PEICD (PROJECTS EVEN I CAN DO): POT O' GOLD CANDY DISH

On March 1st, I expect to run outside and it immediately be spring.  Instead, we were faced with another round of snow.  Screw what's going on outside my door, inside it's time for spring. 

I don't usually decorate for St. Patrick's Day, but I got this idea as I was doing some dishes and saw our guacamole bowl just sitting in the cabinet  sad from non-use.  So I decided to whip up this pot of gold candy dish with a rainbow coming out of it. 

The rainbow did not turn out as fabulous as I had imagined, but I got frustrated from spending so much time on what I thought was going to be so easy and decided to share it anyway.  I'm sure someone out there can take the idea and make a better rainbow:)

Supplies:
--Black bowl.  Mine is a cheap guacamole bowl I think I got from Bed Bath and Beyond. 
--Butterscotch candies.  I don't really know who eats these, but they sure look cute in a candy dish.
--Card stock.  I chose to take a different spin on the traditional rainbow colors.

To Make:  It's pretty self-explanatory.  The hardest part was cutting out the rainbow.  I glued each color onto a cardstock base.  It didn't turn out perfect, but that's ok.  Wade said it kind of looked like the base of a rainbow:)

I wish there was real gold in there.

FLASHBACK

Man, I wish this was current me right now.  Sitting on the beach and just soaking up some rays.

Alas, it is not.

I'm trying to wait as long as possible to write that post we all know is coming.  The one where I complain about this never ending winter and how it's going to be March 1st soon, which means it should immediately be warm out.

But I'm not going to write about that today.  Today I'm going to travel back in time to four years ago (man, has it really been that long?) to when we went to Florida.  It's a win-win since I didn't know what to write about today, and I can look at pretty pictures that aren't just snowscapes.

It was about this time of year when we ventured to Florida.  It wasn't warm enough to get in the water, but it was just the right temperature to wear shorts and let my pasty skin see the light of day.  It sure was humid, though!  We were seriously contemplating moving there at the time.  We wanted to live on the beach and be near the ocean.  Being landlocked all our lives had given us the itch for beach dwelling.

I was all into film photography at the time and paid extra to have a Diana+ shipped to me so I could take it on our trip.  I wanted to take those dreamy old timey pictures and at the time Lomography was all the rage.

Luckily Wade pretty much took a duplicate shot of everything I took a picture of with his digital camera, or we wouldn't have any pictures from this trip, save for the one or two where I just got the top of Wade's head.

After all my frustrated attempts with slide film, needless to say, I'm on the digital bandwagon now.

 I want to feel the sand between my toes right now.  In fact, I just want it to be warm enough to walk around barefoot.

While we were staring off into the distance, I swore to myself that I would keep this image in my mind and always be able to go back to it, to bring myself back to this place when I needed to find my happy place.

It gets harder and harder to do that, though, as time goes by.

I need a refresher.

I need some salty air in my lungs.

**Sigh**

While driving home today I was wondering how much it would cost to put a pool in our backyard.  It would be worth it, right?  (Mom, don't worry.  It's too expensive, so maybe we'll just buy a kiddie pool to put our feet in:)

More than anything, I want to see the horizon.  I want to see the sun set and witness that green flash of light before the sea consumes the day.  There is nothing more magical to me than staring into the setting sun where the ocean meets the sky.

Yeah.  The picture I'm taking in this shot did not turn out.  Luckily I had a second shooter to capture this moment, though.


Ultimately, the pros of staying in Kansas outweighed the pros of going to Florida, but I do miss this view.  I need a vacation, stat:)

A CELEBRATION + POPPERS

A few weeks ago we celebrated my brother's birthday.  One of my favorite traditions is having family birthday parties.  My mom always makes something delicious, and it's a great reason to hang out together.  It was also the perfect opportunity to give my niece and nephew their valentine poppers.  This was definitely not my easiest project, but I had high hopes of the candy and stickers bursting from the tube and raining down on the kids as they squealed with delight and amazement at how crafty I was.  Well, not all projects work out just like you imagine.  They didn't have the gusto I imagined, but the kiddos didn't seem to mind, and I think they liked the outcome.

You could kind of see the candy shooting out, and it was so fun to watch him collect his bounty.

My niece figured out a new way to use her popper pretty quick.  I should have just given her the cardboard roll and saved myself a lot of time decorating it:)

Look at all those special badges made from the sweetest kid.

I've been really into making handmade cards for people the past year.  I like making it extra personal and adding some old photos of us.

With that perfect little curl hanging down, my brother sure looks like that caped crusader in a red cape, doesn't he?  Happy birthday, to the best big brother!

A WALK

 On Saturday, it was warm.  At least it felt warm compared to the frigid temperatures we've been experiencing.  I checked the extended forecast and found out this was going to be the last nice day for a while so we better use it. 

I yelled down the stairs to put on your shoes, because we were going to take a walk today to enjoy this weather.  You said you should clean out the garage, but I forced you to take a stroll instead.   I think I saw you smile as you went to grab your sweatshirt.

