2010 Resolutions

Yes, I'm cheesy. I love to make New Year's Resolutions!

So here's my 2010 Resolutions:

1. I will fit into my old wedding dress:

It's about 10-15 pounds away, but I'm dedicated to doing it! Better yet...

2. Complete my first ever half marathon with my mom and family:

I used to be fairly decent at running, an obvious trait from my mom's side of the family. They run quite a few races during the summer, so I want a slice of that action!

3. Learn how to sew. It would make my life (and my seamstress'.......mom) a lot easier. First thing's first: I need a sewing machine ;)

4. Be proficient at using my new Cricut:

I have a lot of plans for this, a few projects that you will see in the next 1-2 weeks.

5. And lastly, but most importantly to me, maintain (or heighten!) my 3.5 GPA.

This one's a huge deal for me. I never applied myself in high school, giving myself a 2.2 GPA.
I finally proved to everyone that I'm not an idiot, just formally lazy, lol.

TeaLight Redo

So how was everybody's holiday?
My family was spoiled rotten this year.

My 3 favorite gifts this year:

-A Cricut machine from my mother and father-in-laws.
-A 4 piece Craftsman power tool set with interchangeable batteries (circ saw, power drill, sawzall, and shop light with carrying case) from my parents.
-A Rockwell SoniCrafter (click the link to check it out. It's amazing!) from my husband.
My creating life is going to rock this year with all this stuff!!

Anyways, I did a little "mini-project" today.

Tealight Redo

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I've had a set of these Oriental-style tealights forever. My room used to be Asian-inspired. I didn't have the heart to toss them after we redecorated our room.

I figured that all they needed was a bit of TLC to make them fit into the room once more. So I disassembled it and took out the glass panes.

Then I dug through my scrapbooking supplies to find a piece of white vellum. I cut it to size, placed it between the panes again, and assembled the tealight holder again.

This is what I got:

I like that it still has Asian flare, but it toned it down a lot.

It fits in perfectly with my modern bedroom.

I love them all over again!

Anyways, switching gears a bit, I know I promised that you would see my latest and greatest project by Christmas, but I lied.
I was way too busy before Christmas to do anything. Now my house is a huge mess, so until it's cleaned up, I physically can't get any work done. But I promise that you will see it in about a week!

So here's things to look for in the future:
-My BIG REVEAL (thinking on Saturday or Sunday)
-sneak peeks
-herb garden pots
-My 2010 Resolutions (yes, I'm so cliche)
-we'll dab on the next BIG REVEAL (yep, it's already picked out and started)

Christmas Blessings

...........and to all a good night.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Cookie Cutter Ornaments

I made some more ornaments today!
Some backstory:
I went shopping with my sister-in-law today, a little girly time. While at Shopko, I saw some adorable cookie cutter ornaments (sorry, they don't have it on their website!). $4 for a ribbon tied to a cookie cutter?! You have GOT to be kidding me!
So of course I made my own.



Cookie Cutter Ornaments
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Supplies: cookie cutters were left over from my wreath.
Directions: Cut a piece of twine off, wrap it around the cookie cutter, and make a bow. Simple, cheap, fast. I like it!


Do you, too?


Here's some more ideas for virtually free ornaments:
- Make my pinecone ornaments
- use natural nests (after they are abondoned of course) A coworker was kind enough to bless me with some of her own collection.

- Spray paint a lot of twigs and stick them in the top for a tree topper (we do this at Younkers)
- Save pet tags. They make great ornaments and remind you of past loved ones.
- string popcorn on fishing line for great-looking cheap garland. Just be careful! It breaks easily!
- Paint acorns and string them up.
-raid your craft storage, I'm sure you'll brew up something!

Squirrel Love

Just when I had given up all hope of a cute furry friend finding my Yummy Pinecone Treat, I caught this guy having a 5 hour meal.

The cutest part was watching him trying to get all the peanut butter off his cute little paws.
If you want a how-to on making this for the squirrels or birds in your area, click the photo above.


And there's tonight's sneak peeks. Sorry for my lack of them, I've been trying hard to finish this project since I have family coming in this weekend.
I also did a couple really REALLY cute projects, but since they tie in with my reveal, I can't show you.
Sorry!
Even if I don't complete this reveal completely by Christmas, I promise you'll see it on/before then. So stick around!

