Love is...

It's been a blast...

2015-10-18T20:52:00.001-05:00

But all good things must come to an end, right?

I've decided I want to blog on a private level, as a way to keep friends & family in the loop. This weekend I was in the process of moving a few select posts over to my new blog & I've just deleted them from here.

I am leaving this blog open, with a few posts I get a lot of hits on, (thanks Pinterest!), so that people still have those there as a resource. You'd be amazed how many downloads I get everyday on different printables! I'm so glad they're being used, so I don't want to take that away from people, having been on the hunt for good printables before. It pretty much sucks when they're up & gone!

I will keep my email open as well, in order to address any questions on the tree stump cardbox, or anything else people may have questions on.

If you'd like to still follow along, please comment below or send me your email, so I can add you to the list of readers.

Thanks to you all for reading along & supporting Michael & I on so many things in our lives. I can't thank you all enough.

Western Baby Shower - Free Printables!

2015-08-13T22:11:00.000-05:00

I feel like I'm the unofficial shower hostess for family & friends. If there's a shower coming up, I'm usually the one to throw it. My past experience as a wedding planner might have a little something to do with it. As well as my crazy organized tendencies. I also like to do it, so that's a plus! So when my sister in-law, announced she was pregnant, I secretly hoped I would be the one to host the shower for our side of the family. I talked to my mother in-law, because I didn't want to step on any of the aunts toes in hosting, & got the go ahead. Thankfully I got help from our future sister in-law, my mother in-law & my mom. Because my families are awesome & always willing to help. No way this shower could have went down without them!

My brother & sister in-law love the western style. If my brother in-law doesn't have cowboy boots on, it's just plain strange. They incorporated it into their wedding & it's just so "them". So I knew that was the route I wanted to go. But in searching Pinterest, I couldn't find anything I liked, as far as games, to go with my theme. Everything was just a little too Western, for me. I just wanted a touch of Western, not a full blown hoe-down. (Nothing wrong with that, just not what I was going for).

So just like the last time, I made some myself! So here's a little glimpse at some of the shower details & a link to download the free printables at the bottom of the post!

When guests arrived, they were asked to fill out an address card, grab a favor & also an advice card. More on the card later! I put burlap in the frames & wrote on the glass, for easy signage. The mom to be has been craving, Skittles, Starburts & our mother in-laws homemade caramels, so that's what was in the favor bags. The favor tags read, "Leather boots & skirts that twirl, is having a baby girl!" So cute & printed on kraft paper, to tie everything together!

We were lucky enough to be able to use a community room at Michael's aunts place for free. And I don't know about you, but free is pretty dang good in my book! I hadn't been to the room before the shower, so my mother in-law went to scope it out & send me a few pictures, so I knew what I was working with, which helped a ton!

Centerpieces consisted of bandanas, burlap, wooden horseshoes, small jar with pink, tan & brown buttons, & a boot vase with carnations & babies breath. The boot vases were from my brother & sister in-laws wedding & the burlap was from mine. Everything else was bought, bandanas from Wal-Mart & horseshoes, jars (similar, but mine were $1!), & buttons (similar) from JoAnn's. I don't know what my total cost was, but it wasn't much. Bandana's & jars were $1 each, horseshoes were under $1 & the buttons were $6.99 for a big jar.

After getting the pictures of the room, I knew I wanted my sister in-law to open her presents in front of the entertainment center. What I didn't want was a big tv behind her in all of the pictures. I gave some crepe paper to my mom & future sister in-law & let them figure out how to make it look pretty & this is what they came up with! I think it looks awesome & it hid the tv perfectly. I also made this wreath as a decoration/gift. It was my first attempt at a mesh wreath & it was SO easy! I found my tutorial on Pinterest, (just search, you'll find a bunch), & in less then an hour, the wreath was done! I love how it turned out & it made an awesome addition to the shower. It's now on our baby nieces bedroom door!

As for food, my sister in-law requested appetizers, so that's what we did! Chicken wings, BBQ wieners, dips, fruit & veggie trays & brownies for dessert! It was all so good, & we were left with a whole lotta left overs, per usual! I used my DIY cupcake stand for the mini cupcakes. We found the idea for the cowboy hats on Pinterest, (shocker) & decided just to put them on a few cupcakes, on the top tier. Tape on the water bottles, helped pull the whole thing together!

For the games, I stuck to the easy & fast ones I already know. These are the same games I did for my friends shower, I just changed them to go with the Western theme. For games & the door prize, I put together some pedicures in a jar. And thanks to Dollar Tree, each jar was only $5!! Loved how they turned out, the price & that they are something guests could actually get some use out of!

