A Pumpkin Kind of Day

Now that it is officially fall I’m all about pumpkins – pumpkin coffee, pumpkin bread, pumpkin jam, pumpkin creamer, pumpkin pie and, of course, the OG in pumpkin-themed items – the actual pumpkin decorated for the spirit of the holiday.

I have always loved getting my home ready for the fall. I love carving pumpkins and watching them slowly deteriorate on the front porch as gnats take over the inside. But despite that beautiful picture, I think I’m going to change things up this year.

I have seen a new trend in pumpkin decorating, which requires absolutely no cutting. It’s just a matter of getting some paint, sitting yourself down and letting your creativity flow.

Here are some of my favorite ideas:

A Farmer’s Life for Me

I took a tour of farms across Okaloosa County, Fla., yesterday and something hit me. I want to be a part of that world. I want to look out into my crops and see miles of green. I want to feed my friends and family food I planted. I want to be a farmer.

Now, I realize this isn’t going to be an east task for numerous reasons, chief among them being that I own zero plots of land. But my heart swells with the idea of picking my own fruit off the vine and unearthing carrots, so a farmer I will be.

First step, according to my co-worker who actually has a farm, is to start a compost pile. Hmm …

I’m also a big fan of literature. Here’s one book I’ve found, but I’m looking for more that are helpful so suggestions are wanted!

I think first for me will be herb growing – it seems to be the easiest of all the farming possibilities. I’ve had a mint plant I’ve managed to keep alive for a few months so I feel like I’m practically there!

HGTV has some really helpful information on there website, so if you want to start a farming adventure yourself I suggest checking out this page >> HGTV

Finally, I found this website, which is not quite where I’m at yet, but soon! Debt-free farming. I want this to be enjoyable and fruitful (get it, ha ha) but I’m not rich by any means so this can’t be too costly.

So check this out >>

Happy Farming!

 

Baby Bow Tie

I am so excited to share this craft with you! I have two good friends having baby boys so I did what any crafter these days would do when I learned that there would be little fellas coming into this world soon: Pinterest searched “baby boy crafts.”

I came up with some adorable ideas, but my favorite were these little bow ties that clip to onesies. How handsome!

Materials:

• Fabric
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Glue gun

Step 1: Cut two pieces of fabric, the larger one should be 7×5″ and the smaller one should be 2.25×2.25″.

Steps 2-3: Take the larger piece and flip it over. Then fold it into thirds lengthwise.

Step 4: Take each end and fold them in so they meet in the middle.

Step 5: Flip the folded piece of fabric over and pinch it in half, as shown. Using your hot glue gun, put a drop of glue in the crease so that the fold stays put.

Step 6: Flip it over again and fold the top and bottom edges in the opposite direction of the fold in Step 5, as shown. Glue in place.

Step 7: Next, take the smaller piece of fabric and fold it into thirds, then wrap it around the bow and glue it together in the back. Cut off any excess fabric.

Step 8: Take a piece of velcroe or a clip found at any craft store and insert into the back to clip onto the onesies. This adorable bow ties can also be used as hair bows for little girls with the same clip.

I bought a pack of newborn onesies from Target and clipped them on to each to mail to my friend. Then put the outfit and bow ties in my BirchBox from last month to mail to her.

And now meet Mr. Kolby donning one of the bow ties. My heart melts!

Pinterest Party Take 2

My mother and I have decided it’s time for another day of crafting! Pinterest Party Take 2 to commence!

Here are some of the ideas I’ve been looking into actually doing (to see links click here):

I’m becoming a more responsible person and, I believe, in order to do that I need to start with a filing cabinet. But who on earth wants a dull, ugly file cabinet in their home? Certainly not me. So now the decision, how to decorate?

In the last post I showed off my work desk – it’s not amazing, but its mine. I really want to add a cute mouse to the mix. My current one was handed down to me when I started working at the Daily News four years ago. In short, it’s gross and ugly. Time for a change!

This nail art is one of the newest fads in the world of crafting and I am really wanting to jump on board. I don’t know why, but deer heads are really intriguing to me. Perhaps it’s my southern roots. Perhaps its better than killing one. Perhaps I’m just weird.

I just found out my best friend is having twin (!) boys and I really want to get her something special to celebrate the news. They’re not due until January, but it’s never too soon to start crafting.

