Over at The DC Moms

Are you a huge fan of The DC Moms yet? There are some great writers over there and I'm thrilled to be  part of it. I hope you'll head over and check out my post about the day I stopped buying napkins and paper towels. You can do it, too!


Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!

Do Creative Things: Handmade T-shirt Scarf

If you're on Pinterest (and if you are not when WHY????) then you've certainly seen examples of these homemade t-shirt scarves (aka t-shirt necklaces). I had t-shirt in this fabulous color that I loved...BUT...it always stretched out within just a few hours of wearing it and that drove me crazy. So, the other night I grabbed it and some scissors and in about 10 minutes my brand new scarf was done!

Here's a great tutorial!

I really don't think you can go wrong in making it -- my scissors were crappy and the cuts were all completely jagged but once you stretch out the loops they roll up such that you can't even tell (well I do see one edge sticking out on the top right in this photo but whatever!)

Of course I was just dying for someone to compliment me at work the other day. The moment someone did I blurted out, "I made it!!!!"



Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!

Do Creative Things: Photo Props

It's January 4, we've been back to work and school for two days and already the New Year's celebrations seem like the distant past! Abel and I had a great time ringing in 2012 with good friends and within walking distance of our house--can't beat that!

If I do say so myself (which obviously I'm going to!) Abel and I really helped make the party with his awesome new camera (Christmas gift courtesy of moi!) and the photo booth props we worked on. Above is just a small sample of the nearly 30 different props we had. Everyone enjoyed them! And even better (though not so great for sharing on this blog post) everyone had at least one fun photo memento to take home from the evening.

Abel and I posed with me wearing a black mustache and him wearing big red lips and that yellow bead necklace above and Lucas is getting such a kick out of the photo!

The props are only printed on card stock and so I wasn't sure if they'd hold up but they all did! So now I can have them on hand for a future party, too! Plus I think I'll add some fun paper hats next time around.


Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!

Resolutions

I'm reading The Happiness Project and am inspired to write some actual New Year's Resolutions for the first time in...years. Here they are -- written out and public to keep me accountable.

 

Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!

Happy New Year's Eve!!

We actually got a sitter to go out tonight! Can't wait! I find that New Year's Eve is what you make of it and we'll be hanging with lots of our friends. Plus...shhh...we have a big surprise for them... I got Abel a Fujifilm Instax MINI 25 for Christmas and we made lots of photo booth props like these along with various red lips and colorful mustaches! Can't wait to take lots of silly photos, give Abel a big smooch at midnight and ring in '12!

Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!

Jewelry Board

I'm not usually one for New Year's Resolutions but am thinking hard about putting some into place this year. Near the top of the list will be: Less Clutter!

And, I'm proud to say I've gotten a jump start this year. Thanks to my darling hubby hanging a fantastic bulletin board that had been gathering dust in the storage room, my jewelry has gone from this:

 A complete jumble including many tangled necklaces...

To this:

A lovely display and pretty piece of wall art!

Now I will actually have room inside my jewelry box for the remaining ear rings and bracelets that didn't fit onto the board. The bonus is that by keeping my lovely necklaces in sight I will hopefully stop wearing the same two or three again and again.

Next up: the linen closet!


P.S. Our Christmas was lovely! I hope your celebrations were as well!


Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!

Family Photo Puzzle

My only nephew, Sawyer, turned one earlier this month and we had a little celebration for him over Thanksgiving (minus cake because his dad wasn't with us and so the first bite of cake was saved for his actual birthday!). The little cutie lives FAR too far away and I don't see him nearly enough. So, I took inspiration from my friend Amy and made him a gift that will help him remember or at least recognize the faces of our family members.

This is a super-easy project, and, in my opinion, makes a great gift, especially for a too-far-away baby!

I got this Melissa & Doug puzzle...

Then I gathered photos of each family member, used the shape to trace my cut lines, cut them out and glued them in. I decided to put a layer of Modge Podge over each photo to seal it. Amy didn't advise this step, but since Saywer is a boy and I know how crazy and destructive my own boys can be, I thought it might be a good step. Unfortunately, the Modge Podge caused an issue with the ink on my mom's photo...I think it might have been because I printed them at home. Anyway, I still think it turned out great and hope that Sawyer is playing with it daily!

  Don't we have a good looking family?

Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!