TuTu Tuesday 4/9

Yippy! It's TuTu Tuesday again!

 

A few weeks ago I started making tutu tote bags. The first one was for my daughter who takes a pre-tap/ballet class. She loves it! All the other dance moms loved it too. I bought a pre-made tote bag for the first one just to see if it was something I would enjoy making. Sure was! So I picked up some denim and some more pretty ribbon and started playing with a bag design.

 

 

Click HERE for tutu totes!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Dark windows

Now that I have a new cover for my pendant light, my room is a bit darker. Side note, this yarn ball casts some really cool looking shadows. Anywho, I have some gray curtains hanging in my room over ugly white window shades. I am going to keep the gray and add some color behind them. Goodbye vinyl shade! Some things I had to consider...

 

#1. My bedroom window faces the neighbors bedroom window.

#2. I don't like to wear pants.

#3. The sun shines straight into my room in the morning.

#4. I am not a morning person

#5. I don't like to wear pants. I mention this twice because it could be a problem for both me and the neighbors!

 

So, I need something that will let some light in, enough to help me roll out of bed in the morning, but not so much that I have to hide under the blankets to escape.

 

I found some light purple cotton and this pin.

 

I am actually not crazy about Martha Stewart. I don't know why and I don't know when it started. I do remember refusing to use the new comforter my mother got me for my 14th birthday because it was the Martha Stewart brand. I was kind of a brat. So, I tried finding another similar pin because for some strange unknown crazy reason I did not want to post that link... I gave up.

 

I made a couple of changes. I wanted it to bubble a bit at the bottom so I made it about 6 inches longer and 10 inches wider than my window.

I love that these can be shortened just by sliding up the bottom tension rod!

I forgot to pick up some pretty ribbon to tie the curtains back with. Luckily me house is over flowing with tulle.

 



One room at a time

Finding time to get all my home improvement/decorating projects done has proved to be much more difficult than I thought it would be. We have been here 3 months and aren't even completely unpacked yet! Now that Spring is here I decided to buckle down and get organized so that I can enjoy the fast approaching SUMMER. One thing I have always had trouble with...

Where do I start?

 

So, I made a list. A very long list. And a schedule. One room at a time I am going to turn this house into a home for me and my girls. I'm going to be a little selfish and start in my room... trust me, I deserve it!

 

Start small!

 

One of the smaller projects in my room that is bothering me the most is my ceiling light. When we bought the house it came with one of those giant etched glass plate looking things. Not really my style. So I had my cousin install a mini pendant light. And there it hangs... over my bed... one lone, exposed light bulb... depressing. 


Then I found this pin.

 

 

So, this is actually attempt #2. You don't get to see the first because it is now a heap of wet yarn in the bottom of my trash can. What went wrong? Well, Miss. I'm so Crafty (me) took a quick look at the video and decided that this was just too easy and didn't actually pay attention. I got the wrong supplies! I picked up Aleene's Stiffen Quik and some cheap acrylic yarn from Walmart.

 

What do you need?

100% cotton yarn

2 bottles of Plaid "Stiffy" fabric stiffener

and a ball or balloon

foam brush

scissors

Total cost was around $20

 

 

Before you start I recommend covering your entire work space with a vinyl table cloth. This stuff splatters everywhere. Set up your music before you touch anything else. Your hands are going to be sticky for awhile. Also, this stuff does not smell great. Crack a window or turn on a fan.

 

Let's get this party started!



Put the yarn in a bowl and pour an entire bottle of "Stiffy" over it. Now you want to mush it up like you're making a meatloaf. Make sure all the yarn is saturated.

 

Tie your yarn around the ball snuggly. I put a loop in the end of mine to hang it later. Start haphazardly wrapping your yarn around and around and around...

 

Once you have the coverage you want, find your loop and tie the loose end off. This is where your foam brush comes in. Using the excess stiffener in your bowl, dab extra "Stiffy" goop all around. Make sure the places with the most over-lapping get some special attention.

