Dabbles with Flowers

Back in high school I was the very proud president of our school FFA! (Future Farmers of America, in case you didn't know) Yes, I still have the jacket and everything--one of these days I will have to pull it out for Halloween of something. :) Anyway... what actually got me into the FFA was my wonderful Floral Design teacher, Charles Bigo--that was by far my favorite class! We made all sorts of arrangements for holidays, weddings, or just for fun. I did the flowers for my sisters' wedding a few years back, as well as the flowers for my own wedding--while I don't do flowers all that often these days, it's still one of my favorite things to do. Fortunately, I have had a younger brother or two in high school the past few years, so when Prom or Homecoming comes around, I get to reminisce and get back to work! :)

This year for Prom, my instructions for the floral wristlet were simply: "Her dress is sky blue with silver accents." Not many flower options to match that description, but I took the challenge and was quite pleased to find that the local flower shop had some absolutely STUNNING orchids, and having never worked with orchids I just had to give it a try.

My little brother, all grown up! :)

Baby It's Cold Outside!

Can you believe how quickly the cold is taking over?? I heard that it was even SNOWING in some places! Crazy... Fortunately, we have our beautiful headband ear warmers in shop just in time to warm up--check them out HERE! :)

Sage Green Rose:

Brown and Blue Floral Fantasies:

Black Beauty:

Beautiful Blue Bow: 

Fresh Fuchsia Pink Bow:

Sunshine Yellow Bow:

What I Wore: A New Chapter

Since marriage, I have spent a lot of time pondering over the future and what direction my husband and I wish to take our new life. In the end, I have decided... drum-roll please... to go back to school! :) Crazy, but things just fell into place and worked out so well, and suddenly I find myself enrolled at the Art Institute studying my passion and dream, Fashion Design!

I signed up to have the school send me just some information and pamphlets--just to check it out--but one of the advisers actually called me, and I was so impressed I set up an appointment for a private tour. We did that on a Monday, came back Tuesday to meet with the financial department, and I suddenly found myself registering that Thursday--it all happened so fast, but so exciting!

For orientation, I went for a safari theme--this lovely Mikarose khaki dress and cheetah-print tights, ring, bracelet, and earrings:

My little girl just loves the camera--she can't let me take pictures without her. :)

Complete with snake-skin print shoes:

What I Wore: Color Block Dress

So, turns out I really haven't sewn much since I got married--my husband pointed this out the other day (he's never seen me actually make a dress--he's just seen all the things I've made, but never seen the process)--I know that getting married is definitely a whole new phase in life and it's taken a while to get used to things, but I didn't realize how much I miss sewing! We went to the fabric store and my husband helped me pick out some fabric and I got to work--and here is the finished product:

I finished it just in time to wear it to the wedding of my husband's friend--What can I say, I'm still a little girl at heart, I just love dressing up. :)

Pioneer Day Boutique

For Pioneer Day last month, I took a chance and applied to be in Provo's Pioneer Day Extravaganza with the items I've created for my shops, Bluebird Blossoms and Tinkeranniebelle--and we got in! So, my husband, brother, brother-in-law, Christian, and I headed down early that morning and set up our very own booth  for the day (P.S. Best family ever, these awesome boys helping me out on my big day).

So, here is our lovely booth (I was so glad I had the boys' help--I couldn't have set all that up without them):

To your right, our lovely hair clips: 

And to your left, aster and peony hair clips, as well as some beautiful flower, yo-yo, and zipper headbands:

A tower of earrings:

Up front, our beautiful necklaces:

And, my personal favorite, Shabby-Chic Head-wraps and Fabric Flower Blossom Rings, Earrings, and Bobby Pin Sets: 

 My amazing husband and brother-in-law spent the entire day prior to the 24th building all of our displays--I especially liked the CD displays and the wood displays for my rings and earrings--they are very creative. :)  

The boutique was a success, and we got a lot of positive feedback. In fact, the woman in charge of the Farmer's Market in Provo approached me and asked me to come and participate with my products. :)

Of course, most of all, it was just a ton of fun--I got to spend all day with my most wonderful husband and awesome bros! :) And it was a ton of fun meeting different people and sharing my passion and creativity with them. My favorite of the entire day was my very first customer, and little girl who couldn't have been more than 7 years old. She came to our booth several times eyeing a fabric flower ring; she finally got the guts up to talk to me about it, when her mother came by and told her she needed to make sure she looked at EVERYTHING at the fair before she purchased anything, so that she made sure she made the best choice. A little while later she came back and said "I just have to have this ring." :)

Another fun thing was seeing one of my best friends from high school, Talisa! I haven't seen her in years--probably since high school--so it was really great to catch up with her and her sisters.

