the crafty christmas...

As I've mentioned before, I L.O.V.E. making gifts rather than purchasing them... and this Christmas is no different.  I love making things because it keeps me busy.  No, I don't think that I'm not already busy enough chasing an almost 2 year old around, I just long for a different type of busy sometimes... the creative busy.  Creativity keeps me sane!  If I'm feeling overwhelmed, anxious, flustered-ish {yes, that is a technical term}, I break out the sketch book, the sewing machine or a gallon of Mod-Podge and my medium of choice, paper!  Making something always seems to put that spring back into my step.  One of my site faves, Pinterest, helps me keep those creative moments flowing with ideas galore!  Here are a few of the things {or a version of} I may be making for my littlest one this year.  On the must make list is the finger puppets and the quiet book... anything to keep this little boy happy at church. He's also getting a stocking full of Hot Wheels... no, he's not old enough yet {technically}for these, but he is obsessed with them, so I need to come up with a carrying case like the one below.

Which ever ideas make it under the tree this year, I do know that making that something special for my little man makes the gift giving process so much more meaningful. {awe... wasn't that a warm fuzzy moment}

{via}

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Are you a Christmas crafter too?  If you spot something fabulous, send the idea my way. :)
For more ideas, check out my Pinterest board, The Little Things in Life...

Happy Christmas Crafting!

an Attitude of Gratitude...

I L.O.V.E. November!  I don't know if it's the crispness in the air, the crunchy leaves under my feet, that one Sunday where we gain an hour of sleep, or the fact that Thanksgiving comes and Christmas is close behind.  Whatever it is exactly, this is definitely my most favorite time of the year.

This year I wanted to foster an attitude of gratitude with my family.  I feel like my kids are very grateful for all that they have, but I thought that taking time to notice those blessings was something I wanted to do with them this year.  This year we created a Thankful Tree...  I followed the idea I found here.

Kayla and I went out on a walk one afternoon to find the perfect branches for our tree... they are a rich red tone.  So perfect for our Thanksgiving~ish decor.  I love them and am so thankful we found them.

It was fun to see what the kids would come up with each day.  Here are some of the things my family is thankful for this year...

    

 

I think this is something we will continue to do every year.  I love the tree!  I think it will be fun to look back each year at the things we were all grateful for the previous year.
It truly is one of my favorite fall decorations.

To keep this perspective year round and encourage the kids to be thankful during prayer, I've posted this saying in our home...

"What if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday?"

Be thankful EVERYDAY for everyone and everything in your life... I know for me it changes my attitude about everything and helps me be a little more grateful for the little things {which are usually the most important things}.

~Happy November~

{the decision...}

{the struggle}
I have struggled for months with this whole blogging thing. Actually I think I've been struggling with an identity thing.  I love writing about my family and keeping track of our journey throughout the year.  I love writing about interior design and have had a really strong desire to venture back into that world via blogging.  I was feeling like I was trying to mesh the family blog with a design blog and it just wasn't feeling right.  I love sharing my love for design with anyone and everyone, but sharing my family life with anyone and everyone just isn't for me.  I love my current following of close family and friends, but strangers... no.

{the solution}
Write another blog.  Duh... so simple.  I don't know why I have been so resistant to this idea.  I had a million excuses...  I just don't have time to maintain another blog, it takes me away from my family, I'm a mama right now not a designer, no one is interested in reading it, and on and on.  So, I sat down a few days ago & the inspiration just began to flow.  It came together incredibly quick.  I was so surprised.

{introducing...}
Imperfect Perfectionist {inspired design} Why start another blog completely devoted to inspiration and design?  Because it just makes me happy. :)  I need the creative outlet... desperately!  I also believe a lot of mamas out there get so caught up in being the wife and mom that they lose their identity without even noticing it's been lost.  There is nothing wrong with doing what you love while still being what you love to be {a wife and mama}.  It's funny how writing about your passion evokes a certain happiness.  Now I get to write about both passions... family & design.

What's with the imperfect perfectionist stuff?  I feel like it describes me perfectly.  I'm not only a perfectionist when it comes to being a mom.  I also get super caught up in the little details in design.  Sometimes that can be a good thing, but more often than not, I spend a lot of time focused on stuff that truthfully doesn't matter.  Realizing that perfection isn't realistic or necessary has been my saving grace!  I feel like there are a lot of imperfect perfectionists out there in the world... we tend to be creative people, with grand ideas & good intentions, who are insanely hard on ourselves all the time... when all we want is the best for our family.  So I guess this is my way of saying it's completely okay to be perfectly imperfect.  There, did you feel that?  ...I don't know about you, but I feel a little lighter somehow.

Anyway, thanks for following along as I recreate, reorganize and venture in new directions.

to gift: {a growth chart}

Finally posting a "project/gift" that I made for a friends baby shower a year ago... yes, a year ago {that's just how caught up I am :) }!

