Guest Post at Miss Lovie-Christmas Photo Card Wreath

I am guess blogging again today over at Miss Lovie. She's hosting her Anniversary/Christmas Event! Hope you enjoy my post and all the rest this week! Just click the button below:







Merry Christmas!

Trying to win a Silhouette

Little Miss Momma is hosting a giveaway for a Silhouette! I want one of these SO bad! Check out the giveaway. Also, if you're on pinterest and have a Silhouette or want one you should follow them...http://pinterest.com/silhouettepins/. The possibilities are truly endless!

Fall Table Decor

So, I'm definitely behind the times on this one as most of you are probably already decorating for Christmas...but I just wanted to post this so I wouldn't forget and maybe you can use it for next year. It's nothing much but a few little fall things that could also transition for Thanksgiving. Maybe you can use it for a center piece this November? I just can't decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving so this is still up until the 25th for me. Anyway, hope that you are enjoying the end of your fall and are excited about the holiday season!

Vase from Family Dollar

+Jute from Hobby Lobby and lots of hot glue

=fall vase with fall colored flowers, also from Family Dollar

$1 frame from Family Dollar, $1 leaves from Family Dollar, free printable

(Just a little hot glue to attach the leaves and berries.)

Fall entry table complete with pictures from previous Falls

Guest Post at Miss Lovie-EEK Wreath

I was a guest blogger over at Miss Lovie yesterday for Allie's Creepy Crafty Halloween Event. Check out my post and all the other great blog ideas!

Please excuse for my absence...and another wreath.

Dear beautiful, wonderful followers,

First let me say thank you for following! There are lots of new faces on that list over there to the right and that just brightens my day! However, please forgive me for not blogging in FOREVER! I just haven't been overly inspired lately and I've been working tons. But, I finally got a large table for my craft room and a new computer which is quickly bringing back the joy of the blog world and crafting!

Anywho, this past weekend I worked on a wreath for a friend. She requested a "UK" wreath as we have entered football season around these parts which also means basketball season is just around the corner. Around here we love our Cats and love to show it anywhere we can. Now that I've made one for my friend I've got to get to work on my own...along with a new something for fall...gonna have to change them out when my fave team plays!

Here she is:

Materials:

• foam wreath
• burlap
• wooden letters
• team/colored fabric of your choice (I used blue, white, and a UK fabric)
• ribbon

Overall it was pretty simple. I don't have a picture tutorial for each step but I just sort of made up the flowers as I went. Mostly it's just circles folded or twisted and glued to make different designs. To begin, hot glue the burlap to the wreath form and then wrap the ribbon around. Then, I glued the letters on. Finally, I just made the flowers and glued them on too. (What would I do without hot glue?!)

Hope you like it. I'm hoping to finish up one more piece of furniture and then show you my summer craigslist finds soon.

Thanks again for reading. Hope to be back sooner than later!

Dara

Clarke-4 months

 Here is my sweet "niece" Clarke. She is now 4 months which is hard to believe. She has such a great personality and fantastic expressions already. I had a great time taking these latest photos. Hope you enjoy this cuteness!

Seriously...could she be any cuter?!

Go Cats!

This one makes me laugh. I think she looks so serious and thoughtful here...or maybe thinking her mom and I are crazy for doing this to her. ;)

And a precious little family shot as well. They are awesome!

Before and Sort of After Photos

Ok, here are some pictures of the house! (It's only taken forever.) Things are really finally coming together. All of the rooms are now painted which feels great. I still have lots of decorating and accessorizing to do but that will come with time. I don't want to be hasty about anything. I'm really looking forward to hitting up yard sales and thrift stores this summer to find the perfect thing and to have some more time to create things of my own. Of course, that darn craft room (see previous post) is still a disaster which makes creating anything difficult but it's moved up in the priority list so that's good.

Guest Room Before:

 Light fixture still needs to be replaced...yuck!

Guest Room After:

I love this shade of green!

Color: Sherwin Williams Ryegrass

This room also has a dresser and tredmill in it but neither of those are very exciting.

Let me know if you need a place to stay. This bed is just waiting for visitors. :)



Guest Bath Before:

I do NOT like baby blue...unless it's for a baby. Ew.

And another light fixture that needs replacing.

Guest Bath After:

But I do LOVE yellow!

(even though it doesn't really look like it in this picture)

Color: Sherwin Williams Humble Gold

Kitchen Before:

I really wanted a yellow kitchen....I just couldn't decide what shade.

And if you know me then you probably aren't surprised by all those samples on the wall.



Kitchen After:

But I finally decided on this delightful golden yellow and I love it.

Color: Sherwin Williams Overjoy

Master Bedroom Before:

hideous baby blue again...

Master Bedroom After:

I was really going for a peaceful, feminine look and I feel like I have acheived that. Lots of little touches still left but I really love my bedroom and the way it feels.

Color: Sherwin Williams Grayish

Still to come: living room, dining area, master bath, craft room/office

Well, I better get to finishing up a few more things and some stuff for school. I guess Spring Break is officially over. It's been a fantastic week and I am so grateful for the time off. Pretty excited to see my kiddos tomorrow. Hope you're having a great weekend and enjoying some time with beautiful weather like we're having here.

Coming Soon...

I just wanted to update a bit that I WILL add some "sort-of after" pictures soon! I am no where near finished decorating my new house but I do finally have most of my furniture and most of the rooms painted. It's beginning to feel more and more like home which is wonderful. And Spring Break is quickly approaching so I will have some time to get some more work done! Yay!

