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Baby Rabies

pregnancy & parenting

  • Start Here
    • About Baby Rabies
    • Baby Registry Top Picks
    • Favorite Pregnancy Apps
  • The Book
  • Pregnancy
    • Birth Stories
    • Perinatal Mood Disorders
  • Parenthood
    • Babies
    • Toddlers
    • School Age Kids
    • Parenting LOLZ
  • Photography
    • Photography

      6 Stunning Photos You Would Never Guess Were…

      February 11, 2019

      Photography

      Simple Tips For Editing Snow Photos On Your…

      December 13, 2018

      Photography

      I Wrote A Photography eBook And This Is…

      December 6, 2018

      Photography

      Creative Lighting Ideas To Help You Take Great…

      November 27, 2018

      Photography

      Learn How To Take And Edit Photos On…

      November 19, 2018

  • Reviews
    • Reviews

      The Answer To Last Minute Holiday Gifting For…

      December 19, 2018

      Reviews

      I Was Never A Barbie Girl Until Now

      October 1, 2018

      Reviews

      Finally! Jeans For My Jean-Averse Kids!

      August 22, 2018

      Reviews

      If Your Kid Loves Dump Trucks & Garbage…

      August 13, 2018

      Reviews

      Nobody Tell My Kids ABC Mouse Is Part…

      September 4, 2017

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Home Decor & DIY

A Free Nursery Art Print For Anyone Who Is Obsessed With Fall
Home Decor & DIY

A Free Nursery Art Print For Anyone Who Is Obsessed With Fall

by Désirée September 23, 2018
written by Désirée

If you’re having a baby this fall, or if you just LOVE this season as much as we do, consider this printable our little gift to you for surviving another summer. Or making it to the final days of your pregnancy!

This art print will look amazing up in your nursery, or maybe in your home office, or entryway. You can frame it, or print as is (looks great on a thicker card stock) and mount it on a clipboard for a super quick update to any room in your house.

Related: Thom The Turkey Tulle Wreath Tutorial

You can download both versions for free and print them however you like. The recommended size is your average 8.5 x 11, but you can resize or crop it to fit a frame that you love. When you print, click “fit to page” for the best results.

Download your free Hello, Autumn art print below:

Black and white “Hello, Autumn” art print- click to download
Watercolor “Hello, Autumn” art print- click to download

A few more DIYs for fall:

  • The Turkey Wreath Gets Sophisticated
  • Bixby The Black Cat Halloween Wreath Tutorial
  • Spray Paint Grapevine Wreaths For A Modern Update
September 23, 2018 0 comment
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4 Areas of Your Home To Get Organized This Summer- With The Kids’ Help... Really!
Home Decor & DIYSchool Age Days

4 Areas of Your Home To Get Organized This Summer- With The Kids’ Help… Really!

by Désirée June 22, 2018
written by Désirée

Today we’re sharing a guest post from Rachel Rosenthal, founder of the Washington, DC-based organizing firm, Rachel and Company.

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June 22, 2018 1 comment
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A House Tour, An Ending, A Beginning
BloggingHome Decor & DIYLifestyle

A House Tour, An Ending, A Beginning

by Jill October 3, 2017
written by Jill

When we bought this house, I dreamed that when we were finished with the minor renovations we had planned that I’d share it here… a house tour is what I think the lifestyle bloggers call it.

A House Tour, An Ending, A Beginning | BabyRabies.com

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October 3, 2017 2 comments
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Checking Off This Moving Check List
Home Decor & DIYParenthood

Checking Off This Moving Check List

by Jill August 4, 2017
written by Jill

We are so close to getting this house on the market, but it’s like the last 6 miles of a marathon. Even though the finish line is nearly in sight, it feels like the biggest part is ahead of us.

If you’re new here or missed our major announcement, we’re packing up, selling our house, and moving our family of 6 into an RV to travel the country for a year.  

