christmas is coming.

today is the first sunday of advent! thanks has been given and now its time to turn towards welcoming christmas. i lucked out with beautiful weather yesterday and hung up the lights. with the dreary weather today i cozied up and hunkered down to begin designing our first family christmas card. we had quite a year and i wanted to share our most celebrated moment on our joyful card: wedding and honeymoon. enjoy this holiday season! i'd be happy to make one for you, visit kjf designs.

pepto pink.

i have a 50's era, pink, tiled bathroom. not ready to invest in a full gut job, we decided to renew the look with some cosmetic updates. a fresh coat of paint and new fixtures and hardware gave the room a whole new look.  my husband even ventured to hobby lobby to pick out a mirror! my major accomplishment was sewing my first shower curtain and window treatment.  i found a damask print that was wide enough that i didn't have to piece it together to fit the 72 in by 72 in shower opening.  what a find! now its retro sheik.

before the vanity was painted

before the new window treatments

after window treatments a la kjf designs

after new paint on the walls and vanity, new hobby lobby mirror, and retro light fixtures

little pumpkin.

trudy loves pumpkin and she is going to be the best mom! when hosting a baby shower for her in the fall, i immediately was inspired by both the affectionate term and festive fruit. to celebrate trudy's little pumpkin, i decorated with martha stewart's paper poms), baked delicious pumpkin mousse tarts (recipe courtesy of my friend shari), and made favors by filling bottles with reeses pieces embellished with pumpkin ornaments. 7 weeks til the pumpkin pops!

favorite things.

i have a new favorite thing...my niece. she was well worth the wait! she is the most precious, perfectly beautiful thing i have ever seen!  in the 3 days between my meeting her and going back for a visit, i decided to try my hand at quilting.  mind you i have never done this before and i think i bit off more than i can chew. working til the wee hours of the morn i finally finished it.  also well worth the wait, but not near as beautiful, my very first quilt is pictured below.  i used amy butler fabric from her midwest modern line and no particular pattern.

oh boy.

since this niecephew is so slow coming, i opted for a turtle design on the boy onesie. still waiting to see the little one!

oh baby.

i am waiting for my sister to have her baby. the big question is will it be a boy or a girl? as i anticipate its arrival i put my crafty aunt cap on and designed my maybe niece a onesie...stay tuned to see what the nephew's looks like.

long time no blog.

so i was consumed by wedding for months and here's my last wedding diy post that never made it before the wedding. its an easy way to display photos of the happy couple as table numbers. i pretty much just found an antique-y photo frame and added my photos with a table number...easy peasey.

anti-slideshow.

for our wedding, my fiance and i wanted to display photos somehow but are anti-slideshow. in the past i've loved the slide show at weddings; its entertaining and makes people laugh, but more importantly i loved seeing how many times i was in it. many of the shows i've seen have been of people who were 10 years younger than i, leaving me with a lot more snaps to play through! so, instead of taking our guests on a trip down memory lane via a 30 minutes show, we opted to create a photo screen to be used as a back drop for the place card table. i started with an old room screen and a cardboard box. i painted the cardboard and affixed fabric with tacks. the final project is pictured below.

great balls of flower.

i am getting married!

the past few months i have been living at hobby lobby and michaels to create wedding craftiness. my latest is the flower ball that my little flower girl ava will carry. because she is so little i didn't want to put the money into a real flower bouquet, so check out what i made with styrofoam, silk flowers, and about 8 sticks of hot glue!

embellish me.

ok, so its been a while since i've last posted, but in my defense, i have been planning a wedding. whilst planning, i have forgone my normal hobby of clothes shopping, as the researching a florist and DJ have taken up my hobby time. instead of new clothes, i have chosen to embellish that which i already own. taking a skill i once honed as a child, i made a tight, small scrunchie and then pulled a knotted ribbon through the center. i fastened a safety pin to the back and voila! an embellishment to add flavor to any old jean jacket, cardigan or even a plain head band!

madras discounters.

i love madras plaid...shorts, bags, hats, belts, you name it, i love it! soo, i made my own. i got two plaid fabrics that coordinated well and quilted away. then i used the hand made fabric to sew up a bag. i use it for the beach, for work, whatever. so cute, so cheap!

this day God gives me.

recently a friend of mine had a baby girl. she came into the world with a bit of a fight but is now strong, has a full set of lungs and is a blessing to her family! i made her a wall hanging with the following song on it, which we sang in church on the day she was born.

this day God gives me strength in high heaven,
sun and moon shining, flame in my hearth,
flashing of lightening, wind in its swiftness,
depths of the ocean, firmness of earth.

this day God gives me strength as my guardian,
might to uphold me, wisdom as guide.
your eyes are watchful, your ears are listening
your lips are speaking, friend at my side.

God's way is my way, God's shield is 'round me,
God's host defends me, saving from ill.
angels in heaven drive from me always
all that would harm me, stand by me still.