Nursery Wall- What I Framed

I love wall art..especially framing special

and meaningful things.

In the girls' room I had been wanting to use these 3 opening frames

that my Mom bought me from Kohls on sale.

(I think I was engaged at the time??..We even talked about how cute they would bein a nursery one day!..and here they are! ;)

Thought I would share what I did in the girls' room..

it's a work in progress..(going to cover the S in yarn..one of these days..)
But maybe you can get ideas from it!



Budget-Friendly
Nursery Framing Tips
1. Frame a grouping of special baby photos!
I framed each girls' ultrasound photo..just born photo..and then newborn photo.
I never want to forget how tiny they were! 
If we have more kids(God Willing) I want to do the same thing for them all and years down the
road group all of the 3 opening frame photos together
The girls love looking at them too.. Every time sienna looks up at them she points and says
"babyyyy" all sweet. Their just born photos sum up their personalities too.
sophia..calm-er...and sienna..wild. :)

2. Create your own prints..Use photoshop/or a friend who has a program..
to make up something to frame. There are also lots of great prints on
Etsy that are inexpensive and so cute!
I made these up in photoshop..




3. Make your wall art special by framing sentimental items..
Maybe what you brought your babies home in from the hospital!
I think it would be super sweet to frame sentimental items from your childhood as well..
maybe a piece of fabric from your baby blanket!
I framed photos of those first special moments I held each of my babies..

3. DIY "Mats"- I love to use mats to make my photos seem extra special..

but if I don't have a mat or want to buy one..

I just set up the photo to print smaller on the page!

I used photoshop to put two of daddy, with his girls, in one frame.
These were first moments that I LOVED.

Thanks for having a look! :)
I'll be working up some more projects for the girls' room soon!

Our Week by iPhone- Get all up in our business

I've been following Amy at  A Good Life for a while..
but I decided todayyy to join in on her weekly iPhone post!
I love the idea of linking up with everyone to share and see images from their week!
if you are nosy like me check it out. ;) 


I blogged about  ben and I giving each other iPhones for Valentine's Day..
and I pretty much am hooked on instagram. it's so cool!! I love following people, some of them my favorite bloggers, and seeing this candid look into their day to day adventures!
It's funny because lots of the moms I follow have similar photos..cute baby ones..
what we made for dinner..what we are wearing.. it's fun!
Do you instagram?? Find me @thebusybudgetingmama!!


DRESS UP &
SISTERS BEING SISTERS
Sophia is really into playing wedding day. she has been for the past year..
She loves looking at the photos of ben and I getting married..so do I. :)
She is wearing my veil from my bachelorette party..but she kept tormenting her sister by telling her she was the prince. and sienna, even though she is little, knew that she did not want to be the prince..and kept saying with a pouty face "no. no." haha.



ADVENTURES.
As posted the other day.. I was given tickets to the screening for The Lorax here in Pittsburgh.
My sophia was SO EXCITED..she even napped with her ticket the day before. yeah. crazy excited. She loves going to the movies..but this time ben and I were both taking her (instead of taking turns like usual) We had a sitter for sienna so we could make a fun morning out of it!
The morning of the movie started out kind of crazy...
On our way to the sitters we realized we left the diaper bag at home..turned around.
then on the way back realized one of the wind shield wipers was broken..
and with the snowy mess out we had to switch babies and baby gear into our other car.
sooo...we were running late to the movie..
which was not good because the space was limited and the seats were first come first serve. Sadly the place was PACKED...and they had overbooked the theatre by 50 (glad I didn't pass out all of the free tickets they gave me..who knows if they would have gotten in!) I had about 15 of us able to get in..but some of my people who came out for it weren't able to get through the line...It was very disappointing. I'm going to get in touch with my contact to see if they can do anything..and I'm hoping they will be kind and not fall back on their "get there early" clause. I felt bad for the theatre who was put in a bad place with having them put out so many tickets and overbook the place.. it was chaos.
But BESIDES THAT CRAZINESS...it was a great movie..
and my sophia loved it. YOU ALL SHOULD GO SEE THE LORAX!
really cute.. the 3D effects were amazing. and the script was really funny.
I laughed out loud :) I am grateful for the tickets the promo group gave me..
but next time in my helping to promote a screening I will be
way more vocal in saying get there early. lesson learned. :)
It was fun at the end of the movie passing out all the t-shirt and fluffy tree pencils and coloring pages that they sent me! It's funny how if people see you passing things out in a theatre they try to get in on it. I couldn't say no..I just unloaded all the goodies! It was really fun.



