Denim and Felt Floral Hoop

Happy (almost) Friday.  It has been a good but a long week here.  Not only is it bone-chillingly cold (I live in Minnesota and it is so cold here that they cancelled school---and remember that's in Minnesota where we are used to the cold.  -40 wind chill!) but the week has also been long because my husband has been traveling for work all week, to balmy California.  I am excited for him to return tomorrow!

DIY Bottle Lamp

I like things that are old.  This is why I actually prefer to shop second hand.  Not only are things cheaper, they are usually so much more unique.  Whenever I find something really cool at a Thrift Store I always wonder what stories this thing could tell.  

Down on the Farm: Wordless Wednesday {with link}

We are down on the farm this week since my husband is traveling for business.  I'm so glad that my little guy gets to experience the farm once in a while, since it was such a wonderful party of my childhood.  Yesterday we went out and "helped" feed the cows.

An Oldie But a Good Link Party #3

Welcome back!  It's time for another Oldies Party!  Thank you, thank you for being here.  And thank you for believing along with me that just because something is old doesn't mean it's not worth linking (and pinning!).  I can't wait to see what you dig out of your archives this week!

But first, some features:

Pretty Little Headband--For Baby

Today let's celebrate being women...and liking things pink and pretty and flowery.  If you've been around my blog recently then you know that I had a little girl in November.  She is my second child, the first being a boy.  And let me tell you, I am loving having a little girl.  I never really had a doll as a little girl.  I feel like I finally have one that I can dress up and love!

To Thrift, or Not to Thrift...A Moral Decision

Confession time: I have a terrible addiction.  I am a chronic thrifter.  I love it so much, and I fear that my love has moved from enjoyment to dependence.

Soap Bubble Valentine's Cards

Need a last minute card for Valentine's Day?  Here's a super easy one, and I bet you already have everything you need, right there in your kitchen!  Plus, if you have some "little helpers", making these cards will prove to be a fun time.

Where Love finds a Home: Valentines Bunting {with free template}

I spent about 30 years of my life not really paying any attention to Valentine's Day.  Confession: my only real boyfriend was the man I married...and we didn't start dating until I was 28.  So that means that I didn't have a date for Valentines Day all those years before I met him.  At the time I might have felt a little down about all those unromantic Valentine's Days, but I am almost grateful now.  What did I miss out on?  Anyone I would have dated before my husband would have been just a passing boyfriend and I'm pleased I saved all my love for my husband!

Wordless Wednesday {and linky}

If you are looking for the Oldies Link Party, click here.

I love Wordless Wednesday (even though I rarely post something that is actually wordless).  But I love it because not only do I like a break from writing, I like a break from READING.  Does that make me lazy?  Probably.

But, I follow a lot of blogs, because there are so many great blogs out there, and I like it when I can glance at a picture, have a chuckle, a sigh, and move on.  

So, for this reason I have decided to continue to keep my Wednesdays (sort-of) wordless, and even add a linky to my Wednesday posts, in the hope that I can discover even more Wordless Wednesday posts.

This week I have some pictures of my busy little guy.  Since I also have a 2 month old baby, he has to hang out in the baby's room a lot while I nurse.  But don't worry, he has found lots of ways to entertain himself.  Here is his latest way--crawling into the changing table and snuggling with the clean diapers.

On the topic of life...

If you are looking for the latest link party, click here.

I'm a simple person, and my understanding of things are, often times, simple.
Since today is the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, I thought I would take a minute to share why I am pro-life.

Here are two pictures of the same life:

Ultra-sound picture at 8 weeks gustation.  

2 months old

Now, you can't tell me that one is a life and one is not.  Because they are the same life: my precious daughter, Bernadette.

All life is precious.  When I look at the face of my beautiful daughter, there simply isn't anything else to say than that.

I continue to pray.  Please join me!

An Oldie but a Goodie Link Party #2 {and features}

Welcome back!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone that pulled out their old projects last week.  You all have some great stuff tucked away in your achieves!

Hand Stitched Love Birds

 Happy Monday!  Up here in Minnesota we are all basically hunkered down for a few days.  The sun is shining, but it is COLD.  The high is supposed to be -2 degrees today.  Yup, you read right.  It's not even going to get up to zero!  So, even for those of us that are used to the cold, this is brutal.  Today I am very thankful for my warm house, a fridge full of groceries and the fact that I'm a stay-at-home mom, so today we get to stay home!

Cinnamon Sugar Wonton Chips

Here's a yummy little treat that is easy to whip up!  My little helper and I made these after nap time one day...and then we munched on them all afternoon.

