Designs By A Rose

Spiced olive oil

2011-08-12T08:00:00.000-05:00

My hubby likes to play chef…a lot. He’s an amazing cook and constantly comes up with gourmet meals for the daughter and I. So, when he decided to make his own spiced olive oils, I just thought…gotta blog it!

We found these oil dispensers at Wal-mart. They were $3.97 for a set of 2. We got 2 sets. The olive oil hubby used was just the Kroger brand of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. You could use whatever type you like.

He made four types…red pepper, garlic, basil, and rosemary. Those are the four main spices he uses in cooking. If you make these for your home, go with whatever spices you use regularly.

Measure the oil to fit in your containers. After washing the oil dispensers, we filled with water and measured how much would fit. Then poured that much oil in a saucepan. (Make sure to leave enough room to fit the spices as well) Add in the spice you are working on. The amount of spice you add is a personal preference. The more you add, the stronger the flavor will be in the oil. Bring the oil to a boil and then let simmer for 5 minutes. Cool to room temp, then pour in your dispenser.

Here is the red pepper and garlic versions. They will be cloudy at first, but after they sit overnight, the oil will clear up. The spices will fall to the bottom, if any is left in your oil. (You can always strain out the spices before pouring in the dispense…again, personal preference)

For the rosemary and basil versions, hubby put sprigs of the the fresh herb in the dispenser as well as in the boiling oil. It’s just prettier that way.

Sorry there isn’t a beautiful finished picture. You see those wonderful slices of French bread in the left corner??? Well, as soon as the basil version was done, we had to pour some over the bread and try it. Enough said!!!!

If you make your own, let me know how it turns out. We actually made these a couple months ago. I wanted to see how we liked them before posting this. Let’s just say We barely have any left! Time to make more!!!!

Another photo frame

2011-08-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

On the same trip to Hobby Lobby that we found the black glitter frame, we also found a shiny hot pink frame. Of course the daughter and I had to make our own version of that as well!

Using another Goodwill frame, this one cost $2.00 because it’s heavy and pewter,

We painted it hot pink. This was done with the $1.29 acrylic craft paint. We actually had to use a few coats to cover the pewter. I didn’t think to spay primer on first. Oh well, you live and learn!

Let the acrylic paint dry completely.

Once it was completely dry, we sprayed clear gloss over it.

Gotta love these cheap and easy redos!

Now just to find the perfect pics to put in daughter’s 2 new frames…

Glittered photo frame

2011-08-10T07:27:00.001-05:00

The daughter and I were walking through Hobby Lobby recently. We came across a really cute photo frame. It was all sparkly in black glitter. Daughter wanted it…I didn’t want to spend $29.99 on it…so we came up with our own.
If you haven’t figured it out by now, I LOVE Goodwill! I am constantly finding items to redo. In fact, I go to their photo frame department on a regular basis and just pick up every interesting frame they have! The one in my town keeps a huge stock of them and they’re always 50 cents to $2.00 a piece! On top of that, if you catch them at one of their 50% off sales, you have 25 cent frames! Come on people…where are you going to find that deal elsewhere?
This particular frame would be one of those 25 cent frames! It didn’t come with a back or glass, but that’s easy to fix! I’ll do a post on that one day, but for now…just know a piece of a cardboard box works wonders to go in the back and you can get a piece of glass cut at Lowe’s or Home Depot for pennies!
On with the frame redo…

To make my simple white frame all pretty and glittery, I used Mod Podge and Glitter. (both purchased at Hobby Lobby, but you can find them at Wal-mart, Michael’s or your fav craft store)

I forgot to snap a pic, but I spray painted the frame black before we started the next step.
To make it super easy for my daughter to do, I took a small plastic cup, poured in some Mod Podge and some glitter and mixed it up.

Since the Mod Podge will dry clear, you can just paint it on. You can see where the frame was painted black in this pic.

Once the whole frame is covered in the Mod Podge/Glitter mixture, let it dry for a few hours. We let ours dry overnight.