I also put made some cards, that I asked guests to write down a prayer, words of wisdom or advice to the parents &/or baby girl. These were printed on kraft paper, which looked beautiful! And just for fun, I added a spot at the bottom for guests to put in their guesses for baby girls stats. I collected the cards & put them into a scrapbook for the parents, as a fun memento of the shower. I can't wait to see who is the closest on the stats! On the right, is a blank version of the favor tags. Again these were printed on kraft paper. You could just write on them or enter them into a pdf editor to add text. I attached them to the favor bags, with a hole punch & some ribbon. Simple & easy!

So that's it! It was a lot of work, but so much fun for me! And now for some fun for you...

You can click HERE to download your free western baby shower printables! I hope you love them as much as I do, enjoy!!

Gingersnap Cookies

2013-12-04T06:00:00.000-06:00

Today I'm sharing with you my go to Christmas cookies. These gingersnaps are something I'm requested to make every year, by family. As a matter of fact, I'm making them this Saturday!! They are so good & super easy to make. Let’s get right to it!

Ingredients:

¾ cup shortening

1 cup sugar

¼ cup mild molasses

1 egg (beaten)

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ground cloves

½ tsp ginger

½ tsp salt

Avid Outdoors Woman - Explained

2013-10-01T07:00:00.000-05:00

As most of you know, I'm a hunter & fisher woman. I bowhunt for deer, & gun hunt duck, geese, turkey, pheasant, grouse, coyote, squirrel & pretty much all legal small game in Minnesota. And I fish... Off shore, in a boat, fly fish a stream, & of course on ice, come winter. I pretty much like it all. I've touched on hunting before on the blog, but I know it can be a touchy subject for some.

So today I wanted to talk a little bit about WHY I love hunting & the outdoors so much.

For me, it's a place where I can sit & enjoy some quite time by myself. Yup. Back to that again. = )

Where I can take in nature's sights & sounds from a whole different perspective. Because when you're sitting in a tree stand, you can hardly move & you're all alone with your feelings & thoughts... You see a lot more & you're able to process more as well.

It's a place where I pray & talk with my Grandpa. He was a hunter & unfortunately, I wasn't into hunting until he got sick, so I was never able to go with him. That's something I'll always hate that I didn't get to do with him. But I know he's looking down & has seen all my amazing moments. And he's smiling his smile & saying, "That's my Andi." I miss that man so much.

It's something I get to enjoy with my husband. He's my fishing & hunting buddy & I'm his. Doing these outdoor activities is something we truly enjoy doing together. And we have some pretty hilarious stories from our trips together. Like when we're in the blind & I'm bored, because we've seen zero turkeys, so I start narrating what a turkey is saying when he's all strutted up. Which I can't even begin to explain to you, because there's a type of voice & movement that goes with it... But it's funny. Well, funny to us anyway. And really, that's all that matters!

It's also something I get to experience with my in-laws. It's helped me get closer to all of them & has really strengthened those relationships.

And that, my friends, is why I love hunting & the outdoors activities I do, so much.

For me, it's so much more then the animal I harvested. It's about the time I get to reconnect with myself & spend with my husband & family.

DIY Tree Stump Card Box

2013-02-13T06:00:00.000-06:00

Angelicjewel Photography

In the past, I've shown you the tree stump card box, that Michael made for our wedding. Since then, our cardbox has made it's way to Pinterest & I've gotten quite a few emails asking exactly how we made it. So today, I'm going to show you just that!

I found the inspiration for our cardbox on Wedding Bee & I knew I had to talk Michael into at least trying to make it for the wedding, because it was just too perfect for the feel & theme of our wedding! I will say... He was none to pleased with the idea at first. BUT, after a little brainstorming with his dad, they were able to figure out how to make it work & it turned out beautifully! Here's how they did it!

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Tree Stump Card Box Measurements
20 inches wide
22 inches tall
1"W x 8"L card slot
2-3 inch lid

Tools & Materials
Log
Chainsaw
Chisel
Wood Glue
Finishing Nails
Hammer
Wood Burning Tool
Plywood
Pencil

We knew the log we cut was probably a little bigger then we actually needed, but we figured we'd rather be safe then sorry & have some extra length to work with, in case we ran into any issues. The width of the tree was great & we ended up with plenty of room for all of our cards. We liked the fact that it was a little bigger then necessary, but you could go with a smaller width if you wanted.

