*Sniff* *Sniff*

My baby is all growed up and turning 4 today.  She told me that on her next birthday she will be 16 and get to drive all by herself. I hope it doesn't go by that fast. 

She is off on a date with Dad to the movies and whatever else those two fancy.  I have a feeling it will involve ice cream. 

 This is the year of the princess party.  Well as princessy as I get I guess.  There is a Tangled cake being delivered this afternoon that I'm pretty sure I will never top. 

Pretty please.  Tell me that 4 year olds don't whine.

Happy Birthday Ivy.  You are the bee's knees. Love, Mom

{ps. tomorrow is the last day to sign up for our Friendship Bracelet Swap.  Gasp! Panic!  Go sign up quick!}

   

Happy Sunday

Insta Friday!

Oh Insta Friday {and Instagram} how I love you!  Here is whats been going down here in the Tri Cities over the past week...

The best part of being a parent is showing your kids new things.  Especially things that you loved to do when you were a kid. Things like playing hot lava, balloon volleyball, and putting a sprinkler under the trampoline. Even better is when they love it as much as you do.  Cuz you still totally love those things. 

My favorite sister came to visit which always means date night for me and Darin.  Harry Potter in 3D was the obvious choice this time.  We played Hanging with Friends while we waited for the movie to start.  We both groaned when the Twilight preview came on.

Obviously I've had friendship bracelets on the brain, so when I was getting my lesson ready to teach at church on Sunday about family unity, I knew i just had to make some of these.  {inspired by my friend Danyelle}

What do you do on a Sunday evening when the masses are demanding pizza on the barbeque, but you just don't have pizza sauce?  And you kind of have this thing about not shopping on Sunday?  You make your own sauce I guess.  Thanks Mrs. Wages pizza sauce mix.  You just add canned tomatoes.  Easy peasy.  Leave out the sugar by the way.  

I wish my buns looked that cute in ruffles.

My mini me.  The older she gets {she's gonna be 4 next week!} the more I realize she is so much like me in so many ways.  

It is seriously amazing what a clean craft room will do for your motivation to craft.  I joined in on Craftiness is not optional's June But dress sew along.  A few tweaks here and there and Ivy's got herself a new dress.  Which she needs like a hole in the head but whatevs.

Getting this girl to ride her bike can be like pulling teeth sometimes. Unless its in circles in the house. Last night we cruised around the block.  Twice.  She had a big smile on her face the whole time.  Gaining some confidence and a little competition was all this girl needed to get the motivation to go down the hill.  After that it was my regular dare devil back in action. 

Happy Insta Friday!

PS:: Only a few more days to sign up for the Friendship Bracelet Swap!  So what are you waiting for? We'd be tickled to have you. Grab a button and get to bracelet making!  

{copy the image url}

PPS:: Have you been checking to see what Amanda has been up to for friendship bracelet week?  She has a really great post on choosing color, a knot guide download and just plain fabulous-ness. 

DIY Hex Nut Wrap Bracelet {with Henry Happened}

Hey guys!  Are you loving all the bracelet fabulousness out there?  When I was searching bracelet DIY's I found Stephanie from henry happened.  She has super rad bracelet tutorials and I asked her if she wanted to stop by and share one with you.  Yay!  She's here to share here Hex Nut Wrap bracelet with you.  So pay attention class.  You are gonna want to make this...

Hi, this is Stephanie from henry happened. Thank you Jenn for having me on your lovely blog! I love all of the gorgeous arm candy everyone is making these days. Bracelets are colorful, easy to wear and the perfect kid-friendly accessory.

I have a little thing with bracelet making. It's an addiction. Is there a support group for this? But I see these fun, colorful wrap bracelets everywhere, and they are sooo easy that even this craft-challenged mom can't resist.

And seriously J. Crew, $36 for this?

Step 1: Get thee to Goodwill and buy a crazy skirt for $3. Then stop by the hardware store for a dozen or so brass hex nuts at 15 cents each. (You might want to pick up a few extra to make this bracelet.)

And you've shelled out about $5. (Why are all my projects $5? It's not a Lincoln conspiracy, I promise.)

Step 2: Cut a piece about 4 inches wide. Thinner is okay (not too much or it will just look sad), but you can't go much thicker because your hex nuts won't fit. Length can vary - the longer it is the more times it will wrap on your wrist. Also, the ragged edges are cool so don't stress about hemming or fraying.

