Some meh and some yeah!

I know I'm missing the last installment of summertime happenings but man. Technical issues, people. Technical. Issues. So maybe in a couple months I'll blog part 3 (you're welcome, Shannon).

But right now I am pretty excited about my fireplace. It is done. DONE! Praiseallthatisgoodintheworld. Remember how it used to look? Need a refresher?
 

With the off-white paint and the red brick and the brass grate and the blah and the blee ??

 Had to go.

I have a bunch of "in progress" shots of this whole thing but with the technical bla bla bla I don't know where they are and I don't feel like looking so you just get the before and after. You're welcome.

We took off the grate, Danny put a wood facade on the front, we painted the outside white and the inside black, took out the ugly red brick (which was quite an ordeal and involved my husband being very manly with a chisel and a sledgehammer), laid the tile and grouted, and finally caulked it all. And now that I have a finished fireplace and a huge mantel, I. must. decorate for all the things. Even for back to school fun. (excuse the crappy night picture.)

Yes, that is a giant pencil and yes, I made a chalkboard (leftover black paint + unsanded grout = chalkboard paint) and no, you cannot eat those apples. Ava already tried.

I have my birch twigs....all I need are actual logs. Don't worry....I'm already working on my Halloween decor. So indulgent.

Homemade Happiness

Life is pretty good right now.

We're all homemade this time of year with the presents and the food and the decorations and the happiness (yes. I prefer my happiness homemade. Unless ice cream is involved) but I've become especially domestic lately. I blame pinterest. And having to sew my own curtains.

We threw away the remainder of our gross chemically cleaners and made some of our own (here).
We ran out of laundry detergent and I'm sick of paying so much for the HE stuff so we? maaaaaade our own (here). (And it works great with front load washers since it is low suds.)
We say "boo" to the gross premade spaghetti sauce and make our own. With three ingredients (and a little salt). And it is the best spaghetti sauce ever (here).
Ava and I are making some ornaments today. Maybe she won't destroy these (here)?

Yeah. I like stuff better when I make it.

A slightly handmade wedding

I love to make things. See, when I don't have an outlet for my creativity through music, I HAVE TO LET IT OUT SOOOOOMEWHERE. So? I make things. And I love making things for specific people because I get to think about how cool they are and how happy I am to know them as I go.

Danny's sister, April, got married last week (awww shmoops have been married for a WHOLE WEEK today). After the initial excitement settled in when she told us she was getting married, I realized that I had an awesome reason to make some super girly stuff. Heh. So. Here's what I made:

Some headbands for the Sadie and Makenna:


A fancy dress and jacket for Ava:




Some earrings (pour moi)(I also made a headband for me but I'm too lazy to go take a picture of it):


And a wedding present:

I thought that all this creating would satiate me. But it hasn't. Stay tuned for more cute things.

P.S. I'm using my resources

I get urges to write people little notes a lot. I like people to know that I'm thinking about them and that I love them. Annnnnd I like that they'll have something in their mailbox besides junkmail and bills. However, I don't act on these urges as much as I would like. I just never have cute cards (or ugly cards, for that matter) handy. So. I decided to make my own, with a couple stipulations: 1) they needed to be inexpensive, 2) they needed to be easy and quick to make, and 3) they needed to look nice.

So. I bought 20 blank cards and envelopes (regularly $6.99 from Hobby Lobby but I used a 40% coupon(always check online for a coupon before going to a craft store)). I gathered some random could-be-used-as-a-stencil/stamp type things from around the house and busted out some acrylic and spray paints from past projects. I ended up with 3 different kinds of cards and I think they turned out nicely.

#1
We have a lot of boxes from moving that won't hold up for another move. So I cut off some cardboard and made some stamps - one that I rolled up to look like a flower and one I taped together to look like a leaf. I brushed on some acrylic paints and stamped away.



card #2
I have a pair of earrings that I love but don't wear anymore because one of them got bent. I clipped off the earring part.



And decided they would make a fun stencil for some spray paint. I love spray painting. Actually.







card #3
I had to cut off some of the mat that goes under our rug in the living room because it kept poking out and getting on my nerves. Thought it would make a cool design. I was right.



I think they turned out pretty nice. Inexpensive and quick. Gets the creative juices flowing.

A little pretty: felt flowers

I made some of these for my nieces' birthdays this month and I think I'll make a few for me. So simple and so cute!
Materials needed:
felt in various, matching colors
flower template (you can make your own or use this one)
scissors and pins
thread and needle
button (optional)
hot glue gun
barrette, headband, or alligator clip



Cut out your template pieces and pin them on your felt.

