Gettin' Crafty Wit It

Na na na na na na na.....no...okay, so I was channeling my fellow Philly native, Will Smith as I was thinking about this post...he's obviously more talented, lol.  But, I was pretty proud of the craftiness I've been coming up with lately.  Some items are inspired from Pinterest....such as this Welcome sign:

     I made mine by just printing the letters onto white paper, using a Curvy Cutter to cut the circles, the black are from cardstock, and then laminating them.  Once I was finished, I added the purple ribbon.  I really wanted blue, but I have SOOOO MUCH of the purple, just couldn't be wasteful.  Maybe it will eventually get an update, you know, when the purple starts to fade....lol.  Here's the back side so you can see how the ribbon is woven through.

  One of my other recent crafty projects has been card making.  I have made cards for about 4 years now, I think.  I got so addicted to Stampin' Up products when a friend from work started to sell them.  I honestly had no idea I would love it so much.  I was such a scrapbooker!  But, the finished product of a card comes a lot faster!  It also feels really great to be able to sign something I made, from the heart.  Here are some of my recent creations!  Most of the stamps used are by Stampin' Up!
     

 

 

So Happy For You and Sweet Scoops Stamp Sets

     The second one has a mini-message on the front...it says and many more inside of the white tab!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Birthday Whimsy Stamp Set

So, what kind of crafts have you been up to lately?  Leave me a comment, or link to your blog, and let me know!

The Dollar Tree is WHERE IT'S AT!!!

    Seriously! I so love a good bargain (ask my friends, I'm a cheapie! My husband even teases me b/c I always say, "I got it for cheap!" Who knew that wasn't a normal saying?) I can't believe the amazing deals I have gotten at that place!  I know there are probably others out there, but this "Dollar Store" is legit, none of that 'Dollar Store' mumbo jumbo, then you get inside and your facing 2, 3 and even 5 dollar items.  I know, how dare they!  Anyway, back to my Dollar Tree love!  The other day, I came away having purchased $32 (buckaroos, just cause it rhymes!) worth of stuff.  Here's some of my hoard....I mean haul....is that right?

• One of the first items I photographed happened to be a pain in my rear, lol  These rolls of Kraft gift wrap have so many uses I could think of (wrapping paper, scrapbook pages, modge podge projects, bulletin boards, etc) and therefore couldn't pass them up

Poor image from the Iphone, sowwy!

•  Next up, this wonky looking thing that leave much to be desired.  I shoulda (coulda, woulda) put some things inside to show you the functionality.  Alas, I always think up great ideas after the whole blogging process has started.  One day I'll get it, I promise!

It's a magnetic pen, marker, bills, etc holder!

• These little guys are full of functionality (and a little craftiness) all over pinterest!  Also, you could just use them as dry erase boards, lol!  They come with handy, dandy hanging systems (which I may recycle somewhere else!)

•  Last, we have my 'let's make this one look functional' items.  There are some cutesy, stackable tubs (it took us a few minutes to figure out the handles could be inverted to make them stackable), composition books (journaling, lists, crafty gifts, etc), dry erase markers and posties! (I know they aren't called that, but I prefer them that way)

Could make a cute Back to School Gift, too! 

    Well, that is my Dollar Tree Haul!  There was so much more I could buy, but my pennies are getting a little pinched!  What kinda goodies have you gotten lately?  The one thing I can't seem to find is white frames...for my fun, free kitchen printables...sad faces!

Round Two of the Bestie Train!!!

    Let me begin this by saying that I JUST DELETED THIS ENTIRE POST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Uggghhh!!!  Now, back to our reguarly scheuled blog post.
    Just two days after Nikki and Moni left, I was spoiled with another of my bestest friends, Casey Leigh!  Casey and I have been friends since 4th grade!  She is seriously more like my sister!  We've been through so much together...happiness, sadness, true love, and loves lost!  A real friend is one who can make it through all of that, and still love ya!  lol.  I'm lucky to call her my friend. 

