Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Sara and Matt ~ Engagement Session

This evening I had the pleasure of photographing a friend and her fiancĂ©. With daylight quickly fading away we had to move quickly! Here are a few of my favorites from tonight's session.







Thursday, October 18, 2012

Birthday Sign

Once again I spent another night working on a Pinterest project. I've always had trouble remembering peoples birthdays so when I saw this idea I thought it would be perfect. I have changed it from the one I saw online so I will give you my instructions in case you want to make one of your own :)
 
I want to first say that I am a big believer of reusing old things. The wood I used for this project came from an old outhouse building that is on my dads property. He's been wanting to take it down so this was the perfect opportunity to use some of the old wood. The home that this outhouse belongs to has been standing for over 100 years.
 
 
Now that I have some of the boards home, I've been wanting to start to make craft projects with them. So I started by picking one board that didn't have a crack in it. This wood is quite brittle so I needed to be very careful not to break the board in half.
 
 
The next step was to paint square and round pieces of wood that I purchased from Wal-Mart in the wood craft aisle. I wanted to make sure they would be dry by the time I needed to attach them. These pieces will used to write the names and dates on.
 
 
I took my letters that spelled birthdays and laid them out so I knew what size to cut my board down to.
 
 
Once I had it cut I could start to trace all my letters. I used a pencil and if you are going to try this project I wouldn't recommend using a mechanical pencil...the lead kept breaking.
 
 
After everything was stenciled I could start hand painting all the letters.
 
 
 
Now when I first started this project I didn't realize that my board wasn't going to be big enough to fit the word birthdays and the letters for each month so I had to improvise. I used another board and cut it the same size so I could put it behind the original board which would give me enough room.
 
 
 I used doubled sided tape to attach the two pieces together until I can get to the store to buy wood glue.
 
 
Now that I have a place for the first letter of each month I used hot glue to apply each letter to the board. I'm missing the first J for January so please forgive me.
 
I wanted these letters to be a different color so I added a layer of blue paint once they were attached.
 
 
Ok, so now that all the letters are in place and glued down it's time to start adding birthdays. I purchased eye screws to connect each of the wood pieces to each other.
 
 
 I drilled tiny holes to get each screw started on the main board.
 
 
Once the main screw was in place I added the first birthday.
 
 
 This next step is a little tricky and I might change this up the next time I make one of these. I took a small piece of double sided foam and squished the screw part into it and then put hot glue on top of that.
 
 
I kept repeating this with all of the birthday discs until they were all done. Some of them you will have to separate the eye so you can put it through the ring.
 
The last part is writing all the birthday dates and names. I have terrible handwriting so I might redo these but they are growing on me.
 
 
Here is the project almost complete. I still have pieces of wood that are drying but once I'm done I'll post another picture of it completed.
 
 
I hope everyone had a great day and that you are enjoying reading my blog :)





Wednesday, October 17, 2012

T-Shirt Scarf Project

I got in the mood today to make something off of Pinterest. I've been looking for ideas to make for Christmas presents and this is one of them. It's a scarf made from two t-shirts and a handmade flower. You can visit http://www.simplysalvage.com/t-shirt-ruffle-scarf-tutorial/ for the complete instructions for the scarf and the flower. Below, you will find my quick version :)
 
 
I decided on two gray XL t-shirts. They were a little over $3 a piece. I used a dinner plate as my stencil because I wanted the scarf a little longer.
 
 
 I cut four circles out of one shirt which gave me 8 pieces. Four from the front and four from the back. I then repeated the process with the other shirt.
 

 
Next, you start cutting the circles in a circular pattern until you get to the end. I cut my strips in 1-1 1/2" strips.

 
 I did two circles at a time. Repeat the process until you have all the circles cut in to strips.


I took each strip and shook them out so they would spiral naturally. Wrap it around your neck and take a spare piece of fabric to secure it where it is comfortable for you. You now have a new scarf :)


I decided that I wanted a little extra on mine so I made a felt flower. You can find directions for that as well on the website listed above. I will give you my quick version again :)
 
 
I made my flower out of one piece of felt that I purchased for $0.50. I used a water glass for my template for these which made 3" circles.
 
 
 I fit 12 circles on one piece. You actually only need 10 for this project.
 

Once you have all your circles cut out you will start by keeping one circle out for your base. The next step, you will follow for the next four pieces. Take a circle and fold it in half
 
 
 and then in half again. Attach it to the base with a dot of hot glue. Open the center fold and place a dot of glue on that as well and fold it back down. 
 

Continue this process with the three more circles.


For the second layer of petals you will do the same process but place them perpendicular to the first row. Once you finish, you will have a small empty spot in the center.


 Fold your last petal the same way and secure it with hot glue in the middle of your flower.


Now that everything is attached you can add a pin or hair clip to the back. I used a clip so I could attach it to the piece of fabric I used to hold my scarf together.


I hope you enjoy making a t-shirt scarf as much as I did :) It was a quick and easy rainy night project completed in less than 20 minutes.
 

                                                          Have a great night everyone!!!

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk

This weekend Mike and I participated in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in Neenah. I have two people very close to me diagnosed with breast cancer.  When I was 15, my mom was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer.  I spend a whole summer taking care of her and making sure she had everything she needed.  She had a bell next to her bed that she would ring whenever she needed me.  I have to say, I was happy when I didn't have to hear that bell ring anymore.  She has been cancer free for over 16 years.

The other person close to me who has breast cancer is my Aunt Tracy.  She was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer a little over a year ago and since then has had two rounds of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy and radiation.  In June we celebrated her 50th birthday with family and friends.

A few months after that she was told she had four brain tumors.  This was something no one in the family was ready to hear.  Aunt Tracy had more radiation with  a cyber-knife and will have more at the end of this month.  

Now that you have a little background, you can begin to understand how very important raising money for breast cancer research is to my family.  Aunt Tracy's 13-year-old daughter, McKenna, headed up a team of family and friends and raised over $3,100.  The whole event raised $90,000!  It was a cold, rainy day but it didn't stop family and friends from coming out and walking.  Here are a few pictures from our 3-mile walk:

WALK FOR A WORLD WITHOUT BREAST CANCER!!!



 The leader of Team Amo, McKenna, and her sister Cassy.


 Me and Mike


 A team of nurses (and their families) who work with my Uncle Jim.  


 Our family and friends.


 The rain started to come down even harder as the walk began.


     
My Uncle Jim, Aunt Tracy and their daughter, McKenna.


 GO TEAM AMO!!!!!



 Not sure how well you can see the rain coming down, but it sure didn't want to let up.  
To add to the excitement, there was thunder and lightening, too!  



I'm so glad we were able to participate in this walk. 
 I'm looking forward to doing the next one but am hoping for better weather!

Hope everyone had a great weekend and if you are interested in any information on this walk, please visit http://makingstrides.acsevents.org