Time for a change

So its been awhile since I've last posted. A lot has been going on. I was pretty sick for a few weeks and I've been job hunting but gladly that has come to a close. I've decided to go back to a company I've worked for before. This move will better suit my needs and I will have more say over my future, but i'm still pretty sad. I made a lot of good friends at Wholefoods and my life is really a lot different then when I came to work for them 4 years ago.

I left a bad relationship and started anew with the most wonderful man I've ever met. This whole year has been filled with so many good experiences. I am truly excited about my future, which is something i'm not sure I've ever felt. Its so wonderful to have something to look forward too.

I haven't been working on any new projects recently. Mostly I've been sick and trying to finish up the blanket gift and my snow flakes but stayed tuned because I have some awesome ideas to bring to life over the next couple weeks!

I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday. I know I did. Thanksgiving is definitely one if my favorite holidays. I love Christmas too but something about Thanksgiving is just relaxing (besides the turkey! ha ha) you just get to make all this amazing food and hang out with your loved ones without the pressure of gifts and seeing people you don't really know (which is the case every year at my mothers) I made Thanksgiving dinner for the first time this year and it was awesome! Nothing burned, everything was delicious. *pats back*

Well stay tuned for posts about my upcoming projects.

Thanks for reading.
Infinite love,
Tess

Snowflake ornaments

So thanks to Pinterest I've found some cheap, affordable ideas for Christmas decorations/gifts. I have become somewhat addicted to Pinterest. It's such a great website to connect, inspire and mostly to organize. I can't say enough good things about it. Love, Love, LOVE Pinterest. So today I decided to try to make glitter snowflake ornaments for gift/decoration. With some trial and error I think they came out pretty good. 2 things I have learned while doing this project...

1. Dollar tree may have everything....for a dollar, but somethings are worth paying more for. In this case, it would've been a good idea to invest in better quality mini glue sticks. I was so delighted to find packs of 20 glue sticks for a dollar and they will totally work on projects where you aren't going to actually see the glue shape but for this project, totally go with the better stuff.

2. More is actually awesome. The wider and thicker you go with the snowflake the sturdier and prettier they will be :)


What you need:
Hot glue sticks
Hot glue gun
Simple snowflake pattern* (I printed mine from a google search)
Modge Podge
Glitter (in as many colors as you want to do)
Newspaper
Wax paper
Paint brush
Dish soap mixed with just enough water to make the soap spreadable but not sudzy

1. Lay out 2 pieces of wax paper and using a paper towel coat the wax paper with a light (LIGHT!) layer of barely soapy Dish soap. When you run your finger over it you want it to be slightly slick but not so slick that you can see it leave a trail of your finger through it.

2. place your pattern under the wax paper and start to trace with hot glue, play with it a little until you reach a consistency that you like. *make sure you pick a simple pattern because the glue will spread a bit. you want all the pieces to connect but i wouldn't go too fancy unless you are making HUGE snowflakes.*

3. Allow pieces to dry completely before removing from wax paper. Rinse with cool water to remove any excess soap and then dry with paper towel. The water should be cool to help harden off the glue if you use hot water the glue will become pliable again, you don't want the glue to be pliable at all.

4. Modge Podge. the. Shit. out of them then sprinkle with glitter. Dry. Apply second coat of Modge Podge and glitter if you desire super glittery snowflakes. I did two and I think they are fantastic.

5. Allow to dry overnight. Then hot glue hanger to the back. I am going to use thin string, but i imagine a christmas ornament hook would do just fine as well. If they are a gift you could do some type of ribbon.

Happy Glue-Fest,

Love,

Tess

Blue blanket

I started this blanket in August and thanks to hurricane Sandy I sat still long enough to finish it. It was a basic square done in different sizes and color schemes. I got the pattern out of a booklet I found at Walmart. Its fairly easy. I'll try to post steps later.






I also started another one using lavender and teal. This will be one continuous square for the whole blanket. I'm gonna be so warm and snuggly this winter :-)




Love,
Tess

New Tegan and Sara video... yes please

The new single from my favorite twin Canadian Lesbians.

