My Favorites of 2011

Oh, how I love to look through a whole year's post and pick my favorites!  So much fun!  Although, it is a big challenge for me to pick just one favorite.  I gave it my best shot and here is what I came up with...

My favorite post of Erin's was this Men's Shirt Re-Do: Vest Applique.  Erin amazed me how she got a sewing machine one day and was sewing her daughter's baby bedding the next.  She seems to be a natural seamstress and an ambitious one at that!  I have always loved tie shirts but to add a vest makes it one of the cutest shirts ever!

Patrice amazes me with her beautiful classy decorating.  These Pearl Egg Topiaries were definitely a favorite of mine.  I think they are simple perfection.  And they are sticking out of little teacups!  A wonderful addition to home Easter decor.  LOVE.

Jessica's Valentine Card Holder was adorable and a girl's gotta get props for taking the time to place ribbon on that many clothespins!  I have never actually met Jessica in person (crazy, huh?) but I love how her personality seems to show through her crafts...happy and fun!  

My favorite for the year of mine had to be my son's big boy room.  I love, love, love to decorate anything, but designing my kid's rooms is my favorite.  I had so much fun with the details and I loved how my husband, sister and Mom put their love into the room too.  

Thank you for taking the time to visit Lemon Tree day after day!  We love sharing our projects with you!!!

Happy Tuesday!

  

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Christmas House, Traditions, & Gifts

My Christmas house pretty much looks the same as last year so I won't bore you with all the details of that.  

The one change is the mantel and I do love it so I will share...

The Christmas tree is also different this year because I let go of my "themes" and own ideas.  I let the kids decorate it completely this year.  This means it has random ornaments all hung on the same branches.  My idea of the perfect Christmas tree has completely changed.  This is it.  Now if only I had read Erin's post before taking this picture, it may have turned out much better.

I changed up the frames again with Christmasy stuff printed off the computer.

We started the tradition of opening a Christmas book a day beginning on December 1st.  I first saw the idea on Pinterest and it came from HERE and I love it!  It has been so fun and now all our Christmas books have a chance and don't get overlooked.

We also eat dinner by candlelight every night that we are home in December.  What kid (or adult for that matter) doesn't love that?  Then to make it even more exciting and to make it work for us, the big kid that stays in their seat and refrains from screaming at dinner time gets to blow out the candle at the end.  It really works.  Blowing out candles is apparently a very cool thing.

My sister gets the kids Christmas jammies every year.  She sends them our way and we give them out on December 1st.  We surprise them right before bed and then call Aunt Beth to thank her!  : )  They are practically worn out by Christmas from so much wear!  

We have cinnamon rolls for Jesus on Christmas morning.  We light a candle and sing Happy Birthday to Him.  The kids LOVE this tradition.

As far as presents go, we made a lot of ornaments in our home this year.  I made about 24 of these mini pillow ornaments for friends, family, and teachers.  

Then the kids got a chance to make their own ornaments.  We made salt dough ones this year.  So easy and so much fun!  They went to town painting them and loved every minute.  Then they had fun choosing who would receive them as gifts.  The recipe I found HERE made so many that my oldest chose one for each of her classmates too.

I love everything about Christmas.  

What do you love about Christmas?  Do you have any of these same traditions in your home? Or do you have new ones to share with us? 

Only 5 days to go, my friends!  Merry Christmas!!!

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Puzzle Piece Ornaments

Puzzle ornaments are such a simple idea and I am sure you have seen it floating around blogs and Pinterest.  I still wanted to share my son's little Christmas tree because I LOVE it.  

I can't take credit for these ornaments.  My sister told me she had a transportation puzzle and she thought the pieces could make great ornaments.  This is the first year for my son to have a tree in his room since he is a big boy now.  You can see his room HERE.  These were the perfect addition to his tree.

My sister makes a lot of fun jewelry (you can see in her Etsy shop) and so she used some supplies for the hole at the top to string ribbon through.  She sent them to me in a package and added a few colorful jingle bells.  I strung them all with different red ribbons from my stash.

She sent a cute red star topper to complete the tree.  I stuck it in a silver bucket as opposed to a tree skirt and added fabric bunched around the bottom for some fun festive color.

I just LOVE the way it turned out.  Thanks sister for providing the goods!  His own little Christmas tree for his room personalized with things he loves.  It's a very "boyish" tree, don't ya think?  Completely different from my girls' pink tree in their room.  So fun!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

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P is for Pirate Kit

I shared this gift idea on Kojo Designs two weeks ago during their Gifts for Guys series.  You have got to check out all the amazing ideas for the little or big guy in your life!  Love those girls over at Kojo!

                                                         

My little guy thinks Pirates are neat and loves to say, "Rrrrr, Matey" quite often so he inspired my newest kit - P is for Pirate.  He will find it under the tree Christmas morning and I can't wait!

Every pirate needs an eye patch, of course.  Preferably a soft one that won't irritate little eyes.

1.) Cut a little pattern out of paper the size and shape you wish your patch to be.  Use the pattern to cut out two eye patch pieces from black felt.

2.) Cut the bottom off of an old t-shirt.  Measure it on your little guy's head (in a sneaky kind of way) to ensure a good fit.

