Green Horned Unicorn

Holiday Memories 2011 - Part 1

My Holiday Memories 2011 album is slowly, but surely, coming along. While I haven't photographed or recorded as much as I would have hoped at this point, at least the album is in progress - which was really the point. As long as I'm not throwing my entire album together in a rush at the end of the season, I'm dubbing this project a success!

The first event I recorded was our annual tree decorating tradition, which we typically do during the extended Thanksgiving weekend.

 

 
Product Credits: Holiday Faves Mini Album Kit by Nettio Designs + Star on Top by One Little Bird & Amy Martin Designs

JOURNALING | November 26, 2011 - We kicked off the holiday season with our annual tradition of trimming the tree, listening to Christmas music, eating fondue and watching a holiday movie. This year, after we finished decorating the tree, we enjoyed beer cheese fondue with various breads and apples, while watching National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Although we ran out of energy before we were able to put up all of the decorations, we did accomplished our main goal of getting the big Christmas tree trimmed - meaning the holiday season had officially begun in the Krajicek-Hennessy household!

There are many memories and events I'm hoping to still capture and add to the album. My list so far includes:

• Christmas celebration with my family
• Christmas Eve with Nate's family
• Our Christmas Day celebration
• Our visit to Las Noches de las Luminarias at the Desert Botanical Gardens
• Holiday Decorations (including both trees)
• Holiday Playlist
• Holiday Movie list

If you have any suggestions for additional holiday moments or memories to capture, please let me know in the comments!

DIY Sparkle Wreath

There is just something about objects that sparkle - especially during the holiday season.

Earlier this fall, I was perusing the holiday aisle at the new Hobby Lobby (which I must mention, happens to be situated just between a Joann’s SuperStore AND a Michael’s…crafters mecca!), when I came across a bag of fun, sparkly bag of foam balls, labeled as vase filler.

 
Something drew me to these glittery bags of goodness – I had to buy them! But what could I make? It only took a brief moment for me to decide that these sparkling spheres would become our newest holiday wreath.

Since I already had a foam wreath form in my craft room, I snapped up two bags of the vase filler and headed home to create.

SUPPLIES | The supply list for the wreath is short (and cheap!).

Materials:

• Vase filler (glittery foam balls)
• Hot glue gun/glue sticks (make sure you have plenty of sticks on hand)
• Foam wreath form

THE PROCESS | There was really no method to my crafting madness when assembling the wreath. I basically started grabbing the little foam balls and gluing them on, one-by-one. I mixed up the colors and sizes as I went along. 

  
Should you decide to make a similar wreath of your own, here are a few pointers I picked up along the way:

• You may not think it will (I certainly didn’t!), but this little project will take at least two hours of your time to complete. I honestly thought I could finish it in an hour, but was sorely mistaken. As a result, I was up until 1:30am finishing it!
• Since the balls are made of foam, they are somewhat “squishable”. Use this to your advantage and squish the balls against one another to fill any gaps.
• If you have any gaps you just can’t seem to fill by squishing, cut a foam ball in half and use that to fill the space.
• Don’t let go of the balls to quickly after you glue them. Hold them for a few moments to ensure they’re going to stay. I had a few roll off in the beginning until I picked up on this.
• Be prepared for you, your workspace, your family and your pets to sparkle for at least a week. These little balls shed a lot of glitter!

THE RESULTS | Here are a few images of the finished wreath:

Because the wall area I wanted to hang the wreath in was large and bare, I knew I needed to step up the display just a bit so the wreath wouldn't get lost, or look off balance. I used a large frame and wrapping paper to create a display space, perfect for the wreath.

BUDGET FRIENDLY | As I mentioned, the materials for this project were pretty cheap, especially considering the vase filler was 40% off and the wreath form came from my local dollar store. Here is my (very roughly estimated) cost breakdown:

• 2 bags of vase filler: $7
• Foam Wreath form: $1
• Hot glue: $2
• Grand Total: $10!

