Creating

I've always loved creating things or like Lucas likes to call it "just making up new things to do." I get the crafting gene from my momma. When we were little Big Martha would hand make all the invitations to our wedding sized joint birthday parties every year, and for my 5th birthday she even made these amaze centerpieces out of the brown cardboard cylinders left over when you finish a roll of toilet paper...I remember not being able to throw away the cylinder thing when it was time for a new roll of toilet paper for like 6 months of my life while we collected enough. I mean seriously who thinks of using that to make centerpieces for a child's birthday party and actually thinking they are going to look good? Big Martha. And they did look totally fab.

In college I would go to my fav antique store in Waco (Bloom and Bee Swanky) and do things like buy an old window screen, add some wiring, and use clothespins to hang pictures on it...because a simple frame was just way too boring to capture all the fun we were having in college. Then I had a phase where I made bows using my Bowdabra...kidd you not it was named the Bowdabra and I love that little thing. I made bows for all our friends and for all events including football games and rush. I used all types of ribbon and my fav part of it all was topping them off with all sorts of cute buttons because lets be honest there is no better use for that extra Juicy button that came with you're coat that you're never going to use than for an adorb bow. It's been a while since I've made bows but I know I'll be that mom that makes GIANT bows for my little girl one day so until then the Bowdabra will prob be collecting dust in my craft box for a while unless anybody wants a bow...just HOLLA!

Kendall & I sporting our St. Patty's day bows made by me...I went through some old pics to find this and I realized we all wore lots of bows in college...we LOVED bows!

Whether it be decorating, crafting for myself or friends, or throwing a party...I love love love coming up with something, working on putting it together, and then seeing the final outcome. There is something about visualizing a concept and seeing it come to fruition that is very satisfying. When I've had a bad day, or I'm stressed about law school or life in general crafting is actually extremely soothing because it kind of acts like an outlet for my stress...something about working with your hands to make something is really calming. Of course, I don't have to be in a bad mood alone to craft...I've been blessed with the ideal crafting weather these past two rainy Sundays. My Sunday yesterday consisted of painting in sweats, eating Chinese food, and watching a movie...seriously one of my ideal days. The best thing about crafting these days is all the inspiration from Pinterest, Etsy, and all these precious blogs I follow (Help I need a blog intervention....for real). I almost don't know what I did before Pinterest, Etsy, and blogs...all these sites make me want to be Betty Crocker, an event planner, and the best home maker ever all at the same time. I usually don't have the time I would like to craft during the school year except for the summer time and Lord am I getting my craft on this summer since it is essentially my last "free" summer since next summer I'll be studying for the Bar and the summer after that I'll be a full time working woman! Ever since I got done with my intense two classes, working at the law clinic, and turning in my rig. writing paper on July 3rd I've been a busy bee enjoying my freedom.

I got the idea to use vintage stamps, washi tape, twine, and craft paper envelopes for my mail from this cute little blog www.fairytalesaretrue.com The girl is a wedding planner, has the cutest little boy, lived in Europe with her husband after they got married, and I want to be her friend. But the biggest reason I love her blog is because she lives in Florida and isn't the bright colored walls with fish all over the place kind of Florida gal, but seems to be totally chic so in a weird way makes me feel like there is hope and that life in Florida won't be that big of a culture shock for me when we move there next summer for Lucas to start med school. Kinda crazy I know but it's comforting to know I can make our life in Florida fab not drab. And now I can use this cute idea to send all our friends back in Texas next year snail mail because who doesn't love snail mail, especially when it comes in a cute package?!

I got the idea to make a permanent flower arrangement from www.thepinkpeonies.com after I was spending a fortune at the grocery store every week getting fresh flowers. Don't get me wrong I love me some fresh flowers but it can get pricey so I decided to head down to Michael's to buy me some craft water, a vase, and the best looking faux hydrangeas I could find and make this lovely little piece. I was shockingly surprised at how finicky craft water is to work with...you have to boil to make the gel soft and then pour it carefully...needless to say I kinda made a mess so be careful when using it but I think it turned out great and its the perfect little addition to our new china cabinet in our dinning room. Shout out to Artie and Bets for the legit Alexander McQueen coffee table book I got for my birthday...thanks again stringbeans!

The yarn wreath. We've all seen it a million times on Pinterest and have always said I am going to make one some day. I really wanted to make my own 4th of July wreath for the holiday but with the craziness of wrapping up summer school I just didn't have time so I caved and ordered one on Etsy (I need an Etsy intervention...the peeps over there are offish making a fortune off of me). When I got the wreath it was totally adorbs but I knew I could make one myself so given the time I set out to make one for myself last week. These wreaths are so easy to make except for the fact that wrapping the yarn around the wreath literally can take about 2-3 hours, but besides that its just a little hot glue and some felt flowers from Michael's! Be careful though the foam wreath you cover is really fragile...I learned my lesson when I was hot gluing the burlap to hang it on the door hook and dropped it, which resulted in my wreath breaking in half in two places...luckily after I collected myself from the near meltdown because of the 3 hours I had just spent wrapping yarn around the thing I hot glued it back together and you can't even tell.

