One Heck of a Project . . .

Ok, so above is my inspiration for part of my Valentine's Day decorations. I was exhausted after camping with my Girl Scouts (probably a future post will reveal all, it went well) and decided to hang on the couch for the day (or make that 2 days!!) to recover and work on a craft. So decision made. Not too hard! I pulled out my crepe paper (used a pale pink I already had), a Styrofoam ball and lots of glue, oh so much glue!

So I cut the crepe paper into 24" strips and started to roll. And roll, And roll. Now mind you, I had 2 seasons of the Gilmore Girls to watch (oh Mom, I need more seasons . . . can you bring on Sunday??). I managed to watch most of the episodes (watching one right now while I type this!). That Lorelei makes me laugh!!

And here's the result! Just kidding! This is just the start. My little roses look so sad so they need more friends. On to rolling, and more rolling, oh yeah, and more rolling!

Now we are rolling (ba-da-bump! Try the veal!). Not looking too bad but oh yeah, needs more roses.

Will this do? So close but not quite there!! As I was rolling, I started to get nervous. One, NO WAY was I going to make 2 of these! Too much time! Also, I was well on my way to running out of crepe paper but I really like the way it looks!

And here's the finished project. I actually am proud of it and really like the way it looks. I had to rearrange the shelf because the original plan was to have two (reminder: NOT MAKING TWO OF THEM!) but I think it's big enough to fill the shelf!

I am only showing you this because I know you are sitting on the edge of your seat. Yes, I ran out of crepe paper and because it was so old, not sure I could match it. So this genius just put the open part inside the urn! DUH!

Once again, the finished project! I have to admit, my roses are a little tighter and bigger than my inspiration sphere, and probably took a lot more time to make, but I really like it. I did start to fill some frames but had to put the glitterfest on hold since I have neglected my house. Off to do some more cleaning and organizing but that will be for another post.

Time to Enjoy the Little Things . . .

Ok, so this weekend I am SO jealous of my husband. He gets the whole house to himself!! He can sleep in, take the dog for a walk, sit outside and read, whatever he wants. JEALOUS!!

But the truth is, he should be jealous of me. Granted, I will be camping with 100 Girl Scouts, sleeping in a spider-filled cabin, having to walk 1/2 mile to the closest bathroom but I get to make memories and see moments being created. See the thing is, I am a Girl Scout leader of 14 Junior Girl Scouts. For the past 8 years, I have lead a GS troop (3 of those years, I had 2 troops at the same time!). My oldest daughter, now 13, no longer has a troop but still participates in scouting events as a Juliette (independent Scout). I started her troop when she was in 1st grade, built the troop up to 22 girls (way too many!!) and we closed that troop with 4 girls this past fall. I didn't realize how much I would miss seeing those girls on a weekly basis.

So my current troop has 16 girls, 14 who are camping, and I am going to stop at some point during this weekend, in between hauling girls to the bathroom at 3 a.m., looking for the owner to the Justin Bieber underwear laying on the floor of the cabin and making sure no one runs and trips over a stump, to truly enjoy and appreciate being able to do this for my girls, just like my mom did for me.

My husband doesn't get to watch his daughters make S'mores tomorrow night, he doesn't get to watch them cook their own dinner over an aluminum made box-oven, he doesn't get to hear them singing their GS chants as we walk through the woods. He is a super dad, one of the best I know, and is very hands-on but he should be jealous of me this weekend! Hopefully, when my girls think back to this weekend, they will think about the fun moments, the time spent with friends and they will picture me there with them.

However, I do think my hubby should take the girls one weekend to make some of their own memories, preferably in the summer so I can float in the pool with a frozen drink and a good book, but that is for another post!

Getting Things Done . . .

My husband knows I just love tulips so he bought me these!
I think they look gorgeous!

Ok, so I am on a one woman mission! I have a goal and I am going to meet it. My sisters and my mom are coming for a 40th (neither mine nor my mom's - sorry Mom!!) birthday party celebration the middle of February (will definitely post about that because I am super excited and can't wait!!). I am going to do everything in my power to get EVERYTHING off my To Do list between now and then!

So I got all my Valentine's Day stuff up. Yeah! Remember, I started with this . . .  

and this . . . 

and now I have this . . . 

and this little cutie . . . 

and the bragging ends there because I also have this . . . 

Not too pretty yet!

I love these shelves however, I think they may be going away or getting moved to another location but I will talk about that later, once I decide!  Right now, they are a little sad! As mentioned in a previous post,  I am planning on adding some winning touches to these shelves. The urns will get a rosette-filled sphere, the frames will be filled, I am still searching for that perfect Subway art to fill the white frame on the top shelf, the vases will be filled with some beautiful flowers and I would really like to make a banner to hang on the shelves, mixed in with my Nana's crocheted hearts. I am planning on crafting, creating and getting my glitter on this Tuesday (I am taking 14 Girls Scouts camping this weekend so no rest for the weary. This will be my first TRUE test of being off the Coke Zero!). 

So it's definitely a start and for those keeping track, this is my third blog post for the week (check that!), I have exercised 3 times (check that, and still taking a walk tonight while oldest daughter is in piano), started cleaning out the garage (half check), finished all the year-end paperwork and financial reports for my on-line store (double bonus check, balanced to the penny - must be a fluke!), but I did have a glass of wine Tuesday night. Just one and that was after Girl Scouts so that should just be a given, so no judgement!

Well, off to go tackle the kitchen, finish the laundry and clean up, and then I have a box, a very large box filled with frames. Some need photos, some don't. 

And I am going to find homes for all of them in my house (we put up a TON of photos when our house was on the market). I also have two very large walls that I am going to fill with frames, one with travel photos, one with family, but that is for another post!

Get Your Heart On . . .

Ok, so it's hard to get your Valentine's on when it's all piled on the table like this . . . 

Or this . . . 

But, have no fear. I have been working hard to get it all in place. I still have lots of tweaking, frames to fill and a few projects to make. So here's the game plan to bring it all to fruition . . . 

I like this banner. I would like to hang it on my white shelves mixed in with some of my Nana's crocheted hearts.

I have two milk glass urns that I put on my white shelves. I bought two round Styrofoam balls that I plan to cover with these rosettes. Wish me luck on this.

And, who doesn't love a whoopie pie? I plan on making these this February for my girls. If they are good, taking to Girl Scouts also!! Those girls are tough and snacks have to be good!!

My girls are already begging for my mom's special Valentine's Day sugar cookies with her special cherry icing . . .  delish!!

So, my next post will be me actually doing some of the things I keep dreaming, hoping and planning to do! So time to get my V'Day on, but that is for another post!