First Things First

Knowing that motherhood comes first, I have been putting aside some projects I started to work on last week. This morning, I created myself a list entitled First Things First to keep myself sane because I found that I was beginning to put the least important things first. It says this:

First Things First
God is most important, so pray and read bible daily; no excuses!
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1. Family (baby and husband)
2. Health (eat healthy, cook, exercise)
3. Home (keep home in order, try my best to follow weekly to-do list)
4. Blog, projects, photography, design, etc.


So, during my available time, I will work on:

+ Logo Design for Gravelle Knives 
+ Pondering possible website layout ideas for Gravelle Knives
+ Cute Coin Box (to upgrade from our tiny box of overflowing coins)
+ Homemade Shoe Organizer (for my large, messy pile of shoes...)
+ Bathroom Chalkboard (for decoration and memory verse)
+ MUCH MORE...the list keeps piling :)

Creative Happy Birthday Photo Cards

I decided to get more creative with birthday cards this year. I think it is so much fun creating homemade cards; I've done it since I was a little girl. The thought of buying a Hallmark card never appealed to me, especially when you can easily find materials around the house to create a card of its own. So, this year, I wanted to challenge myself and use my son as the main subject for all of my close friends' and family members' birthdays. My goal is for my creativity to improve throughout the year. I will conitnue to add the final photo cards to this post as time goes on. I tried to use birthday props and/or objects that represented the person. As of now, here is a small collection of this year's birthday photos:

Keep in mind that I had to quickly put these ideas together. The lighting and backgrounds could be better, but it'll do for having a wiggly baby on hand :)

The Stillness is the Move

My good friend, Tori, has been starting her own modeling blog called The Stillness is the Move. She will include her modeling experiences, career updates, information about modeling, as well as her creative side (crafts, recipes, etc.).

Tori's Leg Warmers
One of her posts shows how she transformed her boot socks into leg warmers. I want to make some myself! All she did was rip the seams of her socks, and then use them as leg warmers over her high heels to keep her warm, yet stylish in the windy city.

{socks from Menards}

{ripped seam apart}

{voila!}

Very cute, Tori :)

Ice Cream Love

I LOVE birthday cake ice cream!

Thanks to my wonderful husband, and valentine, my ice cream dreams have been fulfilled! Tonight was a very happy night :) For at least 2 years, I have been on the hunt for Edy's Take the Cake ice cream. I've searched online, and no store within 50 miles carries it! (Yes, I was very willing to drive 50 miles to get some). I've been craving it like crazy. Was it discontinued??

Even if it was, it doesn't matter anymore because I ran across a blog earlier that taught me how to create my own! And it tasted 10 times better than the ice cream :) Since the hubby doesn't like birthday cake, he bought himself some cookies 'n cream. I decided to serve it to him with a little message :)

Love Day: Home Decor

With Valentine's Day on its way, we're given another opportunity to get out the craft supplies and create!

I believe God gives each and every person their own special gifts. A few of my mother-in-law's gifts include: cooking, baking, and homemaking. This post features some decor from the home of my mother-in-law, Rose Perron. What I love about her decor: cuteness and low-cost. The only items she bought were the candy; she made use of the materials she already had around the house.

Get inspired :)

Heart Bulletin Board
Paper hearts cover the bulletin board in her dining room.

Materials:
*Scrapbook paper
*Brown kraft paper
*Red paper heart doilies
*Decorative edge scissors

What she did:
She covered her board with brown kraft paper. Using 12 x 12 decorative scrapbook paper, in various pinks and reds, she folded the paper in half and cut out half-heart shapes, leaving her with symmetrical hearts. Instead of using the typical bulletin border strips, she traced over an old border and used scrapbook paper. She mixed in some red paper heart doilies for more variety.

She already had all of the materials. The doilies were a clearance item from last year's after-Valentine's-Day-sale at Hobby Lobby. She plans to return to Hobby Lobby again this week and stock up on clearance items again for next year.

Chalkboard

Using white and pink chalk on her chalkboard also adds to the Valentine's Day decor.  

Napkins

Decorated napkins are placed next to each plate.

She picked up a bunch of antique napkins from the St. Vincent DePaul store for only $5, neatly folded them, and tied them with "Love" ribbons (another clearance item from Hobby Lobby last year).

Name Tag Hearts
The pink bags of chocolate add a lot of color, but the homemade name tags add that special touch. Each family member had a bag of candy on their plate.

She made bows out of sparkly ribbon (another Hobby Lobby purchase). She cut out hearts from scrapbook paper, then stapled the bows and hearts to the bags.

Table Hearts and Lace Tablecloth
An elegant, pink tablecloth covered with paper hearts enhances the decorated table.

Making use of knitted sweater material, given to her by her mother-in-law, she turns it into a tablecloth. She used her decorative edge scissors to cut out more hearts from cardstock and scrapbook paper.

 

Candles

The red and white candles set the mood for a fantastic Valentine's dinner! 

Dinner and Dessert
Even the food matched the decor!

Easy Organization: Hats, Gloves and Scarves

This winter I was prepared! As coldness was approaching, I went through a large garbage bag that stored our hats, gloves, and scarves. Oh, and my ear muffs as well :) I decided to create a designated place for them -- a place where my husband and I could easily access them before running out the door. I remember many of last year's instances where I left home without gloves and/or scarf because I hadn't had the time to search for them. (And last year we had that amazing snow storm!) So here's my super easy solution:

Sitting on the top shelf of our coat closet (that previously stored boardgames) are two square baskets with homemade labels. Using this method for about three months now, we find it to work like a charm. It is definitely a keeper :) What's great about it is that you can grab any medium-sized bins, containters or baskets around your home, create labels, and there you have it -- an easy (and uncostly) solution for a more organized winter.

Create Your Own Cards!

I received a creative thank you card in the mail from my sister-in-law today. It was such a cute, homemade card! She thanked me for her photoshoot and helping with wedding plan ideas. After I thanked her for the card, she said:

:)) I'm trying to get creative like you lol. You have inspired me! My first homemade note card :)

So nice of her!

I love this because she used her creativity and saved money by making her own thank you card. If you're kind of person who buys cards for holidays and special occasions, I would like to encourage you to try making your own. It's very rewarding and others really appreciate them!

There are many many directions you can go with your homemade cards. If you need inspiration, here is a great place to start.

Have fun :)

New Kitchen Chalkboard

So here it is, my first kitchen chalkboard! I love it. Not only because it cost absolutely nothing, but because it helps with organization and adds color to our bland, white walls. After living in our apartment for 19 months, it's nice us to finally walk around the corner and see color!

The original computer drawing is a bit different from the final creation, but it works. I used bolder colors to coordinate with the scrapbook paper of my lid box and drawer organizers. I'm thinking about trippling the rope size so the bows look thicker like the bows I drew. I also ended up preferring the frames turned vertically.

Original idea:

Final creation:

 

Now on to creating our bathroom chalkboard!