DIY Wedding Open House: B&H

Well, we survived the wedding!  The wedding itself was down in Mesa, AZ.  In 109 degree weather.  Hot hot hot.  And then last weekend, the open house was here in Utah.  It turned out beautifully.  And we've been in recovery this week, with lots of sleeping in, lazing around and little productivity!

So here's the grand overview, starting with a quick two minute video tour:
(I don't recommend enlarging the video, it's REALLY pixel-y for some reason...)

Sign-in table

Banners overhead

(why yes I'm in love with these, so there are lots of photos!)

Gift table

Centerpieces

Food tables

Video corner

Whew!  As with last summer's wedding, this was A LOT of work!  But I love how it turned out.

Stay tuned for a breakdown of cost and projects!

Linking up here:
{M} Twigg Studios-Skip to My Lou-The DIY Showoff-Mad in Crafts-Marvelously Messy-Pinkopotamus-Sumo's Sweet Stuff-Making the World Cuter-Sew Can Do- C.R.A.F.T.- Keeping It Simple-Creating My Way to Success-All Things Fee-Craft-o-Maniac-Boogieboard Cottage-Be Colorful-Between Naps on the Porch-I Should Be Mopping the Floor {T} Today's Creative Blog-Tip Junkie-Cherished Bliss-A Diamond in the Stuff-Sugar Bee Crafts-Reasons to Skip the Housework-Me and My Boys-Funky Polkadot Giraffe-Hope Studios-Creative Itch-Not Just a Housewife-At Home with K-My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia-Home Stories A2Z-DIY by Design-Primitive and Proper {furniture only}-Elizabeth & Co.-Project Queen-Coastal Charm-Ladybug Blessings-Homework-Topsy Turvy (third Tuesdays)-New Nostalgia {W} Tea Rose Home-Someday Crafts-Lil' Luna-Creations by Kara -Sew Much Ado-My Girlish Whims-Savvy Southern Style-Seven Thirty Three-Sugar and Dots-The Trendy Treehouse-Southern Lovely -Polkadots on Parade-Restore Interiors-Ginger Snap Crafts-Fireflies and Jellybeans-Organize and Decorate Everything-Rae Gun Ramblings {Th} The Shabby Creek Cottage-House of Hepworths-The Brambleberry Cottage-The 36th Avenue-Yesterday on Tuesday-Momnivore's Dilemma-Beyond the Picket Fence-Somewhat Simple-A Glimpse Inside-Domestically Speaking {paint only}-A Creative Princess-Christina's Adventures {$20}-Tales from Bloggeritaville-A Little Knick Knack-Crafty, Scrappy, Happy-Two Yellow Birds Decor-The Girl Creative {F} Thirty Handmade Days-Romantic Home-Remodelaholic-Shabby Nest-Lovely Crafty Home-WhipperBerry-At the Picket Fence-Finding Fabulous-delicate CONSTRUCTION-My Repurposed Life-Naptime Crafters-Chic on a Shoestring Budget Decorating-Fingerprints on the Fridge-504 Main-French Country Cottage-See Vanessa Craft-It's a Hodgepodge Life-Truly Lovely-Simply Designing-Miss Mustard Seed {furniture only}-Simply Sweet Home-Joyful Stamper-Craftionary-Release Me Create-Simple Home Life-Family Ever After-Addicted to Decorating-One Artsy Mama {S} Funky Junk Interior-Ladybird Lane-Tatertots and Jello-Craft Envy

Sewing Knits

Just wanted to pop in real quick like and share a sewing tip.  Are you afraid of knits?  I was.  Until yesterday.  I've always avoided knits like the plague after I tried a t-shirt redo and failed miserably.  But I needed a navy striped shirt for my daughter for this upcoming wedding.  Couldn't find it in the right shade of blue.  Found some awesome fabric on sale at Girl Charlee and decided to give knits a whirl, using this tip from Jessica at Me Sew Crazy:

It worked like magic.  And it's like a Whole New World (cue Jasmin and Aladdin) has opened up to me!  I can sew knits!  Ah, the possibilities!

Anyway, if you're afraid of knits, try this.  It will CHANGE YOUR LIFE.  ;)

Guess what?!

