Young Nester

Cake Pops and Girls Who Represent Kentucky

2012-01-07T16:21:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone had a great week! What did everyone do for New Year’s Eve? We go to Louisville each year to hang out with Taylor’s old high school friends and it was pretty laid back this year (it didn’t help that I was still sick with this cold).

Because I was off for a week (and sick), Taylor and I got to lounge around and catch up on some shows we’ve been meaning to get into. The first was American Horror Story on FX. Anyone seen it? It has some scary parts in it now and then and it’s pretty twisted but we enjoyed watching something new. The creator, Ryan Murphy, has come out saying that next season will be a whole new house with a new cast which is definitely putting a spin on what people think of a television series should do. I think it’s pretty cool and innovative but I will miss some of the characters.

We also started watching The Walking Dead which is a zombie tv show that everyone has been talking about. It’s also pretty good; we’re going to start watching Season 2 next week, probably.

And of course the new season of The Bachelor started last week and it’s a guilty pleasure of mine. Oh, smut tv… Anyone else watch the premier? One of the girls is from Kentucky… can you tell? I’d say it’s because she’s wearing the huge derby hat but her dress is so ridiculously low cut that the big hat isn’t the first thing you see when you look at her. And she’s representing Kentucky.

Now onto my obsession with cake pops; it doesn’t help that my awesome friends and family have drooled over the ones I've made and beg me to make more. They’re enablers. All of them. I recently made some butter pecan cake with coconut pecan icing ones that I thought were delicious. I gave in and ate one last night. I’m making some more tonight for a baby shower I’m co-hosting at work tomorrow. Here are some pictures of the Christmas gifts I gave with pops:

Oh and I’m down a pound! I’m satisfied with that number and I’m hoping it continues on the down. :) I am adding exercise this week so wish me luck. I’m starting small with the EA Sports Active on the Wii like last time.

Stay tuned on how the baby shower goes and the woes that will come with Wii inline skating again! Have a great week!

One Year Blogiversary: Going Back to My Bloggin' Roots

2012-01-02T15:57:00.002-05:00

Well, it’s been awhile my friends. I really did miss the blogging world these past few months but things got a little too crazy with my commitments through this little bloggy and I thought I should take a breather.

As you can see, stuff is missing from this deal ole blog. Unfortunately (as of now), I will not be continuing my Ten Buck Tuesday link parties. :( Thank you all for your involvement and encouragement last year and for making it such a hit in the blogging world.

As for this blog, I’ve decided to “go back to my blogging roots” and take it back to a personal journal and documentation of our lives. I completely understand if I lose all my readers because my life is pretty boring. I will still show my crafts and recipes but they will no longer be the main focus. Fresh starts are always nice, right?

Moving forward…

2011 ended on a somber note for our family this year: my loving and beautiful Memaw passed away December 11, 2011 and although it still hurts every day, I know she is in a better place, healthy and happy. Learning how to cope will be an important step for me in 2012.

This year we have some big aspirations! I moved to this blog almost a year ago and had some great resolutions for 2011 (and I kept almost all of them… who am I?). So I thought if I could do so well last year, why not set some more for this year? So in true New Year’s tradition, here are my resolutions for 2012:

1. Get healthy!
2. Lose 75 lbs by our wedding (June 2013 – we kind of set a date!)
3. Save mullah for said wedding
4. Continue to earn good grades and transfer to a university this fall
5. Cook more
6. Simplify our stuff (we started this with a bang last week and donated 2 car loads of stuff!)
7. Start decorating our home in my shabby-chic-loving style
8. Landscape our backyard (including use of our new firepit)
9. Actually re-create the things I pin on Pinterest

See, I definitely was not exaggerating when I said my aspirations were big… What are your resolutions for 2012? Are you on Pinterest? If you're not, give me your email address asap so I can send you an invite - it might change your world. :)

So, stay tuned for more on adopting a healthier lifestyle, planning a wedding, cooking, making our house a home and loving life in Kentucky.

Home!

2011-07-20T23:01:00.002-04:00

Words cannot describe how breath-taking Alaska is; I feel like everyone should put it on their bucket list. I will try to post more pictures down the road but I have decided to take a break from the blogging world for a bit:

We actually got back about two weeks ago but it's been one thing after the next keeping me from coming back to you all. My grandmother is currently in the ICU here in town and is on a ventilator and feeding tube. It's been pretty scary the past couple of days and we have a lot of family in town.

In other news, T asked me to marry him last Friday! :) More to come on that story as well.

And in yet more news, I have decided I need to take a break from the blogging world this semester. I will still stalk my favorite bloggers but as for this one, I'm going to go on a little hiatus and come back better. Maybe.

Love you all,

ALASKA!

2011-06-13T10:27:00.000-04:00

Hello beautiful bloggers! I hope everyone is having a better-than-normal Monday! We are off to Alaska for a two week vacation today and I wanted to let everyone know Ten Buck Tuesday is on hiatus until I return on Sunday, June 26th. I will post plenty of pictures when I come back and I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful next two weeks!

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Ten Buck Tuesday, 18!

2011-06-06T23:52:00.000-04:00

Our link party is officially old enough to buy lottery tickets! I hope everyone had a good Monday. My ridiculous back sunburn is now in the peeling stage (the gross-est peeling stage ever). But, at least I can wear a bra now! :) It's the little things in life, right?

Last week, Michelle at Delicate Construction made these very cool Scrabble-Inspired Pillow Covers (I'm also obsessed with Scrabble and Words with Friends on my iPhone - what's your username... if you play too!):

Kara at Happy Go Lucky made this awesome Jewelry Holder:

Jalinda at The Craft in Me made this incredible Iron Foam (I can't wait to try!):

And Rachel at Sun Scholars showed us these adorable Notebook Paper Bags:

THANK YOU ALL FOR PARTICIPATING! Email me at: youngnester(at)gmail(dot)com and ask for the code for my "I was featured" button! I would love for you to show the world I love you!

NOW ON TO THE FUN PART!

LINK UP YOUR $10 CRAFT OR RECIPE! Please play fair and copy the Ten Buck Tuesday button to your blog when you link up! The link-up will be open until next Monday at 11:59pm (EST)! No shops or main pages; please link up the specific post of your project.

I CAN'T WAIT to see what YOU are making this week!

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Quick but Cute Cupcakes

2011-06-05T17:48:00.003-04:00

I was in a hurry the other day but still wanted to make some cute cupcakes for a friend's birthday and I'd thought I'd share my "quickies"...

I used the Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Devil's Food cake mix and it made 24 cupcakes. After I evenly distributed the mix in the pans, I added about 4 to 5 chocolate chips to each one and then bake as directed. This is what they look like right out of the oven:

I then got my can of awesomeness (I LOVE the fluffy):

And I get out this little tool:

My favorite cake tip for doing the classic spiral is this star:

Start on the outside and squeeze your icing out in a circular motion (keeping even pressure while squeezing) and go towards the center of the cupcake (it is so hard to take pictures with your left hand while icing with the right hand). I like to only cover about 75% of the top of the cupcake so people can still see what kind of cupcake it is:

And wah-lah

Then you can add whatever you want to jazz it up!

And they're so good! I promise :)

I hope everyone is having a great Sunday! Only 8 more days until we leave for Alaska for 2 WEEKS! Anyone ever been? I need some packing recommendations!

