Homemade Christmas

Have you ever noticed how much you spend when shopping for Christmas gifts for everyone? Well I added it up last year and oh man does it add up really fast. With the wedding coming up and this new chapter in my life, I have been trying to save a little here and there. This of course means less shopping :( I can be pretty crafty when I put my mind to it, so this year I decided why not just make everyone's Christmas gifts. This will allow me a) to save money b)personalize everyone's gifts to make it extra special and c) get the craft itch out of my system for a while. I have started by making a list of everyone who I will be giving gifts to and trying to think what would suit them. In the next few weeks, I will be hitting up Hobby Lobby, Michael's, and Hancock Fabric's. Between all of these stores I am sure to find something special to make for everyone :) I personally think the homemade gifts require more thought than just going and buying a gift. Here's to hopefully saving some money this Christmas and sharing my love with others. Do you do anything special, out of the ordinary for Christmas?

Wedding update

It's October and we have 8 months left!! So far, I have gotten my dress and veil, my invitations, save the dates have been mailed, I have had my engagement party, mom has bought her dress, rehearsal dinner guest list has been finalized, narrowed down my bridesmaid dresses down to 2, will be registering in 2 weeks on my fall break :), pretty certain about what food we will be having for rehearsal and reception, I have decided on my gift for Tim, flower girl dresses picked out, picked out the colors and theme for the wedding, engagement pictures taken, personalized my something blue for the big day, and made personalized gifts for my bridesmaid for just a small thank-you now for the months to come :) That's all for now. Will give an update after we register, I'm sure it will be a story worth sharing.

According to The Knot, we are right on track!

Here is my something blue. I hand cross-stitched and am going to sew it on an inner layer of my dress. 

Personalizing some wood

I went on a creative spree this past week. I made my bridesmaids personalized gifts, sewed something blue for my wedding, and painted some wood. I will post about the other two later. I decided to make good use of some scrap wood in my backyard. I gathered 4 pieces of 2x4s and nailed them together. I sanded the edges and gently went over where i was going to paint to get off any loose pieces. Since I was painting on wood, I wanted to make it look rustic. I started by painting and slowly thinning it with water. After it dried, I sanded over a few places that I felt were too dark. After I was satisfied with the background I picked a bible verse that I thought would be good inspiration to read everyday since I was hanging this in my apartment at school. I get so busy at school, that sometimes I just need to be still and KNOW that GOD has got this. I painted the verse and decided it needed a little something extra to complete it. I picked a bird on a branch because when I think of birds, I think of calmness and stillness. I hope you like it :) 

 Nailing the boards onto a homemade frame

 Ready for some paint

Background done

Ta-da all done