Saturday, November 27, 2010

Yo-yo’s!

These guys are everywhere!

I see so many people making these to deck out their projects, but I couldn’t figure out how to make my own.

Until I found this…

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With a famous Hobby Lobby 40% off coupon, this was only $4 and can be used over and over!  A great deal for a great tool!

This is such a great way to use cutie-cute fat quarter fabric as an embellishment on soooo many things!  I can’t wait to try it out soon!

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Friday, November 26, 2010

Nothin’ but an apron on…

well, not really!  Until now, I haven’t been able to find an apron I really loved that was in my price range.  I wanted something that matched my kitchen and still fit my ample frame.

Wandering around in Wal-Mart during an oil change, I found something sort of like this:

(I forgot to save the actual packaging from mine, so this will have to do)

The company is Springs Creative and they are distributed in many of our favorite stores: Hobby Lobby, Jo-Ann’s, Wal-Mart, etc.

In the kit came a huge piece of fabric with the parts of the apron and instructions printed directly on the fabric.  All you have to do to is cut out each piece of the apron and then sew it together.  This turned out to be PERFECT for me because I am no great shakes at pattern sewing.

Here is my finished product:

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I really love the character and cute-ness of this apron and can’t wait to wear it all the time!

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Thursday, November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Today I am thankful for

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and

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I am grateful for the blessings that my Lord has bestowed upon me.  My life is simple, but so full.  I hope I always remember to thank Him, not just one day a year.

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Wednesday, November 24, 2010

the silhouette of DEATH…

I named this post because, if I won or received or all-of-a-sudden-had-enough-money-to-buy-this, I would surely die.

Usually, I try not to blog about giveaways, but I just have to have that extra entry for all of the different Silhouette giveaways there are right now.

(Click on the headers to go to each giveaway post)

So go visit any one of these awesome blogs to enter the giveaways!  I’d say I hope you win, but…

I hope I win more!!

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Sunday, November 21, 2010

Damask, you look sexy!

heehee. 

It’s pretty obvious that I love damask.  I mean, just look at the background for my blog.

Well, I love damask enough to have used it for my wedding, as the fabric for our tables.  We used two different black and white damask patterns:

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and

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(I’m still working on picture taking for a blog…  or, apparently, picture taking in general haha).

This fabric is so pretty and I just love it so much.  I knew, even before the wedding, that I wanted to MAKE something with the fabric to use everyday- as a reminder of our special day.  I had an awesome idea when I saw this on www.spoolsewing.com:

(Click on picture to find the pattern and instructions on how to create these gorgeous birds.)

I took the pattern and created this:

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Again, my pictures are awful, but it kind of shows you the cute little birdies I made for our bedroom- which, somehow, ended up with a bird theme (it all started with this post).  Maybe lovebirds… ;)

Happy bird watching!

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Saturday, November 20, 2010

Music Obsession Alert!

I am completely obsessed with this song right now…  it is completely gorgeous.  I love that a husband-wife duo sing this and harmonize so beautifully together.  love.

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Friday, November 19, 2010

Grandmother crackers…

There are a few recipes out there that EVERYone and their brother/sister/mother has heard of.  My favorite such recipe is something I call Grandmother crackers!  We had them at our wedding and I, subsequently, ate them instead of every meal for a week…  (don’t judge me!)  Here is the recipe I used tonight (found on www.allrecipes.com and modified to my own tastes).

Grandmother Crackers!

Ingredients

1 (1 ounce) package ranch dressing mix
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 package oyster crackers

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, combine ranch dressing mix, dill weed, and vegetable oil. Mix well. Add oyster crackers to the mixture and mix to coat the crackers. Pour the crackers onto a cookie sheet.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring gently halfway through the baking time.

Cool, place in a sealable container and try not to eat them all at once…

 

Please make these IMMEDIATELY for your family.  You will NOT regret it!!

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Joy joy joy!!

I don’t live by the beach and I look nothing like this, but this is what my heart feels like doing right now!!  I am finally a Georgia certified teacher!!!  This is a HUGE day for me and feels like a serious triumph.  I submitted my initial application for certification at the end of June and, due to issues on the University of Southern California’s end (meaning they didn’t do their job correctly), it took until today for my certification to be granted.  I can now start substitute teaching in January and *hopefully* be offered a teaching position soon!!  Hallelujah!

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Thursday, November 18, 2010

Flufferfacey goodness…

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If you don’t think this fluffy furball is cute, you have no soul.  I love when he curls up and sleeps on his paw with his eyes closed and his ears perked up.

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Tuesday, November 16, 2010

…these are my confessions…

I have to tell y’all something…

I am not that great of a blogger.  No, really; it’s true. 

I forget to take “before” pictures.  I forget to post every day.  I forget to write more than one post and schedule it for later. 

The good news: I will get better!  I promise!

So here’s what’s to come…

a new crafting tool

a different use for the fabric from my wedding

t-shirts that are different from anything you’ve seen

and much, much more!!

 

Hang in there with me, readers.  I’m getting the hang of this blogging thing!!

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Monday, November 8, 2010

Christmastime is here… sorta!

I am so not ready for Christmas to be here yet!  I want to enjoy the fall season, but everyone around me is preparing for Christmas.  For me, that means figuring out my Christmas cards!  Last year, I found an amazing deal on Christmas cards (I believe the company was Photoworks).  I was able to order photo cards and pay only shipping.  Anyone who has bought photo cards knows this was an amazing deal!

This year, I am lucky to have found another deal: 50 free photo cards from Shutterfly!  No shipping, no cost at all!  I am ecstatic.  They have some of the cutest designs:

If we decide to use wedding pictures for the cards, this is my very favorite.

Last year, we found a really cute Christmas tie, meant for a dog.  For us, that, of course, means we put it on Buddy the Cat.  Then we took some pictures.  And we put them on our Christmas cards.  I have similar ambitions this year; I want to incorporate hubby and I into the picture too.  This design would match my plan perfectly!!

Shutterfly has so many cute designs- and not just for Christmas cards!  You could make photo thank you cards (which my cousin-in-law did for her gorgeous baby). 

Hubby and I will have a baby one day and this would be the perfect announcement/ thank-you.

So hop on over to Shutterfly and find some awesome cards for any occasion!

Here are some links:

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-cards

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/baby-cards-stationery

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/religious-christmas-cards

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Thursday, November 4, 2010

SO important…

I will say nothing more than this:  I think Nerdy Apple Bottom has a very good point in this post.  I wish the world felt the same way.

And to leave you with a warm, cozy feeling

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Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Um…

How did I not know about this?!

I am a huge fan of hydrangeas, as evidenced by this:

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I know where I’ll be the first weekend of June next year!!

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Tuesday, October 26, 2010

My wish list

There are so many things that I am drooling over right now; I probably will never get most of them because I try to buy the things I want myself.  Here are a few of the things I really want:

As a Religious Studies major at Agnes Scott College, I took a class on C.S. Lewis.  Having never read any of the Chronicles of Narnia series growing up, I was unfamiliar with his writing.  I came away from that class with a deep and abiding love for his work and his being.  I would love to be able to spend some time every day reading some of his words.

I love monograms and would love a beautiful sterling silver ring with my NEW initials on it!

Obviously I have an obsession with personalized things.  This sign says it all.

Scrapblog credits!!  I love creating new things on Scrapblog and all of the really cool themes and stuff require credits.

Etsy designer Coralie Beatrix makes these gorgeous convertible dresses.  There are so many different ways to wear them and the colors are so rich.  They are also flattering to so many different body types (which is always super important to me).  I would love to have a long and a short version of this dress.

What goodies are on your wish list right now?

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