The Homemade Diva

Insta-Friday

2013-05-17T08:56:00.001-07:00

Here's a look at my week in filtered instagram pics! You can follow me at thehomemadediva

My new job has me waking up at 2:30 a.m. so I can be to work by 4 (cruel and unusual, if you ask me). I let the dogs out of their crate when I get up. Looks like waking up so early is hard on everyone :o)

I ordered some new bloggy business cards to match the new blog design. So pretty!

My brother-in-law and his wife just bought a new house. The old owner left some stuff behind, including this outdoor bamboo table and chairs. So I snatched them up and am in the midst of giving them a makeover. Yay for free stuff!

Friday night I got to have dinner with my sister and this little cutie. I just love her!

I decided to give the whole maxi skirt thing a try. After playing around with tops and accessories, I ended up with this look. Not too shabby I think.

Me and my mama on Mother's Day

The combination of the sweet little dress and the pigtails was just killing me!! She looked so stinkin' adorable!

One night hubby and I hit our local Food Truck Round-Up for dinner. Had some yummy Tandori Chicken and Chicken Tikka Masala.

Hubs and I were out running errands and decided to stop for lunch. I love the California BLT at this place. And their cookies are the best!

It is getting soooo hot! We're super close to hitting the 100 degree mark. What better way to cool off than a dip in the pool?

Our master bath area is open to our bedroom. Now that I have to wake up so early, it's hard for me to get ready without waking up the Hubs. I usually end up in the other bathroom. So I'm making some pretty blackout curtains to hang in the doorway so I can get ready for work without blinding him with light!

What've you been up to this week?

Modern Bamboo Headboard

2013-05-13T03:00:00.000-07:00

Some people pick a color scheme and design a room around it. Me? I designed a color scheme around my yellow dresser!

I knew I wanted the yellow dresser to be a statement piece. So I decided that other than a few small pops of yellow, the rest of the room had to be more neutral. And modern. That dresser definitely screamed modern!

I decided on navy and white. While navy is considered a neutral, it definitely is still a color. And it looks great with yellow!

Now that I had a color scheme, I was gonna need more furniture. I had borrowed a queen bed from my sister who had it in storage. She had a bed frame too, but it just wasn't the look I was going for.

So I scoured craigslist and came across this bamboo headboard for $40.

I didn't remember to take "before pictures" til I had already started to paint it. Oops!

I had hubby come with me to pick it up. And he very mildly expressed his concerns that I might be crazy. I explained to him that I was going to paint it (when do I not?) and it was going to look fabulous. He continued to look at me sideways but didn't say anything else.

He recognizes that he's not able to visualize things like I can. And he always loves what I do when it's done. So he usually doesn't question me too much. He lets me do what I want. He's smart like that! ;o)
So I gave it a couple coats of white spray paint and it was good to go!

Hubby joked when we picked it up that I must have been going for a jungle theme. But it looks anything by jungle-like now!

Pair that with crisp white sheets and a navy/white comforter set, and it's a cool, modern looking bed!

Love!

Happy Mother's Day

2013-05-12T06:25:00.000-07:00

(via Jengerbread Creations)

I want to take a minute to thank the most influential woman in my life . . . my mom.

She's smart and strong and kind and beautiful.

She taught me to sew.

She encouraged my love of reading and kept me in good supply of new books.

She's the only person who doesn't think I'm crazy when I say things like "I'm gonna paint this dresser bright yellow" or "I think I'm gonna paint all the doors black" . . . and if she does, at least she doesn't show it! :o)

She values my opinion as much as I value hers.

And she loves me! :o)

Happy Mother's Day Mom! I love you to the moon and back!

Insta-Friday

2013-05-10T03:11:00.002-07:00

Here's a look at my week in filtered instagram pics! You can follow me at thehomemadediva

My fur babies. They look like angels when they're sleeping . . . then they wake up! ;o)

The new position at work is exhausting. So I spent one evening this week doing nothing but laying on the couch, reading a book, and cuddling with puppies

Moscow is such a laid-back baby. His brother can do anything to him, take anything away from him, and he just doesn't care. Until I brought this toy home. He wouldn't let Oscar anywhere near it, and started sleeping with his head on it . . . just to make sure.

