Have I done any good in the world today?

My church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, held a general conference today, where we listened to counsel and encouragement from our modern-day prophet and the general authorities of the Church.  Among the talks that were given, was one by President Henry B. Eyring about service.

His talk quoted the hymn, Have I Done Any Good.  As soon as that hymn was mentioned, I remembered a desire I'd had to frame a part of that song and display it in my home as a reminder to do good continually. 

So, I spent the rest of the morning session, while listening to conference on TV, putting together a printable.  Feel free to download and use it yourself! 

I put this one together first.  I like that it has more of the hymn's lyrics on it, but I find myself more drawn to the second one I made. 

This one is simpler and I like the look of it better.  I think I'll use both.  One for my frame and one to put on the fridge.  

I bought an inexpensive ($3) Walmart frame and spray-painted it yellow.  I love it.  It'll look so cute in my room.  Here's what each printable looks like in the frame.  (And, don't you love the ranunculus?  I picked that up today at Walmart, too.  I love spring!)

To download the printables, click on the images to open a larger image.  Then, right click to save as.

Linking up at Today's Creative Blog.

Red and Aqua Baby Shower

I threw this red and aqua baby shower for a friend's baby boy.   Here's the invitation I designed and made: I made Martha Stewart's Tissue Paper Pom-Poms.

I made a cute pennant banner with some coordinating scrapbook paper and ric-rac.

I made sugar cookies with glace icing, cupcakes, and cheese and tomato tarts. There also were Haribo raspberries, swedish fish, and lemonade.

A jar of notes for the mom-to-be:

I put together a couple of games, but we didn't end up playing them because we were having more fun talking, and there were just a few of us anyway.

But, I'd planned a baby shower bingo game and the game where you try to remember what baby items were on a tray. Here are pictures of the game set up, mostly for my own reference.

I was okay not playing the games...I much prefer chatting at baby showers. :)  It was a lot of fun to host this baby shower and I had a lot of fun with the decorations and food!

Rose Necklace

Several months ago, some friends and I were sitting around talking and joking and somehow we got talking about how cool it would be if we had a "Prom." Well, we actually carried out our idea and had a Couples Night Formal.  It was AWESOME.  I haven't had that much fun in a long time.  It was like taking all the good things from high school and college formals and stake dances and leaving out all of the bad things.  I had a blast. 

Most of us wore old high school and college formals.  Mine was an old bridesmaid dress.  I couldn't find a necklace I liked to go with my dress, though, (and I didn't want to look like a 29 year old trying to look like a 16 year old, so I eschewed my old rhinestones and "formal" necklaces).  So, I made one. 

I wanted to make a necklace using those lucite flowers I've been seeing a lot on Etsy these days, but didn't have the forethought to order any online ahead of time (and they're not available in local stores).  So, I made my own flower bead with Sculpy and made my own necklace. 

Photos by TiffanyB photography

I thought it turned out beautifully, and have made another one to go with another dress, and will be posting a tutorial for the flower beads soon.  :)

Photos by TiffanyB photography

Photos by TiffanyB photography

Photos by TiffanyB photography

Linking up at Tea Rose Home and Today's Creative Blog.

Anthropolgie Sun Shades Dress

I want this dress SO much.  I tried it on in Anthropologie on a whim yesterday and fell in love.  Sadly, I did not fall in love with its price tag:  $158.  Why does Anthropologie have to be so darn expensive?  Sigh...

So, instead, I am embarking on a plan that will certainly drive me crazy.  I am going to make this dress.  See those yellow stripes?  They aren't printed; they aren't even (mostly) sewn on ribbon.  They're strips of bias-cut fabric.  It's going to be a beast to sew.  But I think I'm going to try. 

I went out and bought a pattern yesterday at Walmart with similar lines, and all of their yellow-gold ribbon, and priced some golden colored and white broadcloth, which I will be picking up today.  Here goes nothing...

(Oh, and here are some more Anthropolgie dresses I'd give my eye-teeth for. I especially like the one in the middle with the blues, yellows, and slate colors. So pretty. And the one on the right will be worn by Emma Pillsbury on Glee this Tuesday. I love pretty much everything that character wears.)

 

Kitchen Mini-makeover

I used to have plaid curtains in my kitchen and family room. I never really liked them, but they were the right colors, so I decided they'd work until I found something I liked better. Well, I finally did.  Jo-Ann had a sale on home decorator fabric a while back, and I found a fabric I really liked --and got 70% off--so I decided to redo my curtains.  I used the old curtains as a pattern to make the new ones:

I also recovered the valances over the patio door and in the family room (and recovered the pillows that had formerly been made with the leftover plaid fabric).

I also had been looking for something cute for over the doorway for the last 5 and a half years.  I got these cute plates from Target for Christmas and thought they'd look great there. 

When I first decorated, my house looked a little more country than I wanted, so I've been trying to give it more of a modern-vintage sort of vibe.  I exchanged a "mom's diner" distressed red-painted wooden clock with this retro-style one.  I also got a cute yellow timer of a similar style for Christmas that's now on the fridge. 

The bird plates are new, too.  Aren't they adorable?  I went looking for some new plates for over my sink, since the new bolder red in the curtains made the red in the plates (that had matched the red in the plaid) now look more pink.  I found these cute bird plates at Pier 1, but was sad that they didn't fit in the plate rack over the sink (too small).  I couldn't get rid of them, though, (they were just too cute!) so I hung them over the pantry door instead. 

I feel a little sheepish that my kitchen and family room have so many plates displayed.  I didn't set out to decorate with plates, but I was given the plate rack above the sink and I found a lot of cute plates while setting out to fill it up.  Plates are cheap, and if they look cute, why not decorate with them, right?

So, it's not a drastic change to my kitchen, just a bunch of little ones.  But, I feel like it helps de-countrify my decor.  It's got a little more of my personality in it now.  :)

1940s Dress and WWII Staff Seargant Uniform

Check out my Sense and Sensibility Swing Dress!

  I made the Staff Seargant Uniform, too.  Well, I made the hat, the tie, and the insignia.  The shirt and pants are Dickies work clothes from Walmart.  :)

 

Bathroom Mini-makeover

My bathroom is a bit boring.  It has beige walls, white and brass fixtures, and beige carpet (yes...carpet).  When we moved in, we didn't want to bother with painting, so the walls have stayed beige.  (And we didn't have the resources to redo the flooring--though I'd like to one day.  Carpet in a bathroom is not my favorite.)

I tried to bring in some color with towels and things, and for the last 4 1/2 years, it's worked fine.  But, it was starting to get to me, all that beige.  I still didn't want to paint, but I needed some more color.  So, I made a valance for the window.

Before:

After:

I used a very pretty purple sheet I found at Walmart and some coordinating ribbon to make my simple valance.  I'd planned a different style (where ribbons tie it up--I don't know what it's called), but simple looked better.  I also bought an inexpensive storage cupboard.  We'd had a trash can in the spot between the tub and the sink for awhile, just to put something there.  The nicer storage cupboards were too wide to fit in that spot, but the Target ReStyle ones do. 

So, now the open towel storage brings in a bit more color, and I have more room in my linen closet now that I'm storing some towels in the bathroom instead of the linen closet!  I'm liking my mini-makeover.  It makes my bathroom a bit less boring.  :)