find light on Emma's paper? It was dark in that part of the museum.

Obviously, I didn't take this picture and I am pretty sure with both have food in our mouth, but I rarely get a picture with my Emma girl. SO I just had to share it.

Oh and one more super awesome thing my new camera does... it has automatic smile detecting. So you set it on smile detecting and then when it detects a smile it takes the picture. No need to press the button. It will just keep taking pictures as long as it sees a smile. And it really works. I spent quite a bit of time playing with it. You can even set it to what kind of smile you want. No more missing the smile. :)

A Quilt For The Baby I Carried, But Never Held

2012-01-27T18:50:00.003-07:00

The hardest part of writing this post is getting it started...

I recently miscarried my baby. When I woke up Thursday morning (Jan 12) I knew something was wrong. As soon as I got all my kids off to school I called my OB and he had me come in right away. (I brought Bryce with me thinking a 2 year old would be a good distraction.) As soon as my doctor started the ultrasound I knew my baby was gone. What a horrible thing to see. I was 12 weeks along I had already had a few healthy ultrasounds. I had seen my baby moving... her heart beating, but this time there's nothing. Just a very small, unmoving baby floating there. My doctor looked for what felt like a very long time before saying "Well shoot, I'm sorry." He didn't need to tell me, I knew.

Because of how far along I was, my doctor said it would be easiest and safest for me to have a D&C that night. So I called Scott and told him he should probably come home and to call his mom so she could come watch the kids while we were at the hospital. The rest of the day I tried to focus on how hungry I was. Since D&Cs are considered surgery I wasn't allowed to eat for the rest of the day, and since I had kinda a crazy morning and had not been feeling well the night before I hadn't eaten since about 6pm on Wednesday night. And focusing on hunger seemed less awful then everything else.

Everything went as well as it could at the hospital. I was only there for about 6 hours.

The next day I sent most of the day in bed. Luckily, the kids didn't have school that Friday and Scott was able to stay home from work.

By Saturday I was feeling a lot better physically, but emotionally I felt cheated. I had been sick for the past 8 weeks this baby. That is 2 months that I felt like I was being a crappy mom to my kids because I was so sick and tired all the time. I have know I was pregnant for since since mid-November. I loved this baby, I had names picked out, I knew deep down that this baby would be a girl. I had planned what her nursery would look like. The blessing gown I was going to make her. I had even bought her little gold shoes. And now she was just gone. One day I was pregnant, the next I was not, and I got nothing.

(source)

It was on Saturday that I decided I needed to make the baby a quilt. I needed to to do something, to have something. So I went to the fabric store, bought the fabric I had been eyeing and got started.

There will be no tutorial for this quilt, because I used a pattern from V & Co. I possibly could have figured out how to piece houndstooth on my own, but I wasn't really in the mood for a lot of thinking. I just wanted to make something and not think a lot. and it is a really great pattern/tutorial.

I love the back of this quilt as must as the front. These are the fabric I was going to use in her nursery... when I found out she was in fact a girl. I am glad I still used them.

My family and I are doing well now. I have been trying to get our home back in order and take time to enjoy the 4 children I do have. I actually lost a baby between my Baby Brycey and Logan. I think having been through this before has help me to be able to grieve this loss. And I feel a lot of comfort knowing that I have an eternal family and none of my children will ever truly be lost to me.

It is also good to know that I am not alone in this. There are so many women suffered a similar loss. We are a sisterhood, uniquely qualified to understand, it doesn't matter how far along you are. The moment the test comes back positive you are in love and a loss is a loss. It sucks, but the hurt doesn't have to last forever.

Friday Night Features

2012-01-13T23:30:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed looking through all your awesomeness tonight. It was just what I needed.

First of all you have got to see this...

Dear Desiree, please come to my house and help me organize my craft room to look like this. Seriously, you HAVE TO go over to The 36th Avenue and check out all the perfect little details and then don't be surprised when I totally copy them.

These are so cute!! Jamielyn had them at her daughter's birthday party. I have been thinking a lot about my daughter's baptism, it is coming up in a few months. and I think this would be so cute to do at the little luncheon thing after. Getting some cute straws is definitely on the list.

This Cherry Almond Cake, from Bird On A Cake, sounds SO GOOD and it is really pretty too. I love the design on top.

I love this super big print over the dress. Just a great idea from Sugar Bee Crafts.

Friday Night Features

2012-01-06T23:08:00.000-07:00

Oh man I am still SO sick. I got over the flu thing I had (it only held on for about 10 days). Now I am just pregnant sick and I am MIS-ER-ABLE! I promise not it whine TOO much, but seriously this is horrible and I really hate not being able to get things done.

even if I am not getting a ton done (I do have a few projects that are almost done) I am glad so many of you are still achieving awesomeness.

I love the detail above this faux fireplace from Harrison Home.

Totally awesome master bedroom makeover from Mandi at Vintage Revivals.

I am once again in love with the pictures over the sofa at Landee See, Landee do.

I also love this simple idea from Simple Simon & Company.

