Valentines Tea Party, Chuck Bass & Stella Rosa.

This year I spent Valentines Day with one of my best gals, Elyssa.  We had a tea party & watched Gossip Girl, specifically Chuck Bass, to ring in this day dedicated to loveeeee.  Oh, I can't forget to mention that one of my best guys, Paul Wall, dropped in.  I'm thinking he came for Lyss' signature Monte Cristo sandwich more so than to watch GG.  Here are some pictures of the crafts & decor that went into this year's Valentines celebration.  

My latest obsession?  Doilies.  I used them for everything I crafted this Valentines day.  I made a table runner out of paper doilies and cut out deep red hearts to make it holiday appropriate.  

I also used a doily and hearts to make this piece to hang from the light fixture above the table.  It consists of one long beige ribbon, a couple heart cut outs, a string of small pearls to line some of the hearts and hot glue to put it all together. 

Next, I constructed a footed cupcake platter.  My supplies? The bottom of a Valentines chocolate box, a plastic cup, string of small pearls and of course a couple doilies.  I cut one doily in half and wrapped the two halves around the plastic cup.  I used the string of pearls to line the rim of the plastic cup and hot glued the bottom of the cup to the heart-shaped chocolate box.  Next, I lined pearls around the rim of the box and placed a heart-shaped doily in the center.  The finishing touch?  Three scrumptious cupcakes made by Momma Lute.

Below, my table setting for the tea party.

No roses on my table, thank you very much.  I'm a sunflower kinda gal.  Fresh chai matte from Teavana.  Stella Rosa and the-cutest-teapot-you'll-ever-see courtesy of Jessica Joy.  My favorite tea cup to remind me of the East Coast.  All of this makes for my kind of tea party.  

For my Valentines, I added a bag of heart-shaped shortbread cookies to accompany the Mason jars.  I bought the small paper bags from Michaels.  Doilies and heart-shaped cut outs again made for the embellishments.  I then stamped my favorite Beatles' lyrics, "All you need is love," on each of the bags.  

 Happy Valentines Day once again!

 Finally, as a Valentines day gift to myself, I made an embroidery hoop. 

 Peace, sunshine & flowers are what I love best.  

I hope everyone felt a little love today.  

Because the Beatles are right.  

All you ever really need is love. 

Sending you lots of sunshine,

Michelle

Embroidery hoop decor.

Another simple & creative gift to make!  I got this idea for a decorative embroidery hoop from one of my favorite blogs: Under the Sycamore.  You can find this project and others here.  You can purchase embroidery hoops and string at a low price at Michaels.  What's great about this project is that most of the supplies you need may already be lying around your house.  For instance, these scraps of material have been sitting in my sewing box for awhile now.  A great place to shop for material is Joann's Fabrics.  They always have a bin of scrap pieces ranging from half a yard upwards.  

Here are two that I made last night.  I attached strips of fabrics to the hoops with hot glue so they can be hung easily.  A lot of the fabric I just glued on, such as the hearts and flower.  The ribbon I kept down by embroidering in a criss-cross fashion across its length.  To make embroidering "love" a little easier I wrote it out on the fabric with permanent marker first.  It may be cheating but it makes it a lot easier to embroider!  I finished by gluing a string of small pearls around the edge of the loop. 

I'm spending the afternoon baking Valentines day treats & crafting embroidery hoops so I'll be posting more pictures as soon as I finish.  Happy crafting loves! 

Sending you lots of sunshine,
Michelle

Mason jars for my Valentines!

Since my Prince Charming has yet to sweep me off my feet, I decided to make Valentines for my Momma and my best gals instead.  I took plain Mason jars, which can be purchased at Michaels, and decorated them with doilies, pearls, ribbon, twine, flowers & vintage cut-outs.  

To fill the jar, I wrote out some of my favorites quotes on various colored card stock.  I also added some of my own words in as well.  Craft scissors added variation to the borders of my notes. 

Ta da! Simple & affordable gifts for your best gals or significant other.  The one below is for the lovely Jessica Joy, aka my best friend since age zero.  Hers has the Eiffel Tower on it.  Oh, Paris.  How I love thee.  The gift tags were made out of card stock, a string of small pearls, twine & a heart-shaped hole punch.

Below, are a couple more that I made.  Don't forget to decorate the lid of your Mason jar!  I cut circles out of card stock and added doilies and pearls to each. 