The new Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalog is up!!!

I love Stampin' Up! and this is fun for me.  Go take a look!

(I am still currently a demonstrator, but by the end of the quarter I won't be any longer.  Just can't keep up with it, but I will still be a loyal SU! customer.  Because the products are awesome.)

This is a swap I made for this month:

Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Very Vanilla and Crumb Cake cardstock
Ink: Rich Razzleberry and Crumb Cake
Stamps: Swallowtail, En Francais and Itty Bitty Banners
Big Shot: Itty Bitty Banner Framelits
Embellishments: Rich Razzleberry 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon and Antique Brads

In other news, I've been SO. BUSY.  Doing and more doing instead of doing and blogging.  :)  But at some point, I hope to share what I've been up to in the past few months.  The biggest thing going on right now is another family wedding.  My brother-in-law is gettin' hitched in two weeks!  As with the wedding last year, I am doing the decor for the open house (getting married in Arizona where the bride is from, having an open house in Utah where the groom is from).  Here's a swatch of the color scheme just to whet your appetite!  :)

I have lots of fun projects to share from this wedding.

And last but not least, we've made great strides on the all consuming project of my craft room:

Yeah, I know, it's a mess...doing and more doing instead of doing and cleaning also, evidently...

Lower cabinets installed, countertops installed, drawers built and installed, bead board side panels installed and baseboards installed!  Hopefully by the end of the summer, the upper cabinets will be built and installed and I can start on the cabinet doors and drawer fronts.  I'll keep you posted!

Book Review: Sierra Jensen Collection, Vol. 1

Book Description:

Happenstance…or God’s Great Plan? 

She’s the bold, free-spirited type. She’s cute, she’s fun, and she’s following God. She’s Sierra Jensen, Christy Miller’s good friend, ready for her junior year of high school! All twelve books in the popular Sierra Jensen series come together in four volumes to reveal the ups and downs of Sierra’s incredible God-led journey! 

Volume One: In Only You, Sierra, she’s nervous to be the “new girl” after her family moves to Portland and wonders if meeting Paul in London was only by chance. Just when everything important seems to elude her, all it takes is one weekend In Your Dreams to prove otherwise. But even a vacation doesn’t keep her troubles away in Don’t You Wish. 

Okay, not gonna lie, I did not enjoy this series.  It is highly unlikely that I would have ever picked it up on my own, and I most definitely wouldn't have bothered finishing.  (I used to feel compelled to finish every book I started...now, I think my time is far too valuable to waste on a book I am not enjoying.)  The only reason I read it was for the Blogging for Books program.  And it took me months to work up the gumption to get it over with.

You know, I like Young Adult fiction.  And I like Christian fiction.  So what about this left me repulsed?

Well, for starters, I disliked the main character.  I suppose she might have been a realistic portrayal of a teenager going through a major transition, but man she was irritating.

Also, the story felt abrupt.  And unbelievable at times.  And...silly.  Silly because that was not the attempt.  There's lighthearted fun silly books, and there's books that are not intended to be silly but are.  Being Christian fiction does not automatically place it in the category of good meaningful book.

Feels so good....

After my difficult pregnancy and tragic hard drive crash....behold my first layout in over a year:

Happy to be back in it!

iNSD (or for those of you who don't speak digiscrap, International Scrapbook Day!)

It's technically Saturday (always the first Saturday in May), but many shops have already started their festivities and sales.  It's an awesome time of the year.  (Cue the big cheesy grin.)

But before I get into that, let me tell you a little story.  Once there was a lovely girl who had almost completely filled up her terabyte external hard drive with thousands of photos and WAY too many digiscrap supplies.  This was her only source for these things.  Her computer was getting older, so to make it run faster she stored nothing on the computer's hard drive and EVERYTHING on the external hard drive.

And then one day it crashed.  And the data recovery folks couldn't get any more than 8% of the data (for a cool $900!).  So she lost everything.  And she cried a lot.

Moral of the story: BACK UP YOUR FILES!!!!!

But that isn't actually why I'm telling you this story (though it is a good moral, believe me....).  I want to tell you about the....opportunity....this has given me in terms of my digi stash.  Before my hard drive crashed, I was trying to slowly make my way through my supplies and eliminate the excess.  It was a hard process.  Not a fun process.  But now since my involuntary purge, I "get" to start over.

