More Letters

I hate that I am such a slacker on my postings! I swear I will get better. Anyways I have been busy working on a few new letters for Fall, friends and family. Tell me what you think!

Lots more letters to come with the holidays!!! My next set of letters will be Halloween!

Check out the Linky Parties!
Todays creative Blog
Someday Crafts

How Sweet

Anyone who knows me knows my obsession for candy/sweets. I live off of candy, I know it is a horrible  habit..I'm working on it:) I came across some darling candy gifts that I had to share. This are easy and inexpensive and make for a great gift!

After school/work snack? Cookies and Milk prefect idea! How cute is the straw! Its to make chocolate milk!

My husband and I love movies, whether we stay at home or go out I always need a little treat. What a great idea if you have friends or family over for a movie night!

And then a little treat to send home with your guests.























Summer BBQ's...what a creative way to say thank you.

So many cute ideas...I cant get enough!

Last but not least are the many camping trips or back yard hangouts for the summer. Bring on the Smores. Check out the tutorial.

Now there is no excuse on not having a gift to give or a party favor to hand out. All you have to do is think creative.

Beauty- Inside and Out

Hey my humble elegant beautiful followers! Sorry it has been so long since my last post, my life is a little crazy right now.

This is going to be a different post then you have seen in the past, but I wanted to share this with you all. For me being creative isn’t just about making your house look stunning, but also yourself. We all work so hard putting in time and effort to make our homes look nice so it is important to remember the "outside you" that needs a little TLC...we deserve to look fabulous!

Fact: I hate getting ready, I work early and come home late so the last thing I want to do is spend time on my makeup or hair, but taking care of yourself does boost your self esteem, when you look great you feel great! Lets be honest it will only take an extra 10-15 minutes to put in a little effort and leave your house looking stunning.

Thank goodness Tiffany D aka the makeup guru! Ahh I love her! She gives step by step videos on makeup how to's, her favorite products and product reviews, celebrity make up tutorials, nail polishes overview, hair products, holiday makeup, you name it she blogs about it. Some of her posts include:


*Define makeup in 5 minutes

*Easy Red lips

*Quick, Perfect Eye Brows

*Holiday Sparkle* Wearable & Fun Makeup

*Everyday hair routine

*Flawless & Natural foundation routine

*Katy Perry (mostly drugstore) routine

*Smoky eye routine

*And More!!!

Check out the videos; don’t get discouraged because she makes it look so easy. Just remember it’s like any home project or new creation...practice makes perfect.

Paper Roses

I love roses, they are timeless, classy and beautiful. When I did my "Love" wood lettering the heart was covered in roses made from crepe paper streamers, cost... $0.67! I found out about these roses from
Shelly House of Smith, check out her blog for more ideas!

You can make hanging rose balls, frames, wreaths or use the roses for accent pieces like I did.

Materials
*Crepe paper streamers
*Glue (I used my hot glue gun but any type of glue should work)


The first step is to cut off strips of crepe paper. The pieces that I cut were about 16 inches because I needed to make my roses tight and smaller. To make your roses bigger cut longer pieces about 20-24 inches.
Once you have cut off the pieces of crepe paper crumble them in your hands (this isn't a have to step but it helps in making the roses look softer.)

Then start to roll the paper about 4 times and put a dot of glue so it doesn't come unrolled. ***You will burn your fingers in making these so be prepared!***

Next wrap the paper around the middle base roll and twist. It should like something like this...

Continue to twist and wrap until you have a rose. ***You do not have to twist the paper, but when you twist the paper I think it gives it more of a flower look.***

It is super easy, but it takes a few tries to get a rose that looks good. I had a ton of roses that I had to looked horrible and a ton that looked just like a rose.The more you make the easier it gets.

To glue the rose on to your project just apply a drop of hot glue to the back of the rose. Last and optional is adding accessories to you project. For my wood letters I added pearl and silver beads and a cute little feather, you can buy all of this at any craft store for really cheap.

