Pretty Perfect...

I have seen a ton of felt flowers on Pinterest and thought I would give it a try. I had some left over felt from a Pinterest wreath that went WRONG and thought I would use it.

I found a tutorial and it was SO easy. I just cut out five felt squares. Put a dab of hot glue in the middle of one of the squares, folded the square in half, then put another dab of glue on the half and folded it into quarters. I attached each of the felt quarters at the tip in the shape of a circle and than put one in the center.

After fluffing it up a bit, it turned out like this...

Then I used more of my left over yarn and wrapped a wire wreath frame...

Then just attached the felt flowers to the wreath...

Pretty simple and pretty perfect!

Change of Plans...

So I loved my yarn wrapped "K" but it really wasn't doing it for me. So I had a change of plans and decided to try something else. And I think this is IT!

I found this reindeer moss wreath on Pinterest...

I love how green it is but thought it would look even better with a burlap bow instead.

So I started with hot gluing some reindeer moss to a wreath...

Boy, moss sure is messy!!

Then I created a bow out of some leftover burlap...

And fastened it to my burlap frame...

Now THIS is what I was looking for...

Some times a change of plans is a good thing!

What to do with Left Over Yarn...

So I had BIG plans of learning how to crochet. I seriously was determined to make my own cowls and/or scarves this year. Even though David FLIPPED when he saw a bag of yarn and a crochet needle...all he could say was how OLD I must be if I wanted to learn to crochet. Bless his heart...he didn't know that crocheting is IN nowadays :)

I know this sounds conceited...but I believe I am pretty talented young lady (don't you like the "young" part). BUT...I canNOT crochet!! I watched tutorials on YouTube, followed them all step-by-step, but no matter how hard I tried, this girl canNOT crochet.

So...what to do with the left over yarn???

I saw this creative Pinterest project that literally took cardboard and yarn and turned it into a GREAT home accessory.

Remember THIS POST when I asked for ideas on what do to with the big burlap frame I have over our TV? Well, I found the perfect idea on what to do with the blank canvas...

I cut out a BIG letter "K" out of a cardboard box...

Then I took the left over yarn and wrapped it...

It was pretty hard to wrap the yarn when it came to the slanted part of the "K" so I used a little hot glue to help it stay in place.

I thought the "K" was a little plain, so I found a necklace I had purchased on Etsy about a year ago that I NEVER wear. It had the cutest black and red rosettes on it. We don't have any red in our decor, so I simply trimmed off the red rosettes and left the black, white and gray rosettes.  Then I glued them to the "K".

Then I hot glued the "K" to my burlap frame...

Then I hung it on the wall in our living room....

I can't wait to show you the entire wall. I have a SWEET surprise that I'm waiting on before I show you the entire wall and how it turned out. But I LOVE this quick and INEXPENSIVE little project. It turned my blank burlap canvas into the perfect wall accessory in our living room.

Easter Projects...

I had President's Day off today. So I literally spent the day creating Pinterest projects that I've pinned (AND watched five episodes of The Bachelor and three episodes of American Idol)!

Let's start with another ribbon wreath...this one is for Easter.

I plan on using a lot of my Easter decor from last year, which all happens to be pink and chocolate brown. So I was excited to find this ribbon at our local Hobby Lobby for 50% off :)

It is a mixture of pink and brown polka dot, solid pink, solid brown, and toile ribbon.

I had a styrofoam wreath and just tied the strips of ribbon around it...similar to the Valentine's Day wreath I made HERE.

I tucked it away in my craft closet until after St. Patty's Day!!

I can't wait to put it out this Easter!

THE Necklace...

We had our annual Extravaganza this past weekend. It is basically our biggest performance of the school year and showcases the best of the best of our eight art areas. It is a formal event and is held at our local performing arts theatre in downtown Jacksonville.

I searched last week for a dress to wear and had a HARD time finding anything :( I finally settled on a simple, plain black dress. I mean...I can always wear it over and over again because it truly is just a simple, plain black dress.

But since I couldn't find a dress to DIE FOR...I decided to dress it up with a gorgeous OVER THE TOP necklace. So I ventured to my favorite accessories store, Charming Charlie's. I showed one of the employees my simple, plain black dress and asked for her help in finding the perfect necklace to dress it up. She showed me this BEAUTIFUL bracelet...

I immediately fell in love with the bracelet and the Charming Charlie's employee set out to find the necklace that matched the bracelet.

BUT....the necklace was no where to be found. They sold out of the necklace. WHAT??? I was devastated. Don't you just HATE when they happens?

Well, if you know me at all...you know I NEVER give up. I was determined to find that necklace. Keep in mind that I purchased the bracelet on Tuesday and our Extravaganza was Saturday. So I called Charming Charlie's on Thursday to see if they had received a new shipment of accessories. They had...and the lady that answered the phone encouraged me to come in to search for the necklace. Unfortunately, I couldn't find it any where :( Then the Charming Charlie employee mentioned that they JUST opened a new Charming Charlie's about 30 minutes away and suggested I contact them to see if they had the necklace. So I went straight home and called the new location. After about 30 minutes on the phone with the SWEET Charming Charlie's manager searching high and low of her new store...she found THE necklace!!! She put it on hold for me and I picked it up on Friday.

Is that necklace not the prettiest thing you've ever seen???? Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of ME in the simple, plain black dress with THE necklace...but I can't tell you how many compliments I received that night. LOVE LOVE LOVE that necklace :)

Sometimes determination DOES pay off!

Happy St. Patty's Day Printables...

I found some GREAT St. Patrick's Day printables from the TomKat Studio this weekend on Pinterest.

Aren't they adorable????

I wanted to use black frames though, because they would look better with our decor.

So I took these old frames...

And spray painted them black...

