Whadaya Know...More Hats.

Here's my latest updates on hats for the Farmer's Market. I branched out a little this year and am making other things for it too, which I will post about shortly.

And just in case you wanted to see what it looks like on the cutest, picture-hating little girl ever...

This hat is actually a fushia color...though in the picture it looks red. The color combo was inspired by my friend Sandi's little girl's bedding.

Japanese Cherry Blossoms

Fall Apparel: Collared Shrug

 You may have noticed that on list of "Projects on my Plate" that I have listed Fall Apparel. Fall is my favorite time of year for shopping. I love the transitional styles. I love the jackets, and love that you don't have to wear a heavy coat over everything yet. I also love the rich tones that you see in fall clothing, and love that you can wear so many styles and layers. I think I have also just gotten used to going "back to school" shopping over the years, that I just naturally tend to look for new clothes evey fall. As August came upon us, I was starting to think about what I wanted for the upcoming season, but shortly after, realized that our budget would be limited this fall due to Josten graduating and having to pay for moving out expenses and really expensive uniforms that he has to buy when he comissions in December. We also have 2 weddings in Utah (10-12 hours away) to budget for, so needless to say, a fall wardrobe wasn't exactly on the priority list. Since I still get that fall itch, I decided that I would, in fact, get a new wardrobe. I would refashion things, trim up things, alter things, and make things so that I would have an array of "new" clothing, to feel like I have something exciting to wear!

There will be several more of these post, but here is one of my first projects...the collard shrug. I made this using some old fabric that my mom had stashed from her mom in their basement for years. I think I wrote that confusing, but bottom line---It had been around awhile, and I got it for free. I used a shrug that I had had before that I wasn't too fond of the fabric on for a makeshift pattern. I also made some alterations to the back, because I didn't like the back all that well. I was pretty excited with how it turned out, especially not using a concrete pattern. I used a hook-eye combo for the connector on the top (also retrieved from my grandma's stash).

Halloween Pumpkins

I got this idea initially from a set of mercury glass pumpkins from Pottery Barn, but as I was executing this idea, I felt more inspired by these glittered pumpkins from Martha Stewart.

I love the feel of these, and I love playing up the blacks and greys around Halloween instead of orange. I feel like you can play up orange in September, then November, but Halloween should be different!

To make these, you will need:

Fake Pumpkin(s) - I got mine from a craft store after Thanksgiving. Can someone give me a one-dolla-holla?!? *okay, I'm done acting 12*...moving on...
Acrylic Paint in Grey and Black - I would go with a light to medium grey
Glitter Glue- also a dollar at the dollar store
Paintbrush
Mod Podge

Optional: Any embellishments - I used wire around mine

Step One:

Take a picture of your pretty fall pumpkins. It's the last time they'll look nice and friendly...their pre-Addams family stage.

Just kidding. Go ahead and lather your pumpkins with grey paint. You'll probably need 2-3 coats.

Step 2:

*PLEASE wait until paint is dry! It makes it so much easier!*

Paint the stems black. Let dry.

Step 3:

Brush Glitter glue over the entire pumpkin, including stems. Let Dry.

Step 4:

Mod-Podge over the top of entire pumpkin to seal in glitter, paint, and to give it a finished look.

Step 5:

Embellish as desired. I wrapped wire around each pumpkin several times, then cut off little pieces of wire and did little "twisty ties" around the wire every so often to give it a barb wire feel.

Some Fun Parties I've been to

I've been to some super-cute parties over the last few weeks. I wanted to share some pictures from a couple of them. The last Party, thrown by my friend Lyndee for her daughter Emily, I unfortunately didn't get pictures of because our camera died, and I left the charger up in Coeur d'Alene... where it still remains. Hopefully I can grab it before i have more to post about!

The First party was a birthday party my friend Alyssa threw for her daughter, Kardynn. I had previously posted about the invites for the party, which was a "Candy Shoppe" theme. My kids really had a blast at this party. In fact, here we are, a month later, and they are STILL going around singing happy birthday to Kardynn! Everytime we get ready to go out, they ask if we're going to Kardynn's party.

If you feel like you've seen that cake before, you probably have! On Make it and Love it "Make a Cake Series". Our friend Brittany, here in Moscow, is the one who does that series. Yep, we're that cool... ;)

The Second Party was a bridal shower of my dear friend, Mikelle, who I have been friends with for 12 years now. We've lived through many fun and interesting memories together, and now we are able to celebrate the blessed event of her upcoming marriage this month!!! This party was so stinkin' cute. Her sisters put it together, and they did an awesome job! Mikelle got engaged in Disney Land, so the theme for the shower was Disney. I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked, because my camera started dying, and as we all know, I then left the charger up in Coeur d'Alene, so my camera is still dead.

My friend Chelsea made this cake, which she has featured on her blog.

We all got the little black ears to wear, while Mikelle wore her Bride ears!