Blue Da Ba Dee Da!

My shoes came in yesterday and they are BEAUTIFUL!!! Just as fabulous as I hoped they would be!! They are by Romantic Soles and SO SO comfortable. I ordered a size 8 and they fit so well. The heel is moderately high (well really high according to some) but the shoe is constructed so you don't feel like you're walking on your toes with no support. I am really surprised with how comfortable they are. I also don't normally care for sling backs, I find them uncomfortable on my heel and normally I have a raw spot after wearing them for mere seconds. These so far today, have not caused any irritation on my foot/heel. I will definitely be purchasing this brand again!!
And now -- PICTURES!! =)

Weekend Follies

Happy Monday -- SHEESH!!! Where in the world did this weekend go?! I am already looking forward to this upcoming weekend -- yay for 3-days off!! And of course it's 4th of July! =)

I spent a lot of time with my husband this weekend which was amazing!
Saturday we went to the movies and saw:

Both of which I DEFINITELY recommend. I really was impressed with Tom Cruise in Knight and Day. It was a really good role for him and the movie was highly entertaining. Grown ups has to be one of the funniest movies I have seen. It wasn't vulgar humor either, which is always refreshing.

We also tried some new BBQ sauce, thanks to our friends, Jon and Katie. They hosted a cook-out sponsored by Bull's Eye. The sauces were really delicious on the chicken breasts we, well the husband lol, grilled for us. Our favorites were the Memphis and Kansas City flavors.

As promised, I finished my dress from last weekend. I hemmed it with a pretty stitch (that I didn't take pictures of). The shoulder straps tie together (which you can kind of see in that --> picture), the back zips up and has a unique design, with extra fabric that reminds me of something from the 50's. =) I really love the way it turned out -- a little retro but lots of fun! I am probably going to make another with different fabric or some sort of variation of the dress. It's really comfortable and wears really nicely!!

I had some extra material left over from the bag I made for my sister a couple weeks ago. She asked if I could make her something else - makeup bag, etc - to kind of match her big giant tote bag. This is what I came up with:

I really love the way it turned out and may make myself one but with a different color as the lining =)

I made another dress that I LOVE! It's purple (even though it looks blue) and has a paisley pattern of blues and greens at the bust. It's a variation of the floral dress I made a couple months ago. It's a fairly simple pattern and can be altered for different looks/patterns easily. I have figured out an easy way to make straps and am very excited!! I was worried that I would only be able to make strapless garments haha!!

I'm not crazy about this picture haha -- so I will probably have John take another tonight =)

I feel that my next venture may be a skirt but I haven't fully made that decision as of now. The skirt I want to make, I may attempt without the use of a pattern. We'll see how that goes =)

 

Our weekend was also filled with some wonderful news!! -- my cousin, Corley, is now engaged to a wonderful young man whom we met at her older brother's wedding this past August(2009). YAY Corley!!! SO happy for you!!!! =)

Pictures -- Corley and Eric --- The Ring:

I Feel Pretty!

It’s only half way through the week and I am not sure how I’m going to make it. Work has slowed tremendously SO I thought I would update!!
This past weekend I ALMOST finished a dress — I only have to hem it =) WOO HOO!!! SO I am going to post pictures of that dress in the next couple days. I REALLY need to find some cute red shoes to go with it…maybe these by Pleaser USA::

haha!! I’m just kidding!! =) These are actually what I had in mind::

These beauties are Nine West shoes AND they are on sale!!
BUT I think I may wait another pay check because I am getting ready to buy these lovelies that my amazing husband is encouraging me to get:

I’m supposed to buy these blue beauties by Romantic Soles today!!! I just LOVE the color!!

I have pictures of 2 dresses I have made…one some of you may have seen already, as I wear it regularly:



I had also made another dress that I was going to wear on our honeymoon cruise but accidentally left it in my craft room — OOPS!!! So it has yet to be worn and I am not sure what I’ll be able to wear it to…maybe a wedding?? I haven’t decided.

