Welcome to My Home

I love decorating and making things "homey," but sometimes that costs A LOT more money than we can afford as "starving college students." I have seen these monogram wreaths all over lately, and really wanted one to make our apartment more welcoming--but it was far outside of our budget. However, as with anything in life, being told no has never stopped me. ;) 

My parents happen to have just pruned their grape vines one week when I stopped by for a visit, so I grabbed an armful and went to work shaping them into a nice round wreath. Next, I used my Cricut to cut out various shapes, sizes, and colors of flowers:

I also used my Cricut to cut out a giant monogram "M" (also to celebrate that I finally "officially" changed my last name--two years later...). I traced my "M" on a piece of cardboard for a more dimensional effect, and cut it out with an exacto knife. I put it all together, and I must say that for something that was so ridiculously inexpensive (aka FREE!), I am extremely pleased with the result:

MUCH more homey and welcoming than just a generic dark apartment door. :)

What I Found While Watering the Flowers

While we live in a beautiful area up on the mountain and thus enjoy all the natural wonders around us--we also live on the third floor of an apartment complex, and so there isn't always a lot of natural flora and fauna to experience while in the apartment. My husband has been very helpful in building planter boxes for our porch, so I am able to entertain my own albeit little flower garden--that is as much of a garden as one can create on a third floor balcony. ;) I am quite proud of my little balcony garden actually, and quite enjoy spending time out with my little baby flowers.

Every morning I take a few minutes to check on my flowers--watering as needed, pruning, etc.--just as part of my daily routine. It is during this time I can hear the little hungry baby birdies crying for their breakfast (there is a hidden little black bird nest somewhere above our patio, deep in a crevice of the building, so you can't see it). I believe this is the second or third batch of birds this summer, and this past week they have sounded as if they are almost nearly old enough to leave the nest. 

However, a few days ago I took down a hanging flower basket outside from our patio in order to water it, and found something I definitely was NOT expecting...

This little guy just chillin' among my petunias--Well Good Morning indeed! I'm surprised, not just because it's not something I tend to find every day (I haven't really had many run-ins with snakes), but also because we are three stories off the ground in an apartment complex. Poor little guy must have been rather startled as well, because as soon as I saw him I dropped the basket and he crashed to the patio. 

Once my heart started beating again I suddenly began to realize that I couldn't hear the birds chirping as I generally do during my morning routine, and as my new little snake friend began to slink away I saw that he appeared to have recently eaten... which made me feel much less bad when I trapped him in a bucket to examine and determine his species (Gopher Snake by the way--for being named after a burrowing animal, it sure is good at scaling tall buildings) and show my husband.

Hopefully no more reptiles will be frequenting my flowers.

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! :)

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!

Our New Sister Shop--Bluebird Blossoms!

Hey guys! We are happy to introduce our new sister shop--Bluebird Blossoms! 

Check out our fabulous flower blossom rings, earrings, and bobby pin sets--perfect for adding some lovely personality to your wardrobe this Summer! :)

Here are some of my favorites:

Black and White Polka Dot Full Set! Ring, Earrings, and Bobby Pins--reminiscent of an Audrey Hepburn style. :)

Pink Polka Dot Earrings--my personal favorite! :)

Retro Dot Ring and Earrings Set:

 Psychedelic Ring and Earrings Set:

Bumble Bee Yellow and Black Ring and Earrings Set:

Sunshine Yellow Ring and Earrings Set:

Champagne Pearl Ring and Earrings Set:

Turquoise and Coral Ring and Earrings Set:

 And many MANY more!!!

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!

Another Giveaway over at Crafty Confessions

Alright friends--that Fabric Flower Ring is still up for grabs over at Jewelry by Sebastian! But, in addition, here's ANOTHER giveaway for you--head over to Crafty Confessions for a chance to win one of my Shabby Chic Flower Head-Wraps! http://www.craftyconfessions.com/2012/01/tuesday-confessional-and-one-year.html 

Giveaway over at Jewelry by Sebastian Designs!

Hey guys! Here it is--my first giveaway of the week--head on over to Jewelry by Sebastian Designs' Facebook page and enter to win my Black and White Damask Fabric Flower Ring!

Fun Flower Clips for Baby Girl

Spending time with my little niece makes me want to make more little girl things! I do enjoy making pretty things that I can wear and use, but you know--there is something special about little girl things. I wish I could wear lacy polka dot rainbow tights, and big frilly bows on top of my head, and Shirley Temple curls, and petticoats and pretty sparkling things... anyway, little girl things are just so much fun!

So cute, right? So, I've got lots of pretty Kanzashi Daisy Flower Clips and Headbands for you!

Cute, right? (the clips aren't half bad either, hehe)

So, we have Frilly, Fun, and Flowery Pink:

Hot Pink and Green Polka Dot: 

Bright and Beautiful Rainbow Polka Dot:

Sunshine Yellow and Pink: 

and a HUGE thank you to SAHM of ETSY for featuring my headbands and clips!

Sunflower Baby Clips

"And the yellow sunflower by the brook, in autumn beauty stood." 

~William Cullen Bryant

Oh how I LOVE sunflowers? Well, here are some adorable Sunflower Hair Clips!

Ready to clip onto a lovely crochet headband for some adorable fun, or simply clip into your hair or your little girl's hair for a romantic look!