from boring to beautiful {part two of a bathroom makeover}

Are you ready to see the awesome "after" of my boys/guest bathroom?!! 

I am so excited about how it turned out...happy, bright and fun!  It's like a whole new bathroom! 

I'm so thrilled with all of the details and little finds that add so much to the room.

Everything was inspired by the Sherwin-Williams ColorSnap® smartphone app that I used from the previous post.
Once I knew the color I was putting on the wall, thanks to my friends at Sherwin-Williams, I went from there, searching everywhere I went--and could find online--for things to go with the look I was going for.  And, what I couldn't buy, I made myself.

For starters, this "Wash Your Hans" printable.  You can go HERE to download it for FREE!  What little boy doesn't need a little reminder?  And the fun play on words just makes it fun.  The little "M" and "A" hooks were finds from a $1 bin at Michaels! Perfect for each boy to hang his own hand towel from.

The curtains were the next thing I "made" and are simply a few yards of a favorite print. I didn't even sew the edges, just left selvedges and hemmed both ends. :) Easy, fun and BRIGHT! :)

I tried really hard to make it a place where both little boys and guests would love.  While I admit that Iron Man may not be the first choice for a guest bathroom, I think the whole vintage feel of it makes it work.  I hung it on the wall with Command Strips...still wrapped in the plastic I bought it in. :) Some happy new guest towels carried the wall color to this little wall. 

All of these except the "I belong with you" were hanging in this bathroom before but didn't have nearly as much character as they do now...with that fun Sherwin-Williams paint color behind them making the orange pop!  You can make your own "I belong with you" sign by following my tutorial HERE.  :)

I thought I would show a little peek of how the ColorSnap app works...you take a photo of the item you are trying to match...drag that little circle around to the specific color you want to match and...

...it pulls a Sherwin-Williams color that matches!  It's like paint magic. :) It inspired this whole makeover! :)

Thanks for having a look around!  I hope this inspires you to do some making over on your own and maybe gets you into your own local Sherwin-Williams! 


Don't forget to check out my before also! :) 

What room would you use this app to inspire a makeover for?  Leave me a comment for a chance to win a $100 Sherwin-Williams gift card!

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some hoho love.

More than I could ever hope or imagine.  That's how the hohos have blessed me.  I'm amazed on a daily basis that God has allowed me to provide for my family needs in such a creative, fun and joy spreading way.

Hohos are on fire.  People love them.  I daily get emails showing some cute little one cuddling their hoho.  I get stories about them showing up to comfort in the emergency room or a late night foster care placement.  Just a couple weeks ago I made a hoho for a special girl with an eye injury, and wouldn't you know, her hohos eye was injured on the same side. :)

I LOVE my job.  And I am so thankful for the support it receives daily.  I adore my customers.  I couldn't ask for a better bunch of folks.   

These may be my favorite hohos to make.  They are keepsake hohos.  Do you have a favorite outfit from your little one?  A shirt or a blanket that means a lot to you?  Send it to me and let me give it new life as a hoho!

Can you handle this level of cuteness?  I can't. Do you need one?  I'd love to make you one.  Just email me to get on the list! (Right now the wait is through the end of July!). 

I've also had several requests to bring back my hoho print...and I finally got to it!  You can find both of these prints in the shop as instant downloads.  :) Add a little hoho love to your wall!

Hope your weekend is lovely and that you feel blessed in a special way!

xo

solo post worthy gift

Don't you love the internet?  

For all the yuck it throws out, some pretty wonderful stuff comes out of it as well.  I love the people I've found and friends I've made and the amazing things I've found to make my home ME.  

Enter Ariel from Newspaper Balloon.  She draws the most adorable portraits ever.  I have three that grace my walls and have given several away to friends as gifts (of their families of course). :) 

Last week was a tough one for me and Ariel, the darling that she is, sent this to me in the mail as a surprise gift.  Is there a more perfect portrait of my job right now? 

I love it so much.  It will hang on my walls forever and remind me of this phase of my life forever.

Thank you friend for noticing my rough time and blessing me in such an awesome way!

And if you haven't gotten a portrait from Ariel yet...what are you waiting for?!

You can also find her on IG under newspaperballoon :)

xo

another pallet project {outdoor table from pallets for about $40}

So...I have two boys.  And I wanted an outdoor table big enough to seat us all.  Most of the tables out there are really expensive and involve glass.  Not a good combo when combined with two boys. 

Enter my favorite medium, the pallet.  Free.  Durable.  Boy tough.  Done!

All I had to buy was the wood to build the frame/legs using treated lumber.

The boys immediately started using it as a fort, the perfect size for one!  I took it one step further and added a hammock underneath that they LOVE to hang out in, especially Aaron.

It's the perfect little hidden place and as a bonus, both boys can use it at once, comfortably.

The top is a teeny bit uneven, wonky, sanded and lovely.  In other words "will not be harmed by little boys".

I also built a couple of benches to use as seating, also from pallets except for the legs.

I can't really offer any plan for building one...I started with the pallets face down (using six of them), figured out a way to frame them all together, nailed and screwed it all together until I was sure it was stable.

Basically I made it all up as I went along.  But I thought you might like the inspiration.

Made anything fun and cheap lately?

xo

Also, the winner of the Running Blynd giveaway is YOU!  Email me if that is you! :)

a last minute mother's day gift {that you still have plenty of time to make} and a coupon code to help a mother out!