There is another dress I have been working on. I didn’t have a pattern and couldn’t find one that I liked that matched my idea. So I have been ‘free styling’ the dress. I haven’t QUITE finished it either. I have to finish the skirt and then hem it. This too was supposed to be a honeymoon dress but I was so busy with wedding stuff, I never finished it. I may have to shorten it so I can wear it otherwise I think it’s going to be too formal because of the length =)

Another project I have tackled is making bracelets for brides at a more affordable cost than Etsy or other vendors. I really enjoy helping brides out =) Here is the most recent I made for a girl who just got married this past weekend.

Now that I have looked through my pictures of crafts and projects and thought about other crafts and projects — I want to leave work and get lost in my craft room haha!! Oh well maybe tonight!

Finally Friday!

So this week has pretty much been the longest week of my life…ok that may be an exaggeration but it HAS been a REALLY long and stressful week! Due to this fact, I am just burnt out on the week. All I want to do is go home and either curl up on the couch with my husband OR hide away in my craft room! But alas, it IS a work day.
I spent a good part of the morning going through EVERY Cricut cartridge in existence. AND I made a list…it’s a VERY extensive list which surprised me! I am so tempted to list them all out so that I have a saved copy of a “wish list” some where….ok I will (alphabetically ;) )….Beyond Birthdays, Cindy Loo, Doodlecharms, Graphically Speaking, Home Decor, Just Because, Life is a Beach, Love Struck, Mothers Day, Picturesque, Sentimentals, Serenade, Song Bird, Stamped, Stamping, Straight from the Nest, Teardrop, and Wall Decor. Shocking, I know!On top of these AMAZING cartridges I am SO tempted to purchase the Make the Cut! program. It is one of the coolest programs I have seen. I am a little wary of it simply based on the fact that SUPPOSEDLY if you have MTC or SCAL (Sure Cuts a Lot) it voids the warranty of your cricut and I don’t know that I am ready to take that risk. =/ But on the other hand, I am still trying to figure out how they could prove that you have the program -- maybe through registration? SO in the mean time, I will just enjoy my Design Studio and my carts =)

After Wedding Project

After the wedding, I had all this stuff left over -- all my DIY projects; cake topper, napkins, favors, etc. I took much inspiration from PW (Project Wedding) and decided to make my own since I had so much left over.
the garter that is hanging on the corner was made by Meemaw (my mom's mom) and was the 'keep' garter. She hand made the beauty to my specifications. She also sewed a little pocket on the inside that has pennies with both mine and John's birth year and a penny dated 2010. In that little pouch I also kept my mom's grandmother's wedding band in on our wedding day. Meemaw is also the one who submitted all the details for the newspaper article that is in the shadowbox. The article was nearly a half page and ran in the Verenon, Texas paper. It's SO sweet!

I also had my aisle runner left. It had been a last-minute project but a DIY project nonetheless that I ended up being very pleased with! I had spent a number hours on it - between working with John to create the monogram and then painting it, with the help of my wonderful mom (Thanks Mommy!)! On our wedding day, it was too windy for the ENTIRE runner to be used. I suggested we cut off the part that was personalized and simply use that. It worked out nicely! Somehow we managed to keep track of this piece of cloth traveling from Jacksonville back to Orlando and I framed it when we got home. I figured since I had put so much effor into it that is should be on display! So it lovingly hangs about the shadowbox at the end of our hallway =)

My husband and I went out Friday night with his parents. We did some karaoke and ate some yummy food. I decided to test drive the hair flower I made last week. I LOVE it!! I felt so stinkin' cute wearing it!!! =)

Not As Productive as Planned

Well Husband had most of the weekend off, SO I spent a LOT of time with him. Since he has been working so much, I decided to take advantage of his time off and just enjoy his company. When I wasn't with him, I was at a sraft store with my mom and sis. OOPS!! Haha! =) We had a great time and I bought all the stuff I need to finish the projects I have planned.
I DID however, get the bag order finished for my girl Simone =) ::
I am REALLY happy with the way they turned out. They are solid and beautiful! AND the most important thing is that she LOVES them.
That big purple flower is for one of the hair accessories I want to make in the near future. Maybe I'll work on it while sitting on the couch with John this week =)