We had a bake sale at work this week. As usual, I got over excited and bake way too many things, including these Cake Batter Brownies (this piece was my dinner . . . bad, I know)

Strawberry Donuts

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

And I decided to try my hand at Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes. Yum!

What have you been up to this week?

Modern Yellow Dresser

2013-05-07T19:52:00.001-07:00

I'm not gonna lie . . . this is probably one of my favorite makeovers that I've ever done! I'm super proud of it and will make sure to show it off to anyone who walks through my door!

Most people balk when I tell them I painted a dresser yellow. Even my husband looked at me sideways when I told him what I was going to do.

I got the idea from Lindsey at The Pleated Poppy. She's got a wonderful blog with lots of pictures of her beautiful home.

In her entry way, she has this yellow dresser -

I saw that and immediately new that I needed a yellow dresser! So I scoured Craigslist until I found this beauty -

If I remember correctly, I think I paid $100. She's solid wood and I loved her at first sight! I've discovered that I'm fond of the clean lines of mid-century modern.

Inside the center cabinet doors are another set of 3 drawers.

I removed the hardware, the weird panels on the cabinet doors, and then sanded her down and painted her a bright Sunshine Yellow. Love, love, LOVE!!

I decided to add a little punch to the hidden drawers by painting a chevron design on them.

She now lives in one of our guest bedrooms. It's just the right pop of color in a mostly gray and navy room.

Sorry! Missing one of the drawers in this picture (it does have all three, but I was "fixing" that one). But it still looks awesome! :o)

Isn't she lovely?

Guest Bedroom Makeover (Vintage)

2013-05-06T06:03:00.002-07:00

One of the things I was super excited about in this new house was having more space to decorate! Especially the two extra bedrooms we now have! I know they'll eventually be turned into nurseries and children's bedrooms, so I didn't want to spend a lot of money on them, but I didn't want them to look neglected either.

Thanks to my parent's and my sister, Hubby and I were able to borrow some of their excess furniture to fill up our empty spaces. Using the bed frame my parent's lent us as a jumping off point, I decided that one of the guest bedrooms would be the "Vintage Room." I wanted it to feel warm and cozy and old-fashioned in an updated sort of way (Does that even make sense? Oh well)

So I used somethings I already had, bought a few things at Goodwill, borrowed a bed frame and got a Target bed set. Here's the end result:

I think my Goodwill dresser and picture-framed-turned-mirror really work well together.

Hubby actually told me that he really likes the floral bed set. Can you believe it? That man is full of surprises! :o)

My cheap art installation -

I bought these frames for $5 each at Michael's when they were having a killer sale. I just painted them yellow and added some pretty scrapbook paper.

My revamped bulletin board makes it's home on the wall by the door.

Now I just need some guests! :o)

Let's Catch Up!

2013-05-04T14:57:00.000-07:00

I have been a bad, bad blogger!

I'm not even sure I can call myself a blogger since I haven't written more than half a dozen posts in the last 2 years! Sorry guys!!

I'm sure you all know how it is. Life just has a funny way of getting in the way of the things you want to do. Hubby and I got married, got a couple of dogs, and bought a house. Then I changed jobs at work, joined a craft group, and started spending all my spare time working on making our new house a home.

And, of course, the whole time I'm working on these craft/decorating projects, all I can think about is how much I'd like to share them with you all, but I just didn't feel like I had the time to do it. Any spare, non-crafting moments that I had I wanted to spend with my husband. I guess even before I stopped blogging I was starting to feel like maybe I was neglecting him a little bit. That I was spending too much time on the computer and not enough time with him.

I'm hoping this time around I can find a better balance. Because I love doing this. I love blogging and sharing my projects and hearing from you all and I missed it when I stopped. So I'm gonna try to find the time I need to do what makes me happy without sacrificing time with my family.

That being said, let's catch up, shall we?

I briefly mentioned last year (yikes!) that my sister and her daughter moved back home to Arizona from Texas. They're being here has allowed me to be a part of my little niece's life and watch her grow up.

She just turned 2 in February, and has started to develop her own personality. She is hysterical! I just love her to pieces and it totally makes me melt when she tells me "I love you Titi Jenny" :o)

In October, Hubby's sister and her husband welcomed a little boy named Lucas.

