Ribbons and the Dollar Tree

First - ribbon storage! I loved these ideas from kmckaydesigns.com. I bought the Crop-a-dile specifically to make the box with the cute acrylic jars. I followed the instructions here. Basically you punch holes in the acrylic and set extra-large eyelets in the holes.

This cute project turned out to be super cute but much more of a pain than I anticipated. First the Crop-a-dile... I found it to be cheapest online at HSN for the punch and hundreds of eyelets and accessories. I was impatient to be started and didn't think I'd use all the extras so I opted to use my 40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby and get just the punch w/o the extras for $30. (It was $36 with shipping at HSN). Little did I know that I would have to wait anyway!

The eyelets pictured are the only ones I saw that were large enough for the ribbon and to go through the acrylic. And they are nowhere in my local stores. So I ended up ordering them online from craftybetty.com. So after all of this I was finally able to get started with my loverly box. I think it turned out well, but the "hairline" cracks in the acrylic mentioned in the directions were huge! Maybe kmckay used a thinner acrylic. But with the ribbon inside you really can't tell.

I chose to Mod Podge some scrapbook paper, trimmed to fit, on the sides of my box. I painted the edges black and then painted on MP with a sponge brush, smoothed out my paper with a plastic pan scraper (pack of 2 for a buck - and they work great on my dishes) and then applied another coat of MP. I think it looks great, and matches the patterns and colors in my craft area. And I used the method discussed on the tute video to paint and dry my knobs for the boxes - such a good idea!

And the post-it note holder - another dollar store creation. You buy the 5x7 acrylic frame, slip a piece of scrapbook paper in where the photo goes, decorate, and stick the post-its on. I didn't glue - just let the post-it pad's sticky strip hold it up. The pen is made to match by rolling a strip of the paper up and pushing it into the ink compartment of a clear pen. Very cute if I do say so myself. I now look forward to jotting down phone messages!

I also made another ribbon storage box with the Crop-a-dile and eyelets. I took a photo box (mine was from JoAnn's but Hobby Lobby also has them - $3.99, use your 40% off coupons) and punched eyelets around the sides. This time no cracking! :)

Here are some other fun things for the craft room from the dollar store:

2 cheap canvas pictures and a brassy plastic mirror... sorry no befores of the mirror. I promise it was less than beautiful.

Then spray paint the mirror frame and paint the edges of the pictures.

Mod Podge on some pictures or paper to match your decor.

These are on the wall between my cupboards in the laundry/craft room.

Thieves Oil and pondering

When Rick was in Alabama this past week I had a kind soul offer to come and help clean my house to tidy it up before he came home. What a life saver! It was very humbling, but her service made such a difference to me. I've felt very needy since having my fourth baby; not in a clingy, whiny girlfriend way but in the way that the Bible speaks of when it says we are all truly beggars. We need to rely on God for all things - even the breath we take. Well, in my life, for many reasons, I have chosen not to rely on others. I may accept help if it is offered but I don't seek it out. For little things yes, but I mean for the big things that mean a lot to you and are essential to your well being. I have been so stubborn. I have been forced to see recently that if you are rigid you will break under pressure. Unfortunately I have had to be broken over and over again and I'm still not sure I'm done learning this lesson. This part of my life seems to be a bit of a refining. It seems like trial after trial at times and I wonder when it will end. Little by little I am seeing that I can live through these things, but I will need to seek out help from others. Yikes. Not an easy thing.