My Favorite Projects of 2011

2012-01-02T12:49:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year. I am really looking forward to 2012. There are a lot of great projects on my list and I am excited to get started on them. (if I ever get feeling better.)
But first I wanted to do a quick look back on some of my favorite projects from 2011.

So in no particular order.....

bird art family portrait

yardstick buffet

you are loved sign

Emma's Rapunzel Party

my new headboard

the sunshine dress

countdown to candy sign

Bryce's room redo

the cinderella chair

winter wonderland wreath

Merry Christmas To All and To All A Good Night

2011-12-24T01:04:00.000-07:00

How is it Christmas Eve tomorrow? I am so far behind!

I have to let you guys in on a little secret. I am pregnant. My new sweet little baby should be arriving in mid-July as long as everything goes well. But that means right now I am about 9 weeks along and have been very prego sick and tired for about a month now. Add to that the fact that Thursday morning I woke up to a killer sore throat that quickly grew into a sore throat, fever, head and body ache kinda thing and I have been laying around dying for the past two days.... you can see why I am feeling behind.
But like we learn from the Grinch, Christmas isn't about boxes or bags it is about a little bit more and nothing can stop Christmas from coming. Not even a sick mommy. It will come just the same.
I hope you all have a VERY Merry Christmas. And remember the joy and hope that was brought to us all by the birth of a baby so long ago.

Merry Christmas!

and Happy New Year!!!

Have You Seen This Awesomeness?

2011-12-13T14:54:00.000-07:00

I have been in full holiday mode. I love the holidays, but I hate that I can't ever seem to stay on top of things. I have a couple cool projects up my sleeve that I am working on and I am planning on starting my holiday baking on Wednesday so you can look forward to some yummy cookie posts in the near furtue. But for today I want to ask you a question?? Have you seen this awesomeness?

I LOVE this. If you could I would just put it right in my front room. I am thinking I need to find time to make one for my family room I don't have room for all three, but I think one large print like this could be amazing between the windows in my family room. Landee has the free printables in a much more manageable size here.

Yup. That is some serious awesomeness from my blessed life. I LOVE all the layers of details. How does she keep her kids from destroying this. Pretty sure my kids would knock over the flowers and try to use the sled in a matter of minutes. Is it just my kids or have everyone elses kids gone crazy recently? I think they are just excited about Christmas being so close... or it could be that I met each of them make their own gingerbread house this year and I am letting them eat them.... Bryce, being the wise almost 2 year old that he is dumped handfuls of M&Ms in the yard of his house.

You can see Bryce's M&M house in the background here with Logan. Silly kid. I know at one point that day he was properly dressed and his hair was done. But I love the umm..... pose.? He really likes to pose for pictures, to bad his poses are't usually ones that I would have chosen. At least he is not lacking personality. right..

I totally ADORE the garland on the railing. Ahhh Someday..... I also love pretty much everything else about this set up. It's like Christmas at Martha Stewart's house.

Also I have been completely un-inspired when it comes to decorating my front porch this year. We are having a big Christmas Eve party at our house and I want it to be really welcoming, but I am just not feeling it. Any ideas??? I guess I will have to waste some more time on Pinterest.

Friday Night Features - Christmas Crafts

2011-12-02T23:11:00.000-07:00

I don't know if you watch the news (I don't.) but if you do you may have heard about a major wind storm in Utah on Thursday??? You may have even heard the town Farmington UT mentioned as one of the places hit the hardest. We are talking reported wind gusts of over 100 mph. Yeah, I live in Farmington. It was CRAZY. and get this... They didn't close the SCHOOLS!!! What? I kept my kids home... heck I made my husband stay home half the day, but after the power went out and he couldn't work from home he decided he had a risk it and go in to work. At least by that point they had realized they needed to keep semi trucks off I-15.

We were very lucky. Our power was only out for about 11 hours and the damage to our house was minimal (although there were several moment during the storm that I thought for sure the whole east side of the house was going to blown away), but my neighborhood and a lot of other places were hit HARD. Roofs blown apart, windows broken, fences blown away, siding and stucco blown off, swing sets blown over. My husband called me on his way to work. By that point in the day not a lot of people were going out and he said it looked like a war zone.

Tonight I am just grateful to be sitting here, on my computer, with electricity and not hearing the sound of wind outside. Ah it feels good to have things feeling normal... ish.

Shall we move on to the features? You ladies have been busy. I love all the Christmas stuff! I still feel very behind on all my Christmas decorating. I think next year I am just going to do it before Thanksgiving. I have done that in the past and I feel like it really gives me more time when December hits.

As I have been getting out my Christmas stuff I realized that my taste has changed over the years and I kinda don't like about half of it. I wish it all looked more like this. I love this "Oh, Christmas Tree" mirror, sign, art thing from 52 mantels. I may be copying that.

I am also rather in love with this felt ice skate garland. I am thinking maybe using it as inspiration for new stockings. I could do a different color pom pom thing for each person. That way the boy's wouldn't be too girly. That is a great tutorial at Ruby Jean.

What a cute idea from Pocket Change Gourmet. The embellished canister is really great.

I am loving this advent calendar from 36th Ave. I think it would have made a great neighbor gift and I love the colors.