FOOD.
One day for lunch I made muffin tin deep dish pizza.
It took 3 minutes to prep. 10 minutes to cook.
the girls loved them. why??
1. they could hold the whole thing in their hand.
2. anything in a cupcake pan looks good to them. haha.
We worked on leftovers all week from the vegeterian
version of the Pioneer Woman's Chicken Tortilla Soup..
and a weekly favorite.. Homemade Pizza with wheat flour this time!
and I will never use white flour again! it was so yummy.
I'll be posting a bunch of new recipes that I've been loving later this week...
with full list of ingredients and directions.
easy, delicious, fast recipes.

PRINTABLES
I made up some Treat Bag Tags for St. Patrick's Day.
They are all over Pinterest now! and the sales are coming in. yay for DIY-ers )

What I wore. What Sophia wore.
My favorite top right now is my polka dot one from H&M.
Sophia's favorite outfit right now..her super girl costume.
I'm pretty sure ben took her out of the house in this the other day. wonderful.

Play time in our house.
floor snuggles. super girl "to the wescueee!" playing mommy. playing baby.
playing with race cars by putting fairy stickers all over them. (this is a GIRL house.)
sophia came up to me and said mommy come here I want to show you something.
first thought..panic. this doesn't always end well..
but I was pleasantly surprised..she just wanted me to put a show on for her kids
aka all her stuffed animals she lined up on the couch.

Wednesday was ash wednesday.

As Catholics, we celebrate Ash Wednesday..and it marks the start of Lent and preparation for Easter.. when we celebrate Jesus rising from the dead! BIG PARTY.

In case you didn't know..the ashes are made from the palm leaves being burned from Palm Sunday the year before.The Priest puts ashes on our forehead and says "thou art dust and to dust you shall return" This act helps to remind us of the mortality of our lives and calls us to repentance. I have been very aware this past year in how short life can be(since losing shannon)..and this is not our home.. and that we should strive each day to reach heaven..our true home!

Sophia was beyond excited to go to church and get ashes.

I told her they will put a cross on her forehead.

She sweetly whispered a request for an angel instead of a cross. haha..

Even if you are not Catholic..or even Christian..

we should all reflect on the shortness of life..how we should take advantage of

each day to love each other as we would want to be loved.

8 HOUR FLASH GIVEAWAY!-Family 4 Pack to Pgh Screening of LORAX

GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED.
Stay tuned for another fun freebie!


I'll be there.. will you?!

If you are in the Pittsburgh area..you have 8 hours to enter this
giveaway to win a Family 4 Pack to a special Screening of the new movie The Lorax!
GIVEAWAY ENDS AT 8:00 PM Friday 24th
SCREENING DETAILS: Tomorrow Saturday 25th at 10:00 am
If you win I'll message you with location. :)

I was sent 40 tickets..
a huge box of cute BRIGHT orange shirts

and some other fun products to pass out..

I can't wait to share photos of everyone in their lorax shirts.
my husband said he is wearing one. which should be interesting..
because I'm pretty sure they only sent smalls.........

Would love for you to join up on the fun if you are in the area..
but you have to act fast!

Meet me..We can share a popcorn.  jk. that's wierd. haha.

Excited to pass on the fun.. enter below!
(Admittance is first-come, first-served and seating is not guaranteed so you need to arrive early on Saturday February 25th. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.)

