aimee, Author at The Crazy Craft Lady

aimee

organized twin nursery closet

Jun 192013

Organizing has got to be one of my favorite activities, and I am so excited to share my latest organizing project! It took me a few months to fine tune, but I finally have a perfectly organized twin nursery closet. I really wanted to make the most of the storage space we have in this large closet. This was especially important since after arranging two cribs, a chair, and a changing table, there isn’t exactly room for a dresser. With the babies crawling and getting into everything, it is especially important to have a place for everything – in their closet and off the floor.

The next challenge: I didn’t want to spend a ton of money. There are all sorts of pink and blue baskets out there. But what do you do with them in a few years when you transition into a “big kid” room? You’re stuck with a bunch of expensive baby baskets… No thanks. Enter my two favorite places on earth: Target and the dollar store. I used Target drawers and dollar store bins, but first… Continue reading »

baby name banners

baby, baby., Craft, decorate. 1 Response »

Jun 072013

It seems like banners are popping up everywhere – in nurseries and at showers. And I will be the first to admit that I LOVE this trend! So a few months ago I hopped on the bandwagon and made these baby name banners for our nursery. Today, I am finally getting around to sharing them with you all… Continue reading »

newborn shadow boxes for the twins

baby, baby., decorate. 1 Response »

Jun 042013

I have seen some pretty creative newborn shadow box ideas lately, and knew this was something I wanted to do with our twins. There is a little corner in the hallway outside the nursery; I felt like this would be a perfect place to display some newborn mementos. Enter my decision to make two newborn shadow boxes with all of our keepsakes from the hospital. Continue reading »

baby photography with favorite toy {picmonkey tutorial}

baby, baby., Camera 1 Response »

May 212013

Somewhere, I can’t remember where, I read a great idea for your baby book: take pictures of your baby with his/her favorite toy at different ages. I thought this was one of the greatest ideas I’ve heard in quite a while, so when it was time to do the twins’ 6 month photo shoot, I pulled out their favorite bedtime bears. These are the stuffed animals that, when you pull their tails, play lullaby music. Both R and B enjoy snuggling up with these little guys when napping during car rides or at bedtime. Side note: Please save your “OMG… don’t leave stuffed animals in your baby’s crib… they will die!” comments for someone else. We do our best, and sometimes that means letting the babies snuggle with something soft when going to bed. Thanks for understanding

I’m sure I am like many mothers out there that see these wonderful baby pictures on Pinterest, and then feed completely inadequate when they see their home pics. Unfortunately, we can’t all afford to have a professional photographer document each of our babies’ precious milestones. However, with a good camera and the magic of Picmonkey, we can have semi-professional pictures to last a lifetime. What is Picmonkey? Picmonkey is photo editing’s gift to all of us that are too poor/stupid to make the investment (financial and intellectual) in Photoshop. Many of Picmonkey’s features are free, but I subscribe to their Royale service. For a few bucks a month, I get all the photo editing features I need (and then some), without the learning curve or cost of Photoshop. Woot! I plan on posting more tutorials as time goes by (Lord knows, I have a TON of pictures!). Here is the first. Continue reading »

spring ideas house 2013

decorate. No Responses »

Apr 232013

Three time a year, the creative people at Bachman’s here in Minneapolis open up their “ideas house” for the public. It is a great opportunity to get new decorating ideas, and many of the items featured in the house can be purchased in the Bachman’s store. I went last fall with my aunts (check it out here), and last weekend I went with a girlfriend. They did something a bit different this time by creating a narrative of the people who “live” in the house – a mom who works from home as an event planner and her daughter.

long hot summer printable

uncategorized. 1 Response »

Apr 112013

Last time I checked, it is supposed to be spring. But for those of us who live in the great state of Minnesota, the weather clearly has a sense of humor. Why? Here’s what I woke up to this morning:

When will this winter end? The warm weather clothes for the babies are piling up, ready to be worn. My new neon running shoes are waiting patiently by the door. Monty’s leash is seriously underused. J is tired of playing softball indoors. The list goes on and on.

