a winter wreath

well...Christmas is past so it's time for a new wreath.  a winter one...

Last spring I made this simple twine wreath for Josh's front door...

We still had it in the closet to I thought I would revamp it a bit.

I've been cleaning out my closet over the past few months just to be sure my clothes will all fit at josh's!  Goodwill has LOVED me lately.  There have a been a few older peices that I have kept though...for craft purposes.  Like these...

I cut two pairs of courdory pants and one shirt into strips, like so...

I rolled the strips up into little flower rosettes...

after hot gluing some groupings of the flowers...

you have a nice winter colored wreath!

and just think...when it's time for a new spring one...I will actually live at this house!!!

camera strap cover

my dear friend lele made this awesomely cute camera strap cover for my christmas present this year!

(sorry for the horrible lighting)

not only is it cute, but it's practical. she added some felt and so it's cushiony...my neck is forever grateful.  When you are walking around disney world with a big camera around your neck all day...it gets a tad heavy.  So now, I probably need to go back to disney world to compare it since I have a super comfy camera strap now. right? that's the only  logical thing to do.

far from perfect

Ah, perfection.  It's a crazy thing.  We'll never reach it...even though we always try.  I'm an odd duck.  I tend to be quite the "perfectionist" although I don't like things to be exactly perfect.  My perfect is a little off...just like me.  Nothing like wedding planning to bring out your imperfections.

Example A: these gift tags.  I didn't use a paper cutter.  I just cut free handed with scissors.  None of the lines are straight, nothing is centered, and not one is the same.  Totally full of flaws and imperfect. 

see what I mean? but I LOVED how they turned out.

There's a not a huge point to this blog except to encourage you people who think you "can't" that you totally CAN!  And you don't have to have fancy craft tools...just scissors and glue.

new sharpie prdouct

so...I love shapries...given. Josh gave me a whole new set in my stocking for Christmas...he truly loves me!

a few days ago at Walgreens while I was getting my passport picture taken (RANT: I have to get a new passport b/c mine expires in the middle of our honeymoon and i'm terrified of getting stuck in mexico.  So I have to pay $110 to renew my passport to use ONE TIME because the next time I go somewhere my name will have change so I'll spend another $110 to renew it again. blergh.) I saw a new sharpie product:

that's right folks.  Sharpie makes a pencil.  You don't have to click the lead out each time...it's liquid so it has a rolling tip like a pen...I think.  I've used it for a few days.  I don't always love using pencils but this one isn't bad.  You have to hold it upright (like you do the Sharpie pen) or it will skip a little, but it erases perfectly!!!  AND you don't get smudge marks on the side of your hand!

I did make a "to do" list with it and stuck it in my purse.  by the end of the day it had all rubbed off...sad.  but this has been the only negative part.

picture frames

I read a lot of crafty blogs.  I'd seen the same concept on a few different sites so I decided to make my on own variation.  I turned a normal block of wood into, hopefully, a cute picture frame!

I took a block of wood...you could make it any size you want...I actually have no idea what size these are...  Anyway, I sanded down the edges.  Mod podged some paper on the top. Distressed edges.

I had some left over "glass" from old frames I was going to get rid of.  So I got some thumb tacks and hammered them in the wood to hold the glass in place.

I made some little fabric flowers to put on the sides by the glass...

just roll up fabric and hot glue it to some felt. super simple.

then I hot glued the flowers onto to the wood frame...

attach some ribbon to the back...and you're done!!!

the glass can slide out and you just add your picture behind it!

Chalk it up

I'm sure you've seen it places...on blogs, in stores.  Chalkboard paint.  It's kind of taking over.  Might as well jump on the wagon, right?!

The old fireplace in josh's house is completely filled in.  So it doesn't work.  He's had a gate in front of it with "fireplace tools" beside to give the feeling of a fireplace.  since those weren't really necessary we gave them to Goodwill to open up the space a bit.  that left a blank canvas.  perfect for some chalking...

and now...the final product!

options are endless!

Christmas Fiesta Wedding Shower

This past weekend I helped host a shower for Scott and Caitlin!  It's been so fun to share are the excitement and stress of planning a wedding and preparing for marriage with a best friend AND roommate!  I was super excited to shower them with love, gifts, and chips and salsa :)

I made two banners.  "Scott and Caitlin" and "Feliz Navidad."  I wanted some extra punch...since it was a fiesta and all.  So I glittered some chip board letters and made the letters a bit crooked on the sign.  I also made some banners to string from the upstairs across the living room along with some twinkle lights!

Ryan painted the sweetest tree for everyone to leave their fingerprint and signature on. 

