Valen-times....

We started off the morning with more frustration as I attempted to get the videos of my makeup tutorial to load up to Youtube...why was it so easy to load when I was trying to load it all as one video, only to find out that it was too long (after I'd waited like 45 minutes for it to upload...hooray)  I'm still no closer...sorry guys. I get close, but then my husband asks me to cancel it so he can have bandwidth to play Modern Warfare 3...and because I love him so darn much, and its only 45% uploaded (usually that's about where I get) I relent and cancel...

I WILL get the tutorial up and running if its the last thing I do!  Especially because I'd like to do more...it gives me something to look forward to when I'm bored.  I'm really bummed I couldn't get it up before Valentine's Day, y'all would have been looking super hot with your vintage vixen makeup for your hot dates...

Alas...I relent...

After giving up on Youtube...Faith and I decided to do a photoshoot for her online dating profile...you know, she's getting up there in age- almost 4 months old...she's single and ready to mingle everyone!

Here's what we came up with:

Hi there! So often in this life we're told to "hold on to faith." Well, what if you had the opportunity to literally do that...because you could hold on to me...and my name is Faith!  I enjoy tummy time, my ba-ba, singing to my mobile friends, smiling, and playing "Point to the Parts of the Face" with my mommy.

I do a great "Super Grover" impersonation (as you can see), and love Elmo!  I'm looking for someone to babble with, as my mommy insists that I am a great "conversationalist" (whatever that means...but she always says it when I start making sounds and mimicking the way her mouth moves- Does anyone else think this learning to talk thing is tough?)

So, if you think you could be the baby for me, just have your mom call my mom.  I think a playdate would definitely be in order...Happy Valentine's Day...


After we finished her profile, I started making these bad boys...a part of  Jeff's Valentine's present...they were super easy to make, and Jeff got a kick out of them when he found them ( I don't think he thought I was serious about them...hmmm) I think the picture is pretty self-explanatory as to what they are...

Then I set up a "Love Hunt" the idea was courtesy of "the Dating Divas".  You can read the entry and find the downloads for it here.  For those of you who don't want to follow the link to figure out what a love hunt is, I'll give you the short version: Its basically a scavenger hunt where your husband has to go find clues in succession, but before he gets to read the new clue, he has to complete the task that you attach to the top. For example, one of the tasks (and my favorite) was that Jeff had to slow dance with me to our song.  Jeff always laughs when I ask him to dance with me, but he always gives in because I think he knows that I think its the most romantic way to spend time together...Believe me, dancing together last night did NOT disappoint. I couldn't get our song to work on my iTunes on my computer and he went ahead and found it on Youtube so we could dance to it. (For those of you wondering, our song is "I Cross My Heart" by George Strait... it was the first song we ever danced to...in the living room of his apartment at the Collegiate Inn...he laughed and thought I was silly when I asked him to dance then too...LOL)

I happened to leave my little morning crafting excursion with the last task and clue, with a little note to make the rest of my evening's plans work.

After the Love Hunt was all set up, I went about cutting out tons of scrapbook paper hearts for my decorations with a desperate speed! (I was running out of time, and I needed to get myself ready still!) In spite of my rush...I think things turned out pretty well...what do y'all think?

I realized after our shopping excursion on Monday that I had forgotten toothpicks...which happen to be a crucial part of making Filet Mignon...which was what Jeff said had gotten his attention when I was naming things I could make for Valentine's Day. I texted Jeff and told him to pick some up on his way home from work, along with some sparkling cider of some variety (a necessity for one of the tasks for the Love Hunt). I also told him to warn me when he was on his way home from the store...the original plan was to draw him a bubble bath so he could soak while I made dinner, but the Little Diva wasn't cooperating...she chose Valentine's Day to turn into the Teething Monster x100! She wouldn't let me put her down, if I did, she screamed...she wouldn't take a nap...she just wanted to be up in my lap.  I managed to get her down to sleep long enough so that I could watch this Youtube video and transform myself into THIS:

Behold the 2012 Modern Vintage Bombshell!

