Sweet and Simple Project : Paper Tape

 Why, hello there pretty tape! 

I did not plan on purchasing you today yet I can assure you I can not leave you here on the shelf all alone. Would you like to become prettier then you already are?
Well fabulous.

Yep.  This was the conversation I had with my pretty new paper tape. 

It was one of those purchases that I HAD to have.  

And when we got home, I spied the curious hands of my little budding crafters getting a hold of my pretty tape. Suddenly, my brain went into fight or flight mode and I actually saw myself in slow motion with my mouth forming the word "NOOOOOOO!" as I leaped chairs and furniture to save my precious tape.

Something is seriously wrong with me. 

But I retrieved my tape successfully. And reinforced my high level of weird for my children.

But I knew the first thing I wanted to do with this pretty tape.
It would look lovely on a little recycled glass votive.
I save the glass after using the candles and pop them into the freezer. Then I can take out the remaining wax, wash it, and then reuse the glass votive part.

 All I did was wrap the tape around the glass making sure I started and stopped at the same place with each piece of tape.

So pretty and it matches my kitchen!

Sweet and Simple!  

This paper tape is from Martha Stewart called Vintage Girl. 

I am absolutely in love with japanese washi tape too and would be perfect for projects like these.

Here are some great sites to check those out too...

Cute Tape

Happy Tape

Kawaii Tape

Happy Taping!

My Mema Update:

First of all I cannot tell you how much all of your comments have  meant to me. Especailly your prayers. 

I was bummed that blogger deleted many of your precious comments when it went down because I was so encouraged by them and wished  you could read them to be encouraged too.  I normally respond by email but I have been so busy so please forgive me for that.

At this moment I am writing you from the house I grew up in.  Kind of surreal to be back in Maryland.  I have seen family I have not seen in a number of years and that has been so sweet.  My Mema is doing very well physically but mentally her dementia (which I never mentioned to you) is a bit worse.  I expected this but it has been very heart wrenching.  Emotions have run a bit high among all of us and a few times she has not known who I am which has never been the case for her thus far.  But she did know who I was when I arrived.  We think my grandmother may need a nursing home rather then assisted living so it has been very difficult coming to this realization on numerous levels.

But I praise God that she has no signs of pneumonia...her chest is clear!  And she is healing very rapidly and in minimal pain.  Hallelujah!

Even in her confusion she says things like..."I have had such a blessed life" or "I love my family or "this is the happiest day of my life." I think she was so happy to have all her kids in one place and 3 of her 7 granddaughters (including one of her great granddaughters) there to just love on her.

I am so grateful to God for putting you all in my life and caring for me enough to pray.  It is such an overwhelming blessing that I wished I had more words to convey my appreciation and love for you.

I wish I could give you more details but please pray for my heart. I will be here until Tuesday and I need strength, wisdom, and discernment.  I hate to be cryptic but I just need to be strong. So if you are thinking of it...please pray.

Keep being the wonderful friends you are.

Fabric Vine Part 2: Petal Flowers

I honest to goodness hope and pray that fabric flowers never go out of style.  I hope we wear them, use them in decor, and put them on anything remotely flowerable until I am old and grey.  My love of flowers and gardening grows each year but to be able to craft them from fabric or other materials simply fascinates me.  And they last which makes my joy for them truly complete.

This fabric garland makes me so happy.  When I made the leaf garland, I was not sure what kind of flowers I wanted to make or if I should even add them.  I am so glad I did! I love that the flowers make this so versatile.  From decor, to a party, to holiday decorating.  It is just so pretty.  And the different kind of flower possibilities make me swoon with delight!  Aren't I sappy over this thing?

I want to share with you how I made these flowers.  I originally got this diy flower pin tutorial from Momtastic. She used this petal flower to make a pin but I tweeked her tutorial a bit by making these flowers become removable by adding little twisty fasteners.

Here is MY tute...

To make this you will need: scissors (that cut fabric), a glue gun, several large and several small petals and a small felt circle. Cut out several large and small petals for your flower.

  Cut a slit at the bottom of each petal. It will look like it has little legs. :)

 Starting with one of your LARGE petals, cross the legs and hot glue them to your circle.  

This helps the petal stand up.  

I tried a zillion different ways to do this and this way works the best.

Do this all the way around with your LARGE petals.

Now start a second row with your small petals. Keep doing this until you get to the center and have the fullness you want. I ended up cutting out even smaller petals for the center.

Now you made a pretty little flower.  

I decided not to put anything in the center but you can definitely add a fabric/regular button,  pearl, bead or whatever in the center to give it a more finished look. Nothing suited me so I just left it the way it was.

Now for the backs...

You need all this stuff and your glue gun too!

Make a "U" shape with your wire and hot glue it to the back of your flower on the felt circle.

Add a little more hot glue and cover the center with your little felt square and you are done!

 Just fasten it to your vine like a twist tie and you will have a fabric flower and leaf vine.

