Camper Daydreaming: A Little Vintage Eye Candy

This is what's been on my mind lately. I have a bucket list and this is at the top of it. I want to own a little vintage camper :) I dream of taking her on romantic weekend getaways with the hubby and on some fun-filled trips with the kids. I want to doll her up and just hang out in her...even if it's parked in my driveway! The obsession started about 8 mos ago when I first discovered that these little beauties existed and now I cannot get them out of my head. I'm still searching for the perfect one...and at the right price ;) Whenever I see a pretty quilt or a cute vintage accessory I think "this would look great in my vintage camper!"...yeah I'm nuts, lol! One day it will happen though...it will!

For now I will just daydream and live vicariously through everyone else who owns one! Like this one (swoon)...

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and this one here (how cute with the matching vintage truck!)...

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and look at this! How peaceful and amazing!

I could totally see myself here!

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And I just adore this precious teeny camper! How cute is this?! Oh and I'll take that sweet little doggie too!

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and how about all these!!! Aaaah...I love them all!!

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I can't wait to fix one up and make it look like some of these! This first one is painted in my favorite color!

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 How warm and inviting is this family camper?! It looks like a children's wonderland and is absolutely precious! I want to go wherever they are going ;)

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I love how this one reminds me of a picnic and apple pie! It's so cheerful and fun...how could anyone not smile hanging out in here?! :)

Just look at how bright and amazing this one is!! I love how she painted it completely white inside and threw in all the pops of color with accessories! So girly! Love it!

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This one is actually set up as a little shop! Genius! It oozes vintage charm! I see some things I want to buy for my camper...aaaah, daydreams!

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There are so many more wonderful campers that I didn't share here. I have an entire pinterest board dedicated to this dream of mine!! Dreams do come true, ya know! Happy Friday!!

Shabby & Sweet Cane Back Chairs: A Before & After

I picked up these gorgeous cane back chairs this past week after finding them buried in craigslist. There was no mention of the word cane in any part of the ad which is probably why they hadn't been picked up already. They were listed for $150 along with a little side table but seller said he'd do the set of chairs for $70! Steal! I loved that they still had the original blue tufted upholstery that was in really nice condition. All they needed was a little paint to give them new life.

I'm a little impatient when it comes to prepping for a project and I couldn't figure out how I was going to remove the upholstered seats easily. Part of the upholstery wrapped around the side of the chairs (you can see that in one of the after images). So what is a girl to do?! Make plastic bag slipcovers of course! All I did was tear open some plastic shopping bags and tape them over the upholstery using painters tape...and scotch tape when I ran out, lol! Both worked perfectly and came off easily without damaging the finished paint.

I had no idea how time consuming it would be to paint caning!! It took For-E-Ver! I finally resorted to using a tiny little art brush instead of my regular painting brush. It was slow going but the tiny art brush got into the cracks and crevices so much more efficiently than a regular painting brush. It was also much easier to paint around the taped edges of the upholstery because I had much more control than I did with my bulkier brush. So there's my tip...paint cane back chairs with an artist brush!

I used Annie Sloan Old White for this project because I wanted that shabby chic cottage look for these chairs. The Old White paired perfectly with the pale blue upholstery to achieve this look :) Here they are all done! What a change huh?! You'll have to excuse the indentions in the carpet. These are replacing a large oversized chair that was in this spot. We are hoping to replace the carpet with hardwoods but haven't tackled that project just yet ;)

I found my Nest pillow here.

Here is the space they now occupy in the living room. There used to be a big, bulky, oversized chair here in an awful slipcover. I've been wanting to switch it out for forever. I think these sweet chairs are much better suited in this space :)

 A close-up of the distressing. I did 3-4 coats on these chairs and finished with Annie Sloan's clear wax.

A view from above. I just love these tufted seats!

This quilt was actually a cutter quilt that I got free. It was a queen sized quilt but had rips, tears, and large holes all over it which left it un-useable. An etsy seller gave it to me as a surprise when I bought another quilt in her shop. She said she thought I could use it to create other projects. I made this little throw blanket buy cutting out a large portion that was still intact and then sewing some soft flannel to the back. It's now the perfect lap quilt and looks great draped over these chairs :) I still have sections left that would make great pillow covers!