Step 3: Tie a knot in one end and twist the entire length.

Step 4: Feed your hex nuts on, spacing them however you want. Don't glue them on - the width of the fabric will be enough to keep them in place. Plus then you can adjust them after you put the bracelet on.

Step 5: Tie the two ends together in a knot so it forms a circle.

Step 6: Wind it around your wrist! You can move the hex nuts around for a better visual.

I love the chance to wear a bold color. So, obviously, I'm a bracelet person. What types of jewelry do you favor?

Thank you again for having me! Stop by henry happened sometime and say hi! :)

Thanks so much Stephanie for being a part of our friendship bracelet swap! 

Inspire Me... Bracelets

Way back in June {cuz that was a long time ago} I was in charge of the craft for our wards mini girls camp. Glue guns and spray paint were out.  You know, being in nature and all.  So when I saw my friend Andrea's bracelet tutorials I knew what we were going to do.    I got some supplies from Michaels and the bracelets were a hit with the girls.  Well as much as anything can be a hit with 14-17 year olds who have more important things to do, like playing cards and tubing on the boat.  

After that I was hooked.  My bracelets board on Pinterest keeps growing because there are SO many cool DIY's out there.  I seriously want to make every single one.  Here are just a few of my faves to inspire you to get your friendship bracelet on...   

Source: lovemaegan.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Sailors knots and ombre from lovemaegan.  I die.

Source: sewspoiled.wordpress.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

I had a leather bracelet from Mexico that I cried when I lost it.  I'm thinking this will be an awesome replacement.

Source: honestlywtf.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Honestly WTF.  Wrap bracelets.  So rad. 

Source: pm-betweenthelines.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Crazy Braid.  I most definitely need a fabric scrappy bracelet.

Source: fourflightsoffancy.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

The tutorial that started it all.  My version for camp did not look like this version.  Sometimes you shouldn't wait until the last minute to get supplies.

Source: makebraceletsblog.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Add some bling to your bracelets!  I love the whole stack together.

Source: evie-s.com via Evie on Pinterest

Sequins.  I love the simpleness of this one.

Source: arefinaria.blogspot.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Do you go for the stacked look?  I have 4 bracelets that I wear every day.  Two I don't take off and two I add.  All on my right hand.  Because I'm not coordinated enough to use my right hand to put them on my left.

Source: everythingidreamed.tumblr.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Ivy tied all of my floss in a big knot.  If you need a better way to keep your floss organized, this is definitely it.

Now you are totally down for some new bracelets aren't you?   Go sign up for the friendship bracelet swap!

Button Bracelet Closure {with Modern Marigold}

Hola!  Amanda and I are swapping blogs today!  She's got just the thing for finishing off your bracelet to share here today.  And I'm sharing a little download for packaging up your little gifts.  Come see me?

Take it away Amanda!

Hi there! I'm Amanda, and I love flowers and sunshine. I love finding frogs and bird's nests with my two little chickies. My favorite food is BREAD (mmm bread). I blog about vintage/modern style, sewing, and my domestic (mis?)adventures over at The Modern Marigold -- come visit, ok?

And do you know what else I love? Friendship bracelets, of course!
(Jenn is a genius for dreaming this swap up.)
And I'm so glad you decided to swap. (You emailed us, right? Right!)

I love wearing friendship bracelets, but I don't want to wear them 24/7. Although they would make awesome imprints on your face after you've slept on them all night {sah-weet!}. I couldn't really find any tutorials for how to make a button closure, so let's have at it, shall we?

First, you'll need to start your bracelet with a loop. 

{clockwise, from top left}

1. Cut embroidery floss to size. Fold in half.

2. Knot to form a small loop. This is your buttonhole.

3. Make the friendship bracelet {just pretend it's in the same colors, mkay?}

4. Braid an inch or so at the very end.

5. Then braided inch.

6. Knot the end of the braid nice and tight.

7. Thread one strand through a needle.

8. Starting below the button, bring the strand up through a button hole.

9. Pull the strand through.

10. Send the needle back down through the button hole opposite.

11. Pull all the way through.

12. Pull so that the button is snug with the knotted braid.

13. Thread a second strand. Repeat steps 8-12 using the other two button holes.

14. Alternating button hole pairs, thread all remaining strands through the button.

15. Braid a nice little tail and knot tightly.

16. Et voila!

In case you want to try some different closure methods, here are 4 more ideas for making your bracelets removable:

Knots at each end

Sliding knot

Loop + braids

Toggle clasp

{TIP: Remember to get your partner's wrist measurement if you use a non-adjustable closure method.}


Thanks for reading, friends, and thanks for having me over, Jenn! See you real soon!