 

I don’t have a ton of wall space that isn’t decorated in my room, but I think if I add something to the wall it should at least be practical and, of course, cute. These simple cork boards are perfect for my purposes!

Happy pinning/crafting everyone!

Creativity at Work

It is my firm belief that craftiness can be anywhere at any time. So today, I’m showing off my work desk and some of the craftiness that has crept onto it over the past few years.

Some of my favorite things about my workspace is all the color. I love color everywhere I go so having the bright post-its and other knick-knacks at my side makes for a happier day all around.

A few years ago a co-worker of mine experimented with making paper flowers and gifted me with this gem. I love it because A.) It’s themed perfectly since I’m a reporter for the very newspaper the flower is made of and B) I’m a big fan of floral anything.

I also love, love my pen collection. My friend Leslie started this tradition of bringing me back a pen from her vacation adventures and they’ve become one of my favorite items on my desk and souvenirs. (It’s useful and sentimental!)

One of my past projects is also displayed here. I took this idea from Pinterest and painted the side of my business cards to add a little flare. Individually, it’s not that noticeable but together it helps brighten up an otherwise dull card.

I am constantly getting business cards and I got to the point that I knew I had the card and I needed to get some information from the card, but the card was among the dozens of others in a huge pile. So I decided to create my own Rolodex out of a memory box and index cards. I glued some pretty scrap book paper to the  index cards and cut pieces of paper to label them alphabetically. It’s been so helpful and a cute addition to the desk.

It’s a small desk, but it’s my home 40 hours a week and I love it. How do you make your work space your own?

 

Be Inspired: Father’s Day

If your dad is anything like mine getting a gift for him is the most challenging experience you can go through.

“Hey Daddy, what do you want for Father’s Day?”

“I bought myself a T-shirt for $3, you can give me that.”

“Hey Daddy, what if I don’t want to give y0u the shirt you already purchased on sale. What if I want to give you something nice?

“Nah, I don’t want anything.”

Do you see my dilemma?

Well, for all you children out there with amazing father’s with little to no wish lists for the upcoming holiday here are some ideas. For more ideas, follow me on Pinterest!

Source: http://kirstenandco.blogspot.com.au/2011_08_01_archive.html

Source: http://momsbusycrafting.com/2012/06/17/fathers-day-gift-basket-free-printable-tags/

Source: http://www.realcoake.com/2013/05/fathers-day-gift-glass-etched-candy-jar.html

Best of luck in your gifting!

May the 4th be with You

That’s right, I’m dedicating this post to Star Wars — May the 4th be with you is tomorrow after all.

Here are some crafts inspired by everyone’s favorite science fiction film of all time (If it’s not, recheck your life):

 

Here Comes the Bride, and another Bride, and another Bride

This has been a crazy year for me – I have multiple friends getting married and all of them are so special to me that I can’t see myself going off and getting them some gift from their registry and calling it a day.

Instead, I’m taking this opportunity to try and craft something special for each of them. The hard part now will be to decide what!

Here are some ideas and some projects I’ve completed so far with lots of opportunities to do more still to come —

Embroidery with couples name or initials

Write out song lyrics and frame a special memento

Make the bride a necklace with the couple’s initials

I mean, could it be any cuter?

For my friend Leah, I painted a picture frame and framed her wedding invitation with some matting I picked up at a local craft store.

Happily Ever After pillow

You can create a whole recipe book for her and ask her family to add their favorite recipes.

Frame the state and location of the wedding.

Use scrap book paper and canvas to create a wall decoration worthy of the couple’s new home together

It’s T-shirt Time

I love clothes, like, a lot. To that end, I love clothes that no one else has and what better way to ensure that than to make your own!

Here’s some of my homemade T-shirts:

Made this one for my 21st Birthday, which was spent at Disney World (I was on the phone with Goofy when this photo was taken!)

Birthday Posse T-shirts

St. Patrick’s Day T-Shirts for a run we were in

Made onesies for my niece when she was born

I’m an Aunt T-shirts

 

And here are some ideas for my next crafternoon:

 

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day to all of you out there in the blog world. This year, I am all about the baking for the big LOVE day. My baking leaves a lot to be desired so I’m giving you my baking inspirations.

For sources, please click here >>