Making Spirits Bright!

I can hardly believe that nearly 10 months have passed without posting a thing! Now that we are not only married, but settled into our new home, I can finally share some of the things have been going on around here. The word of the month this month is TRIANGLE, but I have yet to complete that project. In the meantime, I've been busy sprucing up the house for Christmas with a few DIY projects. The first project was a handmade wreath letter...

I have had this plain - but oh, how I love plan - pine cone wreath, and I wanted to spice things up for our front door with a pop of red. I saw on Pinterest that you could take yarn of any color and glue it around a large letter of your choice. Apparently, it's a quick and easy project. An hour and a half later, this is my little gem. I was really happy with how in turned out, and it looks great from the street... but never would I say it was easy!

With the bright red wreath hanging in our front door, I thought I would bring in some more in our house. We have a gray couch and black chair, so I wanted something bring against the black. While laying in bed the other day, I looked up at a sweater that has traveled with me for quite some time, that I never wear. It's a bit too short on my body - so in that very moment - it was about to see its last days. I researched how to do it, and fortunately I finally got a chance to use my new sewing machine.

First, gather your items (shown below) and allow plenty of time to thread your bobbin and machine. That took a while for me, anyway!

Next, cut the size pillow you would like. My thought was to cut along the armpit, so that the threads in the sweater wouldn't start breaking on the other ends. Flip the sweater inside out and sew first along the side that you made the cut. Flip in right side out as much as you need to to make sure that you are getting the shape you want. Another word of caution, you really need to guide the sweater through the machine. It's so thick that it won't really pull itself through like most materials.

Once you have sewed the both open sides together, be sure to leave about a fist size hole so that you can flip your pillow right side out again and stuff it.

Finally, I wanted to add a cute detail to my pillow, so I used the wrists and next to make little pinwheel flowers for the top corner. Simply roll the fabric, and wrap it tight and sew into a cone like shape. Then trim any excess yarn from the end and stick the needle directly through the middle of the flower and pull through the back of the pillow to make a small indent. Below is a close up of my flowers in a bundle.

 And finally, I finished piece nestled comfortably in our big black chair. I love how it turned out!  This chair has become Sage's favorite spot in the house, so I'm sure she'll enjoy it just as much as we do.

Finally, for a bit more Christmas spirit - I thought I would post a nighttime picture of our beautiful Christmas tree. We are so blessed to be sharing our first Christmas together in our new home. I'm so very merry :)

Chilly January Word :FROST:

My best friend and maid of honor's birthday is in February, so I thought I would make her something special this month. Since she's getting married in July, I was sure to incorporate her new monogram. Sorry, Jen, I'm blowing the birthday surprise - but you can wait with anticipation to get your present in the mail.

Materials: Unique Glass Jar, Frost Spray Paint, Letter Decals, Tape, and a Decorative Ribbon

This project was more difficult than I anticipated. But the workaround was equally as fun! Originally, I wanted to place the letters with tape and spray the frost, but most of the frost ended up uneven around the letters and even ended up under them. Not the sleek effect I was going for.

As a workaround, I ended up hand painting the letters in my original design after taping off the glass again and spraying with frost. I let the glass sit for 25 minutes between sprays, and a few hours to let it set before handling.

And below is the final product! I hope you love it, Jen, my sister and I thought this would be a cute container for bath salts or cotton balls. Happy Birthday!

On the hunt for our new home...

I can hardly believe that we've passed into the new year and are well on our way to finding a new home for us to grow into together. My sister Kari referred us to a wonderful agent, and we headed out to the streets on Saturday afternoon.

Just like our reception venue, we have fallen in love with the first home we saw. After looking at four more after, it confirmed that we want to pursue this home further. I am just as excited as I am nervous - this home we saw could be the home we start our marriage in and have our first child in.

I am trying to stay grounded that we may not get the home or we may find something wrong, but everything feels so great about this. I am praying for direction from God that we know what to do, and that we can keep perspective if something falls through. Keep your fingers crossed that we get through this thrilling process while staying level headed and sure that if this is meant to happen, it will be so.

What WOOD you create?

