 |
| Gettysburg National Cemetery - May 25, 2008 |
December 22nd Weekly Post
7 hours ago
5/31/2010
5/28/2010
Friday Freebie - 7photo Collage Template
Inspired by my Day at the Zoo layout from last fall, here's a free 12x12 template. It features 11 layers including the photo masks and shaped journaling text box.Click here to download the 12x12 7photo Collage template
Enjoy!
Have you missed one of my previous digital freebies? Click HERE to find them. And, don't forget to subscribe to my feeds so you won't miss future freebies!
5/26/2010
Room Remix
For a while I have been thinking about moving Dylan to a new room. Originally he was in the larger of our 2 extra bedrooms and shared space with the full size guest bed. This worked really well at times particularly when he was sick in December and he & I spent nearly a full 48 hours in there together. It was nice to be able to tuck us both into the big bed and have all of his stuff (diapers, medicine, etc) at hand.
As he's grown (and we've had overnight guests stay more frequently ... ie, Grama :D ), this has not been the most ideal situation. I do think he and my mom had quite a good time playing "peek-a-boo" through and over the rails at each other during her last stay. But we all need sleep so I began to think about putting him into a new room.
One of the pros or cons of me being a stay-at-home mommy now is the simple fact that I am here enough to see what is/isn't working, what we do/don't use, what I do/don't like, etc. Last year I created a 3D model using Google Sketchup to help arrange the furniture in the nursery/guestroom. I went back to that model and updated it to match how the furniture was currently arranged:
Then I drew the second room (the former computer/scrap room) and began drawing & repositioning the various pieces of furniture to determine the new arrangement.
The new layout of the guest room:
The bed remained in the same place. The computer desk and scrapping desk run along the wall between the two rooms and the Crop In Style cubes sit between the foot of the bed and the closet.
Dylan's new room:
I started taking apart the computer/scrap room about two weeks ago. I patched and touched up the paint where the shelving and pictures hung. Since the room was originally painted with "regular paint" (ie, before the no-VOC paint option we now have) and I just wanted to touch-up versus totally repaint, I let it sit for a few days to air out before moving Dylan into the room.
As of the beginning of the week, all of the furniture is in place in each room. I'm now focusing on organizing and decorating. Dylan's new room is taking on more of the feel of a toddler room now that he's more mobile. The built-in shelves in the corner by the glider once held old textbooks and scrapping magazines as well as knick knacks. Now they are taking on childhood favorites and stuffed animals. I confess, I'm having fun looking through Flickr again for more inspiration. His room will still have an animal theme (after all, I did just finish the zoo print crib teething rail cover). But some of the details are changing. I'll share photos as the rooms progress.
ETA: If you decide to play with Google Sketchup (it's free!), be sure to check out the 3D Warehouse for free models you can download (I did this for the glider and Aeron chair). And I have begun sharing some of my own models as well - 2pD Models. Enjoy!
As he's grown (and we've had overnight guests stay more frequently ... ie, Grama :D ), this has not been the most ideal situation. I do think he and my mom had quite a good time playing "peek-a-boo" through and over the rails at each other during her last stay. But we all need sleep so I began to think about putting him into a new room.
One of the pros or cons of me being a stay-at-home mommy now is the simple fact that I am here enough to see what is/isn't working, what we do/don't use, what I do/don't like, etc. Last year I created a 3D model using Google Sketchup to help arrange the furniture in the nursery/guestroom. I went back to that model and updated it to match how the furniture was currently arranged:
Then I drew the second room (the former computer/scrap room) and began drawing & repositioning the various pieces of furniture to determine the new arrangement.
The new layout of the guest room:
Dylan's new room:
I started taking apart the computer/scrap room about two weeks ago. I patched and touched up the paint where the shelving and pictures hung. Since the room was originally painted with "regular paint" (ie, before the no-VOC paint option we now have) and I just wanted to touch-up versus totally repaint, I let it sit for a few days to air out before moving Dylan into the room.
As of the beginning of the week, all of the furniture is in place in each room. I'm now focusing on organizing and decorating. Dylan's new room is taking on more of the feel of a toddler room now that he's more mobile. The built-in shelves in the corner by the glider once held old textbooks and scrapping magazines as well as knick knacks. Now they are taking on childhood favorites and stuffed animals. I confess, I'm having fun looking through Flickr again for more inspiration. His room will still have an animal theme (after all, I did just finish the zoo print crib teething rail cover). But some of the details are changing. I'll share photos as the rooms progress.
ETA: If you decide to play with Google Sketchup (it's free!), be sure to check out the 3D Warehouse for free models you can download (I did this for the glider and Aeron chair). And I have begun sharing some of my own models as well - 2pD Models. Enjoy!
