Valentine DIY: Date Jar

So many of my favorite gifts are thoughtful, homemade gifts.  One year for Valentine’s Day I gave Mr. C 12 sealed envelopes – 1 for each month containing a specific and detailed date for that month.  The dates ranged in price.  One month was the ballet under the stars (free) and another month was a day trip in Sedona which took a bit more planning and money.  He loved the gift and I loved that each month we had a fun planned date.  For our anniversary, I decided to expand on this gift a bit and brainstormed some ideas of places we had been wanting to go around Phoenix and added some fun free dates. 

I categorized my ideas into 4 different categories: home, out $, out $$, and planning + $$$.

I wrote each idea on a popsicle stick and color coded it in washi tape.  I put all the sticks in a glass jar, applied a rub-on heart on the lid, and finished it off with a bit of ribbon and a tag.

Every few weeks (theoretically) we pick a category and grab out a corresponding stick.  It’s one of my favorite gifts and perfect for your sweetie on Valentine’s Day.

The Lost Art of Thank You's

I love trees and I’m all about sustainability and recycling and being green, but I really, really, really love paper.  I really, really, really, really love paper when it comes in the form of a card (or money also).  When I get into a card shop or even the card section of a store I could stay there for hours – just ask Mr. C. 

I love sending out cards, getting cards, and buying cards to stockpile for the special and not-so-special future times I know I’ll need them.  Thank you cards (and the process of sending them) seem to get a rap for being not so fun, but I disagree.

I recently sent out a few thank you notes for Christmas gifts and thought it was a perfect topic for a post.  I was taught that when someone gave you a gift, you sent a thank you note.  Over the years I like to think I’ve done a pretty good job keeping this up.  There are definitely exceptions although I’m sure proper etiquette wouldn’t agree with me on that.   If a close friend or family member gives me a gift in person I generally don’t send a thank you note, but Christmas gifts, mailed gifts, and any type of shower gifts always get one.  There’s something about getting a hand written thank you note that’s just not conveyed in an email or text.

Here’s a few pointers for sending your own:

1. Find some pretty cards that fit your personality.  If you find cards you love, you’re more likely to want to send them.  I always find cute cards at Target but I'm dying to add these chalkboard cards, snail mail cards, and these colorful cards to my collection.  I love these fill in the blank cards for kids!

2. Use a nice pen.  I love felt pens and they always seem to make my writing look prettier.

3. Mention the gift and why you love it.  Maybe it sits on your desk and you think about the gift giver when you look at it, or you smile everytime you use it.  If someone gives me money or a general gift card I usually try to mention how I plan to spend it.  I usually add a little extra about what's new or something that's going on with them to wrap up the note.

4.  Find some cute washi tape and use it to seal your cards.  It's the extra touches that count!

Lastly, don't forget to actually mail the cards!  I promise your note will brighten someone's day!

Summer 2014

It’s been FOREVER since I’ve blogged and I’ve missed it so much.  Seriously, you guys have no idea.  I feel like there’s something missing when I’m not writing, even though half of the time I’m not doing anything with what I am writing.  In any case, my heart has missed this place.

How have you been?  You should totally tell me in the comments below, but since you can’t answer me now I guess I’ll continue this semi one-sided relationship by sharing what I’ve been up to in the last few months.

First off, my happiness project didn’t go quite as planned.  Shocking, I know!  While I did make some great changes, I am not getting 8 hours of sleep a night and my closet is still a mess.  I have organized some areas that I had been putting off and it’s great.  If you have something you need to organize you should totally do that after you finish reading this post that I foresee being quite long.  One of these days I’ll work my way up to the closet but for now I’m happy with the little wins and I’ve had lots of those.

Mr. C and I went to Nebraska for10ish days in July and it was amazing as always.  

I got to catch up in person with one of the best friends ever.  It’s amazing how we never run out of things to talk about and even across 1,329ish miles, she’s always there for me.

We spent the 4^th of July with my family and my youngest niece, who still thinks her family is cool, sat by me at the fireworks and said the funniest things you could never think of.  One of my favorites was her explanation of why Miley Cyrus’ songs were no longer played during the fireworks display.  My previously mentioned amazing friend joined us too and was lucky enough to get in on the commentary. 

