Summer Projects

I've been working on a lot of different projects all summer. Some for weddings, some for bridal showers, some for my house, and some just for me. I really enjoy having projects to work on, and something to do to keep busy. If you know me at all, you know I'm not good at doing nothing.

Below are a few completed crafts, and a few teasers of project yet-to-be-completed.

First up, I was recently the Matron of Honor in my friend's wedding. The couple, John and Retha, got married on August 6 at the Burritt on the Mountain (the same place Hubtastic and I got married!). I had a few different tasks for her wedding, including the bouquets for the bride and bridesmaids, their guest "book," and assorted other decorations.

Hand-wrapped those bad boys.

Their guest book was actually a matted framed picture from the

day they got engaged. We decided a real book would be too much

since it was a super small wedding- only 30 people invited,

and only 25 people attended.

"M" for Mecikalski.

Retha and John.

Next up is a bunch of decorations I completed for my sister's bridal shower, which is finally coming up next weekend, September 6, in south Florida.

First things first- the GORGEOUS invitations my 

friend Amanda put together for me. My sister loved them.

54 addressed, stuffed, sealed, and stamped invitations.

"Gifts" and "sweets" - two important things at any party.

And yes, I know I look fabulous in these photos.

"H" for Holguin.

In an appropriate Tiffany-blue yarn.

A Breakfast at Tiffany's party isn't complete without a few pearls.

Again, instead of a traditional guest book, I opted for creativity and

dipped big popsicle sticks in [appropriate-colored] paint, for guests

to write date ideas for my sister and her future husband. I'm more

proud of my little chalkboard sign than I should be.

I also bought my sister a tiara and a pack of pearl necklaces she can wear to her party, so she's the star of the show.

Next up- what I've been calling our Country Boxes. I'd been wanting to get some small wooden storage boxes from a craft store, doctor them up, and then use them to store our ticket stubs from tours, plane tickets, pictures, and other odds and ends from our Mediterranean trip. This way, if anyone wants to see our trip pictures, we don't have to make them sit on our couch and flip through 900+ pictures (sorry, In-Laws..). I found exactly what I was looking for, for way cheaper than I was expecting! Aside from $3.99 for each box, everything else I used to pretty them up was stuff I already had (paints, stencils, markers), or stuff I borrowed (sand paper, varnish).

Painted, stenciled. Ready for varnish.

Varnished and looking good.

Filling the Turkey box with our tour handouts, our

tickets to St. John's Basilica, our leftover Euros, and pictures.

Sanded, painted, stenciled, varnished, filled, and ready to be put out.

Not the final location, but the final location from today.

Alright, now a few teasers.

I've been redoing our master bedroom, and bought/made some matching touches for our bathroom as well.

Check out that wonderful dark gray with that vibrant yellow. 

Homemade decorations are the best. The mirror is new, too.

And lastly, a blanket in the works:

This blanket has gone through several iterations, including one that was more than half done. But I didn't like how it was turning out, and I certainly wasn't going to spend anymore time on a blanket I already knew I disliked. So I took it apart and started over, with a new idea.

This happened three times,