Shelly – Page 80

by Shelly on August 25, 2014 2 Comments

Ice Bucket Challenge

Hey friends! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend! Mine was pretty laid back with some girl’s night fun, projects, movies and a manicure! I also got my breath taken away for the Ice Bucket Challenge. If you’ve not heard of the ice bucket challenge, it’s an advocacy challenge to get people aware of ALS (Amyotrophic Latiral Sclerosis.) People are nominated to pour a bucket of ice water on their head and donate or do a walk for ALS. ALSA’s Mission: Leading the fight to treat and cure ALS through global research and nationwide advocacy while also empowering people with Lou Gehrig’s Disease and their families to live fuller lives by providing them with compassionate care and support. You can find out more at ALSA.org on how to get involved! Don’t get excited, I didn’t do anything clever or funny. It was an excellent way to cool down on a hot and humid day!

I was also visiting This Silly Girl’s Life on Saturday doing a quick, easy washi tape project!

I hope you have a great rest of your week! Let me know if you’ve done the #IceBucketChallenge yet! I’d love to see your videos!

by Shelly on August 21, 2014 21 Comments

Woven Wall Hanging

Hey crafters! As I said last week, I’ve been really busy with some projects around here and I’ve since completed two of them! I’ve seen people doing weaves and tutorials EVERYWHERE and was really interested, but kind of wanted to save that project until winter when I’ll be cooped up inside. Seems like sitting by the fire with hot chocolate is the perfect way to weave on a loom. I took the easy way out when I saw Laura post this amazing tapestry on ABM I knew it’d be perfect to fill the giant hole in my gallery wall.

The technique couldn’t have been easier. The entire project was maybe a 3 out of 10 in terms of difficulty but a 7 out of 10 on time consuming.Materials Needed:

Woven rug (I got this leather rug)
Yarn of various textures
Crochet hook
Dowel rod
String for hanging (I used leather)
Drill
Spraypaint
Scissors
Patience

Because this project was so time consuming and brainless, I only did weaving while we’d watch movies or I’d hang out with my friend. This was great for me because I like to do two things at once but it also means that I didn’t get any action shots! THE WORST! Laura’s tutorial is killer though and I couldn’t have written it better.

Once I had the full tapestry woven, it was time for a hair cut. I kind of just chopped as I saw fit. Some areas I did angles, others I just let them be raggity. Also, if you want to know how I made that nifty gif, go to this tutorial by Popcosmo!

This is the beautiful view Sophie and I get when we walk out of her room. The two pieces on the right are mine but the dreamy Hot Air Balloon is a photograph by Tamara. I requested Rob to make Cinderella’s Castle and he pulled through! I also want to say that I’m thankful to my husband to being confident enough in his manhood that he allowed this massive tapestry of PINK in our family room. 🙂 It makes me happy. Anyone else tried their hand at weaving yet? I’d love to see your projects!

by Shelly on August 19, 2014 3 Comments

I’m Yours

Today, Sophie danced to a song for the first time! She’s gotten excited when music plays before but today she bounced throughout I’m Yours by Jason Mraz and, obviously, I thought it was the cutest thing in the universe. It was kind of a funny song for her to like but now I guess I’ll have to listen to more JM! Although the lyrics are between lovers, I thought the sentiment ‘I’m Yours’ was sweet between Mommy and Daughter. I will ALWAYS be there for her and I’m proud to be hers. I kind of want to go wake her up from her nap so I can go snuggle her but I’ll be patient and play with her when she wakes.

by Shelly on August 18, 2014 Leave a Comment

Talkin Bout a Mug Swap

Ello loves! If the Jimmy Fallon Head Swap tune did not automatically come into your head when you read that title, I implore, go watch this video before you read on. Not that it’s related in any way to the post, but because it’s hilarious, if you like Jimmy. Also, I like this video because it’s from when the Superbowl was in Indy and it was really fun. For the rest of today I’ll be singing everything I do to this tune. It usually lasts for a couple days.

Back to the post! Do you guys read Kallie’s thoughts at But First, Coffee? She’s super cute and she’s hosting a mug swap that is now, sadly closed, but she has them more than once so you can join in the next one! For this swap, we were just sent our partners and I’m super stoked to have someone I can relate to! Bex is a West Virginian who lives with her musically inclined boyfriend and to big pups. She blogs music, yoga and and quirky stories of what’s going on in her life. I love that she’s so personable in her writing style. Honestly, you’ll feel like her best friend if you read her site, A Girl Awake, for 10 minutes. That’s why I’m so excited to swap with her! She recently did a post that I thought looked really random and fun (at least for me) so I’m jumping on that bandwagon and joining her in the numbers game. *Sidenote: it was a bit strange when I read My Life in Numbers because I was listening to a Cookie Monster record with Soph and Count was on singing this song!

0 flights out of the country (I don’t count Puerto Rico because I didn’t get to site see)
1 the number of bunny’s I’ve loved
2 built-in best friend nieces
3 pairs of shoes that I rotate between through the year
4 hot dogs eaten in one sitting
7 the number of places I’ve called home
7 the number of years my heart has belonged to Jeffrey
8 teeth for Sophie to bite me with
9 states that I’ve vacationed
12 jobs that I have learned something from
13 the number on my soccer jerseys
18 bobbi pins tangled on my nightstand
20 concerts I’ve rocked out at
29 years that I’ve lived on planet Earth
65 bottles of nail polish
120 people that inspire me on Instagram
145 FB profile pictures of my mug
386 books on our bookshelf

So there’s my introduction to my Mug Swap partner, Bex and my life in numbers! Have you done a mug swap before? Were any of my numbers surprising to you? I want to know your numbers! If you do a My Life in Numbers post, send it to me!

by Shelly on August 14, 2014 10 Comments

Baby Finger Paint

Hello artists! Today I had an awesome afternoon of being outside, creating and sitting by the pool. It was just a baby pool and I mostly watched my daughter ~~finger paint~~ eat finger paint, but it was still really awesome. My friend, Kristy, (and next door neighbor) had her baby a few days after I had Soph and they’ve been doing awesome at playing together lately. Kristy saw edible finger paints for kids on Pinterest, naturally, we were curious if the girls would be interested in baby finger paint.

All in all the painting project was a success. No crying or staining!

To make the paint, dollop greek yogurt into a muffin tin and add a pinch of Kool-Aid powder. Stir to get the desired color.

The girls both liked dipping their fingers in the paint and we would rub them on the paper to get them used to the feeling. It was an exercise of getting the girls to have the feeling of the paint on their fingers and seeing it transfer onto the paper rather than watching them paint by themselves (because they’re too young).

Andy (Sophie’s friend) wasn’t too into the painting because she really wanted to swim. All the while, Sophie was shoving her face with beautiful yogurt and trying to get hugs.

Soph wanted to join Andy in the pool which we loved because it was an easy and fun clean up method! The yogurt came off easily and there was no staining on their skin.

Soph was really digging the yogurt and was eying it from the pool so I let her out to have more. She ate it ALL. By the end she had every color all over her body. She was the prettiest pallet I’ve ever seen. 🙂 When was the earliest you tried finger painting with your kids? Was it a success? Anyone else use pools as a easy clean method? Fail proof.

Ice Bucket Challenge

Woven Wall Hanging

I’m Yours

Talkin Bout a Mug Swap

Baby Finger Paint

Life Planner

Preschool Montessori Bedroom

7 Tips to Make your Road Trip to Disney Magical