Pinning Accomplishments (Part 3)

 Last night was my first class as a college instructor at my Alma Mater, UK's College of Design.  I was sooooo nervous, and I bet the kids could tell.  I don't know why I was nervous, I mean, I am the teacher right?  Any how, I really did like it and all the students were wonderful.  I hope to continue teaching part-time if I end up really enjoying it!

I wanted to show more accomplishments that I've achieved thanks to the wonderful Pinterest.  More focused on the DIY/craft/decor side of things.

corny.

I love that the simplest ideas are usually just about the most darling.  These candy corn candle displays were just perfect for the Halloween season and so of course, I imitated this for our Halloween party.  I already owned the clear glass containers, then visited the dollar store to snag some candy corn (which surprisingly was more delicious than the name brand).  

subtle.

not so subtle.

My first thought for this pin of white canvas and 3D letters was, What a great wedding gift!  And I still believe that it is.  However, I wanted to use the idea in a not so romantic format. 

Sometimes in the morning for me it is difficult to skip out the door all "honky-dorey" (not sure about the spelling there!?!), but when I look at my mantra on the wall it makes me laugh and helps me skip on outta there.  I found all the items at Hobby Lobby, canvas, letters, white acrylic paint, and white spray paint.  I first painted all the letters I needed then hot glued them to the canvas.  Then spray painted the canvas and glued letters with spray paint so all was glossy and consistent.  I like how it turned out and would like to make more.

clever.

In my kitchen I mounted an espresso floating shelf above our breakfast area and place three mismatched white plates (well two match, but anyways...) on them.  I wanted to write a cute message on the plates, but was so unsure as to what I wanted to write with my handy Sharpie Paint Pen (awesome by the by). Then I checked out Pinterest to see what I could find, because "Eat/Pray/Love" had just been done one time too many.  I'm a quirky person so I wanted something food related, funny, cute.  I found this farmer's market poster on a wall and just loved it at once.  See my version below.

kitchen humor.

I have seen these yarn wrapped wreaths on Pinterest many-a-times.  Craftspeople will sell them on Etsy as well, if you prefer not to make them yourself.  The pin below I believe is an Etsy available product.  However, I wanted to give it a whirl myself.

lovely.

I picked up a round straw wreath from Hobby Lobby.  Selected my yarn for the wreath body and picked out some felt for the flowers.  I actually kept the plastic around the wreath that comes on it.  Since I was not sticking anything in the straw or gluing directly to the body of the wreath I just let it on for overall aesthetic consistency.  I wrapped the wreath twice with yarn (one large unit of yarn worked fine), but it is tedious.  I put in a DVD and cozied up with my yarn wrapping to help pass the time.  Then I looked up felt yarn tutorials via Pinterest and used a combination of all that I read.  I actually did not glue the flowers to the wreath, I just used pins.  I wanted to be able to switch them out depending on the season.  I selected these colors for fall, but for spring I have bright green and purple flowers and summer are warm and bright colors.  I really loved the way it turned out and how well it greets guests and I get so many good responses when people realize that I made it!  In fact, I'm going to make some for friends at their requests.

More to come! Have a fabulous day!

Pinning Accomplishments (Part 1)

Who doesn't love Pinterest? People that haven't discovered it yet, I say.  All joking aside, it is quite difficult to focus on just one thing on Pinterest.  So many wonderful images, craft ideas, fashion inspirations, dream home wants and beauty tips.  And I always wonder if I will ever really accomplish or try any of the things that I pin.  So I am going to take a look at some accomplishments that I have achieved thanks to this wonderful virtual pin board.

Today I am going to focus on the recent holiday season and how Pinterest helped me:

Inspiration Photo: Link here.

Placing a toilet paper roll in the center of vase displays to help the ornaments display better.

Oh, stunning.

In my case, I actually used a white candle.  I liked the option of being able to light it up with my other candles on my mantlepiece. This picture makes it look like the candle is leaning.  This would be a fire hazard.  I assure you, no fires took place here.

