Happy Birthday to Mom Wells & Christina!

Today holds the birthday to two very special people! Larry's mother, April Wells and one of my best friends, Christina McElheney. 

I've known Larry's mom for over 8 years now. We have grown so close over the years...so close that when we are out together people think we are mother & daughter :) She is an incredible mother and wife and I love her very much!

I've know Christina for almost 6 years now (who's counting? haha)...We've stayed good friends throughout all of our up's and down's...and believe me, we've had many over the years! She is a good friend & I love her! 

Hope you both have a great birthday!!

**Update!!**

Here are photos of Jamie & I's secret project :) ...Mom Wells' birthday gift! We hand painted each of our names, as well as "Sun Kissed Beauty" onto pink metal beach buckets with Sharpie paint markers. We added some ribbon, glued on some crystals...and voila! It turned out super cute! We stuffed them with lei's and plastic shovels (for finding and collecting shells at the beach of course!) and filled her bucket with lots of girlie goodies...a candle, air freshener, body spray, loofa, soap, etc. We go on vacation to Longboat Key every year and never have anywhere to collect our shells other than plastic zip-locs!...This year we will be prepared :) We were so excited to give it all to her, and she LOVED it! 

 

I also made a tag and card with the help of my Cricut! :)

All Things Girly!

I've finally finished my first dress & I LOVE it! It's super girly and SO me! I used a simple strapless pattern with a satin-like floral fabric. It has a zip-up back and minimal boning on the sides for extra support. The length for most patterns are pretty long, for even the shorter dresses...so I adjusted this one and cut off a few inches. I made the custom ruffle detail on the front myself as well...it definitely added a girly touch :) 

Here is an up-close view of the fabric and back.

I can say after doing this one dress, it isn't too difficult and I'm sure there will be many more to come! 

Along with my dress I did a hair accessory :) It's definitely another girly touch to the dress! I really love any flowers, ribbons and bows for accessories...

I also made a flower out of extra fabric that I had from my yellow purse. I put a safety pin on the back of it and it makes a great accent for a shirt, purse or in my hair :)

My current sewing projects are a high-wasted skirt and crossover bag--if the bag turns out anything like I'm picturing, it's going to be awesome & super cute...I'm using pink glittered peace sign fabric and hot pink lining. My friend Katie and I are also going to hopefully get together and make a dress that we saw on a DIY blog she follows--we're super excited about it...it looks easy & really cute! 

Moving onto jewelry!

I fixed my Aunt Lori's bracelet for her...originally the toggle broke on one end, so I re-strung it and added a simple clasp. Hopefully it'll last a while now for her :) 

While at Jo-Anns digging through the clearance bin (where I always find amazing stuff!) I found the clasps that I have been searching for forever now it seems! Here they are :) 

Aren't they awesome?! They're oversized heart clasps and I LOVE them! I was so excited when I found them...if only I could find them in sterling silver now and I'll be in heaven!  

I had to make a bracelet right away using the clasp...it's very summery and I love the bright colors of the shells that I found. I also made a set of earrings to match. To continue the beachy theme, I used a three-strand framing for the earrings. This is the style that I learned when making my FIRST pair of earrings...thought I'd bring it back :) 

Here they are on :) A little big and fun for the summer!

I'm very excited for the rest of the week...Mom Wells and one of my best friends, Christina's birthday are on Wednesday and Dad Wells' birthday is on Saturday! We are going to the beach on Thursday to celebrate for Christina & at some point throughout the week we'll have a family dinner for mom & dad Wells :) At work we have a large party group coming in at the end of the week, so we are expected to be very busy Friday & Saturday!...last year I made really good money so I'm hoping for another round of that :) The girls and I at work will be celebrating the holiday by dressing up with some July 4th accessories...which is always fun! I'm actually off for the 4th of July & the 5th...I'm excited to see what we'll end up doing!

My Anthropologie flower project is coming along slowly...running into some minor problems, but in the end I know it will turn out great! Also, my roommate and I's secret project will soon be unveiled...yay!! :) 

My first post!

Hello all!!

I'm excited about getting back into blogging :) I'm going to use this as a way to showcase everything I make. I think people who take time to create things on their own deserve to! As well as anything interesting that should occur in my life :) 

My latest venture has been sewing. Here is my new, awesome sewing machine!! Even though I've had many arguments with him about it...thank you again Dad Wells for it! 

After reading many reviews and talking to many people I decided on a Brother. Over time, other brands have lost their features that made them the best and others have became better in value.  I LOVE this machine and have had no problems with it thus far! After many practice runs and playing with the different stitching (it even has cute heart & floral stitches!) I've hemmed a few jeans and made some repairs. My first real project was a purse. Here it is!

The first day wearing it out I had many compliments. Literally over 3 in just a few hours time! The next day one girl even said it looked "couture." HAHA! I think she was going just for the idea that it is one of a kind and handmade :) Either way I am very proud that this is the first piece that I've made! 

My second was another purse out of an old yellow sheet. The first day wearing it my co-workers commented on it not knowing I made it :)

My next project will finally be clothing! I've purchased fabric from Jo-Anns at least 4-5 months ago that I'm determined to turn into a dress and probably skirt. We'll see how it goes :)

Another project that I am working on are plastic flowers. They were an idea given to me from my aunt. After seeing a sample flower she received, I googled it and fell in love! It was created by Anthropologie with the idea of making "green" decor. I LOVE this idea! I have many flowers already cut and shaped. I still have many more bottles to save and transform and am still trying to find the right paint...but once I do I'll post how it all went! :) 

My roommate Jamie & I  also have another small project in the works, but it's a secret ;) It shall be unveiled soon enough though! 

PS: You can check out some of my projects that I have created throughout the past years under the Completed Projects tab on the sidebar. As well as learn About Me :)