{ooooh! momma like!}

Now, I love me some vinyl lettering, but this isn't your average wall vinyl!

I could definitely use the Keep Calm and Carry On decal in my house! And those chalk board squares are pretty cool too!

(click on the photo to enlarge)

Clockwise from top left: RoCoco Chalboard by Wall Candy Arts; Extra Large Bicycle by Dali Decal's (etsy); Coat Hook Wall Vinyl by Graham & Green; Keep Calm & Carry On by Dali Decals's (etsy); VW Beetle by Badass Custom Decals (etsy); Chalk Board by Wall Candy Arts; Ornate Headboard by Badass Custom Decals (etsy)

{a few weekend highlights}

On Saturday night we celebrated Andrew's birthday at my parents house. The whole fam damily was there, which always makes for interesting pictures!

I swear this picture wasn't posed- Barry reacts that way every time someone blows out candles. Even scented ones. So, Andrew requested an ice cream cake, which was delicious, but HARD to cut! Rock hard! So hard in fact, that as Steve was in mid-cut he took his pulse to make sure his blood pressure wasn't going up from the strain. I think Kelly turned the freezer temp up, causing the cake to be extra frozen. Yes, her look of satisfaction totally gives it away. And yes, we have seen an ice cream cake before, although you wouldn't think that from the way everyone is cramming around it.

Doesn't Ashlyn look excited?! I had to include this picture too- this is at our apartment, and I took this picture just as Andrew was reading the card I gave him. He got a kick out of it!
This is what it said.......and inside it said, "Hope your Birthday fun lasts and lasts"

And since we celebrated Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, I'm pretty sure it did!

*Note* Now that I've read prior sentence a day later, I can see how someone might misinterpret our celebrating...by "celebrating", I mean we partied with our friends and family on those days. I know what you were thinking...come on people! This is a family blog!

Glad I cleared that up!

{garland galore!}

Many of you asked about my Halloween garland and how I went about making it, so I thought I'd post a few tips. With mine, I just eyed the original and drew up my best impression of it. Then I traced the design onto a thick piece of card board, cut it out and used that to trace onto my scrapbook card stock. It took forever to cut all the pieces out (I used an xacto knife to cut the eyes and nose out). Then, I punched the top with an 1/8" hole punch and strung thin silver ribbon through the top.

So, to get your creative juices flowing, I thought I'd post a few more fantastic Halloween garland ideas that I found! If you decide to make any of these, remember to post some pictures and share!

Heidi over at My Paper Crane has designed these adoreable pumpkin and kitty illustrations for you to download to use as some lollipop decorations or as festive Halloween garland! Very cute and very funky!Another adoreable garland project is this one below by Cottage Magpie! She even includes a free clip art template for the letters, and I love how she used the ric-rack for the string! And last, my favorite from Allsorts! I love the font she used for her letters and again, the ric-rack! You can find these letters and numbers on her blog!Happy Crafting!

{why buy when you can make!?}

I had seen a skull garland similar to this in a little boutique and loved it, so instead of paying a ton for it, I decided to make my own! All it took was some heavy scrapbook paper, some scissors, and silver ribbon! I think it's a perfect Halloween decoration!

{Happy Birthday Babe!}

Today is my wonderful husbands Birthday! For those of you who don't know him, he is definitely a mans man!

From fixing cars to hunting and playing football, he's always up for anything that ensues getting dirty! One of the things I love the most about Andrew is his willingness to work hard and provide for our family. When we were dating, he had worked hard to restore a little 3 wheeler. We knew we had to get out of debt before we got married, so he sold it to help lessen the debt.

I promise I'll buy you another ATV one of these days, honey!(riding ATV's on our honeymoon)
He is also great at making me laugh!

I'm so lucky to have such a sweet, sexy, smart husband!

Happy Birthday Babe! I hope it's one of the best!

Love forever,

Shan
P.S. The first time I heard this song, I thought of my man!

{pretty room}

Dear Husband,

Remember how your parents gave us our lovely armoire as a wedding gift, and I have loved it ever since it set foot in our living room? And remember how I said I'd never consider painting over it's knotty alder finish? Well...after seeing this room I've changed my mind. I want to paint it green. Your artsy, french, second cousin, Julien (pictured below) agrees that it would go perfect with our red sofas, making our living room a funk-a-licious haven. Think it over and let me know!

Love,

Your wife

{shoes for sale}

Remember these?Yep, these were the shoes I got a sweet ace deal on this spring. They still look brand new don't they? That's because I never wear them. I wore them once to Costco. We were only there for an hour or two, but by the time we got into the car, my feet were throbbing. I knew when I tried them on that they were too small, but I loved them so much and thought they were so cute! And heck, they were 75% off! But alas, they don't fit, and it's unfair to keep such a lovely shoe hidden away in my closet.

So, after giving it much thought, I've decided to sell them for $10 (includes shipping) to the first person I get an email from- shans_design@yahoo.com. I know someone out there will love and adore them as much as I did!

P.S. They're a size 8 1/2 (which is what I usually wear) but they fit more like a 7 1/2 or 8! So if you're normally those sizes, they'll probably work for you!

P.P.S. Are you crafty? I'll trade them too!

