Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Crafty gifts and wedding bells

So my best friend got married to my husband's best friend this past weekend. It was a lovely weekend in the hills of farmland, with friends and fun. I had a lovely awesome time, and enjoyed the entire getaway from the usual work stuff.
Here's some pics from the wedding (these were by me) at the Glasbern Inn:






 (the bride the day of)

(my bridesmaid hair)

(The hubs and I at the reception)

So here is what my husband, a friend of ours, and I cooked up for their wedding gift. They are the type of people that if they really want something, they probably already have it, so we decided to go more thoughtful. I apologize that I stink at tissuepaper placement. And the purple ribbons- all from her bridal shower (kind of an inside joke- I promised her I'd find a way to use that ribbon someday, and I did!)



I created the framed piece of artwork that includes their birthdays, first date, engagement, and wedding date all in one lovely framed graphic. After seeing similar ones on Pinterest like this one, I knew I could do something similar on my own with their dates and wedding colors (green and silver). I scored this awesome frame at Michaels, that is silver but shiny so it looks black and silver at times. Later I'll try to upload the original file for anyone who wants a similar printable (once I figure out what's best to upload the file to)



We also got some things together for a "date night"- 3 bottles of wine and 3 gift cards (1 for movie tickets, 1 for dinner, and 1 for ice cream). I also made a card, as well as a mini album.



The mini album was the most labor intensive piece, as the mini album I chose for the base was sort of tricky- it had pages that flip up, as well as over. Here's the layouts and cover. The cover is my fav.
















Some pages I like more than others (but's that's how life is, right?). It was a lot of work to put it all together, but I knew it was something I wanted to do. I originally was going to try to do their wedding colors, but that just didn't happen. ;(

Overall the wedding was beautiful and fun. Oh, and the brooch bouquet that we collected brooches for at her bridal shower (see post here) turned out amazing! Her matron of honor did a fabulous job putting it together.




Other great DIY things included the centerpieces the bride and groom put together (apothecary jars and the main table had a dome like that of the beauty and the beast rose!), the bride's mom made her veil and shoes, and her necklace was an antique store find we found while wandering a shop after a day of dress fittings.
It was a blast and I can't wait for the awesome pictures from the photographer come out. So fab!

Oh, I also got this AWESOME steampunk necklace as a thank you for being a bridesmaid (with matching gear earrings) so I am determined to put together a steampunk costume for this year's Halloween. I am in search of some super cool goggles and all things steampunk. Here's my inspiration board for my ideas for the costume.



Anyways, with the housing situation being pushed back to October 29th (we hope) sadly all my Halloween decor hopes went out the window, so if I get to it, I'll try to do a little bit around here, but no promises- which makes me super sad, as Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday! *tears*
I just hope it all actually happens this time! We've been waiting for almost 8 months on this house! (Short sales are anything but short- but that's a post for later).

Lastly, I tried out this super cool program online called Floorplanner, where you can create 3d and 2d models of whatever type of home you want. I basically did it to test out some ideas on furniture arrangement in our future home, though I totally was guesstimating on the dimensions of everything (rooms and furniture). Was a fun waste of a few hours a few days ago. hehe


Oks, time for bed, got work in the afternoon.
Laters!
-M

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Getting started on Project Life

Ok. So I got the Becky Higgins Project Life Cherry collection from my mom as a present for hitting my goal weight while on Weight Watchers (lost 63 lbs since October- you can read more about my weight loss adventure over at my Food/Weight loss blog: http://www.steppingwithsmiles.blogspot.com/ )



ANYWAYS,
So I went through and set up the basics for the intro page and back page, though I'm pretty sure the amount of sheet protectors I have will last me only each month, as opposed to each week- like I'd like to do if I can.
So far I printed out a few of my pictures to start it off the week before I got the project life in the mail, and started writing down the basic events that happened for that week and this week (and wrote down what events I knew would be happening in the future).



My question to anyone out there is what is your system for Project Life? Do you do it per week or per month? Or do you just do it with whatever you feel like it? Do you have a spot in your craft room just for that? What's your favorite products or freebies that you use in your Project Life?
I know I'm full of questions, but this is something new and I'd love feedback.
I did start a Pinterest board here just for inspiration and freebies for Project Life, so if you want to follow (or contribute- just ask me) I'd love it! If you want to follow all of my Pinterest boards, please do! Just forewarning, I'm kind of obsessed with Pinterest. Right now I'm at 51 boards and 8,026 pins!

Anyways, when I get week one started, I'll show it off to you all. :D
(I hope I can get to start working on these on Mondays, since that's my next day off!)

Other things: My mom sent me a rolodex card she made for a swap using my Frenzified Spooks and Scares Set. Don't you adore it!?



Also, another question if anyone knows the answer.
Do you all remember this lovely tv stand I got at the SalVal for our future home?


Well I acquired 2 bookcases like this (imagine light wood):



What do you all suggest? Should I stain the bookcases to try to match them, or paint all 3 something?
I want our future living room to have this scheme,

  but I'm not sure the best route to take on this bookcases/tv stand.

Now we haven't got the house officially yet, though it is looking promising with the most recent events. That being said, I'm trying to figure out what I can paint furniture wise ahead of time, so any input would be awesome! Including, what Black paint would be the best to paint this lovely?:


We are crossing fingers that the date we were told is actually the true closing date- as we still haven't gotten the paperwork back (darn you Short Sales for taking so long), but this time the supposed closing date was given to us by the Sellers bank, so we hope it is true this time! *fingers crossed*



I hope to get some feedback from you all!
Anyways, Happy crafting and DIY-ing!
M