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Ten Buck Tuesday, 17

2011-05-31T15:35:00.000-04:00

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! We were fortunate enough to have 3 days off and went to Louisville to celebrate Memorial Day with cookouts and a wedding. My allergies took a turn for the worse though so I'm still working on breathing through my nose. :)

Last week, Miss Charming made this adorable Teacher's Pail:

All Thumbs Crafts made these awesome Upcycled Storage Containers:

Sew Happy Geek made this incredible Coffee Cup Cosy:

And Stampin' and Craftin' wow-ed us again with her Candyland Birthday Party:

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Ten Buck Tuesday, 16!

2011-05-24T14:09:00.000-04:00

Good afternoon blogging world! I've been so busy with school I've neglected my sweet little blog and only had time to host Ten Buck Tuesday. If you've missed me, I've got good news! I'm done with school for the summer and have some great posts planned. If you didn't miss me, well, TBT is still here on Tuesdays. :)

Last week, Tara at Tales of a Trophy Wife shared her adorable Spring Nook:

Pinkapotamus made this awesome Owl Tote:

Chris at Us and Them made these sweet Time Out Stools:

And Sophia at Frugal Ideas from the Parsonage made this incredible Beachy Breeze Tote and Wallet:

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Ten Buck Tuesday 15!

2011-05-17T11:43:00.000-04:00

Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope you're having a great start to the week!

Last week, Ellen at Creative Passage made these awesome Spoon Plant Markers:

Rachel at Holy Craft made this very cool Wall Art:

Trisha at Stampin' & Craftin' made these adorable Graduation Hat Candies:

And Jaime at I'm a Mom Not a Professional made this amazing Crayon Cake:

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Ten Buck Tuesday 14

2011-05-10T11:32:00.002-04:00

I hope everyone is having a great start to the week!

I've been so lucky this year that my allergies to stay at bay... until yesterday. I think the combination of the derby infield (post to come later) and spending yesterday afternoon picking out flowers at a local nursery just set me up for failure.

I'm pulling out the neti pot tonight...

(Photo credit)

That is 100% not me. I think that's about as good as anyone can look while neti-potting. Taylor thought it would be "hilarious" to film me on his iPhone once last spring... all you can hear is him laughing ridiculously and me cussing at him through drowning noises. Anyone else use a neti pot? What do you do to help relieve allergy symptoms? What are you allergic to?

On to less congested things...

Last week on Ten Buck Tuesday, Amanda at City Girl Gone Coastal made this awesome Chalk Fabric Roll:

Susan at Love Endures All Things made this sweet Spring Wreath:

Evelyn Kate Designs made this adorable Ribbon Rosette Magnet:

And Kaitlin at The Goodey Knot did this amazing Shoe Makeover:

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Super Quick Cucumber Appetizer

2011-05-05T19:37:00.001-04:00

In a pinch and need something for guests to snack on? Or dinner taking much longer than expected and the hubs getting ~~annoying~~ hungry?

Cucumber Oil/Vinegar Quickie (ie: this does not have a name)

Cut cucumber slices thin (can peel if wanted; I do not). Pour over equal parts of vinegar and oil (again, you can wing this to your preferences; I usually use about 1/8 cup of each per whole cucumber sliced.

Then, season with salt, pepper and garlic. It's really that easy and I always get so many compliments about how delicious they are. Weirdly, I do not like cucumbers (or pickles) so I've only tried one years ago. Better if chilled for an hour before serving but I've served immediately before in a pinch.

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Ten Buck Tuesday 13!

2011-05-03T13:16:00.000-04:00

Good afternoon lovelies! I hope everyone is having a great start to the week! I got some hilarious emails about the "perfect" housewife post; if you haven't seen the article yet, please check it out and let me know what you think. I love your witty responses:)

Last night I went to the gym for the first time in a lonnnggg time. I just did 30 minutes on the tredmill and 10 minutes of death on the elliptical... you've got to (re)start somewhere, right?

And a BIG HAPPY TEACHER APPRECIATION DAY TO MY FELLOW EDUCATORS! :) This week we've got state testing so it's been super ~~boring~~ fun.

I finally have my coupon binder ready to go! I followed the Krazy Coupon Lady's regimen (I'll talk more about it later this week). Who's with me? I'm focusing on saving, not on hoarding like some extreme couponers (have you seen the show?)

Last week on Ten Buck Tuesday, Kitty at A Law Student's Journey made this incredible coffee cozy (with tutorial and I can't wait to try):

Spending Less, Living More made this oh-so-shabby-chic Ruffle Pillow:

Kristen at Turning a House into a Home made this gorgeous Cork Heart:

And Natalia at Ma Nouvelle Mode these cool Countdown Blocks:

I seriously cannot wait to get started on these tutorials! THANK YOU ALL FOR PARTICIPATING! Email me at: youngnester(at)gmail(dot)com and ask for the code for my "I was featured" button! I would love for you to show the world I love you!

NOW ON TO THE FUN PART!

LINK UP YOUR $10 CRAFT OR RECIPE! Please play fair and copy the Ten Buck Tuesday button to your blog when you link up! The link-up will be open until next Monday at 11:59pm (EST)! No shops or main pages; please link up the specific post of your project.

I CAN'T WAIT to see what YOU are making this week!

The "Perfect" Housewife

2011-04-27T18:27:00.003-04:00

I've always dreamed of being the perfect housewife... I know, I'm a stereotype straight out of the 1950's. Hopefully I'm not the only one? Now of course I don't want to be the ruthlessly submissive, not have my own opinion housewife... I just want to make fantastic meals, have an awesome garden and a somewhat clean house where I throw dinner parties and cookouts. Am I an awful stereotype?

Speaking of 1950's... look at this retro article I came across (sorry it's so small - click to enlarge):

Is this not absurd? It gets really ridiculous in the second half. Tell me... what's your 'favorite'?

It's not too late to link up at this week's Ten Buck Tuesday!

Ten Buck Tuesday, 12!

2011-04-26T13:05:00.001-04:00

Happy Tuesday! Happy TEN BUCK TUESDAY! :)

Has anyone else been hit with massive amounts of rain? The flooding is crazy in Kentucky and apparently the rain is not stopping anytime soon.

Last week, Michelle at Delicate Construction made this adorable Rosette Bracelet:

Craft Mummy made these amazing coasters:

Kalie at Pink Ink Doodle made this cute rosette headband:

And our Guest Blogger Kassie at Truly Lovely made these awesome Rope Vases:

Last week was a great week! THANK YOU ALL FOR PARTICIPATING! Email me at: youngnester(at)gmail(dot)com and ask for the code for my "I was featured" button! I would love for you to show the world I love you!

NOW ON TO THE FUN PART!

LINK UP YOUR $10 CRAFT OR RECIPE! Please play fair and copy the Ten Buck Tuesday button to your blog when you link up! The link-up will be open until next Monday at 11:59pm (EST)! No shops or main pages; please link up the specific post of your project.

I CAN'T WAIT to see what YOU are making this week!

Guest blogger: Kassi from Truly Lovely!!

