Search Results for: Valentine's Day

February 10, 2017

Espresso Bean Valentine

Coming up with a non-mushy, non-red, white, pink Valentine can be a daunting task this time of year when craft and grocery store aisles are full of red, white, and pink frilliness. I’m always on the lookout for neutral, non-traditional vessels in which to gift my Valentine. Like, this kraft-y paper heart box from the Target Dollar Spot (I think it’s called something else now?). It’s the perfect non-pink, non-red, non-frilly carrier for my Espresso Bean Valentine.

This sweet Valentine couldn’t be any easier but the sentiment is unforgettable. [Read more…] about Espresso Bean Valentine

February 1, 2016

Pin it & Spin it: Candy Tag Holder

Has your Pinterest obsession faded? Yea, mine hasn’t either. I’m still pinning away.

Confession: I haven’t been doing/making/using any of those pins, though.

Time to change that. I’m bringing back Pin it & Spin it-a monthly link-up where we can showcase pins we’ve done/made/used. Join me on the first Monday of every month to show off your pins. Use the linky tool at the bottom of this post and I’ll feature your posts over on my Facebook page.

And now, for my Pin it & Spin it:

The Pin: This cute Valentine themed candy holder.

The Spin: I used colored, embossed papers and cute ribbon holders.

To make:

Supplies:

2 paper tags (approximately 5 inches long, 3 inches wide)

2 pieces coordinating paper (cut down to 1″ X 3″)

Double sided tape

Bone Folder & Ruler

Scissor

Ribbon

Candy!

Score the bottom of each tag about an inch from the bottom. Fold to crease.

Add double sided tape to one of the tags.

Peel off the backing and join the two bottoms.

Fold and crease the side pieces to make side walls. Add tape to both pieces.

Attach the walls to the tags.

Add candy.

Knot a length of ribbon, add a cute tag, and feed through the holes of both tags for a cute carrying handle.

Gift away!!

The verdict: This pin was easy and fun-would be a fun craft for kids to make for Valentine’s day.

Your turn! Show me your completed pins. Join me here on the first Monday of every month to share your Pinterest projects. Don’t forget to follow me over on Pinterest, too!

February 4, 2014

My Own Valentine-Red Hot Mini Candy Bags

Don’t you just love February? Splashes of pink and red, fluffy hearts and chocolates strewn about. Declarations of love and starry eyes afloat.

Ahem. There’s also cold, snow, wind, chills, and snow days-too many for my liking. Luckily, I love the mushy Valentine’s Day stuff so much it kind of obliterates the other. Especially when I can cozy up in the craft room and make some handmade Valentines for all my friends.

This year I’m telling all my best girls just how red hot they are with mini bags of candy all dressed up in pretty washi tapes. Love. Love candy. Love washi. Love mini white bags. Love it all.

So easy but pretty and straight to the point. How are you saying ‘be mine’ this year?

January 24, 2014

Another not-so triumphant & current affairs

Hey, friends. No. No, your monitor is not playing tricks on you. I’ve officially come out of blog hiding. I’m not sure what it was-I just couldn’t bring myself to post. I’d open the screen up, stare at it a bit, and turn right back around and find something else to do.

What was I doing? Most likely looking at Instagram on my new phone. I’ve become a bit obsessed. It’s my new favorite thing in life. Probably because I’m the most boring person alive. At least for now.

It’s frigidly cold in Arkansas and no matter how many layers, or heating pads, or how high I turn up the heat-I can not get warm. So, most nights are spent snuggling under blankets and comforters in my bed, phone in hand, scrolling through Instagram.

I’ll be more interesting when the weather straightens out. Pinky promise.

For now: some snapshots I shared on my Instagram along with some that I didn’t.

Top: Road trip Selfies. I’ve been crafting, too! So excited about reading this!

Middle: Low lying fog in the am gets me out of bed. Thrifting-ironstone is my new fave. Thom’s last hip appointement {looks good!}

Bottom: I’m currently loving thrifted thermoses {however, I have refrained from buying them!} after seeing this. Love. Watching Valentine’s Day while Valentine crafting. Warming up by the fire before getting back on the road.

Also- I did a guest post on my process of blogging over at Jacqueline Wolven’s Do Good Work blog.

February 13, 2011

Mid Winter Break # 3…

…also known as Snowmaggedon or Snowpocolypse.

I really won’t go on and on about this crazy weather we’re experiencing down here in Ark, lest I bore my Northern friends any more than I have already, except to say that when we found this house in the side of a hill with an awesome view of the lake- NO WAY did we consider that we’d be walking up said hill through nine inches of snow and over sheets of ice!

I could have been doing some very productive activities over these last three weeks of free time…things like updating this lil ole blog of mine, typing out printable recipes for you lovely readers, or at least getting my link pages actually linkable. Instead, I became even more of a Facebook junkie…if that’s possible.

I did, however, clean the craft room. Okay, i rearranged a bit so I could enter. Once I was in, I realized my “inspiration” wall was still decorated for Halloween.

