Valentines { XOXO }

I made a dress for Ivy that inspired me to put together a Valentine's photo shoot.  It is the sweetest little dress, so of course we needed some sweets.   The Sisters' Patisserie was my very first thought.  Look at those yummy treats!  I was so thrilled to get together with these girls finally after talking with them last summer at the Farmer's Market.  Jamie and Lisa are so nice and I can't get over how fabulous everything that they make is.  

Well they say its all in the details and I knew I wanted little flags in my details for these photos.  I made these cutest straw flags and couldn't resist trying them out everywhere.  If you click HERE you can download your own sheet of pennants to use for Valentines Day!  Just cut them out, and using glue dots, fold around your straw, toothpick or lollipop stick. Ack! So sweet.    I've left one end blank for you to write names or a sweet little love note.  For the bunting I punched holes in the ends and tied it to straws with my fave bakers' twine. 

*Sigh*.  I love the little details.

Valentines {Jewelry Edition}

I was never much of a jewelry kind of girl until I turned 30.  In an effort to be more stylin' after that fated day I started adding more than just my wedding rings to my collection.  Jewelry instantly makes me feel fancier. Kind of like wearing makeup when you aren't feeling too great.  If you look better you feel better right?  And with Valentine's day right around the corner its the perfect time to start dropping hints.  

{Or shhh getting yourself a little something. I won't tell}  

And since sometimes we deserve better than Forever 21...

I can't wear earrings, I know sad but I'm CRAZY allergic, but if I could I would be rocking these ones.  Pretty much every day.  Found at Funky Vintage Kitchen.  Since I can't,  you should definitely rock them.  Or anything else from April's shop for that matter. ;)

Last fall at Project: Craft I got a Crystal B necklace.  I wear it all the time.  If I was going to add another one of her designs I think that one up there would be it.  Or this one.  Or this.  Ok I couldn't decide.  Which one would you pick?

Just don't buy this one from Spunk and Sass.  I'm still holding out hope that someone I know and love fiercely and makes my heart beat faster buys it for me.  A-hem. 


Now if you are feeling a tiny bit crafty here are some fun ideas to try...

Little Miss Momma's Pom Pom Necklace.  I made a pink one the other day and I totally love it.

Or you could make a braided fabric necklace with Cakies at Small Magazine.  I'm pretty sure you have the materials on hand even.

I had a bracelet from Mexico I lost a couple of months ago.  I still get sad when I think about it.  But I 'm thinking I should replace it with something like this t-shirt one from The Green Wife.  Ahh, the scrappiness of it all.  Makes me smile.

I even have a quick and easy jewelry idea for you.  Ready?

Grab your favorite color of Baker's Twine.  I snapped up a sampler pack of The Twinery's new colors the day they came out.  Hello!  Charcoal?  Love it.

Cut off a length that will tie around your wrist.

Then, tie it around your wrist.


That could quite possibly be the easiest tutorial. Ever.  Seriously. 


+++

And one more via LuckyDuct, because I'm pretty sure you know how I feel about it.  

Valentines {monthly plug edition}

Umm did anyone NOT get the flu thats going around?!  I am so glad to be feeling better, I was even able to go to Pilates this morning, which after a week off was wonderful. 

But now I'm scrambling trying to get caught up on a few days worth of things like laundry and cleaning, and a couple of things I've been meaning to tell you about {with a Valentines twist}...

Have you made it to a Passionista Presents show yet?  I have thoroughly enjoyed each one and I know I'm going to like this one too.  The Lower Lights will be here on March 5th.  You can learn more about them HERE, and I highly recommend you get your tickets soon.  Wouldn't this be a great Valentines gift?  I can picture it now...babysitter, dinner, amazing music.  Sigh.

Get your tickets HERE

Darin is having his last Intro to Lighting class for the season on February 19th.  He'll start back up in the fall, but that is a long time to wait. So check it out.  I think you'll love it.  {You don't even need to have a fancy flash to take the class, so there's nothing holding you back!}  What does this have to do with Valentines?  Not much really unless you are treating yourself, or someone you know.  You can convince your husband it is an investment!

