Sassy Sashes

This weekend we just celebrated my sisters bachelorette party. I cannot believe the time flew so fast.
She was super excited to go out and have some fun with the girls. She works so much lately, she barely has any time for fun. What would a bachelorette party be without fun sashes?! At $7-$15 a pop, I refused to buy them for everyone. Sorry sis, but I'm cheap. haha.

I ran to Michaels and picked up 2 rolls of 2.5" ribbon. I was hoping to get them a bit thicker, but 2.5 is all they had so I had to make do.
I picked up some fabric glue and some fabric paints- printed my words off the computer, paired it with some carbon paper and we were ready to go.

Step one is to trace your letters over the carbon paper on your fabric which you can see in the picture above. It probably would have been easier if I taped everything down considering the carbon paper and the ribbon are so slippery, I was chasing them around the table while tracing. I figured the sashes would be garbage by the end of the night anyway so I wasn't too worried.

I outlined all of the sashes first. I just grabbed ribbon as I went, no specific color in mind.

Actually I lied. Back up a bit. Step one is to cut your pieces of ribbon. I have no photos of this, thank god. I probably looked like a buffoon. Did I use measuring tape? Of course not, I draped myself with the ribbon, twirled around, got knotted and finally figured out what length or around what length I needed. I cut the ribbon. Then I laid the cut piece of ribbon against the uncut ribbon on the roll and measured the rest of them that way. I cut the ribbon edge on an angle and stuck from fabric glue in between the edges. No professionalism here.

Ok, so now that ribbon is now a sash, glued and outlined- the fun part begins. DECORATING!

Rachel came over to help with this step.

I pulled out the rest of the color paints, some acrylic paint, rhinestones, paper flowers, glitter- anything I could get my hands on to turn these sashes to sassy.

In the end, Rachel decided the glitter would be too messy so she stuck with the paints, rhinestones and flowers.
I must say, I do like the way they came out. Simple yet bold.

Here we are, before heading out to the line dancing bar- donning the sashes. Everyone loved them!

We had a blast that night! The next day, not so much :)
The sashes held up well at the club and while riding the mechanical bull however by the end of the night, they were a big ball of wrinkle on the floor before everyone went to bed. I'm glad I didn't spend $7-$15 each on them. Besides, everyone loved the handmade-ness of them!

24 more days till they tie the knot! Eep!



Linking here: An Original Belle M-I-Y Monday, Vintage Wanna Bee Talent Tuesday, Romance on a Dime- Take it on Tuesday, Simply Klassic Sunday, Newlyweds on a Budget: Tutorial Tuesday

Absolutely breathtaking

I'm debating on organizing my blog. Giving it some structure. Right now, I post when I want, about what I want, if I want. I'm sure readers would like some sort of a structure.

I was thinking about a recipe day, a "my own" craft day, maybe an "I found it on Pinterest day"...things like that. I kind of like the recipe day since it will encourage me to cook more. ;) I'm sure Mr. Fiance Penguin would like that too.

Sometimes I forget to post on my OWN blog because I am too busy drooling over other peoples blogs. People are just so damn creative. I wish I could be half as creative as you folks.

Here are a few posts I came across this morning that literally had me in awe.

I was holding my breath, no lie, for this reveal.

Gorgeous Union Jack Coffee Table from Domestic Imperfection. Job well done!


How about this Jelly Cupboard Makeover from The House at Bluebird Lane

The colors on this piece just pop. I love the rustic stars on the front! B-E-A-UTIFUL!

The House at Bluebird Lane has also nominated me as a Versatile Blogger. I'll get that post up once I decide on my 15 blogs to nominate myself :)

So, what do you think about structured posts by day? Monday/Recipe Tuesday/Pinterest etc. I'd love to hear your opinion.

...and I thought I loved you Then.

Aside from my own wedding, my little sisters wedding is coming up...FAST.
May 18th, fast, to be exact. She's starting to get nervous. Every time we talk about it, we cry. We are very emotional people.

I'm hoping I will be so caught in the moment on their wedding day that I won't be a red, waterfall faced, blubbering idiot standing up for her.

