A sneak peek at my labor of love

It's only a little over a week until we move into our new house and I am so excited to get in and get settled!  I measured every inch of the house during showings and I've been drawing room plans and space planning every nook and cranny since!  I generally despise shopping but have turned a new leaf...don't tell Dave Ramsey... I discovered the marvelous world of online shopping!  Don't worry, my cheapskate side has kept the budget in check and I can't wait to see it all pulled together and show you all my fun finds!!

Being that we are not in the house yet, I've been working on some art projects that we will hang in our new living room!  My sister gave me a 5 pack of 16x20 blank canvases for my birthday last fall and I have been keeping them for a future house project.  I bought some blue painters tape, paintbrushes, and some craft paint and set to work!  

Each canvas was taped off in a different geometric pattern and then painted to coordinate with the overall color scheme of the room.  

Simple project right?  

Tape, paint, remove tape, and voilà... 

DIY artwork I love and can be proud of!

NOT that simple!

First off, let me clarify that perfectionists like myself should only undertake this type of project if they have spent a considerable amount of time mentally preparing themselves for the mistakes they will assuredly make.  

I carefully laid the tape just so, followed a 37 step process to ensure nice clean lines, and then spent a few late evenings touching up all the paint that slipped through the cracks!  

And that was just for one of the five canvases!!

I still am not 100% impressed when I look up close, but here is one of my labors of hate love!

Terrible quality photo, courtesy of my dumb phone, but you get the gist!!

Despite all the work that went into this one, I am still so excited to complete the rest and see how they look on my wall!!

For your benefit, I am including a list of "Do's" and "Don'ts" for anyone who decides they want to take on this project! 

DO

Paint your canvases a base color before taping. 

I painted mine white :)

Pre-plan your tape lines.

Pinterest is a wonderful resource - come up with a theme, "geometric" in my case, and go from there!

Smooth over tape lines to eliminate little bubbles that allow paint to seep through.

I used my credit card like a window scraper.... however, that being said, my canvas had quite a few imperfections so maybe choose a different tool!

Repaint over tape with base color again so it will fill any bubbles you missed.

Paint 2 coats of your color of choice.

Carefully remove tape and touch up any mistakes.

DON'T 

Get overzealous and try to take on a pattern that is too intricate.

This particular pattern fit that bill!  

Scrimp on the quality of the paintbrushes by buying a multi-pack for $1.

I spent more time picking out tiny little bristles than I care to admit!

Utilize the "ripping off the band-aid" method when removing tape.

Switch brands of your base paint when the first bottle runs out.

I made the mistake of believing that white is white so switching to a different brand of paint wouldn't matter... 

NOT TRUE.  When I touched up the areas where the color seeped through, it looked like I used white out!  This resulted in me trying to repaint over all of the white base with the new white paint, which then resulted in getting the new white paint all over the colored sections, which resulted in me repainting the colored sections, which resulted in needing to touch up where my shaky hand failed me, which resulted in me slowly going crazy!

Over-analyze your work.

As a perfectionist, this is a hard pill to swallow.  I will likely point out all of my mistakes to any person who compliments the canvas because I can't help myself, but when I take a step back it actually looks pretty darn good :)

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I can't wait to finish up the rest of them so you can see them all together!!

The Wheels of Change...

I can't believe I haven't written on here for almost 3 months!!  Actually, I can believe it... I am terrible at sticking to anything, hence the utter failure of my New Year's Resolutions!  So much has changed since then and there are more exciting changes to come so make sure to read to the end...

My little guy turned two February 8th!



He couldn't muster a smile for the camera! 
And that crooked picture in the background is enough to drive me crazy!

I am a huge fan of themed parties... I usually like to think outside the box and come up with an obscure, fun concept (like Natalie's Puzzle theme for her 3rd birthday). I failed to come up with something unique so we went with Teddy's favorite character Mickey Mouse!

We invited everyone to Teddy's Clubhouse for the party and I had some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse songs cued up for kiddos to dance along to!



We had a little help from Toodles!

All the kiddos donned handmade Mickey Mouse ears. 

*Helpful tip, do not wait until the night before to start making the ears! 

Also, just go ahead and pay a little more for self-adhesive felt...

felt + tacky glue = Headache!

After eating Mickey Mouse pancakes and "hotdogs" (sausage links), they painted some Mickey Mouse pictures...