Thanks so much Amanda!  Look at you go getting all fancy with your bracelets!  Luv it.  

Friendship Bracelet Swap 2011

Hey Friends!  Are you excited?  Welcome to the Friendship Bracelet Swap 2011! Amanda and I have a super fun week planned for you guys, should we get it rolling?! 

Here's the deal-io on the swap since I know you guys are ready to get rocking on some bracelets...

To sign up all you need to do is email us at 

braceletswap@gmail.com

with your 

NAME
email address

blog url {optional}

Then get started on making THREE bracelets!  Yep three because you will be making three new friends!  Amanda and I will be matching you up with three other people.  We will send you an email letting you know who you will be swapping with and their contact info.  It will be up to you to contact your new friends and get their mailing information so you can send them their totally rad new bracelets.


You can sign up for the Friendship Bracelet Swap through next Wednesday July 27th.  We will get you hooked up with your swap partners by July 29th.  Please, please, PLEASE!  mail your bracelets no later than August 5th.  

Source: honestlywtf.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Now just in case you forgot  how to make friendship bracelets, here are some refresher coursed for you.  


Honestly...wtf has been blowing me away with all of their bracelet DIY lately.   THIS post was the inspiration for our bracelet swap.  It has a quick rundown of how to whip up some bracelets.  


Right after Amanda and I put our heads together The Purl Bee  so kindly came out with an amazing tutorial as well.  Perfect timing!  


We have also put together a couple of Pinterest Boards with links to tutorials and some pretty fab pictures to get your creative mojo going.

Source: turnedtohippie.tumblr.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Now we know that the bracelets are the frosting on the cake.   The super cool part about doing a swap, especially a FRIENDSHIP bracelet swap is that you can make some way awesome friends!  We would love it if you all {and us} came away with new friends in your lives.  Go out of your way to get to know your swap partners.  Friends make everything better right?!   


All right.  Is that enough to get you started?! Did I leave anything out?  Be sure to check back here and over at the Modern Marigold all week for more ideas, tutorials and other fun stuff that we have planned for you!


{oh and did you count how many times I said Friend?  Cuz the first one to comment with the correct number wins a bracelet from me.}

Insta Friday!

Oh Insta Friday how I love you.  I seriously love taking more pictures and having a "camera" with me at all times to catch silly or fleeting moments of the every day.  Come follow along and catch a glimpse in to our week...

This girl has been cracking me up all week.  This was last friday and seriously one of the best days we have had together in a while.  The whining has been getting me down the past few weeks but this day I had a super non-whining girl and I loved every second of it.

We got all our jobs done Saturday morning and decided to spend the day at the "beach".  The river has finally gone down and mellowed out a bit so we hit up the beach for some splashing.  Too bad it hasn't warmed up any.  We ended up at the park 20 minutes later but she found a friend and spent the next two hours playing hot lava.  Yay for kids with imaginations.

I haven't been able to get all the fab bracelet tutorials out of my head lately.  I spent Saturday and Sunday making some and putting together a friendship bracelet swap with my friend Amanda from The Modern Marigold.  So stock up on supplies this weekend cuz next week the great Friendship Bracelet Swap {summer 2011} is coming and we'd love to swap some bracelets with you!  

I spent a good couple hours folding fabric and cleaning up the craft room.  I felt my creative vibes slowly coming back the cleaner it got.  It sure is nice to be able to see the floor ;)

We got a pack of feathers from Hobby Lobby and put together some barrettes for the little lady.  If only she left anything in her hair for more than 2 minutes.  

Ivy's new favorite movie is the Parent Trap.   The first time we watched it, about half way through she asked me when the parrots were coming out of their trap.  I'm pretty sure the anticipation of parrots is what kept her watching.  Now she loves it as much as I do!

My little "helper" tied up all my string in a big knot while I was working on some bracelets for next week.  I think its almost worth it to just buy new floss.  That knot is going to take forever.  

  If you just can't wait till next week to see what else we are up to you can follow along on instagram, my user name is jenn_warnick.   Happy Insta Friday!