A quick banner!

July 6, 2016July 6, 2016 | mollyeleen

Hello all! So it’s been awhile. It’s funny, I think many of my posts are started this way and usually for the same reason, busy, kids, summer vacation, etc. Well this time it’s all of those reasons, but also my mom and I are finally up and truly running with our little Etsy shop Pink Floor Studio. Happy day!

So today, I thought I would share a quick and super simple project~ a vintage playing card banner.

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How cute is that! Really it’s so simple, it seems silly to write about it, but let’s just go for it anyway…

What you will need:

Vintage playing cards (and i suggest you get them from Pink Floor Studio – but any will do)
Pre-made banner (ours is from Target)
Double sided tape
Ribbon (I ended up not using it)
About 5 minutes

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Step one- double stick your cards onto the banner pieces. Step two – string it up (I decided to use the bakers string instead of the ribbon). Step three – find a cute place to hang it up.

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See, really that was the shortest project I have ever written about that’s for sure! But sometimes the short and sweet are so cute how could you not create something with vintage charm!

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If you decided to make a banner using vintage cards, I would love to see it! And if you are in the mood for some vintage crafting supplies, come check out our little shop Pink Floor Studio.

My first!

October 30, 2015October 30, 2015 | mollyeleen

Hello Strangers! I sure have been absent for too long. Isn’t it funny, when you think you did something maybe last week and then you sit down to really figure out when you last did said thing it’s like 6 freaking months later! I mean really?! But lets just pretend you are still listening (reading) and let me share my newest DIY, awesomeness if I do say so myself

My very first Ikea Hack! I am so excited it’s a little on the sad side, but the outcome is so fantastic!

So here is the short, of the long story of how this hack came to be. We had a lamp on a side table for over a year. This lamp became a thousand little shattered pieces in a blink of a toddlers eye. Hubby and I decided we needed to hang a lamp instead to avoid any future disasters. It could look cool so I searched for a chandelier and when I found an okay one to just see if we like it um… NO! All the lighting in the house is modern. And this didn’t cut it. So instead of sitting in the dark of the evenings – I thought, why don’t I just get the Joxtorp from Ikea (costs $5) until I find the perfect lamp, I was over it being so dark. So up when the Joxtorp and wow, I actually really liked it. Hubby like it too… score.

But then night came around… and the chair turned into the interrogation chair. Why? Well this lovely Joxtorp is cardboard (!) and no light can escape it except for at the bottom, so all the light was flooding the chair. It looked like an old movie jail scene with the bad guy sitting in a chair the light shining down on him while being asked “where were you on the night of October 23?” Humm… what to do?

Then I had an idea. A brilliant idea. A horribly, awful, brilliant idea! Why don’t I cut triangles into the lamp and cover the holes with vellum, then the light can escape. “It could be awesome. It could not work and suck. It was $5 – where is my exact-o knife!”

Here is what I did and what you will need

You will need the Joxtorp lamp from Ikea and a hanging cord, exact-o knife, waxed sandwich bags, hot glue gun, pencil, ruler and patients. Take the lamp apart (or before you put it together) and take one piece at a time and place upside down on a cutting mat. Measure 3/4″ of an inch away from all the score marks and draw lines to create the triangles. (You need to do a minimum of 3/4″ because the tabs used to hold it together will still be hidden). Cut out all the triangles and repeat on all 6 pieces. Yes this takes some time, but it is easy.

Next grab your waxed sandwich bags and carefully slice off the top pieces, not the side with the seam, and be very careful not to crinkle the paper. Grab your hot glue gun and carefully and slowly glue each triangle into place. Then trim the waxed paper to just the edge of the hot glue using the exact-o knife. – Repeat 29 more times.

Assemble the lamp as the instructions say, hang and ta-da! Totally geometric hanging lamp that emits a beautiful light at night and looks pretty amazing during the day too!

Have you made an Ikea hack? Will you be trying this? If you do, I would love to see your creation.

What!? Easter…

April 11, 2015 | mollyeleen

Hello strangers. Remember me? It seems I have forgotten all about blogging. Over the last few ~~days~~, ~~no weeks~~, months life has been crazy busy. And all because I like to make sure everything is perfect. I say “yes” I can help – way to much. I am a volunteer. I guess it’s my “new normal.” But I need to slow down and not make my family so crazy. This morning I made a big note to myself. “Find just Molly time!” Those four little words say a lot don’t they.

