So Lovely Creations

Baby Gender Reveal Party

2010-08-02T08:32:00.000-07:00

Have you heard about baby gender reveal parties?

There are mixed opinions about having a gender reveal party; in my opinion I think its great!

We had our gender reveal ultrasound on Friday, July 30th but really did not find out until the next day at our party. This was the most amazing and exciting party ever! I truly mean it!

I sent out this invitation I did about 3 weeks ago.

It was a "Team Boy" - "Team Girl" theme party, pink and blue of course. Guest had to wear blue if they thought it was a boy, or pink if they thought it was a girl.

I also did a few fun games.

First, who ever brought diapers they received a ticket for a raffle of a $25 giftcard to Olive Garden. We had so many diapers at the end of the day!

Second, we hid a pink bow and a blue pacifier somewhere in the kitchen. The point of the game was for us not to tell anyone and see if anyone could spot the items while being in the kitchen. Well, it didnt work. No one ever spotted the items. So before the reveal, I just let everyone know and played. It was so much fun!

We ended not playing the third game because everyone was so anxious to find out the sex of our baby.

Here is the invitation I did.

Team Girl!

There were way more people in Team Boy!

I used pink and blue decorations for the party. I mainly bought streamers and balloons! Inexpensive and cute! I started buying party stuff about a month ago. Anything that was blue or pink and would work for the party I would buy.

Never forget the veggies! This was the first plate of food gone!

All the food had cute tags that were made with scrapbook paper and a stamp. So easy and they turned out so cute.

A good friend of mine made these cute pink and blue rice krispies pops. They were a hit!

In one corner of my kitchen I had all the drinks. I had sodas, water bottles, pink lemonade and blue hawaiian punch.

I bought these adorable unbreakable drink jugs at Sams Club. They were a hit! I did have trouble finding a blue drink.

I used the same paper as the food tags to make these watter bottle labels. They were so easy to make and looked so cute!

Here is my sister cutting the sub right before guest arrived. By the way, out of all the 40 guest we had (including kids) my sister was the only one who knew what I was having. She did the cupcakes! She was dying for everyone else to know! She did a great job keeping the secret!

Some of my friends who came to the party.

4 out of my 7 best friends are pregnant including myself. Isnt that crazy?

The 3 pregnant ladies!

Here I am with my mom (pink dress) and our good friend Delia.

My husband and I before the reveal. So excited!!

Here I am before the reveal doing the raffle and playing the games. Everyone was so anxious.

Here are the cupcakes and toppers my sister made. They turned out so cute and delicious!

So we had all guest wait until I counted to three to take a bite out of the cupcake and see if we found a blue m&m, or a pink.

I found a blue m&m inside.

IT'S A BOY!!!!!!!

This was so much fun!!! Everyone was excited and had so much fun!

We cant wait to meet our baby, Isaac.

These are all the diapers and gifts we received.

Everything turned out great and we had so much fun.

Hope you enjoyed our party!

Vintage/Modern photo canvas project.. So cute!!

2010-07-14T22:31:00.000-07:00

It feels so good to create projects again!

I am oficially in my second trimester and happy! Let me just tell you the first three months....WOW... I was seriously in bed all day; tired, sleepy, cramps, sick... whew... glad Im over that! I did not have strength to create anything! I really didn't feel like doing anything but sleep! If you've been pregnant, did you ever feel like this? or did it just happen to me?

So im 4 months and 2 days! :) but whos counting really.. ha...ha.. So weird, my belly popped out exactly at 4 months. One day, I just woke up and saw my belly! I love this new experience that Im going through and cant wait to meet my baby.

Anyways, I wanted to share this super cute canvas project I finished today. It does take a while to complete but worth it! I love the vintage/modern look of it.

I made this project using an 8 X 10 canvas and a picture of my niece I took of her on Easter. I made it using a cool transfer technique using mod podge. I absolutely love how it turned out. I must say, its a little messy but the results are wonderful.

I used a wash-out technique to give it an antique look which I love. To give it a modern look I used some swirl designs, pink crystals and tulle bow!

I really love they way it turned out so I might be making a few more.

Enjoy the pictures of my project!

Also, visit my shop and check out new items Ive listed!

www.slcshop.etsy.com

Day of Blog Silence for Baby Cohen

2010-07-01T01:05:00.000-07:00

Thinking of Megan and Brent who are holding the memorial service for their baby boy Cohen today.

Megan's Blog

Cute Mother's Day Gift Idea

2010-05-04T14:48:00.000-07:00

I made these cute birth announcement photo blocks for my sister. This will be her Mother's Day gift from her daughter, Yuliana. (21 months old) I think they turned out so cute!

This project is made using 2 X 4's bought at Home Depot.

I am now working on a blue and brown set from her son, Johan. (4 months old) I will post pictures soon!

I have an announcement to make..... drumroll pleaseeeee.....

I AM PREGNANT! I thought I shared the good news! I am 6 weeks and couldn't be happier! I cant wait to meet our baby and make a lot of cute stuff.

Have a great day!

Visit my shop:

www.slcshop.etsy.com

Bright and Fun Teacher Gift

2010-04-15T20:59:00.001-07:00

This is a custom order I did for a lady who is student teaching and wanted a cute bright sign for her mentor teacher. She said bright and really it doesnt get brigther than this! ha.. I think it turned out so cute! I used swarovski crystals on the flower rosettes and a touch of tulle!

I have them on sale for $25 plus shipping if anyone is interested. (Until April 18th, 2010) I can make them any colors! Visit my shop and check out other teacher gifts I've made.

http://www.slcshop.etsy.com/

Here is a different style I have done for a teacher.

Linking to Show us your life - teacher gifts at Kellys Korner

Charger Transformation - For the love of turquoise!

2010-04-05T10:18:00.000-07:00

Good morning! Hope you had a great Easter Sunday! We sure did!

As you know, I'm in the process of adding more turquoise into my living room. I am challenging my self to decorate with things I all ready have. Today I share with you an easy project that makes a big change.

The power of spray paint is great! I love spray paint.

I've had this beautiful charger for over a year now. I bought it at Kirklands, one of my favorite stores. Its got to the point where its a little boring now. It needed a makeover! So it got one today!

First, I cleaned it well with a damp cloth.

Then, I spray painted a turquoise color. Spray light coats to get a better result.

Next, I watered down brown paint and used it as a glaze.

Wipe down paint after 10 seconds or so. Its a quick process.

After it dried, I used normal acrylic paint to bring out the 3-D embellishment.

This is the final result! I love it! Looks like a new charger! Its always a great idea to use things that you all ready have and give them new life! This project was free since I all ready had all the materials! Its looking great in my living room!

Thanks for visiting! Hope you enjoyed this easy tutorial!

Super easy and cute flower headbands

2010-04-01T22:00:00.001-07:00

I am in love with all the girly girl hair accesories! Love them! Especially flowers!

I started making these flower headbands for my niece and guess what? I fell in love with them and kept them! ha... Dont worry, I will be making more for her! This is a super easy project that anyone can do.

Materials needed:

Glue gun

Flower

Braided elastic

Tulle (optional)

Scissors

Felt

1. Separate your flower.

2. Cut 2 circles out of felt. (1 1/2in. diameter) Size of circle depends on size of flower.

Glue the first layer of flower on top of the felt circle.

3. Continue gluing the flower pieces together.

4. When finished gluing the flower, I added glue to the center of flower and used beads to decorate. You can also use swarovski crystals, ribbon, buttons etc...

5. I added hot pink and black tulle to the bottom of the flower.

6. Cut a piece of elastic (around 18 - 20 inches) I dont like it to tight thats why I cut the elastic a little longer.

7. Glue the ends of the elastic together. Using the 2nd piece of felt glue the elastic and the flower on top.

This is how the final project turned out!

I am loving the messy hair style! It looks so cute with the flowers! I'll be styling one of these tomorrow!

Hope you have enjoyed this easy tutorial! If you make any, I would love to see pictures!

Citrus Pork Chops

2010-03-30T18:58:00.001-07:00

I want to share a quick recipe with you today.

They are delicious! They have a zesty orange taste! So good..

Citrus Chops

1. Heat 1/2 t. oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.

2. Add 4 pork chops (3/4 inch thick) and brown on each side.

3. Reduce heat to low; add 1/4 c. sliced green onions; 1 T. orange peel, 1/2 c. orange juice and 1/4 t. dried basil.

4. Cover and simmer for 7-8 min.

5. Serve immediately

Personalized Teacher Gift - So cute

2010-03-30T01:09:00.000-07:00

I am loving the things I could do using 2 X 4's!

I did this cute personalized teacher block set for a student teacher. I think it turned out really cute! Love the colors!

1. I first cut my 2 pieces of wood.

Name block measures: 12 inches

Top block measures: 6 inches

2. Using the palm sander, I made sure to sand both pieces until nice and smooth.

3. I painted both pieces of wood using a turquoise color.

4. I used my cricut to cut the letters.

5. I decoupage the letters using Mod Podge.

6. After the blocks dried completely, I embellished with tulle and a pretty rose.

7. Final step was to add black dots around.

So cute! I added these blocks in my shop if interested! :)

So Lovely Creations

"Nest" Turquoise Distressed Blocks w/ Photo Block

2010-03-21T12:34:00.000-07:00

I've taken a LONG break. But I'm back!

I want to share a really cute project I did yesterday! I dont know about you, but I am loving the color turquoise! Its so fresh, clean and beautiful! Im working on a few projects in my living room; one of them is adding more turquoise. Plus, I love the color combination of turquoise and brown! Perfect!

I started out with a 2 X 4 I bought at Home Depot. I have all the measurements down since I sell them in my etsy shop.

I sand all the blocks really good until smooth. I choose a beautiful turquoise color to paint all the blocks.

I used my cricut to cut all the letters. I love my cricut!

I used a chocolate brown paint to distress. You will need to water it down so it could be easier to wipe off.

Using a brush, paint one block at a time. After a couple seconds or so, wipe down with tissue or napkin. It will give it a nice distressed look.

You could see the difference in this picture.

When all the blocks are dry, adhere letters using Mod Podge. You finish by adding a cute birds nest on top the letter N and distressing the edges.

Now isn't this cute? I love it and it will look great in my living room.

Hope you have enjoyed this quick and easy tutorial!

More projects coming soon!

Christmas "JOY" Wooden Blocks - Christmas Card Holders

2009-12-01T08:57:00.000-08:00

Here is an super easy Christmas decoration you can make this year!

I made these to display in my living room, and each block will hold a Christmas card this year. I made different blocks to display pictures and Christmas cards around my home. They look really cute!

Check them out at my shop:

So Lovely Creations

www.slcshop.etsy.com

Materials needed:

2 X 4 piece of lumber (bought at Home Depot)
Acrylic paint
Scrapbook Paper
Wooden Dowel
Small clothespin
Tulle
Wood glue
Mod Podge

Steps:

1. Cut 3 - 5 1/2in pieces of wood.
2. Using sand paper, sand each piece until they are smooth.
3. Paint the sides and back of each piece of wood. Let dry. Give a second coat. Let dry. Sometimes you might need to give a 3rd coat ;)
4. Cut scrapbook paper to size. I cut them just a little smaller to fit in the front of the block.
5. Decoupage with the paper.
6. I use my cricut to cut the letters, but you can also trace and cut letters by hand.
7. Decoupage letter.
8. When everything is dry, I drill a hole at the top middle part of my block.
9. I put a little bit of wood glue in the drilled hole and place a 4in dowel in the hole.
10. Let dry for a couple of minutes. (10 min)
11. Glue the clothespin at the top of the dowel.
12. Place block with the back on the floor so clothespin wont move. Let dry (10 - 20 min)
13. Once dry and set, paint the dowel and clothespin.
14. Last step is to add the tulle and enjoy!