2011-04-21T16:53:00.001-04:00

I am SO excited to be blog swapping with the lovely Lauren here today!!
If you're having Lauren withdrawals (as I'm sure you are...)
You can visit her over on my blog, Truly Lovely,
today where she is guest posting as well!

In the meantime, I am Kassi from the blog Truly Lovely!

I am right in the midst of my wedding planning for our June 2011 wedding!

If you'd like to follow my wedding planning in more detail,

I have a 'just for the wedding' blog over here. :)

A wedding craft that I did just for me, just for fun, was my Bride Bag!

Every bride needs a handy little bag to carry around the wedding planning essentials!

So...

I am so excited to be able to share my Bride Bag tutorial with you today!
The same concepts can be applied to make a Momma Bag, Shopping Bag, or perhaps in Lauren's case... a WINE tote!! ;) etc...

Materials Needed:

Plain Tote
Sticky backed Vinyl or other stencil
Fabric Paint
Iron on embellishments (I used my wedding flowers, daisies)
Cute little craft iron... Or a regular iron will do ;)
(All these materials were Christmas gifts from my sweet sister, so thanks Miss Kayli for gifting me some awesome craft supplies!!)

First, I used my new Silhouette SD (Christmas gift from the hubs-to-be) to cut out the lettering, "Kassi's Bride Bag June 2011".

Next, I pulled the cutout lettering away from the vinyl sheet.

This became the stencil.

Then I peeled the backing off of the vinyl and stuck it to the tote.

*Tip - Sticky backed vinyl is great because once the backing is removed you can stick it onto pretty much anything and it'll last long enough to work as a stencil.

The only fabric paint I had at the time was puff paint... but that wasn't the look I was wanting for my bag... So I improvised...

I just used a small paint brush to brush the puff paint onto the stencil... I used pink and turquoise paint, my wedding colors of course!

It took a few coats of the puff paint to get it dark enough on the black tote to pop, but once I got those coats on, I just left it to dry overnight.

The next morning I simply peeled the vinyl stencil from the tote and walla, insta-tote wording!! :)

To spice it up a bit, I ironed on a few daisies (my wedding flower of choice) using my nifty little craft iron! (Again, thanks Kayli!)

The next, and final step is to fill your new Bride Bag with all the wedding planning essentials!!

In went my wedding planning notebook, wedding ring brochures, hand written guest list draft, and our engagement pictures CD.

I literally carry this bag with me everywhere I go!!

At less than two months til the wedding, it's so nice to have everything I need right on hand in my handy little Bride Bag!

This picture was taken by my Maid of Honor, Miss Kayli of course, after a LONG day of trying on wedding dresses!!!

As you can see, it'll wear a girl out! ;)

But the Bride Bag in tow means less stress for the bride-to-be!!!

Thanks again to Miss Lauren for having me over!!! :)

Always happy to share with my bloggie besties!!!

And the winner is...

2011-04-21T13:03:00.000-04:00

The winner of My Girlish Whims GORGEOUS necklace is...

CONGRATS, Jessica!! Be on the lookout for an email from me to get your address!

Hope everyone is having a great day!

Ten Buck Tuesday 11!

2011-04-19T14:30:00.000-04:00

I hope everyone has entered the My Girlish Whims necklace GIVEAWAY! It closes tomorrow (4/20) at midnight (eastern time)!

Is everyone ready for Easter? I feel like I haven't had a weekend to relax in forever. I just want to stay at home one weekend and do stuff around the house. Does that make me incredibly lazy?

Moving on to more exciting things...

Last week, Mel at Last Minute Mel made these adorable No Bake Marshmellow Lamb Cookies (how cute are these!):

Lesley at Fabulously Flawed made this incredible Bird Wall Art:

Mel at The Crafty Scientist made this awesome Button Initial wall art:

Jenna at Sew Happy Geek made this cute Padded Camera Strap Cover (and we all know I'm obsessed with these):

THANK YOU ALL FOR PARTICIPATING LAST WEEK! Email me at:
youngnester(at)gmail(dot)com
and ask for the code for my "I was featured" button! I would love for you to show the world I love you!

NOW ON TO THE FUN PART!

LINK UP YOUR $10 CRAFT OR RECIPE! Please play fair and copy the Ten Buck Tuesday button to your blog when you link up! The link-up will be open until next Monday at 11:59pm (EST)! No shops or main pages; please link up the specific post of your project.

I CAN'T WAIT to see what YOU are making this week!

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My Girlish Whims GIVEAWAY!!

2011-04-13T14:30:00.002-04:00

I am so excited to share with you all a GIVEAWAY from one of my favorite bloggers, Rebecca at My Girlish Whims! Who doesn’t love her? If you haven’t been to her blog and shop, you need to go now. Right this second.

She’s been featured TWICE on Young Nester for her laptop vinyl and sheet music roses!

Rebecca is graciously giving away a BEAUTIFUL necklace to one of YOU!

Isn’t it gorgeous? I just love it! She is so awesome she is even letting you pick the color of crystals you want!

We’ve giving everyone a TON of ways to win so get excited! Please leave a separate comment for each entry below:

REQUIRED
-Stop by Rebecca’s etsy shop and tell me what your favorite item is!

ADDITIONAL ENTRIES
- become a follower of YoungNester (current followers count too!)
- become a follower of My Girlish Whims (again, current followers definitely count!)
- “Like” YoungNester on facebook
- “Like” My Girlish Whims on facebook
- Follow YoungNester on twitter
- Blog about this giveaway! (limit once - leave the link to your blog post in your comment)

Giveaway is open until next Wednesday, April 20th until 11:59 PM. Random winner will be announced on Thursday, April 21st!

OK, GET SET.... GO!! Good luck!!

Ten Buck Tuesday 10!

2011-04-12T13:20:00.002-04:00

WOW! It's already time for Ten Buck Tuesday #10! This week has flown by! Last week was Spring Break from the middle school so I did a whole lot of nothing ;) The weather was perfect here in Kentucky (I wish I could say the same for the past 24 hours... torrential downpouring now)! T's 27th birthday was on Saturday and we went to Louisville to hang out with his family and friends. We also took a daytrip to Cincinnati to visit Ikea (who doesn't love that place??) and Jungle Jim's.

I've also become obsessed with the idea of coupons. Notice how I said the idea of coupons. Although I know I will never be able to shop like the people on TLC's Extreme Couponing, I know that I can cut back tremendously. Any other couponers out there? Any great sites or tips?

Moving to the good stuff... last week, Katie at Eye Spy DIY showed us how to make amazing fabric piping:

Kitty at A Law Student's Journey made this gorgeous tshirt camera strap cover:

Shawna at A Very Dandoislion Life made all these cute ribbon flower hair ties:

And Char at The Starter Home made some stylish silverware art:

THANK YOU ALL FOR PARTICIPATING LAST WEEK! Email me at youngnester(at)gmail(dot)com and ask for the code for my "I was featured" button! I would love for you to show the world I love you!

COME BACK TOMORROW FOR A SPECIAL GIVEAWAY FROM REBECCA AT MY GIRLISH WHIMS!!! SO EXCITED!!

NOW ON TO THE FUN PART!

LINK UP YOUR $10 CRAFT OR RECIPE! Please play fair and copy the Ten Buck Tuesday button to your blog when you link up! The link-up will be open until next Monday at 11:59pm (EST)! No shops or main pages; please link up the specific post of your project.

