Next Craft Goal

Not that I have much time for crafting these days with a 7 month old, working full, time, and grad school, but I do still have big craft dreams! I've started to organize my projects so I can actually get some done. Rest assured I've been buying plenty of craft junk that has just been piling in my work space, but let's just add one more, shall we?

I'm obsessed with this super simple project from Mad in Crafts. I consider myself a fairly artistic person, but painting is one thing I usually fail at. My husband doesn't really even let me paint the walls, which I am totally sad about (not!). Thankfully, I think even I can handle this!

Finally! A Valentine's Mantel

I'm not really happy with the end result, but I am totally stumped on this. I even went to (gasp!) Home Goods and came up totally empty. Maybe you guys can help. Take a look at what I've got.

Flower Study Part 6: Hair Fluffs aka Flowers

I just came across a new flower tutorial today. They look very fancy and the tute says they are for your hair, but I think they would also work for a classy holiday wreath. Check out my bloggy friend Camille's tutorial.

I Can Sew! (Kinda)

There's no denying my blogging has been scarce the past few months, but I swear I have actually been crafting. I have been working really hard learning to sew. I had pretty low expectations for my skills and I am pumped I was able to make my first table runner. It's very very far from perfect, but I think it's a good first try.

Amie helped me as usual and we did our best to make it Valentine's-ish with fabric from our stash.

At first you may think I made it too short. Au contraire mon amie. I made it a shorty on purpose so the puppies wouldn't try and pull it off the table.

Also, how do you like my super lazy Valentine's Day Centerpiece? I kept my usual pinecone filled hurricane and just threw in some felt hearts. It's kinda cute in an uber lazy way. 

In Case You Were Wondering

I have a few random crafts I haven't shared. My biggest weakness in blogging is to get up and take actual photos of the process. I'm so lazy! Ok that's not true. I am kind of a machine in real life. I still hate photo editing though.

Lucky for me I have Caroline who takes the pictures for me when I craft at her house.

Here is a super creepy picture of me holding the first bag I ever made. I was shocked I was able to do it in one day. Granted Caroline is like a sewing drill sergeant in an awesome way and she always gets me to finish my projects.

Two weeks ago Amie, Caroline, and I got together for a craft day and we decided to switch it up and do jewlery. By "we" I mean Amie and Caroline since I haven't made any jewelry since I was 8. Amie and Caroline are much more advanced. I like jewelry making, but I don't think it will become my passion. It's just good to broaden my craft horizons.

Above you can see our creations. Mine is on the lower left. I made some pink beaded bracelets with heart embellishments. I'll try and take a better photo soon, but dang jewelry is hard to photograph.

Baby Trend: Hot Pink and Zebra

Two weeks ago I threw a baby shower at work for my old boss along with a few of my colleagues. My old boss is the AVP now so it was kind of nerve-wracking. We went with a Hot Pink and Zebra Theme. At first I thought this was kind of random, but once I got looking this stuff is EVERYWHERE!

I made my first diaper cake and I was so please with it. 

I found these favor boxes at hobby lobby and used them as table decor. 

We ordered these cupcakes. They were so delish. They were apple flavored and had a real baked apple in the middle. Mouth watering!

See the hot pink and zebra streamers and the matching plates? All from Hobby Lobby.

Jess received lots of adorable handmade gifts. There is a little crochet lamb on her lap. Too cute!

The party turned out great, but was so much work. So many people made comments that I should be a party planner because I had real attention to detail. This may be a talent of mine, but I have no desire to make it a business. 

Major Wall Art

I saw this baby over at Shanty 2 Chic and was really in love with it. I enlisted my husband's help because I am a little freaked about when using giant saws. It was so easy!

As you know large wall out is super pricey and I never actually found anything I love enough to be worth forking over the dough. This cost me about $50 to make and it is one of my favorite craft projects ever.

Here are a few lessons learned with my version:

1. Buy the cheap wood. It actually ended up looking better than the expensive stuff. The more crappy marks, the more weathered and vintage it ends up looking.

2. This baby is HEAVY! Use the hardware made for hanging huge mirrors. It still makes me a little nervous. Please don't rip my wall out :-(

3. I added some holiday bunting. I plan on switching this out for each holiday. It can look a little plain without it.

Spooky Trees

Way back on my birthday when I had Dianna and Tracy over for crafts, I demonstrated how to make spooky trees using pipe cleaners.