To start, use a chainsaw to cut a 2-3 inch slice or cross section off of the log. That slice will be your lid, which you'll need to cut a slot in, for the cards. In order to make the slot, Michael again used the chainsaw & just eyeballed the size he thought it should be. It turned out to be around one inch wide & eight inches long.

Now go to the other end of the log & cut off another slice, to ensure that the bottom is flat. Then, use the chainsaw to cut off two of the sides. Put those aside & cut along the remaining attached sides, to remove the middle piece of wood. Essentially what you're doing, is cutting a square out from the circle, to create your hollowed out log.

Then proceed to send a picture like this to your bride-to-be & freak her out. Followed by a call, to settle her down. = )

Use wood glue & finishing nails, to put the sides back together. For the bottom, we cut a spare piece of plywood into a circle & attached it with finishing nails. The bottom isn't visible from the outside, or at least it wasn't on ours, so what it looks like isn't to important.

For the outer decoration, use a hand chisel to make the heart shape. Write out your names & any drawings you want to include with a pencil. Then go over the pencil lines with a wood burning tool & you're all set!

I hope this tutorial helps, but please feel free to email me at andrea.loveisblog@gmail.com, if you have any questions!

Out Of Commission...

2013-01-17T22:37:00.001-06:00

Hey there strangers! Yup, still alive.

But guess what? My laptop is not.

Two years old & the hard drive crashed.

I iz sad.

We're trying to figure out a game plan to get it fixed. I.E. We have no monies for it right now. I guess it really doesn't cost that much to get the hard drive fixed, but that's just part of our issue.

Of course.

So apparently, when your hard drive is going, you have a slim chance that you'll be able to back up your info to an external hard drive. Guess who didn't get that slim chance? This girl. So everything on our computer is going to be wiped out. That is unless we want to spend $1600 to have them try to save our info.

Um, I don't think so.

So that's why there's been some crickets around these parts as of late.

And I'm doing this on my phone & it's flippin horrible. So if there's some odd formatting, that's why!

= ( I want my computer back! I know, I know... #FirstWorldProblems.

Anyway, I hope you ladies have been having a good week! And here's hoping I'm back up & running soon, so I can catch up with you all!

Baby Shower Games { Free Printables }

2013-01-09T21:24:00.002-06:00

So I told you a few days ago, that I'm hosting my best friends baby shower in March, to help aid my baby bug problem... Because that was a great idea on my part. In all honesty, I am super excited for her, I promise.

Well after a little IG poll, I decided on these invites from TinyPrints...

Links removed per Tiny Prints request

How. Adorable. Is that?! Love them!

So then I had to figure out games for the shower. I knew I wanted to do a few easy ones, so I took to Pinterest to look around. I found some cute ones, & was going to print them out & call it good. But then my OCD kicked in & the fact that they wouldn't match just wasn't going to work for me.

So I kept searching for chalkboard themed ones, but couldn't find anything. Which really surprised me, actually! Which led me to taking a shot at making my own, which I showed you all on Sunday.

And I love them!

Are they perfect? Not even close.

But they are free, so that makes them close to perfect in my book! Plus I think they're pretty dang cute!

I made a few different variations, in standard "baby shower" colors.... Pink, blue, green & yellow.

You can download the printables HERE & pick the color(s) you would like. There are also answer keys there, that of course match, for each game. = )

I hope you love these as much as I do & are able to use them for your next baby shower!

Bridal Shower Bingo {Free Printables}

2012-04-24T07:00:00.000-05:00

As promised, here are a few versions of the bridal shower bingo boards I made, in preparation for my sister in-laws bridal shower in two weeks!

The rules for Bridal Shower Bingo are simple. As the guests come in with their gifts, you place a numbered sticker on the gift. Then pass out the boards & have the guests randomly fill in the spaces, using the range of numbers you used on the gifts. For example: If 28 gifts come in, you have the guests scramble numbers 1-28 on their board. And yes, some numbers could be left off then. Then when passing the gifts to the bride, call out the number before opening. If someone gets a line (diagonal, horizontal or vertical straight line) then they get a prize.

I'll be doing a total of 3 prizes, & being sure to tell people that once they get a bingo, they're out of the game. (I've heard of some issues if you don't mention this!)

Another way I've heard of it being played, is that every guest writes in what gifts they think the bride will receive. Then when the bride is opening her gifts, the guests cross off the ones that she received.

Feel free to click the links below, print the board you like & choose whichever way you want to play!

