Craft Hope Project 23

I have been wanting to have a craft group to do one of Craft Hope's projects for a while now.  Craft Hope is a blog with a major impact. Blogger, Jade, has projects regularly and tens of thousands of crafters make things and send them in to be dispersed all over the world. 

So, finally, when Project 23 came out, I decided to get together with some of my MOPS mommas and have a mini sewing party. This project was for pillowcases dresses to be sent all over... to a school in Jordan, an orphanage in Costa Rica, Tanzania, and more.  We came together for gumbo and snacks and got to work.

We had 6 women and 4 sewing machines going at a time!

In the end, we made 11 dresses ready to be shipped! We tried to make a wide variety of sizes, following this amazing guide of sizing info and more. 

We hope this spreads some love to 11 little girls!

Blaine and Vivienne's Shared Bedroom Inspiration

We have a 3 bedroom house. I decided that right now is our only window of opportunity for the kids to share a bedroom and have a separate playroom.  I know they will not always be able to tolerate sharing a room together, so I'm taking advantage now. I am on tight budget for this project, as it is completely unplanned, unnecessary, and totally cosmetic... but thought I would share what I am doing. I have recently spent a dangerous amount of time on Pinterest, Ikea, and Ikea hacks websites and think I have finally decided on a direction.

My decision started with a photo I found on Pinterest (blog linked here)

I just love that each child's bed is gender specific but go so well together in the room without being overwhelming. After a lot of searching, I decided that I like pulling colors from each others bedding for added details. I love the bright colors, but this is a small bedroom (12'x9') that I will be working with, so I am little nervous. I have dedicated the larger bedroom as the playroom.  I have also already considered artwork, finding these adorable prints, sold here. I won't be buying these, because I did already have something else in mind,  but aren't they so cute?! I'm a sucker for an ampersand. 

As far as beds, I considered bunk beds to save on space, but have ultimately decided against it because of safety concerns with my wild sleepers. A big downfall of this small bedroom is that there is no way to do twin beds parallel to each other. So, they will have to be in an L-shape to make this work. I did stumble upon a really amazingly awesome and thrifty upholstered Ikea hack of the Fjellse bed. Only $39 for a twin... and it's a solid wood bed!  I will be purchasing these and more through Blue Bag in New Orleans. They offer cheaper shipping than buying directly from Ikea and you can order anything (instead of the limited selection available for online purchases). I will just have to send my wonderful husband uptown to pick it up!

I have ordered the bedding sets for both kids and am eagerly awaiting them so I can get started with this project. The bedroom walls are already painted Ralph Lauren - Toast and I won't be changing it, mostly because I just don't feel like painting and think it is a great neutral for what will be a very bright room. This swatch is funny looking, but this is what I found online to show as an example.

Hopefully I will be able to just touch up a few spots from previous screws and will not have to repaint. The crown molding, trim, doors, and ceiling are white and that might need a few touch-ups too.

Stay tuned for more details!