DIY: easy monogrammed baby gift

My dear friend had her precious third baby the other day, and I know that most moms having their third baby need very little in world of baby gear, but something simple and sentimental is just what makes a thoughtful gift for the new arrival. I don't expect this onesie to be worn a lot, maybe a couple times and then packed away. I mean, it's made from a simple gerber onesie, those things never last that long. I saw this done by American Apparel and I just tried my hand at it. Took very little time, and I got to use my trusted freezer paper method to get it done. 

I had the onesie, never worn, from a pack I bought for Ivy, and then I found this gray zip up on clearance at Target for $3. 

I printed the G with Helvetica 400. Then I got to cutting. 

I put the freezer paper shiny side down and ironed it until it was stuck to the onesie. 

I painted it brushing away from the lines so that I didn't get any under the stencil. I went over it twice to make sure it was solid. Make sure to put something under the onesie too. 

Then I did the same for the last name for the zip up. 

While I'm sure the quality of the American Apparel version is way better, this still works as a quick and easy baby gift for the mom that has everything she needs already. It also works for the mom that has very little time to make stuff what with her three kids. Win win. 

DIY: coconut oil face creme

I have been loving coconut oil these days. Buy me a ticket for the bandwagon because this stuff is great. I bought this big thing of it from Costco and I have used it for cooking, in my coffee, as diaper cream for Ivy, as cream for Ivy's cradle cap, and on my face at night. I love the way my skin feels in the morning, but it was a little, well, as you would expect, oily. So I made my own little creme to make it more like lotion and less like oil. I googled a few different things and came up with this concoction. It took 10 minutes to make, while the kids were finishing their breakfast. 

I decided to use just what I had on hand. Coconut oil (1 cup), aloe vera and vitamin E (10 capsules) and peppermint essential oil (a few drops). I got the aloe vera capsules at the grocery store and I would use one of my face at night. You can use any essential oil you have, but I had peppermint when a friend gave it to me to help with my migraines.

The consistency of this stuff is odd, so I mixed it in my kitchen aid mixer for about 10 minutes to whip it, whip it good.

If you've ever eaten dinner at our house, you'll most likely drink out of a mason jar, or another reused jar because that's just what we do. I started getting this great sauce and I love the jar, so I cleaned out one of them, for this creme. Note: clean that jar A LOT. The top of this jar still has the remnant of curry chicken. Oh well… 

I added the other two things and whipped it more until it looked like frosting. 

See how nice that looks? I read that if you keep it in temperature cooler than 75 degrees, it will stay creamy like this. 

I was carrying my large coconut oil jar around from kitchen to bathroom to Ivy's changing table and it doesn't really fit anywhere, so now it fits right next to my face soap. It's the little things. 

The use your super cool label maker and you have yourself face creme forever! My favorite is the peppermint smell, it's refreshing. The combination of coconut and peppermint is delicious too. If I didn't have serious bags under my eyes due to newborn sleep patterns, I'd show you a picture of my face, but, you know, just take my word for it. This stuff is great. I was spending about $40 of face lotion about twice a year, and this is way more than I'll use probably in a whole year. And it saves me a trip to the mall. And is was pretty much free because I had everything. WIN, WIN, WIN!

So what cooking products are you putting on your face? Have you been using coconut oil?
Has is changed your life?

Happy Monday, friends.

a crafty year

Ken and I have a mental list, a long list of things we want to do in the house. Our house is like a big craft and we could probably get some of these small projects done with some vision. So I vow, here and now, to get it done! This includes all the crafts that I've bought all the supplies for but have never actually done. Here's the short list for January:

• make some art for the bathroom (Mel)
• sew curtains for the front room (Mel)
• buy a thick rug so Eliza stops knocking her head on the hardwood floor (both)
• paint another coat of yellow on the kitchen window, white on the dining and living room windows (both)
• organize the 6 bins of girls clothes so that they are in some logical order (Mel)
• give away the clothes that neither of the girls have worn, along with toys that are not faves (Mel)
• hang rod in the girls closet and install a shelf (Ken)
• finish trim work in the bathroom (Ken)
• design the Kostrzewa manifesto (both)

Of course I started with the most fun and easiest project- make some art for the bathroom.

I had all of these things in my big, messy craft box so it was a free project. 

The tray is from an old scrabble game that was missing a lot of pieces from a thrift store. 

And since I had everything out already, I made these for my mom to help her brag about her beautiful granddaughters. Aren't my nieces gorgeous? Sorry Savannah, I couldn't fit your name! Mom says that your parents call your Savi? Anyway, I put 4 magnets on each corner with some strong clue. Now when my mom prints a new picture of her girls, she can put them behind their block. 

 My tiny baby succulents were needing some love, so I made this one too. When I was a teacher, I would cover my walls with quotes, student work, or bright colors. I was told that my room didn't have any negative space, meaning that even if my students weren't paying attention (which happened often) they we're still being enriched with what was on the walls. I wonder if that's a really nice way of saying cluttered? Either way, I spend a lot of time staring at the kitchen window washing dishes and what not, so why not have something encouraging to look at; a reminder of how great the Lord is. 

I put this last because I did this after realizing that the bathroom art needed some sealing what with the moisture that was going on in there. And having a toddler who likes to wash her own hands, we have some splashing going on. It also added a nice finish to these little canvases. 

One down off the list! 

house update via Ken K

Ken primed the house on Saturday! What you see here is the kitchen ready to go! When I look at the house, it's like a huge canvas just ready to paint. Pretty cool! Ken hung all the drywall himself which blows me away, then primed the ENTIRE house in one Saturday. Are you kidding me? This guy is crazy awesome! He's so excited too. It's really fun to see it come together. Remember when it looked like this? We've come a long way, baby!

picnic dress

Doesn't she look like a picnic waiting to happen? I love this print, very simple. But when it's a whole dress, I'm a little bit like, "whoa, that's a lot of pattern!" She pretty much hated the process of making it because I made the dress from my mind, without a pattern, and I put in on her with a lot of kinks. Then I took it off, improved the sleeves, added the yellow part on the bottom to make it longer and put a button on the front because Avery's head is so big! Even though she hates the process of me putting it on her, she loves the result. What a babe!! There is a thick 2 inch elastic band that goes around her waist making it fitted there. I'm pretty sure I'm obsessed with those colors together. I'll probably make a skirt so that she can sport this cute color combo more. At first, the top of the dress was closed in and she looked a bit like a boy. Then I cut the top like a deep v-neck and I found that to be a bit to american-apparel-trashy-even-for-a-baby look so I added the button to gather it together. If we ever buy this child some shoes, some brown sandles would be real cute. That yellow is my fave, too. I have a cardigan (duh) that is the same color that I wear at least once a week, even in the hot summers here. Is it sad that Avery dresses A LOT better than I do?