wearing your heart on your feet

i am a lover of all things comfy,

so my toesies and a pair of toms are pretty much meant to be. 

my very first pair of toms were navy and white stripes.

my dad called them prison shoes.

i wore them all day every day. even when a giant hole appeared right on my big toe.

when my sweet cousin asked me if i would be willing to paint a pair of toms for her,

i had to take a few minutes to really think about it,

but after some coaxing, i took on the challenge,

and i'm so glad i did!

this sweet cousin of mine has an incredible heart for missions, especially in the country of Mozambique. she spent some time there on a mission trip a few years back, and her heart has been there ever since! :)

after lots and lots of sketching and trial runs on paper,

and a lot of prayer,

i finally worked up the courage to put the paint on the canvas.

inspired by this pair on etsy

tadaaaaa! 

i had so much fun working on this project and i feel incredibly blessed that she would trust her toms to me!  and i don't think they turned out half bad if i do say so myself! :)

"however, i consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me." acts 20:24

do you own a pair of toms?

would you ever decorate a pair of your own?

flowers made easy

it's ok to be terrible at flower arrangements right?

 

i couldn't create an elaborate flower arrangement if my life depended on it. 

side story,,,

on the morning of my bridesmaid's brunch,

i decided i was going to fill mason jars with lovely flower bunches. i wanted to do it on my own and surprise my mom (since she's fantastic at arranging flowers...) and impress her with my floral skills...

i had a nervous breakdown on the floor of my mama's laundry room.

needless to say, i have a high level of admiration for ladies with flower skills.

 

but really, flowers are lovely on their own, so i love displaying them in simple ways.  i've developed this little method for displaying fresh flowers in my apartment, sans stress and breakdowns.

 

[one]
find one or two or three buckets with an opening at the top that is smaller than the base.  if you choose a container that is solid, rather than see through, you don't have to worry about the way the stems are laying inside the container.

[two]
go to your grocery store or farmers market and purchase 2-3 bunches of blooms! :) if you're lucky, they will be on sale for $4/bunch. holla!

[three]
fill your buckets a little less than half way with cold water and add the plant food.

[four]
strip the leaves off of each stem.  be careful not to accidently rip off the buds!

[five]
line your flowers up and measure out how much you need to trim them.

[six]
snip snip!
trim a few stems at a time, at an angle. randomly select one stem at a time and create a bunch in your hand, then place in the bucket.

tadaaaaaaaa!
you have a beautiful arrangement for your island or coffee table.

 

here is a less blurry photo of this arrangement with different flowers:

flowers from HEB, bucket from IKEA.

 

and there you have it, flower arrangements for dummies.

 

a little bit about me

sweet erin, from come what may, nominated me for a liebster award!

the liebster award is given to bloggers with under 200 followers from other bloggers to acknowledge their blog.

the rules:

write 11 facts about yourself

answer the 11 questions the person who nominated you asked

here are my eleven facts:

1. my favorite color is red

2. i love sonic slushes, especially cranberry vanilla. try it!

3. kate spade is my favorite designer, but i'm too cheap to spend the money on any of her fabulous pieces.

4. i love dancing with my girlfriends. it's one of my favorite things in the world

5. i love watching sappy, cheesy tv series from the 90s from start to finish on netflix

6. i love bubble baths

7. i prefer cookie dough to baked cookies

8. christmas is my favorite holiday

9. i love puppies but the thought of taking care of one stresses me out

10.  i only like sandwiches warm and toasted

11. my favorite singers are taylor swift and adele

11 questions from erin:

1. what are you most looking forward to happening this year?

my first christmas with bub-hub! i can't wait to start our own family traditions.

2. if you could live anywhere in the world where would you live and why?

honestly, i love texas.  i can't imagine living away from my family, they are just the best!

3. what is your favorite book?

i love the pink carnation series by lauren willig

4. show us your favorite craft project.

well, it was kind of a bunch of projects combined into one, but i had a blast designing and crafting for my friend's bachelorette party! which you can read about here: http://www.gracefullymadedesigns.com/2012/09/only-best-bachelorette-bash-for-bestie.html 

these fringed bags were so fun and super easy to make! my dear friends and family members should expect many repeats in the future. :)

5. if you could only watch one tv show for the rest of your life what would it be?

ummm,,,the first 5 seasons of the office. hands down,,,it never stops being funny.