Then just printed out the printables and framed them...

I think this one turned out the cutest...

Happy St. Patty's Day to you!

Pallet LOVE...

I have REALLY been loving all the pallet art, furniture, and ideas I've found on Pinterest lately. I was overjoyed when I saw that we had a few pallets by the dumpster at my school and when I found out they were out for the trash, I had to snag a few of them.

Here are a few of the pallet tables that I've found and I am planning on creating one of them soon...

You can find all sources for these creative pallet tables if you visit my boards on Pinterest HERE.

All of these tables look pretty easy to make too...I need a few caster wheels, some wooden pieces to create the height on the tables, and some paint. Easy enough!

Pallet LOVE!

I Love You Because...

My sweet friend Sarah created the most adorable free printable and I just had to snag it. I have seen this idea on Pinterest several times, but Sarah's take on this project was too adorable to pass up.

She offered the printable in five different colors...aqua, beige, grey, blue, and pink. I thought the beige would go best with our home decor.

And it was SO easy!! All I did was download the beige version of her printable and hit print. I already had this frame, so I just cut the printable down to fit in the frame. I did have to purchase a dry erase marker, so I guess this project cost me a HUGE $1.99 :)

It was definitely worth it...I love confirming all the things that David does and I want him to know how much I love him and appreciate him (even if it is taking the trash out)!!

Please visit Sarah's blog HERE if you'd like to snag this printable for yourself. And don't forget to tell her THANK YOU!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

All You Need is....

So true, isn't it?

Such a sweet sign from Brandie at Dream Custom Artwork!

My Life Will Never Be the Same...

Look what showed up on my doorstep last week...

My life will NEVER be the same!

Shows I'm Addicted To...

I am addicted to a few shows right now on TV...

LOVE LOVE LOVE Revenge!!! I seriously think the creators of this show are BRILLIANT. I can't wait to see each new episode...and I'm dying right now because it's been two weeks since the last episode.

My hubby got me addicted to this new show...

It picks up where the movie (with Tom Cruise) left off...great show.

I'm a little behind on this one...

But now that we have Netflix, I've been watching it like crazy. I can't believe I didn't watch this series when it was on TV. I've heard the season finale was not that great, but I'm no where near that yet...I'm only on Season 2 :)

And I am anxiously awaiting for this television show to debut...

LOVE Katharine McPhee and her voice.

What are you watching right now?

Fishing, Not Catching...

I went fishing this past weekend with my two favorite boys.

The weather was gorgeous and the boat ride was fabulous.

Unfortunately, this is the biggest fish I caught...

But we had a great time and were worn out at the end of the day.

A Dose of Reality...

I have been having a rough week. Well, to me, it has been a rough week. To be honest, I feel extremely guilty for even thinking that my life is rough...I have a job, I have a nice home, I have a great and HEALTHY family...so what do I have to complain about? I guess we all feel this way sometimes and we just need a dose of reality to help us realize that things could always be worse and we should be thankful for TODAY and all that we have been given.

Well, I got my dose of reality the other day through a quote I saw. Let me rewind...

I just came back from a three day conference for Arts Educators and although I had a fabulous time, being away from school ALWAYS means that the day back will be torture trying to catch up. So I spent my Monday morning putting out fires, dealing with angry parents, and catching up on emails. I came home on Monday and just wanted to crash...I was so tired and worn out.

I also have the lovely task of calling the parents of the students that auditioned for our school...the parents of students that were NOT accepted. I am actually pretty good at it and I guess I should be since this is my sixth year doing it. But it's never fun to tell a parent NO to something that they and their child have been hoping for and dreaming about since elementary school. Needless to say, these phone calls can really take a toll on your heart.

I am also working my tail off for our annual Extravaganza, our biggest performance and fundraiser of the year for our school. Again, this is my sixth year at being the producer for the show, but it definitely comes with a lot of stress.

So Saturday as I am proctoring the SAT exam at my school, I notice this quote on one of our teacher's desks...

This was my dose of reality.

Although this quote is speaking about how a teacher can affect a student, it can be used in all areas of your life...how you react during an argument with your husband, the way you speak to the cashier at the grocery store, your first impression when you meet a stranger, etc.

This is one of those quotes that I need to keep in my memory bank and cash in on frequently. How you react, talk, look, communicate, and respond makes all the difference in the world.

Ideas for My Burlap Project...

Here are some of the ideas I have for the burlap project I plan to try (read the post before this one, so you know what I'm talking about).

Of course all of the ideas are from Pinterest..

I could use some painters tape and tape a chevron pattern on the burlap. Then paint between the tape lines.

http://www.decor8blog.com/

I could cut out a stencil, using my computer, and paint numbers like this.

http://www.blog.babble.com/

I could just write something on the outside of the frame with a dry-erase marker. This way I could change the saying as often as I wanted...like for the holidays, my mood, etc.

http://www.blog.babble.com/

 This idea is an obvious one for me...that's why I was trying to do something different. But I could paint our initials.

http://www.etsy.com/

This one is pretty similar to the one above.

http://www.thevirginiahouse.blogspot.com/

What do you think of these ideas?

I Need YOUR Decorating Ideas...

If you noticed in my previous post, I have this LARGE frame above our tv, but I don't have anything in it.

I actually took out the artwork I had in it and replaced it with some burlap.

I need to put something in the frame, on top of the burlap, or maybe a vinyl. I have a few ideas, but can't decide exactly what to do. I am thinking that I want to paint the burlap, but I'm not sure what to paint. Of course, my first thought was to paint a big "K" on it...but I think I have enough of those around our house. I also thought about painting some subway art or maybe even a chevron pattern, but again, I just can't decide what to do.

What are YOUR decorating ideas for this burlap frame?