Soooooo, back to the cleaning. She brought some natural cleaning solution called Thieves. It is said to be based on a recipe used by a band of thieves who robbed the homes of the dead and dying during the plague. They would rub themselves with plant extracts and were never sick. Well, whether you believe it or not, the mixture of the 5 essential oils has been proven in laboratory tests to have a 99% kill rate for airborne bacteria when diffused. It is a mixture of lemon, cloves, cinnamon, rosemary and eucalyptus oils. It smells so good! You can dilute it in a carrier oil (olive, almond, jojoba, etc) and dab it on your skin to ward off illness. You can dilute to purify the air and you can add it to cleaners to give them antibacterial/antiseptic properties. So I went to the store and mixed some up! I will be trying out some non-toxic cleaners this next week and hope to find them effective and then clean out all the chemicals I currently use. Now as a couponer I have quite the stockpile, but I will gladly get rid of them to clean up my home. I'm so excited to try it out!

Some me time...

I like to craft to get back in touch with myself. Seriously. I love the process of creating and beautifying. So as part of my lovlifying the laundry/craft area I bought an old, stained office chair from a local thrift store and recovered it. Wanna see?

All right - a tutorial for you!

1. Buy a chair with good "bones" - test out all chairs to make sure that you get the one that will adjust to be the tallest. :) Then disassemble it and unscrew/pop off the fabric and padding.

Cut out a piece of fabric that will cover the seat of your chair with a few inches of overhang. If you chose a patterned fabric and you'd like it centered make sure you adjust the piece to your liking before you cut.

Staple all around the edge on the underside of your seat. I used the cheap gray stapler you see - light-duty. I didn't even take off the old fabric.

Isn't it lovely?

Repeat for the back rest and put the pieces back on!

Et Voila! I am so happy with it!

Dec 25th - the birthday!

He wanted cupcakes with blue frosting - and he got 'em! We also had macaroni and cheese with Little Smokies. :) Lovely Christmas dinner!

Megan - 5 months! It's Christmas! And a milk story, and a bit of poop.

So cute! A week after these pictures were taken we took Megan in for her belated 4 month check up (12/30).

Deja - vu...

"Previously healthy baby has now dropped below the 5th percentile for weight gain... please give her lots of formula."

Height 2 feet 2.58" (88%)

Weight 12lb 5.7 oz (4%)

Thhhppptttt. So of course I didn't. I told God that this was the one thing I could NOT do again. Obviously he knows that I am stronger than I think and need to learn a few things.

This was so hard for me - it is truly my weak spot. The stress of failing to give my baby all that she needed was such a blow. I just cried. I wanted to do all I could - more than what I did with Lauren even, so I went on a mission to get my supply up.

We went downtown to the hospital straight from the appt. to rent a breastpump. (And while we were gone the sewer backed up downstairs - thanks to my visiting sister's help disaster was avoided... But what a mess! And on such a crappy day!) I bought Fenugreek. I proceeded to pump after each feeding, popped 3 pills with each meal and prayed and cried. I fed Megan alone, lying down, in hopes of increasing the face time we were getting. Every 2 hours all day and 3 hours all night. We started rice cereal a week early. Crossed our fingers.

And then she got sick. Ugh. Coughing so hard she was vomiting. She wouldn't sleep. One day she only cat-napped all evening/night and cried the rest of the time. We took her in - double ear infections. Can we not catch a break? Never mind that Lauren has been sick with the same cough/fever and Ashlyn and Nathan are taking turns throwing up every other day. This was one of the most trying times of my life so far. I know, I whine a lot. But it was terrible.

But - when we took her in for the ear infections (1/6) - she'd gained weight! 12 lb 12 oz. Almost an ounce a day. A miracle!

Starting today I've stopped pumping and pilling. We'll see how she does for the next day or so and re-eval to see what we need to do. If I have to pump for months I will (but I hope not - so sore!) but it's good to know that I didn't have to resort to a bottle. Truly, that is my biggest blessing in this. After Lauren, I really need to feel like I can do this for my baby. She's such a trooper!

And during all this my sister came to visit! For her first visit to Colorado she arrived Dec 24th, 2002. Just in time for me to go into labor with Nathan. And on Dec 24th, 2009 she visited for the second time. We did some crafty things and had a nice visit - even if we were all sick and we sent her home with it. (Ooops!) It was so nice to have her!