Hard to keep up!

Between chasing after kids all day and getting my creativity on in the evenings, I hardly have time to check in here and keep track of it all! 

I'm happy to announce that Mr. D is pretty well potty trained. To the point where we were at a friend's house today and he said, "Mama! I have to go peepee!" as he ran to the bathroom. I was so excited! What a big kid I have. Also, when did that happen? I may tell him he's my baby, but he's a baby no more. At least he still lets me snuggle him.

Here's my big kid working on one of our latest creations. He was so very excited that I let him use scissors that he actually sat and helped me for more than a few seconds. Since we started using the potty, Desmond's typical daily wardrobe includes underwear or a pair of shorts. And that's it. I'm so used to it that I'm surprised when family comes over and makes comments!

My little man hard at work

I thought it would be fun to make a craft foam mosaic with my man while the babies napped in the morning. He got to use scissors, swirl glue around, and make a masterpiece with minimal intervention from mama.

big pile o' foam pieces

all the scissors!

Done! Isn't it beautiful? :) I see the monitor blinking blue, which means my little lady is awake. Off I go!

My beautiful babies

I think my new favorite crafting supply is canvases. I found them on sale at Michaels and bought a 10-pack, and have used them all! Now I'm waiting for them to go on sale again so I can get more. When I saw this pinned, I just had to do it. 

Looks like they're looking at each other. So sweet.

I found the vinyl at Michaels (of course!), but have since realized I could simply use the clear contact paper I already had at home! Duh! D was super excited to see his profile cut out, and kept saying, "It's me! It's me!". I started by taking their pictures in profile, then I printed them out on regular paper. I cut out their profiles and traced them on the wrong side of the vinyl, then cut them out again. Then I stuck the vinyl to the canvases. I just love A's round little head and the way both of their lips are parted so slightly. 

Next, I painted over the entire canvas with the colors I chose. I wanted colors that would pop on our white walls and complement each other. When they dried, I carefully peeled off the vinyl, then went over and paint that bled under the vinyl with white paint. THEN, I decided to paint the entire silhouette white. Should have done that first! 

I'm going to do John's and mine too, in orange and green. Then we'll hang them. For ours, I'll paint the canvas white first to save me the trouble later, and use the contact paper to see how well it works compared to the vinyl. Aren't they beautiful?

Make your own birth stats wall art!

In my Pinterest travels, I've come across so many crafts that I just love. This is one that I thought, "I can do that!" I found my inspiration here, but was sad that there wasn't a template attached. Until I realized that I can easily do that all by myself! 

I used WordArt in MS Word, and I'm really happy with how they turned out. I framed them in dollar store frames and hung them up! 

Now here's the exciting part! If you want to make your own, access my template here! You may not be able to see it in Googledocs-just save it and open in Microsoft Word, change the information and colors if you want, and find the perfect place to display it in your home! Enjoy!