Inspiration Photo: Link here.

I loved this mantle display.  My main Christmas colors in my home are green and silver as well.  This year I didn't have the pine branches, but what a nice textural touch.  See my attempt below.

Feeling festive yet?

My silver candelabras were relocated to decorate above the kitchen cabinets. I have talked about mantel decorating in a past post and my troubles in deciding what I want as my permanent focal point.  This all takes time and I will be patient until I find the perfect layout and items.

Inspiration Photo: Link here

This wreath was one of my earliest pins.  I fell in love with it when I first saw it.  Here is my recreation and new interpretation of it:

I added our last name initial to the bottom and my wreath has square edges rather than round. Mine is also larger and this took a while to make.  I had to individually glue each piece on! It took about three days to make, but I am very please with the end result.

TGIF! Happy Weekend!

Home-made Holiday

Feeling a little more crafty than usual this holiday season when it comes to your gift-giving?  Like I said in yesterday's post, it focused on more of the store-bought items.  These below take a little more time, but a great result in the end when you see the person's face when they receive that home-made gift.

Check out this link here to make these yummy hot chocolate truffles.  I think these are great for that person that loves to stay in when it's cold and snuggle up next to the fire.  The truffles can be frozen until you're ready to enjoy them.  Just place in a mug with milk and heat away!  For gifting you can place several truffles in a cute Christmas mug, wrap in clear plastic and tie with a ribbon.  

Gift Basket.  But how is this home-made you say?  With all the thought into compiling a person's favorite things, shared memories or common items that they've been wanting, it's a great way to show someone that you care and love 'em. This website has so many wonderful gift giving ideas along with free printables, see link here.  If you have a friend who loves movies, create a movie night basket: popcorn cups, candy, DVD, theater gift card, popcorn, blanket or whatever else you want to add!  

How sweet is this?  If you like to give custom scrapbooks, why not make one with a twist? 

Dabney Lee makes these super cute and trendy phone cases.  This is an awesome customizable gift, a little on the pricey side but my goodness aren't these gorgeous iPhone cases?  They are also available on some blackberries.

This was a great idea I found at Clover Lane Blog.  A custom cookbook that hold your family's favorite recipes and favorite photos.  Kind of a recipe scrapbook.  This project you might have to give someone next Christmas, in order to compile your favorite recipes and photos, but I thought this was a wonderful idea.  Make one for your family, but I think grandparents would enjoy it as well!  We have a few cookbooks from local churches and organizations, but this cookbook is all about you and what your family loves to eat! I hope to do this one day and can pass this on to my children.

Today is my last work day of the week, hooray!  Tomorrow I'll be preparing the house for the holidays and maybe helping my dad clean out the basement storage that is full of stuff from high school/college/childhood!  I hope everyone has a fabulous Turkey Day!

Misadventures of Costume Making

Last night began the costume making adventure! So far, so good.  One can only hope.  I found a great and easy tutorial thanks to YouTube.

 I bought 2.5 yards of fabric on sale at Joann's and from my fabric I cut the three pieces of fabric I needed.  The video showed me the sizes of pieces, I drew the shapes in CAD then my hubby plotted them off so I could just lay it over the fabric and cut.  Now if you do not have drafting equipment like us, you can just measure with a ruler and chalk out the pieces then cut.  Tonight I will sew (and it isn't a lot of sewing, thank goodness) and add the ribbon lining around the edge.  I will let you know what it turns out like! 

Can you believe it's dry clean only! Cute and comfy though!

Underneath I'm just going to wear this cornflower blue prairie looking dress I have from Old Navy.  And super cute boots.  I also found a glossy black basket from Goodwill for 0.50! Score. I can't wait to see what my guests are coming dressed up as!  For the hubby's costume we decided on an Occupy Wall Street Participant.  Since he is really into politics and is passionate about it (not protesting, but politics) we thought it would be fun and something he is interested in debating about.  I love Halloween!