The post you've all been waiting for....or not.

Maybe nobody is reading this and y'all don't give a hoot. Ha! :) Either way...I'm SO excited to finally share my perfect trunk and pillows with you.

Here's the story...I bought the perfect trunk but couldn't possibly post pictures until I had the perfect pillows to go on it...so I started searching............nothing perfect enough with a newlywed pricetag. Soooo....you guessed it...I had to make them. :)

I HATE spending money on pillows...I think they're all too ridiculously priced so I usually end up spending $5 at Wal-Mart in the Clearance bin...that's fine with me. ;) And I also hate buying expensive fabric. But for these pillows I wanted good quality fabric because they HAD to be perfect. Well...I couldn't find any fabric that I really loved at a good price and (since I'm impulsive and impatient) I wanted these pillows NOW! So, I checked my closet. Yes, the closet where I keep my clothes. And it proved to be genius. Look what I found....

This dress is too small for me. Yes, it's cute...but I haven't worn it in like 3 years. It was time to give it up. And what perfect timing it was! Check out that pattern...and it's the PERFECT red! So...I used this old ragged pillow that I've been keeping for a time like this...

snipped the buttons off, made a new pillowcase with my dress fabric, and VOILA!

Perfect. Love the print. Love the color.

Moving on...

This pillow is wonderful...but I wasn't finished yet. **Remember when I said that I'm not even close to being a minimalist???**

I saw this beauty while reading my friend Joy's blog.

And I instantly knew that I HAD to have a pillow like this one on my trunk. So...instead of buying it...I used materials that I ALREADY had and made a version of it myself!

I already had a pillow that shape that I wasn't using (I may be a pillow hoarder...) and I made the cover and letters out of felt. The feather boa was a leftover from my wedding. **I have enough feathers to cover my entire house...not even joking.**

Ok...so now that the pillows are finished...let's talk about the trunk. Here is a picture of the wall BEFORE the trunk.

Not terrible...but I felt like it looked a little empty. **Remember when I told you that I have the best husband ever? Well...here's more proof...he doesn't even care that we have a picture of Audrey Hepburn hanging in our bedroom...**

Here it is AFTER....

**Pretend that my reflection isn't there...I'm such a skank. :) I just wanted to get the best angle for the picture...and y'all had to see it straight on!**

So I moved Audrey and replaced her with a mirror that I bought at a yard sale for $3! It was black but I wanted it to be white...so I just gave her a quick coat of spray paint. No biggie. I'm in love. I have tried to use lots of different prints in our black, white, and red bedroom...so I had to add one more with the zebra trunk. Do you love it or what??

Every time I see it, I love it more. Thank you, Hobby Lobby!

My next project for our bedroom?

Putting something fabulous in these puppies. I thought about wedding pictures...but I have an even better plan now. Stay tuned....

Momma's napkin foldin'

My momma is the reason for my interest in crafts and creative things...she is the most creative and talented person that I know. She can do it all, folks! And she's adorable. See for yourself...

This picture was taken at one of my bridal showers...she is the cutest! :)

Anywho...Momma always has a new way to fold her napkins when she sets a beautiful table for her guests. I was especially impressed with her table setting at Christmas this year...and I loved the napkins!

I love how wintery and festive the table is without being your typical greenery and red bows Christmas table.

So I had to know how she folded (what she calls) her "Poinsettia Napkins". When you really look at them they do look like a poinsettia...but I think they can be used year round! Like tonight for example :) B's parents are coming over for dinner. Here's a little tutorial on the napkin folding. It'll impress your guests without much effort on your part! YAY!

Start with a square napkin (you can see the fold lines in mine...I had to practice before posting...)

Fold each corner into the center.

Repeat this step folding the corners into the center again.

Hold the folds down and flip the folded napkin over.

Now, fold your corners into the center one more time.

Here's the part that is the trickiest to show through pictures...it's not hard to do, just hard to explain. Hold the center of your folded napkin with one hand, and with the other pull out the underneath layer of each corner. Don't pull it all the way out...but pull it enough to make the petals of your flower.

After you pull out all four petals, pull out the underneath layer on the straight edges to make the "leaves" of your flower.

Slap that puppy on a plate and TA DA! How impressive are YOU? :)

I promise that is the same napkin...it's black but for some reason it looks a little bit navy in the tutorial pics...