Not to mention, the chorus from “Long, Hot Summer” has been running through my head for days. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I spent much of last summer resting indoors, waiting for the twins to arrive. I am ready to end winter, bypass spring, and begin my summer! With that on my mind, I started playing around with a printable today.

Long Hot Summer Printable

I made this available in both 8×10 and 5×7 size for you all. Enjoy!

silhouette nursery art

baby, baby., Craft, decorate. 2 Responses »

Apr 032013

Here we go again… another post about a nursery decorating project. I have really had to restrain myself with the nursery. There are so many cute art projects out there… if I did them all, every square inch of the room would be covered! I knew that I wanted to do a picture frame collage somewhere in the nursery. One of the main reasons: I had a pile of frames sitting around that I “borrowed” from my mom. I love hand-me-down home decor! There’s nothing like breathing new life into something that has served someone else well, but now needs a new home. And that’s how it went with these frames. I wish I took “before” photos, but instead you will have to use your imagination. My mom gave me about a dozen mix-match frames in a variety of metallic colors. Instantly, the spray paint gods began calling out to me. With one coat of primer and one coat of flat white spray paint, I had brand-spanking-new frames just waiting to be filled. Continue reading »

almond raspberry cupcakes

Cook, sweet tooth. 2 Responses »

Apr 012013

I went to a baby shower a while back and had the most amazing almond cake with raspberry filling. This cake was so good that it has been in the back of my mind ever since. So, when Aunt Cathy asked me to bring dessert to Easter dinner, I immediately knew what flavor combo I would be using. But let’s be honest. I don’t exactly have time to make an extravagant cake. So, I went an easier-to-eat, easier-to-make, semi-homemade almond raspberry cupcakes recipe. After all, box cake mixes nowadays are pretty darn good. By taking a shortcut with a box mix, I was able to make a seemingly fancy cupcake with a fraction of the effort. Continue reading »

framed recipe cards

Cook, Craft, decorate. 3 Responses »

Mar 272013

My childhood summers were spent in North Dakota with extended family, and my sister and I spent weeks with Grandma and Grandpa Schill. Nights were spent in our “fort” under the stairs, and our days were filled running around the garden, playing in the sandbox, or helping Grandma in the house with cooking or quilting. Grandpa was a welder, and sometimes my sister would go with him to the shop. I was too afraid of the equipment, so this meant I got Grandma all to myself. These were the best days. Days of strawberry pie, filled with fresh strawberries from the garden, hand-made quilts, daily Mass, coloring books, and anything that the garden hose could wash off my little hands and feet. Continue reading »

diy ikea crib bedding

baby, baby., Craft 2 Responses »

Feb 052013

DIY crib bedding from the Crazy Craft Lady

Being pregnant with twins was exhausting. Seriously. Everyone tells you about the joy of bringing two new lives into the world, and how lucky you are to be having a boy AND a girl at once… “You’re all set, lucky you!” Don’t get me wrong. I agreed with all of these people, but there was one thing no one ever tells you: growing two human beings inside you for nine (hopefully nine) months is entirely exhausting.

J and I didn’t find out about our double blessing until my 18-week ultrasound. This means that I spent 18 weeks thinking I just had a really bad case of morning sickness accompanied by a daily migraine. While I wouldn’t really recommend spending weeks on end glued to the couch, living off of soup and vicodin, and working through entire TV series on Netflix at an alarming rate, I did accomplish one thing: I discovered a new world… the world of Pinterest, where all baby items are handmade, and dinner every night comes from a crock pot. During this time, I developed grand plans for applique onesies, handmade burp cloths, and hand painted nursery wall art. Few of these projects panned out when I discovered that my first trimester exhaustion wasn’t going to go away for the remainder of my pregnancy. But I did manage to complete one project… diy ikea crib bedding.

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