Wedding Fan Trial Run

For as long as I can remember, I've wanted an outdoor wedding. What can be more romantic than down the aisle surrounded by beautiful trees, flowers, and wildlife? That being said, lets get real. I live in the desert. While I'm sure I can find a patch of green somewhere to get married, it won't be a lush garden paradise. And then there's the heat . . .

We're planning our wedding for April 2011. I like April because it's the epitome of spring time (I'm holding on tight to this springy garden vision, even though Arizona has two "seasons" : summer and almost-as-hot-as-summer). April is also a "safe" month because while it's definitely starting to heat up, it's not too unbearably hot . . . yet.

So to make my guests as comfortable as possible, I decided that the wedding programs will double as fans. Now, I've found plenty of beautiful ones that I can purchase for $2-$3 a piece (or more depending on where you look). But why buy, when I can make them myself?

So today I decided to have a trial run. I found some inspiration pictures and whipped together a couple different options.

I warn you all now . . . They are by no means even close to perfect. It was a quick, slap together job just so I could see how they looked. This is what they look like from the "back" (not the side with the attendant/ceremony information):

Here's the inspiration for the one on the right:

I didn't know how to design the "ribbon" or "seal" that's printed on the paper, so I improvised. I cut a strip of paper and stuck it to the fan. And while my "seal" is currently empty, they idea is that I would order favor stickers that I would place there. And then, of course, add the date and location information on the bottom, just like the inspiration image.

The second fan was my own idea. Using decorative paper all the way. I'm not thrilled with this paper (at least not for this particular use. Doesn't go that well with my color scheme), but you get the idea.

FH says he likes fan #2 better. And for what I've done, I do too. But I like the inspiration for the other fan so much that I'm reluctant to give up hope on it just yet. He also suggested just making both - although I'm not so sure about that.

What do you think?

Did-It-Myself Art

As FH and I have slowly been making over our house, we've run into one dilemma over and over and over again. Money. Or lack thereof.

This problem always seems to affect me more since I'm in charge of all the "little details" (i.e. decorating the whole house). So I've had to get creative a time or two in figuring out how to make a big impact on little funds.

This project is my money-saving solution to finding art for our huge bedroom wall. I knew I needed something that was a decent size. No small fry here. Traditional art (canvas or framed prints) was out of my reach. So I had to come up with something else.

I loved the idea of vinyl wall art. There was one small problem though . . . my textured walls. I loved the idea of vinyl art, but I wasn't very eager to find out how it would look on the bumpy walls of my bedroom.

My solution to this was to order the vinyl shapes that I liked and I put them on canvas instead.

I painted the canvas a nice soft gray (extra from painting the office), then adhered the vinyl to the canvases. As most crafters know, things don't always go according to plan. Turns out, vinyl doesn't really want to be friends with canvas. So it took some force and a lot of spray glue (and even sometimes super glue), but I got my vinyls to stick. And I LOVE how it turned out!!

To save money on the birds, I ordered 2 packs (one in white and one in turquoise). Then I cut the packs in half and spray painted them red and orange. This kept me from having to buy 4 packs of clings just because I wanted four colors of birds.

Another small problem I had was in the brown branches. I ordered them in a soft tan, but once they were paired with the gray background, they sort of faded away. This resulted in my spending 3 days hunched over canvases hand painting all the branches a darker color. It took a lot of time and ibuprofen, but it's probably the project I'm most proud of!

I found some other great do-it-yourself art projects that would have worked just as well (and I've filed away for future use).

Here's something I found at Simply Modern Mom. She painted some tree branches on a couple of canvases, and then cut up some magazine pages as the leaves! I wish I had thought of it!! So simple, yet so pretty!

Here's an idea using ceiling medallions from DIY Ideas. I still need art for above my sofa. Maybe I should try this?

With art ideas that are this easy, your bare walls should be very afraid! :o)

Got Cards? Make Gift Tags!

Have you ever gotten a greeting card that was super cute, but you had no idea what you could do with it, so in the garbage it went? Try this project!

My mom tore this article out of the Wall Street Journal for me. It's such a cute and creative idea. I wish I'd thought of it first!

The subtitle reads "What Would Martha Stewart Do With Holiday Cards Still Sitting Around?", but this idea could really be applied to any type of card. Birthday, Valentine's Day, Anniversary, whatever!

Ms. Stewart suggests cutting out letter shapes to make monogram gift tags!

Aren't they pretty? And what better way to personalize a gift, then with a monogrammed gift tag? Too cute! You don't even have to stop at letters. You can cut out any cute shape like a heart, flower, or bird.

I'm a little disappointed that I threw out all my cards already. I'd love to try this! I guess there's always next year . . .

Bloggy Boot Camp

Hello everyone out there in blogland. I'm just dropping in to make a quick announcement. I'm excited (and terrified) to announce that I've just signed up for my very first blog conference!

That's right, I will be attending the Phoenix leg of the Bloggy Boot Camp tour on May 1st. I'm excited to hear all the wonderful women who are in the speaking line up and learn tips and tricks to improve my blogging.

I'm also terrified. I'm sure I'll meet tons of lovely women at this event, but I'm still nervous about flying solo. I'm attending by myself and I'm a little ("little" being a huge understatement) nervous about not having a buffer . . . someone to keep me company.

So if any of you out there are attending this event as well, drop me a line. Maybe then I won't be so scared. :o)

If you're interested in signing up for the Phoenix conference click here. To learn more about the two other Bloggy Boot Camps, follow this link.

That's all the news for now. You may now return to your regularly scheduled program. :o)

Craft Closet Redo

A little while ago, I wrote about how I longed for a craft room and I felt my craft closet was inadequate. While there's no possible way for me to have my craft room in this house, I did decide that I was gonna do something about my lack of craft storage space. I didn't even remember all the stuff I had in the supply tub in the garage. I hadn't been in there in forever because it was too much of a hassle! So the Homemade Diva took matters into her own hands!

First I decided I was going to take over the whole of the closet in the office (before my scrap stuff only took up half). I wanted all (or as much as I could fit) of my craft stuff in one place.

Then, I went to Target and purchased a bunch of stuff from their itso storage line. I got modular cubes, shelves, plastic and fabric bins, even a door! Once I got it all home and put it together, I realized I had a not-so-small problem. The closet doors were in the way. It didn't matter which way I arranged my storage units, one would always be partially blocked by the sliding doors. Solution? Take the doors off!

So I stopped in to Home Depot and bought a cheap tension rod and a canvas drop cloth. I cut the drop cloth in half and sewed it into two curtain panels. Now that the curtains are done and hung up, I finally have easy access to all my craft supplies. YAY!

It's nothing fancy, but it's better than what I had before.

One thing I noticed when I hung the curtains, was that the rod bowed a little in the middle from the weight of the curtains. To fix this, I just took a screw in hook, and screwed it into the wood above the rod, then hooked it around the center. All better!

 I'd also like to take a quick moment to thank the Lord for letting my sewing machine work. My parents got it for me years ago at a yard sale. It's decades old and I'd never really used it before. I always just borrowed my mom's. So today was it's first time out. It wasn't perfect. It was kind of sluggish and it has a few problems (like not feeding the fabric through and the reverse switch not working), but I still managed to sew my curtains.

It comes with a cute carrying case that attaches to it the machine, which is handy. However, I still think that I'll probably buy a new machine soon. With all the sewing projects I have planned, I don't think this little baby can hold up to it all. But it helped me out today, and that's all that matters for now. :o)

Fortune . . . Cones? Sweet!

I saw this idea in the Valentine's Day issue of Better Homes & Gardens and just HAD to share it! There's this cute little how-to for making these sweet fortune "cones"!

How cute are these?? Seriously! I just love how they look! So pretty!

Here's how you make them:

Type up and print your "fortunes". Then roll them up and stick them inside a sugar cone.

Then, take 2 store-bought meringue cookies and stick them together (bottom-to-bottom) with some melted chocolate.

The last step is to coat the top inside of your cone with melted chocolate and stick the meringue cookies on top. Wait until everything is dried and set, then serve. So easy!!

I haven't made these yet, but I'm working out a plan of action. I'd like to get all my bridesmaids together (along with my mom and FH's mom) for a meet and greet. Fortune cone anyone? :o)

Easy-Peasy Magnetic Pen Holder

OK everyone, I promised I'd show you how to make that cute magnetic pen holder I blogged about, and I'm here to make good on that promise.

Here's what you'll need:

• gum/mint tin
• a ruler
• precision blade
• a pretty piece of scrapbook paper
• a magnet
• glue
• double-sided tape

To start, remove the lid of your container. I used a metal tin, but I'm sure plastic will work. Use the ruler to measure the height of your tin and cut out a strip of paper to fit the height and completely circle around the tin.

Then coat the front of the tin with a little bit of glue. This will hold the paper in place while you wrap it around the container. Secure the paper at the back of the tin using the double sided tape.

A tip when picking out a magnet for this last step: make sure you get a magnet that's strong enough to hold not just the tin, but the tin filled with pens or markers. Wimpy magnets will just not do.

Now all you really have left to do is glue on your magnet. Use a strong glue like super glue or a glue gun. Otherwise, the magnet may stick too much to the fridge and rip right off the tin. I used super glue.

Now, something I noticed when I did mine was that because I used just a button-shaped magnet, my tin tilted when I hung it on the metal white board. I just took a small rubber stopper I had leftover from my bathroom cabinet redo and stuck that on the bottom half of the tin, a couple inches from the magnet. This balanced it out and fixed the problem.