To save the leftover mixture, just place the cup in a sandwich bag and zip. It will stay moist for days. I really don’t know how long it will actually last, because I usually toss it when I’m done with my project, but I know I’ve kept it this way for a couple weeks.

If your frame isn’t as sparkly as you’d like, you can always add another coat of the Mod Podge mixture and then just drizzle glitter over the top. That’s what we did.

When it’s completely dry, shake off the excess glitter and you’ll have a super cute sparkly frame for no where near $29.99!!!

Dear Daughter loves it!!!!

I'm linking up with Domestically Speaking's Power of Paint party. Go check out all the cool paint redo's!

Zebra print corkboard

2011-08-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

My daughter LOVES zebra print and hot pink! Her bedroom is done with zebra print, her backpack (seen yesterday on here) is zebra print, and who knows what else she has that’s zebra print. So, in keeping with the zebra print theme…

I found a corkboard at Goodwill for $2.00.

Took some leftover zebra print fabric from the chair make-over, and a 3.00 roll of sparkly hot pink ribbon…

Cut and hot-glued the fabric and ribbon down…

Made a pretty bow for the corner…

Stuck in some colorful push pins…

And called it cute!!!

Daughter LOVES it!!!

Me too!

Zebra print backpack

2011-08-08T07:47:00.002-05:00

I can’t believe it’s that time of year again! School started last Monday in our neck of the woods. My sweet baby girl is now a 12 year old 7th grader!!! Insane…I know!!!
Being that she’s not a teenager and yet not a kid (according to her) anymore, we had to do something a little different this year. A regular ole’ backpack just would not work!
We found a zebra print purse at Wal-mart. It was only $10.00!!! I took it to my sweet friend Elisha at EK2 Designs, here in town, and had her embroider Crimson’s name on it. Hot pink letters of course! Then I took matching ribbon and made rosettes to sew on!

The backpack purse was a HUGE hit! I got so many comments on her first day pics…not just about how much she had grown, but how cute her bag was!

Major score on the mommy points!!!!

I couldn’t resist showing you a pic of my darling daughter on her first day! You’re probably wondering why the bag is so full??? That would be all her school supplies! She has 10 classes this year! 10!!! Craziness I tell ya!!!!
Hope your kids are off to a good start at school this year….or will be soon! If you’re homeschooling…more power to ya! I don’t have the patience!!!
Hugs,
A.Rose

**Edited to add...I'm linking up with:

Scarlett’s nursery

2011-08-05T08:00:00.007-05:00

Yesterday, I showed you some before pics. Today I’m going to show you the afters…

The crib/changing table combo came from Babies R Us. The bedding, including crib skirt, bumper, and comforter was made by me. I also made the diaper stacker and changing pad cover.

Here’s a pic of the comforter. Couldn’t leave you hanging on that one!

For her name hanging, I bought wooden letters at JoAnn’s. Painted them white and added pink ribbon bows and pink ribbon to hang them. (They are hung with very small brass hooks…if you’re wondering.)

The mobile was originally a Baby Looney Tunes mobile that my older daughter, Crimson, had with her crib. I removed all the Looney Tunes characters and put them up for her. Then covered the entire mobile with the pink sateen material I used for the comforter. The hearts are each of the different pink materials I used for the bedding. The ribbon used to hang them is the same ribbon used to hang the name letters. It was purchased at JoAnn’s as well.

Here’s another view of the crib. This would be from the glider rocker.

Here is the glider rocker. It used to be all dingy so I bleached it and made it white again. The cushions were originally blue, so I recovered them using the same fabric as on the changing pad cover. It’s a super soft pink flannel with tiny white polka dots.

Of course I had to show you another pic of the rosette lamp. I showed how to make it here.

The shelves were painted white with the background the same color as the walls. I found the white baskets at Wal-mart after Easter. They were originally $5.00 each, but were on clearance for 75% off! Final price… $1.25 each! Score!!!!

I made a nightlight to match her lamp. I have a post coming on how I did this. The cord you see is the lamp cord.

