The 5 Minute Tu-Tu

My daughter has a couple of cousins that are just 3 years older, and also the only girls in their families full of boys.  Therefore, they are the perfect source for great hand-me-down clothes.  Both of the cousins really love the "princess" type dresses.  You know the ones, lots of frills and ruffles and chiffon.  We love these dresses too, but every so often we'll get one where the frills just don't hold up to the active life of a two-year-old.  We just so happened to have had one of these dresses hanging out in her closet for a few months now.  My previous attempts at mending these types of dresses (especially this particular type of wear) has been less that satisfying, and I was afraid I was either going to have to cut the offending organza over skirt, or just pass on the dress completely.

Sorry I don't have pictures of all of this.  Sometime my brain fails to remind me that I do own a camera.

Anyway, to continue on with this incredibly long story...I ended up cutting of the over-skirt, and the dress is adorable and much more functional now.  I hated to see all that pretty organza go to waste though, so after trimming of some of the raw edges (where it was pulling away from the seams of the dress) I ran it through the serger, cased in a waistband and...Ta Da!  A perfect dress-up skirt that didn't cost me a thing. 

It looks especially good when paired with the Tinkerbell swimsuit. ; )

The Command Center

This is my new favorite wall at my house:

I call it my command center.  It is around the corner from my calendar, and has a big magnet board, our summer fun chart and summer chore charts for all the kids.  I laminated all of them, so they can be used with dry erase markers, and they were very inexpensive so I won't feel bad about changing the theme out in the fall.  I'm also planning on adding a small dry erase board over the light switch for notes and such.

I'm fairly new to the world of digital scrap-booking, but I really love it.  I use the Stampin' Up! My Digital Studio software.

I had so much fun making these charts, and am really excited to come up with more great projects to share.

Kim's House Needs Help - Part 1

We moved into our current home about 5 months ago.  Unfortunately, it's taken me that long to feel like I can really start decorating.  It really needs some help - it's very beige (floors, walls, ceilings, etc.).  But, I've made a goal this summer (yes, summer just started for us, the kids got out of school just last week) to get the house looking good.  We are renting this place, so I won't be making any drastic alterations (maybe a little paint, otherwise it will all be non-permanent upgrades).  So- be on the lookout for more posts in this series in the next little while.

Today we have some vinyl words for my living/great room area.  All are cut with my silhouette (love that little machine).

It's hard to read, but this is a quote from the last LDS general conference about temples, and the picture of the Salt Lake was taken (by me) during our recent trip to Utah.

It hangs over my shiny (all the better to show fingerprints with) piano.

I painted over an old sign that I didn't like, and cut new vinyl to match the rest of the room.  Works well with these pictures.

The photo wall.  The wall space in this house lends itself towards lots of photos, so photos it is. With a little more word art to tie it all together.

I'll warn you now, you're going to see a lot of vinyl art here.  I'll just admit it - I love Vinyl.  It's creative, expressive and fun, and easily changed when I get bored (which has been known to happen).  It's also very inexpensive (especially when I cut it myself).  Don't worry though, I'll make sure to add in some other projects to keep the series interesting.

Happy Crafting!