So what do you think? I hope this will send you on a hunt for your own cane back chairs! They really are pretty and especially nice for adding seating to small spaces. The guy who sold them to me said his wife HATED these chairs and had been wanting to get rid of them for years. I wonder if she'd hate them now ;) Have a fabulous Monday!

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Healthy Lunches Made Easy Courtesy of Planetbox: a product review

I have mentioned in previous posts that our family is on a journey to cut out processed food and eat more local and more whole foods. We buy organic as much as possible, buy grass-fed/pastured meat and eggs from local farms that don't use hormones or antibiotics, visit our farmers market for produce, and read every ingredient label on store bought products looking for items with just a few simple ingredients as well as those that don't have GMOs. It's a very overwhelming learning curve with so many things to consider when making food choices for your family. The majority of our store bought groceries come from Trader Joes, Earthfare, Whole Foods or our local health food co-op called Deep Roots Market. We are not perfect but we are doing our best to keep processed food out of our home as much as possible. I cook dinner from scratch most nights of the week but coming up with fun and healthy lunches that my kids will actually eat has proved to be a challenge...until now. I discovered an amazing lunchbox system called Planetbox! This is no ordinary lunchbox! This is a high quality, non-toxic stainless steel lunchbox with multiple compartments that allows you to pack a healthy and balanced meal that is very visually appealing! The one piece tray makes it incredibly easy to clean too! Just pop it in the dishwasher!!

There are actually two versions of Planetbox, the Rover for smaller appetites, and the Launch for larger appetites. Both come nestled within their own carrying case. This is the Rover Planetbox system...which in all honesty can hold enough food for anyone. I chose the Rover because it is perfect for sending lunch to school with my kiddos. This great carrying case includes a stretchy front pocket that is the perfect size for a water bottle or juice box.

Each Planetbox Rover comes with your choice of magnets to help personalize your lunchbox! My girls LOVE these fairy magnets! They had to take turns taking them off and putting them back on...over & over & over again, lol!

I absolutely LOVE that the Planetbox Rover has 5 compartments. It also includes 2 separate containers (Big & little dipper) to hold dips, yogurt, or an additional snack. The big dipper fits perfectly in the front flap pocket of the carrying case if your child need an extra school snack...or, either dipper can fit inside the box itself. Kids like to have choices when they eat and this lunchbox allows them to have a healthy variety of foods. Having everything compartmentalized also makes it look yummy and fun. Even my husband said he wanted to take this to work for his lunch...he didn't even care that it was pink! (BTW...pink is just one option...there are multiple colors to choose from!)

The possibilities are endless with the lunches you can create using a Planetbox. During the kids spring break I let them each take turns using the Planetbox. They were fighting over who was going to get to use it so it was declared that they all must share it, lol! I created this lunch for my son Hayden (he wasn't as thrilled with the pink, lol). His lunch includes:

2 hardboiled eggs (from local pastured chickens)

organic hummus and baby carrots (Trader Joes)

pita chips (Trader Joes)

organic celery and raisins with homemade peanut butter (made only from roasted unsalted peanuts)

trail mix that includes dried fruit, nuts and a bit of chocolate (from bulk bin at Deep Roots Coop)

He really liked this lunch...except for the carrots. He's not a big carrot fan but I was trying to get him to branch out.

I made this lunch for Halle. Her meal included:

whole wheat wrap with peanut butter (homemade) and organic bananas
organic cheese (grass-fed cows) puzzle pieces (my kids are more likely to eat things cut into shapes!)
organic baby carrots with homemade veggie dip
organic apple slices
a few annie's bunny fruit bites

She liked this lunch except she wouldn't eat the bananas in the wrap. She didn't like them mixed with the peanut butter. And again...she wasn't a fan of the carrots. Halle is my pickiest eater. I'm struggling to get her to try new things.