So the other day I decided to give a little something to Aaron's teachers for Mother's Day because, well, they do a great job of mothering him when I am not around.  It's east to see that they love him and he loves them, so why not.  Thing was, I had approximately 1 hour to figure something out and execute it.  Crafty friends to the rescue!

This little something is a collaboration of a few different crafty friends I happen to love.
The quote is by my friend Love, print created by my friend MJ from Echoes of Mercy and tags by my friend from Raising Up Rubies.  The print I had on hand, I ordered it some time ago and loved it so much that I had extras printed up to save as gifts.    

The perfect mothers day quote, don't you think? You can get it right HERE at Echoes of Mercy.

Added a cute Raising Up Rubies tag...

Some bakers twine and washi and I called it done!  They were really well received. 

The frames were a lucky, inexpensive find from Micheals.   You can order the file from Echoes of Mercy, send it to the one hour printer, run and buy some frames and be all set before you know it!

And it just so happened as I was getting all set to write this post, my friend MJ was getting ready for a big change...wouldn't you know it, she was preparing for something special...

Here is her post from Instagram:

So not only can you get a lovely mother's day gift done, you can also help a sweet baby cope with something she never should have to deal with...

You can also use the code BABYELSIE to save 15% off of your entire order! Win. Win. Win.

Ready?  Go get started now!

xo

imitation is as flattering as a moo-moo

I apologize in advance for the heart dump that is about to happen.  Unfortunately, I don't think I would make it through the day if I didn't unload this heart of mine just a little because dang, it has been heavy this week.

First of all, I am thankful.  Always.  I cannot believe that my job is to make monsters.  That making monsters buys my kids shoes and swimming lessons and groceries and puts gas in the car.  I love my job and look excitedly into the future for where it will take me. 

Secondly, I love being apart of the handmade community.  I love enjoying the good folks that are apart of it and truly GET what handmade is all about.  The joy, love and respect those of us who "get" it have for each other is amazing.  On a daily basis I get to experience love from fellow artists, sewists and friends all because of the handmade community.  We are a pretty awesome "band of sisters" if you ask me.  More than once I've gone on a road trip thinking "ok, so and so lives in this area, if I breakdown I know I can call her".  True story.

THAT is the part of the handmade community that I love. 

There are also parts that are extremely hurtful to come across.  They remind me of those little sucker fish that follow the big sharks around, hoping for a quick free meal.  And I found several this week.  It's been brought to my attention that there are several shops on Etsy selling hohos as their "OWN UNIQUE CREATIONS".  They say that.  With words.  They are lying liars who lie. 

And being the emotional creature that I am...it hurts.  A lot.  Because in the handmade community, I feel like we are all sisters and friends, all part of this special thing, all spurring one another on in creativity and friendship and encouraging our own uniqueness.  Having someone copy your work and call it their own is a deep betrayal to me.  It comes from people who obviously don't GET the handmade community.  It comes from people who think that if you see something on the internet, that means it's up for grabs, fair game, yours to copy and reproduce.  It comes from people who think it's OK to duplicate something they have been shown in a photo and then turn around and sell it.  They see success and immediately remove the person behind the idea which also removes all of the hard work, passion and heart that goes into it.  They are in it for a quick buck or two.  They usually claim to be creative but how much creativity does it take to copy someone else's work?

I could go on and on.  I have been heartsick all week over these people.  In my kindest words, I've emailed them, explaining my situation and begging them to help me protect what is mine (yes it is copyright protected and the patent is soon to come!).  Some of them respond with like kindness, apologizing and saying they didn't know and deciding to stand with me to protect a small corner of the handmade integrity.   And I love that.  They get it.

The others.  Oh lord, the others.  I could write a script for the responses.  "I didn't know" usually followed by "I saw them on Pinterest (that makes them up for grabs right?)".  The obviously guilty ones return my pleas with deflection, excuses and ugly words but generally in the end say "FINE, I WAS GOING TO STOP ANYWAY".  Ok, so it had to be YOUR idea.  Whatever.

It's exhausting work.

Which makes me come back to...is this how the Lord would have me handle it? 

Don't get me wrong.  I DO NOT think that being a woman of God makes me a doormat.  I do NOT think that my responsibility as a lover of Jesus is to hand over what is mine without a fight.  If you don't think that God cares about my injustice then you are sadly mistaken.

He sees my broken heart.  He cares that someone has stolen from me.  It pains Him as it does me.  I am not expected to be passive because I love the Lord.  The end.

It's a tricky place to stand.  Do I pursue them all and try to save my creations?  When would I have time to create (which is as important to me as breathing)?  Do I throw my hands up and walk away?  Do I be content in the fact that their knock-offs are poorly done and continue on my way to making an obviously better product? Round and round and round I go.   WHAT is the right thing to do?

What I do know is that I am so grateful for those who GET why this is hard.  The folks that say "it's no big deal" or "consider it flattery" or "you put them on the INTERNET what did you expect" obviously don't get my pain.

But my sisters in creativity DO.  The ones who say "I know it hurts, keep praying" or "I'm so sad for you" or just show that they GET why it is painful...it means the world. 

What I DO know is that the enemy would like to see me fail.  And these teeny, tiny, little bumps in the road are part of his plan to ensure that.

Well, to hell with that my friend.  For real.

I'm about to feisty up.  In no small part to my lovely sisters in thread.  Who hold a deep place in my heart and treat me as such.

I'm going to continue to pray.  And continue to create and make the best dern hohos you've ever seen.

Come and get me crappy imitators.  Come and get me.