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August 4, 2017 1 comment
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Some Tips For Visiting Magnolia Market in Waco, TX
Dallas/Ft. WorthHome Decor & DIYLifestyle

Some Tips For Visiting Magnolia Market in Waco, TX

by Jill March 17, 2017
written by Jill

We don’t have cable, but we got Sling and a Roku last year so I could lay around and watch HGTV while I was pregnant and miserable. That is a totally factual statement. I began by binge watching this show- Fixer Upper– about a couple who lives not far from us in Waco, TX who fixes up older homes and turns them into magazine-worthy abodes. I fell in love with their style, and what was most unexpected was our whole family found a show we like watching together.

Our kids have grown up around us doing our own renovations and decorating projects in this house and our last. Soon, they were begging us to “please, buy a fixer upper!” like we could just work on it on the weekends with all our free time.

Joanna and Chip Gaines of Fixer Upper recently opened Magnolia Market At The Silos in the heart of Waco, which happens to be about a 2-hour drive from our house. It’s a decor shop, outdoor play area, food truck park, and bakery. We didn’t have much planned headed into spring break last week, so, on a whim, I decided to take 3 of the 4 kids there.

It’s worth noting that I opted to leave the 3-year-old at home. He had preschool that day. I don’t think it would have been possible to manage him there along with the 2 month old, plus an 8 and 6 year old.  

We were only there for a few hours, but I came away with some tips for going back based on our experience and on research I did prior to visiting.

Some Tips For Visiting Magnolia Market in Waco, TX | BabyRabies.comGo early on a weekday. I was nervous it was going to be bananas since it was our spring break, but I think we lucked out that a lot of other schools near us didn’t have SB until the following week. Still, even at 10:30 on a Wednesday, it was starting to get crowded. The week after we left, I was headed back through Waco on a Tuesday and thought I’d stop off (it’s really not far from Hwy 35) to take a break and do some shopping with just the baby this time. IT. WAS. INSANITY. I don’t know if there was something special going on or if it was just that it was about 5 pm and that’s a crazy time? I could see the crowds from blocks away. I didn’t even bother looking for a parking spot. We just got back on the highway and kept driving.

I’ve not been on a weekend yet, but a lot of my friends told me not to even bother because of the crowds on Saturday and Sunday. If you can’t avoid those days, definitely plan to get there and park before they even open.

A post shared by Jill Krause (@babyrabies) on Mar 8, 2017 at 9:03am PST


You don’t have to pay for parking! Well, maybe you don’t. Give the free parking lot a look first! The first parking lot I passed on my way there was the First Baptist Church, and it was $10 to park. 2 of the lots were already full! (This was on the Tuesday morning trip there.) I started to freak out. Then I drove in front of the Silos and took a right on 8th street, and there was an inconspicuous entrance to the free parking lot. It was probably only half full. And it connects to the grounds! I don’t know why so many people paid $10 to park at a place a block away when this was sitting half empty.

Go to the bakery first. As the day went on, the line for the bakery seemed to get longer and longer. It moves fast, and you can fill out an order card while you’re in line, but if you don’t want to wait outside forever (not very many people can fit inside the tiny bakery itself), go sooner than later.

Some Tips For Visiting Magnolia Market in Waco, TX | BabyRabies.com

Don’t skip the bakery! They have great coffee, and the cupcakes are seriously delicious. My favorite flavor was Red Velvet, but the Lemon Lavender was also a lovely and unexpected surprise. Of course, you can not go wrong with vanilla on vanilla, aka Shiplap.

Some Tips For Visiting Magnolia Market in Waco, TX | BabyRabies.com

The cupcakes seem to travel well. We ordered extra to bring home. They packed them nicely in a cardboard container, and even after strolling around for a couple hours and a 2 hour ride home, they came out of the box flawless. Now, we were not there on an exceptionally hot day, so keep that in mind. If you want to eat them onsite, there is a sweet little patio area right next to the bakery.

Some Tips For Visiting Magnolia Market in Waco, TX | BabyRabies.com

Browse the online shop before going to the actual store to get an idea of what you may want to buy, and what to budget. I don’t know if everything on the site is in the store and vice versa, but everything I found online that I wanted to look at in person was there. Browsing the actual store was a little chaotic. Granted, I had 2 kids and was pushing a stroller, but it would still be good to go in with an idea of what you want.

