Pumpkin Carving

One of my favorite things to do for Halloween is to carve pumpkins! This year, Larry took interest in carving one himself. It would be his FIRST pumpkin that he's ever carved (without the help of his parents from when he was younger!) and I KNEW it would be entertaining. We went and picked out THE perfect pumpkins and got to carving!

The part that I dislike THE most is taking out the inside goop of the pumpkin! It's so stringy, and goopy and slimey--ew! I cut the "lids" off from my two pumpkins while Larry scraped his out. I then started de-gooping mine...thankfully, Larry was able to finish my two off. :) We were each carving a pumpkin to put on the porch, while I was going to carve an additional one to bring to work for our Halloween lunch. 

After going back and forth between two designs, Larry decided on a howling wolf. He used a stencil...Time to tape it on nice and flat, and start poking his holes along the lines!

 This is what the final carving is SUPPOSED to look like!! Mind you--he picked out a level 3 difficulty for his first carving ever! (with 4 being the hardest!)

I started off with my pumpkin that I was going to carve for work. I pulled up the company logo on my phone and started drawing it on the pumpkin. I carved over the lines and it turned out just perfectly!

For my pumpkin that I was going to keep at home, I also chose to free-hand the design because I never really like the patterns they sell at the stores! With the help of Larry, we FINALLY figured out a design. The HARDEST part was figuring out what pieces needed to be cut out and what pieces would stay attached to the pumpkin. This was probably the longest and most difficult part of the evening! But, once we figured it out--I carved until I couldn't carve anymore! I may not use the same technique Larry does, but nonetheless, I get it done. :)

 Aaaand, the final products!!!

Larry's wolf turned out AMAZING to say the least! :)

 My skull & crossbones with a bow was JUST the design I wanted. Halloween mixed with feminine flair :)

 

My pumpkin for work with our company logo was a hit at the party!

I think everyone should carve at least ONE pumpkin for Halloween in their lifetime! It is a fun and challenging expereince. I am hoping that this will become a tradition for Larry and I :)

$5 (Mini) Poodle Skirt {Tutorial}

I've searched up and down google, picked the brain of Larry's grandmother and with the help of Ashley, I created the perfect (& easiest!) way to make a mini poodle skirt!

Supplies: 

Felt (I purcahsed a full yard, but only needed a half of felt that was 38' wide)

Measuring Tape

Chalk (or anything that will show up on your felt)

Scissors

Sewing Machine/Thread

Zipper

Poodle Iron-on & Iron (optional)
Total cost out of pocket--$5! The felt was on sale from $4.99/yd to $2.99/yd and the poodle was $1.99!

Step 1. Cut your felt into a sqaure; mine was about 38 inches, the exact width of my felt. Now, fold it in half twice, making a smaller square. Each edge was about 19 inches at this point. Make sure the entire thing is flat and lined up nicely.

Step 2. Cut out your circles for the waist and length. My first attempt, I actually free-hand cut the circle...bad idea! Be very precise! I don't recommend trying this route! For the skirt to fall and open perfectly, the circle needs to be cut perfectly. I ended up doing this by holding my measuring tape at the folded corner of the sqaure and pulling the tape around the skirt, marking at the measurement I was going to cut along the way. I did my furthest circle (the length of the skirt) first. For this, I just barely trimmed the endge, since it was at the length that I wanted it--a mini skirt! If you want a longer skirt, start with a larger piece of square felt and cut at the length that you'd like. For your waist measurement, take your inches and divide it by 3.14, then divide that number by 2 (mine is about 34, so it ended up being 5.41 inches). Round it. This is where you will mark your smaller circle cut for the waist opening. I suggest making it a little smaller, as the felt will stretch over time (also, so you don't cut too LARGE of a waist!)

You can see where my 5.41 mark is, and how much smaller I cut it...about half of an inch.

 This is what the skirt will look like once it's all cut and opened. Since I barely cut any edge off from my length, it is 18 inches across, only an inch short from what I started with.

 

Step 3. Cut out your band. Determine how wide you want your band, and cut a strip twice the width of your desired band, by the length of your waist. I cut mine around 36 inches long to make sure I had enough! I did my width at about 3 inches, so I would have a finished band about 1.5 inches wide.

Step 4. Cut a slit from the top of your skirt for where you will put your zipper. I would recommend doing at least a 4 inch zipper. Better for it to be too long than too short and not be able to get it on! Pin in your zipper. Pin on your band by simply folding it in half, encasing the top edge.

 This picture shows how the band "encases" the top edge of the skirt.

Step 5. SEW! Sew in your zipper, as well as stitch all the way around the bottom of your band. Add your poodle iron-on and you're done! Try her on!! :)

So simple and super adorable! :) 

Just add a cute top, ruffle socks and heels, a neck scarf, sassy hair, 

and you've got a SUPER cute 50's outfit for cheap! :)

One Happy Customer :)

This week was very exciting for lots of reasons but one of the main ones is that a good friend from work was eagerly waiting for a creation of mine to take with her to use on a cruise that she leaves for this weekend. A hipster purse and coin purse in a fabric that she picked out! After two long nights of pinning and sewing without a pattern, I was so happy with how it came out & it's safe to say that she was too!

 

Meet Leslie!!