...then went fishing for red gooey fish!

The kids had fun and so did I!!

My little lady is turning four next week! 

 

I was stuck when trying to come up with a theme for her party.  I wanted to do a lifesize Candyland concept, but the confines of apartment living coupled with old man winter refusing to take a hike squashed that idea quickly.  We settled on a Bubble Gum Bash by default... I had purchased some mini gumball machines on post-Easter clearance that I was planning on saving for a future party (yes I've started planning her 8th birthday party).  Natalie saw them and begged to have a bubble gum party now... somehow my explanation of "just wait 4 more years" didn't quite register with her... so we're going with it. 

 

My little tiny one is growing quickly. 

 

I am halfway through the pregnancy now and can't wait to see his/her little face on the ultrasound next week!  Apparently this baby just wanted to make my belly pop right out! I've been asked if I am carrying twins and often get a shocked, almost mortified look when I respond "September 14th" to the question "when are you due?" 

 

I have 9 days until I can finally say I am a college graduate! 

 

How pathetic... it only took me a span of 8 years to get a bachelors degree!  But lots of people take that long to graduate right?  "Yeah, they're called doctors!" (Gotta throw in a little Tommy Boy whenever possible).  In fairness, I did only take 7 semesters to do it... I just took my sweet time!

 

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I saved our biggest and most exciting changes for last! 

 

My hubby has accepted a position with a new company...

 

which means that

 

We are moving!!

 

We are packing up the UHaul in 10 days and will make the 2 1/2 hour drive back to our hometown!!

 

I will miss so much of our life here...

CHURCH

 

We had to search a bit to find the right fit, but once we did we settled right in!  Grace Baptist has been so wonderful to us... the children's programs are amazing, the ladies' ministry is wonderful, our small group is the highlight of every other week, and the preaching is always insightful and challenging.

 

MOPS

I had the pleasure of serving on the steering team for my local chapter of Mothers of Preschoolers for the past year.  The friendships that I formed within the steering team are some of the closest I have, and I've so enjoyed having an excuse to hang out with mamas a few times a month. 

 

The O.G.

 

I started working at the Olive Garden out of necessity.  We were paying for an apartment and the sale on our house had fallen through, so we needed the income to cover both until we secured new buyers.  Olive Garden was about to open and was a hop skip and a jump from our house so I applied.  I never imagined looking forward to going to work (I'd much rather stay home and play with my kids), but the people at O.G. make it a fun place to be and I will miss them!  And the breadsticks! And the Chicken Gnocchi soup!! 

 

FRIENDS

 

You know who you are... you are the ones I laughed and cried with, celebrated and grieved with, vented to and offered advice to.... you took my kids when I just needed a break and I returned the favor when you thought you might pull out your hair... we double-dated, play-dated, and mommy-dated... we dreamed and planned and schemed our futures and our kiddos futures together and it breaks my heart to leave you all.  I won't forget you and all the memories!!

Along with all the important stuff previously listed, I will miss the convenience of living within a minute of Target, Old Navy, Sams, the Mall, Olive Garden and Texas Roadhouse.... oh how I will miss Texas Roadhouse!!

But despite all that we are leaving, I am so excited for this next chapter in our lives!

HOUSE

 

We bought a house!  It's right around the corner from two of my sisters' houses and is exactly what I was hoping to find! We can grow into it and stay there for 20+ years, we won't have to put up or take down any walls, but can still completely make it our own, and it has a nice yard perfect for the kiddos!!  We won't close on it until a month after we move back, so we'll be staying with my sister and her family!

 

FAMILY 

 

Two of my sisters and my parents live in our hometown and another sister lives 20 minutes away.  My hubby's parents and sister also live in our hometown.  It will be so nice to get to see all of them and have my kids grow up with their cousins!  The Boston Marathon bombing left us all on pins and needles as we waited to hear from my sister who was spectating the race... by God's grace she missed the bomb by 1 minute and came safely home... but I am holding my family a little closer after this scare and am so excited to be able to spend more time with them!

 

FRIENDS

 

 I can't wait to reconnect with old friends and make new ones too!  I can't wait for lazy days at the outdoor pool, summer bbq's and just getting to chat while the kids play!  I can't wait for the ladies' nights, the dinner parties and the playdates!  I can't wait to laugh until my sides hurt and to pick your brains for advice on everything from parenting to renovating!