Its all in the Header

When I first started blogging (about a month ago) I noticed all of these beautiful blog layouts and I couldn’t wait until I started to design mine.

 After 4 hours of trying to make an elegant header by editing the HTML and code I gave up. I started to look at the blog layout designs that I loved and I had to know how these bloggers got their sites to look so professional.

No surpise that some bloggers paid big bucks to get their blogs looking amazing. Some custom templates you can buy for $200 up to $800!!! Don’t get me wrong the layouts and creations are beautiful, but I don’t have a dime to spend on making my blog look professional (just yet anyway).

If you do have the money to create your design layout check out Littlebluedeer, I love her style it is elegant, shic, sassy, calming, glamour and beautiful.

EightCrazy Designs has fun colorful templeates, and soft colored designs for everyone. I must say my style is a mixture of Little Blue Deer and Eight Crazy Designs…lets see what I can come up with.

I cringe just thinking about how long this is going to take me, but once I figure it out I will share with you on how to get your blog looking amazing for FREE!

Linky Parties

Since I am a new blogger I had to do a little research on linky parties. I had no idea what it was, but they are wonderful! What is a linky party you ask? A linky party is put on by other bloggers; you link your project up to their blog! Why is this awesome? If you link a project to a linky party other bloggers are able to view your projects and hopefully they will start to follow you and use your inspiration. Another great reason is to see others creative projects which gives me inspiration! I have to give a huge thanks to C.R.A.F.T, she lists all of the bloggers who host linky parties! Keep checking out her website because she always adds more!

Monday:


Making Monday Marvelous @ C.R.A.F.T.
I made the world cuter today @ Making the World Cuter
Just Something I whipped Up @ The Girl Creative
Make it for Monday @ Cottage Insticts
Motivate me Monday @ Keeping it Simple
Marketing Monday's @ The Trendy Tree House
Made By You Monday@ Skip to My Lou
Brag Monday @ The Graphics Fairy
Muffin Tin Monday @ Muffin Tin Mom
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch
Made it Monday @ the Persimmon Porch
Photo Challenge @ I Heart Faces
Mad Skills @ Mad in Crafts
Made with Love @ Sew Chatty


Tuesday:

Tutorial Tuesday @ With Hope Studios
Sweet Shot Day @ My 3 Boy Barians
Shutter Love Tuesday's @ The Trendy Treehouse
Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays @ Coastal Charm
Anything related @ All Thingz Related
Sew cute Tuesday @ Creative Itch
Take a Look Tuesday @ Sugar Bee
Letting the Creative Juices Flow @ These Creative Juices
Teach me Tuesday @ The Girl Creative
Tip me Tuesday @ Tip Junkie
Toot Your on Horn @ A Silly Little Sparrow
Tot Tuesday @ Delicious Ambiguity
Twice Owned Tuesdays @ Creating a House of Grace
Get your craft on Tuesday @ Today's Creative Blog
Amaze me August @ Bella Before and After
Show me What ya got @ Not JUST a Housewife


Wednesday:

We're Organized Wednesday @ Organize and decorate Everything
Penny Pinching Party @ The Thrifty Home
We Did It @ Sew Much Ado
Power of Paint @ Domestically Speaking
Make it Yours Day @ Backyard Eden
Hoo are You @ Night Owl Crafting
Work in Progress @ Creative Crochet
Show and Tell @ Blue Cricket Design
The Board Walk Bragfest @ Bobbypins Boardwalk
Sugar and Spice @ 733
Show us what your working with @ Me and my Bucket
Whatever goes Wednesday @ Someday Crafts
Spotlight yourself @ Santa’s Gift Shoppe & Ideas
Gettin’ Crafty on Hump Day @ Nikki's Nifty Knacks
Wallet Friendly @ Bargain Shopping Paradise
Pajama Party @ Life in My P.J.’s

Thursday:

Strut your stuff @ Somewhat Simple
100 Ideas under $100 @ Beyond the Picket Fence
Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Chic Cottage
Make it Wear it @ The Train to Crazy
Get your Craft on Thursday @ Life as Lori
I made it @ Everything Etsy
Tablescape Thursday @ BNOTP
Hooking up with HoH @ House of Hepworths
Treasurista's Treasures @ The Treasurista
Show your stuff off @ Fireflies & Jellybeans


Friday:

It's a Hodgepodge Friday @ It's a Hodgepodge Life
Feature Yourself Friday @ Finger prints on the fridge
Look at Me, I'm so Crafty @ It's Fun to Craft
Favorite Things Friday @ A few of my Favorite Things
Friday Fun Finds @ Kojo Designs
I'm Lovin' it Fridays @ Tidy Mom
Frugalicious Friday @ Finding Fabulous
Flaunt it Friday @ Chic on a Shoestring Decorating
Show and Tell @ My Romantic House
Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest
Home and Family @ Home is where my Story begins
Fab Friday @ Frugal and Fabulous
Fabulous Friday @ Frou Frou Decor
Fabulous Friday @ Saving Money Living Life
Feature me Friday @ Clickable Party
Lovely Crafty Weekend @ Lovely Crafty Home

Saturday:

Saturday night special @ Funky Junk
Check me out Saturday @ A vision to remember
Saturday Is crafty day @ Along for the Ride
Weekend Wrap Up Party @ Tatertots and Jello
Saturday Spotlight @ Craft Envy
Saturday Soiree @ A Little Lovely
Show and Tell @ Be Different Act Normal

Romantic Letters

                                

Here is my tutorial on how to make wooden block letters for gifts or to add a nice touch to any room in your home. I buy my letters at a local store called Wood Connection; if you don’t have Wood Connection near you then you can buy your letters at any craft store.

Items you need:
#1 Wooden letters
#2 Mod Podge
#3 Razor knife
#4 Scrap book paper
#5 Paint or wood stain
#6 Credit card
#7 Paint brush
#8 Accessories to add to your letters


The first step is to gently sand down the letters and remove any rough edges. Once that is complete I paint or stain each letter; I use craft paint for the letters since it is inexpensive.

Once I have painted the letters and they are dry it is time to apply the scrap book paper. Take the wood letter and apply mod podge over the surface area of the letter; then place the scrap paper on top of the letter. Turn the letter face forward and use a credit card to smooth out the paper on the letter and remove any extra glue or imperfections. Do this to all of your wood pieces and let it dry. ***Keep in mind the thicker the paper the better your project will look, thin paper bubbles and ripples when it is placed on top of mod podge.***



Once the mod podge has dried you need to cut the paper to match the lettering. I found the easiest way to do this was to take razor knife and cut around the letters. ***At this point the letters should be painted or stained the color that you want before you apply the paper.




If you have completed all of the steps up to this point your letters should look like the picture below.

Next step make sure to apply 1-2 layers of mod podge to seal the letters to the wood.

Easy right?!? After the mod podge has dried I distressed the letters and added a stain for a vintage antique look.

IMPORTANT TIP: make sure you have your design for the project picked out before you get started. I am a very inpatient person and I ended up redoing this project 3 or 4 times! Pick out a few letters to add more accessories or art and leave the other letters plain. (This is completely optional; you can go all out on each letter if you want!)  Since my word was only four letters my focal point was the heart.

For the last step put together the word to see how it will look, you may end up adding or taking away accessories.

As I already mentioned my focal point is the heart so I didn’t want to add too much to the other letters. My inspiration=romantic elegance.

                                 

***The rose are made from streamers/tissue paper (cost $0.67!) I got this idea from Shelly at House of Smiths! I will post a tutrioial on how I made my roses soon!

I love how these letters turned out, just the look I was going for:)

See other great ideas at the linky parties this week that I submitted to!

Someday Crafts

The Thrifty Home

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice