Emily's Bridal Shower!

Have you ever had the perfect party in your brain?

Along the way details get changed, there's too much to be done, wrenches get thrown into your plans, and a little thing called poverty conscious budgeting creeps up on you; It all leaves you wondering if the picture in your head will ever become a reality.

In a recent post about a Bridal Shower Gift, I mentioned that I'd been busy planning
a bridal shower for my friend Emily along with a very crafty-resourceful-fun-ambitious group of ladies: Jena (MOH), Carissa (Bridesmaid/photographer extraordinaire),
& Debbie (mother of the bride). And what a beautiful picture we had in our heads for the way we wanted Emily's shower to be! Her wedding colors are coral pink and espresso brown and Emily picked out brightly-colored vibrant flowers to really liven things up!

Here's how the shower turned out along with some tips along the way! Everything we did is incredibly DIY-able and for the most part budget-friendly; We couldn't be more thrilled with the way it turned out! (All photos courtesy of FABULOUS Carissa McClellan Photography! Visit her website here, and check her out on facebook here)

We went wit simple white table clothes (the paper ones with the decorative edges & plastic lining) and plain brown table runners (ALSO paper table clothes cut into four strips lengthwise! These runners were super simple, streamlined our decor and got a lot of compliments..). White flower and coral heart confetti broke up the plain brown runner, and we centered a large and small, ribboned mason jar of flowers on each table.

Side Note: Flowers are crazy expensive. We may or may not have used premade bouquets of pastel and neon daisies from Walmart (thanks Aunt Belva for scouting that out!). We also may or may not have torn said bouquets apart and picked our favorite colors. Additionally.... someone may have picked up some filler sprigs and already-opened roses (for a fraction the cost of a rosebud stem) on her way to the shower that morning. The same person may have also cut fresh peonies from a neighbor's yard while a certain maid of honor raided her mother's flowerbed.

Only one thing can be said for sure--YES that was me picking those purple flowers on the side of the road on my way to the church hall...

For favors, we bridesmaids spent many-a-night guzzling wine handcrafting these homemade bath fizzes. A pin paved the way to this helpful tutorial, and Martha Stewart showed us how to wrap it all up. The tags read:

 From My Shower to Yours

Homemade Bath Fizz

Emily and Mike

2012

Em's not a huge gamer so we made many of the games optional, and included other things to do like bringing along a recipe card and writing a piece of advice or special message to the bride-to-be.

Each of us girls made up a basket to give away as a door prize... Lottery, Herb Garden, Italian Cooking, Home & Bath.

A lovely shower for a lovely bride. And the best part is that the party turned out exactly the way we wanted it to! And we managed to keep it all (well...most of it) a surprise from Emily.

Mike put in an appearance to help lug the shower loot home...

Bridal Envy.

Emily and Her Mama

2/3 of the Maids

Bridal Party! (minus the tiniest, who was not open to being photographed at the moment)

"Bundle of Joy" Baby Shower Gift!

Creative shower gifting seems to be quite the craze these days...

Diaper Bikes, Diaper cakes, Diaper wreaths, etc.

Here's the gift I gave at my most recent baby shower, to my cousin Missy!

(insprired by this pin)

It's as easy as a bag of diapers, a blanket and some creative tagging.

I free handed the stork onto 2 layers of cardstock glued together, traced in sharpie & colored with colored penil; Cut concentric circles with scallop scissors and used script-y sticker letters. Tie with a coordinating ribbon, and voila!

As an additional note, it's a good idea to use some kind kind of framework inside the

blanket bundle; I cut the front off of a cardboard box, and cut along the box's edges to help it not look so stiff, and to make it easier to gather the blanket on top.

Anyone do anything else a bit different with diapers for a shower gift?

Happy Bundling ;)

Bridal Shower Gifting!

May has been absolute craziness for me... and June is looking even crazier!

I've been very busy lately planning a bridal shower for my friend Emily, in cohoots with two other amazing girls Jena(MOH) & Carissa (check out her amazing photography skills on facebook here, or on her blog here!), and the wonderful mother of the bride Debbie.