Lucas' birth officially made Hubby and I the last ones in our families to have children (much to my dismay. I have babies on the brain!!). Which is ironic considering that we were dating each other long before any of our siblings met their spouses. Hopefully it'll be our turn soon, right honey? . . . Honey? . . . ;o)

But since we haven't had any human babies, we've been making do with these two cuties:

I seriously had no idea I could love a dog as much as I love these two little furballs. We definitely consider them to be our "babies"

We've been putting most of our "extra" money into house projects, but we did manage to sneak away last year for a couple quick road trips to San Fransisco (with my parents),

and Las Vegas (for my best friend's wedding).

In March, I participated in my first mud run with my mom and my sister.

P.S. Read the shirts carefully! There is an "R" in there! :o)

And just a couple weeks ago, we celebrated our 2nd anniversary by going to a Bon Jovi concert!

Hubby's not a huge fan. I am. But he loves me enough to go with me even if it's not exactly his idea of a good time :o)

Now I've changed departments at work again, which means a lot more physical exertion and early mornings (I start work at 4:15 . . . a.m.). I'm happier, but I also feel less productive (since I'm tired a lot of the time). So I'm going to make a concentrated effort to make time to work on crafty/decorate-y things and blog it all for you!

I want to thank you guys for sticking with me even though I've been MIA. I'm gonna try my hardest to make you proud and be the bestest blogger I can be! :o)

More posts coming soon . . . I promise! :o)

Frame to Mirror Makeover

2013-05-03T17:18:00.001-07:00

Have you all heard of Krylon Looking Glass Mirror-Like Paint?

It's this awesome product that lets you paint a mirror-like finish onto any glass surface. It's pretty cool stuff. And I had the perfect project to use it on.

I bought this collage frame at a local Goodwill store. I thought it looked kinda like an old window.

It was a cherry wood color when I bought it, but I forgot to take pictures of it before I painted it Krylon's Heirloom White.

I used the mirror paint on the glass portion of the frame and here's how it turned out -

Let me just tell you now. It's "mirror-like" paint. Which means it'll give you a reflective surface but don't expect to be able to do your make-up in it once it's dry.

I hung it above my Goodwill dresser and I have to say, I really like how it looks. The dulled reflective finish kinda adds to the old, vintage feel while still adding light and airiness into the room.

Love it! :o)

What do you think? Would you give mirror paint a try?

How the time has flown

2012-04-23T09:17:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been a year already! What a whirlwind it has been!

"A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person." - Mignon McLaughlin

"Don't marry the person you think you can live with; marry the individual you think you can't live without." - James C. Dobson

"To get the full value of joy, you must have someone to divide it with." - Mark Twain

"Newlyweds become oldyweds, and oldyweds are the reason that families work." - Unknown

"Success in marriage does not come merely through finding the right mate, but through being the right mate." - Barnett R. Brickner

"There is no such cozy combination as man and wife." - Menander

"The highest happiness on earth is marriage." - William Lyon Phelps

We made it through year one. Here's to 50 more!

Bulletin Board Redo (Take 3)

2012-03-28T19:20:00.000-07:00

Anyone remember this?

This was a bulletin board that I've had forever. The picture above shows what it looked like after it's second makeover.

Well guess what? It was time for another makeover!

I didn't really have a space to hang this up in our office (which is where it was in the old house), so in order for it to find a new home, it needed a new look.

Here's what it looks like now -

I used some leftover paint from my Goodwill dresser and fabric and paint that I already had.

I used buttons hot glued to thumbtacks to hold the ribbon in place.

Not bad for a free makeover! :o)

And it looks great in it's new location!

Goodwill Dresser Makeover

2012-03-22T10:07:00.000-07:00

I've always been jealous of the bloggers who take these thrift store finds and make them over into something beautiful. What stores have they been going to? I never seem to be able to find anything that amazing (that's not also horribly over-priced). Well my luck has changed! Spur of the moment I decided to stop by a new Goodwill that opened up on my side of town. 30 minutes later, I walked out with this:

For $15 I got this little four-drawer dresser. It was a bit banged up, missing a drawer pull, and the top drawer was missing a part and didn't really slide in and out, but it was $15 and I saw the possibilities!

After a few repairs, a thorough sanding, a couple coats of paint, and some new knobs, it now looks like this -

I removed the broken piece of wood that was on the bottom of the dresser and replaced it with a bit of baseboard molding. So much better! Now it looks like a real piece of furniture rather than something a home carpenter made!