I had to make her a matching hairbow holder. This was done with a $0.25 wooden picture frame from Goodwill. I painted it with white gloss spray paint. The cheap stuff from Wal-mart. Added a bow to the corner, along with a few strips of wide pink satin ribbon and you have a bow holder. (Nothing tricky to adding the ribbon. I just cut strips long enough to reach down the frame and hot-glued them at the top and bottom.)
All the stuffed bunnies are either from my older daughter’s collection of stuffed animals or after Easter clearance sales.

I made the curtains using sheer silky white organza and added the pink silk sateen fabric to the bottom and for the tie back bow.

Of course I couldn’t resist making one of the rosette kissing balls. It just went with my theme!!!
There are a few more DIY items in this room…you’ll just have to come back to see more!
Hugs!
A.Rose

Edited to add: I'm linking up with Homemake in Heels , Craft Envy, I Heart Naptime, and The Girl Creative. Also linking up with

and, The DIY Home Sweet Home Project, Design Dazzle.

Craft room to Nursery

2011-08-04T06:55:00.000-05:00

When we found out we were having a new little girl, we decided it was time for my craft room to become her Nursery. Bye bye craft room…

Because we live in a 1950s house and for some reason they liked the idea of needing to go through one bedroom to get to the next…we had to do a little remodeling. Hubby decided to take out one of the built in shelves and put in a new hallway…

Bye bye wall…

Hello Hubby! Everyone say hi and thank you!

By the way…this used to be a closet for our office…

Old wall gone…new hallway installed…new door installed.

Old office…

Old shelves…

Come back tomorrow to see what it looks like now….

Guest Posting today

2011-06-25T13:11:00.000-05:00

Hello sweet readers!

I'm guest posting over at

Karen {At} Home

Stop by and see my post and also check out the other Stay at Home Mom posts. It's really neat to see everyone's take on this awesome job...we call Mom!

Also, check out the items in my Etsy shop! I listed a few items last night and I'm very excited about my new business venture!

Hugs to you all!

Annette

It's official...I have a Facebook Fan Page

2011-06-13T12:50:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to let you know....

I'm now on Facebook. Just click over and give me a "Like" if you will.

Designs By A Rose

Thanks to my awesome readers, friends and family...my sewing/crafty biz dream is about to become a reality!

Valentine's Day gift...

2011-06-03T08:00:00.001-05:00

I LOVE love LOVE purple roses.

The hubby decided to get me purple roses for Valentine's Day, but wanted something that would keep giving.

He ordered a purple rose bush online and had it delivered to me.

When it came in he planted it and we watered it and watered it and watered it.

Now look what I have greeting me every morning when I walk out the door...

Such prettiness!!!

He tells me I can have purple roses all year now....

I love my husband!!!!

Chalkboard earring holder

2011-06-02T08:00:00.002-05:00

Here is an easy way to make an earring holder

(and a good excuse to use the chalkboard paint I bought forever ago)

Get yourself an old picture frame and a screen. You can use a piece of window screen, chicken wire, etc. I've even seen people string yarn or wire across a picture frame. Whatever suits you.

Prime and paint the picture frame. I painted it black to make a nice base for the black chalkboard paint.

Once the primer and paint dries, spray on / brush on a coat of chalkboard paint. I bought mine at Hobby Lobby, but Wal-mart, Lowe's and many other places sell the stuff.

Make sure to let the chalkboard paint dry for at least 24 hours before touching it!

Once the paint has dried, attach your screen to the back of the frame. I used hot glue. You could also use a heavy duty stapler.

I also added a couple pieces of pretty ribbon to make a hanger. You can do whatever your heart desires at this point.

Run a piece of chalk (held sideways) all over the frame, then rub off. This makes the chalkboard paint set and you can write until you are a happy camper.

I just wrote my daughter's initials.

Put you some pretty earrings on it and hang it on the wall.

Lovely!!!

Bassinet skirt

2011-06-01T08:00:00.003-05:00

As you know...we're getting ready for a new baby girl.

I can't resist going all out girlie with her room. (You probably already figured that out with the rosette lamp.)

I started searching for the perfect bassinet skirt. I found a few really awesome versions, but just couldn't afford their prices.

