Friday's Favorite

Sister, Sister

I haven't been doing so well with Friday's Favorites lately or blogging at all, for that matter. Life has been busy, very busy. But, it has been great! One of the greatest things about my life is sharing it with my sister!!! So today, she's my Friday Favorite. 

Over the past few weeks I've enjoyed getting to tag along for the ride as she embarks on an exiting new chapter in her life-more to come on that. Last weekend we celebrated her 25th birthday. What a celebration it was!!! She has accomplished so much in her life and I am so proud of her. She is intelligent, beautiful, compassionate, determined, loving and sassy. Amanda, you are amazing! I hope you never forget that. Keep smiling your bright smile. I know the best is yet to come!!! I love you, sister!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




Best friends are we, my sister and me!

Contain Yourself


I love plants and flowers, but I'm not too much on yard work and sweating. So, for me container gardening is a great option. I've been wanting to try a container like this for quite awhile. I recently found just the right container (at TJ Maxx). I planted a few plants and hung it on the wall in our carport. Even the hubs likes it.

Here's how it looked empty. Then I filled it with moss along the sides and put a little piece of coconut liner down in the bottom. After that, I just put my plants in place. When doing container plantings I try to have layers. That helps make the container visually pleasing. For this container you'll notice the taller plants (Coleus) in the back and then the flowing, vine like plants (Creeping Jenny and St. John's Wort) towards the front. Another thing to remember is the temperature and sunlight tolerance of the plants. All of these do well with part sun which is perfect for the carport since it is shaded for much of the day. 



A Wreath for Wednesday


This week's wreath post is going to be quick. I made this boa wreath for my cousin who is expecting her first baby in a couple of weeks! This is a super easy wreath to make and it is so soft and fluffy. Just perfect for welcoming a new baby. If you want to make one, just get yourself a styrofoam wreath form, a couple (two or three) of boas (pink or blue) and some ribbon to match. Start with one end of the boa and glue that to the wreath form then wrap the boa around the wreath form. Then glue the other end to the form and start with the next boa. Glue and wrap until you're finished and it is fluffy enough for you. If you want, you can add a little embellishment, bow or ribbon. Easy, peasy. These look so pretty hanging on a front door waiting to welcome baby and mom home from the hospital! Happy Wednesday!

Happy Anniversary!


Today is our wedding anniversary! What a happy day that was, three years ago. Being married to Jamie has been the greatest gift. I am still amazed by his love for me. He is my strength and comfort and joy. Jamie, I love you more today than I could have ever imagined. You make my life complete. I look forward to a lifetime of loving you!!!

A Wreath for Wednesday



This week's wreath is nothing fancy, but one of my favorites. I just used a mini grapevine wreath and tied a metal cross on it with some pretty brown ribbon. So simple! I especially love the metal cross. Happy Wednesday!!!

A Wreath for Wednesday


A friend of mine made a diaper wreath for another friend when she had her baby. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to make one. They are so cute and super easy to make. I've made one for a baby girl and baby boy, as you'll see in the pictures. 

Here's what you need:
-diapers
-wreath form (the metal kind)
-coordinating rolls of ribbon of your choice (3-5 rolls)
-wooden letter or other embellishment (optional)



Here's what you do: hope the pictures help (there are two different wreaths shown)

1. open up the diaper just a little and put the wreath form in (I turn the diaper so that the back of the diaper is the part you see-that makes it all white on the front and the pattern part of the diaper is on the back side of the wreath)



2. gather the diaper at the top and tie ribbon in a knot




3. continue doing this until your wreath is full


4. add embellishment-big bow at the top or bottom, a letter in the middle, etc. 






5. give the wreath to the mommy-to-be to hang on her hospital door or make one to use as decoration for a shower




Stay tuned every Wednesday for the next few weeks for more wreath ideas!