I CAN'T WAIT to see what YOU are making this week!

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Ten Buck Tuesday 9!

2011-04-05T13:07:00.000-04:00

It's that time again and I'm finally back to normal (mostly)! I've not been that sick in ages.

I've got a lot of crafts lined up to get me back in the swing of things! Get excited! :)

Last week Jaclyn at Simply Cadence made this adorable fabric basket:

Rebecca at My Girlish Whims wowed us again with her Sheet Music Roses:

Lindsay at Lee La La made this amazing No Sew Burlap Pillowcase:

A Little Bit of Everything made these delicious Hostess inspired cake balls:

THANK YOU ALL FOR PARTICIPATING LAST WEEK! Email me at youngnester(at)gmail(dot)com and ask for the code for my "I was featured" button! I would love for you to show the world I love you!

NOW ON TO THE FUN PART!

LINK UP YOUR $10 CRAFT OR RECIPE! Please play fair and copy the Ten Buck Tuesday button to your blog when you link up! The link-up will be open until next Monday at 11:59pm (EST)! No shops or main pages; please link up the specific post of your project.

I CAN'T WAIT to see what YOU are making this week!

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Don't be late for the Ultimate Blog Party

2011-04-04T15:10:00.000-04:00

I'm starting to feel better... finally! Thank goodness it's Spring Break at the middle school so I get a week to get back to normal.

I am currently procrastinating from completing 3 exams online for my own classes that are unfortunately not on Spring Break. Someone motivate me (and keep me off Twitter)!

April 1-8 is the Ultimate Blog Party at 5 Minutes for Mom! A TON of amazing prizes plus hundreds of new blogs for us to check out :)

What are you waiting for... go find some new blogs!

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Ten Buck Tuesday 8 with the flu!

2011-03-29T12:32:00.000-04:00

MAN has the last week been a doozy for me... I've been running around like crazy and sick as a dog and when I finally go to the doctor, they tell me I have the flu! A note to everyone to pay attention to what their body is telling them. On my way home from my second job on Saturday, I started feeling really weird and pulled over (thank God)... a minute later I passed out. It was incredibly scary and made me really look at what was happening and say, "I'm sick, I need to stop."

I also put in my two weeks at my second job (the one I've had for 3 years); it's a bittersweet feeling.

So what better to do when sick then to hang around on the couch and blog? :)

Last week, Kassi at Truly Lovely with the Laney Sisters made these incredible Tile Coaster Gifts:

Rebecca at My Girlish Whims used her Silhouette (that I am SO jealous of) to make this great Laptop Cover Vinyl:

Stacey at Embracing Change made this Coffee Filter Wreath that I can't wait to try:

Sew Woodsy made these awesome Laundry Room Signs (oh the powers of Mod Podge):

THANK YOU ALL FOR PARTICIPATING LAST WEEK! Email me at youngnester(at)gmail(dot)com and ask for the code for my "I was featured" button! I would love for you to show the world I love you!

NOW ON TO THE FUN PART!

LINK UP YOUR $10 CRAFT OR RECIPE! Please play fair and copy the Ten Buck Tuesday button to your blog when you link up! The link-up will be open until next Monday at 11:59pm (EST)! No shops or main pages; please link up the specific post of your project.

I CAN'T WAIT to see what YOU are making this week!

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Ten Buck Tuesday, 7!

2011-03-22T16:35:00.001-04:00

I hope everyone is having a great start of the week (AND start of SPRING)! FINALLY!

Like I mentioned last week, instead of me featuring my own $10 craft on Ten Buck Tuesday, I'm going to reserve Tuesdays for YOUR crafts from the previous week's party :) So, here are my FAVORITES from last week (and it was VERY hard to narrow it down to just a few)! Email me for html code for my "I've been featured" button; I know, I'm sneaky by not letting anyone know the code until they're featured!

Jen at Iron Violet Designs made this awesome No Sew Scarf:

Bliss Images and Beyond made these not-just-for-nerds Super Mario Silhouettes (although the nerd in me fell in love!):

Misty at The Creative Itch made these crazy cool Candy Wrapper Button Earrings:

And Kaitlyn at The Birds Nest made this great No Sew Rosette Pillow (apparently I'm on a new-sew binge!):

THANK YOU ALL FOR PARTICIPATING LAST WEEK! Email me at youngnester(at)gmail(dot)com and ask for the code for my "I was featured" button! I would love for you to show the world I love you!

NOW ON TO THE FUN PART!

LINK UP YOUR $10 CRAFT OR RECIPE! Please play fair and copy the Ten Buck Tuesday button to your blog when you link up! The link-up will be open until next Monday at 11:59pm (EST)! No shops or main pages; please link up the specific post of your project.

I CAN'T WAIT to see what YOU are making this week!

Saturday Spotlight: CAIT CREATES!

2011-03-19T19:06:00.002-04:00

Caitlin over at Cait Creates is an absolute genius! I love her and she has been an amazing blogging friend so of course I HAD to feature her ASAP so all of you could see just how awesome she is.

I’ll let her introduce herself before she shows us her GREAT Spoon Upcycle (a personal favorite of yours truly).

Hi, I'm Caitlin--Full-time graduate student, part-time nanny and part-time human resources assistant. Between school and two jobs it's easy to get burnt out, which is part of the reason I started my blog this year, "Cait Creates". I use my blogging time as a "reward" and in a weird way it helps keep me sane! So far I am loving my blog because it allows me to show off all the fun and creative things I can do to those who fully appreciate it!

Most of my favorite projects are upcycled or revamped to fit my style. I love these type of projects because 1) it saves me money 2) it gets my creative juices flowing and 3) I love seeing the look on someone’s face when I say "I made that".

Here’s my Spoons Turned Art tutorial:

Total Estimated Costs for Project:

Frame: $1
Spoons: $1 (forks and spoons were $2)
Fabric: $1
Buttons: FREE
Letters: Already had on hand (est: $0.50)
Gold Paint: Already had on hand (est: $0.50)
Cardboard: Free
Hot Glue: Already had on hand (est: $0.50)
Spray Paint: Already had on hand (est: $0.50)

TOTAL: $ 5.00

For all those that follow me, you’ll know I found an awesome silverware set at Goodwill for $2!

I begun by bending the spoons and hot gluing them together.

Once the spoons were bent I cut out material and placed it over a cardboard circle. I felt like this needed a little something extra to make it really pop so I asked my (also crafty) friend Kat if I could have some buttons.

While at the flea market (where I scored my awesome new chair) I found an old wooden frame for a $1. It was pretty scratched up but really sturdy, so I purchased it for this project.

The one bad thing about this frame is it didn't come with a back...so I made one. We always have left over cardboard boxes at work so I brought one home and cut it to fit the back.

After spray painting the frame black (that was interesting in winter) I searched through my fabric and found some black I thought would look really well. I then took wooden letters I already had and painted them a gold color to match the fabric. I LOVE IT! I think it was the perfect addition to my little "eating area".

Thank you, Caitlin for sharing with us your incredible spoon art!
I have some hand me down silverware that’s already a little warped that would be perfect for this project!

I would love if all of you would hop on over to Caits Creates and leave her a sweet comment! She also does a killer tutorial on tiling a table, placemat pillows and embellished pillows!

