Month: February 2011

Etsy Me: February

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It’s no secret that I love Etsy.  I have made a few purchases recently, though none are from my recent favorites post. 

My first buy is from Goose Grease Undone, a shop specializing in unfinished wooden items, ready for you to paint as your heart desires.  I bought family of seven wooden dolls, not to be confused with this wooden doll.  No, I’m not pregnant, but I wanted a few extras, ya know, in the event we have more kids, specifically a girl. 

Anna was super helpful and kind, too.  She let me customize my family to include a pet!  Now, I just have to paint the dolls to look like our family.  I started one, but I’m not sure I like it.  What do you think? 

You can also get painted dolls from Goose Grease.

My second recent purchase is from Off The Hook Originals, a shop specializing is cast iron hooks, door knobs and more.  My bird obsession hasn’t shown any sign of stopping, so I snagged this adorable bird hook. 

The bird is so adorable, too.  I love the detail.

Of course, I still haven’t hung it.  I’ll get to that one of these days. 

Since we’re in a loving mood, being Valentine’s Day and all, we’re giving you some love, too! 

Today through Saturday, February 19th, we’re offering 10% off all orders in our Etsy shop!  Send us a message with the code ‘LOVE ME‘ before purchasing the listing.

Gimme a Giveaway: Yellow Brick Home

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***This giveaway is no longer accepting entries, Thank You!***

Remember when I bragged about my cute, totally custom, pet portrait of Jack, made by the talented Kim at Yellow Brick Home?  I think I made several of you envious, but, I think I’ll totally redeem myself with this.  Yellow Brick Home has graciously offered to give away one custom pet portrait!!  Yahoo to cute and free art!

Kim has some serious talent, too.  Check out these samples:

Don’t have a cat or dog?  Kim can paint other furry critters, too, like bunnies.

Prize:  One 4 inch by 4 inch pet portrait of your favorite furry friend.

To Enter: 

Subscribe to follow Our Humble A{Bowe}d, if you’re not already.  To subscribe, click the “Sign Me Up!” button under “Be the first to know.”  Once you’ve subscribed, leave a comment, which can include our Just for Fun question.

Just for Fun:  Comment on this post with the words “PET ME!” and tell us what animal you’d like to have as a pet, either domesticated or wild.

For an additional entry: 

Follow us on Facebook, come back and leave a comment.  P.S.  We have a spring fever promo right now, get more info on Facebook.

Contest Closes:  Thursday, February 17th at 9:00 pm, central time.

Number of Winners:  One!

Ships:  Anywhere in the U.S.

Other Info:  We will select the winner using random.org and announce on Friday, February 18th.  Good luck!!

Gimme a Giveaway: Lil Gator Designs Winner

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Thank you so much Jen and Lil Gator Designs for a fantastic giveaway! 

Our lucky winner is number 58, Grace, who likes the ‘Vintage’ push pins and Wolverine best.  Now, that’s a girl after my heart.  Mmmm, Wolverine.  Though, Cyclops is a runner-up for me.  I love the way Wolverine and Cyclops interact, especially in the first X Men. 

For those interested in purchasing a set of push pins or magnets from Lil Gator Designs, Jen is offering free shipping!  Before purchasing, send Lil Gator Designs an Etsy message with the code ‘FREESHIP‘. 

Back to sewing for me today!  For those who follow us on Facebook, you already know some exciting news.  For those that don’t, I’ve been busy sewing a pillow to create a tutorial for a magazine!  So exciting!

P.S.  We’re offering 15% off all orders now through March 15th.  Send a message through Etsy before purchasing with the code ‘SPRING FEVER’ to get your discount.

All  images found via the featured Etsy seller’s listing as linked above.

ABC

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Its easy as 123.  As simple as do re mi.  ABC, 123, baby you and me girl Everett and Vincent?  Now that I have the Jackson 5 stuck in your head, let me show you a new print I’ve added to our boys room. 

It’s from Made by Girl.  Jen also has a really awesome, inspiring blog.  I really liked the bold font of this wedding print, but of course I wanted it to represent brotherly love, not a marriage.  So, I contacted Jen to see if the design could be customized.  Luckily, Jen was very accommodating.  I ordered a custom size (8 inches by 10 inches), sent color swatches for her to match, and of course customized with Vincent and Everett’s names. 

I bought a cheapo set of white frames from Michael’s ($7.99 for two 11 by 14’s!) added a mat and placed it on the picture shelf.

Of course, I love personalized art, and this print is great next to framed hospital bracelets.  The colors perfectly coördinate with their aqua, lime and sun yellow color scheme.

I have more artwork on order for this wall, so ignore the bare walls for now. 

What’s your favorite art piece?  A DIY project?  A gift from a family member or friend?  A cherished photograph?  Something you picked up on a vacation?  Do you have items you try to pick up from each place you visit?  I collect spoons, but I also try to get a photo book from each place we visit.  I think I’m going to start collect art from our trips, too.

Basement Progress: Large Bedroom

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I have meant to post about the progress of our basement for months now.  I’m a bad friend and haven’t shown you, until now.  We’ll start with the first room we finished down there.  This room is sort of the ugly step-child of our house.  We were given loads of free solid oak trim, so we used it in here.  Now we want to change it, but don’t really care to get around to it.

Anyway, here’s what this room looked like in 2006. 

When we learned we were expecting a baby in 2007, we kick started this project.  This is the view from the entrance.

All the furniture were hand-me-downs from Ben’s boss.  This room is really long, like 18 feet by 12 feet wide.  This is the other side of the room.  The door to the left is the walk-in closet and the door on the right is the entrance.  The window is egress, too.

Last February, while scrambling (I was 8 months pregnant with Ev) to finish the rest of the basement, this room became a storage room for everything that was downstairs. 

Yes, those little legs belong to Vincent.  And yes, our sectional was a pain to get into this room and up on the bed frame.

The next shot is from June 2010, after we cleared the room of most everything.  You will notice a gradual accumulation of stuff from this point on.  Everything that is in this room is left over and unwanted junk from the main level.

We haven’t done much to this room but turn it into an exercise/storage/dumping ground and occasionally, we banish our guests here. 

Yep, not much progress, just junk.  (This is exactly how the room looked before I decided to take pictures.  In the interest of keeping it real, I left the stack of pillows and sleeping blanket on the chair.)  I have decided on a color scheme for this room.  We’re keeping the wall color until we get the energy to replace the trim and paint, but I want to add yellow and grey for a cheery, modern feel. 

Moving the exercise equipment should help, too.  Those boxes are the filled with hardwood flooring for our kitchen, by the way.  See what I mean about a storage/dumping ground?!?

Oh, and our Target rug has found a temporary home until our laundry room is finished.  Who knows when it will make it there.  Also, would anyone be interested in a messy house tour?  Is your basement a warehouse, too?  What do you do with your exercise equipment?