Monday, July 28, 2014

Sunday Funday

Today was SO productive.  We were listening to an inspirational speaker & a few things just hit home for me:

Everyone has two pains:  determination and regret.
Control the day or it will control you.
Pick something & do it!

So that's just what I did!  I've been dreaming of organizing my craft room for a while, so I finally convinced my hubby for us to go get the necessities & for him to hang me some shelves!



Still have some work for it all to come together, but this is so much more convenient that those plastic storage bins!

The first shelf:  I used old boxes (gold fish & cheese itz) & spray painted them to store all of my paint.  A left over mason jar from my wedding for the paint brushes, & all of my paint pens, markers, pens, etc in the storage container.   Lastly, my ribbon "rod"!  I didn't have a suspension rod on hand so I just used some twine!  Love this pinterest inspired idea!

The second shelf:  Another two old boxes spray painted to hold all paper products, the scrap book box I already had, & some randoms (wood glue, hot glue gun, hole puncher) that I need to try & find/make a container for!

 The third shelf:  literally the random things. Wood stain, tap, sealant, paint tray, vase full of ribbon, tiles, vinyl letters, extra material, this list goes on!  I want to try & make this a little "prettier"  also,  but for now it works!


My next goal is to make a crafting table.  I saw a great idea, where two shelves & a piece of wood were used and ta-da! A great use of space is made--storage PLUS craft table.


On a side note, since I had the hubby at work I had to take FULL advantage of this!  I made a wine rack out of a pallet probably about 6 months ago & it had just been sitting around because we didn't have anything to hang it with.  But today we finally did!  


I love this piece.  It's just a piece of a pallet that I stained.  The wine rack part was a little bit more difficult, but obviously do able!  I made the "t" pieces with wood glue, but it was so frustrating trying to glue those pieces to the pallet!  First I did them too close together so a glass wouldn't fit.  Once I got the spacing right, it was a matter of getting them all on there (without moving) & putting enough weight on it so they would be secure.  All this without being able to use clams & with a curious kitten nosing her way around haha BUT I'm so happy with the results!  I'm thinking about painting something on the front, but haven't decided yet.

Anyway, I'm off to continue organizing my craft room :) happy crafting!

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Bridal Shower Fun!

Sooo I have 4 weddings in my near future--two of which I'm MOH (October 2014 & June 2015), one I'm a bridesmaid (April 2015), & one I am solely a guest (September 2014-however she will be my sister in law so of course I'm still obligated to help).  Needless to say there are a LOT of bridal shenanigans to plan & partake in, around all of the baby showers also in my life, of course.  Guess I'm just at that point in my life -- weddings & babies everywhere! :)

Saturday I got to knock the first event off of the list--Shannon's Bridal Shower!  Now, this was my first bridal shower that I've attended AND the first I've had the pleasure of planning.  Nothing like killing two birds with one stone, right?!

Luckily, I had the assistance of one of her family friends who helped take care of the food & location.  We had all sorts of yummy finger foods & desserts -- including a chocolate fountain & (spiked) punch, of course!  (Disclaimer--sorry for the HORRIBLE picture quality of all of these)

We played the "purse game"--certain things you would find in your purse are worth points, guest with the most points wins & the "him or her" game--a list of 10 statements, guests have to guess whether they were made and/or relate to the bride or the groom, guest with the most correct wins!.   

We bought a platter for guests to sign as the guest book.  Once you bake it at 350 for about 30 minutes, it is officially multi-purposeful! I also had a Date Night Jar & Advice bucket with cards that had "Good Marriage Advice" on one side & "Honest Marriage Advice" on the other.  How cute is that?!  We got to hear some very funny, & great, advice from women who have years of experience!! 


Of course I had to craft in honor of the celebration:  an adorable "__ days until she's hitched" sign &  a "future mrs warren" banner.   Both so easy.  

I think the sign is my favorite.  I knew since I had so many bridal related events soon, I should make it multi-purposeful so I could use it for all of them!  I just took an extra canvas I had laying around, used painters tape to have even lines, & used a sharpie for the writing.  I cut a heart out of cardstock, spray painted it with chalkboard paint, hot glued it on & voila! 

I'm sure you've seen the banners all over Etsy.  Now, though they're not priced too highly, you're still wasting your money!  I literally made that out of twine, sandpaper, & paint--all extremely inexpensive items!  I must say, using the sandpaper was probably one of my best ideas yet (if i do say so myself hehe)!  They're like a dollar for a pack of 30, they're pre cut rectangles, & they have the, very in right now, rustic feel.  Definitely can't go wrong there!




Feel free to leave any questions or comments & happy crafting!! :)