Everyone have a great weekend!

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-03-17T16:56:00.002-04:00

Tis the season for cookies! I ate ~~a whole box~~ too many girl scout cookies this week. Then last night I decided to make mint chocolate chip cookies for my fellow teachers at school!

They were delicous! And so easy to make! Not to mention perfect for St. Patty's Day!

WRITE THIS DOWN (because I know you'll want to make these):

1 pouch Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
1/2 c. butter
1/4-1/2 tsp. mint extract (I used a whole teaspoon; taste test to see what you prefer)
6-8 drops green food coloring (you can add more to make them green-er)
1 egg
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Combine cookie mix, butter, extract, food coloring and egg until soft dough forms. Stir in chocolate chips.
2. Drop 2 inches apart on ungreased sheet
3. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes
4. Don't eat all of them because people have to taste your delicious masterpiece. Or do.

Love these! Everyone should make them!

DON'T FORGET: you can still link up to this week's Ten Buck Tuesday!

Simple Shamrocks on Ten Buck Tuesday 6

2011-03-14T23:47:00.002-04:00

The poll is closed for naming my good 'ole sewing machine! SHE is now named:

Bobbin' Betsy (Bob for short)!!

Thank you for all who voted! Now on to my super simple project for this week!

oh Simple Shamrocks: Thank you for holding down the fort and letting all guests and mutts know that St. Patty's Day is this week!

Oh, and Happy Pi day! T awesomely texted me this morning so I would know to tell my perfect math students!

I had all of the materials for this project so it was free today! But technically, here's what things cost when I bought them:

Paper: I bought a huge pack for $5 that has 200 sheets and I only used 4 for this project. So those 4 pieces of paper cost $0.10 :)
Popsicle sticks: $0.50 for a pack of 50, I only used 3 so $0.03.
Ribbon: $0.50 (I only buy ribbon when it's less than $1)
Mod Podge: $5-7 (I probably used $0.25 worth)
Fake clay pot: $0.50 (2 for $1)
Fake rocks: $1.00

So altogether: $2.33 :)

And here's my picture tutorial:

Cut your shape out

Trace onto the desired color paper and cut out

Put together and take a picture

Wrap it in desired ribbon

Use your best friend

I cut out a little piece of paper and glued all of the clovers to make it easier

Mod Podge that baby to the stick

On the side, fill up a cheapo container of some sort with whatever you want

TA-DA!

STAY TUNED THIS WEEK FOR MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES I'M MAKING FOR MY CLASS!

ALSO STARTING THIS WEEK I AM GOING TO BE PICKING A FEW OF MY FAVORITE TEN BUCK TUESDAY CRAFTS/RECIPES! Get excited! If I feature you, I'll email you the code for the "I've been featured" button over there -------->
Now on to the fun part!!!

LINK UP YOUR $10 CRAFT OR RECIPE! Please play fair and copy the Ten Buck Tuesday button to your blog when you link up! The link-ups will be open until next Monday at 11:59pm (EST)!

I CAN'T WAIT to see what YOU are making this week!

Ten Buck Tuesday, Round 5!

2011-03-07T23:46:00.000-05:00

Oh craft fail.

Never let your twenty seven year old boyfriend near your projects, ever. Especially if they think it’s so neat and have to touch it. Or in my case, write on it with chalk before I’ve done enough coats. I tried to put one more coat over but I could still see his “Lucy and Lily suck” through it (he was being funny, I promise; he doesn't really think our lovely mutts suck). I’m sure I could’ve done more coats but I have little patience. So, I just trudged on the best I could with my simple craft.

Here’s the finished project.

And a few in progresses.

Supplies:
Wooden picture frame (from Michaels): $1
Chalkboard paint (on hand; I get mine at Lowes for $5)
Soap rose petals (from Dollar Tree): $0.50 (can someone please say Vday clearance?)
Glue gun (on hand)
Chalk (on hand)
TOTAL: $2-7 (thank goodness!)

Pretty pretty please share with me your craft successes this week! It will make me feel much better!

LINK UP YOUR $10 CRAFT OR RECIPE! Please play fair and copy the Ten Buck Tuesday button to your blog when you link up! The link-ups will be open until the following Monday at 11:59pm (EST)!

I CAN’T WAIT to see what YOU are making this week!

Tomorrow is Monday

2011-03-06T19:47:00.003-05:00

I love great weekends but am always sad to see them go. Tomorrow is my FIRST day at my new job and I feel like a little kid again! I’m starting at a local middle school as an instructional aid for math classes with students who need a little extra one on one time. I COULD NOT be more excited! I made the decision to go back to school after working for a real estate firm for a couple of years and am majoring in Middle School Education. This job is perfect and gets my foot in the door. I ~~probably~~ definitely won’t be able to sleep tonight.

I’m hammering down a name for my sewing machine this week and would love for you to vote on the side for your favorite name out of the bunch. Help me with my indecisiveness:

Darla
Big Boy
Bobbin’ Betsy (Bob for short)
Rosie

I have found my favorite stitch: the scallop! So much fun! What's your favorite stitch?

I finally updated my about me page. Here are some more random things about me:

1. I have permanent retainers

2. I have to have the fan on while sleeping

3. Our first pet Jaws, a 3 ½ yr old betta, died this past weekend and I cried, a lot

4. I wear a size 9 ½-10 size shoe and it’s so hard to find cute shoes

5. I walk pretty slowly; I know, everyone hates being behind the slow-poke!

6. When I find a song I like, I will listen to it on repeat and it drives T CRAZY

7. I can only whistle by sucking the air in

8. I was Cinderella in a county play when I was 10

9. I have only had one car: a camry named Elvis. Still going strong!

10. My eyesight is terrible and I can hardly ever wear contacts because they irritate my eyes (they turn RED within an hour) which means I can never wear sunglasses. I’m too scared to get the Lasik eye surgery because you’re AWAKE.

BLOG HOP!

"Inline Skating" is for the birds

2011-03-03T22:10:00.002-05:00

This is going to be a short and sweet post. Weight is not something I like to talk about. Maybe people who have 40 different bikinis or stretch wearing mini-skirts way too far into winter like to talk about their weight, but not I. This is all I'm going to say: I need to lose 60 lbs. Phew. Got that out of the way. :)

T and I recently joined a local gym to get our ~~beer bellies, flabby arms, tree trunk thighs, double chins, and~~ butt in shape. (Side note: we're not totally bonkers... because I have access to a local apt's 'gym', we tested ourselves by saying if we consistently go to work out at this 'gym' for 30 days, then we would invest in a gym. This 'gym' consisted of one bike and a treadmill that was constantly broken down so I was ready to move on to bigger and better things). So, we joined this gym because it's awesome (of course after T spent 2 weeks comparing pricing and benefits). My favorite part about this gym is that it has a dark movie theater room where they show current movies and they have rows of treadmills, ellipticals, bikes and stairmasters instead of chairs. LOVE it. Especially love that its dark and the whole world can't see my jiggly parts straining to keep up with my pace! The gym also has a women's only workout area accessed through the women's locker room. It has a ton of cardio and weight equiment too.

