The Green Crayon

I finally opened up my own Etsy store, The Green Crayon, a few months ago, and wanted to share a few of the fun things you can now purchase!

Previously in my Etsy Store and coming again soon...








So hop on over and take a look around!

I LOVE LISTS!

Getting Organized For 2011

One of my long term goals for this year is to become more organized, more organized in our life and in our home.

After finding the blog Money Saving Mom,
getting my life organized will be just a little easier!

Let me start out by stating just why I love this blog so much...it has daily schedules, chore charts, and cleaning lists- among a ton of other amazing stuff. You can either download (for free!) the schedules they already have filled out or you can customize them yourself!

I LOVE LISTS!

The Daily Docket is the first form I am going to download and print out...it has everything! Even a place to check off Bible reading, exercise, and even how many glasses of water you drank that day (great for a pregnant woman who needs to make sure she gets her eight glasses of water a day!)

I am so excited about getting my day more organized, and ultimately being more productive through out the day!!!

Our Favorite Breakfast!

Our favorite breakfast, hands down, is chocolate malt-o-meal!



Breakfast usually starts outs pretty sophisticated...using a spoon...



...but soon, it just simply isn't doing the job fast enough!



...so we resort to shoveling it in our mouth...

...and that makes us SUPER HAPPY!!

Hugs and Kisses

This year I have decided to attempt to decorate for the holidays. I normally decorate for fall, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, but I have never decorated for holidays like Valentines, Easter, Fourth of July, ect.

I do remember, however, when I was growing up that my mom decorated for just about every holiday. I loved that! I want to be able to do the same for my children.

So I have been searching the blog world for different inexpensive ideas to decorate my house for Valentines day. Might I just say, that there are sooooo many creative and beautiful ideas out there!

Here is the first idea that I gave a try...

Hugs and Kisses Garland.

Now I did not find this exact idea any where online. It is more a mixture of several different ideas out there.

You can find tutorials for different kinds of Valentine's Garland...
here, here, here, here, and here.

So here is how to make your own Hugs and Kisses Garland for Valentines!

What you will need...
1. Scrapbook or colored paper
2. X, O, and heart templates
3. Scissors
4. Sewing Machine

How to...

1. Get on your computer and print off a large X and O to use as a template. Make them any size you choose- I just went with the largest possible. If you can find clip art of a heart print that off too (if not you can just free hand one)

2. Cut out your letters.

3. Pick out different printed and plain paper you would like to use. I used all scrapbook paper.

4. Trace templates onto colored paper and cut out. I used 5 different sheets and did an X, O, and heart out of each color.

5. Arrange X, O, and hearts in a way that is pleasing to you. I did an XOheart pattern. But you could do an XOXOheart, or a completely random pattern.

6. Get to sewing! You can use any color thread that you would like; red, white, pink, invisible, etc. I just used red since it was already in my machine. Next sew your pieces together one right after another. Make sure to leave some thread at the beginning and end so you can hang it.

This project cost me $4 and only took about 20 minutes to complete!
I LOVE cheap and easy projects!


Are you decorating for Valentines this year? Give it a try!

Half Way There

20 weeks down....20 to go!





(don't you just love my high tech camera? hehehe!)

In previous posts, I have been sharing with you all how I am adding new colors to my living room. I have previously felt very restricted as to the colors I could use, due to the fact that my couches are a dark hunter green and our big chair is a huge red and green floral print.

We recently got rid of the huge red and green chair and temporarily replaced it with a brown recliner (my sister and brother-in-law purchased it at a thrift store the last time they were in town and had no way to get it back home with them, so we are hanging on to it until they can get it).

Now, the big chair also had a matching ottoman which I decided to keep since it was still in really good shape.

Here it is...



Now it matches great with our green couches...but not so much with the new color scheme I am trying to give the living room.

I have seen tutorials previously where people make their own slip covers for chairs, couches, ottomans, etc. So I decided to give it a try and....



I am very pleased pleased with how it turned out!

To make one of your own all you need to do is...

1. Pick your fabric. I happened to have this great upholstery fabric that my mom gave me a while back that I decided to use. I think a thicker fabric does work best for this project as opposed to just cotton, but you can go with whatever fabric makes you happy.

2. Measure the length and width of the top and sides. Add about 1/2" to each side to allow for enough seam allowance and a hem on the bottom. If you cut your fabric to the exact measurements of the ottoman it will be too tight and not fit properly.

3. Cut out fabric to measurements above.

4. Pin fabric right sides together. The easiest way to make sure seams line up is to pin it together while it is on the ottoman. Like so...



(This pic shows after I had sewn it together...but you get the general idea.)

I also found it easier to sew two opposing sides on first and then pin on the other two.

5. Hem the bottom.

6. Finish off any inside seams so they do not fray if you decide to wash.

7. Try it on your ottoman, and stand back to admire your work.



The new cover goes so much better with the new color scheme! Plus I love that I can take the slip cover off and throw it in the wash!

Hopefully the steps were not too terribly confusing and you can make one easily.

What We Did Today

Today we..



...played in the snow for the first time ever!



...it was only a light dusting...



...but Jack was so excited...



...he especially loved...



...throwing snow balls...






...we had so much fun...



...and can't wait for the next snow day...

What did you do today?