Valentine's Tinsel Heart Wreath

All the Valentine's posts floating around Blogland lately have inspired me, and I decided to find a way to make an inexpensive, simple Valentine's wreath. Today, I'll show you how I made a little bling for my front door!

I picked up a 10 inch green "florist's" wreath form at The Dollar Tree last year and found the 15 foot tinsel garland on clearance after Christmas for $1.50. The wooden heart came from JoAnn Fabric (40% off!), and the ribbon was leftover from last year.

I started by pinning one end of the garland to the wreath form using a flat head pin I discovered on our bulletin board.

From there, I just wrapped the garland around and around the form, trying not to pull too tightly and snap or flatten the tinsel. Surprisingly, 15 feet was just long enough. If I had a larger wreath form, I'd need another garland.

I tucked the end of the garland under a piece that was already wound around and used my ribbon to attach the wooden heart to the top.

We have a most unfortunate looking metal front door. Blech. This means no hanging wreaths from pretty ribbon, but I managed to secure the ribbon to a plastic wreath hanger.

Despite the awful metal door, I was quite pleased with how simple this project was. The heart is easy to detach, so this wreath can be used again on the 4th of July and Christmas, of course.

{Have you added any Valentine's decor to your home yet?}

Linking to The CSI Project.

Vegas, Baby

If there was ever a time to wrap myself in a fluffy bathrobe, lock myself in the bathroom, and rock back and forth on the floor chanting "Serenity Now" to myself over and over, it would be now.

T left for Vegas yesterday for a conference.

Without us. Well, without me.

I'm pretty sure they don't let little kids into Vegas. Or at least that's what T told Natalie when she asked if she could please go to "Baygus" too. She is the last person that ever needs to go to Vegas. Ever. A trip like that would only end in a highly rated episode of Cops.

So she and Michaela Byrd are home with me until Wednesday night.

In all fairness, I was invited to tag along, but I didn't think that Protective Child Services would take kindly to finding two children left in the care of a couple of Pomeranians.

I'm not even trying to pretend like I have it all together, because I don't. And they know it.

I can't get away with yelling "YoubettercutthatoutrightnowandstopspittingatyoursisterbecauseyourDADDYwillbehomesoonandthenyou'rereallygonnagetit!"

No, that doesn't seem to work as well when they know that Daddy left on a plane for the magical world of Baygus and that he won't be home until Wednesday, which is also known as Ballet Day in our house.

I'm beginning to feel the same slight twinge of resentment that I felt the last time T left for a Vegas conference. No sick baby this time, but there was a backseat tantrum over a handful of crackers no less than 2 minutes after I dropped T off to catch his plane.

I have been comforting myself with the fact that T left his beloved flat screen TV unguarded and I will be watching as many girlie shows as I can possibly squeeze into my schedule while he is gone. I think The Bachelor in HD will be sooo much better than plain old stone age TV. Maybe I'll even eat chocolate, paint my fingernails, and let the dogs sit on the leather couch with me while I watch.

What happens in Virginia, stays in Virginia. Right??

Let's keep that last part our little secret, 'kay?

Stay tuned this week for a little craftiness and a Giveaway from moi!

Weekend Bloggy Reading-- Highlighted Links!

Weekend Bloggy Reading  is still open for new links! If you haven't taken a minute or two to browse this week's list of links, please do. Who needs magazines when you have free eye candy on your monitor?

The blog topped 800 Followers this weekend! For a "blog about nothing," that's a pretty big deal. I was so excited to see some new faces pop up on my sidebar. Several bloggers linked to my party on Facebook, Twitter, and their own blogs this weekend, and I'm sure the new traffic comes from their generosity. Special thanks to any and all of you who gave me a shout-out!

I thought it would be fun to share a couple of my favorite links from this weekend's party, so without further ado:

Veronica made some Valentine's Matchboxes:

Do you think Jane would notice if I hung out in her fabulously Transformed Living Room?

Stephanie shared a recipe for Pure Deliciousness:

There are lots of other great links to read through: recipes, stories, revelations, room make-overs, you name it!

Thanks to each of you who came by, and especially to the bloggers who took the time to link back and leave me a comment...I appreciate it more than you know!

The party is open until 10 pm (ET) tonight, so there is still time to link up YOUR best post of the week. The code for the party button is below, in case you'd prefer to use that instead of linking back. You'll find the party right here.

<a href=" http://www.serenitynow4amanda.blogspot.com/ " target="_blank"><img src="http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae332/Amanda_SerenityNow/Blog%20Party%20Buttons/WeekendBloggyReading.png" border="0" alt="Weekend Bloggy Reading"></a>

{Hope your weekend was wonderful!}

Come Link Up Your Best Post of the Week!

I hope you'll stop by today to link up your best post of the week to my Weekend Bloggy Reading party. I see some great links on the list...if you've already linked up, please be sure to take a minute or two to visit a few of the other links. I'd be willing to bet you'll find a new favorite blog! You'll find the party here, or just scroll down one post. {wink}

We're hosting a 3rd birthday party for Michaela Byrd this morning. I've been rushing around: cleaning, baking,  hiding junk, and decorating. I'll be back later today to visit those of you who linked up to the party!

