wine themed bridal shower

My sister is already off and married, but I'd like to share the fun bridal shower that my mom, aunt, and I threw for her!

This was the invitation I designed.

We hung this gorgeous wreath that my mom made on the door.

 I added the welcome banner to it!

 I made wine jellies for favors - pinot noir, rose, and chardonnay. I used a recipe from America's Test Kitchen.

I used a vintage suitcase to display them by the door so guests could take one before they left.

The little cork sign stands were made by cutting a cork in half, making a hole with a nail in the center, and then placing a looped piece of wire in the hole.

 I designed the spread the love tags and also included a list of ways to enjoy wine jelly.

 One of the activities we had was guess the number of corks!

Of course we had quite the spread of food! We had stuffed dates, cheese, crackers,  nuts, veggies, chocolate covered strawberries, cucumber sandwiches, tomatoes and mozzarella, mini cupcakes, and truffles, ooh and more cheese!

My mom made the tuxedo and wedding dress chocolate covered strawberries. I wish I would have grabbed a closer photo they were so cute and delicious!

I made champagne mini cupcakes by adding champagne to the cake mix in place of water. I also added reduced champagne to homemade buttercream frosting.

 We also had dark chocolate cabernet truffles. Recipe here.

 The stuffed dates were a big hit! They're one of my favorites. Recipe here.

My husband and I found some old windows up above our garage and I used a paint marker to draw on one to add some decoration to the food table. I printed off the design first and then taped it to one side of the glass so I could trace over it.

Of course we had some wine! My mom made the cute little glass markers so all the ladies could tell their glasses apart. My mom also made the mini wreath things to place over the bottle and I added the tags with a description of the wine and what it pairs well with.

We also had a non-alcoholic juice punch.

You can maybe see the name tags my aunt made in this photo!

Love this girl! I hope to share some photos from the wedding soon too!

Nightstand Makeover

Wowzers long time no post!

I have a little furniture makeover to share with you today! Here's the side by side comparison of the before and after.

I bought the nightstand for $10 at a thrift store. I primed it first then used a light cream paint that I found at our local Re-Store. I used a mini sponge roller to apply the paint.

 I happened to find a navy and white fabric box in the perfect size to use as a drawer at a thrift shop!

The updated knobs are from Home Depot. I adore the vintage look of them!

I  cheated a bit for the top of the dresser. It has an inset space that had a piece of ugly board that was not original to the piece. I kept debating what to put as the top and used it with an open top for far too long, so instead I used my great grandma's suitcase. It's almost a perfect fit!

The lamp is also from our local ReStore!

Now if only we could find a nightstand for my husband's side of the bed. He's has old plastic drawers that he has been using since college.

Our bedroom looks so much better than when we first moved in. There are still things to finish like trim and curtains! Never ending projects! I can't wait to share more with you!

Simple Rustic Wreath DIY

 The holidays are officially upon us! We got our Christmas tree over the weekend and we had some trimmings that I didn't want to go to waste. Thankfully I there was an old metal wreath form in our garage and some wire. I whipped up this wreath in no time! If you don't have a wreath form on hand try using a couple metal clothes hangers (if you happen to have those).

Grab some gloves and a small clippers to trim pieces further if necessary. I found it easiest to have a glove only on my left hand to hold the greenery to the frame and my right hand was free to wrap the wire around the frame. Wrap the wire around the base of the branch to attach it to the frame. You can use the a long piece of wire continuously adding pieces to make it full and covering where you wrapped the previous branch.

Once the wreath is nice and full you can hang it up on your door for everyone to admire your handiwork! I used some ribbon I had in my stash. There are so many options for this! I think it would be awesome with a thick strip of fabric, plaid flannel, or burlap. Use what you have on hand! My trick for hanging it on the door is to use an upside down command hook on the inside of the door and tie the ribbon to it.

Do you use any of the leftover tree trimmings for decor? I'd love to hear how you use them!

Sanding, Spray Paint, and Love

This is another edition of sanding, spray paint, and love!

I got this chair from a rummage sale for $3. My husband and I walked to the rummage sale and I had to carry the chair home. It was my husband's one condition for me getting it (haha this makes him sound not very chivalrous).  It was for my own good and it wasn't that far.

This post may look like a kitty photo shoot. It's not. Jake has claimed this chair as his own. His big body must fit in the molded seat perfectly. This chair also sits in our kitchen by the stove where he likes to sit and watch us making food.

After some rough sanding and wiping it down, I did a coat of primer. I used Rust-Oleum’s Painter’s Touch Ultra Cover 2x Primer.

{momma, please don't take my chair away again}

After that, I used Rust-Oleum’s Painter’s Touch Ultra Cover 2x Aqua Satin. I love this bright cheery color!

Here's a side-by-side of the before and after so you don't have to scroll back up!

{so much better!}



I also used this chair in a 1 year photo shoot for a sweet and wiggly little girl. It was perfect!

I'm still trying to decide if I want to add some distressing to it. What do you think?

Quilt Story: Ella's Quilt Made From Crib Bedding

Hello friends! Yes I know it's been foreeeever since I last posted. I guess I just dropped off the face of blogland for awhile. Forgive me?! (Maybe the sheer amount of photos in this post will make up for it?!)

I know you've been waiting for this. I started this project back in March and it is now well loved in its new home! Which makes me so so so happy!

Here it is. The finished queen sized quilt! (Yes, queen sized! This thing is a beast!)

The pattern that was used can be found in my previous post.

Here's a little breakdown of where all that fabric from the original crib bedding went:

• Fitted sheet - cut for squares
• Quilt backing - back of pillow shams
• Quilt front - cut for squares
• Quilt batting - batting for pillow shams
• Quilt ruffles and piping - around pillow shams
• Crib skirt - cut for squares
• Crib skirt ruffles - ironed and used for some of the binding
• Bumpers - cut for squares
• Bumper binding - used as binding again

The small paisley print was provided by the mom and the large polka dot and pink striped fabric was added by me.

Any longer roughly 2.5 inch scraps were used for binding on the quilt.

The binding was made using various scraps following this tutorial and then hand stitched to the front.

The back is all the pink and white polka dots with a strip of scrap fabric.

My sister did an awesome job quilting it!

 Here are a couple close up photos of the pillow shams.

Out of the scraps, I also made a cute tote bag and flower clip (pic from the mom since I accidentally deleted the one I had).

 Here are a couple more in process photos. A.K.A cats who like quilts.

The quilt took up my parent's whole living room floor.

{my parent's cat swimming in a sea of pink and green!}

{my sweetie Elwood sleeping in the folds while I worked on hand stitching the binding}

This quilt had to travel a long ways to get to it's home. I can't believe the size box we fit a queen size quilt, 2 pillow shams, and a tote bag into! It took my husband and I and a couple clamps to wrestle it into a 12 x 12 x 8 inch box. I'm guessing it exploded out of the box upon arrival and opening it up.

{stuffed and taped every which way} 

And finally some proof that it is loved in its new home. 

My crafty heart is full and happy.

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