5/21/2010
Birthday Card - Cars
Made this fun car themed card for one of Dylan's friends who celebrated his first birthday yesterday:
Supplies: Die Cuts with a View card; miscellaneous cardstock; Sandylion patterned paper; Martha Stewart Crafts rub-on sentiment.
Supplies: Die Cuts with a View card; miscellaneous cardstock; Sandylion patterned paper; Martha Stewart Crafts rub-on sentiment.
5/19/2010
10 Months
Another month full of firsts and new adventures. It's such fun watching Dylan grow and a little bittersweet - it seems like time is already passing too quickly.
* Still in love with self-feeding. Current favorite foods are peas and cantaloupe. I wonder if the latter comes from all I ate during pregnancy! LOL New to his menu this month - quinoa, blueberries, pineapple, hamburger, and roast beef.
* First tailgating and baseball game. We hit the road to Greenville, NC, to visit Aunt Mary and Uncle Zac and cheer on the ECU Pirates.
* Teeth! The bottom left made it's appearance and within a few days the bottom right showed up as well. This meant it was time for his first toothbrush and toothpaste. He loves using the toothbrush to chew on.
* First puppet show. We went downtown with friends to the Kazoom Children’s Theater. The show lasted about 45 minutes and Dylan sat still for about the first 30. Pretty good for a little guy who loves being active.
* Walking with a little assistance from us or a toy.
* Learning to say "hi" and "bye" (sounds more like "ha" and "buh"), wave and give a high-five.
* Visited the NC Botanical Garden, PlayNation, Kidzu Children's Museum and the new NC Museum of Art.
* Took a trip to VA to celebrate Uncle Christopher's college graduation. And had fun petting Tia but wasn't very thrilled with all the licking.
* Still in love with self-feeding. Current favorite foods are peas and cantaloupe. I wonder if the latter comes from all I ate during pregnancy! LOL New to his menu this month - quinoa, blueberries, pineapple, hamburger, and roast beef.
* First tailgating and baseball game. We hit the road to Greenville, NC, to visit Aunt Mary and Uncle Zac and cheer on the ECU Pirates.
* Teeth! The bottom left made it's appearance and within a few days the bottom right showed up as well. This meant it was time for his first toothbrush and toothpaste. He loves using the toothbrush to chew on.
* First puppet show. We went downtown with friends to the Kazoom Children’s Theater. The show lasted about 45 minutes and Dylan sat still for about the first 30. Pretty good for a little guy who loves being active.
* Walking with a little assistance from us or a toy.
* Learning to say "hi" and "bye" (sounds more like "ha" and "buh"), wave and give a high-five.
* Visited the NC Botanical Garden, PlayNation, Kidzu Children's Museum and the new NC Museum of Art.
* Took a trip to VA to celebrate Uncle Christopher's college graduation. And had fun petting Tia but wasn't very thrilled with all the licking.
5/18/2010
happy birthday
Happy birthday to my mom! Hope you have a fabulous day. :)
Supplies: Die Cuts with a View card; Paper Adventures, Chatterbox, TaDa and Basic Grey patterned papers; black stamp ink; miscellaneous ribbon; Pebbles Inc. rub-on sentiment. Lift of Birthday Card by AngieHagist shared at Two Peas.
Supplies: Die Cuts with a View card; Paper Adventures, Chatterbox, TaDa and Basic Grey patterned papers; black stamp ink; miscellaneous ribbon; Pebbles Inc. rub-on sentiment. Lift of Birthday Card by AngieHagist shared at Two Peas.
5/17/2010
CSN Giveway: Winner!
The winner of the CSN Stores $40 gift certificate is ...
Comment #21 was posted by AllyinWA:
Congrats! And many thanks to all who entered!
Comment #21 was posted by AllyinWA:
Congrats! And many thanks to all who entered!
5/14/2010
Celebrate card
Congrats to my brother, Christopher, who graduates Magna Cum Laude from George Mason University today! So very proud of you! :)
Supplies: Die Cuts with a View card; Stampin' Up stamp; StazOn black ink; miscellaneous cardstock; adhesive backed foam; Little Yellow Bicycle patterned paper; Making Memories edge scraper.
Supplies: Die Cuts with a View card; Stampin' Up stamp; StazOn black ink; miscellaneous cardstock; adhesive backed foam; Little Yellow Bicycle patterned paper; Making Memories edge scraper.