So in the spirit of love & all that crap {just kidding…love isn’t crap} I decided to update the wall for Valentine’s day. Would you believe it actually inspired me to get creative?

No kidding! I actually made Valentine’s for our {old-school} class party for work. And….I made these adorable felt flowers that I’m obsessed with.

I’m almost finished up with my super cute Valentines and I’ll share ’em with you tomorry-oh.

So, what’s inspiring you lately??

Happy Weekending, friends!

February 16, 2009

…Hello, Friends

It’s been a little over a week since I last posted but there is little to report. We are still in the process of moving. In fact we haven’t even started with Thom’s things yet and have another trip to finish up with mine. I have yet to spend the night in the new place. We’re waiting for the “bug people” to come out and do their magic since I am so skittish about creepy crawlies. I haven’t actually seen any as of yet, but Spring is right around the corner and that’s when they usually make their appearances.

We have been over to the house just about every day…taking small loads and working on priority projects–namely, the bathroom. We worked on removing the accordian style bathroom door. It’s a lot more work than I first thought. We’re still trying to remove all the caulk and silicone {sigh}.

Valentine’s Day found Thom and I at Lowe’s looking at paint samples and bathroom vanities. Then, it was off to the bookstore to look for remodeling inspiration. So many decisions and so many different paths to take. And I get to decide 🙂

I keep forgetting to take pictures while I’m over there….but this whole thing will be a slow work in progress so there will be plenty of time.

Hope y’all have a great week!

February 5, 2008

…The way to this Girl’s Heart

is definitely thru her tummy. Ever since I stopped eating meat {a little over 2 years ago} I continually get the same 2 reactions when I tell people I’m a vegetarian.

1} disbelief that it can be done

2} bewildered expressions & questions about what I eat

It can be done. I actually don’t miss meat much. Except when I drive past BK and catch the ever alluring scent of a flame-broiled whopper. {Sigh} I do miss me a nice juicy whopper. It can be done because I’ve made a conscience effort to not eat it. I’m pretty sure my family thought it was a phase…and that I’d be back on the meat-eating bandwagon {would that be a chuck wagon?}.

The bewildered expressions crack me up. People’s eyes glaze over and their mouths fall open. Especially down here in Arkansas. Seems there’s a BBQ joint on every other corner and a Popeye’s or Chick-fil-A every block or so. Not to mention Sonic {mmmMmm…Sonic burger minus the meat is So Yummy}. Anyway…it’s apparent that I do eat…since I’m not exactly a size 2…or even a 14 for that matter. And I have not grown two overlarged front teeth and have no resemblance to a rabbit. I eat. I eat really well. Especially when Thom’s cooking.

Last winter Thom scored a Cuisinart Griddler Express from Sam’s club. We’ve been panini addicts ever since.

My fave panini….Classic Basil Pesto, Roasted Red pepper, Spinach leaves, spicy mustard, and provolone or mozzerella {sometimes both 😉 } on two slices of a really hard, crusty bread. Yum.

Had this for dinner on Sunday while watching Stardust. Good, good sandwich. {also made this on an oversized bagel with mozzerella to take for lunch today, warmed in the microwave and it was just as yummy except the pesto makes for really bad garlic breath-ha!}

We also eat a lot of pasta. Thom makes his own red sauce. Crushed tomatoes, garlic, basil, oregano {and some other spices too}, usually with penne, but sometimes with spaghetti. Pair this with some of that hard, crusty bread grilled on the panini maker and then rubbed with fresh garlic… Double Yum.

And his Mexican? {sigh} His homemade salsa is awesome. I literally ate his salsa for dinner 4 days in a row last winter. We also made our own chips {was my job to make them…and I overfried them a bit}.

so…there’s plenty for us to eat…other things besides lettuce and carrots. And, yes, I really do take a lot of pictures of his dishes after he makes them 🙂

******************************************************

In other news…I was officially notified today that I’ll be taking over my old position at this new store. I’m back to being the Admin. Coordinator…which means an office and a rolly chair once again. My poor, aching feet wanted to hug my boss when he gave me the news 😉 It also means not having to deal with the public on a daily basis…and back to using my brain (:

How can it be the 4th of February already? Is time flying for anyone else? I’ve not done much these last few days. Sunday I was feeling yucky so I stayed home and didn’t do a thing around here. I did work on some Valentine’s Day projects on Friday night…one to send home to Mom & Tyler…and one for Thom’s kids. I’ll post some pics later in the week.

Hope you’ve had a great start to the week!
g

February 7, 2016

Girl’s Craft Night & Nesting, Chocolate & Wine- A Sweet Pairing Times Two

Hi, friends! This is a sponsored post on behalf of Ghirardelli and Josh Cellar Wines (available at your local Walmart) as part of the #asweetpairing campaign and I have been compensated for sharing. Of course, opinions are my own and in my own words. I will always share only those things I wholeheartedly believe in. I will not, however, share my chocolate. Oh, all right, I will share the chocolate-it’s that good. Thanks for reading.

