Happy 3 weeks Drew!

Time has flown by and Drew is almost a month old. A little depressing that this sweet newborn stage is coming to an end. But I always enjoy every stage my babies go through.

 Thankfully I have a lovely new camera to document my kids better.  :0)

This picture's caption:

"Your telling me I just what in my pants!!?

Here are some pictures I took of him with my new camera 

 

I hope to be taking pictures of the other kids within the next few days :0)

xo Melissa

 

 

A New Chapter

Today is my 1st official day as a stay at home mama... 

Bring on the chaos! :0)

DIY JCrew Necklace

I am going to attempt the impossible.... DIY J Crew Flower Lattice Necklace

Retails for $228.00...... gulp! (and it's sold out btw)

Let's look at it up close shall we??

I found this set of brooches on Etsy the other day for $18.75 12% off = $16.50

But I needed 1 large brooch to make my set complete.... So I also bought this one also

and this one...




There are several tutorials online on how to paint rhinestone jewelry (just Google it)
Here are some different ways



Sharpies
 create the translucent look

via



Spray Paint
Creates a matte finish and an excellent choice if you wanted it all one color.
(however it isn't ideal for my project),



via



Nail Polish
Could be ideal but it can get pricey quick


via






Acrylic Paint
Millions of colors for cheap!



She also used a layer of Mod Podge as a sealant and to give it a glossy finish


via


Ok so let me show you what I did

Basics needed
Necklace and Bracelet chain set
(I wanted Gold but I wasn't sure how it would look)
Brooches/Buttons
Wire
Pliers

1. The necklace was too short in my opinion , so I took the chain from the bracelet and extended it. 

2. I laid out my pieces 

* looks just like the silver version of the JCrew necklace, doesn't it!?!*

3. Next I started attaching the brooches to the chain with some silver jewelry wire

These 3 little buttons on the right were the most difficult to attach

All of them are attached at this point. 

*The far left button lost a stone, but I glued it back later*

4. Apply colors!

I slowly "colored" the stones as close as I could to the JCrew version 

The 3 buttons on the right were my test subjects

On the JCrew version I noticed there were some gray looking stones on the front middle one. 

After some thought I used a black sharpie on those stones and then immediately buffed it off, which achieved the gray coloring. 

Here she is !

Let's see how close I got, shall we?

Pretty dang close if I do say so myself!

Here she is on me :0)

Well I hope this has inspired you to start painting your rhinestones!!

xo Melissa

My Fabric and Wallpaper

You already know I sell fabric from Spoonflower but did you know you can also get any of these designs as wallpaper too?!? Isn't that awesome!?

I have added some new colorways to my collection and I have also increased the scale in some of the colors.

Trellis -Small scale

Top:

Navy, Taupe, Mustard, Orange

Bottom:

Kelly Green, Pink, Light Gray, Dark Gray

Trellis - Large Scale

Top:

Navy, Taupe, Dark Gray

Middle:

Orange, Mustard, Kelly Green
Bottom:
Pink, Black, Black Reverse

Trellis Reverse - Small Scale

Top:

Dark Gray, Kelly Green

Bottom:

Navy, Taupe

Fretwork 

Top (small scale):

Orange, Taupe, Kelly Green

Bottom (Large scale):

Fern Green, Black, Navy, Kelly Green

Quatrefoil & Greek Key

Top (small scale):

Black, Taupe, Charcoal, Charcoal/White

Middle (Large scale):

Black/White Reverse, Black/White, Charcoal/White, Kelly Green

Bottom:

Black- Greek Key

Custom Color Request

Trellis

Sometimes I get requests for certain colors and I am happy to oblige :0)

Fuchsia, Turquoise 

Well that's it for now! 

If you would like to purchase any of these designs in fabric or wallpaper 

go here : http://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/melberry

P.S.

Happy 2 weeks old to my newest little man!!

New Goodies

So as you know, ebay can be addictive.... well sometimes it pays to be observant ;0)

I scored this JCrew necklace for $22.50 .... *It retailed for like $140*

I also scored this JCrew necklace for $15.99... *It retailed for $180*

I was thinking about adding some satin ribbon bows to it like the picture below 

(It is also a JCrew necklace but it's way out of my price range even on ebay - $250)

If I do I would make them detachable

I also bought my camera bag! whoo hoo! 

via

Reasons for buying it :

Doubles as a purse = less bags to carry = 2 for 1 :0)

and it's gorgeous

Oh and here is a sneak peek of my secret project....

xo Melissa

Pause and Snow

Thank you for letting me take a pause from blogging so I can love on this little guy :0)

On a side note... we got snow today!!! like 4 inches! 

and like 5 hours after this picture was taken it was all gone :0(

and here is my snow-lady

I have been working on a secret DIY project while I've been home.... stay tuned!

Your regularly scheduled blog programming will return on Monday 

xo Melissa