I love the new knobs! Can you believe they were only $1.50 each at Michael's?? Gotta love that store!

So pretty!

I used some pretty wrapping paper to mod podge onto the dresser drawer just to add a little extra prettiness

What do yo all think? Not bad for $15, right? :o)

Kitchen Makeover

2012-03-17T07:23:00.000-07:00

When Hubby first showed me this house online the first thing I said was, "Look at the kitchen!" It's three times the size of our old one, has a gas range (thank God!), double ovens, and an island. What more can a girl ask for? All it needed was a little makeover.

I told hubby before we moved in that priority number one was to makeover the kitchen. I already had a plan of action and I told him I wanted to get it done before we unpacked the kitchen because, really, who wants pack a kitchen, unpack, and then pack it all again? And I was gonna need empty cabinets and clear counter tops to work my magic.

What exactly did I have in mind? I decided to paint the cabinets!

Yes, you heard me right, I painted my kitchen cabinets! White!

You see, there was nothing wrong with them. They were in good shape and I liked the layout. But they were an awful shade of . . . well . . . I don't even know how to describe it, but they kinda had a pinkish tone to them. So not my style! And after dropping thousands of dollars on down payments, closing costs, etc., we really didn't have the money to replace the cabinets anyway.

So after researching the best way to go about it, I got to work and it turned out amazing! I love it! And Hubby loves it too! (I'm not sure he was entirely convinced when I took on this project, but he knows better than to doubt me) :o)

Here's another look at the "Before" -

And here's what it looks like now -

As you can see in this picture, we removed the old range hood (that was ugly and we both hated it) and replaced it with an over-the-range microwave.

Next to the microwave was little open cabinet that had wooden dowels running vertically to hold plates. I didn't really have any plates I felt needed to be displayed and, quite frankly, I didn't want my clean plates that close to the range cuz they'd oil and grease all over them. Who wants that? So I pulled the dowels out and now have a nice little cubby for my cookbooks.

I told Hubby that I wanted a white subway tile back-splash. He had no idea what white subway tile was! He does now! And he loves it as much as I do!

Hubby's one request for the kitchen makeover was a magnetic chalkboard wall. So thanks to Rustoleum Magnetic Primer and Chalkboard Paint, I was able to give him what he asked for.

This area next to the fridge was the perfect little nook to set up a hot beverage station. And glass front doors show off my pretty mugs.

I'm so pleased with how it all turned out! I'm almost 30, but for the first time, I'm really starting to feel like an adult, and I have a beautiful grown-up kitchen to prove it!

Nice, don't you think? :o)

Our House, In the Middle of Our Street

2012-03-14T16:37:00.000-07:00

I'm baaacccckkkkkkkkk!! ;o)

It's been a crazy first year of marriage her in the Diva house. Which is why I've been MIA. But things have finally started to slow down around here, so I'm hoping to get back into the blogging groove and show off the many projects/makeovers that have been taking up my time.

As I told mentioned in my 2011 Recap, Hubby and I bought a new house in October. While I'm super happy now that we have the house, the home buying experience was a nightmare. A nightmare which took place in large part because we had a sucky realtor. But after months of fretting, worrying, anger and tears (yes, I cried . . . more than once), we were the proud new owners of this little piece of heaven:

Sorry about the sub-par picture quality. I forgot to take "Before" photos so I snagged these off the internet.

This beauty is over twice as big as our old home and has a HUGE backyard with a pool. It's exactly what we wanted and needed. It's the perfect place to grow our family (when the time is right, of course)

We've already made lots of progress and changes in our new home, but I'll save that for future posts. Until then, here are our "Before the Diva" pictures -

(Entrance/Formal Living Room)

(Kitchen/Guest Bath)

(Kitchen/Dining Room)

(Living Room)

(Master Bedroom)

(Master Bath)

I hope you all are as eager to see all the changes we've made as I am to show them to you! Stay tuned! :o)

We're Interrupt Your Current Program to Bring You This Important Annoucement

2012-02-14T12:42:00.000-07:00

It's Snowing!!

It's not sticking, but it's snowing!

Considering that it's February and still technically winter, many of you may be wondering "What's the big deal?"

The big deal is I live in the desert. Southern Arizona to be exact. I can probably count on my two hands how many times it's snowed here in my life.

