Bowl full of Jelly

Today I made a Christmas wreath for our front door. And I am actually pretty proud. I got the idea from craftomaniac.blogspot.com and fell in love with it.
So how to make one of these cute wreaths:)

• wreath
• red yarn
• black fabric for belt
• fabric or paper for belt buckle
• white snow or spider web material (optional for beard. mine felt naked without it and luckily i found a leftover fake halloween spider web)

Take your yarn and tightly wrap it around the entire wreath. Hot glue the ends down.
Next measure the width of the wreath plus 2 inches and cut out the black fabric for Santas belt. I did mine 3 inches wide but it's up to you how wide you want your belt.
Cut out of paper or fabric a square for the belt buckle (make sure to cut a small square on the inside as well:)
Now hot glue the belt to the wreath on the ends and glue the buckle to the center of the belt (just place on top)
Here is my daughter modeling the wreath for me. At this point I wanted no beard and a white buckle. Once I saw it on the door it looked like it was lacking so I glued a yellow buckle on over the white one and added the beard. But here is the Before picture:

And here is the after:

Pretty cute huh?

Have a wonderful day!

Pictures of Home

Here are a few pictures of our updated home. We are still moving in (it's a longer process than we expected) and still have a lot of things to put up and put away before I will be completely satisfied with how everything looks. So if you see in these pictures something that may look out of place...that's because it probably is and will find a home soon:)
Enjoy!

This is our hallway and lots of our photos. I love pictures
and I love framing them. It's my way of scrapbooking:)

Other side of the hallway.

Master bath. Needs a few more touches of decor and it will be complete.

Amaree's room. 

Somehow my photos went out of order...Anyway this is the kitchen!

Front room. My hubby playing with his early Christmas present. HP touchpad thing.

Amaree's tinkerbell green room. That is the actual title of the paint and when asked what
color her room is, Amaree will answer with "Tinterbell deen"

I'm happy with how this turned out. It took me FOREVER to finally decide where to put all of
these pieces. BTW I only paid for the shelves ( D.I. for $1 a piece), and the blue jar (50 cents).
All the rest were lovely gifts we received!:)

My weekly calendar! I took 4 frames (all from D.I. for either 75 cents or $1) , put scrapbook paper behind
the glass, and use the glass as a white board!

Once everything is complete and decorated for Christmas I will post more pictures.
Have a wonderful day!

Turkey Day

I have so much to be thankful for on this wonderful holiday. I have the most incredible husband who loves me, cares for me, provides for me and is with me every step of the way. I feel so blessed to have him as my best friend and most importantly my partner in life. I am grateful for our beautiful little girl. She has brought me more joy than I ever could have imagined! I am so lucky to be her mother and very grateful to my Heavenly Father for blessing us with such a perfect child.
I am grateful for my family (immediate, extended, in-laws, everyone!). You have all helped us out in so many ways that I don't know how I will ever repay you!
And most importantly I am grateful for a father in heaven who has given me all of this and continues to bless me with so many things daily. Without my relationship with Him and His son, I would be lost.
I love my life and everything in it. I hope all of you have an amazing Thanksgiving and eat lots of food.:)
Have a wonderful day!

Avon Open House

I will be having an Avon open house in Highland this Saturday! It will be tons o fun so if you're in town, stop on by.
Email me if you want the address:)

madison.cook37@gmail.com

Lots of fun prizes, goodies, free samples and of course I will be there so that should be enough incentive to come:) jk.

11-3pm

Be there.

Have a wonderful day!

Amaree is 2!!

Amaree turned 2 last Sunday and her Minnie Mouse party was a success! Yes I copied ideas that I found on Pinterest and yes I'm not afraid to admit it. Here are the pictures:

Amaree had literally just woken up, with a cold, just like she did last year on her birthday.
It's the curse of the birthday cold. Which means both years she didn't even eat her own cake.

Tunnel that my parents gave her. It hooks up to a mini tent too.

Made the banner out of red and white polka dot fabric.