5/12/2010
NC Museum of Art
Dylan and I ventured out with friends yesterday to get a little culture and check out the new building at the NC Museum of Art. It just opened a couple of weeks ago so we considered ourselves pretty cutting edge to make it so soon. ;) With two little guys under age 1, we had to keep the strollers moving. I plan to go back for a more leisurely adult only visit in the future, but I think the boys enjoyed all the new sights even if they didn't comprehend the great art they were seeing.
Here's a tiny glimpse of what we saw ....
Here's a tiny glimpse of what we saw ....
 |
| Auguste Rodin's Thinker |
 |
| Light and airy new galleries |
 | |
| Pablo Picasso's Seated Woman, Red and Yellow Background |
5/10/2010
Mother's Day
Hope all the mommies had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday. I asked my sweet boy for a hug and got several so I considered myself pretty lucky. :)
Here's the card I sent to my mom:
I made it a few months ago at a Stamp A Stack workshop taught by my friend, Bonnie. She came up with some wonderful card designs for us to create and all of the pieces were ready to go. I just had to stamp and piece together - the fun parts! :) Check out Bonnie's blog Stamping with Klass for more great card ideas.
Supplies: Stampin' Up
Here's the card I sent to my mom:
I made it a few months ago at a Stamp A Stack workshop taught by my friend, Bonnie. She came up with some wonderful card designs for us to create and all of the pieces were ready to go. I just had to stamp and piece together - the fun parts! :) Check out Bonnie's blog Stamping with Klass for more great card ideas.
Supplies: Stampin' Up
5/07/2010
In Progress: Week in the Life album
I'm slowly working my way through my Week in the Life album. All of the photos are placed. Just adding the journaling and little details. I'm creating the entire album in Photoshop. When it's complete, I'm going to upload all of the pages to Shutterfly for printing as an 8x8 photo book.
Here's a peek at the finished pages for Monday:
Supplies: Scrapbooks Etc Quick Collage templates 102 & 103 (some altered); Ali Edwards's Week in the Life Journal Cards; Miss Mint's Kindergarten Crafts & Craft Jar kits; Rhonna Farrer's Celebration kit; Times New Roman, Arial, and Come Unto Me fonts.
Here's a peek at the finished pages for Monday:
Supplies: Scrapbooks Etc Quick Collage templates 102 & 103 (some altered); Ali Edwards's Week in the Life Journal Cards; Miss Mint's Kindergarten Crafts & Craft Jar kits; Rhonna Farrer's Celebration kit; Times New Roman, Arial, and Come Unto Me fonts.
5/05/2010
CSN Giveaway
I love shopping. I love going to the mall. But there are days, I confess, when I don't feel like packing the diaper bag, lugging the stroller, and heading out. I recently found a very simple answer to getting my shopping done without leaving the house and without searching all over the internet - CSN Stores. With over 200 online stores, I like to think of it as my online mall. Their products range from bar furniture to briefcases, 
cookware to cribs, and everything in between. Take a peek at their full list of stores here. Makes you want to shop, doesn't it? Well, keep reading. ;)
I'm going to be doing a little shopping at CSN myself this week and will be posting a review in the near future about my experience. Many thanks to CSN for providing me with the opportunity!
Now, for the really fun part ... CSN Stores is also generously giving a $40 gift certificate for one of my readers to enjoy. To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment and tell me what you would buy with your gift certificate. A necessity? Something frivolous? You can use the gift certificate at any of their stores so the options are limitless.
Want to gain additional entries? Here are a few ways:
Giveaway is open to all US and Canadian residents 18 years or older. Ends Sunday, May 16 at 9:00pm Eastern time. Winner will be picked by random.org and announced on Monday, May 17th. Winner must provide an email address so CSN Stores can contact them with the gift certificate code.
Note: CSN Stores contacted me with this promotional opportunity and I am being compensated for my review. However, all opinions expressed are strictly my own.
cookware to cribs, and everything in between. Take a peek at their full list of stores here. Makes you want to shop, doesn't it? Well, keep reading. ;)I'm going to be doing a little shopping at CSN myself this week and will be posting a review in the near future about my experience. Many thanks to CSN for providing me with the opportunity!
Now, for the really fun part ... CSN Stores is also generously giving a $40 gift certificate for one of my readers to enjoy. To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment and tell me what you would buy with your gift certificate. A necessity? Something frivolous? You can use the gift certificate at any of their stores so the options are limitless.
Want to gain additional entries? Here are a few ways:
- follow this blog
- follow me on Twitter - @2pawsdesigns
- follow CSN Stores on Twitter - @csnstores
- tweet about this giveaway using "I want to #win the CSN Stores #giveaway from @csnstores & @2pawsdesigns! #contest http://bit.ly/ab8Iod Please RT" (valid for extra entry once per day)
- blog about this giveaway
- "like" 2paws Designs on Facebook
- "like" CSN Stores on Facebook
Giveaway is open to all US and Canadian residents 18 years or older. Ends Sunday, May 16 at 9:00pm Eastern time. Winner will be picked by random.org and announced on Monday, May 17th. Winner must provide an email address so CSN Stores can contact them with the gift certificate code.