Even more bizarre, 3 days ago it was 70 degrees outside. That's shorts wearing weather. And now frozen water is falling from the sky! Talk about a cold front!

On a side note, I hope you all are enjoying you Valentine's Day. Hubby and are currently enjoying a nice lunch of Mexican fast food (Nico's for all you Tucsonans) while waiting to apply the second coat of paint to our formal living room. I know you're not supposed to paint when it's raining (snowing), but now's really the only time we can do it before our housewarming party in a week!

Happy V-Day everyone! Enjoy your time with your loved ones!

Hello 2012!! (With a 2011 Recap)

2012-01-01T14:40:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year!

2011 was a busy year full of changes! I'm looking forward to what 2012 has to bring and making resolutions to (hopefully) help make the new year great!

But before I get to my resolutions, I thought I'd take a look back at the year that was 2011!

In February, my little sister gave birth to my beautiful niece, Maci. That little girl has brought so much love and joy to my life! And now that my sister has moved back (another 2011 development), I get to see that gorgeous little girl grow up. I'm so thankful every day that she's in my life and that I get to be a part of her's.

In April I (finally) became a Mrs.! After 5 years this handsome man and I finally managed to tie the knot. It took a lot of planning (and crafting), but it was all worth it. Our wedding was amazing!

And, of course, after the wedding comes the honeymoon! We got to spend 9 glorious days at Sandals Negril in Jamaica! It was amazing and I highly recommend taking a Sandals vacation if you can. Totally worth it! Hopefully in a few years we'll get to repeat the process :o)

In October, I participated in my first craft fair. I didn't sell much, but I did have fun. The fair is also where I found these:

There was couple walking around with these adorable dachshund puppies and they happened to be looking for homes for them. So Hubby and I welcomed these two little boys into our family. Meet Moscow (long hair, green jacket) and his brother Oscar!

In August, Hubby and I decided it was time to buy a new house. We were outgrowing our little 1000 sq. ft. home and there were only 2 of us! So with our future family in mind, we began the home search. After several months (and a lot of stress and tears), we signed the papers on our new 2000 sq. ft. house in October. Let the decorating begin!

As you can see, lots happened in the Diva household in 2011. I can only hope that 2012 brings us as many blessings as 2011 did!

Now to keep with New Years tradition, I thought I'd share my goals for 2012:

Spend less time worrying about the opinions of others

I spend so much time worrying about what others think of me. I'm always trying to make sure everyone likes me and no one's mad at me. And in the end, I spend a lot of time being taken advantage of. I'm gonna try and get rid of my stress and worry and focus on just being me, like me or not.

Take time to take care of myself

I think most women can relate to this one. We spend so much time taking care of others we forget to take care of ourselves. Or in my case, worrying that others will think I'm lazy or selfish if I take time for myself. I need to try and make myself a priority.

Live a healthy and active lifestyle

Sometimes I struggle to eat right or exercise enough because I have so many other things going on. So as part of my "take care of myself" resolution, I'm gonna try and maintain a healthy lifestyle

Spend less money

This year I started couponing pretty regularly (not to the extreme that you see on TV, but definitely a more normal, real-life version on "Extreme Couponing"). I was saving a lot of money, but with all the chaos of the house hunt, puppies, holidays, etc. that all fell by the wayside. I'd like to pick it back up and work on crafting and decorating with what I have and not be tempted to spend my whole paycheck on things I want but don't really need.

Blog more

I'm sad to admit that life got crazy and my blogging all but stopped. It's truly something that I love to do and was proud of. So I'm hoping that I'll be able to get back into it and start blogging somewhat regularly again. I missed you guys! :o)

So that's it! A recap of a great 2011 and my goals for a successful 2012! Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T08:44:00.001-07:00

I know it's been months since I last posted on here. It's been a whirlwind few months in the Diva household, complete with lots of stress, tears, and happiness.

Hopefully I'll be able to carve out some time here soon to give you all a heads up on what's been happening in my life.

Until then, I just wanted to take a few moments to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!! May your day be filled with love, joy, and friendship!

Merry Christmas!

P.S. I'm starting to sorta figure out Photoshop, and made this Christmas card myself! Not bad for a newbie! :o)

Strawberry Bread

2011-08-17T10:46:00.000-07:00

If you're anything like me, your salivating already just having read that title!