I have a curse... I have this insane desire {need} to make gifts rather than buy them. I love it!  The entire thing is a creative process for me which is probably why I love it so much.  I know making gifts sounds nice and all, but being the overachieving perfectionist that I am, making a gift can sometimes become a huge ordeal.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE making and creating things!  And more often than not, I would rather make it and give it away than keep it for myself, but when I make something for someone else I feel like it has to be absolutely flawless.  Flawlessness can be the doom of a perfectionist like myself. Ugh.

On to the project...

A friend of mine adopted a baby girl and I wanted to make something special for this sweet little soul.  

Growth charts are all the craze these days, I love to paint, so why not make one myself {or attempt to}.

Here it is...

{baby Alexis ~ tweet}

 Maybe someday I'll get around to making a growth chart for my own child.  And, hopefully that happens well before he's grown! Until then, I hope you enjoy my little work of art...........

friday flashback... to last friday

Flashing back to last Friday...
My phone seems like it is constantly making noise... phone calls, texts, reminders etc...
sometimes I just want to be a little less "connected" to everything, so I decided to ignore its beckoning for an afternoon... last Friday afternoon to be exact.  I knew doing this would leave me with the inevitable task of going through voice~mails and such.  As the afternoon progressed I decided it was time to return to the real world and began going through my many messages.
One particular voice~mail  caught me off guard and left me a little teary-eyed to be honest.  It wasn't a bad message, just an unexpected one.

The message went a little something like this...
Hello, this is brother Hoch, I'm the seminary teach at the middle school.  {long pause}  I was just calling to tell you what a wonderful daughter you are raising and how lucky I am to have her in my seminary class.  {another pause}  I have 4 daughters of my own and I want them to grow up and be just like your daughter.  {pause again}  She is an amazing young lady and I just wanted you to know that you have done a wonderful job raising her.

It left me speechless... with one of those lumps you get in your throat before you start crying.  She is such a good kid, but the world we live in today rarely notices those good things in people {especially teenagers}.  I loved that her seminary teacher took the time to make a phone call.  I loved the look on my daughter's face as I replayed the message for her.  I loved that he wasn't complimenting her for being a good student, but was noticing her for genuinely being a good person.  I loved that someone took the time to notice what a sweet, kind and loving kid my beautiful daughter is.

I am one lucky mom to have her as my daughter!

my newest obsession...

I am in designer heaven right now!
I recently stumbled across this website and I am completely in love.
One of my favorite things about design school and working for a design firm was the opportunity I had to make color boards {or mood boards} ALL the time.  There is just something so satisfying about putting together a board.  It's where the idea in my head becomes a real life vision, and it was one of my favorite parts of the design process.

This was my first attempt... {the Vintage Inspired bedroom}


...followed shortly by a second attempt... {the Shabby Southern room}


I am completely obsessed!!!  The program is a work of layering genius and I can't seem to get enough.  I honestly wish this would have been around back while I was in design school.

What I love {and think my design loving friends will love too} is this:

• every item you find and "pin" to your board keeps the link back to the original site where you found it... making it super easy to reference for a client.
• the program itself is super easy to learn and use.
• you can make 2D and 3D boards, which makes your design concept very easy for a client to envision.
• it gets the creative juices flowing... or at least it does for me.
• it's FREE {and who doesn't love free}!
• and finally... you can download the jpg file of your board and send it to a client. {absolute perfection!}

So there you have it... I confess to having a major obsession.  The fact that I walked away from the site long enough to blog about it is a major feat!

Check it out... go do it... now!

i'm back...

I love to write...
some of my favorite classes in college were the writing classes.  My love affair with writing keeps me coming back to the world of blogging over and over again. Does anyone actually read this... I don't know, but I do it because it's something I love to do, which is what really matters after all, right!?

Anyway, these pasts few months I've spent on hiatus have been renewing, refreshing and rehabilitating all in one.  It's been a bit of a bumpy ride, but in hindsight, a bumpy ride worth taking.

I rediscovered the joys of laughing as I took a lesson from this little guy as he took his first ride on a swing alone.  He laughed and laughed {one of those deep belly laughs} like it was the greatest thing he had ever experienced.  I just can't get enough of this little boy!
I need to laugh a lot more, just like this...

Then I rediscovered my love for beautiful places on a recent trip with my family to see the Brigham City temple.  This is probably one of the prettiest temples I have ever visited.  I was amazed by the intricate interior details mixed with the simplicity of the architecture.  The over all design, inside and out, was incredible.

I also rediscovered the joys of family as I spent an afternoon in Park City with my dad.  Lunch, Main Street and the outlet stores shopping for biking gear... yes, you read that right... shopping for biking gear.  Now this is when I wish I had remembered to take a camera with me, but my dad has taken up biking, so we went to the Izumi outlet store in PC so he could find a pair of riding shorts.  All was well until he burst from his dressing room wearing said shorts, while skipping around and singing a song about "men in tights".  $#!*&@#!!!  ...and of course there were other people in the store at the time.  I almost died.

