Hi!

I'm Jen! I've wanted to start a blog for a while now. I've made tons of excuses, mostly that I can't make it as awesome as the craft blogs that I love. I'm not a great writer, and I spell horribly.  I'm here to try though! Don't be too hard on me : ) I LOVE sewing and crafting. Sewing is like therapy for me. I don't have any formal training. My Mom taught me to sew when I was young, and I picked it back up again when I became a stay at home Mom. Hardest Job Ever! When my girls are not driving me nuts, they are inspiring me to create new things. Everything I make is pretty inexpensive, we are on a tight budget. My husband has chosen a career path that requires MANY years of schooling and training. So I learned to bargain shop, and use what I have. 

Here are some tidbits about me:

I've always wanted to be a Mom, that was my career goal. I did attend college for 2 1/2 years as a marketing major. I worked the whole time I was in college too. After I was married we moved, and I decided to work full time instead of going to school. Maybe one day I will finish, but I don't think I want to go into marketing. We will see. I do plan on having at least one more child. We will see how things work out! 

Things I love

God- more on what I believe here

My Family

My Friends

Sewing

Crafting

Shopping! Almost everything I buy besides food is on clearance. Especially our clothes and shoes! 

Sweets, lots of sweets! 

Working out- it's a love hate relationship! 

Pinterest- I'm addicted! 

Surfing Craft Blogs for Fun Ideas

Nap time

Bedtime 

I love when my girls say, "I love you mama!"  : ) 

Seeing Someone use a gift I made them

Things I don't Like

Muffin tops- mine not yours

Being woken up- you would think I would be used to it after almost 5 years of motherhood, nope! 

Putting laundry away

Coconut 

Acne- you would think I would have outgrown it by now

Stretch Marks- welcome to motherhood. 

Snot

Maxi Skirt

I love this maxi skirt! I found the tutorial 

here. 

Elle is SUPER talented! I love her cardigan tutorial too, I have not tried that one yet.

The first skirt I made was brown knit, I made the waist too big. I didn't think about how it would stretch and the weight of the fabric would pull it down. I found this material at Joann's for $3/yard! It was 50% off of the clearance price. Lucky break! It is way more flattering, it's some kind of knit blend. Sorry for the dark, horrible pictures. It really does look good in real life. I did not wear this shirt with it either. I chose a cream colored shirt, not tucked in. It's a super comfy skirt, perfect for church or a night out with the hubs. Elle is using it as a maternity skirt, genius! 

Magnet Alphabet

Have a lot of scrap fabric? Not sure what to do with it? But you don't want to throw it out, right? Well try this fun project. This was a christmas gift I made for my girls. I also made a simple draw string bag to hold all the magnets, and I embroidered ABC on it. Here's the website where I found the tutorial 

Here. Enjoy!

Wedding Gift/ Wall Hanging

This project is a great idea for a wedding present! It's also fun to make for yourself. I made it as part of my dinning room makeover. 

I made this wall hanging out of items I already had. The base is cardboard from a cracker box. I cut out two piece of batting and hot glued them to it. Then I used a piece of material I cut up from an old throw pillow. I used my embroidery machine to embroider our last name, and year we were married. 

 Then I wrapped the material around the cardboard and hot glued it together. 

 I added some ribbon for detail, and also a faux pearl button. The main reason I added the ribbon was because I glued the material on a little uneven, I think it's less noticeable with the ribbon. 

If you are giving this as a gift I would cover the back with material also. 

If you don't have an embroidery machine you can probably use the same method with freezer stenciling. I would use a cotton material if you choose that route. Check it out Here. The options are endless. You could try different textures, add ruffles, or whatever you like! 

DIY Flannel Board

I made this flannel board for my kids last Christmas. The whole project cost me around $7! It's a great gift for the holidays and birthdays. 

Here's what you will need:

2 pieces of cardboard

hot glue gun and glue ($2 for a mini gun and $2 for a pack of glue sticks at Wal-Mart)

1 yard flannel (usually on sale at Joann's Fabric for around $2.50/yard)

1 pack of multicolored felt (I think it was around $3-$4 at Joann's)

sharpie marker

duct tape

I used two sides of the box my sewing machine came in and I taped them together.

 I covered the card board in flannel and taped it in place, so easy! 

 To make it look neater I folded a left over piece of flannel over the middle and hot glued it in place. 

 Mine is not super neat. 

 Then I glued a piece of ribbon underneath the cardboard and attached it to the other side. This helps the board stay up and not collapse while it's being played with. 

 Then I used my sharpie to draw some designs, after that you cut them out and your done! 

I chose a few different themes: garden, transportation, food, ocean animals, and shapes.

I put them all in a large big zip lock bag. It would be cute to make individual bags out of material and ribbon for each theme. 

Another cute idea for a flannel board would be to get a big picture frame at goodwill; take the glass out, and cover the board with flannel, then frame it on the wall of the playroom. Add some hooks on the bottom to hang your bags of felt shapes.