aDOORable wreaths

I've been doing a little decluttering, and I found so many pictures of projects I have done over the years, making me super excited to show them all off! So for today...wreaths! I LOVE wreaths-they are so fun to make and even more fun to give as gifts! Here are some of my faves...

The flash on this picture is a little overwhelming, but I loved this cute wreath I made for Azzi's nursery! Now Chase and Azzi have a baby sister...I'm thinking she probably needs a wreath for her door too... 😉

Chase Lee is a big UT fan, so I made him a special Bevo wreath! 

One of my fabulous supervisors during grad school was a TCU fan, so I made this for her office door!

After making this wreath, I decided to make wreaths for all of my supervisors as going away presents! This supervisor was a huge Rangers fan and this is probably my favorite wreath!

I made this one for myself after I graduated!

Alright, it's only Tuesday, and I was ready for Friday yesterday, so I'd better get some rest so I can be a tiny bit less crabby tomorrow! 😉

-Sarah

DIY Pet Bed

Hey y'all! I have another project from a few years ago to share! Look at me, two posts in one month! 💁👏

Rewind a few years... I've talked about the passing of Heather's and my grandmother in 2014 and how hard it hit me. I had just moved in with a friend, was working full-time at a new job as an SLP-Assistant, and was in grad school. Life was hard and after she passed, I was depressed...so I self medicated. Not with medicine or alcohol or the typical things people turn to when they are depressed, but I got a puppy. In my mind, a puppy was a new start, but I had no idea just how therapeutic that dog would be (and is continuing to be!). I named her Ruby because my grandma loved the color red, but sadly, the name Ruby didn't quite fit my dog's face. So, I gave her the middle name Snuggles because she looked a lot like the mascot bear for "Snuggle" laundry products. Even though I call her Snuggles, her first name is really special to me since it's a small nod to one of the most incredible people I ever had the opportunity to know and love.

My Ruby Snuggles is still pretty cute, but when she was a puppy, oh my gosh...just look.

So, I had seen some really cute pet beds online that were made from repurposed furniture...Um...cute, functional, cheap...yes, please! I went to the same flea market that I got my kitchen pantries from and found an old drawer for $5. This actually seemed pretty expensive to me after buying those pantries for $10 a piece, lol, but it was the cheapest and best size I could find.

I sketched out the headboard and borrowed my dad's Jigsaw to cut it out of the back of the drawer. I smoothed everything out with an orbital sander.

ignore Snuggles' leash...it's a common thing now for toys, leashes, etc. to be scattered around!

Then, I removed the handle, used wood filler to fill all the holes/cracks/etc., painted everything white, then used sandpaper to rough it up (I love the rustic style, and it helps that you can make so many more mistakes and just say you were going for a "rustic" look😉).

Next, I printed up my doggy's name and traced it onto the headboard. I went over my pencil marks with a gold paint marker.

Unfortunately, I hated this, lol. So, I added some distressing with stain.

I liked it a little better, but still not quite what I was hoping for...so, I grabbed a stencil and added a little swirly flair... then a little more distressing with stain and sandpaper.

I also distressed the rest of the drawer with stain/sandpaper. My dad is amazing, and cut some little feet for the bed. I'm pretty sure these were actually baseboard corner blocks and were less than $2 a piece, but I'm not entirely sure...when I shop at a hardware store, I just buy stuff that looks right for my project, with no idea of what it actually is, lol... I attached the "feet" and headboard with liquid nails. Then, I put a little cover I got on sale at Petco (for around $5) over Snuggles' very first bed (which was technically an ugly cat bed for around $10). I learned to crochet that year as well, so I had made a practice square to learn the stitches. It was crooked and I had no purpose for it...So, it became Snuggles' throw blanket! Here was the final product. Pretty cute for a <$30 pet bed if I do say so myself!

