StARbUCkS GiRLS

While visiting our family up north, we decided to teach the girls a few things about the Starbucks family tradition (these cups are empty of course!):

1) Coffee is always more enjoyable when drank with someone you love...

2) Biscotti is to coffee as butter is to bread...

3) Starbucks must always come first before any road trip...

4) Some people must avoid human contact until they have had a few sips of coffee...

5) Every coffee lover is different-Madelynn loves her Tall Nonfat Vanilla Latte, while Paisley enjoys her Double Tall Nonfat Extra-Hot Latte...

6) Never leave any coffee in your cup!

Pa'S LittLE GiRL

Need I say anything more?

MiSs MAddeLyNn'S RoOM

Its finally finished! This has been one of the most fun decorating experiences I have had! I wanted the room to be colorful and fun-just like Madelynn. I tried to get as creative as possible and think outside the box. Usually I am a very precise, "matchy" and symetrical decorator-so it was fun to do something different! See what you think:

Madelynn's wonderful Nana and Pa bought her the super-cute wall stickers, hedgehog beanbag, and awesome pink storage cubicle and canvas buckets. My sister painted the bright green owl figure sitting under the tree on top of the storage cubicle :>)

The "woodland friends" sheets and bedspread are from Target (originally I wanted the owl bedding from Pottery Barn but found the Target version at almost 1/4 of the price!).

I bought the hanging birdhouses for a dollar each at thrift stores and painted them and covered one roof with fabric.

This little pink child-size mirrored cupboard used to be bright red and very shabby looking. A fresh coat of pale pink paint and it looks brand new!

I gave Madelynn's pink curtains an update by sewing a huge tree with a pink bird on one panel, and a giant owl on the other panel. All the fabric I used was on hand. (I really must invest in a nice camera one day-these pictures look terrible!!)

The pink retro kitchen was a Christmas gift from Nana and Pa:-)

I just noticed the mixed-media canvas above the kitchen that I made has some fabric hanging down in the corner. Guess I didn't hang it far enough above the kitchen and Madelynn put her special touch on it!

I have to say that Madelynn seems to really like her new room! She was very excited to see all the little critters on the walls. She also loved helping me paint the birdhouses. I love that the room now fits my daughter's colorful personality!

Here is what I spent to re-do her room:
Bedding: $65.00
Birdhouses: $2.00
Pink Paint: $12.00 (I was shocked that a little quart of paint was so expensive, but I have plenty left for a few projects in the baby's room :-)
Everything else I had on hand!

MAddiE Lu'S BAbY ShOwER GiFt

I love creating handmade gifts...especially for babies! It was so much fun putting together this little gift for a baby shower I went to today:

This little basket contained two coordinating burp cloths, an embelished newborn onesie, a tiny flower hair clip, a petite stuffed bunny, and a pair of socks with pink pom poms (not pictured because I already wrapped them).

It turned out pretty cute! In fact, I think I will replicate the set for the new Miss McMahon (yet to be named!)

My wonderful Aunt Jayne suggested that I sell similar baskets at Hibernation--and I think I may take her up on it! I currently sell the hair clips and onesies there. (Check out Hibernation's new website...coming soon!!!)

P.S. if anyone needs a unique, handmade baby gift...let me know! And I love doing custom orders!

BAbY SEEdS

Well the wait is finally over! We found out that our "baby seed" is indeed a girl! Here is a lovely profile of our next little princess...

...she totally has the famous "McMahon nose", don't you think? We also got to see her playing with her toes in this next picture...

So amazing to see such a little baby do such a thing! We also caught her yawning. :-o Madelynn will be such a wonderful big sister, and we can't wait to see the sisterly bond they will have. Exciting!!! And now to prepare and decorate!



On to another type of seeds...

My dad and I had so much fun starting our gardens together. The "Man of Plenty" conveniently bought enough seeds and seed-starting pods to supply two gardens! He was more than happy to share the extra with me. So we spent Saturday afternoon selecting seeds, "poking" them into the pods...

...and even making diagrams of our pod garden on graph paper!

It was a wonderful father-daughter project...in a "Cannon" sort of way! Thanks, Dad!

"GoURmEt" BRoWniEs

They're not organic. They're not low-fat. They're not made from scratch.
In fact, these brownies are from a box, and they took me ten minutes to make. Sometimes you just don't feel like putting that much effort into being domestic. But, hey-they look "gourmet", right?

After pouring the Betty Crocker Fudge Brownies into the pan, I melted some peanut butter in a small bowl. (I actually did use all-natural peanut butter) Then I poured it right out of the bowl, going back and forth to make many uneven lines on top of the brownie batter. Then I took a knife (because I didn't have any toothpicks) and drug it through the lines (perpendicular, not parallel), switching directions each time. Then just bake it according to the directions!

And there you go! Husband is happy and wife didn't spend two hours more in the kitchen!

MiXEd MEdiA ARtwORk

Last night I had so much fun creating two mixed media canvases for Madelynn's room.

The best part was getting to use so many different materials-canvas, paint, fabric, wood, stickers, and glue! I used two painter's canvases I had laying around and painted them a pale pink. Then I found a coordinating green fabric and glued it in a strip on the bottom of each canvas.

The tree stems, leaves, and flowers were leftover wall "stickers" that I used to embellish the walls of Madelynn's room. They are removable, so I had so much fun playing around with different designs...they are so goof-proof!

The little owl is actually a thin, wooden, paintable cutout from a craft store-but since I didn't have very many paint colors, I decided to use fabric instead! I cut the fabric shapes just like the pattern that was pre-drawn on each owl, then glued them on. Soooo easy! Then all I had to do was glue the owls to the canvases. it was so much fun!

Madelynn's room is almost done and ready for pictures! Only a few last minute touches!