This month, Steff had Mike choose the word for our creative inspiration. As soon as I heard it was 'WOOD', I remembered an awesome project I saw on Pinterest for centerpieces that would work for around my apartment this winter.

First I ran to Hobby Lobby and picked up a few things: two tall glass votives (varying heights), deco-page, and scrap booking paper with wood texture. Originally, I wanted to find vellum paper with wood patterns, but the glue ended up creating just the barrier I needed to withstand the heat from the tea light candles.

Next, I wrapped the paper around the vases to ensure I had the right height and made the cuts. I left a little space at the top so the edge wouldn't look so hardened and unnatural. Then, I applied a thick coat of deco-page directly on the vases. And wrapped the papers around them smoothly.

One thing I ran into was that despite how hard I tried to keep the application smooth, ripples formed because of the water in the glue. At first this was frustrating, but then I started to look at the result and it made the pieces look much more natural.

Waiting 20 minutes in between layers of glue, I completed three more coats on my votives and below is the final product. I really love how they turned out and the light glowing through is beautiful! These will make great additions to my end table in January and the birch design matches the painting above my couch. Happy holidays!!!

November means being STUFFED to the gills!

Carly chose our creative project word for this month, with a very appropriate 'STUFFED'. I immediately knew what I wanted to work on - my ring bearer pillows!!! I went to the fabric store with Tori, picked out the materials that would work with our wedding, and headed straight to the sewing machine.

First, I sized up my pillows. I unintentionally made Tyler's slightly smaller than Matthew's pillow - but it works because of their age difference. Next, I made my cuts and flipped the fabric so the outsides faced flush to one another. Next, I centered my ribbon so that I could sew them in the seam. I sewed around all four sides, leaving a space for the "stuffing".

Next, I filled the pillows with the stuffing I bought at the fabric store. It takes a bit long than you would think, because you have to stuff small amounts at a time and fluff as you go to ensure that your filling is distributed evenly.

 Finally, I hand sewed the open ends with ivory thread and sewed the vintage buttons in the middle. The button was the most difficult, as I needed to ensure that it was pulled tightly through the ribbon and lined up appropriately. I'd say overall the project went really well, and the boys will look dashing going the aisle on our big day!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

It's Sunday evening, and I'm winding down after a long holiday weekend. It was wonderful getting to visit with family and enjoy the time off. Originally, Tom and I were going to get our engagement pictures this weekend, but baby Callie came down with a fever. We are both looking forward to next weekend when Jon, Tracy, and the kiddos come in town. Hopefully we'll have better weather on Saturday. By moving our pictures to next weekend, we both got the chance to enjoy some much needed rest.

As we race into another holiday, I've already swept through stores gathering gifts for friends and family. While wrapping gifts Friday afternoon, I stopped and thought about how quickly this year has gone by and how many wonderful changes have come into my life. A midst the bustling that comes with every December, I realized that this year I need to slow down and soak up the holiday. Too many years have passed where I feel I've missed a chance to reflect on all of life's blessings as I jump from place to place. This year I'm going to make an effort to spend some time to myself, to be at peace.

Next year will bring many exciting blessings, but tonight I am truly blessed as well, while I snuggle up to my dog on the couch.

October Creative Project: SQUASH

I chose the word "SQUASH" for our creative projects group this month, and decided that I would try and cook something new. Tom told me that he loves spaghetti squash, so I found a recipe and applied it to the simple spaghetti and meatballs concept. While the squash looks like spaghetti, it has the texture of coleslaw. Pretty delicious if you dress it up with some delicious mixins'.

First you cut the spaghetti squash in half - it's a lot harder than a pumpkin. I suggest cutting part of the way and then it will snap in half (thank you Tom for your strength).

Remove the seeds and the pulp in the middle of the squash. Next, place on a cookie sheet and roast for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove and let cool for a few minutes.

With a fork, dig directly into the flesh of the squash and pull outward. I picked a medium sized squash and it yielded a full 10" pan of squash.  Finally, cook on medium for 10 minutes and add a tablespoon of butter and EVOO, along with pepper, garlic, and Parmesan cheese.

Paired with my famous meatball recipe - you're in for a great meal!!! Delicious (and pretty nutritious). Alright, Car Car - what's the word for November?