This was another lunch I created and in all honesty this is more in line with a typical Halle lunch. It's hard to get her to eat veggies. Baby steps I guess. This meal included:

Peanut butter on 100% sprouted whole wheat bread...cut into dolphin shapes (again my kids like shapes)
organic unsweetened applesauce
organic cheese puzzles (from grass-fed cows)
Annie's Organic cheddar bunnies (I realize these aren't a great choice but this is what she'll eat right now)
2 Annie's chocolate bunnies and a couple chocolate chips as a treat

And of course Ella had to test out the Planetbox as well. She got to try it once the kids went back to school. Her meal included:

peanut butter and organic strawberry conserves on sprouted whole wheat bread
organic apple slices
organic banana slices
Annie's honey bunny grahams
Annie's bunny fruit bites for a treat

Planetbox now offers a great new application on their website where you can get meal ideas from other Planetbox users as well as share your own meals. Share-A-Box is a great place to go if you are short on ideas or just don't know where to begin. You'll find lots of creative lunch solutions in one easy to browse location. The application also has an area called Plan-It-Box where there is a diagram of the tray and you can click on each individual compartment and Planetbox will give you image after image of food ideas for that compartment! How cool is that?! Definitely check it out!

I absolutely love the Planetbox lunchbox system and am pretty sure that we will be needing 2 more of these so that each kiddo can have their own. It really does make packing lunches so much easier and the kids tend to try new things when their food is presented in such a fun way!

*Planetbox supplied me with the Rover Planetbox system for the purpose of this review. However all the views and opinions expressed within this post are my own.  I only share products I would be happy to use with my own family.

The Lovely Lowboy: A Before & After

I told you yesterday that I was working on another painted furniture project and I'm really excited to share the "after" with you today! The moment I saw this lowboy dresser on craigslist I knew it would be beautiful!! Of course it needed a little TLC but it had great bones and a lot of hidden potential! I offered $30 and the seller said yes! So, here it is "before". I actually got sidetracked when I started this project and completely forgot to do my own before photos so I had to go borrow the one from the craigslist ad.

And here is the "after"....TaDa!! How adorable is this piece?! I removed the empty mirror frame for now and I do have some cool ideas and future plans to add it back but for now it makes a great storage piece for shoes and toys in the living room. Oliver quickly made himself comfortable. He tends to take over anything new in the house. He thinks he owns the place :)

I just love this two-tone combination! I used Annie Sloan Duck Egg for the drawers and Old White for the body of the dresser. I did 3 paint coats on this dresser and then some all over distressing just because I like it that way! My dad came over this past weekend and saw the empire dresser I recently shared here and the first thing he said was "Is it supposed to look all scratched up? Did you mean to do that?" LOL! "yes dad, I meant to do that!" Ha ha!!

Here's a view from above! This little detailing along the edges and down the sides is what made me fall in love with this piece when I found it!! It distresses so nicely and really gives it a character all it's own.

Sorry for the kitty photo bombs, lol! He clearly had no intention of getting out of my way while I took these photos! "Go ahead...Just try to move me from this spot!"

I decided against painting over or replacing the original hardware on this piece. I actually love them even though they are brass. They have such a great shape and patina that is so unique! I just couldn't part with them or cover them up. They were meant to stay with this dresser. So, what do you think? Not bad for $30, huh?!

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What I'm Working On

Today I spent the afternoon giving new life to this vintage lowboy dresser I found for a steal on craigslist. It was pretty sad looking in the "before" pic but the revived "after" version is absolutely adorable!! Be sure to come back tomorrow to see how awesome it looks now!! I can't stop staring at it!

She is 5! My "Baby" is 5.