 I just love it.  How about you?

On a personal note...

I actually need to ask you to be thinking and praying for our family.  My precious grandmother, my Mema, took a fall on Mother's Day breaking both her wrists and 2 ribs. She can not even feed herself due to her broken wrists. The following evening she was in her recliner since her bed made it too painful to breathe, and fell as she got up becoming caught in the opening between the chair and foot rest.  It is just awful. 

Sadly, our fears were realized today and she is now developing pneumonia. 

They are putting her in hospice and I am going to travel there alone in the next few days.   I just ask for peace and strength for all my family members.  And for my broken heart.  I love her so much and I will miss her terribly.  But I want to see her one more time.

Thank you so much for being my friends and always showing you care.

Fabric Leaf Vine Garland: Part 1. Yes. It's Another Garland.

Are  you getting tired of my garland obsession? I hope not.

It's just that there are a gazillion ideas running through my head all the time.  I truly can't help it. I love them and so I must make them. And blog about them.  I may need a garland intervention.

I think I am in birthday party mode at the moment. Party pretties and decorations are consuming me. I usually am like this by Spring of each year since my girls share a party having a birthday 2 weeks apart in the middle of Summer.  They love sharing their party (yay for me). And I love decorating and planning the theme yet this year they had other ideas.

Their OWN ideas.  Really?  This young?  Oh well. 

I figured I can get my fix by doing mini parties with one or two of their friends over the Summer.  I have visions of vintage tea parties, outdoor summer picnic parties, a girly glam camp out party.  These were MY ideas that were still fun but PRETTY. I simply like pretty things.

What do they want?  A bounce house or a slip and slide. And it is about them.
I am totally doing it but the fancy girl in me is very sad. But I know I can get creative. :)

Back to the leaf garland...

This one has been on my mind for a possible Etsy shop item. I like the versatility of using different fabrics and colors and then adding removable flowers to them too.

This idea came to me after I made the branch place cards.

All you really need is some coordinating fabric, twine, and a glue gun.

I happen to have these adhesive fabric fuse sheets on hand but double sided fusible interfacing works perfectly too when going a no sew route.

After bonding the two fabrics together, I free hand cut leaf shapes of small, medium, and large sizes.

First step is to create your vine by cutting a length of twine and then cutting small pieces for your "branches."

Tie each piece in a knot.  

I tied each one tight enough so it won't come undone but loose enough that they can slide on the vine to make it as full as I would like.

Add a line of hot glue down the lower middle of one of your leaves, and squeeze the bottom of the leaf around a branch creating a leaf vein.

I did not pay attention to which side of the leaf faced up to add interest and not one specific pattern.

The more leaves and branches you add to your vine, the heavier it gets.  It is not heavy at all for hanging but be aware that you will need to tie it to something in order to hang it.

 It is pretty easy and totally worth it!

Tomorrow or later this week I will share this with you with flowers that  you can add and interchange with it.

Have a fabulous day friends!

For those who may experience a bit of sorrow today...

I am incredibly blessed to be a mother to these two girls...

My Two Shades of Pink.

But I think this particular day holds special meaning for me since my journey to motherhood was a long and hard one.  I remember I would skip church every Mother's Day because each time during church the pastor would have all the mothers stand up to be acknowledged and clapped for. 

Oh, how I would ache to stand with all of these women.  I wanted desperately to call a child my own and finally have the title of...Mommy.

I would imagine the first time I would whisper those words to my baby..."Mommy loves you...Mommy's here."  Or the first time I would hear a child call me "Mama." And that child would give me the greatest gift because that title would be reserved for only me.

And as I spent a lovely day with my daughters who made me berry pancakes that were slightly undercooked, where I smiled and told them they were the best pancakes I ever tasted, I could not help but think about this day that may bring sorrow for some women.  Women who I can relate to in ways that bond me to them instantly.  Who feel a yearning so deep, so personal, so raw...that it brings emotions to the fore that they did not even know existed.

These are mother's who are waiting or aching for their children.

Their journey's are all unique and all their own.  Some are wading through the deep and sometimes murky waters of infertility. They are passionately seeking every opportunity to conceive a child.  A hope for a tiny little life to grow inside them.

Some are waiting for a child to adopt who has grown in their heart.  Who has been prayed for, thought about, and intensely wanted.   They may live in another country and their only connection is paperwork that is worn from reading over and over and a photo that is bittersweet to gaze upon since a "what if" may hang over it.

Or perhaps a child is a foster child, living in their homes, in their arms, yet the certainty of adoption still far off.  They love this child day in and day out yet not know if this will be the child to call their own.  Or foster parents who open their hearts and homes to children they know will one day leave. To a better place.  Or a worse one.

Or a mother who has lost a child. Who's heart is never fully whole again because the loss is so devastating and life altering.  That not just on Mother's Day but daily they live with missing a child they can no longer hold or watch grow up to fulfill their dreams.  

