doll bed makeover.

before:

after:

i've been meaning to post this makeover for a long time, but here it is several months later. serena got this $20 ikea doll bed for her 2nd birthday. as a ploy to get her excited about sleeping in a big girl bed, i thought i would spruce it up a bit. it came with unfinished wood and the most hideous bedding ever {meant to be gender neutral or something}. so i found some fabric and my mom did the sewing. i painted and mod podged the bed, and voila! we bought serena a big girl doll {one with hair} to put in it, but she is napping with her at the moment, thus the baby doll.

if i were to do it over again, i would paint the bed a paler pink or white and skip the mod podging, but overall i like how it turned out.

did the ploy work? not really. but that was weeks ago and she now sleeps in her bed like a champ. for the most part.

loves.

this friendship bracelet tutorial. i am obsessed. perfect for girls camp!! {totally making these next}

girls camp in 2 days!!!

this gorgeous re-telling of rapunzel. the illustrations make me so happy! serena will love it... when i'm ready to quit hoarding it to myself and accept that she will ruin it and that's ok.

$5 pizza for dinner when i really don't wanna cook.

the adorableness of this dollhouse makeover.

wiley wallaby licorice. original red + green apple!

bbq with little sisters. best hamburger of the summer!

my camera finally fixed {after sending it in for repair twice.}

harper's top teeth coming in.... fangs first! looks so goofy.

stormy summer evenings.

serena saying the word favorite {"fabrit"} about all of her things.

colors of our summer.

1. yellow blossoms on my tomato plant
2. red toes
3. neon yellow + turquoise {can a woman of my age, marital & parental status pull off these glasses? truthfully, now.}
4. pinwheel baby shower decorations
5. colorful summery notebooks
6. harper in her pink hat
7. blue swings + blue eyes + green grass
8. summer salads + grilled hot dogs

and last but not least:

9. red theater seats + us
10. darkened theater + spotlight on brian regan
{we laughed ourselves silly. tears were streaming down my face. so very hilarious.}

valentines's day weekend.

lots of snow.

some lovey decor.

lots of babies.

{this is 4 of the 6}

lots of treats.

a vday dinner.


sledding.

friends. games. late nights. goooooood food. pedicures and girl talk for the ladies. pool and xbox for the boys. it was a much needed break from real life.

and a final rose after the bachelor :)

{well, a dozen, to be exact.}

now i need to go on a cleanse diet. holy cow.

before & after.

i finally got around to putting hardware on serena's new dresser, so here are the before & after photos!

before:

after:

a fresh coat of white paint, new hardware, and voila! {that makes it sound like it was easy... it was actually a lot of work...} i kind of love it in serena's room.

lanterns.

these are so beautiful! i need to throw an outdoor party just so i can make them. or maybe the decor of this next baby's room will be based around these pretties! {if it's a girl, anyway.}

learn how to make them here on crafty nest {found via pepper design}.

we went.

and it was awesome.

i bought a cute flower clip, a silly kitty case for my new phone, and i won an adorable CTR necklace in the raffle. am i too old to wear a CTR necklace? my mom bought me a necklace from armelle for mothers day {it's gooooorgeous! and has a locket!} and a dress for serena's birthday and she won a super cute dry erase menu board. when you get there before the crowd, there's higher odds that you'll win something in the raffle :)

loved it. you should go.



and speaking of my phone, i got a droid and i love it! iphone, shmiphone :)

bird garland.

i love this bird garland by gillargirl. it's so dreamy. i think i'll make one.

i'm still alive.

just completely buried in yarn.

it's crazy how selling your stuff for dirt cheap makes the orders roll in :) i'm currently working on a custom order for a lady who wants me to match flowers to 15 different outfits for her three daughters. it's fun, but WOW a lot of time.

we have also been celebrating sean's 30th birthday. i think he's offended that i didn't do a birthday post for him, but i was under the impression that he wanted to not be reminded that he is now an old man! weird... sean will be in his thirties and me in my twenties for the next five years!

serena has decided to cut 3 teeth at once, so we've had some pretty miserable {sleepless} nights around here. it's a good thing she's so cute and i love her so much.

tonight we are off to lindsay's second derby bout! we're pretty excited! go o town! we're bringing some friends and i think they'll love it.

nothing much here.

today i have been cleaning up messes behind serena and pulling her down off of the many things she tries to climb,

working on my pom poms,

and chasing after serena some more.

nothing much here.

