Miss JuJu is almost 2!!!

Can't believe the time is rolling around to begin planning my little lady's 2nd birthday...but it is! Juliette Marie turns 2 on April 21st...and I have begun the crafting/ planning stages and I wanted to share a little of what I have been up too (while that is besides...being buried in psychology books and work)

So her party theme this year will be Juliette's Vintage Candy Shoppe!

Here are some things that have inspired the theme and helped me to finalize the color choice....

Next, to get the inspiration rolling and to make sure that Miss Juju has all matching accessories at her little Candy Shoppe I ordered from The TomKat Studio...and boy do they have some cute things...if you haven't seen this site before...take some time and go check it out....I am in love....plus so many of the invitations and accessories are DIY/ printable...so that saves money, but still gives you a one of a kind look!

You can also follow them on pinterest and download free printable files....

Here is one that I will be printing for the up coming weekend...

So back to the party...Here are a few things that I ordered from the The TomKat Shop...

Needless to say...I love to plan a party...especially for my baby girl! I will continue to post updates on the party decor, crafting, and scrap projects that I complete for her special little day!

Vera

Frame it...or not!

Hello bloggers!

Just a quick post to hopefully inspire you a little! So one of my latest obsessions (oh I have way too many) is framing....love, love, love vintage frames, old broken frames, really any frame....because with a few distressing techniques or spray paint...you have something completely new and something uniquely yours!

Here are a few things I have been doing around my home...

Here are three open distressed frames...I have hanging in my children's bathroom. I stapled twine to the back of the frame, so I could hang pictures and mini scrap pages of Juliette and Jacques. I used various vintage items for the scrapping, along with some Glitz Design and Melissa Frances products.

Here are some close ups of each frame....

That is Miss Juliette Marie...and the black and white picture is her Papa (side note...my children..call their father..."Papa"...we don't have a "Daddy" in the house...we have the best "Papa" in the house!) he is holding her for the first time! It is moments like that...that cause me to scrapbook!!

Mr. Jacques Paul...my handsome 4 1/2 year old...that makes my heart skip a beat!!

The last frame...is of me and seth...that first picture is of me and seth celebrating our first christmas together (the year it actually snowed in Louisiana for Christmas!)

I love black and white and sepia photos...I also like a combination of open frames without glass or the traditional way...with pictures in them....but this picture is framed in me and Seth entrance to our bedroom...it was one of my engagement pics (which feels like many moons ago!). The decor around it is some sprayed painted planks of wood and a silver vase with sprays to add a little more height!

This frame I purchased in Breaux Bridge during the city wide garage sale...for $20 bucks and it is well over 100 years old! It is one of my best purchases thus far! The frame had no glass when I bought it and I knew I wanted to keep it that way! At first I thought I was going to make it a mirror, but after some thought I scratched that idea and strung twine and clipped photos of me and Seth along with vintage keys and gold leaves (and for Christmas...a little ornament!).

 Open frames are just as nice sometimes....no need for the glass...right?

Take the glass out...save it and use it for another project....like this one....

I like to mix open frames with regular framed pictures...

Then there is always a college wall...

If you have lots of frames..but none of them match....remember there is always spray paint...it comes in every color possible!!

An open 16x20 frame on my night stand...I plan on doing something else with it...put for now it will do!

Here is another open frame that I have in my living room...I put it on a plate stand and hung some ornaments from it during the holidays!

This was another open frame that I had bought in...guess??? (ummm, yes Breaux Bridge!!) I put cork board behind the open frame and then scrapped a little layout of Juliette on an old vintage record...and used tacs to hold the layout up!

For the holidays I was inspired to decorate an old vintage ladder...I rapped it with lights, fresh garland, and burlap...then hung a few frames on it! The frames on the ladder are from Habait for Humanity ReStore...I got lots for all less than a dollar! Remember who cares if they appear ugly...there is always spray paint...right?

Then there are vintage windows...oh my the possibilities are unlimited with these!! If you are looking for a large selection of them for a great price...take a ride to denham springs, la...and visit the Rusty Rooster

 So Valentine's Day is right around the corner...which is over rated, but it gives me an excuse to make cute things and decorate!!

I decided to decorate my table and used a 4x6 frame as part of the centerpiece!

I have two shelves in my dining room...that I use as my inspiration wall...I change it around all the time and with each holiday or event...I do something different! For Valentine's I wrote "Love" on a little chalkboard...and then put it next to some open frames!

Here is the fireplace in my sun room...I decorated the mantle using planks of wood, old screens (or large frames would do), and then strung lights! It was so simple and I like the way it came out!

Here are some great framing ideas that I got from pinterest....if you don't have a pinterest account...do yourself a favor and get one....leave me a comment and I can send you a friend request if you haven't gotten an invite yet!

For the how to do...click here

Like this...check her blog out...

If you don't want to do the frames yourself...you can buy them from etsy!

Find more great ideas...at this blog...

Like what you see in this photo...click here for more

Hope you are little more inspired in the frame department!!

Now...go create!!

My favorite room...