Some Tips For Visiting Magnolia Market in Waco, TX | BabyRabies.com

There is an elevator that takes you downstairs, which is super helpful to know if you’re pushing a stroller or just can’t handle stairs (and crowds) well. It’s in the far right corner on the top level.

The bottom level has a lot more merchandise, including the “Magnolia” and #Demoday branded stuff, like hammers, coffee mugs, shirts, hats, etc. That was the stuff we bought because I felt like I could get a lot of the other decor items for less at a place like Hobby Lobby or Target. I mean, not exact replicas in most cases, but similar. I also didn’t have a ton of room in the stroller to store this stuff while we walked around, so it really cut down on what we could buy.

They sell more garden stuff over in the actual garden at the Magnolia Seed + Supply shop. It’s a little easier to get in and out of.

Some Tips For Visiting Magnolia Market in Waco, TX | BabyRabies.com

And there’s also this cool corner for the kids to play in.

Some Tips For Visiting Magnolia Market in Waco, TX | BabyRabies.com

Head to the garden for great photo opps. When we were there, this area wasn’t nearly as crowded.
Some Tips For Visiting Magnolia Market in Waco, TX | BabyRabies.com

Some Tips For Visiting Magnolia Market in Waco, TX | BabyRabies.com
Some Tips For Visiting Magnolia Market in Waco, TX | BabyRabies.com

Some Tips For Visiting Magnolia Market in Waco, TX | BabyRabies.com

Plan to grab lunch at the food trucks, but watch the lines closely. We started in line for the Cheddar Box, but it was looking a little long, and the truck right next to us – 900 Pizzeria- seemed much shorter and the kids wanted pizza so we hoped over there. We chose poorly. There was a reason that line was short. It was moving super slow. The pizza was great! But we had to wait a long time for it. Luckily, the kids passed the time swinging.

Some Tips For Visiting Magnolia Market in Waco, TX | BabyRabies.com

Bring sunscreen and water. You’ll probably be spending most of your time outside and there’s not an abundance of direct shade. They sell water, of course, but I prefer to save my dollars for cupcakes and bring my own bottled water.

Plan to make a day of it. People were playing football and soccer on the artificial grass, there’s quite a bit of seating, or you can just sit on the perimeter of the grass. And if you feel like you’ve seen all you care to at The Silos, you can walk to a few other Waco shops that are just steps away.

Some people think nothing of taking three kids to a crowded place by themselves, but this marks a pretty huge accomplishment for me.

A post shared by Jill Krause (@babyrabies) on Mar 8, 2017 at 12:48pm PST

March 17, 2017 3 comments
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Master Bedroom & Nursery Nook Reveal!
BabiesCrafty!Home Decor & DIYReviews

Master Bedroom & Nursery Nook Reveal!

by Jill December 12, 2016
written by Jill

I am one step closer to TOTALLY READY to evict this baby. Our bedroom and nursery nook are done! NESTING SO HARD.

Master Bedroom with Nursery Nook | BabyRabies.com

This glorious transformation and post brought to you by Carousel Designs – www.babybedding.com

We teamed up with Carousel Designs on the crib bedding and curtains. It was our starting point, and everything came together from there. Their HUGE selection of fabrics for custom bedding designed by me, made by someone else (the BEST combo ever) made it easy to create pieces that were fun and whimsical enough for a baby-centered space without being too cheesy for a grownup room.

Master Bedroom with Nursery Nook | BabyRabies.com

The crib sheet is made with Gray Willow fabric, and the crib skirt is made with Silver Gray Linen. We opted for no crib bumper. (More room details to come further down in the post.)

Master Bedroom with Nursery Nook | BabyRabies.com

Originally, I worried how to tie the nursery space into the rest of the room, but these 96″ x 42″ drape panels in Gray Ikat Damask are all grown up. We chose the basic lining since we have blinds in here, too, but blackout fabric lining is also an option.

Master Bedroom with Nursery Nook | BabyRabies.com

The changing pad cover is a pop of color in Aqua Herringbone.

Master Bedroom with Nursery Nook | BabyRabies.com

It is crazy easy to use Carousel Design’s Nursery Designer to design everything you need for baby’s room. You can even select wall colors, flooring, and crib finishes to match what you have in mind.