 

BUSINESS

 

I left my hometown a little over a year and half ago.  I had opened my photography business four months prior to the move and had to close it just when it got going!  Although it will likely take a bit before I am ready to reopen, I am so excited for when I can announce that it is up an running again!!

 

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Hopefully it doesn't take me 3 months to post again, but I can't make any guarantees!  Keep your eye out for a blog on the new house renovations!!!

The Best Laid Plans

Well it's just over a month into the New Year and I have to say, I am pretty proud of myself.  My lofty list of New Year's Resolutions has been the blueprint of my 2013 and the structure is starting to take shape!  I've hit the gym hard for the last month and my body feels it.  But no pain, no gain, right?!  I've still got a ways to go but I feel great and the scale is going down!  My fervor for fitness has motivated me to focus on healthy meals for my family.  For the majority of January, we've enjoyed a nutritious, balanced meal together each night, and thanks to all those Pinterest pins, I've been trying new and fun recipes and finally got out of my menu slump!  With a pre-planned menu, my shopping visits are weekly and accompanied by a strict list and stack of coupons. This mama is really saving some dough!  I created a simple task list for daily, weekly and monthly chores and my house has never been so clean!  I've started spring cleaning early and have taken the time to reorganize the interiors of all the cupboards and closets in my house!  I'm ....

"Mom. Mom. Mommy. Mommy. Mommy.
Mama, wake up, I want some cereal." 

...shaken out of my resolution dreamland and awake to my reality of unfulfilled good intentions.  Visits to the gym have been replaced with sick kids and lame excuses piled precariously atop one another.  The only pain my body feels is from being squished between a small child and my hubby every night for the last month.  The scale might as well just hop into the trash basket at this point!  I did have a five day streak of meal planning way back in early January... I'll give myself credit for that... but since then, it's back to the 4:30 panic of having no clue what we'll eat for dinner!  This lack of preparation has led to more than one last minute visit to a local restaurant!  I'm ashamed to admit I went out in the cold to get McDonald's one day out of sheer desperation!  I put it on real plates and we did sit at the table together... any chance that outweighs the pure lack of nutrition the meal offered?!  These restaurant visits aren't exactly in the budget, so my financial resolution of being more intentional with the daily spending has been ignored!  And my house.... don't even get me started.  I made a valiant effort in my bedroom - reorganizing the closet and the storage under the bed and even weeding out clothes to donate, but all that work got me feeling tired and I lost momentum!

OY!  

The phrase goes...."The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry." 
In other words, you can plan all you want, but that doesn't mean your plans will come to fruition.  

This appears to be the theme of 2013 for me! 

I also had a lot of long term plans for 2013.  We'd pay off one more student loan and then really buckle down to save for a house down payment.  The plan was to be in a house in September or so.  Once we were in and settled, we'd try for baby 3 and during the 9 months of baby-growing, I'd continue working part time to save up for a new-to-us minivan.  It was a well thought out and logical plan. 

My prego sister, Christy texted me in December, 

"I think its about time you had another baby."

  

I quickly responded, 

"I have a financial plan and I will just have to live vicariously through you.  

I don't want to move and pack and paint a new place while pregnant.  

Plus I am way too fat to get pregnant!"

Persistent prego then called me saying,

"I had a plan too and it didn't go as I had hoped. (previous miscarriage)

I'm a pretty good painter and could definitely help you move.

And you're going to get fat anyway, you can just lose it all afterward!"

Unconvinced, I laughed her off and we hung up.  I jokingly recounted her persuasive arguments to my husband who replied, "that's what I've been saying all along!"  After a bit of conversation, we decided to stop preventing. Our daughter took 10 months to conceive and our son took 6 months.  Following this timetable we would still have plenty of time to make some financial headway!  

Less than one month later, I bought a pregnancy test.  I knew I wasn't pregnant, but just wanted to make sure.  After snuggling my crazy little monkeys until WAY past bedtime, I got ready to go to bed and realized I had forgotten to take the test!  While it was taking a few minutes to register, I popped a couple Nyquil to combat the icky flu/cold blech that had plagued our family for the past couple weeks and returned to check the results.  I glanced quickly and saw that I was not pregnant,  just as I had thought.  I threw it in the garbage and walked to my room.  Just as I was closing my door, it clicked!  Wait a minute!  I snatched it out and what do you know...