**Don't tell my mother that you saw that dirt or whatever that is on my rug...I promise I'm gonna run the sweeper before my company arrives**

I added a little felt rosette to the center that I also used here because you can use these suckers for ANYTHING!

My table doesn't look as cute as my mom's did...but it'll work for a relaxed dinner with family. :)

Good luck with the napkin folding! Let me know if you do it! :)

My first post!

My very first post! WHAT??? I'm so excited to start blogging! Here's the thing though...I am a mess. :) I am impulsive, scatter-brained, and unorganized. Sooooooo....if you're looking for a blog to read every day, this ain't it, Honey! :) I might post two days in a row...I might post two days a month...who knows? But as long as I explain myself in advance, it's cool, right?? :) If you're looking for a blog to read daily, hop on over to Black and White {sidebyside} . She's my crafting friend, Maggie, and she's so hot right now.

Ok...on to my first post.

My in-laws bought us a new TV for Christmas. It's a big one so we needed a new TV stand. Off to IKEA we went! I actually picked a bookshelf and decided that we could put the TV on top of it. It works and I love how it turned out!

[yes...that's my reflection in the TV...and yes...I'm in my robe]

After we put the new TV stand together, I hated everything else in my living room. So...I changed everything that was on the walls. Here's how it went...

Over the couch, I had these terrible mirrors. They're so ugly and cheap and I can't believe that I ever liked them. I didn't get rid of them, however, because I think I might be able to use them in the future to make them better. :)

[My reflection one more time! This time, I'm in my jammies...I promise I shower and leave the house sometimes....]

It was something like 6:30 in the morning when this started, so I couldn't really go shopping to find something to replace the mirrors... and since I'm impulsive, I needed something now! So, I began rummaging all over the house looking for things to use....

I found the empty frame that we used in some of our engagement pictures for a photo booth info card at the wedding. I bought it at a yard sale for $2. So I hung it on the wall and it still needed something. Since it was the living room, I kinda wanted something with some sort of meaning hanging on the wall. So, I went and got the bouquet that I carried at our wedding and started ripping it apart. :) Using the flowers from my bouquet, I made a wreath to hang in the center of the frame.

I tied that sucker with a white ribbon and TADA! I was instantly in love...well...in like. The wall still needed something....framed engagement photos! YES!

[Pay no attention to the fact that my throw pillows are slouchy...and so is the couch...I would fluff it if you were coming over for a visit.]

Couch...finished...rest of the room...still stupid. Moving on to the wall behind the love seat. Here is what was there before (I'm embarrassed to even show this...I can't believe I ever thought this was acceptable)....

Yep...one sad little clock...that doesn't even work (that part I'm not too concerned about...I'm more about fashion than I am about function). So I moved the clock here....

much better!

I don't want you to think that I'm a one trick pony because of all of my photos...I'm just obsessed with pictures. I love to do photography on the side (Jerica Hammond Photo) so there you have my love for pictures...and that explains why they're ALL OVER my house. :) Here is what I decided to put over the love seat...

A 16x20 of one of my FAVORITE engagement pictures (taken by Jay Swann) and four little art prints that I bought at Hobby Lobby for $5 a piece! Can't beat it!

The living room is much better and I don't barf every time I look at it now. I still have one big wall that I haven't figured out yet...but when I do, you'll be the first (or last, depending on if I feel like posting it) to know. :)

One last thing....I had this giant H that I planned on using at our wedding...but I didn't use it because I spray painted it outside and forgot to bring it inside...Ha! However, when I found it, it had dried weird because the drop cloth blew on top of it and it had just been outside for probably 3 weeks. I liked it...so I wanted to use it somewhere in the house!

My house is old and filled with what people like to call "charm". Textured walls (that I could most certainly do without), a curved arch way, a cute little mail slot, and lots of little nook type whats-its in the walls. I'm not going to even post what I had hanging here before....it's too embarrassing...and dumb. But here's what I did with the giant H!

I added a few felt rosettes (I learned how to make these from Maggie! Tutorial here!) and some pearl beads that I had left over from the wedding (I made all of the jewelry for my bridesmaids! All 13 of them!). Still...it wasn't quite enough in the space (I'm by no means a minimalist). So I added a few more H's.

In the words of my 3 year old niece's babysitter (who is a 70 year old Italian woman who they call Nonni), "Do ya love it? Could ya just die?" :)

More projects to come! Don't give up on me if I don't post for a while...I promise I'll be back! ;)