Valentines Table Setting

I have finished all my Valentines book page decor and have my table all set for my dinner party tomorrow. We are having both sets of parents over. I still have a brother at home so of course he is invited too.

It may not be the fanciest thing ever, but I am very pleased!

Links to all the book page crafts:

Garland in the window

Flowers on the plates

Hearts on the chandelier

Hearts in the vase

Happy Valentines Day! Do you have big plans? We have a gift card for Macaroni Grill so we'll be going there on Monday. I have had a hard time figuring out what to do for my husband. I actually had a GREAT idea for a card, but don't know if I will finish it. Maybe next year. Once, right before Valentines Day, I saw the cutest idea for a Valentine that used old school Nintendo controllers and said "Will You Be My Player 2?" I knew that was the perfect Valentine for Spencer who loves Nintendo, so I saved the materials for an entire year and made a card for the next Valentines day.

Two Book Page Hearts

I have 2 more book page Valentine projects to share. They are pretty easy so I didn't include full tutorials, but I have given suggestions.


First, we'll take a look at these book page hearts that I hung from my chandelier.

Second, I'll show you these 3D paper hearts I used for a center piece.

You have probably seen hearts made from strips of paper before- it's not a novel idea. You just need two strips of paper that are the same size and a stapler.


Stack the papers on top of each other, staple the bottoms together. Then pull the papers around to make a heart shape and staple at the other end.

You can add strips of varying lengths to create hearts with multiple layers.

These are all the hearts I made.

I tied them to the chandelier with thread.

Next, are the book page 3D hearts. Also simple. Cut as many hearts as you like that are all the same size. I used four hearts. Fold each heart in half. Glue the sides of each heart to another heart. Open up and viola!

I put my hearts in a simple glass vase for a center peice, but the jar seemed too short for the table.

I found this glass bowl in my cupboard that was the same size as the jar.

I sat the jar on the bowl and it looks like a fancy vase!

I'll be putting two candles on either side.

Come back later and I will show you my finished table setting!

Happy Valentines Weekend!

Valentines Book Page Flower Tutorial

As part of my book page Valentines Day decor I made these lovely paper flowers. Aren't they so pretty?

All of the credit for the following tutorial goes to Dawn at Dawn's Stamping Thoughts.

First, cut eight flower shapes from your paper. I did four out of cardstock and 4 out of a book page. I punched circles and then scalloped the edges by hand to make the flower shapes.

If you are using cardstock, spray it lightly with water so it is more pliable. (You may want to use a paper towel so they color doesn't bleed onto your counter top. Just sayin'.)

Crumple each flower shape, then smooth it back out.

Stack each flower onto a brad. Be sure to start with the paper you want in the middle of the flower. I started with a book page and then alternated with the red cardstock.

Close the brad and it should now look like this.

Starting with the top layer, squish the paper around the brad in the center.

Continue for each layer until the entire flower is scrunched together.

Now flatten the petals back out just slightly until the flower takes the shape you want it to. If you have used wet cardstock, it will harden nicely into the shape when it dries.

I made 7 flowers and will be putting one on each person's plate at my Valentines dinner.

I still have 2 more book page Valentines crafts to post. I made book page hearts to hang from my chandelier and some 3-D book page and cardstock hearts for the center piece. If you haven't seen my garland yet, click here to check it out!

30 for 30: Week 1

See my 30 for 30 picks by clicking here.

DAY ONE

I wear these peices all the time but wearing them like this got me to wear this hand-me-down necklace I had never worn before.

DAY TWO

Simple, but I was in a hurry.

DAY THREE

Read more about this outfit in my "Shop Your Closet" feature.

DAY FOUR

I think I like this outift- what do you think?

DAY FIVE

I love my yellow cardi.

DAY SIX

I tried mixing prints here and I really like the results.


DAY SEVEN

Please ignore this photo. It was at night and we had to use the flash and I had a headache so I didn't want the flash in my eyes so I closed them. Plus my bangs are bad.

If you are new here, click here for the tutorial for the shirt.

DAY EIGHT

I am almost 1/3 of the way finished with 30 for 30 and isn't what I expected. It has been really easy. I still have a lot of ideas for outfits and I am not bored of the clothes because I have so many things that I haven't even worn yet. We'll see how I feel when I am on day 20!

Shop Your Closet

Shop Your Closet is a feature where I find an outfit I like and then go shopping in my closet to recreate it. This way I am exercising my creativity without spending any money.

I found this outfit from a store called Bags that Fit a couple of months ago and wanted to recreate it because I had a similar cardigan. I tried it with a red t-shirt that I had but didn't like the way it looked with such a high neck.

It wasn't until I started 30 for 30 that I figured out how to wear it. I have chosen a red blouse and this cardigan as part of my 30 choices. I had never thought to wear them together until I had fewer choices of what I could wear and saw them hanging in the closet together.