TV Cabinets turned Kitchen Pantries

Well...I guess my procrastination is at an all time high, but I'm back! So much has changed since the last few things I said I'd post about that I'd never be able to catch back up if I start with any of that! One of the biggest changes is that Heather is a mom to the smartest and cutest (and energetic!) little 2 year old! So you can almost always assume that Sarah is writing these posts now! ;)

We both still do quite a bit of crafting, but most of what I work on these days is home improvement or home decor projects (spoiler alert: I bought my first house! Go me!) So the majority of my posts and pictures will probably be home projects!

So, this is a project from a couple of years ago, but it's one of those projects that I still get excited to tell people about, so here goes...

One thing I wasn't crazy about in my house was there was no built in pantry and extremely limited cabinet space...and I'm a gal who likes to eat! The people who lived here before used shelving in the laundry room for food storage, but I wanted to use that for cleaning supplies (plus, why travel back and forth between two rooms when you can keep your cookies and milk 10 ft from each other? Am I right?!) 

So, I price checked. Stand alone pantries that I liked were around $200-400+. Before buying one, Heather and I went to a big flea market to see if I could find one for a little less. I set a budget at $250. After being outside in July all day, finding several pantries that were just over budget or were in pretty rough condition, I was feeling defeated. Then we saw them...Two outdated TV cabinets, in pretty good condition but probably not anything someone would want to bring into their house in this decade. Naturally, I asked what the price was. The lady said, "I'll take 20 if you take both of them." I tried to act really nonchalant like that was a fair price and I wasn't planning on paying a penny more (as I stuffed $230 back into my pockets). Then she made a couple of her family members load them into the truck, which probably would have been equivalent to $20 in labor, so I practically got them for free. ;)

Here they were...don't judge me for what I was willing to pay...I saw potential, ok?!

I had just used the Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations kit in my kitchen and had some left over, so I decided to use it on my new pantries! (I adore this kit by the way! It is time consuming, but I liked the result and they still look great over 3 years later!)

I just used latex paint for the inside... it is actually paint left over from my living room walls (maybe too bright for a lot of people, but that's why they don't live in my house! Lol!). Then I spray painted the handles. 

I grabbed some organizational things from the Container Store to make them more pantry-like and made one pantry for baking and the other for cooking meals. Eventually, I'd like to get more storage and organize them better, but ain't nobody got time for that right now.

In the drawers of the cooking pantry, I put things like rice and pasta. In the baking pantry, I put my entertaining stuff and stuff that makes me say, "where'd that come from?" Please tell me other people have that problem...

Then, the open areas would be super cute to put some decor or pretty stuff in, but like I said, I have a major lack of space in my kitchen, so I tried to use every bit of space I had available! My appliances fought it out for the space...Toaster oven and Instant Pot were the victors (My little red Crock-Pot was a close 3rd).




I also threw a nail into a hole that was already in the side of one of the pantries (at $20 I can't complain!) so I could hang an apron up. Cute and functional!

Then, here's probably my favorite thing about my "pantries"...the bottom pieces were the main areas that were a little beat up (you can see in the "before" picture). I ripped them out and now, Roomba has a perfect home where he is completely hidden! (No offense, Roomba, I still love you!). 

Well, I'm dreaming of flea markets now and how I need to search for more treasures, so that's all for today!

Azzi Diane

I have comprehensive exams on Tuesday and I just can't get motivated to study...so instead of wasting any more time watching "The Dog Whisperer," I decided I'd finally write this blog post that I've been meaning to write for almost 4 months now!! (and THEN I'll study!! ;) )

My BFF and "business manager" Brittany had her sweet baby girl on September 16, 2014. And oh my goodness, this little baby girl has the best head of hair for a giant bow that I've ever seen on a newborn! I absolutely love her.

(Photo credit: Shanstar Photography. These photographers are not only incredible newborn photographers, they also do amazing wedding photography! Check out their website--www.shanstarphotography.com)

A newborn baby girl cannot have enough pink in her life...I love her in this light pink tutu and bow made by Heather and me! She's just precious, isn't she??