Yes, folks! There is such a thing as Strawberry Bread, and it's a beautiful thing!! :o)

The very first time I made this recipe (courtesy of My Baking Addiction) , I only made one loaf just to see how it would turn out. I made it one afternoon, and by that evening, DH and I had eaten more than half the loaf!

So I made more!

Don't worry, we're not gonna eat them all at once. I made extras to freeze so we can have yummy Strawberry Bread even when strawberries aren't in season. Yum!

Look at those big beautiful strawberry pieces! Go ahead . . . take a closer look . . .

Yum!!!!!!! :oD

Here's how to make your own!

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
4 oz cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups strawberries, rinse, dried and chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour a 9×5 inch loaf pan.

With electric mixer cream butter, sugar and cream cheese until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Mix in vanilla.

In separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Blend flour mixture with butter mixture just until blended. Add buttermilk and only stir until just combined; do not over mix.

Carefully fold in strawberries. Dough mixture will be thick.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes

Let cool and enjoy!!

P.S. I like to spread cream cheese on my slice of bread. Delicious! :oD

Framed Jewelry Holder

2011-08-07T09:18:00.000-07:00

I was in need of help.

Some serious help.

Some serious organizational help.

I couldn't find my earrings!

Well . . . I could. It just took me an awfully long time.

You see, I (like many women, I'm sure) kept all my earrings tossed together in a little jewelry box that sits on my dresser. That little box kept my earrings corralled pretty effectively, but heaven help me if I tried to find a matching pair! I'd have to dump out the whole box and untangle them all while simultaneously praying that I didn't drop one on the floor or lose one down the drain!

So I decided to follow the other creative minds on the web and turn an old picture frame into a jewelry holder!

I started with a frame I bought at Michael's for cheap a while back. I, of course, had to spray paint it my favorite color :o)

Then, I carefully stapled some chicken wire (my parents say that that's not chicken wire, but I don't know what else to call it) to the back of a frame.

Bam! Instant earring holder!

But why stop there? I have plenty of necklaces that need a home too. So I added some hooks at the bottom of the frame.

Now this little beauty hangs in my closet. She's not only pretty but is also a huge improvement! Now that I can find all my cute earrings, I'm definitely wearing them a lot more. If that doesn't say "Success", I don't know what does! :o)

Help! I'm Being Invaded by DVDs (an Update)

2011-08-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

It was more than a year ago when I used this blog to cry out for help and save myself and my house from being over run by DVDs and their unsightly cases.

I am now happy to say that I found a solution for my problem via amazon.com.

I introduce to you, the Bellagio-Italia CD/DVD Binder!

This little baby (and about 11 of it's friends) have turned my living room from this . . .

. . . into this . . .

Soooooooooo much better!!

Now, instead of looking at an array of ugly DVD cases, I get to look at these little guys.

I also finally have a place to show off cute printables that I see all over the blogosphere.

Yay for pretty shelves! :o)

Inspire Me! (Trash to Treasure)

2011-07-29T10:05:00.000-07:00

Have you heard the old saying, "One man's trash is another man's treasure"? I'm gonna show you just how true that is!

Let's start with paper towel tubes. Most of us, when we run out of paper towel, we toss the tube and grab another roll. But what could we make if we saved them?

How about some napkin rings?

(Photo courtesy of Utterly Engaged)

I'm sure even the newest DIYers can handle a project like that.

But what about using paper towel tubes to create art?

(Photo courtesy of The How-To Gal)

I know after seeing this, I've definitely started saving my tubes. Not just cheap and easy, but stunning too!

You can make art out of all sorts of unexpected things! Like old tickets stubs:

(Photo courtesy of Madigan Made)

Or paint chips:

(Photo courtesy of C.R.A.F.T.)

I saw in a magazine (can't remember which one) that they suggested framing produce stickers and displaying them as art in the kitchen.

(Photo courtesy of Black Eiffel)

Now I know this isn't a DIY project, but I was so impressed I had to share:

(Photo courtesy of Stickerman Produce Art)

Yes, that entire piece of artwork was created using only produce stickers! Wow!

And if you all are huge sewers like me, you're used to just cutting off and throwing away all those selvage edges from your fabric. Maybe now, you'll think twice! All these amazing things were made using fabric selvage!