...two lines, I AM pregnant! 

Sheer excitement shot through me. 

Then momentary panic, "Crap I just took Nyquil!" 

Then more excitement!

 

All the plans that I had so carefully planned out were not going to happen as I had envisioned, and I couldn't care less!!  I had wanted to do something fun to break the news to Justin, but I was so awestruck and shook him awake and blurted it out!  I couldn't believe it!  One month was all it took!  And to top it off, I found out on my sister's birthday!

 

We broke the news to family via Teddy.

 

My sister Christy's reaction was my favorite.  She looked at his shirt and you could see her eyes reading the lines.  Then she started talking to her hubby about the big brother/big sister shirts she had ordered her kids for when she was in the hospital.  About 3 minutes passed, then she read his shirt again and asked, "Does his shirt say 'Best Big Bro'?"  I just smiled and she squealed!

 

So without further adieu,

may I introduce the newest member of our Homme clan

due to make his/her appearance September 14th!

Hard to see features when baby is the size of a raspberry, but the little arrow on the left are the feet, the right arrow is the head and the little white spot in the middle is the little heart beat going 167 BPM!

 

 

Are you having a bad day?!

It's 1:09 a.m. and I am sitting in the dark surfing the net... sounds a bit creepy, I admit... but I am just reveling in the sound of silence that has finally fallen upon my household! 

Bedtime used to be a relatively painless process - eat dinner, bathe kids, brush teeth, let them race down the hall to the mailbox, play, read books, sing songs, lights out and nighty night at 8.  I may have taken the ease of it for granted...

These days, it is quite a different story.  Teddy learned how to climb out of his crib over Christmas, and now that he is back to his healthy self (after Influenza A and double ear infections) he has taken to mastering his newfound skill.  The bedtime routine has remained the same... the nighty night part, not so much!

Think of your patience like a piece of bubble gum.  You're doing fine just chewing away and then you have to go and blow a bubble.  You stretch the gum out with your tongue to make it a bit thinner and blow a little air into it.  As you continue to blow air, the bubble grows larger and the gum itself gets thinner.  At some point, the amount of air in the bubble outweighs the strength of the ever-thinning bubble gum and it pops.  My patience bubble popped tonight!

Teddy and Natalie share a room.  Natalie is afraid of the dark.  Teddy is obsessed with outlets.  For his safety there are no nightlights in the room.  The closet light gets turned on.  The closet door gets cracked.  Problem solved.  Solved.  Past tense.

Teddy climbs out of crib.  Teddy goes into closet.  Teddy plays with trucks.  Loud trucks.  Nattie joins him.  She starts trying on all her dress up clothes.  ALL her dress up clothes. 

Mommy gets smart.  Mommy puts every single toy from the room into the closet.  Mommy pushes the dresser up against the closet door.  No toys.  No distraction.  Natalie cries because she is scared.  Mommy takes a small flashlight and hangs it from the pushpin holding up her artwork above the door.  Mommy pats herself on the back for her ingenuity.  Too soon.

With no toys and minimal light, Natalie and Teddy come out to see what Mom and Dad are doing.  Mommy gets kiddos back in room.  Mommy puts the doorknob lock on interior doorknob.  Kids are essentially locked in - don't call Social Services on me, Natalie can open door with lock :)  Mommy sits down to relax.

Natalie and Teddy get out of bed and begin training for the Olympics.  They run from one side of the room to the other, slamming into the headboard of Natalie's bed.  (Mommy is so thankful Auntie Jenn made a fabric covered foam headboard.)  They climb up the dresser and try to long jump over to Natalie's bed.  They both get into the crib and jump like they are on a trampoline.  Daddy goes in. They get back up.  Mommy goes in. They get back up.  Daddy goes in.  Punishment is threatened.  They get back up.  Daddy goes in.  Punishment is given.  They get back up.  Daddy goes to bed frustrated.  Mommy goes crazy.

By 11:30, Teddy is rocking with Mommy and Natalie is laying with Daddy.  Both asleep. At last.

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I am thankful for every minute that I have with my kiddos as crazy as they are, please don't get me wrong.  But we've all had moments where our patience is stretched thin and we aren't sure how much more air this bubble gum can take! 