Cut out the felt, unpin them from the template, layer the petals in an aesthetically pleasing configuration, and sew them together in the middle (I did a couple stitches in the middle on the big ones and sewed a button on securely over the stitching to hide it. Also, I hot glued a couple of the bigger petals to each other for reinforcement). Hot glue your flower onto your hair piece and you're done!



Super easy. Very cute. Very cheap. Totally my kind.

technology gets handmade

Pretties for you hair

I've been wanting to finish some more headbands for a while and had a request from my niece for some so I decided to make a few this week. They turned out pretty cute.

For Llou




The start of one for my SIL's wedding coming up.

Not an ought, not yet a teen.

Yes. I am aware that it is January 6th and I am just now posting my new year's resolutions. It's because I didn't want to break my resolutions right out of the gate so blogging about them was low on the priority list. K?K. Also, I hate using the term "new year's resolutions" because it makes me feel like a poser (I think 7th grade was the last time I used that word) who will break all those resolutions within the month of Janvier. I will not be one of those people who pack themselves into the gym everyday at the start of the new year only to stop going by the end of January. You know how I know? Because I was already going before 2011 hit.Boom. Roasted.

So without further ado, here is what I want to accomplish in two thousand eleven (in no particular order).

1. Flirt more with my husband. Be a better wife and let the small stuff go and concentrate on the positive.

2. Be a stay-at-home-mom. But Tiffany, you already are. Eh. Yeah. Technically. But I want to really be a stay-at-home mom instead of a stay-at-home-maid or a stay-at-home-get-annoyed-easily-by-the-baby or a stay-at-home-forgets-how-lucky-she-is-to-spend-so-much-time-with-my-little-one.

3. Improve my relationship with Christ. Scripture study, prayer, all those things that make me worthy of His Spirit and guidance. I need it now more than ever.

4. Pray with my husband more. I think this is the best way for us to have an intimate and infinite relationship and the best way to tell what's really on each other's minds.

5. Workout 4 days a week. At least.

6. Craft once every week. I love crafting. I love creating beautiful things. I love making my home beautiful with things I made that hundreds of other people can't buy at bed bath & beyond that don't cost me a ridiculous amount of money.

7. Waste.Less.Time. Doing who knows what? I swear I'm Fox Mulder and there are portions of time for which I cannot account. Tired of that.

8. Only spend one day a week cleaning. I have this problem with laundry that I don't finish it all in one day..... or two days..... or three.... and by the time I finish it I have to do it all over again. This may take the whole year to accomplish.

9. Take a picture everyday. A year of pictures. Maybe this will make me a better photog? We shall see.

10. Laugh more.

11. Try a new recipe every week.

12. Be a better budgeter.

Numbers 6, 9, and 11 I will share with you all.
I have a feeling that this is what my list is going to look like for years to come...

A bouquet about which I can get excited.

If you have ever been to my house during the summer you know I love fresh flowers everywhere. Kiiiind of hard to keep that going during the winter. So? Evergreen bouquet!

Delayed Gratification

I'm not very good at working on things that take me a long time to finish but I was able to finish this sundress for Ava that took a ridiculously long time. I finished it about 2 months ago. My first solo sewing project (with a little help from my mom, of course)! Not pictured is the matching bow.


Yeah, the picture is sideways. Meh.

I was mistaken

Before the thought of getting a sewing machine even crossed my mind I should have invested in a seam ripper. What was I thinking? I know me. It takes me for-ev-er to catch on to things. Well, taking an eternity to catch on to sewing? Means a lot of seam unpicking to do. A lot. BUT NO! A new sewing machine! says I. I'm naturally maternal and have become seriously domestic and sewing should come soooooo naturallllllyyyyy! Butterflies and unicorns and fairies and gumdrops! I'll just whip up an outfit fit for Project Runway! Weeeeeee!! says I.

I could not have been more. wrong.

Knowing I usually get too ambitious when I start somthing, end up not being able to do it, and then hate whatever it was that I started, I got the easiest pattern I could. It even said "EASY" on it. It's just a little sundress for Ava, how hard could it be? Right? RIGHT????????

Many unsaid curses and a month later I'm still not done. Side-rant: I am an intelligent human being and should therefore understand how to read a pattern and the instructions enclosed therein. However, I do not. It takes much examination of pictures and pep talks to figure things out. This also makes me angrier than I can say. Muchly. End side-rant. Anyway, I really buckled down today, hoping to finish.

I have now unpicked the same seam three times and I can truly say I hate bias strips.

I don't even want to talk about it anymore.