Master Bedroom with Nursery Nook | BabyRabies.com

They also have a super awesome feature that lets you design and personalize a crib sheet or changing pad cover. We are all over this! As soon as I have this baby and we figure out what his name is.

I wish I could have used Carousel Designs for the last 3! Remember that time I made all of Leyna’s bedding and curtains? Nearly. Killed. Me. This would have been a far better option that would have resulted in much straighter stitches and much less blood from that dang seam ripper.

Now, let’s get to the rest of the details of the room, shall we? 

I think first I should show you what this place looked like before.

Master Bedroom with Nursery Nook | BabyRabies.com

Oof. It wasn’t pretty. We moved in 2 years ago, but of course, this room fell to the bottom of our priority list. We finished nearly every other room in the house and hadn’t got further than the (horrible choice in) paint samples on the walls in here.

As you can see, it’s huge (thank you, Texas real estate), and we weren’t doing anything with that side of the room, other than leaving my luggage there, still packed,  between trips.

Master Bedroom with Nursery Nook | BabyRabies.com

We needed a good excuse and a swift kick in the pants to get this place put together. We thought, let’s go all out. Let’s make a whole space just for the baby in here, and not worry about turning our 5th bedroom upstairs into a nursery. I quite like having a guest room, especially because I quite like having guests who will come and help me take care of this baby.

Master Bedroom with Nursery Nook | BabyRabies.com

So the idea of a “nursery nook” came to be. He’ll be in our room probably for the first 6 months I’m thinking (since that’s about how long the others lasted in our room), and then we’re moving him upstairs to share a room with Lowell.

It should be easy to transition the nursery space to a reading/lounging space once the crib is out. I have my hopes set on a sleeper sofa for the litter of children that always want to sleep in our room on Friday nights.

Master Bedroom with Nursery Nook | BabyRabies.com

Paint Color- Nature’s Reflection by Behr / Shiplap wall- installed by my husband, following this tutorial 

The crib is the “Hudson” by Babyletto in all espresso. We HAD to get a new crib since Lowell busted out the rails in the last one. This one is smaller in scale, which is perfect for this space, and will be great when we move it into a room with a twin size bed. It’s still a full-size crib, though, and even comes with a toddler rail.

And yes, that’s a (faux) shiplap wall. Call us suckers for a trend, but it wound up being a great way to add some dimension and character to the space for very little money. Scott also put a lot of work into adding crown moulding around the room.

Master Bedroom with Nursery Nook | BabyRabies.com

Crib- “Hudson” by Babyletto / “I Like Naps” sign – Hobby Lobby / Brass round mirror- Target / that thing tucked beside the crib- DockATot / Nursing pillow with “Serenity” muslin cover- Bebe Au Lait / Fabric basket- Target / Blanket – Aden + Anais

I asked my immensely talented friend, Mandy, to make me something custom for a mobile, and I love this fluffy-cloud inspired piece she came up with!

Master Bedroom with Nursery Nook | BabyRabies.com

Custom mobile – Paige & Roy

We had to pack a lot of function into this tiny space, and I think we were successful. We have plenty of storage here for his clothes (current size only, and the rest is stored in our closet for now), swaddles, booties, hats, first aid and grooming basics…

Master Bedroom with Nursery Nook | BabyRabies.com

Dresser- Ikea / Copper basket- Joss & Main / Hanging diaper storage – Ikea / Floating shelves- Target / Wire bin & glass jar – Hobby Lobby / Booties – Robeez / A-Z bookends – Joss & Main / Books by Usborne (with a Fantastic Beasts thrown in) / Gray bin – Target / Hexagon shelf- unfinished from Target, painted by me / Bunny- Gift from little brother, by Peekawhoo / Plaid doggy- Sarit Shani Hay / Framed feather print- Hobby Lobby

And we also have plenty of room for disposable & cloth diapers, since we’ll be using both in the beginning, at least. I love using the FINTORP system from Ikea to organize above the diaper changing area!

