DIY Gift: Framed Monogram Using Washers

I'm not new to the Pinterest craze, I just haven't blogged about it yet.

I didn't quite understand it at first, and needed what I'm sure was an annoyingly detailed explanation from my college-aged summer intern. It was one of the few times I felt somewhat cut off from the world of technology when she said "You haven't heard of Pinterest!?" Did I mention that it also made me feel a little old?

Anyways, I soon found out what the "virtual pinboard" was all about. A place to organize and share all the beautiful, fun, creative, yummy and inspiring things you find on the Web. Utter genius.

So just yesterday, a co-worker, who also is easily distracted by Pinterest, asks me, "Have you actually made or recreated anything you have pinned?"

She was a little surprised when I said yes simply because she hadn't. If I'm going to take the time to scour images and explore my followers pins, then I better find some inspiration to make it my own or do something with them. If we didn't, well, what would be the point?

I've only challenged myself to recreating a couple things, but I will say that I have lots more in the queue for Baby K.

My first Pinterest recreation was a wedding gift for my dear friend Hannah. Hannah and her soul mate didn't deserve an ordinary wedding gift. They eloped in NYC and kept their entire wedding a secret.

That is exactly why I wanted to give them something that was unique, something that represented how smitten they are for each other. These are two special people I tell you.

So, this was my inspiration from Pinterest.

A monogram made out of washers. It just so happens that Hannah's new last name starts with a 'P' too.

Supplies: frame, different sized washers, tacky glue, Monogram letter printed/trimmed to the correct size of paper for your frame, an extra piece of paper at the same size (preferably cardstock or thicker paper), a thumb tack.

First, I placed the printed letter paper on top of the other piece of paper and used the thumb tack to create/trace an outline of the P. I did this on top of an old piece of cork board. A piece of cardboard or foam would work too.

After removing the top piece of paper, the bottom piece reveals the letter traced in small holes.

Then, arrange the washers in the shape of the letter (don't glue any yet). I chose to overlap mine some. Once you have all the washers arranged how you want them, pick them up one by one and glue.

It's a long process, but the final product is totally worth it! I paired the 'P' with a fun print I designed in InDesign and framed in the same frame, just a slightly smaller size.

And now, check out the 'P' in her apartment! I was so happy my inspiration paid off when she told me that the gift fit perfect with the wall of P's she was going to do.

Thanks for the inspiration Pinterest!

Life and Lessons

Hello friends. It's been a crazy week already, but I thought I'd drop a quick post to tell you about the touching email I received from an old friend today.

This is the kind of email that makes you feel blessed. 
Enriched with the simple things. 
Loved. 
Eager for what's to come ahead.

The kind that makes you want to squeeze your loved ones and tell them how much you adore them.

I loved so many of these. 

 And I just love this movie, it makes me smile. Image via Pinterest.

45 Lessons Life Taught Me 

Enjoy. 

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
 
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion.. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time.. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.....

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Nursery Reveal

I'm so excited to finally reveal Baby K's Nursery. It has been a long process of getting everything ready, but I am so happy with the results!

I really hope this baby is a boy. If he came out a girl, we would be in big trouble. I'm not sure she would enjoy cars, sailboats, trains and buses.

Note: You'll have to excuse the lighting on these pics. It was quite gloomy outside when I snapped them and I should have waited until later in the day.

Introducing...Baby K's nursery.

 View from doorway. The walls are more blue than they appear here.

The accent wall Brian worked so hard on for our little man. I'm in love with it. It adds just the right amount of "pop" I was looking for without adding a mural or decals or some of the other popular nursery choices.

Bedding: Transportation themed

The changing pad cover (not pictured above, but will go on the dresser) will have this same pattern.

 I love his musical mobile!

DIY floating shelves crafted by Mr. Kutter himself. I was really impressed with his skillz. He might be the next American Handyman:). Oh, and check out some of the great books we received at my shower. What a great idea to have everyone include a book rather than a card. My friends are so smart!

Yes, his name starts with a C. Any guesses? We aren't really keeping it a secret at all, it just seems more fun to not reveal it on the blog yet. I bought the C monogram at Hobby Lobby for $2, traced it onto scrapbook paper, cut out and spray glued. Easy as can be! This project was shown on YHL. Man, I just love Sherry and John.

Until I get some pictures worthy of framing, I simply framed the words "Our Little Man"

The pillow and blanket my mom made. She is so talented. The bedding set came with a diaper stacker we weren't going to use, so she turned it into a pillow for the glider. This is one of four blankets she made him:)

Extra fabric from the diaper stacker to add to a boring white lamp shade.