pom poms.

i love these fabric pom poms seen on once wed. i don't know where i'll put them, but i'm making them anyway! maybe i'll hang these on the mobile. or maybe i'll use them for serena's birthday party. i can't believe i'm already planning it!

ooooh and this fabric flower garland too!

sometimes when i'm bored...

i crochet random things like this pouch. what will i use it for? a pencil case? a camera bag? not sure. but it kept my hands busy for a while! actually my hands will be out of commission for a while after crocheting it so tight. i think i have carpal tunnel.

next on the list {after my hands recuperate}: pom poms of some sort to replace the frogs on serena's mobile. nothing wrong with the frogs, i just want a project :)

satisfied?

i have had these frames hanging in my house for 3 years. they have been empty until today. i meant for them to be that way. my inspiration came from an article in martha stewart's magazine many years ago. there was a whole section about hanging empty frames and i loved it! sean has never liked or understood the awesomeness of the empty frames. probably many of you who have visited my house have felt the same way! well hopefully today sean will be satisfied.

ann gave me a few little practice roosters with my big rooster. they are so cute and fun and i didn't want them to go to waste! so for now, my empty frames are no longer empty. we'll see how long i keep it that way.

winners!

the SerenaBee giveaway winners are:
{drawn from a bowl by serena}

Tiff said...
I love the Marianne Headband- all black and the Ruby flower clip.. but everything is super cute.. I would be happy to win anything! :) love your blog!

and

Karen said...
I like (and have thought many time of ordering) the Julia headband and the Chloe flower clip...you are talented!! (PS...I "found" you off Nie food blog)

congrats, ladies!
email your shipping info to serenabee{at}live.com.

♥ ♥ ♥

i found you, rubine red!

and i bought 3 skeins of you so i won't have to worry for a very long time.

i've had a tiny ball of rubine red yarn for a few months that i have been using very cautiously. it's my favorite. and i couldn't find it in any stores. i tried looking it up online, but it's difficult to find a particular kind of yarn if you don't know the color name. after much searching, i found it. oh beautiful beautiful rubine red!

skein: a continuous strand of yarn arranged in a loose coil.
rubine: a pigment somewhat redder than true magenta.

{my mom told me that it's called a "skein" of yarn and i had never in my life heard the word. and i call myself a crocheter!}

matryoshka.

sean brought home a nesting doll from his trip to russia, and ever since then i have kind of been in love with them. i'm loving all of these matryoshka {or babushka} dolls on etsy. i think i need to start a collection.

maybe if i had cute knitting needles like that i would be motivated to learn to knit. same with the pin cushion... i've yet to use my sewing machine!

{knitting needles} {print} {fabric dolls} {apron} {dress}

{tote} {necklace} {pin cushion} {party invitations}

for a baby boy.

i made this cozy hat & blanket for baby truman. you can buy the set from my shop for a little boy in your life. a girly version coming soon :)

cake plates.

i made these cake plates last month {i have yet to use them for cake...}, and have loved them so much! originally i wanted to use vintage floral printed plates, but after shopping around a bit, i decided i liked the idea of plain white better. the pair cost about $25.00. 2 crystal candlestick holders {michael's}, 2 white plates with scalloped edges {tj max}, some super strong glue {michael's}, and voila! custom cake plates just for me, perfect for parties or everyday display ♥

thank you.

serena is a very unhappy girl right now. teething + fever + runny faucet nose + watery eyes = a sad, irritated girl. but on a positive note:

thank you steph for the much needed hair cut & color. now i won't have 2 inch re-growth in our family photos.

thank you mom for watching a cranky serena while i worked and got said haircut. and for the nummy guilt-free oatmeal raisin cookies. and for the best ground beef ever! i wish i could make it to macey's more often.

thank you martha for the fun shadow box display idea. this wasn't actually a project in the encyclopedia, just in the background of a display photo. oh and thanks also for giving me some great ideas for baby tru's upcoming shower!

thank you hip & humble for being awesome and adorable. i found darling birthday presents for some friends today. how did i not know you were just up the street?

thank you cafe rio for the thursday special. pork tamales are high on my list of favorite foods. i really didn't feel like making dinner tonight.

thank you baby einstein for distracting serena for a few minutes. i couldn't have done my hair this morning without you.

thank you gretchen for the lovely surprise on my doorstep! {that was you, right?}

thank you husband for cleaning up the broken bottles of baby food that fell out of the back of my car :)