Photo Wall Pinterest Project

So, it's been a few days in the making and we are DEFINITELY going to have to putty a few holes before we move out (whenever that may be) but we have finished the PHOTO WALL!

Well, actually I am missing my "ampersand" sign (that's the "&" symbol just in case you were wondering). I ordered it almost 3 weeks ago now and still haven't received it. Long story short, the seller said it got lost in the mail and they are sending me a new one. 

Anywho, I couldn't wait for it. With a day of for the Fourth of July and a weekend right nest to each other, it was just too perfect! I had to act. Or rather, put Neil into action ;)

Anyway, again, the inspiration came from Pinterest. 

  Here is a comparison:

Pinterest.

Mine.

Price Breakdown:

Frames, IKEA (Ribba Brand)- $50ish collectively (a little bit less than that)

Wood Letters, Michael's-$3 each

I bought the prints at Walmart for about $7

Anyway, let me know what you think!

A Trip To The Zoo

On Saturday, Cousin Jaiden, his loverly girly Beckah, Neil and I went to the Zoo!!!

Now, I realize that doing this two days after my wisdom teeth surgery was probably not wise (considering how HOT it was) but, guys, I'd just lost FOUR troves of wisdom. ;)

Anyway, we had a jolly good time even in a car with no AC and a day that reached 100 degrees. 

Elephants. They're cute

Jaiden...not quite, dude.

Neil. No dice.

Orangutan. BINGO! She wins!

Me: "So, why is his mouth all open like that? Is it a way to cool down?"

Jaiden or Neil (but probably Jaiden): "He's waiting for someone to trip and fall in."

Silly Boys.

These little guys kept stretching out like this and then running around their enclosure. 

Silly Monkeys.

CUTEST thing at the Zoo. Unless the otters had been out. Then they would have won the "cute" vote. 

We saw the bird show and it was SO COOL!

Oh, we're just so cute. And navy blue. Sheesh!

Vulture. MASSIVE Vulture. They played Darth Vader's theme song for this guy's entrance.

My favorite bird. I didn't have any idea how loud they were though.

The Bald Eagle. He was regal. (Tehehe)

The entire day with Beckah and Jaiden and I didn't even get a picture of them. I did manage however to capture Beckah's shirt when I snagged this Meerkat just chillin' out on a rock.

Giraffes. They're weird but cool.

Neil was a trooper. He carried around our lunch bag all day.

It was a long and hot day but a massive ice water and a 50 cent ice cream cone helped to heal our souls (and make my jaw..)

We need to do another double date again, soon!!

Fourth of July Pinterest Project

Yeah, I know I'm supposed to be finishing up with blogging about my San Francisco trip but that's just going to have to wait. 

 So, remember my post about all the Pinterest crafts I would be doing?

Okay, well, I have tell you not to follow in my footsteps in regards to the Fourth of July project I posted. 

Canvas is not the way to go unless you work with canvas a lot. Or if you don't by the cheapest acrylic paint you can find. 

I was expecting it to bleed. Honest. But I wasn't expecting it to bleed as bad as it did. 

Plus, when my paint dried, it looked pink. 

Pink, White and Blue? Um, that's just wrong. 

Anyway, luck would have it that Neil and I updated a planter box that was given to us so we bought wood, had it cut AND had a squarish piece left over. 

Luck would also have it that I had a quart of white paint just lying around. (Weird, I know.)

So, I took the squarish wood, washed it with water (to be safe) and painted it white. I left it to dry overnight because I am impatient when it comes to giving paint the proper amount of time to dry and I needed to not be impatient. Then, I gave it one more coat of paint the next day and let it dry overnight again. I know that seems a little over cautious but I was fed up with failing. 

Then, that third day I went out and bought a red paint that I knew would work. I used painter's tape to cover the white board in stripes like so:

Then I covered the tape again and made sure it was flat flat FLAT as it could be against the board. 

(I didn't want it to bleed...)

Then I carefully painted the red onto the board. 

LEAVING the tape ON the board, I let the paint dry overnight. Again. 

FINALLY, the next day I slowly and carefully peeled off the painter's tape and...VOILA! 

It was much better the second time around. (Actually it was the third time around...let's not talk about it.)

I had painted the star back on day one, it was originally an off-white color but I bought paint to change that and it worked out just fine. 

I was in a pickle as to how to add the star but then I realized I was packing heat. A hot glue gun, that is. ;)

BAM!

Fourth of July project. 

It took me four days, three tries, two canvases and one crappy red paint to get there, but I got there. 

Here's to hoping your experience is better than mine was. 

Learn from me, young grasshoppers, learn.

Here is a side by side:

The pinspiration...

My finished product.

