Thursday, July 28, 2011

Crafty Me!

I have officially finished one of my long time coming crafts/projects! And I am soooo stinkin' proud of my final creation. So proud in fact, that I can't resist sharing it with you. And you want to know how much the whole thing cost me? Only 2.00. Yes, that's right. Two bucks. I try to be resourceful and considerate with our very tight budget. But enough rambling. Here's what I did! And like the wonderful craft bloggers I follow, I'm going to follow in their footsteps and include pictures for you :)

Here is all of the supplies you'll need if you decide to make this ridiculously cute decoration: a square wood frame, unfinished. I got mine from Michael's for only a dollar! You'll also need some mod podge, cute scrapbook paper, paint to match your paper, ribbon, and a paint brush.
Oh... and did I mention that you'll need something to go in the frame? Well, my Mom just happened to have two patterns that I've been wanting to embroider. So I did two frames, and these are the finished embroidery pieces to go into the frames. The pattern for the embroidery is actually what inspired the rest of the project. You can't just embroider something and not have a cute frame of some sort to put it in for display!

So here is my favorite quote of all time:And another great one to go along side it:
Step 1: paint the edges of your wood frame(s) with your paint. Sorry about the picture... my flash was not cooperating.
Step 2: trace your wood frame onto the scrapbook paper, and cut it out.
Step 3: Using your mod podge, glue the cut out paper to the top side of your frame. I personally like to use mod podge over all other glues. I apply one coat of glue to the frame itself, press paper firmly onto the frame and smooth out any bubbles, then apply one more coat of mod podge to the top of the paper. This gives it a nice finishing look, and keeps the paper from some wear and tear. After the glue is dry, make sure you don't have any air bubbles.
Step 4: Place your picture, embroidery, or whatever is going inside your frame in it.

Step 5: Wrap ribbon around the frame, and tie a cute bow. (Once I buy a glue gun, I'm going to put a few drops of glue on the back side of the frame to hold the ribbon in place.
Step 6: Find somewhere to hang and adore your new creation! (I have yet to complete this step.)

I also still have to buy orange ribbon for the "Find Joy in the Journey" quote and frame. Then all will be complete! I'm overly joyed with the finished project, and proud of myself for creating my own craft. Typically I just follow someone else's steps and ideas, but this is created by yours truly! And other than the embroidery, the frame and assembly part of the project only took me a whole 30 min. :)

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Stewart Falls

This weekend Rob and I finally fulfilled one of our summer bucket list items! We hiked Stewart Falls, which has been talked about by everyone we know living in the Provo/Orem area. I've been wanting to do it for two summers now, and we finally did it.
(This is the moment we spotted the falls for the first time.)

It was a beautiful hike, completely shaded 100% of the way, and not too difficult (if you're in shape at all, which I am not after having surgery). I got a fabulous work out because I haven't been hiking in a good year or two. To the average person it is a very doable and enjoyable hike. And once I got my second win, and had Rob pushing me from behind during the moment I thought I would just sit until someone came to carry me out, the hike continued to be wonderful. I was amazed at the falls themselves. It was gorgeous! And after a summer afternoon hike, the falls provided the best AC you could find. The mist from the falls hitting rocks was the perfect cool down.

All in all, we loved our hike and would recommend it to anyone. We saw multiple families with young children who seemed to be enjoying themselves. I will say that from the look of it though, I am NOT looking forward to carrying children on hikes. Rob will be fulfilling that parental duty :)If you haven't visited Stewart Falls, we highly recommend you do so!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

4th of July

We had a great 4th of July weekend! And yes, since it's the 12th of July, this post is a little late. Three day weekends are what I live for these days. I went from being a full-time BYU student to married, and working full-time. What's wrong with this picture? Less free time, and time away from the hubby. Three day weekends are the little getaways that Rob and I long for! We have no plans, no work, no school, and we can do whatever in the world we want. Well, this three day weekend was perfect.

On Friday we went to the temple right after work. Going to the temple is one of my absolute favorite things to do! Especially when we can go together. After the temple Rob's little brother, Chris, slept over. We had already been planning to have a Nacho Libre themed night, so Chris joined in on the fun. We watched Nacho Libre and made some supreme nachos to eat during the movie! It was wonderful.

Saturday we slept in. The perfect start to a great day! After forcing ourselves out of bed, we made some waffles with fresh strawberries, syrup, and powdered sugar. MMMM :) Then the three of us made chocolate covered strawberries. But they were no ordinary strawberries, they were festive strawberries! I've seen lots of people do them this month, but I wanted to try them after seeing them on a blog I found. Here is our finished project!
Don't they look great! I think so, and they tasted great too. I was suppose to use blue sanding sugar for the blue end, but when I asked at the store, they had no idea what I was talking about. Therefore, we activated plan B- food color white chocolate to be blue. Then while Rob and Chris watched movies all morning I deep cleaned our apartment. And I loved it! I am my mother's daughter, which means I like a clean, organized, tidy house. And that is how we live. Luckily, Rob is a clean person :) After sweating up a storm from cleaning and the lack of AC, we spent the afternoon at the park, then headed over to Happy Hour at Sonic for some limeades!

Later the whole Draper Family came over and we played some games, and then headed over to set up camp in Ashlee's (Rob's sister) parking lot for the stadium of fire and BBQ. We were just outside the stadium and could hear the whole concert! It was wonderful. Brad Paisley :) One of my favorites! The firework show at the end was honestly the best one I think I've ever seen! (Aside from Disneyland, which is hard to beat.)

Sunday we spent the day alone together. Need I say more? It was pure bliss. Monday we headed up to Sandy to spend the official holiday with my family. It included family, Super 8, hamburgers, ice cream, games, and a firework show put on by the boys. It was perfect!

I hate three day weekends.... you want to know why? Because when they're over, it's off to another week full of work and responsibility. Yuck.