PJ and I were working on some Mother’s/Father’s Day gifts when he decided that he wanted to do it himself. So I asked him if he just wanted to draw instead. While I was finishing up the project we started, he tried to get my attention. Cue the “mommy, mommy, mom, mom, mom.” I looked over at him and he exclaimed: “I drew a smiley!”. I had never seen him actually draw a smiley face before, so I knew I had to capture it!
We were working with shrink plastic/film so I knew exactly what I could do!

Supplies:
All you need is your little ones artwork
A sharpie
Shrink film (I found mine on amazon)

I placed a sheet of shrink film over PJ’s artwork and just traced over it, trying to copy the exact lines he made and the ways his hands moved.
I then cut out around the design. I knew I wanted it to be a keychain so I hole punched the design BEFORE I baked it. I lined my cookie sheet with parchment paper so that my shapes wouldn’t stick and I also put parchment paper over them so they wouldn’t stick together while they were shrinking. I baked my shapes according to the directions and this is how they turned out! I think it is so stinking cute! I gave this set to my parents and it was an instant treasure! Since I ended up with 50 sheets of shrink plastic my mind is already spinning on what I can make! I’m thinking earrings, jewelry, keychains, gift tags, Christmas Ornaments…the sky is the limit!

What would you make if you had over 50 sheets of shrink plastic?

I already know the palettes for PJ’s and Baby Sis’ rooms because they’re kind of themed so that was easy. But for the master bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, and living room I still needed to decide! I thought it would be fun for us to play a game! The ready that ends up with the most correct guesses will win a prize! I’m not sure what it is, but it’ll be a little something fun!

This first row of palettes are ones that I am considering for the kitchen! Which one do you think I’m leaning towards/will most likely use?

This next row is for decorating our master bathroom…apparently I’m a little hungry…

And this last row is for our Master Bedroom. If you click each row you will be able to view the photo larger and you can actually see the names of each palette. I found ALL of these AMAZING palettes at Design Seeds. If you are ever looking for palettes for home decor or family pictures, you seriously should go check out her site. It’s amazing! And no, I was not paid to add the plug-in. It really is an amazing site with hundreds of palettes.

Leave your guesses in the comment for below in the form of:
Kitchen: And then a number. Master Bath: number. And Master Bedroom: number.

We will make them be labeled from left to right 1-5. Sounds good?

Also, What number of palettes are your favorites?

Here are my five features this week.

I love this style of backpack but I’ve always disliked the colors they came in. Now I have a free sewing pattern from Crystelle from Crystelle Boutique! I love that I can now personalize the bag however I’d like. Wouldn’t these make darling gift bags?

I am so going to have to make myself a custom kitchen rug when we move into our new home! Katie from the Crafty Blog Stalker shares an awesome tutorial how to make them on her blog. It wasn’t even something I knew I wanted to make until I saw her tutorial and realized that I totally need one for my new kitchen!
I love, love, love me some wreaths! I fell in love with this darling Mesh Baby Wreath from Glitter, Glue and Paint by Denyse. She shares an awesome tutorial of how she did it! I think I’m going to have to make one soon!

Ok I have been wanting to get my hands on some milk glass for a while but I haven’t been able to find any or it’s been too expensive, etc etc. Well, Krysta from Krysta Steen shares how she made her own milk glass vases. I love them! I WILL for sure be making some for our home!
This Silly Star Pasta Salad seriously looks so yummy to me! And I LOVE that it’s kid friends and something that I can have PJ help me make. Head on over to B-Inspired Mama to check out Krissy’s recipe!

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Time for this weeks party!

• Please follow both of your hosts, Artsy-Fartsy Mama and Cox’s Corner
• Link to a specific post {not your home page, or link parties please}
• Please share your own projects, not someone else’s.
• Visit other links and leave some comment love {because we all love comments!}
• Post our party button {the code is below} anywhere on your blog

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You can link up your awesomeness here:

This is a post from last year and it was my VERY FIRST tutorial I ever did! Yep. Back when I had 13 followers. So I’m pretty sure more of you might see it this time!

Here is the tutorial, I hope you enjoy it.

You can add money! Who doesn’t like money?! To get more bang for my buck I decided to just use one dollar bills.

Step fourteen: Admire the cuteness that is your awesome gift!

To check out all the linky parties I’ve joined go HERE. I came up with this idea all by myself and would LOVE to know if you found this tutorial useful! If you do use it, let me know. I’d love to feature you. If you like this tutorial, feel free to follow my blog! I have a lot more in store for you!

A newborn’s conversation with God….

A baby asked God, ‘They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?’

God said, ‘Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you.’

The child further inquired, ‘But tell me, here in heaven I don’t have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy.’

God said, ‘Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel’s love and be very happy.’

Again the child asked, ‘And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don’t know the language?’

God said, ‘Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak.’

‘And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?’