Note: CSN Stores contacted me with this promotional opportunity and I am being compensated for my review. However, all opinions expressed are strictly my own.
Almost WW: First Toothbrush
Good thing I picked up these while Dylan & I were shopping on Monday - I can just barely see the top of his second tooth (bottom right center) about to pop through. Happy almost Wordless Wednesday! :)
5/03/2010
DIY: Crib Teething Rail Cover
Last year, my mom gave us a gorgeous crib for Dylan. It converts into a toddler bed and later a full size bed. Recently, it has been obvious that we might soon end up with a lot of teeth marks in the foot board as Dylan has discovered it is perfect for teething:
Wanting to protect it, I started searching online for quilted teething crib rail covers. I found only two options and quickly realized they would not work for our crib due to it's wide vertical rail. Both covers have a tie in the center.
This was also a problem with the bumper that came with our bedding set. It too had center ties that were not long enough to reach around the vertical center rails on the front and back:
That ended up being okay since we chose to purchase a Breathable Bumper to use instead. Thus the original bumper ended up in the top of Dylan's closet where it sat until I began thinking of ways to make my own teething rail cover.
Last week, I pulled the bumper out and began using my seam ripper to carefully pull apart a third of it. The reason behind tearing apart a third versus the entire bumper is because it contained enough fabric to make the teether and leaves the remaining four panels intact for use as a bumper if we choose when we convert the crib to a toddler bed later.
I ripped carefully to leave as much of the fabric and piping as intact as possible. I might have been able to do less "deconstruction" of it had the original batting not been so thick. It wouldn't form around the rail as I liked so I had to tear out a good bit of the seams to remove the batting.
After I removed the batting. I shifted some of the ties - leaving two on each end corner and two offset 4 inches each side of the center of the cover. This way it would tie down just beyond the center rail. Then I added new batting and sewed it to both long sides as well as one end:
Next I flipped the cover right side out. Straightened it out. Sewed the open end closed. Then measured and marked lines for quilting:
I carefully sewed 5 individual straight lines spaced at approximately 9 inch intervals on the teether. This fully attached the fabric and batting.
Finally, I tied it onto the crib rail (taking care to position it so the animals face inward) and let Dylan check it out. I think I have his approval. Moments later he even "tasted" it.
And I finished this project just in the nick of time as his first tooth began poking through on Friday night.
Post linked to: Get Your Craft on Tuesday at Today's Creative Blog and We Did It! Wednesday at Sew Much Ado.
Wanting to protect it, I started searching online for quilted teething crib rail covers. I found only two options and quickly realized they would not work for our crib due to it's wide vertical rail. Both covers have a tie in the center.
This was also a problem with the bumper that came with our bedding set. It too had center ties that were not long enough to reach around the vertical center rails on the front and back:
That ended up being okay since we chose to purchase a Breathable Bumper to use instead. Thus the original bumper ended up in the top of Dylan's closet where it sat until I began thinking of ways to make my own teething rail cover.
Last week, I pulled the bumper out and began using my seam ripper to carefully pull apart a third of it. The reason behind tearing apart a third versus the entire bumper is because it contained enough fabric to make the teether and leaves the remaining four panels intact for use as a bumper if we choose when we convert the crib to a toddler bed later.
I ripped carefully to leave as much of the fabric and piping as intact as possible. I might have been able to do less "deconstruction" of it had the original batting not been so thick. It wouldn't form around the rail as I liked so I had to tear out a good bit of the seams to remove the batting.
After I removed the batting. I shifted some of the ties - leaving two on each end corner and two offset 4 inches each side of the center of the cover. This way it would tie down just beyond the center rail. Then I added new batting and sewed it to both long sides as well as one end:
Next I flipped the cover right side out. Straightened it out. Sewed the open end closed. Then measured and marked lines for quilting:
I carefully sewed 5 individual straight lines spaced at approximately 9 inch intervals on the teether. This fully attached the fabric and batting.
Finally, I tied it onto the crib rail (taking care to position it so the animals face inward) and let Dylan check it out. I think I have his approval. Moments later he even "tasted" it.
And I finished this project just in the nick of time as his first tooth began poking through on Friday night.
Post linked to: Get Your Craft on Tuesday at Today's Creative Blog and We Did It! Wednesday at Sew Much Ado.
5/01/2010
Follower of the Month
Thanks, Ter!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
