Valentine's Nerd

Hello, hello, my lovelies!

Valentine's Day is approaching quickly and I thought this year I would go a little overboard on my sweetie's gift. You see, I indulge his nerd side as often as I can, and I figured he would get a real kick out of this Star Wars themed gift. It is oh so much better than that standard box of mystery chocolate- you know the one (toothpaste flavor, oh yum!)

I originally picked up some Star Wars goodies in early January to hold until his birthday (March is just too far..), but I just couldn't resist giving them to him for Valentine's Day. He'll be so surprised! I think he'll love it, but according to him, he's loves everything I do that's personalized. Awwww... 

Below, I'll show you everything I put in his box. And when I say I like to indulge his nerd side, I also mean his childlike heart.. Very childlike heart. There are a few extra things I threw in for good measure, which you will see.

Things you will need:

- If it is Star Wars related, GET IT

- A nifty box to put all those treasures in

- Star Wars Valentines add to the overall appeal 

Yup, it really is that simple. And since it is themed, this gift can pretty much cost as little or as much as you want. It all depends on the contents.

Here we go..

I chose a sturdy container so that it could hold whatever I wanted to add. Dollar Tree has tons of options in many different colors. I picked red like Darth Vader's lightsaber. (This is coming from someone who, sadly, hasn't even successfully sat through any of the original films. Maybe that's what we'll do with the rest of the day..) 

When I was in my local Dirt Cheap, I came across lots of ten cent finds, including lots of Star Wars goodies. I didn't spend more than a dollar on any of the small items. What a great find!

There was a 100 piece puzzle, two small stuffed figures, a giant Yoda eraser, a Grad&Go play pack, a Darth Vader cup, and a full size play lightsaber! Can you say awesome? No worries, I got both of us covered: AWESOME! 

My only real splurge in the box was the Blu-Ray/DVD 6-disc combo pack of the three original films. I also got this really cool light-up candy lightsaber (which I've given him before and he loves).

I placed the Star Wars Valentines on each of the items in the box as a "corny yet cool" feature. My favorite is R2-D2: I bet you whistle at all the droids. Boom. I just love that.

It really came together great and may be one of the best themed gifts I've given him since the Zombie Survival Kit. That was a classic...

Now, amongst all the super Star Wars stuff, I put some cutesy/corny more traditional Valentines. My sweetheart likes dinosaurs, too, so I fashioned some little homemade things together for his gift including a hand-drawn dino picture and a card tied to a plastic T-rex from the Dollar Tree. 

There's also a little stuffed bear in there with the tagline: I love you "beary" much!

So, you've now seen this years Valentine's Day gift! You can follow me on Pinterest and LIKE my page on Facebook! Happy gifting! ♥

Belt of Truth Hanger

If any of you are like me, you have belts galore with nowhere to hang them. Mine were actually rolled up inside a bucket tucked away in my closet... Out of the way, but also out of mind because I never saw them. Now, I've seen this particular craft done before and I love it! But this really came together when my best friend brought me a few oddly sized canvases. I looked them over and picked the long skinny one and said, "I have just the plan for you!" This craft is very simple and takes just a few minutes, so even if you're a crazy busy college student like me, you can probably find a moment to do this!

The scripture pulled is from the book of Ephesians, chapter 6:

The Armor of God- Ephesians 6: 10-20
¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. ¹⁹ Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Supplies You Will Need:
- Long, skinny canvas
- Paint and/or Scrapbook paper
- Small hooks that can screw into the canvas
- Marker or sticker letters 
- Decorative stickers (optional) 

The canvas I used was 4 inches by 12 inches, so long and narrow.

Long and narrow!

The hook will be screwed directly into the side of the canvas!

Roll the canvas in the scrapbook paper and screw the hooks through the paper!

See? Easy, easy, easy! Now you have just the place to put all those tangled belts!

All done!!

Pampering Gift Set

What woman doesn't enjoy being pampered? The answer to that- none! This gift is simple and cheap- and sure to be a hit with whoever you give it to! 

What You Will Need:

- Basket

- Lotion

- Shower gel

- Nail polish

- Nail buffer

- Shower poof

- Nail file

- Foot scrubber or file

- Picture frame

Fill your basket up as much as you can.

Put the basket inside of a colorful plastic gift bag.

There is no limit to how much you can add to this gift! The bigger the basket, the more you can stuff it with!

Tappy Tap Shoes!

My niece really likes to dance around the house wearing her black dress shoes. She calls them her "tappy tap shoes." Since she loves them so much, and of course dancing, I glued pennies onto the bottom of her shoes. Now they really "tappy tap!"

Tappy Tap Shoes!

Supplies you will need:
- 1 pair of shoes
- 6 to 10 pennies
- Glue gun or super glue

Just glue the pennies around the sides of the bottom of the shoe! Any kid that loves making noise will definitely like these shoes!

Fall Wreath

Fall is almost here! I love fall more than any other season because it is so colorful! I bought the wreath used for this craft at Micheal's Craft Store and the leaves were purchased in a bag of 50 from the Dollar Tree, along with the sunflowers.

 Now just follow this easy picture guide to create your own!

Supplies You'll Need:

-Grapevine wreath

-Artificial flowers

-Artificial leaves

-Hot glue gun

Supplies you will need!