When I first started digiscrapping, I collected freebies like crazy.  'Cause they were free!  Well, this time around, I am EXTREMELY picky about freebies.  I only download

1) Templates (I adore templates, they do the hard work for me)

2) Full kits that I REALLY like (no mini kits unless they are absolutely incredible)

3) The occasional alpha or something else that I fall in love with

I do NOT download

1) Mini kits

2) Anything requiring a daily download (I think my time is worth more than that)

3) Blog trains (again, the time issue, and I also feel often they just aren't cohesive, though there are some big exceptions to this)

4) Odds and ends

I have found that all those things just clog up my hard drive and I just don't use them.

This leads me to iNSD!!!  Man, is this a week of craziness in digiscrap land!  There are TONS of freebies, and this event (and iDSD in November) are my blog train exceptions.  So I thought I'd tell you about the freebie trains I'm following this weekend:

Pixels & Co full kit, More or Less

The Digiscrap Parade, That's Life

GingerScraps, The View

Scraps N' Pieces, Queen's Template Jubilee

And here's the top deals I'm taking advantage of:

Etc. by Danyale's Create Your Own Grab Bag

The Digichick's Pick Your Collab Grab Bag

Scrap Orchard's $1 Farmer's Market

ScrapMatter's graduated discount sale (up to 45% off)

The Daily Digi (this is not just a iNSD thing, it runs all year and is a TERRIFIC way to build your stash)

And some eye candy....some of my favorite purchases (or plan to purchase as soon as the sale starts!):
(images linked)

Whew.  Believe me, I could link up more!!!  :)
(And if you think I must be spending a fortune, well, you're right!  My husband offered me a very generous budget to replenish my digi stash since we didn't spend 900 buckeroos on data recovery...bless his little heart....)

House-iversary!

Two years ago today, we closed on our house!  As I am fond of saying, you know those things in life that you've built up in your mind and then when they actually happen, you find out they are kind of overrated?

Being a homeowner is not one of those things!

We recently had some family visit for the first time, and we took them around our house.  My mom and grandma kept piping up to tell them all about the things we have done to our house, and I realized....wow, we have accomplished a lot!  So often, I just see everything I still want to do, rather than how far we've come.  Just for kicks, here is what we have done in the past two years:

 

- Painted the entire main floor

- Redid our kitchen cabinets....twice.  (Stripping and restaining, and then painting.)

- Tore out trees and shrubs in the front yard and planted grass seed to open up our yard

- Painted the front door red and the garage doors black

- Built shutters and a windowbox and installed them

- Scraped off the tacky adhesive house numbers in the window and put up custom metal numbers

- Tore out the huge weird garden in our backyard and planted grass seed

- Built raised garden boxes

- Painted and glazed 8 laminate bookcases

- Painted and reupholstered 2 living room chairs

- Built and installed gallery shelves and a gallery wall (post still coming)

 - Painted and stenciled bathroom, painted faucet and other hardware

- Created a super cool new room for my son (post still coming)

- Built a very cute daybed for my daughter (post still coming!)

- Installed flooring and finished off sheetrock in the cold storage room we are making into a craft room

- Built and installed lower cabinets, moved outlets up and installed countertops in the craft room

 

Now, of course, the things we still want to do:

 

- Finish building and install the upper cabinets for my craft room

- Build cabinet doors and drawer fronts

- Install new french door for my craft room

- Paint the basement

- Plant shade trees and fruit trees in our barren backyard

- Build a pergola and pour a patio

- Build the kids a play structure

- Plant lilac bushes and honeysuckle in the front yard

- Take out part of one of the pantries and build a desk

- Pantry organization (shelves, drawers, etc.)

- Build a wall cabinet for our bathroom

- Build a closet organizer for our room

- Build a headboard for our room

- Finish decorating my older daughter's new room

- Decorate my baby girl's room

- Build cabinets for toy storage the play area

- Build cabinets for electric fireplace and storage in the basement family room

- Build closet out of odd useless nook at the bottom of the stairs

- Build front porch furniture

- Replace the all flooring on the main floor

- Recover thrift store ottoman

 

The list could probably go on, but that will do for now!  :)  Stay tuned as I tackle as many of these projects as I can in the coming year!