All files should fill a 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper.

Bridal Shower Bingo - Spring

Bridal Shower Bingo - Fall

Bridal Shower Bingo - Pink Ombre

Bridal Shower Bingo - Blue Ombre

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Hope you like these as much as I do! They aren't perfect by any means, but I love them! Enjoy! = )

Cheesecake via Barefoot Contessa

2012-04-08T18:19:00.000-05:00

I love me some cheesecake, don't you?

This weekend, I used the recipe below to make a cheesecake for Easter. This was the second time I've made it & I can tell you things went a lot smoother, this time around, since I knew what I was doing!

Source: foodnetwork.com via Andrea on Pinterest

My friend gave me the recipe, after I told her how much I LOVED her cheesecake. It takes a little time to make, but the end result is SO, SO worth it! You can follow the Pinterest link above or check it out HERE!

I follow the recipe online to the T & just wanted to provide you with some tips & tricks I learned along the way. And you might not need them, but if you're a kitchen novice like me, it's some good to know info! = )

Tip one: Turn on radio/iPod/Musical device of your choice.

I'm pretty sure this is THE most important step... For me anyway. There's nothing like jamming out to some of your favorite music & baking/cooking away. Do you have a musical device in your kitchen? You should! This is a picture of the old radio my parents have in the kitchen. I always forget it's there because it's right under the cabinet, but it's so convenient, & still works like a charm! Hubs & I will have to do something similar when we get a house, for sure!

Tip two: Set cream cheese out

It seems silly, but when you're getting ready, it's something you may forget to do. And trust me, it's hard to mix cold cream cheese together, even in a stand mixer. Not that I have experience in that or anything...

Tip three: Don't be lazy & get out your food processor.

The first time I made this, I didn't want to dig the food processor out of the cabinet. (Really, it's not that hard to get to AT ALL, I was just being that lazy!) So, for the crust, I just smashed up the graham crackers & mixed everything in by hand. Yeah, that doesn't really work out. The crust was a little thick & it just wasn't as good as it could have been. So don't be lazy, like I was, & pull that baby out! This time around, I did & it made all the difference!

Pre-processing...

Processed...

Add in sugar & butter...

Mix together...

And pat into springform pan!

Tip four: Prepare egg yolks before starting to mix in ingredients.

Again, maybe a duh moment for some of you, but the first time around, it was an issue for me. Kitchen novice, remember? The recipe calls for five eggs & two egg yolks. The eggs are obviously easy to put in. But the yolks are a whole other issue. At least they were for me. I found that I do better with this step if I separate the two yolks, before starting to add in all the other ingredients.

When you've mixed everything in, you should have something that looks a little like this...

Tip five: Place a cookie sheet under your springform pan.

This is just a precautionary measure, in case your pan decides to start leaking at all. I've never had it happen to me, but I know I'd much rather clean up a pan, then my whole oven. This time around, I used a pizza pan, but a cookie sheet would work just fine too. Also, this makes it a little easier to get out of the oven!

And voila! You're all set to put this baby in the oven!

And here's the finished product, as it's cooling in the oven. It smells so good & it's so hard to not dig right in!

Tip six: Make the day before you plan eating.

With all the cooling time involved with this... Around 12 hours, it's best to make the day before you actually intend to eat it. That's what I've found anyway. You could probably make it early in the morning for a dessert that night, but honestly I wouldn't want to get up early enough to do that. The day before plan, works well for me! = )

Tip seven: Cheat & use pie filling.

K, you don't have to. You can be fancier then me, & use the jelly & fresh fruit the Barefoot Contessa suggests in the recipe. But honestly, the pie filling is easier for me & tastes pretty dang good too!

Tip eight: Share & ENJOY!

This is always a hit when I make it & there's hardly any left afterwards. Here's some pretty pictures for you, of the finished product! = )

The spread!
I love the little containers the filling was in. They have covers that come with them, so they're great for travel.

Eat up!

So delicious & one of my favorite desserts! Enjoy! = )

Another... DIY Cupcake Stand Tutorial!

2012-03-22T20:58:00.000-05:00

In preparation of my friends bridal shower, I was tasked with getting the cupcakes. Once I figured out where I was going to get the cupcakes, (Sam's Club - 3 dozen for $13!), I realized we needed something to put these cupcakes on. I started looking at renting or buying a stand, but couldn't find anything that wasn't crazy expensive.

So I turned to my good friend, Pinterest! And I found a bunch of tutorials, but thought this one, from Heather at Decor-ganize Crafts, would work best, for the look I was going for.