Personalized Wooden Blocks

2009-12-01T08:12:00.000-08:00

I have been so busy with work and making these cute blocks! I had several custom orders and they are turning out really cute! I'm making different themed blocks. They are great to give as gifts for Christmas, birthday's or even to decorate kids rooms! If you would like to order a custom set, please visit my shop:

So Lovely Creations
www.slcshop.etsy.com

Personalized Wooden Blocks - Great for Christmas gifts!

2009-11-15T07:47:00.001-08:00

Michaels.com is having a handmade holiday contest! You have to create a creative gift under $20.

I submitted my elegant desk organizer!

Please vote for me!

Michaels Photo Entry - Elegant Monogram Desk Organizer

Is anyone else participating in this contest? If you are, please let me know! I would love to see your projects! :)

These are some of the cute blocks I've been making to give as gifts this Christmas!
Aren't they cute? I loved how they turned out.

You can also visit my shop if you would like to purchase.

So Lovely Creations

They are really easy to make.
They are made out of wood.

I hand cut each piece of wood.
Then I sand the wood make it all nice and smooth.
Prime.
Paint. Let it dry. 2nd coat of paint. Maybe even a third. Thin coats.
Using Mod Podge, glue pretty coordinating scrapbook paper or use the same for all blocks.
Drill hole on top.
Glue dowel and clothespin.
Let the glue dry completely otherwise you will have broken dowels.
Add tulle. Embellish.
Paint wooden vase and glue.
Cut out matching paper photo mats.
Ta-da! you are done! :)

You will have one of a kind personalized wooden blocks.
I made these for my friends who are getting married soon. Lua is their last name. I am also making some matching frames.

These Natalie and Karen blocks I made them for my nieces. I have not finished them completely. I will add dowels for photos and a lot of tulle! :) Maybe even some glitter.

Brown and Pink Damask with white

These "Johan" blocks are for my nephew who will be born in Dec. I am so excited! I am thinking of using them for the baby shower and having the ultrasound pictures for each block. Wouldn't that be cute!

I made these cute antique crackle set for my friends newborn daughter. I loved how these turned out. It will go in her room perfectly!

This "K" block I made for a friend of mine who I use to work with. She is a great person! This was her little birthday gift I made her!

Well, I hope you are getting tons of ideas for gift giving this Christmas! Go handmade! :)

I'm back sharing this cute desk organizer!!

2009-09-28T21:03:00.002-07:00

Hello everyone! I have missed you all! I've been absent for more than a month! I know.. long time!!! Tough times...For now, please keep our family in your prayers. I would really appreciate it. We are going through some difficult times. We have faith everything will be all right. Also if you can, please pray that my dad finds a job SOON! He lost his job 4 months ago and it has been really really tough! Thank you for the sweet emails and comments you left! :)

I had a little of extra time today and motivation to do a little cute project. I created a desk organizer. You know what its made out of? Canvas, scrap paper and PVC couplings! It turned out so cute! Here is some pictures I took while making the organizer. (Sorry about the pictures, dont know why they turned out so dark)

Materials:

8 X 10 canvas
1 - - 3in PVC coupling
2 -- 2in PVC couplings
1 -- 1 1/4in PVC coupling
Coordinating scrapbook paper
4 ball knobs ( 1 1/4in ; 3/16in hole)
1 square wooden cube ( 3/4in)
1 small clothespin
spray adhesive
brush
acrylic paint
glue gun
embellishment ( tulle, ribbon, jewels)

1. Paint Canvas.
2. Measure PVC couplings and cut paper according to size.

3. Paint the top of couplings and glue paper on. I used a pretty black and cream script pattern for the PVC couplings.

4. Glue ribbon at the top of all PVC couplings.
5. Glue a coordinating paper at the top of canvas. I normally used a 6 X 8 paper, but in this case I used a smaller one. Its up to you really! (Black and cream scroll)

6. Glue the 4 ball knobs to the bottom of the canvas. The ones I bought have a flat side which makes it easier to glue.

Ta-daaaaaaa!! Final piece is finished! Actually no its not. I just didn't have the rest of the materials I needed. You can see a final piece if you scroll down (pink and black)
I bought a 3 X 5 acrylic frame and glued to the front part of my canvas. I used it to personalize and to add a post-it pad. I will for sure finish this tomorrow! I also added a decoupaged clothes pin to hold photos or notes.
You can decorate pens to match your organizer and they will look very very cute!

Now what you do is add beans, or rice inside each PVC coupling and its perfect to hold pretty pens and pencils! Here is one of the finished organizers I did for a teacher I am working with. Isn't it cute!? Ohh.. I love them!

This is the acrylic frame that I glued upside down to hold my post-it notepad.

This is the clothespin glued to the cube to hold pictures or notes.

Here is another one I did for another teacher. You will never lose another pen with this organizer! :) Hope you enjoy! I dare you to try it! If you do, I would love to see pictures so I can post on my blog! Thanks!
I am posting this on Do It Yourself day @ A Soft Place to Land

I believe in Magic !

2009-08-06T09:35:00.000-07:00

One of my all time favorite Disney cartoons (and Disneyland ride ha.. ha...) is Peter Pan. I love everything about Peter Pan. I believe in Magic!

Have I mentioned my nieces 1st birthday is coming up soon and we are doing a Tinkerbell theme party? Yes, a Tinkerbell party! How exciting is that! My mind is just going crazy on all the things we are going to do. I started making these cute Tinkerbell fairy wands as party favors for the little girls. They are turning out great! I just wanted to show you how easy they are to make. You could make them for a party or with your daughters ( I dont think the boys will like this ha..)

Materials:

Wooden dowels (3/16" X 12")
Wooden Stars ( 3" )
Curling Ribbon ( 2 different colors)
Pixie Dust a.k.a Glitter :)
Acrylic Paints
Foam Brushes
Glue
Scissors
3D Paint ( optional)

1. Paint the wooden dowels and let dry. The curling ribbon spools were perfect to hold the dowels while they dried.

2. While paint is drying, using your foam brush cover the stars with white elmers glue.

3. Sprinkle with pixie dust!

4. Once everything is dry, glue the star at the top of dowel. I glued the dowel approximately an inch behind the star.

5. Cut 4 - 24" pieces of curling ribbon and tie in a knot under the star.
(Please let your children know they are not cookies and they are not too eat! They do look like cookies! ha..ha..)

6. Using your scissors, curl the ribbon.

You could leave the Tinkerbell fairy wand like this or you could add more embellishment. Its up to you. You can also Paint the star instead of gluing glitter. I just love how the glitter looks.

I added dots using 3D paint on the star and glued a Tinkerbell embellishment on the dowel. Really there is so many things you could do. On the left I used purple paint and pink glitter and used the opposite colors on the right. Hope you have enjoyed this tutorial as much as I did making them. 5 down 10 more to go! :)

P.S. I am thinking of making Peter Pan hats for the boys. What do you think? Ive been looking for patterns on how to make it but found nothing. I might have to come up with something!

Show us your life Wedding Dress

2009-07-24T14:51:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone! I have been out of the country for over a week now and having the greatest time. While I was here I did not feel good. I went to the hospital and had all kinds of exams done. They did find out I had asthma, which I had no idea that would be the problem. Thank God everything is under control and I am taking my medication. How are you guys doing¿

I will be back home in a couple of days.

Kelly .@ Kellys Korner is having a Show us your life Wedding Dress. Here are some pictures of our wedding day. It is from Maggie Sottero Victoriana Wedding Gown. It is beautiful. It was a big dress which I loved. It was strapless, corset style.Everyone loved it. I still have my dress at home. Im wondering, what did you do with your dress.

Enjoy the pictures and I will be back home soon!

Flower McLinky Party

2009-07-17T10:12:00.000-07:00

As I promised here is the Flower McLinky Party! I want to see what you have created. I love flowers and I use them a lot in my work. I have used paper flowers, fabric flowers, plastic flowers, silk flowers, bead flowers and more!

Today I want to show you how easy it is to create this paper wrinkled flowers. Really, so easy!

Materials:

Scrapbook paper
Scissors
Ink Pad
Marker
Glue
Embellishment ( I used a button you can use anything)

1. Cut 3 circles out of the scrapbook paper. You need to cut a big one, medium and a small circle.

2. Scrunch up the circles really good. The more wrinkled they are, the better. If they rip from the side, thats ok. They look better like that.

3. Using your ink pad, lightly rub around the circle and in the center. It gives it an awesome look.

4. Now using your permanent marker, draw a line around the circle. Make sure its not to close to the edge.

5. Glue all three pieces together.

6. Embellish the center of the paper flower. I used a button but you can use glitter, rhinestones, ribbon etc...

Final step is to add the flower to your artwork.

I finally finished this collage. I have been wanting to make a funky collage for ever. I finally did. I created this pop art print to use in my collage. I really had no idea how I was going to do it. Everything came together the moment I stood in front of a blank piece of wood. Its a picture of my niece when she was about 7 months old. Its going to look perfect in my craft room. I am liking this idea of making funky collages. Its really fun. I will be adding this piece to my Etsy shop soon. Its beautiful!

Now its your turn to show everyone your flower creations. Rules are simple. Add your link to McLinky showing what you have done that involves making a flower. It could be a paper flower ( like the one I did), ribbon flowers, fabric flowers anything that has to do with flowers. Even if you decorated something with flowers. I cant wait to see your creations.

Birthday Cake Table Idea

2009-07-16T20:10:00.000-07:00

Kelly @ Kelly's Korner is having a Children's Parties - Party ( If it makes sense ha..) You know I have no children yet and I've never really planned a kids party. I do have some great ideas! Actually, my niece will be turning 1 in August and I've been planning little by little but I still have nothing to show. She will be having a Tinkerbell party! I am excited!

I do have something to show that I made today that would be great to decorate a cake or candy table. I made one that says Happy B-day. It turned out great! Another great idea would be to decorate a table with the birthday boy or girls name. Each letter holds a picture. So for my niece I am thinking of putting one picture for each month. Wouldn't that look nice? They can be done any colors any style. I will be adding these to my Etsy Shop soon.

They do take some time to make since you have to hand cut the base, sand, prime, paint, decoupage and embellish! What do you think? Good idea? Im thinking of adding ribbon and tulle to make it look cuter!

Another great thing to have at parties for decoration are these huge pom-poms! They look wonderful. You can make them any colors, any size. Here is a great tutorial if you are interested in learning how to make them. I made the ones shown in the picture for Mother's Day.

POM-POM Tutorial

I think a candy buffet would look great! I especially love this candy buffet because of all the beautiful colors. Doesn't it look great!

Those are some of the ideas I have for a children's party. Hope you have enjoyed them.

