Project 365

I'm obviously the worst blogger ever. I totally lack consistency in any form. I do feel the need, however, to share my new favorite iPhone app with you. Project 365 is a very simple, very easy, very FREE app in which you are to take one picture a day for a year and it creates this calendar of your images as you go along. I'm pretty much in love with it because I'm a horrible picture taker and I wish I wasn't. I never capture moments that I really should, so now I have this great little motivator that encourages me to take one picture every single day so that we can track an entire year in images! How fun is that?

Some Burlap, a Pool Noodle, and Ten Minutes

Fact about me: My obsession with wreaths is unhealthy. We have more than any one family could possibly need and I have no intention of stopping with the construction any time soon. My new favorite was by far the easiest and fastest one I've made yet. It's made from a pool noodle and duct tape, that handy dandy trick you can find all over Pinterest, a burlap table runner from Michael's, a little hot glue, some fabric yoyo's I bought on Tophatter, and a piece of thick hemp string. I simply wrapped the runner around the noodle (I just laughed at myself), and glued it into place. It ended up being the perfect length. I then took some great little fabric yoyo's I got for practically nothing on Tophatter (I must learn how to make these myself), and glued them as floral embellishments around the bottom over where the runner made a complete circle to cover the uneven look. A little hemp string as a hanger and bam, done. Ten minutes. :)

Refrain from judgement. I have every intention of painting my knob and lock as well as window frame so they don't make innocent bystanders quite so nauseous when they lay eyes on them.

On a Sewing Mission

It's official, my Etsy shop is attempting to do business. Attempting. I've found the time to make a few extra tid-bits that I might actually part with instead of hog for myself (just some paper items), and it has a very liberating feeling. Am I finally taking steps towards entrepreneurial endeavors? Will I build a lasting business and branch out into other markets? Will I get to live the dream and be my own boss? Will anyone even want the crap I'm selling? We shall see, we shall see. If you have a moment, hit up my shop and try your best to muffle the mocking giggles.

Finally, a Cricut!

So, yesterday I went to Michael's on a mission. They had their Cricut Expression 2's marked down from $299 to $199, and since I just signed up and activated my rewards card, I had 20% off my entire purchase. Yes, I could take another $40 off this sweet little thing, so I could not, and I mean could NOT, resist. 

I won't discuss the horrific amounts of other sale items I also purchased while there. I would like for you to be able to retain some level of respect for me, that is if you have any at all. Basically, though, I'm obsessed with my new Cricut and I can't stop playing around on it and Pinterest searching project ideas and finding free downloads to put onto it. My favorite site thus far for these has been Sherry K Designs. She's lovely and has a ton of great freebies as well as a really cheap, fun shop to purchase some downloads. I've also been browsing through Ebay like a fiend looking to score some great deals on cartridges. 

Moral of this story - go to Michael's, get a Cricut, be happy. They have their mini's marked down as well, and with a discount, they'd be incredibly cheap. 

Do you have a Cricut? If so, could you share some great project ideas?? :)

If you need me, I'll be making things crafty.

My Newest Addiction

I go through phases, it's a blessing and a curse how often I change my mind about things. Recently, I stumbled upon a site called "Tophatter". On this site, you can attend several live auctions. I'm partial to the "Supplies" auction. Once there, you can bid on some really great, super crafty items! I scored 25 yards of lace trim for $3! With a retail value of $55! Everyone is incredibly friendly and a lot of them are Etsy sellers with great feedback. I make sure to compare the prices to what they sell them for in their stores to avoid overpaying and I've managed some really great finds this way. There's also a Jewelry auction and a Vintage Apparel auction I really love plus a Bazaar and a few others! I really suggest you check it out because I can't pull myself away!

The first two things you should know about me are very important. I have mild obsessions with spray paint and yard sales. These two facts go hand in hand, really, because if I can get it cheap at a yard sale, I will more than likely be spray painting it by the end of the day. I have shelves in my craft room dedicated to spray paint and yard sale finds. I don’t mess around. So, when I found this fabulous little thing for only $5 at a yard sale 2 blocks up the other week, I ran home, grabbed the car, and went straight back. I needed this. Needed.

You’re probably thinking what everyone else who saw it asked me at first. “Do you plan on getting birds?” Never. I’m sure it’s wonderful for those people who have little feathered friends, and I truly do love penguins, but I will not own birds. It is something that I just know I’m not meant to do. Instead, I wanted to spray paint that sucker and fill it with flowers and candles! You can imagine the looks I got when I told people this, but I’m really thrilled about how it turned out!

First things first, I had to scrub what seemed like decades of poo off of it, and when that was said and done, I continued to disinfect it for about an hour. I can’t have those kinds of germs around my toddler. Horrible combination. I then took each piece and drug it into the yard, which seems to have permanent spray paint circles now, I’m sure much to my neighborhoods delight, and I took out my trusty Krylon in Nickel and let those wires have it! I held a newspaper around the sides as I painted so that I wouldn’t stink out all of my neighbors, because there was a ton of excess. I then hit that ugly yellow with some much classier white (I was originally thinking pink, but decided it was just too much!) and after a few coats, I was already impressed. I then proceeded to stencil on some funky little design using some Apple Barrel paint in Green Grass around the top and finishing off that top little knob in the same color. I took my handy dandy Dollar Store flowers apart and laid them, as well as their leaves, around the bottom of the cage as well as some faux straw looking stuff I happened to have lying around (Where do I get this stuff and why do I just keep finding it?) and then laid some mismatching candles, some in containers and some not, around with the flowers and thought I was done. Then, I decided to switch the metal part upside down so that the perch didn’t set so far down and I hot glued a couple of cheap-o little birds to it. And voila, I had birds. I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out. I’m sure I’ll tweak it over time, like I tend to do with everything, but for now, I just like gazing at it sitting by my front door looking all lovely.