Cake Toppers!

Hooray! Since Mr. IT and I are only having a teensy tiny small cake for ourselves, we decided to do some tiny cake toppers to match. And, since we're both huge nerds... I present to you: Dalek Cake Toppers!

They were super easy to make, and then it just took a little paint, and a little added pizazz.  (I also got a TARDIS water bottle for my birthday yesterday. It holds more water than you'd think :) )

Geeky things are just so fun.

Planes, Trains, and AUTOMOBILES!

Here's my new car! It's pretty and I adore it.

I shall never again take having a vehicle for granted. Walking everywhere takes much longer, and leaves you with much less time in a day.  And so, I am grateful.

OH MAN. (Life is Disney-fied!)

Have things been busy. We're down to a month before the wedding, the Bridal Shower came and went (wonderfully, btw. Thanks, Mom!) And we're getting down to the last few details. Haven't had time to post lately, due to my car breaking down (at the least opportune moment! Thanks Car!) And therefore having no free time, being chauffeured everywhere (and working longer hours because of it) by the loving Mr. IT.  However, today is my BIRTHDAY (Happy Birthday, Me!) and my dad and I are taking a mini-road trip to pick up a car that I bought! Hooray for self-reliance again!

In the meantime, this has been Mr. IT's and my big project.  We're huge Disney fans, and so in designing our card box for the wedding, we decided to just paint a mailbox. And then use said mailbox after the wedding. Here's what we came up with!

I love it. It'll look fantastic as a functional mailbox outside of our house.

One thing getting married is teaching me:

I don't handle stress well. I don't know how to change that fact, either.

Bouquet Toss

I got so wrapped up in creating bouquets for myself and my three ladies, that I almost forgot about the toss bouquet! Luckily, I remembered before I stem-wrapped everything and was able to rearrange to get a few flowers, plus, added in some roses that I already had.  So pretty.

Bridesmaid Bouquets

An array of daisies, and a single anemone each.  So simple, but so visually stunning.

Flowers EVERYWHERE (And boutonnieres!)

My house looks like a greenhouse exploded in shades of purple, blue, and white.  On the bright side, that explosion is s-l-o-w-l-y coming together as pretty things! Like boutonnieres! Japanese anemones, baby cosmos, and a sprig of saxifraga for some greenery.

Isn't it pretty? I love flowers.

Just a quick warning....

My next few posts will be about all things flower related! We got the flowers in that we're using for the wedding (we're using silk flowers) and I'm going to be busy busy busy making bouquets, boutonnieres, and corsages, and fashioning everything that's left into decorations.  Hope you love flowers as much as I do!

Tutus, revisited - Flower Girl Edition

Back when my blog was just a baby, I made a tutu-onesie outfit for my (soon-to-be) niece.  I adore tutus. They're just so poofy and girly and cute. Fast-forward about a year, and I've made the best decision ever: my flower girls for my wedding are going to wear leotards and tutus. YAY! One of my girls is 4, and the other is almost 3, and they're both little girly girls, so it worked out perfectly!

And, since I'm a control freak crafty, I decided to make the tutus myself (of course!) instead of paying tons of money for someone else to do them.  With that... here they are!

I started with this....

And then, I find it easiest to organize them in bundles of how they'll be used.  That way, I know how I need to organize the ties, and if I have leftover strips, etc.

Final product!

EDIT::
I added a couple strands of ribbon to the tulle, just for some added depth and texture.  I love it.  I couldn't find any wide ribbon in the blue at Walmart today, but if I find some at Joann's this week, I will probably add that too. 

What I haven't decided with them is their baskets... My original thought was to find some straw cowboy hats for them to use as baskets. But I'm not sure how easy that will be for them to carry.  So I might just look into smaller baskets, too. Ideas? 

Wedding Central

My house! Stacks of invitations, RSVP cards, registry information, envelopes, and stamps abound... Poor Mr. IT. Things aren't so organized right at the moment. Plus, a sneak preview of a post soon to come!

Shoe Makeover - Comic Book style

I was on Pinterest today.  And I saw these shoes. And these shoes.  And loved them. LOVED.

And thought to myself, "Self, I have tons of shoes I never wear.  And some old comic books that have been stashed on the closet For-ev-er.  I need to redecorate shoes!"

And so, I did.

Here is my new creation.  I love them.

That being said.......... If/when I do this again... or, if you decide to try this on your own,  I suggest using shoes that aren't made out of canvas.  Or, if you do use canvas shoes, stuff them with something first. Newspaper, a shoe form... something.  I'm going to need to do some shoe-stretching with these, because the mod podge shrunk them right down.  However, since they're adorable, I really don't care!  If I do another pair of these, I'm thinking Avengers-style... we shall see!


I saw painted shoes and glittered shoes too... keep your eyes peeled! This certainly wasn't the only pair of shoes in my closet that get no use anymore. 

What about you? I'm always looking for ideas for fun shoe makeovers.  If you have an awesome idea, please share!

The Post V-Day wrap-up

Mr. IT and I decided not to do anything big for Valentines day this year, since we're saving up for a wedding and all.  And while wedding progress is coming along splendidly (I'm almost done with my veil! Pictures and possibly a tutorial soon.), my other projects have slowed quite a bit.  I did decide to make some more perler bead magnets, since we're always seeming to need more fridge magnets, and he loves old-school nerdy things. Queue the 8-bit projects!

Link, the Tri-Force, two gameboys, and a bow tie. (Bow ties are cool.)  Along with some cinnamon bears and sour patch kids, and a brand spanking new gigantic box of crayons, it was a fantastic small present. (We have a gigantic stack of coloring books... it's fun to go back to childhood and color sometimes!)

I also made one of Mr. IT's favorite dinners.  He's a buffalo chicken ADDICT, and I found a recipe on Pinterest for buffalo chicken mac and cheese.  I thought this was a FANTASTIC idea, but I wasn't in love with the recipe I found, so I created my own! It's not in the regular dinner rotation, because if it was... I think we'd both weigh 400 pounds.  It's definitely not a low-cal meal... but for special occasions... it's OH-SO-GOOD, and it makes enough for an army.  It'd be easy enough to cut this recipe in half if you're not a fan of leftovers.


Buffalo Chicken Mac 'n' Cheese
Prep: 30 minutes
Bake: 30 minutes
Serves: 9

1 box (16 oz) rotini noodles
3 cups shredded chicken (shredding a rotisserie chicken shaves off some prep time, but I don't think it tastes as good. That's just my opinion though)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. butter
3/4 cup buffalo sauce (divided) (we like Frank's)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons dry mustard
2 cups milk (I used 2%)
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup sour cream
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1 cup swiss cheese
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
Boil pasta according to box directions, and drain
While pasta is boiling, cook the chicken in a skillet, and then shred the chicken into a bowl.  Mix in 1/2 cup of the buffalo sauce and toss to coat the chicken. 

Also while the pasta is boiling and the chicken is cooking , in a separate (fairly large) pot, melt the butter, flour, and mustard together and stir until smooth.  Whisk in milk and heavy cream, and stir constantly until sauce begins to thicken slightly (about 2 minutes).  Add 1/4 cup of the buffalo sauce, and mix all together.  Add the cheddar cheese, and stir until the cheddar begins to melt.  Add the mozzarella, and again stir until the cheeses become a little easier to stir, and finally repeat with the swiss cheese.  After the swiss cheese has begun to melt, stir in the sour cream.  Then, keep stirring. (This part takes the longest, but it's worth it!) Soon, the cheese will begin to become uniformly melted and the sauce will be a creamy consistency when you pull the spoon out of the pot (NOT stringy! This is important.) Once that creamy consistency is reached,  turn off the heat for the pot and let it sit. 

In a 9x13 pan, pour in half of the noodles, then spread the chicken in an even layer over the noodles.  Top with the remaining noodles.  Take the cheese sauce, and slowly pour the cheese evenly over the top of the noodles.  It will look like the sauce doesn't go all the way down to the bottom of the pan, but I promise once it starts baking, it'll seep it's way down!
Spread the bread crumbs on top of the cheese sauce, sprinkle with the blue cheese and the parsley.  Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, take out of the oven, and let it sit for 10 minutes. Serve up, and enjoy!

Coming Soon...

Tomorrow, in fact, a Valentine's Day roundup (or, What Crafty Things I Made Mr. IT this year) as well as our favorite recipe: Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese. 

After trying many types, and liking certain qualities of each one, I have concocted my own.  I'll share this with all of you, because it's just that good.  See you tomorrow!

Accomplishments...

I did something today. Something I'm very proud of, that doesn't happen entirely often.  I finished a project.  In an incredibly timely manner.  My "unicorn barf" blanket.  Again, excuse my loving nickname, but I think it's fitting... Here it is though!!!!

(EDIT: I've been told that my loving nickname is not fitting.  Crazy bright rainbow stripes is equally true though.)

It's about 4 feet in diameter, and is such a fun patterned blanket.  It was so easy, just working in rounds, and if I had actually worked on it diligently, I would have finished it in about a week and a half, tops.  Since it was just an occasional project, it took about a month.  Still! It's done.  Still a few more projects to finish up, as well as a few more up my sleeve... I'll keep you posted lovelies! What are you working on?

Here's a couple gorgeous views from my life, lately.  So blessed to live where I do.

Aren't they amazing? Sunrises are really getting me lately.  And don't worry--I wasn't driving.  Mr. IT was behind the wheel and I was busy snapping pictures.

<3

So much more...

than I ever thought. Wedding planning, that is.  It's a lot of work, and a lot of small details that I never even thought of.  However, we got our engagement pictures done, and our photographer was WONDERFUL and (fingers crossed) will be the photographer at the wedding as well (Emily Barnhardt Photography. She's the best.) ... This is my personal favorite shot, although they were all fantastic:

I also went wedding dress shopping!!! For some reason, I was terrified about the experience (being mainly self-conscious issues, and concerned that for whatever reason, I'd look awful in everything.) but it was fantastic.  My MOH, mom, and future mother-in-law went with me to David's Bridal, and the timing could not have been more perfect.. they are currently having their giant store-wide sale, which my frugal side ADORES.  I tried on five dresses, but after I put on the 2nd dress, nothing else could compare.  It's simple, elegant, and fit me like a glove--virtually no alterations, only making it so the dress can bustle. Because I know Mr. IT doesn't read this, here's a picture.  Very basic, but I love it:

Other than that, things are slow on the crafting front.  I'm scheming up ideas as to what I can and cant DIY for the wedding, and I'm working on my (affectionately named) unicorn-barf blanket.  It's a 12-point star pattern, and works up very quickly.  I love patterns like that. 

Stay warm, readers! Winter is getting chilly up in my part of the country.  What I wouldn't give to be in a warmer place...

xoxo!

FINALLY!

Holy busy life, Batman. 

I'm also learning quickly the delightful stresses that come with planning a wedding, as well as working on 4 different crochet projects, and slowly coming to the realization that it's a possibility that only 2 of them will be finished by Christmas. Uh oh!

But we'll go back... First, Mr. IT's Birthday Presents...

A minion hat (inspired by Despicable Me.. we love that movie.)

and Mario themed magnets (made from perler beads)

I'm also making mirror ornaments for our Christmas tree this year.  I'm excited... Last year, we decided that since we would be at his family's house for Christmas, that we wouldn't get a tree.  So we had this...

Lights, strung up on the wall in the shape of a tree.  I loved it, and it fit our purpose wonderfully, but I'm a pretty big fan of Christmas.  And since we're staying here this year, there's no excuse NOT to have a tree! We're going to take it slow and decorate bit by bit, so we're finding some cheap-y ornaments at the thrift store (although, I hesitate to call them cheap... there were some REALLY cute ones there.) and lights, and when I saw the little double-sided mirror ornaments on Pinterest, I thought to myself, "I can make that! And it'll be cheap and easy!" 
So here those are...

I'm also working on Christmas presents.  I found this Doctor Who bag here..., and loved the concept.  I'm changing it quite a bit, both in design, color, and saying, but her chart of the TARDIS is perfect.  The one I'm making will also say "SEXY" instead of the bit about sonic-ing.  I cant think of a better gift for my BFF.  I'm making Mr. IT another hat, (Dallas Cowboys style this time), and a granny square afghan of a red power-up Mario mushroom, and making my parents an afghan that my Grandma started before she passed away.  That's the project I'm closest to finishing.

Between those, subbing, working at the law firm, and wedding planning, I feel like I have no time to breathe, but I'm working on it! There are at least hopeful plans to get it all done.

Until next time! And I'll take pictures of the projects as I work on them, so there will be occasional updates at the very least.  Happy beginning of the Holidays!

After this commercial break...

Holy cow! It's been a long time. I've been buuuuusy, subbing, and doing clerical work at a law firm, and crocheting my heart out.

I've also been busy with wedding planning because I'M ENGAGED!

So, that.  Pictures of stuff I've been working on, coming soon. I just need to sit down with my camera and snap some pictures, and then actually upload them. Strange concept, right? I've got a granny square afghan I'm piecing together, and a TARDIS purse I'm working on... (yep! Geeking out.) As well as painting some shoes, and headbands, and about 30 other projects.  Phew.  I'm staying busy, and staying exhausted. Updates soon though, Promise.

It's a Birthday Celebration!

1) I finally got to substitute again.  Man, I've missed being in schools.  And since it was at the school that I student taught at (and subbed at last year quite a bit), the kids, teachers, and even some of the kids' parents were excited to see me.  If that's not a confidence booster, I don't know what is! Now if I could only get a steady job....

Oh well! In the meantime, I'm preparing for Mr. IT's birthday.  He's turning 28 this year, and claims he already feels like an old man, and tells me that I shouldn't do anything for his birthday. Unfortunately for him, I LOVE birthdays.  Lots of things in the works, and everything is *almost* done! Pictures when I finish everything up.  I'm excited about it though.

And I wish the smoke would go away.  I want a downpour of rain, or even snow at this point, just to put out the rest of the wildfires.  I cant remember the last time I was able to breathe CLEAN air.  :(

Yarn Bin!

Well, that bright funky granny spiral throw isn't done yet... (and why should it be?! I've got terrible craft-ADD.) (And also I'm out of the navy blue color that I've been using. Need to get to the store to buy more yarn! hooray!) In the meantime, I've been crafting up other things, like these crochet winter headwraps!

One is done in Red Heart  yarn, the other in Homespun (I love homespun yarn. It's SO cozy.) And also various flowers to go along with them... I'll be branching into other shapes/patterns etc soon, I want to try stars.  Maybe make some sports team color corresponding wraps! These will be available in my (hopefully soon up-and-running) etsy shop.

I love quick projects like these.  Keeps my short attention span happy, and still allows me to keep working on big projects.  I'm also working on a shrug sweater, and it'll be my first clothing project I've done! Excited to see how it turns out.  Pictures when it eventually gets finished!

Granny Spiral

I recently went to the store, and FINALLY bought a big plastic tub to hold all my yarn in. Simply doing that, and not having yarn in like (literally.) 7 different places throughout the house, seemed to motivate me.  So I pulled out an old project that I started ages ago, put down, and stopped working on. It's one that I personally love. It's bright, a little funky, and really fun.  I'll post more pictures as it moves along, which (hopefully!) will be rather quickly.  The best thing about the granny spiral stitch is that with each round of 3 colors, another 3+ inches are added to the edges.  It builds upon itself quickly.  I think it might *pop* a little more if there were 2 dark colors and one light, instead of 2 light and one dark. but still. The visual effect is awesome.

And, as per usual... Evil Kitty is monitoring my progress. It would appear he's feeling neglected or something. 

More soon! I want to get this wrapped up and move on to some other fun ideas that are brewing in my head!