(Photo courtesy of Sweeter Than Cupcakes)

(Photo courtesy of Debra Mason Designs)

(Photo courtesy of Pleasant Home)

(Photo courtesy of Ric-Rac)

I hope this inspires some of you to think outside the box and look for creative uses from the unexpected.

Happy crafting! :o)

Oreo Balls

2011-07-26T15:55:00.000-07:00

So back in June I blogged about the Alice in Wonderland Bridal Shower I threw for my sister-in-law. In that blog, I promised you a recipe for the super simple and always delicious Oreo Balls. I may have been slacking (especially since my last post was almost a month and a half ago . . . yikes!), but I'm here now to make good on my promise!

(Photo courtesy of The Art of Two Tarts)

The first time I ever tried these little babies was at my own bridal shower. They were a huge hit!Then I ended up making a big batch for the day of my wedding rehearsal. That's when my sister-in-law put in her request for them at her shower. She said she didn't want a lot of sweets and junk at her shower (cuz she's a very healthy eater), but the one sweet she did want were Oreo Balls. If that doesn't tell you how good they are, you'll just have to make them for yourself and see what I mean!

Ingredients

1 bag of Oreos
8 oz package of cream cheese, softened
Meltable chocolate bark or candy coating

Directions

Using a food processor, pulverize entire bag of cookies into fine crumbs.

In mixing bowl, combine cookie crumbs and softened cream cheese. Your hands are your best tools for this part, but they will get messy.

Put cookie mixture into a freezer for 10 mins.

Then, using hands, form cookie mix into small balls and place back in the freezer for 15 - 20 mins.

Melt chocolate or candy coating. Dip balls in coating and keep refrigerated.

I hope you all try out this recipe. It's super simple and will be an instant favorite! Enjoy!

In the Spotlight: Amore Valkyrie

2011-06-14T22:09:00.005-07:00

I love being crafty.

I love imagining new things to create, and I especially love the pride I feel when I finish a project.

I hope one day to open my own Etsy shop.

I know it can be difficult to run your own small business and gathering a client base can be slow going. Which is why I like to support small, handmade businesses when I can.

A couple months ago, I received an e-mail from the creator of Amore Valkyrie, a line of jewelry on Etsy.

She asked me if I would be willing to take a look around her shop, and if I liked what I saw, could I give her a little shout out? Absolutely!

Her jewelry is BEAUTIFUL!!

This 24K Gold Vermeil Lotus Charm Necklace is stunning!

How bad ass is this Leather Wrap Bracelet? I want one!!

I am in love with this Tiny Blue Iolite Gem Pendant.

I've recently become obsessed with cute earrings. These Silver Leaves are just the type of thing that I would snatch up!

Amore Valkyrie crafts delicate baubles inspired by an Old World aesthetic, using true precious metals and gemstones. Her goal is to create jewelry that not only looks like an heirloom, but can become one. So stop by and check out all the pretty pieces she has to offer!

Alice in Wonderland Bridal Shower

2011-06-10T05:25:00.004-07:00

I know I've told you all that I'd been super busy the last couple months, but I thought I'd outline just how busy I've been.

After a year and a half of planning, FH (I suppose he's DH now - "Dear Husband") and I finally tied the knot! And, of course, following that was our awesome honeymoon!

What you probably didn't know, was that the craziness didn't stop after I got married.

DH and I got back from our honeymoon on a Tuesday. That Saturday I hosted my sister-in-laws bridal shower at my house (more on that later). The following Saturday was her bachelorette party. And the weekend after that was the her rehearsal/wedding!

I feel like I'm just now catching my breath!

Anywho, that's why I've been so MIA the past few months. Just because my wedding was over didn't mean I wasn't still crazy busy!

But I promised you a post about a tea party, so here we go!

A few months ago I came across the idea of an Alice in Wonderland Tea Party Bridal Shower. I was doing some research to help a friend come up with ideas and I loved what I saw so much that I wanted to throw a shower like that!

Then I got my chance! My sister-in-law became engaged and one of her all-time favorite movies is Alice in Wonderland. YAY! Tea Party!! :o)

I started with the invitations (cuz you know I can never just buy them). I looked around the web for ideas and loved the look of a giant playing card invitation (the queen of hearts, of course).

I even bought playing card scrapbook paper for the back of the invites so they looked like cards from the front and the back!