I wanted to share with you all my favorite room of my house...mostly because Miss Juliette Marie....makes it truly hers...but second the lighting, color, and great vintage finds really make it home!

First...in regards to paint colors for children's rooms....check out pottery barns kids colors made by Benjamin Moore. They are all beautiful colors and you can purchase them at any Benjamin Moore paint store. I used the color fairest pink in Juliette's room and it was just the right color pink. Nothing to over the top...you know nothing that would give you a  "pink overload"!! I am in love with natural light...so the entire wall of windows in her room sold me at first site! I mixed various shades of white distressed pieces of furniture in her room....little decorating tip...everything doesn't have to match exactly...actually it is much nicer on the eye when everything blends rather than matches exactly!

Juliette's antique amoire was purchased in Breaux Bridge, LA.

I like to use a lot of white, cream, ivory colors when decorating....it keeps everything simple, but yet tastefully and doesn't compete with the other decor.

Vintage distressed frame I purchased in Breaux Bridge, LA during there annual city wide garage sale!

A wall collage with an old distressed frame, window, and framed screen....which was also all purchased in Breaux Bridge, LA.

Juliette's Vintage inspired Christmas tree...around the tree I hung mason jars from the ceiling and put tea lights in the jars.

Here is an old frame that I painted, distressed, and then did a few scrapbook techniques on.

The quote is: "A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer it sings because it has a song in it's heart."

The birds are chipboard and I covered it with old dictionary paper then added some luminere paint around the edges.

A little wreath I made using a circle whole punch and various pieces of scrapbook paper.

Handmade ornaments....with clear glass balls the possibilities are unlimited!

Felt flowers...I have a tutorial posted about how to make them....so just scroll down to the previous post and you should see it.

Hope you enjoyed...

Welcome 2012!

Hello!

In a way I am sad to say goodbye to 2011...it was a year of so many wonderful memories and many blessings, it was one of those years that I really didn't want to come to an end! Just a few highlights...to this amazing year...

Mardi Gras Half Marathon in Feb....which gets me a little motivated to get going again with the running!

Here are some pics of Jacques this year....He had a lot of firsts during this year....He played tee ball, started Pre-K, started piano lessons, started playing soccer, and went to his first Bowl Game for UL.   

Easter time...

We celebrated Juliette's 1st birthday in April....which makes me happy and sad at the same! Happy because she is becoming more independent and her personality is really starting to blossom, but so sad that the her first year flew by so fast and I no longer have a little baby girl in the house!

We took the kids on a summer vacation to Florida...it was a spur of the moment kind of thing...it was quite the trip to say the least...Juliette was sick the entire time (and a baby throwing up at the beach doesn't = fun!) and to top that off...it rained the entire weekend. We decided to take a quick trip because Jacques really wanted to see a blueberry farm, so we found one in Florida near the Pensacola area...and it proved to be well worth it! It was such a great experience and I know that is something that we will do for years to come!

In August Seth and I took a trip to Washington, DC....Seth went for work...I went for play....and I felt like the old college kid again...exploring the city with no worries, no kids, no schedule...it was awesome! This is a trip I will never forget for many reasons, but mostly because during this time Seth and I decided to put our first home up for sale, so by the end of august when we got back home...we were purchasing for sale signs!

Putting our first house up for sale proved to be the best decision we ever made! Not only did we sell our house really fast, we sold it for the price we wanted, and the interest rates were at an all time low....so we didn't wait and we placed an offer on a beautiful 75 year old home...and by Oct. 31, 2011 we signed the paperwork for our new home! It was truly only the blessings of God that everything happen so fast and in a way only one could dream...I don't take any of the credit...I just thank God for his blessings in our lives.

After that trip...life got crazy between us putting the house for sale, closing on two houses, packing with a 4 year old and 18 month old, moving in, remodeling, etc....See why I haven't been able to blog or scrapbook!!

But, I must say it was all worth it...because we have fell in love with our home...

The holidays came fast and went fast...probably because we were working so much, but Thanksgiving break Seth and I took a cruise to Mexico with some of our best friends. It was a nice break, but had the trip not been booked so far in advance and paid for....we would have opted out to work on our home...but I know it was something I needed to do!

The holidays were in full swing around my house...I did tour of homes to help raise money for the Refuge Ministry and Uganda orphanage that my sister in law and brother in law will be traveling to in a few days. It was an awesome turn out....I worked (with alot of help of family and friends) around the clock to get my house ready for the event...but I am thankful that I was able to give in some small part. After all that is what Christmas is really all about...and this season I was able to really experience that.

For the few people that read by blog...I promise (well I say that every year...) that I will blog more...but this year I am making the commitment to 365...which doesn't mean that I will be blogging everyday (I know I would break that promise)...but it does mean that I am snapping a picture everyday of something that is going on in my life! So, with that I promise I will be sharing more, scrapping more, creating more, and hopefully writing more because the years really do just go by way to fast!

So, Welcome 2012...

I am ready to tackle another year, but most of all I hope to look back in a year and say I grew more spiritually. More Creative. More Tech savvy...using various forms of social media and blogging. And More disciplined to make all these things happen!

Vera