EASY Valentine wreath

I have a really easy and sweet tutorial for you today.  My inspiration is found in this holiday wreath:


familycircle.com



So, I decided to adjust it for Valentine's Day! Here are the items you'll need:

wreath form
pinking shears
felt-several colors (I bought felt rectangles from HL)
hot glue/gun  (NOTE:  I'm showing pins in this picture because I thought I was going to use them instead of a glue gun...I used the glue gun and it was very easy.  The pins were kind of a pain to get through the felt.)

Step 1:  Begin by cutting strips of felt.  I used the short side of the felt rectangles and cut in strips about
1 1/2" wide:

Step 2:  Wrap the strip around the wreath (I know this is rocket science so far...stay with me here)

Step 3: Continue wrapping until wreath is covered:

Step 4:  When you've wrapped the entire wreath, adorn it with a little heart or item of your choice ( I just cut a couple of little hearts free hand, and placed them strategically over the place where the pattern didn't match up):



So there it is.  I think mine turned out pretty sweet...I think I'll give it to my sweet Granny...don't tell her! ;)

The One Hundred

There's a book I'm reading that I love and HIGHLY recommend...

The One Hundred, by Nina Garcia (of Project Runway fame)  is a must read for every woman who is the least bit interested in style and fashion.  Seriously, I've made a note to self that this will be, from henceforth, the graduation gift I give not only to my own daughters, but to every young woman I know graduating from high school or college.  (I would have loved to have this kind of information starting out in the big world of real life!)

I can't help but think of the enormously, pathetic amounts of money over my adult life that I've spent on trendy, spur of the moment purchases that I've greatly regretted after wards. Garcia certainly does not poo poo on trends...she loves them too, but encourages classic pieces that will always work with trends and without.  

Read it for yourself.  I think you'll love it!

Pita Pizza

After lunch this weekend with friends at a little cafe' here in town, I had to share this yummy recipe.  (Thanks to my pal  Marci for guiding me on how to make it easily at home!)

First you'll need these things:

Olive oil

Pita breads

Salad mix

Red onion

Tomato

Hummus

Feta cheese

And maybe these...





Step 1:  Brush the Pita with Olive oil
Step 2:  Bake at 400 degrees for about 5 mintues

Step 3:  Top with hummus (spread on just like you would pizza sauce)

Step 4:  Place toppings as you like

And Voila (not a greek expression but useful)  There you have it!

I put mine back in the oven for just a few to take the chill off the toppings, but of course you don't have to.

Add some fruit and you've got a perfect little fresh, healthy meal!

Enjoy!



My Anthro-inspired necklace

I'm so excited to share my new necklace with you!

.



I made it today, in just 30 or so minutes...then I made another for a friend's birthday....shhhh. Don't tell!
For a super easy tutorial see Little Miss Momma's tutorial for Pom Pom Necklace.
Have a great Saturday night!

She's On To Me

She's on to me...Beverly, that is.  Beverly is my mother and the name I call her when she's in trouble or I'M in trouble.  You know, like, "Beverly, why did scrape the ice on your driveway by yourself instead of waiting for someone else to do it".  Or, "Beverly, you're not going to believe what I did".  Well, Beverly is on to me...

As most of you know, my dad passed away a little over a year ago.  My mom, (Beverly, haha) who is VERY super organized is quite the opposite of my dad so she's been cleaning out, rearranging, throwing away, donating, getting rid of etc. lots of his STUFF.  Now, this man had lots of STUFF--I would say he may have been on the verge of hoarding, but hey, I'm good with that.  I say if a man thinks he needs 25 boxes of floppy discs in 2009 he should have them!  More than anything my dad loved BOOKS!  Oh, my I wouldn't even venture to guess the number he had! I've taken many to use, as have my brothers, sister, family friends, local pastors and pastors-to-be, but they dwindle in number and as Beverly gets rid of them, I think I'd rather take them than some random stranger have them...Thus the book wreath I made that you can see HERE!

Well, I made the mistake of showing her the book cover chandelier I saw at Anthropologie...remember?

and as I was pulling books off Dad's shelf, she said, "You're not going to cut all those books up are you?".  My reply, "Not ALL of them!"  Ornery I know, but the thought of having Daddy's books hanging over my head everyday gives me some yummy thrill. 

So, yeah, she's on to me...:)

Joy~~~~~~~

I've Got to Make THIS!

I got to go to Anthropologie in Charlotte and as I walked in, this is what I beheld!

AAAAHHHHHHH (angels singing)

This is a book cover chandelier.  Needless to say, I inspected it closely and am gathering books right now to make it.  I know, I know, I'll be tearing up books, but...in my defense, I'm planning to use the pages of the books to do something like this



Featured on Jones Design Company here

and decorate with the coverless books as seen here


Restoration Hardware

 Anyway, back to my chandelier, yes, my, chandelier...I'll let you know how it goes and hopefully do a little tutorial!  Wish me luck!