That’s right folks, for around $10 I created this glittering, holiday beauty that now graces our walls and adds a splash of sparkle to our holiday celebrations. I must admit, I really love how it turned out!

If you have any questions about my wreath, please leave a comment with your question and I’ll get back to you. What fun holiday crafts are you working on this season?

Ps. If you’re looking for more holiday inspiration, check out my Scallops & Dot Felt Wreath (from last season) and my No-sew Felt Tree Skirt. Also, if you missed out on the template freebie I posted earlier today, you can find it here.

What a Girl Loves - Patriotic Party

I love patriotic holidays, and the Fourth of July is no exception! Growing up, my parents threw the best July 4th parties. Each year, their farm was packed with people, food, fireworks and fun. It was the place that everyone wanted to be to celebrate, and it usually turned into a pretty wild time. As a small child, I remember looking foward to the unmoderated sugar consumption along with the end of the night fireworks display. It was the best!

While I will not be throwing a party to celebrate this year, I thought it would be fun to create a small mood board illustrating the party I wish I were throwing.   

 As shown, left to right, top to bottom:

• Perfectly Decorated Patriotic Home 
• Whimsical Patriotic Cupcake Toppers
• Fourth of July Flag Cake
• The Perfect Patriotic Outfit
• Patriotic Jello Shots
• Fourth of July Fruit Pops

Take all of these items, add in some family and friends, patriotic music (like some Sousa marches), yard games, grilling out, and of course, fireworks and you'd have the perfect July 4th party! 

Nate and I were originally planning to leave town for the holiday weekend, but those plans have been moved till later in the summer. Instead, we are planning to escape the desert heat with a day trip to San Diego. Otherwise will be spending the rest of our time in the oven that is otherwise known as the Phoenix metro area (our forecast is for temps above 110-degrees all weekend). Needless to say, I plan on spending a LOT of time in our pool!

What are your holiday plans?

The Birthday Girl

One of the highlights of my trip back to Nebraska was being able to attend my niece Kylee's 5th Birthday celebration. This is the first time I've been to any of her birthday gatherings because her actual birthday, May 26, usually falls on Memorial Day weekend (tough weekend to travel standby). Fortunately for me, my sister decided to have the party early!

Page Credits Here

As I mentioned in my last post, my sister and her husband bought Kylee a Shorkie pup (Shih Tzu + Yorkie) as her present. Kylee is an animal lover, much like the rest of the Krajicek clan, so the pup was the perfect gift and perfect addition to their family.

Page Credits Here

As you can see in the photos the pup is ADORABLE, and not much unlike an Ewok (which is exactly what I thought of the first time I saw him)! Because of this, I suggested the name Wicket (the main Ewok character, who you see in Return of the Jedi and the Ewok movies). The kids liked it and it stuck! I must admit, I got a good chuckle from my dad's suggestion of Chew"barka" (since he does look a little like Chewy too!). Ok, enough Star Wars geekiness!

This little guy is the same one involved in the barfing incident. But seriously, how could I get upset at face like that? He adaped so well to his new environment. He wasn't even scared when he popped out of the cage into a room full of screaming children and "aww"ing adults. He had a blast chasing the kids outside and has the cutest little run/hop I've ever seen. It melts my heart. And makes me want a puppy!

Happy Birthday to my Sweetie :)

HAPPY 29th BIRTHDAY to this wonderful man:

A year ago on this day, we were beginning to build our friendship. We went to Macayo's for a quick happy hour beer before we parted ways for the evening. That feels like a lifetime ago. Who knew that in a matter of days we'd become a couple and you would end up being the man of my dreams. Happy Birthday Sweetheart :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

I received this lovely bunch of flowers on Friday. Nate surprised me and had them delivered to the office. Isn't he the sweetest?! 

The deep, rich pink coloring is to die for. And, the gerbera daisies/rose combo is awesome. I'm usually not a fan of roses, but I am now!

We're going to celebrate with a picnic by the airport in Scottsdale. We're both aviation geeks, so it's the PERFECT way to spend the day. Plus, it is forecast to be 74-degrees today and I need a tan...ha ;)