Source Price: $899.00

Source Price: $1100.00

Source Price: $1044.00

So, I decided to make my own version. Here's what I came up with...

Won't my sweet Scarlett be sleeping in style?

Just wait until you see the crib bedding!!!

Oh, and if anyone's interested...I'm going to be selling custom bassinet skirts and crib bedding on etsy soon! Just have to get all my pics uploaded.

I'm VERY excited!!!!

Edited to add: I'm linking up with the following parties:

House of Hepworths

Rosette tutorial

2011-05-31T21:50:00.000-05:00

After posting the rosette lamp and a few other rosette crafts, I had a friend ask...how do you make those rosettes? There are quite a few tutorials out there and many ways to make them, but this is my version.

First gather your supplies:

1 to 2 inch wide strips of fabric. The length is dependent on how large you want your rosette to be. I tend to start with 10" long strips and can add additional strips as I need them. (20 inches long, will make about a 2 inch diameter rosette), needle, and thread.

If you plan to attach to a head band or alligator clip you will need the head band or clip, a piece of felt and hot glue

You will notice that the fabric strips do not have to be exactly the same size. Also, I like the way the frayed edges look. If you prefer a more finished look you could stitch the sections and turn them to make the seam hidden and all finished sides.

Begin by tying one end into a knot. It can be loose or tight depending on how you want your rosette to look. I like the way it looks when I start with a loose knot. Play with it until you find what you prefer.

Start your stitches. I run one stitch through the knot and then start twisting my fabric around the knot.

Twist as you go and wrap around the original knot.

(Forgive the nails. I gave up on manicures when I started taking prenatal vitamins. I'd have to get a manicure once a week to keep up with these crazy growing things!)

Continue twisting and wrapping. Remember to add a stitch every so often. The more stiches, the sturdier your rosette. If you plan to use as a hairbow or on a headband, you will definitely want to use extra stiches. If you plan to attach to something more permanent, you can get a way with less.

Here is the rosette after about 20 inches of fabric. I could stop here, but I want to make it a little larger.

This is after another 10 inches. Looks good to me.

It looks so pretty attached to a baby crocheted headband.

But, it can easily be made into a hairclip. Just cut a circle of felt, a little smaller than the rosette.

Put a good amount of hot glue on the felt and stick on your rosette. Attach your alligator clip with hot glue and you have a cute hairbow.

If you want to attach to an adult style headband, you would attach the felt the same way, then attach to the headband. Using another piece of felt and a little more hot glue you would attach the 2 pieces of felt over the headband. (Sorry didn't have one here to show you)

Let me know if you have any questions or need more explanation.

I was featured...

2011-05-30T21:01:00.000-05:00

I'm so honored! My Pottery Barn knockoff lamp was featured on Homebody!

Thanks Holly!!!

Click over to see Holly's awesome blog!

Pottery Barn knockoff - Pink rosette lamp

2011-05-28T11:21:00.001-05:00

I have been eyeing a lamp at Pottery Barn for months. As soon as we found out we were having a girl, I knew I had to have it. The hubby didn't agree when he saw the price! The original one we found was $169.00

I just absolutely love all it's pink girly-ness (and yes that is a word, I made it one!!!)

When I went back to Pottery Barn to find it, I couldn't find that version anymore, but did find a slightly less expensive version at $99.00. Hubby still wouldn't go for it!

(source)

Wouldn't it just be perfect in a sweet little baby girl's nursery? Yep, I thought so too!

Why doesn't the hubby see it my way! Ugh!!!

Oh well, in comes Goodwill! Hubby likes their prices much better. Now just to find the perfect lamp...

Lamp shade: $2.99, lamp base: $3.99. Half off Saturday makes the total: $3.50! Score!!!! The mechanical part was a little loose, but Hubby said he could fix it and if it didn't work could buy the replacement parts at Lowe's for just a few dollars. Luckily, he was able to tighten it down and it works!!!

