Craftyminx

Glittered Valentines

Since one of my big birthday goals is weekly DIY posts and it is February I thought I would start off with some Valentine DIYs. If you're not into the lovey dovey holiday don't worry, you can change up these projects to go along with anything. I think this project in particular would look great with black glitter for anti-valentines. 

You can really be as simple or elaborate with your supplies as you want. I used pre-made card banks from hobby lobby (but you can cut your own from card stock), Paper Glue, Glitter, double stick tape, scissors, paper trimmer, and a couple of border punches (these are a new obsession of mine and I keep buying them when they are 50% off or I have a coupon so you might see them in a few diys throughout the year). This isn't pictured, but blue painters tape could come in handy too, but it's not required. 

You're going to use two cards for this project. Trim up the edges so they are aligned when you over lap one card on top of the other then on the top card cut off about half and inch. Then punch the edge that you trimmed. Now when you put the two cards together you'll have this edge that we're going to glitter.

Tape off the edge if you want, then add the glue. I painted it on nice and thick. The thicker the glue, the better your glitter will stick. Cover the whole surface with glitter. Tap off the excess and peel off the tape while the glue is still wet. Let the glue dry. Make sure you do this a day before you really need to so everything can be completely dry before the next step.

Your glittered card will be wrinkled from the glue but don't worry! Iron the card (glitter side down) on a no-steam setting and it will crisp right up.

*My friend Reagan says "Chin-up buttercup" all the time so this is a little nod to her :).

Use your double stick tape to tape all the edges of the card together get as close to the edge as you can if you overlap you can always trim the tape off later. Trim up the edges when you're done if you need to and fill it in with your own heartfelt message. 

Want more fun Valentine's day inspiration? Check out the tutorial page! Valentine's Day is apparently one of my favorite holidays to do tutorials for.

Thoughts on... Budgeting

So we did it. We made it past the first month of living on our budget. The first week like with diets is always the easiest and the following weeks were a little harder. 

I've been using the youneedabudget.com (YNAB) method and software. You can read all about it on their website. I hate to say that I chose a budget plan on great website design, but I did. They have a really great site, an easy to follow method, and software that really helps. We're still using the free trial of the software but I think we'll probably buy it since we've been able to stick with everything for a whole month. Another thing I really love about their company is that they give free webinars on budgeting and how to use the software to your best advantage. ( I promise I'm not getting anything from youneedabudget for this, I just have really been impressed with it!)

Getting personal a bit, Sheldon and I have never really lived on a budget. This worked out ok because Sheldon isn't much of a spender. He's the kind of person that can look at his bank account see how much money he has and not be tempted to spend it. He's also the kind of person that gets nervous if his account ever dips below $500 and can constantly keep a running total of how much money he has at all times in his account. I am the spender in our relationship, not only am I a spender but I hate thinking about money. I treat paying bills and looking at our accounts with disdain. If I want something and think we might have enough money to buy it, I buy it. I never know how much money we have in the account and before I merged assets with Sheldon I would be overdrawn all the time! I know those of you that are like Sheldon are probably disgusted with me right now, it's fair. I'm really bad with money. 

So as I said in my New Year's goal post, if we're ever going to save up a nest egg I had to find a system that works for me before we would ever find anything that works for us and this one does. Sheldon and I make the budget together and I keep track of everything in the software. Having control of the software makes me more interested in the whole process and makes me stay on track and having big goals helps with my motivation. 

A few things I have learned:

• Budgeting is hard but it is totally doable! Finding a system that works for you (and your spouse) is the most important thing. 
• Being on a budget isn't the only lifestyle change that happens. We have had to change our entire lifestyle to keep within our budget. I could write a book about how our eating habits and home cleaning schedule has changed as well. We were generally lazy at home and now I can tell that by becoming disciplined in one area, we are becoming disciplined in many other areas of our life. 
• I need to avoid spending traps like the plague. For me, this means Hobby Lobby, Target, and the Outlet Mall. I go to these places and I loose all sense of reality and over spend every single time. I'm the worst at letting overly helpful (read: works on commission) sales people talk me into buying needless stuff. If I do go to these places, I need to only take my budgeted amount of cash and take a list. 
• Budgeting helps our communication. We have to communicate most of our purchases now, which we never really did before. We each have a small allowance every week that is our no questions asked fund (aka Sheldon's beer and cigar allowance and my nail polish allowance). Now if I want to buy something over my fun money allowance I either have to save up for it or we have to discuss it to see if it's something we as a couple want to budget for. 

So there you have it... what I've learned so far. Sorry if all this budget talk is super boring!! It's really the only thing going on in my life right now. Once it becomes second nature I will be oh so happy! I hate having to put my focus on something that I don't enjoy especially when it takes time away from the things I DO enjoy.

A Little Weekend DIY

Thursday night I was at Target and saw some moccasins that were on clearance for $6. They immediately reminded me of a tutorial I saw on the Five Sixteenths blog and I knew I had to get some so I could paint my own. 

Tutorial: Five Sixteenths - Neon Moccasins

The only thing I did differently from her tutorial was to add textile medium to the paint to keep it from cracking over time and I added some freehand chevrons to the gray mocs. I'm in love with these and can't wait to wear them :) Thanks for the great idea Moe!

30 Before 30

 

Click to enlarge

It has taken me a few days to finish up my list. I'm not sure why, but this year was really hard to nail down what I wanted to put in writing and what I didn't. I'm guessing it's because I want to actually complete everything this year and knowing how I work means if it's put in writing it might not happen haha. 

This list is printed out and will be posted on my mirror in my dressing room so hopefully I'll remember all my lofty goals this year! I'll try to be better about updating this post along the way and doing milestone posts as well.

Do you do a birthday list? What is one of your big goals this year?

Credits:
Tape Strip - Pugly Pixel
Kitschy Digitals Kits:  Thrift Store Grab Bag, Monotone Fresh Feathers, Granny's Sewing Basket, Fabric Covered Buttons, Woodgrain Papers (I don't think this one is available right now)

What I Wore - First Date Dress

 

It has been ages since I have done a "what I wore" post so I thought I would share my new favorite dress with you. I wore this to brunch on Sunday.  If you don't know about Red Velvet, it is a boutique owned by Elsie Larson who blogs at A Beautiful Mess. I was so excited when she announced that her Fall line would have a couple of dresses in plus sizes because her designs are so cute! My mom got me this one for Christmas and I still need want the Sewing Kit Dress.

I'm in love with this dress and I'm not ashamed to admit I wore it Friday night too when we went to see The Addams Family Musical. It was super cute with the coat I made.

My hair was still huge from the night before thanks to Levi and his teasing comb so I just went full on Jackie O for the day. I felt glamorous and cute all at the same time :). 

 Outfit Details

Dress: Red Velvet First Date Dress 

Pink Cardigan: Calvin Klein (I think. I got it at Sam's last year hah)

Sunglasses: Ray-Ban

Tights: Eloquii

Shoes: t.u.k.

Dog: Brody (Levi's beautiful Great Dane)

 

And for fun:

Sheldon loves to make fun of me. It's probably his favorite past-time.