Entry Table: Before and After

I have been looking for a table for my front entry since we moved into this house...7 years ago.  Until I could find something, I just put a family portrait on the wall and left it like that.  But, the space felt empty.  And, every Halloween I especially wished I had a table there to sit the candy bowl on.

I just couldn't find anything that fit all of my qualifications. It had to be inexpensive, fit the space, and be something I liked. I started scoping out local thrift stores for such a table (though I started to be resigned to maybe having a chest of drawers there at one point). Finally, I found it. It was about $40, fit my measurements, and was cute (underneath the iffy paint).

I especially liked the scallops.  But I didn't so much like it's 90s paint job, even if the details were in my favorite colors, yellow and green.  It was too fussy, too dated.

So, I took some spray paint to it.  I covered it, first, with white primer, and then white glossy spray paint.  And here's the after:

I added a big IKEA frame and a beautiful new family portrait, a funky Target Lamp, and I made some "quote boards," which is a post for another time.  :)

It really livens up the space.  I totally love it.

Simplicity 2475

I got a great blouse from Old Navy for my birthday. It has sweet little red butterflies all over it. I knew it would look great with a red pencil skirt.

To make it, I pulled out my go-to pencil skirt pattern, Simplicity 2475. I used it before to make a yellow pencil skirt:

That yellow skirt was the first clothing item I'd made from a pattern in nearly a decade.  It was rather nice as I made my red one this time around to see the improvements I've made in my sewing skills.  The first time around I was frustrated by the pattern-ese language in the directions.  The second time?  I tossed the instructions aside entirely and did it my own way.  :)

It's pretty simple, but that's the point with a pencil skirt, no?  It does have cute kick-pleats in the back to jazz it up a little.  I really like them.

I capped off the outfit with some cute off-white heels and had a cute springy outfit for church this week. Now if spring would actually come...

"Love Is A Battlefield" Valentines

I have my next sewing project all cut out and ready to sew, but first I have to make sure my boys have valentines for their class parties.  

I saw these cute valentines by Jacolyn Murphy (she has a ton of really cute Valentine ideas!) about a month ago and decided that they'd be perfect for my boys.

They're cute, easy, and best of all, they were cheap!  :)  I found these army men on clearance at Target for 25 cents a bag.  Since I already had the cardstock and ink used to print the hearts, I made 54 valentines for only 75 cents.

I made the heart in Photoshop Elements.  The words are written in this cute soldier font I found at dafont.com.

Since I know I love free printables, I'm sure you must too, so I made you a free printable of this valentine so you can print them at home.  All you need to do is put your child's name at the bottom.  You can use whatever photo software you have to add the text, or you can just write it on.  (Both the large heart and the small heart by the name are just basic heart shapes using the shape tool in PSE, in case you want to add the heart, too.)

Enjoy and have a happy Valentine's Day!