Image Source

In Rememberance of Stacey @ The Thrifty Chick

2009-07-15T08:13:00.000-07:00

I just found out that Stacey Wolfley @ The Thrifty Chick suddenly passed away on Monday July 13th, 2009 due to a stroke. I have never met Stacey in real life but I was a follower of her wonderful blog. Two weeks ago, she had her beautiful baby boy. She had 4 children. My heart is aching for the family.

Please keep her family in your thoughts and prayers and if you can, please leave a comment for the family.

Flower Clip Tutorial and a Party!

2009-07-03T10:24:00.000-07:00

I've been home too long! I had my follow up appointment yesterday, I am getting better. :)

For the longest time I had been wanting to try a ribbon flower for my hair. I finally did! It is super easy. It might take a longer time if you don't have a sewing machine, eh, but it wont kill you! I love flowers. Silk flowers, ribbon flowers, bead flowers, plastic flowers, paper flowers you name it! So I want to try this flower party for next week. I hope you participate!

You have one week to create any craft, project, card anything you'd like with a flower theme. It needs to somehow have a flower. You can create a box with a flower, a greeting card with a flower, a flower necklace, a purse with a flower, a tissue flower anything that has a flower counts! I cant wait to see all the great projects!

Here is the flower tutorial:

Materials needed:
Fabric ( 44 in strip - 1 1/4 wide)
Thread
Needle
Clear Glass Flat Marble
Paper
Felt
Alligator Clip

1. Cut a strip of fabric. 44inches long- about 1 1/4 wide.
2. Stitch along the very edge completely on one side.

3. Once you have completed stitching, slowly pull the thread and the ribbon will begin pleating forming your flower.
4. Start forming your flower and stitching in place.

5. Glue a flat marble bead to paper and let it dry. After it dries, cut out around the bead.

6. Glue the clear marble to the center of your flower.

7. Glue a piece of felt and alligator clip to the back of the flower. Enjoy!

You can wear as a brooch.

I love how it looks in my hair! Hope you have enjoyed this tutorial! Very easy to do. Now its your turn to create a project with a flower and share next week!

12 X 12 Monogram Wall Art

2009-06-29T22:33:00.000-07:00

I've been home all day. I dont even want to go out! Next Thursday I have my doctors appointment. :)

I created a new monogram wall art today. I loved how they turned out! They look much better in person. I need to practice taking better pictures!

I have them on sale for only $16 + shipping. They measure 12 X 12. Tomorrow I will make a few more a little different.

Its almost 4 of July and I am curious, what do you usually do on 4th of July? We usually travel during this time, but not this year. I would love for you to share ideas of what to do this 4th!

Goodnight

Show us where you live Friday- Master Bedroom

2009-06-26T07:40:00.001-07:00

It feels weird posting after so long. Ive been sick. Really sick. Remember I told you I was diagnosed with pleurisy? Well from pleurisy it went to early pneumonia & bronchitis... I am taking really STRONG medication all this week and using my neubelizer 4 times a day. I just want to get better. I don't smoke, I don't drink, I am eating healthy and exercising several times a week. I have faith that by the end of this week I will be the same ol' me! :) I miss doing my crafts and projects! I have a feeling SoLovelyCreations will be coming back soon with many projects! Thanks to everyone for your prayers and comments. They really do make me feel better!

We did take a trip to Rosarito last weekend. It was fun, but half of the time I was sick. :( More pictures on our Family Blog. Theres me!

So I am joining "Show us where you live Friday" from Kellys Korner. I missed last week which was laundry room. You all have seen my laundry room but here it is again! I am planning to change a few things. I will let you know.

BEFORE

AFTER

Welcome to our Master Bedroom.

These are some of the pictures we took from our 1 year anniversary. I had a few blank spaces and decided to decorate with scrapbook paper. You never go wrong with scrapbook paper. I love how it turned out!

This is a BEFORE picture:

AFTER:
I dont have the T.V there anymore. I decided to go with a seating area. Next Picture.

I needed to incorporate my 105 year old books in our room. Aren't they lovely? I bought a set of 13 books.

One of my favorite photos we took for our 1st year anniversary! Its so Vogue! ha..

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I am in love with my curtains! It reminds me of Beauty and the Beast. Belles dress?!!

FREEBIE

I almost forgot. Gliden is giving a way a free quart of paint. All you have to do is go here, choose color, fill out your information and you are done! Happy Painting! I choose cinnamon spice. So pretty.

I hope you have enjoyed looking at the pictures. If you have any ideas, comments, suggestions anything please let me know! I'd love to know what you think!

I told you I was going to share some pictures we took for our anniversary, so here you go! Enjoy!

Kitchen Update

2009-06-06T13:08:00.000-07:00

First, thank you for all the great birthday wishes! It meant a lot!

Well I am not completely done with painting the kitchen counter tops but its looking great! So far, so good! Pictures turned out a little too dark, sorry! I use two different cameras and get two different results!

I've been cleaning the counter tops with Windex but I am planning to make my own cleaning solution with no chemicals and using coffee filters to clean them. I have some home made cleaning recipes I want to try out soon! I will keep you posted!

Everything is turning out great. I wasn't so sure about using the Envirotex Lite but I've had great results. I love the HI-GLOSS! It just makes it look so nice, clean and fancy.

Just wanted to share with you how our kitchen is coming along.

Hope you have a great weekend! Talk to you soon!

Woo hoo! Lets Celebrate!

2009-06-04T08:38:00.001-07:00

Oh yeah, Its my BIRTHDAY aha... break it down.. yeah!!!! Today I turn 26! I cant believe it! It feels great! 26 years old... I've lived 26 wonderful years! God is so Good! I am so grateful. Today I will have a fun relaxing day. My family invited me for dinner tonight. My mom cooks delicious!

I love parties!
I wanted to share with you some of my favorite themed parties I have come across in this blog world. We got some creative bloggers out there!

Hope you enjoy their parties as much as I did.

Have a great day!

Chef Party @ Livin' Life Patino Style

Pirate Party @ Eightcrazy The Blog

Lollipop Party @ The Tomkat Studio

Car Themed Party @ Kara's Party Ideas

Bright & Fun Slumber Party @ Party Wishes

Pink Poodle Party @ Simply Creative Insanity

Lil' Monkey @ Polkadots & Pirates

Fancy Nancy Party @ Homemaking Fun

Candy Shop Party @ The Vazquez Family

Sports Theme Baby Shower Party @ Kevin's Girls

Elmo Party @ Divine Party Concepts

Painted kitchen counter tops

2009-05-30T15:44:00.000-07:00

You girls guessed right! I am working on my kitchen counter tops!

This has been the scariest but most rewarding project ever. See my boring island? It doesn't look like this anymore! It looks more like this....

So, what do you think? Doesn't it look wonderful? I love how it turned out. They will look much better once I paint the cabinets.

I sold a few of my creations and was able to do this project with that money. Yeah! Hopefully I can sell more things so I can buy materials to paint the cabinets! Cross fingers!

Really, I only spent about $30 to do this project. Thanks to coupons! That was the greatest part of it! I can't afford thousands even hundreds of dollars to change my counter tops so I decided I would paint them.

I came across this post and she totally inspired me to do it. That same day before I read the post, I went to Home Depot asking for advice on which paint to use, how to do it etc.. I really didn't know what to do. I was scared! So I came back home disappointed because no one really helped me. They had never heard such thing of painting counter tops, but I knew you could do it.

My prayers were answered when I came home and the first thing I see when I log in is that post. Its funny how things work out!

I just wanted to know what kind of paint to use and what kind of coat for protection. Sara from Whimsies & Whatnots did a splatter effect with the paint. It turned out beautiful. I did a different effect only using the faux painting sponge. Both ways look beautiful!

I used:

Faux painting sponge
Variety of acrylic paints (depends on colors you want)
Paper plates
Brush (if you want splatter effect)
Paper towels to clean your hands (might get kind of messy)

1. First thing I did was to clean the island counter top really good. I cleaned mine with warm water and soap.
2. Next, I needed to see all the colors. I was only going to choose 3 colors for the counter top. I did this by putting paint on a paper plate and writing the color name. Doing this will be much easier to decide on colors.

3. After you decide what colors to use, using the sponge I started to paint the counter top. I painted lightly and I had to make sure not too have to much paint. I first used Burnt Sienna and let it dry. Then on top I used Burnt Umber and let it dry. At the very end I painted antique gold to give it a final touch. There were some spots that came out too dark and you couldnt see the original color of the counter top. There is a solution! I mixed white paint with a light brick color and painted over the dark spots. Problem solved!

4. After its completely dry, (dries quick) comes the most nervous, terryfing step; Envirotex Lite. I was so nervous to do this step so my husband helped me. After we were done, I thought its really not that hard. You just need to make sure to read the directions carefully and follow them exactly. We used a foam brush to spread the varnish. We used a propane torch to get rid of bubbles, but Sara used lighters.

It does take time to paint and get the effect you want. Overall, its an easy project but takes a good couple of hours to complete. I promise if you try it, you will love results.

Here is my husband using the propane torch.

Make sure you tape off everything because it will be messy. Envirotex Lite is Hi Gloss you could even see the reflections. I accidentally poured a lot of varnish in this corner. Can you tell? ha ha.. For it to be the first time, I did good! :)

So $30 for this project is not bad at all! I am working on the rest of my counter tops today and hopefully I can finish them in a couple of days. Pictures coming soon!

Information:
I bought the Envirotex Lite at Hobby Lobby with a 40% coupon. They are originally about $30 a box of 32 oz. and I will be needing 3 more. So if you have the coupons use them! Each 32 oz box will cover 8 sq. ft.

I cant wait to see my kitchen completed!

Well thanks for stopping by and hopefully this will help. If you have any questions just send me an email!
Have a great Saturday!

Take a guess...

2009-05-30T02:10:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I am working on a project and its turning out great! I can not show more pictures because it is not complete. But please, take a guess.... what am I working on?
Goodnight!

BEFORE

AFTER

Show us where you live Friday- Baby Nurseries and Thrift Thursday

2009-05-28T21:34:00.001-07:00

First of all I wanted to share this custom name frame I did. I absolutely love how it turned out! It matches Payton's bedding and it looks so cute!
Name Art on sale $18 + shipping
Contact me for more info! :)

Kelly over @ Kelly's Korner Blog is having a children's room and nurseries home tour!
As you know, we don't have any kids yet but hopefully we will soon.

A couple of months ago I found a wonderful website where they showed many different types of baby nurseries. I feel in love with all of them. You can see the post here of my favorite ones!
Enjoy!

Also..................

I am joining the fun at "Thrift Store Thursday" @ Homebody Hollys Party! This is the first time I've done this and I am very excited!

First, lets start by showing you pictures of my beautiful niece! Oh man.. I love her so much. She is so funny and is always laughing. She turned 9 months today! She has my eyelashes! ha..

So I went to Goodwill today and it went perfect! I found so many great items and the price was right.

I dont know for how long I've wanted a plant holder in shape of a bike.. I think they are adorable and look very nice by your front door. Well, today was my lucky day. I didn't only find one, but two! Mama bike, and baby bike! ha.. I paid $8 for both which is not bad. Good deal. They did need a little makeover.... sooooooooo.. with the help of my good ol' friend spray cans.. they turned from this.. into....

this!
I think they look much better. Im telling you blog friends, spray paint will do wonders! If there is an item you dont like anymore for whatever reason, spray paint the item and I promise you will never think the same about the item! It will be love at first sight all over again! :)

I also bought this cute hamper for $3. I might be painting it but I still dont know. Undecided!