Master Bedroom with Nursery Nook | BabyRabies.com

Disposable diapers – Seventh Generation / Cloth diapers – bumGenius / Wipes – Aldi / Cloth wipes – Target 

Master Bedroom with Nursery Nook | BabyRabies.com

Wood slice art- made by me with the help of my Silhouette Cameo

For our bedding, I had to tame my aspirations a bit. I really wanted a gorgeous, expensive blanket from Pendleton… until I read it was dry clean only. HARD PASS. We’ll have to give up the high-end bedding until there aren’t 4 kids and 3 dogs trying to climb in bed with us every night. The good news is the blanket I wound up getting wasn’t just a super great price (less than $50 for a king size!), but it also washes beautifully.

I did splurge a little on a couple gray linen pillow shams from Etsy to tie in with the gray linen crib skirt. I also love that they give the bed some varied texture, especially in contrast to the super smooth, super breathable white sheets by Bedgear. I love having white bedding as a backdrop for pictures of baby in those early days when you spend all your time in bed anyway. It’s one of my favorite tips for photographing a newborn!

Master Bedroom with Nursery Nook | BabyRabies.com

Photo – picture I took in Tahoe, printed on unstretched canvas by Canvas HQ, nailed to a DIY frame with upholstery tacks / Headboard- made by my husband / Lamps- Target / Side tables- Overstock / Gray stripe blanket- Wayfair / Fuzzy aqua throw- Home Goods / Gray linen pillow shams- Etsy / White sheets – Bedgear

This deserves a drum roll.

I’ll wait.

For the first time EVER, we have framed pictures of us up in our room!

Master Bedroom with Nursery Nook | BabyRabies.com

Brass frame – Target/ Photo by Life In Motion

This includes WEDDING PICTURES!! It’s only been 10 years.

Master Bedroom with Nursery Nook | BabyRabies.com

Collage frame- Target / Photos by Tyler Schmidt 

Here’s a closer look at the curtains. Those rods came with the house, and originally I hated them, but they’ve grown on me. I like the pop of glam they give the space. And I like that they were free.

Master Bedroom with Nursery Nook | BabyRabies.com

We have no shortage of lovely, soft blankets for this baby, so I had Scott build a simple blanket ladder to store them.

Master Bedroom with Nursery Nook | BabyRabies.com

Blanket ladder- built by my husband, using this tutorial / Swaddling blankets & thick blankets – Bebe Au Lait & Aden + Anais

We’ve had this Ikea dresser and the matching, smaller one for years, and have been really happy with them considering how little we paid. This wall was pretty simple. We just balanced out the space with the blanket ladder on one side, and a leaning floor mirror (secured to the wall) on the other.

Master Bedroom with Nursery Nook | BabyRabies.com

Dresser- Ikea / Floor mirror- Target, chalk paint and distressing by me/ Battery operated candle and copper geo orbe thingy- Home Goods

I think that brings us all the way around the room and to the end of our tour!

Master Bedroom with Nursery Nook | BabyRabies.com

A HUGE thanks, again, to Carousel Designs – BabyBedding.com-  for working with us on the room and for sponsoring this post. I can not wait to get our personalized crib sheet with baby’s name on it. But first, must have a baby! (Official due date is this Friday, if you’re wondering.)

Pin it!

Master Bedroom with Nursery Nook | BabyRabies.com

December 12, 2016 9 comments
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Bye, Sectional! Hi, New Living Room!
Home Decor & DIYParenthood

Bye, Sectional! Hi, New Living Room!

by Jill June 21, 2016
written by Jill

Our old white (really bone, I think) colored leather sectional has been a big part of this blog, making appearances in countless pictures over the years.

IMG_4728

It was good to us, we loved it. Until we didn’t. Then we wanted it to die in a fire immediately. And by we, I mean the fetus and me.

This change of heart happened shortly after I recorded this video with the Today Parenting Team at Mom 2.0 in May.

Many people commented over the years how it looked “so clean” and how was I able to keep a white couch looking like that? Okay, folks? Please. Pictures on the internet are deceiving. WE KNOW THIS. This couch is proof! Because I promise that nobody who saw it in real life thought I spent my days cleaning that thing.

IMG_7520

But it was solid, and it was leather, which is the only kind of couch I ever want to have while there are children (and pets) in this house. And it was going to be pretty expensive to replace.

