it’s friday.  IT’S FRIDAY!  freaking out here a bit as i only have a few more days before we leave for india and i am not ready!  packed, yes (pretty much).  work stuff ready, eh… not so much.  kid stuff ready (itinerary, homeschool…), not reeeeally.  so this weekend is going to fly by because i know i am going to be so busy!  i may not even get my coveted date day with silas today – so bummed!

but here are my pics of the week from my phone, and i’m linking up with jeannett.  there are a lot of fabric pics this week, be warned.

 this is my desk.  where i work.  and blog.  and design.  and pay bills.

none of that is happening here.  these piles have taken over.  now you’d think i’d just move those piles, or even maybe… put them away.  but they are actually works-in-progress that i am super excited about.  since my desk was taken over i migrated to the coffee table and the dining table all week.  i’m at the dining table now, in case you were wondering.

good news:  the piles have now been cut up into little piles of potential and my desk is looking a little more welcoming.

 lily is taking a tae-kwon-do class at school and was teaching silas x-blocks and other cute things.  someone will get hurt pretty soon from this stuff.  guaranteed.

 we had to move my shipping department out of our garage to sean’s office – boo.  but its so much more spacious now – yay.  i stopped by last week to drop off more products and i couldn’t help but stay awhile and organize the drawers all pretty-like.  p.s. it’s cold season – do you have a travel tissue case tucked in your purse to catch the sniffles? ;)

 we are a baby-wearing family.  i loved wearing my babies.  i vowed to carry silas in the moby until he was 16, but stopped at about 1.  darn kid wanted to get out and run!  i have gotten pretty good at turning a scarf into a carrier and a small blanket into a sling.  mad mommy skills.

 oh the anchors, the anchors!  and just about the prettiest aqua fabric you have ever seen!  so pretty, in fact, that i cut all of it up for products and promptly ordered more because i loved it so much!

 somedays it just feels good to be the cool mom.  most days i’m the “do your work” mom.  this day i let silas use his tractors to “snowplow” through the shaving cream.  super easy cleanup and he smelled so manly all day – bonus!

 i spy a parking garage on my coffee table.

 i am so nearly out of posies in my shop (oops!) so i had a late night working on some for bloom bags.  on that note, i am hoping to list a huge pile of bags some time today – yay!

 i had so much fun working on our valentine’s day decorates this week with the kids!

 i am slowly weaning myself off of the south beach diet, moving slowly into the last phase.  i actually didn’t mind the first 2 phases much.  i made whole wheat pancakes and added bananas, peanut butter and sugar free syrup.  so yum!  and this morning i had bran muffins with apples baked inside – yummy!

 like i said, fabric has been an issue for me this week!  here i am ordering again from hawthorne threads and just today i already had it in my hot little hands!  love their speedy fast shipping.

 and again, buying more fabric.  the second fabric from the top, the one you can hardly see at all, is going to be made into this.

 lots and lots and lots of late nights this week.  but i try mixing it up and moving from the dining table to the coffee table in front of the fireplace.  much cozier!

 the boy climbs in our bed every morning at about 6 or so and falls back asleep.  he’s my favorite thing to wake up to, so sleepy and snuggly.

 i was spread across the table again working on pairing up fabrics for new posy pin sets, and checking out the links to this week’s wiww.  holy cow thats a lot of linkers!  and no, i no longer hand cut all my flowers.  i have a custom die made for a gigantic die cutting machine.  i used to do them all by hand, but tendinitis started to set in a freaked me out for a bit when i was in so much pain i couldn’t even type, so i had to make some adjustments.  some very expensive adjustments at that!

ok, thats it!  have a great weekend friends!

oh, if you haven’t signed up for my newsletter yet, you better do so or you’ll be sad really soon… ;)

the valentine’s fairy hit my house early and hard this year.  i generally don’t decorate much for any holiday other than christmas, so for me, this is a big deal.

i have been really inspired by a lot of what i’ve seen on pinterest lately and i decided that this year i would really decorate for valentine’s day!

thankfully, i already had a few decorations, so i wasn’t starting from scratch.  and i pretty much only decorated my mantle.

i went slightly non-traditional and added this pretty jade-y colored stuff to go along with the pink and reds.

how perfect is this?!  lily brought this home from sunday school to finish and it was adorable, so we cut it out and mounted it on a piece of scrapbook paper – instant art!

i am still brainstorming a way to cover up our tv and sean not hating me for it, but for now i just stick to decorating the sides of the mantle.

my mom made this little collage years ago for me.  i was mid swapping out the frame for a newer one when i realized i loved how it looked unframed!

i’ve had these melted crayon hearts for a couple years.  the kids and i did them together – super easy:  make crayon shavings, place between 2 layers of waxed paper, iron, then cut out heart shapes!

to give a little height, i put one of the jars on a milkglass pedestal.

this was a pinterest idea.  oh, how i love how they turned out and they couldn’t be easier!

mason jar + doily + handcut heart + twine = cuteness!

i really resisted adding glitter.  just one little heart.  that reminds me!  i have red and pink glittered candlesticks i could add up there…

the aqua makes me happy!

