Friday, July 15, 2011

Pushing the Boundary......!!!

I've decided to step out of my comfort zone for a little bit!!  Get ready!!.....I am teaching myself to CROCHET!!  Now I know what you may be thinking...."that's so granny", or what will you do with that...."make a quilt"??   My response to both of those thoughts are...so what if it's granny! haha.....and NOOO...i'm not gonna sit around and just make quilts!!  Let's look at all of the possibilities.......



This picture pretty much sold me on the idea of mastering this skill!




And then there was this picture!!  I must learn how to crochet before I decide to have another baby!!  :)




Or, I could make decorative baskets!!  I have plenty of places in my house that could use stylish storage!!




I could use crocheting for gifts or favors!!



Or, to make a big 'ol comfy stool!




Now, if I get really good at it, maybe I could attempt something like this.....



So now that I am fully inspired....let's step down into reality for a moment!!  :)  Currently this is where I am.....


This is my "I taught myself how to crochet" book!!  I have made it through the entire thing, learned all of the basic stitches, but now have NO CLUE how to read a pattern!!  That's my next challenge before attempting the above beauties!!  hahhha.....I obviously have a long way to go....but that's okay!!  At least I have a goal!!  


Is anyone else stepping outside of their comfort zone to learn a new skill....I like to know i'm not alone! hhaha



Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Need inspiration.....?

Sitting at work today, looking through my notebook, seeing the ba-zillion sticky notes on my desk, I came to the realization that I am obsessed with quotes!!  Or maybe I should say quotes/thoughts/inspirational sayings....You get the point.....Without even realizing it, I seem to jot down anything that has even the slightest inspirational meaning!  Some are uplifting, some a spiritual, some are creative.  Some come from magazines, websites, or mostly Pinterest!!  So, with this sudden random realization....I have decided to share a few of my fav's with you.....

Isn't this the truth!!




This just makes me smile!




I should really work on this!!




hmmmm....Something to think about!!





I read this quote every morning to put my life in perspective!!





It took me a llooonnggg time to realize this!!





Couldn't have said it better myself!!





Nothing but Truth!!





Everyone loves to hear this!!









Exactly!!!  Mine is constantly cluttered with ideas!!  :)





Believe in yourself!!










This just makes me giggle!




Getting out of my comfort zone scares me!!  :)





By far, my favorite quote!








This is what we should all live by!!





Perfect way to sum it all up!! :)


Do you have a favorite quote/thought/inspirational saying??


Monday, July 11, 2011

Doggy Love

Here is just a little something to make you smile on this Monday morning!!


This is Julia at 8 months old, and our neighbor's dog Gus!....He is a Bullmastiff, and he is two!   They were best friends from day one!

I hope everyone has a great start to the week!!  :)



Thursday, July 7, 2011

Serious Cuteness....Round Two!!

Last month I created a super cute Decoupage Art for Julia's nusery.  It was an Owl sitting on a Turtle sitting on an Elephant....remember?  If not, go here!  After posting the tutorial I had such great feedback!  Thank you to everyone!!  Since then, my friend Angie has asked me to do a little something similar for her twin girls room!  She is converting the room from a "baby" room to a "big girl toddler" room!  So of course, I was super excited to start on this project!!  I have assembled a great step by step picture tutorial for you!!  Be Prepared!!  I have LOTS of pictures to share!!!...Here we go!!!

Step ONE:   Find your inspiration!!!.....this is a curtain panel that hangs in the girls room!  Talk about bold color!!  I LOVE IT!!!!





Step TWO:  Make a Plan!!  Ok, so now that I know the color palate to work with I need to come up with the design...Angie's only suggestions were to make the art big, with lots of color, possible using flowers.....sooo with that info, i started sketching......this is what my brain came up with.....
(I wanted the flower to look over-sized, and I like how the big one goes off the page)


Random Side note:  I wanted  this art to be slightly different than the animal art I previously did....I am stepping outside my comfort zone here.....I have decided to "try" a 3D decoupage piece of art!  I am envisioning textures and movement (not just flat pieces of paper glued on top of each other)....not sure how it will turn out, but I say lets give it a try!!

Step THREE:  Buy your supplies!!  You will need:
A piece of wood (mine was cut to a 30x30 size)
Wood Primer
Decorative scrapbook paper
Modpodge
Scissors


Step FOUR:  Take your piece of wood and spray one side of it with the wood primer.  You may be wondering why I am using wood instead of canvas for my base.....Well.....When I did the animal art for Julia, I had a hard time getting the modpodge to stick to the canvas because of the seal that was already on there....soo I'm experimenting with wood!



Step FIVE:  Choose your background paper, start ripping it up, and Modpodge it down.....Remember to take your time, glue down each piece, then put a layer on top to seal it!


This is what it should look like when you finish.....
By ripping up the paper before Modpodging it down, it creates so much texture!!



