Winter Decor (2016)

The day after Christmas I took everything down.  Ok, the night after Christmas.  I stayed up until 2am in the quiet, sleepy house and cleaned everything up.  The weather was warm and rainy and I even heard some thunder while I organized.  It was fantastic!

(I know it's not most people's idea of fun, but I seriously enjoy cleaning and organizing!)

Once that was done - and I slept - I pulled out the winter decor.  This will stay out for a few weeks until it's time to get ready for the Little Man's 2nd birthday party, and then I'll move on to Valentine's Day.

Side Note:  I completely and totally suggest having a child about a month after Christmas.  As soon as you get through the holiday it's time to prep for a party, and once you get that done it's pretty much almost spring!  No time for the winter blues around here ;)

Anyway, read on to check out a few of the new additions to my winter decor:

Gift Bag Art

One of us received a Christmas gift last year that came in a large snowman bag.  I cut out the snowman and LET IT SNOW lettering and popped them into a couple of gold frames.

Handprints

Baby Girl brought this painting project home from Kindergarten last year.  With a snowflake painted on the backside (not shown), it fits right in with my wintery decor.

A Mug of Cocoa

Who doesn't want a hot mug of cocoa when it's this cold outside?  This cute craft is another one of Baby Girl's Kindergarten assignments.

Side Note:  I managed to get the cotton balls in the frame by carefully applying pressure.  You don't want to break any glass, so go slowly.

Friendly Birds

These cute little birds were a Christmas gift from my Aunt.  I thought they looked quite nice in front of a frosty window :)


And that's it for this year's winter decor.
(You can click here to see the rest of my winter decor)


I hope you enjoyed this chilly decor update, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2016

Christmas Hand & Foot Print Art (2015)

Let's give a big thank you to Pinterest for the inspiration needed to create these cute holiday paintings.
Check them out:

Reindeer Feet

A couple of eyes, a red nose and a pair of antlers transforms a footprint into and adorable reindeer.

Fingerprint Lights

For this one is was easiest to: sketch out the curvy line first, then place the colorful fingerprints and follow up with a  little more black ink for the bulb detailing.

Tip:  Make sure your colored paint is dry before adding any detailing!

"Mistletoes"!

A few red dots of paint to serve as berries and these cute prints are transformed into mistletoe.

I hope you enjoyed this crafty post, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2015

Happy 4th of July 2015!

We are getting ready for another fun family weekend at our house.
We have plans for family time, fireworks and a whole lot of BBQ!

After this post is finished, I'm going to wrap up all things business related and
enjoy the holiday weekend.....so what if it's only Wednesday???
Ahhh, the joys of an at home business!  :D :D :D

I'll be back next week with more from the Welcome Baby Party and (eventually) a summer decor update.  Until then, here are a few of posts from last year's celebration:

Click here to see how we celebrated Independence Day in 2014.
Click here to see more of my 4th of July decor.
Interested in a few FREE patriotic printables?  Click  here.

I hope everyone has a great holiday, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2015

Spring Footprint Art (2015)

It's March 12th!
It's Spring! (As far as I'm concerned)  :D

I put all of my Valentine decor away and got out all of my Spring the first weekend of March.  There are still a few piles of melting snow outside, but that's ok.  Inside I have daffodils!

Right now I'm working on photos of a few spring decor items that didn't make it to the blog last year.  I'm also brainstorming some really cute Easter Egg designs.  But for now, I'll share with you my Spring print art.

I made these last year after seeing similar designs on Pinterest, check it out:

Baby Girl is Pretty in Pink

After sketching out the designs I wanted, I used green paint to create the foliage.  A bit of pink paint on Baby Girl's feet and there you have it; Spring blooms!

Side Note:  I took this photo before going back to erase the extra pencil markings.  I thought it would be helpful to see that the markings provide a general plan for the art piece, but the paint doesn't have to be exact.  Just go with the flow and clean up the excess later :)

Lavender for the Little Man

I followed the same technique for Little Man's prints.

Side Note:  It is rare that the prints look perfect on their own and often I go back in with a brush to fill in any empty spots.  This time I left the prints as is.  The half missing toes on the left remind me how my only 3 month old baby would not sit still for this project.  He thought he could stick those little feet into all the paint at once :)

(You can also see from this picture that the pencil marks erase quite nicely.)

I have both of these prints framed and displayed with the rest of my Spring decor.  I love walking through the house and seeing all of the pretty flowers.

I hope you enjoyed the post, thanks for stopping by!
If you have a minute, let me know how you are getting ready for warm weather and sunshine.

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2015

Valentine Print Art (2015)

Earlier this week I shared with you my Valentine decor.
You may have noticed my Valentine print art in the background. 

(Inspiration for each of these was found on Pinterest)




Dining Room

Click here to read more about my Valentine decor.

Keep scrolling to see my Valentine print art in better detail!

Baby Girl's Print Art

This poster was made with Baby Girl's 3-year-old feet.  I used a pencil to lightly trace the letters and then stamped out the V using her cute little tootsies.  After the foot prints had dried,  I went back with a brush to add in the rest of the letters.