Today I am thinking and praying for you.  Since I understand your pain acutely. My story is unique and all my own.  And so is yours. But I feel a kinship and a sisterhood to these women where today may not be as joyful and easy.  I have never forgotten my journey nor grown less sensitive to what it feels like to be a mother aching for a child...in whatever form it takes.

So as much as I celebrate being a mom to my precious girls...I also want to say I am thinking of you courageous, wonderful women.  My heart is filled with love and prayer for you.

And at this moment I am standing up to recognize YOU. 

So much love and hugs to all of you!

Paper Bunting with Matching Cupcake Picks!

  

I love this paper!  

It screamed summer to me and I picture it outside for a summer barbecue, a casual dinner get together, or a little birthday party for either a boy or a girl.

 

 Oh, these colors.  So citrusy and summery.

  How fun is this yarn that looks like twine?

 

I think we need some matchy matchy cupcake picks.  What do you think?

You can use these flags for other things too...use them as a mini bunting, goody bag labels, or even on a food table (stick them inside a candy bowl of M&M's or treats).  

So much fun! 

I used lollipop sticks because I can not find white toothpicks.  

Do YOU know where I can find white toothpicks?

 Making this is really simple. :)

Just cut and fold each diamond shape to make a triangle and fold over twine, ribbon or string. 

Glue the triangles together from the tip of the point back towards the fold with craft glue.

Here is a template to make your own...

Click here to download

Enjoy!

Hugs and love sweet friends!

Guest Posting at Free Pretty Things For You!

Happy Monday everyone!

Just wanted to let you know I am guest posting today at Free Pretty Things For You to share a tutorial on how to make a Mother's Day Balloon Pocket Card. 

 You may remember this card I did for the Thanksgiving issue of Good Living Magazine.

Now this one is more GIRLY..perfect for Mom's Day!

I even included a selection of printable tags and the template for the card!   

Tons of fun!

Click here to download

Click here to download.

So go check it out and tell me what you think!

My Pretty Tablescape

 Well here it is.  

I actually have to apologize...none of my photos really turned out and I was busy doing stuff until they turned the lights down so I could only get those orangey glowy type photos that never do the real life thing any justice.  So I de-colored this a bit so you could see it without thinking the table itself was aflame.

Yet you will have to contend with a blurry photo. 

Forgive me?

And forgive me for those water bottles in the pic...hope it does not ruin the aesthetic. 

I truly wish these photos did justice to how pretty it turned out.  It was so elegant.

Actually,  those pink roses cracked me up. I envisioned a symmetrical arrangement looking both understated and gorgeous.  Yet here was me...without my heels on yet...cutting the flowers at mach 2 speed and shoving them into this glass bowl thinking it needs one more...it needs one more.  So surprised one did not spontaneously shoot upward. Someone could have lost an eye.

To create a bigger centerpiece, I put this birdcage next to the branch and nest.  ( I took this shot during the morning set up). At the beginning of the night, I actually tried elevating the whole thing on an upside down tray with the fabric I used for both chargers and napkin wraps but I encountered an unexpected development when I snapped off some little branches off the big branch centerpiece!!!!!!  As I began hyperventilating, someone literally came out with a hot glue gun and some glue sticks for me.  A total God moment along with a joint effort to not have a table hostess laid out in cardiac arrest due to craft failure.

It must have been awesome seeing me kneeling in my black dress at the nearest outlet with a glue gun and my precious family nest and branch. But all was well and the idea of an elevated centerpiece was abandoned.

All around the table we had photos of our family and our parents.  Little conversation pieces to talk about our special family.

And as part of the centerpiece I included the family picture that I have here on this blog.

 Look at this cute couple.  

But seriously these two need to grab a few celery sticks instead of the cheese doodles.  I am detecting more chins then we thought we left with from home. 

Brandon was not necessarily pleased once he read this. :)

My BFF Kelly and me.

My guests LOVED their favors which was the one thing I worried about.  They did not know that but they probably do now since they now know about this here blog. I seriously had the best table everrrr! Seriously, y'all...I met some crafty soul sisters...yes , I mean you Shelya and Lauren!

Shelya is an amazing photographer and Lauren is HILARIOUS and kept cracking me up all night.  And she has a love of birds like I do...one we both can not explain but must feed on a regular basis in our decor.  Much to the apparent chagrin of our hubsters. And darn it all...I never got photos of them.  But seriously...love em! And they all have hearts for adoption!  Seriously...meant to be!  I will stop gushing over their coolness.

And the place setting which looks exactly like all the other photos this week.  Not that exciting.

Oh, and in case you were curious both the fabric houses art and the runner and napkin rings set did really well!  So happy people liked what I made.

 It was loads of fun and we actually bid on these freshwater pearl earrings and we got them!  

I absolutely love pearls and they are actually my birthstone. So excited!

Now this officially concludes all my tablescape posts.

~The End~

:)