I am all about trying to make sure my kids (and I) remember the real reason we celebrate Christmas. I think I will have to make one of these for my kids. You can get the tutorial at Sweeter than Sweets.

And well I am on advent calendars, don't you just love this one from Paper Vine? I really like the little shadow box area in the middle.

Calling all winners

2011-11-29T22:07:00.000-07:00

okay, if you were one of my Saying Thanks Day of Giveaways winners and you have not received an email from me PLEASE send me a quick email so I will have your email and I will get your info passed on so you can get your prizes.

I am looking for JL, annemaire, Sherrie (bird lady), The Creative Hick, and sandyandcosmo. I don't know what the deal is, but my computer will not let me email you guys so please email me laura(at)cornerhouseblog.com.

THANKS!!!

Winter Wonderland Wreath

2011-11-28T23:27:00.001-07:00

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I know I did. We decided to head up to Washington to visit family. It was SO nice. The kids had a blast having sleepovers with cousins and the adults actually played games.
It is about a 12 hour drive from our house to Seattle and the kids were amazingly good the whole time. Unfortunately the kids got some kind of stomach bug in Seattle (I blame it on eating lunch on cement tables outside at Pikes Market, it is fun, but not really very sanitary). Anyway I lost count of the number of times I had to turn around to catch throw up in a plastic grocery sack. I think it was around 18 during the long drive home.
Even with the less than fun drive home the trip was still totally worth it. Sadly, I came home to a street full of Christmas lights aglow and my house still had fall leaves and pumpkins all over the porch. You should have heard Emma, who is 7, freaking out about what loosers we were and how we needed to get our Christmas stuff up right away.

Suddenly I feel SO behind. I spent the day unpacking, doing tons of laundry, and buying Christmas presents on-line. I only have a few more gifts to buy. Wish me luck. I am hoping to find a few more really good deals without having to wait in any long lines.

So, today I want to share with you my winter wonderland wreath. It is one of the few Christmas decorations I have up.

Do you want to know how to make one of your own?

You are going to need:
A STYROFOAM wreath (I used an 18" wreath because I wanted it big, but that size was a beast, so you may want to use a 12" wreath, it goes a lot faster.)
A pack of white card stock (about 50 sheets)
A 3" scalloped circle paper punch
Cut out paper snowflakes (I used my silhouette to cut them out)
A small strand of white Christmas lights
berry sprigs
2 packs of dollar store snow flakes
little pine cones
glitter blast diamond dust spray paint
glue gun and glue

Wrap your Christmas lights around the wreath. Easy enough so far. You may notice the computer in the back ground. Yes, this is a "watch a move while you do it" kind of project. Also, you will see I pressed the plugie-ine end of the lights into the wreath so it is all nice a tucked away. If you are planning on hanging this somewhere where it will not be easy to plug it in you may want to get those battery powered lights.

Before the wreath is too covered in paper, tie a ribbon or whatever you are planning to hang it with on the top.

Next, I attached the snowflakes to the lights. I cut them down the middle and them glued the two open sides together so it kinda makes a cone shape. Oh and I would like to point out that you do not need to worry about the lights catching the paper on fire. Paper burns at 451 degrees and little Christmas lights will not get anywhere near that hot.

Next I glitter blasted the pine cones and glued them on around the wreath. Sorry I forgot to take pictures of this part, but I have faith that you guys can do it with out them.

Next make your cones.

You are going to need A LOT of cones. Like 300+ cones. I like to make some skinny and some fat and some short and some long. So just make all kinds. Also I make the cones as I go, but you can make 300 first and put them on. Just put a dab of glue on the point and press it into the STYROFOAM. I used a 3 inch paper punch to cut out the circles.

I also glued on plastic and paper snow flakes as I go. I laid some right on top of the wreath and then I broke a few and stuck them in.

keep going until the whole thing is covered.

And you are done. YAY!

Hang it on the door.

or inside.

I am still trying to decide where I am going to hang it. I love it as part of this Christmas vignette.

Winter Wonderland Snow Globes

2011-11-23T05:00:00.000-07:00

When I thought of these snow globes I totally thought I was being so original, then low and behold Anthropologie totally stole my idea. The JERKS. No, I am sure they didn't do it on purpose.

Mine are better than theirs anyway, because mine are on the cute little stands and mine were $18 for 5 and theirs are $25- $30 EACH.

Start by gathering up some supplies.

Okay, get yourself some jars. (they are like .25 at thrift stores.) I also used a baby food jar. It is so cute. Get little wood candle sticks and wood discs to make the bases, some trees from the dollar store, some 3 inch foam balls, white spray paint and hot glue.

To make the wood bases just get little wood disks and candle stick things. Glue them together and to the top of the jar lids, then spray them white.

Cut a STYROFOAM ball to put the trees on inside the jars. I sanded it using another piece of STYROFOAM. Glue the STYROFOAM disk to the base and the tree to the disk.

To make the snow I used a little of the iridescent snowflakes from a craft store mixed with snow I made by rubbing two pieces of foam together. I put a little snow in the jar screw it on the the base, shook it around and enjoyed my new snow globes.