Wordless Wednesday--The New Wreath I Made

Top Ten Tuesday--Happiness Is...

This week's Shabby Blogs TTT's theme is "Happiness is..."

1. Happiness is my husband.

2. Happiness is my pug, Petey and Cinnamon, my doxie-beagle.

3. Happiness is knowing God has a plan for me even when it seems like there's no hope.

4. Happiness is having clean water to drink, food in my pantry, and clothes on my back.

5. Happiness is Spotify. (Seriously. Check it out!)

6. Happiness is being content no matter my circumstances.

7. Happiness is baby thigh rolls, bellies, double chins, and elbow dimples.

8. Happiness is arts and crafts. (Check out tomorrow to see the new wreath I made!)

9. Happiness is my family, near and far.

10. Happiness is grace found only through my Lord and savior, Jesus Christ!

12 Days of Christmas--Day 2--Crafts

Today is the SECOND day of the 12 Days of Christmas here at Angela's Favorite Things! Today's topic is Crafts. Anything fairly simple (or overtly complex) will do! I am a huge fan of arts and crafts! Here are some that I look forward to making!

1. Snowman Family Diorama (Dollar Tree Supplies!)

2. Fingerprint Family Tree (could be fun to make an evergreen tree, too!)

3. Kid-Friendly Christmas Tree (inexpensive, too!)

4. Monogrammed Ornament (super quick craft!)

5. 100 Holiday Crafts (seriously!!)

Do you have any crafts to share today? Be sure to link back to this post and leave a comment letting me know that you did! I'd love to check out the crafts you posted!


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Please click HERE to see the daily topic list of the 12 Days of Christmas at Angela's Favorite Things!

If you could take 2 seconds and give this a click, it would mean so much to me! Thank you!!

What Are You Into Right Now? Part 2

If you saw my Tuesday post, you'll know that currently, I am super into wreaths. (Along with everyone in the Pinterest world.) You'll also know that I've been faced with a dilemma of on which door my wreath (that I haven't even made yet) will hang. My solution was that the wreath that I will make (soon...I promise) will hang on the back door so that there's a warm invitation to come into my home. However, I also alluded that I have a solution for my front door without being overly wreathy. Here was my hint:

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"How is this non-wreathy?" you might ask. Well...it's not non-wreathy. It's definitely a wreath. HOWEVER, did you notice the cute polka dotted H on there, too? Oh. You did? Good job! Yes, you guessed it! I am going to hang a monogram/initial "wreath" on the front door!

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If you read my latest favorite things post, you read that I love monograms. What's better than monogramming your house??? :-D I'm not sure which kind of monogram wreath I'm going to do, yet. Heck, I don't even know what kind of wreath I'm doing yet! However, I think my monogram wreath is going to be polka dots and the back door wreath is going to be a yarn wrapped wreath...possibly with the owl!

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As much as I like the frame and fabric wrapped with buttons monogram wreaths, I just don't know if I want to actually hang them on the front door. I could totally see the button one hanging in my living room or a nursery, but I don't feel like it's a front door sort of wreath for the Bailey household! My husband would totally be in to the monogram wreath seen below! (Roll tide!! For the hubs, of course!)

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Have any of my readers made their own wreath? Do you have any pictures? I'd LOVE to see! Anyone making plans to make their own wreath soon? Any wreath lovers out there? I'd love to hear what you think! Please feel free to share in the comments below! <3

If you could take 2 seconds and give this a click, it would mean so much to me! Thank you!!

What Are You Into Right Now?

What are you into right now? It seems like I, and the rest of the world (read: Pinterest) are into wreaths right now. I, personally, am into yarn wrapped wreaths with felt flowers or holiday/season specific decorations on them. I'm the girl who growing up thought it was always time for some themed decor. If I had the funds, I would decorate my house with rotating holiday/seasonal decor. Baby steps, I guess. My mom always reminds me that it's taken her 26 years to accumulate all of the decorations that she has, so I can't expect to have that many when I'm not even 2 years into my marriage! I know she makes sense, but I want to have it all, and I want it now, dang it! ;-)

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I have this internal (and now external since I'm sharing it with you) dilemma though. WHERE do I hang the wreath? "The front door!" you may say...with an added "duh!" Well, while that may be the logical explanation...we don't use the front door. The main entrance to our home is the back door. The driveway pulls to the back door. There is no path to the front door from the driveway, and the front door is on a main road.