My sweet and spunky "baby Ella" is officially 5 today!! We celebrated this past Saturday with her Brave party but today is her actual birthday. I cannot believe it's been 5 years since we welcomed this beautiful little girl into our family. 5 seems like such a big number...pretty soon she'll be starting school, leaving the nest for 6 hours a day. ~sigh~ that's gonna be a hard day for me...but Oh so exciting for her!! She'll have so many new experiences and fun things to learn and explore. It's a bittersweet milestone. My "baby" is not a baby anymore. She was our surprise child and she is definitely full of surprises! I am blessed beyond measure to be her mommy and I know God has all kinds of wonderful in store for her life! She is our "wild card" child. We never know what she's going to do next and we know we have our hands full with her "spunkiness" but I just pray that I can lead her by example and teach her to honor God in all that she does. Proverbs 22:6 says "Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it." That is my prayer for her...that she will put God first and look to Him for guidance. Blessings are sure to follow!

Proverbs 3:6 "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."

Happy 5th Birthday Ella!! We love you to pieces!

On another note, I started this blog a couple months after Ella's birth which means that we are almost at the 5 year mark!! Do any of you remember when it was "Sew Inspiring"? This was my very first post. The kids were all so little and my blog was so very different. Thank you to all of you who have been here since the beginning and to those of you who are just now joining this ride :) I appreciate each and every one of you, truly!

An Enchanted Brave Birthday Party: Happy 5th Birthday Ella

Yesterday we celebrated Ella's 5th birthday, Brave style!! This was such a fun party to create and was relatively simple. I incorporated lots of moss to create a very green, woodsy display reminiscent of Merida's trek into the forest. I used wood stumps to display the treats and some plaid fabrics to give a Scottish vibe. The blue "wisps" were tucked into the moss and were one of my favorite parts of this table. They faded in and out at different rates to give a fun visual experience. (I added a short video to the end of this post in case you wanted to see the "wisps" in action) I hope you'll enjoy this tour through the party details!! 

Check out another fabulous cake made by my friend Rachel! Perfect detailing right down to the wood grain in the bow and arrow and the leather-like wrapping on the bow handle!! Ah-Mazing!!

I filled these little cups with some healthy treats perfect for an adventure in the forest. This trail mix is made up of organic dried fruit, nuts and bits of chocolate :)

I absolutely love the glowing "wisps" that light the way around all the treats on the party table! This was a fun detail!

Delicious Bear Paw cookies made from whole wheat, raw sugar, and baking chocolate!! These were yummy and a super fun way to incorporate the bear aspect into the party table!

I love the way you feel as if you are peering into the forest to catch a glimpse of this beautiful cake!

I wanted to keep the drink a neutral color that blended well with the earthy color palette so I just filled this decanter with organic unfiltered apple juice. The color was perfect with the neutral colored theme and definitely a kid-friendly beverage :) I created a plaid sash pinned with Merida's clan crest to help tie it all together!

Ella LOVED her party table!! And I made this cute Merida style crown using a template I found here.

The birthday girl admiring her cake!

She was so cute as she listened to everyone sing happy birthday to her! She loves attention this one ;)

Making her birthday wish!!

We cut the cake to reveal a delicious red velvet cake that mimicked Merida's red locks!

In the backyard I wanted to create a mini version of the Highland Games so the kids would have some activities to keep them busy. I hand-painted this board to create a fun bean-bag type game using nylons filled with beans as the "haggis"! This was a hit with the party guests! Well worth the time I put into it!

I also created a target using a wreath-form and some canvas fabric. I painted the blue ring onto the canvas and then glued it to the wreath form. I then added a red piece of cotton to the inside to create a large bullseye for the kids to aim for. They had a lot of fun shooting the bow and arrows!

One of the activities I planned for the party was letting each of the guests create a Coat of Arms. This required quite a bit of prep work b/c of the age of the kids. I had to pre-cut all the shields, shapes and banners in order to make this a craft that was suitable for young children and wouldn't require too much parental help. All they needed were some markers and glue sticks to complete their art piece! You can get the template here.

Ella with most of her party guests. We had a few that were still running around playing outside :) I'm pretty sure they all had a blast at this party. Ella came to me afterwards and said "Mommy, my party was awesome!" That is the best compliment I could get!!

Here is a quick little video I created so you could see the "wisps" in action. Sorry for the awful video and audio quality but you'll get the idea. And I was about to lose my voice so you can barely hear me when I narrate a few parts. I'd suggest just turning the audio off and just watching ;)