In my quest to be more crafty and more social this year, a sweet pairing in its own right, I organized a Girl’s Craft Night with some friends from work. We gathered together in the middle of the week for some laughs, crafts, chocolate, and wine. A good time was had by all, our craft was amazingly easy-even for the self-proclaimed-not-crafty girls in the group, and we enjoyed some creamy Ghirardelli chocolates and a savory cheese platter, and washed it all down with a bottle of Josh Cellars Pinot Noir.

I picked up the Ghirardelli Valentine’s Chocolate Assortments & Impressions at Walmart and if you don’t live in a dry county, like I do, you can pick up the Josh Cellars Wine at Walmart, too. Convenient, right?

I’ve realized that a girl’s craft night doesn’t have to be a hectic-crazy-drive-to-a-million-different-places-hassle to put together a fancy-ish spread. That fabulous cheese and grape platter was pulled together from the local grocery store deli.

Since I was feeling more, shall we say-sophisticated with our special treats and wine, I chose a craft a little more grown up than the typical pink, red, and white Valentine’s craft I would normally do at this time of year.

Jewelry making is on my list of crafty adventures to try this year. These nest rings were fun to try and I think we did spectacularly. I used this tutorial to practice before hand, except I used adjustable ring forms and a heavy duty craft adhesive since we were newbies.

My friends were so into making these and were feeling like kindergarteners when I told them we had enough supplies to each make another ring.

Can you blame them? How cute are these nest rings?

I have tons of other fun photos from our crafty girls night over on the Facebook page.

What is your favorite #asweetpairing? Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, or comment below. I’d love to know your favorite Ghirardelli flavor and/or Josh wine.

(By the way, the Pinot Noir was good-I wish I had chilled it before uncorking, though).

(There just might be a special giveaway happening over on Instagram starting on Sunday. Okay, for sure there is a special giveaway from our sponsors. You won’t want to miss it. Head over to Instagram and follow me to get in on the fun)

December 29, 2015

Make 2015: A Recap

I love this time of year; the end when we can sit back and reflect on the joys, the disappointments, the strides, and the setbacks. The end also brings with it a beginning of something else. You can’t have one without the other, right?

My focus for 2015 was the word MAKE.

In the beginning, I spent a lot of time in the craft room. Every day, in fact. I hopped on the #yearofmaking bandwagon and stayed on for quite a while; making something, anything every single day. But like most daily challenges I sign up for, that too fell by the wayside.

My goals for the year were printed and hung right at eye level on the inspiration board above the craft desk.

Make list:

hand lettered chalk art
mixed media art
curtains
fabric dolls
burlap goods
book page art

Accomplished: Curtains for a chest of drawers missing a drawer. Burlap goods for craft show.

Goals List:

find a new job
volunteer
read more books
write
organize

Accomplished: Read more books. Still didn’t meet my Goodreads challenge but read more than the previous year (which wasn’t difficult as I barely finished one book the year prior). I organized a bit more this year. The craft room is more organized yet still a disheveled mess.

On paper it looks as if I didn’t accomplish much. In reality, I did SO much on a whim. In January I opened a the DS{G} Pop-Up Shop and sold Valentine’s cards.

Fall was a very crafty time for me. I worked on projects for Canvas Corp and spent a lot of time Periscoping. You can catch rebroadcasts over on my Katch,

A new bloggy friend and I decided to participate in a fall craft event in Quitman. The actual event didn’t go so well but I had a fun time making for that.

Overall, I’m happy with my focus for 2015. What I’ve concluded: Maybe crafting for business isn’t for me. I found it difficult to come up with that “one big idea” that would differentiate myself from anyone else doing the same. I found myself discouraged a lot and maybe just a tad bit icky from trying to sell to my friends (most of whom were so nice and supportive about it).

Desperately Seeking Gina One Little Word: Make

I think I’ve decided on a focus word for 2016 and I’ll share more about it later. I’ll continue to make all the things going forward but with a different goal in mind.

February 5, 2012

Weekend Update

Well, I’m finally feeling back to my old self. Sort of. There’s still an issue of drainage due to the decongestant, but for the most part I’m feeling good. Good enough to be back to work, but wouldn’t you know it…another dose of bad luck and bad tires kept me home again on Friday and Saturday. I really am lucky to work in a flexible environment and have good co-workers {and friends} to cover for me. That reminds me: must find something to bake and share at work this week.

So, while I’ve been homebound, I’ve been getting sticky fingered {glue} and stained {inks & dyes} in the craft room. I’ll have some Valentine’s to share with you this coming week.

I’ve also been enjoying onion bagels and diet ginger ale {helps the belly}.

I hear tell of a pretty important football game happening this evening. We are so NOT a football household so instead we’ll most likely be spending the evening making dinner and watching a movie.

What were your highlights this weekend?