Overwhelmed? Start small.

I have been feeling overwhelmed by the amount of projects I want to get done. This is all brought upon myself- I have ambitious ideas but get easily distracted by new projects and leave things half finished. I also get fixated on one thing and leave other ideas to gather dust. 

Today I want to be 'productive' whatever that means these days and I knew I had to start small to get myself going. 

So I present to you the tiniest de-cluttering project: the pincushion revamp. 

I've had my classic tomato pincushion since I was little and I am fairly certain my pins are also the first ones I ever had. 

I have been so frustrated with my hodge podge of bent pins that I finally bought some new ones! I went a bit longer and splurged on the pretty pearl ones. 

The top row consists of still usable pins. 

Check out that sad, janky bottom row! Every time I went to grab a pin I felt like I grabbed one of the wonky ones. 

Ahhh... So much better! I kept the good pins, moved all the needles to one section, and added a bunch of these new beauties. 

Was this a five minute project? Yes. Does it make me feel wayyyyy better? YES. Sometimes it's the little things. Now I've already crossed something off my to do list AND written a post about it. Now I feel motivated to get other stuff done so I can do some sewing! 

Happy crafting! 

2016 Stuff and Things and an announcment

I've neglected my little corner of the internet lately. What a crazy year so far. Between work, moving, roller derby, and oh yeah WEDDING PLANNING I've been a bit on the swamped side. And who hasn't? It's 2016, I'm pretty sure that's just how life is these days. But whatever you are doing with your 2016 I hope it is filled with good friends, good food, and just good feelings in general. The world feels like a dark place right now but there are so many bright spots fighting back the dark. Many of us have our own little bright spots here on the internet. That is what this blog is to me. Am I reaching millions of people? No. But I don't need to. This is my spot where I share fun, cool, crafty things and try to keep it on a positive note.

But enough of sappy blog philosophy. Lets talk about stuff! Wedding stuff! Since I started reading crafty blogs I have loved seeing wedding posts and the thrifty crafty things people have done to make their special day even more special. I have been overly ambitious when it comes to wedding projects but I think it is coming together. Oct. 1st is the big day so we are really in the home stretch here. The big project lately has been invitations so that we can get them sent out. More to come on those, but they have been a DIY labor of love so far. 

One of my long term projects though have been making paper flowers. My friend Ellen had beautiful paper flower bouquets at her wedding and I knew I wanted that as well. I ordered fancy Italian Crepe paper from Carte Fini. Totally worth it. I could not find any crepe paper in my town that wasn't in streamer form. They have lovely colors and there are a plethora of tutorials online for making different flowers and plants. Do not be fooled. This is a TIME consuming endeavor. I try working on it a bit everyday, but my favorite days are when I have a nice chunk of time, I fire up the netflix and really get in the groove. I should actually take pictures of my little living room paper flower craft area I have set up but today I have a picture of some of my progress. 

A couple of quick shot from my phone. I'm in love with the colors. And the succulents! Be still my heart. I think they are turning out rather well so far. 

Other than all that stuff going on I also have a new love: Balloon Twisting. Left field right? I know. I took a community education class a little over a year ago and bought a starter pack online. Right after Christmas this year I became a little obsessed with it. I have ordered hundreds of balloons and have been learning and practicing from video tutorials. I want to start twisting as a part time gig. I have decided to set up a separate blog to track my balloon adventures. Since it is not quite as crafty. I still love that it is creative and working with my hands. And the talent out there! I have a lot to learn but so far it is super fun. So if you are interested in following the ramblings of a new Balloon Twister please join me at my new blog Lauralloons! (like brand new baby new, posts and attractions coming soon). 

As for this blog I hope to continue some crafty wedding exploits in the near future and there may even be a bit of crossover with the new balloon adventure (fingers crossed!)

Cheers! And Happy Crafting!

Christmas time is here

I was really excited to decorate for Christmas this year, but I am every year. We put up my little fake tree and decked it out with lights and ornaments. Last year we just did traditional looking Christmas bulbs, but this year I was keen to get back to the mix of new and old ornaments that I think make the trimming of the tree so special. The above picture is a box of vintage ornaments I snagged from my moms house. Aren't they lovely?

I've also been a busy elf at work trying to come up with new cute ideas for cookies and cakes. 

These are my snow monster cookies! So much frosting but really fun. 

I also did a version of snowglobe cookies. The Penguins and snowmen are cupcake rings. 

While I'm doing lots of packs of hard iced cookies I wanted to do some for the case that were a bit fancier. 

And last but not least some large cookies. Most ideas came from coworkers and an idea book I got at a conference a couple of years ago. The doors with the wreaths were a new idea I saw this year floating around the Internet. 

My heart has been heavy these recent weeks. If yours has been too I hope these cheerful cookies will help lighten your day at least a bit. I hope to post some Christmas cakes soon too! 

Happy cookie decorating! 

