Pretty Please?

I am leaving July 14th - 23rd on vacation with family. Needless to say, I probably won't be blogging when I'm busy doing absolutely nothing by a lake, probably getting fried the only way my milky white skin knows how. (Don't fret, I'll have sunscreen but my skin usually finds a way to redden like a champ.)

I WOULD LOVE to have a few ladies take my place while I'm gone. I've heard rumors that one can auto post. I have yet to research the matter and if anyone has any tips on how to get that done, it would be greatly appreciated as well! I'm sure it's something that's right in my face and I'll feel very silly once it's pointed out.


If any one of you lovely ladies or fellas are interested in posting on my lil' old blog while I'm away I would love to hear from you. My request would be that it pertains to the general feel of this blog - crafting, shopping, fashion, etc... But I don't shoot down fabulous ideas in any way, shape or form.


If you are in any way interested or can walk me through the whole auto post thing please feel free to email me at:

jessajill@gmail.com


Thanks a bajillion and have a fabulous day!!

Welcome back & I Heart Them: OliviaDru

Three day weekends are wonderful until they're over. Mine went by so quickly I almost forgot I just had one! Then I came back to a busy work environment which never helps you ease back into things - oh well, right? At least I can look forward to a vacation in July!

Because of said vacation there might be another post on here later today. Two posts in one day because I'm cool like that. So keep an eye out.

Now onto I Heart Them Features...because I was too lazy to get off the couch yesterday:

*First let me just say: I have never talked to the head honcho at any of these Etsy shops. I haven't been asked nor do I get anything out of discussing these Etsy shops. I'm just telling you because I "heart" them.


Today I'd like to tell you a little about OliviaDru for Delightfully Lovely:


Now if you're a cake/ cupcake lover like myself, you enjoy good presentation as well. I, myself, quite enjoy a good cake/ cupcake stand. I even made one if you can believe it! True story. I won't discuss it here because it was my first time working with gorilla glue and well, it's goopy, but it gets the job done.

While I was wasting time on Etsy a while ago, I came across these lovely cake and cupcake stands and swooned! How adorable are these?!




I love the slightly vintage flair they have and the simple patterns are perfect! I could totally justify purchasing one or two of these considering my love of cake and cupcake. It probably won't be for a while considering I don't have any events to display such things for at least another 3 months. (Baby showers!)

Seriously - go over and take a look at the adorable cupcake and cake stands - you won't be disappointed.

Ruffle Flower Tutorial

I finished the matching headband piece today.

Now, the way that I like to make headband flowers is so they're as versatile as possible. I like to make them so I can not only attach them to a headband, but also to a clip or alligator clip. It also wouldn't be too tough to turn it into a brooch or pin as well.

I checked with my sister in law to get her opinion on flower size before I started. She said she didn't care. I wanted to make this a little smaller than it turned out but I think it'll still look cute on my sweet niece's head. I used a couple steps that I've already mentioned before in last week's tutorial.

To begin:

The essentials -

1. Something to protect the surface you're working on. Obviously this old thing is my gluing mat - too ruined to use for any other purpose. 2. Some old felt lying around. You'll need a circle and a strip. The strip isn't pictured here but will be later. 3. A glue stick. You seriously won't need more than one, unless you're glue happy, and in that case - go nuts. 4. Needle & thread. 5. Beads. I ended up deciding to use a different bead than these, but these would have worked just fine too. 6. Glue gun. 7. Ruffle strips. I used a little more than this strip - which is where the extra fabric and needle & thread come in to make more ruffle strips.

Next: to begin...

You'll need a circle. I should have used a smaller circle because this really decides what size flower you make. This doesn't have to be perfect, but if you feel the need you can always trace something around the house.

Next:

You'll need one or two ruffle strips depending on the size of the flower you're making. I ended up using two. To see how to get the ruffle see last week's tutorial.