All I did was bundle up about 10 pipe cleaners then take another pipe cleaner and twist it around them at the base to make s trunk. Then I sculpted the top of the cleaners into a tree.

I had the hubs cut me a small square of scrap wood, which I painted black. I used a styrofoam ball cut in half and glued it to the base. Then I wedged the tree trunk in. I covered the base in moss and placed a mini pumpkin at the base. I randomly placed some tiny leaves around the tree. Pretty simple. 

Houndstooth Pumpkins

I made these pumpkins a while back, but never took pictures. With Halloween upon us I knew I had to share them with you before it was too late so please excuse the poor photos. Photo taking at night is never good, but the weather is so yucky here it wouldn't be much better during the day.

The pumpkin on the right I made by taking a fabric remnant I got at Hobby Lobby and cutting it in to strips. Then I just used modge podge on the underside and placed it on the pumpkin. I used some jute to cover the stem.

The smaller pumpkin is just covered in some houndstooth cardstock. These were very messy, but very easy. What do you think? 

Crafty Di

Way back last month was my 28th birthday. My friends Dianna and Tracy came over for some crafting and cupcakes. Dianna worked on a fall wreath, which led her to get the crafting bug. Here is a picture of the fall wreath she made. Sadly, we were being nighttime crafters and the lighting is terrible.

Favorite BHG Pumpkins for Fall

BHG is one of my favorite magazines. Every year I try out some of their pumpkin ideas and they are even manageable for a novice carver like myself. Here are some of my faves for this year. Can you guess which one I am trying this weekend?

This one makes me wish I had a big porch!

I feel like this one would be hard to mess up. I wonder what they used for the eyes?

Again, even I can handle this.

I feel confident this one is taller than me.

I love the kitty cat split in half. I can see this being great for all my cat- loving freinds. This may be the only kind of cat John ever lets me have.

This one just screams fall!

More Cards by Jen

Yesterday I introduced you to my amazing SIL. Today I wanted to showcase a few more of her paper creations.

Here is a sweet little card she made, I love how she used the buttons for the center. Her cards are always so multi-dimentional with different textures that really make them stand out. 

Here is a wedding program she created that was also a fan. This is such a clever idea for hot outdoor weddings. 

Here is the front of one another wedding invite. I love the color contrast. 

Here is another wedding invite similar to the one I posted yesterday. They are so well constructed. Oftentimes, homemade invites can feel flimsy or cheap, but Jen's are so professional. 

Here is the invitation Jen made for her son's first birthday. Sorry for my poor job of blocking out information. I thought it looked festive, but now I think it makes me look slightly colorblind! lol

This summer we celebrated grandpa's 80th birthday. This invite really personifies grandpa. He is so laid back and this definitely reminds me of him.  

One of the things that I think really sets Jen's paper crafts apart is that she really captures the people she is making them for. A lot of time when you use a larger company for wedding invitations their products looks decidedly them. With Jen, the end result always reflects the couple she is making them for. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Meet My Sister-in-law and her Mad Skills

I would like to introduce my sister-in-law Jen. She was kind enough to lend me some of her creations so I could share them with you, but first I'd like to tell you a little about her.

First off, let me just say that Jen is totally illusive when it comes to avoiding family photos. As you can see this is a picture of Jen at my bridal shower, which was over 5 years ago. Every picture I have of her since she is either pregnant, has a screaming kid in her arms, or is completely not looking at the camera. It is now my personal mission to take a decent picture of her next time I see her.

Jen and I have known each other since I was a Freshman in high school and she was a junior. I say known, because I wouldn't say we were friends. Lol. Jen was really intimidating in high school. She was an amazing soccer player, super gorgeous, popular, and older. Oh and did I mention she is John's twin. 

Many many years later when John and I started dating I was more nervous about meeting Jen again than John's parents. Shockingly, when I met Jen again I saw a totally different side of her. She is one of the most loyal and selfless people I have ever met. She is an amazing mom and I am so happy to be a part of her family. She is now a stay at home mom of three super cute kids. I really don't know how she does it.

This week John's cousin Jonathan got married to his fiance Lauren. They are both so sweet and I am so happy for them. Jen made them some beautiful invitations, menus, and programs that you can see below.

This is the closed invite

This is what it looked like when opened. I love the pocket on the side that holds a little info sheet, as well as, the response.

The Menu

Aren't they gorgeous? I'll be featuring more of Jen's projects this week so stay tuned!