(Image courtesy of Google images)

We also purchased EA Sports Active (used) for our new Wii. Tonight was our first night of the 30 Day Challenge and let me tell you, it whipped my rear... holy squats and lunges! My quads and hamstrings want to slap me. And I don't even want to talk about the inline skating.

(Image courtesy of Google images)

Does anyone else do at home workouts via game system or dvd? What are some of your favorites?

Ten Buck Tuesday, Round 4!

2011-03-01T18:10:00.001-05:00

Hey y'all! My entire life I've spelt y'all like this: ya'll. I'm not sure why I chose to spell it that way but I found out today that it is actually spelt y'all. By the way, I posted this post this morning and it disappeared into internet land.

I have an awesome chalkboard picture frame that is 'in-process' that I will post later this week for my <$10 craft. One of the reasons I'm not finished with this bad boy is because.... get ready...

WE BOUGHT OUR Canon Rebel TODAY!!!

Woot! Thank you tax returns! :) I actually lucked out and got $3,700 in federal this year so we bought our dream camera (in preparation for our trip to Alaska in June!) and put the rest in savings like real adults... If I could've convinced T, I would have a brand new Silhouette too! A girl can dream, right?

We actually lucked out a lot this past weekend... something must be in the water... so drink up! On Friday night Taylor had his annual professional engineers banquet which is always themed 'Casino Night' and we ended up walking away with a brand new Kindle! Then Saturday we were talking to his 12 year-old cousin about wanting a Wii and he just so happened to have an EXTRA one. WE ARE SO VERY THANKFUL FOR THESE AMAZING GIFTS! The main reason we wanted a Wii is because we're starting this whole thing they call exercising (ew). We joined a local gym and have heard great things about EA Sports Active for Wii and they also have a cool Zumba game I want to get (I'm going to wait for a used one at Game Sports because paying $60 for games is out of control).

Anyway... ON TO THE FUN PART!

LINK UP YOUR $10 CRAFT OR RECIPE! Please post a link back to this original post or copy the Ten Buck Tuesday button to your blog post when you link up! The link-ups will be open until the following Monday at 11:59pm (EST)!

I CAN'T WAIT to see what YOU are making this week!

Ten Buck Tuesday, Week 3!

2011-02-22T11:55:00.000-05:00

Sorry ladies and gentlemen (are there any gentlemen reading?) about the week-long hiatus. It's been a little crazy in Young Nester land this past week!

Taylor’s oral qualifying exam for his Ph.D was on Tuesday (he PASSED!) so my ‘craft’ this week was for him! It’s pretty simple and I’ve seen this idea on the internet before. This craft cost me $10.60 and was the price of the 20 balloons filled with helium.

So, I sneakily pre-made these super simple phrases. I’m talking cheap, cheap, cheap since we were celebrating the rest of the week and weekend (which means spending money). I literally typed out 20 phrases I love about him or good luck phrases on Microsoft Word and printed them out on regular white paper. I also took some of my favorite photos of us and incorporated them into some of the phrases.

Then, to add a little color, I glued the phrases down to different colored cardstock (be careful of too heavy cardstock or it will be too heavy and weigh the balloons down to the floor).

On some, I took my handy-dandy pink permanent marker and highlighted some words.

I then hole-punched a little hole at the top of each piece of paper or photo and tied the phrases the balloon strings (these are all taken in our guest bedroom).

And wah-lah! When the sleeping giant went to bed (and was in dream land), I snuck in the room and let the balloons float all over the room (again, this is a test run in the guest bedroom).

Two side notes
1. Make sure the fan is off :)
2. Balloons are pretty loud, I carried mine in one by one so they wouldn’t hit each other and make their balloon sounds and wake up the sleeping giant.

He was definitely surprised! I also made him waffles and cut them into hearts because I’m a super nerd.

It’s super simple and a really great surprise for even the non-mushy types like mine! I’m glad he didn’t get up to pee in the middle of the night…

Now on to the fun part!

LINK UP YOUR $10 CRAFT OR RECIPE! Please post a link back to this original post or copy the Ten Buck Tuesday button to your blog post when you link up! The link-ups will be open until the following Monday at 11:59pm (EST)!

I can't WAIT to see what you're making this week!

Ten Buck Tuesday, Week 2 - Silk Flower Tutorial

2011-02-15T00:36:00.003-05:00

Wow! I can't even begin to thank all of my bloggin' friends for an amazing first turn-out for Ten Buck Tuesday! Are you ready to link up MORE?

This week I tackled burning silk to make flowers. Here goes nothing!

Supplies:
Silk (I bought a yard of black silk with polyester at Jo-Ann's fabric w/ a coupon) = $6
Scrapbooking brads (or beads or buttons or whatever) = $1
Flame (I used a large candle) = fire is free!
Magnet Strip = $1-2
TOTAL: $8-9

Are you excited yet?

.........

Start by cutting your silk into different sized circles like so:

As you can see, I just kind of winged it. No perfect circles in this house! I mean, I was about to burn the darn things... there was no way I was going to be tracing and cutting beautiful circles to BURN.

Then, hold over the flame. Pretty simple. Be sure to keep it moving over the flame and not to get it too close or it will melt your imperfect circles and this will be your outcome (prepare yourself):

This is why practice makes perfect. You don't want an Addams Family flower. You want a pretty, dainty flower.

Put it all together and this is what ya got!

And then, to avoid my sewing machine, I used an awesome little brad and poked it through one piece of silk at a time until they were all attached.

And this is what it looks like! I've seen people sew buttons and pearls and bears, oh my. It's whatever you like! Because this was my first (successful) flower, I decided to ~~avoid my sewing machine~~ keep it simple.

Just in case you were wondering, this is what the back looks like with the brad all the way through.

I then decided to hot glue a piece of magnet tape to the back to make it a... magnet. Since I have the rest of the yard to make these babies (I wish I had picked white or pink), I'll probably make some for head bands, beanies, hair pins, shirt pin-ons, pillow pin-ons, etc.

All finished just in time for Ten Buck Tuesday!

So, what do you think?

.........

Ok, ok, enough about silk flower amazing-ness and on to the fun part...

LINK UP YOUR $10 CRAFT OR RECIPE! Please post a link back to this original post or copy the Ten Buck Tuesday button to your blog post when you link up! The link-ups will be open until the following Monday at 11:59pm (EST)!

I can't wait to see what you all are making this week!

Featured Blogger: Suzanne at Just Another Hang Up

2011-02-14T14:10:00.000-05:00

Want to see something amazing?

Suzanne at Just Another Hang Up has graciously taken up an entire post to help newbies like myself be more motivated to take our sewing machines out of the box! Take a look at some of her projects; they're WONDERFUL! I hope one day to have her mad-sewing skills! The Gathering Fabric & Muslin Pillow Tutorial is my favorite (you can find a link on the right bar of her page)!

Suzanne - Thank you for being such a great blogging friend!

Mud and late Valentines = perfect Sunday

2011-02-13T18:16:00.000-05:00

Did you know that when it snows (don't think about Seal) and then it warms up, your backyard turns to a mushy wetland?

This was after our first wash (I forgot to take pictures of the real disaster)

Her paws are usually white. All white. A pretty white.

Tomorrow is Valentine's day and I'm just now finishing up my home-made cards (stay tuned for pics). Procrastination at it's finest!

Anyone doing anything fun for Valentine's day?