I would have worn jeans to totally recreate the inspiration outfit but I wore this to work and I can't wear jeans to work. It would probably be cuter with jeans.

This is a sneak peak at one of my 30 for 30 outfits. Come back on Wednesday (or Tues night) to see the entire first week of remixes.

Score!

A few days ago I went to Walmart and found all the t-shirts I need for my next refashion project on clearance!!! Three of them were $1 and one was $.57. So as soon as I can get myself off the computer I am going to spend my Saturday working on the project.

I also need to finish the rest of my book page Valentine's decor becuase my dinner party is next week.

Unfortunately, this is the current state of my craft room. I'll probably have to clean it first. Or craft somewhere else.

Have a great weekend!

Half-birthday

My birthday is in July. I have never got to celebrate it at school. It was always forgotten as a student, and even now as a teacher. Until now. My sweet sweet friends at work had a half-birthday party for me this year. I got to have cake and even got some presents. Everyone gets a nice card and pretty handmade bracelet. It's fun to do at lunchtime.

But I got the sweetest bonus gift. My cute friend Ashley had done some paintings and shown then on her blog. I said how cute I thought they were and how it would look cute in my bedroom so she painted me my very own for my half- birthday!


Isn't it so cute? She says she is not an artist, but this is what creating is all about!



I rearranged the items on my beadboard headboard and it looks so cute front and center!

Thanks Ash!

Bonus points if you counted how many times I said "cute" or "sweet" in this post!

What I Wore

30 for 30 started this week! I am only going to post the pictures of my outfits weekly like I have been doing anyway. I only have a few pictures from last week but I really tried to wear things that I knew I might miss that didn't make it into 30 for 30. To see the clothes I picked for the remix, click here.

This is what I wore to church. I am always so cold so I have to wear my coat the whole time so I thought I would include it in the picture.

Do you ever get dressed and think, "wow what an outfit!" and then no one compliments you on it all day long? How about when you get dressed and think, "This is as good as it's gonna get," and then get complimented all day long? I didn't think much of this outfit when I put it together but I was practically a celeb at school. I couldn't walk a few feet down the hall without my female students compliementing me. Loved it!

I have been really into this color combo lately. The Valentine's decor at a local deli is red with a touch of light blue. I really loved it so I transfered it into this outfit.

Lastly, I love this dress and hadn't worn it for months. It needed to come out and see the sun so I tried to "winterize" it. I am feeling pretty set for spring. Everywhere I look I see that maxi dresses and floral are all the rage this upcoming season. I have 4 dresses that match that description! : ) ha ha!

Check back next week to see how I am doing with my 30 for 30 remix!

Happy February! Yay! January death month is over!

My 30 for 30 picks

I have decided to participate in the 30 for 30 style challenge with Kendi. I hope it will help me to be more creative, more minimalist, and follow the shopping rules and save money.

You can read the full rules here, but basically, I have chosen 30 items from my closet and will use accessories to make 30 outfits for 30 days beginning February 1.

Here is what I will be working with:

SHIRTS

From left to right: Plain black tee from Old Navy, Coldwater Creek sweater, (green sweater and blue striped tee have been replaced, see below), white rhinestone blouse from Charlotte-Russe, gray top from DownEast Basics.

I made a couple of last minute switches.

I switched this green sweater for this polka-dot blouse (both are hand-me-downs from my SIL)

I switched the Wet Seal tee for the green one from Target.

BUTTON-UPS

White blouse from Express, Red blouse from some cheap store in Montana, floral from F21.

SWEATERS AND JACKETS

Gray Wet Seal jacket, black cardi from Ross, my favorite blue cardi, gray cardi from Target, stripes from F21, and Target mustard sweater.

SLEEVELESS LAYERING SHIRTS

Cream lace from Kohl's, Shade shirt altered by me, purple blouse from ????

SKIRTS

Black and white made by Mom, yellow floral purchased at BYU bookstore, green skirt from JC Penney.

PANTS

Old Navy skinny jeans, Aeropostale skinnies, tan Dickies, and gray dress pants from Maurices.

SHOES

Black boots from Target, Brown Steve Maddens, Gray F21, gold flats from Forever Young Shoes, and gray flats from Ross.

I chose my favorite items of clothing, then some that I don't wear very often in an attempt to mix them in and get some use out of them. I picked all neutral shoes. If I do this again in the summer I will add colorful shoes, but for now I think this is the safest choice.

DISCLAIMER: I will be following the 30 for 30 rules posted by Kendi UNLESS I finish my next refashion project. If that happens I will be doing 31 for 30.

Also, I probably won't be posting my outfit each day. I just don't have time for that. Instead, I will post my pictures weekly (on Wednesdays) like I have been doing anyway.