the banners were really fun to make – i even let the kids help!

i made 3 different ones: pom poms, doilies, and hearts.

the kids loved making the poms.  i bought a few pom pom makers months back and they made the job quick and easy!

silas helped me cut out a handful of the hearts and i just stitched them up on my machine – super easy.

and the birdcage got a little love as well ;)

i must confess:  i’ve been hitting the fabric shops pretty hard lately.  at some point it has to stop, but when new prints come out almost daily and my design a.d.d. kicks in and 17 different wristlet clutch designs aren’t enough…. you get the idea.  i love what i do, but it just stinks to actually have to pay for my supplies.  this would be even more fun if fabric were free!

spending half of a day refolding and organizing my fabric is a half day well spent in my books.  its often when i come up with new ideas, when i’m able to pair new fabrics together that i hadn’t thought of before.  this shelf is definitely one of my “happy places”.

so where are my favorite places to shop for fabric?

i do most of my online fabric shopping at:

hawthorne threads

fabric shoppe

and fabric.com

do you have any favorite online fabric shops?

what up, yo?

just joking… sean and i tend to joke around like we are the whitest ganstas on the block.  names like “dawg” and “homey” get used around here too often.  so often that they have become terms of endearment.  even with the kids.  and if we’re not in the cheney gang, we’re surfers – “sup bra?”  the kids are going to be so embarrassed of us when they get older!

okaaaay, where was i?  apparently it is better to write these posts earlier in the day than late at night with no one to tell me not to post that!

what i wore wednesday, yes, thats where we are… just to air out some quick confusion:  ”what i wore wednesday”  does not literally mean what i wore on wednesdays.  it means today is wednesday and on wednesdays i show you what i wore the previous week.  and i like the alliteration.  i have had  handful of people confused by this, so i felt like today was the day for clarity.  you’re welcome ;)

so what is wiww, you ask?  just a little get together, a support group of sorts, where a pile of us show pics of what we’ve worn each week.  i began doing this because as a stay-at-home mom i had no motivation to get out of my pj’s or sweats.  i realized i wore a hat everywhere i went because i was too lazy to do my hair that day, or sometimes too lazy to even shower.  i needed a kick in the pants and so i decided i’d post a week’s worth of pictures of what i wore each day.  it was pretty bad – mostly pj’s and sweats.  and i wanted more.  more for my husband to come home to and more for me so i would feel a little bit pretty, and not so sloppy.  as silly as it is, even adding a necklace just does something for your self-confidence.  making small efforts for yourself boosts your self-esteem just a bit.

so here we are, and here’s my week of pics!

help at school/work day

cardi, top, jeans, socks and boot – target

necklace – from a summer queen bee market vendor (i won a raffle)

saturday around the house and lunch downtown

sequined sweatshirt – target

scarf and jeans – super old from a local shop

converse – nordstrom rack

necklace – lisa leonard designs

green sweater shirt – target

grey cardi – forever 21

jeans – old

converse – nordstrom rack

necklace – lisa leonard designs

hat – target

posy pin on hat – the pleated poppy

best part of the outfit:  polka dot socks from target.

if i were a man that had to wear a suit to work everyday, i’d totally wear funky socks underneath.

kids at school/work day/family bible study

repeats this week!

sweatshirt & vest & thermal underneath- target

jeans – old (i fit in them again!)

shoes – nordstrom rack

ruffled scarf – the pleated poppy

church

cardi & shirt – target

jeans – forever 21

boots – steve madden

ruffled scarf – the pleated poppy

homeschool/run errands

cardi & flats – target

shirt – embellished by me

jeans – forever 21

i leave for india next tuesday, but i will definitely have a wiww post scheduled so you’ll still be able to link up.  the following wednesday is a little bit more in question as i’m not sure how many posts i’ll get pre-scheduled, so just in case there’s no wiww in 2 weeks, don’t freak out, ok?

wanna link up?  just follow a few rules!

1. link to your specific blog post, not your blog’s main page. ex: http://thepleatedpoppy.com/2011/09/what-i-wore-wednesday-fall-inspiration/ not http://thepleatedpoppy.com/blog/.
2. please only link outfit related posts. your craft project may be adorable, or that may be a great giveaway, but this linky is for outfit related posts only – thank you!
3. please link back here to me so all this wiww stuff makes sense to your readers. and its just nice to do ;) grab a button from my sidebar (see the code box?).
4. check out as many links as possible! i am constantly inspired by so many outfits each week! and you will definitely find some new blogs that you’ve never stumbled upon before – so fun!
i’m also linking up with nina of momma go round for “real momma, real style” – join me there, mkay?

i kind of have a thing for bird cages.  i have a small collection of them that sometimes gather together on our buffet, but more often are spread throughout the house.  this big one is perfect for the table behind my couch.  i love that its big and not a dinky little tchochke, but that it doesn’t take up a ton of visual space since you can see right through it.

during christmas it often has ornaments hanging inside, with a plate of ornaments sitting at the bottom.  but beyond that, i have a hard time thinking of ideas for the inside of it.