Ten Buck Tuesday!

2011-02-08T11:42:00.001-05:00

TEN BUCK TUESDAY IS FINALLY HERE! I could barely sleep last night hoping that my first link party goes over well!

I picked something extremely simple for my first craft so you can literally do this in your sleep (you probably wouldn't want to do the cutting part in your sleep though...)

I bought all of my supplies at Michaels:

5 small wooden letters - $0.49 each
1 scrapbook paper - $0.59
1 small canvas - $1.49
Mod podge - already had but I think it's about $5

GRAND TOTAL = $4.53 (without mod podge; with mod podge it would be $9.53)

When I say simple, I mean, I did it in about 10 minutes last night while watching the Bachelor and wondering why Michelle was still on the show. I'm going to start off slow just in case there's some first time crafters out there. I haven't decided whether I'm going to paint the canvas yet but this little baby will hang above my craft table that's still in the garage. I'm going to make some more that say "sew," "scrap" and "thrift" and maybe some other fun word.

I traced the letters onto the back of the scrapbook paper and cut them out.

Then I mod-podged the paper onto the letter.

I also mod-podged over the finished letter to give it a little umphh (spell check?)

You could also put it on a wooden plaque (they also sell those at Michaels)

But I opted for the canvas style. Like I said, I'm probably going to paint the canvas but I want to finish the other ones so I can really make a decision.

TA-DA! That was IT! I told you it was crazy simple... hopefully not too simple! I know there are some professional mod-podgers out there!

Now for the fun part...

LINK UP YOUR $10 CRAFT! Please post a link back to this original post or copy the Ten Buck Tuesday button to your blog post when you link up! The link-ups will be open until the following Monday at 11:59pm (EST)!

I can't wait to see what you all are making!

Smooth Criminal

2011-02-06T15:51:00.000-05:00

The criminal:

The crime:

The aftermath:

Happy Superbowl Sunday!

I don't think you're ready for this jelly...

2011-02-05T00:32:00.000-05:00

Um, or LINK PARTY! GET EXCITED!

Ten Buck Tuesdays will be debuting HERE on Tuesday, 2/8! Ten Buck Tuesdays will feature a craft by yours truly for under $10 (I’ll even include my receipt for you OCD types… like me). Then comes the fun part... you link up your craft for under $10 (technically I’m allowing up to $10.99, including tax). Are you excited yet? I went to Michaels today with my cool friend and we are ready for Ten Buck Tuesdays at YoungNester! Are you?

Grab a button, $10 and tell your friends!

Are you sure you’re ready? :)

Guess Who?

2011-02-01T19:26:00.000-05:00

No, really. Please guess. I need a name for my sewing machine who is....

NO LONGER IN THE BOX! :)

So what shall I name her/him? I haven't even decided if it's a male or a female yet.

Grab a drink, it's going to be a long one!

2011-01-30T20:50:00.004-05:00

"Shopping is my cardio." - Carrie, SATC

Notice the new name? After many suggestions, I've changed the blog name from Piece of the Pie to Young Nester! Please update your blog reader things and so ons :)

I did some small things around the house this weekend. But I was distracted…

...need I say more?

It's 50 degrees here in Kentucky which means the girls go crazy outside. Because the snow all melted this is what Lucy looked like yesterday:

Here's a closer look:

Eventually, I started on the desk I talked about last week with the muscle help of my friend, Sarah (I mean, how was I single-handedly going to get that sucker from upstairs in the office to the garage?). It’s a work in progress having never painted wood veneer before… quite interesting. Here's some in-progress photos. I still have to put on a couple of more coats and apply the scrapbook paper in the shelving and drawer. The white spray-painting did not turn out well so I took some sage green paint and painted over the top and painted the knee hole area brown and green. Trial and error, right?

I also took this old "yard-beer" glass that Taylor had thrown into the sale pile when cleaning the office and repurposed it as a large vase.

I'm constantly changing what we have on top of our hand me down entertainment center but here's what it looks like today...

Last to-do of the weekend was find a solution to T's collection of books in his "second office"... disgusting, I know. You try living with him. He is such a nerd and reads mostly textbooks (I don't know if I'm mentioned before he's working on his Ph.D in Civil Engineering) and cookbooks while he's... you know... On a weekly basis, I take the large pile of books out of the bathroom nook and BATHTUB (that's right ladies and gentlemen, when space runs low on the floor, he puts them in the bathtub). The solution was found at Marshall's for $10 and I love it (it had an original price tag of $29.99 but had some nicks on the back that put it in clearance)!

I'd show you the creepy piles of books behind this curtain but I'm scared you would turn me into the hoarding show.

Bless you if you're still reading this long post! I’ll leave on this note from a great blog post by one of my favorite home redesign and décor bloggers, Young House Love. Check out the before and after photos of their house and their <$4,000 DIY wedding. AMAZING.The thing that stuck out to me the most (hoping to cut down on my little (ha) shopping addiction):“Don’t buy anything on sale that you wouldn’t consider at full price.”

That’s a doozy! I love me a sale and I like to find creative ways to use things that I find on sale that I wouldn’t normally buy. But this is something I’m going to work on for the next year.

“There’s no such thing as saver’s remorse.”

Are any of you wonderful people on a budget? What are some of your tips/tricks and goals?

Sunday... picture tour!

2011-01-23T14:27:00.001-05:00

When you grow up, falling in love becomes more about finding someone whose strengths match your weaknesses, who you can spend Sunday evenings with, who you don't mind lying next to every night. -Unhitched

Isn’t that cute? I know... it’s not Sex and the City, but those quotes really don’t pertain to anything today. And it says Sunday and it’s a Sunday. so clever.

I am one of those people who got sucked into selling Mary Kay. But not only did I get sucked in, I bought too much inventory and of course, did not sell it all before my schedule didn’t allow me to host these “awesome” Mary Kay parties anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love the products, but man, there are a lot of other things I could have done with that money that involved the outcome of sitting in the closet. To make room for things I actually like multiples of, I have resorted to selling everything at 50% off (what I paid for it) on Craigslist. It’s working pretty well – turns out, lots of women love Mary Kay (like me)… they just wait for people (like me) who get too much inventory and want out. There’s even a site dedicated to people getting sucked into Mary Kay. It's actually a pretty entertaining website if you have some free time.

On to more exciting things… here’s a picture tour of my craft supplies and some things I found in Hobby Lobby yesterday. Get excited.

Here’s a desperately needed scrapbook page holder – bought with a 50% off coupon so it was only $4.

And some more scrapbook paper on clearance for 6/$1:

I’m going to paint these letters and glue them to a painted canvas and hang it somewhere. I haven’t decided where yet.

Fabric – can’t wait for Laura to show me how to use my sewing machine since threading that stupid thing is ridiculous without a manual.

Craft magnets – need I say more?

I really love these beads. I think I’m going to make a bracelet sometime this week.

A Christmas gift from Taylor’s parents – I had went shopping with his mom on Black Friday and was going to get this at Hobby Lobby but since my debit card was already melting, I put it back. She secretly went back and got it and gave it to me for Christmas! AWESOME. I’m going to hang it in the kitchen where we come in from the garage.