Print's From the Little Man

I made this one last year with the Little Man's 3-week-old baby feet.  Like with the poster for Baby Girl, I first used a pencil to trace  the design.  Then I painted one foot, made a print, cleaned the foot and repeated the process again with the next.  Little Man slept through the whole thing ;)

Fast forward and now Baby Girl is 5 and the Little Man is already 1.  I'm so glad to have these prints made with their cute little feet!

I'm hoping everyone has a fantastic Valentine's Day this weekend, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2015

Fall Hand & Foot Print Art 2014

Recently I shared the print art that I have framed as part of my Halloween decor, today I am sharing my 'fall' pieces.

These cute little pumpkins come out for September and November, take a look!

(Inspiration for each of these was found on Pinterest)

Baby Girl's Pumpkin

A simple orange painted circle and brown stem were all it took to create a pumpkin for this piece.  A bit of green paint on Baby Girl's hand and we stamped on a 'leaf'.  I used a Sharpie to add in the details after all of the paint was dry.

Little Man's Pumpkin

This year marks the first ever Fall season for the Little Man, so I wanted to add his footprint to our holiday decor.

Should have been pretty easy to do, right?  Nope, he's a strong and determined little booger, and stomping that foot just once wasn't enough.  He made sure to give a good stomp on me too, right on my cream colored leggings!  It came out in the laundry, but I'll always remember the determination that baby had to carry out his wishes :D

That determination is also the reason he 'paints' with his feet and not his hands; there is no way that child is letting me make anything resembling a hand print!  Maybe in the future.....

Design Tip:  Always, always. always pay a little more and get the washable paint/ markers/ etc. for the kiddos.  Your walls, furniture, carpeting and wardrobe will thank you ;)


I hope you enjoyed my cute little prints, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2014

Halloween Print Art 2014

Because I'm not already busy enough (hee hee) I had to make time for some Halloween print art.  Each of these are framed and on display as part of our Halloween decor, check them out!

(Inspiration for each of these was found on Pinterest)

Hand Print Spider

This is Baby Girl's 2-year-old hand (Awwwww!) that has been turned into a friendly spider.  I used a plain piece of orange paper for the background and hand painted a simple spider web design with white paint.  Next we used black poster paint for the hand print and I added the facial details in yellow.

Now if you want to be accurate, a spider should have eight legs.  This can be achieved by making two hand prints that overlay at the thumbs.  In other words, you will place your child's hand down once, rotate the paper and place the hand down again with the thumb on top of the previously made thumb print.  

For me it was more important to have a clear representation of Baby Girl's adorable little hand.

If you know me at all, then you are aware that I am a complete and total science lover.  Years of graduate studies have left me obsessed with data collection, accuracy and quality of research methodology.....and here I am making five-legged spiders.....Mommy-Hood changes you, friends, it changes you!  :D :D :D

Hand Print Jack-O-Lantern

This one is also Baby Girl's, and was a little more challenging to make.  First I cut out a pumpkin shape before cutting out holes for the eyes and mouth.  I taped a piece of yellow paper to the back of the pumpkin to provide the 'glow' of the eyes and mouth. I taped the pumpkin to an 8x10 white background sheet before adding a green hand print 'leaf' and painted the stem in brown.  Once the paint was dry, a black Sharpie took care of all the detailing.

 Foot Print Jack-O-Lantern


It's the Little Man's first Halloween, so his perfect prints had to join the party!  Now, where Baby Girl was always happy to patiently sit and let me paint and place her hands, Little Man, not so much :D

This little booger wants to stamp, smack, reach and contort his body in any way that might give him access to the wonderfully messy paint.  Hence, he gets foot prints instead.  It's the only way I can semi control how the project turns out, but you can see there are a bit more smears!  He had fun and now I have another memory.....maybe I can get an hand print out of  him in a year or two....;)

Foot Print Ghost

Little Man also got a foot print ghost.  This one is probably the easiest I have ever done; a little white foot print, some Sharpie detail and the ghost is complete!  .....If only you could see the way he giggled having his foot painted, such sweet memories :)

It's not too late to break out the craft supplies and make up some Halloween pretties.  In the meantime, I'll be working on a Halloween cupcake post for tomorrow :) 

Hope you enjoyed the post, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2014

Garden Wrap-Up (Fall 2014)

A few months ago I first wrote about my design plans for the backyard garden.

(You can find that post by clicking here)

(You can find the mid-summer garden update by clicking here)

If you remember, I planted Morning Glories with the intention of having them grow up, over and around Baby Girl's playhouse.  Here is what it looked like.............................

...............................In my imagination!  Bahahahahaha!  

Yeah, so I was treasure hunting a few weeks ago when I came upon these faux Morning Glory garlands.  They still had the Hobby Lobby price tags of $9.99 each, but I got all four of them for $1!  I have no idea what I'll do with them, but I could not resist arranging them on top of the playhouse and snapping a picture.  :D :D :D

The playhouse in real life.

Still pretty cute, with lots of foliage, but not even close to the way I dreamed it would be (giggle).  Baby Girl is happy with it, so that's all that matters :)

I actually did get some real life Morning Glory blooms, see!