 

In my late night internet surfing I came upon this and I literally laughed out loud, immediately smacking my hands over my mouth so as not to wake the sleeping angels!  If you think you are having a bad day, check this out! 

 

You've got to click on the word "this" you dullard!  :)



Resolutions!

There are 5 broad categories in which people statistically resolve to improve in the coming year:

 

Health and Wellness

Home

Finances

Family

Faith

There are many "anti-resolutionists" out there, but the thought of a beautifully typed out list of all the ways to better myself, complete with boxes just waiting to be checked, makes me absolutely giddy! 

So without further adieu, here are my 2013 Resolutions:

Health and Wellness: Like most of you, I've got plenty of room for improvement in this category. 

You'd think one's daughter constantly asking if one has a baby in one's tummy when one is NOT pregnant would be motivation enough...

...or perhaps pulling out one's "fat clothes" bin, replacing all "skinny clothes" with said "fat clothes", would light a fire...

...but alas, I am forcing myself into this resolution, kicking and screaming,

out of nothing more than sheer necessity!

 

Get a gym membership, gather some friends, and try my darndest to get my money's worth!!

Home: With 7 years of wife-hood under my belt, I should be a pro in all things "home". 

Unfortunately, this couldn't be further from the truth... just ask my husband! 

As the queen of "all or nothing", I either have an immaculate home, a monthly meal plan, and a perfectly set routine...

...or I am surrounded by chaos, scrounging up dinner at the last second, and unsure of where my day went!

So, while keeping my "all or nothing" tendencies in check, I resolve to:

 

Set up an attainable meal plan and cleaning schedule that I can stick to without giving up!!

 



Finances: We've made a lot of headway in this category, but have more work to do!

 

All the hustle and bustle of the holidays has messed with my budget, and there is nothing I hate more than changing my spreadsheets to accomodate excessive spending!! (I'm so lame!)

 

We are planning to buy a house late summer/early fall and we'll have to be on our best financial behavior until then!

 

One specific way we resolve to improve our finances is to:

 

Be more intentional with our day to day spending!

Family: I've been blessed beyond measure with a loving husband, two adorable kids and and an awesome extended family.

The holidays bring out the best and worst in families.  Thankfully for me, more of the former than the latter! 

But a busy 22 month old who seeks danger and learned the art of escaping from a pack 'n play while staying at Grandma's, doesn't always bring out the best in mama.

I want my kids to remember the times we spent together, not their mama having no patience!

So, my family-based resolution is:

 

Always remember how lucky I am to have the time I have with my kids and husband 

and to use it wisely!

 

Faith: I've saved the best for last! 

 

I'm guilty of constantly failing to give God the time he deserves in my life.  I somehow think that He's the one missing out on a relationship with me, when in reality it's the other way around.

 

In my prayer life, I often play the role of the whiner who only calls when there is a imminent need, instead of taking advantage of the direct line of communication I have with God.

 

I've more than once made the goal to read my Bible cover to cover and have sadly never accomplished it.

 

But this will not be the case in 2013!  In fact, thanks to an inspiring testimony from a friend of mine, I started my Bible reading resolution early and have made it through all four gospels before the New Year has begun!

 

In short (or long) I resolve to:

 

Make my relationship with God the most important aspect of my life - starting my day with Him, talking to Him throughout the day (not just quick prayers before meals and bedtimes), and reading through His Word, in its entirety, in the year 2013!!

 

 

 

 

My Total Money Makeover

I had the pleasure of sharing my recent financial journey with my MOPS group this morning.  I've mentioned Dave Ramsey in a previous post and the title to this blog is a play on the title to his book that inspired my financial overhaul. 

The Total Money Makeover is one of his books that encourages people to change the way they think about money and debt.  The hubs and I had tried to keep credit card balances low and had already done a little debt reduction - paid off my car a furniture loan with tax return in 2011 - but we were stuck financially between a rock and a hard place, or more precisely and mortgage and a rent payment. 

We had listed our house for sale in August and moved to Grand Forks in September of 2011.  We would be able to swing both payments for a short period of time and thankfully we had an accepted offer shortly after relocating.  However as things go, the buyers' pushed back the closing a few times before eventually backing out altogether, and we were left at square one still juggling both payments. 

