Baby's Here!

Joshua Andrew was born Friday, February 11 :) He is healthy, happy and absolutely adorable. We are all doing very well and I've been enjoying laying low with my Jimmy and Joshua. Jimmy loves his sweet baby brother and is enjoying helping and loving on him :)

Be on the lookout for some fabulous guest posts beginning next week!

Happy Valentine's Day

Some fun links from last year to DIY crafts and ideas for today :)
+ Valentine Ornament Tutorial
+ Valentine Roundup
+ Valentine Goodies Tutorials
+ DIY 3D Heart Card

DIY 3-D Heart Valentine Card

I have a bunch of Valentine-y paper in my stash and decided to create a 3-D heart card for Valentine's Day. I bought a Martha Stewart heart shaped paper punch since I knew I could use it with future projects, but you could easily cut out a bunch of hearts, either free-hand or by tracing and cutting. I'm super pleased with how it turned out- it's cute and (fairly) simple to make - perfect for Valentine's Day, or for any time of the year when you want to tell someone you love and appreciate them.

Supplies:
- Valentine-y paper (or use magazine scraps that are red or pertinent to a color scheme you would like to use) - I used cardstock in this tutorial
- Blank white cardstock card (and envelope to put it in!) - I used a 4.25"x6" card
- Blank piece of cardstock to line the inside of the card and cover up the sewing - I used a red 4.25"x6" piece to line the card (this gave it a .25" white border on the inside- see picture below)
- Permanent adhesive
- Heart punch
- Scissors
- Sewing machine

Begin by punching (or cutting) out hearts from your paper- punch two of each design- I had 12 different patterns (my paper was double sided), and punched 2 of each. (*If you are cutting out hearts, you will need to decide how big they need to be depending on the size of your blank cardstock card.)

Arrange the hearts on the front of your card to your liking (I used a simple grid). These will be the "background" hearts and will be directly adhered onto the card. Adhere the "background" hearts with the permanent adhesive. Once you finish this step, you could even leave the card as-is like this and call it finished! :)

Next, take the matching heart, lay it on top of the already adhered "background" heart and sew a quick stitch and then a reverse stitch. Repeat with each heart.

Once that is complete, trim off the excess thread.

Now, take the liner sheet of cardstock and adhere it to the inside of the card. This will help keep the stitches in place and keep from unraveling, as well as cover up the stitching. I also rolled some extra adhesive over top of the stitches.

Now you have a lovely lined inside of your card with a nice .25" white border. Back to the front of the card-- gently fold up the top heart you just sewed down to create the 3-D effect.
Voilà! A cute 3-D Valentine card. Perfect to give to your significant other, or perfect to send to a loved one or family member! Just write a message, seal it in the envelope and you're done :)

Valentine Faves

Some Valentine and Love faves for today :)

1. Alphabet Charms by foundling
2. Petite Ring Keeper Treasure Tiny Dish by firecat
3. Personalized Valentine Painting by LoveNaturally
4. 36 Red Heart Stickers by knotandbow
5. Love Felted Heart Pebbles by SewnNatural
6. Tissue Poms by SweetandSavvyDesigns
7. Crocheted Red Hearts by sabahnur
8. Vellum Heart Tags by PeacefulJoy
9. You and Me Card - Blank by imeondesign

On to February.

Goodbye, January, Hello February! We are just moving right along through 2011 :)

One of our family goals for this year is to attempt (keyword) a container garden in our backyard. The idea of fresh produce straight out of our yard is mouthwatering to me, as well as teaching Jimmy about fruits and vegetables and how things grow.

So a couple weeks ago, we started researching about container gardening checking out books from the library, reading online, etc. - there are so many options of what to do and how to do it. We are finalizing a plan and adding up how much up-front cost there will be. We will be buying a few seedlings, seed starting mix, and of course seeds here in the next couple weeks (you have to start seedlings inside in February here). We also plan to make a compost bin to start making our own compost (the process of how organic matter breaks down and returns to dirt is so fascinating and completely amazes me that everything does in fact, return to dust!).When planting time comes (early to mid-April), we will be buying potting soil and wood to make large rectangular containers.

We've made a list of what we would like to grow - tomatoes, onions, snap peas, carrots and a few more. We are trying to start small so that we do not get overwhelmed, but it's hard to not get super excited and want to plant every.possible.vegetable. we can think of :)
I made a "Vegetable Planning Binder" to house all of our plans and to have different sections of what needs to be done for each plant and when. There is SO much information to take in and so much planning when starting out as a novice like us :)

I took apart a skirt I had found at a thrift shop that was perfectly fit for a garden/plant/green binder, and then sewed some green fabric to make it fit over a used binder. I used super strong spray adhesive to adhere it to the binder, and while it's not my best craftsmanship ever, I'm happy with it. :)
I checked out some books from our local library that have been a huge help and plan on ordering a few of them from amazon to keep as a reference.

Some of my faves:
You Grow Girl by Gayla Trail
The Everything Grow Your Own Vegetables by Catherine Abbott
Bountiful Container by Mcgee and Stuckey
Little Herb Gardens by Georgeanne Brennan and Mimi Luebbermann

Do you garden? Any tips for a beginner? Any book or website recommendations?