Crochet

i picked up crocheting as past time last year. it's not only fun but immensely therapeutic & creative. learning amigurimi has always been on my list of goals, so when it came down to choosing between knitting & crocheting..the obvious choice was crochet.

im self taught after watching youtube videos & even joined a crochet group that would meet once a month. my schedule started to fill up & my attendance to my crochet meet ups became inconsistent. slowly i stopped crocheting when wedding planning took priority. soon enough i forgot the basic patterns. 

ive picked up crocheting once again & enjoying the process of relearning the basics. i became ecstatic when my mom told me she picked it up as her retirement hobby! i love exchanging emails all about crocheting with her. 

cup sweaters & heart headbands were my projects when i first started last year. i made a ton of these as i practiced my basic stiches. they make great starter projects since they don't take long to finish...total immediate gratification for an impatient learner like me who wanted to have something tangible to take away from just having learned the art of crochet. 

more paper projects

my little journey of craftiness & creativity started when i was gifted a cricut after my engagement. prior to that i didn't think i had a creative bone in my body. or perhaps i just never made the time. i love the excitement, exhilaration, & feeling of accomplishment when i've completed a project. it's allowed the perfectionist in me to be messy. to have failures & start over again if i didn't get something right. after all it's just paper right? :) 

here's a look back at two projects. 

cake topper for a friends birthday cheesecake. 

i made hot chocolate + marshmallow favors for my bridal shower. the font i used had these darling hearts. i printed out a "you warm my heart" tag to finish it off. 

i can't wait to grow my skills in this little area of my life that brings me such happiness & excitement!

glitter star bobby pins

i made these adorable glitter star bobby pins for a few girlfriends & their daughters. they were quite easy to make & all i needed were 3 items! gold star embellishment found at michaels (or you can even modge podge your own star shape & just add glitter), bobby pins, & a hot glue gun! it only took minutes to make & the end result were cute hair pins with a bit of sparkle! 

to finish it off i cut out some gift tags, attached gold ribbon, wrote a personalized message for the receivers, & placed the star hair pins on the gift tag. 

Babybug

i screamed like crazy when my bestie shared the news of her pregnancy last year. i screamed even more when we found out it was going to be a baby girl! it's hard to hold back when i come across cute baby clothes & cute little girly things. ive accumulated a bag full of stuff for my babybug. girls are just so fun! 

bestie's shower was several weeks ago. i made a diaper cake & ordered a personalized owl cake to match the theme of her shower. i thought the diaper cake would be easy to make but i was in for a challenge! i guess i was to eager to make it that i overlooked the fact that blogs & youtube tutorials failed to give step by step instructions of how to make the diaper cake parts. rather it showed assembly of how to put everything together. after a few days of work i finally finished her baby carriage diaper cake!

it's a wrap

i love a neutral palette & kraft paper is my wrapper of choice. for mothers day, i packaged my future mother in laws present using just that & jazzed it up a bit using a mini vintage flag, twine, & clothes pin.

BIG 30!

a few days ago the fiancé celebrated his 30th birthday. on the actual day of we kept it low key & his mom, sister, & i cooked a huge dinner. he even had 2 cakes..30 is huge after all. :) we were all so stuffed afterwards!

it was also another good excuse to craft a few things. i made him cake toppers. one was a banner. another were glitter stars from a previous project & sparkly pom poms to mimic candles since i forgot to buy some at the store.

cake topper

i made this cake topper banner for my friends birthday. i took me longer than expected because the string kept fraying making it difficult to string the letters. bakers twine would've been a much better alternative. nonetheless, im happy with the end result. practice makes perfect & i need it since ill be making one for my friends engagement party.

homemade pizookies topped with generous scoops of ice cream was also on the menu.

glitter bobby pins

crafting has been such an enjoyable hobby! my latest projects were glitter bobby pins i made for my girlfriends & my favorite little girls. the gift tags were made using my cricut & i finished it off by using gold ribbon. next, i super glued sparkly stars onto a bobby pins using a hot glue gun. to add more shine & to seal the sparkly glitters on the stars, i used my favorite top coat (seche vite). homemade sparkly bobby pins made easy!

it's craft time!

since being engaged ive been hit by the crafters bug! i never thought those words would come out of my mouth since im not very patient nor do i have these creative minds that seem so innately ingrained with crafters i admire from afar have...but id like to think that maybe, if i try hard enough, i can create projects ill be happy with! no more wishing i was able to do make this or that like photos i see on instagram or read from crafters blog..i can learn to create my very own!

i recently took the big plunge & purchased a cricut. after thinking it over plus the machine being on sale at michaels, i decided it was a good time to get it! im learning as i go & enjoying the experience! i can't wait to make customized cards, gift tags & boxes, & more banners!

i made two relatively simple banners so far. one for the finance's friends birthday & another sparkly hearts for valentines day.

DIY

i diy-ed these paper straws for our engagement party that just passed. after practicing on a few i got my rhythm down & was able to churn them out pretty quick with the help of my sissy. their such an adorable way to customize any event!