Just a reminder...this month's Silhouette Promotion ends today, and you can use the code SERENITY when you shop. To see what the Silhouette shop has to offer, or to see what a Silhouette machine is, just click the little button below.

{Happy Weekend!}

::Weekend Bloggy Reading:: Link Up!

Welcome to Weekend Bloggy Reading! I hope you will leave me some comment love today and also take a minute to link up your best post of the week from your own blog.

Here are some of my faves from this week:

Sources Listed Below

~Leslie featured a thought-provoking guest post on Restoring Your Husband's Shining Armor. Good stuff!

~I fell in love with the rustic look to Jodi's Coffee Table.

~Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes? I am intrigued, Chiara.

~Melissa shared 4 Tips for Styling Coffee and Console Tables. Great photos!

~And moi?
This week, I showed you my new Snowflake Window and shared about a great Silhouette Promo that ends on Saturday. On Tuesday, I shared a tutorial on How to Make the Perfect Cafe Mocha. I opened up a little and shared about Friendship on Wednesday, and Thursday brought another Silhouette tutorial featuring a Valentine's "Hugs and Kisses" Bucket.

Time to link up your best post of the week to share! Let me know if you need help getting your link to appear.

Here's the button code if you'd prefer to use that instead of a link-back:

<a href=" http://www.serenitynow4amanda.blogspot.com/ " target="_blank"><img src="http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae332/Amanda_SerenityNow/Blog%20Party%20Buttons/WeekendBloggyReading.png" border="0" alt="Weekend Bloggy Reading"></a>





Party is open until 10 pm (ET) on Sunday night. Please leave me a comment with your link if you have trouble getting it to appear on the list. I will get it posted for you!

Remember that blog parties work best when bloggers participate, so if you have a chance to visit a few of the other links, you might find a new friend or two!

I'm off to get ready for Michaela Byrd's 3rd birthday party tomorrow morning! Thankfully, the birthday girl agreed to a Cinderella themed party like her sister had. This makes things decidedly easier on Mommy.


{What are you up to this weekend?}

Simple Valentine's "Hugs and Kisses" Bucket

I decided to get a head start on Valentine's Day gifts when I was thinking of a new, inexpensive Silhouette vinyl project to show you. I put together a simple Valentine's Day "Hugs and Kisses" bucket...so easy that even if you don't have a Silhouette machine, you could do something similar on your own.

My supplies:

• Two metal Vday buckets from Target's Dollar Spot
• Two rolls of Vday ribbon from Target's Dollar Spot (I only used one)
• Lovely, delicious chocolate (Hershey's Hugs and Kisses)

I took a peak at my bucket and decided I wanted my vinyl to be 3 inches high and 4 inches wide. I opened up my Silhouette software and played around until I designed something I liked enough to try printing:

I followed the directions included with my premium vinyl and before I knew it, I was rubbing my "artwork" onto the bucket.

And my final product?

I made two, one for each of Natalie's preschool teachers. I think they'll make a pretty sweet gift {no pun intended}.

{Have you started thinking about Valentine's Day gifts yet? Any simple or inexpensive ideas?}

A Good (Friend) is Hard to Find

source

I had the opportunity to meet up with an old friend from high school yesterday, sans le children. She was in town visiting her parents, taking a quick break from a hectic residency in Miami (she totally lives a Grey's Anatomy life!) I haven't seen her in several years, but when we gave each other a hug, it was like 10 years melted immediately away into a puddle on the floor of Panera Bread.

Three and a half talkative hours later (!), I left our lunch feeling as if we hadn't skipped a beat in our friendship, despite the time spent apart. My heart was happy to have had a chance to reconnect with someone who spent many high school and college hours with me shopping, hitting the movie theater, partying, gossiping, and shopping some more.

At the same time, I couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness, knowing that a good friend is hard to find. I don't normally pour my heart on the blog this way, and maybe it's a total turnoff to you.

But maybe there are other readers out there who feel the same way? 

I think women are inherently programmed to seek out connections with others. I always feel a smile on my face when I meet someone who I can relate to, share with, talk about my feelings with. I love my husband, but he just doesn't get into Project Runway the way a girl friend does. He doesn't understand what it's like to be a mom, to want that pair of shoes so badly that your feet practically itch, or how I panic if I've left the house without earrings on.

I have dozens of friends. Wonderful, sweet, sassy, stylish, smart, encouraging friends. But I sometimes find myself wishing for deeper connections. Something beyond the everyday "Hi, howya doin?" type of connection.

It made me think of the lucky ladies travelling to Blissdom this week for the big bloggers' conference. Am I the only one who sometimes feels she's standing in the middle of a big, crowded conference room, surrounded by perfectly friendly, lovely people...but wishing for maybe just one person to really connect with? Someone to tell how you really feel, someone you can call to come over for a visit when you haven't vacuumed in a week, someone who will tell you that you need to stop wearing those pants because they make your butt look big.

I don't have anything wise or witty to impart today. I don't want to sound whiney or ungrateful for the wonderful women in my life.

I'm just honestly curious as to how many other ladies out there feel the same way that I do.

Flannery O'Connor wrote a short story in the 1950s called "A Good Man is Hard to Find." I think she might have had it wrong!