Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Quick Baby Sewing Project: Car Seat Cover

Just wanted to pop in quickly to say hello and show off these super cute fabrics my sister in law Karen and I picked out for a car seat cover for the babe.


APT4-1- Candy Carnival Fabric


APT4-15- Pink Scroll Fabric

They are called Candy Carnival and Pink Scroll from Hobby Lobby.

It will be something like this:


source, also the link to this Car Seat Cover Tutorial


They didn't really have these with my first two girls, and I didn't get one with the last baby. So exciting to have all these pretty little things for baby girl and so grateful for all the crafty women in my family!

Have a great week!

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Project Nursery: Design and Inspiration

We are expecting our 4th little one in about 3 months so I decided it was about time I started to get things ready! This is our last, or as my mom would say, "the caboose," so I am enjoying all things baby knowing this should be the last time. I can't wait to meet her! However, I am not looking forward to sleep deprivation and all that fun stuff that comes with a new one :) I just keep reminding myself to take it slow and enjoy it.

So here are the things I am decorating the nursery around. (The nursery is actually the spare room/office that I moved all the office stuff to one side and is now a nursery on the other side!) But it is a decent sized room so it works just fine.
The beginning point for this space is this fabric line by Sarah Jane called Children at Play for Michael Miller. This particular set of fabrics in that line is called "playhouse." You may recognize it from when I did the girls room a year ago. I bought one yard and made a few small things and incorporated the colors plus purple, yellow, and green into their room. Since then, however, we decided to put big girl into her own room and little boy moved in with sister. So the perfect cute scheme got all messed up since I did not want my son in a room with anything pink! Anyway, I just love this fabric and can't get enough so I decided to take it and expand further with it for the new little one.
My mom is a quilter and I told her my desire to have a quilt, possibly a pinwheel, made with this fabric. My kind mother has spent so much time and effort into locating all the 12 different fabrics, downloaded the pinwheel pattern, and ordering them all and will soon get started on making this quilt! I am so excited and can't wait to see the finished masterpiece.

Here is the quilt design.
Pinned Image

Here is one of the two pillows I made for the girls that is now in the nursery on the rocking chair. This particular fabric is called "On Parade." I bought one yard and made two small pillows, a lamp shade, and a wall canvas, which will all move to the nursery.(See below) (To see the girls room a year ago click on the "source" button underneath.)

I mod podged cut out shapes onto this lampshade on our vintage milk glass lamp.
source

My "faux canvas" I just hot glued on and hung it on the wall.

I found this one on pinterest- funny someone else had the same idea! And I love the idea of putting her name on it.
Pinned Image

I fell in love with this nursery when I saw it, from the colors, to the white window length curtains with a trim of bright color, to the tissue flower poms (poofs?) over the crib, to the sweet alphabet sampler. Perfection. My mom taught me how to cross stitch and I've had an idea in my head for a sampler for my children since I was a teenager- I think I better make it now before my babies are grown!
Sweet P's Nursery - Entrance

I love these banners/pendants/garlands we've seen everywhere for years now but have yet to make one for the kids spaces. (I made one for their dollhouse though!) I can't decided which would be cuter over the crib instead of a mobile- this or the poofs?
Tiny bunting over window


We have white crib bedding (cause I'm way practical like that!) that I still love and has lasted through the last three kiddos. Now that I know I'm having a girl and this is the last hurrah, I bought some Rit dye in fushia for the crib sheet. So we'll have a fun bright pink pop of color. Just for fun :)
Pinned Image

Sweet Jojo Designs Isabella Hot Pink Fitted Crib Sheet in Black / White

We have a white changing table like this with baskets with blue gingham liners for all the goodies we need on hand.
Pinned Image

Pinned Image


I just scored three of these Pottery Barn Teen blue velvet drapes with blackout liners on ebay for a deal!
For my birthday I bought myself this coordinating Children at Play scrapbook paper. I just bought it 'cause I loved it but now that we are doing the nursery with this theme, I want to do some mod podge-ing on an old canvas I was going to throw away- the one that was in the chalkboard frame I just did.

Kind of something like this, but bigger.

So, there you have it! All the fun nursery ideas and projects that are swirling around in my head right now.
Isn't this baby girl so lucky? Actually, I'm the lucky one. :)



Monday, February 25, 2013

Getting Organized: My Home Cleaning Schedule

Last week I came across a pin on pinterest about making a weekly cleaning schedule that works for you. Basically taking 15 minutes a day and tackling one chore each day to keep your home maintained. It inspired me to type up a new list for myself and I am satisfied with what I came up with, especially knowing it should be realistic and what works for me.
I took the idea I saw on pinterest and combined it with two other lists I have- one from Martha Stewarts book on housekeeping and one from a Real Simple 2005 magazine. Here is what I came up with, my master cleaning schedule from each day to every year. Feel free to print this for your own personal use!