then i spotted this idea when i was looking through a pottery barn catalogue.

books inside – of course!

i would have to clear out my bookshelves to fill this wide of a birdcage, so i filled a little more of the space with a pretty cake plate and smaller knick-knacks.  it is a little more punchy than the pottery barn version, but i think it goes well with the rest of my house.

i’ve had a design lull for a long time when it comes to my house – no motivation to try anything new.  at first i thought it was just contentment, which is great.  but then i realized that i was just not feeling creative and had no ideas of fun things i could try.  but the bug has hit me again in tiny spurts, so i’m doing my best to find little bits of time when i can be creative in my house – so fun!

crystal b. has been a long time sponsor here and i am still just as in love with her products as the day i first saw them at the queen bee market a couple years ago!

she makes beautiful jewelry that has both a vintage and funky feel – bright cheery colors with antiqued hardware.  its speaks to me in so many ways!  if my house were a piece of jewelry, it would look like something crystal makes!

you can find me wearing one of her necklaces or pair of earrings throughout the week – love. them.

consider yourself very lucky today because crystal is giving away this necklace today!

even better, she’s also including these pretty pretties!

all you have to do to enter is “pin” one of her products on one of your pinterest boards, or like crystal b on facebook!  so easy!

after you’ve done one or both of those things, head back here and let me know what you pinned or your favorite item and you are entered!

also, once you either “pin” or “like”, crystal is offering 10% off everything in her shop through the end of the month with code POPPY12 – yay for discounts!

i love the weekend.

love.

this weekend we hosted some friends at our home and got to love on them and their little girl – it was such a blessing for our family!  we stayed pretty mellow and just hung out and chatted while the kids ran wild.

but today is monday and that means back to the grind.  the grind that i happily call my work – it is so nice loving what i do!

lots of goodies were listed over the weekend, like:

scarves

e-reader cases

bloom belts

tiny pouches

and so much more!

but even better, there is so much more to come!  what’s next you ask?  well here’s a little sneaky peaky…

most kids are super excited about salt & pepper pistachios in a bubble gum dispenser, right?

linking up my phone pics again with jeannett!

 my breakfast most mornings: egg muffins packed with veggies – so good!

 a fun fabric combo for a little project i was working on for craft weekend goodies – i so wish i was going!

 most fridays silas and i get a good long date.  this week’s request was to toss “monies” into the fountain.  so easy to please.  too bad we had to leave due to the second hand high i was getting from the hoodlums hanging out nearby.

 on our dates i’ve convinced silas that shopping is fun.  and that we have to hold hands the whole time.

i really want one of these gum ball dispensers from vintage etc.  the other 2 that i have at home need a friend!

 not that i need any more globes, but if i did it would be this tin one.

 and i love this cookie jar!  its the prettiest shade of green!

 i got a few hours to myself on saturday when i took gracie to a drop-off party and i finished off this book.  made me even more excited for india!

 game nights are big around here.  sean and i love to play games and are raising our kids to love them too.  its turned out to be a great time to teach lessons, like how to be a good loser, because i don’t go easy on my kids.  i’m serious.  i don’t let them win.  (and i’m a very poor winner, but i’m working on that)

 UNO!

 sean was asking me why i moved my “office” out to the dining room table.  this is why.  there’s no way i could get anything done here.  but i had a very productive week and this pile is nearly gone!

 lily was teaching silas “kwae-ton-do”.  it was crazy cute.  i chalked it up to “physical education” for homeschool that day.

how was your week?  mine was good and busy and super productive and crafty and all that good stuff.  we have guests coming this weekend and are also expecting rain, so i’ll be practicing my best hostessing skills!

*     *     *     *     *

like i said, it was a productive week!

i listed new scarves, tiny pouches, e-reader cases, wristlet clutches, travel tissue cases, petal pushers and bloom belts!

i had a project staring me in the face for quite some time and i kept ignoring it.

my wall o’pictures needed some serious updating.

above is the before picture, taken this christmas.  the most recent picture i have of silas was when he was 6 months old.  he’s 4 1/2 now!

also, all the pictures were in black and white or sepia, and i was ready to add more color, especially since all the frames and mats were already all black and white.

i still had to keep the 6 month old pic of silas.  its just too darn cute.

but so is the one of him being adored by sean, taken by our friends.  but even our “new” pictures are kinda old – they were taken 10 months ago.  the kids already seem so much older now.  crazy.

we got some great family shots, ones of the kids, and even a few of sean and i – so fun!

i still kept the turquoise glass bottles because of the color they add without taking away too much from the pictures themselves.

my goal is to continue adding more recent pictures every 6 months or so, still keeping some of the oldies but goodies though.  i do love to keep the old pictures behind the new ones so when i go to change out the pictures i see all the old ones and go down memory lane a bit.  gracie helped me with this project so it was really fun for her to see all the old baby pics and guess who was who.

so there’s one project, checked off the (invisible, yet nagging) list!  aren’t you so proud of me? ;)