 

 

 

And coming soon (knowing me, probably about 6 months ;) )...a blog post for our cousin, Christen's new bundle of joy!!! And if I ever get that done, coming soon after that...a blog post for my new addition (my sweet little fur baby)!

 

 

Until then,

Sarah

 



Come to our craft fair...if you dare! Happy Halloween!

Come see us at the First United Methodist Church tomorrow! We will have mostly Halloween items at this craft fair since it's only a week away! So make sure the kiddos have their tutus, bows, and legwarmers just in time for their Halloween parties at school!



We are excited about our new business card design, too (ignore Heather's reflection--cell phone pic! lol)!






We designed the back of our business cards in memory of our grandfather, who was quite the jokester. He used to carry around cards that said "My Card" and casually hand them out after saying, "Oh, let me give you one of my cards." He was a hoot, and we think he'd be pretty proud that we included a little bit of his humor on "our cards."


Other than creating new business cards, we have not done much in terms of crafting lately. We unexpectedly lost our grandmother almost two months ago and are just now trying to get back into our "normal" lives. It's hard to describe what a loss it was--she was an amazing grandmother and the most selfless person I have ever known. I think my uncle said it best in her obituary. Here's the link... Losing her has not been easy, but seeing just how many people's lives were touched through her sweet life has been inspiring. We miss her every day.

On a happy note, we're excited about the craft fair tomorrow and hope you stop by our booth to say hey!

-Sarah 

Babies, Babies, Everywhere! (And a New Business Manager! ;) )

Summer has flown by and has kept both Heather and me insanely busy!!! So we decided to make an important and much needed change for our crafting "business" the other day...Neither of us have had the time to keep up the business side of what we do (we'd just rather sit around and make stuff without having to take pictures, put it on our Etsy store, sign up for craft fairs, etc.) so we've recruited one of our loyal customers (who just so happens to be my BFF ;) ) to help us turn our business back into a business! We (actually...who am I kidding--probably just I...lol!) will probably still write blogs every few months just for fun and will be the ones sitting at our tent during craft fairs, but Brittany will take care of emails, our Facebook page, this blog, and our Etsy store! We are all really excited about this change and hope that it will help make our business a little more lucrative! :)

Now I can't make a blog post without putting some precious pictures on it...So, introducing my cousin Jerra's perfect baby girl complete in tutus and bows made by her big cousins! ;)

Lilliana Randi Paige

(Photo credit: Stephanie at Luminous Photographs)

Isn't that the sweetest!? I just adore her.


And my friend (and our new business manager) Brittany is due in September with a baby girl, so expect even more adorable baby girl pictures coming very soon!!! So excited to meet baby Azzi!

AND our cousin Christen who I've mentioned several times in our blog (she's more like our third sister than our cousin!!) is due in January with a baby boy!!! So get ready for some precious baby boy pictures, too!! I can't wait!!! :)

'Til next time,
Sarah

My First How-To!

Today was a bittersweet day for me. It was my last day interning at my current site. Exciting because that means I'm just one step closer to being a speech language pathologist, sad/scary because I won't have the same supervisor next year! :( I lucked out so much this year--my supervisor was beyond helpful but also willing to let me try things out on my own, which made me feel so much more confident! So to thank her for her help, I wanted to do something nice for her on my last day...which leads me to...

I got a little obsessive with tutorials of deco mesh wreaths over spring break, so Heather and I made my cousin's baby (Lilliana) a pretty pink and leopard one (you can see it on our last blog post). Then we got into a little wreath kick. I made one for our grandma for Easter but completely forgot to take a picture before giving it to her...Then Heather made this one for our mom for Easter.

So since I enjoyed making those wreaths so much (and my supervisor didn't have any decorations on her office door) I decided to make her a wreath to thank her for all of her support! And since I learned how to make them by looking at tutorials, I thought I would make my first ever tutorial and hopefully help someone else out! :)

I got a wire wreath from Hobby Lobby...I didn't check what size, but it was the second smallest they had. Then I hot glued pipe cleaners/chenille stems alternating with the top two wires and the bottom two. Some wreaths come pre-wired, but I think its worth saving a little money to just wire them yourself! 