HOW TO ENTER: 
1. Leave a comment saying you want to go!...that's it. :)
Leave your e-mail so I can contact you with the details.

2. Leave a comment letting me know you Tweeted: "I hope I win the Family 4 Pack to see the screening of @TheLorax with @busybudgetingma http://bit.ly/xX3jqt" 

St. Patrick's Day Treat Gifting Ideas!- My Printable Treat Bag Tags

St. Patrick's Day is coming up fast..

So I made up some cute
St. Patrick's Day Treat Bag Tags to pass out
to the girls' little friends and our neighbors!
(I'm adding this Printable to my Etsy Shop- $10 for 2 style choices. endless printing.
The other day someone bought tags for each holiday! They caught the treat bag tag fever like me. ;)

I made the tags the rainbow design..with the candy, the gold, at the end!

I used rolos and hershey's nuggets..I thought they looked like cute treasure. :)
St. Patrick's Day Treat Bag Tag Supplies:
Snack Size Ziploc Bags
St. Patrick's Day Printable
Treasure Candy- Rolos or Hershey Nuggets
AND/OR Lucky Charms

And for the little toddlers we want to gift these to...

we are going to fill them with Lucky Charms.

Every little one loves to pick out the marshmallows. I do it. ;)

I liked the mix of the patterns and candy..
If you order these printables you get to choose 2 styles. (labeled in the listing)

Day in the Life- Favorite Bargains, Blogs, Recipes, Style Tips & Mommy Moments

Sophie brought me a piece of pretend cake she made..

then, completely shocked, scolded me for eating it with the candle in it. my bad.

What have you been doing today?

I spent all morning as a patron of the very chic and budget friendly

Sophie & Sienna Cafe.. mmm felt food. yummy!



DIY Project-If you want something fun cheap and
sooo rewarding (when you see your cute kids' faces so excited)..
make felt food. I listed in this post all the tutorials I used..
some I made up as I went a long but the photos themselves can give you ideas!
My mom and I had so much fun making these... She made the adorable donuts below!
Excited to share some other fun felt pretend play items I recently made up.. think mail man. :)

WORKING Stay At Home Mom-

 Sometimes you just have to give up till nap time.

I was busy being the bus driver...

The best pretend play for a tired mommy though.....

I got to sit there with a pink plate as my steering wheel and drive these busy girls to the grocery store..the dentist..and school. A typical day of a 1 1/2  and 3 1/2 yr old. :)

FAVORITE MOMENT- Yesterday we took them to the mall to run a

few errands and hoping to tire them out. It was seriously the cutest thing ever watching the two girls hold hands through the mall. They felt so old!

MAMA STYLE- What I wore yesterday.
H&M Shirt. Kohl's Necklace. AE Jeans.

BLOG LOVE-

Favorites of mine!..you should visit them and
tell them the busy budgeting mama sent you over!
They'll soon be favorites of yours too. :)

Along Abbey Road

Tinkerlab
Yellow Bird Yellow Beard
Lullaby Lubbock
A Few of my Favorite Things

Sugar and Dots

IN THE KITCHEN-

I love my newly vegetarian husband and I love the Pioneer Woman.

I used her Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe as a starting point
for me to make up a Vegeterian version for our family!
I'll be sharing how I changed it up for us..
but you should really go try out her original version and make
 it up the way you and your family like it!

It was delicious. and gave us lots of yummy leftovers. :)
**The Avocado on top is a must! ;)

FAVORITE PARTY THEME-
I love this DIY Oscar Party by Twig & Thistle!
The most incredible part...
you can download for free ALL of the items below.
AWESOME! Go check her post out for all the details. :)
I seriously want to do this now haha..who wants to come over?!

I won! Thanks Mom Trends, Staples & Martha Stewart!

So excited about  winning my first giveaway!
A chic planning system by Martha Stewart.

Opened the package they sent and then
immediately hopped on my computer to record a
thank you to Mom Trends & Staples!

So excited to check out more of the lovely and functional
office supply items by Martha Stewart availably only at Staples!