(I did change some of the colors on the makeup. I didn't want to do a red lip, and I didn't have as dark a "coppery" color for the eyeshadow and ended up using gold instead, but I think I looked pretty darn good.)

Then...little miss grumpy pants (AKA Little Diva) woke up and decided to scream until I picked her up. Daddy called about then, and so we sat and waited, (daddy's bath was sadly not going to be an option because someone had to hold the Princess while mamma cooked dinner) looking like this:

Sorry...I didn't manage to get any pictures with My Man last night. Between trying to get baby to sleep and trying to get the festivities underway it just didn't happen. I will say that it was a lovely night and was enjoyed thoroughly- especially because last year we didn't get to celebrate it because Jeff had an evening class. 

Its soooo crazy to think how fast time has flown.  Last year at Valentine's Day, I wasn't even pregnant yet (or if I was, I didn't know it). This year,we have a baby and another one on the way.  It just goes to show how fast this life passes us by. I hope that, single, dating or married, you spent some time with people you care about, whether they be friends, family, or a spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend.  Cherish every little moment, you may look back and wish you'd paid a bit more attention.

Hugs and loves until next time darlings!

DIY Cheap Nursery Decorations: Burp Cloth Holder

Well, before stomach flu reared its ugly head, I managed to finish another craft for Faith's room. There really isn't a tutorial, as I felt that just looking at the finished craft was self explanatory.

When Jeff and I moved into my parent's house, we were using an old bookshelf I'd had since before college as storage for burp cloths and blankets.  When we were moving to Vegas, we opted to let the bookshelf head off to greener pastures as it was about to fall apart or fall on someone.  I didn't want that someone to be a crawling baby, and my husband wholeheartedly agreed.  So...since we've been in Vegas, our burp cloths and blankets have been in a jumbled pile on the floor of the little diva's nursery.  As I was finishing unpacking, I found a shoe box, and, as it would happen, the muses sang to me and I came up with this idea for a burp cloth holder.

The great thing about it, is that you can use the scraps of the scrapbook paper that you used to create the letters to cover the box.  Literally, all you need is a shoe box, scrapbook paper, and modge podge or glue. Just be certain that some of the pieces wrap around the edges of the box, as it will look funny to have a piece of paper on the outside, a visible edge, and then the other piece of paper that is on the inside.

 (See, I wrapped the yellow paper around the edge, and then covered the outside)

 Its super easy to hang, all I used were 2 clear thumb tacks.

And here is a sad looking picture of the finished product, filled to the brim with burp cloths! (sorry its either my comp, blogger,or my card- but I'm having a hard time getting the pictures to load the way they appear on my screen.)

Happy crafting darlings!

DIY Decorative Letter Panels

Okay...so, since I seem to have some spare time on my hands these days as I'm not teaching any voice lessons and only have a 3 month old to talk to, I've decided to start adding some tutorials to my blog. You'll get to see my crafty side, and my vain side as I've decided to start doing hair and makeup tutorials here as well (keep an eye out for them!). I don't really have any intention of starting a youtube account, so, provided my videos can be short enough, its likely that here at my blog will be the only place to access them...it may change, but for now, that is what I have planned. That being said...this tutorial isn't a video tutorial, its a picture tutorial.

Preface: Since we've moved into our new place in Vegas at the beginning of the month, and the diva in training has her own room, I decided I wanted to decorate. Well...problem #1- We're renting so I can't really do anything dramatic or drastic and problem #2- babies grow up! They start having their own likes and dislikes... it would be tragic to spend a ton of money on decorations only to have to throw them away or send them to D.I.or Goodwill when they've been outgrown.

I've seen lots of pictures of wooden letter blocks that can be hung on walls, and some DIY tutorials. I looked into it and it would have cost $25-$30 for the letters alone as I already have the other necessary crafting tools...but to me,that is still pretty pricey for a decoration that will likely be outgrown (have I mentioned I am super cheap...?)

