Fantabulous Giveaway at Flamingo Toes

The wonderfully talented Flamingo Toes has been knocking off Anthropologie Necklaces all week {with fantastic tutorials so you can too} and they are awesome!


And now that the week is over she's giving all her fabulous creations away to lucky readers! My favorites are the Pernilla and the Momentary Flutter, the Party Animal Necklace is super fun but I'd never have the guts to actually wear it!

Head over to Flamingo Toes now to check out all the great tutorials and giveaways!

Hanging out on Barf Boulevard

Sick babies are the.worst.thing.ever! I hate when she doesn't feel good and makes her frowny-face all day (even if it is a cute frowny-face).  My usually sweet, happy baby is cranky {cranky-pants are the required dress code on Barf Boulevard, of course}and that makes me sad because it's proof that she doesn't feel good and apparently there's nothing I can do but wait it out and try to comfort her.

I hate the panic that sets in when she's sick and I don't know why. The constant wondering is it a virus, is something wrong with the milk or formula, is it something worse...is it my fault?? The trip to the doctor makes me feel like a crazy paranoid person when they say "it's probably just a stomach bug, I wouldn't worry too much"...really since when do moms "not worry too much"? Unless I read it wrong that was basically the job description...love them, feed them, and worry too much.

TooToo Cute TutuTute {that's too-too easy}

Here's a quick and easy no-sew {because I don't know how} tutu-tutorial for ya.

Supplies Used:

2 yards tulle*

1 yard ribbon to match or coordinate*

Scissors

*I made this for a 6 month old with a little bitty waist if you're sassy-pants is bigger you'll probably need a bit more*

First cut your tulle into strips approx. double the length you want your tutu. My strips were 3 inches wide and about 18 inches long.

You want to knot your tulle on the ribbon with a "cow hitch knot" by folding the tulle in half, then pulling the bottom through the loop at the top so it looks like a tie. You can use as many strips of the tulle for each knot as you want - I decided to use 3 for each knot so it was nice and full without having to have eleventy-five hundred knots. Keep knotting around the ribbon until it's long enough to fit around the waist of your too-too cute little princess. I started about 6 inches from one end of my ribbon and worked my way to the other end. If you need to you can slide your knots down the ribbon to make room for more knots.

After I had the length that I wanted I decided to go back through and add some shorter single strips between the big knots. To add fullness and because I wasn't paying attention when I was cutting and had some that was 12 inches instead of 18 - I have a bad habit of cutting first and measuring later -

When it's all done try it on your favorite model {or if she's napping like mine was} use your dog or a roll of paper towels.

Next up: a hair bow to match!

Super Terrific Tuesday {{2}}

I haven’t been keeping up with my goal of recognizing something positive in my life each week…life’s been a bit rough and tumble lately so stopping to think positively hasn’t exactly been at the top of my to-do list – although it should have been!

Let me tell you a bit about my amazing momma  – She was a baby herself when I came into the world…only 18 years old.

Excuse the grainy pic - it actually looks better now than the original I scanned!

 We grew up together in a lot of ways – she taught me how to read while she was studying while working her way through college. She worked hard and overcame numerous obstacles to make sure I {and my brother who came along 5 years later} had a good education and never did without the things we needed {and a good bit of what we wanted but didn’t need}.

Check out the frosted hair on my Momma!!

Some of my favorite memories with my mom are of us making stuff together. We used to make homemade play-doh that I could eat when I was done playing with it {which seems really gross now} we spent countless hours creating t-shirts and sweatshirts with puffy-paint and embellishments {did y’all know they still make that stuff??}

 Recipe for a quintessential 80's embarrassing photo: Puffy Painted sweatshirt - check, poofy hair because it's naturally curly and was brushed out - check

I remember begging her to take me to the craft store so we could buy friendly-plastic and make jewelry – which of course, she did. When I was teenager she tried teaching me to crochet but I thought I was way too cool to be crocheting and didn’t pay attention and never learned how to crochet anything more than a chain. When I was 30– she made my wedding veil.

Now that I’m “all grown up” we live 6 hours apart so we don’t get to make stuff together anymore and sometimes that makes me sad. BUT now we make things for each other which is just as special.

She taught me that I should always be myself. That it’s ok to be strong-willed and independent.  That fighting for what you believe in is always the right thing to do. That it’s ok to make mistakes, that our wrong turns in life lead us to the good stuff. That I shouldn’t get married until I was 30 {I do listen to my momma}.

Thanks to her I am who I am, like me or not this is me...there may be bits and pieces I’d like to improve but overall I know I’m a girl who makes her momma proud. 

Hoo Are You?

Every week Night Owl Crafting hosts a link-up so we can get to know others out in blog-land. Here's this weeks round of questions:

1. Do you make a budget and keep it, or just fly by the seat of your pants?

I spend all sorts of time making a budget and then proceed to fly by the seat of my pants. The accountant in me knows the budget needs to be created but after spending all day keeping track of other people's money I'm just not in the mood to do my own.

2. Do you do spring cleaning and if so which month?

Not really, I try to avoid cleaning at all costs every month of every season!

3. Are you a yard sale lover and do you have them and go to them?

I used to go to them pretty often but now I'd much rather sleep if possible. Why do they always have to be held so early in the mornings anyways?!

4. What do you take when you have a headache?

Excedrin Tension Headache  - it has the perfect combination of headache meds and caffeine 

5. Name 3 things that you feel lucky to have in your life!

My awesome daughter, my fabulous husband, and the courage to be myself no matter what others think (Thanks Mom!)