This Week...

This week marks the first week into the last month until my first craft fair! I'm super nervous, I'm not even half way done with my inventory and we (my friend Sarah and I are sharing a booth) have no idea how our booth is going to look. So far we have three tables and a promise from my husband for a wall to be built.

So what have I been doing this week? Making lots and lots of headbands, placing last minute supply orders, and running to the fabric store for Spring colors!

So here are some rough pictures (taken with the ol' iphone4, please forgive me...) of some new items!

These flowers are so fun to make but they are a little time consuming.

The blue button on this one came from my Grandma's button box. :)

I plan to make a lot more Razorback themed headbands like this one...after all it's RAZORBACK NATION!

Just look how fun and cute these tiny Rosette earrings are. :)

And subject change.....

I can't just work the whole time! I am a stay at home mom with a 14 month old so of course we must go on adventures. Our favorite place to go every week is Granny's house. We take the radio flyer wagon and go for walks around the neighborhood.

Granny and Noah 

Noah likes to carry sticks, and brooms, and golf clubs, pretty much anything that is long and narrow. haha!

And in other Noah news:
He has learned to climb onto the furniture. Lord, help me. Amen.

That's my week in a nutshell. Would love to hear how your week has gone! Have you gone on any exciting crafting adventures?

Be sure to look for a giveaway in the near future. I mentioned on twitter last week that I would have one up this week but I've been super busy so instead of promising a date I'll just say it'll be soon. 

Hope you have a spectacular weekend!

-Mandy

Time Flies...

I was looking on iPhoto today and found some really great pictures of Noah when he was just crawling around 5 months. It got me thinking about how time just flies by. It feels like Dallas and I were married just a few weeks ago but we will have been married 4 years on April 14th! And I can't believe Noah is 14 months old! Wasn't he just born yesterday?

aww my little toothless man!

excited and crawling at a wee five months old

he has teeth in this one so he must be at least 6 months here.

This is a current one of Noah (14 months old!) with his Papa. 

Here's an oldie of Dallas and I at Josh and Natalie's wedding, over 5 years ago.  We look like babies!

I'm so thankful for the way pictures can capture time and you can almost feel just exactly what you were feeling at that moment. I've been super blessed these past four years, it feels like I live in a dream most of the time. :) Isn't it fun to look at old pictures and reminisce? 

xo

-Mandy

Take Me Out to the Ball Game...

My husband and I are going on a little weekend trip to St. Louis soon. We're going with two other couples who are some of our best friends so of course I'm super excited about it. We're going to take in a Cardinal's game while we're there and who knows what else.

You know what that means...time to go shopping....but on the cheap so I'm looking at Forever21 RIGHT NOW.

1) What to wear to the game...

I love this I hope our local shop has it!
only $12.80

2) What to wear while we're wandering around town.

I'm a sucker for white peasant tops

love this striped cardi

3) for a night on the town...

So MANY CHOICES! 

And I'll probably never find any of these in the actual store hah! I'm sure I'll find some great things though. 

On a completely different note, I'm hoping to get a little giveaway up in the next few days and a sneak peak on what I've been working on lately. Keep your eyes peeled! And have a great week!

xoxo

Mandy

SALE SALE SALE in the ol' shopparoo

That's right, you read it correctly, I'm having a SALE. 25% OFF EVERYTHING! I want to get rid of all inventory so that I can start fresh with brand new items after the Craft Fair I'm participating in this Spring. This sale is for this week only March 23-March 30, so get it while you can! Anything that doesn't sell by the date of the craft fair will be going with me and won't be returning to the shop. So get to shoppin!!

This is just a few of the must have items that are 25% OFF!! You just can't beat it! 

On your mark, get set, SHOP! 

These lovely photos, as well as the photo in my banner, were taken by the lovely Anna Corn. She is the best photographer. Ever. The end. Don't believe me? Check out her Flickr and her website. 

Spring Moss Wreath

I was definitely inspired by the tutorials I found yesterday. I was hoping to come up with a thrifty wreath like number two. I spent around $30 which isn't too bad compared to spending $70 for one that is pre-made. I was surprised to spend as much as I did as the flowers were half off; luckily. Oh well! I'm still feeling good about it. So let me walk you through what I did...