I have been thinking about this little note all day. And it occurred to me, that when I took a few hours to sit at the computer and blog it is really Molly time. It might not be what I “should” be doing. And some might think it’s a waist of time. I might not be all that good at it. And you might think my life is boring. To me, it’s a moment of quite. A moment of not doing for everyone else. Imagine that! Amazing. I have said it before and I will again… I am going to do this more often. Blogging is almost therapeutic. It’s been 4 plus months (almost 5) since my last post. MY GAD! That really sucks! And I have a lot to share –

Shall we get on to the goods… I think so. How about Easter? Hubby and I hosted a lovely Easter brunch this year. Of course this meant making sure everything was perfect (because that’s what I do). And of course, that doesn’t mean just the meal and the table setting. In my world that meant painting our bedroom the weekend before Easter and making an odd coat closet in the living room into a bar (I will share both next time). You know what ever sane person does before family comes over – on top of all “normal” life things.

As you know, Pinterest is an addiction. And when it comes to holiday’s – forget about it, you can find anything. I found a how to by Urban Comfort on making these beautiful little flower baskets for the table… out of coffee filters! WHAT? YES! Making them was super easy to. The overall effect was a little Martha, but I secretly like that.

For brunch we served crepes of all kinds! Well okay- two kinds. A sweet crepe bar with cream cheese mousse, a Nutella mousse and fresh fruit and a savory crepe torte. The second best thing about this meal (the first being it was delicious!) was that ninety percent of it could be made the day before. We got together with the family and my sister in law made crepes for hours (seriously at least 3) and I made the mousse’s, cut the fruit, prepped the sauces and other items for the torte. It was fun to stand around chatting and cooking. The kiddos dyed the easter eggs for the easter bunny to take and hide the next morning. Hubby and my mama chatted with us and there might have been a cocktail or two involved.

easterfun — (Can we just say how stinking cute Sneaky B is in this outfit? I mean really…)

The day was wonderful. The food delicious. The company fantastic. The stories hysterical. The best part – was all of it. Really, I just love to entertain. I love the process… even though I might just make my family bonkers for a few days. Hopefully next time I won’t be painting a room the weekend before, I am pretty sure we are good now on that end, well there is the play room…

ta-da!

August 28, 2014 | mollyeleen

Okay- I had to make the change to the blog. Thought about it all day, while I was walking Kiddo to school, feeding Sneaky B, picking up Kiddo, packing, cleaning, folding laundry, making dinner… pretty much all day.

So once I got the girls to bed and hubby left for a meeting, it was time! What do you think? I think I am in love

Designing, Crying and a little change

August 28, 2014August 28, 2014 | mollyeleen

Utter Chaos. We are living in utter chaos. Not only is Kiddo starting kindergarten today and Hubby started back to school two days ago but we are moving in 10 days! TEN.

In true me fashion, I am procrastinating. Procrastinating packing. I just spent days and days and days helping my mom pack and now we have to pack… procrastination is calling my name! How do you ask? Well,

I’m blogging today
I am designing my mom’s new kitchen in her new home (more in a bit)
My partner in “crime” Magazine Mom and I are working on a new business (more to come in the future but let’s just say is extraordinary!)
I am studying to be a girl scout leader (who new right) and
I have decided to rename my blog and my little business (WHAT!?- yes. more in a bit plus a bit)

Shall we review- number one. Well this is obvious. I am typing away in the middle of cardboard, tape, plastic wrap and boxes. (“Ignore it all Molly”)

Number two- Redesigning my mom’s new kitchen. As you recall, my mom just moved up to our area. The house is great, the kitchen not so much. Not my mom. Not designed well. Not anything to be kept. So I am helping her redesign it. It feels good to get my designer hat back for a moment. Use my designer brain, it’s been rusty for awhile. To use the computer for drawing and not pinning or checking status, etc. happy day!

Reality check. It’s really hard to work while the girls are up. We spent a few hours yesterday at mom’s house. The girls where “locked” in the den. Okay to clarify, I put a baby gate across the doorway so that Sneaky B would not go up the stairs. Kiddo was “babysitting” while I worked and I would sneak a peak every now and then. It was working great until the crying, screaming and tears started. Kiddo says nothing happened- I believe her, she was crying and screaming too. We have so much change right now, I sometimes wish I could just sit in a room and scream and cry.

Number three- It’s extraordinary- moving on

Number four- Girl Scouts- Daisy’s to be exact. A few months ago it was “decided” that I should be a girl scout leader with all the girls from pre-school and other kindergartners and first graders. I thought, no problem. That would be fun. Wow- I had no idea what it takes to be a leader! It’s going to be fun and I am excited but it’s a lot to learn. I am up for that challenge!

