DIY - Personalized Hooded Towels

There are a ton of tutorials out there in the blog world on making your own Hooded Towels. And there was one I ran into that included personalized name embroidering. Well, I wanted to recreate that towel without having to buy an expensive embroidering machine. So this is what I came up with!

I followed this tutorial from One Simple Bliss. But instead of using a decorative ribbon I created this…

It’s made by using the freezer paper stenciling technique (view my tute here.) I cut out a 24w x 3h inch piece of fabric from an old white t-shrit, ironed on my stenciling and painted it on.

What do you think? Personalization at a fraction of the cost!

Personalized Halloween Lollipop Cards

Want a fun, personalized way to say "Happy Halloween!" to your family and friends? How about an adorable Halloween Lollipop Card?!

Start by taking a picture of your kids. Have them fist up one hand and hold it out in front of them (or in this case, Nate wanted to hold his arm out to the side)

Edit your photo with a little wording:

Have your photos printed on 4x6 or 5x7 paper. I like to print my photos at Costco. They are quick & cheap.

Cut 2 small slits (using a box cutter) where the fist is and insert a lollipop.

There you have it! An adorable way of saying "Happy Halloween!" Try this for Valentine's Day, Christmas (maybe us a candy cane instead of a lollipop), or maybe even to say Thank You.

Pantone Fashion Color Report – Fall 2011

So, after this chilly East Coast weekend, I'm ready to admit it really is FALL. And to kick off the season, I decided to update my blog colors.

Don’t you just LOVE it? These colors inspired my new blog color scheme for Fall 2011.

Cedar, Teal & Bamboo

Hope you guys like love it too!

It's her blogiversary... her blogiversary.

Happy 1 year blogiversary, Mindy!

Mindy is the creative mind behind the photography, crafting, mommy blog, "a {day} with lil mama stuart", and her stuff is fantastic! Check out her space in the blog world, I know you'll love it as much as I do!

And to celebrate the birth of her blog, she'll be hosting a few give-a-ways! Yay!

To Pierce or Not To Pierce — Part Deux

So.. remember when I ask this? Thank you for your advice and experiences. After a few more discussions with the Hubster, we decided to pierce Jules' ears! And man oh man it is super adorable!

We ended up taking her to the Piercing Pagoda at our local mall -- recommended by both a family friend and a friend of a friend. We went early afternoon on Sunday after both kids were fed and happy. I was totally nervous. We walked around the mall for about 20 mins and finally ended up at the Piercing Pagoda kiosk. I browsed through they selection of piercing friendly earrings. I knew I wanted a pair that had the safety backs on them -- this limited my selection a bit. But we found a pair that both the Hubster and I liked. It wasn't too small that the earring might pull through the hole itself, and it wasn't too big that it looked Gotti on my little Jules. We ended up with a pair that was 14K white gold with a little lavendar stone in the center.

The piercer (is this what you call someone who pierces ears??) had me sit down in a chair and hold Jules in my lap. She put on a pair of latex gloves and pumped hand sanitizer into her hands. She grab a little alcohol swap and wiped down both of Jules earlobes. She then took a little pen and marked a dot in the center of each earlobe -- this is were it got fun. We went back and forth a few times to get the dot just right, and the entire time the piercer (?) was super patient and helpful. We finally got the dots just right. She told me to hold on tight to Jules arms with one hand, and her head with the other.

Squeeze! Cry! Cuddles! First ear done!

Squeeze! Cry! Cuddles! Second ear done!

Jules maybe cried for a total of 15 seconds before she was back to her normal self starring at all the sights of the mall.

I love it and am so glad I got them done.

DIY - Picture Frame Bow Board

Want a cute way to organize clips and bows? Make a Picture Frame Bow Board! Like all my other craft tutorials...this is way, way easy to make. And I'm sure you already have all the supplies on hand.

What you'll need:

• Picture frame
• Scrap fabrics
• Ribbons
• Glue Gun

Step 1: Remove the backing and glass front from your picture frame. You won't need the glass front for this project, but don't throw it away, I'm sure you can find some use out of it!

Step 2: Hot glue your scrap fabric directly onto the picture frame backing. (Don't you just LOVE the fabric I dug out of the reminate section of JoAnn's?)

Step 3: Lay out your coordinating ribbon in a crisscross patter directly on top of the fabric wrapped backing. Adjust your pieces to your liking. Add a dab of glue to the ends of each ribbon and glue to the back of wrapped backing.

Step 4: Put your frame back together. And there you have it! A beautiful bow board! You can even add a little decorative ribbon flower to give your board a little "oomph"

I'm so excited I get to start making cute little handmade bows and clips for Jules. If her hair is going to be anything like mine as a child, she'll need PLENTY of hair bows to tame the wildness!

To Pierce or Not To Pierce...

That is the question.

So, Jules is 2.5 months old and since that day at the hospital when the doctor announced, "It's a GIRL!", I've been debating on when to get her ears pierced.

I think it's ADORABLE to see a little baby with tiny earrings on her tiny little ears. But I am totally torn. Do I pierce her ears after her 4 month shots? Or do I wait until she's older and let her make that decision on her own? Will she tug on her ears and get them infected? If I want too long, will she be too scared to get them pierced?

I don't know what to do!

Do you have a little girl of your own? Does she have her ears pierced? Yes? When and why did you decided to do it when you did.