Now you have a cute place to stash some pens or markers. Handy, huh? :o)

Haiti Disaster Relief

I'm posting this blog to help raise awareness of this great project that a fellow blogger is undertaking. Kara from Creations by Kara is trying to raise some money to help with the relief efforts in Haiti.

To do this, she's selling these super cute denim flower hair clips/pins.

You can purchase these pins at her etsy store. They're sold for $6, with $5 of every purchase being donated to the Haiti disaster relief.

So, if you can, swing by her store and pick up one of these cuties. If you can't, try and help pass along the message. Post it in a blog, on twitter or facebook or anywhere else you can think of. Let's try and do our part to help others!

Organizing: Homemade Diva Style

We all have busy lives and lots to do. Many of us have full-time jobs and relationships. Some of you even have children. All this leads to a sort of chaos. We could all use a little help.

Organizing your home is a good way to cut back on some of life's craziness. If your home is organized, things are easier to find, pull out, and put away. It may not seem like a lot, but every little bit helps.

So today I'm going to share with you a few things I've done around my own house to become a bit more organized. Some of these tips may be common sense, but in an effort to be thorough, I'll include them anyway. So here we go:

Have you ever tried to add an item to your shopping list but couldn't find a pen? How about leaving a message on the white board but where have those darn markers gone to?? Here's a cute solution! A magnetic pen holder!

I got this idea out of an issue of Good Housekeeping. It's very cute and super easy to make. Now I can keep all my dry erase markers within reach. No more junk drawer digging for me!

Want to make one for yourself? You can find my tutorial here.

I have two trash bins that are identical. One is for trash and one is for recycling. Whenever I had guests over, I would always have to field questions about which is which. Invariably, at the end of the night, I would always have trash in the recycling bin and recycling in the trash bin, so I came up with this solution.

I found some "trash can" and "recycling" clip art on the internet and printed them out. I then used a precision blade to cute out the images to create a stencil.

I sprayed the back of each stencil with a bit of spray glue (follow instructions on can to form a temporary bond). Then, I adhered the stencils to the tops of the lids of the bins and colored them in with permanent marker.

I did the same thing on the inside of the lids, so that it didn't matter if the lids were open or closed, people would always know which bin was which.

It's worked perfectly so far!


This probably goes without saying, but labels, labels, labels! Labels are your friends! With all the scrapbooking stuff I have, and all the containers I have them all stored in, it's easy to find what I'm looking for because I have every bin labeled.

Don't have a label maker? That's fine! There are tons of cute and creative ways to label you things. Pretty gift tags tied around basket handles can serve as labels. I used paint to label this tin of craft paint.

Here's another tip I'm sure you're all familiar with. Whenever possible, use color coordinating containers! This makes finding your things (in my case, holiday decorations) a lot easier!

Can you guess which ones hold the Halloween stuff and which ones are for Christmas? :o)

Hooks and clamps are great ways to organize your garage and should never be over looked.

And don't just use the items for what you think they were intended for! Think outside the box and you can come up with lots of creative uses.

I uses these "J" hooks to hold FH's biking shoes. I hung them on the wall right underneath his helmets.

Which are hung on these triangular shaped hooks.

I'm sure the manufacturers didn't have shoes and helmets in  mind when they created these products, but who cares? They work for what I need them to!

So get out there and use your imagination to tackle some clutter! Your imagination can create all kinds of ways to help organize our chaos. Who knows? You may even have some fun!

Homemade "Oreos"!!

I found this recipe for Homemade "Oreos" on the Food Network website and just had to try it!

To start, you'll need:

For the Dough:

• 1 1/3 cups Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Filling:

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

First, you're going to prepare the dough. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, and salt into a bowl.

Next, using a mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Once mixed, add the eggs (one at a time), then vanilla until fully incorporated.  Then add the dry ingredients slowly.

Once the dough is completely mixed, divide it into two equal parts. Take one part and place it between to sheets of lightly floured parchment paper and use a rolling pin to roll out into a rectangle about 1/4 inch think. Do the same with the other part and then refrigerate for at least one hour.

Once chilled, remove the sheets of dough and begin to cut out your cookies. If you don't have a circle cookie cutter (like I didn't), you can use a small, empty, clean can. Mine was a small tomato paste can. It worked great!

Then place the cookies on a baking sheet and bake at 325 for about 20 mins.

Once done, remove from oven and let cool completely on wire racks.

Now on to the filling! In a mixer, cream the butter and shortening until fluffy. Then beat in the confectioners sugar and vanilla. It should look something like this:

Once your cookies are cooled, place about one tablespoon of filling on the back of half of the cookies. I used the back of a spoon to spread it on.

Then take the remain cookies and press firmly on top of the filling to make sandwiches.

Now you're done! All that's left to do is enjoy!

Let me tell you, they taste as good as they look! Bon appetit!