Push the flower tip through the center of the leaf before hot gluing.

Hot glue flowers into place.

Single flower arrangement with leaves on the side.

Double flower arrangement with leaves on the side.

Tuck leaves into the vines and hot glue into place.

Your leaves should be tucked into place around your flowers and into the vine.

Hang on the wall or your front door!

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Making It New Again

Have you ever wondered around a thrift store looking at charming old decor, thinking It's cute, but it wouldn't fit in around my home, simply because it was outdated? Well don't rule out something adorable simply because it needs some TLC. I found this sassy Kitchen Closed sign for a dollar. All it needed was a few coats of acrylic paint, some artificial flowers, and a new ribbon- now it looks brand new!

It makes a lovely addition to our kitchen ☺

Thrift store cow hanger for $1

Kitchen Closed: This heifer has had it!

 

So are there any thrift store finds you've come across that you fixed or updated?

I'd love for you to share!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As always, find me on Pinterest and Facebook!

Easy Picture Book

Hey everybody! I have another craft to share with you ☺ My boyfriend randomly asked me one day if I would make him a picture book. I said sure, kinda worried it would be bland, but he had faith in me! He knows I love using my imagination, and being a little silly doesn't hurt. So I looked through all the pictures we had taken together from the beginning of our relationship til now. I chose my 45 favorites and put them in order of how they were taken. Now, here's the best part- I didn't have to fork out a lot of money to do this project. Walgreens has photo specials all the time, and one I got was buy 25 4X6 prints, get 25 free! How awesome is that? So look often on their website for really sweet specials. Enjoy!

All You Need Is:

- A photo album with about 50 pages (Mine had 48 and I got it at the Dollar Tree)
- Old magazines
- Stickers
- And of course, your photos ☺

 The old magazines will be your best friend when you want to describe a certain photo. Cut out words or phrases that would make sense on a picture. Stickers work well, too, but magazine cutouts can be put together to form sentences- instantly making it more personal! I had to cut out the magazine words and organized them into clear cups, writing what kind of words they were on the outside. This makes it easier to find what you want when you need it without having to dig through a huge stack!

Using the first few pages of the photo album (including the inside cover), I left my boyfriend a personal note and made an "About Us" page that displayed our anniversary date, birthdays, and interests. Then using some of the magazine cutouts, I made a collage that started with "Jamie is..." then picked words that best described my man.

 Each of the photos were dated on the back so I wouldn't lose track of what went where. On the fronts, I also put dates, but I sometimes had multiple photos taken on the same day. The first photo would be dated, then the rest simply followed after til a new date was reached. 

I personalized the front and back covers of the photo album from a simple blue polka dot image to a more graphic floral one. The back cover was replaced with a green polka dot that matched the cover with a small owl sticker placed on the bottom- because I like owls.. A lot. 

Bonus:
What my boyfriend doesn't know, unless he someday takes a peek at this blog, is that I wrote love quotes on the back of the photos. Not all of them have one, but most of them do. I thought this was a simple yet oh-so-sweet thing to do!

I hope you like this craft as much as I do! Oh, and just so you know, my boyfriend loved it ☺ Have a blessed day!

Dollar Tree Finds

 I love a bargain. Especially when the bargain is also adorable! When browsing around the local Dollar Tree, I found some cute wall plaques. The lady bug was begging to be taken home and painted, so I thought I'd share. The plaque is sturdy and came with an attached ribbon for hanging. Kids would love this idea as much as I did!

 You don't have to stay within the standard lady bug colors- go nuts! A light blue lady bug with lime green dots would be awesome! Plus google eyes make everything more fun!

When you finish this simple project, hang it wherever suits you. I hung mine in my bedroom amongst some framed pictures. I think she fits in nicely, don't you? Extra fun: Add a quote on the front!

"Lovely little ladybug

sent from up above

please watch over my garden

and fill it up with love."

Clothespin Crosses

Today I thought I'd share with you a simple, yet oh so pretty craft made of clothespins. If your laundry is like mine, you probably have more than a few extra clothespin laying around. This craft is the perfect way to put them to use! (Click on any of the images to enlarge.)

Figure 1- All the supplies you'll need!

What You'll Need:

-8 clothespins
-2 large Popsicle sticks
-Elmer's glue, wood glue, or a hot glue gun
-Artificial flowers
-Scrap ribbon

(1) Lay the Popsicle sticks in a cross position and glue one on top of the other.

Figure 2

(2) Take two clothespins separate the parts (as seen) and they will be laid out in a fan shape.

(3) Step two will be done to both left and right sides, and the top of the cross.

(4) The bottom of the cross is a little different. Take a clothespin and separate the pieces and put them together like the middle of step 2. The large part will be near the center of the cross with the pointed tip going down.

(5) Take another clothespin that has been separated and put them against the pointed tip as show in the center of figure 2. The bottom of your cross should touch as seen.

Figure 3- Fan shape

(6) Take the artificial flower and/or greenery and glue it into the center of the cross.

(7) The scrap ribbon will be used as a hanger on the back. (See figure 2). Glue the ribbon in an X fashion onto the back on the top of the cross.

Figure 4- Finished!

(8) Hang on the wall and enjoy your new cross!

And believe it or not, this craft was done at a youth VBS and even the teenagers enjoyed it!

(Can be found for purchase here.)