 

 

Sale-A-Bration card!

I made a pretty cute card last week, if I do say so myself, for a swap with fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrators.  I've been loving rainbow color schemes lately, so based on that, here's what I came up with:

Stamp Set: Bloomin' Marvelous (2013 Sale-a-Bration)

Cardstock: Basic Grey, Basic Black

Inks: Basic Grey, Basic Black, Rich Razzleberry, Pacific Point, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight,  Pumpkin Pie, Real Red

Designer Series Paper: Neutrals Collection

Punches: 1-3/8" Scallop Circle, 1-1/4" Circle, 1-1/4" Square (for banner)

Big Shot: Cloudy Day Textured Impressions Folder (Spring Catalog 2013)

Now is the best time of the year in the Stampin' Up! world...Sale-A-Bration!  For every $50 you spend, you can pick a freebie, one of 19 pretty awesome options.  6 of these options are regular catalog items, but 13 of them are exclusive limited-time Sale-A-Bration products.  Sale-A-Bration runs from now until March 22nd, so don't miss your chance!

Click here to go shopping!

Also, this is the BEST time to be a hostess and reap the rewards!  If you are in Utah, from Layton down to Lehi, and would like to host a workshop or private class, drop me an email and we can plan something fun! diykindagirl@hotmail.com

Linking up here:
{M} Twigg Studios-Skip to My Lou-The DIY Showoff-Mad in Crafts-Marvelously Messy-Pinkopotamus-The Girl Creative-Sumo's Sweet Stuff-Making the World Cuter-Sew Can Do- C.R.A.F.T.- Keeping It Simple-Creating My Way to Success-All Things Fee-Craft-o-Maniac-Boogieboard Cottage-Be Colorful-Between Naps on the Porch-I Should Be Mopping the Floor {T} Today's Creative Blog-Tip Junkie-Cherished Bliss-A Diamond in the Stuff-Sugar Bee Crafts-Vintage Wanna Bee-Reasons to Skip the Housework-The Kurtz Corner-Me and My Boys-Funky Polkadot Giraffe-Hope Studios-Creative Itch-Not Just a Housewife-At Home with K-My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia-Home Stories A2Z-DIY by Design-Primitive and Proper {furniture only}-Elizabeth & Co.-Project Queen-Coastal Charm-Ladybug Blessings-Homework-Topsy Turvy (third Tuesdays)-New Nostalgia {W} Tea Rose Home-Someday Crafts-Lil' Luna-Creations by Kara-Sew Woodsy -Blue Cricket Design-Sew Much Ado-My Girlish Whims-Very Merry Vintage Style-Savvy Southern Style-Seven Thirty Three-Sugar and Dots-The Trendy Treehouse-Southern Lovely -Polkadots on Parade-Restore Interiors-Ginger Snap Crafts-Fireflies and Jellybeans-Organize and Decorate Everything-Rae Gun Ramblings {Th} The Shabby Creek Cottage-House of Hepworths-The Brambleberry Cottage-The 36th Avenue-Yesterday on Tuesday-Momnivore's Dilemma-Beyond the Picket Fence-Somewhat Simple-A Glimpse Inside-Domestically Speaking {paint only}-A Creative Princess-Christina's Adventures {$20}-Tales from Bloggeritaville-A Little Knick Knack-Crafty, Scrappy, Happy-Two Yellow Birds Decor {F} Thirty Handmade Days-Romantic Home-Remodelaholic-Shabby Nest-Lovely Crafty Home-WhipperBerry-At the Picket Fence-Finding Fabulous-delicate CONSTRUCTION-My Repurposed Life-Naptime Crafters-Chic on a Shoestring Budget Decorating-Fingerprints on the Fridge-504 Main-French Country Cottage-See Vanessa Craft-It's a Hodgepodge Life-Truly Lovely-Simply Designing-Miss Mustard Seed {furniture only}-Simply Sweet Home-Joyful Stamper-Craftionary-Release Me Create-Simple Home Life-Family Ever After-Addicted to Decorating-One Artsy Mama {S} Funky Junk Interior-Ladybird Lane-Tatertots and Jello-Craft Envy

Housewarming gifts

I love giving handmade gifts.  It gives me a thrill to imagine up a design, personal in nature, and then create it.  Two of my good friends recently moved into a new home, so I made a couple simple housewarming gifts for them.