Price breakdown:

Canvas: 2 for $2.50 (on sale Hobby Lobby- don't use)

Wood: Roughly $1.00 (it was left over from a different project, we bought it at Home Depot)

Paint: $5 (Red-one good, one bad, White-for the wood, Blue-for the star. You can buy it at JoAnn's.)

Star: $7.99 on Ebay

Ribbon: 1 roll-$3 (JoAnn's- I bought mine with a coupon)

Total: $19.50 

I didn't use as many coupons as I could have and I certainly could have saved a couple bucks by just buying the wood right off the bat and by being smarter in my choice of red paint. Also, do some more digging when finding a star that works for you. My sister found me one at JoAnn's on sale for $3 and it was already blue. I did spend a lot of time looking for one so it may just be hit or miss but online sites like Ebay and Amazon are really good resources.

Happy Crafting!

Pretty Flowers

A couple weekends ago, Neil and I fixed up a planter box and added some hydrangeas. 

I love them and they make my porch pretty.

Neil was really very helpful in getting the wood fixed and he even helped me paint it. 

I'm learning, little by little the best way to take care of hydrangeas in a planter box in Utah. 

It's been hot lately so they're suffering but I'm gonna bring them back!!!

A Loss of Wisdom

Well, they're out. 

My wisdom teeth are gone. 

Fun fact: I didn't "need" to get them out. They were erupted, meaning they'd all broken through the gums. They were all straight, meaning they weren't adding pressure to my other teeth. But, Dr H said they had to go. 

Why?

He was worried that as time went on I wouldn't be able to brush/floss them effectively enough. I kind of agreed with him. Though there was enough room for my wisdom teeth, it was hard for me to get floss back there and I'd always hit my jawbone when trying to brush. Plus, I hate flossing so the easier it is to do it, the happier I am! 

Anyway, no pictures were taken, no videos were made. Guys, I'm the most boring person when I'm coming out of anesthesia. (I'm really glad because I actually don't like watching those kinds of videos. I also don't like being teased. Ever. Or made fun of even in "good fun". I just don't.)  But, seriously. I'm the mellow kind who just wants to go home and sleep. I asked them if I could see my teeth but, wouldn't ya know, they put wisdom teeth in a bio hazard bag. If I'd thought to ask before I went in they would have kept them for me.

Bummer. 

So, Neil took me home and we both slept. All day. I woke up at some point and popped some Lortab then went back to sleep. That night Neil made me some butternut squash and a mashed sweet potato. 

Yum. 

While we ate we watched Wallace & Gromit, The Curse of the Ware-Rabbit. It was cute.

This was my "sick" spread:

Two things I learned from this experience: 

1) You should not take Lortab on an empty stomach

2) I should not take Lortab EVER. Throwing up while there are fresh stitches in my mouth=NOT FUN. 

(Lortab, though an acetaminophen based narcotic, is still a narcotic. IBS+Narcotic= Well, not fun.)

I'm still dealing with a lot of pain but Tylenol (normal acetaminophen) is doing a tolerable job lessening the pain. If I'm being honest though, I haven't been entirely pain free since after the anesthesia wore off on Thursday. (That's probably normal.)

It's been an interesting few days since but I'm ready for the stitches to dissolve and my jaw to feel normal again.

Also, I had the best surgical team EVER!! They sent flowers. :)

Pretzel Jello, Anyone?

Tomorrow evening, the ladies in my ward (church congregation) are getting together for some fun, food and fabulousness.

I was asked to bring a yummy treat. 

Healthy or not. 

I decided "not". Why? Because I've had a hankering for Pretzel Jello lately. 

I don't remember exactly when it was BUT my sister Kimberly, who is basically a rock star chef, baker, etc., made it for a sister's dinner awhile back. 

It was divine and I just had to make it again.

So I found a recipe on Pinterest (add that to the list, too!) and decided I should make it tonight, seeing as how I probably wouldn't have time to do it tomorrow.

Anyway, you can click on the picture for the recipe. 

 I actually hate slicing strawberries so instead I put them in my blender and "chopped" them into little chunky pieces, like I would have if I were making strawberry salsa. I like the texture more. 

You can sub out the regular cream cheese and cool whip for fat free versions if indulgence isn't your thing.

There is also sugar free jello, but with all the sugar you add to this dessert I'm not sure it would make a difference...

Anyway, I ended up using WAY more than 1 and 1/2 cup of crushed pretzels. I used almost 4. Good thing I had the monster bag of pretzels from Costco! 

I also made two pans (meaning I doubled the recipe, I didn't split it) so tat Neil could benefit from it too. 

Sometimes I feel bad for the guys because us ladies are always making yummy treats that somehow they never get a taste of. So, Neil has a whole pan of Pretzel Jello to himself. 

Happy Eating!


P.S.-LET THE JELLO SET longer than you think before pouring it on top. Not all the way, mind you, just some of the way. But seriously. 

Pinterested?