I know, I know. There's like a hundred million cupcake stand tutorials out there, but I figured, eh, why not!

So here we go, friends! Another... DIY Cupcake Stand Tutorial!

I went to the dollar store to find the burner covers, Heather had used for her stand, but couldn't find any. So a strolled around the store, looking for round things that I thought would work. Then I came across some pizza trays & inspiration took over!

All of my supplies, I got from either The Dollar Store or Menards!

What you'll need...

1 can of spray paint in the color of your choice (I used Rust-Oleum Hammered & I can't find the color name, but it's kind of a dark ivory.)
1 can of white spray paint
2 wooden spindles - Found by the stair stuff
3 pizza pan trays, from The Dollar Store
1 wood finial - For the top of the stand
1 dowel screw - This is a screw that can screw in on both ends
~~3-6 buttons - For the bottom of the stand~~ (These ended up not being needed, because we had to make it more sturdy. More on that later)
1 tube of E-6000 glue

Oh, & my dad helped me with this project, so if I start talking in plural, that's who I mean & you'll see him (or parts of him), in some of the shots below!
Thanks again for all of your help, Daddy-O! = )

Alright... Here we go!

To start off, find something you can spray paint on. In our case it was some old cardboard, but a drop cloth of some kind would work great too.

We jumped right in with the hammered spray paint. After the first coat dried, we noticed that it wasn't sticking so great & we could see the metal through the paint.

But, the finial already had a white base coat & that was taking to the hammered spray paint really well.

A-ha!

So, we decided to spray over everything, (except the finial), with white spray paint & try again.

In hindsight, this makes total sense, but you live & learn right?! Also, a little sanding on the metal trays would have been helpful, to help the paint stick a bit more. Something you may want to try!

Starting over with the white spray paint!

After the white paint dried, we did another coat of the hammered.

And a final layer of the hammered spray paint.

Once everything dried, we flipped the trays over & sprayed the other sides the same way. I wanted a pretty covered look, so we did two coats of the hammered color on everything.
Then once everything was totally dried, it was time to assemble everything!

We started by measuring each tray & finding the middle point. Then my dad took a screwdriver & a hammer & made a hole. You could also use a drill, but we were going the quick & easy route! = )

The spindles already had pre-drilled holes in them, which helped us in finding the middle.

KEY POINT: You want this thing to stand up straight & not be tippy, so try to keep everything as straight & centered as possible!

After we found the middle points & had holes in all the trays, we started with the bottom tray.

Here's the first spindle in the tray.

For this tray we started off using a regular screw & bolt to hold it together & then my dad shaved it down.

While he was shaving down the screw, I attached the little buttons on the bottom tray, with the E-6000 glue, to act as feet.

This ended up not doing the trick in the sturdy department, so hubs did some work on it & came up with this for the bottom...

He just took a piece of wood & attached that to the bottom with a screw, which we then attached to the bottom spindle. It isn't painted & I don't think it will be. You can't see it while it's on the table, so I'm pretty sure I'll just leave it the way it is!

So next up, take your dowel screw & attach the middle tray to the top of the bottom spindle. I don't have a picture for this part, but your just building the stand up. Again, try to keep everything straight & centered. Then attach the top tray, to the top of the top spindle, with the finial.

And that's it! You've got yourself an adorable cupcake stand!
Or anything stand, really!

I decided to not glue the spindles to the trays, so that I can take it apart, for easier storage. That way, I can just unscrew everything & keep it all in a bin, & reassemble when I need to use it again!

I love the way this turned out & at just over $22, I'm ok with the price too!

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial & feel free to leave questions or comments below or email me at andrea.loveisblog@gmail.com & I'll get back to you ASAP!

Happy DIY-ing friends! = )

Turkey Chili Taco Soup

2011-11-26T17:07:00.001-06:00

So a while back, I posted about a soup I wanted to try & make, that I saw on Pinterest.

Turkey Chili Taco Soup… Doesn’t it look so delicious??

{ via }

Well, a few Saturday's back, I made it! And let me tell you, it was SOOOO GOOD!!

My whole family loved it & I've already had requests for it to be made again. I also made it for a friends party a week ago & it was a huge hit there also! = )

I put together a picture recipe, to show you step by step, what it looks like! You can get the recipe from Skinnytaste.com, here!

You should give it a shot, it's so good! Enjoy!! = )

DIY Christmas Presents!

