motivation. {and lots of projects}. project completion #1- hexi quilt, doll quilt & pillow.

so i wrote this post back in august....

apparently it takes making a BIG, HUGE mess to get me motivated to get a bunch of projects done.  that, and a deadline.  like, oh, maybe a baby coming and not wanting unfinished projects sitting around collecting dust and taking up space anymore.

(the floor is an example of what happens when you cut a bunch of quilt pieces and leave them on the floor in order of how you'd like to sew them, and then sleep in while your kids watch shows in the morning.  zach was pretty proud that he "messed up" mommys' "stuff". FORTUNATELY my kids have always been good about not touching mommy's "stuff" when i have it on my table!)

it seems i have a bit of ADD when it comes to sticking to one task and getting accomplished.  NO, i'd rather go all out and drag EVERYTHING out in one big crazy pile and try to get it all done at once.  

i finally finished olivia's hexi quilt that i started last july. i have made a few simple quilts before and got it into my head {thanks to lots of surfing on pinterest} that i wanted to attempt to make one of the most tedious and time-consuming quilts out there.  a COMPLETELY BY HAND english paper piecing hexi quilt!

it was EXACTLY what i had been looking for to complete Olivia's room and set the tone for the vintage vibe that i wanted her room to have.  the key pieces in her room are the dollhouse i refinished and this quilt.  all the colors tie all of the little details together.

the top of the quilt before i added the pink flannel backing:





and the finished product!!!

i used a mixture of fabrics in this quilt and i love the results! my mom has sent me several vintage fabrics over the years which i have been collecting but was never quite sure what to do with them.  when i saw a quilt that mixed old and new designs i knew right away what i wanted!

and then i fell in love with the "vintage modern" series by MODA at porter's.  appropriately named, right?  exactly the look i was going for.  for around $40 i had all the fabric i needed for her quilt and binding, as well as a lot of remnants left over for other projects!

i only wish i had more since the line was discontinued...WHY DO THEY DO THAT?  good things should be available forever!

i had some  miscellaneous other fabrics i threw in as well and had gotten some cotton batting for free from my aunt linda, as well as some pink flannel.  so all in all, a quilt i am quite proud of, that i hope will become an heirloom piece for my daughter for $40 and a YEARS' WORTH OF EFFORT!!!

after i finished her quilt i was so super excited!  i was motivated to finish the other little projects her room has been waiting for!



my grandpa morgan, who the kids call Papa made olivia (and ALL of his great-granddaughters) these adorable doll beds and dressers. i had some bedding i had made for an older doll bed i had for olivia back when she and brady had a cowboy/cowgirl room.  i decided to re-vamp the dolly bedding and whipped up a little hexi blanket for her. man was that EASY compared to her quilt!

                           

couldn't stop there- the baby dolls also got a little mattress and a cute pillow (the pillow insert i have had since olivia was BORN, a find for $1 at D.I.) finally put to its' intended use. sheesh.

love. love. love accomplishing things (like this post 6 months after the fact!!!)

5th birthday. a tangled party.

our little "princess" turned 5 in july and had been begging for over a year to have a tangled party!  every day for months she asked me how many more days until her birthday!  she was a trooper and waited a week after her birthday for her friend and family party.  it was a hit!

guests were greeted by this sign and balloons upon entering the party

                             

                            

in the beginning while we were waiting for all of the princesses to arrive we colored tangled pictures.  my niece lexi was horrified when i suggested that she pick a princess dress to wear for the party.  she was our protective tiger instead! 

                           

  

chloe on the other hand, couldn't wait to put on her princess sophia dress! 

once everyone arrived game and craft time began!  we made "pascalions" as olivia calls "pascal" the chameleon.  they are the cutest party blowers.



then we played tug-of-war with rapunzel's braid!







then we tangled olivia up in yellow crepe paper



                     


"princess sophia" chloe,  sir brady, "rapunzel" olivia, and "tiger cat" lexi


next up was the flynn ryder pinata filled with the little gift bags i made.  each gift bag had a little rapunzel braid hair clip, a rubber ducky "from the snuggly duckling," a rapunzel paint set, and a bracelet.
 