With all of the final details falling in to place, we were all getting very excited for the shower on Saturday, and even more so because all the details besides the time and place were unknown to the bride. That's right, somehow we've managed to plan everything in absolute secrecy! I wont say too much about the shower because there will definitely be a post full of pictures yet to come!

I would, however, like to share the gifts I gave to the bride, because I'm happy with how they turned out! Emily was registered at a few places, but I decided to do my shopping at Bed Bath & Beyond. I got a few small items on her registry and created this!

A bouquet fit for a bride! And here's a closer look...

The colors for the wedding are coral and brown, so I found two coral colored daisies at Michaels, and used brown ribbon I had from another project. Everything else in the gift I got at Bed Bath & Beyond:

1- Yolk colored dish towel

1-Yolk colored dish cloth

1-pair of Caphalon tongs

1-Caphalon ladle

1-Wooden Spoon

1-Slotted Wooden Spoon

The tricky part was not being able to take all of the tags off of everything, in case the bride needs to make some returns. I was able to leave the tags on everything (some of which you can see on the wooden spoons) but the Caphalon utensils, but neatly took them off of their packaging and will give the tags to the bride on the side.

First, arrange your utensils and flowers so that they are fanning outwards a bit. Starting with the tagged side of the dishtowel, wrap/cone the towel around the base of the utensils so that the other end comes around and overlaps the tag, hiding it from view. Place the dish cloth flat, and tag side down, over the loose ends in the back and secure the entire thing with a rubber band!

Wrap with a pretty ribbon and it's as easy as that! Bouquets like this could be made as large and extravagant as you wanted--or as small and sweet like mine :)

If you've got lots of utensils to give, even consider

using a vase!

As the other part of the brides gift--per her request-- I made a photo collage of all things "Emily & Mike's wedding." Including her adorable shower invites (Thanks Carissa!), the wedding invite, the program cover for the ceremony, an engagement picture, and last but not least the date... I'll update with a pic as soon as I get one from the bride!

Old is the New NEW!

She almost got the boot.

She’s been cracked for years, she’s almost 30 years old, and she ain’t the prettiest thing to look at, but I needed her.

When I moved off to my first little place on my own I had a nice big closest, but no dresser.  Now being that I was going to start paying rent, and bills, and all the other expenses that come a long with being an adult, I wasn’t the least bit interested in buying a bedroom suit.  Thankfully, my parents offered to give me this little gem (because the alternative was leaving her for the garbage men).  I had a walk in closet that I could hid her in at my new place, so it worked out perfectly. 

My parents bought this dresser before my older sister was born, it was just the right size to put all of their new baby things in before my sister arrived.  But over the years this dresser has held sweaters, bathing suits, holiday decorations, and even made a nice little hiding spot for the family cat (sup muchka).  It served its purpose a million times over for me in my new apartment – out of sight out of mind – yet my gutchies, socks, and camis all had a space of their own (I LOVE how many drawers this dresser has!)

Just a couple of months ago, I hauled everything up to move again, in with my boyfriend.  The truck was barely big enough to hold all of my belongings, and both my dad and boyfriend tried to convince me to leave the beat up dresser by the dumpster to leave room for things that I actually needed… like my bed.  I couldn’t bring myself to let go!  This dresser has worked out so well for me, and all of my garments had their own space, and it was just too difficult to say goodbye.  I promised them that I was going to paint it and make it beautiful and worth the effort of squeezing it into the moving van. 

Its been 3 months since I’ve been moved in, but finally this past weekend, my dresser got the makeover that I had promised.

I purchased all of the knobs from anthropology and Joann’s fabrics ( on sale, wahoo!) & the paint was from Lowes.  It only took me about 3 hours to prime and paint (and about 2 seconds to put the new knobs on) and now I’m pretty sure I’m in love with her all over again.

  

The drawers may still be cracked, but I think it adds to her charm <3

Diva Dance Birthday Party!

Ever wonder how to through the perfect Diva Dance party for a little girl??
So did I. And after searching high and low, with only a handful of inspiring ideas, we decided to go it on our own. Here's how the party turned out!