We made it last for 10 years! It was used when we bought it. It’s had a long run with us. We saved and searched for deals, and thanks to some Memorial Day sales, and a super find in the clearance section at Nebraska Furniture Mart, we were able to replace it. NOT A MINUTE TOO SOON, either, because my pregnant nose just could not with it anymore, and the fetus was thoroughly disgusted.

(Fun story, though- we gave it to a guy who restores leather furniture, and he swears he’ll be able to bring it back to life. So that makes us feel pretty good knowing it won’t end up in a landfill anytime soon. If you’re in TX and want to buy it, it may be for sale soon! I’m assuming he’ll remove the stuck on popsicle sticks from the side.)

Behold, our new living room!

IMG_0761

Two beautiful, 100% real leather sofas with clean lines and detached cushions. They are so similar to the West Elm Henry sofas that I adore, but less than half the price. Plus, the loveseat was in the clearance section for an extra $400 off because they repaired a small scratch from moving it off the truck. You can’t even tell. That extra savings put the set just within our budget, and it was meant to be!

Details if you’re interested-  Klaussner Tillery Leather Sofa in Chesterfield Whiskey, purchased at Nebraska Furniture Mart in Texas. Our total with taxes, Memorial Day sale, and the extra clearance discount was around $2,800.

IMG_0766

 

The end table is something I picked up from Home Goods for $40. Not sure I love it, but it’s useful, and inexpensive enough that I don’t care if it gets water stains on it. It’s battle enough to keep the kids from eating popsicles on the couch. I’m never going to get them to use coasters.

The rug! Oh, the rug. I love it so much. We haven’t been a rug family because I always just thought they would wind up looking gross and dirty, but this one is so perfect. And it was cheap! And from Target! It’s called the Threshold Woven Rug, it’s certified by Goodweave, and it’s incredibly durable.

Also, did you see that black box hanging out under our windows? For the ultimate final touch, the next step in making this room acceptable to my nose and less disgusting to the fetus, Venta sent us an Airwasher. AIR. WASHER. Wash alllllllll my air. Please! It’s an amazing humidifier and purifier, and I’m really enjoying it’s pet dander removing abilities at the moment since this is the room the dogs spend the most time in.

Speaking of dogs, no, they are NOT allowed on the new couches, and they mostly adhere to that rule. Except when we’re sleeping. Honestly, though, I think the dogs are kinder on couches than the kids are. Viva leather!

June 21, 2016 2 comments
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My First First Monday Trade Days Adventure & What I Bought
Home Decor & DIYLifestyle

My First First Monday Trade Days Adventure & What I Bought

by Jill March 14, 2016
written by Jill

I live a little more than an hour’s drive from this place called Canton, TX.

For those of you not familiar, it’s home to an ENORMOUS (truly not exaggerating this time) flea market/thrifting/craft expo kind of thing. It’s technically called First Monday Trade Days because it happens the weekend before the first Monday of every month.

The fact that I’d never been in the nearly 8 years we’ve lived here is shocking to some people… until I remind them I have small children and few childcare options on the weekend. And then they’re like, ohhhhhhhh…. gotcha. Because a giant NOPE to me taking my kids to this place.

I mean, there are kids there. I wouldn’t say it’s not kid friendly, but it’s not me-with-my-kids friendly. There are few things I’d rather do less than drag my kids through crowds, in wagons even, repeatedly telling them not to touch things, while re-applying sunscreen, and praying they don’t run away and disappear down a long aisle of 1970s dressers, piles of bedsprings, and antique stained glass windows.

But Canton with a friend? And not only a friend, but a seasoned Canton shopper who is decisive and doesn’t dawdle? Dream come true.

A photo posted by Jill Krause (@babyrabies) on Mar 5, 2016 at 11:59am PST

Stephanie Totty and I were made to shop Canton together. We went there on a mission, and we conquered. Behold, my spoils of our victory!

IMG_8476

While we walked through the “flea” part of it, I wasn’t too hopeful I’d find anything. But as we turned a corner, there she hung. A little dusty, but still beautiful. This copper hanging light glinted in the sun, and I had to have her.

