From Drab to Fab Kitchen

 I am back! Thank you all for the sweet comments and encouragement while my husband was overseas this past year! It is so nice to have him back home again, and things are finally getting back to normal. I have so many projects to share with you. I cant believe it has been 6 months since I redid my kitchen! Let me just say I am still completely in LOVE with my new kitchen, it brights up my whole house. It is also the first thing you see when you walk through our front door, and boy does it make a statement! On to the pictures...

Here are some Before pictures.

  
  It was so dark in my kitchen even in the middle of the day!  The dark finish of the cabinets was worn and faded. You can see I found cute 1x2 glass subway tiles at Lowe's for under $4 each! That was my jumping off point. After I started taking down the wallpaper back splash, I found the motivation I needed to just redo it all!

 

  I did all the tile in just one night after the kids went to bed! :) I used my Dremel tool with a diamond edge blade to cut the glass tiles. Since I used 1x2 tiles on a mesh backing, there wasn't very many cuts to make. You can just pop out the tiles in the way of outlets and trim the others.

 

 

  After the tile was done I knew I need to work on the cabinets next. I was so happy to cut down the ugly scallop over my window that attached my cabinets together and add bigger case molding around the top. I think besides the paint that was the biggest change to my kitchen! Ladies get RID OF THOSE SCALLOPS!!! haha

 

 

  After looking at a TON of pictures and reviews, I decided to go with the rustoleum cabinet transformations kit. (if you click the link it will take you to the website. You can look at other peoples reviews, before and after pictures, and sample colors!) I bought one kit at Lowe's for $80 in the Pure White finish. I used a walnut stain pen to add the detail around the doors and on the molding. I loved the way it looked without the glaze, so I opted not to use it.

 

Here are some After pictures...

 

The before pictures are from when we bought our house three years ago. Look how light and bright it is NOW!!! It is just such a big difference! :)  The finish just gives a warm glow, and washes wonderfully! After 6 months there are no marks, and that is with two kids and a dog!

What do you think of my LESS than $200 makeover?

 

Cowboys and Outlaws

  I just wanted to share with you Cole and Abby's western costumes. We had a western themed birthday party, so I figured I would make them outfits for it and just use them for the fall festival at church too! :D I bought the hats and accessories at Walmart and the Dollar Store! I used vinyl to make the vests and gun belts, and scraps of fabric for the bandannas. It took me just a few hours to make both little outfits, but they LOVED them, which is worth every minute of my time!

 

 

 

 

 

I only got a few pictures of them together, but they looked so cute! Being a mommy is so fun! I will never get tired of playing dress-up with my babies. Enjoy your weekend! :D



thanks for stopping by,

Jeni

DIY Felt Owl Masks

   Hey guys! While the kids are taking their nap, I wanted to share with you a cute project we made today! Felt owl masks. I saw Tatertots and Jello feature a cute little girl owl mask on Facebook from Sew Craft Create. I knew right away I could make the kids one! It didn't even cost a thing, I just used craps of felt and material I had on hand.

  First I made my mask out of paper to test out the size and where the eyes needed to be. I always fold my paper down the middle and trace half of the face. That way your mask is perfectly symmetrical! Here is what my paper pattern looked like.

  Next I just started cutting and layering pieces using iron-on No Sew. Once I liked the look I used my sewing machine to add the elastic, and a few decorative stitching details. Here is what I came up with!

Cole's Mask

Abby's Mask

  Here are a couple cute pictures of the kids playing with them! Abby's favorite thing about her mask is that it had make-up on. ha ha She is just too cute and so girlie!!!

  It only took about an hour to do both masks. They had a blast playing with them and I really enjoyed making them too! I hope you all have an AMAZING weekend! :)

* I finished the cabinets, now I just want to sew my new curtain and add a few accessories before the big reveal!!!

Kitchen Remodel Preview

  Hey guy! I wanted to stop in and share with you a few photos of what I have been working on. ;) It  all started with a trip to Lowes and some clearance tile. Which I scored for 3.80 per sheet! (fist pump) haha. Then I walked by a display for Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations. After watching the short video they played I was hooked! (I just love the product and I am not getting paid or anything) ;)

   I went home and spent the next 2 hours going through the testimonial picture submitted by costumers. Next came the hard part, choosing what color to paint my cabinets! They had a huge selection of color options from dark to light. I went back to Lowes the next day and had the kit mixed to Pure White. Then I decide if I was going to commit to putting up a back splash and painting my cabinets, I might as well go all in, and beef up the trim on the cabinets a little!

  Here is a little preview of my Kitchen Redo so far...


Before:

Here is your sneak peek of the After!!!