I loved mine so much I even made one for Lis for her birthday! Something about a cute gift that is handmade by a friend with lots of love that is really endearing, at least it is to me. Giving is my love language so combine that with crafting and I am in heaven...its like making a meal and watching the person you made it for enjoy every bite...makes me happy happy!

This little number came from the brains of my brother-in-law's girlfriend Margot. I saw that she had made a few of these in all different colors and loved them! She is so talented and mine is nowhere near as good as hers but I still think it looks pretty legit. My sister, cousin, and I made this for Daniella's apartment while we were all in McAllen this past week! I want to make one for myself except that I have no wall space left in my house...unless I can convince Lucas that we need to take down his trophy fish in the guest bedroom and replace with one of these I think I am out of luck.

The faux Prada Marfa store is so unique and I would to go visit Marfa in person some day because it just seems like the most quirky little town, but idk when I will be making a trip out west so until then my Prada Marfa printable will do. I've seen Prada Marfa canvases for sale for up to $500, and I proudly made mine for $0. Granted I had all the supplies already at home but even then I think you could make this for $15. All it took was some gold spray paint which is always handy to keep a can of at home because let's be honest you could use gold spray paint for like a million things, an old cheapy white frame, and a free printable online. Done and done. Hello closet art!

Thank you Pinterest for our cute and affordable patio furniture! It summer and we wanted to spend the evenings enjoying a cold glass of white wine outside while grilling out our dinner with the dogs but we didn't want to spend a lot on outdoor furniture since we are moving to Florida and don't know exactly where we will be living so this was a great alternative! Literally a whiskey barrel from Lowe's for $30. I used a glass top to one of my old IKEA tables from college with some stickys to make sure its secure onto the whiskey barrel but I'm pretty sure they sell the glass tops at Bed, Bath, and Beyond for like $10 (or so I've heard). Add a citronella candle and some $15 chairs from Lowe's plus an umbrella and pillows from the oh so wonderful Target and voila! And in the winter we can just pull up our little Target fire pit in front of it and drink some spiked hot chocolate instead of white wine...perf!

For the longest time I was weary of Pinterest recipes but once I got started I couldn't stop trying new things since everything I had made turned out pretty delish! I made this banana pudding trifle on Friday and I've slowly been eating it all by myself...HELP! I am literally thinking of throwing some out or giving some away since its so much and I know I'll eventually eat it all but its just soooo good I can't make myself throw some away. Lucas isn't a huge pudding person so he obvi hasn't helped with devouring this and I unfortunately have a banana pudding obsession so this isn't looking great for me although I did try to make it healthier by using fat free milk, fat free nilla wafers, and fat free cool whip. nom nom.

I think my favorite Pinterest recipe so far has been Chia pudding! I literally make it weekly since I discovered it and I'm obsessed. I eat it for breakfast, as a snack, or for dessert after dinner in order to satisfy my sweet tooth. Not only is it delish but its good for you too...Chia has plenty of Omega-3 and since I don't eat salmon this is my source! The one in the picture is vanilla flavored but my favorite is hands down the green tea flavored one using green tea powder which I also use to make green tea lattes!

I got the recipe for this delish green tea latte from www.peaceloveshea.com I don't really like the entire blog but the food section has some really good recipes that are all healthy since this chick is a model in LA. For the green tea powder I like the Rishi Sweet Matcha since it's a little sweet and not as bitter so if you've never been a green tea drinker this is a good way to go. I've tried a couple of the recipes from this girl's blog including the skinny strawberry shortcake (delish), asparagus soup (also delish), skinny pancakes (not so good), and the cauliflower mashed "potatoes" (amazing). Warning if you don't like greek yogurt you might not like her recipes since she uses greek yogurt as a replacement for like absolutely everything in order to make it skinny but if you love greek yogurt like I do then this is right up your alley!

                                                             Delish Mashed Cauliflower!

 

I'm all about the free printables! So cute for holidays or parties and just puts the finishing touch on your décor! Most of the holiday ones I've gotten from Pinterest with the exception of the Super Bowl banner which I purchased the design from Etsy and then downloaded onto my computer, printed it, cut out the flags, and then strung them onto a piece of twine! Perfect for any occasion!

And last but not least I just purchased one of these giant balloons with lovely tassel in a different color from Etsy on a whim. Why? I have no clue but I think its the cutest thing ever! I have no where to use it so maybe I should plan a party just to have this adorable giant balloon on display or maybe I should save it for our Christmas card pictures....tres chic? I think so. The possibilities are endless so we will have to wait and see what I come up with to use this little gem for!

Hope everyone has a little spare time this summer to get you craft on, try new recipes, or get creative...seriously so fun, relaxing, and entertaining all at the same time! Michael's literally will almost always give you a 40% off coupon when you purchase something for your next visit so you get some great deals...its like cat nip and its definitely working on me because I'm always going back for more! Next on the list finding a way to organize all my craft supplies...

Sending Creative juju everyone's way!
XOXO