{skinny jeans}

Hey, hey!

I just updated my Skinny Jeans Blog! Check it out!

{lovely finds}

I found this little beauty at a local thrift store... I was so excited to use the sander Andrew gave me for my birthday!

The picture above is what the color looks more like- kind of a grayish blue

So what do you think? Is it too blue or just right? Should I add a glaze to it to highlight her curves? Or should I sand the edges a little bit? Or both?

I feel like it needs something else, but I'm not sure what it is!

P.S. If you have experience glazing, give me some tips! (I've never ventured down the glazing lane before!)

{proof that I am my mothers daughter}

The woman standing in the middle of the picture above is my mom when she was about 24. Isn't she a Betty!? Ever since I was little, people have said that I look like my mom, and I've always known that I had a lot of her physical traits, but it wasn't until I was goofing around on a website called yearbookyourself.com that I really saw it! The picture below looks JUST like my mom- but it's not- it's me (circa 1974)! Don't you just love my flipped out do

{woah baby!}

Since many of my friends have recently had babies or are currently pregnant, and have asked me to help them decorate their nurseries, I decided to post a few pictures of my favorite rooms!

This is my very favorite room! I love the brightness and the wall decor. You can find this at pottery barn kids!

Another fav! I love the cluster of paper lanterns above the crib!Isn't this room so bright and funky? I love the white pom pom trim on the window treatment! I also love the horizontal stripes on the wall!This first room isn't necessarily my favorite as far as the decorating goes (it's a little too frou frou for me), but I did like the diamond pattern painted on the walls.

{state fair}

Saturday night, the sibs all decided to make their way north and meet up at the fair!

(Andrew, Barr, Ty, Steve, Ashlyn, and me!)

It's tradition in our family, to start any fair or carnival by going on the one and only ride that is sure make you sick- the Gravitron! Obviously Ash, Steve, & Ty had no idea what they were getting themselves into. Barry on the other hand, was a little apprehensive.

Andrew was the only sane one and decided to play it safe by waiting outside for us.

Remember what happened last time?

This was Ashlyn's first time! I don't think she knew what to expect, but she was laughing hysterically the whole time!

Steve trying to lift his head. (notice the girl next to him that is upside down?)

After the Gravitron, we tried out a few more rides!

And of course, what is a fair without fried foods?

These fried PB&J's were a hit! The line was really long, but they were delicious!

YUMMY!

We also enjoyed some funnel cakes! Barry took the first bite, with Ty's thumbs up approval!

{do you know...}

...where I can find one of these?

Gocco Printer

{when my meeting is over, I plan on dancing through Salt Lake like this...}

happy friday

{i'm not crying...}

A few excuses to give when you start crying:

It's just been raining on my face.

It's not cause of you, it's cause I'm thinkin' about a friend of mine you don't know who is dying.

These aren't tears of sadness because you're leaving me. I've just been cutting onions. I'm making a lasagna.

There's just a little bit of dust in my eye.

There's an inflammation in my tear gland.

My eyes are a little sweaty today.

{five randoms}

Someone tagged me to do this a long time ago, so here I go. The following random/interesting facts about me are true and in no way exaggerated.

~ I broke an old lady's finger when I was 23- on accident of course!
~ When I was in 2nd grade, I said I wanted to be a dog trainer or a police. Not a police woman, just a police. (We never owned a dog and I never knew any police men.)
~ I only try a new recipe if I can see a picture of what it is supposed to look like.
~ I used to put lemon juice on my birthmark because I read in Teen Bop that it made your freckles go away. I secretly did this for a week, sneaking down to the fridge to douse some toilet paper in lemon juice, then run back up to my room and dab my birthmark with it. It didn't work, but I grew to love it (my birthmark- not rubbing my face with lemon juice).
~ When I go to bed, I have to fold the sheet over the comforter or I can't sleep. Crazy, I know.

So there you have it! Now it's your turn to post 5 randoms!

{from trash to treasure!}

So I've been on a little bit of a D.I. kick lately and boy has it paid off! (D.I. is a second hand store in Utah, in case you didn't know) I stopped by on my birthday to see what treasures I could find, and what to my wondering eyes should appear? This ol' ottoman base! I saw another lady eyeing it, so I snatched it up as fast as I could! She gave me a pretty dirty look, but I figured, it wasn't like I ripped it from her hands. She wasn't even touching it! You snooze you lose lady!

Anyway, so I brought it home and spiced it up a bit.

Here's my $4 find before her makeover....I bought a can of glossy black spray paint and went to town. This is the result...
After I painted it black, I used my handy man's drill (which actually has a circular saw attachment) to cut a piece of particle board for my ottoman cushion. After I cut the wood, I wrapped 3" of foam (also cut to size) with dacron batting.

Here's a li'l upholsterer's trick: I recommend using a spray adhesive to stick the dacron to the foam to keep it from slipping. Also, use the spray to adhere the wood to the foam.

After cutting my fabric to size, I went to town stapling it! Here the cushion is after I finished stapling itAnd this is the finished product! P.S. If you have a small chair (i.e. a parsons chair or wing back) or an ottoman you'd like upholstered, send me an email to shans_design@yahoo.com with a picture of the furniture and I'll quote you a price!