 

Hang to dry. The bottle says 45 minutes, mine was still wet after 5 hours so I left it hanging overnight. 



 Well, mine is still a bit drippy at the bottom the  next morning, but I am impatient! I put my bowl over the wet part and cut around it for the bulb changing hole. Probably should have waited...

Time for the sacrifice! Seriously, I thought my kids were going to cry when I jammed my scissors   into that ball

 The bottom did not look great so I just made the hole bigger by trimming it up some more. Here are the end results.




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is it exactly what I wanted? No. Do I like it and can I live with it? Sure. Did I make it with my own two hands? Heck yes!

 

 

For those that are less crafty or people who don't want to attempt this horribly messy, time consuming project, I found some AWESOME stuff on Etsy. Check them out!

$35 @ edgeofyonderdesigs via Etsy

 

 

$65 @ filigreecreations via Etsy

 

 

$30 @ cokiethebaby via Etsy

 

 

$75 @ CruelMountain via Etsy

 

 

$139 @ Flowersinlight via Etsy

 

Thanks for popping over! My new light is making my curtains look a little depressing so I am off to pinterest some new ideas for that. And holy purple wall! I have plans for that... Can't wait until next Sunday.

 

 

 

TGIF

Sophie

We got Sophie just over a week ago. She is a 10 month old Morkie. Super sweet. Little miss Sophie looked a little different when we picked her up. She is half Maltese and half Yorkie, her hair grows really, really fast. It was long, terribly matted and a little smelly so off to the groomers we went. They had to shave her. I felt so bad for our little Sophie. She must have been freezing!

So I did what any other crazy person would do... Made her some clothes. Fleece lined with a ruffled skirt? Yes please! But we are a tutu family, the dress just didn't look right without some hot pink tulle peeking out.

 

Still not enough tulle for my girls though. Now that we had something warm for Sophie to wear outside, she needed an inside tutu to play dress-up. Sophie chose aqua.



Miranda's Madhouse!

My life:

I have two daughters ages 4 and 6. My 6 year old is in ALL DAY kindergarten. She leaves the house at 8 and gets her learning on until 3:30. The 4 year old is in preschool 4 days a week from 9 until 11:30.

Lucky me!

Here come the nephews! I also babysit 2 of my nephews all day. They will be turning 1 and 2 this June. The little one is recently mobile, they are getting easier. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday I have a third nephew for an hour in the morning before driving him to preschool, then delivering him to his babysitter after.

And we just got a dog.

I am lucky enough to have my dad during the school week. He comes over to sit with the babies while I make my preschool runs. I have had to drag them out with me a few times... not fun! In between drop off and pick up Dad stays and allows me to get some of my "chores" done. Sometimes it's laundry, sometimes dishes. Mostly I try to use that time to work on my Etsy shop.

So this week is Spring Break... No kindergarten... No preschool... No helpful daddy.

Bring on the butterflies and rainbows. I'm so lucky to be able to spend this whole week with my babies. I miss them so much when they are at school. I <3 quality time!

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Don't get me wrong. I LOVE MY GIRLS! Every crazy, mouthy, sarcastic square inch of them. I do think they are a little too much like their mother. Loud, bossy, moody... All the fun stuff.

The week is going ok so far. It's Wednesday and we have only had one fight (the kids, two on one) no serious injuries.

Mom confession: I can't wait until school starts back up on Monday.

TuTu Tuesday! 4/2

TuTu Tuesday is here!

New styles from my Etsy shop posted here every week on Tuesday.

 

 

Orange and Hot Pink Tutu! Click here

Due to a 10 week (moving) vacation I completely missed Valentines Day, St. Patties and Easter in my shop. Now I am trying to jump start my summer stuff and working on fun, bright colors and 4th of July cuteness.

I can't wait to start playing with my mint, aqua and turquoise tulle!

What are some color combinations that make you think of summer fun?