WEEKLY CLEANING SCHEDULE
MON: 
All laundry, fluff pillows
Dust & vacuum thoroughly
TUES:
Kitchen, wipe down all surfaces, disinfect counters & sink, mop floor
WED:
Clean upstairs bathroom
THURS:
Organize papers, desks, file
FRI:
Clean downstairs bath (kids)

MONTHLY
vacuum upholstery
wipe/disinfect trash cans
disinfect doorknobs
dust ceiling fans
wipe down cabinet fronts
clean inside microwave
clean out magazines
wipe windows

3-6 MONTHS
flip mattresses
launder pillows
clean window treatments
clean out fridge, vacuum coil
dust baseboards
scrub shower/tub
launder rugs, mats
vacuum lamp shades

YEARLY
clean inside of cabinets
scrub tile grout
touch up paint, wood floors
clean carpets

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Latest thrift store scores!

I found a huge 2x3 foot wood frame and canvas that I repainted and turned into another chalkboard. It looks awesome! I need to take a picture of it and figure out my computer issues to share with you.

Also picked up three small old books to make into a little "book bundle" for decorating.



And... the coup de gras: My daughter wanted a Disney Princess Vanity for Christmas. She didn't get one because we didn't want to spend near 100 bucks on one! But guess what I found for SIX BUCKS!!! And guess who has a birthday this weekend? Score!


It needs a little sprucing up, and a few pieces are missing but nothing I can't fix! I am so excited :)

Have you found any great thrift store deals lately?

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Happy Valetine's Day 2013 and technical difficulties

Hello, everyone and happy LOVE day! Yes, I know it's been awhile. My awesome computer that I download all my photos on has been confiscated by the husband for his work. When someone downloaded some business programs for some reason my photo app got deleted. Now I can't download my photos and I'm too mad to pay $15 to get the app again that came free with the computer. Then, my iphone has decided that it will not allow me to send emails from my phone so posting that way is not an option like in the past and no one can figure that one out. SO, for today, we'll have to settle for some good ol' fashioned cuttin and pastin here for some pretty Valentine's eye candy.

These are my favorite Valentine's pins. Please click on the link for my Pinterest account to see the original source of these pins on my Holiday board.

You could easily make these Valentine bookmarks with her template and some scrap fabric or paper for no cost.
Love these simple fabric heart necklaces for the kiddos.
DIY Heart Necklace

This is the idea I used for my own chalkboard in the living room this holiday. (Wish I could show a pic!)
Be my Valentine #Chalkboard #Printable via Nest of Posies

Cute kid craft.
Cute Valentine's Ring!

Arglye design adds fresh style this holiday.
Mine for the Making: Heart Argyle Valentine's Wreath {tutorial}

Save up some TP rolls for inexspensive valentines.
Paper tube owl valentines! @KelseeDyess

Easy paper garland.
Simple Valentines Banner

Love this personalized candy heart banner - maybe next year???
Super cute conversation hearts with family names painted on them.

Simple and cheap.
Awesome Idea for valentines day

Cheap but time consuming yet a good craft to keep em busy.
Valentine.

Speiciman art with paper scraps, how simple and cute is that?
valentine craft idea

XO garland!
Cute for Valentine's Day... can add hearts too

Just shape the dough into scrolly (is that a word?) hearts!
Cute for Valentine's morning!  ....simple canned cinnamon rolls.

Felt decorative balls.
Valentine crafts

Another super cheap cutie!
crepe paper

More garland! I've seen this done with felt too.
Heart Banner, fun!

Make sure you CHECK OUT Karen's tutorial on how to make these Pottery Barn kids Valentine Envelope chairbackers.
oversized felt valentine envelope

Pretty.
3-d paper hearts

Simple.
Felt hearts- Valentine Tree? So simple to make,low/no cost.

I need some big, fabric covered cardboard letters in my life.
Valentine Mantel | Positively Splendid {Crafts, Sewing, Recipes and Home Decor}
Hope you enjoyed! Have a happy day and make sure you tell your peeps you love them!



Friday, January 18, 2013

Comment Love.

