A Thoughtful Surprise!

The other day when my Hubby came home he brought me a little surprise just for no reason!

It wasn't a special occasion and he wasn't even in the dog house. (he he!)

How sweet is he!

Lots of yellow flowers just to make my day!

Needless to say, I am married to the best man!

Thanks Babe!

Who doesn't love flowers!?

Home Decor on a Dime *Pretty Pleated Pillow!*

I'm sure I'm not the only one who is always on the look out for super cheap crafting ideas.

If I spend as much as I'd like to on all my crafty ventures I'm sure my Stud muffin aka the man of the house would not be super thrilled. . . am I right?

I've got a couple guest rooms that need some decor and I've got some ideas that aren't gonna cost much at all!  

Here is what I started with

Isn't this such a cute pillow cover?!  Is it pleated or is it ruffled?  I'd say a little of both!

Total cost - $0

Ahhhh, Nice!

Here is a little 411 of how I made it.  It is super easy!  I can only sew in a straight line, which is good cuz that's all it takes!

I started with the pillow I was going to cover

and some fabric (I used an old sheet - perfect!)

Cut three pieces, two the same size, just slightly larger than the pillow.  Make sure to add a few inches for seam allowance.  Cut the third piece the same width as the first two but twice the length.  

First we are going to start with the longest piece.  First sew a basting stitch along both sides. (long stitches, low tension) 

Pull one of the threads and it will start to gather your fabric.

Gather both sides until it is the same size as the shorter pieces.  Pin the long gathered piece to one of the shorter pieces and sew them together.  

Now the ruffled/pleated side is the front (or the right side). We are going to sew it to the back.

The back is the last piece you have left (one of the smaller pieces).

Now, cut this last piece in half so you can just slide your pillow in when its finished.  

Now pin the back pieces to the front (the pleated side)  

Right sides together - remember the pleated side is the right side

Now sew it all together.  Flip it right side out, and put in your pillow!

Easy Peasy!  And oh so pretty! 

Yummy, Yummy, Yummy I got Chocolate in my Tummy!

Everyone loves something yummy for the tummy and anyone who knows me knows how much I love chocolate!  

I've got quite a tastey recipe for you, some really great

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

I made this myself a while back to top some brownies and Ummm was it good!

It tastes almost like the store bought kind you get in a tub but its better and you can make it to whatever consistency you'd like.

In case you're interested in making it here it is

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

1/2 C Butter

3/4 C Cocoa

2 1/4 C Powdered Sugar

1/4 C Milk

1 t. Vanilla

Melt the butter on the stove then add the cocoa.  Mix well and cook until boiling.  

Take off the stove and cool.  

Once cool add the vanilla and then alternately mix in the powdered sugar and the milk until the desired consistency is reached.  

Then add to your favorite treats and there you have it!  

It also makes a super yummy cookie sandwich!  

 One wont hurt. . . 

Now, Go and make yourself something yummy for the weekend!

Blog Swapping with Curly Q Crafts

I'm so excited!  Today Brooke, the mastermind behind Curly Q Crafts is showin us some love!
Take a look at the super cute stuff she has in store!


Hello Ready, Set, Create Readers!

I am so excited to be taking over Aleesha's blog today!

Let me introduce myself:

My name is Brooke from Curly Q Crafts and I am a CRAFT ADDICT!

I love to do just about any craft under the sun (some more than others).

But I would have to say wood crafts are my FAVORITE! I love to sit in the garage and create, some turn out, some get burned! LOL!

So that being said I thought I would share my newest wood craft that I am so so excited about!

I love things that change with the seasons, it just makes things easier, wouldn't you agree??

So here it is my newest porch decoration!

I also LOVE 2x4 crafts, so I thought I would share my favorite one!

These 2x4 blocks actually all turn 360 degrees, so you can mix and match and turn as you please!

What you need:

3 2x4x4 blocks

2 2x4x2.5 (for top and bottom)

1 dowel

Drill pit slightly larger than dowel

Glue

Paper

Mod Podge/Spray adhesive

Stain/paint

Ribbon

6 Clips

After all your blocks are cut and sanded drill a hole down the very center of you 2x4 as shown here. Make sure your holes are straight and centered!

Once your center blocks are drilled, drill a hole on the top and bottom blocks (do not go all the way through, only about half way)

Cut your dowel down to size. Glue your dowel into you block but not your top.

I stained my blocks and then added my paper with spray adhesive and mod podge. Once your blocks are all decorated glue the top on and now you have a cute picture display that spins!

Thank you again to Ready, Set, Create we have enjoyed our stay!!

How super cute is that!  And her new porch decoration. . . Yes please!

Thanks again Brooke!

Giveaway with CSN Stores (Basically just FREE money!)

That's right people. . . you heard me!