While the Disney version of Alice is the bride's favorite, I took inspiration from the book as well. So I addressed all the invitations to "For the Duchess ___________________" with a picture of the frog footman to boot!

I wanted guests to really feel like they'd entered Wonderland, so I had the outside of my house decorated as well. Card soldiers, flamingos . . . can you find the white rabbit? :o)

The inside of the house was filled with Wonderland/Tea Party decor as well! My bookshelves were filled to the brim with Alice art . . .

. . . tea pots, mini card soldiers, rose trees that were partially "painted" red . . .

. . . and even the white rabbit and his pocket watch!

I painted some cups from Dollar Tree in crazy designs, glued them together and filled them with flowers for the buffet table centerpieces. I even glued tiny googly eyes onto the flowers so they looked like the talking flowers from the garden scene.

Then, of course, there was the food! It must have been fate for me to throw this shower because my Food Network magazine for that month came with a little tear out booklet of 50 Tea Sandwich recipes! We had Pesto Chicken, Roasted Vegetable, and Salmon Cucumber. Yum!

For dessert we had Oreo Balls (the Bride's only request - I'll try and remember to post the recipe), mini lemon cakes, and fruit tarts. The food was adorned with cute little pennant flags (some of which, in true Alice fashion, said "Eat Me").

To drink, I made a batch of "Pretty Pink Punch". I had this punch at my other sister-in-law's baby shower and it was delicious! Thankfully the hostess of that shower has a blog and posted the recipe, so I was able to make it for this shower. I also used my Silhouette to cute some vinyl to decorate my beverage dispenser.

And what kind of tea party would it be without tea?? I spent about a month and a half scouring thrift stores for all these lovely little cups! :o)

Thankfully, all my hard work paid off and the Bride loved her shower! Heck, I loved it too! I loved it so much I saved all the decorations and such for the next time I throw a tea party! :o)

Tea, anyone?

*UPDATE: I've gotten quite a few e-mails asking for the template for the invitations. Unfortunately, I didn't keep the file after I was done with it so I'm not able to share it with anyone. Sorry! :o(

Honeymoon . . . Jamaica Style!

2011-06-03T09:53:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry I've been so lame on the blogging. It feels like I just haven't quite been able to get back into the swing of things after the wedding and honeymoon. I'm a bad blogger :o(

But I'm back now (and hopefully more frequently from now on) to show you some pictures from our awesome honeymoon in JAMAICA! :o)

The trip was AMAZING!! We stayed at the Sandals all-inclusive resort in Negril. The hotel was beautiful, the staff was really friendly, and the food! Lots of food and drinks (alcohol too) all included!

The weather was beautiful and there were lots of things to keep a person occupied!

We discovered that we LOVE to snorkel and did it pretty much every day.

Yes, the life vests ended up giving you a wedgie, but what are you gonna do? :o) Still super fun!

We went zip-lining through the jungle . . .

. . . on a catamaran cruise . . .

. . . where we stopped at Rick's Cafe (to watch the cliff divers) . . .

. . . and had dinner at Margaritaville!

We also went kayaking . . .

. . . enjoyed the occasional carpet picnic (for the brief moments when it started to rain) . . .

. . . and enjoyed a beautiful sunset . . .

. . . or two! :o)

We had a fantastic time and look forward to many other Sandals vacations in our future! St. Lucia anyone? :o)

My Big Day!

2011-05-17T19:40:00.000-07:00

After a year and a half of planning, my wedding is finally over.

No more headaches. No more stress. No more endless amounts of craft projects I have to do instead of the ones I want to do. No more bleeding money. But after all that, I have just two words for you . . .

Worth it!! :oD

The outdoor garden was beautiful and the weather was perfect!

Here's where our ceremony took place:

And it was completely transformed that night for our reception. The soft lights from the lights in the trees and the candles on the table were gorgeous! (Not to mention the food was YUMMY!! Mexican food and margaritas baby!)

My longtime friend (and groomsman) sang us a song!

And the world's cutest baby was in attendance! I finally got to meet my niece, Maci. Now I'm seriously worried that my babies are not going to be as cute as my sister's.

The highlight of the party was the photo booth! I insisted that I had to have one. Best. Idea. Ever!

Of course, the best part of all was that I got to marry the love of my life!

Happily ever after? Yes, please! :o)