God said, ‘Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray.’

‘Who will protect me?’

God said, ‘Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life.’

‘But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore.’

God said, ‘Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you.’ At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, ‘God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel’s name.’

God said, ‘You will simply call her, ‘Mother.’

- Author: Unknown

I have been so incredibly blessed to not only be a mother, but to have the amazing mother that I have been given. She was at every play, practice, game cheering for me and rooting me on. She has been my biggest fan and my example. She is my best friend. I love her with all my heart. I am so grateful that she is my angel and that I have such amazing footsteps to follow.
To all of you mothers out there, whether you have children of your own, or are aunts, sisters, teachers etc. I hope you had an amazing Mother’s Day. To me, we are all mothers. “Motherhood is more than bearing children. … It is the essence of who we are as women” -Sheri Dew. God Bless You for the amazing examples you set and the efforts you give to help raise future generations. You are loved, you are appreciated, you are prayed for.

Here are my features for this weeks party!
I think this idea is AMAZING from Allison from Polka Dots and Paisley. I totally plan on doing something similar for our kitchen cupboards at home! Be sure to head over there to see how she did it!

 This quote will be going up in Baby Sis’ room when we move! For sure. Meredith from Unoriginal Mom shared a tutorial on how to do an Image Transfer and she made it seem so easy! I think I’m going to actually give it a shot sometime!
It’s funny, I actually found this tutorial BEFORE Christine from DIY Dreamer linked it up. So of course I had to feature it to make sure that others found it too! I will be reupholstering a chair for our future front porch soon, and while I had an idea of how I was going to do it, she shared some awesome pointers!
I seriously love the added touch to these tissue flowers! And you know what! They actually are a twist on the normal ones! Go check out how  Yvonne from Dress this Nest made these darling flowers. Seriously, Go.

Last but not least, I am loving on this Upcycled Lantern by Emily from The Benson Street. I just bought a little lantern for our porch and I think the touches she added to hers are darling! See how she did it.

If you were featured, be sure to grab a button from my sidebar! You deserve it!

Time for this weeks party!

• Please follow both of your hosts, Artsy-Fartsy Mama and Cox’s Corner
• Link to a specific post {not your home page, or link parties please}
• Please share your own projects, not someone else’s.
• Visit other links and leave some comment love {because we all love comments!}
• Post our party button {the code is below} anywhere on your blog

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Hey Friends!
I’m sure you’ve seen the bleach t-shirts ALL OVER the internet. You know the kind I’m talking about. The ones that somebody put bleach in a spray bottle and sprayed the heck out of it to get their design to show through.

For me, I liked the concept but I didn’t exactly love the way they turned out. I wanted to make a t-shirt for my nephew for his heart gift for Christmas but I wanted it to be more polished. I thought Vinyl would be ok, but I really wanted it to look more professional. I wish I would have taken an after picture! But you get the idea!

Here’s what the shirt looks like during the process:

 Would you like to know what I did? I cut out a shape on my personal cutter. If you don’t have one you could always print out your design and cut it out yourself and trace it onto the back of the vinyl. I highly recommend using Vinyl as your stencil because the bleach doesn’t seep under it.
I then gathered my supplies:
a foam brush
bleach
a plastic cup
a t-shirt
my vinyl design
cardboard to use as a barrier for the shirt.

I put the cardboard in between the shirt and then I placed my Vinyl where I wanted the design to be.
From there I put a little bit of bleach in the cup. Beware of the fumes.
I dipped my foam brush in my cup and started blotting the bleach on my design. It’s important to make sure the bleach soaks in, but work quickly! You don’t want it to sit too long on your shirt because as it sits it could cause holes in your fabric.

I seriously let my bleach sit about 30 seconds then rinsed it off in the sink. From there, I took off the vinyl and tossed my shirt in the washer and washed and dried it.

And that’s it! The shirt turned out AMAZING and I have to be honest, I think it was my favorite heart gift I gave this year! If you make one you’ll have to let me know what you think!

Have you ever made a bleached shirt before? What design did you use/what design would you use if you make one?

I feel like SNAP was a needed conference for me both blog wise and personally. The whole experience was better than words could describe. We had dinners provided by some of the amazing conference Sponsors. Keynote speakers who were all inspiring. As soon as we have our own yard, I plan on starting my own garden and attempting to become “one with the bugs”. We’ll see how that goes though…I’ll definitely keep you “post”ed. See what I just did there? Blog post…get it?! The theme for SNAP was “Create Joy”. We received beautiful necklaces from The R-house Couture with the theme of the conference hand stamped on it.
I feel like that theme helped me to narrow down my mission for my blog and my life. It is: “The mission of Cox’s Corner is to help inspire others to Create Joy in their lives by providing motivation, inspiration and friendship.” I think that’s a pretty good mission right?