I bought this little chair for my niece. It was only $1. I have big plans for this baby! Pictures coming soon!

I know, I might have bought a little too much but I couldnt help myself! The best is yet to come! I bought these four "not so pretty chairs" for $2.25 each. They will become "beauties" in a couple of days.

The recliner, I just bought it because it was $1. Really! Its ridiculous! I had no idea where I was going to put it but I liked it. It was clean, pretty and it was only $1.

It worked out great in my "reading area". It might be a little to big, but for now it looks good. Master bedroom moulding projects coming soon!

This is the best deal! Do you have an idea of what it is? Its a headboard! A cool looking headboard! You might be thinking why I have it in the kitchen, right? Well my plans are: turning this headboard into a wine cellar! Ok, that might have sounded to fancy!

I am planning to paint, remodel and embellish this headboard to hold wine bottles and wine glasses. Doesnt that sound interesting!?
Believe it or not, it was only $1.. I know.. ridiculous! We dont even drink wine but I have many wine decorations around the kitchen. It will go perfectly.

Well hope you have enjoyed my Thrifty Thursday finds.

Meat and Potato Lasagna Recipe

2009-05-27T14:36:00.000-07:00

I love $5 dinners!

I tried this recipe today and it looks delicious! I have not tried it yet but I will soon. Just wanted to share it with you. You should check out the website! Its great.

Ingredients
6 large potatoes (about 3 lbs) ($.99) 10 lb potato bags are $2.97 this week!
3/4 lb ground beef ($.76) Bought a value pack that was marked down (LINK)
1/2 onion ($.20)
1 zucchini ($.79) Rolled back this week!
1 tsp garlic powder ($.03)
Salt/Pepper
1 15 oz can of diced or crushed tomatoes (or tomato sauce) ($.24) Used $1 off coupon
1 Tbsp brown sugar ($.03)
1/2 tsp salt
4 oz cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1 cup) ($1.10)
2 cups frozen corn ($.75 ) Did you know that March is "frozen food month"? Lots of frozen veggies on sale these days, so stock up!

Directions
1. Peel and thinly slice potatoes. Boil about 6-8 minutes until soft. Drain and pat dry.

2. In skillet, brown ground beef with chopped onion and diced zucchini. Add garlic powder, salt and pepper while browning. Drain.

3. In a medium bowl, combine diced tomatoes with brown sugar, salt and shredded cheese. Mix well. ( I did not have brown sugar so I added mushrooms!)

4. In 8x8 baking dish, layer sliced potatoes, meat mixture, potatoes, meat mixture, until all used up. Pour tomato/cheese sauce over the top. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

5. Prepare frozen corn as directed on the package.
6. Serve Meat and Potato Lasagna with side of corn!

Also this is a super yummy recipe and its so easy. Strawberries & Cream. All you need is strawberry's, "media crema" (found in hispanic food aisle) or whip cream and Splenda! Mix all together and enjoy!

Monogram Storage Boxes

2009-05-24T22:21:00.000-07:00

Remember this post about these inexpensive and cute boxes I made?
Also, these really cute magnets?

Well Megan and her sisters @ 4 sisters different hobbies decided to try these projects during a craft night they had. They turned out wonderful! The couldn't buy the same boxes I bought at Walmart, but they used shoe boxes instead! Creative! Great job girls! I love how the boxes and magnets turned out!

Here are the newest boxes I made using the same techniques but with larger boxes. The first box I made for a teacher I worked with, Mrs. Flanagan. She teaches half day kindergarten. She is a great teacher and she is so nice. I was so comfortable being around her it seemed I had known her for the longest time! Even though I have only known her for 2 weeks. I also made her a cute matching round magnet for her classroom. Hope she likes them!

This "S" box was a custom order for a baby's room. I love the way they turned out! I think they are perfect to hold small photo albums but really they can be used to hold anything. I will be making 3 more boxes to decorate my new shelf in my craft room!

If you have tried any of my projects, please let me know! I would love to post about it! Thanks!

Super Cute Project

2009-05-18T23:46:00.001-07:00

Its busy around here. There is so much going on. This is the last week of school and I am actually sad. I am going to miss the kids. The students graduate this Wednesday! YAY! I am excited for them and the parents.

Well we had the team crisis from the District come to our class. It was nice having them. We did have a few students asking and mentioning about their teacher and they did well handling the situation. The teacher was diagnosed with Leukemia. She passed away Friday morning. I still can't believe it. I am still in shock. I will keep the family in my prayers.

One more week of school and I promise I will share more projects. Just a quick picture of our master bedroom bathroom makeover. What do you think about the color? Nice.. I love how they are turning out. Next weekend we will start painting and I really want to do something with the mirror. More pictures coming soon.

I am making some cute gifts for 2 of the teachers I work with and I want to share them with you. They are super easy and they turned out really cute.
I bought a plain frame, scrapbook paper and a frame mat.

I painted the frame, glued the scrapbook paper on the mat and... here you go! It turned out so cute. I added a cute pink flower as a final touch.

So I will be making cute picture frames and a matching magnetic board. I will be making some more tomorrow and I will share with you. Right now, I am tired and I need some sleep. Good night! Enjoy.

An Angel Watching Over Us

2009-05-17T10:12:00.000-07:00

I dont think I have talked about my job lately. A little more than a month ago I got hired as a long term sub to work with students who are struggling with reading, writing and math. Well, two weeks ago they changed my schedule to work in a kindergarten classroom. I love working with kindergarten. The teacher had to leave for medical reasons. I never really talked to the teacher but I would say hi and bye kind of thing. Her class is the best! They are such good kids, they know the routines, the rules and are very respectful. Well sad news, very sad news. Yesterday, one of my friends informs me the teacher passed away in the morning. I just froze. I had goosebumps. I was sad. I cried. I didnt know what to think. It all happened in two weeks! How could this have happened? I am still in shock. She left 5 kids. I cant imagine what her family is going through right now. Its hard. Life changing.

This Wednesday will be the students graduation. I had planned to have one of the parents record everything and have the kids send a little love message for their teacher. I was even thinking making a huge banner. Now, it wont happen. I hope she knows her students love her and that her parents appreciate all she did. She was really a wonderful teacher. Last week, during centers, we did a banner that said "WE LOVE U". I did block letters and we had the students make their hand prints inside the letters. Then each student wrote their name on top of their hand print. It turned out really cute. She did get a chance to see what they did for her!

Tomorrow will be a different day.

Round magnet board giveaway!

2009-05-14T23:11:00.001-07:00

If you want to get a chance to win 1 of these beautiful round magnet boards, please visit:

www.solovelycreations.com

It is my new online shop! All you have to do is add yourself as a follower, leave a comment and link this giveaway! Many patterns to choose from!

Pom-Poms and a recipe!

2009-05-13T20:59:00.000-07:00

Doesn't this look yummy! Its a new recipe I tried today that I found at $5 dollar dinners. Erin is great at keeping meals for up to 4 people for under $5. You should check her blog out! You can click on the recipe below and see for yourself how easy it is. Try it!

Have you ever tried to make these large pom-poms? I have and its fun! If you have a party coming up and need decoration ideas, you have to try these! They look beautiful! You could decide what size to make them.

Here is a picture of 4 pom-poms I made for Mother's Day Dinner. I did not have time to decorate for the dinner party I had for my mom and sister, but I had to have the pom-poms. They actually looked really cute! I found this great tutorial with pictures that shows you how to make them. They are very easy to make! You can also mix colors of tissue paper to give a colorful look to the pom-poms.

Pom-Poms

Here is one of the dishes I made. Everything turned out delicious. This is the first time I cook by myself for so many people. My mom is the one that always helps me, but this time I had to do it by myself. I cooked Shrimp & Garlic Pasta (it was delicious), Shrimp cocktail, Crab Salad and Crab Rice Cake. We had a great time and everyone loved the food! Hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day!

Your writing into a font

2009-05-13T15:44:00.000-07:00

You have to visit Kevin and Amandas Blog. Its awesome! Amanda has some great stuff on her blog. Especially the free fonts! :)

You can send Amanda your writing and she will turn it into a font! I received mine a while ago but it was until today I learned how to install the font to my computer. I wanted the font so I could type and make my own recipe book. I downloaded my font and started typing all my recipes today. Its nice seeing your writing as a font. You can see here, this is the paper with my writing I sent Amanda. After installing the font, this is how my recipes turned out! Isn't this great! Much better than actually writing the recipes with pen! I am just putting recipes in clear protectors and in a 3 ring binder. As an index, I will have pictures! I will post pictures when I have it all together!
So now you know, if you want your writing turned into a font go and visit their blog.

Recipe from $5 dinners

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day! I hope you have the greatest time today with the people you love. Here is a little Mother's Day Prayer I found at:
www.mothersdaycelebration.com

Mothers Day Prayer
May the blessing of the Divine
Be an especially bright benediction
Upon mothers everywhere
On your blessed day -

On Mother's Day!

Have a great day!

Show us where you live Friday

2009-05-03T12:07:00.000-07:00

Kelly over @ Kelly's Korner is having a "Show us where you live Friday" Kitchen Edition party.
I just wanted to share some quick pictures of my kitchen before and afters.
I am in the process of painting all my kitchen cabinets and figuring out what to do with my counter top to make them look better. If you have stained or painted the kitchen cabinets, please give me some advice!

Here is the before picture. (March 2008)

My husband and I took out the vinyl and put beautiful 12 X 12 porcelain tile. Of course my husband did most of the work! I did help though! Here is the before..

(May 2008)

This is how my kitchen looks now with a little few more decorations. (December 2008)
This is the last picture I have taken of my kitchen and it was during Christmas time. Can you tell? ha..

My husband and I put the back splash. Its really simple. Want to learn how? Read this post!

Naturally Home Decor

2009-05-03T09:20:00.000-07:00

Remember this post?
Well I know I needed to create something else using the same items to give it that natural home decor.
I bought this beautiful tall vase at a yard sale for $1. Yeah I know, too plain right? Well not anymore!

Here are the items I used. I had a roll of jute cord, leftover coffee beans and lima beans from last project and my glue gun.

I did not plan my design before hand. I just started gluing and everything came together.
First, I glued the end of the jute cord and started wrapping around the glass vase. I kind of gave it that V shape in the front.

I had about 1 1/2in of jute cord glued, when I started gluing lima beans around. From here, you can do anything you want! You can add 2 layers of lima beans, 3 layers etc... Its up to you! Be creative! I only glued 2 layers of lima beans, then one layer of jute cord and one layer of coffee beans.

Here is a close up of the final project. Doesn't it look beautiful? I love the colors and texture!

I placed the "not so plain glass vase" in my entry table and added a few extra decorations.

So.. what do you think? Lovely isn't it! Its a very simple project, but you do need a lot of patience! It takes some time gluing bean by bean! I promise you will love final results. I dare you to try this! Very simple, inexpensive and so cute!