On a gross side note (skip to the next picture if you don't like dirty socks), I went to went to wash the sheets and pulled out all these socks from under the covers! I just washed these sheets last Sunday… I have a terrible habit of going to bed with socks on and sliding them off in the middle of the night. And they say the dryer steals socks...

Here’s the closet where I store my craft and Mary Kay items. It’s a tad messy!

I have a sick problem with ribbons and stamps:

This is the old desk that I want to turn into my crafting/sewing table. I plan on (trying) to paint it white and maybe covering the top in a pretty fabric. However, it’s not real wood; it’s that slick stuff so I’m not sure if it’ll work? What do you think?

I’ve also been contemplating whether or not to upcycle this with paint and fun-ness or Goodwill it. What do you think? What could I do with it?

I’m begging EVERYONE to comment with your ideas on the last two pieces!

Where do I start?

2011-01-22T16:34:00.000-05:00

"Sometimes you gotta quit thinking so much. If it feels right, it probably is. So just go with it." - SATC

I discovered the clearance section of Hobby Lobby today. Don't worry, I won't go into the crazy picture tour of my purchases. Let's just say my debit card is still smoking.

I want one of these:

It's a Silhouette SD and they're amazing. But until I get my sewing machine out of the box, I will not buy one. (That didn't stop me from entering into a dozen give aways for one on my favorite craft blogs). :)

I’m upset that Medium is ending their season early and that it will be gone forever; we really enjoyed the show over all these years and are sad to see it go. Any other Medium fans out there (or are we the only ones… hence early series finale)?

I have so many ideas that I want to turn into REAL TANGIBLE THINGS. Every time I walk into a room that needs to be organized, or look at my sewing machine (still in the box) or look at my scrapbooking supplies, I become OVERWHELMED. Where do I start?

A Michaels Shopping Spree Picture Tour

2011-01-16T17:21:00.001-05:00

"I like my money right where I can see it: hanging in my closet." - Carrie, SATC

I also like my money where I can see it, Carrie: in my craft closet (today at least). I should not be allowed in Michaels. My bank account cannot handle it. In lieu of a lengthy word post about what I bought, I’m going to take you on a picture tour. : )

Scrapping paper - need I say more? Huge sale; they were all on sale for 29 cents each!

I love these recipe cards. Only $1 each

Cupcake/cookie design cutout things...

Love me some $1 magnets.

These are little wooden cutouts of santa and snowmen heads; on sale for 5 cents each! I'm planning on painting these and possible using them as "to, from" tags for Christmas next year. What do you think?

The next four pictures are scrapbooking stickers.

A hot glue gun; I don't own one so this was an obvious buy on sale for $5 :) What do you do with your hot glue gun?

A gift card carrying case :)

Ribbons all on sale!

50 cent stamps!

Yarn for my knitting

White spray paint. I suppose I'll do something fun with this. Any ideas?

All together now:

It's a lovely thing... don't tell T.

I have a problem

2011-01-15T13:40:00.000-05:00

"We all judge. That's our hobby. Some people do arts and crafts; we judge." - Stanford, SATC

This is the closest I could come to finding a SATC quote about crafts.

I am addicted to all things crafts. I went to a craft store this week to get a bunch of scrap fabric to practice with on my sewing machine (granted I haven’t taken it out of the box since my mom dropped it off 2 weeks ago). It’s just so intimidating. I got a Singer for Christmas from my grandparents about five (5, cinco, etc) years ago and I put it together that night with my grandmother and that was the extent of that gift. But now that I’m older and see all the cool things you can do with said machine, I am determined to become a sewing master.

There he is in all his glory, in the box. I didn’t move to take this picture. Sad, but then again, it is Saturday.

I also didn’t move to take these pictures (I'll go ahead and point out the dust on the vent so we can get that out of the way. Now ignore it, please) :) :

As you can see, Lucy is all up in my business.

So, who sews out there? I hear that threading the bobber is the hardest part. Any tips? Any good websites for how-to instructions?

Now T and I are going to clean out our office which hasn’t been used since we moved in a year ago. I’ll post before and after pictures when I have the after complete. :) We bought a new desk that is in a box in the garage and we’ve already picked out our book shelves in the Ikea magazine we just got (see machine picture, on the tray on top of the photo album).

Oh and just because I’m in a picture mood… I introduce to you (drumroll please)…. T. This was taken while I was putting up Christmas decorations and he was… not.

Is it Friday yet?

2011-01-10T13:59:00.001-05:00

"Let's be honest. Sometimes there is nothing harder in life than being happy for somebody else." - SATC

Well, classes start back today for this non-traditional student. T and I made the decision for me to cut back to 30 hours a week at work so as of tomorrow I am a part-timer and losing 32 hours of vacation time (I took a vacation day today because…. why not?).

This weekend was nice. Saturday, T had his firm’s annual banquet which is always… entertaining. Four years ago they had an open bar and let’s just say they haven’t done that again since. We get two drink tickets now. :) Two of his coworkers’ wives are pregnant and were drinking shirley temples while I chugged my wine. I felt bad for drinking in front of them but atleast they had pretty drinks too and not just water. :)

Afterwards, we met up at the Penguin bar downtown to celebrate WithanS ‘s birthday. It was a blast! I had never been to a dueling piano bar before and they are just so much fun. It kind of doubled as a karaoke bar (for me at least) because I sang (or yelled) all of the songs along with them. And I won’t get into this much but resolution #9 is already looking good for 2011!

On a side note, I recently fell in love with the Nester. Why haven’t I seen her blog before? She’s very creative and thrifty to boot.

On a double side note, my neighbor just rang my doorbell (I thought it was the UPS man because this is the time of day he always comes). I think I frightened him with my no-makeup, no-bra, crazy-hair, un-showered look. I wouldn’t have answered if I had a peephole.

Resolutions of 2011

2011-01-04T20:21:00.002-05:00

“When you're young, your whole life is about the pursuit of fun. Then, you grow up and learn to be cautious. You could break a bone or a heart. You look before you leap and sometimes you don't leap at all because there's not always someone there to catch you. And in life, there's no safety net. When did it stop being fun and start being scary?” – Sex and the City

Looking through old pictures today and reminiscing of times right after graduating high school, I had a reoccurring thought: “I can’t believe I did that!” It’s sad that the risks I take these days are whether or not to dry my hair when it’s raining outside or rather route A or route B would be fastest during rush hour. I have settled into the everyday life of work, coming home exhausted, cooking and eating dinner, watching our dvr’d programs and then hitting the hay. I’m hoping 2011 will bring some spunk back into my routine. I do hate being bored! :)

So, here are my ridiculous resolutions for 2011 (some cliché, some nearly impossibly, but hey, what are resolutions for? As long as I’m successful with at least one, I’ll feel like I’ve accomplished something):

1. Obviously lose weight and adopt a healthier lifestyle
2. Set and stick to budget for T and myself
3. Go to Alaska
4. Get engaged (that’s right I said it)
5. Earn good grades this year
6. Landscape our yard
7. Move into our house and adopt cleaning schedule
8. Learn to sew on my machine
9. Get closer to T and do more fun things (ie: do not sit on couch every night)
10. BLOG MORE

More to come on adopting a healthier lifestyle, budgeting, getting engaged, landscaping, moving in (after a year), learning to sew (and knit) and T and I's adventures.