2011-11-23T19:43:00.001-06:00

Remember this post, where I talked about & showed you a picture of the DIY Christmas present loot I had?? Well, last Saturday, my mom, dad & I got to work, on the mock ups for the kids! We've still got some projects left, but they're easy ones, so we didn't feel we needed to try them before hand.

Here's what we ended up with...

{ DIY Coasters }

We used this tutorial from Traci, at Beneth My Heart.

They were super easy & SUPER cheap! Sixteen cents a tile + napkins + felt = close to nothing!! We used felt on the bottom, not the cork she suggested, just because we saw it at Michael's & figured it would work the same! I love these & plan on making a bunch more for people this Christmas!

{ DIY Yardstick Star }

We used this post from Jane, at Mamie Jane's.

My dad cut down the yardsticks & rounded the edges for us. We've still got to stain them, to tone down the Home Depot orange, but I still think they are adorable!

{ DIY Snowman Gum }

We used this tutorial from My Little Mochi.

This was originally supposed to be for an Advent calender, but we just decided to make it snowman gum! It's so cute & it was really easy to make the DIY cover for it also!

{ DIY Glowing Snowman }

We used this tutorial from Ashlie, at Stuff by Ash.

Oh my goodness, I love these so much! Isn't he just adorable?! We used the Cricut to cut out all the pieces minus his nose, that was free hand by moi! = ) We also used fun foam for everything instead of paper, in the hopes it will last a bit longer. And on the inside we included some white sparkly garland, to give it a little more oomph, & make the lights reflect more! Don't you love his little ear muffs?!?

Still left to make are....

{ Ice Encrusted Candles }

We'll be using this tutorial, from Amanda at The Ivy cottage Blog.

Aren't they cute?! Love them & they should be really easy for the kids!

{ Santa-tizer }

No tutorial on this one, but it was found here. It shouldn't be to hard & it's super cute!

{ Candy Corn & Peanuts }

If we can find this candy corn, which apparently is called Reindeer Corn Christmas Candy Cron, { who knew! }, anywhere locally, we're going to make some Christmas, candy corn & peanut mixture stuff. We'd also use the red & white, Candy Cane Candy Corn, { Wow, say that 10 times fast! }. We're not to picky, just want something Christmasy! We got some cute jars to put it in, so now we just need to find the candy corn! = )

Such fun stuff & I can't wait to make it all with my nieces' & nephew, mom & sister in-laws, this coming Sunday!! And there will be lots of pictures, so be prepared!! = )

Wedding - DIY In Action!

2011-11-04T12:41:00.000-05:00

I wanted to do a post & show you all the DIY projects that we did for the wedding. Fair warning, this will be a picture heavy post! = )

Cricut Creations

{ Reserved Signs }

{ Table Numbers }

{ Pie Signs }

{ Favor Tags }

Programs

{ Excuse the blacked out bit - Just like to keep things a little private! }

Personalized Hangers

{ Mine & my bridesmaids hangers'. Loved this project! }

Burlap Table Skirting

{ Our head table! }

{ The pie table! }

{ We also had bulrap skirting on our gift table, but didn't get a great picture of it! }

Burlap Wreath

{ This was the best picture I could find of the wreath... See it there behind my dad's head! = ) }

Centerpieces

{ Probably my favorite DIY thing! }

{ Don't you love the embroidered burlap squares?! Thanks dad, for all your hard work on those! }

{ Pretty, pretty Fall colors! }

{ Love how these turned out! Michael, friends & family did a great job setting up. It was just what I had imagined it would be! }

Coffee Filter Letter

{ Had this above the pie table! }

Decorative Mason Jars

{ Another great, easy project! }

{ Loved these when they were lit up also! }

Established Sign

{ Again, excuse the black square! You get the idea though! }

Favors

{ Just a little touch of color, on our kraft favor boxes! }

Memorial Bouquet Pendant

{ A way to honor & remember my grandpa, on our wedding day! }

Flower Hairpiece

{ Loved how this turned out! Check out my tutorial here! }

No Assigned Seating Sign

{ Made on 100 year old barn wood. Another favorite! }

Pheasant Vase

{ My grandma made this for us... Love it! }

Pinecone Holders

{ A great way to have place holders, but still stay within our theme & feel of the wedding! }

Tree Stump Cardbox

{ Michael's handy work... LOVE this! Thinking we'll turn it into a planter at our future home. }

** UPDATE ** I've since made a tutorial on how to make the tree stump card box, which you can find HERE!

Wooden Pie Stands

{ Without pie... }

{ With pie! }

Hope you enjoyed all of our DIY projects! Let me know if you have any questions on how we did anything!! = )

Great Giveaway from Lauren Gets Literal!