Teacher Appreciation Week Gift Idea

2009-05-02T08:33:00.000-07:00

May 4th - May 8th is Teacher Appreciation Week. Here is a little gift idea I made for one of my brothers teacher. Who wouldn't want a funky name art plaque? I surely would, but I made one for myself!
They are really simple to make. Buy any unfinished wooden plaque. Paint with color of choice. Cut 2.5 in paper circles. (Circle size will vary depending on name)
After paint dries, decoupage circles.
Paint the name on and embellish! Be creative! Have fun! I think this plaque came out cute. Hope the teacher likes it!

Now if you dont feel like making one then buy one made! I will have them on sale all next week for only $15 + shipping! Its worth it! Let me know if you would like one. I can make them any colors any name! Send me an email if interested!

What other teacher appreciation gift ideas do you have? Please share! Thanks!

Really..... $1 floor lamp???

2009-04-30T23:37:00.000-07:00

You are not going to believe this! I went to Kirkland's earlier today looking for a floor lamp for the seating area in our room. Remember I told you I didn't want the T.V in our room and instead I wanted a seating area? Well its coming a long great! The floor lamps are beautiful at Kirkland's but the prices are not right for me at these moments. I was hoping to find a good deal, but the deal was not there. I was a little disappointed but I knew I would find something quick.

Oh boy oh boy... did it come quick! I took a trip to the Goodwill store and look what I found! This not so beautiful lamp with a lot of potential. I immediately thought " I could paint it, and cover the lamp shade with a pretty fabric etc... In matter of seconds I had everything planned out how I wanted it. So I check the price, and guess what.... the price was right! It was originally $7.99 / Week 14 tag. Today all week 14 tags were .99 cents! I quickly put it in the shopping cart. My husband was laughing at how funny it looked "driving" a shopping cart with a 5 1/2 tall lamp! ha.. I laughed at myself too!

I also found this pretty fabric (1 1/2 yd) for 1.99. It is beautiful!

How to cover lampshade:

I measured the lampshade and cut the fabric according to size.
I used spray adhesive (it works great)
I adhered the fabric to the lampshade and smoothed it out as much as I could. The fabric is kind of wrinkly!
I hot glued the fabric to the top and bottom of the lampshade.. and shazammm.. I had a beautiful elegant lampshade.

Its very simple! You should try it!

I took the lamp outside and gave it a little makeover with spray paint! I love spray paint! I choose "Espresso" color. Its like a rich chocolate color.

The middle part of the lamp started bubbling and I did not like how it was turning out as it dried. So I cut a long strip of the same fabric as the lampshade and glued it down.

Here is a close up of the lampshade. Isn't it beautiful? I love it!

Here is the final piece! So.. what do you think? Its amazing that spray paint and fabric can do so much! It looks like a brand new lamp!

I am still not done with the seating area but I just couldn't wait to show you how great it is looking.
Thanks for visiting! You are more than welcome to leave comments!
Thanks!

Our new master bedroom....

2009-04-28T20:55:00.000-07:00

I know.. I took a long break.. I really needed this break. There was just so much going on, I needed some time off. I'm glad I am back!

Well this weekend we finally bought our bedroom set. I am so happy! Don't get me wrong. I love my round bed, but our master bedroom wasn't complete. I needed a change. Our round bed is in our guest bedroom now. Next project, decorating our guest bedroom! :)

I bought a beautiful frame for our 1 year anniversary pictures. It was perfect for all of our pictures. I decided to place the frame on the wall before entering our bedroom. I think it looks beautiful. I do need more decoration though!

I had a few blank spots and decided to decorate with scrapbook paper. You never go wrong with scrapbook paper. I love how it turned out!

Here is the entrance to our bedroom. I really do feel like a queen in this room. I feel very calm and relaxed when I am in my room.

Four poster bed! Yeahhhh.. I love it! I've always wanted a four poster bed. It looks so elegant and different. The colors look perfect! Two things I will be working on this weekend: buying pillows ( I love pillows) and adding a nice seating area in place of t.v.

My nightstand! haha.. I am still working on decoration. What do you think about decor? Too simple? Too much?

I needed to incorporate my 105 year old books in our room. Aren't they lovely? I bought a set of 13 books.

One of my favorite photos we took for our 1st year anniversary! Its so Vogue! ha..

I am in love with my curtains! It reminds me of Beauty and the Beast. Belles dress?!!

This is the area I will be working on this weekend. I dont like having a t.v in our room. I would love to have a reading area with a nice floor lamp and baskets with books. I think I have the perfect chair for this area.

I hope you have enjoyed looking at the pictures. If you have any ideas, comments, suggestions anything please let me know! I'd love to know what you think!

I told you I was going to share some pictures we took for our anniversary, so here you go! Enjoy!

Unique Candle Holder

2009-04-16T00:17:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love candle holders! Especially pillar candle holders. I have many around the house and they look lovely.

I found this website where they sell beautiful home decor. I love it! The problem is, its a little expensive. Would you pay $150 - $400 for a set of candle holders? I don't know about you but I certainly cant!

I tried a little experiment of making my own candle holder and guess what? I loved it! Scroll down to read more. :)

So here is the candle holder I made. I wanted to use items I had at home, but too bad for me I couldn't find anything. I had to go to the store and buy some items. By looking at the picture, can you guess what its made out of? Could you?

Call me crazy but I made this out of coffee beans, Lima beans, Styrofoam and a thick plastic plate! It turned out so cute! I have all ready placed it on my entry way table and dining table to see how it looks; it looks fabulous! You really cant even tell what its made out of! It looks just as great as an expensive store bought candle holder. I am thinking of making some more candle holders (different heights) to decorate my entryway table! Pictures coming soon!

Mmmm.. wake up and smell the coffee! It really does smell great! Hazelnut.. yummy!

Testing, testing... 1 , 2... haha.. just giving myself an idea of how great they will look on my dining table.

Testing on my entryway table.

Here is a close up of the candle holder. If you want a unique handmade decor, you gotta try this! I dare you to try it! So simple, inexpensive and beautiful! Please share pictures if you decide to try this! :)
Take Care!
Martha

Easter Ideas

2009-04-09T14:28:00.000-07:00

Hello! I'm back! It was nice taking some time off. These past 2 weeks have been very difficult for our family. I've cried so much. I just let everything out. It helps and makes me feel better. I want to thank everyone for sending email's and leaving comments. I appreciate it!

Well Easter is just in a couple of days! Here are some really cute easter ideas. If you would like to share any ideas, please leave them in a comment!

Rice Krispie Treats (Bird Nest)

Patty @ ModKid did these rice krispie treats in shape of a bird nests. She used Whoppers Mini Robins Eggs as the baby eggs. I love this idea! I might have to try this.

Jeanne @ JeanneWinters created this Jesus Easter egg project. Jeanne has a great tutorial on how to create this project. She used cranberry juice, spinach and blueberries to dye the eggs.

I found this great project here on how to create this great gumdrop topiary. This would look great as a center piece on any table!

Cindy @ This is my Life teaches how to create this beautiful Easter wreath. I love the colors on this wreath! It turned out beautiful!

Look how cute these Easter Bunny S'mores are? You can find ingredients and directions here.
I hope you liked these ideas! :)

Visit to the E.R.

2009-04-03T10:57:00.001-07:00

I went to the E.R. last night. It was scary. Read more about it here.

I will be away this weekend. I have many things I want to share. I will share some projects when I come back!

Just a little something....

2009-04-02T18:54:00.000-07:00

I'm exhausted. The last two days we have spent it mostly at the hospital. Valerie had her c-section yesterday. It was tough for her and the rest of the family. She did get a little panic attack before going to the operating room and they needed to calm her down. Everything went well. We had the chance to keep the baby for one day. He was handsome! I wanted to share this picture that I took yesterday. This is Valerie holding her son's hand. He weighed 3 lbs. 11 oz. -- 16 inches. He was so beautiful. I will never forget his little face. I love him so much! Please keep praying for Valerie and her family. We will be going to the hospital tonight to spend some time with Valerie and her family.

I wanted to share this cute project I did a while back. This is my pencil holder I have next to my computer. It turned out so cute. Again, you cant go wrong with pink and brown!

This is the hair bow holder I did for Stacey. She won my "Hair Bow Holder Giveaway". The colors she choose are awesome! I love the color combination. I was glad I had the perfect ribbon to match the bow holder! Its so cute!

Several weekends ago we found these beautiful items at a yard sale.

This first item we bought it for only $5! Yep, 5 buckaroos! The family we bought it from used it to hang coats. As you can see in the second picture, the back board had hangers.

Now let me tell you the story how it fell apart. We kept this beautiful piece in our backyard since I still needed to paint. This afternoon I walk outside to take some nice pictures to post and what do you know; my beautiful piece laying on the ground, the backboard laying next to it broken and the glass door, all shattered! Last week was really windy! So windy, it knocked this piece straight to the ground! Good thing that its still ok. I will have to figure out how to fix it. What do you think about this piece? Im thinking of making it into a giant jewelry organizer! haha.. I have that much jewelry!

We bought this beautiful metal art for $2. Its beautiful! I loved it! Today my husband and I, hung this metal art in our bedroom!

What do you think? You cant really tell, but it looks much better in person. This little trick made the ceilings look higher. It looks awesome! Our master bedroom is coming along beautiful!

We bought these for $5. I still don't know where to place them! I'm thinking placing these on the sides of our mirror in our bedroom. I guess we will see how it works out.
Well, I hope you've enjoyed todays post. Thank you so much for visiting!

Thank you!

2009-04-01T08:55:00.000-07:00

First of all, thank you for your prayers, kind messages and email's.
We were at the hospital all day yesterday. We spent a lot of time with Valerie, even though she slept the whole day. She wasn't doing so good. They needed to first control her blood sugar. We talked to the nurse before coming home and told us she was doing much better. It was very difficult being there. Again thank you for your prayers!

Last Friday was our 1st year anniversary. Time goes by so fast! One year since our wedding! Wow! I have loved every second of our marriage!
Friday I had a craft show at a school carnival close to our house. It was fun! I had the chance to meet great people. Everyone had nice comments to say about my creations! It really does feel great when people comment on items you create. It made me feel good! I sold a couple of items and had 2 custom orders. Not bad for a first timer!

Here is a picture we took with my table. Everything looked so cute!

My in-laws invited us to eat for our anniversary. I love them! Here is a picture I took on our way to the restaurant. I want to show off my beautiful clip hair I did! Isn't it cute?

Friday my husband came home with these beautiful roses, the most wonderful card and a gift card! I cried! I love him so much! They look so much like my hair clip!

Also, I wanted to show you my newest creations. This is my newest one! I love how it turned out! I bought a circle cutter at a yard sale for $1. I decided to try it yesterday. I went crazy cutting circles! I wasn't going to throw my paper circles away so I created this funky name art with them. I had bought this wooden plaque a while back, so I had everything I needed at home. What do you think? funky huh!

This was a custom order from Texas! Its a picture frame jewelry holder! I love how it turned out. You can never go wrong with turquoise and brown! Just beautiful! Customer loved it!

I created this to show at my craft show. This is a monogram hair bow holder. Its nice, simple and so cute!

Hope you like my creations. Thanks for visiting! Come back soon!

I'm sad.... heartbroken..

2009-03-31T08:17:00.000-07:00

I can't even type right... I'm heartbroken.. I'm crying.. I'ts hard..