Christmas Tree Hat DIY

Hello everybody! I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving and weekend. I did not break my personal rule of no Christmas movies/music before thanksgiving but I did get a jump on crafting...because it takes time! So today I am excited to share a simple DIY to get you in the holiday spirit. 

Christmas Tree Hat DIY:

I saw a hat similar to this in a store and thought a DIY version would be fun and easy and it was! 

What you need:

-Green hat for your Christmas tree base. You could use a premade hat or make your own! (I crocheted mine with bright green sparkly yarn using this great free pattern http://www.favecrafts.com/Crochet-Hat-Patterns/Grey-Slouchie-Beanie )

-Yellow yarn for Pom Pom topper

-Mini Pom poms. I used a bag of glittery ones I found at a craft store to match my sparkly yarn hat, but you can choose any size/ shape you want. (Or make your own!) 

-Scissors

-Needle and thread

-yarn needle

-Two toilet paper rolls (for Pom Pom) 

1. First I made my tree topper. I used yellow yarn and this technique for making a giant Pom Pom. http://www.handimania.com/diy/2-incredible-ways-to-make-yarn-pom-poms.html 

2.

Using a yarn needle and extra yellow yarn, attach your Pom Pom to the top of your hat. 

3.

Next I layed out my small Pom poms. I put them in order so I could make sure I used all of the colors. My pack had 18 and I ended up with 2 leftover. 

I used a needle and green thread and sewed each Pom Pom onto the hat doing my best to stagger them and make it look natural. I started just above the brim and worked in rows around . 

TaDa! Your very own Christmas tree hat! I made this one for myself but they would make such cute kids hats, gifts, etc! 

I hope this little tutorial gives you some ideas for your own Christmas crafting. If you make a hat I would love to see it! After I finished this one I found a pack of smaller Pom poms so I might have to make another hat! 

Check back for more Christmas fun. I've got some new Christmas necklaces for the etsy shop coming soon. 

Happy crafting everyone! 

News and updates.

Well kids the Etsy shop is back and up and running! I admit I have lost my way more than a few times. Stumbled over distractions, got mired in the swamp of 'what ifs'. But I'm trying to find my way back. Get some balance going, do what I love. So the shop is back and I hope to add some fun holiday items in this next week so stay tuned! 

I've also finally set a date for my wedding! For fun and perhaps to organize, keep deadlines, and keep sane I'm hoping to share my DIY wedding adventures here. I can't wait to get started! The holidays are going to get in the way a little bit I think but full steam ahead for October 1st, 2016. 

Coffee floats and fall baking

A weekend off for a bakery worker is a rare and beautiful thing. So what better way to spend it than baking? 

Weekend time also means time to hang out with friends who have more conventional work weeks. I decided a pie was in order. 

Apple cinnamon with rosemary. I got fancy with the maple cutouts but opted not to use my usual egg wash in light of high egg prices. The recipe is adapted from a Rocco Dispirito cookbook. 

I also made a Saturday afternoon treat for all the coffee lovers out there. Coffee floats! 

(Tony's Vanuatu mug and my brand new mermaid mug!) 

A scoop of Haagen das coffee ice cream, splash of milk and some cooled coffee made for a delightful afternoon pick me up. I also want to make some cold brew coffee and try that next time. 

Hope everyone else is having a great weekend! Now for some car ride crocheting on our way to friends and games night! 

Cheers! 

Thursday Thrifting

Haven't posted my thrifting finds lately. I have been trying to be good but I have had a couple of really good days!

Here is the haul from a couple of weeks ago. I collect the pie dishes with the recipes in them, my problem at this point is I don't remember which ones I have! So if it is a good price and I don't KNOW I have it I go ahead and get it. This Raspberry Cream Pie plate was only $2.99. My dream is to someday have them all displayed in my house and any extras or doubles I have can then be gifted.

I also bought the old wooden rolling pin for $1.99. The paint is peeling and the handles are a little wonky but I loved the look of it enough to buy it as a decorative piece. I have seen these types of rolling pins go for way more at antique stores, so I thought for the price it will look awesome in my someday kitchen.

The two cake plates are matching and were $3.99 a piece. Steal! I love cake plates and as I may actually set a date and get to plan a wedding here sometime in the hopefully near future these will be put to good use on a dessert table.

The clear pasta container has been on my radar for awhile. I have a pin saved on pinterest where someone used this type of container to store their cupcakes liners. I am notorious at losing track of cupcake liners, shoving them in strange places and generally either squashing them or not knowing what I have. As I find my stashes around my kitchen and elsewhere I have been adding them to the container and now I know where they all are, what I have, and they aren't getting squished anymore! Huzzah!

Harder to see in the picture is a simple wooden napkin holder. I'll admit right now that I don't buy napkins but hoard them from take out. (Most notably chipotle). We end up eating in the basement in front of the tv a lot and the napkins have just been strewn about on the coffee table. Now at least I have them contained. Baby steps towards classing the place up a bit.

So a good haul all around. Yay for good thrifting days!

Find yourself some treasures lately?