Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Jewelry Boards

So, as some may know, my Ashley friend and I like to hang out and do stuff. We get together about once a week and just chill. Lunch, shopping, chatting, etc. It's been like this for a long time and we love it. Recently we decided that we could be a little more productive in our afternoons together. We've started a board on Pinterest, titled it "our projects," and have started to make stuff we pin. I'm happy to say that the plan, so far, has worked!

A few weeks ago, we picked a project to work. The next couple of "dates" were spent gathering materials to complete the projects. Last Saturday, we spent pretty much an entire afternoon finishing the project (and my afternoon I mean we worked from about 2 to 8, and ate pizza, and talked a ton, and then we played and talked more the rest of the night). I'm seriously so proud of us! We've actually finished a project!

So, what was this project we worked on? We decided to make jewelry boards. Yay! I don't have any pictures of Ashley's, but her's is super cute. She took an old picture frame, painted it a pretty blue color, and fixed a decorative aluminum sheet into it. Then she took a separate molding board, painted it the same color as the frame, and attached coat hooks. She's gonna hang them together, using the aluminum to hang dangly earrings and the hooks for necklaces and bracelets. Cute, yes? And I think she was gonna use ribbon to hang one or the other or both, and then use the ribbon to store studs. I love it.

For mine, I bought a framed cork board, covered the board with a textured material (and I don't know what it's called, but it's kinda like burlap, though much less abrasive), attached knobs, pulls, and hooks as well as some lace for look. The knobs I've used for necklaces, the hooks for rings, and the pulls for bracelets and dangly earrings, while sticking the studs directly into the cork. Here's the proof:

   

As you can see, I stuck two of the pulls (the black ones) upside down to use sort of like cups. Originally, I was going to use them to store the studs, but changed my mind and used them for hoops and other hard-to-arrange jewelry.

Needless to say, I'm very proud of my board. I love it so so much. And I'm very proud of Ashley and myself. We finally finished an actual project!

We're gonna move on to a new one starting next week. We've decided to work on some throw pillows. The hard part is ahead: choosing the style and design we like best (Ashley and I are known for our indecisiveness). Wish us luck!

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Welcome, February!

I'm not sure why I like February so much, but I do. Maybe it's because there are some holidays coming up, and one for which I get a day off work. Maybe it's because it's a short month. Maybe this particular February is fun because it's Leap Year.

Whatever the reason, I wish you all a wonderful February.

This particular month started with sleeping in (yay for still having Wednesday's off--makes the week more bearable), some light cleaning (my sink was FULL of dirty dishes--and it was starting to stink), a fun afternoon chatting and project planning and shopping with Ashley and Teagan (that baby girl is super smart and pretty darn cute--she's got a tooth now which just adds to the cuteness), and then some crocheting (I finished a hat today--one I'm very eager to share but am waiting to do so until the owner has it in his possession), while doing some movie watching (The Chorus--which I hadn't seen before and absolutely loved--and Dear Frankie--one of my all-time favorites). All-in-all, it's been a lovely way to start the month.

Something cool: I ended January with a temple recommend interview with a member of my bishopric, and I'll start February with another interview with a member of (the new) stake presidency. Also, we have Stake Conference this weekend. I enjoy Stake Conference for two reasons: one, it's good to have a bit of change (and I love only being in church for two hours instead of three and getting it done early instead of late) and two, the counsel given is always good and needed, and the Spirit is always strong.

And after conference, I'm gonna be eating delicious food and hanging out with some awesome people know as the Chinn family, and I can't wait. Superbowl Sunday for me equals food and family. I don't give to shakes about the football. I just want the comforts.

See what I mean? February is gonna be good.