Next:

Begin gluing the ruffle strip to the outside edge of the circle. Right as I started the thread popped completely undoing the ruffle. Since I was using glue, I just bunched it and kept gluing so it worked well enough.

Next:

This is where the first strip stopped so I had to stop and make another. Because I don't have a sewing machine to quickly ruffle up another strip - it took a little while. Again - how I did it by hand is in here.

Next:

After the second strip I was left with a little hole. You can barely see it above but it's there. Honestly I probably could have stopped there and just glued on the bead and been fine, but I wanted to make sure everything was covered anyway.

Next:

I had a little ruffle flower left over from last week, so I used that.

Next:

So I squished it up and...

Put some glue at the bottom...

And glued it into the middle to cover up the bald spot.

Next:

I originally had different beads I planned on using but since this flower ended up a little bigger than I planned, the beads wouldn't be visible so I grabbed an old jewel bead and used it instead.

Next:

The flower portion is done, now onto the bottom to make it versatile.

Next:

I cut a little felt strip and glued it onto the bottom of the flower. Normally I like to stitch it on because it feels a little more sturdy, but in this case I think it'll work just as well to glue it on.

Next:

This strip makes it so you can put an alligator clip in there so it attaches onto a baby headband. This is probably what my sister in law will end up doing. When my niece gets a little bigger I can always make her a cute T-shirt with the same flowers and she can attach the clip seen up above and keep using it. With the strip, it will also be extremely easy to slide onto a harder headband too. This fun clip can grow along with her.

So that's it! A versatile little flower for my little niece!

To go along with her new ruffle bum onesie.

Yes, it seems a little big compared to the newborn onesie, but I've already cleared it through my niece's Momma and she approves!

Linking up: please see the "I Like to Party" link up top.

Featured:

A2Z,

Wrapping up!

I really don't have any plans for Memorial Day. All I know is that it's a 3 day weekend and that is a beautiful thing. Honestly I'll probably sit the entire time and watch TV and you know what? It'll be awesome!

Actually if I do what I should I'll go to the gym, clean and organize my room, kitchen, and guest bedroom. Also the laundry room could use some TLC. I'll probably ignore the urge to stencil something on my laundry room wall and finish my niece's little outfit. If I'm really on top of it I'll start making something else too, but the craft post for Sunday will probably be the finishing touch for my niece's new outfit.



I have no particular reason to feature a specific color - it just felt right. Today I went purple:

1. Here. 2. Here. 3. Here. 4. Here. 5. Here. 6. Here. 7. Here. 8. Here.

Yes I realize I left out a number on the cupcakes...so here is where I found them. I want one. Real bad. Some fun notes about these finds: that ruffle bag is $12. No seriously. Those earrings need to be in my jewelry box. I love the purple pumps and the nail polish too. But mostly I just keep fixating on those cupcakes. I may need to go get one from Mini's today.


Some more fun purple finds:

Found here.
Jessica Simpson: Cougar
Heels.com
$99.99
Too far out of the budget but I like to look...

And...

Found here.
Jessica Simpson: Jackson
Heels.com
$79.99

Still out of budget but they're very pretty.

I wish I had something very interesting or wonderful to blog about but the truth is I don't.


Well I hope everyone has a wonderful and enjoyable Memorial Day Weekend! Look out for the new craft post sometime Sunday!

Window Shoppin' 5/25

Happy Wednesday. The weather is nice outside, but this week needs to come to a close...pretty quick. Its a-draggin!


Today I'm wearing a t-shirt and jeans with flip flops. It says, "I slept in until the last possible minute and this was clean." With that in mind I went looking around for something I'd like to wear instead and came up with this:

From top left to bottom right:1. Here. 2. Here. 3. Here. 4. Here. 5. Here. 6. Here. 7. Here.

I'm honestly going to buy a jacket. It'll probably be a fall purchase but I don't want to think about fall yet. I also have some very strong feelings towards that Jessica Simpson bag. I may ask it to marry me.