Number Five- Renaming the blog! This one I have been thinking about for a long time. Why Vintage Princess by ME? That’s the name of my little clothing business. Why did I name my blog that? NO idea. A few months ago I thought I was going to name the blog Pumpkin & Pearl… did you notice this:

Yeah- not quite right. I think it’s cute, but no… So now Vintage Princess by ME is:

Why? Well simply because that’s who I am. I am Molly B (it’s what my grandmother used to call me) and I like to create and share my journey. It simply covers everything. I will be updating the blog look soon- let’s hope it’s not during another procrastinating session- unless it’s procrastinating from UN-packing. I am changing the little business name too, again, let’s wait to we move. I can no longer ignore all the boxes…

One already

August 18, 2014August 18, 2014 | mollyeleen

Can you believe it? Sneaky B is already one year old. Doesn’t it seem like yesterday that I told you all I was preggers? Seems like it to me. This year has flown by!

We had a little party for Sneaky B over the weekend. Just a few friends and family in the park. It was a lovely day and I have probably to many pictures to share. As you know I never do anything simple, it’s a party, why do simple right?

Thanks to my obsession with pinterest, I found way to many ideas for this little party. Like red wax cheese “carved” to look like ladybugs, porcupine watermelon (can’t believe I made this for many reasons) and awesome felt critter mask patterns from illistyle — So stinking cute! Any easy to make. (You can try them too, by following the link)

Simple cupcakes with vintage mushrooms. While baking the cupcakes I had a minor freak out moment… What was Sneaky B going to have for her cupcake?

With the Fpies and not many safe foods that could become any form of a cake, I had no idea! I was a sad about this. In fact it was the first time I have been sad about her Fpies dignosis. I have not had a moment to metally process the fact that she has Fpies. This was the first…

But then my dear friend Kayce came to mind. She and her husband own a company “Miss Roben’s Allergy Friendly Mixes” (they are working on creating a website, I will share once it’s up and running) that makes food mixes that do not include the top ten allergens. YES, maybe one of these would work! Since I have not yet tried any oils, I thought maybe I could use the Chocolate Fudge Frosting (which contains corn free powdered sugar!) mixed with coconut cream. Sneaky B hasn’t tried chocolate yet, but I thought let’s just bite the bullet and see what happens. I made a little “cupcake” of frosting and she loved it! I mean what’s not to love- this frosting is delicious. And happy day no reaction 🙂

For a moment while working on the party I thought why am I doing this? Maybe we should have waited till after we move (in 17 days!). She’s only one, she will not remember this party. But the reality is, we needed a day off. We needed to spend time with family and friends. We needed to not think about packing and unpacking and packing and unpacking. It was delightful.

And now we are back to packing. In the next 17 days, we have a lot going on. Kiddo starts kindergarten. Hubby starts school too. We are moving. I am very excited to move; not so excited to pack, but excited to move!

A super simple, EASY, dinner

June 24, 2014 | mollyeleen

Ah summertime. Sometimes I love summertime, sometimes I hate it. Somedays is lazy and others it’s crazy. Today, was a crazy. Not sure why exactly, but we seemed to be go go go. On these days I can not express how much I love the crock pot. If you haven’t been using the crock pot during the summer, your crazy. (okay I said it) It’s not just for winter meals people.

Case in point. Black beans. A staple in our world. Some kind of bean every week. I make them early in the week and we eat them for dinner once and then lunch for a few days. This recipe is fantastic. It’s crazy easy and it gives me a little hint of my favorite South of the boarder food during this time when I can’t eat it.

Oh have I told you about this one? Sneaky B, has seriously nasty reactions to 5 major foods, even if I eat them (she is a nursing baby). Those foods, wheat, dairy, soy, corn and apples. Yep… it’s been trying to say the least. Can you imagine not eating those foods? I can handle not eating wheat and dairy, but the corn and soy- that’s another story. First off soy is in everything! Why I don’t know, but if you start looking, it is everywhere. And corn, I love corn. Most gluten free foods are based on corn too…. wait… way off on subject here- we will discuss this another time. Back to the beans!
Above is my recipe for basic black beans. They are so yummy; and it can’t get much easier than this. The most “difficult” part is remembering to soak the beans the night before. I always forget. Always. So I toss them in a pot on the stove with a bunch of water, filled almost to the top, bring to a boil and let them boil for 2 to 5 minutes. Turn off stove, cover and wait an hour. Then you can toss everything in the crock pot, turn it on low and forget about it.

Half way through the day, your kitchen will start to have a yummy smell. It’s hard to place, but it’s the secret to these beans yum… it’s the cloves. Why or why three little cloves make a huge difference, I have no idea, but I am not going to question it. It works and that’s all there is to it.