The room was a bit warmer than we planned so the ears kept falling. Oh well:)

My little Minnie Mouse! This skirt was mine that my mother made me
when I was 4 so I took it in and made it high waisted. The ears
were made out of a felt like fabric and hot glue.

Minnie Mouse pinata that my mother in law bought at a Mexican food store.
Funniest looking minnie I have ever seen, but who cares? It was going to be ripped
apart anyway:)

Poor Minnie. After all the candy was picked up, my brothers' dog
was let out of his kennel and was told to rip it apart...this dog
is the most gentle puppy ever and it took about 10 minutes for him to
get the nerve to bite it. Then he realized how much fun it was and ripped it
to shreds!

Have a wonderful day!

Eagle Mountain

I officially feel grown up! Yeah I'm married, yeah I have a kid, yeah I have a car but for some reason owning my own home is what makes me feel grown up:) A part of me just feels like Bryan and I are just playing "house" and it's all just pretend, which is kind of fun at the same time.

Anyway we have been slowly but surely moving every thing into their new places and I am loving all of it! Might seem weird to some, I like unpacking and organizing things! (when I'm in the mood of course:) Before we moved in I looked and looked on Pinterest for organizing/decorating ideas but once you're in the "unpacking" stage all of that kind of goes out the window and you just do your own thing:) Maybe someday I will have the energy and money and time to make all of my "pinned" items!

Here are a few "before" pictures of our place. Once I have everything in order I will update them!

Amaree jumping on bubble wrap. 

We are Moving!!

Just found out today that we  will be closing next week!! Woohoo. I am so excited/overwhelmed/nervous/elated all at the same time. I officially started packing today and have packed up ALL of my sewing supplies except my sewing machine. Since I will be so busy packing and figuring last minute things out (along with planning Amaree's 2nd birthday party which just so happens to be the day after we move:) I decided that I will pack up my crafting supplies now. So for the rest of October I won't be sewing!

It's funny to me how next week was the same week that Jen and Phil (sister and brother in law) closed on their home 2 years ago. Also the same week that I gave birth to my gorgeous baby girl:) It is a very lucky week for us!

So I know I was super excited about painting the kitchen cabinets but it looks like that isn't going to happen. Too much stuff interfering. I will be painting Amaree's room and the 2 bathrooms though:)
I am so excited I can hardly stand it.

Have a wonderful day!

Avon Calling!

Today's post is to promote my awesome job:) I sell Avon and I am proud of it. I LOVE their products and I just want everyone to as well. I especially love their skin care products. All of them make your skin feel as soft as a baby's bottom. It's incredible. I personally use their Anew facial cleanser, day cream and the Anew Genics cream. The Genics is probably my favorite because you can use it for pretty much anything skin related.

Anyway, if ya'll want to order go to youravon.com/madisoncook to check out all of their great stuff. If you order through me (as in via email or phone) I offer layaway for all of your Christmas/Holiday needs. If your order is over $30 (again has to be submitted via phone or email) I will give you 15% off. Just mention that you saw my promo on my blog:) Email: madison.cook37@gmail.com

Have a wonderful day!

Forever Family

Here are pictures from our sealing day September 2nd, 2011. My friend Kari Hellbusch took these beautiful pictures for us (her company is called Treasure Layne Photography HERE is her blog:). It was such an incredible day and I am so happy that we have such good pictures to help us remember it!
Thank you Kari!

Some of our friends and family that came to our sealing. We are so grateful for everybody who came inside and outside the temple!:)

My two favorite people in the entire universe! Just look at how gorgeous they are.

I made these matching belts and Amaree's bow for this big day:) They turned out pretty good for making them the night before!

Have a wonderful day!

Patience

Patience typically comes easy to me except when it has to do with house hunting:) So we were supposed to be closing in a week but it's looking like it will either be another 2 weeks or not at all. Boo. I'm mostly bummed that everything was smooth sailing at the beginning, and of course, at the end it decides to give us problems. I just have to keep reminding myself that if it doesn't happen, it's just not meant to be and that's that. Easier said than done:) I just keep praying that if it is the right place, then things will hopefully fall into place for us. Anyway, that's my news on our home. I will keep you updated on the process!