And lastly if you have a teenager in your house, then they would probably love this print in their room! 

Remember, its teen tested! ;)   I've got the digital file in my shop over there.  For only $2!  Just let me know the size when you check out and I'll send you the file.    Its available in 8x10, 11x14 and 20x30.  

So eh, don't you think those would be good Valentines gifts?  I'm just saying.  

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Valentines {Print Edition}

Can I tell you that this past week was lame?!  Ivy got the flu for the first time early Monday morning and just started getting better on Friday.  And I don't know why I thought that I could snuggle a sick baby all week and not get sick just when she is getting better.  So I have spent a considerable amount of time laying on the couch this week.  And whats everyone's favorite thing to do when we are laid low?  Search Etsy! 

Here are some of my favorite Valentine-ish prints I found this weekend...

Save Ferris The Yellow House Shop. 

I Bring Only This  Gumball Grenade  *sigh*

 Love Grows Here Good Day Designs

You're My Favorite Work of Art  LOVESUGAR

Fabulous I tell you.  Love them all. 

{Why you wish my parents were your parents}

My parents are very rad. Besides the fact that my Dad speaks Swedish, and brings us nasty candy from business trips to Finland, or that he's one of the best men anyone could know. Or that my mom is so pretty and young she gets asked if she's my sister more often than if she's my mom. And besides the fact they are some of Ivy's favorite people. They are kind of rad because...

They gave us an I Pad for Christmas.

{DISCLAIMER: This is not a normal Christmas present from them, they were very generous and kind and we love them dearly for it and not just because of it. And we promise not to expect gifts like this every year. Signed Darin, Jenn and Ivy}

I was going to show you the video of Darin jumping up and down yelling "OH MY GOSH! I CAN'T BELIEVE I GOT AN I PAD" over and over but I wouldn't want to embarrass him. : P

Well we needed a case right away and here's where the tricky part comes in. They gave US an I pad. Which means that we have to share. And unfortunately that means no ruffles, or red and teal when it comes to our IPad case. Sad huh. We quickly snagged up this one at Target, to protect our new member of our family electronic device. I wanted to make a sleeve to protect the screen though. My first attempt at making a case started out gender neutral. And then I thought just maybe, Darin wouldn't mind having one with ruffles. Grr. I was wrong. So that one went to my sister.

I got around to making another one for us the other day. I used the basic idea from this case and enlarged it to fit our new toy. This would work for any kind of e- reader or device that you got for Christmas as well. My supplies were...

2 pieces of fabric 10x30

batting 10x30 {i used fusible, but its not necessary}

velcro, button or magnetic snap or whatever kind of closure you prefer { I went for velcro on this one}

basic sewing supplies: machine, scissors, thread...

I'm not gonna give you the rundown on how to make this, its pretty basic, I just wanted to give you a couple tips.

+I used minky for the inside of my case to be extra soft on the screen. Minky is REALLY slippery, so use a lot of pins.

+With all of those layers I needed to use a denim needle to topstitch at the end, so a little heads up on that one.

+When you are finished and show your husband, make sure and emphasize the fact that you made it a case you could both appreciate. I'm sure he will agree.

+ If after a couple of weeks, even though he agreed that yes it was manly enough, he keeps "accidentally" forgetting to use it. I give you permission to go back and add ruffles. ;)

And just in case your curious here are our favorite apps.

Jenn: Flipboard for sure. You check all your stuff like facebook, twitter and google reader, in a magazine type format. They also have cool pages like flipstyle, flipeats, and fliptech. Love it.

Ivy: Cake Doodle and Cookie Doodle. Hands down. She would play these forever if we let her. I think they might have these for iphone too but I'm not sure.

Darin: He just loves finding all of these crazy apps that do crazy things, like the Black Eyed Peas 3d music video. Which is pretty crazy.

What are your favorite apps?!

{P.S. Did you know I still don't even have a smartphone? Since iphone is coming to Verizon {yay!} I'm wondering, are you team android or team iphone? And which team should I be on?}