Found here.
This is yet another purse that could be in the running towards becoming my next purse.


Found here.
This is a shirt that I like...in theory. I worry that something like this could essentially...make me look like a linebacker. You have to admit - ruffles on the shoulders could make it look like you're sporting football pads. And if you don't like the price of the Express ruffle shirts:


Found here.
Downeast Basics has a nice ruffle tee as well!

Found here.
This could be so cute with a bright colored tee or tank underneath and some cropped jeans. I love how springy it looks!

Found here.
I know...practically everywhere else in the world it's too hot to wear stuff like this. Not here though...not here.

Found here.
I like how casual this shirt is. Perfect for a Saturday morning.

Found here.
I'm obsessed with tees like this. I don't know if it's because I think I could make it or because I'm still really obsessed with flower petals and ruffles on everything I own - but I love it. I want it. Today.

Well those are my current "wants" for today. What are some of your finds?

Hoo Are You? Memorial Day Edition

(Images courtesy of Pinterest)

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Hi. It's Tuesday. Yesterday I realized it would be a long week and so far I've been proven correct. So in an attempt to perk up and try to look at the bright side, I'm participating in "Hoo Are You" over at Night Owl Crafting - Memorial Day Edition.

1. What is your favorite thing cooked on the BBQ?

That would probably be either steaks or hamburgers. However right now our BBQ isn't working... I have a brother who worked at Lowe's and gave us a rough diagnostic that it's something called the regulator and it'll cost around $20 to buy and fix. Except my husband is using this as an excuse to purchase a new BBQ. Its only two years old and I told him that if we could make it to another summer with this one, we could consider looking at new ones next year. Nice try. We're fixing the one we have.

2. How do you celebrate Memorial Day?

As a family we would try to go visit a couple graves but the last two years as a married couple - my husband always had to work so I used it as an excuse to sleep in and run errands. I know it's not very patriotic of me...but it's the truth.

3. Do you like your handwriting?

Yep. Most of the time.

4. Do you still have your tonsils?

Yes. My husband does not. He had them removed over a year ago. It wasn't a pleasant experience...for either of us.

5. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?

The only reason I untie my shoes is so I can slip them on the next day because I took them off without untying them.

I Heart Them: Shimrita

*First let me just say: I have never talked to the head honcho at any of these Etsy shops. I haven't been asked nor do I get anything out of discussing these Etsy shops. I'm just telling you because I "heart" them.


Today I need to tell you about Shimrita.


Now I have no practical use for these items. None whatsoever, but I'm dying over the cuteness. I'm a big fan of all things cupcake-girly-tea party-cuteness and these items are right up that alley. Can you imagine some of this stuff for little girls? Oh my gosh I want to buy a couple of the fake cupcakes and have my nieces over for a fun tea party!

I honestly am planning a tea party for them that involves cupcakes from either Mini's or the Sweet Tooth Fairy. How much fun would that be???

Anyways have a look at all of this adorable cuteness:

A teapot necklace...

Another teapot necklace - just as cute...

Cup of Tea necklace and I kid you not, I HAD that exact same tea party set when I was little!!

Adorable rings!

Another teapot necklace - so cute!

This is a jewelry box! Such a cute idea!!

Ice cream and spoon necklace!!

Cupcake and spoon necklace!

Cute little cupcake hanger - this would be so cute for a little girls' room!

Another look at the jewelry box.

Cupcake headband

Cupcake DOOR KNOBS!!!

Dessert bobby pins!

Cute coffee necklace!

Seriously, I have no practical use for these things myself but I want to buy 4 of each for all of my nieces. The fourth can't use them yet, but I don't care! I can't believe how cute this stuff is! You can't tell me you wouldn't have a blast playing tea party with your little ones and all of this fanciness - I'm already planning the party!!


Take another look at her shop - SO SO CUTE!