Joy~~~~~~~

Because of Who He Is

I got to have dinner with my amazing friend Kiki tonight.  We used to meet once a week...I can't even begin to tell you the things she's seen me through... and now we're kind of getting back on schedule after the holidays.  She's the kind of friend everybody needs (but I'm so glad she's MINE!). 

 I love that I can tell her that I hung my 'W' Christmas wreath with duct tape and we can cry and laugh all at the same time.  We can talk about toilet paper and scripture sometimes almost in the same breath! We can be real, transparent, true with each other...

ANYWAY...we were talking about everything but got specifically to our relationships with God, our Father, our Savior. We asked the question, "why do we have to wait?"  I don't know all the answers but I know in my own life I believe He waits.  He waits for me to come to that place where He is all I need and all I WANT.  Why?

                       I thought about that.  Think about what it's like when you're waiting on a friend to meet you for dinner, or for a package to be delivered. You're focus is all about your friend, or the package. You think about it, you imagine it and you revel in the joy it will bring. You wonder what it will be like when it arrives and what you'll do with it.  It is your FOCUS! 

      I don't believe He asks us to wait as some cruel joke, but to show us how much He wants for us.    What if our waiting for the Lord was like that?  It's easy to say but oh, so much more difficult to really believe and live!  I got this quote from a young friend's facebook page and she said I could share it.  So I am, with you...

God unflinchingly commits to the process of what He is doing in and through me     whether or not I realize it. 

He knows what I need. 

 He knows how I feel.

 And in His great love, He does not give in to my demands when He knows the greatness of what He has in mind instead.  He asks me to look beyond myself.  he asks me to wait for Him and His purposes in HIS TIMING because of Who He Is.

Joy~~~~~~~

Flower Clips and Thrift Store Finds!

In my last post I told you about flowers I wanted to make for my hair.  Well, since necessity is the mother of invention and it was necessary that I have something to do while sitting through  enjoying waiting for Miss Lyl in her two-day speech and debate tourney, I decided crafting would be a good use of time.  One problem...the flowers I wanted to make, seen HERE require burning the material.  Something told me it  probably wouldn't be a good idea to whip out a lighter in the middle of a high school auditorium!  Can you say SPRINKLERS?  So, I kind of played around and came up with these:

Miss Lyl

My favorite--black and red houndstooth

The girls had to dress professionally and weren't allowed to wear them in their hair, but were allowed to wear them on their suits to compete.  I was so thrilled especially that teenage girls wanted them!  Check back because I'll be posting a tutorial in the next few days.


While out of town in the beautiful south, Charlotte to be exact, I hit up a local thrift store and came up with these little finds all for less than 10 dollars!


I received a basket just like this for a wedding gift, but somewhere along the way...oh well, I love this one!




So lovely!




You guessed it, I'm taking this thing apart and spray painting this baby silver!

And, last but not least...


(haha. Note the sale stickers still adhered)



 I have NO idea what I'm going to do with this lovely gem...Any ideas?  Post them here and we'll redo together!

Joy~~~~~~~

A new blog I LOVE and flowers for my short hair...sigh

So, I've done it...I've cut my hair--again.  And when I say "I've cut my hair again" I mean, I'VE cut my hair, a professional hair stylist has cut my hair and even my daughters have cut my hair.  Really now. There's so much more in life to be concerned about than hair, but mine consumes me...always...

Sooo, to get from point A to point B (this is what I'm going for) I need some "help" and I'm thinking some funky little hair majigs...(And, I guess I could quit cutting my hair...).


Sooo, all that said, I was looking for a flower tutorial and I got a bonus!  A flower tutorial (or two) AND an awesome new blog called Mrs Priss.  Her hair clip tutorials are awesome!

                                 Felt Flower Tutorial  


                                                               and another, fav...

                               Dainty flower hair clip


I can't wait to try both!  So hop on over to Mrs. Priss and say "hello".  She's got a great giveaway today too!



Joy~~~~~~~

Happy New Start (Year) and thanks UTTDreaming and Tom's of Maine!

The holidays were a wonderful rest and retreat for the girls and me.  A special gift to us was the return of our little guy Connor.  His family decided NOT to move to which Miss Em replied "God answered my prayer!".  It is always my prayer that my girls see the Heart of God even when His Hand seems to be invisible at the time. 

I have decided not to exhaust myself with lists and lists of resolutions but am setting goals to lose weight and be more organized both at home, work and financially.

One "fun" goal I have is to get a new camera so I can take pictures to share with my friends and family.  Well, over the holidays, one pleasant surprise was that I WON a Target Gift card from an entry I had made on Under the Table Dreaming while she was doing a Tom's of Maine giveaway!  I am so excited!  Thanks Stephanie Lynn.  So hopefully, you all will get to see better (and more) pictures here. 

I'm excited about 2011!  There's something in even the numbers...the 1's, a new start, the beginning!  I hope you are blessed beyond measure this year too!

Joy~~~~~~~