Cinnamon Sugar Wonton Chips!

Hand-Stitched Valentines

Quickly--a big thank you to everyone that stopped by and linked up at my first link party.  I had a lot of fun kicking it old school with you all!  I was so pleased to hear that so many of you feel the way I do--that our old projects are worth a little attention too!  Come back next week with more old projects to link up!

On to a quick Valentines craft.  I stitched up some little Valentines ornaments for a few of my special Valentines.  Some people deserve more than a card, am I right?  These are cute and will serve as a nice keepsake.

I'm not going to belabor this how-to.  It's really simple.

I cut out two hearts.  Cut a heart-shaped window in one.  Stitch in a piece of complimentary fabric in the window, and then stitch on the back and stuff it.

I used just a simple running stitch for this entire project.

And here is a quick shot of me and my Valentine, my dear hubby...from those days before kids, you know when we used to take pictures of us, not just our kids!

Thanks, as always, for being here!
Nancy

 I'd love for you to connect with me in some way!

Wordless Wednesday: 2 months already!

My little girl turned 2 months old this weekend.  Isn't she beautiful?  She is laying on my lap cooing at me right now.  Life is good.  Life is very good.

An Oldie but a Goodie Link Party #1

Hello and welcome to the first "Oldie but a Goodie" Link Party!

So, here's a little about why I started this party.  I recently heard Laurie from Tip Junkie say that she has as many new subscriptions coming in from her old posts as she does from her new posts.  That means that old posts continue to be a significant source of traffic for her.

And I thought--well I have some great old posts that are just sitting there.  How do I get more out of those old posts?  Link parties are a good way to promote new projects.  If only there was a link party especially for OLD POSTS.

Well, now there is!

It's time to give those Old Posts about great ideas, delicious recipes, fun projects and beautiful creations a second chance!  Dig through your archives and link up the best of the best!  Each week I will feature some of my favorites, the most viewed and the OLDEST link, so make sure the dates are easy to find on your blog.  

Only has one rule:
Link a project up only once.  Next week we will be partying again, but please link up different posts than you link this week.  Oh, and the project must be totally yours, and family-friendly, of course.  Also, link directly to the post, not to your blog's home page.

Besides that rule, I have a few requests:

1. Please follow along with this blog somehow (GFC, facebook, rss, whatever).  That way we can stay connected.

2. Please limit yourself to linking 3 or less projects each week (save some for next week!)

3. Post projects that will interest other readers.  Keep in mind what people might we looking for.  It's a great time to post old Valentines projects, cold weather recipes and warm clothing projects.  Let's see if we can get those old great projects pinned again!

4. Look through other's posts.  I know that sometimes link parties can look all the same.  All of us linking up our same projects each week...but this one will be totally different!  See what wonderful old projects are out there.  Pin away, I know that's what I'll be doing!

5. Link up any project you want, from today or a decade ago.  As long was it's yours, go for it!

So, to get the ball rolling, I'll share one of my old projects:

Peep-Hold Felt Birdie with Template

If you've spent any time poking around my blog you've likely noticed that I really like felt.  I stitched up these felt peep-hole birdies this summer and made them into a mobile for my little baby girl.  I plan on making a few more and giving them away to special people this Valentines.  Oh, and if you are interested, I included a free template in the original post.

Are you ready to give those old posts a second chance?  Let's party it old school!

EASY felt iPhone Case for Valentines Day

It's official, everyone has an iphone now.

I was the very last hold out.

I loved my old, black, scratched flip phone, even though it was too "dumb" to even get a picture text.  I loved it because it had been with me through so much...and I could let my children suck on it, and throw it without any worries.  That thing was indestructible.  No matter where I left it or what cruel mis-use I inflicted on it, it returned to me in perfect working order.  I assumed we'd be together forever.

My husband got his iphone a year and a half ago.  At the time I didn't really see what the big deal was...but then I did start to see that yup, iphones are awesome.  And my little flip phone was definitely not awesome.

So, last month I caved.  I got an iphone.

And I love it.

A little too much.

So, since we all have one, here is a SUPER EASY case for an iphone to whip up for your Valentine.  It can be completed in 10 minutes or less, seriously!

Let's get started!
Supplies: Felt scarps, Stick Pins, Snap, Sewing Machine and Thread.

1. Cut two rectangles of felt, one centimeter larger on all sides than your iphone.  Then cut out several little hearts, roughly the same size in various colors of felt.

2. Pin the hearts to the front rectangle, so they line up.  I put mine in a bit of a curve.

3. Head to the sewing machine and sew through all the hearts in one continuous stitch.

4. Pound in a snap! and DONE!

Happy early Valentine's Day!  And, make sure to come back for more Valentine's projects.  I got lots more to share.