Enjoy your Valentines!  Wishing you a day filled with lots of love, whether you're spending it with your soulmate, best gals or a nice glass of wine.  Fall in love, laugh with your friends & love your ridiculously unique self.  

Sending you lots of sunshine,
Michelle

Doilies, pearls, ribbons & cards.

If you know me well, you know that I am obsessed with all things Paris, vintage, lace, pearls related.  Though I love me some sports, I have always been a girly girl.  With that being said, I decided to make some cards inspired by my favorite things.  I bought all the stickers, cut-outs, paper and cards/envelope set from The Scrapbook Store in Poway.  Definitely one of my favorite stores.  

 They've always got such pretty things in stock! I should also make mention that I adore Audrey Hepburn's Breakfast at Tiffanys.  Thus, my addiction to the color Tiffany Blue.  Enter, Tiffany Blue ribbon from good ol' Michaels. 

The delightful, artsy embellishments I purchased made it easy to get creative.  I used hot glue and double stick tape to attach everything to the cards & envelopes.  Below, are two of my favorites.  

"Paris is always a good idea."--Audrey Hepburn

Bon voyage! 

Sending you lots of sunshine,
Michelle

Ecosytem Planner turned eco chic.

It's 2011, which means a new year and new things to look forward to.  To keep track of all my activities I bought myself this cute Ecosystem planner.  As an environmentally conscious individual, I adore anything made from recycled products.  

I thought the plain black cover of my new planner to be a wee bit boring so I decided to use some scrap material and ribbon to spruce it up a bit.  I used Mod Podge Matte, which can be purchased at Michaels, to glue the material to the cover of the planner.  It's a thick glue that can be applied with a paint brush to hold many different materials and textures together.  

I then used hot glue to place ribbon over the original elastic binding.  The hot glue didn't hold very well and created a ripply effect but I found that this minor nuisance gave the overall appearance a little character.  Besides, you can only notice the ripples when the planner is opened.  I added a flower embellishment to the ribbon-covered elastic as well. 

To bookmark the current page, I used a paper clip to which I added another flower.  

Here's to pretty planning! 

Sending you lots of sunshine, 
Michelle

A Winter Tea Party

Ever since I visited the East Coast during the summer of 2009, I've fallen in love with tea, tea cups and tea parties.  Thanks, of course, to my lovely cousins and aunties who introduced me to such a time-honored tradition.  I decided that a winter wonderland tea party would be the perfect way to celebrate the Christmas with my best gals.  

I bought each of my guests a tea cup/plate from Ikea and personalized them with Tiffany blue paint.  Each tea cup was unique to the individual it was made for.  The napkins were enclosed by a sparkly blue paper strip & sparkly white heart.  Instead of spending money on a set of expensive plates, I just bought these pearl white plastic dinner plates from Party City for less than $10.  The bows on the back of each chair were created by my lovely momma who is pretty much a pro at bow-making and gladly added her personal touch to my table setting.  I hung tool from the ceilings along with hand-made snowflakes (made the way I was taught in elementary school :) ) and draped it with silver pearls.  Thank you to my daddy for being my assistant in this hanging process.  Pine cones and ornaments of varying blues made for the center piece. 

The tea cup that doesn't match the rest is a lovely gift my Auntie Jane gave to me to commemorate my very first tea party.  My guests and I enjoyed peppermint tea from Teavana and treats made by each of the gals.  Oh, I can't forget to mention the presence of wine glasses...We love our Stella Rosa :)

Sending you lots of sunshine, Michelle

"Time-tested beauty tips."--Audrey Hepburn

As my first blog, I thought I'd share the words of an individual I admire greatly: 

actress & humanitarian, Audrey Hepburn.  

--------------------------------------

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. 

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people. 

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry. 

For beautiful hair, let a child run his fingers through it once a day. 

For poise, walk with the knowledge you'll never walk alone. 

We leave you a tradition with a future. 

The tender loving care of human beings will never become obsolete. 

People even more than things have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed and redeemed and redeemed.

Never throw out anybody. 

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of each arm. 

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands: one for helping yourself, the other for helping others. 

Your "good old days" are still ahead of you, 

may you have many of them. 

--------------------------------------

Such a beautiful soul both on screen and off.  

Sending you lots of sunshine, 

Michelle