I have introduced her in the past, but this is my niece Ashley.

She is fun, sassy, smart and beautiful (as if you couldn't see that for yourself...).

Well, this year our little diva turned 6, and I just knew we had to have a

spectacular party for her and her friends.

So when I mentioned a Dance theme, and Ashley's eyes twinkled--we had found our party inspiration. The fun started with these adorable invites we created.



Ashley got to pick some of her favorite songs that we burnt onto CD's for
her friends. Her party playlist included songs by Alvin & the Chipmunks, The Jackson 5,
Justin Beiber (duh), Selena Gomez and The Black-Eyed Peas. I created the CD labels with the basic Averytemplate in microsoft word, and then emailed them to a local copy shop. Little labels on the back read "Here are some of Ashley's favorite songs
to keep you dancing until party time!" with a
list of the songs on the CD.

In true diva fashion, we had a photo-shoot for her "album cover."



Here are some of the special touches we added to give Ash and her friends the chance to party like a rockstar: My sisters (one being Ashley's mama), made this perfect guitar cake out of tiny, bite-size cupcakes! And even the ice cream cones were diva-licious.

Seriously? Could this be any cuter?? The bite-size cupcakes were wonderful for the girls too and
reduced the chances of 12 half eaten cupcakes...



Sugar cones and a scoop of ice cream, rolled in silver sprinkles? Hello-microphones! Ice Cream fit for a group of rockstars!



I made this Diva bunting by using scrapbook paper in different colors and
textures that matched the party theme (Silver glitter, hot pink, purple, black & zebra)

Each girl got their own VIP tag with their name on it when they arrived at the party!

I decorated the table using the really thick meshed ribbon they sell around Christmas, a spool of hot pink ribbon, and disco ball silver Christmas ornaments (can I get an amen for post-season sales?)



The rest of the house was decorated to fit theme too!



The girls decorated T-shirts and danced the day away...



Please take a second look at our diva's outfit for the day...? AND all of her friends' outfits also. And tell me when 6 year olds started dressing better then I do??

We also sprayed a pink stripe in all of the girls hair, gave them temporary tatoos, and played a few dancing games. Here's the party planning committee:

Even little Amber took part in the dancing fun :)



The day was long, the girls were crazy, and by the end we were all exhausted... but Ashley and all of her friends had such a great time and were adorable in all of their sugar-enduced party excitement :)

Sara's Shoes

There once was a pair of black peep toe heels.
They were cheap ($8), they were comfy, they were patent,
and they were the perfect height for the almost-tall girl who wanted them.

So they were bought, they were loved, they were used,
and they were schmushed into suitcases and traveled across oceans and continents.
They ran, they walked, they danced, they fell; They were worn and worn and worn some more. And when the feet that bought them got sore, they were carried.

All of this wearing and all of this carrying
wore the traction right from the soles, scuffed the shiny surface,
and literally took chunks right out of the solid heel. The patent was not so patent and the black was not so black anymore. The once pretty black heels
had seen better days.

Just when the poor shoes thought they were doomed for garbage day...
The up-cycle fairies arrived and gave the shoes a new purpose!!

Shiny, silvery, glittery, New Years shoes--

and what was old became new.

THE END

So, I had the idea to paint my old heels... but wasn't sure it was feasible.
A few look-sees on pinterest told me that not only was it possible--it had been done before--like hundreds of times...not original at all. Bummer.

But, I did it anyways because I needed silver shoes for
New Years!

First, because the heels were shiny, I scuffed them up a bit with some sand paper.
Then I stuffed the shoes with newspaper so that all of the inside of the shoe was covered like this:

Look! there's an up-cycling fairy helper now! :)

A few good coats of spray paint later....

Up-cycling fairy helpers love helping to take pictures too...

Annnnddd Voila! An almost-new pair of shoes is born!

In retrospect: Listen to the other people who have done this--Use Modpodge after
painting to seal the color in!

I didn't even end up wearing these shoes...hah

But being squeezed into my duffle bag cracked some of the paint because the shoes are pretty bendy at this point in their life. If I were less lazy had more time, I definitely would have done that step. Now I will just have to respray them before I plan on wearing them. For now, I have a nice "new" pair of silver shoes in my closet waiting for a night out on the town.

