natural glue

 I found this very interesting... I will be trying it out soon! If you get a chance to try it let me know what you think. Your comments are welcome!

has it really been that long...

     Over a year ago I began this blog with some inspiration from my great friend Kelly. I haven't been very successful in getting subscribers or even posting regularly and the poor blog has gotten at least 3 face lifts! I am hoping this is the one that sticks. I enjoy sharing my thoughts but they are far and few between (if we exclude wedding stuff). 
     Which oddly enough has brought me to the latest look! Homemade & Heartfelt... I love the way the words go together. It is what I think about when I remember crafting with my mom as a little girl. At the time I could never understand why she would take hours to decide which color of flower to paint, or the design of one of her many teddy bear bags.
      Now, as I develop my own crafting style I can understand. There is just something in the picture that drives the design. Sometimes creativity flows effortlessly into the masterpiece and other times you have to walk away becuase the page or the design is just not working out! I have begun this blog to talk about beauty and crafts and I will continue to do so & hopefully more often!

if you love it... why not frame a picture of it!

I will admit it... I LOVE LOVE! What better time to see that in another couple than on their wedding day! A day in which they pledge their devotion to one another.
In planning my own wedding I began to seek out ways to bring that feeling of love and devotion in the details of the decor. I absolutely LOVE  the idea of incorporating wedding pictures our parents, siblings, and grandparents in our ceremony decor but how?
I began by looking for ceremony and reception decor images on theknot.com. There were some very eclectic and beautiful display but they just didn't translate to what we already had going on.
In the end it was my brother's wedding that had the most influence. I really liked how he incorporated family, heritage, and love in his wedding reception decor. Their cake table displayed more than just cup cakes! A table cloth with the iron on transfers of their families wedding photos for the cake table. It turned out really beautiful, and it was definitely something very unique to their wedding.
This was just the inspiration I needed! I knew exactly what needed to be done. It was pretty simple too! I bought some inexpensive wooden frames from Michael's and began to deocrate them to match my theme. 
I used extra supplies from the wedding; silk flowers & leaves (from bouquets & centerpieces), scrapbooking paper (from the invitations),ribbons, etc. I think they turned out pretty cute. I couldn't have done it without the support of my fiance and help of my bridesmaid Helena... THANK-YOU!!!
Here are a few of my favorite frames (so far). Now to collect all the photos!!

LOVE.. (How to)

I am so excited to have made a very cute wedding and or valentines project! 

 I will be using this little cutie as part of the display near our guest book. You could easily make one of your own.

 

The supplies

- 4 (4x4) canvas frames

( I used you could use any size)

- tissue paper

(use your favorite color)

- glue dots or favorite form of adhesive

- scissors

- ribbon (

- stapler

(to attach ribbon to canvas)

- letter cut outs

(I used my Cricut to cut out LOVE)

                           Heres the How to...

 1. Lay out tissue paper, measure to fit canvas. The tissue paper should cover all sides of the canvas and be able to secure to the back.

2. Cut tissue paper to fit canvas.

3. Fold and fasten the tissue paper to the canvas.

4. Once they are all covered, they should look like this.

5. You can embellish your in any way. I picked LOVE to go with my upcoming wedding theme. However, you could use this project for any upcoming event like a baby shower.

6*. Using the stapler attach the ribbon to the first  canvas in the form of a loop.

7*. Now make sure all the canvases are attached securely & hang!

*steps 6 & 7 are optional.

Other options....

You could make loops for all canvases and hang each seperately.

You could hang them individually.

more progress!

I just wanted to share some more progress!

I have completed some more things...
A while back I completed the corsages for the Mothers and Grandmothers (see image on left). Simple pin on corsages for each of the lovely women we would like to honor at our wedding. I was so excited to have another thing checked off my massive to do list!!
After sharing with my Mom & Nonni that they were done and I was so proud of them, I was shocked to hear that they would like wristlets instead! At first I was frustrated because I had just completed the project and now I had to go change something! I had just checked it off my to do list. Wristlets were not in the original plan. I think you get the picture!!

So after some deliberation I decided I would find a way to convert my finished project into something EVERYONE would love.
It really was a simple fix! I ordered the bracelet materials from orientaltrading.com and simply attached the premade corsages to them. It was so simple and I had stressed out about it for no reason!

 

Here is a couple pics of a finished one.

wedding progress...

I have been working on wedding things. The kit I originally bought online from oriental trading. The kit makes a beautiful set that has champagne/beige color. The instructions say to paint all the pieces white, tie on ribbons, add some rhinestones and paper white flowers (very pretty in the picture but not in my color scheme). Almost a month ago (wow has it been that long?) I covered these wooden letters with a beautiful grey/purple color with a white damask pattern. I haven't been able to come up with a completed design until tonight! I finally finished them!! The ribbons are shades of purple and a silver/grey that has a hint of purple. I Spray painted and distressed the additional damask pattern pieces (also made of wood).

 I love how they turned out!

Here they are with a little better lighting!

*updates*

It has been far too long since I have posted something, anything!

So many things have happened since my last post. Some very important things!

I have turned yet another year older, and with that I have become more serious with my MR. Shortly after the most amazing birthday (he got me a CRICUT Expression!) we celebrated our 2 years together. I couldn't imagine my llife without my MR. We took a week long vacation, just the 2 of us. We drove to THE GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK. We hiked into the canyon and MR proposed. We celebrated our engagement all week and even further in DISNEYLAND!

Christmas was amazing. We celebrated with every family member we could think of... and then some. It was busy, fun, a little crazy (what else is family good for?!?), and exhausting. We had 7 Christmas celebrations in 4 days!

New Years was amazing! We had some of our closest friends over. Celebrated in a family friendly way... everyone had fun!

Oh yeah, I am loving all the wedding planning. I am completely wedding obsessed. I am usually exhausted and yet I know that it needs to get done so I push through. I feel guilty for being so dedicated to this and not to other aspects of my life. MR is amazing, he accepts me and all of the insanity that comes with it. I am not sure how but he seems to understand or at least fake it very well! MR & my Mom have a running gag... that she will "tag him out" when he needs... meaning I am being a little too intense. MR can go drink beer and watch sports with Dad, while Mom comes to deal with me. I find it aggravating that she would make that joke and continue it. Then again, I might be a little over sensitive. I am the "BRIDEZILLA" after all.

So, with only 9 months left I am starting to FREAK out!!