At my Bachelorette Party in AC

   She's been going through a lot of stress lately, so, this little Florida trip was definitely in order!  So, beings as she wanted to relax, what do I put on the agenda?  Disney, of course!  LOL!  We began our trip with Hollywood Studios, then went to Magic Kingdom, and finally back to Hollywood Studios for some yummy Italian cooking ala Mama Melrose's.  Yes, I had it twice....IN ONE WEEK!  That's how good it is!  (Disney, you can thank me later, lol)
  The following day, we did relax poolside and followed it up with a day at the beach!  Hopefully, the break was relaxing or at least distracting enough!  I totally understand though, why she had to return home.  A few times throughout the trip I had the pleasure of joining in on family chat time with her 2, almost 3 year old son, Ryan....Oh-Em-Gee, freaking cutest conversations! Not to mention, her new hubby probably missed her at home (<3)! 
   For whatever reason, we were pretty lax with the photos, as in, we only took two!  These were taken at Downtown Disney the night before she left! 

Normal

Goofin it up!

     I seriously don't know what I'm going to do after having so much fun with visitors!  I've been spoiled!  I love living here in Florida, but missing my friends and family stinks!  A trip home is definitely in order soon!

Thirty-One is in the House!

If you haven't yet been to a Thirty-One bag party, you are so missing out.  They have all the fun patterns, solids and styles you could ask for.  I especially love the Organizing Utility Tote for going to work.  Just pop in a Zipper Pouch and you're all set!  Anyways, I am in love with one of the newer prints, Black Parisian Pop, and decided it would look great in my scrap room and to help me organize all of my Stampin Up goodies! I love the way they turned out! 

My frequently used supplies!

A bunch of Stampin' Up sets

Amazing Surprise! Good Friends are Hard to Find!

     What an awesome weekend!  The first thing you should know is that I LOVE surprises!  It all began with one of our visitors....one of my best friends, Nikki, was coming down to visit for a quick girls weekend.  It's pretty ridiculous how much she and I are alike (right down to a dislike for tomatoes, an unhealthy ability to talk, and thinking of the same person although we are totally calling them by the wrong name..ala Marilyn Manson for Charles...amongst others) so, I was obviously pumped to spend the weekend with her.  When Steve and I met her at the airport, we were all giddy excited (Maybe not Steve as much, lol)!
     The best part though was that suddenly, during our giddiness, the passenger door to her rent a car pops open and out comes one of my other besties,  Moni (no blog for her though!)  This was probably one of the biggest surprises anyone has ever gotten over on me.  I had wishful thoughts that the third member of our trifecta would decide to come, but was more realistic.  Woooo hooooo for dreams coming true!  Seriously, I LOVE these girls! Even though I saw them a couple of days when I flew home to PA for a bridal shower and on another trip for my sister-friend's wedding, it was all a whirlwhind!  I was getting these girls to myself for 4 days!!!  (Imagine how excited my hubby was, lol!)
   Anyways, our time was awesome sauce, but way too short!  Our first night was super scandalous-we went to Bojangles (yummy bicuits!), Walmart and Winn-Dixie!  ha ha!  We did return home to have Mudslides, however!  I must say, I am a pretty good bartender!

Moni!  Plus, one of the many candy items purchased!

  The night ended with Nikki falling asleep during Bridesmaids!  When Moni and I woke her up, we thought she might kill us!  Seriously, if only we videotaped it, it coulda won some type of prize on America's Funniest Home Videos!
   The next day was a Disney marathon!  We started at Animal Kingdom.  If you've never been there, it is amazing!  The safari alone is worth a trip!   Here are a few  a bunch of shots

Moni getting ready for our two week journey

A Rare Shot! 

Lions are only active about 6 hours a day

Pretty cool beadwork to make this elephant!

   After Animal Kingdom, we headed over to Hollywood Studios, where I apparently took zero pictures!   The good news is that, we did eat at an amazing restaurant...Mama Melrose has to be my favorite place to eat at Disney.  It's Italian and the  Chicken Campanelle is to die for....it's like true love for your taste buds!  I highly suggest eating here on your next Disney trip.  Advance reservation recommended, it's a popular place! mmmm..... lol
  Our third leg of the Disney trip took us to Magic Kingdom for fireworks!  Their "Wishes" fireworks show is my favorite, though this is widely debated (some like Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios, others prefer Epcot's illuminations).  Maybe I'm a little jaded since Steve proposed at the castle following the fireworks and it was all dreamy...lol.  Anyways, we got some good shots after the show.  I also took a video of the fireworks, but that would spoil all the fun! 