Coming up:
-my dressed table (post on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning)
-twine garland (after Christmas)
-fun herb pots (after Christmas)
-a look at my Christmas tree in it's full glory (post on Christmas Eve)
-pictures of Christmas Day at my house (post the day after)
-more sneak peeks!

Winterized Planter Boxes

Remember that I was talking about that terrible blizzard that came through my area and dropped 14 inches of snow on us?

Well, apparently it took down part of my tree as well.

This picture doesn't do it justice. More than half of the branch was buried in the 14 inches of snow.

I pouted for a bit.

But why not turn something sucky into something beautiful?

The inspiration for this project came from my Grandma's house, where a nice man did this exact same thing to her flower boxes.

I cut off the branches and strategically places them in the flower boxes, draping some over.

Here's the other one.
I still have all this mess left.
I'm thinking about making a real wreath or garland, but we'll see how ambitious I get.

Oh! And I just found out that my brother is coming into town this Sunday! I haven't seen him in a year, since he's in the service and all, so I'm as giddy as can be!

Anyways, here's what to look for in the future:

-sneak peeks of my big project (it's getting there!)

-the 22nd will be my big holiday dinner, so keep an eye out for that dressed table I've been talking about!

-a look at this year's X-mas tree

-maybe some more holiday recipes and decor.

-if I make the living wreath/garland, I'll show you that!

Yummy Pinecone Treats

Squirrels have a bad rap. I don't care, I think they are adorable.

I had this cutie pie hoarding my walnuts for the winter:

I was reminded that I needed to do a homework project with my son that involved helping these little guys get through the winter.

Yummy Pinecone Treats

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Supplies

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-pinecone

-twine

-peanut butter (I used chunky for more nuts!)

-seeds (I had sunflower seeds leftover from the summer. They love them!)

Directions

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-Tie a piece of twine around the top of the pinecone, trying to get under all the little "petals"

2. Spread some peanut butter all over the pinecone.
3. Roll your pinecone in your seeds, trying to coat it as well as possible.

4. Hang it up!

Also, check out this yummy wreath for your furry and feathered friends. Of course, you need to live in a place where it's freezing. (Yup, I definitely do!). For instructions on how to make this for your own yard, click on the picture.

Imposters!

I was happily paging through Better Homes & Garden's 100 decorating ideas under $100 magazine, when I found this!
I stared in shock.
I guess I wasn't as original as I had thought! ;)

If you want to check out my oh-so-cooler version, click here.

Back to the drawing board!

6th Annual Festival of Lights

What started out as a good friend coming over to help us put up Christmas lights on our old apartment while drinking beer has become a full-blown festival every year.

We (as in my husband and our friend) have lovingly termed this occasion as the "Festival of Lights."

Basically, we drink beer to make the chore of putting up Christmas lights a little more tolerable. Plus the beer helps us cope with the freezing temperatures (which, if you have any knowledge of anatomy, isn't true).

The antics of this day have become legends.

Here's some highlights of our day:

The fridge ready and raring to go.

My husband with his safety helmet gearing up to put lights on the roof. You'll notice that the them for the party was "hats." So don't make fun of mine!
We also do a Dollar Store gift exchange, which always makes for the best presents. Vanessa sporting her new safety goggles. She had the greatest penguin hat.
Vanessa showing off her new Fight Club action figure.
Mike got a new stick pony with the matching "cowgirl" hat. Yes, there were many Brokeback Mountain jokes that night.
I was sporting my new fuzzy frog slippers. My daughter loved them! Yes, the kiddos got presents, also! They really get into the festivities. Hailey got a dollie, John received a whoopee cushion, and Will has a magic trick card set.
Did you dig the "Elmer Fud" hat? Hey, it was warm!

Keith received Kiss (as in the band!) M&M's.

Jeff got War card games.
Alicia was rocking our her new glasses. Also being rocked hard-core: her new 74 cent Younkers "J-Lo" hat.
Joe got a brand new recorder (his old one was accidentally busted over my knee after a 2 hour concert in my car.)

There were more gifts, but unfortunately my camera was left in the garage for about an hour, and the lens was terribly fogged. Sorry!

The women enjoyed some red wine. I'm being my usual dorky self.

Though I honestly believe there was more antics going on than actual work, in the end, everything looked great!

We are putting up more in the next few days, but at least the hard stuff is already done!

Featured!

I've been featured over at The DIY Showoff again!
I'm a hard-core follower of this blog, and if you aren't, you should be!!
Click the image above to go check out the feature and tell Roeshel "hi!"