We started off hand in hand with you playing Van Morrison over your phone, but when I asked two minutes later for you to hand me my cell phone that you were holding for me in your fanny pack (yes, fanny pack), you rolled your eyes and said you didn't want your picture taken. 

I told you to just take a picture of me so that we could document this beautiful walk we were going on.  You half heartedly took a picture, which I didn't think turned out well, and said that was it. 
Always the stubborn one, I tried to take pictures of myself with my arm extended as we were walking.  Those never turn out well, though.  In fact, you were the primary focus in all of them.

You got more annoyed and stopped walking.  You said I was ruining the walk by having to take a picture of it.  I said you were ruining the walk, because you weren't being supportive for 30 seconds.  We stared at each other.  I said just take one decent photo.  You did, and I put the cell phone back in your fanny pack. 

We continued walking hand in hand.

We got to the store, and I said we should return the movie before we go in.  You said you didn't want to then and we would do it on the way out.  We walked by the produce section to get some lettuce.  I said I read about people making kale chips and we should eat it since it would be good for us.  You replied that we've tried those super foods before and they weren't good so you didn't want to try this new fangled trend.  You were so adamant about it.  I watched you walk to the meat counter with your fanny pack on, and I laughed really hard.  I thought about how hilarious and endearing you are to me.  I felt my heart swell.

As we were walking home, I looked at the ice cream shop and you steered straight for it.  You said we should get an afternoon treat.  You wanted to share mine, so I got two scoops.  It was fun until you shoved the whole cone into your mouth to push the ice cream down with your tongue and then handed it proudly back to me to take a lick.  But then I looked at your fanny pack and laughed.

You make every walk, every moment more interesting.  You are maddening, endearing, hilarious, exasperating, lovely to me all at the same time.  You are mine, and I love you.  Even if you do wear a fanny pack (after I offer to bring a purse).

A VALENTINE EVENT WITH ANTHROPOLOGIE + AMPERSAND DESIGN STUDIO

Last week I attended the sweetest Valentine's Day card making party at Anthropologie.  The event was hosted by the lovely lady duo who make up Ampersand Design Studio, a Kansas City-based full-service design studio that specializes in adding fun color and pattern to everything you can imagine.  They have even released their own fabric line and designed these signature plates that really pop.  I love it all!

So I was really excited I was able to meet these ladies in person (they are even sweeter than that huge plate of v-day cookies on the table) and also make Wade's Valentine's Day card.  A win-win if you ask me.  Everything was so cute and well decorated.  The tables were full of craft supplies to spur our imagination.  There were so many fun things to use, it was hard to get started so I just drank some more of the delicious drink they were serving.

I love how my card turned out.  Simple, but saying everything it needed to.  I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for another event that these ladies plan, because I definitely don't want to miss it.  Thank you to the Ampersand girls and Anthropologie for making it such a great night!

SIMPLE LIFE LESSONS

I'm always looking for a good deal.  Why spend more than you have to on something?  I learned a valuable lesson last week, though.

I was doing some grocery shopping and needed more light mayo.  I noticed the brand we don't usually get was on sale for a whole $1 cheaper than the brand we normally use.  I compared the nutrition, ingredients, etc. and figured it looked to be pretty much the same.  I mean, how different could different brands of light mayo be?

Cut to a few days ago when I pulled out my sandwich for lunch.  I took that first bite and expected the same flavoring that I have been enjoying for the past few years (yes, I bring my lunch to work every day and it's the same thing:)  I quickly realized this sandwich was atypical and did not taste quite right.  At first I thought it was the questionable lettuce I had used, but after removing that I figured out it was the new brand of mayo.

Good thing I bought the humongous family size to enjoy for months to come.  This was one of those instances when spending that extra dollar was worth it.  Now if I would have saved $2, I wouldn't be complaining.

Ever try to switch up the brands you use/eat to save money and realize they just aren't up to snuff?

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SEND A KISS

I'm back with one last cheesy valentine (see more here and here).  You may have noticed I've been gearing my creations to the littler folks.  With three nieces and a nephew, I wanted to pass along the valentine fun to them.  Plus, they're less likely to notice flaws or if a popper doesn't have the zest I intended.  Two of my nieces live out of state, so what better way to send them a big kiss than with a stuffed heart for each...with huge lips:) 

You'll need:

This project is much simpler than the popper I attempted last week and you can customize it any way you like.

Step 1:  Cut out two hearts.  I chose to do the front in purple and the back in pink. 

Step 2:  Now get creative and cut eyes, lips, etc. out of felt and hand sew onto the front heart.  I added some eyelashes in black embroidery thread.

Step 3:  Now sew the two hearts together.  The best thing about working with felt is that you can do right sides out and don't have to worry about flipping the shape inside out.  I used a blanket stitch with contrasting embroidery thread.  There's a great tutorial here for that type of stitch.  Once you've sewn nearly around the entire heart, fill the heart with stuffing and sew up the remaining ends.  (I forgot to include stuffing in the supplies picture, but you already got the idea, right?)

You're done!  A fun little way to send love across the miles.