Now back to crafting:) So yesterday was the first time in about 2 weeks that I used my sewing machine! Can you believe it??? Cause I couldn't. I started sewing a cute ruffled scarf and ran out of elastic thread for my bobbin (to make it stretch and ruffle at the same time) so I had to cut my sewing time short. I swear I had a big spool of that stuff and it has just magically disappeared! Probably hiding under my horrendous sewing supplies/craft supplies/candy stash (behind the sewing machine is where we hide the candy from Amaree. Shhh don't tell her!).
I have been needing to make more scarves and fall like clothing for me and my daughter but have lacked the motivation to do so. I have been so consumed with finding decor items for my new place to live, and now that we might not get it I am switching my focus to something else that makes me happy (other than my family of course). Once I get some motivation and take pictures, I will be posting a few tutorials on here for you guys.

Have a wonderful day!

What to choose...

I want to start off by saying Sorry for neglecting my blog as of late. I have been super busy with my Avon business, house planning, birthday party planning, etc. As well as I have become obsessed with Pinterest. Anyway this post is about a dilemma I am having. The condo that got accepted has brand new paint and carpet which any sane person would say, "Woohoo! All the work is done for me!". Where me, being a little crazy, thought "What color should I paint each room??". I don't want EVERY room in the house to have the exact same color scheme. Some people love it and pull it off beautifully but I am a color fanatic and am itching to paint!! To me, painting a room is the best part of decorating. A wall color can change the size of the room and even change your emotions by seeing specific colors.
I want blues, yellows, greens (all lighter versions) where it is currently beige, tan and oak. Pretty but everyone has this right now (that or gray and yellow.) Which I LOVE both of these color schemes. I just don't like to be like everyone else:)
SO here is the dilemma...to paint or not to paint? And if I paint what color do I paint with? Today I am feeling really happy about keeping the existing wall colors in the kitchen, front room, master bedroom and sewing room. The kitchen I want to just paint the cabinets. They are currently oak and I am not the biggest fan of the oak color. I want to paint them teal/turquoise, lighter green, or yellow. Here are some cute examples:

I am leaning more towards the blue. I was at an old neighbors house today and she had this blue in her home. It was beautiful and I want it. So I am going to do my best to make it happen:) Even though my husband thinks I'm crazy for wanting to fix something that isn't "broken", he understands my passion for painting. 

So what do you guys think???

Home Sweet Home

The search for a home for our family has officially ended (knock on wood). It all started in July looking in condos in Eagle Mountain, Saratoga Springs, Provo, Orem, Pleasant Grove, etc. The very first offer we made was in Eagle Mountain back in July and the seller was AWOL so we continued to look on. Three offers later we got accepted!!

Last Wednesday we looked at another condo in Eagle Mountain (same complex as the first offer, just different building) and loved it even more than the first. New paint, new carpet, not a SHORT SALE, and it had only been on the market for 2 days. So we made an offer and the next day we got a call from our awesome realtor that it had been accepted...ALREADY! And after papers signed and checking on FHA loans it is pretty much official that we will be moving sometime next month to a place of our own:)

It is going to be really hard not living close to all our family but it is far enough that we can feel a little more "grown up". I can't believe it is happening and I am soooo proud of my husband for getting us here so much quicker than we thought. We have enjoyed living with my sister in law and brother in law and will most definitely miss having built in friends and babysitters:)
So now I need to start packing and start figuring out how I will be decorating:) Which is probably the best thing about getting a new place!!


Have a wonderful day!

What I did with my day

Yesterday I got tons done! Made a cute scarf for my mom, repurposed a shirt into a cardigan, made a second fabric pumpkin, and started on my fall wreath. All in 90 minutes. Yeah. I'm THAT good. Anyway here are some pictures of what I did. (oh and before all this I took a drive with Amaree through American Fork canyon to Sundance).

Amaree singing the BYU fight song.

Yes the pumpkin and this scarf are made from the same fabric. I bought a 5 yard bolt of fabric for a $1 at where else? Walmart. 

Have a wonderful day!