 

Then I used this dark green deco mesh (I got this short roll--10X35 I think--from Walmart), looped it under so you can't see the end of it, and secured it to the wire wreath by twisting it with one of the outside pipe cleaners. 

I continued gathering and twisting the dark green mesh with all of the outside pipe cleaners.

I didn't take a picture after, but I did the same thing with the inside layer of pipe cleaners (and you don't need to cut the mesh in between--that just creates extra work for yourself!) 

Next, I used lighter green mesh and did the same thing to start it off, except this time I started on the opposite side and on an inside pipe cleaner.

This time I just went to the nearest pipe cleaner instead of going around the outside and inside separately. You can kind of see in the picture, but the light green is a wider roll than the dark green...I didn't check the measurements but it's the medium sized one at Hobby Lobby. :P

Then I used this cute green polka dot ribbon from Hobby Lobby and did the exact same thing to start it off (on an inner pipe cleaner)...so far pretty easy, right!?

I did the same thing with the ribbon as I did with the light green--just going to each pipe cleaner as I came to it. And I still hadn't cut either of the mesh or the ribbon at this point..Just in case I saw any areas that I wanted to be a little more full. It's easer to just loosen the pipe cleaners and puff the mesh out a little if it's still attached.

Next, I took some cute sparkly gold ribbon from Hob Lob and cut small little strips and twisted them onto all the pipe cleaners.

I got these cutesy white letters from Hob Lob too, and I planned to make them sparkling gold with Mod Podge and loose fine glitter. I love that look, BUT there is an important step before mod podging and loose glittering (making up my own verbs again...). It's really important to do a quick coat of whatever color paint is close to the color glitter you're going to use. Otherwise any spots that aren't completely covered in glitter will stand out. So I put a quick and sloppy coat of gold paint on these letters

While I waited for the letters to dry, I put a coat of metallic green paint on this mini chalkboard I found at Hob Lob.

While the letters and chalkboard were drying, I hot glued little strips of a white feather boa to the center of every gold ribbon I had twisted down. The hot glue reinforced the twisted pipe cleaner too, which was good. (At this point, I was pretty happy with the fullness, so I cut the mesh and ribbon). 

I found a chevron print on Google and printed it out. I put it on top of the chalkboard and traced the pattern with a pencil (pushing down pretty hard so it would make a slight indention in the wood).

In this picture you can kind of see the indention the pencil left.

 

I used a small paintbrush and did one coat of white paint on top of all the indentions...In retrospect, I probably could have used a paint pen with better control, but I didn't even think of that then!

One more coat of white paint (and more green paint to fix any mishaps)!

While the second coat of paint dried, I added Mod Podge and loose fine gold glitter to the letters. How pretty and sparkly are those?! I love them. You can kind of see how I didn't paint the edges of the letters gold, which just reinforces the importance of painting before glittering!! ;)

Then I went back to the chalkboard...I added Mod Podge with my little paintbrush to all the white areas then sprinkled loose fine white glitter on them. I considered skipping all these steps with the chalkboard and just Mod Podging a scrapbook paper to it, which would look more precise...but I really didn't like the look of paper on a wreath and thought paint and the little imperfections that go with it added to the homemade look.

I forgot to take pictures as I made the letters, but I found a font I liked, printed it up, cut it out, traced it with pencil, then went over my pencil marks twice with a white paint pen. Easy peasy!

I hot glued the chalkboard on the wreath, then the letters.

Then I used my finger to curl the pipe cleaners that were sticking out

Then I used an eraser to clean up the chalkboard a little! And fyi: the school's colors are green, white, and a yellowish gold. So I didn't do St. Patty's Day colors just for fun! ;)

So my wreath addiction is hopefully just beginning because I love to make them! I hope this how-to helped someone as much as the ones I looked at helped me! If it seems like too much work to you and you'd rather just pay someone else to make one for you, hit me up! ;)

-Sarah