While we were there we got a rental car and drove to Lincoln to see a few friends.  I do not at all believe in those crazy rental insurance fees they try to rope you into so when we were asked if we wanted the extra insurance that would cover our co-pay if something happened, I only hesitated for a moment after saying no.  The girl said there wasn’t hail in the forecast and it was only one day so that just confirmed that I did not need their crazy insurance that was really just a way for me to pay 40% more.  The drive to Lincoln was great.   Playing some games with my friend and her daughter was great.  The rain clouds were not so great, but it was ok.  Dinner was great.  The clouds that kept getting darker were getting less and less ok.  Our mini tour of their game collection and suggestions was great, until we heard the sound of hail.  That was definitely not so great.  Mr. C ran outside to move the car but it didn’t really matter.  Lucky for us, there was no damage, however I learned a very valuable lesson about sometimes buying that dumb insurance.   The night was still great, and so much fun that I forgot to take any pics.  I guess that means we have to go back! 

We spent the night (not like that!) and next day with a couple other friends and there was more game playing and eating and fun had by all.  It was a very low-key, easy going trip and it was great.

I love how green it is.  You don’t appreciate the greenness of it all until you live somewhere that has brown dirt and rocks as front yard décor.   We left Lincoln as the sun was setting and I couldn’t help myself from trying to capture the beautiful sun hitting the fields.  The pictures just aren’t the same.

The night before we left we went for a walk and my dad talked us into crossing the street to look at this amazing family.  We stood at the fence for a bit and eventually the mom ran up to us and let us pet her.  I can’t look at these pics and not smile.

I saw a friend I hadn’t seen in years, spent some time with my sweet grandmother, played some games with two of my amazing nieces, visited my dad's huge garden, had some girl time with my mom, did lots of cooking, some project finishing, and just hanging out.  Someone told me awhile ago that eventually I won’t want to go home anymore.  I simply can’t imagine that happening.  A little part of my heart remains there and although I love the home Mr. C and I have made, Nebraska will always hold that little part of my heart. 

Back in Arizona, Mr. C and I are getting back into the swing of things.  I’ve lost my house-husband since Mr. C went back to work, and it’s sad to think that I cannot leave the kitchen full of dishes and come home the next day to a clean kitchen, but I’m hoping Coconut may start picking up the slack.

Right before we left for NE I became a Jamberry Independent Consultant!  If I’m being honest, I was hooked about 2 minutes after I heard about the product and before I even tried a sample, but I tried to contain my enthusiasm.  They’re non-toxic nail wraps that are made in the U.S.A. and last for up to 2 weeks on fingers and 6 weeks on toes.  You get 2 manis, 2 pedis, and some extras in each package and  I LOVE them!  I tried painting my nails with normal polish after I took off my 2^nd set of wraps and it was horrible!  I’m not sure I’ll ever go back to normal polish!  You can check out my site at: http://jencentner.jamberrynails.net and if you’d like a sample I’d love to send you one!  I’ve done a couple facebook parties and my first home party a few days ago and I’m having a lot of fun.  Mr. C has been super supportive even though he refuses to wear one on his nail.  He’s no fun sometimes.

This month I was planning to focus on my blog and etsy shop for the August happiness project goals with a sort of entrepreneurial/outside ventures theme and that seems perfect with my new Jamberry adventure.  I’m revising the month to work on growing my business, refocusing on this little blog I’ve missed so much, and finally listing some of my crafts on Etsy, although with things gearing up at work I may have to put off that last one a bit. 

I hope you’ve had a wonderful summer!

Halloween Mantle Scarf

I saw this mantle scarf at Pier One and knew it would be the perfect addition to my Halloween mantle, however they were out of stock when I went into the store and I thought I could probably make my own.  My fabric was all on sale and although I'm not sure of my final project cost, it was definitely cheaper to make.  The time invested was more than I thought, but I love the outcome and loved that I was able to pick my own colors/patterns.

Photo Source: Pier One

Let me begin by saying that I am definitely not a sewing expert.  For most of the things I do I don’t have much of a pattern except what I make up, and I just make things up as I go.  I’m sure there’s an easier way than this, but it’s seemed to work well for me.  So, if you’re expecting technical sewing terms you definitely won’t find any in this post!  But, if I can do this, then anyone can!  I will say that the triangles look great, but the part on the mantle definitely has a bit of a homemade look, but that part is hidden and I figure perfection is overrated :)

Here's what you need:

-sewing machine 

-1/4 yard of 3 fabrics of varying color/patterns

-1 yard (or so) of a solid color fabric for 2 triangles, backing, and the section that sits on the mantle

-black thread

-cutting mat and rotary tool (scissors work too, but the rotary tool is amazing)

-pins

-iron

For my triangles I chose to do 2 sparkly orange with a web pattern, 2 sparkly purple, 3 black with orange polka dots, and 2 plain black. 