This whole entire gardening process goes to show why I prefer to work with faux flowers. I just can't seem to get nature to perform as crazy big as my imagination...:D

A Pretty Pumpkin

Of all the flowers, and all the vines, we came away with two pumpkins....and one of those rotted.  Therefore this is my 'prized pumpkin'!  Heeheehee!

This year's stepping stones.

The first time I made these I bought the stepping stone kit from Hobby Lobby for around $15.  I saved the plastic tray and since then have made several more stones by just buying the stepping stone mix, which is about $6.  This time the tray finally started to wear at the edges so it's time for a new one, but with repeated use I was able to save lots of money in the meantime.

I make these up right in the kitchen.  I put a big mixing bowl on the counter and line it with a trash bag.  In goes the powder and water and I carefully start mixing (carefully because you don't want to inhale the dust).  Once the consistency is right, I tie off the bag and carry it to the tray where I make a small opening at one of the bottom corners.  Then I can squeeze out the mix just like a big bag of icing.  (Use a decent trash bag for this or you could end up with a concrete mix explosion all over the place!) Once the tray is full the entire bag goes into the trash and I have a clean kitchen.  Yay!

Then it's time for the kiddos to make their foot prints and start decorating.  After a few days, when the concrete has cured, I use acrylic paint to fill out the prints.  I think it makes things so much prettier!

Pretty Mums

I was at Wal-Mart and saw these for .99 each.  I bought them, stuck them in a pot and took their photo....does that count as gardening?  Probably not so much, but they are pretty!

That concludes this year's adventures in gardening.  I hope you got as many laughs as I did, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2014

4th of July: Home Decor & More! 2014

The fourth will be here soon, so I'm addressing all of my holiday happenings in one post! 

*****Holiday Decor*****

 Most of my holiday items are photos of the kiddos celebrating in their red, white and blues, but here are a few I can share.

A jar of sparkle, a couple of pin-wheels in the garden, and wind socks at the front door.

 Of course we have a couple of patriotic ducks in the kids bathroom!

 *********Hand & Footprint Art*********

I like to do hand or footprint art for each season/ holiday.  It's another item I can switch out (along with my photographs) that reminds us how much the kids have grown and brings back fun memories.  They are framed and displayed with my holiday photos.

(Inspiration found on Pinterest)

 This one belongs to my Baby Girl.

 And this one we just did for the Little Guy.



 *****Holiday Quilting*****

 My 4th of July 'quilt'

A few of the patches I'll be adding this year.



Here's the thing about my 'quilting', they aren't really quilts..heeheehee!  They are called 'cheat quilts' and I learned about it on Pinterest.  All you have to do is find a quilted comforter to use as your base and hand stitch your patches on top.  Once you fill it up, you can sew through all of the layers to give it  a more quilted look, or leave it as it is.

I started these because I really wanted to keep many of my Baby Girl's baby items, but didn't know what to do with them.  A quilt was the perfect way to keep all of the adorable fabrics (and the memories that go with them), however I was very hesitant.
I was even considering hiring someone to put it together for me, but then Aunt Jan said, "Oh I know you can do this yourself".  That was it, I found the Pinterest idea and jumped right in! 

Once I finished the baby quilt I started making one for each holiday season as well.  Now we have one for the 4th, Halloween/ fall, Christmas, Valentine's and the beginnings of one for the Little Man.  It's memory madness, I blame Aunt Jan!  ;)

Since the kids are still growing the quilts are by no means filled up yet, but that's ok.  I like having them as 'patchy' throws on the back of the couch.  Especially since each patch is a different memory from a different year.

Here is something to consider:
In a standard quilt each piece of the top section is stitched together before being attached to the middle and bottom sections (sort of like a sandwich).  When you make a 'cheat quilt' the way that I do, the patches are added one by one, over time.  This means that there are raw edges of fabric exposed, which over time will fray.  I am ok with this look (when quilts are made this way intentionally they are called rag quilts I think), but if you desire a more finished looking piece you should sew all top pieces of your quilt together first.  This will require that you wait until all of your patches have been collected before you can finish and begin using your quilt.  I suppose you could also hem each patch if you wanted to make it over the years and avoid fraying.  Just something to consider. :)

That's it for now, hope you enjoyed!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2014

Summer Footprint Art 2014

Can you tell I love making memories?  And I love recording them just as much!
  One of my favorite things about my kiddos are their tiny hands and feet.  I want to remember them always so I make hand or footprint art pieces for each holiday/ season.

With inspiration found on Pinterest, I went with butterflies for our summer print art.

This is the new butterfly I just did with the Little Guy. Since it's difficult to hold, paint and stamp with a squirmy, kicky baby, I decided to keep it simple with only one color.  I like the results!

You can't tell from the picture, but these are really tiny feet ;)

This one is my Baby Girl's.
Since she is quite a bit older I could get her to sit still long enough for multiple colors.

Before framing I always add my kids name and date to the picture. This is so we can easily tell how old they were as the years pass by.  (That's what the blur is in this picture).

That's all of the summery print art I have so far.
Hope you enjoyed, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2014