Step SIX:  Start cutting your scrapbook paper into shapes.  You will need a different piece of paper for each element...for example, you need one piece for the flower stem, one piece for the petal, one piece for the leaf, etc..... So, cut your pieces out and lay them on top of your board to get an idea where they will be glued.....
...you get the idea....



Step SEVEN:  The most important step.....POUR A LARGE GLASS OF WINE!!!......get ready!! we will be here for a little while!  You will need patience, and you will need a wet rag to wipe off your oh-so-sticky fingers from all the modpodge lovin!!  :)
mmmm....I can taste it now!!



Step EIGHT:  Start gluing your pieces down.  Again....use the same technique as step five!



Step NINE:  This is where the fun begins!!  Do you remember when I was talking about textures and movement....Well we are going to attempt that with the flower!!  In my head, I see the petals coming off the board...like 3D...so to achieve this look, I will fold each individual petal in multiple spots.
So far so good......



Step TEN:  Now for the Challenge!!  We need to glue each folded piece down, while still being able to get the 3D look....here we go!!  Put a layer of modpodge on the bottom of each piece, then a layer on top and hold it down, with a finger in between each fold....hold it for a few seconds until it sticks!  Don't worry if you have globs of glue in certain areas....the beauty of modpodge is that is dries clear!!
This is where the patience is needed....and maybe a refill on your wine!!  :)


So after a couple of hours....(YES, you heard me right).....of gluing you will have a masterpiece that looks like this!......
I thought it turned out pretty fantastic!!!
If you are wondering about the cost...it was actually REALLY cheap!!  
Board = $7
Primer = $3
ModPodge = $9 (I got the big boy)
Paper = $10  (I got the pack of assorted paper 1/2 off at Hobby Lobby)
All the other supplies I had.....


Here are the Details........

I think the 3D effect turned out pretty cool!!!



This is a better angle!  The petals curved beautifully!!



For the center of the flower....I first made "tabs" with my green paper to give the flower another layer of color.  This was easy, you just fold the tabs then only glue the bottom part down!  I then used a few buttons for the center!  (you know me...I always like to add in a little something extra!!)



For the small flower, i used the same technique as the large pink one...i just reversed the order!  I made tabs with the blue paper for the outer layer, then folded the purple paper for the inner layer of the flower....Then I again used buttons for the very center!



You can really see the 3D effect from this angle....




One more "additional" texture that I added.....I used a piece of twine to "outline" the stems....I thought this gave it another dimension!  Then as you can see, i cut out little flowers to make polk-a-dots around the whole board....



And there you have it!!!  A 3D decoupaged art!!!  

I actually did two other coordinating pieces to go with this......however I will save those for a rainy day when I have creative block!!!....hahah..(EVIL LAUGH)

Until then....who is going to attempt this fabulous decoupage technique!!!  :)


P.S....to see the parties I am linking to go HERE!


Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Sweet Heat Goodness!!

It's pretty much mandatory in our family to cook out for the 4th!!  For the most part we usually have the standard...hot dogs, hamburgers, and baked bean type of meal....and don't get me wrong.....I LOVEE all of those foods, however this year we decided to change it up a little bit....we added a little extra goodness to our plate !!  Sweet Heat Shrimp!!.....and ohhhh how sweet it is!!!!  If you taste one, you will find yourself NEEDING more and more and more!!....get ready for the addiction!!!  It's a good one to have!!!




Step ONE:  Buy fresh or frozen shrimp.  We went the easy route and bought pre-cooked frozen shrimp!  Thaw them out, and skewer them up!!  We only had four skewers so as you can see we packed those bad boys as close together as we could!!!  Lightly salt and pepper them......




Step TWO:  Next create the special sauce!!  Daddy K and I just made this up as we went....I have no proportions for you (sorry)  We simply kept adding ingredients until it tasted good!! (That's usually how we roll in the kitchen!!)  We mixed together.....Olive Oil, Butter, Frank's Sweet Heat Pepper Sauce, Honey, and Garlic Powder......





Step THREE:  Throw your skewers onto to grill!  Shrimp does not need long to cook, so you need to work fast!!  Take your grill brush, and evenly coat the shrimp with our special sweet heat sauce!!




Step FOUR:  Flip the shrimp then repeat the glazing process!!  After each skewer is coated well, they should be ready to come off of the grill!  


And that is it!!  So simple, yet so satisfying!!!  To recap....here is our ingredient list......

Olive Oil
Butter
Frank's Sweet Heat Pepper Sauce
Honey
Garlic Powder
Sea Salt
Black Pepper
Fresh or Frozen Shrimp


Did you cook anything special for the 4th??


P.S..... To see the parties I am linking to go HERE



Monday, July 4, 2011

Happy 4th!!

I hope everyone is having a Happy 4th!!  Thanks to Pinterest....Here are a few beautiful patriotic pictures for the day!!  Enjoy!!!