2011-11-03T20:55:00.001-05:00

You guys, I'm so excited!!

Lauren, from Lauren Gets Literal, is offering a great giveaway, thanks to her 250 followers!

One of her followers will win a signed copy of Divergent by Veronica Roth!!

Pretty exciting! You should go enter here & follow Lauren, she has a great blog! = )

DIY Flower Hairpiece Tutorial!

2011-10-24T20:55:00.003-05:00

I got my inspiration (pictured below), for my wedding hairpiece from Project Wedding. That post just has pictures, no step by step instructions. So, I did some searching & found the instructions I used on Sparkle & Hay.

My inspiration!

I made my own step by step instructions, in the hopes of making it a bit more clear!

Supplies:
1/2 a yard each of ivory tulle & ivory chiffon - I did ivory to match my dress, but you could use any color.
Fabric scissors
Needle & thread - Thread should match your fabric as close as possible.
Sparkly button - Any size you want the center of the flower to be - Found at Hancock Fabric or Michaels.
Pins
7.32 m jewelry wire & wire cutters - Found at Michaels
Any silk flower - You'll be taking this apart so it doesn't matter what kind it is.
Hair clip - Whatever works best for you!

Step 1 - The Template

I found the template for my flower online, at Home Crafts Blog. I just did some searching for flower templates & this one was the closest I could find, to what I wanted. I traced the flower using computer paper & a pen right from my computer screen. I suppose you could also print it out, but this way worked just fine for me!

Template from online.

My paper template. I added a little point at the tip of each petal, but that's not something you would have to do.

I then traced the paper copy onto cardboard, so I had something a little more sturdy to cut around. I just used a tissue box that was empty, so that the cardboard wasn't very thick.

Step 2 - Fabric

Now that you have your template, you'll want to fold your fabric, so that you have many layers. This way you'll be able to cut all the flowers out for that fabric, at once.
I took the fabric length wise & folded down.
Use your template to figure out the width of your folds & continue to fold down until you reach the end of the fabric.
Once you reach the end of the fabric, you'll need to fold the rectangle into a square.

The template being pinned to the fabric.

The template fully attached to the fabric.

The back of the fabric, with the template pinned on.

The template pinned to the chiffon fabric.

Step 3 - Cutting The Fabric

Take your fabric scissors & begin cutting out your fabric. I noticed that the chiffon is a little more difficulut to work with then the tulle, but in the end it's worth it, so don't give up!
You're cuts don't have to be perfect the first time around. Just get the main bulk off & then you can come back & clean up the edges.
When you're done cutting, take the pins out & you will have all of your flowers cut out! You'll probably end up with some extra flowers, but keep these just in case! = )

The tulle cut out

Reverse side of the tulle cut out

Step 4 - Putting It All Together!

Cut a decent amount of wire - I didn't measure this part out, sorry!
Take the button you're using & place it on the wire. *Note - The botton I used had a loop on the back, so you may want to find something similar to that.
Fold the wire in half, putting the two ends of the wire together.
Then start layering on your fabric, going through the middle of the flowers with both ends of the wire. I used 26 layers of fabric, alternating the tulle & chiffon.
Take your sild flower apart, so you can get to the green base part. This is what is going to help keep your flower sturdy & give it a nice base.
When you've done this, take the base of the silk flower & put it through the wire, to the bottom of your flower. You may have to cut some slits in it so that it fits your flower better & that's fine.
Now use the wire to attach whatever hair clip you choose, clip the wire & ta-da, you've got yourself a flower hairpiece! = )

I don't have pictures of this part, so I hope my attempt at instructions are somewhat clear!

Here's the finished product...

And here it is in action, on my wedding day!! = )

If you have any questions, please comment below or send me an e-mail at andrea.loveisblog@gmail.com & I'll be happy to help you out! = )

Linking up with...

Vintage Wanna Bee

Tea Rose Home

A Little Knick Knack

Suzy's Artsy-Craftsy Sitcom

Delightful Order

A World Of Crafts

Go check all these lovely ladies out! = )

Comment Issues...

2011-09-30T15:20:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to put it out there that I'm aware people aren't able to comment on posts lately.

I can't post on other people's blogs either & it's getting really frustrating!

I've updated my interface & that's not helping, so I'm at a bit of a loss right now. Here's hopping Blogger gets it's act together soon!