You can see more pictures on Lele's blog...be sure and check out the picture of the Swiss cake roll cake I made, just for Scott!  Love you guys so much!  So excited to stand with you on your wedding day!!!

personalized ornaments

This is what the kitchen table looks like these days...

In all my spare time (ha! I'm hilarious) I've got a new side gig.  My main side gig at Hallmark, hooked me up with another side gig this Christmas.  In case you forgot, I'm getting married, so I greatly welcome opportunities to build my "wedding fund" account.

This year they ordered bunches and bunches of ornaments that had space to be personalized.  They gave me a paint pen and I've beed busy ever since!!!

Need a gift to be extra special? I'd be happy to write a name, date, quote, or bible verse on it!!!

christmas wreath in progress

it's still lacking one major part...BUT...at least it's on the door!!!

still have a dead mum and gourd on the porch.  baby steps folks...still taking baby steps.

lil' pumpkin baby shower - part 1

my friend Ryan is having a little baby girl, Olive, in February.  soooo...of course we needed to shower her with some love and decided November was the perfect time to throw a Lil' Pumpkin Baby Shower.  If you ever need to throw a shower might I suggest having wonderful helpers like these lovely ladies...

hellloooo fall boots!  but seriously, such fun women to work with (and fabulous cooks...more on the food later).

Here are some of the decorations we had at the shower...

pumpkins...naturally

diaper cake - duh! caitlin helped me put this one together! 

The top is always something I stress about but I love how this bow came together. 

happy girl!!! that means bows!

Lele made these adorable letters (seen in the group picture).  it was her idea to hang them from the mantle by a branch...super cute!  AND look at her sweet little fabric pumpkins.  lele, she's a keeper!

and for little "thank you" treats I made one of ryan's favorite treats, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins!

check back later for more of the food and highlights from the shower!

happy baby surprise!

remember this super cute family?!  well...since baby boy #2 will be joining us NEXT MONTH we decided to surprise them with some "Happy Baby!" gifts.  naturally for me...that means a diaper cake!  (I'm pretty sure new born diapers are the cutest little things).

Josh got his first lesson in diaper cakes.  He was a huge help - you just gotta have two sets of hand folks.  I decided to make a front and a back so that it's cute all the way around...

and baby cason's wardrobe would not be complete without a little commodore love:

Brian and Christine also joined in on the fun.  She made the cutest little cupcakes (sorry I failed to take a picture) and they looked JUST like the master's cupcakes too.  Christine used pumpkin cupcakes and they were delicious!!!

Happy Baby Whitehursts!  Hope you enjoy your treats!

the big "D"

oh, the monogram.  who doesn't love to decorate with it, wear it on jewelry, put it on your car, your mugs, your tote bags...towels, dishes, pillows,  vases...you.name.it.  we all love it...to a certain degree.  Those things make super easy teacher gifts, wedding gifts, girlie gifts, etc.  Like you've seen here, and here I use a "D" on the wreaths I put on Josh's door.  I'm not sure why I always use it, I guess I feel like it brings it together.  who knows.  maybe it's a phase.

Anyway...as you know I'm working on making over the mantle.  To add to the fall decor I got a "D" from Michael's to embellish and put it up there.  (Maybe I feel like Josh will go along more with the decorating if it has part of his name in it? I don't know.)

I mod podged some orange paper...

Then mod podged this fun brown cut out paper I found...

and here ya go, the fall-est "D" there ever was...

front porch fall decor

Josh went camping last weekend so I went over to his house to decorate!  That's how that works right? He does boy things, I do girlie things!

on Friday night I brought Bauer over with me so he and Dylan could "play" while I worked on other things.  They ingnored each other for a bit, then they "played", and now they are friends...

dylan seemed to be really happy about it...

Moving on...the crafts.  I found this white basket that I figured I could paint for various occasions.  Maybe fall on one side, spring on the other? I could totally paint the whole thing another color, stand it up, turn it over...the possibilites were endless for my $14 purchase.

I decided to paint it a little for fall...tie some raffia, and here is what we got:

It's not perfect, so I may paint over it, but it was a fun beginning. 

Saturday, Caitlin and I went to the farmer's market to get some decorations for the front porch (and it turns out some things for dinner too!).  And here is what I ended up with:

2 pumpkins and a gord for $15, and two mums for $20. I was super excited.

I know what you are thinking...you just covered up what you painted on the basket.  Well, I've since moved the pumpkins to the other side of the steps.  I'm not sure which I like better.  Either way...it's cool outside, I have pumpkins and mums on my porch, it's fall and I'm a happy girl!