You can't keep a good crafter down!

I had a friend-date a few days ago to get crafty with some lovely ladies from my church. Every now and then I just have to be creative, and lately it's been bottling up inside me to the point that I've been feeling kind of down. So, needless to say, I was pretty excited about this Crafternoon! I had gotten the dates mixed up (typical me) and didn't realize it was last Sunday, so I had to run to Michael's last minute to grab all of my supplies. I had all of my awesome purchases in the car and was ready to head off to this awesome afternoon of crafty fun and fellowship WHEN...my car wouldn't start. Boo, dead battery =[

I didn't make it to the craftivities, what with waiting on a tow truck and all. But I didn't let that squelch my crafty spirit! I had plans and supplies, by-gum!

So here is how my (now solitary) afternoon progressed, with the husband off video gaming.

Scrapbook paper Cash Envelope System



I unfolded an FPU Cash Envelope to use as a template.
(Make sure to use one that was actually attached so it's big enough to punch holes in)



I used a ruler to make nice straight creases
(Make sure to leave a little space under the side flaps for you holes!)



I used an adhesive runner to avoid a sticky mess



It only takes one strip of adhesive



Tah dah!

The holes I've been talking about

I folded a piece of scrapbook paper in half, then cut it to fit in my wallet.
Then I used a blanket stitch of white ribbon to sew them all together.
(Make sure it's loose enough to unfold all of the envelopes!)

All stitched up

Later, I added these cute vintage labels. You can download them here

Personalized Wedding Dress Hanger (this has turned into a bit of a money maker!)

I don't think I could post an actual "how-to" for this, but if you'd like to learn I'd be happy to show you! This bride also needs 6 "Bridesmaid" hangers. There definitely won't be a lack of craftiness in the Owens home. I also have a couple other orders!

P.S. How many times did I use a variation of the word "craft" in this blog? =P

We are the dreamers of dreams

There are so many things that I think I’d love to do with my life. It tends to change with the weather (and we all know how often Kentucky weather changes =P). A few years ago I bought a decent camera and began doing some photography.  Hello, love at first shutter! I adore capturing people’s memories and giving them something beautiful. It also warms my heart to look at my favorite photographs and know that I did that.

My newest kick is to become a full service wedding consultant/planner. I had such a blast planning my own wedding, and it would be amazing to do that for a living. I’m a major do-it-yourselfer. I designed and printed my invitation and programs and made all of the wedding decorations myself. I’m also currently helping a friend plan her wedding, passing along ideas I’ve found and working on some detail  crafty projects (pictures to come!). I think it would be super fun and rewarding to be someone's one-stop-shop for their wedding needs. I've met lots of brides who were full of ideas but had no clue how to carry them out, or became so overwhelmed with the whole process that they had to give up on some of those awesome ideas. I want to be the remedy for that!

I guess we'll see how long I hold on to this crazy scheme. What do you guys think? What are your dreams and goals?

Starting over...

It feels like God hit the reset button for us about a week and a half ago, and we've been reeling ever since. I'll never understand why God works the way he does, but I have to trust that it is in my best interest.

As we were preparing to move to our new apartment, our house was broken into and robbed. We made things pretty convenient for the theif, too. He was after our PS3 and we had already packed all of the video games and DVDs neatly into one box so he lifted that too, making off with about $2500 worth of my husband's things.

It's a strange feeling, knowing that someone has been in your living space without your knowledge or permission. Upon first arriving home, I didn't even know anything had happened. I thought our landlord (who we had been arguing with earlier that day) had come by and locked the door back in a different way. When I finally realized what had happened, I completely lost it. This man could have killed my dog, he could have destroyed precious momentos of our wedding, and he did take a collection that had taken my husband nearly a decade to build.

Mixed with all of the unpleasantness from our landlord we had had enough. There was no way either of us could sleep in that house, knowing the theif might come back for the game system he hadn't managed to get unplugged, and we weren't going to leave any of our things there either. By the grace of God, we were allowed to move into the new place a week early and could begin bringing in our things that day.

We spent the rest of that day throwing things unceremoniously into boxes and loading whatever we could into a trailor, with the help of wonderful family and friends. By the end of the day the house wasn't completely empty, but there was certainly nothing left worth stealing.

We are now completely finished with the old place, and I have vowed that I will never go anywhere near it again. That might seem extreme, but we lived there for a year and a half that was full of ridiculous amounts of undue stress. I'm ready to move on.

Currently, we are squatters amidst an avalanch of boxes! It is getting better. We managed to cook a real meal and eat at the kitchen table last night (which was an adventure in and of itself. First time making fried chicken...oh my!). I'm absolutely in love with our new place, despite the mess. And I can already feel my stress level lowering. Stay tuned for an awesome house party in the future! That is, once all of the boxes are finally gone =P