So Begins A New Chapter....

Well, we started this year with lemons but have definitely made some pretty good lemonade so far!!  My husband and I had been renting my grandmother's house for the past 2 1/2 years, but around Christmas time the arrangements just became too stressful so we decided to make a change.  We have temporarily moved into my parents' basement (I know, not the most idea thing, especially with three children under the age of four) while we find a house out there that is waiting for us to find it!  We are taking advantage of the situation by paying down student loan debt and getting ourselves into a better financial situation, which will hopefully help us get pre-approved for a home loan.  And I have to say that it's pretty cool seeing the relationships building between our girls and my parents... some new routines have definitely been established with PoPPa!  Now I wonder how we will ever move out again!?!


With my new-found "freedom" from our previously stressful living situation, I have been feeling a gradually building surplus of creative motivation and inspiration... due in very large part to Pinterest (is that not the best site ever?!?!?!)!!!  I typically am really creative when it comes to recreating projects that I see in a magazine or picture of something that someone else has done.  However, lately I am finding that I am actually recreating ideas to fit my own ideas/design/styles.  I am even beginning to think up some "creative masterpieces" of my own and can't wait until I have some time to try them out!!  Until then, I am happily working away on my Pinterest recreations!  My hope is that by sharing my recreations, and eventually my own creations, you too can get your craft on!!!  Here are a few of my recreations.... Happy crafting!!

My first recreation was this card hanger.. I love keeping cards out for a while after we get them but hate the clutter it creates on my shelves/countertops.  I actually created a Christmas version of this hanger first (find the original inspiration here), but then recreated it to work through the rest of the seasons of the year.  I had some pre-painted wood shapes from Michael's, added some ribbon and clothes pins, and then hung it on the wall with Command Hooks.

I loved this idea as a different way to preserve vacation memories (original idea can be found here)... I am definitely one of those who loves to bring home a bottle of sand when we go to the beach for vacation, but all I ever really do with my sand is put them into individual vases and label the vases with a glass marker.  I don't know if I ever would have thought to put all of the sands together into one jar, so.. thank you Pinterest!!!  :-)

March is a busy month for us birthday-wise... my middle daughter's on the 4th, my husband's on the 5th and my youngest's and my father's on the 17th!!!  Trying to plan a party for a 3, 31, 1 & 61 year old is not exactly easy.... needless to say I was SO grateful when I found this Sweet Shoppe Party idea on Pinterest!!  It was so simple to organize and put together, it was cute and festive, and everyone had a great time!!  Plus, I had everything ready to go the night before so that I was actually able to enjoy the party and watch my girls open their presents!!!  :-)

In an effort to keep track of our meals for the week, I recreated this menu board using an 8x10" frame, a tabletop stand, dry-erase marker and a template that I created on my computer.  I wanted to use the white plate idea, but am still searching for the perfect plate that doesn't weigh 10 pounds!!  So until I find exactly what I have in mind, this is working out really well for us!!

I love this idea.... such a fun and cute way to leave notes for people in your home!  I found the frame on sale at Hobby Lobby (love that place!) and printed out the "I love you because..." on white cardstock.  Then we use dry-erase markers to leave messages for each other.