It's a cute lamp to begin with, but I knew I could make it better. First, I had to remove the little rosettes. I don't know if they were professionally glued on or if someone tried to do a lamp makeover, but those suckers didn't want to come off. I finally gave in to leaving the glue behind. I knew it wouldn't be seen.

Cover it with pink material. (I just used a light pink cotton lining material. I only needed it for the areas where the new rosettes wouldn't cover.) I also ran a piece of pink satin ribbon along the top and bottom to clean up those areas. Remember, it doesn't have to be perfect the rosettes will cover it. I forgot to take a pic with the ribbon.

After I made, what felt like a million rosettes, I started gluing them on. How many you need will depend on your lamp shade and the size of the rosettes. Even though I cut all the fabric strips 1 1/2" by 30" they came out in different sizes. That's fine, it actually helped cover the lampshade better. No I didn't count the final amount of rosettes, but I can say I ended up using about 3 yards of fabric!!!

To glue them on, I just used my glue gun and glue sticks. I put a medium size glob of glue in the center of the rosette and then placed it where I wanted. Holding it down for a few minutes til it set. I didn't glue the outside edges of the rosettes, because I was going for a puffy look.

If you look closely in this pic, you can see the pink ribbon around the top of the lampshade.

I forgot to mention..I painted the base of the lamp with a white gloss paint before I started on the shade. It's much better than the yucky yellow color it was before.

Here she is in all her glory! I think I love it better than the original Pottery Barn version!

Since the cord was a ugly yellow see through thing, I covered it with a cord cover. One thought on making those...make sure you cut your fabric wide enough to go over the plug end! I thought I had it wide enough, but when I finished sewing all 70 inches, and turning it right side out...it wasn't long enough. Luckily, I was at the point where Hubby was working on the mechanical parts, so he just took the wire out of the lamp and let me put the cord cover on, then put the wire back in. Have I told you lately how much I LOVE the Hubby?

Now for a side by side comparison:

What do you think?

Okay, now for the cost breakdown:

Lamp and lampshade $3.50

Paint $0.99

Fabric: $3.00

Glue sticks: Free - already had

Total: $7.49

Suh-weet!!!!!

I'm partying with Holly at Homebody today. Click over to see other knockoffs.

Also linking up with The Girl Creative. Click over to see what other's whipped up!

How to turn regular pants into maternity pants

2011-05-27T08:00:00.001-05:00

As you know, we're expecting. I'm 26 weeks, so regular clothes don't really fit anymore. I thought I'd try my hand and converting a pair of my work slacks into maternity pants.

Here's what I did.

Turn the pants inside out. Find the center and fold. You want the middle of the back to be on one side and the front closure on the other. (See pic.) Pin the pants together at the top, so they won't separate or slide around. Then pin down at a curve to just below the zipper.

When these pants are on, the zipper falls at the bottom of my maternity shirts. If your zipper is longer, you may want to sew the zipper section shut and then cut where you want the bottom of your maternity band to hit.

Cut along where you pinned. I actually cut a little above where I pinned, because I didn't want to cut to much. You can always cut more if you need to.

Using a jersey fabric, or another stretchy fabric, lay your cut out section on the fold and pin. You want to make sure you fold your fabric in half and make sure the cut section is near the fold. I move it back about a 1/2" to allow for the seam. When you cut, make sure to give yourself a 1/4" to 1/2" seam allowance, all the way around.

Unfold your section and pin back into your pants. The pants should still be inside out.

Make sure you leave an area at the top to fold over for a finished top seam.

Sew around the pinned section and sew down your top seam. At this point I tried on the pants to make sure they fit. When thy did, I sewed a section seam around the new section to secure it. You could serge the seam to make it look more finished. Since no one was going to see this, other than you and me, I didn't feel the need to take that extra step.

Turn your pants back right side out and admire your handy work.

Here's a close up of the seam.

Now that you can convert your pants, you should be able to convert shorts, skirts, etc... Happy sewing!

Zebra print chair and throw pillow

2011-05-26T20:31:00.000-05:00

My daughter told me she wanted to redo her room recently. She wants to go with a Paris theme. We started looked on the web for ideas. She picked out zebra print and hot pink as her colors. Since we wanted to do the refab on the cheap, I decided to use an old chair we had and redo it.