You're welcome

Tess

Family.

Today I got to spend the day with my parents and my sister and her family in Baltimore MD. It was a fun filled day spent at the aquarium. I got to thinking about how important family is. I know so many people who are at odds with their family some for good reason, some not so much. I didn't get to choose them and I don't always agree with them but I have to say they have always been there for me when i'm down and to celebrate when things are good. I love them and I feel pretty fortunate even if at times I wanna bang there heads together, especially times when my mother is driving...and my father is trying to also control the car from the passenger seat...ah good times. Grab your mother and hug her today friends... Or stab her...but gently cause she loves you.

I'm kidding,don't stab your mother that's crazy!

Inspiring thoughts brought to you via my brains.

Infinite love and gratitude,

Tess

Pumpkin Carving fun

So it turned out to be a fun afternoon. The boys weren't thrilled with the pumpkin dremel, however, I found it to be quite useful for the type of pumpkin I wanted to do. I like the innards, pulp, layer? left intact and they like the open face look, where you cut all the way through. Tom and I did two characters from The Nightmare Before Christmas and little T did a skull pattern out of the book that came with the tools. Turns out my fiance has a knack for pumpkin carving and he can bang out a carving in no time flat! It was so impressive :)

The pumpkin dremel comes with a dremel bit that isn't like a saw its like 4 tiny nub blades on the end which spin really fast. I think that Tom thought it was going to be like a mini saw. I loved it because it was easier on my hands an wrists that cutting it by hand. However, it is really really messy so I would definately reccommend either laying out a lot of plastic or doing it outside. Clean up wasn't too bad but if your doing more than one or two pumpkins with it....it could be bad.

Here's my Pumpkin king pumpkin carving looking all scary and stuff!

All three finished pumpkins on my front porch... and the tin can mummies I made. Tutorial to follow

What you need:

Empty cans from veggies and or beans

Cotton balls

tacky glue (or whatever glue is most convenient)

googly eyes

gauze

First you stretch the cotton balls out and put little drops of tacky glue randomly in spots and then attach lightly to outside of the can. It doesn't have to be an exact science the cotton is just used to make your mummy bulky. It doesn't have to be glued on the whole way either because in the next step you are going to wrap the entire can with gauze....

So as previously stated you will wrap the can in gauze. You want to do random folds here and there but try to get it even at the top and bottom so you don't have a one sided mummy. It should end up similar to the next photo. Once you reach the end you can just tuck the tail in or you can glue and tuck if you want it to be more secure.

For the googly eyes I just found two nice folds i made in the gauze, applied a drop of tacky glue to each and tucked them in the fold. MUMMIES!

OooOOoOOooo scary. They are a nice cheap addition to your halloween decorations. I will be putting tea lights in them next week and having them lite up on halloween for trick or treat night :)

Happy Hauntings ya'll

Infinite love and gratitude
Tess

Fantastic Friday

Hope you all are having a fantastic friday! I know I am. So we decided that this weekend is going to pumpkin carving weekend and I am so excited!!! We bought a pumpkin carving tool today at Lowes. I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend with the boys making awesome pumpkins to complete our Halloween porch decorations. I am also gonna dig into the pile of clothes upstairs to see what I can use for repurposing in DIY projects and what I can donate. My fiancé has more clothes than any girl I know... Its madness!! but I love him. :) we are slowly working through them so that we don't have to move them when we move in the spring. I also am putting together a magnetic board for the bathroom to hang my bobby pins and my hair ties from. I just have to get the magnetic sheet from AC Moore tomorrow. I may stain the wood, not sure yet. I will post pictures when I'm finished with it.

Look at these awesome DIY projects I wanna do:

Pot lid organizer

Crochet poncho

I think this poncho is totally cute. I wanna do it in this really pretty teal and green colors that I have.

Well friends that is all for now. I am going to enjoy my mushroom and eggs and then frolic off to my Friday at Wholefoods. 

Infinite love and gratitude,

Tess