Creating a Nursery Gallery Wall

Today I'm excited to share with you one of the first projects I've been working on in the new house. The nursery is the only room in our home that is close to being fully decorated. I'd hoped to have it all done before his arrival but with moving and Christmas all in the same month of his birth I didn't get it all finished. I've been slowing working on some projects to share with you.

Today it's the Nursery Gallery Wall. I knew I wanted to have a gallery wall in his room. Full of fun and special prints and pictures. The theme I was going for in his room is a modern take on vintage football. If that makes any sense, I wanted to showcase my Husband's love of the Oklahoma Sooners as well.

First I started by making a trip to my local Goodwill to find some cheap wooden frames. I went during half off Saturday all my frames were under $2 a piece.

When I got home I laid out all my frames on a table to spray paint them. First I lightly sanded them down, and then applied a couple coats of primer. I used white spray paint from Walmart, it's cheap about 99 cents a can. I let them dry overnight before putting any of the prints in them.

Here's the finished gallery wall:

I love how all this came together, a little collection of lots of fun and personal items. Let's go through each item shall we?

For each of our children we've picked out "life verses" for them. A scripture we pray over them while they are in the womb, and use at their dedications. For Zane we picked Micah 6:8 which is the print in the center of the gallery wall. When I saw Julie from Joy's Hope had this print in her Hope for Sudan shop I scooped it up right away. She has lots of other colors and prints and 100% of the proceeds go to charity, get yours here.

The frame to the right of that is a piece of scrap chevron fabric from his crib skirt {coming soon} that I framed. Super easy art to frame prints of fabric that you like. 

My husband is from Oklahoma born and raised, hence his love for the Sooners. I wanted to showcase that in his nursery. I got this Oklahoma State print from Merlee Made on Etsy. She has lots of state prints find her here. I also two of his newborn shots that I took to the left of the state print.

I made the alphabet printable and put it in a frame. You can download it for free here.

Lastly I whipped up some Oklahoma Sooner subway art print using some favorite sayings and facts about the school. You can get it here in my Etsy shop.

Linking with: Overflowing with Creativity, Sundae Scoop, Weekend Wrap Up Party, Create & Inspire

New House Tour:: Down Stairs

New year, new home. I'm excited this year to tackle one of my biggest projects making our new house a home. It's been a long time since we've been homeowners and I'm so excited to make every square inch ours. It's a dream realized to be homeowners again.

Today I want to take you on a little tour of our new home, starting with the down stairs. Our new home has 4 bed rooms, two and a half baths, a small loft, and wonderful backyard. I'm going to break this up into two posts up stairs and down.

Here we go, welcome to part one of the tour:

Looking in from the kitchen to the family room. 

Family room view from the front door.

Kitchen view. There is a new stove and dishwasher since this picture was taken.

Another view of the family room from the stair case.

Half bath down stairs. 

Closet under the stairs. Which I plan to turn into a pantry. It's just off the kitchen and makes the most sense since there's no formal pantry in the house. 

Leading to the upstairs. Which will be part two on the tour, come back later this week to see it.

Hello Friday, Hello Coffee Date

Hello, Happy Friday friends!

It's coffee date Friday, today we're linking up with Alissa from Rags to Stitches. 

Today's questions; what is one thing you've gained from being apart of this online community.

Here's my response below:

Coffee Date 1.25.13 from Andrea Worley on Vimeo.

Thanks for joining me for coffee today. 

I hope you're all doing something fun this weekend! 

xo.

3 Tips for Shopping Online

Do you love shopping online? I love it, it's fast for me and easy. Plus I've been able to save some money so it's worth it to not have to get out of my house and spend the gas money all the time. Today, I want to share with you three helpful and handy tips that I've found make all the difference in my online shopping. 

I don't buy everything online but I do buy a good amount. Clothing for my children, gifts, and even diapers. All shipped to my home, and most of the time I get free shipping, bonus!

Tip #1:: Use Ebates.com 

This is my first MUST do tip for online shopping. If you aren't familiar with Ebates it's basically a website that when you go through them first they give you a percentage of cash back on your purchases. Percentage back depends on the store you're wanting to shop at. All you have to do is go to Ebates and search the store you want to shop at and it will automatically route you to that website with a tracking ticket to track your online purchase. After you shop you'll earn cash back depending on the percentage back and deposit it into your Ebates account and then you get paid. To find out more about using Ebates go here. 

Tip #2:: Find shopping codes & free shipping codes

Every time I shop online I always check and see if the site is running any free shipping code promos or another other coupon codes. I usually check out retailmenot.com to find codes, Save1.com is another great site for coupon codes. And every time you use one of their offers they donate to buy a meal for a hungry child. How awesome is that, shopping & giving back. Another option is to check the store website directly for coupons. 

Tip #3:: Sign up for newsletters

If you really love a shop and find yourself there often it's in your best interest to sign up for their newsletters, often times websites will send you 10% off coupons for your first purchase with them, and you'll be first to know when they are running sales. Also another tip is putting an item into your cart and waiting a day before purchasing that item, a lot of times stores will send you a "reminder" about what's in your cart and a coupon code to purchase that item. It pays to wait sometimes. 