In the meantime, feel free to send my an e-mail at andrea.loveisblog@gmail.com, if you have any questions, or need anything!

Happy Friday everyone!! = )

Wedding Pocket Schedule

2011-06-15T18:20:00.002-05:00

I saw the idea for this pocket schedule on a blog I follow, Wedding Sparks. I loved the idea of it & decided to take a shot at one for our wedding. I don't have all the details filled in as we're a few months out still, so we'll be waiting to print.

I love that these are business card size, so the boys have no excuse for not knowing where they're supposed to be. It will fit right in their wallet! You could design your's anyway you want, & make it smaller or longer if you need more room!

I have the templete for this in Word, but am unable to post it here. If you're interested in it, just comment below & I'd be happy to send it your way! = )

No Assigned Seating Sign

2011-06-14T20:51:00.002-05:00

This has got to be one of my favorite DIY projects I've done so far. I used some of the barn wood Michael & I picked up from his grandparents barn awhile back. Michael put it together for me & added some braces to the back to keep everything together!

I got the saying from a pin on Style Me Pretty's Pinterist page. It's the perfect saying for the feel of our wedding & I love it!

Here's the finished project! = )

DIY - Burlap Wreath Tutorial

2011-04-20T20:12:00.009-05:00

I found my inspiration for this wreath, pictured below, on this blog. There were no instructions there, so I had to figure out how to put it together on my own!

Supplies:

4-5 inch wide strips of burlap. Mine were 40 inches long. I'm not sure how many I had, I just filled up the wire until I got the shape & fullness I wanted.
12 gauge, (or higher) floral wire
Wire cutters
Wreath form
22 gauge floral wire

Start off by measuring out your 12 gauge floral wire. I just matched it to the size of my wreath form & then cut the wire.

To place the burlap on the wire, I just weaved the wire in & out of the burlap, to give it a layered look. I didn't do the weaving in a straight line either. I found it helped to have it in the middle & move to the left & right to get some more dimension. There really is no right or wrong way to do this though! = )

Once you get all of your burlap onto the wire, attach the wire to your wreath form. I simply found the "top" & wrapped it around the wreath form a few times to keep it secure.

This is where your 22 gauge floral wire comes in. Every few inches, take a small piece of the 22 gauge wire & attach it to your wreath form & your 12 gauge wire. Simply twist the ends of your 22 gauge wire together , as tight as you can, & that will hold the burlap to the wreath form.

And that's it! It's actually pretty simple & it looks great in your home! = )

I added a fall colored bow to it, when we had it displayed at our wedding reception & it looked beautiful!

DIY - Decorative Mason Jar Tutorial

2011-04-18T21:53:00.002-05:00

I've gotten a lot of interest in my decorative mason jars, so I figured it was time to put together a tutorial, so you all can make your own! It's really easy, fast & cheap too! = )

Here's what you'll need:

A mason jar - I picked mine up from Michaels for $1.99.
Grapevine Wire Ribbon - I found this in the wreath aisle at Michaels for $2.99/bundle.
Burlap or twine
Wire cutters

Scissors

Start with your mason jar & take the lid off...

Simply start wrapping the grapevine wire ribbon around the mason jar & try to keep it as tight as possible.

The mason jar will still be able to move around a bit, so you may want to glue it to the glass.

Continue to wrap the grapevine wire ribbon until you get the desired effect. Typically, I'm able to get two mason jars wrapped with one roll of ribbon.

Now take a strip of burlap, & cut it to the size you want. I cut mine about an inch & a half, so when I pulled the strands out it was an inch wide.

After you pull some of the strands out, tie it around the jar.

Here's the back...

Trim the ends to the desired length, & pull some strands to fray the ends.

Place a votive candle in the jar, light it & you're all set!!

Now you've got a great mason jar decoration for your wedding or home! Enjoy! = )

Birch Centerpieces!

2011-04-15T08:56:00.004-05:00

Yesterday Michael took it upon himself to get to work on our centerpieces. (YAY!!!) I was at work, but he was sending me pictures of the progress & brought some home to show me.

He did a great job & I'm so happy with how everything is turning out! He still needs to drill the holes in a few more, but we're on our way to having our birch centerpieces complete! = )

Here are some pics!

Most of the wood all cut up, each about 10" tall.

A few with the holes drilled for our votive holders!

A close up of where the candle will go. We used a 2 inch drill bit.

Some of the ones Michael brought home to show me! A little dark but you get the idea! = )

Love it!! So excited to see everything come together on our big day! = )