All Things Fabric

This morning I woke up feeling particularly crafty. I had purchased several fabrics with certain projects in mind. I decided to dive right in and see what I could get finished.
First up, since it was so early, I tried my hand at something a little easier. I made myself a hair accessory -- a fabric flower clippy!! AND it's SO cute!! =) Next up was a bag for my lil' sis! I had made a tote for her as part of her gift for being my maid of honor, however, she wanted a much bigger bag! I let her pick the fabric and determin the size. it's HUGE!! I seriously think she could carry Ruger around in it!

Since my redecoration of my now beautiful craft room, I decided that I needed decorative pillows for the futon. I am going to make a few more buy I ran out of stuffing. the one that looks blue is actually a dark purple and for some reason the camera 'read' it as being blue.

The Interim

As you can tell, I am not very crafty during the week. Unfortunately by the time I get home after work, all I want to do is relax and just veg out with my hubby!
I do have inspiration for my next projects. First and foremost, I have to finish 5 tote bags to send to a girl. I INTEND to have that finished this weekend so my time can be free for crft stuff I want to do =)
I want to make a more 'formal' hair flower and hopefully it will look something like these::

I am leaning towards possibly aking it black so it isn't SO bridal. I also want to make some cluster earring and a matching bracelet/necklace. Here are my inspiration pictures for the earrings::

There is also a dress I have been waiting to make for MONTHS so MAYBE I will get a start on that =) Who knows! Check back after the weekend to see if I was productive!

Let's Get Crafty!

HI!!! Welcome =)
I had a beautiful DIY wedding in March 2010. I planned for about 11 months - doing projects, making phone calls and just being plain creative. It's been almost THREE WHOLE MONTHS and I have had to fill my time with new things! I miss the crafty aspect but not the stress! And I absolutely LOVE being married! WOO!! =)
I have decided to use this blog to share with you and the rest of the world my Life After the Aisle. I'll post re-decorating that I have done and other miscellaneous projects PLUS a sneaky peek into our new life! =)
A couple of weeks ago I decided I was not happy with my craft room. My amazing husband let me transform our spare room into my 'all things girlie and creative' room! YAY me! However, neither of us felt compelled to paint or organize at the time and I am proud to say that I am 100% EMBARASSED by the following pictures:

Since these pictures, my room has been transformed ENTIRELY to become the GIRLIEST room in our house! Thank goodness!! because really it was an outrageous mess -- I didn't even WANT to craft in it!!! =( So without further adieu -- I present my new craft room!!!!

 

I didn't purchase MUCH for this room. I had the curtains stashed in a closet because they didn't match any room in the house. We repainted/decorated our bathroom about a year ago and had taken down one of the mirror/cabinets off the wall -- I thought having 2 in the same bathroom was a little excessive! For some unknown reason, my hubby kept it. When I was given my craft room I took the doors off and we mounted it to the wall. My newest improvement on the cabinets is the addition of 2 dowel rods to hold the ribbon in a craftier, more organized fashion.

I bought the dowel rod (just 1) for under $1 at Michael's of all places! I drilled holes (yes I did) through the sides of the shelves and put the ribbon on the rods! I also decided to hang my rotary cutters so they would be out of the way.
The light you see in this next picture is a DIY project from a few years ago. I used a nylon/poly blend for the fabric. I hemmed the edges and sewed the fabric into one giant tube. I purchased the rounds that are used in needle point and took the part that tightens/loosens the bigger circle off. I strategically placed them in the fabric to create dimension/shape for the fixture. I bought small pieces of wood, stained in and used mounting/shelf brackets you can find at Lowe's/Home Depot to create a shelf for the light. The fixture hangs from the ceiling and doesn't touch the shelf.

I made a few other shelves using the brackets you can found a your local hardware/home improvement store and extra shelving we had from other pieces of furniture. I am very pleased with my craft room and now LOVE spending time in it creating new projects! =)