And most recently I rediscovered my love for creating.  I'm not so much a crafter, but I do love creativity and artistry.  I found this lovely project and tutorial on a favorite site and decided to try it out.  I rediscovered why I love making things with my hands... it's incredibly therapeutic and it's always fun to learn a new technique.

Finally, I rediscovered authenticity.  Friends, family, neighbors {basically everybody} are always telling me that I should blog about tutorials, open an Etsy shop or do design work on the side {which is so sweet, kind and flattering btw}.  Maybe someday... but for now I'm enjoying life as a wife, mama, sister, daughter and friend.  My love for design and beautiful creations will take me somewhere wonderful someday, I know that, but for right now I'm loving right where I'm at. 

I recently discovered this wonderful creation by a friend of mine {she always makes the cutest things} and I wanted to share.  Words of wisdom for sure and something I need to read every day.  Now to find a frame and a spot to display it...

xo, Heather

friday flashback to 2009

Cleaning up my blog this week and I came across this post and it made me smile like no other...
All I can say is I'm one lucky mom... so blessed!

"Freshly Fallen" flowers are my absolute favorite!

friday flashback... 2007

{Disney World in Orlando, Florida}

One of our favorite places to cool off… Blizzard Beach. 

brrr... sounds kind of nice right now during this heatwave and all.

5 years just flew by.... I can't believe this was only 5 years ago, and yet, I can't believe this was only 5 years ago! Where did the time go?  I remember thinking if I could magically pause a moment in time, this would be it.  This is a time I will treasure forever... just us girls. :)

KayKay 12, Cam 9 and LilMissy 5

Makin' a splash...

{at the splash pad}
I kind of feel like splash pads are a hidden gem.  They're close to home, the kids get to cool off and play in the water, it's fun for any age, and they're FREE ---- and who doesn't L.O.V.E. free?!
This pad is particularly great because it's not super well-known {yet}, so it's not super crowded {yet}.
Z couldn't get enough... there was a point where he was freezing cold --- you know, teeth chattering, shivering cold, but that little boy did not want to quit for anything!  LilMiss was a great sport and toted her little brother with her everywhere...

Taking time to "warm" up and dry off at the playground...
{Z wasn't interested in the water-less playground}

My little gymnast and her pointed toes... cute.

Probably one of the best ways to spend a hot summer day...

to be 17 again...

My beautiful baby is another year older. I still can't believe she's already 17!!!  17 brings with it a bunch of fun... a years worth of driving {with a license anyway}, senior year, college classes, drama council secretary, a job {she's worked for nearly a year now}, a later curfew, a boyfriend and on and on.

My sweet girl has grown up to be this amazing, beautiful, outgoing, mature, responsible young woman {she's almost an adult... I can't believe it! }.  It's been so fun watching her grow and change over the years.  She went from this rambunctious, all over the place toddler to a tom-boyish little girl to a headstrong teenager.  What I love about Kaykay is her passion for life.  There is nothing she won't try.  She is one fearless girl.  She has always been my little drama queen.  She quickly found that dramatics got her attention and she has loved the spotlight since.  I can always count on my sweet girl for laughs and surprises.  I love you so much!!!

Current likes: Sprite, Razzles, Gateway, McBeetchens, her Nook, Austin {the bf}, running through sprinklers, driving,  her new bedroom, Drama Council, Ab's fry sauce, Hot Pockets, her friends, Twitter, Pasta Alfredo, going to breakfast, sleeping in, basketball shorts and dancing.

The decorations... because every party needs decorations. :)

 The walls were adorned with my favorite pics of my little girl.

 Cupcakes... and of course she gets the giant one in the middle.

We're going to pretend that I made them myself. :)

 The sisters and the bf.

Take a picture mom so I can eat my cake.

The cupcake matches the cupcake tee.
Totally accidental, but cute!

  Being the big kid that she is Kaykay chose to go to the zoo on her birthday.  I'm totally serious. :)

{Her love for the zoo is the reason why we purchased a season pass to this place for the year.}

Appeasing the mom by posing for a photo.
I love how LilMiss bent her arms to fit.

Enjoying an over sized snowcone...
It's almost bigger than her!

This is one of my favorite pics... 

Z was more interested in the little girl standing next to him than the giant polar bear on the other side of the glass!  This little boy LOVEs other little kids... clearly more than polar bears.

 Watching the polar bear dive under water over and over again was fascinating!  

We must have watched him for 30 minutes.

He looks like he'd be fun to swim with... from behind this glass anyway.

 Z takes Snoopy with him everywhere... and I do mean everywhere.

Z and Kaykay taking a walk...

 17 also brought gifts galore... a Nook {she bought herself}, a super cute satchel, a Smash Book to hold all of her senior year memories, a bracelet from LilMiss, a dress from Cam and a load of gift cards from grandparents, family and friends.  To be 17 again.... sounds kind of fun!