City Crafter challenge blog: guest designer.

I'm over at City Crafter challenge blog today. Here is the project I created:

I used these {Ippity} stamps and some of these {Ippity} stamps. I used some ribbon from SC Metropolitan kit and the mistable trim by Pink Paislee from the SC Boardwalk kit.

This challenge was a lot of fun and I had two bottles of wine while working on it. The photo was taken at my bff's wedding last May and it's one of my favorites.

Thanks to Kirsty for this opportunity :)

Gold Rock Beach.

I guess I never posted this but I'm not sure why I forgot. From our trip to the Bahamas last month (can we go back yet??) using SC fountain square.

learning!

My aunt gave me her Cricut (she got a new cutting machine). I have been watching videos & trying to learn how it works. Hoping I can make it work & create some cute stuff!

new lighting for the office.

There are so many tutorials out there for spray painting an old brass chandelier that I am not going to get wordy with what I did. (Here's a really good one. Here's another. )

All I did was buy an old chandelier I liked for $10 at a garage sale. Sanded it lightly (should have primed it but I was impatient) & spray painted it with ORB.

It is beautiful!

Christmas card photo shoot.

Since Picnik is closing & we get to use all their premium features for free until they close in April, I created a collage with some of the photos from our shoot for our Christmas card this past year.

SC clear skies kit.

superbowl 46.

We had debated on going down to Indy for all the festivities & ultimately decided it was probably a once in a lifetime thing to visit the city where the superbowl was hosted. We only live about an hour from Indy & if we didn't go, we thought we may regret it. So on the Saturday before the superbowl we headed downtown. It was raining but not too cold. There were tons of people. & neither of us were too impressed with the whole shebang. The Superbowl Village was... nothing. I pictured it to be more of like a festival with different booths set up for food/drink/stupid souvenirs to buy. None of that. There was actually nothing. There were several stages set up where groups had been playing all week but there were only three small bands playing the day we were there. There was one beer tent we popped in to get out of the rain & get a Bud Light. We thought alcohol onboard would help us enjoy it more. It didn't. I did think the zipline sounded kind of fun but heard early on the wait was 3-4 hours so that was not gonna happen for us. Parking even sold out early on.

As for the NFL Experience... what a joke. There were all kinds of games for kids to play. Throwing footballs, kicking footballs, etc. The lines were wrapped all the way around each game. I imagine at least an hour wait for each game. They had all the superbowl rings set up & the trophy so it was kind of cool to see that. It cost $25 to get inside & was completely wasted.

We went into the Circle Center Mall to use the restrooms & they had security at the doors so the lines moved smoothly. We ate at BW3's downtown & it was packed (they told us an hour wait) but luckily there was a table open at the bar so we walked right in.

We were only there for a couple of hours but that was plenty of time. I hate people & crowds anyway so I was really over it by the time we left. I don't know how they could have done it differently, except to use ticket sales & limit the number of people allowed per day.

It also may have helped to appreciate it more if I cared about either team playing. Still can't believe the Packers lost to the Giants. But I did see that Aaron was in town on superbowl Sunday!

horseshoe casino.

About 7 months later... a layout about what we did for my 27th birthday in July. We went to see Gary Allan in southern Indiana.

This was done for the City Crafter's challenge to use an envelope. It didn't turnout how I envisioned it. I hate when that happens. I used a vellum envelope & punched out little hearts. & then I punched out a bigger heart & put the initials GA on it. But it's hard to see it. Used my SC Metropolitan kit for this one.

twine wrapped wine bottle vase.

I saw this idea on Pinterest, of course. I thought it looked super simple & I wanted to jump on the bandwagon. I got a huge roll of twine from Hobby Lobby. I tried it a few weekends ago with a beer bottle & it didn't impress me. After finishing off a wine bottle the other night, I decided to try again. Not sure what the difference was but it turned out much better. I love it.

The beer bottle probably took me an hour or so. The large wine bottle took considerably less time. 40 minutes maybe? & turned out a lot better. Not sure if it's the size or just that this wasn't my first go 'round.

The closest I can come to a source for this idea is here which is not real legit.

I am planning more in the near future & hopefully can sell a few at the craft fair my bff is planning to raise money for karunda beds for our local animal shelter.

isn't she pretty?

January running stats.

Total Distance:	8.65 miles
Total Time:	1:34:56 min
Run Distance:	8.65 miles
Run Time:	1:34:56 min

alive & well.

Had to scrap one of the pics I took of Bentley the other night. He is so photogenic!

Bentley came from a shelter in Florence, Alabama. It is a kill shelter. The rate of euthanasia in black animals, especially in southern states, is outstanding. It breaks my heart & I wish I could save them all.

It's hard to think about what may have become of B boy if we hadn't chosen to foster him. & although our plan wasn't to adopt him, we can't imagine our lives without him now. He is so smart. Aware of everything. Loves to look out the windows. Wants to follow you everywhere & see what you're getting into. He doesn't want to miss anything! He loves to play & go on runs with us, but he is so, so sweet too. & he gets compliments everywhere we go. You can't take this dog anywhere without someone commenting on how handsome he is or how well he walks on a leash (hard to believe that but obedience training brought him a long way!).

If you're thinking about getting a dog, first research the breed you're looking for & make sure you're 100% ready for the commitment. & when you're really ready, look for a shelter dog. Your newest best friend may be waiting inside.

For this week's challenge at Scrapping the Music. I used this kit but with these letter stickers.

precious face.

can you even get enough?!

we're back!

We've been here for the past week & it was great. Warm, high 70s, sunny, & with all the rum/Diets we could imagine. Now we're back & catching up laundry & adjusting to the cold again. Brr!

PS Did you guys know Picnik is closing? I use them or Photoshop to edit my photos & Picnik does really good for being free! They're not closing until April, but from now until they close they have all their premium editing tools available for free to everyone! Really cool! I am loving the texture tool (used it above).

living social canvas deal!

Go here to check it out!

11 x 14 gallery wrapped canvas for $28!

gary. round 7.

From when we went to Dallas in November. One of the main reasons we went was to see Gary. Mom gets mad at me for seeing him over & over & wants to know why I don't see someone new. I see new people too - but he's my favorite!

Made this with my SC Boardwalk kit from Breann!

thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful for:
+ mom & Rick offering to keep B while we go away on vaca next week. (saving $40/night on boarding!)
+ Tj finding a new desk so we can finish our new office.
+ good sleep (finally! after 2 bad nights of sleep.)
+ keeping calm & focused on getting everything done before vaca (anxiety be damned!)
+ one of Rick's mechanic friends who is going to look at my car & fix it (it's sounded like it's going to blow up ever since I hit that pot hole!)