I have to make a Maid Of Honor speech and have not a single clue what to say. I mean I have plenty to say, but it has to be short and sweet and I know it will be full of tears. I'll be sobbing so hard no one will understand what I am trying to say, so it really doesn't matter what I say, right? haha.

I keep putting off writing the speech and making wood signs instead. She asked me to make her one that says "And I thought I loved you then". Part of their wedding song by Brad Paisley. So I went to work.

She loves the final product.

I really do too. I think it's my favorite sign I've done so far. Not that I've done many, this just sets the bar pretty high for future ones. As I get better, I'll probably take special orders for these things. I love it. I loved making it and I loved her reaction to it!

I'm loving the rustic look next to the John Deere lamp and lace curtains (Courtesy of my mom's house)

Hmm, what can I do next?

Ultimate Blog Party 2012

I am super excited to be participating in the Ulitmate Blog Party 2012. I just love the banner, it's so loud, like me :) Ok let's get this party started.

I'm Rebecca. Many people call me Becca and close friends and family call me Beck. NEVER Becky. For some reason I can't stand that, it makes my skin crawl. I'm a happy person I swear!

I love to smile and I love to laugh. I do both of those most when I am with my fiance. We've been together since May 2005. We finally got engaged May 28, 2011. The BIG day is planned for June 1, 2013. You'll see a lot of wedding DIY up and coming on my blog.

I've always been the crafty type, I guess I get it from my mom. When she was pregnant with me she used to sit on the floor and paint ceramics. Some of which I still have. :) As I got older, my younger sisters and I could craft with her, mostly plastic canvas stitching, but we used to do a lot.

I got into scrapbooking when I was in high school. I was the captain of the bowling team my senior year and I put all the photos and random clippings in a photo album. It's hideous compared to some of the layouts I can create now.

My scrapbooking shifted to more DIY and home decor things over the past few months and I love recreating things that can stay out and be admired instead of tucked away in a scrapbook.

Since I haven't been blogging for very long, I don't have many "favorite" posts of mine. Feel free to look around and comment (I LOVE comments!). I have some other projects to be posted soon- eventually. I'm horrible at remembering to take photos of my creations during the process, mainly because I don't have a great camera. I've been using my cell phone camera and it seems to be getting the job done. I just don't have the money to buy a new camera, even though it's on my list! (It'll have to come after the wedding though)

Thanks for swinging by and getting to know me a bit better. I can't wait to build strong blog relationships. This is fun. :)

Wedding Decor

I hate to start such a great post out on a sad note. I just couldn't make a post today without acknowledging him.

Today marks the 6 year anniversary of the loss of a friend and fellow firefighter to my fiance. 04/11/06 LODD Kevin Apuzzio.

He was a great guy, even though we only knew him for a few months he made a great impact in our lives. He was quite the jokester.

Thinking of you always, Kev.




Now for the happy part:

I tie the knot in 416 days. *faints*






Now that I've regained my composure...


I'm going to be a DIY bride. I refuse to spend a lot of money on one day but yet I still want it to be special. We are having a mixed theme. Country western and firefighting... :)

One thing I've seen across blogland is wooden, rustic signage, but man, these suckers can get expensive. I decided to try some of my own.

I started with some pallets, chopped them up and spray painted them.

Do yourself a favor and don't accidentally step one of them freshly painted. It's not good, for the wood or your sneaker. Not that I did that or anything.

I collected some carbon copy paper, acrylic paint, a thin paintbrush and my wording. I printed them in the font Simply Glamourous which can be found on my Pinterest here.

I had forgotten to take a photo "before" I traced it so you can see the pencil lines on the paper.

The carbon copy was hard to see on the brown paint. It was also hard to map out where I wanted the letters to sit. I'm so indecisive, I just put them down and traced them out.

Here comes the fun part. I do NOT have a steady hand. I used a small brush and very little paint. After shaking the paint up, I took the lid off and dipped the brush in the little bit of paint that was in the lid. Once dried I went over it a second time to darken it up a bit.