So, I turned this:

Into this:

The chair was a $4.00 find at a local thrift store. $4.00 people! The finished chair looks exactly like some I found online for HUNDREDs more!!!! It's been sitting in my office, just waiting for the right makeover....about 3 years! LOL!

I'm not even going to attempt to do a tutorial on how I recovered it, but basically I painted the arms and legs with Valspar satin black. Used a plush microfiber zebra print fabric, purchased at JoAnn's, to cover it. I basically draped, cut, glued and sewed until all the old orange fabric was covered. The cushions were in great condition, so I felt no need to remove them.

The pillow on the other hand, I will explain how I made it.

I have a bunch of pillows around the house. Not really sure how I accumulated so many, but I have a closet full of them. I took one...

Measured a section, to a size the daughter and I liked, and started cutting.

I never realized how dense the cotton stuffing is in a pillow until I had to cut through it. I actually had to cut across it a couple times before the 2 sections separated. I kept the other section for another project. (Post coming soon)

Using a whip stitch, I sewed the end of the pillow back together.

This hot pink satin fabric was also purchased at JoAnn's. I measured the pillow and cut the fabric large enough to fit around the pillow, plus a 1/2" for a seam allowance. Sewed 3 sides closed and put the "pillow" inside. Using a hidden stitch, I closed the 4th side.

I then cut 1 inch strips of the same hot pink fabric and created rosettes. For the larger rosette I used 2 strips of fabric. For the smaller ones, I only used one strip.

You can find tutorials all over YouTube explaining how to make these rosettes. However, if you'd like me to post a tutorial, just let me know.

I attached the rosettes by sewing them on. You could use hot glue, but since this was going in a 12 year old's bedroom, I figured they needed the extra strength.

And the finished pillow.

I'm actually a little jealous. I am in love with this chair! Think I may have to make something similar for my bedroom. Hmmmm????

Ruffled onesie

2011-05-23T22:16:00.000-05:00

I've been searching for baby projects ever since I found out I was having another girl! I have quite a few saved on my camera, but I came across one today that I just had to make right then!

I found it on the Jessa Jill blog. This page specifically. She made a cute onesie for her niece. I took the idea and made my own version. This is not a tutorial. Jessa does a great tute on her page. This is just my version...

Using the fabric from this old shirt of my older daughter. She outgrew it a couple years ago, but I just loved the material. I cut 4 strips, about an inch wide from the bottom of the shirt.

$3.00 white onesie from Wal-mart... (I bought quite a few of these not to long after getting the positive on the preggo test. I knew I'd be making something for my sweetness!)

Here's my trusty Distinctive ruffler foot. LUV it!!! I made the three ruffles in about 15 seconds, but if you don't have one you can always ruffle your fabric by hand. Jessa tells you how on her blog. Just click the link above!

And my amazing Brother sewing machine, it's the 6000i...LUV it too! Bday present from the hubby last year! Probably the best bday present ever! (Of course, I actually ordered it...he just gave me the okay!)

I made 3 strips of ruffled fabric.

Then sewed 3 of the strips to the bum.

The last strip I used to make a rolled flower and sewed to the neckline. You can Google a rolled fabric flower and find all kinds of tutorials. I basically figured it out on my own. It's super easy!

I love how it turned out! I am excited to see our sweet Scarlett wearing it!

Of course I had to make the older daughter something too. I used the very bottom edge of the old shirt to make a ruffle around her new skirt. (Do you have a pair of jeans that still fit in the waist, but too short in length? Cut them off and make a skirt!) It turned out super cute as well.

I think I may have to put my two girls in their matching outfits and take a pic....hmmmm?

I still have some of the old shirt left. I think I'll make a matching hair bow for Scarlett...not sure what else.

Just 13 weeks +/- till we meet our little sweetness!

A little time off

2011-05-22T21:00:00.000-05:00

Hello bloggy friends!