Free Money!
Basically.
The lovely people at CSN stores want to give you a gift certificate to buy something pretty from one of their 200+ stores
$40.00

Think of what you could by with $40.00!
You could put it towards something big like this beautiful dining table

or get a super cool piece of art for your home!
Maybe you'd rather get a fun and sassy pair of shoes
or something for your kitchen.
So many possibilities!

Wanna win a $40 gift certificate to CSN stores???

Here's what you gotta do,
Take a look at some of the CSN websites and leave me a comment letting me know something you see that you like!

If your a follower of this here blog of mine, leave me another comment and you'll get two entries to win!

I'll announce the winner next week. . . Happy shopping!

A Few Fun Finds

Crafting is always fun. . . But my other love is bargain hunting!
Who doesn't love finding something super cute for a crazy good price?!

Here are a few of my recent finds at some summer garage sales and the local thrift store.
I found this cute cloche which I just love!
I think it needs a little something on the bottom but I can't decide which one.
What do you think?

Or is this one better?

I also found this vase that matches perfectly with this larger vase in our living room!
They look so much better as a set!`

Its amazing how something as simple as a pillow can brighten up a room.
I ♥ this pillow! One dollar well spent!

OOOh. . . We also got a treadmill at a garage sale for 25 dollars! And it works great too!

There few things as great as finding a good deal and I'm always on the look out for bargains!

What kind of bargains have you found lately?

Subway Art

I love the look of subway art. Most tutorials require the use of the fancy schmancy Cricut. Well, since I don't want to shell out hundreds of dollars on one, I came up with my own way to make some subway art.
Looks pretty good I'd say!
Here's my how to.

I started with a piece of foam board and some stickers in several different fonts.

I drew some evenly spaced lines on the board then started sticking on my letters.
I decided to fill my board with just words and phrases that describe me and my hunky hubby.

I covered it with stickers, then painted it.
Once the paint is dry, its time to start pealing off the letters.
This step took way longer than I had anticipated. Maybe its cuz I used foam board instead of a canvas? I don't know. Whatever the reason, next time I think I'll use just a bunch of white letters (assuming I can find lots of them in a bunch of different fonts.)

Anyways. . . Once the pealing was done I just did a little touch up painting to fix any areas that needed a little help.
My hubby gets a lot of credit for the pealing. He was a huge help!
He is so sweet how he helps me with my projects even though he thinks I'm a little bonkers at times.

Well, it was worth the work for the final product. It goes great in my craft room and looks cute with the boxes I made here.
Well my craft room is one step closer to being fully decorated.

Thanks for reading!

An Unlikely Piece of Art

Need a quick easy piece of artwork for a sad empty wall?
Me too.
Here is what I came up with.

Believe it or not this cute picture was once a gift bag found at, none other than the dollar store.

All you need are a couple gift bags (that are way too cute to spend their lives being only gift bags) and a couple floating frames.

Its as easy as cutting up the gift bags and sticking them in the frames.

They don't look like gift bags hanging on the wall and I totally ♥ them as pictures!

It adds a little something to our guest bathroom.
There are so many cute gift bags out there that the possibilities are endless!

So next time your looking for a gift bag, use your crafting eye and see what kinds of ideas come to you!

Life is much more than crafting...

My life is so blessed.
Sometimes though I need a little reminder of just how good I have it.

My baby sister recently gave me just such a reminder.

This is me and my beautiful baby sister.

She is beautiful but most importantly she is so very thoughtful and kind.

She recently decided that she wanted to cut off her long beautiful hair and donate it to be made into wigs for cancer patients. She didn't donate it to Locks of Love because they sell their wigs. Instead she donated it to a place that makes wigs and distributes them for free through the American Cancer Society.

She donated 8 inches of her hair so that another girl/woman can have a beautiful wig.

Look at that totally adorable new hair style!

Doesn't she look cute?! She totally rocks that short hair!

We are so proud of what a wonderful girl she is.
What a thoughtful thing to do?! How many of us would just hold on to our hair?
I know I would. (lets just face it, I could not pull off a short cut like that)

Yes, we all love crafting and decorating, but let's all look for something nice we can do for someone else this weekend.
Happy Friday!

Necklace Holder

With all these necklaces I've been making its only natural that now I need to make a place to hang them all!
So here is what I came up with.
Cute, easy, functional with lots of space to hang as many necklaces as I'd like!

In case you're interested in making one yourself, here is how I made it.

I started with a board, a 1x4 about 12 inches long.
Some fabric cut larger than my board
Hooks - I used 3 double robe hooks that i found at Walmart
Mod Podge

First I covered the board with Mod Podge and then smoothed my fabric over the board. When it dries give it another coat over the top.

For the back I just folded over the fabric and Mod Podged it down.

Once it is dry, position and screw in the hooks.
And there you have it!

Look how much room there is to hold so many necklaces!
And no more tangled messes!