I took a 1X8 pine board and cut a couple rectangles (end dimension of 7.5 by about 6.5 inches) on the table saw, then sanded them down and drilled two holes in the top.

Then put on several coats of white spray paint...not enough to cover it completely, as I wanted more of a whitewashed look with the wood grain showing through.

Next, I designed the quotes with my Silhouette, and cut them out and used them as a stencil.  Mixed a couple different colors of brown acrylic paint to match the brown grosgrain ribbon, then filled in the stencil with around 6 coats.  Removed the stencil, and sanded the lettering and wood to get a worn vintage look.  Sanded down the edges as well, and then added a coat of Valspar translucent Mocha glaze, then threaded the ribbon through.  I love them!

 Fonts: Albemarle Swash and skinny jeans
 

Fonts: AlternateGothic2 BT and Albemarle Swash

Linking up here:
{M} Twigg Studios-Skip to My Lou-The DIY Showoff-Mad in Crafts-Marvelously Messy-Pinkopotamus-The Girl Creative-Sumo's Sweet Stuff-Making the World Cuter-Sew Can Do- C.R.A.F.T.- Keeping It Simple-Creating My Way to Success-All Things Fee-Craft-o-Maniac-Boogieboard Cottage-Be Colorful-Between Naps on the Porch-I Should Be Mopping the Floor {T} Today's Creative Blog-Tip Junkie-Cherished Bliss-A Diamond in the Stuff-Sugar Bee Crafts-Vintage Wanna Bee-Reasons to Skip the Housework-The Kurtz Corner-Me and My Boys-Funky Polkadot Giraffe-Hope Studios-Creative Itch-Not Just a Housewife-At Home with K-My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia-Home Stories A2Z-DIY by Design-Primitive and Proper {furniture only}-Elizabeth & Co.-Project Queen-Coastal Charm-Ladybug Blessings-Homework-Topsy Turvy (third Tuesdays)-New Nostalgia {W} Tea Rose Home-Someday Crafts-Lil' Luna-Creations by Kara-Sew Woodsy -Blue Cricket Design-Sew Much Ado-My Girlish Whims-Very Merry Vintage Style-Savvy Southern Style-Seven Thirty Three-Sugar and Dots-The Trendy Treehouse-Southern Lovely -Polkadots on Parade-Restore Interiors-Ginger Snap Crafts-Fireflies and Jellybeans-Organize and Decorate Everything-Rae Gun Ramblings {Th} The Shabby Creek Cottage-House of Hepworths-The Brambleberry Cottage-The 36th Avenue-Yesterday on Tuesday-Momnivore's Dilemma-Beyond the Picket Fence-Somewhat Simple-Gluesticks-A Glimpse Inside-Domestically Speaking {paint only}-A Creative Princess-Christina's Adventures {$20}-Tales from Bloggeritaville-A Little Knick Knack-Crafty, Scrappy, Happy-Two Yellow Birds Decor {F} Thirty Handmade Days-Romantic Home-Remodelaholic-Shabby Nest-Lovely Crafty Home-WhipperBerry-At the Picket Fence-Finding Fabulous-delicate CONSTRUCTION-My Repurposed Life-Naptime Crafters-Chic on a Shoestring Budget Decorating-Fingerprints on the Fridge-504 Main-French Country Cottage-See Vanessa Craft-It's a Hodgepodge Life-Truly Lovely-Simply Designing-Miss Mustard Seed {furniture only}-Simply Sweet Home-Joyful Stamper-Craftionary-Release Me Create-Simple Home Life-Family Ever After-Addicted to Decorating-One Artsy Mama {S} Funky Junk Interior-Ladybird Lane-Tatertots and Jello-Craft Envy

Introducing the latest project...

Well, I guess my child is not actually a project, but she and her big brother and sister are sure keeping me busy busy busy, just like my projects do!

With any luck, I will be back soon...I have all kinds of things to post!