This room is supposed to be my craft room....as you can see there is no "crafting" going on here. I don't know where I want the furniture and I need another table...so these boxes just sit here....ew.  At least the new gray color is beautiful and I have lots of pretty ideas running through my head. So expect some before and after pictures of a few rooms this weekend...and hold me to it people! :)

In the meantime, a new twist on an old wreath design...

Nothing too spectacular but instead of numbers I painted their last initial. I love it!

(And could my friend Shelby be anymore beautiful?! Seriously gorgeous! Happy Birthday Lady!) 

My Exciting News!

First, my apologies for being the world's WORST blogger. However, I do think I've had a reasoble excuse...and I hope you do too. :)

A few posts back I said I would be taking a hiatus while I waited for some big news to finalize and it is.....

I bought a house!! YAY!

So, this last week I've been painting and painting and painting....and have some more to do. I'll post those before and after pictures next week once I get all settled in. And hopefully all of this will lead to lots more fun craft and home decoration blog posts! But for now I've got to get my painting clothes back on and get back to work. Move in day is Friday so it all needs to be ready! Have a great week!



Valentine's Day Sweetness

No, I don't have a mushy, gushy love story to write about, and that's ok. :) I'm just writing because my Valentine's Day was made great by my precious 4th graders. This class has it's challenges as they all do but they are about the sweetest little kids I've ever had the privilege of teaching. I love that each class is different and I love that there is something great to remember about all of them. I got so many nice little notes and hugs from my students today (not to mention candy and treats :) ) and it really made for a wonderful day. Lately I've  been trying to find the joy in teaching as it can be hard to do with all the "other" stuff (I'll save that for another post.) and today that was super easy! Love these kiddos and love that I got to love them back today!  Hope you're Valentine's was just as sweet and lovely! :D



P.S. Hopefully that big news will be coming tomorrow. :)

Another Giveaway :)

Ok, so I'm trying to win something else....that will go really well with why I'm not blogging (see below). Anyway, head on over to Tatertots and Jello for this fabulous give away from Barn Owl Primitives. I absolutely adore all of them but I'm really hoping for this one.

Good luck and happy shopping!

-dara marie

Blog Hiatus

Hi fabulous readers! I'm so excited to have some new followers and to share my crafts and what not. However, I will be on a bit of a blog hiatus for a little while...about a month I think. Not much time or space for crafting right now but hopefully I'll have some exciting news to share soon. So don't forget about me while I'm not blogging and check back soon! Thanks!

Shamelessly trying to win...and so should YOU!

Ok, I'm shamelessly trying to win a Silhouette. How much would I LOVE one of these machines?! The possibilities are endless and I can just imagine all the wonderful ways to add a personalized touch anywhere you want! So, I'm going to link up to all these other wonderful blogs that are having a giveaway. Now I know you're dying to win one too so check them out!

Check it out here...


Or here...
The House of Smith's

Or here...
Desgin Dazzle

Or here....
The Shabby Chic Cottage

Or here...
All Things Thrifty

Or here...
Lemon Tree Creations

Or head over to Miss Lovie for some other places that you can enter.

Good Luck! I hope we all win! :)

Winter Wreath

Nothing too exciting to share with you today, just a couple of wreaths I have made recently. They bring a little pretty to the front door after taking down all the fun of Christmas (isn't that such a huge let down every year?).

These supplies were bought during Christmas. The garland is from Hobby Lobby and the Snowflakes are ornaments from Michaels. It's a little over the top for this girl but it's wintery and pretty. Easy to make too...just used some floral wire to tie the garland and ornaments to the grapvine wreath.

I think it would also look nice with just the snowflakes placed around the wreath without the garland.

This is for my Aunt's house. It's a little mix of winter and spring so hopefully this will also transition into other seasons too. Found the berries at Michael's with the Christmas clearance stuff. Go check it out! I bought a bunch of pink and gold ones for myself...don't know what I'm going to do with them yet but I couldn't pass up a good deal.

Hope you're staying warm and safe in all the snow. I think I actually have to be productive today. ;)

Valentine's Heart Wreaths

First, let me say, YAY for snow days so I can blog a little. Second, I'm pretty excited to share these sweet little heart wreaths with you. I apologize that I'm not very good at the whole tutorial thing yet. I just forget to take pictures when I should but I think you'll be able to figure it out. Here's to a little love and fun for your Valentine's Day! (I'm also pretty pumped that I actually did a project before the holiday so you can make one too!)

Supplies (this is where I always forget to take the picture)...

• ribbons of your choice-I used 5/8in grosgrain ribbon. I found the Valentine's theme ribbon at Michael's and bought the others at Hobby Lobby when it was 50% off...love that!
• hot glue
• heart wreath form...I used a wire one and covered the back of it with felt so that the ribbon would stick. If you could find something that was flat with a better gluing surface I think it would be easier.

And that's all you need!

I cut the ribbon into little strips, rolled them, and hot glued them together. I'm not sure how long I cut the pieces, probably about 2 1/2 or 3in.

Then just start gluing them all around the wreath how you want! Again, I had trouble getting it to stick to the wire alone so I added some felt to the back (sorry I didn't take a picture).

And just keep going until it's all covered and you don't have any holes! Add a little ribbon on the back and hang in the perfect spot (which I haven't found yet).





Here's a close up of the ribbons I used:

Here's another heart wreath I made from a tutorial at The Idea Room. Thanks to Allie from Miss Lovie for sending this one to me!

Just be careful not to drop it. :(

I'm not sure what I am going to do to get it back together. I tried hot glue but the foam just soaks it all in. I'll try again later or maybe try out my Gorilla Glue for the first time. And if that doesn't work I guess I'll buy a new form. The circle cutting was the most tedious part of this project so it wouldn't be too hard to re-do it.

Happy Heart Making!