New Creation

I've been busy today with a lot of new supplies making jewelry. These were my favorite creations today.

I've been wanting one of these popular sideways cross bracelets for quite a while, and I finally got around to making a few. I love the color of these antiqued brass crosses paired with flat black studded leather cord. These will look great layered or by itself. I will definitely be keeping one of these lovely bracelets for myself.

Have you succumbed to this trend yet?

Help! Glass Cutting

I really want to try out the glass cutting tutorials I've seen on Pinterest, but I'm scared!

How cool would it be to make these candles?! Has anyone tried this? Have you found any tutorials that work? I'll be sure to post my results if I get some courage and try it out.

Decluttering Tip

Somehow I have acquired 5-6 magazine subscriptions...not really sure how that happened, but I love each one of them! I get great design tips, recipes, jewelry inspiration, etc. from these pages, but I don't always have time to look through each magazine I get right when it comes in the mail. 

I've set up two wire baskets in my living room. One houses all the magazines I've look through, and the other is filled with my new magazines that I haven't looked through yet. This really helps keep my coffee table free of stacks and stacks of magazines.

Every so often when I have a free morning, I go through the magazines I've read and tear out pages that I like. There is no sense keeping an entire magazine that only has one rug or light fixture you like. Tear out that page and chunk the rest. I have a binder I keep with my read magazines filled with clear protector sheets, and I keep all the pages I've torn out organized into categories.

Not only does this keep your home free of TONS of magazines, but it makes it easier to find the things that really inspire you.

Pinterest Party Update

As introduced in my last post, I've been hosting local Pinterest Parties each month as a fun opportunity to make craft projects found on Pinterest. January's craft was this "Secret Book Box"

I had a great turn-out of guests, and everyone had fun making their own Book Box from vintage Reader's Digest books. I even had a couple of Book Boxes ordered from out-of-towners who loved the project.

Anyone interested in buying your own Book Box or Book Box kit, please let me know. I have extra materials available.

Book Box Kit (supplies needed with instructions) - $12 + $5 shipping

Book Box (already made) - $15 + $5 shipping

Patterns available:

For any local readers, ask me for the information or find it on my Facebook page!

Follow me on Pinterest to see all my fun crafting ideas!

January Pinterest Party

Each month I host a Pinterest Party at a local art gallery. It's a great night for people to get together, have fun, and learn to make a craft. I choose a project each month and bring all of the supplies needed. Because I haven't shared these projects before, here are my past Pinterest Party projects:

State Love String Art

Sunburst Mirror

Mason Jar Soap Pump

Silhouette Bird Art

Fall Wreath - each lady got to design their own

Fabric Covered Pumpkin

Give Thanks Blocks - This was my most popular craft.
I opened November to my Facebook fans to suggest a craft.
I chose Emily's suggestion, and they all turned out great!

Christmas Wreath - Each lady designed their own with materials provided.
I had two separate private parties for these wreaths.

I really enjoy choosing a craft each month and preparing for the classes. It's a great excuse for me to get to actually make all these great Pinterest finds!

I am really excited about this month's craft (mainly because I wanted one of these for myself). We will be deconstructing vintage Reader's Digest books to make "Secret Book Boxes".

Each person will be able to choose from these fun patterned books:

to create a book box:

For any local readers, ask me for the information or find it on my Facebook page!

Follow me on Pinterest to see all my fun crafting ideas!

More Ties

Remember my post from last Friday? I showed you all my new hair ties for 2013. Well, I have a few more of a new design to share:

gray, teal, yellow, red-orange

How cute are these Chevron Patterned Hair Ties? These are priced 2 for $3 just like my glitter ties.

Ask me how to get free shipping on your hair tie order!

All Tied Up

These new elastic hair ties are everywhere! And I love them! They don't leave your hair broken like traditional ties, and they just make a cuter fashion accessory. What's not to love!?

red, yellow, key lime, peachy orange, hot pink, teal, purple

Well, maybe the price. These can be pretty pricey when found in boutiques, but I offer them for only $1 each! This is over half off of local prices I've seen.

gray, black, white, brown, navy

I've even got Pantone's color of the year for 2013 - Emerald!

And a little something to add some sparkle to your life!

silver, black, gold, teal, magenta (2/$3)

Ask me how to get free shipping on hair tie orders!

My New Year Resolution

So I've made a New Year Resolution. It's not your typical "eat better"  -  "work out more"  -  "appreciate friends and family"...

I really want to become a normal grown-up human being who fixes my hair everyday.

I'm not going to lie, I've been blessed with some pretty good hair days in my life. I LOVE those days when I wake up and think to myself "Whoa! Lookin' good, hair!".

I considered this a "good hair day".

But, even on those days when I wake up and just say plain "Whoa!", I find myself walking out the door anyway. Best case scenario - my hair goes up in a pony tail. Worst case? I pretend it looks normal.

Ideally, this would be my hair everyday:

but I have to be realistic. I know that I'm not going to straighten my perfectly everyday like the lady who cuts my hair, but I can do better than this:

Ignore the tiger - what is my hair?!

I've thought of a few things that will hopefully help me achieve my goal of being a normal person. I generally shower at night because I hate waking up any earlier than I have to. The plan is "Oh, I'll shower at like 9 giving my hair plenty of time to dry before going to bed". The reality is "Oh, it's 11:30. I was supposed to shower". And then I go to bed with soaking wet hair. Those are the days I wake up and I just look insane. So if I want to continue showering at night, I need to give my hair time to dry before going to bed, or I could join the 21st century and use my hair dryer for something other than craft projects. I think I need to learn how to braid my own hair, because that always looks cuter than a ponytail (for those inevitable days when I fail at taking an early shower). And I think I just always need to straighten the weird bumps I have at the top of my head.

Any tips for quick, cute hair styles? Do I need to just put on my big girl panties and wake up 20 minutes earlier every day? What are some of your New Year Resolutions?

Here's to making it until Lent!