A photo posted by Jill Krause (@babyrabies) on Mar 5, 2016 at 9:04am PST


She came home with me for only $35, which is approximately $1,000 less than the Pottery Barn light fixture I’d been dreaming of for this space. Dare I say, I love her a whole lot more.

IMG_8469

Lighting was on my mind the rest of the day. Our light fixtures in our house are nice, but they aren’t the style I envision. I didn’t intend on coming home with any light fixtures, but it was fate, and I brought home TWO. I found this lovely about an hour after I found the copper light, though I didn’t immediately jump to buy it until I got the OK text from Scott, mostly because he’d have to install it.

A photo posted by Jill Krause (@babyrabies) on Mar 13, 2016 at 12:10pm PDT

This orb is HUGE, and the scale for our 20 foot tall foyer is perfect. Even better, that lightbulb is massive and looks so cool. I got it from the Twigs Candles booth, and the whole set up- orb, lightbulb, wiring- was only $100 with tax. Which is, again, SO much cheaper than anything I’ve had my eye on for that space.

IMG_8477

Since we moved in here,  I’ve had no idea what to do with this massive blank space looking over our living area. I thought for a while that I’d hang a large collection of thrifted mirrors to reflect the floor to ceiling stone fire place on the other side of the room, but couldn’t shake the visions of heavy mirrors falling from 20 feet up and killing someone below. (Hello, my name is Jill, and I take medication for intrusive thoughts and anxiety.)

When I saw these massive stars, I knew I had to have at least one just because I loved them. Within 15 minutes, the booth owners had me talked into buying 3, and I knew exactly where they were going. I love that they are light- both physically and visually. The scale is perfect for the space, without making the room feel top heavy.

For those wondering, we got these at a booth in the Flea/Junk area. Their tent is under a red, white, and blue windsock. Sweetest couple. They are $28 each, or $100 for 4. Naturally, we got 4. 1 for Stephanie, 3 for me.

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I got a couple other small things, including a couple burlap coffee bean bags that I’m still trying to figure out what to do with. (Let me know if you have ideas!)

And I came home with a lonnnnnng list of other stuff I want to go back and buy. What I loved is that I could find stuff to upcycle and DIY with, or I could find stuff that’s already done. Give Scott and me a pickup truck, a free Saturday, and $500 and we could do some DAM.AGE. So many awesome bits of wood and randomness that’s just waiting to be turned into something beautiful.

We could also have our pet blessed by Paul the Pet Preacher. So there’s that. And camo. There was a lot of camo. Just a real cornucopia of the American experience. Yup, that’s what I’d call Canton.

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March 14, 2016 2 comments
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Snowman Wreath Tutorial
Crafty!Home Decor & DIY

Snowman Wreath Tutorial

by Jill December 7, 2015
written by Jill

Someone asked me the other day how many seasonal wreaths I have. 12. I have 12. I’ve actually given away quite a few (and a couple have broken- sad face).

But, believe it or not, I really didn’t have any that worked well on our new front door for the holidays. Last year I purchased an evergreen wreath on sale at the last minute. I gave away Santa and Rudolph the year before! The felt pomp wreath goes over our fireplace.

Well, we all know what this means. I made a new wreath- a jumbo snowman wreath! I know he might not look “jumbo” here, but our door is huge.

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You know I love me an EASY DIY, and this one is certainly that, but I will say he’s not inexpensive, especially if going the jumbo route. Hopefully I’ll get a few year’s use out of him to make up for it. (Total cost was about $55-$60 for this jumbo size.)

Here’s whatcha need, which isn’t much:

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First, RUN to Target’s Dollar Spot and get you that top hat for $3. If you miss out, you can get a top hat on Amazon, though I think it’s a touch bigger.

You’ll need either a small scarf, or fabric to make a scarf. I picked up some clearance flannel and used about 3/4 yard to make mine.

A corn cob pipe

For this jumbo wreath, I used 7 white feather marabou boas. Honestly, 8 would have been best. If you make a smaller wreath, obviously you’ll need fewer. The great part about using white ones is it won’t matter much if the white from the wreaths show through.

That leads me to the wreaths. Here’s a picture with all the info of the exact ones I purchased.