For My Mama

My mother is the greatest woman I know. She is strong, smart, loving, giving and selfless. This weekend my sister and I got to celebrate Mother's Day and her birthday with her. Mama, I hope you know how much you are loved and appreciated. There are not words great enough to express my love for you. Amanda and I are who we are because of you. I hope we make you proud! Our lives have been blessed beyond measure and I am thankful to you for that. I love you!




Happy Mother's Day and Happy Birthday!

A Wreath for Wednesday


I love a pretty wreath hanging on my front door or over a mirror. So, I'm always on the lookout for ideas for wreaths I might like to make. Awhile back I was looking on Etsy and saw the cutest fabric wreaths. I was in love! So, I went to my local Hobby Lobby (I think I should get to shop there for free, as much advertising as I do for them) and got the supplies to make my own fabric wreath. Here's what I got.


First of all, you want to choose your color scheme and buy a few different pieces of fabric and rolls of ribbon in those colors (or you can use scraps of fabric you already have). 

Then you need to cut your fabric and ribbon in small, narrow strips (about 1-1.5" wide by 5" long). You will need many, many, many strips of fabric and ribbon. 

After you have your strips of fabric and ribbon cut, start tying them on the wreath frame. I tied mine on the outer ring and the inner ring of the wreath and that was enough to make it as full as I wanted. 

If you look closely at the wreath form, you'll notice it has several sections. I would recommend working in sections so you can get an idea of the fullness and how much more/less you to need to add. It is also a good idea working in sections so you can have a stopping point (and, if you're like me and need instant gratification). This does take quite awhile, but you can work on it a little along and even while you're watching tv. 

You may have to play around with yours to get it to your own desired fullness. Another thing to remember is to space out your different patterns/colors. 

When you get all your ribbon and fabric tied on and you have your desired fullness, use some wide ribbon to make a hanger to hang your wreath from the door. If you want, you can hang something decorative in the middle of the wreath. I painted a wooden L for our last name and hung it in the middle. I think it would be cute without anything in the middle, though. 

This would be adorable for a baby shower, Halloween, Christmas, and the list goes on! If you want more ideas, check out Etsy or Flickr and type in fabric wreaths. There are lots out there. Let me know if you give it a try!


For the next several weeks, I'll be featuring a different wreath on Wednesdays. So, if  you're feeling crafty, join me here next week!

House Tour Tuesday


Today I'm wrapping up House Tour Tuesday. I'll be showing you the last room in our home. This is our 3rd bedroom. It is painted in a cheery green. This room is all about using what you have. Mostly everything in this room is something I or someone else in my family already had. The bed, curtains, chair and lamp were mine in college. The bedding and pillows were my sister's in college. The dresser was my grandmother's ( a little black paint and some new hardware made it good as new!). The old chippy side table I bought years before Jamie and I got married. I'll never forget showing it to him in all of my excitement and he said, "you paid money for that?" That was just the beginning. He has pretty much given up all together on trying to understand me, I think (when it comes to liking old, beaten up junk-that is). It's probably best that way! Anyway, the only new piece of furniture in this room is the desk. My dad bought that for us when we moved in. Thank you, Daddy!!! The black lamps on the dresser I got at Kirkland's on sale. My sweet sister gave me a gift card to Hobby Lobby that I used to buy the mirror. And, just recently I found the framed cord board at TJ Maxx. I love using what I have to make a space. Oh, and I'm pretty sure Jamie agrees with me on that (ha, ha!).



Yikes, don't mind those messy wires!


Thank you for joining me. That wraps things up for the tour through our house. I've decided I like having series posts, so I'm going to start a new series tomorrow. You'll have to come back then to see what it is. Toodles for now!

Smile


I found this little guy at TJ Maxx a few weeks ago and thought it was so cute. I don't know about you, but sometimes I could use a little reminder like this-especially on Mondays. 

Oh and I'll be back tomorrow to wrap up House Tour Tuesday. I've been a little under the weather with allergies and such, but am feeling better now. Hopefully, I'll be getting back into the swing of things and working on some new projects. 

Anyway, Happy Monday!