3.) Place the ends of the t-shirt band inside the two felt pieces and pin them together.

4.) Sew together using a machine or by hand.  Sew an X on the middle if you want.

Now you have a super tough (but soft) eye patch for your little pirate.

I purchased a thin canvas bag at a local craft store and used my iron-on fabric transfer paper to label the bag.

I typed my label on the computer and printed it as a mirror image.

I cut around the words and ironed it to my bag.

Then I added a mini unfinished wood treasure chest to the kit with some wooden checker pieces to serve as the treasure.  I left them unfinished so that the little pirate can have a special project to do later.

I also added a treasure map, a pirate book, and a black bandana.

There are so many other things that could be added to the pirate kit such as a compass, a hat, a sword, etc.  The options are endless with this gift and it can be personalized to suit the little guy in your life.

I just can't wait to see my little guy wearing his eye patch.  I tried it on but it's not quite as cute on me.  Ha.

If you would like other play kit gift ideas, you can find my restaurant kit HERE and movie theater kit HERE and Erin's pizza shop play kit HERE.

Happy Tuesday!

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A Pinterest Inspired Thanksgiving

I got the opportunity to host Thanksgiving this year!  That made me so excited!  I was not responsible for all the cooking which made it stress-free.  I don't think I am quite ready to cook a turkey yet.  Maybe one of these days.  But I did get to work on making things cute with our big girl and son.  We had so much fun preparing little details to welcome our guests!  

And wouldn't you know...Pinterest came to my rescue!  

I found this paint sample turkey that came from Lizard & Ladybug blog and thought it was so stinkin' cute!  Simple and kid-friendly.  Perfect.  

pic via Pinterest and originally from Lizard & Ladybug

We picked up a bunch of fall-colored paint samples at the hardware store and I let the kids go to town making turkeys.  I loved seeing what they came up with.  My three-year-old son's turkey in the middle makes me smile.  He wanted wings and a hat rather than feathers!  LOVE it.  

Next up were these cute place cards made with felt that came from the Sheek Shindigs blog and originally inpsired by Pottery Barn.  So adorable.  And all you really needed was felt, hot glue, and sticks.

pic via Sheek Shindigs

I wanted to use supplies already on hand and floral foam was not one of them.  This meant that our little ships would lay on the plates instead of stand up.  Oh, well.  I still loved them.  We used popsicle sticks and I let my big girl write all the names with a red marker.

Finally, there was a turkey onesie that I couldn't stop staring at because it was one of the cutest things I had seen in awhile.  The pic on Pinterest said it originated from The Happenings of the Hermanns blog.  My friend, Jill also made an adorable turkey onesie for her sweet baby that she shared on her blog, Barnes Yard.  SO cute.  

pic via Pinterest & originally from The Happenings of the Hermanns

My baby girl had an old onesie that was almost too small.  I found fabric scraps, cut out a turkey and feathers, heat and bonded them on, and sewed the edges.  So fun!  I added buttons for eyes as the final finishing touch.

And I ended up making big sister a matching turkey shirt too!

It was such a fun and happy Thanksgiving!  Hope yours was too!

Thank you, Pinterest.  Did you all use any ideas from Pinterest for your Thanksgiving decor?  I would love to know!

Oh, and you can follow my boards here if you want to! 

Happy Tuesday!

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Big Boy Room Reveal

We finally took the plunge and moved our little man into a big boy bed.  He is almost 3 1/2 and was definitely ready.  I am never ready for new phases with my babies but getting a chance to decorate a new room sure helps!    

This was his room before the switch.  I posted about it here.

First up was a new wall color.  I chose Polar Star by Valspar.  I was super happy with my choice.

Here is his room upon entering today.

Would you believe my sister found that old school desk (that I LOVE) at a Goodwill for only $8?  She called me right away and asked if I wanted it.  Sisters are awesome.

He requested a "cars and trucks" room and that is what he got.  I acquired the wall decor through Etsy, Hobby Lobby, The Country Living Fair, my basement, my Mom, and one of my big sisters.  

I simply taped old car photos inside of frames.

His birthday is July 15th which is the meaning behind the 715.

The license plates are from states where my husband and I were born or where we grew up.

The Valvoline hat from his Halloween costume was perfect to hang on a hook in his room.

My sister started collecting bouncy balls for me a long time ago when I mentioned they would be cute in a jar.  And the little jar is filled with Daddy's old micro machines.

I loved the front of these maps so I just pinned them to the wall inside of an empty frame.

Of course you know there had to be a banner in his room.  Cheaper than curtains and a curtain rod and I love them!

The bedding is actually the underside of a Pottery Barn plane quilt that I found at a yard sale when he was a baby for only $5.  I wanted a red quilt so I flipped it over and it works great!

The bed was around when Daddy was little and the sheets were ones he actually slept on.  The pillows were made by my Mom and I using an old shirt of Daddy's, a Silhouette studio image of an old car, and a plane cut from my son's old shirt.

I love his new room.

It was a hit with our little mechanic too.

Thanks for stopping by Lemon Tree today!  

Happy Tuesday!

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