My brother-in-laws wife, Valerie, just lost her baby today. She was 7 1/2 months pregnant. She was due beginning of June. She was having a boy. All I know is the baby died due to an infection. I am on my way to the hospital. Please keep The Medrano Family in your prayers. They have a 2 1/2 year old daughter. I have been trying to call them, no answer. This is a difficult time for all of us. Lets pray that God will comfort them and give them peace.

This must be so difficult for my in-laws. 2 years ago, my other brother-in-laws wife lost her baby 15 days after being born. Alex was his name. He didn't even get to come home. Now this happens! Its really hard.
Thank you for your prayers!
Martha

I'm back..

2009-03-22T21:52:00.000-07:00

Whew.. those were the longest 3 days ever! Food poisoning, awful! I was 3 days in bed! Thanks to all of you who prayed for me, and that left me sweet comments to get better! I really appreciate it! I'm back to my old self! My mom and brother were so sweet, they came on Thursday to take care of me. What would you do without family? I love them so much. My mom was worried, she brought me medicine, chicken soup ( it was delicious) and Gatorade's. They stayed with me mostly all day Thursday. My brother was so sweet, he got a wet towel to put on my forehead for the fever. He was sitting right next to me. Later on, my sister came to visit. I love my family!

So today, we took our 1 year anniversary pictures in Scottsdale, AZ. It was really fun! Lydene, our photographer was great! We will get to see our pictures in about a week. I cant wait to see them! Lydene was really fun and had great ideas! Thanks Lydene!

Lydene's Blog

So I decided to go with a puffy hair look for the pictures. To my luck, it was so windy my hair was super puffy! I like the look though! I kept telling Lydene, I feel like a model with a big fan blowing my hair! ha.. I had two different outfits. One formal and the other more casual. Pictures coming soon!

Saturday was the first night I went out after being in bed for so long. We went to Dave & Buster's with our family. Oh.. we had the greatest time! My cousin Sara and her boyfriend came from Tucson to visit and they had a great time also. I was just like a kid in a candy store! I was playing , looking around just having the greatest time ever. There I am in the middle!

Here are some of the custom orders I sent out a while ago. I never posted pictures. I think they came out really cute!

This is a project I tried today. I bought 3 paper mache eggs and I decoupaged them using paper from an old novel. I am still not done with them. I want to add some embellishment. I will post pictures soon!

I finally made the laundry detergent! :) It took me so long to make because I couldn't find Washing Soda. I bought it yesterday at Frys. Pink laundry detergent! Isn't this cool? I used a pink bar soap. Wish me luck with this detergent!

Thats all for tonight. Thanks again for your prayers!
Take Care!

Food Poisoning

2009-03-19T19:11:00.000-07:00

Im still not ok, but feeling better. Please please pray for me! We ate out Wendesday, about an hour later I got sick. I mean sick. Ive been in bed for the last 2 days. I have not ate in 2 days. Its horrible! I got a little energy to come and type, but I cant no more. Please pray that tomorrow will be a different day! Thanks!

The winner is....

2009-03-17T20:49:00.001-07:00

Thanks to random.org
#6 is the lucky winner of a custom hair bow holder!

The winner is:

Stacey @ Blissfulness

CONGRATULATIONS!

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway!
More giveaways coming soon!

Spring Napkin Holders

2009-03-17T16:40:00.000-07:00

Before I tell you about the contest, I want to share with you these pictures and a short story. I invited my mom, sister, brother and niece to eat breakfast this morning. We had a great time. Here is my niece. Isn't she beautiful!? She is 6 months old. I love her. I bought her the headband yesterday. She loves playing with her shoes. Toys? she doesn't need toys. She prefers to play with her shoes than any toys.

This is my youngest brother Daniel. He is 11 years old. He decided to stay with me today. He loves spending the night here! He got his craftiness from me! He loves painting, drawing, and doing any type of craft. While I was doing my project, he decided he wanted to join in. He was painting here.

Daniel is diabetic. In February 2008, we got the scare of our lives. My parents went on a church retreat and Daniel stayed with us. Friday afternoon he was doing fine. Then on Friday evening, we started noticing he wasn't behaving how he normally behaves. He was not doing good. He was not eating, he didnt want to play, he was constantly going to the bathroom without drinking liquids, he lost 18 pounds in a week, he was not laughing and he was just not being how he normally is. He is a very happy boy, and his behavior scared us. Saturday went by, still not doing good. Sunday, I gave him medicine and it seemed he was doing better. My parents picked him up Sunday night, still not good. I told my dad he needed to go to the doctor. He had no energy and was constantly going to the bathroom. Monday morning, he gets sent back from school. He was in bed with a high fever. My mom took him to urgent care. The doctor immediately did test and it came back with 457. His sugar was high! We had to take him to the emergency room. We took him just in time. The doctor was telling us, that if his sugar level would have been over 500, he could have died or been on a diabetic comma. He was in the hospital for a little over a week. It was scary.

He is doing so good! I am amazed at how wonderful he is doing. There is a whole group of people praying for him to get cured. God is amazing! God does amazing things!

He has been doing so good now, he is at the point where he needs almost no insulin! His body is producing insulin. Even his doctor is amazed at the little insulin he now needs. I love my brother so much, and its very hard seeing at his young age what he goes through every day. We had to be very strong and have faith.
At the beginning it was really hard for us. Now, we have all learned to live with it. Daniel counts his carbs, injects himself and knows how to take care of himself. He is such a good kid. I love him!

He has been telling me he wants to make something to sell and donate half to "Find a diabetes cure foundation" and the other half to help his parents pay for his medicine. How adorable is that! He is a great kid. His medicine is expensive and he knows my parents are having a hard time paying. Especially now that they lowered my dads pay. Its been tough!
Im sorry, I was going to make it a short story and made it too long. Just wanted to share his story. I just love him so much!

Okay.. moving on.. wiping tears..

Katie @ Katies Nesting Spot send me a message about a great spring contest from Mod Podge. Thanks Katie! I am very interested and started Mod Podge'in like crazy! Those of you who are Mod Podge lovers, you should sign up!

Read about contest rules here.
If you sign up, please let me know! I would love to see what you create!

I Mod Podge like crazy! I love it! Ive done, decoupage letters, wooden blocks, coasters, collages, frames and more! Today, I came up with something different. I came up with beautiful spring napkin holders!

It all started when we took a trip to Home Depot. While my husband was looking for some tools, I decided to take a little trip down PVC aisle. Why the PVC aisle? I don't know! I just did. :)
Its funny! This is how it went down at Home Depot:

Martha: Uuuuuhhh... what is this?

I read the info sheet on the price sheet.

Martha: I know I could use this for something else! Only .20 cents! Thats pretty good!
What could I use this for, what could I use this for!! mmmmm...mmmmm...mmmmm..

While I am talking to myself, (in a low voice & people might think Im crazy hahaha..) you will see me with that one piece turning it upside down, holding it in the air, walking back and forth thinking, and even sometimes sitting down. This is my creative thinking process! ha..

Martha: Ohhhhhhh.. I know!!! I could use this as a napkin holder! ( I might say this just a little louder) I get really excited!

I start thinking immediately how I could do it, what papers, what colors, embellishment etc..

Of course, when my husband finds me, I tell him my idea. He always thinks they are great!

So here is a little tutorial of how to create these beautiful spring napkin holders. I will be sending this idea for the Spring Mod Podge Contest. What do you think? Cute?

Materials Needed:

Mod Podge
Embellishmetn (ribbon, flowers, beads)
Scrapbook Paper
Scissors
Glue Gun
PVC pipes

1. Measure the PVC pipes.
2. Cut the same length in paper to decoupage each PVC pipe.

3. Using your Mod Podge, lightly cover a PVC pipe. Glue one end of paper and start decoupaging.
In the middle of my projects, I used my hands to finish gluing the paper. Careful, it will get messy! :)

4. Using your glue gun, glue some ribbon around each pipe. Be creative! I went with green and pink.
I added a beautiful pink flower with a green bead in the middle.

This is how they turned out! Wouldn't these look great in your table this spring!?
I dare you to try it! It is super simple, inexpensive and so cute! Please share pictures if you try this!

Fun jewelry organizer

2009-03-15T14:59:00.000-07:00

I love love jewelry! I wont go one day without wearing a piece of jewelry. If its a pair of earrings, a necklace or bracelets! I was cleaning my bathroom earlier today and I didn't like how my towel holder looked. Why you ask? Because, as you can see, I am using it as a jewelry holder. Towel holders are not jewelry holders! They work great as a jewelry holder but I don't like how it looks. I decided to make my own jewelry holder, a fun wild diva jewelry holder.

I have never owned a piece of zebra print clothing, bag, shoes, rugs, pillows or photographs! None at all! It has never caught my attention. Things changed yesterday when I went to the scrapbook store. As I walked in, first thing I see, a zebra print paper. I don't know why, but I walked straight to the rack and grabbed one sheet. I didnt know what I was going to create but I knew it would turn out great!

Today in the morning, I created this beautiful Wild Diva jewelry organizer. Its cute! I love it! Its also a picture frame. So what I am going to do, is create another jewelry organizer to match this one, plus a matching bigger earring holder. The one I have is just too small. Enjoy!

Have a great day!

Cirlces.. oh circles...

2009-03-13T19:54:00.000-07:00

While I was looking through Pier1.com, I found this beautiful hand painted wall decor. I immediately fell in love with it. I love the shapes, patterns and colors. This would look great in my living room!

I really liked how the shape of the decoration looked. Circles oh circles! They look lovely! Knowing that my craft room still needs wall decor, a light bulb went on!
Ting!!!!
I said to myself, I need to figure out a way to have a similar decoration for my room for less than $15. I thought, and I thought. And thought some more! Then all of a sudden it came to me! Embroidery hoops are round and Hobby Lobby sells fabric! So I drove to Hobby Lobby, saw that the fabric was on sale and purchased a few embroidery hoops. The final project is great! I love it! My room is looking better every day! Here is a quick tutorial of how to do these beautiful decorations.

Materials Needed:

Different sizes of embroidery hoops
Acrylic paint
Foam brush
Different patterns of fabric
Scissors
Glue gun

1. Paint the outside hoop. Let dry. Pick a color that will contrast the wall color.
I painted my hoops white, and they look great against the brown wall.

2. Cut a piece of fabric a little larger than the hoops. Join both hoops together. Tighten the hoop screw. ( I dont know how you call it )

3. Cut around the fabric leaving around 1/4 in.

4. Here I have all my hoops ready to be completed.

5. The piece of fabric you left will be glued to the inside hoop. The easiest way is to use a glue gun.

Here is the final project! Don't you just love these! In this picture, the walls look a little lighter. The white hoop makes a huge difference. Its nice that while I am blogging I am also looking at my beautiful art that inspires me. Its a simple project, inexpensive and beautiful! I dare you to try it! :) Enjoy!

The winner is....

2009-03-10T20:54:00.000-07:00

Drumroll please.......

The winner is

Amy @ Tj, Amy and Ava Pugmire

CONGRATULATIONS! Thanks to everyone who participated in this giveaway! Many more to come so check back soon!

Dont forget to sign up for my hair bow holder giveaway!