I was a little skeptical at this point. I didn't really like it and my dreams of having these fancy signs at my wedding were drifting away.

I took some fine sandpaper and just started giving it a bit of elbow grease. I did half of it and started jumping up and down. I was LOVING it. LOVE-ING!
Mr. Penguin even liked it. (Can I call him Mr. yet?) Fiance Penguin. HA!

Got the whole thing done and was ready to snap some pics.

Peek-a-boo Mr. Fiance Penguin.

I try to get all artsy photographeresque with my Droid camera phone, it's all I have.
Mr. Fiance Penguin says I should try to sell them. He said I can't sell this one though. I asked, "Why not? Wanna buy it?" He didn't take the bait. I'm a bit iffy about making them to sell, but maybe...just maybe.

I have PLENTY more ideas running around my head for signs. That poor hamster up there must be tired by now. ;)

Linking up to: DebbieDoos Newbie Linky Party, Craft-o-Maniac Monday Linky Party, An Original Belle- Make it yourself Monday, Serendipity and Spice: Manic Monday, DIY Project Parade, Vintage Wanna Bee: TALENT TUESDAY

Back to work, Monday.

Why do three day weekends go way too fast? I felt like I got NOTHING done this weekend.
I spent the majority of my weekend at the Firehouse lending a helping hand with their Easter Flower Sale.

Thursday night after work, Friday evening and all day Saturday I was up there. I also realized, I know zilch about flowers. Then again, I have killed a palm tree before and I was told they are practically indestructible. *Shrugs* I'm not cut out for this plant stuff.

Friday I raided Home Depot for some spray paint. I beelined wandered around aimlessly searching for the correct aisle. Hey, I'm new at this, cut me some slack.
I loaded up on some paints I thought I could use for the project I had in mind. I'm just starting my collection and argued with myself for about an hour... To buy or not to buy 890 thousand different colors.

Ultimately, this is what I left with.

I started 3 projects on Friday. I managed to finish one. The main project I wanted to get done was painting our living rooms lamps. I got them primed and started the color portion of it, but my attention was quickly diverted. I had more fun making a chalkboard frame. We've had no light in the living room all weekend because of this but a pretty frame now dons our dining room table.

Saving money on our electric bill, woo hoo! Silver lining. I know, I know, I'll finish them soon before one of us stubs our toes on random clutter or even worse, my kettlebell! Ouch!

Anyway:

I started this as something to do while my other projects were drying.
In typical Becca fashion, I didn't take photos of this process.

I just grabbed an old black picture frame out of my stash (I have TONS) and took the glass out. I washed the glass well and set it out to dry. In the meantime, I primed the black frame. While the primer was drying, I sprayed the glass with 3 light coats of chalkboard spray paint. While the chalkboard paint was drying (tons of back and forth here! Glad it had two parts, it helped keep me busy.) I took some yellow acrylic paint and painted the frame. I loved the yellow against the black. It needed something though. I dug through my scrapbook supplies and found these lovely paper flowers and colorful brads. A little hot glue gun action and I'm left with a beautiful, bright, spring accessory.

I can't wait to see what else I can chalkboard-ify.
Now I need to buy some chalk :)

Happy Monday everyone!

Linking up to some of these parties here

Rainy December Night

WHOA! Back up. I know what you are thinking. Rainy December Night...huh??

Apparently I started this post in December. DECEMBER! It's now April. I wonder why I never completed it. Better late than never right? Just imagine it's December still while reading it, the scent of pine and the dim glow of the lights on the Christmas tree...setting the mood... ok I'll stop. Here it is.

Don't ya just love rainy nights? Pop in a movie and craft away. At least that is what I have been doing tonight. First movie up was Elf. I admit, I watched more than I crafted. I've been doing most of my crafting at my coffee table in my living room. A one bedroom apartment = no special space for fun! (This leads to messy living room = cranky fiance. Good thing he is at the firehouse tonight!)

I've been working on two different crafts at once.

