A cheap fix.

I've been on the lookout for some black flats for quite a while. I'd been wearing Target's "Ona" in black patent but the sizing is a wee off and they'd always been snug, not to mention they lack a lot of support {which is another story...as a teacher I should have shoes that have a great deal of support but I refuse, financially [since those are often more than I'm willing to pay since I'm super cheap] and aesthetically,  but mostly financially}.

Being pregnant my feet have grown a bit and in desperation I found a great $10-$15 {me not able to remember} pair at H & M last month. They had even less support but they were a shape I liked more than the "Ona" and they fit...glorious! 

Then I stepped in dog poop while wearing them last week.

And they have little ridges in the sole which would've made cleaning a {gross} challenge and they had started to look worn out already. I'm usually pretty good at taking care of inexpensive clothing to make it last longer {I'm cheap} {cold washes & air drying} but shoes are different and their fate was decided the other night while walking in our garden.

So the search began anew. I found this pair at Target this weekend. I had seen them before and really liked their shape, how they are a bit more substantial, and the faux-suede softness.

But they have gold hardware on them and I don't like that in a shoe {or any accessory} because I feel it limits my wardrobe options; then I want my clothes to match in hue {warm colors [or black] with gold, cold colors [or black] with silver} and I have to wear matching jewelry.

Edgy but wardrobe-limiting.

I wouldn't even really like the little studs, even if they came in black, but they were just right in all the other ways and I decided to get them. 

And a black paint pen. And then I painted over the gold {wearing an improvised face-mask even though it wasn't very fume-y at all}.

They're not as opaque as I'd like but it did the trick and now I feel OK about these black flats. Because of the flash, the pictures make it seem like there's more gold poking through than there really is.

Even though I'd like my feet to go back to their original size after I have le bébé {which I hear doesn't happen}, these are half a size up from my norm and I would also like them to last me for more than just the remainder of my pregnancy.

In other news, I'm snowed in today, getting school and personal work done...here's to being safe out there in the weather and getting creative in here at home!
xoxo, natty ♥

A garland.

I crafted with some friends tonight; what a wonderful way to spend a Tuesday night! It also made me miss my San Jose friends; we'll have to make a crafting date this December when I'm in town?!
This garland is about half of what I'd like it to be in length but you can get the idea of it here; yea for fall!

xoxo, natty ♥

Ribbon.

I wanted to write down how I made the wreaths I concocted earlier this week.
I made two separate ones, a ribbon wreath and a rag one.

For the ribbon wreath:

I used a 12" foam wreath and a spool of cute orange & black diamond-checkered ribbon.
I secured the end of the ribbon spool to the foam wreath with hot glue and just wrapped the ribbon around the whole foam wreath.
I added on about eight inches of black grosgrain using the same process.
I made a smallish bow using the orange and black ribbon. I formed it and then tied/secured the bow with black sewing thread. 
I glued this ribbon on the black portion of the wreath.
I cut a several inch length of the plain black grosgrain ribbon and connected it to the back the wreath where I wanted it to hang from using a florist's pin.

Yea!

For the rag wreath:

I bought several quarter-yard's worth of coordinating orangey-brownish-autumnal fabric. I chose out about six different patterns.

Using pinking shears I cut out two types of strips; both are one inch wide and one set are about eight inches long and the other about six.

I took a wire hanger {thank you dry-cleaning!} and formed it into a circle. I kind of pulled down the hook park so that it's not that high up.

I layered the strips so that they alternated in size and pattern and then I started tying the strips to the wire hanger.

My black pants accumulated a lot of fluff during the process.

I actually had far more strips than needed to cover the wire hanger but I put them all on and it came out looking nice and shaggy!

I've since bent over the hook so that it doesn't stick out this much like some turkey neck.

I LOVE this kind of crafting; do you?
Happy Saturday and, Washington Nationals - I am SO sorry about last night.
xoxo, natty ♥

Craft Happy.

Somehow it's gotten to be late in the evening, especially for a Monday, so let's get this love-fest on the road!

The ghost of two-months-past.

1} There was no work today so I got in a bunch of errands and straightening up; simple pleasures!
2} One of those errands was hitting up a Jo-Ann fabric store and a Michaels craft store.
3} Then I made wreaths. 

Fall rag wreath!

I know I'm borderline kitschy sometimes but I totally LOVE making my own decorations; I feel like I'm beating the store-bought stuff. 

Halloween wreath!

Not that I don't indulge in that too.
4} Another fruit of today's labor; pumpkin bread!
5} With pumpkin butter!
How was your weekend Reader? Did you have today off from work? We've got a busy few days ahead of us here but I'll hopefully get up some New York pictures soon.
xoxo, natty ♥

Recipe for a great Sunday.

• A Day-Off tomorrow.

• Lots of time for St. Paddy's Day crafting while watching Teen Mom 2 which resulted in this beautiful garland.