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That’s a 13.8″ and an 18″ extruded foam wreath, and if you’re doing the jumbo, yes, you need both.

They should fit perfectly and snugly, one inside the other.

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*The reason I did two wreaths was to decrease the inner space and make the wreath seem fluffier. Another option, which would be less expensive, but more work, would be to create a white tulle wreath. The tulle pieces are longer and fluffier, and you won’t need that inner wreath form. Plus tulle is much cheaper than feather boas. 

My wreaths fit so snugly that I didn’t feel like I needed to glue them together, but you certainly could for extra security.

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I wrapped my feather boas around the wreath, hot glueing the ends to secure them. I left a little spot for the scarf to tie.

IMG_6326There’s no right or wrong way to do this, but I did it with 2 separate pieces.

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IMG_6331I cut the top hat in half (so technically you could get 2 wreaths out of one), so it would lay flat against the door. I secured it to the wreath with long pins. Eventually I’ll get around to coloring those yellow heads with a black Sharpie.

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I also used the pins to add a ribbon for hanging to the back.

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All that was left was to insert his corn cob pipe. I pressed it between the boa, into the styrofoam wreath sideways. You could secure it with hot glue if it doesn’t feel snug enough.

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And that’s all you have to do to make a jolly happy soul with a corn cob pipe to adorn your doorway.

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SnowmanWreathTutorial

 

 

December 7, 2015 10 comments
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A Star Wars Christmas! (And a Silhouette Cameo Tutorial)
Crafty!Home Decor & DIY

A Star Wars Christmas! (And a Silhouette Cameo Tutorial)

by Jill December 1, 2015
written by Jill

After months of collecting dust, I’ve finally found my groove with my Silhouette Cameo and have loved busting out the holiday crafts with it over the last few weeks.

Behold, my latest!

Star Wars Snowflakes with Silhouette Cameo | BabyRabies.com

These Star Wars Snowflakes are designed each year by Anthony Herrera Designs (he also has Frozen and Guardians of the Galaxy!), and are available as free downloads for anyone who’d like to try their hand at making them. He offers tutorials on how to cut them out by hand with an Xacto knife.

Click here for all of Anthony’s snowflake designs.

Since I have a fancy paper-cutting machine, though, and since there’s no way I’d be patient enough to cut these out by hand, I took the images of each (like this) snowflake and saved them to my computer. Then I imported them into my Silhouette Studio library.

(Gonna try a little Silhouette Cameo tutorial here since a few of you have asked for it. I am NO expert, though.)

From here, just open a new file, drag the image into the file, then size it to how big you want it. I was able to get 4 from each 12×12 sheet of cardstock.

Star Wars Snowflakes with Silhouette Cameo | BabyRabies.com

Then I clicked on the Trace icon in the upper right menu (the yellow icon with what looks like a green butterfly in the middle). Select the area you want to trace, which should be a square around the entirety of the snowflake design. Next, UNCLICK High Pass Filter, and move your Threshold over to about 96 for super clean edges.

Click on the design and delete the original image. You should end up with something like this.

Star Wars Snowflakes with Silhouette Cameo | BabyRabies.com

Now, I’m sure there’s a way to remove that square around the image, but it didn’t affect my snowflakes and actually made it easier to peel each one away from the mat, so I left it. (And also I have no idea how to remove it.)

Just repeat that process for all the snowflakes. Then send to your device to be cut. I went with the basic cardstock settings.

Star Wars Snowflakes with Silhouette Cameo | BabyRabies.com
Star Wars Snowflakes with Silhouette Cameo | BabyRabies.comStar Wars Snowflakes with Silhouette Cameo | BabyRabies.comStar Wars Snowflakes with Silhouette Cameo | BabyRabies.com

These are in Kendall’s room, and of course now I must make some Frozen ones for Leyna. Because THAT’S NOT FAIR, MOM.

And now for more AWESOME. This is, honestly, way more awesome than the snowflakes, in my opinion.

Check out this beauty of a Yoda tulle wreath from Fiddle Dee Me! Click on over to her site for full details.

Yoda Tulle Wreath | FiddleDeeMe.com

 

December 1, 2015 6 comments
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