Dear People of the Blog World,
I need some comments. I've thought about quitting blogging several times but then each time a friend or family member tells me how much they love my blog. But they never comment. Or they try to comment and it gets rejected. I went into my settings and it says comments are open to anyone, so anyone ever have a problem with this before or know how to fix it?
I feel like every time I post I'm just sending it out to the void but apparantly there are quite a few readers. Like, 2,400 last month. And my followers are growing. Thank you!!! I'd like to know I'm doing this for some reason. I'd like to connect with people. SO, I want to know why no one ever leaves comments?
Sincerely,
Rebecca
p.s. If the comments don't work, please email me at rawtruegrit@hotmail.com.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Happy New Year! {What I've Been Up To} January 2013

Happy 2013 everyone! I hope you enjoyed your holidays. I have been BUSY, busy getting things done around here. If you don't already know, I am expecting a bundle of joy this May and I think the "nesting" first wind kicked in. Thus the lack of posts. I have been determined to get alot done, basically going through the entire house, and promised myself I could only look at blogs and do blogging at the end of the day after the kids were in bed if I got all my work done. So far it has worked beautifully!
1. I have been doing a TON of cleaning and organizing. I switched rooms for kiddos #1 and #3, built a twin bed from Ikea, decorated #1's new room, went through both the closets, rearranged furniture, and got rid of a good size bag of stuff. I'll show pics of their rooms later.
The upstairs spare room/office (soon to be nursery) was a complete disaster area after holiday wrapping and crafting. Besides that, has pretty much gone untouched for months. Embarrased to say got rid of TWO large bags of GARBAGE! Went through bookcases, desks, craft stuff and it's like a completely different space. Will have to go through it again and rearrange furniture before babe comes, set up a crib, etc.
Spruced up the master closet, bath, and bedroom, and hall closet. Got rid of more stuff. Cleaned everything. Made a goal to keep it clean!
Something that has really simplified my life is finally creating a "command center" in the kitchen (see picture below). I have a desk upstairs that I never used because I'm always downstairs. I've had a whiteboard on the side of the fridge for a couple years that we've used. And this desktop organizer that wasn't getting used to its full potential. We finally got wi-fi so I could bring the computer downstairs, brought down the organizer, got a barstool (Thanks, Jeanette!), and went back to the good old fashioned paper calendar. I also made a new spreadsheet for bill paying and put it in a folder with envelopes, stamps, etc. (yes, I am old-fashioned and don't pay bills online. That just works for us right now.) I use a different color pen for different things on the calendar to keep it easy to understand at a glance. It may not look like much in the picture but it has made SUCH a difference and I LOVE it. Also helps keep stuff off the counters- big plus! Does everyone pay bills online, is it just me who does it the old way?

2. Been dealing with the cold and snow. This is the coldest it's ever been for me and now that I've experienced it, I'll be honest: I don't love the cold. I actually hate it. I dream about happy places in the sun! But it is what it is, and we just deal with it. (-20 this morning. That's right, you read that correctly. NEGATIVE TWENTY.) Our garage is not insulated and we had our food storage out there . Two big shelving units. No bueno, as my husband would say. So I spent an entire afternoon last week emptying the closet downstairs, and moving all the food and shelves inside. It's alot nicer not having to freeze while we run out and grab a can off the shelves, however now I need to find a new home for the stuff that was in the closet before. And we're pretty much out of storage space......

3. Started reading my book club's book. I'm about 3/4 through and I like it so far. Want to know how it ends. Anyone read this? So far I recommend it.

4. Monthly living room redecorating, of course! I spent the entire New Year day taking down Christmas decor and putting up some simple, white January decor. It's a nice breath of fresh air after all the fun red and green stuff. Maybe I'll show that to you in a later post as well. Did you get all your stuff down and put away yet?

5. After two months of holiday business and morning sickness, I finally hit the ol' treadmill again with a new goal to excercise everyday! So far, so good. I alternate between this and a post-natal yoga dvd. I am determined to stay in shape and lose that baby weight once and for all after this one! One of my New Year resolutions is to have a natural childbirth. I already try to stay out of the hospital as much as possible, and follow the Bradley method for all my pregnancies, except I caved and got an epidural with my first and subsequently, the next two as well. However, one way or another, I've actually felt E V E R Y THING with all three and KNOW I can do this! I have been studying it online and phsycing myself out about it. It helps that this time the hospital is only 5 minutes away and we never have traffic. SO..... anyone have any tips or words of encouragement for me? :) Please leave a comment or email me making sure you're email address is shown!
Well that's it for now, hope you enjoyed the update, sorry It's more words than pictures this time! I'm off to the treadmill, laundry, and more cleaning and organizing today!
Happy New Year!