They are hosting another giveaway right now that ends 
the 22nd at midnight! so stop over if you want in on the martha office goodies!
ignore the super creepy video still below..changing that.......haha.

Here's some of the cool items..
check them out here!

Featured-My Valentine's Day Printables in Action!

This past Valentine's Day was a
busy time in my Etsy Shop Pretty Paperie!

Lots of last minute frantic e-mails the night before asking for printables haha..

I could totally relate so I was up till midnight cranking them out!

It was fun on valentine's day seeing photos

tweeted or posted on facebook of my printables in action!

Thanks to everyone for sharing and for your purchases.. loved working with you.


Here's a few that shared the treat bags
 or the super-hero lollipop printables they purchased.
I always love seeing how people make up my designs..it brings the paper to life!

above left: Anna from In Honor of Design shared what her sister
(my friend Tricia) sent her in the mail! ;)
above right: liz made up some of the super-hero lollipops with blow pops.
loved seeing this pop up on facebook!



left:  Jen filled her daughter's teacher's bags with chocolates
& the kids' with whole grain cheddar & chocolate goldfish.
She also clipped cute felt hair clips she made to the little girls' bags!!
love it. Jen blogs over at World of Dennifer
right: Victoria in Canada made these up for her son's daycare
where she said they were a huge hit! yay!


I always love seeing the 2 style choices everyone picks!
Laura chose the chevron and horizontal stripe. favorites of mine. :)

Dionne shared how she made hers up..

I like that she filled them with candy and bubbles!

Mrs. Howard blogs over at The Howard Bunch and did a sweet write up on her printables :)

I have a feeling Easter is gonna be busy too (fingers crossed)
Treat Bag Tags seem to be trending as a personalized DIY gift giving idea!
(check them out here!)

iPhone Home Tour- Come on In!

I thought I would share how
we are making our rental Home Sweet Home!
We are currently enjoying our
little but perfect-for-us living space.

We have owned 2 homes in the past (flipping one of them) but right now we are loving renting..
I had to adjust to not being able to totally renovate a space..
But luckily our landlord lets us paint and hang up pictures.
That's all I need to be a happy camper! ;) 

Come on In and have a look around.
Ignore the dirty dishes in the kitchen sink.

This is a saturday morning
spontaneous iPhone Instagram Tour. :)

I love the open shelving..we painted the cabinets and left the doors off..

1..because they were plastic..

2. because I just didn't feel like painting anything else. haha.

(The owls above and below are from tj maxx or marshall's. I love owls.)

A lot of my frames are filled with quotes or bible verses I typed up and printed out.
I Use mats to make them feel more special! I frame anything that I love.. just scan in favorite things and frame a copy! (Love letters, the girls' drawings, sketches..)

Free piano that my very strong husband and

3 of his very strong friends picked up for me... :)

In the Hallway.

Jesus. He gets kisses good night.

OLD PLAY ROOM (WILL SHARE NEW ROOM SOON!)
I used the flag garland, from the girls' storybook princess party, above their play kitchen area..they love it. I have some big ideas for this room..one of which is a bistro awning over their table and chairs (already have the supplies just need the time..and brain power.)

I made up pelmet boxes and curtains from ikea fabric and foam boards..

I'll share those soon I love how they turned out!

The girls go back and forth from sharing a room. They'll end up together though.
I framed photos of their ultrasound/just born/newborn photos.
Love remembering how tiny they once were!
(I'll be doing a post on this wall later! with details on the prints and how the 's' project turns out.)


The girls' reading nook - Ikea Chandelier, $5 Sheer Ikea Curtains and $9 Ikea Slipcover from the As-Is section.. we are using it to cover the free couch for now... but eventually I want to make something up, aka ask my mom to help me make something up, with cute fabric!

Our bedroom is REALLYY a work in progress.

But one of these days I'll get around to pulling it all together.

Hope you enjoyed looking around..

one of these days I'll do a REAL home tour post!

It'll motivate me to get some house projects done. :)