PS--if you are up for a little bit more work, and if you love owls as much as I do, check out these iphone cases I put together last spring:

Felt Owl iPhone Case

As always, it is an honor you stopped by!

Nancy

I'd love for you to connect with me in some way!

Hand-Stitched Birdie...and some words on Motherhood

Happy Weekend!

I am stopping by to post a simple project that kept my hands busy and happy this week.  As I've mentioned, I have a little 2 month old baby who is wonderful (and chubby), but she is a bit of a night owl.  She really doesn't settle down to sleep until around midnight.  So, that means I'm up until midnight.  It's not all bad though.  She was happy to lay next to me on the couch and kick while I stitched up this little birdie for her room.

Sometimes the cutes things are the simplest.  All this is is a couple pieces of fleece, some felt, a button and some thread.  I think it's cute though.  What do you think?

Since there isn't a lot to say about the project, I thought I would take this opportunity to share a few personal thoughts.

I am far from perfect, both as a mother and a person.  One of my many faults is that I can give into pride.  I am incredibly blessed in a hundred different ways, and sometimes I can get a little prideful.  Thankfully the Lord is always quick to correct me with a bold and clear realization that I am not as awesome as I had thought.

Here is how this lesson played out today.

I currently have two children in diapers, and I use cloth diapers.  After changing both kids I took a moment to step back and give myself a mental pat on the back.  "Good job," I thought, "you're one hell of a mother!".  Then I sat down to nurse the baby.

My son was playing down the hall.

Or, I thought he was playing down the hall.

Where was he really playing?  In the dirty diaper pail.

Okay, yup.  My son was playing with poopy diapers.  

Got the message, Lord, loud and clear.  I've still got a lot of room to grow.

I'll leave you with a picture of my bad little boy wearing his cloth diaper on a different day when he was playing with paint, not dirty diapers.

Thanks as always for being here!

Nancy

If it's your first time visiting Small Things, I'd love for you to connect with me in some way!

Announcement: New Link Party Starting Tuesday

I have an announcement! On Tuesday I will be launching a new link party!

I know what you're thinking: Another Link Party? (Eye Roll)

But wait!  This is different!  Really!  I am starting a link party for all of your OLD projects.  Yes, OLD PROJECTS.  This will be a chance to show off and get more traffic out of those projects, recipes and ideas you posted last month/year/decade.

I am starting this link party because I thought there might be lots of bloggers out there like me, who love some of their early projects they posted back when the only people reading their blog were their husband and their mom (anyone else start out that way?).   And, don't we all have those projects that we love and don't think got enough attention.  It's time to give that project some more attention!

So come back on Tuesday ready to link up ANY POST, new and old.  Got some fabulous Valentines projects from last year?  Got some wonderful cold-weather recipes from the fall?  It's time to get show those off once again!  It might be old to you, but it's new to us!

Each Monday I will feature some of the best "Oldies but Goodies".

Aren't second chances awesome?!?

See you on Tuesday!
Nancy

DIY Mittens from an Old Sweater

Here is a super quick craft for you (and an essential one if you, like me, live in a place like Minnesota). I've seen lots of posts where crafters make mittens from a sweater, so I thought I'd try it myself.

So, this is a story that starts out sad.  I love yellow.  My mother has dressed me in this bright yellow since I was young, so I was excited when I found this sweater while thrifting a few years ago.  I loved the color, and it was wool, so very warm.  I wore it a lot...until...

Did I mention it was wool?

Yeah, should have slowed down and paid more attention while transferring clothes to the drier.

Now, with a shrunken sweater I had two options: get rid of it or...make mittens!  I chose the later, and I'm pleased with the results.  PS--this project took me all of 15 minutes.  Awesome!

Here's the simple how-to:

1. Flip sweater so it is inside out.  Place your hand on the sleeve of the sweater, gaging how long you want the glove to be.  Trace around your hand, leaving lots of extra room for a seem allowance.  ***Make sure to make the thumb REALLY BIG.  With the seem inside once flipped you need extra room.

2. Cut out the mitten shape.  Then, trace this shape on the other sleeve, so that the gloves are identical, and cut.

3. Head to the sewing machine and zig zag along the top edge of the glove with the right sides in.

4. Flip the glove so the right sides are out.

5. Head outside and stay toasty warm!

See, now didn't that story turn out happy?!?

Thank, as always for being here!
Nancy If it's your first time visiting Small Things, I'd love for you to connect with me in some way!