Musical Arrangement by Angie

I chose this song because it meant a lot to me because my grandfather played it all the time. Made the green mattes out of  paper and painted them with a grass brush. Put it all in cheap frames. This would make a great gift for a musical person in your family. You can't tell but it is sitting on top of my piano!

Bird Wreath Decorations by Angie

I took old grapevines from a vineyard (or your backyard) and wound them into a wreath shape. Then, I found unfinished wooden birds at Michael's and spray painted them high gloss white and sanded the edges. Tied a ribbon on top. Cute!

Anniversary Gifts

We celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary yesterday, and it got me thinking back to our first anniversary and the "paper gift" I made him. I framed a wedding invitation for him and 3 years after the day, it's still hanging above our couch! (Top Right Picture)

This year, I decided to make something different for our 3rd anniversary...

I printed maps of the 3 states we have lived in since getting married. I used the dicut machine at school to cut the maps into hearts. There you have it. Home.

My Second Sewing Project: Embellished Tank Top Dress

I got a little bit more ambitious with my second sewing project. I sewed a casing around my elastic this time so that it doesn't show, and I also embellished my tank top after I made my dress. It wasn't too hard at all! Here is a great tank top embellishment tutorial from my favorite blog...

Elle Apparel Embellished Tank Tutorial

And here is my finished product! It's comfy too!

Once again, I already had the tank top and I used clearance fabric...about $3.00 total :)

Rosettes

Rosettes are great for hair pins, jewelry accessories, or to add detail to just about anything. I've even seen bookmarks with rosettes on the top.

The best tutorial I found for making rosettes is this one...
Cherry Street Cottage Rosette Tutorial

And here are some more cute rosette ideas...
Little Birdie Secrets Rosette Tutorial and Ideas
Skip to my lou Rosette Bookmark Tutorial

I had so much fun whipping up these rosettes with my mom the other night. It's a fun way to get creative even if you only have 20-30 minutes.

My First Sewing Project: Tank Top Dress

I decided to tackle my first sewing project for a couple reasons. 1. It's summer, I'm a teacher, I have nothing better to do...2. I love dresses and hate spending $30 or more on one dress. This dress cost me a whopping $3.00 because I already had the yellow tank top, I used clearance fabric, and the elastic was 50% off that day. 

To make a dress like this one, follow one of these great tutorials...

Ruffles and Roses DIY Dress Tutorial

Talk2TheTrees DIY Dress Tutorial

On the top right of my tank top, I sewed on a rosette in my skirt fabric (see previous post).

Here is a picture with the sash...

I posted this picture just because it's cute...

Our Rain Gutter Garden

We don't want apartment living to hold us back from eating healthy, organic ingredients...introducing...our rain gutter garden! We got a couple rain gutters, cut them to fit our deck, planted the seeds, and watched them grow! Last week we made a delicious veggie and soy cheese pizza and used our own basil from our garden. YUM!

Growing in the gutters: cilantro, green onions, broccoli sprouts, parsley, basil, black seed lettuce, white seed lettuce, and spinach
Growing in pots and planters: red, green, yellow and orange peppers, and a blueberry bush

ps-blueberries are one of THE BEST foods you can eat...my favorite ways to eat them are on my cereal, in my oatmeal, in whole wheat pancakes, in smoothies, or just plain frozen!

Jayden's Letter "J"