Busy Bee Part II

Here's some more pics from the weekend. I did some weeding, which, as it turns out is not the most fun thing ever...

The "Before".

And the "After".

Yuck look at all those weeds...

 One of the pretty flowers I discovered.

By George! There was a windmill in there too!

Helper 1.

Helper 2.

Busy Bee

Long time no blog. I've been a busy bee. Friday we went to the zoo, Saturday we had  a wedding, and Sunday we recovered from the wedding. We've also been working like crazy to get ready for our fourth of July party. Here's some pictures of my adventurous weekend...

Zoo entrance.

It was hard to get a good pic of the polar bear (my fiance has named him "Whitey") through the cage.

Nothing like a baby duckie to lift your spirits :)

This guy is just cool.

Kitty was warm.

These guys have the longest, prettiest eyelashes I have ever seen! Jealous!

It's like a painted horse

This guy actually put this t-shirt on...

Hilarious.

And of course the baby lifted my spirits...

The End.

Farmers Market

I am no longer a farmer's market virgin. Every Tuesday night throughout the summer my quaint little lake community hosts a farmer's market in the park by the beach.
It was awesome.

Vendors were selling fresh vegetables, plants, fresh baked bread, handmade jewelry and clothing, home-made salsa, crafts, and a bunch of other fun things for sale. There was even an obnoxious band whose lyrics included "my wife is my grandma". (What?!) Apparently they missed the "family event" part? Ish.

Mmmmm Sassy Salsa.

From the balloon stand.

Fresh veggies. Yummy.

Pretty flowers by the lake.

Creepy band guys.

If I didn't have eight million of these growing in my own garden I

think I would've bought some.

Easy Gift Packing How To

For my soon to be mom-in-law I purchased an adorable yummy smelling handmade bar of soap from etsy (Fleur de Lis Soap). As I've mentioned before, I'm a bit detailed (my fiance would say neurotic) about my gift wrapping and presentation. I had a glass jar w/lid with some Fleur de Lis etched on it that my mom didn't want anymore, and that the mom-in-law mentioned she really liked. I knew that I wanted to combine these two items but I wasn't sure how...

Until one day I was re-reading my Flea Market Syle magazine and saw a great idea in which one of the featured crafty women took old books and shredded them with a shredder. She then took the shredded paper and used it to pack her gifts. Brilliant!

So I thought I'd try it.
I had the gift, the thing in which to pack it, and an idea. So I headed to the local thrift store and scored a cheap encyclopedia.

Here's the step by step...

My materials (also not pictured is a paper shredder and scissors)...

Step One:

Tear out a page from desired book.

Step Two:

Cut the paper in half the short way (so you can read some of the words after you shred it). Or the long way depending on your desired effect.

Step Three:

Place piece (or a few more depending on how many your shredder can handle at once) into the shredder. (If you want to be able read the words like I mentioned before place the paper in the shredder as shown below.)

Step Four:

Make sure shredder is turned to the "off" position, and remove shredded paper.

Step Five:

Stuff your gift box, or jar in my case, with shredded paper and gift. I hid my gift amidst the shredded paper since the jar is clear.

Step Six:

Put on the lid and ta-da! Finished Product.

 

Oh How I Love New Creative Discoveries

Watch out world I have discovered chalkboard spray paint.

We replaced all of the old (I'm pretty sure original) windows from our 1900's home last year. They are currently collecting dust in the garage (the fiance's mancave if you will). He and my dad keep insisting that we throw them out. "Haul them to the dump, that's what you should do!" But I can't stand the thought of these beautiful pieces of history rotting away unwanted and unloved with the rest of the world's trash. So for the better part of a year they have been sitting there while I try and find them a loving home or figure out a way to love them back to something beautiful myself.

This is where my new creative tool-chalkboard spray paint comes into play. This stuff is A-mazing! You can use it on any smooth surface and it will transform it into a chalkboard! Yes you heard me right, a chalkboard. You can actually write or draw with chalk and then erase it! (I might say something about sliced bread here, but I really hate that cliche.)

I think you can see by now where this is going. I have big plans involving my antique windows and chalkboard paint. And maybe a store on etsy sometime soon...