 Extra fabric made into curtain ties. Using the awesome Steam-A-Seam...

 I seriously love this stuff. No sewing necessary.

 Simply iron over. I have used this to patch up hems of dress pants that were coming out.

 Window Ledge: More books from the shower and a porcelain car piggy bank from Hobby Lobby I painted.

 The teddy bear bank was Brian's when he was little.

 The oar from the antique store and two framed prints I made. I blurred out his name for now:)

 At the bottom of the print, it says, "C is for CXXXXX"

I tried to match the sailboat to the bedding design.

So there you have it folks. We are almost finished! Now I just need to get all his clothes and blankets washed and get the dresser and closet organized.

Oh and I hope this baby doesn't happen to come early because Brian has to leave town for work for a few days. That would be a horrible situation.

Guess what? Tomorrow is Friday!

36 weeks & Busy As Can Be

Can you believe I am only two days shy of being 36 weeks!? I can't. It's just crazy how soon he will be here.

We've been extremely busy lately and on the go non-stop. I don't know how we have found time to finish the nursery between sporting events, family in town, showers, work and other miscellaneous things.

I went to my first Sporting KC game last week. It was quite the experience. The score ended at 2-2, and that was it. I was confused by that, but I guess that's just soccer. My favorite part were the fans. Soccer fans are SO loud and energetic. The entire game. I also enjoyed watching "The Cauldron" section. And the suite we were in thanks to Brian's company. I indulged on pretzel sticks with cheese, chicken wings and an ice cream bar. Baby K was in heaven.

Here's a few pics from some other things we have been up to:

How about them cats? Ranked 11? Unbelievable.

The Royal is always a great time. I didn't get to partake in the beer and dance party, but it was a good time. The smell of my clothes and hair when we got home was all to familiar to college...specifically Pats.

Mmm...beer. Root beer that is. I had never been to Noodles & Company before, so we tried it last week. I was stoked they had Root Beer in a bottle!

At class last week, the guys got to try out "The Empathy Belly." It's supposed to give them an idea of what the gals are going through. A body suit that weighs 25 pounds. LOL. Brian was a trooper. 

Belly to Belly pic. I look Chinese. I was laughing so hard because the body suit looked so small on him compared to some of the other guys.

And...here's a 35 week pic, with our new awesome stroller!

I don't know how my husband seems to always get his way talk me into purchasing something different than what we had planned, but it seems to happen a lot. See everyone, I'm not as bossy and dominant as you all think!? LOL.

Anyways, we went to the store to get our stroller/car seat travel system and ended up leaving with something completely different than what we had planned. I will say that Brian is extremely functional and always looks at the parts and pieces of things. This stroller was way more compact, lighter, and a lot easier to fold up.

I suggested we put Jake in it and give it a whirl around the block, but Brian didn't let me. He's a fun hater sometimes.

How far along: Almost 36 weeks
Size of Baby K (according to Baby Center): 6 pounds, 18 and 1/2 inches long
Fruit/vegetable comparison (according to Baby Center): Crenshaw melon...whatever that is
Total weight gain: Probably 25
Sleep: Getting better, but I now get up about every 2.5 hours to go to the bathroom. It's just preparing me for when he is here!
Movement: Still active. He is head down and should stay that way. The doc said it would be hard from him to make a turn at this point.
Unglamorous body changes: Some stretch marks just started popping up. Seriously. I am not happy.
Food cravings: Nothing in particular these days. Still just ice and anything cold. 
What I miss: Being able to easily pick my self up off the floor or get out of bed. It's so hard these days!
Strange experiences: Stares from strangers. It's quite odd...haven't you ever seen a pregnant lady before?
Milestones: At the end of week 36, I will be considered full term.
Best moment this week: Feeling accomplished. We have just about everything ready and it feels so good.

33 Weeks

Boy, have we been busy. Getting ready for the boy of course. Only 7 more weeks, which feels like an eternity, but it will be here before we know it.

We finally purchased a glider for the room, and it is starting to look more and more complete. Our accent wall of squares turned out great, I love the dark furniture, my sweet hubby made some awesome floating shelves that look like they were crafted by a professional, and the bedding is just plain adorable.

Pictures to come soon, promise.

We had our family in town last weekend and I had my first shower. It was so much fun! I'm not a huge fan of opening gifts in front of a bunch of people, but all the cute little baby boy stuff definitely makes me smile:). I am truly blessed to have such wonderful friends and family.