I am a Pinterester. I get on a pin, pin, pin and rarely do I ever actually make something I've seen or pinned. 

Well, not anymore my friends. 

I realized today (as I was hunting down craft supplies) that I am currently in the process of working on THREE pinterest pins at once. 

Yes, that's right. I am being crafty. 

It hasn't been as easy as I had hoped it would be to find all the supplies. 

In fact, were it not for Ebay and Amazon and Google, I wouldn't have found important pieces for my crafting. 

None of them are done as of yet but I will post the picture of the pin so you can see what I'm up to. 

Pinterest Craft Number 1:

The Picture Wall. I have one already and I don't really like it so I'm stealing this idea. So there. 

Sadly, I was truly on my own for this, minus the picture for inspiration. There is no description, no location for where she found her ampersand (which are down near impossible to find and the one I did find, on Ebay, wasn't as cute) and no location for where she obtained the frames. 

Anyway, I went to IKEA (LOVE IT) and bought the Ribba brand frames. They didn't have one frame for 2 4x6 pics so I bought two 4x6 frames to replace each of them (a total of four 4x6 frames). It is working just fine in the layout. 

There are other brands, obvi, but if you go to IKEA pick out what works best for you. We liked the dimension that the Ribba brand frames add.

As for the letters...uhg. Here in my neck of the woods there is never one store that has all the letter I need in the style I want. Lucky for me, I went by Michael's. I never go to this store. I feel like it's more expensive and less organized than Hobby Lobby or JoAnn's. I was originally going to buy cardboard letters and paint them but decided to go with the black letters I found at Michael's. They actually had ALL THE LETTERS! I didn't realize that one looks like it's been used as a frizbee though so that's being exchanged tomorrow. (And rumor on the street is that Michael's has ampersand signs but I am pretty sure I walked scoured that ENTIRE store to no avail. I suppose I'll have to look again.)

I ordered my pics but they aren't in the frames yet. Once I get my display up, I'll post a side by side comparison. I'm quite excited really.

Pinterest Craft Number 2:

The button "O"

This was a pin that linked to an Etsy shop where you could buy this lovely darling for a whopping $85!

Um, excuse me? I don't think so. Rude. 

So, I decided that I could totally do this! I know how to sew a button, I know where to find that kind of linen! I even know where to get a cheap frame! 

What I overestimated was the amount of light blue buttons in a variety of sizes that one could find.

Seriously, folks? Nobody has a bulk package of multi-size, light blue buttons? 

When I got home (semi-peeved about the lack of buttons) I Googled it. And I found a pound of light blue buttons for $3 ($3.99 shipping). 

BOOM BABY!

Take that Etsy shop crafter! 

(I'm really not out to get Etsy shop owners, just a disclaimer.)

I have also been on the hunt for awhile for a cute frame. I wanted something antique like but in my neck of the woods, the second somebody mentions to a thrift store owner how "antique like" that frame really looks, BAM! You're $15 price tag just received another zero ($150). I am not kidding! And I also do not approve. Vultures.

So today, while at Hob Lob, I came across some frames in the clearance section. Most of them were too small or too big (like...WAAAY too big). I already knew what our IKEA frames looked like so I decided on a simple, clean lined, black frame. 

$5.20 

"Heaven, I'm in Heaven..." 

I bought some very light green thread to sew the buttons on with (our color scheme is light blue/light green) for $1.39 at JoAnn's, but I also used my coupon so I'm not exactly sure what it ended up costing me. 

I got the linen on sale at JoAnn's as well. Normally $16.99per yard, I got a yard for 50% off because it was on sale! ($8ish dollars-I had a coupon for 30% off my entire purchase so the fabric turned out to be a little less than half off.

With that much fabric, I could make two of these and have some fabric left over.

So, the grand total for this project was about $22 give or take a few cents. Compared to $85? I'm good with that. 

Pinterest Craft Number 3:

The Fourth of July Star. Or, at least, that's what I'm calling it.

The lady who pinned this also didn't say where she got a couple of things. One in particular...THE STAR!

Bless my ever loving feet for carrying me around and around and around trying to find a dang 6" metal star! The craft stores failed me but good ol' Ebay was there to save the day. 

I found this star and once I get it I am going to paint it a dark blue, like in the picture. I bought red and blue paint at JoAnn's for about $1.40 per 2oz bottles. The star was $7.99 and the best part? FREE SHIPPING! What a happy girl I was when I saw that!

I am actually going to use a canvas I bought for $2.50 at Hob Lob last year for the back instead of wood. 

I'm still not sure how to attach the star but I'm sure I'll figure something out...

So for a grand total of $13.30* (give or take) I will have my decoration for the Fourth of July! 

*That price kind of seems like a LOT but when I consider the ridiculousness I went through to find that star...I don't care.

So there you go. Once all my projects are done, I'll post side by side comparisons so you can see!