I know I have been bad not updating on here, but a little surprise is kicking my booty! We found out in January that after over 10 years of wishing, hoping, and praying we finally are expecting a second child!

I am 25 weeks along. Our sweet baby GIRL is due September 2, but my doctor plans to take her around 39 weeks. So sometime around the end of August, I'll be making another announcement. :)

The first four months of this pregnancy was horrible because of morning sickness. The last 2 months have been better, but I'm still exhausted. Even with all that, I have been working on quite a few projects. Now that I'm getting my energy back, I'll be posting again. Be looking for handmade crib and bassinet bedding. Lamp makeovers, room decor, etc... Lots of fun posts and tutorials coming your way.

Thanks for hanging around!

A. Rose

A new house?

2010-12-31T09:18:00.000-06:00

After all the chaos this year has brought, we have been anxious to start 2011 on the right foot. We decided to sell our current home and purchase a brand new house! We put an offer in on a house we fell in love with and the builder accepted it (after quite a bit of negotiating)! The only issue is...our current house has to sell! It's been on the market for 3 weeks with absolutely no showings! We're blaming the holidays and my real estate agent thinks we'll start getting buyers after the first. So, here's hoping we're in the new house before the end of January!

I want to show you the pic of the new house, but since it's not technically ours, I'll do the pencil sketch thing that some of my bloggy friends have been doing.

Current house:

New house:

Keep your fingers crossed for me! It's such a beautiful house, not my "forever" house, but definitely one that I will be happy to live in for the next 5 or so years! What makes it even better, is the fact that my daughter loves it! She already has slumber parties planned! LOL!

Unlike most of blogland, I didn't want another fixer-upper. After breaking my leg, I'm not as mobile as I have been in the past. We've been remodling our current home for 3 years. A new house gives me the opportunity to relax for a while, only doing the projects I "want" to do, not projects I "have" to do. Now we just pray that our current house sells and we can move into the new one.

I hope everyone has a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Hugs!

Annette

It's been a while...

2010-12-28T09:03:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! (or Hanakuh, or Kwanza, or Winter Solstice, or whatever holiday you celebrate) Ours was pretty good, but I just wish it would have lasted longer! I love the anticipation of Christmas more than the actual day. How about you?

I have come to the conclusion that my "life" has gotten in the way of this blog! I am constantly amazed at how all my bloggy friends have the ability to deal with their daily lives and still post every day! I have nothing but love for you!

Tomorrow will be my 2 year anniversary of blogging! I should do something extra special for it, but I'm having surgery on my foot...again! So, I don't know if I'll get to post or not. (Depends on how groggy I am...lol!)

I did post a link to my new Etsy shop on "my pages" at the top of this blog. I will open it on January 1, 2011. I have been working really hard to get things ready for it. I'm really excited. You can check it out here! I also linked to my Pampered Chef page! Go check it out!

Have a great day!
XOXO
A.Rose

Hello Bloggy peeps

2010-10-29T13:08:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to say I'm still alive. LOL! I've been so busy with my daughter's cheerleading squad, soccer team, and other miscellaneous family stuff, I haven't had a chance to get on here and blog. I have a craft fair coming up next week, but after that I have all kinds of excited news to share.

I do still tweet often, you can find me at http://www.twitter.com/designsbyarose I'd love to have you follow me on there as well!

See you soon!
XOXO
A.Rose

Pencil Holder

2010-08-31T08:00:00.000-05:00

I went in my daughter’s room the other day. She had pens and pencils laying everywhere! In my craft room I use old soup cans to wrangle my scissors, pencils, markers, etc… I figured it was time to make her something to wrangle hers…

I had some fabric and ribbon left over from this project:

So I gathered my supplies (soup can – washed and dried, fabric, scissors or rotary tool and mat, glue gun, glue sticks, lighter and ribbon) then got to work:

Basically, I just hot glued and wrapped the fabric around the can. Then hot glued and wrapped the ribbon around the top and bottom, covering the edges of the fabric. When I cut the fabric, I made sure I had a little extra to fold over the top. This covers any sharp edges that were left when you opened the can.

I had to add a cute bow to finish it off.