I began by cutting my triangles and black backing by using the following measurements

Smaller triangles (orange and purple) - 8" wide x 14" long

Medium triangles (black) - 8" x 16"

Large triangles (black with orange polka dots) - 8" x 18"

***remember to cut backing of the same size for all of these**

I then pinned each triangle to the backing of the same size.  You want the "good" sides of the fabric facing inward so it looks like the triangle is backwards.  Pin.  Somehow I managed to not poke myself with a pin during this entire project.  That's a miracle in itself.

Now it's time to start sewing.  I sewed the angled sides and left the top of the triangles open.  After sewn, turn them inside out (which brings the "good" fabric on the outside).  I had to use scissors to push the ends of the triangle out.

Then I ironed the triangles so the edges were crisp and wrinkles gone.

Then I lined up the triangles in the pattern I wanted and cut a plain black piece of fabric a couple inches longer on each side (I don't have an exact measurement for this since it will depend on the pattern you lay out).  I then measured the width - my mantle is 7” wide so I cut the black piece of fabric about 6” wide, but again this depends on your personal preferences and mantle.

Hem a long edge of the fabric.

Then I pinned the top of the medium and large triangles onto the hemmed side of the fabric and sewed them on in a line.  

I added the second row of the small triangles, pinned, and sewed. 

You could just finish the ends of the black piece and be done, but I ended up folding the other unhemmed edge under so it met the edge of where I had sewn the triangles, turning the corners in, and sewing that all together.  Everything looked more finished this way and the part on the mantle was a bit sturdier. 

Here’s the end result!  I love it!

And here’s my favorite little painted pumpkin.  It still makes me smile everytime I see it!

Did you decorate or paint any pumpkins for Halloween? 

Polks dots and Pumpkins

Last year I had this wonderful idea of decorating our entryway with a huge spider web, little spiders, and pumpkins.  I saw a chevron painted pumpkin on pinterest and it looked easy enough.  I decided to make it and blog about it.  Do you all remember that blog?  No?  Well, that’s because it never happened because it was so horrible!  I taped my pumpkin and went a bit crazy with the spray paint.  I didn't quite understand the concept of many light layers and instead sprayed a lot all at once.  The result was a sticky mess of a chevron wannnabe pumpkin.  I ended up painting the entire thing white to disguise the failed chevron and a couple weeks later we started noticing a horrible smell.  It was the decaying scent of my white pumpkin.  I think it decayed so fast because of the very thick coat of spray paint combined with the sun.  I wrote it off as an epic fail and gave up on my Martha Stewart-like front porch.  I had also put up lights and the web but I just wasn't feeling it.

This year I decided to have another go at it, but without a chevron pumpkin.  Over the course of a week I collected a bunch of different types and sizes of pumpkins.  On Sunday Coconut and I went outside armed with glue, glitter, paint, and our pumpkins.  I've seen the mess glitter makes and I figured the outdoors could benefit from some extra sparkle. 

I painted polka dots on various pumpkins using Martha Stewart’s rose gold paint and foam pouncers.  Gold and polka dots have been catching my eye so I was smitten with these. 

This one was so pretty I put it on our coffee table.  I think it’s so pretty with the long stem too.

And then came the messy part.  I glittered some pumpkins, starting with gold glitter and moving on to a greenish glitter.  I used Martha Stewart glitters as well.  I love how fine the glitter is and the colors are really beautiful.  If you haven’t caught on yet, I really really like most of the Martha Stewart crafting products and it seems like every store is selling them these days.

I glittered some stripes using the pumpkin’s natural lines.

Tried an ombre effect that didn’t quite pan out due to sticky glue fingers.

And just covered others.  This green one is Mr. C’s favorite.  I think it’s because of the color and not because of all that glitter.

This one to the left of the pot was lightly brushed with gold glitter and a touch of gold paint.

And here’s the end result!  It’s exactly what I wanted!  We strung some purple, orange, and white LED lights around the door, put up the biggest spider I've ever seen (scared me to death when I forgot and opened the blinds), strung the web in a more fitting spot, and I hung up the wreath I made last year. 

Sources: Orange metal pots- Marshalls, Large spider, Large spider web, and other spiders- Pier One, Wreath- DIY’d, Hay bale- Joannes, Lights- Target.

Upcycling pots

Over the years we've accumulated a fairly large collection of pots.  I love bright, fresh flowers and because I can’t narrow down my selections to just a few, we end up buying a bunch of random flowers.  We plant them in pots because the AZ soil isn't exactly the best for growing much.  The plants come in those cheap, ugly pots and we always re-pot them in bigger, pretty pots.  That leaves us with a lot of those cheap, ugly pots.  I never knew what to do with them and I’d end up recycling them or throwing them away.  Finally I have found a way to use them!

