Friday, January 31, 2014

10 LOVELY VALENTINE'S CRAFTS TO MAKE.


here is my roundup of the loveliest valentine's day crafts!
it's time to make some pretty gifts or sweet heart-themed v-day decor!

i adore the simplicity of these wire heart necklaces & bracelets

make a statement with a paper geometric wall heart

cut & stitch some adorable felt valentine pins
with the purl bee.

craft a modern geometric heart garland
by following along with how about orange.

glam it up with an i love you glitter garland

give a crafty gift from the heart to your sweetie.
my hubby keeps his on his dresser and reads it as a pick-me-up.
my tutorial is here.

stitch some felt & pleather puffy hearts for a garland

 use natural ingredients to whip up some charming heart bath melts
with instructions from happy money saver.

get inspired by this cheerful paper heart garland
available on etsy from mailbox happiness.

get cozy with some handmade heart plush pillows
with a tutorial from design love fest.

happy crafting!

do you have any romantic valentine plans? do tell!

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

CRICUT EXPLORE - WHAT IT DOES AND WHY IT'S AWESOME.

last week i was lucky to be among 100 creative bloggers
to be flown out to the CRICUT EXPLORE event in SLC!
they put us up in a gorgeous hotel,
where they announced their new machine to us,
before it was released to the press!

we learned all about the cricut explore,
and basically spent a whole day crafting!
that and indulging in sweet treats,
meeting amazing new blogger friends,
and just feeling like royalty!

i was so impressed,
and will forever be grateful to this amazing company!
and seriously...i was so blown away by this new machine!
cricut is sending me one in about a month and i can't wait!
i'm already dreaming up about a million projects to make!

look at ALL of these materials the cricut explore can cut!
from flimsy office paper, to corkboard, felt, burlap, fabric, vinyl stickers, iron-on, cardstock....

GOLD LEATHER you guys!!! i am gonna get crazy with leather. watch out.


on tuesday we got to break out into different rooms to craft with the cricut!

first stop was the california room...
they spoiled us with pina coladas and fruit popsicles!
it was completely beach-themed. the decor was amazing.
much of it was made with the cricut, like these pretty paper flowers.
in this room you could craft dainty paper umbrellas,
 and create iron-ons to embellish a beach tote, aka our cute swag bag.

 wouldn't you love to make a fabric banner cut with the cricut, 
and create easy glitter iron-ons with the cricut too!

 goldfish swimming in mason jars, covered in burlap! so so cute.

in the NEW YORK room the theme was FASHION!
first of all....candy-covered apples.
in pretty much every flavor possible.
YUM!

of course i didn't get photos of everything,
but there were dresses made from cricut-cut pieces.
this gold butterfly dress was right up my alley.
there was also a black dress made from leather triangles,
and a bright scallop dress made from felt circles.
so creative!
and see this pretty collar? felt cut with the cricut.
we decorated collars and headbands with beads, buttons & crystals.
let's just say...i stayed in this room and crafted for a LONG time.

last stop was the UTAH room.
i seriously wanted to move in and live here.
the theme in this room was rustic home decor.
so many cute details made with the cricut.

and OH YEAH...the smores!!!!!!!
these smores brownies were out of this world.

dying to make a triangle garland when i get my machine.
i love the mixture of fabric textures.
this would be a great way to get rid of scraps!

so...being 23 weeks pregnant, and not sleeping well the night before,
i literally curled up on this adorable couch and snuggled up under the blanket,
and just dreamed that i lived in this room!

in this room we decorated waterbottles with pretty woodland-themed iron-ons,
and we created deer head wall hangings using these pretty natural wood pieces.

some of my cute new blogger friends, crafting away,
including jamie from CRAFT and rayan from the design confidential.
i loved meeting them, and so many other awesome ladies!

and i got to spend lots of one-on-one time with this awesome machine!!!!

okay, to end with the good stuff...


+ hooks up to a computer or ipad with usb or bluetooth

+ cuts and writes in one step, & cuts and scores along fold lines in one step

+ cuts a huge variety of materials using the easy smart set dial

+ comes with a storage tote with pockets for accessories

+ comes with cricut design space, the free online software for cricut explore

+ design space has 50 free projects, plus you can buy or upload your own

+ can choose from their fonts or use any from your computer

+ so so easy to use!


and you have to watch this video...you'll fall in love.


so are you as excited as i am?

have you used a cutting machine before?

what should i make first????

disclaimer: this post was sponsored by cricut.
all opinions are my own.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

20 WEEK BABY BUMP & A 2-YEAR-OLD.

halfway through my pregnancy over here!
will took some photos of my 20-week baby bump!
and we had lots of fun getting violet to pose for the camera :)
2-year-olds can be tricky!
but she loved modeling with our new photo backdrop!


i was sent this photography backdrop support to review,
from the online store yescomusa

we had so much fun playing with it!

i would love to start shooting more kiddos with a backdrop.
even though i consider myself a natural light photographer,
i don't mind shooting with flash to achieve certain looks.
i love the way a child's personality can shine through these photos!


for photographers:

here's more details about the backdrop & support stand.

+ it's completely adjustable (up to 8 feet high & 10 feet wide)

+ works with many different types of backdrops (i prefer a white paper roll)

+ very quick & easy to build and break down

+ stores easily in a compact bag
all i used was the backdrop support, a paper roll backdrop,
some clamps to hold the backdrop up, and i shot using my regular flash!
i will definitely be buying some light stands now too! 

check out yescomusa for great deals on photography
lighting, backgrounds, backdrop kits, lightboxes, and accessories.

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