Holy Cow!

Oh my goodness! I'm so excited to be two of the featured projects on The DIY Show Off! I love Roeshel's amazing blog, she has tons of great ideas and is kind enough to share others cool DIY projects. Go check it out!

let's hear it for the birds

I LOVE birds, nests, eggs, and birds and nests and eggs...

and I'm lovin' the spring goodies that Hobby Lobby is having right now!

look at these cute salt and pepper shakers I found!

they're what I had pictured in my head before I knew they existed :)

What can you do with a dollar store metal tray?

I wanted to make a little welcoming monogram to hang by the front door.

I was going to do a picture by picture tutorial but it didn't go exactly as I planned. I wanted to give it an aged look with some antiquing glaze but it wouldn't stay in the recesses on the flat tray part. so I took it outside and sprayed it very lightly with an off-white paint. that sort of gave it more texture for the glaze to stick to.

I then printed out the egg and birdie graphic that I had and glued them to the tray. using a font I liked I printed the monogram out and used a razor to cut it out and roughly trace it onto the tray. I painted it in using a charcoal grey paint. I mod podged over it all then used a little greyish blue paint around the edges in the recesses.

I broke out the hot glue gun and attached some burlap and satin-y ribbon bow to the front then about 2 feet of ribbon on the back to hang it with.

I love how it turned out! so spring-y and so me...

thrift store scores

I haven't done much thrifting for a while but I went for half-price day to

a couple of my favorite spots and scored some great finds so I thought I'd share!

look at this cute sleigh I found for $25! My heart skipped a beat...

I want to take off the cheesy greenery, I want a more vintage-y trim with

silver-y, off-white colors... ideas please??

I found the wreath for a $1! Don't you just love the beautiful poinsetta?! kidding...

Who on earth would seriously hang this thing in their house? I have plans for a makeover for it...

the giant hat box for my daughter's french bedroom, to be recovered, for $2.

some old books that have good, worn edges for vignette props that I'm going to cover and for my wreath project...

some cute clothes for my eldest daughter, the skirt of course, to be worn with shorts or as a swimsuit cover. she loves stores like Abercrappie so buying them used is no different than buying them new, they look used when they're new! all the pink tags were .99 cents!

for my youngest, some brand new Limited Too/Justice pants for $2!

cute summer tops for my youngest, all name brands (which I am not a brand snob but when you buy them used, the name brands like Gap or Gymboree are

in much better condition). all of them half of the price on the tag!

and for yours truly, a cute pair of Gap espadrilles for 1 dolla! Yowza!
they may have been worn once...I don't think they're the height of fashion right now but I don't care, I still like them...

DIY Show Off fun

I love this blog The DIY Show Off! It is amazing and full of fun ideas of what one can do with a little imagination. She's so sweet to have a blog Show-and-Tell, go check out all the fun bloggy ideas!

Follow Me Fridays at Trendy Treehouse!

Come join me and all the other amazing blogs on the Trendy Treehouse! A fun way to find other blogs and see some awesome ideas!

I have a button!

I finally have a blog button! Thanks to A Heart For Home and their super easy how-to. Go check it out!

my first tutorial of the cutest dress EVER!

This is my best refashion and my first tutorial

{so forgive me for leaving out some pictures of steps}!

I used 3 different shirts and transformed them to

1 fabulous (if I may say) dress.

So I got a large men's collared shirt at the thrift store for $2.

I buttoned up and sewed the opening shut. Then I cut off the sleeves and the top collar

part as you can see in the picture below.

I cut it to where I could have the shirt pocket on the skirt without having to move it.

Then I took a stretchy rib knit tank top (given to me FREE!)

and cut off the bottom 6 inches

(this will vary, depending on the length of your torso) for the waistband.
I had to take this in a bit, to make it more fitted, but still stretch.

I bought a fitted long-sleeved gray t-shirt (forgot before pic!) from
Target and cut it off where I wanted the waistband to start.
Save the piece you cut off for ruffles (*will add how-to pics later)

For the skirt part, I used a skirt I own that had a shape I wanted.
I wanted this dress to be a few inches longer.

I then sewed my side seams (about a 1/2 in.).

This is where I really forgot pictures, but if you sew at all this is very easy.

I matched up side seams and sewed together the skirt to the waistband, then top-stitched.

Then the gray tee to the other side of the waistband. I added the ruffles (which I learned from the many other tutorials out there) before this step.

Here is a close-up of the inside of the waist/skirt part that

shows the seam and the top-stitching

and here she is!!

{click pics to enlarge}

ruffle detail...

waistband

I LOVE it... if you have ANY questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them!

Linking up to:

cabin fever project

This is what you do when you can't go anywhere for days & days & days....

You decide you're going to turn some perfectly fine

off-white muslin throw pillows

into faux french grain sack pillows

{click picture to enlarge}

O Lord, I love the house where you live,

the place where your glory dwells.

Psalm 26:8

DIY Day

I'm linking up here with one of my old projects

Go check out the other amazing ideas and projects on A Soft Place to Land!

A wee bit delayed...

as soon as Christmas was over, we had to get back in the swing of our homeschooling

and we've been at it ever since!

I wanted to share a couple of the cute little Christmas

gifts I did.

calling cards

{I made some of these for my sister, then I had to make some for myself!}

corsage pin

{I made these for the ladies in my life}

BUT...you don't have to be one of those to get one

because soon

I will be opening my

Etsy shop, allie~millie designs!

Family Rules

I finally got around to taking pictures of my "Family Rules" canvas project...

I had alot of fun with this one!

little bird nest detail...

burlap and ribbon border detail. I love the contrast of the two...

birdcage embellishment~

the bottom verse sums up my prayer for our home~

I am still working on getting all of my Christmas put away (shhh...don't tell!) and

taking pictures of a few things that I made to post soon.

Christmas & Creating

Okay, so I'm the world's worst blogger...I get too busy reading all the other amazing ones with amazing ideas and then my little brain is gushing with ideas which keep me so busy, I never keep up with my own blog...sheesh

I've seen all the cute cookie sheet Christmas advents/countdowns and I love them, so I decided I would make one of my own. I love the way it turned out and I think I'll make one that can be interchangable for the rest of the year to hang in the kitchen.

*please pardon my terrible pictures and the lovely date on them*

I'm working on a "Family Rules" canvas too and will try to get pictures up when I finish...if I'm not busy with some new project!


Getting ready for Christmas means...

getting out THESE beauties (yes, I stored them in ziploc bags!)

I just love the aged patina on some of them. I've been scouring garage sales for them before the became such a hot item. I could get a whole box of Shiny Brites for .25 cents! Now, they're a bit harder to come by. I can't have enough of them. Some of them hung on my grandparents' tree...

I love the little pinecone one...

I'm off to get more ideas!