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Now, you may be saying, "It's obvious to hang the wreath on the back door since that's where people come in!" You may have even added ANOTHER "Duh!" to this thought also! WELL, while that may ALSO seem like the logical explanation, my problem with it is that no one will see it UNLESS they come to the door or into the house. You can't see our back door from the street that our driveway is off of due to a tree blocking it.

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So what's my solution?? I think I will probably put my wreath on the back door. I want people to be able to see it when they come to my home. I want them to feel warmly welcomed. I want to show off my wreath-making skills! ;-) I do have a solution for the front door, too, without being over-wreathed or too wreath-heavy, though. Check back Thursday for my solution! Here's a hint to tide you over though...

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Any ideas of what's going on my front door? :-D

If you could take 2 seconds and give this a click, it would mean so much to me! Thank you!!

Call Me Crazy...

I am obsessed with beautiful fabrics. Yep. It's true. I LOVE sewing, crafting, graphic designing, etc. My sister, Kristin, is the visual artist/sewer. I am the crafter/sewer. Our sister, Hannah (16) is really into her wire-bending jewelry-making as well as sketching. We're all a bit artsy fartsy, but in different ways. The hubs is into photography, but that about covers it as far as visual/creative arts go. He plays guitar/bass/drum/ukulele/banjulele (yes that is real) but that's a whole other topic.

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Oh Pinterest...you've done it again. I found this on there today while I was perusing (read: scouring) other people's pins. I literally LOLed at it. It fits Vance and I so much! The hubs is a computer programmer/customer service/I'm not exactly sure what he does because when he starts speaking code my brains start leaking out my ears. As I said above, I am crafty. I am a card-making, jewelry-producing, scrap-booking, sewing fiend, and I am PROUD of it. (You only wish you were as cool as we.)

Anyway...my latest project that I've decided to take on (read: haven't started yet...or gotten past the dreaming stage yet) is making a quilt. I admit, I am scared. I have wanted to make a quilt for sooo long, but I am scared of spending so much on fabric to make a quilt and then somehow screwing it up beyond repair. There's a quilting group that meets at church once a month, but I HATE going places by myself, even though I know a few of the ladies there. It also meets during the evening hours that I spend with the hubs. (Why yes we are attached at the hip thankyouverymuch.)

SO! Now that I've decided to make a quilt...which do I make? How much fabric do I need? What kind of batting? Do I have to free hand the quilting or can it be simpler? Do I need binding? Should I make a block quilt or something with sashing? What is sashing anyway? Yeah. my brain is still whirling just thinking about all of those things. Well, as luck would have it, my friend, Jenn, posted an easy beginner's quilt with step-by-step directions on one of her Pinterest boards the VERY DAY I decided I wanted to make a quilt.

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As I read through the instructions, it seemed like I could do it! HOORAY! The instructions are really simple to understand AND if something is confusing, SEVERAL people are available to help you! Dream come true for those of us who have no quilting experience and no family members who seem to have a clue (except maybe my grandma, but she has more experience sewing/making clothes.)

Are any of you looking to take on a new sewing project? Anyone care to join me in this adventure?

I am DETERMINED to see this project through. Here's hoping it happens before Christmas! ;-)

Calling All Crafty People

As most of you are probably aware of, tornadoes have been dropping down on unsuspecting southern cities and destroying a lot of people's homes, cars, land, etc. Tuscaloosa, AL looks like a bomb went off and blew up the city. Many people are without most of their personal belongings. Some people lost nothing. Some people lost somethings. Some people lost everything. Just like after Huricane Katrina, Americans are responding to the urge to help. One of these said people is my friend, Jenn Clark. God has placed a special idea on her heart. She feels like he told her to make blankets for the people who were victimized by the tornado destruction. 