I had a blast hanging with Lindsey from Artsy Fartsy Mama the entire conference. She was so much fun and I loved laughing with her so much. The conference provided so many opportunities and I LOVED the hands on workshops. For me, crafting is therapeutic. It calms me and helps me clear my mind. I was excited to have the realization at SNAP to. I don’t need a therapist, I need crafts!

And do you see that cookie spread?! It was AMAZING! Seriously…that spread alone inspired me to also have something similar at an upcoming party I am planning.

crafting picture from natalme.com

The classes…OH the classes. I’ll be honest, the chairs were not so comfy for this big booty, but boy were they worth it! I am counting down the days until SNAP 2014. I asked for a ticket for my birthday present. I loved it that much. I must admit, I LOVED the RYOBI power tools class with Ana White. I’m just letting you know there may be some (ok hopefully lots) DIY posts in the near future. I want some tools SO bad!

class picture from natalme.com

And last but not least the friends. Like I mentioned earlier, I LOVED hanging out with Lindsey. She is seriously amazing. But I also loved seeing old friends and new friends. It was so nice to see Kristen Duke from Capturing Joy with Kristen Duke again, she is such a talented girl! And she’s seriously so nice! I also loved meeting Kara from Mine for the Making, Jonie from Just Between Friends, and other friends not pictured: Jill from Create, Craft, Love, Meredith from Wait til Your Father Gets Home, Sarah from Becoming Martha and Barbara from Chase the Star. There were also so many more amazing ladies that I met that I can’t wait to become better friends with!

Tauni and the Snapettes did an AMAZING job if you’re considering attending a blog conference, SNAP is it! Seriously go. And then introduce yourself to me while you’re there because I’d LOVE to meet you!

Since we do choose five projects to feature, these are the ones that I chose.

I absolutely adore this little cupcake stand by Summer from Summer Scraps. This girl is so creative! You need to head to her blog to see how she created them and while you’re there check out the cute decor she used them for! I’m so making these for a party!

 Speaking of parties…how adorable is this candle? Debbie from One Little Project shows how she personalized this darling candle for her little ones birthday. I will definitely be making some of these too! My goodness. She also includes 5 more ways to make unique birthday candles.

This is just one picture of plenty by Linda from Night Owl Corner‘s Garden Party. You seriously need to head over and check out her fun party. My absolute favorite part is their party favors! I LOVE IT! And isn’t her little girlie just darling?! I think I must be in a partying mood of something.

I love this awesome tutorial by Angela from a Typical English Home. Not everybody is able to get a cutter so this tutorial really helps in making your own labels in Microsoft Word! I do have a cutter and I might be using this tutorial!

I haven’t fully decided on what kind of banner or garland I’m doing to put in my baby girls room, but this style is DEFINITELY in the running. Doesn’t this Garland by Eva from Tales of the Scotts just make you feel happy inside?! I LOVE it. Head on over to her blog to see her tutorial!

If you were featured, be sure to grab a button from my sidebar! You deserve it!

Time for this weeks party!

• Please follow both of your hosts, Artsy-Fartsy Mama and Cox’s Corner
• Link to a specific post {not your home page, or link parties please}
• Please share your own projects, not someone else’s.
• Visit other links and leave some comment love {because we all love comments!}
• Post our party button {the code is below} anywhere on your blog

My favorite thing about the class is that they explained the different projects available. Had you pick up your supplies and then let you go for it. I was so excited that I got to do an “&” since I had decided that I wanted one to decorate our master bedroom with. I wanted to share with you what I did just in case you would like to recreate it for yourself. It was seriously SO easy!

To start out you will need:
-wood “&” from poppyseed projects-sand paper
-cloth to dust off the sanding dust
-2 foam brushes
-white paint
-turquoise paint
-chevron stencil

First, sand down your “&” to make it nice and smooth so that it will look nice painted.
Then clean it off with your cloth to make sure no dust is left on it from sanding.

I like to paint the sides of my wood projects first, making sure there’s no glumpy bits on the front and back of it so the paint goes on smooth. So paint the sides of your “&” white first, then do the front and back. I did only one coat of paint on the back, and two coats on the sides and front. Let your paint dry COMPLETELY before you start to stencil. Otherwise your stencil will stick. I got that pointer from Lindsay from Artsy-Fartsy Mama. She helped me a lot with pointers since if was my first time stenciling.

Once your white paint is completely dry. Decide where you want your stencil and place it on there. Take a clean foam brush and very lightly dip it in your turquoise paint. You want just enough on your brush that it puts the paint on there in a nice layer, but not too much that it will seep under the stencil. It will be helpful to hold your stencil down in place as you go!

To get my Ombre effect, All I did was every two lines I added a tiny bit more white paint to my brush as I went. It was super easy and I love the way that it turned out!

Shout out to Poppyseed Projects for the fun craft! I can’t wait to do some more!

Do you like the new ombre trend?