6. what is your current goal in life?

my current goal is to start my own business: gracefully made designs

i am getting closer, and hopefully i'll have more on this goal to share soon!

7. if you could do anything knowing you wouldn't fail what would it be?

this goes along with number 6, but i'd probably quit my real job and design and craft full time. that would be amazing! my heart would probably explode with happiness.

8. what led you to decide on a career goal? if you haven't decided yet, what made you decide on your college major?

i attended Texas Tech University and graduated with a marketing degree. now, i work in professional services marketing, so a big part of my job is helping people communicate and connect with their clients. i love working with people and i love getting to be sort of creative at work!

9. what is your favorite part about blogging?

i love getting to share parts of my life with friends and family! life gets so busy, so this is a great way for me to keep everyone in the loop so they can know what is going on in our lives! 

10. why did you start a blog?

well, i was reading the beth moore book "so long insecurity", and i decided that i needed to do something that required me to be brave and step out of my comfort zone. plus, i love to write and create, so this seemed like a perfect fit. then tadaaaa! the gracefully made blog was born.

11. share your favorite recipe! 
this is my newest favorite chicken recipe, super easy and sooo yummy!

Source: picky-palate.com via Sarah Grace on Pinterest

thanks for thinking of me erin!

happy saturday everyone!

only the best bachelorette bash for the bestie

it's ok to use your best friend's bachelorette party as creative therapy...isn't it?

  

you're invited to:

like every fun party...there are rules.

read carefully.

i'm not a debbie-downer.

the main table, full of snacks and drinks and fun. :)

 i'm not sure about the rest of you, but i tend to judge a party by the food.

just being honest.

as my wise mother has said on many occasions 

"you can spend thousands of dollars on a party, but if the food is terrible, you might as well have stayed home."

i completely agree.
what can i say, i love to eat!

snacks for the evening included:

hot pink cotton candy flavored popcorn

sugar dot cookies

hershey kisses and york peppermint patties

twizzlers
cake pops!

yogurt covered raisins

chips and salsa and guac 

the beverage station was stocked with:

fresca

dr pepper 10 (a.k.a. go go juice. don't judge.)

ginger ale & champagne for mimosas

cranberry-pomegranate juice for pom-settias

this was the motto for the evening.

in case the guests weren't sure what kind of night they were in for, i think this sign removed all confusion. i wanted everyone to have a fun and relaxing night full of lots of laughter and memory making.

 a party just isn't a party without bunting!

you know those cardboard sheets they have in the scrapbook paper racks?

they make excellent bases for painting your bunting. 

 in the middle of the living room, we had a party table full of games, boas, hottie-whistles, beads, and of-course, tiaras!

mad-libs are the best.... 

 each girl was given a pink bag with a pink nail file and a bottle of the bride's favorite nail polish, "topless and barefoot" by essie.

the bride and groom are honeymooning in cancun, which gave me the perfect opportunity for a fun play on words.

the three ladies in this photo with me are fantastic.

i met them in high school choir,

ya i was a choir kid,

and to this day i still consider them some of my sweetest friends.

isn't it fantastic how the Lord puts friendships together? 

 the bride and i at dinner.

she's going to be the most beautiful bride!

i'm so excited to celebrate her big day with her! 

and just when you thought you were partied out,,,
don't forget about breakfast!

it is most important meal of the day after all!

the morning menu included:

fresh fruit

breakfast cassarole

orange juice

iced coffee

chocolate chip muffins

 left over cake pops... 

 each girl was asked to share memories or pieces of advice with the bride.  i wrote them down on white hearts and scattered them on the table for her to read at breakfast. 

i had such a fantastic time getting ready for this event, and i'm so glad everything came out perfect for the bride!  she deserves nothing but the best!

