How to make a tinsel tree

Here's what you need

1. tinsel (1 pk is plenty)

2. party hat

3. hot glue gun

4. scissors

I just used stuff I had around the house. I thought the party hat would work perfect & i was just going to throw it out anyways.

I cut the ruffles off the bottom & started hot gluing the tinsel from the seem.

I added another layer all the way up since you could still see a little bit of the pink & I wanted it to have a fuller look. It turned out really cute and only took a few minutes.

& here is the finished product! I love it, and it beats paying like $5 when I made if for FREE! :)

(I apologize for the terrible pics I took them real quick with my iPhone4)

Mesh Christmas tree topper

When I posted about our Chirstmas decor I mentioned I made our tree topper from floral deco-mesh, and said I would post on how to do it. So here's what you need:

Deco-mesh (we got our green from Sam's, and this one from Canton), pipe cleaners (or something to tie with), & we also got some pretty floral glittery things to stick in the bow.

I didn' get pictures of me actually making the bow, & I am sorry for that. But its not hard to explain...

1. roll out mesh ad choose a length. I honestly don't remember how much I used but it doesn't take much. (but don't cut the mesh off bc its easier to leave the roll attached. you'll understand later.)

2. fold the mesh from the outside in, making big loops, its just like making a hair bow only much bigger. I made two loops for each side just to add thickness.

3. then you gather the middle and tie it.

4. you should still have the roll of mesh attached. Use it to create a center for the bow. Bring the extra to the back, tie, and cut.

5. I also added streamers going down the tree that I made separately and then tied to the bow just to keep it together.

6. lastly add your little pretty stems just to add some fun!

I hope that made at least a little bit of sense. If not just email me or leave a comment & ill help!

Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas already

When we got home from Canton we finished decorating for Christmas. I can't believe it's that time already.
I just love taking pics of all the decorations. There's just something magical about Christmas.

I just added a few things to my room...

 I got that peppermint ball from a beautiful shop in Canton. I got two of them, but I couldn't upload the pics of the other one...

& here's the living room...

 I'm going to do a post on how to make the bow for the top of the tree tomorrow.

I just hope this CHRISTmas everyone can remember the real reason for Christmas. It's not about the presents or Santa clause. It's not about decorating, shopping, or Christmas dinner. It's all about the birth of Jesus. Without this day we wouldn't have had a savior.

"For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on is shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

Second trip to Canton, TX

We made our second trip to Canton, TX last weekend to get our new English bulldog!
I only got a few pics once again bc I was too busy looking at all the great stuff.

Now for the few pics I got...

Mom & Dad before we got started. I took a pic of myself but I decided to spare y'all!

We saw some interesting stuff... :)

 I LOVE this!

 I'm not sure about this, but I liked it.

hmmm, I wonder where I could put this.

I'm going to make some small wreaths like this Saturday.

So...if you've never been to Canton here are a few tips.

1. You HAVE to go at least once! It's amazing shopping you just can't get anywhere else.

2. Do NOT use the restrooms there. It's disgusting id advise you to stop before you get there and not drink to much, haha!
3. Go during the fall. There's more people, but the weather makes a big difference. Plus all the Christmas stuff is for sale and there is a huge selection!
4. Don't be afraid to eat at the food court there, we ate at the Baked Potato. It was SO good.
5. The obvious; where comfortable shoes, take cash, and have something to put all your goodies in.



Silhouette Machine giveaway @ Thrifty Decor Chick

There's another Silhouette giveaway over at TDC! I am determined to win one of these & if I don't I just may have to let go of my $199 and buy one of Cyber Monday.

The winner of this giveaway gets ALL of the following:


A Silhouette Machine (a $299.99 value)

It will include...

- Software for Windows XP/Vista, Mac

- Power cable, USB cable

- Two cutting mats (one for thick media, one for thin media)

- One cutting blade

- $10 gift card to the Silhouette Online Store



So what are you waiting for go sign up here too, you just may win!
Also if you have never checked out Thrifty Decor Chick you have got to see her stuff. Her blog is the first one I ever looked at and it inspired me so much that I made my own! :)
 
Good luck!

Silhouette giveaway @ Infarrantly Creative

Infarrantly Creative is also giving away a silhouette machine!!
This is how to enter...of course visit her blog before doing these things..


So what do you have to do for a chance to win?


1. Become a public follower of Infarrantly Creative. one entry
2. Become a facebook fan of Infarrantly Creative. one entry
3. Tweet about the giveaway - @infarrantly with a link to this post. one entry.
4. Mention this giveaway on Facebook. one entry.
5. Blog about it or put the giveaway on your sidebar. Then come back and leave me a link to your blog. one entry.

Hurry!!

Silhouette Giveaway @ tatertots and jello

Ok -- here are the juicy details:


This Silhouette Giveaway

{a $299.99 value}

includes…

Silhouette machine.

*Software for Windows XP/Vista and Mac

*Power Cable

*2 Cutting Mats

*One Cutting Blade

*Plus a $10 Gift Card to Silhouette's Online Store

{And don’t forget: SILHOUETTE is now available to MAC USERS TOO!!}

......IF I EVER ACTUALLY WIN ONE OF THESE!!! I WILL BE SSOOOOOOOOOO HAPPY!!
 
so what are you waiting for run (type really fast) over to tatertots and jello & enter to win!

I'm still here!

I am so upset that I neglect my blog so badly. I honestly do love to blog and do all my crafting stuff, but I have ZERO time to do it. Since I gave myself a break from my 5 page med term paper I decided to catch you up....
So....Since Oct. 23 lots has happened...

I FINALLY turned 18! :)

My family surprised me with cheese cake, a birthday hat & pen, & presents before we went on a trip to the casino since in OK I am now legal to gamble lol! But don't worry I wont be wasting any of my money anytime soon ;)

I celebrated Halloween with this cute little 'busy bee'!

It just so happens my birthday is the day before Halloween so we got to see the kids before they went trick-or-treating. (ps. look at my beautiful car in the background, ahh I love her!)

 

I hosted a gorgeous wedding shower!

 It was Italian themed so we had lots of pasta, bread sticks, salad, cream soda, cannolis (sent in from Dallas), and a lemon creme cake from Olive Garden. The first pic is the bride's table with pics of the couple...I loved how it turned out! The dessert table was pretty cute too. & lastly the food table. I didn't get anymore pics but the other tables but they were cute  too, & she got some good stuff.

I took lots of pics of this cute guy!

Who just so happens to be getting a new baby brother (dog of course) on Dec. 4th!! We can't wait to go back to Canton, TX...& do a little Christmas shopping while we're there :) eeek!! :)

I went from this, to.......

....this!

Haha, I got my hair cut

& some darker color. I like being dark brown but i can't bother with it during the summer bc that darn sun will turn it right back! Also please excuse my nasty room...that's another thing I have a hard time finding time to do.

& that's about all! I will have pics up from our Canton, TX trip after we go. Hopefully,I

will post before then on my Christmas decor. I am going to start on that on Sunday.

Happy Thanksgiving! & good luck to those of us who will be fighting the crowds on Black Friday!

Where have I been??

So...I've been SUPER busy! Goin to school full time & working full time is kickin my butt! I haven't been working on any projects either & it's killin me. But, I was off today so I went and got the iPhone 4! It's amazing...I love it! & now that I can blog from my phone I'll be doin it a lot more! Also I'm planning a wedding shower so I'll have lots to blog about. Ok time to download more apps ;)

So, i mod podged a lamp..shade!

Allow me to introduce my $2 lamp from my favorite junk store! I've been thinking about getting it for a few wks but i wasn't sure if I needed it...obviously I do ;)

I really don't know whats up with the tape around it edges. But when i took it off the shade was perfectly normal, so maybe they were trying to keep it from getting messed up?

Anyways I decided to paint to base blue...

Then i thought all afternoon about what to do with the shade. I was itching to do a project & i definitely wanted to finish this lamp in one day. So i got the bright idea to use some pretty wrapping paper i got on sale at Target & just mod podge the shade, crazy i know!

I keep forgetting to get some foam brushes so I've been using this foam roller every time i mod podge & it is a pain! But anyways i poured some on a paper plate and rolled it on my shade, doing one section at a time. (mod podge can be a serious mess so its best to do a little at a time) Then I laid the paper down, i wasn't careful about wrinkles because when i was done i gave it a distressed worn look (you can't tell in the pictures) I rolled the top coat of mod podge. I trimmed the edges and let it dry over night.

Ta-Da!!! I need to put some trim around the edges, but i didn't have any I liked at the house so that will have to wait. You may have noticed the base isn't blue...I changed my mind after I had it painted my Ocean Breeze, so i went over it with the cheap-o white kind. I love it :)

I'm not going to lie it was hard to maneuver the paper on the shade the way I wanted but it's holding up really good & it looks like a real shade!

-Brittany

I'm linking to these parties...

Where do creative ideas come from?

I don't have any projects to show you guys today. Mostly because I'm super busy, and since I haven't found a CNA job yet I've made myself promise not to spend money on "junk". But, I got this super sweet e-mail forward from my Mom where a friend of hers said how much she loves my blog & I'm pretty sure I'll be going to the junk store or Dollar Tree tomorrow so I will have a new post to help you guys with you fall decor! (Ah my favorite decor of all!)

Anyways the reason for this post is to show you guys that making decor isn't some kind of super power! I totally wish it was, but the truth is anyone can do it! Hence DIY :)

So, I am going to tell the best secret ever...the ideas all of the bloggers around here have aren't always original...

They're just cheaper versions of stuff like this...

This pumpkin stack, oh excuse me Pumpkin Topiary is from Kirkland's "Harvest" collection. It is $24.99!!
What in the world?? I do love it, & I'm seriously thinking about making it tomorrow just so I can show you that $24.99 is a rip off & we shouldn't have to wait till December to get "harvest" decor at a reasonable price.

This one honestly cracks me up. Pottery Barn is selling this set of fake acorns for $14 bucks (& you get about 54.)...ACORNS people! I just got some acorn decor, for FREE. It's called your yard & It's the best place to shop for fall decor like: acorns and pine cones.

 This is just plain crazy! Pottery Barn made this Halloween set up, which I love! What they are trying to sell is that big cloche. Their price is $69...wow that's some serious sticker shock. Cloches are so plentiful at junk store you can find one just about every time you go in there. as for the other stuff that decorates it, lets do i list...books, candlestick: have, spider, tombstone candle, moss: dollar tree, so you maybe would spend $10 on this same look if you just found a cloche & took the time to decorate around it.

So, stop looking at those magazines & emails you get and thinking, that cost too much I just wont have any decor...make it! You can do it.

My intentions for this post was not to bash department stores for their high prices, but to show you all how easy it can be to find inspiration and creativity. Its right in front of us we just have to look with a knew eye. Good luck with your decor. I'll be posting this weekend to show you some fall decor I'm working on. If you want to show me something you make because of this post don't hesitate to email me I'd love to hear from you.  mrszcross (@) yahoo (dot) com

p.s. I know my Mom has been emailing people to tell them about my blog. Because of this I have been considering adding a tab to my blog for all of our local junk stores and stores to buy supplies. Basically I'll review them for you show you what you can find there and if the prices are reasonable. If any of you guys are interested in visiting the junk stores in our area. If so email me or mom and let me know. Also if you want to follow my blog, or post comments please make a google account to do so. I don't want to include unnecessary information unless you guys are reading this. Thanks!

-Brittany Amber :)

Best giveaway EVER!

If only I could win this giveaway from Under The Table and Dreaming!!!

This giveaway package incudes:

A Silhouette Machine

Software for Windows XP/Vista

Power cable, USB cable

2 cutting mats (one for thick media, one for thin media)

one cutting blade

plusa $10 gift card to the Silhouette Online Store

There's 6 chances to win!

So get on over there & enter to win!

We're having a par-tayy!

This is why I haven't posted all week...

That's right my first week of college. :)  (check out my FREE backpack, I won at orientation!)

I planned on having a fall party today, to celebrate the fact that Arkansas weather is dropping finally & we've even been below the 70s this week. :) That makes me VERY happy. Not only is that a reason for celebration, but also today was my last day at work!! Woo-hoo. I've been working at a bbq restaurant for over a year & i hated it. But now I officially have my CNA license! So before we get this party started I wanted to show yall something I got from my junk store this week.

I had already taped off the only part I actually liked about it before I remember I should take a before pic.

I know it is so ugly! But, I swear it has been looking at me in the Junk Store for weeks. So i finally dished out my 3 little dollars & bought it. & here it is now...

I looove it! The sticker on the back said it was originally $34...umm I'm sorry but there is no way. I think $3 was just fine. I was planning on painting the brown part black, but I liked it just the way it was. When I showed it to Mom she decided she need to keep it hehe.

Now for the lovely lamps :)

Here is my new project for the next few weeks...I'm so excited!

I found this lamp out in our field by a shed it was buried in the ground pretty much (that's where all the real good junk is of course ;) ) So I got it out brought it inside cleaned it up & spray painted the bottom. After months of looking for a shade that fit I finally found one & payed $2 for it. I want  to recover the shade of course. But first I want to see all the lamps you guys have already dolled up!

So add any LAMP you've fixed up your self even if you only added paint. If it's a lamp I want to see it.
Make sure to tell your friends & fellow bloggers. Also I don't have a button yet. So Please just follow my blog to show support & next party I will be sure to have one!