Love is in the Air...DIY Valentine's Day Gifts

It's getting to be that time of year...candy hearts, chocolate, roses. Valentine's Day is just around the corner. I've put together a lineup of some fun tutorials for  DIY Valentine's treats, decor and gifts. Enjoy!

52 Reasons I Love You

Paper Vine

This amazing tutorial can be found over at  PaperVine.   This blog is full of fantastic tutorials...trust me, you'll be addicted!

Yummy Treats

These little Smarties Parfaits look delicious and oh-so-cute!  Visit  Bubbly Nature Creations for the how-to.

Bubbly Nature Creations

 How about these Strawberry Heart Oreo Cookies from Thirty Handmade Days.  Adorable!  And, there's a cute little {FREE} printable to go along with.

Thirty Handmade Days

 For the more adventurous, here's a great tutorial on creating natural perfume from my friend Amanda at Escentual Alchemy.  And if you don't think you want to tackle this project yourself, just head on over to Amanda's shop and pick out one of her already made creations!

Natural Perfume

Natural Perfume Tutorial

And also a tutorial on making your own bath salts from Stephanie at Alchemy Lifestyle and Wellness.   Woudn't this be a fun project for a girls night in?  Or a mommy/daughter day?

Bath Salts Tutorial

And finally, how about some cuteness for you home?

Love, Laughter & Decor

I found this adorable Valentine's Day Tree over at Love, Laughter & Decor!  I will make this...soon.

I hope you enjoy some of these fun projects!  If you decide to tackle any of these great ideas, I'd love to hear about it here or on my Facebook Page!

Happy Hearts Day to you!

Are you a Supermom?

I am a self-proclaimed "Messy Marvin" and procrastinator.  I work the very best under pressure...at least that what I tell myself!  It's getting to be that time of year when folks start thinking about Resolutions...losing weight, getting organized, spending more time with the kids.   In this Pinterest/Facebook-era, many women find themselves struggling to be a Super Mom.  Expectations are high.  Gotta post that perfect Christmas photo with the kids smiling at the camera under the Christmas Tree in their new Christmas Jammies.  Those adorable Valentine's Day printables are just waiting to be added to the bags full of candy to take to preschool for all your 4 year old's friends and teachers.  Seriously????  I'm just happy when the kids get a bath and get to preschool on time!!  Getting myself a shower...well, that's a story for another post!

It's really not that bad...but sometimes I do feel pressured to be the perfect mom while running my business from my home.  I find the line between work and home is seriously blurred.

So this year, I have a few GOALS of my own.  We don't make resolutions in our family...we decided a long time ago that we are more inclined to keep our "resolutions" if we make them goals!  I also think it's important to start small, don't tackle all of your goals in one day, or even one week.

Today, I'll share one of my goals with you.

ORGANIZATION

Super Mom Family Organizer Set

I found this awesome set from Erin over at Happy Organized Life.  It's the Supermom Family Organizer Set and it's available for Instant Download (did I mention that I'm impatient?)  It has 30 sheets that you can print out and use individually or in a binder.  I decided to use the binder method since I tend to be messy...I can imagine those pages scattered all over the house!   So far, my favorite page is THE 30 MINUTE CLEAN ROUTINE.  If cleaning house can be done in 30 minutes, I'm all for it!  I love that you don't have to start with a perfectly clean house to use this routine...if you give yourself a week, then your house should be relatively clean and then you can start on larger organizing projects, like the garage...or the sewing room (GASP!)

I won't go into detail about this organizer set...go check it out for yourself.  Make sure you "like"  Erin's Facebook page for a 20% off coupon! 

I would love to hear some of your organizing tips!  Share them here or on Christine & Company's Facebook page.

Punkin' Patch

It's still 90 plus degrees in Florida, but I can't help think of the cooler weather to come.  About the time summer is winding down, I'm ready for it to be over.  Fall is probably my favorite season of the year.  I love the smells, the breezy weather, the snuggly sweaters, fall festivals and pumpkin pie.  This year we've decided to grow our own pumpkins for Halloween.  I was inspired by the this great Toddler Garden on theimaginationtree.com.

We had an old flower bed in the backyard that had been neglected and decided it was the perfect spot for our pumpkins.  After we pulled out all the old stuff, we mixed in some garden soil that we picked up at Lowes.  Our garden is already full of worms, so hopefully they will do their job and keep our garden composted.

Look at this worm..."It's dirty!"

Then we planted the pumpkin seeds...three hills...four seeds each.  I'm going to thin it out once we get sprouts.  The farmers almanac says that July 24th is a barren day.  Let's hope it's wrong!  I added some marigolds for color while we wait patiently for our pumpkins to sprout.

Our little garden is probably too tiny for our pumpkin vines, so I've been doing some research on growing pumpkins vertically.  Check out these pumpkins hanging from a trellis.  I think I'm going to give it a try!

Did you know that pumpkins take 100 days to mature...that makes our harvest date....October 31!  Couldn't be any more perfect.  My only fear?  Look out for falling pumpkins!  Stay tuned for the  pumpkin progress.

Christine

www.etsy.com/shop/christineandcompany

Welcome to Christine and Company

Mommy & Company

Hello! Welcome to Christine & Company. I'm Christine and the "company" is my wonderfully supportive husband and my two little sidekicks, 2 1/2 and 1. Christine and Company was born of boredom. Yep. That's right. I became a stay at home mom when my second son was born. Having worked for the past 20 years, staying home was quite a challenge for me. I needed something to keep my mind busy. I started making some fun things for the kids and soon my friends wanted me to make stuff for their kids. Then, their friends...well, you get it. One day my neighbor introduced me to Etsy and now, I'm hooked!
My first sewing project was a dress that I made when I was 13 and it wasn't an easy one. A full portrait collar, covered buttons all the way down the front. But I finished and I was very proud of it. I put the sewing machine away for a while and just fiddled with it here and there until just recently.
I have become addicted to fabrics and notions. I could spend hours in the fabric store (much to MR. Company's dismay!) My favorite designers are Amy Butler and Michael Miller. I mainly create children's items, but I'm working on a new handbag line that I will be launching soon. In the meantime, check out MY SHOP.  Stay tuned....