And the project was not done in vain; I got to craft with my little fairy-helper.

Happy New Year!
May your shoes be silver and your projects plenty!



Sara's Crafty Christmas Tree Challenge Reveal!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

It's time for the unveiling! Special thanks to MegaCrafty for posing the challenge and
inspiring us to be thrifty-chic! Here she is!!

 Here's a Breakdown of what I Spent:

Sparkly pink metallic-wired ribbon- $3.18

Roll Aluminum Foil- $1.06
Ribbon- $1.06

3 Packs Floral Wire- $3.18

Splatter Screen- $1.06

Embroidery Floss- $2.53

Glitter Nail Polish- $1.06

2 Packs Iridescent Cellophane- $2.12

= $15.25

I am so happy with how my tree turned out! 

Budget=Beauty!

My tree topper!!



Metallic Macgyver-- Sara's Crafty Tree

Mega-Crafty has made December 15th the great reveal for the
Crafty Christmas Tree Challenge,
so before I post my final tree I am going to show the other ornaments I've come up with! As I mentioned in my last post, I decided to go with a blue/purple/pink metallic theme.

It's appropriate then that the following ornaments are all made out of --metal (duh)

Glitter Screen Ornaments

Here are the supplies I started with:

Yes... that is a typical, run-of-the-mill splatter screen. Except it's also a very cheap splatter screen that I got at the Dollar Tree for $1. Also at DT, I got a bottle of chunky silver glitter nail polish for, $1. I Picked up the embroidery floss from Michaels at what I thought should have been 35cents a piece. But what to my wandering eyes should appear? Two of them rang up at $1.09... drats. A much larger hunk out of my budget than I had hoped. (No worries, when all is said and done I am way under budget!). Altogether, the embroidery floss cost me $2.53.

First, I began by weaving a piece of the floss in and out of the screens grid, in a straight line. This part is a pain in the butt very tedious as you'll want to make sure you are staying in the same row of screen openings. Going in and out of every other hole is just plain crazy talk, so skip over 4 here, 5 there--the number between each stitch is not important. I wanted mine to look random, so I just sewed in and out not even worrying about how many screen cells I was passing over; ain't no thing.

After I had made a complete line from one side of the screen to the other, I began with another color and repeated the same process. Again, I wanted my lines to be random, so I didn't make a set pattern and just picked and chose which color to use where. Just let the loose ends of the floss hang over the screen edges.

Next: Bedazzling!

I was worried that if I tried to cut shapes out of the screen, the floss would fray and unravel from the screen. That is where the glitter nail polish comes in! Over wax paper (so it doesn't make a mess or stick to the surface you are working on), shellack both sides of the screen with the glitter nail polish. I mean really let it have it...

I don't know how well you can see it here, but I promise that where there is thread- there is glitter, and lots of it. The polish helps to bind the floss to the screen and should help hold the screen together also once you start cutting.

Initially, I had wanted to repeat the striped segments multiple times, to be able to make more ornaments and extend my budget, but life happened and I ran out of patience, time, and the ability to see those tiny holes anymore. So when it came time to cut, I just poked the scissors through the screen and cut out the striped segment in one big piece.

BE CAREFUL!! As you cut the screen the edges become very sharp!

Next, I just took the rectangle and cut out circle shapes to create the ornaments!! The best part? The screen edges of the circles are jagged, and will almost velcro themselves onto the tree branch, so no hook or thread to hang them by is necessary!

Position them in front of a light and it's pure magic people :) Just look at them sparkle!

Wire Spiral Ornaments

Here's another kind of metal ornament I made out of blue, pink and purple floral wire from the Dollar Tree; at a dollar a pack, these ornaments only cost me $3.

Lastly, I used 2 packs of cellophane tissue paper (in blue and pink--also DT finds) to create a large pom-pom tree topper and the simple kite tail garland on my tree (I used some of my extra pink floss here also)! $2

Can't wait to reveal how it all turned out tomorrow!!