Throughout our marrige we have strived to keep our financial integrity intact by making payments on time and not stretching ourselves too thin.  With little left in savings and a dark cloud of financial doom hovering over our heads we needed to come up with a way to increase our income.  After much prayer and consideration, I returned back to the workforce as a server at the Olive Garden that was opening up in town.  It was hard for me to do this as I adore my kids and hate being away from them, but the necessity was there and they would be with their dad when I was at work, so that helped to calm my nerves. 

With the income I earned, we were able to keep current on both payments and eventually sold our house in May 2012.  I read The Total Money Makeover that spring and was anxiously waiting to finally close on our house so that we could start the plan.  The day we sold the house finally came and I was thrilled to finally close this annoying, drawn out chapter of our lives.  Waiting so long actually made it more satisfying and it felt like God began blessing us for honoring our financial obligations.

To our happy surprise the amount we were required to bring to closing - yes, we had to pay to sell our house - was actually $1000 less than we had been originally quoted.  Then we went to pay our final heating bill and they said that we had overpaid on our budget billing plan so they gave us a check for $158.  A couple of weeks later I received a check in the mail for overpayment on our escrow fund in the amount of $400.  A week after that we received a refund from our insurance company for over $750.

I am a budget freak. I get a sick pleasure out of creating Excel spreadsheets to map our finances, so  I had mapped out every penny that would come in and go out.  But I had not accounted for these payments to us and it jump started our Debt Snowball.

The Debt Snowball is part of Dave's 7-step process to achieve financial health and Step 1 was to create an untouchable emergency fund of $1000.  I was expecting that step to take a couple months and it was covered solely by the change in closing fees.  Step 2 is to pay off existing debt.  This was going to be a much longer process, but with $1300 (checks from electric, escrow and insurance) we were pumped to get started.

Fast forward to the current time and we have eliminated all debt, except for my husband's student loans.  In less than 7 months we were able to pay over $23,000!  It's amazing how easy it is to go without the frills when you see the balances going down!  We do not have an impressive household income by most people's standards, but hard work and sheer determination helped us accomplish more than we had planned to!  We still have a long way to go and are creating our own version of Dave's plan (I'm sure he wouldn't approve!), but we have gleaned some very important financial insights from what we've learned so far. 

1. STOP using debt (credit cards, loans, etc)
2. Pay off your debt - once it's gone, it is GONE
3. Think before you spend... You can spend money, you just have to have it first!
4. Budgeting, forecasting and planning help you identify and realize your goals, and make the sacrifices you make totally worth it!!

Trimming the tree

Christmas is officially here!!  Well, technically we've got about 25-26 days left depending on how you calculate, but to me it starts the day after Thanksgiving!  Natalie has been begging for us to put up our tree for weeks and it was so fun to see her face when she saw it all lit up!

Mini craft sticks cut and hot-glued together - add a little
tacky glue and then sprinkle with "snow"

Last year my tree was so pathetic!  It consisted of a few ornaments that had survived the unfortunate mice incident from the year before, a single piece of garland, and a santa hat for the topper. 

Cute little snowflake Natalie made!

Natalie and I tried to spiff it up with a few ornament crafts made from foam balls, mini craft sticks, glitter and artificial snow, but it was a pretty sad sight!





After staring down that ugly thing for a month, I vowed to make all new ornaments for our tree the next year.  I got a steal of a deal on Christmas balls after the holiday season had passed and managed to get a handful of ornaments made before I lost my motivation.


In early November, with Christmas already on its way, I put the ornament DIY-ing in high gear.  I wanted to do something neutral but with a warm pop of color.  I settled on a deep goldenrod yellow, cream and browns, with a pop of red for the topper.

I purchased 4 holly berry stems for $.99 cents each in hopes of making a wreath, but after realizing I didn't have anything planned for a tree topper my plans changed. Natalie really wanted a star on the top, "like Caillou has on his Christmas tree!" so that is what we went with. The stems are made of wire so I just bent them together, reinforced with floral wire and attached to the top of the tree.

I started with a few felt ornaments I had pinned on Pinterest.  Felt was $.20 per sheet, the embroidery thread was $.39, and I barely made a dent in the package of pearls I bought for $2.39, so for about $3.50 I made 16 mini flowers and 5 3D Christmas balls. 

I started by tracing out templates on felt.  I just traced around the top a drinking glass for the circle and used this template from the original pin on pinterest. 

