I'm overrun with....

school artwork!!! Argh! With three little ones in school or daycare I am constantly coming home with stacks and stacks of cute artwork that I can't bear to throw away. Wanna see a sample? Here ya go.

Ah cute right?! What kinda mom would I be to throw this away?! An awful, horrible, negligent mommy! But what's a mama to do when she's practically swimming in macaroni art? Well here are a few ideas I've gathered that have helped my and may help you too!

When artwork comes home it goes straight to the "art box" where it happily waits to get sorted. With three kids I usually need to clean it out every four months or so. {Well that's with it overflowing and pouring onto the ground...so maybe it should be every three months!}

Here are some other ideas:
1. Take a picture. You can store it digitally for as long as you'd like or print it out in a photobook like one you can order from Shutterfly.com .

2. Place in an art portfolio with the name and date or start an art book that your little one can draw in.

3. Send it to grandma! Becuase I've heard they love stuff like that. Eden also has a habit of making her at into cards for friends. So cute huh?! In fact Eden made a card for Micah Messer {which we still need to give to her}.

4. Frame and display your favorites. I love all of E's self portraits they're just so precious.

and last but not least......THROW IT AWAY! It's OK I won't judge you  :   )

Seven Year Itch

In two weeks Pete and I will have been married for seven years! That's longer than all of Pamela Anderson's marriages...combined! To celebrate we've decided to pimp out our bedroom and we're asking for your opinion {don't you feel special?}. Here are four fabulous designs that I've put on a mood board courtesy of olioboard.com. I have my favorite and Pete has his but I'm curious which one do you like best?

#1 - Simple Elegance

#2 - Neutral with a splash of drama

#3 - Earthy Refuge

 #4- Modern Montage

Fun with Wordle

Pete just informed me of this great website where you can make word clouds. Doesn't that just sound EXCITING?! You know word clouds? A group of words that when put together express a theme, topic, or subject....huh? OK, ya I know I'm a dork but I think they're cool and very useful for school and other stuff ya know?! Here's one I just made today:

Sweet right?! Now you want that link don't ya? Well here it is Wordle. You're welcome :  )

Everything's Coming up Grimes!

Alas the time has come. The time to reveal.....our living room. For those who are unfamilar of our home's humble beginning, here are a few pictures from February 2007.

The house was abandoned a year or so earlier.

In transion:

And now drum roll please.....our newly renovated living room!

Here was a fun little project. Check out this beauty.

Pete picked it up two of these for $2 each.

A couple yards of fabric later. Not to bad eh?!

I can TOTALLY sew that!!!

Pete and I have been married for five years and over these past years I've often teased him when he says, "I can totally make that babe!" Whether it be bookshelves, kitchen cabinets, or a headboard for our bed, my amazing husband can pretty much make anything! Well now it's my turn. Just about every other day I find myself saying, "I can totally sew that sweetie!"  Ah the irony. So on that note here are some projects that I've recently completed...

                                                                                                                         

This used to be the ugliest little accent table! Pete and I purchased it at a second hand furniture store when we moved to Omaha. It was originally painted a dark hunter green, which didn't match our decor. I repainted it this smoky blue color and sewed a skirt that I then velcroed to the inside ledge. I now use it in our guest bedroom/nursery. Behind the skirt hides a small bookshelf that Noah likes to get into. Out of sight, out of mind!

I used the remnants from the accent table fabric plus a cream-colored twin sized sheet from Walmart to make this crib skirt. I wanted the decor for the nursery to be somewhat neutral since it doubles as a bedroom. This project was a lot more challenging than I thought, but I think it turned out great! 

          

Here's a little known fact: It's really, really, ridiculously, easy to sew fitted crib sheets. Why am I just figuring this out now?! For years I've searched for a unique contemporary style crib set that wasn't over $100, finally I gave up and settled for some cheapo sheets from Target (that ripped after about six months of use). Anyways, I just finished these today. I made one for the cradle and one for the crib. Seriously though, if you ever want a cool unique looking fitted sheet, I could totally sew it for you!

                      

I'm not Martha Stewart but...

....I think I made some pretty sweet slip-covers! Awhile ago I had an overwhelming urge to be creative until finally, three months later, I gathered up enough courage to pull out the old sewing machine and make something happen. I'm so encouraged by my first sewing project in over 15 years!







The slip-covers are an envelope style that I can take off and wash or change out according to my mood. I plan on adding buttons to the end of each flap in order to help secure the covers. I hope this is the first of many sewing projects yet to come!