So, as we just moved and had tons of boxes laying around I was struck with an idea.

Presenting my DIY Nursery Letters Tutorial! If you already have a cardboard box the size you want, scrapbook paper,and modge podge (most serious crafters will...) this will be essentially free to do...if you don't have modge podge a bottle can be purchased for $2-3 and if you don't have scrapbook paper you can buy a pretty big book of it for about $5 at most craft stores, if you don't have ribbon you can easily get a skein for $1...essentially this craft would cost you anywhere from $2- 8...I think its a deal!


So... let's get started...

Here is a picture of what you'll need...but I will write a list:

You will need: A cardboard box, modge podge, scissors, scrapbook paper, sharpie (or similar black marker- optional), pencil, white out (optional), something sharp to poke holes in your panels (I used a knitting needle), a craft needle like a yarn darning needle, ribbon and the chosen art that you will be using to add to the letter, and the letters in the font that you have chosen. In my case I am using Precious Moments (Faith's room will be Precious Moments Noah's Ark themed). You can (if you have a fancy enough printer, or live close to a copy center) copy + print everything out and cut it out, but since I'm artsy fartsy and like to show off (and don't own a printer that is capable of making copies) I am hand drawing everything.

Step 1:
Choose how you are cutting your panels. The side panels on my box were the perfect size for what I wanted, so I didn't even have to do any measuring. I also used a thinner type of cardboard, so I didn't even use these scissors to cut them (the picture was taken later. I couldn't find my good crafting scissors so I used child sized scissors to cut the panels...LOL)

Step 2:
Trace your panel on the scrapbook paper of your choice and cut it out.

Step 3:
Go crazy with the modge podge! Squirt some down, and spread it out. I used cotton balls because I couldn't find my paint brush that I normally use (note for later: if you use cotton balls, know that they will leave some white "fluff" be prepared to pick it off of the top of the finished project BEFORE it dries.) After modge podge is spread, put your scrapbook paper down and push out the air bubbles between the cardboard and paper.

Step 4:
Continue your love affair with modge podge as you put your letter on the panel. Spread some out underneath, put your letter down and then put modge podge over the top. Allow it to dry. and voila!
You can either be done here and move on to the ribbon steps at the end...or you can do what I did, trace the letter with a sharpie once its dried and then add some characters or art work to it.

Step 5:

Cut out your animals...for added flair you can trace parts of their bodies that could be other colors, cut out the piece you're replacing and tape or glue the new piece in its place. This is where the white out comes in...if you want an area to be white you can color it in with white out, or markers as you can see I've done. When placing the animal (or artwork of your choice), do the same as you did to place the letter. Put an initial coat of modge podge where you're placing the artwork and then cover it in a thin layer of modge podge once its set where you'd like it!
You can also place artwork before you place the letters...see!

Once you're happy with the amount of art on your panels, you add the ribbon. You will need to cut lengths of ribbon for each panel. Mine ended up being about 18 inches long.

Poke 2 wholes in your panel atleast an inch away from the closest end with your sharp poking object (see my fancy purple knitting needle!!! LOL) If you look close you can see my holes. I did them about 2 inches apart, 2 inches from the side,and 1 inch from the top.

Take your yarn darning needle and thread the ribbon through. Poke the ribbon through one of the holes from the front and come out the other side

Your ribbon should sit like this.

Even out the ends and tie bows, leaving a loop of ribbon free to be the hanger (like so)

For extra hold you can run a needle through the middle loop of the bow...just know that I didn't, but if you'd like it to last a little longer- go for it!

Happy crafting! (Did I mention that I think this is a great idea for a project to do WITH your child. Its a way to get older kids involved in decorating their own rooms! I would have loved to do a project like this with my mom when I was growing up...)

Hugs and loves until next time darlings!