I pinned these to applique on a throw pillow, but I thought they would work well for the Christmas tree. 

I made these in a goldenrod felt with pearl center (shown) and a white felt with red holly berry center.  The white ones kind of clashed when I put them up so I will be making another set of goldenrod ones to replace them.  For the first set, I used the mini craft sticks I had on hand from making kids name ornaments last year ($2.49 for 75).  But for the next set I will just use floral wire ($1.99) and attach them directly to the tree, since my little darlings seem to enjoy "picking flowers"!

Then it was time for garland!  I really wanted to do a burlap garland and found a roll at Michael's; however it was a little thick so I ended up cutting it in half.

.

Next I wanted to make a linen fabric ball. I saw some for sale on Etsy and thought I could easily replicate it with supplies on hand.  I ripped 1 inch sections of muslin (Leftover from Natalie's Little Bo Peep Halloween costume from 2011) and used mod podge and a foam paintbrush to adhere the pieces to the Christmas balls.  I finished it off with jute cord to hang it on the tree and voila!

I added a little more texture by simply covering Christmas balls with yarn.  I was able to get 5 Christmas balls out of each package of yarn.  They didn't require any adhesive - I just wrapped 5-6 times in one direction and then switched to another direction until I had covered the entire surface.

With the circles of felt I had previously cut out, I made 3D Christmas balls. Of couse, I missed taking a crucial picture, but I'll try to talk you through it.  Start by folding two of the circles in half and stitching down the center.  Then you take the other two pieces and after folding each of them in half, you place them on either side of the first two circles (where my thumb and middle finger are in second photo - like a plus sign) and stitch them together.  I just left a loop of embroidery thread to hang it on the tree.

I pinned these twine chandeliers for my DIY Dream House of the future, but thought they'd make really cute ornaments!  I started this project last year so I'm not sure of the overall cost but I believe you can get 12 balloons for $1.50 or less and I know the jute cord is under $5.  I blew up balloons to the size of an average christmas ball.  Balloons have a natural egg shape that I was not wanting for this project, so I twisted the tied off end until it became more round and then tied with yarn.  The twine, or in this case, jute cord, requires an adhesive to keep its shape after balloon is popped, so I tried tacky glue and mod podge (the mod podge works better because it is more runny).  There are probably 101 better ways to do this but I just poured glue into my hand and ran the cord through it, making sure it was pretty well coated.  Then I just wrapped around balloons until I had the look I wanted, cut the end, and tucked it under another piece of cord.  They were dry after about 2 hours but I waited until morning to pop the balloon and then tied another piece of cord to it so it could be hung on the tree.

 

Since my white felt ornaments clashed so badly I was in need of a few more ornaments to fill out the tree.  I had purchased a package of those delicious smelling pine cones to go with my wreath project and just used some floral wire to attach them directly to the tree.

All my ornaments before I put them on the tree!!

Our Christmas tree all dolled up!
Next projects are making new stockings and a tree skirt and thenwrapping all the gifts to go under the tree!

 

I will be adding some more pinecones (found another bag from last year!), another set of mini-flowers, "Justin" and "Sarah" ornaments (like Natalie and Theodore's), and am using up some left over materials to make these twine ball ornaments.  They are a bit picky, but I think I've figured them out!  Just take a styrofoam ball and wrap twine in circles around it.  I started by making a loop for hanging and wrapped the cord around it.  When you get just over halfway, the top half starts trying to unravel on you, so hold it firmly in the palm of your hand.  The twine didn't want to sit quite right for me when I was nearing the end, so I used sewing pins to wrap it around and secured with a couple just to be safe.  Then I coated the exterior with a healthy dose of mod podge, let them dry for a couple hours and removed pins before hanging.

I'm so excited with how it turned out and I can't wait to finish up my last few projects!  Here's a recap:

Holly Berry Topper - $4

Felt mini flowers and 3D Christmas balls - $4

Burlap Garland (appx) - $5

Linen Christmas balls - free

Yarn Christmas balls - $6

2 kinds of twine Christmas balls - $10

Pinecones - $5

Misc Supplies - $13

 

Total - $47

 

Joy it brought me to make them - Priceless!

 

I'll end with a moment of silence for those ornaments that just didn't make the cut :)

Brown paper bag and burlap covered Christmas balls.
BRIGHT white mini-flower and 3D Christmas ball.