Hair Bow Holder Giveaway

Square Scalloped Punch

2009-03-10T19:39:00.000-07:00

It had been a while I wanted these giant square scalloped punches. I finally got them and I love them! Have you used these before? If you have them, please share how you've used them. I would love to see!

I made these cute cupcake toppers using my punches. I listed them on my etsy shop, So Lovely Creations and I had my first cupcake toppers sale yesterday. Andrea is organizing a bridal shower for this weekend and she ordered these toppers. Bridal shower colors are brown and pink, so these were perfect. Are these cute or what? They are hand stamped and I could do them any colors! Sale going on now, 15 toppers for $7.

I googled square scalloped punch and tons of ideas came up using these punches. I really like this idea. These are Monogram Favor Boxes.
They could also be used as an envelope sealer.

This is a card that was made using these square punches. Isn't this a cute card?

Card

Please share your ideas!

Simple Project

2009-03-10T18:37:00.000-07:00

I have been busy with custom orders, good thing! :) There are a couple of things I want to share with you today. First of all, thank you so much for your great comments. I have been receiving emails and comments every day! It makes me very happy!

Also, I won a blog makeover from Shabby Pumpkin! Its all great news today. I entered a giveaway she was having for Shabby Pumpkin's Grand Opening and I won! So girls, come back soon and check out the new So Lovely Creations blog!

Please check out Mandy @ Shabby Pumpkin! She also creates digital cards and photography! Her designs are awesome!

She designed Mandi's blog @ Miss (es) Canadian Pie
I love Mandi's blog! You cant go wrong with pink and brown!

Quick and easy project I want to share with you today. I've been trying to use some of the things I have at home to create beautiful pieces. A while back, I found these unfinished wooden candle holders at Michaels for .50 each. The round wooden plaque I bought it at Walmart for $1.12. It was originally going to be a bow holder, but never used it.

This is a really easy project and it turns out really cute! I used my glue gun ( i love you glue gun!) to glue the wooden plaque on top of the candle holder. I then spray painted the piece white. Let it dry and ta-da! You are done! Now, wasn't this easy? It doesn't get easier than this girls. I made this to hold a bigger candle I had, but I played around using different objects.

I think I might use this to bring life to my fruit bowl! This looks like one expensive decoration, but its not! I bought the bowl at the Dollar Store and it looks like a glass bowl but its plastic. I know, incredible! This total project was only $2.50. What a deal! Just lovely!

I tried as a plant holder.

I tried it as a candle holder. But at last, I decided I liked it best with the fruit bowl holder. I dare you to try this project! So easy, inexpensive and cute! Have a great day!

Button with a scroll box

2009-03-08T17:54:00.000-07:00

Check this out! I finally have my own button! Please copy code and add to your blog if you'd like!
I found a short and easy tutorial on how to create your button with a scroll box.

Button with a scroll box tutorial

Canvas Picture Frame Art

2009-03-05T20:10:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Chrissy, I created this beautiful canvas picture frame. I love the way it turned out. I had to display one of my best wedding pictures. It was taken towards the end of our day. We each had huge sparklers and our photographer had the greatest idea. We had to try to make a heart with the sparklers. It was a little hard since my husband is really tall. His side was always too high. Our photographer caught this picture and its great! I love that the picture is black & white and a little blurry. Tawnya is the best photographer ever!

Canvas picture frame art now in my etsy shop!

So Lovely Creations

Shabby Block and a prayer

2009-03-05T18:38:00.001-08:00

So, what do you think? Ive seen some of these initial blocks on etsy, but I never found a block I had in mind. So I decided to make one myself. It takes a while because I cut the wood, sand, prime, paint, decoupage, let it dry in between coats and paint again. Plus I have to finish with a coat of varnish for the final touch. I think it turned out great though! All that time was worth it! I am thinking this could be great to give as gifts! They really look wonderful! I love the wrinkly look! I post this block on etsy, hopefully I could sell some.

One little thing before I finish this post. Just wanted to ask for your prayers. I haven't worked as much as I would like to. Work is a little slow. I just received an email saying they are lowering our pay due to economic crisis! Its not much, but does make a difference. I still have no insurance. I love my job, but I am working less and less. I only worked 2 days this week :( where normally I worked all 5 days. Please, if you can, please pray for me that my job gets a little better. It makes me so sad watching the news of families who lost their homes, their jobs, people who are committing suicide because they cant keep up. Its hard. Its emotional. We have to be strong, and pray that everything will be all right. I pray every day that everything will get better.

God listened to my prayers last week! I was praying to sell some of the things I do to cover at least one of the days I didn't work and I had 6 orders! Wow! That was great! God is so good! Hopefully I could sell some more stuff!

Thank you girls! I really appreciate your nice comments! They make my day! :)

Have a great day!

Milk Glass

2009-03-04T19:45:00.000-08:00

Love it or hate it? I personally love it! I bought these beautiful pieces at an antique store today. I didn't know milk glass could be so expensive! I have my eye on a beautiful milk glass bowl but its $110! Thats a little too much for me. I don't get paid that much too afford a $110 bowl. :) But its beautiful and I want it! Hopefully they could put it on sale soon! Cross fingers!

I wasn't sure if I wanted to buy these. All of our decoration in our home have normally dark colors. I didn't know if they would go well together. White does go with everything, doesn't it? Well I tried dressing up my entry way table with the milk glass decorations and it looks funny. Maybe because I am not use to having white decorations in my home. Spring is just around the corner and I want it to have a "spring-e" feel ( I know, made up word). Fall is over and so is winter! I want to incorporate more lighter colors this spring. So, what do you think about the new "spring-e" look? I am thinking of buying a antique white lamp and replace it with the darker one. Does it look ok? To tell you the truth, I like how it looks in person, but when I saw the pictures I did not like them at all. Should I replace all of the darker decorations in the table with lighter ones? Should I just keep the old decorations? I never thought it would be so hard to dress up an entry table! Leave comments, be honest I wont get upset promise! All comments appreciated! Also, if you own milk glass decoration, I would love to see how you use them to decorate in your home!
Thanks!

BEFORE

AFTER

Hayden's Home

2009-03-04T18:53:00.000-08:00

Meet the Hayden's :)

Katie was my mentor teacher during student teaching (1st grade). She is an awesome teacher and I learned so much the semester I was in her classroom. She is a very kind, sweet, fun person and I am grateful I met her.

I want to share with you some pictures of their home. I love their home! They have a great way of decorating. The colors are great, decorations are beautiful everything just looks perfect. I really like the open floor plan. I wish I had that in my house. In our home, there is a wall that divides the kitchen from the living room. Future plans are, bringing down that wall or even buy a new house! Who knows! Another thing I love about their kitchen is the granite countertops. They look beautiful! So, what do you think? Enjoy!

I've been busy...

2009-03-03T09:02:00.000-08:00

Making these cute custom wooden peg hangers......

This cute hair bow holder...

and this cute frame! I am currently working on two more projects. These items have been created and shipped. I still need to finish and ship two more custom orders! :)

Good News

2009-03-02T19:34:00.000-08:00

First, I have received 3 awards! :) This makes me so happy!

Second, I have joined the gym! :)

I really enjoy all the comments you write! Thank you so much! Everyone has been really sweet and kind! It makes me want to blog more!

I received this Kreativ Blogger award from TBerri @ The Four Frugal Scarbarys. Thank you so much!

Here are the award rules:
List 7 things that you love and then pass the award to 7 bloggers. Be sure to tag them and let them know they have won. You can copy the picture of the award and put it on your sideboard letting the whole world know- you are KREATIV!

7 things I love:

I love Jesus
Husband
Family
Traveling
Being Crafty
Blogging
My Job

7 of my favorite blogs I'd like to pass this award on to:

Living Life Patino Style
The Maisy Report
The Nesting Place
320 Sycamore
Be different act normal
Little April Big World
Miss(es) Canadian Pie

Thanks!

I received this award from Steph @ Southern Fairy Designs. Thanks!

Now I have to pass it on to 10 people who do inspiring projects/work and generally make me smile and laugh.... so in no particular order at all...

This last award I received from Shay @ Everyday Moments. Thanks!

The friendship award rules.
These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find friends and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships will be propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to five bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly- written text into the body of their award.

Kimberly
Peace Love Applesauce
Stacey
Krista
Kelly

Thanks to all of your comments and kind words! :) Much appreciated

Hair Bow Holder Giveaway

2009-03-01T17:08:00.001-08:00

This was a custom order I made yesterday. I loved it so much I am giving one away today! I love giveaways so I am having one today!

All you have to do is:
leave a comment telling me, what two colors you would choose if you won this item

and

link :)

A winner will be chosen March 16th!
Good Luck
Thanks!

So Lovely Creations

Blue Marshmallow Lollipops

2009-02-28T09:45:00.001-08:00

I saw this cute idea @ Living Life Patino Style and I loved it! I have been wanting to try it for a while, but I waited for the perfect occasion. We are having a bridal shower today for my cousin Diana. Her wedding colors are turquoise and white. Marshmallow lollipops are perfect to decorate any table at a party. The ones I did today, could also be perfect as baby shower favors (girl -pink- boy - blue-) even birthday parties! No matter what, they look wonderful and taste wonderful too! I dare you to try them! :)
I only spent around $10 for everything! Not bad!

Marshmallow Lollipops

Ingredients

marshmallows
clear treat bags
lollipop sticks
chocolate wafers (many colors to choose from)
sprinkles
mugs ( to place marshmallow lollipops)
plates
fork
scissors
ribbon

1. Place a stick in each marshmallow. At first I used this valentine tin to hold my marshmallow lollipops, but found out large mugs work better.

2. Put chocolate wafers in a bowl. Put plate in microwave for 30 seconds. After 30 seconds mix the chocolate. You might need to put 30 seconds more and mix.
3. Dip the marshmallow in the chocolate and spin. Make sure you don't do it too fast! I got a little excited at first and I made a mess! :)

4. Go crazy and sprinkle the marshmallow lollipop.

5. When you have enough in your mug, place them in the freezer for 3 minutes or until chocolate hardens.

I just couldn't wait and had to have one! They are delicious!

Make sure they don't touch each other when you place them in the freezer! This could happen to you! These are called, "Stuck on You" marshmallow lollipops! hahahaha.. Actually, if you are having twins, this could be the best baby shower favor! hahaha..

6. Place the lollipops in a clear bag and tie with a ribbon. You can make them a little fancier by adding a tag, curly ribbon, cute embellishment etc..

There you have it! So simple, inexpensive and cute! Here is my bouquet of marshmallow lollipops! I hope everyone enjoys them as much as I did making them! If you try this project, please let me know!

Have a great day!

P.S.
Warning! You might end up with sprinkles all over your counter, chocolate everywhere (if you spin too fast) and this in your sink!
I'm kidding, its really not that messy!

Custom Orders

2009-02-27T17:41:00.000-08:00

My picture!

2009-02-27T07:25:00.000-08:00

I was looking at my photographers website, and guess what I see!? My picture in the front page!

Beauty of Life Photography

Go check it out!

SR Creations Giveaway

2009-02-26T21:09:00.000-08:00

My friend makes the most beautiful jewelry and very affordable.

SR Creations is giving away these beautiful pair of swarovski earrings.

There are three ways to enter and win these beautiful earrings.

For one entry, leave your first and last name in a comment.