Overall, it was an awesome day! :)

To see all of our beautiful products and items, check out our shops, Bluebird Blossoms and Tinkeranniebelle!

Shirts into Skirt Upcycle

I've been trying to cycle through my wardrobe finally--I haven't done it in a LONG time, and I could definitely use the extra space. I came across a few shirts that I never wear, and as I was about to throw them out, I suddenly saw something in them: could I turn those into a skirt? I was getting rid of them anyway, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

I basically turned my shirts upside down; the leopard print had elastic around the hem, so it made a perfect pre-done waistband. The neck-edge had a cute ruffle around it, so I left it intact to become the new hem for my skirt; I then cut off the ruffled hem from the yellow skirt and stitched it to the new hem of the skirt to give it a little extra layering. I chopped off the sleeves and stitched the holes shut, then cut the elastic from those sleeve pieces and stitched it around the back of the hem.

Basically, in the end, I just cut and pasted all over the place and had a lot of fun. With the extra fabric, I cut out some floral pieces and made a big yellow flower for the skirt, as well as a flower pin to match the ensemble.

And voila! Three old shirts now become one brand new outfit! :)

Party at Debbie Jean's This Weekend!

If you're in the Wisconsin area this weekend, take a trip over to Debbie Jean's Custom Framing and Whimsical Treasures for her Holiday Open House and 10th Anniversary Party! Debbie is showcasing TONS of great items for the holidays, including my own Shabby-Chic Headwraps and Flirty Flower Rings and Earrings, as well as many MANY other beautiful creations!

And if you can't make it this weekend, just drop by her store anytime to find some beautiful holiday gifts!

What I Wore: Halloweeeeeeener! ;)

Halfway through November... and I finally got my Halloween pictures to work! (my computer has been rejecting my camera card lately). So, here's to a wonderful What WE Wore--Halloweener Edition! ;)

This year I didn't dress up in costume as in the past; I wanted to keep it a little more simple. I dressed up sporting Halloween colors, and even dressed my little Halloweener puppy up in her orange and black dress and bow (yes, she's cuter than me, but I accept that, haha). The little kids at school kept asking me what I was supposed to be--I was the embodiment of the holiday, duh. :P 

Seriously, I think I love this holiday simply just to dress my little doggie up--isn't she adorable?? :)

Love how she poses like a little model! :)

When I got home from work I decided to do something holiday-ish in the kitchen (it's been a while since I've baked or decorated or anything--marriage sure does through you for a loop!), so I FINALLY made those candy-corn sugar cookies I pinned on Pinterest last Halloween. ;)

They were Delicious, and dang cute to boot. ;)

What I Wore: Sunshine and a New Haircut!

I've had long hair my entire life--once I cut it shoulder-length in middle school, but other than that I've been pretty determined to keep my long luscious locks. ;) However, since getting married, my sense of adventure is coming back and I am loving trying new things! 

So, here we go--from this:

To this!

 

And, of course, with a new haircut I had to go with one of my favorites--my lovely sunshine look, dress and ring made by me. :)

and the yellow polka dot shoes--yellow is such a happy color! :)

What I Wore--Pleats

This is one of my FAVORITE dresses--I know I say that a lot, but it really is. :) I love this dress because I made it from a ridiculously marked down bolt of clearance fabric (nothing beats clearance).

 

I also love it because it makes me feel classy, especially the pleats along the waist--I just love pleats!

What I Wore--Lots of Color

Once upon a time, I finally had the opportunity of learning to ride a motorcycle:

It was a family affair--and they were baby motorcycles, as you can tell by my brothers who are much taller than myself (aren't they dashing young men?):

It was a BLAST! I can't wait to go again--so much fun! We learned and practiced on a low-traffic street, then played around in the dirt (aka, lots of falling and crashing and burning)--Something that much fun leaves a mark, inside the soul... and outside... two weeks later I was sporting some beautiful rainbow colors:

And a few colorful bruises to match! :)

*Shirt, Earrings, Shoes = all clearance finds

*Skirt = made by me! :)

Tea Time for Baby Girl

I just love all the cute things you can use to dress up a little girl--like these lovely tea rose flower clips and crochet headbands--check 'em out in my shop, available in many colors! (if there is a certain color of tea rose or headband that you do not see here but would like, just let me know and I'll get to work!)

Golden Yellow Tea Rose Flower Clip and Teal Blue Crochet Headband:

Pretty-in-Pink Pearl Sprinkled Tea Rose Flower Clip and Pastel Pink Crochet Headband:

Purple Indigo Violet Tea Rose Flower Clip and Purple Headband:

 Creamy White Tea Rose with Lavender Headband: