NOT a Kate Spade Purse

A couple of days ago my sister called me and said "I've done something I have never done before...I bought a Kate Spade purse!!" I congratulated her on her purchase and said I would love to see a picture of this purchase. She never emailed me the picture!! So I pretty much have to go with my gut and the Nordstrom website that the purse purse she got either looks like this...

Because it was such a steal during their Anniversary Sale

Or This...

Either way both are beautiful and if she ever wanted to part ways with this, when she gets bored with it, I would I gladly accept!!

Now, I am not the jealous type, especially of my sister, but it dawned on me that I don't know when the last time I bought myself a purse. The purse or tote I am carrying around right now my parents gave to me for Christmas 3-4 years ago & my winter purse is probably the same age. Sad I know!

Anyway, to make amends to my situation I had a couple choices...

A) Buy a Kate Spade Purse and my family not eat for 2 weeks

B) Sulk...(Not my style)

C) Make myself one

If you picked C you are right...

I guess I need some motivation because I had everything I needed to make a purse...remember I am a pack-rat. I just had to put the pieces together and 2 hours of time.

So here is my new purse...

IT IS NOT A KATE SPADE...

But at ZERO Dollars in this economy & our budget restraints...

I think it is PERFECT and I have a new purse!!

Flaunt Your Red with dogs!!

Today I am doing something a little different. I am participating in the Southern Lady's Flaunt your Red but not showing anything in my home (Nancy, I hope this is okay!) I have lots of loves in my life God, my hubby, my kids, my family and my dog!!! I wanted to share with you some of my creations for dogs!!

I have a side business with a friend called The Other Kid. We sell custom dog collars and leashes that we hand make and I wanted to flaunt some of our dog collars that are RED!!

Some women in the Red Hat Society wanted to share their love of this wonderful society with their dogs! This is what we created for them....

Red nylon with purple trim and we embellished it with a Red Hat Pin (for the owner)

This adorable bug collar for the summer!! Our model Junior loves it when he can go outside to model!

In honor of July 4th, here is our patriotic red, white, and blue collar!


So this is my Flaunt your Red!! Hope you enjoyed!!

Little Boys Don't Do Pink!!

God has blessed me and my husband with a daughter and son. We truly count our blessings everyday that we have one of each sex and they are so healthy. That being said, my kids have a cheap-cheap mommy, which means some staple baby items that are gender specific are used by both. For example, pink baby bath towels, pink blankets, pink sippy cups & pink strollers. All items listed are used by my son and it doesn't phase me for the most part. But there is one item that my son uses that epitomizes my cheapness and that is the pink stroller.

Little guy hugging on his sister's pink blanket!

The story of the Pink and Black Stroller

When we had my daughter we chose not to find out if she was a boy or girl, so everything we received like big ticket gifts were very neutral. Perfect!! Having everything green and yellow didn't bother me, but as she came into her own she was so girl-y BUT she had no hair. Some people would say "Oh HE is so cute", it didn't matter if she was in all pink she was still called a he!! My response was always the same "He is a she" and would move on. Well, one day I decided to break free from my sensible side, and bought my daughter a pink and black stroller. I was so proud of this pink and black stroller for my daughter it just made me giddy to push her around. I think it was more for me then her, but still, it was something that should only be used for a girl and I loved it...2 years ago.

Now, I hate this stroller. Why? I am embarrassed to say I have been sporting my son around in a pink and black stroller since he was 8 months and I cringe inside every time I use it. I would cover the pink back with a diaper cloth to hide the large area of pink (pictured below), but the pink trim just screams pink to me. No one has ever said anything about my little boy and a pink stroller but I can see it in their eyes!! How cruel am I ??? Throw practicality out the window "Little Boys Don't do Pink" I know, call me petty I don't care. he is 15 months old and it is time for me to do something about it!!

I thought about selling it, taking the money and buying a new one, but I would still have to shell out an additional $40-$50 for a new one. I could buy a used one after selling this one, but the process of finding a used one would be too time consuming. Then I had an idea. It was a little crazy, maybe even stupid, and beyond cheap, but I decided to paint the pink trim and make a new headrest cover. I figured if it didn't work, oh well I tried!!

I took one more picture of the pink and black stroller for old time sakes. Then my daughter and I started painting!!

Before:


After: A one-of-a-kind NCSU stroller!!

How did I do it? I used black paint (have lots around), mixed in some Textile Medium (had some of that around too, not sure why) and started painting all of the pink trim black.

The cover is made out of some left over material I bought for baby gifts. Go NCSU!!

Cost: Nothing!!

Saved: $40-$50

Verdict: No more pink and black stroller for my little boy!! No more cringing!! Yeah!! I even like the stroller again. I just wish it had a cup holder. Oh Well.