For a second entry, visit SR CREATIONS website here. Look at the necklaces. Come back, leave another comment with your first and last name + your favorite necklace.

For a third entry, visit SR CREATIONS website here. Look at the earrings. Come back, leave another comment with your first and last name + your favorite earrings.

There should be 3 different comments!
I love her work!
You can also email for custom orders!

Deadline: March 10, 2009

If you don't have a blog, please leave your email.

Good luck to everyone who enters!
Please let all your friends know!
If you can, please link!
Thank you!

Velvet black stunning earrings

Collection: Swarovski Crystal

Jet black 6mm crystals with crystal rondelles make this a stunning piece to wear.

I love boxes!

2009-02-26T15:05:00.001-08:00

I love boxes! I love small boxes, big boxes, weird boxes, decoupage boxes, pretty boxes you name it I love them! I am almost done with my craft room but I needed 2 boxes to store my clear stamps and glue. I went to the scrapbook store and saw some really cute pink boxes. When I looked at the price tag, wow! They were 19.99 each. Which is not bad cause they were really cute. I just couldn't afford $40 for 2 boxes at the moment! Plus my husband would have freaked out! :)
I immediately thought, "I could make the boxes myself". I stopped at Walmart and went straight to the aisle where they sell envelopes, tape etc... I found 2 small cardboard boxes that were .88 each! Now you know where I am going with this! I came straight home and started with my project! It was so easy, inexpensive and turned out so cute! I dare you to make one! :)

Cute Storage Box

Materials needed:

1 cardboard box
glue gun
scrapbook paper
embellishment
mod podge
spray paint
stamp pad

1. I used my glue gun to glue together the bottom part of my box. I used a little bit of tape first to hold together.
2. Glue all 4 flaps from the top of the box to the inside.

3. Spray paint your box. Light coats are better.

4. I cut a smaller piece of paper and decoupaged it to the front of the box. You will have wrinkles on your paper but this is good. You will see why!

5. The wrinkles came in handy! Using your stamp pad, rub against the paper and the sides of the box. You cant really tell in this picture but the left box is the one I distressed using the pad.

6. Be creative with the embellishment! I wanted a simple look with a flower, button and stickers! You can use ribbon, id plates, glitter, buttons etc...

Here you have it! My 2 beautiful inexpensive boxes! They look lovely in my craft room!
You can make them to decorate your living room, babys room, kitchen and even classroom!
If you ever make one, please let me know! I would love to see pictures!

Modern Wall Art

2009-02-26T11:48:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't like a pink elephant? Look how cute this wall art turned out! I had a custom order yesterday for 2 wooden pegs. With one of the pegs, she asked for a white star with a fuschia pink elephant. I had never painted a pink elephant before. I absolutely love how it turned out! I am not done with the pegs yet, but created this beautiful wall art. So clean and pretty! I will have to make a couple to hang in my craft room!

Baby Nurseries

2009-02-26T07:18:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, I found out one of my friends is having a baby and I am very excited! Baby News always makes me happy! Since she told me she is pregnant, I've been searching online for baby nurseries. I found Design Dazzle and it has the most beautiful baby nurseries ever. Very creative rooms. All pictures are from Design Dazzle. Check them out! Which one is your favorite?

"Room of the Month"
I love chandeliers in baby rooms!

"Mocha Brown"
I just love the colors in this room. You know how much I love pink and brown together!

"Mod Baby"
Interesting!

"Golf Nursery"
Look how cute the baby mobile is! Golf Balls!

"Black and White"
I love the zebra print crib set! Black and white always looks nice with some pink!

"French Toile"
Now, this room is lovely! I love the colors, I love the decoration everything is beautiful! I think this is the style my friend wants for her baby room.

"Jack and the Beanstalk"
How creative!

"Sophisticated Safari"
Wow! Thats all I got to say!

"Butterfly"
Again, pink and brown looks beautiful! I love the designs on the wall!

Which nursery is your favorite?

Ballerina Chair

2009-02-25T09:56:00.000-08:00

Here is a new project I want to share with you! I found this chair at the thrift store and guess how much I paid?? Guess?? Only $1... Yes.. $1.. This is exactly the type of chair I was looking for to use in my craft room. Not the exact color or choice of fabric, but Ms. Crafty Diva over here transformed it into a beautiful ballerina chair. Here are the before pictures.

And here are the after pictures!!! Tadaaaaaaaaaa!! I love the way it turned out! It was simple, inexpensive and turned out beautiful!

Simple steps to transform any chair

1. Using a screwdriver, unscrew the chair pad.
2. Sand and paint the chair any color.
3. Cover the chair pad in your choice of fabric. Use a staple gun to staple the fabric.

4. I cut strips of tulle and stapled them before placing my chair pad.

5. Put chair pad and hold in place using screws.

There you go! I dare you to try this project! Really, its easy and the results are wonderful!

So pink...

2009-02-24T16:40:00.000-08:00

Remember this candle holder I bought at the antique store? I loved the original color of it, but it doesn't match my other decoration. So I had to do what a crafty girl does. Spray paint!
It went from this....

to this!
Isn't it beautiful? By the color of it, what room do you think its going in? Yep, my craft room! Its coming out great! Just wanted to share quickly! Hope you are having a great Tuesday!

Liquid Laundry Detergent Recipe

2009-02-24T16:02:00.000-08:00

Look what I will be doing later on today! My own laundry detergent! Isn't this cool? I was reading Little Birdie Secrets
and came across this cool recipe! I think its interesting, fun and easy to do so I will try it and let you know how well it worked. Just to let you know, these are not pictures I took or my idea, they are from Little Birdie Secrets blog.

It comes out to be around $2.50 for a 5 gallon bucket. Isn't this awesome! 5 gallons is enough to 160 loads! Our economy is not the best right now. So if you want to save some money, try this! Plus it seems fun! I love to try new things! I dare you to try this! Let me know if you do! You can read how to make your own laundry detergent on Little Birdie Secrets blog!

Letter M

2009-02-23T20:06:00.000-08:00

I am bling-blinging my craft room! ha.. ( i love to make up words). I still need more decoration on the walls!
You can see the beautiful brown I painted the room. I painted this paper mache letter "M" brown and pink, of course! I love the way it turned out! I gave it several coats of paints so it has this really cool look! Kind of distressed, blurry and beautiful!

Monday Sale!
Swirly Swirl Letters
only $10 + shipping
Sale ends: Feb 29, 2009
SoLovelyCreations

I forgot to tell you! My wonderful husband bought me a camera this weekend! Its a great camera! So today, I was testing the camera and took these great photos of my letter M. I love sepia and black & white! Did they come out great or what? I might even make a print out of one of these to frame!

Antique Store?

2009-02-23T17:45:00.001-08:00

I was kind of bored Saturday morning I decided to drive around and visit local stores close to my house. I drove for a good 10 minutes down Main St. and found a great Antique store. I've been living here for almost a year and I did not know about this store! Im glad I found it! :)
I decided to stop by, not to buy anything but only to look around. Well guess what? I ended up buying two beautiful pieces. The best part, they were less than $10!

The first piece I bought is this beautiful shabby chic candle holder. It was originally $10 with 40% off, so I got it for only $6! I couldn't believe it! Its a good size candle holder too! I love the look on this candle holder, but it doesn't really match my other decoration around the house. So, you guessed it, spray paint time!

The second item I bought is this beautiful clock stand! I fell in love with it the moment I saw it. I seriously ran across the store to get it before someone else did! ha... I loved it so much once I saw the clock, it seemed the ladies around me saw it at the same time and wanted the clock too. Thanks to my long run, I got it! I was a little scared at first thinking, this must be a fortune! When I saw the price I couldn't believe it! It was only $10!
I am not kidding, I walked for about an hour around the store, and every 5 minutes I would look at the price tag just to make sure I was reading it correctly! I thought, maybe they wanted to write $100! It was only $10 though!

I still don't have a place for my clock stand but when I was looking where to place it, I realized I have several clocks around the house. I think I am in love with clocks!
Here are a few pictures of some of the clocks I have.

This was originally a clock, but I am using it for something else!

Just wanted to throw in a picture of our new baby palm tree! Isn't it cute?

Thanks for reading!
Have a great day!

Blog Giveaways

2009-02-22T10:31:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of giveaways bloggers are having! Visit their website and enter to win wonderful prizes!!

All day, I have been blog hopping and I came across this blog.
Maisy is having a great giveaway! Go check it out!

Blog: The Maisy Report

TinkerDotDesigns is giving a $25 gift certificate!
Ends: Feb. 26

$25 Gift Certificate Giveaway

Sweet N Sassy Baby boutique is giving away a great diaper clutch.
Ends: Feb 27 at 1 P.M.

Sweet N Sassy Boutique

And Twins makes 5 is having a great giveaway! They are giving away one cart cover! I really want one for my niece! Hope I win! Fingers crossed!
Ends: Feb 28th

KozyCart Pal Covers

The Work out Blog is giving away a $25 visa gift card!

$25 VIsa

Win a Vera Bradley Bag. These are very cute!

Very Bag

I am hooked on before and after projects

2009-02-20T20:44:00.000-08:00

I joined the blog party @ Hooked on Houses hosted by Julia. There is so many links! Check them out!

I am hooked on before & after projects!

I love to see the creativity that people have to turn something old, not in style items into beautiful, unique modern pieces! Especially when people go to yard sales or thrift stores and buy furniture that are screaming for a new look and they turn them into unique pieces.

I have several posts of my own before and after projects! Go check them out!

Here are a few projects from other bloggers that I love!

Annicole @ Our Suburban Cottage
did a great job in her kitchen! I love the paint color she used, and the cabinets look great! I love that she doesnt have that much decoration, but it looks great!

Over @ Whatever
I found this bathroom project that I absolutely love!

Maggie @ Generally Creative
Used her closet space, as her studio! Look how cute her space looks!

Jamie @ Right at Home
turned this chair (thrift store find) into a beautiful, modern chair. She used a white slip cover, painted the legs black and added a cute pillow! I love the final result!

Janet @ This is my life

recovered this stool she had with zebra print. I think it turned out great!

I WON.....

2009-02-20T06:45:00.001-08:00

Look how beautiful! I won this Psalm 23 bracelet! I loved it so much, I prayed for this bracelet. I cant wait to wear it and show it off! :)

This is the first time I win something and it feels GREAT!
Here is the message Tricia @ Notes of Sincerity had on her blog giveaway. Go check out her blog!

Thanks Tricia!

Here is Tricias Etsy Shop
She has really cute handcrafted items!

Today I am giving away a beautifully, handcrafted, Psalm 23 bracelet. I wear my Psalm 23 bracelet as a precious reminder of the presence of the Lord in my own life.

Each Swarovski crystal represents a word in this beloved Psalm.

Please leave a comment between today and Thursday and I will announce a winner on Friday morning.

Psalm 23

The Lord is my Shepherd (clear),
I shall not be in want,
He makes me lie down in green (green) pastures,
He leads me beside quiet waters (blue),
He restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness (clear)
for His name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death (black),
I will fear no evil;
for You are with me;
Your rod and your staff (brown),
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil (yellow);
my cup overflows (purple).
Surely goodness and love (pink)
will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord (gold) forever.

My very best to everyone who enters!!
Thanks for dropping by! :o)

Sincerely ~ Tricia Anne