Our childbirth classes are going great. It's nice to hear what to expect (somewhat) and getting my brain prepared for what's to come. This week, we talked all about labor and delivery and the stages you go through. Did you know there is a whole stage dedicated solely to delivering the placenta? I didn't.

Get this...

There is a couple in our class that wants to keep the placenta. The teacher said to bring a cooler of ice to the hospital to take it home in.

Utter craziness, I say.

Sorry, I am not an advocate. In fact, I just think it's plain weird. I have actually heard of people keeping these in their freezers. Why!? Imagine reaching in for some frozen chicken and accidentally pulling out your placenta.

Bump Check...ready go!

How far along: 33 weeks
Size of Baby K (according to Baby Center): 4 pounds, 17 inches.
Fruit/vegetable comparison (according to Baby Center): Weighs as much as a pineapple
Total weight gain: I had a doctor appt on Tuesday and I have only gained 23 pounds! I was pretty happy to hear this because I truly thought it was more. At my shower, we played a little game, and someone guessed 15. LOL, this is why I love my friends:)
Sleep: Pretty much terrible this week, but Tylenol PM has helped tremendously the past two nights. I just can't seem to get comfortable. And if I wake up to go to the bathroom, it takes me hours to start snoozing again.
Movement: Active. I'm starting to get better at knowing whether it's his head, butt or foot when a bump protrudes from my belly. It's pretty surreal.
Unglamorous body changes: Eating is getting hard. I eat extremely slow and even if I don't eat much, I feel like I devoured a cow. Oh, and I'm also starting to get the "growth" line. It's not super dark, but I hear it goes away.
Food cravings: This isn't a food, but lots of ice water. Did I mention I didn't like ice in my water before? 
What I miss: Wine and cute clothes.
Strange experiences: I had a hair appt and drove to my stylist's old salon. The salon she left about 2 years ago. Pregnancy brain at its finest!
Milestones: He's starting to lose the wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening.
Best moment this week: Sitting in the new glider and just looking around the nursery imagining him here. :)

Mrs. Ruddick

This post is LONG overdue.

So, rather than me explain Katie's beautiful day that took place almost 2 months ago, I'll let the photos do the talking. Enjoy. Congrats Mrs. Ruddick!

Beautiful venue

Beautiful dress. Beautiful bride.

College buddies.

Dancing Queens

Katie and her daddy busting a move

Love this pic of Mr. Haller and Brittany and Lauren.

Out in downtown Tulsa

Ski ball and arcade games make drinking being sober more fun!

In a Fog: 32 weeks

Source: flickr.com via K on Pinterest

I drove into work this morning surrounded by a thick heavy Kansas fog.
That's how I feel lately.
Overwhelmed. Stressed. Consumed.

Are we ready? Do we have everything?
Have we prepared ourselves to bring a baby into this world?

The list is never ending and my moods are all over the place.
Brian is exhausted with my honey-dos.
Why can't I shut my mind off at night? I need sleep.
I don't want to think about gliders, going into labor or whether to use a bassinet.

Big changes to come. Only 8 more weeks.
What will we name him? We pretty much already know.
Will he look like mom or dad?
Will I know what do when he cries?

He will be loved. And the light of our world.
My outlook on life has already started to change.
I have a baby growing inside of me. A true miracle.
We are anxious for his arrival. And ready for our lives to change.

32 Week Update: Check out that bump!

How far along: Just a day shy of 32 weeks
Size of Baby K: Still think this is off, but I'll stick with Baby Center's updates: 3.75 pounds and 16.7 inches long.
Fruit/vegetable comparison (according to Baby Center): Weighs as much as a jicama.
Total weight gain: Who knows, I wish I would never have included this question!
Sleep: Bad back pain, getting up a lot, trying to get comfortable and shut my mind off...
Movement: Still very active and pushing on my bladder!
Unglamorous body changes: I feel huge and couldn't stop waddling if I tried. It's getting harder to breathe.
Food cravings: Nothing particular as of lately.
What I miss: Goat cheese! I had to order my favorite sandwich from Farmhouse in the River Market without it last week. If you haven't tried the Fried Green Tomato sandwich from here, you should! 
Strange experiences: Still getting sick occasionally aka vomiting. I think the prenatal vitamins are the culprit.
Milestones: He will gain a third to half his weight during the next 7 weeks.
Best moment this week: Getting closer to finishing the nursery. Still have a few small touches left. I can see the light...

We start our childbirth classes this week! Pray that I don't run out of the room scared out of my mind.