Farmhouse Kitchen GIVE A WAY !!

Ok I finally went over 500 sales on my Etsy shop CELEBRATION time ! Easy entries here! 

115.00 worth of goodies, for the rustic cottage kitchen you know who you are! 

Ombre dyed cotton tea towel with eat wording 
Ombre dyed coral colored cotton apron with taste tester and antique silhouette 
Small chalkboard hanging saucer
Scalloped stark white porcelain let's cook plate
Aqua tea stained cupcake sweet plate 

1. Share my FACEBOOK POST giveaway from my page so I can track you tell others to do the same.  Each share, each day counts for 2 entries per day!
Heres the link (  FACEBOOK POST ) 

2. Like My Facebook PAGE 3+ entries 

3. Comment under this blog post for 4 entries on what your favorite item in my ETSY shop is .. 

(Make sure you leave your first name and last name initial on the comment box if you don't have a blogger account so I can track you! Anonymous is well... anonymous)

4. Leave a Comment on my Facebook Page under the giveaway on what colors you would like to see more of in my shop 4+ entries or styles. 

GOOD LUCK AND ENJOY

DIY Baby Mobile

I found some cute Christmas ornaments at Target that didn't even look like seasonal goods so for the low low price of .10 - .30 cents a piece I was sold!!!   I never had a baby mobile probably cause I never had a baby actually sleep in a crib but I figured this would look cute near the new ones cradle I have. I used the left over stars for my other children's rooms.

What you need :

You can use old or new coat hangers depending on the style room you have.... Paint the hangers stripe them polka dot them whatever you like !

You could also use wooden hoops found in the craft store for a circular effect... use them plain... glitter them or spray paint them endless ways to dress up a hoop.

Fishing line or twine whatever fits your style!

Objects to hang ( I'm using ornaments )

I gathered some small filigree wings that I purchased at the craft store and some little bells.

I used a drummel to make the holes in the coat hanger you can use a drill or just tie the strings around the top depending on the look you want. 

Now obviously if you're hanging these above a babies crib please tie all your goodies tight and secure. I never hang anything I make unless it's fabric right over my sleeping area but off to the side...

TOTAL COST.... under $5.00 for both 

Cupboard Curtains DIY Rustic Farmhouse Style

So the glass inserts broke on my cupboards probably a good thing cause it dangerously shook each time I shut the door. Even worse when they got slammed after burning my butter for the 4th time in a row. Why do I keep burning my butter? That's a good question!


BEFORE with exposed cupboards and sadly I haven't painted the trim in over 2.5 years ... Lesson learned paint the trim FIRST... I'll get to that for sure.....someday....

AFTER>>>>>>>

What you Need :

Basic sewing skills if you can hem some fabric you're all set!! 
Set of curtain rods that fit the space
Drill (unless you're ok with the rods and screwdrivers)
Iron on transfer paper
Graphics of choice 
Coffee
Small paintbrush 
Iron 
Fabric ( I used cotton duck cloth lightweight cause I love it !! ) 

Ok..... 

Hang the curtain rods and get them all set up. Then measure the fabric to fit into the panels or whatever space you're making them for. I hemmed one top put it on the rod and then pinned the bottom so I knew where it would land. 

Get your graphics ready and print out the graphic mirror image on your computer. You can do a lot with a simple photo editor!  All sorts of designs, words, phrases, or even patterns if you make several of the same graphic and tile them on the fabric. I settled with an antique carrot illustration with EAT WELL in cursive font and some small eat words at the top. 

All iron ons are slightly different so follow the directions on your iron on sheets.

I ironed my fabric first and decided to go right in the middle. After the sheet cools you peel it off. BAM new curtains !!

I used coffee stain (cause I was drinking it anyway) and thought hey why not paint the back of the carrot on my design so it had a touch of brown to it. This can be done with watered down fabric paint as well. I did the back because the front is now sealed with a fine coat of adhesive that the coffee would only bead off of. 

You might be able to paint directly on the iron transfer paper depending on what kind you have to achieve a soft effect.  It will take several times of going over the design with tea or coffee and don't get it to damp or it will bleed. 

Hung it on the rods and there it is!!! 1 hour later new cabinets!! Of course then I had to rearranged my kitchen because that is what 39 week pregnant women do !! Now I love it softer less worry and it reminds me to eat well !!! 

Snuggly fit and a touch of ruffle makes for any cottage kitchen and feel free to use the idea anyplace you want laundry, bath and baby's room too !!

New Line of Ombre Style & Hand Dyed Kitchen Goodies Lessons in Homeschooling

So when I decided that watching my kids leave for long hours each day on big yellow bus wasn't going to work for me, I had to figure out what would.  Trying to start up a real home decor business... real artwork for galleries ...mother ...cook ...clean ...and teach all at the same time can get a bit overwhelming especially if I don't utilize my time correctly PLUS I have a husband too and I'm pregnant. What I really wanted was my career plus to watch my children grow up. I'm selfish like this, I really don't want to share all the moments with other teachers. I want all those interesting comments and the excitement while learning all to myself. Maybe at some point they will make the decision to go to school and maybe if I feel they are mature enough to make that decision I will let them HA! But seriously I greatly enjoy my children and if your going to have a home based business with children running around you better include them OR ELSE they will find away to include themselves (and it might not be good). Yes it's a touchy subject and I don't talk much about homeschooling. I find it brings out the worst comments in people. Of course at times I want success faster and to produce more. I have ideas I can't do cause time will not allow it. But I have come to the understanding that I have other responsibilities at this point in life that can take over at any given moment. Someday my children will be grown and faster then I realize for sure, then I will have lots of time to myself to explore any given thing. 

Surprisingly children love to help lol and they are more capable then people realize. The work goes faster together and they learn valuable lessons in work ethic and technique.  Dyeing fabric is a process: You learn measurements, keeping a clean workspace, timing, proper steps to achieve the desired results and the beauty of seeing white turn to wonderfully bright fabrics. Listen some may call it child labor but my kids wouldn't take No for an answer.  They must help, they must learn but mostly because that's what they're programmed to do. They soak everything up, they want to be involved in what you do.  You can also tell when they're over it, after 3 hours of this my son deiced he wanted to make an animal trap and left. My daughter started using the spoons to play the drums. That's my cue to stop and clean up even if I want to keep going. 

Drum playing 

Dancing to some music right before boredom kicks in, this means his learning session is over

Even while silk screening the towels I let my daughter stand on the chair behind me and watch. My son loves painting plates and helping pack shipments. Sometimes they can't do certain steps yet but they can watch and they want to. I figured what's the point of staying home with them if I shoo them off each day to get work done? Ignoring them while home is pointless I might as well go to work and let them go to school. Plus they will get my attention in some terrible way if I do that. Do I always want them right under me NO ahaha.... But I'm their mother and they want to be close to me it's normal. For my family this business and this set up is very functional for us at this point. My husband works two jobs and this "extra" I make helps out greatly so it's born out of necessity and resembles nothing of a hobby. I work it as a real job along with my other real jobs and I lucky for me I truly enjoy it plus I'm my own boss!!

Soooo here is the new line of goodies that as a family we created enjoy from ours to yours..... available in my Etsy shop now.