February 26, 2012

$10 Vintage Inspired Baby Shower Gift {and a Giveaway!}

In January and February we attended 4 baby showers for family and friends!  Yeesh - baby central around here {well not around HERE, but around here... definitely not around HERE}!  When I found out about all these upcoming bundles of joy I went looking for some cutie pie hat patterns.  I, of course, turned to the handmade headquarters - Etsy.

If you are like me, Etsy is a sink hole of crafty goodness; the more you click the deeper and deeper {and deeper} you get, until you have no idea how to get back.

More often than not, my Etsy adventures conclude with nothing more than a long mental wish list and endless DIY ideas.  Every so often I find something I simply cannot pass up and I found that at Sunset Crochet.

At the end of my baby hat search my cart was happily filled with Sunset Crochet's vintage sock monkey hat and diaper cover pattern, as well as the football hat pattern.

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Go ahead and take a moment to swoon.

There are two little boys I am soon to know who will be rockin' that melt your heart, little man, football hat and today we handed off a perfect little vintage inspired sock monkey hat to an upcoming teeny princess {I ran out of time and wasn't able to make the matching diaper cover. Boo.}.

Unfortunately I did not take pictures of the gifts I made for the first 3 showers {of course...}, but lucky you, I did take pictures this time!



It probably took me about 3 hours to crochet this precious little gem {I hope that is accurate.  Time gets away from me when I am crafting...}.

What I used:

1.  Vintage Look Sock Monkey Crochet Hat & Diaper Cover Pattern {$5.95 - Sunset Crochet}.

2.  Lion Brand Wool-Ease Yarn in Mushroom, Blush Heather and Natural Heather {$3.59 each from Joann's.  I used about 1/4 of the Mushroom and only a small amount of the Blush and Natural Heathers.  I just guestimated a cost of about $3 for this project}.

3.  Two vintage, brown buttons {I pulled these from a jar full of buttons that used to belong to my husband's grandmother}.

4.  Shabby chic, pale yellow pail {$1.99 - Goodwill}.

5.  Kraft paper, just a bit {$1.99 for the pack from Joann's.  Since all I used was an itty bitty piece of a single sheet I didn't count this towards my total for this project.}.

6.  Purple baker's twine from The Twinery that I found on Pick Your Plum awhile back.  I am sure they did not refer to it as simply "purple" but I don't recall what it was.  I don't think it was their lilac or orchid so it might be an older color.  {$4 STEAL.  I of course only used a smidge for this so I didn't count it towards my total for this project.}

I used my Cameo to cut out "Chloe" for the front of the pail and a small hole punch for the holes to run the twine through.



Before the package headed out the door I wrapped a pack of diapers in pretty tissue paper from my stash and tied it all together with more of that fabulous twine.


{I love it when I impress myself!}

Now here comes the good news:

Bonnie at Sunset Crochet is giving away this sweet sock monkey pattern to one of you!

Here is how YOU can win:

1.  Follow The Brilliant Crafty Type via Google Friend Connect OR Linky Followers {See far right column}.  Leave me a comment on this post telling me you did.

2.  Like Sunset Crochet on Facebook.  Leave me a comment on this post telling me you did.

3.  Visit Sunset Crochet on Etsy and leave a comment here with your favorite Sunset pattern.

4.  Share this giveaway on Facebook, Twitter and/or your Blog.  Leave a comment on this post telling me you did.

5.  Like The Brilliant Crafty Type on Facebook.  {And you guessed it}  Leave a comment on this post telling me you did.

Up to 5 entries! Go for it!

You can enter up until 11:59 p.m. {PST} on Friday, March 2, 2012.

I will announce the winner on Saturday the 3rd at noon {PST}.

Good luck!!


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February 20, 2012

Making Sense of the Madness that is my Child's Room

My Maia has an enormous bedroom.

With more space comes more things.

More things.  More mess.  Not cool.

I have tried time and time again to come up with a fool proof method of keeping order, but alas it never seems to last.

My most recent attempt at peace amongst the madness was about a month or so ago and 2 of my newly implemented organization ideas have held up.  TWO! {That's a good thing, although seeing it in writing makes it seem less significant somehow.}
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February 17, 2012

Pantry Pride {Pretty Pantry Reveal}

Remember when I told you about my revolting pantry {HERE}?  Welllll....

Of all the things in the world to be proud of, today I am proud of my pantry.