 

And the left-overs from cutting out my circles which I sewed to a bit of thread to hang up for more color around the old apartment.

After having taken a picture I realized that they look like cheese and I might need to take them down.

Wreaths! One for me and one for someone else!

And a printable framed. 

• A Law & Order SVU marathon on TV.

• Dinner in the oven.

• Much laundry done {including folding} which isn't fun in and of itself but it certainly is nice!

• Many dishes done too. Not so fun but see above.

This certainly wasn't the most thrill-filled weekend but the slow pace definitely did me good...and there's a whole day left!
What's been great about your weekend?
 xoxo, natty ♥

Love is in the Air.

I've been on a bit of a crafting/decorating kick recently...in case it's not obvious; ha! In an effort to spruce us up for the approaching Day of Lurve {which is technically EVERY day!} I've done a few things.
There was the wreath I made almost entirely of Target Christmas clearance stuff.

I've since added on some pink & red ribbon for extra fun.
I took a hint from this lady HERE and copied her hanging heart tutorial.

Pretty!
Then I sewed together the many small hearts that I cut out into a festive garland.

Sewing paper together is so dang easy! I was worried about the thread freaking out in the space between the hearts but it did no such thing and I love the result! This was a super easy project that took me about an hour total.
I also cute out some different shaped hearts from the scraps and other paper I had laying around. I used double stick tape to put them onto a few wooden dowels left over from the wedding decorations. The poor hyacinth in the picture that has brought some spring to our little abode needed some perking up and the forest of hearts did just the thing!

I think that when the flower finally bites the bullet within several days I'll get some jelly beans or m&ms, put them in a clear vase and stick in the heart-dowels for another fun piece of flair. As for the bulb I think I can just save it and that it will do it's thing again??
I try to keep things not too cluttered when it comes down to decór {mostly because it makes clean-up easier!} and little {subtle to me} things like this make my little heart sing. 

Anyway, that's it for the cutting and pasting for now; have you done any fun projects recently? Do you decorate much for holidays?
xoxo, natty ♥

Pardon the Poor Lighting.

This week I finished our birthday wreaths. Mine weighs a bit more than Mikey's does since I used more balloons to "flesh it out" a bit. They're pretty super easy peasey to make! I'd like to put them up for the weeks leading up to our Happy Days!


If in case you have any interest at all in how you might make such a creation, read on good people! If not, the pictures are at the very end.

1} Buy a foam wreath. The bigger the wreath the more balloons you'll need. You can apparently buy plumber's foam in a tube at hardware stores for much cheaper but I haven't done it yet. I used 12 inch ones.


2} Buy florist pins from a crafting store. They're kind of "u" shaped and pretty cheap.


3} Buy your balloons. I used standard sized and you'll need lots and lots. It's a good idea to buy them from a party store where you can buy large bags of a certain color. I chose a standard scheme for the mister's and pinks with orange and white for mine.


4} Bunch and pin away! I didn't go all around on mine but did mostly the front of the wreath and the sides. The foam is not visible from the front when the wreath is hung up. 

5} Embellish as you will. I purchased gift bows from the wrapping aisle at Tar-jay but you could also make your own bows or add on other fun things. I pinned them in at the top of the wreath just using the florist pins.

6} I decoupaged scrapbooking paper in coordinating prints onto a little wooden shape {from the craft store} and then decoupaged on the words "Happy Birthday". I used an image from Google but you could write it out yourself or print it out in a fun font {check out Dafont for good ones}. It might be a good idea to not write out your own words since the mod-podge might make the ink run. I hot glued a loop of grosgrain ribbon to the back of the wooden sign and pinned it into the back of the wreath so that it hangs down.


7} Hang it up!

xoxo, natty ♥

Wreath crazy!

Perhaps I've gotten a bit ahead of myself and/or turned into one of those women who craft all the time. Not really, I don't have enough free time for that. But I have started in on two other wreaths beyond the Valentine's one seen below.

They're birthday wreaths!

A primary colored one for the man of the house and a beautiful pinky-orangey-white one for me! But they're only a quarter done each because I ran out of balloons. That's right, they're balloons! I can do a bit of a tutorial when I'm all finished but these things are easy to Google and I pinned a few on Pinterest too.
They'll go up for the few weeks before a birthday. I thought of this because I sometimes feel as though our birthdays get neglected and I'd like to try to bring as much festivity to the occasions as I can.
Are there any birthday decorations that grace your household? Hows about traditions? I'll expound upon the things we do for our special days soon.
Good weekend to you and yours!
xoxo, natty ♥
P.S.
Also, do you have any Friday the 13th things? "Things" being customs or fun beliefs...I'm just randomly curious! Don't step on any cracks today!

Oh Happy Day.

Today was a glorious day of sleeping in, eating breakfast, watching football, going to Costco, organizing a bit around the old apartment and doing a bit of crafting as well...yippee!  
I loaded up on some fabric for my as-yet-decided sewing projects.