"One of the first things to touch us when we are born is a blanket.  As children, we often find solace in our security blankets.  On family movie nights, we often snuggle together under a big, warm blanket.  There is something about a blanket that helps many people find peace, security and even hope."

In order to raise awareness for this project she created a blog called Wrapped With Hope. It is still in its beginning stages, (I'm still working on the layout/banner and she's working on getting all of the information together) but if you read the first entry, she covers the basic premise of the idea.

Here are the basic guidelines that she's established thus far!

Blanket Guidelines

* Blankets must be handmade.

* Please avoid using fabrics with logos (sports teams, companies, etc.)  We hope to take blankets to all areas affected by storms, so we'd like to keep them neutral.

* We welcome any type of blanket as long as it is handmade.  It can be crocheted, knitted, sewn, etc. If you do not know how to do any of these techniques, please refer to our Ideas page where there are some simple sewing and no sew instructions.

* We are not looking for bed size blankets (though we will gladly accept them!).  Our goal is for lap sized blankets - somewhere around 36" x 48"  They do not have to be those exact dimensions, but that is a general guideline.  they also do not have to be rectangles, squares work as well!  Just as long as they are large enough to comfortably cover a lap.

* You may donate gently used blankets.  Please do not donate blankets with worn spots, lumpy batting or holes.  Most of the items these survivors now own have plenty of battle wounds.  We are looking for clean and fresh, signifying a new beginning.

I also would like to mention that Jenn is accepting monetary donations to help cover material costs and possible other costs to make this happen. If you live here in NC and know me personally, but are not able to make a blanket, for whatever reason, please feel free to make donations to me and I will sew a blanket in your honor. :-) 

Please let me know if you are able to help out! I plan on working on a couple blankets to send to Jenn in GA. If you create blankets to contribute, let me know and we can combine them to save on shipping costs!

For more information, please visit http://wrappedwithhope.blogspot.com/.

Brunch at Saks: DIY: Paper Flowers

These lovely DIY flowers had me at hello!

My best friend's wedding is coming up in May. Guess what will be decorating the aisle as we walk down? Yup. You guessed it. We're makin' flowers baby! She is working on doing straight cut 4x4 flowers. I am doing scalloped cut 6x6 flowers. The variety is gorgeous! Each flower only takes a couple of minutes to make. I plan on making some, adding some floral wire, possibly some floral tape, some leaves, and some ribbon and putting them in a vase. Has anyone else made these? I highly recommend them! They're super easy and very fun!

Here are a couple I made!

Here's one Sabrina made!

Here are some after we got the hang of it yesterday! 

Notice the detail the scalloped edge scissors add?

Brunch at Saks: DIY: Paper Flowers

Happy Crafting!

~A

Hungry? Feed Your Soul!

Have you ever searched long and hard for something online and, with much regret, not find what you're looking for? I know I have! I am constantly looking for "artsy," "vintagey," and/or "unique" art pieces to add to my collection and to use in future decorating endeavors. I have tried creating my own, but seem to lack vision of the "how to" and see only the finished project. My sister Kristin seemed to have gotten all of the visual artist genes in the family, because I simply cannot figure out how to execute such cute, yet, flavorful items. (I guess I'll stick to crafting!)

Today, I was browsing online when I came across a wonderful assortment of artwork. The best part about these delectable prints is that they are FREE! Hm. Maybe the best thing about the prints is that they're exactly what I've been searching for! Or MAYBE, it's the combination of the two?

Feed Your Soul: the free art project

Here's how it works:

a. Select artists submit a print each month.

b. The prints are posted to the site.

c. You visit the website and peruse the posted artwork.

d. Decide which piece(s) you like.

e. Click on your selection(s).

f. It/they download(s) to your computer.

g. Print it out on cardstock (or your paper of choice).

h. Put it in a frame or hang it in your home however you see fit!

Three reasons why I love this site:

1. It's FREE!

2. It's EASY!

3. It's flippin' adorable!

Suggested Ideas For Using This Site:

I. Nursery/kid's room

II. Homemade Greeting Cards

III. Scrapbooking

So, whether you're looking for something to spice up your kitchen or unique images to incorporate in your crafting, Feed Your Soul is just what you need to fill you up!

~A