to want list

I need to make a list. Ondriana made one yesterday and it inspired me to do the same. I hate when I forget everything I want to do, make, or wear.

1. buy some pinkish blush. its officially winter and time to put away the bronzer. CHECK

2. make my skirt for the christmas party at the biltmore hotel. (it kind of looks like this, they took the other picture down I liked)

3. make this hat. CHECK

4. find something like these churidar legging/pants from Toast. 5. wear long necklaces more. i got sick of them because everyone wore them and they started getting cheesy. i like this picture though.

Thats it for now. I have alot of school work which should come first. Somehow, I dont even see it on my want list...

wreaths!

i am looking for some wreaths to decorate our church doors with when we got married and came across these two tutorials from jones design company. i just love them and don't know which one i like more. the one with pages is so cool and can even be done with sheet music (our theme is black and white = perfect)!

which one do you like more?

ruffle wreath

book page wreath

have you ever tried one of these? what did you use for materials?

DIY save the dates

what do you think...is it necessary to send save the date cards? i think they are really cute but mostly unnecessary. especially when it costs almost 50 cents just to send them out. but i do love these save the date cards, so i am going to share.

this card was probably used for a family member to let them know they have a place to stay when making travel arrangements. you can easily do this yourself by printing out the details on one side and tying the balloon to the back. this will lay out the theme (let's have fun!) for the wedding before the guests get there.

i like these little stickers. you can send or pass them out to family and friends. they are good to use as little reminders in planners, on calendars, etc. you can easily make these yourself. just draw some circles in microsoft word, put whatever wording you would like in the circles, than print them out on full sticker sheet paper. wah-lah. easy and effective.

you can also make your own save the date cards with this template. arent they so so cute? i love the little red heart stamp one. you could probably print these out on business card paper. it is only about $5 at walmart for 150 cards. cheap and oh so personal. woohoo.

play-doh creations

look at these awesome creations i found from the facebook play-doh page. they look so real. i can't believe someone took all that time to make the corn kernels and the pasta! when i played with play-doh when i was young, i used to eat it. my mom started making dough (lots of cool recipes here) for us because we always dried ours out. it was never the same though. did you ever play with play-doh? i always wanted to spaghetti maker but never got it...

cool pencil storage

i found this cribbage board the other day at work on the "recycling" table and took it back to my office. after trying various things i decided it would be a good pencil holder. i ran to Michaels, got some cute pencils for $1 for 8, and stuck them all in. i have people walk by my office all the time asking me what it is. i reply "an artsy pencil holder" because i don't quite know myself.

if you are a school teacher, this might be a good idea for your classroom. you can fill it up with tons of pencils, and, as long as they are sharp, they don't fall down. check out all the cute pencils at Michaels right now too. they have grey/yellow polka dots, yellow florals, and bright plain ones.

spring knitting patterns

are you a member of the lion brand yarn website? if not, you should be. they always send out awesome free patterns and have discounts on their yarns. this week they have 3 balls of their organic cotton yarn for $12 if you are a member, which is a steal. check out all of their patterns for this yarn here.

these are a few of my favorites:

baby blankie

market bag

everday hat

pretty photos. cute hat.

my friend ondriana has been taking a whole bunch of photos lately and they are awesome. these are a few of my favorite. i thought the peacock feather on courtney's hat was really cute.  she put it on their herself. what a good idea to spice up a hat.

just grab some peacock feathers (can be found at specialty craft store or online), cut out a small felt circle that is doubled up and hot glued together, glue them on, and attach a small pin fastener to the back. you can wear it on hats, coats, and shirt. maybe even a belt or dress.

cute dress patterns

i hate going into a store and not finding exactly what i want to wear. that always happens. i recently asked my mom to make me a dress. it's so beautiful! i can't wait to show you all when it is finished. we found some cute patterns that i wanted to share.

this is from cynthia rowley for simplicity. my friend laura is having this dress made for her bridesmaid's in navy and burnt orange. i think it will look so beautiful!

vintage 60s dress

butterick ruffle wrap dress. it looks like this dress or this one from j.crew

good for you wallet advice

now this is great marketing. did you know you can get fashion advice from goodwill and savers on popular trends? i was check out when their next big sale was (february 15th, 50%) and i noticed that savers had tips on dressing and decorating in the back to school section. they even have a pdf on how to make a scarf pillow (really cute). there is a section for winter holiday decorating too.

check out these tutorials:

sweet hostess gifts

glitter goodies

(these would be great for valentines day of you used hearts)

shop some great auctions on shopgoodwill.com too!

knitting 2.0

after the infinity scarf, i decided to make something thick, long, and super warm. i just love lion's brand thick and quick yarn. i want to get oatmeal next.

directions:

2 skeins of thick and quick yarn

#15 knitting needles

i cast on 15 rows and made it long enough to hit the middle of my thighs. its pretty bulky but perfect for cold weather (and not fitting into my new coat).

knitting

is so relaxing. i almost fell asleep during lunch. thankfully i finished and now i can wear it! i didn't follow any infinity scarf patterns for this one...

-directions-

cast on 15

knit to the length you want (this isn't doubled up because of the yarn)

cast off and stitch ends together

-supplies-

1 skein of lion's brand wool-ease thick & quick in citron

#15 needles

irish rose scarf

i am going to try this over vacation. i have no idea if it will work but the skill level says "easy". lets hope so.

free crochet pattern here.

wrapping

how are you wrapping your gifts this year? i have been making these little cards for the past few weeks to use as gift cards. i am pretty happy with how they turned out.

i was thinking of using Monopoly money sheets for my gifts...it sounds cheesy but since i started working at Hasbro, i assumed everyone would think it was funny. i will have to share some pictures if i end up doing it.

tutorial here.

a few tips:

• buy inexpensive wrapping paper at Christmas tree shop and add embellishments with pine cones, pine needles, holly, and berries from outside
• use paper bags as wrapping paper. its environmentally friendly and allows for lots of decorations. you could even use stamps!
• using newspaper as wrapping paper isn't dumb, its kind of kitsch-y

pinecone ornament

how cute is this?

ribbon tutorial here.

and in paper!

paper tutorial here.

i love these.

pinecone tutorial here.

yo-yo tutorial here.

more infinity scarf patterns

Since everyone is looking for them...

$5.00

(love this one)$3.95

free!

easy christmas cards

(these are some cards I made for people at work.)

Now is the time to use your scrap ribbon, scrapbook paper, and fabric to make Christmas cards! I even regifted some thank you notes I have by redecorating them...

(scrapbook paper)

(fabric)

(ribbon)

pretty flower...

I love these two clutches. They are so cute!

They look fairly easy to make...Everything can be bought at the craft store.

Needed:

Fake leaves, moss, silk flowers

Buttons

Ribbon

Velvet

Old purse

Hot glue

I think these would be cute for a flower girl or bridesmaid's gifts.

maps for your wedding

Piergustafson.com has awesome maps you can purchase that can be used for wedding or party invitiations. He will also do hand-wrought caligraphy. His work is beautiful!

Here is some map wedding inspiration from style me pretty (link is on the left).

(seating chart)

Check out more wedding inspiration from my blog here.

the infinity scarf (aka the snood for UK'ers)

The infinity scarf is in for fall and it sure makes wrapping a scarf around your neck a lot easier! The above picture is from the RTW Burberry Fall runway show. This scarf can be found in most retail stores and patterns are available for the DIY'ers. Experiment with color and texture! (Like this picture from Toast)

buy a pattern on etsy at knit art by grace

buy at Target or Toast