I have so much more to do, but I am hoping to be done and share all the details with YOU next week!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Little Miss Tea Party

   Two weeks ago I had a tea party for Abby and her friends. Abby's birthday is at the beginning of December. It is so hard to get something together at that time of year, and I wanted her to have a special day!(Anyone else have a birthday in Dec? What did your parents do for you?) Here are some photos of her special day!

  I made her invitations on Picmonkey.com and printed them on 4x6 photo paper at home. I think they turned out so cute! I really LOVE using Pic Monkey's editing tools, and it is free!

   One thing I really wanted at her party is a photo booth. Our backdoor has a little entry area that has great natural lighting. A few days before the party I took these pictures to test out the lighting at that time of day. They turned out so adorable I had to post a few! :D

 

 

  I took the same idea from Cole's party, and used Abby's room decor on my diy cafe shelves. She got so excited to wake up and see all of her special things on display! I really think kids love the little details that make them feel extra special. :D

 

 

   I also made a few tissue pom poms from dollar store tissue paper! I think it is a BIG impact for only $2 dollars! Have you guys tried these yet? I found a tutorial from Martha Stewart.

 Sadly I didn't get a picture of my pretty table before everyone started eating. :D I was kind of running a little behind!

 

 

Here are a few pictures from the party of Abby and her friends! Do you love my back door photobooth idea! ha ha (Yes I did paint my door PINK just for the party!) ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Here is Miss Isabella you might remember me making her gift set HERE. Can you believe She is turning one this weekend! She is such a sweetie!

 

 

 

 

   Here is sweet Alyssa and her Mommy. Alyssa's gift set last year is still one of my most popular posts! :D You can see it HERE!

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Here are all the "BIG girls" at the party! They all looked so adorable and we had such a great time!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    I had so much fun making this day special for my little girl and her friends! I am working on a few DIY project and tutorials to share with you soon!

 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by,

 

 

 

Jeni

The Pretty Little Lace Crown Tutorial

  Here is an idea I found while surfing Pinterest, cute little crowns made from lace. I figured I would give a try it, and share my results with you guys! I got everything I needed for this project from Hobby Lobby. (I LOVE that store!)

Here is your supply list:

*Fabric Stiffener
*Lace
*Metallic Paint
*Glitter

 

1. Find a round container that has the same circumference as the crown you would like to make. (This makes it a lot easier on YOU!)

2. Rub fabric stiffener on to both sides of the lace, and wrap lace around container.

3. Use a tiny bit of hot glue on the ends to hold it together. (you can add more glue later if needed)

4. Put in microwave for 1 minute 30 seconds. It will be stiff, but not hard yet. Take it off the container and bend upper edge out. (to make more of a crown shape)

4. Put back in microwave for 30 seconds, or until crown is hard.

5. Next paint, glitter, and decorate it however your little princess wants it!


Here is my little Princess in her pretty little lace crown!

 She LOVED it, and so does her Momma! I used two bobby pins to hold it in place.

It would look adorable for a newborn photo shoot too! You could add jewels, flowers, or ribbon to add MORE CUTENESS!

 

Little girls are so much fun!

 

What do you think? Are you going to try to make your own? I am going to make a pair for my friends twins, who will be here in just a few more weeks! I will share pictures as soon as I can. :D Have a GREAT weekend!

Thanks for stopping by,

Jeni

A Mickey and Minnie Birthday

  Hello, ladies, it has been a while! We just got back from vacation. I loved getting to visit my family in Wisconsin! It was just the break I needed, and boy, 39 days seemed to fly by. We are at the half way mark for Greg's deployment!!!! Thank you all for the prayers and kind words, it really helps to know you care! :D 

  While in Wisconsin we had a joint birthday party for Cole and Liz, my sister's daughter. They are only a few weeks apart, and they have had parties together since they were little bitty! This year we did a Mickey and Minnie Mouse theme, so I made cute Minnie and mickey outfits for the kids! :D Here are some photos of the fun!

 

Materials:

*3 white t shirts
*1/2 yard of "No Sew"
*2 yards of pink ribbon
*1/4 yard of pink material
*1/4 yard of red material
*1/4 yard of black material
*iron
*my handy glue gun

  Iron the "No Sew" to the black material, and trace the mickey head. I used three bowls to make my mickey head. Next, cut the Mickey head out and iron it, centered on the t-shirt. Next iron the "No Sew" to the material you are using for the name, trace the name, and cut it out. I then ironed the name centered under the Mickey Mouse head. Lastly, I used hot glue to attach the bow to Minnie's head for the girls. :D

  It was a super easy project that took less than an hour, and looked GREAT! The kids loved being dressed as Mickey and Minnie! I have so many projects to share with you, hopefully I will get a few more posted this week! :D


Thanks for stopping by,

Jeni