I started out with a straw wreath and hot glued spanish moss all over it. I decided not to use the smaller package of light green moss, it didn't look how I thought it would.

Then I cut the ends of the flowers off of the stems and placed them around the wreath different ways until I decided on a combination that I liked. As you can see I used butterflies like tutorial number three. :)

I glued them down and....viola! Finished!

I'm happy with it but it isn't as eye catching from the street as I was hoping it would be. We live and we learn right? This is only the second wreath I've ever made. I'm excited to make one this summer with bigger flowers and more vibrant colors, most likely on a grapevine wreath (The gluing of the moss was very time consuming!!!! Way more than I thought it would be). 

On a side note: this is the first day of Spring! What are your plans on this most beautiful day? I already completed my goal for the day so I guess that means I get to play now! Well, I can hear Noah jabbering in his crib, I better go get the little man.

<edit>

I learned from Sarah that I need floral spray to ensure the moss stays on! If you decide to make a moss wreath, invest in some floral spray. :)

Spring Wreath Ideas

I've talked my husband into taking me to Hobby Lobby today to get supplies to make a Spring wreath for our front door. Aren't I lucky? I just love wreaths and Spring! I can't wait for everything to be in bloom. I decided to search for a few tutorials to inspire me. So, let me share them with you. :)

1. This first tutorial is from Sunshine and Carousels.

What you need for this project is

-straw or foam wreath

-colorful cupcake liners

-yarn

-matt modge podge

-needle and thread

While this wreath is absolutely adorable it's not what I'm looking for. I had to share it with you because of the unique items used to make it. I never would have thought to use cupcake liners on a wreath! How creative!

2. This inspiring tutorial is from Centsible Savings (love the blog name!).

This blogger saw a wreath in Michaels that she absolutely loved but it was extremely pricey; at $69.99, so she took a few pictures of it and decided she could create her own version of it. Well, she did and she spent a mere $10.98! She grabbed the grapevine wreath at goodwill and didn't glue the flowers down so the wreath is reusable! Very green. :)

3. Ok now we're getting closer to where I'm wanting to go. This wreath tutorial is from A Diamond in the Suff.

I love moss wreaths at the moment. I suppose they are really 'in' because in my searches I found a few tutorials on how to make a plain moss wreath that were Crate and Barrel/Pottery Barn inspired. I don't want just a plain ol' wreath! I need some pizazz like this one. She used a grapevine wreath, a few different kinds of mosses, butterflies, (that she painted) and some bird's nests. I really like the ethereal look.

4. Oh my goodness I am drooling! This wreath was made by Stephanie Lynn on Under the Table and Dreaming.

Is this not absolutely stunningly gorgeous?! Does anyone agree with me that this would be perfect for a wedding? Definitely so! I must share this with my bestie who is getting married this summer. Perhaps she'll want one or two and I'll get to make them. I'm not sure if I like it for my front door for two reasons, 1: it's a little too dressy for my taste; 2: TIME CONSUMING! She hand rolled all of the flowers from recycled book pages. Don't get me wrong, I would love to spend hours making this because it would be totally worth it BUT I'm needing a quick fix for my door asap. :)

 I'm having a love affair with this wreath...I'll probably make one anyway....

p.s. this picture was on her site as well, I'm sure you would just do the same thing but glue the rolled flowers to a styrofoam ball. Again, gorgeous for a wedding.

Okay, I think I'm done for now. I'll let you all know what I come up with when I have finished. 

-Mandy

Future Home Inspirations

I love this old abandoned house. I might sneak some more pictures of it. Yes, I took this picture while driving by. I love the big long porch and the columns. Big square columns with brick on the bottom are kinda my thing. I might like it just for them. Nah, the whole thing is cute and cozy! :) I can picture us on a porch like this on a summer night with friends, a pitcher of fresh squeezed lemonade, and mason jars full of fireflies that our kids have caught. We'd talk late into the evening about the stars and all of God's glory. 

{edit}

When I showed my husband this picture and asked him if he liked it he seemed offended at the idea. I think he assumed I like the house in it's current condition. I thought I should clarify that although I see potential in this house, I don't want it! I can however romanticize the idea of what it might look like with some TLC, in my head and it comes pretty close to what my dream home might look like plus a billion updates and a ton of square footage. I like that I can see beauty where others can't.