While we were at sprouts this weekend I found some beautiful mums that needed a home.  Lucky for them, I thought they’d look great in my outdoor pumpkin explosion/Halloween display. 

While looking through our pots, I found a faded large plastic pot that needed some sprucing up.  I spray painted on a couple coats of gold paint and let it dry for a good hour.  Then I painted “BOO” on it using some black Martha Stewart paint and sponges.  I got the stencils at Michaels, no idea what brand they are, but I love them. 

Here's what I started with

And ta da.....

The best thing was that I already had everything on hand, so my new BOO pot was free!

I’ll be posting pics later this week with the rest of my outdoor holiday decor!

Fabric Flower Wreath

I have a bit of a wreath obsession.  I recently realized I didn’t have one for spring/summer which is of course a huge problem.  I’ve been itching to make one of those yarn wreaths that have been popping up all over pinterest and I figured this was a great opportunity for that. 

Here’s what you’ll need:

-foam wreath form

-yarn

-felt scraps

-fabric scraps (I used a combo of scraps and some quilting squares you can usually pick up for around $2)

-buttons for the center of the flowers

-hot glue gun

Wrap the form completely in yarn.  I did this while watching TV and it went pretty quick.  To start, I looped the yarn around and tied a knot, continued wrapping, and when I finished I tied another knot in the back of the wreath.

For the flowers you’ll need to cut out 8 equal circles for the base and 8 smaller circles for the center (I used a stencil, but as long as your fabric is semi-circle shaped that’s just fine).  You can cut more or less circles, depending on how full you want your flower.  You’ll also need a small felt circle.  The felt acts as your base so you just need it large enough to be able to glue the tips of the base petals on.

For each circle, fold it in half, then half again.  You just glue this onto the felt circle.  Mine halfway overlapped since I used 8 circles.  Repeat with the second set of circles and finish with a pretty button on top.  When I was finished I glued inside some of the “petals” as necessary.

For each circle, fold it in half, then half again.  You just glue this onto the felt circle.  Mine halfway overlapped since I used 8 circles.  Repeat with the second set of circles and finish with a pretty button on top.  When I was finished I glued inside some of the “petals” as necessary.

I varied the size of my three flowers but you can really do whatever floats your boat.

I chose to pin my flowers onto the wreath so I can swap them out as the seasons change, but you could also glue it if you’d prefer.

That’s it!  It would be pretty to hang with a piece of burlap or ribbon too.

Halloween Decor

Happy Halloween!  Well, almost.  Halloween isn’t exactly my favorite holiday.  I hate being scared and since I’m a big scaredy cat, a lot of things scare me.  I don’t like the nasty part of Halloween so I try to focus on the cute spiders (which are obviously fictional because spiders in real life scare the crap out of me), happy ghosts, pumpkins, and the colors of the holiday.  Our Disney Halloween tree sums it up perfectly.

I’m one of those people who has pinned over 200 craft projects and can count the ones I've actually done on one hand.  I can count them on half a hand actually.  I'm also one of those people who likes to start projects and not always finish them (remember how I mentioned I was still working on the last pillow for the living room?  I've been working on it for months....).  Anyhow, with that in mind I'd like to share with you the Halloween wreath I made and finished within a couple days of purchasing the supplies. It's a miracle really.

I found some inspiration online through the many fabric wreaths, some feathery ones, and a bunch with cute painted letters. I headed to Jo-Anne's with my stack of coupons and began gathering my supplies.   While doing this, Mr. C pointed to a black feather wreath that was on sale for $20 and asked if we couldn't just buy that instead.   No doubt he was worried about me buying everything and not actually using them.  I was temped to save some time and just buy the wreath but I knew I'd be happier with a homemade one.  Lucky for me I was right :)

I used an 18” wire wreath base.  I thought this would give me a fuller effect than using a foam base and in the end I think it did.  It also was cheaper and I think it’ll stand up over the years better than a foam base.

I cut a yard of black burlap into various strips using a rotary tool and cutting mat.  I had never really worked with burlap before and had no idea how horribly messy it would be.  I love the way the burlap turned out but I had little black furry things all over my arms, clothes, chair, and floor.  I had to lint roll my skin at one point it was so bad.  Based on that, I’d suggest maybe using a black fabric instead of burlap.  I really do love it, but it was quite messy and not the easiest thing to cut.  Knowing what I know now, I think I’ll be staying away from burlap for a very long time.

