Hump Day Happiness

25 Apr By

I think I have said this in almost every “Hump Day Happiness” post, but I’ll say it again. I cannot believe how fast time is going in 2012. It’s the last week of April already!

Here’s a few things bringing me happiness on this Wednesday, I hope they bring you some too!

I had to get up extra early today to get back to the doctor before work. I wasn’t too pleased about it since I am the world’s worst morning person. When I arrived at the Naval Health Clinic, which is beautifully situated on a hill overlooking the Severn River in Annapolis, I was greeted by the most beautiful morning. I couldn’t help but feel happy.

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I love this sweet little saying because it reminds me that even though time is flying, and so many wonderful things have already come and gone, there are even better things on the horizon. The pretty handwriting and lovely blue color make this the perfect print to put on my desk.

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Since the hubs is away again for a while, I am focusing on things I can do with my “me time.” I’ve got these two projects in mind. Can’t wait to report back on how they both turn out!

  1. Being a military wife, I love to show off my patriotism.  This DIY yarn wreath is perfect for the summer season.
  2. I’ve been lusting after necklaces like this all year and this simple DIY one only costs $25 to make!

 

Don’t miss the great at-home workouts featured in this week’s Workout Wenesday!

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DIY Fabric Flowers

16 Apr By

I dream of being able to make my own clothes or at least hem my own pants (handy for a shorty). Unfortunately, my skills in the sewing department never developed beyond making small pillows for my dolls stuffed with cotton balls as a kid.

So when I came across an easy DIY fabric flower, I was worried even the simple steps would be too difficult for this sewing challenged lady. Fear not friends, for this is the easiest sewing you will ever do!

I’ve used the fabric flowers in a multitute of crafts. After perfecting my technique, I made about 100 of them for the escort cards at our wedding. I loved how the various fabrics tied into our color scheme and gave the wedding that rustic chic feel I was going for.

The DIY escort cards from our wedding!

I put a few of the flowers I had left over into a keepsake shadowbox that I have on my dresser.

Here’s how to make them:

The tools

1. Cut your fabric into circles. I usually use a plastic cup as a rough guide for the shape and size. Don’t worry perfect circles are not necessary!

2. Pick your thread color and prep the needle. Don’t cut the thread off the spool, just give yourself about6 inches of slack to work with.

3. Begin sewing around the circle of fabric in a basic running stitch, going down and back up. Go all the way around making sure to over lap your last stitch with your first.

4. Pull both sides of the thread away from each other. You will see the fabric start to ruche together. Continue to pull until the all the ended of the fabric meet in the middle of your flower. You may need to center it a little or pull out a side that is tucked too much. Shape to your liking.

5. Make a few stitches across the center of the flower to hold it into place. Take your need under those few stitches and make a knot. Snip off the excess thread.

6. Voila!

A few of the finished flowers

I added them to a the moss wreath I made a few weeks ago (thanks to Kara’s great tutorial-her wreath is much better than mine!) to give it a little more pizzaz! I think I will add a few more to really make it pop.

I especially love this little sewing project because it can be done while you are watching TV and the possibilities for use are endless!

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A Crafty DIY Commemorative Shadow Box

9 Jan By

The hubs and I love wine. My love started when I studied abroad in Italy (you don’t leave that country after 4 months without a deep appreciation for red wine). When we met I forced  inspired the hubs to have an appreciation of his own. Now, we’ve become quite the connoisseurs and many great moments have been accompanied by the opening of a good bottle of vino. We started keeping the corks, especially from nice bottles or important moments, and displaying them in glasses from various vineyards in our dining room. I wanted a better way to commemorate some of the most special. For us it’s a great reminder of wonderful times we have spent together, milestones we’ve reached, and celebrations we’ve had.

Over the weekend, I got crafty, went to Michael’s, and got busy. I used a small 5 x 7 shadow box to display the cork from the Champagne we used to toast our one year wedding anniversary. It was easy, quick and I really like the results.

The bottle of champagne just before we drank it using the toasting glasses from our wedding!

What you’ll need:

A small shadow box

A ready cut mat that fits the size of your box

A decorative paper or fabric for the backing

A hot glue gun

A nice pen

A Sharpie

One of the shadow boxes I bought (this is a larger one for another project)

The other elements

1. Cut the decorative paper to fit the size of the shadow box’s backing (I used a cream paper with a metallic gold damask print)

2. Use the glue gun to adhere the paper to the backing

3. Decide what you want to write on the mat (if anything), and where it should be placed, use your pen to put the date, message etc. on the mat (I used a metallic gold gel pen and wrote “One Year Anniversary, 09-18-11″)

4. Use the glue gun to stick the mat to the decorative paper on the backing (test out the positioning to make sure you have it centered first)

5. Write anything you may want on the cork with the Sharpie(I wrote ”St. Michaels” because that’s where we went to celebrate our anniversary)

6. Test centering the cork inside the framework of the mat and then use the glue gun to stick it down

7. Use glass cleaner to clean the inside of the shadow box’s glass

8. Put the backing with the paper, mat and cork back onto the cover

9. DONE!

Do you keep old corks? Do you use them for anything? I’d love more ideas!

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Great Finds from Around the Blogosphere

5 Jan By

One of the fun things about getting into blogging is all the other amazing blogs out there that I have suddenly become aware of. Every day is like a little adventure to find new stuff!

Here are some of the great things I’ve stumbled across the past few days…

Thought-provoking:

Stylish:

Fun, Food, Crafts:

Health and Fitness:

  • Two Day Challenge found on Lauren Hefez - One of my goals this year is to eat less processed foods. This challenge forces you to only eat things you can draw a picture of for two days! Ingenious.
  • How to Bounce Back plan found on the Tone It Up blog – If you over-indulged during the holidays (who didn’t??)  this is a great resource for getting back on the healthy wagon.

What are some other great posts or blogs you’ve found lately?

all photos from their respective blogs

Filed Under: Fabulousness, Fitness, Food, Gettin' Crafty, Style Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

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