I will write about the first one now. I'm saving the second one for later. ::whispers:: It's special! *Side note...since this was in December, I'm not quite sure what the special craft was. If I had to guess, it was the photo pendant*

Starting a blog, I also realized I need a better camera. Until then, please bear with the low quality pictures, they still get their point across. *It's now April, and I still don't have a better camera. Ha!*

GEL MEDIUM CANVAS TRANSFER
*I KNOW I had taken pictures of the process, they are MIA at the moment- proabably stuck in time, back in DEC-EM-BER*

When I first saw this idea on Pinterest I knew I HAD to try it. It lead me to A Beautiful Mess, where I followed her instructions.


What you will need:

☼ A blank canvas. *I bought mine from Michaels. 8x10 (but you can use whatever size your heart desires.

☼ Gel Medium. I used the brand Omni Gel, also bought at Michaels.

☼ A paint brush

☼ A spray bottle full of water

☼ A laser/toner copy of your picture on regular white printer paper. (Most home printers are ink-jet, so feel free to get your photo printed at your local printing place)


Since I don't have pictures of the process, I'll show my final products.
I'm missing pictures of the very first one I did, which ironically is my favorite. I gave it to my fiances mom for Christmas.

This one I dry brushed some black around the edges and gave a top coat of the gel medium. The gel medium gave it a shiny, textured finish. This lil' guy is currently in my kitchen by the stove. He needs something to keep his hiney warm.

These next two, I didn't do much with. They are hanging in our bedroom between the closets. I am unsure if I want to do anything else with them, since they are a lighter color than the bare hiney kid, I think a black border would take away from it.

You can see that it isn't a direct transfer. While rubbing off the paper, the image may peel too. In these cases, the image peeled a lot. I have to tinker with the amount of gel medium I use next time...maybe that is the culprit.

Either way, I love how these come out and I cannot wait to try different sizes.

Linking up to some of these parties here.

SURPRISE!!!

Whew! Planning a surprise party is not an easy feat. While the end result, as long as all goes well, is well worth it, I can't imagine planning another one in the near future.

Especially not a bridal shower. I pledged a sorority in college, I should know that a bunch of women together do not always agree. Boy, was this a perfect example. Despite all of the ups and downs, the end result is what counts and my sister, Rachel, was as surprised as could be!

Rachel works as a hair stylist in a small salon. Every employee works EVERY Saturday. Ut oh. This was going to be a problem. If she just so 'happened' to have off Saturday, she would most likely figure it out. However, her boss, had a brilliant idea. (or not so brilliant as it made us all feel even worse for lying to her)
The boss had told Rachel, "You were chosen as one of THREE out of THIRTY shift managers to receive a special award! The managers and higher ups want to show their appreciation to you girls by hosting an awards ceremony and a bowling luncheon at Brunswick Zone." (Yes, I held my sisters shower at a bowling alley, I'll get to more of that a minute) She was super excited...we felt super bad.

Needless to say, she fell for it and stressed over what to wear. Stressed over what to say. Stressed over what the award was. Great, now we are BOTH stressed.

Enough rambling, long story short, we got her! The party went off without a hitch (is that the correct saying?) and everyone had a blast.
Here are some photos!

Instead of a wishing well, I made it camping themed and made a "Wishing Tent".
The banner was cut out using my Silhouette and some patterned paper I had laying around. I used some bailers twine and clothes pins to hang it up. The Welcome Mat in front of the tent was my fiances idea. The mat added the perfect touch.

Remember my Yarn Wrapped letters post, here?

I used them as decoration on the gift table.

I also found this wonderful printable that went perfect on the buffet table. You can download it for yourself here.

Don't mind the cake pops. They came out funky and we tried to salvage them as much as possible. They sure tasted yummy no matter what they looked like. The cake pop recipe can be found here over at Cookin' Cowgirl.






Aww, Sister love. ♥

The happy couple:

Oh yes. The bowling alley.
Many moons ago, (about 6 years ago) CJ asked Rachel to be his girlfriend while on a date at the bowling alley.
Two years ago, CJ asked Rachel to marry him...at the bowling alley. The center put it up on the screens and he got down on one knee. It was super cute.


So naturally, where else would I want to host the bridal shower? :)

I'm linking up here: