Crochet Granny Ripple Afgan

 My best friend just recently had her second child, and since I could always use a good excuse to work on a new project, I took the opportunity to crochet a baby blanket. I wanted something that was going to keep me stimulated while making, and something that I thought I could do in a couple weeks. With long projects, I tend to get bored and stop working on them- thus they simply collect and become a pain while I figure out what to do with them and where to store them. 

Anyways, I decided on a fun granny ripple blanket, and I am JAZZED on how it all turned out!

Of course, I gave myself plenty of time for this project, but waited until the day of the baby shower to give the blanket its finishing touches, so the border wasn't as ellaborate as I was hoping. It turned out wonderfully though, and I don't think the simple border takes away from and of its charm. 

Since I put so much thought and effort into this beauty, I wanted the baby to get lots of good use out of the blanket. I decided to make it bigger than your typical baby blanket, which probably makes this more of an afgan, but whatever!

Just for kicks and giggles, I layed the blanket next to my pillows- which I sleep am still totally in love with!

I tied it up all adorable and said my goodbyes to this beauty I had to let go of... I see one of my own coming soon!

A Romantic Gift for my Honey

 I can be pretty cheesy sometimes. Thats okay, I embrace it! I just recently celebrated my 5 year anniversary with my boyfriend (nope, no ring yet- I'm still working on it!) and typically we aren't really the type of couple to do gifts or anything. But I decided that I wanted to do something from the heart, that we could both share together. 
I'm not entirely sure where this idea came from, but I just started thinking about all the cool things and experiences that we have had, and began writing them down. Soon enough, I had a large list of memories, and things that I love about him. 

I eventually came up with this...

Inside, I have chocolate hugs and kisses mixed in with lots of little pieces of paper. 

Each piece of paper has a memory, or something that I love about him. I purposely mixed in papers in layers with the chocolate so that he couldn't just read all the papers at once, and had to work through the hugs and kisses to get to more reasons and memories. 

I made a card and titled this piece- Hugs, Kisses, Love, and Memories. 
Mike already had a bunch of theses beer mugs, so I thought that would be better than going out and buying another jar. 

It was a lot of fun for me to sit back and remember back to the beginning of our relationship. A lot happens in 5 years! Its also been fun to watch him open up the papers and remember too and it has been sparking a lot of cool conversations between the two of us. 


I tell ya, its the small things in life. I am forever stoked on the simple stuff!

Hand Painted Stacked Pots

After seeing lots of these cool tipsy planters on Pinterest, I decided that I was just going to go for it and make my own. Only, I didn't want them to be as simple and boring as some other versions that I have seen. 

My house came with a lot of old terra cota pots, so I already had all the materials- other than the rebar rod that is used to stand everything on. 

I decided that I really wanted something unique and individual to my style, so I spray painted all the pots white, and then drew on the designs with paint, and added in details with a metallic pen.

These cuties turned out pretty awesome, huh?!?!

They most certainly aren't perfect, but I couldn't be more stoked on the outcome. Besides, the imperfections just give it that much more character, right?

Since I wasn't talented enough to find longer pieces of rebar at the store, I was only able to get two 3 ft pieces. This just meant that I couldn't stack all the pots together like I originally planned, and instead I ended up with only three pots stacked, but in two different places in the yard. Which I actually like a lot better!

After painting and drawing on the designs, I sprayed the pots down with a couple coats of a clear sealant. I (obviously) didn't want the paint and all my hard work to wash off, and this helps keep the pots from soaking up all the water, and leaving less for the plants. Plus it gave them a shiny outer coat that looks pretty ;)

Just an FYI- The pots are simply "laced" onto the rebar, and tilted however I chose.

Rock Feet in the Garden

Whats a garden without things that make you happy and smile? Lame. Thats what I say. I have tried to add in small things here and there that make my garden different than your everyday, average garden. Saw these adorable rock feet on pinterest and gathered rocks to make some of my own.

I added in a couple pairs randomly throughout the veggie garden. They serve no other purpose than to make me smile...