Happy Shopping & Saving! 

Do you have any tips for shopping online? I'd love to hear them, leave them in the comments below!

Soak.

When I was a kid my Mother would often times crawl into my bed in the mornings when she came to wake me up. And sometimes we'd lay there for a bit.

She'd say "let's just sit and soak for a while."

Sometimes we'd sit there for 5-10 minutes before getting up. Sometimes It'd be even longer if it was a Saturday and I didn't have to go to school. Either way I treasured those moments with her, loved having her near brushing my hair and talking to me in those moments before we had to start the day.

I look back on those moments and realize they taught me some important lessons. Lessons like, how important it is to sit back and just be still.

Lessons like how important it is not to get caught up in things that don't matter and focus on what really does. Realizing that it's important to take in these small fleeting moments with my children who won't be little forever and who need me to be present now.

A lot of times we get so caught up (I do it too) in the things that have to get done during the day that we  miss out on moments that really make the day. Soaking it up means, realizing that it's ok if the dishes aren't done if it means I got some extra time to snuggle my babies.

give a girl a pile of paper clips and she'll sort them for a good 15 minutes.

So the reality is that my house is kinda a mess, we moved in over a month ago and we're just unpacked. Nothing is one the walls, beds are rarely made if I'm being honest. But, my kids are happy and healthy. We have cloths to wear and food in our bellies. And my family is complete. 

Things are kinda  all over the place right now, but it's ok because I've given myself grace to know that not everything has to be put together all of the time. 

Today we're soaking. 

And that's just fine with me. 

what's in a name.

Names are a big deal. What a privilege as parents to get to choose a name for your little one. Maybe your name means something special to you, maybe it's apart of a long family legacy. Or maybe you're starting your own naming traditions like we did.

Either way, your name matters.

It identifies you to the world, makes you uniquely your own. Something that's yours and only yours.

I've gotten a lot of sweet comments and emails about Zane's name. Thank you, we love it too. When choosing names for our little ones we thought long and hard about what we were going to name them. We decided very early on when we were pregnant with Ava that we were not going to name our children after family members.

Not that we don't love our families, we do. But, we loved the idea even more of giving our children names that no one else had and starting new traditions.

When it came time to name our baby boy, we debated between a couple of names. Through out my pregnancies I've always prayed for my children. Thinking about the hopes and dreams we have for them. I've always loved the name Zane. I heard it when I was in high school, when we started debating names this was on the top of our list. 

Zane means; God is gracious. 

And, oh how He's been gracious.

With me. With us. With our lives.

Getting pregnant in my opinion is truly a miracle of God. Something amazing to be celebrated. This time around we were able to get pregnant with out the use of fertility drugs, which was such a big blessing and a total God thing.

Everett, is the name of an actor. I heard this name and I loved it. Both Orion and I loved the names together and loved how unique they were. We loved that it's a strong, bold sounding name.

We pray that Zane will be strong and bold for Jesus.

That he will grow into an amazing man of God.

So, there you have it. What's behind the name.

Plus Baby Z, Z'man and "Z" are all adorable nicknames we're currently auditioning. 

scenes from the weekend via instagram.

our weekends have been laid back, no plans, just trying to figure out life with two babies.

here's some of my fave snippets.

 

friday afternoon paiting. learning to make some better eating choices, seeing how i ate a whole lotta sweets during my pregnancy. time to get back on track.

making cookies with my girl. she's loves it, but i think she likes licking the beaters more. either way we're bonding and i love it. make my miss america predictions in my little notebook.

 

i have a son. i have two kids, still wrapping my mind around that most days. it's starting to sink in. ava likes to line things up in a row. can't say i blame her. ;)

follow me on instagram here @photosbyandrea

Valentine's Day Cookie Favors with Lifestyle Crafts

Happy Monday lovelies! Valentine's Day is just one month away! Can you believe it? Today I wanted to share with you a quick and simple favor idea you can make for those Valentine's Day play dates, or small gifts you can give to teachers or friends.

Using the food tray die cut from Lifestyle Crafts I cut out these adorable trays for my cookies. I used plain white card stock, but you could use any color you'd like. Once assembled together, I added some store bought cookies inside my trays. They are big enough for two of these cookies, you could also add small candies too.

I also added some red and white bakers twine and tied it around the tray and finished with a bow.

I scooped up this twine at the dollar spot section of Target. Go now and get some for yourself! 

Add a small note or card and you've got the perfect small gifts for parties, friends, co-workers or adorable teacher gifts for your kids to give! 

Use my code for 20% off your purchase from Lifestyle Crafts. 

Valentine's Day Fashion for Your Kids

I love holidays, and I love holidays even more with kids around. With just a little over a month before Valentine's Day it's time to start thinking about how to celebrate with your kids, and what over the top cheesy things you're going to dress them in, right?!