Quick tip: you can heat seal the edges of the fabric just like you would heat seal the edges of the ribbon. Using a lighter or candle, run the edge next to the flame. Make sure you don’t hold it to close or for too long…fabric can catch fire a lot easier than ribbon.

My daughter LOVED it. I think the best part was seeing her smiling face when she realized it was for her!

Rustoleum vs. Krylon - ORB

2010-08-30T14:34:00.001-05:00

I’m sure you’ve seen ORB (Oil Rubbed Bronze) all over the web-o-sphere by now. I love looking at it’s shiny brownish black shade and how it turns the mundane into the magnificent. After searching for months for the Rustoleum version, I gave up and bought the Krylon brand. (HUGE mistake) Luckily, I found a can of Rustoleum before I had a chance to use the Krylon. (I’m going to say *R* and *K* from here on)

In a recent bathroom remodel, (this will be a post when the bathroom is finished) I chose to spray paint the fixtures instead of buying new.

Not that chrome is bad, (you may be into that sort of thing) I just don’t care for it anymore. Here are my victims:

And here is the glorious *R* in all her beauty: ( You can just hear the angels singing…ahhhhhh)

Here are the marvelous afters:

No, I don’t generally fold my toilet paper like that…you’re just special.

I forgot to take before pictures of these, but you can just imagine a brushed chrome light switch cover and a funky blue register cover.

And so I can show you why I like *R* better than *K*:

I sprayed this gold basket with the *K*. The can is actually sitting to the left of the basket.

It came out looking like this:

A glossy black! Now, if I were going for “black” this would have been fine. The paint went on easy, good coverage, no problems there. I just DON’T like the color!!! Why did I use the *K* instead of the *R* to finish my bathroom project? Because, I ran out of the *R* and can’t find anymore!!! (Rustoleum if you’re reading this, we seriously need more of the ORB in my area!!!)

This should give you a better idea of the two colors. The toilet paper roller is in *R* ORB and the basket is in *K* ORB. Do you SEE the difference?!?! Insane isn’t it? Both are ORB and yet they are two TOTALLY different colors!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze and would use it again and again. In fact, if I find some more, I’m going to repaint the basket. Would I use the Krylon Oil Rubbed Bronze again, yes…if I want something to look black. If I want it to look brown…It’s Rustoleum all the way!

**For the legal stuff: I was NOT compensated in any way for this review…however, I’d be more than happy for Rustoleum or Krylon to provide me with some paint for a future project!!!

Hope everyone is having a great Monday! Time for me to get back to sewing!

Baby Shower

2010-08-27T08:54:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine recently had a baby shower. She has a 10 year old boy and was surprised with a second pregnancy…a girl! Being me, I had to make all kinds of things.

Wanna see?

Baby diapers turned into burping cloths. Embroidered with sweet Caroline Julia’s initials, then trimmed out in the sweetest ruffles.

Embroidered onesie with matching brown and pink bows.

Another sweet embroidered onesie, to match her new…

Tutu!!! I loved making this. Think I’ll do a tutorial on this. Just have to buy more tulle. I think I may even start selling these.

Doesn’t the sweet onesie look adorable with the tutu? I can’t wait to see Julia wearing it!

I was giddy after making it…giddy for another baby. Still praying that God will bless us with one.

I just think this is the sweetest look! I wish I had made a matching headband for it. Think I will work on that. NEW PROJECT! Suh-weet!!!

Then there was the diaper cake! I couldn’t do a baby shower without one!

I used my Cricut to cut out her name. I think it added the perfect touch!

I made sure the gift wrapping matched as well. If you look at the diaper cake, it’s sitting on a box. I used the Cricut to cut out “polka dots” since she was using the brown and pink polka dot theme in the nursery.

I had a blast making these items for her. This was one of those moments when you think…I should be doing this for a living. Hopefully….I will soon. Have to explain in another post!

My apologies for the dark pictures. By the time I finished the diaper cake it was almost midnight. I was trying not to disturb my sleeping family…bad lighting!

Have a GREAT day!

A.Rose