Far left, and then after the border on the right

I like these guys cause they are small and fat ;)

DIY Household Cleaning Solutions

 I have been researching a lot lately on making my own cleaning supplies.I just figured that it probably wasn't healthy to have a headache and feel dizzy after I clean- what with breathing in all those chemicals. I read that the companies are not legally required to list their ingredients on the bottles, which quite frankly scares me. 

After comparing different recipes I finally came up with a list of a couple that looked easy enough to make, and all shared common ingredients. This would help cut back on cost I figured. And since I'm weird like this, I ordered my spray bottles from The Container Store cause I wanted them to be cute ;)

Since I have already had some interest in the recipes, I gathered them up in one convenient place!

All Purpose Cleaner

3 Tablespoons white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon washing soda

1 teaspoon Borax

1/2 teaspoon castile soap

2 cups hot water  

20 drops tea tree oil (optional)

Grease Cutter

2 cups water

1/4 cup castile soap

10 drops essential oil (again, I used tea tree)

Surface Spray

4 teaspoons borax

1/2 teaspoon castile soap

Fill rest of bottle with water. 

Since the colors of everything were the same, I added a small drop of food coloring to this bottle just so I could tell the difference- even though they're all labeled.

All Purpose Bathroom Cleaner

1/2 cup vinegar

2 teaspoons borax

Fill rest of bottle with water. 

Window and Glass Cleaner

1/2 cup vinegar

1/2 teaspoon castile soap

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 cups water  

 

 

I found the labels by just doing a google search for "free printable labels". Sorry I didn't save the link...

Pallet Table with Living Runner

In the process of doing my backyard, and I decided that I needed a table. My little brother was kind enough to take on that project for me ;) 
However, I had NO idea what his idea was, and was totally flabbergasted when he showed up to my house with this bad boy. I swear, my jaw actually hit the floor!!!

 He made me a table using old pallets, braced it, added on legs, and then made a living succulent runner in the middle. 
What can I say, I come from a creative family!!!

He actually just used rain gutters from Home Depot, and drilled in holes in the bottom so that it would drain properly. The succulents are pretty happy here too, and are totally taking off!

I was actually fortunate enough to get my moms old umbrella, and while I was at my Grams house, I saw an old umbrella stand too. My brother was smart enough to drill a hole in the middle to for the umbrella. Pretty amazing, right!!!

And look at the border surrounding the plants!!! I am one proud sissy!!

Sunburst Garden Art

 I have a random corner in my yard that has been neglected until recently. This is the corner where I put my amazing herb garden, so it is slowly coming to life. My hope is that it will be a space that I will actually want to hang out in. A place where I am stoked to be, and enjoy looking at. Of course, that is my ultimate goal for the entire yard, but when you have such a big space that can be challenging. So, I decided that it needed a little flair of myself, and I quickly came up with a plan...

 I got to work with a drill, some wood screws, and my fabulous creative mind ;)

And I conjured up this sunburst sweetness for my corner.

Since I wanted it to be centered on the fence, and with the herb garden, the only place to really do that was on the post. Which is why at certain angles it looks a little funky.

It sure does spice up that back corner, and now that  all of the plants are bigger, it has all filled in and looks amazing!

DIY Herb Garden

My family kindly helped me get my act together and clean up and take care of my backyard. Since it is so large, we had a lot to do. I not only wanted to pick out all the weeds and trim everything up, but I wanted to plant things and make my yard look really amazing. One of the many things that we did was build an awesome, round, tiered, herb garden. We used old concrete pieces that come with a story...

These concrete pieces are from my grandparents old driveway. Which doesn't sound as interesting, until I tell you that it was originally laid out by my great-grandparents. So right now, these pieces of driveway (who would have thought) are on their 4th generation of my family! Pretty cool huh?

This pic is a couple months after we planted. Everything is blooming and filling out wonderfully!

This simple thing in my yard brings me great joy when I look at it. I just can't help but think how cool it is! Not to mention all the yummy herbs that I am going to get out of it! Like Chocolate Mint, Sweet Basil, Pineapple Sage, Peppermint, etc.