I love a good excuse to splash a big giant heart into their wardrobe! I'm a big fan of hearts, sparkles, and cute lil' sayings on their attire for the occasion. Here's a little round up of some fun attire to deck your little ladies & gents in for Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day for Your Little Sweet Hearts by worleyhouse on Polyvore

Long-Sleeve Valentine's Bodysuit / Baby Girl / Gap Fleece Heart Hoodie / Gymboree.com - Girls Clothes, Kids Clothes, Children's Clothing and... / Gymboree.com - Girls Clothes, Kids Clothes, Children's Clothing and... / Gap Panda Love Long Sleep Set / Gap Heart Wristlet / Baby Girl / Circo Infant Toddler Girls' Red Heart Tights White / Gap Heart Sunglasses / 3-Piece Pj Set

Girls can be easy to shop for in general, and especially for Valentine's Day. Love these little heart glitter clips, and the hearts on the tights...dying!

We can't forget the boys either! Now, that we have a boy I'm slowly starting to find some cute duds for our little man. Sometimes it's hard to find cute things for boys but I love what I was able to find for this collection, for your little heart breakers. Enjoy!

Valentine's Day for your Little Heart Breakers by worleyhouse on Polyvore

Ulubulu Blue Paci Flirt/Mustache(2pk) / Gap Graphic Raglan T / Circo® Infant Toddler Boys Long-Sleeve Graphic Tee / Gap Striped Pirate Sleep Set / Gymboree.com - Kids Clothes, Boys Clothes, Children's Clothing and... / Gap Cable Knit Pom Pom Hat / Newborn / Gap Intarsia Love Hat And Mitten Set / Gap Striped Intarsia One Piece / Gap Heart Boxer Briefs 3 Pack

What about you, do you dress your kiddos for the holiday seasons in fun little things? Where are you fave places to shop? Have I converted you to start dressing your kiddos and having fun with each holiday? Tell me in the comments below.

Hello New Year. Hello Coffee Date.

Happy New Year!

Happy Friday Friends!

Today I'm linking up and joining Alissa from Rags to Stitches for a coffee date.

Join me for coffee this afternoon.

Coffee Date 1-4-13 from Andrea Worley on Vimeo.

Jump on over to Alissa's blog and link up your own coffee date too.

Have a blessed weekend. 

House post coming Monday, I promise.

xo.

Mini Love Note Mailbox

Today I want to share with you a quick and simple Valentine's Day craft you can make for your kiddos. I love the idea of making special little things for my kiddos during the holidays to get them involved and excited.

This week Lifestyle Crafts released their Love Notes Collection for Valentine's Day. An awesome little collection of Valentine's Day inspired die cuts and printing plates. Today I'm using the mini mailbox die cut to make a simple little mailbox.

I whipped up this little mini mailbox with the idea in mind that I would put a little love note to Ava or piece of candy in there everyday till Valentine's Day. Each day she could open it and find a special treat till Valentine's Day, sorta like a Valentine's Day advent.

I love how simple it was to put together. I ran my dies through my letterpress machine, and then assembled it. I used the Sticky Thumb tape runner to hold everything together.

Now, it's all ready to fill with notes and treats come February 1st! I love this little idea so much, and I think my little one is going to have a lot of fun opening it everyday.

If you're looking to scoop up some of these awesome dies for yourself use my code: WORLEYHOUSE for 20% off your purchases.

Peace. My Word for 2013

In 2012 I challenged myself to have JOY. You can read more about that here.  2012 was a great year, so many exciting things happened. We took on a lot towards the end of 2012 with being pregnant with our second child, to house hunting and buying a home, having a baby just 9 days before Christmas it was a whirlwind, and certainly full of JOY, and lots of opportunities where my JOY was tested, and situations where I had to choose to be JOYFUL and have an attitude of JOY.

The end of 2012 was quite chaotic for our family, not bad but we just had so much going on. We took on a lot and it kinda went by like a blur. Looking towards 2013 there are some things on the horizon for us. Things I am excited about, things we're looking forward to, and a few things that could leave anyone anxious about. But, as the last few weeks of 2012 came and went God has given me an overwhelming sense of peace over everything.

A peace that surpasses all understanding.

A sense that even though I'm entering new territory as a mom of two, I feel a sense of peace that HE will guide me and give me all the right tools to be a great mom and make this transition from one to two.

Some goals for 2013;

Create a peaceful home. Moving into a new home this year I am determined to create peace in our home, and make it a sanctuary for us to come home to. A place of rest and peace.

Find a peaceful balance in mothering two young children.


Create an atmosphere of peace in all my relationships, not that there isn't already but for me personally there are somethings/emotions that I need to let go of in order to have more peace in these relationships.

I'm excited for what 2013 will bring, and this word gives me something to focus on for the year. A little bit of a reminder & guide for what I want this year to be.

How about you? Are there any words you're focusing on this year? Any goals you want to meet? Share them with me in the comments below.

Wishing all of you a blessed year ahead!