And I concocted a Valentine's wreath from Target Christmas stuff that was on clearance and some foam hearts I got...my first wreath attempt!

Did you have a good weekend with at least a little bit of time to yourself? I certainly hope so!
xoxo, natty ♥

Thoughts swirling around in my head/12th Day of Christmas.

Today I'm wrapping up my "12 Days of Christmas" campaign, my little effort to put some focus on things that I enjoy during a time of year which can be ever so fraught with stress and busyness. Counting December 25th this is the 12th Day. You can read the initial post HERE. On the sixth of January we can celebrate the end of this season {some count the day after Christmas as the first but others don't...either way, January 6th is the deadline} and I can say that I have enjoyed the reflection and fun. I often feel as though I'm surrounded by chaos even though I know that my life is peaches when it comes to the grand scheme of things and I'll be striving to appreciate the small/big joys throughout the rest of this year.


Anyway, on to the title of today's post. This is something that makes me feel EXCITED. In an effort to procrastinate, I've been mulling over some ideas and I feel as though they've been flying around in my mind; they're all centered on things that I can sew! One of the many goals I have for myself {#57 to be precise} between now and September 2014 is this:


Begin to sew and create something that I can wear, something that I can use around the house and something that I can give to someone else; 0/3.


I was talking about this and how I'd like a real sewing machine for my birthday {wink, wink} while visiting Arizona and my dear Mother in law mentioned that she hasn't used hers in quite a while and would I like to borrow it until I am a proud owner of my own? By gum, of course I did! Of course I DO!!
The night before we left she pulled out this beauty from the closet and we wiped off the dust and investigated.

I thought "It's SOOOOOOO cute!" which is no surprise to me. You see, this is no ordinary sewing machine. This is a wonderful, self contained and flowered sewing machine that's over 30 years old. Bright & shiny colors with a vintage kick to it? Sign me up! 
A part slides out to reveal the cord neatly curled up and the instruction booklet. I took a video for your benefit. My hand at the end is supposed to be a manual "ta da" for you.


This is the result.

I had fun looking through the directions and pretending that I was putting in thread and getting the bobbin ready. My MIL told me that she was super excited for this big purchase when she initially bought it. She is such a conscientious person and I'm really grateful for that because everything is meticulously cared for and in place. But mostly because she's generous enough to let me haul it to California for experimental sewing; thank you sew {I'm really satisfied with myself for having fit this in} much!!

This flower motif is on the actual machine too!

Then I stayed up late looking up somewhat simple sewing projects online and getting excited about what I could do. I think I have most of them saved on Pinterest so I don't have to worry about losing these cute ideas.
Then I had to wake up at 5:30 AM and get in a car for hours on end.
Then we got back home and here I am now.
Believe you me, there are many, many, many things laying around for me to do but getting started with sewing is a task that I can see getting swept aside for months and years so I'm going to make this happen. And I'm really pumped about it!
Plus, the machine has flowers on it...those yellow and orange ones that can make any day a bit brighter!


I really do need to get a few things taken care of before I can seriously have fun, though - putting away our apartment {we have NOT finished moving in yet thankyouverymuch} and getting through the mountain of grading that taunts me every.single.day. 


I think that my first project will be kitchen/dish towels. Then maybe some produce/grocery stuff-sacks since as of last Sunday stores in San Jose are no longer allowed to provide plastic bags and have to charge ten cents for every paper bag. Read about it HERE, it's kind of great.


Are you crafty? Do you have any easy sewing ideas? Do you rely on patterns or do you just eye it? Let me know if you have tips!
xoxo, natty ♥

Gotta get down on Friday.

The title of this post belies the actual nature of this day which is mostly all about getting things done and going to bed at a reasonable hour; I'm like the lamest 20-something out there, aren't I? Oh well.
I have plenty of wedding stuff and general all-around cleaning to "get down" with today. I'm also meeting friends for lunch which I'm looking forward to. One of the big things I need to work on is scanning. I've been thinking about making posters of the mr and I as we grew up, kind of like poster sized collagees. Since it's probably not a good idea to cut into all of those original pictures of us from the 80s and 90s that have no negatives (do you remember negatives?!) my plan has been to scan them all, print them out (any good ideas on this out there? I usually just take a usb to target and print them out on their machine, but I've never done more than 10 or 15 and I can't fathom how long it would take with the amount we have...), crop and arrange them in poster frames. We'll see how this turns out.
Another crafty thing I've been working on is fabric bunting that I want to use to decorate the yard and outside of the house. I'll post my own pictures later, maybe, but here's an idea of what I'm aiming for:

via

I'm using fabrics of varying patterns as long as they're bright and colorful and not too focused on one color. My eyes get bored easily.
That fun stuff though, will wait for next week. Today is about cleaning and more mundane tasks. Mentioning it here (to the bored chagrin of my readers) is meant to keep me accountable.
Wish me luck and GET DOWN ON FRIDAY!
xoxo, natty ♥