Merry Christmas and Happy 2014!

Hope you had a fabulous Christmas!

Christmas Pictures!

I love decorating for Christmas and I try to change things up every year.  Probably my favorite part of our house is this nook that seems to have been designed specifically for a Christmas tree!  I wish I could send a Thank You to whoever created it!

We put the biggest tree we can find in there and then put a smaller, artificial one in the piano room.

Upstairs, we have a tiny artificial tree for the kids...you can see all 3 from the balcony!

This little tree holds years of handmade ornaments from the kids and all red and white lights.  The kids love to put this together each year!  This is Bo, trying to add a "star" to the top!

I also finished Austin's "Skater" skirt this weekend!  This is my new favorite skirt!  No pattern, just need measurements.

Taylor offered to model a scarf ...

 This is why Taylor doesn't model for me!

12 Days of Sis Boom!

I am so excited to be a part of this blog series celebrating Jennifer Paganelli and Sis Boom!  I absolutely adore Jennifer and am constantly amazed by her talent and her generosity.  She is an incredible woman who has brought so much joy to my world!  I can't begin to thank her enough.  This tribute to her is well deserved and I am truly honored to be a part of it!  

I have so many blessings in my life and so much to be thankful for, but this has been a challenging year for me, personally.  Thank goodness I have a creative outlet to turn to and thank goodness I have Sis Boom!  For me, the beauty of Jennifer's fabrics lift me up and literally make me happy.  When I can transform a yard of fabric into a skirt, or a pillow, or a bag or whatever, it transform me too.  There's no way else to explain it!  So, when we decided to re-do our girls' room this Fall, I knew it had to be done with Sis Boom.  How wonderful would it be to wake up everyday and see the bright, happy colors of Jennifer's fabrics?!   

I've been sending Jennifer sneak peaks of the room as I've been working on it, but now it's ready to be revealed!  It's not totally finished but I love where it's going so far!
So, here is the room before...

It was cute and bright but a little "young".  Here it is now...

The beds are black and have two drawers on each side, which eliminated the need for dressers.  We also re-did the closet to provide more space for their clothes.

I started with the cornice boards.  I LOVE mixing up the Sis Boom in unpredictable ways.  I wanted lots of color that would work with the purple walls and the brighten up the black beds. 

The crazy love in the center is one of my all-time favorite Sis Boom fabrics.  Jen outdid herself with that one!  In fact, if anyone has any they'd like to sell me...I'll take it!

I covered an ottoman from our living room and added casters to the bottom to give them some extra seating for their friends.  I have another one to cover but just haven't gotten it done yet!!  There's also a handle on one side to make it easier to move.

This is Bradlee's end of the room.  She loves the Crazy Love too, so I did these Euro pillows for her (yesterday!) out of what I had left.

They're perfect with the new Lucky Girl!!!  I spruced up this little piece too.  You can see it next to her bed.  I just painted it and decoupaged some fabric to the top.  Easy project that totally transformed it and saved it from the junk pile!  Sorry for not getting a better "after" picture!

We're still working on the wall space and accessorizing.  I have a few ideas so come back after Christmas and see what we've done!  Here is Taylor's end...

Taylor is fun and a little crazy.  She likes to mix things up a little more, so her pillows are more of a mix of colors.

I've said it a hundred times, but that's the beauty of Sis Boom fabric...it all works!  You can't go wrong!

We decided to only keep one of the desks for the girls to share in order to save space.  I'm also searching for just the right full-length mirror to go where the light tree is on the wall. 

Here is one of the lamps in the old room...

 And here it is now...(you can see the tutorial for this  if you go back through the blog).

 This is Bradlee's end of the room before...

 ...and after.  I was worried about the beds being too big for the room, but they really aren't.  In fact, the room seems a little bigger now without the dressers and desks.

 And here is closet before and after (also blogged about previously)...

So much better! Notice the row of Sis Boom skirts!?!?

So that's it!  That's my Sis Boom room!  It makes me happy every time I walk in there!  I still need to finish the duvet covers, but I saw a little sneak peak from Jennifer recently of a new line coming out that has a little black in it...so excited to get my hands on that!!  And I'm thinking about throwing in a bright colored rug as well.  Most likely, these pillows will keep changing with every Sis Boom line that comes out!  Once I get through the Holidays, I'll be able to get back in there and finish everything.  But for now, we love it!  It's a little more sophisticated for two girls coming into their own.  It's fun and pretty but not too young. 

I have to say a special thank you to Jennifer and to all of my Sis Boom "Sista's"!  Jennifer, you have changed my world, and I am proud to not only love and admire your talent, but also to call you my friend.  And to the Sista's, you are amazing women who inspire me every day.  Just knowing I am not the only sewing obsessed, Sis Boom loving, creative nut out there keeps me sane!  Please check out their work by following our 12 Days of Sis Boom...

December 09 Sew Pretty Dresses
December 10 Sweeter Than Cupcakes
December 11 Sweet Baby Jamie
December 12 Hickity Pickity  Handmade Dress Haven
December 13 Tabbo Designs 100 Billion Stars
December 14 Heavenlelgh Blessings Boutique
December 15 Scientific Seamstress
December 16 Sweet Baby Jamie
December 17 Hold It Right There
December 18 Sew Fun By Monique
December 19 Small Town Girls Clothier Marie Madeline Studio
December 20 Granny B's Clothesline Lilac Lane by Melissa Stramel

If you happen to be in the Cinci area, remember you can buy Jennifer's beautiful Sis Boom fabric at Banasch's fabric store on Red Bank Rd..  
And don't forget to like us on Facebook!
Merry Christmas!!