   It was a great, very tiring day that wasn't over yet!  Moni lost her wallet in our travels!  Thankfully, it was found and we were able to pick it up the next day.  Otherwise, she'd just have to stay in Florida....fine with me, lol.  Anywho, the trip went by in a whirlwind, and ended too soon with me getting all teary as they drove off to the airport...until next time though gals! 
   So, I'm pretty proud of our three park wonderment, Disney is a pretty big place, lol!  Have you conquered four?  I just love that we were able to have a girls weekend!  It's amazing to have friends who love me! 

See you real soon!

Catching Up: Family Visitors & DIY

   Hey Hey Hey!  So, it's been a week or so since I've last blogged (I totally typed blooged and laughed out loud)-time for a few updates!  I didn't realize how busy we were going to be over the last week, whew! I'm worn out!  We did four days of Disney, a day at Melbourne Beach (FL), and had a grand time!  Here are some photos of the beach and a rainy day at MK!

 

     Also exciting, our bedroom furniture that we ordered from Rooms-to-Go finally arrived.  We knew it wouldn't be in until this late, it wasn't poor delivery service.  We were pretty happy with the results!  I am so excited to have the bedroom set, I feel like such a big girl!!!!!  ha ha, We still need major decorations going on like lamps, a area rug, art, art, art, lol. But those things will come!

I'm so in love with the bedroom!

Two very similar photos, one major difference...can you spot it, lol!

   Now, the only real work we've gotten done (aside from painting most of the master bath, has been these DIY fabric covered cork boards.  And by we, I mean me, lol.  Hubby isn't all about the crafty fun that I am.  The main reason I wanted to cover them was b/c the darned cork board that I bought (being the cheap frugal shopper that I am), kept flaking off, ALL OVER everything. I googled strategies for getting the fabric onto the cork and settled upon spray adhesive.  I bought a few "Fabric Quarters" from Joann's (I so wish there was a JoAnn's closer, b/c I love them so much!) and got down to business.  Here's my supplies:

     I decided to spray the glue on in the garage.  There was a time I used it for scrapbooking and I knew how tacky it could make everything.  So, I got a big piece of cardboard and went to town.  For me, instead of measuring and cutting and stapling, as suggested on many blogs, I went the lazy less difficult route~I just wrapped the edges like a present and glued onto the back.  I did this b/c, well, I am lazy, and I didn't want any of the darn brown stuff flaking from the back either, lol.  Here's my final product, what do you think?  I haven't hung them yet b/c I keep worrying I'm going to want to move them.  I am so indecisive!

Explanation for "Hey Ya'll" note: I had this song stuck in my head ;)

Visitors!!!!

   July is going to be one busy rammer jammer (or is it ramma jamma, I researched and could not find a conclusive answer, so, here we are, lol)!  I am so excited!  This weekend, hubby's parents and our nephew will be coming down to spend the week with us!   The following weekend, one of my besties will be joining me (who I will no doubt spend many hours giggling, getting lost, gossiping, and talking with), then, the last week of July will bring my sister friend-my best friend since like fifth grade-love this girl!  I am so excited for this month!!!
     This past week we have been working on guest room updates, painting purple people eating bathrooms (photos will be in an upcoming blog!), and beginning to class up the laundry room...we've been in "crap -people are going to see the stuff we've been putting off because there's no rush" mode.  Ha ha, no big deal, but of course, since I had to commit us to starting these projects...now they have to be finished.  Sometimes I just go overboard, lol!  Anyways, we're still very excited about our visitors, and appreciate my {unnecessary} need to get things all prettified because I put a fire under our butts!  Mind you, there's still plenty of areas left wanting!  But, we'll get to those things in good time...like say when money is flowing a little easier!  lol
    So,  How do you handle visitors?  Are you like me and try to pretty things up?  Do you let it all hang out (I reserve this for my closest friends, lol)!

Moving into the guest room!

  No, Steve and I didn't have a fight....we are both just so jealous that the guest room has seen so much transformation!  It looks sooooo awesome!  Well, to us anyways, lol!  What do you think????  Let's take a little tour through history before I show you:
  When we moved in, here is what the guest room looked like (Apparently I don't have any photos of the guest room empty on this computer, but check back for updates, they're around here somewhere!).