Tonight we had the beans with lettuce, avocado, green onions and bell pepper. Kiddo ate three bowls full. So good.

If you try them, please let me know what you think- Enjoy!

Art in the park

June 17, 2014June 17, 2014 | mollyeleen

It’s the middle of June? For real- how did that happen? It seems like a few days ago was mother’s day. I guess, for us, the days between mothers day and fathers day flew by. We are experiencing a bunch of big changes around here (more on that another day) but today was the day to slow down. Way down… like who cares that the phone is ringing, emails are needing to be read, bills need to be paid (ok I did do this- but you get where I’m going right?). Slow down, smell the daisies and just be with the sprouts (kiddo & sneaky b).

Kiddo tells us often that her “talent” is art. It actually goes like this: “Kiddo, this painting is wonderful.” “I know. Art is my talent, you know, after all.” (Hand on hip while rolling eyes). Love her.

So for “slow down tuesday” we went to the park, the Arboretum on campus. We took a few snacks, a blanket, markers, crayons and paper, that’s all. (oh and my camera) On the way I talked to kiddo about plein aire painting, being outside painting what you see and that we where going to try it. Kiddo was super excited, it is her talent after all.

I sometimes forget how beautiful it is at the arboretum. And quite. And peaceful. And…slow. Relaxing and slow. We walked a bit, sat a bit, laughed and created a bunch.

It’s amazing, although it shouldn’t be, how when you just slow down a bit, life is just more full. You notice the little things…

and enjoy every moment. Forget about the “normal everyday.” I need to do this more often. We have forgotten to do this. Oh how sad that is to say, but not anymore! This day was a reminder to just have fun with the sprouts. To just ‘be’ outside. To just slow down.

I can’t even begin to tell you how much I enjoyed our sprouts today. Kiddo loved being outside and expressing herself through “her talent.” Sneaky B played in the grass for hours. And I watched them both, soaked them in.

Because of today, my goal for the summer is going to be to just slow down. Not plan every moment of the day. Play with the sprouts, even if I need to do the dishes. Enjoy it all. (okay maybe not the screaming, whining and non-sleeping moments, but everything else) How about you? Have you slowed down at all? Maybe you need too? I sure did.

Oh yes, I do have a blog…

March 19, 2014 | mollyeleen

if only you could see my face right now… contorted “smile”, rolling eyes, crazy messed up end of the day hair, sunglasses on head- because I always forget they are there… I can’t believe it’s been four months since typing to you all. A part of me hopes you missed me, a part of me is so embarrassed it’s been four freaking months! and a part of me hopes you didn’t give up on me… 🙂

Now to be fair, I have been crazy ridiculous busy. Way to busy for my own good actually. For those of you who have kids, you know life is busy, having an active five year old in pre-school, add in a baby you only had four months to prepare for, hubby’s schooling, and my need to be successful, it’s just crazy. But it was been fun too…Shall we do a quick recap of the past four months?

Thanksgiving was delightful, we do have a lot to be thankful for.

December is aways crazy- right? We had a cookie decorating party, Jingle the elf returned and of course our Christmas was our usual crazy Swedish Celebration. Pretty much just like this, but a little more special this year with Sneaky B.

Kiddo turned 5! FIVE! We had her party at Michaels’ Art Store… who knew you could do that? When I learned they do parties, it was a done deal. It was great! They helped us with everything and most importantly- Kiddo had a great time!

And then there was the crazy Auction. Kiddo goes to a pre-school that holds an auction every year to raise money to keep the school running. And this year I was co-chair in planning the entire thing with Magazine Mom. The planning took over our lives since January. Truly, my life has been auction planning and basic daily life skills for 3 months. Was it worth it, the jury is still out on that—-

Okay, for real- let’s just say I am very happy it’s done. I was craving having the time to be my normal “Jone Cleaver Want-to-be self” back. The household saying was “Can’t wait till March 9th!” (the day after the auction). Second it was an awesome party and we raised over $25,000 (seriously). Third, Magazine Mom and I had a great time, most days… I only say this because life happens and during the final count down I and Sneaky B got Bronchitis, which included an emergency room visit for Sneaky B in the middle of the night, and this gave a lot of extra stress to all of us. But really, it was a fun adventure, an awesome party and I am happy we did it. I can say it was successful and been there- done that! 😉

So there you go, we are caught up! And now that I have my life back (aka no auction to plan) I have so many projects I want to do. You know I will share! And I promise it will not be another four months!

molly b

creating, stitching, designing, thrifting

creating