I have never {ever} been proud of my pantry.  I suppose most of us haven't.  Even an organized pantry is still just a pantry.

Today my pantry is no longer just a pantry... it is a pretty place to store food items.

It is no longer a place I think of and groan.


It is now a place that I wish I could fit myself into.


I wish my pretty pantry was visible from all parts of the house because, frankly, it is the nicest spot in my house {that makes me so happy and also so sad - one space at a time Jennifer}.

I painted the walls Surfer by Behr and the shelves Cascade White by Behr.  I used a Home Depot gift card for the paint so it cost me $0.

I bought the lazy susan, cereal containers, dry good containers, white baskets and silver container at Ikea.  They cost me roughly $57.

I already had the bread box sitting in my basement unused.

I already had the hanging shelf holding bread in a kitchen cabinet.

I already had the black basket {won it at a baby shower} and the silver tray {wedding gift}.

I spent less than $60.

I have seen some awesome room transformations for less, but I wanted what I wanted and I didn't want to wait and search for the absolute best bargains.  $60 ain't too shabby!

But, I'm not quite done.

I have ordered a can rack from overstock.com for about $20 {will be here next week} to go on that one lonesome shelf and I need to decide on curtains or just leaving the pantry open {once I take those doors off}.  Eventually the opening will be white like the shelves, but probably not until I paint the stairway.

For now I am MORE than happy with what I've got {for now}.





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February 10, 2012

Valentine's Day Pretties for my Pretty Valentines

My little girls love to get dolled up just as much as they like to play soccer and dig in the dirt.

It occurred to me this morning that I did not have anything to give them on Valentine's Day and that this would be my last chance to make them something special {we leave for Disneyland tomorrow - lots of time for fun, no time for crafts}.

After digging through my reserves I found some pretty pink, ivory and red bits of goodness, sure to bring a sparkle to those big brown and blue eyes.

My Maia is a flashy little thing and likes to have a lot going on when hair accessories are concerned.  She will love this.




Love cabochons and have a ton because I thought for sure I would use them ALL THE TIME {this is the first time I used them...}.  I do still love them though.  Look how cute it is.

My tiny Ella loves all the attention her sparkly Toms get {if your little girl doesn't have a pair... get one!} and she loves the oohs and ahhs she hears everywhere we go when she gets gussied up in a dress.  I already tried this sweet headband on her for sizing purposes and she didn't want to take it off {but seriously Ella... take it off...}.



Again with the cabochons.  Look at that itty bitty one!  I had forgotten that I bought a bunch in a variety of colors and sizes from Pick Your Plum {If you don't know about that site... CLICK IT NOW.  They have daily crafty deals.  Love it.} in addition to the million that I already had in pink and white.



I have recently upped my button supply because I thought I had to have more.  Turns out I don't use them that much.  Bummer, because I love buttons.  So I thought of a super cute use for them... make a little rosette to fit in the middle.  Cuuuuuuute.  I am probably not the first person to think of it... or maybe I am...

So, that's it for now!

Happy Valentine's Day to my pretties and to yours!

I have to go hang out with Mickey for a few days at the happiest place on earth.  Sunshine here we come!

See you next week with my pantry reveal.  Can't wait... but I'll have to.

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February 8, 2012

A List for Everything and for Everything a List

I started a family command center after Christmas... now it is February and it still sitting in my kitchen partially completed.

I hate looking at incomplete projects...

This morning, as I sat watching paint dry {literally - the pantry shelves are in progress}, it dawned on me:  My time would be better spent doing something.

I could not decide on a weekly calendar format, grocery list design and daily to-do list layout.  I couldn't find any printables that matched my needs to the T so I thought maybe for the time being I would just use plain printer paper {I wanted SOMETHING done}.

I went to grab my paper cutter and saw a stack of kraft paper sheets.  A-HA!

I cut a few sheets, pulled out some white and yellow baker's twine from The Twinery, found a couple buttons and borrowed some stamps and ink from Maia's craft center.

I came up with these super simple tablets.


Simple and useful doesn't have to be plain.

These are super easy!


I cut each 8.5 x 11 sheet into 4 equal pieces.









I also designed my weekly calendar, but my wireless is on the fritz {I am borrowing a neighbors at the moment...} and our printer is, of course, wireless.

Maybe tomorrow?

Tonight I will be able to finish painting my pantry shelves and tomorrow I may attempt a trip to Ikea with my little Ella {may}.

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