After tying the burlap in knots on alternating spots throughout the wire base I painted some thin wood letters orange to spell B-O-O.  When they were finished they didn’t really have the look I wanted so I covered them in orange glitter which helped them really stand out against all that black.

I tied the letters onto the wreath using a combo of black, purple, and orange ribbons I had purchased by the yard.  I also used a yard of thick black ribbon to hang the wreath (you could probably skip this but we have a very tall door).  I was able to find a sparkly purple spider at Michael’s to finish off the project.

I really love it and love that it’s unique.  And, with my coupons I came in at about $15 for the whole project.  Not too shabby.

I love seeing the wreath every time I come in the front door.

I also decked out our mantle for the holiday.  The tree was purchased from Hobby Lobby a year or two ago but I think I saw a few for sale there recently.  The spiders and bats were new this year from Pier One.  The BOO sign was made for under $5 by painting some wooden letters orange.  I finished the area off with a black and purple boa on the mantle and some cobwebs on the mirror.

Did you do any Halloween decorating this year?  I’m so excited to see the kids out Wednesday all dressed up in their costumes!

Little Changes

You know how I tend to ramble sometimes but eventually get to my point? You may want to keep that in mind for this post….

A long, long time ago my college roommate, Mr. C, and I went out to buy some fish and a tank. Then we bought more fish. Then some died so we replaced those. We’ve had fish since college and although they were great then, we found ourselves not paying attention to them much and not holding up our end of the upkeep. We searched and searched for a good home for them but weren’t having much luck. I couldn’t bear the thought of selling them on craigslist either. Just when I was beginning to feel like we were running out of options, we found a great family who wanted them! I love win-win situations!

Since I heard the fishies were leaving I’ve been deciding what to do with the cabinet they were on. Yes, I know that sounds horrible and heartless, but as I said, it was time. We couldn’t really find a spot for the tank in the house when we moved so we stuck it in the hallway by the entryway. The placement was awkward and the hallway looked odd with a fish tank in between our wedding pics and the bathroom. Fast forward to this weekend when the fishies swam over (okay okay, they were driven) to their new home.

After a few moments of mourning (yes, I do have a heart), I set to work on doing something with my small space. I bought a basket months ago to go in the space and I was so excited to use it for keys, wallets, etc. Right now the kitchen counter is our “catch-all” and I HATE it. I just knew the basket would fix all that. But, it looked dumb and Mr. C didn’t have any qualms about telling me this in those exact words. It was too big and too dark compared to the light color of the cabinet.

I keep our bread items in a basket and had been thinking it was a bit too small so after swapping baskets around the house (the basket that looked horrible on the cabinet looks wonderful in the kitchen!), adding a lamp, and finally making something from pinterest, I am so pleased with my space. I found myself walking by it about ten extra times yesterday. Don’t you just love when that happens?

Here’s it is!

Don’t you love it? I’m sure by now you’re just dying to know how I made the heart picture. Right? Well, today is your lucky day because I’m going to tell you!

I found the idea on pinterest which had been pinned from a very inspiring blog, 33 Shades of Green. The hardest part for me was finding a frame I liked as well as one that had some space between the picture and the glass. We went to 5 stores searching for the perfect frame….I’m so lucky Mr. C loves me and doesn’t mind being drug all over down :)

Here’s what I used:
-a 5 x 7 frame from Bed, Bath, and Beyond
- a heart punch
- pop dots (although you could just glue or tape them on if you don’t want them raised)
-scrapbook paper, including a neutral color for the background

I had a really difficult time choosing paper. I originally had some lighter paper, but the hearts just didn’t show up as well. First I measured the paper to fit the dimensions of the frame and cut with a paper trimmer. Because there was matting I then took the glass and back out of the frame and put my background paper in the frame with the matt on top so I’d know what area I had to work with. This also kept the paper from sliding all over. I prefer this way rather than cutting to the size of the opening and then having to tape or glue the paper somehow to avoid slipping. Next I punched a bunch of hearts, picked my favorite, and moved them around until I was happy with the pattern. I used a small ruler as a level and attached each heart with a pop dot. Then I put the frame back together and spent the next 5 minutes telling Mr. C how much I loved the end result. Really, like 5 minutes…and every time I walk by…and sometimes when I just think about it.

The project cost me about $10 for the frame and paper (I had the rest). I’m thinking it would be fun to change out the picture with the season…snowflakes in winter, flip flops in summer, leaves and acorns in fall, etc.

I’m so excited that the cabinet that looked out of place now seems to tie everything together! I love the warm light from the lamp, the piece I finally crafted, and the basket to hopefully alleviate the kitchen counter of it’s “catch-all” status.