                               





the pinata was a "hit" with everyone, and it held up pretty well so everyone had a turn.

i didn't take a picture but we had paper lanterns hanging from the pergola and another purple sun banner along the outside.

my very talented friend, jandy made these adorable cupcake cones

                          

we surprised liv with her very own first two-wheeler bike, all pretty in pink, purple and princesses.

happy birthday, livy!!!

we love you so much

you bring spunk and spirit to each day

fill our lives with silliness

you are the prettiest princess

but can keep up with the boy playing pirates and catching frogs

you are smart and insightful

never let us forget a thing (that's why we never make promises!)

love to sing, dance and be read to

you are our sunshine!

xoxo chicklet

love,

 mommy and daddy

livy-isms.

july 2013-

olivia- "i need a drink of water" (as we are driving home from a BBQ)
mom- "we are almost home, you'll have to wait a few minutes"
olivia- (holding a kitchen timer in her hands) "well then i'm going to set this timer and if you don't get me a drink by the time it goes off then i'm going to put you right in time out missy"

olivia's dollhouse.

i have been wanting to build a dollhouse for olivia since before she was born.  i had a dollhouse when i was a little girl and loved it.  i searched and searched for ideas of what i wanted and had a pretty good plan.  i knew i wanted everything to be wood.  (i just hate plastic...) i wanted it to have a vintage/colorful vibe...so this past fall when i came across this little gem at one of my favorite children's thrift stores i almost died!  i almost walked right by it too!  this was an all-wood open-concept dollhouse just like what i wanted AND it came with all the wood furniture for only $60!!!!

natural wood is just not my taste.  i could envision this exactly how i wanted it when i first laid eyes on it!  my plans began to make an incredible christmas present for my little girl.  this was one of the funnest projects i have ever done!

the sliding doors before (they also double as window frames when the doors are opened)

i had to prime everything at least twice and then do 2-4 coats of paint depending upon the colors i chose.  shawnae helped me into the wee hours of the morning several times painting and priming away!

the finished product!!!

                  

 i had found this little dog house at D.I. months before i found the dollhouse.  originally it was blue.

because the dollhouse didn't come with any dolls, i looked around for quite some time on the internet but didn't find anything i really liked.  i got the idea on pinterest to paint little wooden pegs into dolls of our family!  i think they came out pretty cute!

the bedroom. i love this room.  i added a polka dot "rug," "wood" floors and wallpaper with a bunting on the wall and embelishments.  there is a bunk bed and a single bed as well as a cradle, an armoire, a bookshelf, a nighstand, and a lamp.



             
the livingroom.  i found the cutest scrapbook papers at my favorite craft store, Porters.  i added the "wood floor" and wallpaper, and found cute embelishments for art on the walls and i even added a "rug."

the bathroom.  i had to improvise and make a toilet, which i used part of the broken toilet that came with the set and a wooden block that we had.  

the kitchen.  i had to improvise in here too.  there is no fridge and i used another wood block as a countertop.  i'm going to add a little fabric curtain along the front of it and it will be like a little sink.

don't you love it?!  i do!  olivia doesn't play with it as much as i had hoped, but she didn't play with her baby dolls for a while either and now she plays with them all the time, so i'm hoping maybe she'll be more excited about it in a year or so.

olivia's art. princess-style.

*disclaimer: if you missed the previous post i am in the process of updating!  continue scrolling down to see all new posts!*

i must say, it feels sooooooooo good to be blogging again.  i didn't realize how much i actually enjoyed it until i took such a long hiatus.  infact, it makes me feel as if i'm back in touch with people that i don't get to see or talk to often.  silly as it may be i feel as if we're having a bit of a catch-up conversation.

in the fall olivia went through quite a phase of wanting to color princesses everyday.  she colored and colored and colored.  the poor dear thing colored pictures for everyone she knew and they were scattered all across our counter tops and tables.  unlike a nice mommy who should have packaged them up right away and sent them off to each lucky recipient, i at least scanned them into the computer and will post them here.  so, if you are on olivia's "friend" list, as she says, smile and know that one of these was colored especially for you!