 



inspiration for a bachelorette bash! :)

last weekend i had the honor of throwing my sweet friend's bachelorette party!
i had so much fun planning and crafting and creating, it was definitely a fantastic time all around!

there were so many fun aspects to the night, and of course, i was highly inspired by pinterest. i thought i'd share a few of my favorite pins with you!

i got a giant foam poster board , taped together some envelopes, traced the edges to make my chevron stripes, and filled them in with hot pink paint.

the envelope trick was genius. 

original pin:

Source: handmakemyday.com via Sarah Grace on Pinterest

my interpretation:

 

in case people were unaware that the number one priority of a bachelorette party was to have fun, a little hit pink sign was clearly displayed to spread the word.

original pin:

Source: etsy.com via Sarah Grace on Pinterest

my interpretation:

and now it's snack time! :)

a party isn't a party without cake balls! :)
as i've stated before,,,,,i am not a pretty baker.
i think it was a sign from the heavens when the groupon from Texas Cake Ballers.
i sent the owner an email with photos of the cake ball vision i had formed in my mind, mostly consisting of  sparkles and glitter,,,and she pulled it off! :) not only did the look amazing, they tasted amazing.
i highly recommend the strawberry-and-cream and chocolate fudge.
yummmmm.

original pin:

Source: hwtm.com via Sarah Grace on Pinterest

my texas cake baller's interpretation:

i, along with 95% of the rest of the female population, love mimosas! i think they are so fun. it is nearly impossible to pop a bottle of champagne and not have a fun time.

when i saw this pin, i just knew we had to try it. 

instead of orange juice, i served scoops of orange sherbet, for a traditional mimosa with a twist.  instead of traditional cranberry juice for poinsettias, i  had cranberry-pomegranate and served pom-settias. 

original pin:

Source: celebrationsathomeblog.com via Sarah Grace on Pinterest

my interpretation:

each of the girl was given a take-away bag that contained the bride's favorite essie nail polish, "topless & barefoot", and a pink nail file. 

original pin:

Source: luluthebaker.blogspot.com via Sarah Grace on Pinterest

next to the sign, i placed a sign that read "when in cancun, choose topless and barefoot", to give a hint to the gift before the girls could open them.  scandalous right? bub-hub thought so. i thought it was pretty clever. 

 

Source: product-girl.com via Krizia on Pinterest

Source: weddingbee.com via Sarah Grace on Pinterest

my interpretation:

we also played a few fun games!

original pin:

my interpretation:

be sure to check back tomorrow for all the fun details of the best bachelorette bash that ever was! :)

   

a lovely baking shower for a lovely bride-to-be

you're invited to a baking shower! :)

what is a baking shower you might ask?

it's just an excuse to eat yummy treats and shower the bride-to-be with gifts to fill her kitchen.

my mama and i hosted a baking themed bridal shower for my sweet friend stephanie.  guests brought so many sweet gifts, and many of them tied in to the recipies they gave her. neat huh?

the colors of the bride-to-be's kitchen are going to be blue and red, such a fun combo! so i designed the invitations and matching recipe cards to reflect this theme.

along with the invitations, guests were given two recipe cards to fill out and give back to the bride.  she received so many yummy recipes!! i wanted to keep them all!  there is something so sweet about having  the ladies in your life share their kitchen secrets.

i was really happy with the size and spacing of these cards.  they had enough room to hold detailed directions, and the lines were well spaced, even if the person writing has large handwriting like me. :)

the back of the recipe cards had a giant "d" for the bride-to-be's new last name! :)

i found plain, bamboo kitchen utensils at the grocery store and painted the handles to match the theme. my mom came up with the fabulous idea of tying them to the plate handles.
the bride said she is going to display them on hooks above her stove. isn't that a great idea!?

the guest's favors were recipe cards for two of the items that were served at the shower:
limeaid punch and chicken caesar salad bites.

we used all white flowers, white and blue plates, and white and silver serving pieces.  the white table cloth provided a clean backdrop for all of the red and blue accents and the yummy food! :)

the yummy bite-sized menu included:
shortbread dot cookies
raspberry spritz cookies
mini ham sandwiches
chicken caesar salad bites
chocolate pinwheels
vanilla gem muffins
fruit tarts with blueberries and raspberries
limeaid punch with fresh raspberries

aren't the flowers beautiful? my mama is so great at arranging flowers, i wish i had even a few of her skills!

just a few photos of me with my mama, and with the beautiful bride-to-be! and we all matched, aren't we the cutest?!

are you hosting a shower anytime soon?

if you're interested in personalized invitations, send me an email and i'd love to work with you! :)

gracefullymadeblog[at]gmail.com