(Wo)man vs. wild

I’m working through Genesis this semester in one of my Bible studies, and today we talked about the curses God gave because of the fall of Adam and Eve. One curse was man must now “toil” the land, laboring hard to care for it. And He wasn’t kidding! Gardening/yard work is tough stuff. Just ask my hamstrings and back muscles.

Yesterday, Jay and I took advantage of the cool morning and worked on our sad little yard. I did NOT take a picture of myself doing any work. Your welcome. It wasn’t pretty.

We’re actually meeting with a landscaper tomorrow to see how much it would cost for us to put in a little flower bed and some potted plants around. Here’s a view from the front of the house. It just seems…blagh.

I just want some personality for the house. It doesn’t seem inviting.

Here are some of the ideas I have for the front.

Thought bubble mania.

I would like to put large numbers in that open section. Our house numbers are currently on that garage door, but do not appear here due to some crazy easy er, super difficult photoshop techniques. 🙂

I like this idea from here:

I think the copper might blend into our brick, though.

Or the potted plants could do double the work like these from here:

Those are fun.

Or this from here: (I think I’d hang ours instead of drilling into our brick)

All great ideas. Just need a little something to dress it up.

Do any of you have cool house numbers? Or maybe some that are a little out there?

The ants go marching…

My mom has recently begun singing “The ants go marching” song to Corbin, and I’ve been wanting to try out my new Porcelain Pen…so I combined the two thoughts 🙂

Here’s my Dollar Tree plate turned great!

I like 🙂

Mmmm toast

I’ve recently been in a DIY mood.

Okay. Let’s be honest. I’m usually in a DIY mood…I just don’t have the time or energy to accomplish my to-do list.

But this week has been different! I’ve made several things from my Pinterest account, including this I love you because…picture frame. Jay and I do a pretty good job of telling each other why we love one another, but I figured this could be a sweet way of doing it, too.

My sis and I talked about making this Exploding Year box for Corbin’s first year. I love this idea because it’s so much less expensive than scrapbooking!

Oven timer. Cinnamon toast is done. Checking out a new way of doing toast from The Pioneer Woman, here. Mmmm…smells successful.

Baby Apron

I ran across this awesome tutorial from Prudent Baby for a diy apron/bib. I love the owl fabric and how sweet it looks on a baby. Today, armed with my Hobby Lobby gift card, I set out to make my apron.

Here’s what turned out:

I love love love the pattern! I did fleece on the back for some extra squishy for baby.

I’m having a boy, so this apron doesn’t really work for him, but I thought it would be fun to make anyway.

Enjoy the rest of your Saturday!

Just Keep Swimming

Ah, to feel weightless. That’s how every 7 months pregnant whale woman wants to feel.

Jay and Kassidy (my sis) both have accompanied me to a neighbor’s pool several times so I could float around, trying to get some exercise…but more importantly, trying not to drown. For those of you pregnant, I highly recommend swimming. Especially when we’re having record-setting temperatures here in Texas! (Jay and I got home from dinner yesterday evening at 9:30 p.m. and the outside temp said 97 degrees!) Not.Okay.

As far as diy crafting goes, I’ve made some progress! Last week, I opened my Etsy account in an effort to 1) begin releasing the creativity in me that desperately wants to get out and 2) generate some moo-lah for the fall.

I posted here about a wreath I was making out of magazine pages. I was able to finish it the next day but posting while getting things ready for baby Corbin and working 40 hours a week has become super difficult! More power to those of you who are able…

Either way, here’s the finished product!

I thought it turned out really nicely! The pages weren’t hard to glue to the wreath base (I use wood instead of foam for security), and the colors of the pages really popped! Plus, I like that I was able to use a magazine I was no longer reading to make this wreath. Score.

Tonight, Jay and I are celebrating being able to watch t.v. again! Not that we’re big t.v. people, but when one of your wedding presents to yourself is a flat screen, and then you cancel cable because you’re having a baby, you feel sorry for your flat screen…that it’s not able to fulfill its purpose. Now, with a trusty paper clip, my husband has rigged our t.v. to accept local channels. Jay’s We’re watching the Rangers Game as we speak! And the flat screen is happy.

I think we’re planning to wake up early tomorrow and head to Hobby Lobby. I have an unused gift card, an open Saturday, and a host of Pinterest pics I’m unabashedly addicted to. That’s a dangerous combination, friends.

Craftastic!

Yesterday, after I determined I only had nine weeks of work left (and income!), I decided to start up a few things to generate some moolah. One of the ideas I had was to begin my Etsy store.

Like so many others (I hope!), I started an Etsy store awhile ago but really didn’t post much on it (lazy). Today though, I totally rocked Etsy! I uploaded a Vintage Paper Wreath I made a few months ago (here) to my site and am super excited about it! I already had one person list it as a Favorite Item…and that makes me stupidly giddy!

So, in an effort to give it my all-or-none-type attention, I started on another wreath. This one’s a little different though.

Instead of using book pages, I thought a magazine might work well. I have tons of Real Simple magazines that I absolutely loved reading but now didn’t have a use for. I saved the pages that inspired me (great recipes, design, DIY tips) and began tearing out colorful pages throughout the magazine. I ran across one of their sections about halfway through, which I thought was ironic.

Straight from the horse’s mouth…er, editor’s pen…?

I didn’t feel so bad tearing out those pages because the magazine endorsed repurposing! It was practically asking for new life…

As soon as I started, I realized I didn’t really like rolling the paper the same way I did with the book page wreath. So, I tried something different.

I folded the paper almost like a regular flower, where it gathers in the center. Then, I hot glued it there and pinned it with a clothespin after many, many near-burns.

This kept the “flower” design intact without running up my medical bills.

Then, I began placing the magazine flowers around the wreath, and this is what I have so far!

Right now, it kind of looks like a bad hat.

But rest assured! At the end, it will be amazing. 🙂

Time for some more glue and then sleep. Corbin’s made it a little difficult to get a good night’s rest lately. Hoping for restful sleep tonight!

*Is anyone else impressed with the New Uses for Old Things section above? Who knew vanilla could mask the smell of paint??