Gotta Get Mah Craftin' In!

Anyone who knows me well enough or who can get the gist of this blog, knows I love me a craft! My dilemma lately has been squeezing any kind of crafting in between working 40 hours per week, taking care of our household, trying to finish my degree at UF, and all the while trying to make sure I'm still a fun mommy and wife... PHEW!

I've finally found something that takes very little time but yields delightful results (I think). I had made little rose rings and hair pins from scrap booking supplies a while back and gave out a few but they seemed to lack pizzaz. I searched and found some fixtures that caught my eye and accomplished the look I was going for:

Pink Rosettes

Crisp Coral

Crisp White

Aqua Crisp

Aqua Coral 
(Nail polish: Skull & Glossbones, OPI)

All the rings are the same dimensions as the one pictured on my hand and they're all adjustable to most sizes. I have a few more variations of the colors you see here. The earrings are a dainty size, not overwhelming. I just love these color combos for spring/summer and I hope to do them in deeper tones for fall/winter. If you like what you see, check out my Etsy store and if you follow my blog you can get 20% off your order with the code: PRIMFOLLOWER.

Quick Tip, Surprises, and Nail Polish

I had a movie date set up with my good mommy friend, Beth, to see Bridesmaids today. My daughter was going to her grandparents for the afternoon and chose a very cute Gymboree shirt to wear. While the shirt is adorable, it's also a pain because the flower on the back always comes out of the dryer looking like a blob. Well, I did not have time to iron it and I usually stay away from the iron in general because I have been known to singe clothes in the past. I was doing my hair and had a stroke of genius: I was using my straightener anyway so I took my daughter's shirt off her and quickly "straightened" the bow and sleeves of her shirt. It didn't produce a perfectly pressed shirt but it got it to look decent.

Before

After

I recommend this if you are crunched for time and just need things to look "ok". Use a med/high setting on your straightener, not full blast. I only clamped the straightener on each section of the bow for a second or two and swiped it along the sleeves. 

After rushing out the door and dropping my daughter off I met my friend at the movie theater and she came in carrying a BIG box... She got me a gift "just cuz"! When people do sweet things for me I can hardly believe I deserve it, so you can imagine my surprise when I opened the box and she had gotten the tea/coffee mugs I wanted from Pier One (mentioned here)!

We barely have counter space so I may play around with where I place them, but here they stand for now : )

Can't wait to have my nightly dose of Organic Throat Coat tea tonight!
Thanks Beth, you are really too sweet!

Beth and I also share a nail polish obsession and she let me borrow her new OPI purch from the Pirates of the Caribbean line, "Skull and Glossbones". Someone is getting at home *mani*pedi* tonight : )

All in all it was a fabulous day. Bridesmaids is HI-LARIOUS, BTW.

 

Vacation on the Brain!

I generally get really excited, really easy.

It hasn't even been 24 hours since I booked our cruise for October and I've already wasted the evening away looking for "Cruise Wear".

I will be updating this because there are a lot more things I have in mind but for right now, at this moment, I'm obsessed with this top:

Forever 21

It has such a sexy racer back... OBSESSED. But, I never make it to the mall so I may have to rely on my sister (who works at the mall) or my BFF, Jill who lives there. Yes, I could order online but I'M CHEAP. Hehe!


I've also scoured the internet for ideas for my daughter and I have a couple projects in mind that should result in some really stinkin' cute deck dresses (get it, cruise...) but I fear if I post my ideas they won't come to fruition so I will keep them to myself for now : ) 


Oh, I also have an idea on how to fund my vacation wardrobe and I will hopefully be posting about that venture soon as well.

New Hunting Grounds: Pier 1

Target and TJ Maxx top my list of places I constantly haunt for fabulous clearance items but I'm ready to make an addition to my reprotoire: Pier 1. I've always loved Pier 1 but I am well aware that I can't be going up in there all the time, buying things full-price so I tend to steer clear.


Well, yesterday I decided to take some "me time" before picking up my daughter and I had a P1 gift card in tow. Much to my surprise, I was able to stretch that $20 pretty far!

Here is my P1 Haul:

Red tags make me happy : D

Candle sticks Orig: $3, Marked: $1.48
I bought them out and they will be used to make pretty things

Orig: $35 Marked: $8.68

Bright frame will be used to spice up my
space @ work. O: $14 M: $3.48
Lavender air freshener: O: $5 but
Lavender is the scent of the month,
therefore 20% off!

There were so many deals to choose from beyond what I bought. It was hard to choose but I didn't want to spend much more than my gift card (I went little over $6 beyond the GC). 


Here's a taste of what I'm going to be keeping an eye on...

Floral Coffee Cups w/Stand

Floral Measuring Cups

Watermelon Serving Bowl
This family is OBSESSED w/watermelon!

Indv Watermelon Bowl
Yes, I realize how corny these are!

These are just a few things I loved during my visit, among a trillion more. I chatted up the guy who rung me up and he said things get marked down all the time as new merch gets brought in and this summer they are getting a TON more inventory. Happy Shopping!

Creative/Reusable Gift Wrap

One of the lovely ladies I follow, Morgan, wrote this blog post: Frugal Gift Giving about her obsession of wrapping gifts uniquely and making the appearance just as special as what is inside. I couldn't agree with her more! Along with making gifts look fun and fancy I also like to make the gift wrap reusable.

More recently I find myself staking out cute boxes, containers or reusable gift bags or shopping bags to save for a special gift to fit inside. The last gift I had the pleasure of giving was for a dear friend's baby shower...

I got K some necessities from her registry (hangers,
pacifiers, etc) along with a necklace with her child and
little one on the way's initials. The necklace is from:
Etsy: Elemental Workshop

As you can see I wrapped all the odds and ends in tissue
paper and I put the necklace on a little tag.

I created and added this bright bow for a little more
oomph as well as to hide the necklace.

I thought about myself and other moms I know, always clamoring for storage options, so I decided to find a colorful bin to put everything in. I found this rainbow hearts bin at Target on clearance and everything happened to 'just fit'. I think it turned out very cute, bright, and cheery. 

Birthday Gift

This is one of the finished products that came from all of those thrift store frames I bought. I ended up giving this to my best friend, Jill, for her 25th Birthday. It just-so-happens that Jill is purchasing her first home and plans to make one of her guest rooms into a themed Victoria's Secret "Pink" room. She said she plans on putting this piece on display there.

My trusty little sanding block.
I find I can grip these best when working on little things.
I believe it is a medium grade grit.

There she is, ready for her makeover.

I just LOVE this color!

I got cheap but cute, round push pins at Wal Mart and
painted them them the same color as the frame.

I also got poster board at Wal Mart.
I had to trim it a bit, then used E6000 to glue it in place.
*This picture was taken at night, not the best -sorry!

P.S. I will be posting my other creations shortly. One needs to be fixed and the other still needs to have accessories attached so it can be hung.

Sneak Peek!

I've become obsessed with revamping old thrift store frames. I can't show the finished product because they aren't done but I'm actually turning these old treasures into functional beauties... Stay tuned!

My first frames set for a makeover

 (popped that ugly picture out of the one)

-Total: $12

Akk! This is all I can show of this one (until next week)

I'm in love with the bulkiness of this one,
 it will be going up in our house...

This frame is about 8x10 for $3.99.
Sorry ducks, you gotta go!

The other frame I bought was $9.99 

This black spray paint from Krylon actually dries matte
- GORGE!

Sorry if you're looking at these, wondering what the big deal is but I'm just so excited to share what I'm doing that I might spontaneously combust!