Pineapples and palm trees abound!  While I love both, they just weren't really our style!  Green walls, and beige carpets had to go, too!  You can read about those here-flooring and whatnot :)
   Next, we got our sleeper sofa from Rooms to Go.  It's made by Cindy Crawford Home, great quality!  We also added a rug that used to reside in our Master (right now the floor is still bare in there ): And then I hemmed up some curtains from IKEA (they turned out much better than the ones in the kitchen

But now, the whole reason for this guest room love fest............we have a gorgeous dresser!  Seriously, it really classes things up!  I feel like I'm entering a hotel!  I also added a few odds and ends, also picked up at IKEA (I swear we have an IKEA house!)  Check out this gorgeosity!

Ignore the smudge on the mirror...apparently my Windex skills are subpar!

My attempt at an artsy shot

We are~for real~ in love with this room!  ha ha! 

Currently we are working on:

• Removing wire shelving from laundry room; paint; replace with cupboards ($$)
• Paint master bathroom; remove builder towel bar/fill/sand/repaint; hang ledge 
• continue making/purchasing art/locating decor for house

What are you working on?   Anyone ever removed those builder towel bars/toilet paper holders.  Word has it they are glued down and leave a nasty gash!

Big Fail....

   So, most people who know me find out at some point that there are just some things I don't know how to do that most people learn....one of these things is sewing!  This has normally posed no issue for me, a secretary at my old work used to hem my work pants (5'4" with a bit of junk in the trunk=no petite pants, lol), and all was well.  I also never really needed anything else sewn....correction: I did, but usually didn't sew it.  How many of my old colleagues noticed my pants never had buttons?  lol.  In all honesty, it was like three pair, but i loved them and, therefore wore them alot, sans button, lol.  I know, total fail, but I hope no one noticed.  I did admit it to a crew of crafty ladies one day...they promised a button sewing lesson, but I think I moved too soon, lol!
   Anyways, I'm rambling about my ridiculous-ness.....In my old house, we had pretty tall ceilings and average windows.  In the new house...Dun, dun, dun.....most of the ceilings are 8 foot.  While the windows are still average size....my curtains do not fit.  Many are too long!  No worries there, I just got out my hem tape and hemmed those babies up, like the IKEA ones below ($9.99 is a steal!)

     So la-tee-da!  Unfortunaly, some of the curtains I have are too short...by like 6 inches!  So, after a conversation with a friend, I interpreted (the ditz that I am) that she suggested I take the hem out...to just lower it.  So I did.....leaving me with this frayed mess!

Close Up

It's not as bad from further back...temporarily at least

In a follow up conversation, she explained she meant to lower the curtain rod.....duh!  I should have been blonde, seriously!  We got a good laugh out of it anyway!  Looks like I will be buying new curtains after all.  Eventually...it's not too noticable...or is it?  lol

On a side note, here is my little lizard friend, we met going to get the mail one day :)

His name's Tiger  :)

Two Years Ago Today....

I married my hubby!!!! It doesn't seem so long ago that I was walking across the resort in St. Lucia to marry my best friend!

He is such a wonderful man, I definitely do not deserve him!  But he's stuck with me, lol!  Anywho, I totally got all Pinterested in some of the cool gifts people had done for their loved ones.  Here is the main image that I used for inspiration: kayladanelle.  Anywho, I got down to business and here's the final product!  I love it...except I really wanted to put our heads (cut out of photos) over our hometowns....but since the computer crashed I don't have my pics on here or Adobe available.  So, for now there are stars, but those will be updated!

Color Coordination...Love it!

I don't know what it is, but this girl has always LOVED organizing according to the ol' ROYGBIV!  I am a sucker for closet organization by this trick!  I know it seems anal and it has nothing to do with finding clothes, I just love the look of a rainbow in my closet, lol!  I am finally getting around to revamping my brad, and flower organization system.  For those of you interested, here is my old system: a painted tool storage thingy-ma-bob.  It worked great for years.  Probably a little too much space though.  The white paint was also wearing off and you could see the red peeking through! 

The little circle guys were labels for my ribbon (still need to organize that, btw)

Anyways, I was ready for an update!  I don't have the shelves yet, but here are the glorious jars full of color!

 Don't you just love it!?  I can't wait to see the scraproom come together!  You may notice that the larger jars with flowers in them don't quite have the whole rainbow...I'm waiting for glassware to go on sale, and Michael's only had five jars, lol.  Anyone else here love this style? How do you organize these supplies?

My pretty paper all rainbow'd up, lol