 

She LOVED her purse and preceded to model it around the office and pose for the camera :) Multiple times! I am pretty quiet when it comes to broadcasting my creations, but she definitely told people about it and I thankfully heard nothing but AMAZING comments on my purse...I couldn't ask for more.

 

I was so excited for how excited she was about her new purse and coin wallet! I love making things for people who truly appreciate them and I know there will be many more creations for her to come...as she already has a long list planned for me!

  

With Leslie's project I wanted to try something that I've been dying to add onto my sewing projects, especially my purses and wallets...an "Anngela's Pretty Little Things" label!!

A little bit of printable iron-on transfer sheets, heat-n-bond, and an old cotton t-shirt...

 

...and they turned out beautifully!! 

I am very happy with how the first run turned out!

I stitched one inside of the coin wallet...

 

And used heat-n-bond for the one on the pocket inside of the purse.

 

I am so excited for Leslie's new accessories and especially for my new labels! I feel like it really puts the finishing touch on my creations. It's the small things in life. :) 

We're Stuck Like Glue

This past weekend included one of my FAVORITE days of the year. Larry and I's anniversary :) EVERY month on the 24th we tell each other "Happy Anniversary." It is actually sort of a game we that we do to see who can say it first...whether it be AT 12:00am on the 24th, through a note or text when we realize it's the 24th or the first words that are spoken to each other when we wake up...it's always fun to see who can say it first every month--I think I'm definitely in the lead ;)

BUT October 24th is definitely the most important month of them all to say it and celebrate. And this year we celebrated 8 years together! YES...8 YEARS! I met Larry in high school my freshman year--the second day of school in my P.E. class to be exact! For a year we were just friends...I actually tried avoiding him whenever I could--I was a FRESHMAN in high school and he was a JUNIOR. Needless to say I was also somewhat of a "goodie goodie" and having so much attention from one guy kind of intimidated me. But after one year of a very unstable relationship along with all this attention from Larry, I gave in. We started talking daily, whether it be AIM-ing or talking on the phone into ALL hours of the night, we managed to talk all the time and none the less we were becoming very close! He was a football player, I was a cheerleader...I met his family, he met mine...he asked me out, I said yes...and the rest is history! I know we were VERY young so no one took us too seriously, who would?--just another high school relationship right? The real test on our relationship would be once Larry graduated from high school, while I would still have to finish up another 2 years without him there. Of COURSE there was drama and many bumps along the way, but we made it through everything. He still came to football games to watch me cheer and traveled with me to hear me play the clarinet and picked me up (almost!) every day after school! Once I graduated, we eventually moved out on our own and took on the "real world" together. We got our puppy Bailey and are now happily living life day by day! 

I have grown to LOVE his family as much as my own (how can you not?!)--they, with Larry, have watched me grow these past 8 years too! My family accepts Larry as their own as well and everyone gets along perfectly! :) Having both families truly accept and love us and each other is more than we could ask for. We have truly been blessed in being able to grow up together...as individuals and as a couple. How many people can say they're still with their high school sweetheart? I can't say how many times people have said..."8 years? GEEZE! When are you getting married!" Well...when we're ready to! Yes, it's been 8 years, but we also started off very young and I believe the length of time that we have been together has given us somewhat of a different outlook on commitment...we have learned that everyone changes, in good ways and bad. So far for 8 years we have changed together successfully. Love is love, and commitment is shown in daily actions and through the relationship we have that only we know the true depth of...you don't need a shiny ring or certificate to prove it. If it's meant to be, it will be. Now don't get me wrong, I DO want to have a ring and my dream wedding with my prince charming, but we're in no rush--the day will come when it's perfectly ready and meant to be!

Yes, we still struggle sometimes. Yes, we have disagreements sometimes. But I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. Our arguments end with "I love you" and our mornings begin with "I love you"...Larry is truly an amazing person and I am SO lucky to be with him. I am truly grateful to have been blessed with such a funny, personable, talented and smart man. We complete each other almost perfectly. Both goofy, fun and honest. I love him for telling me that I'm beautiful, that I'm perfect and that I'm all he wants...and I also love him for telling me when I'm wrong or that I need to shut up. :) Only HE can get away with that! I LOVE that anyone who meets him instantly likes him and speaks nothing but good of him. He can truly get along with anyone! I love his innocence and I love his humor. I love that he does NOT care what anyone thinks about how he acts or what he says. I love that he can cry in front of me. I love how honest he is. I love that he refuses to have a screaming match--he has not ONCE in 8 years raised his voice at me. I love how he respects and loves his mother & father more than anything. I love how he doesn’t judge anyone. I love that he remembers our anniversary every month (for the past 8 years!). I love that he does not have to prove our relationship to anyone. I love that he treats me like a princess. I love that he is a "manly man" but definitely has a soft heart. I love that he refuses to go to bed mad. I love that he will give the shirt off his back for not just me, but for anyone that deserves it. He is my backbone, my sunshine and my best friend.

When I first heard the song "Stuck Like Glue" by Sugarland, I connected with it immediately. People have doubted our relationship...we have even doubted each other at times, but it never fails that the Larry that I fell in love with 8 years ago comes out and makes my "heart beat again!" We have no doubt been "Stuck Like Glue"  :)

Happy Anniversary Larry! 

It's been an amazing 8 years...I love you!