It took me a long time to figure out what I wanted for a mobile in Baby Lee's nursery. I wanted something handmade, but I couldn't make up my mind. Then, I stumbled upon this blog. There was a tutorial video and everything (I'm a visual learner!)...the blog is in Spanish, but the video is in English.
I went to Michael's...bought scrapbook paper, string, and paper brads. I spent a total of $7. Then my sweet husband hung it in the nursery. Now that it's up, I can't wait for Baby Lee to see it.

When shopping for Baby Lee's nursery, I found several items that I LOVED! Among those items was  a floor lamp from Target. It didn't have the lamp shade I would have preferred and the price was way too expensive for my budget. I'm sure to most people, $70 is cheap for a lamp, but not in the Lee household. I just couldn't bring myself to spend that much money on something. I even tried to find a wooden column at Lowe's to recreate it, but that didn't work out so well. My next stop was Goodwill....one of my favorite stores. You never know what you're going to find at Goodwill. Some days are better than others.
I found this lamp for $8. (I don't think I've paid more than $15 for any lamp in our house.) Here's what it looked like before.

I had a white lamp shade left over from another lamp I bought. I decided I didn't like it with the original lamp. I also had silver spray paint left over from another project as well. Total cost for a lamp: $8. That makes my pocket a lot happier than $70.

I have posted a DIY tutorial for making envelopes several months ago. I used our TOMS catalog for these. I think they are my favorite. I do love TOMS.

I'm been brainstorming ideas of what to do with all the glass jars I have in my pantry. Here's a cute idea for Valentine's day. Courtesy of Pinterest.

Here's a little sneak peek at my next craft project! I have tons of glass jars in my pantry and I'm putting them to good use. But you'll have to wait! :)

At the last rehearsal dinner I was photographing, I saw the classiest Christmas/winter decorations. I LOVE them! I thought I would share them with you.

Our family gave a lot of gift cards as presents this year. I am a HUGE fan of gift cards (and donations in honor of others) as gifts. The main gift cards we buy are Starbucks and Shell gas cards. Gas is a necessity if you have a car and gas is so expensive. And well, I guess when we give Starbucks gift cards we are just feeding others addictions. My husband loves coffee and I love tea, so there's nothing wrong with a little pick me up (everyday!)
I have posted a project similar to this one before on my blog. It was a letter project. You can use that same card sleeve to put gift cards in. You can find the template for it at Creature Comforts Blog.

Enjoy the project and get creative. Everyone loves a homemade gift... especially if there's a little something extra inside.

I love our home. It's spacious, nice, and I can paint walls any color I would like (something I didn't have in our last home). However, there is one little space that drives me crazy!!! The wall dividing our dining room from our living room and kitchen has a thermostat on it. The thermostat is off-centered, boxy, and an eye sore. I'm sure I would feel differently if it wasn't seen by everyone who comes into our home.

I thought of a plan to "fix" this. No, didn't move the thermostat. I just covered it up....with MAIL. I LOVE getting mail, and I keep cards and letters that are sent to me. There is something special about words written on paper... I just can't explain it.

I bought an ugly canvas with a beautiful frame at a thrift store a couple of months ago (I'll have to post the before picture later). It has been patiently sitting in our garage until I figured out what I wanted to do with it.

Here it is!!!!
Old frame, picture wire, and clothes pins. Love it! And that's a wedding invitation covering up the ugly thermostat.

I made this card for my friend that is deployed. I found the fun templates on Creature Comforts Blog.... but added a little more love to it! Check out the blog and make something for someone you care about!

I found this awesome wire basket at Savers last month. I thought it would be great for holding my big cooking utensils on my kitchen counter... however, the salmon color did not match the color scheme in my kitchen. I turned to my handy-dandy friend.... SPRAY PAINT. I had some left over from a previous project. Total cost for project: $2.99.

Here's a sneak peek at a project I will post next week! I'm sure the suspense is killing you.

I have a friend who is a high school teacher. She is a FABULOUS teacher, I might add! This is her second year teaching, so I thought I would make her a little something for the start of a new year.

When I was visiting her last year, several of her students showed up to class without a pencil (I couldn't believe it. Who shows up to class without a pencil?!?!??!). I saw some back-to-school printables at eighteen25 and I thought they were perfect for my friend's gift.


Another little bonus for my friend! I couldn't resist! LOL!

My husband and I have a friend who is deployed to Germany. I really miss seeing her every week, so I thought I would send a little something from home.... COOKIES!!!!

I used several items I had in my pantry and craft room to make something a little special for her. I used an almond can (emptied and washed 3 times, of course!). I found some really cute free printables on some blogs I regularly read (ok.... STALK!) and I decided to use them for this gift. Hello, Good Gravy posted some Mother's Day Gift Tags around Mother's Day. I thought they were so fun, so I decided to use them for another occasion. I printed them on 3M Full Sheet Labels to make stickers.  I also spotted some gift tags at I Still Love you. So fun! So cute!  Go on over to these blogs and print some out for yourself!
I had some ribbon and scrapbook paper laying around..... I never throw away scraps (I know I'm ridiculous, but if I think I can find a way to use it, I save it!)

Here's some pics of the process:






When I took the package to the post office, the guy at the counter commented that the "With Love and Appreciation" sticker was so appropriate. His comment, "I'm definitely not covering this up. I think your friend needs to see this before she opens her gift." That made my day!

I have a friend who works at a gym here in Vegas. Because of him, the Lee household is addicted to Vitamin Water (I enjoy reading the random sayings on the bottles)..... we LOVE it! I decided a wanted to give him a fun summer gift... just for being a great friend.

I found this really cute card on one of the blogs I stalk (yes, I know I stalk several!). eighteen25 is one of my favorite blogs. It is full of fun ideas and crafts. It is also where I found this card! I printed it on white card stock.

I also used a rope that fell out of a pair of pants I have. You know the ones that have a drawstring in it. Once it comes out, what are you suppose to do with it? I saved mine from a pair of workout pants. WHY? I don't have an answer for that. Sometimes, I really don't understand my thinking..... or ever!

I put all these random things together for a fun present:

 The finished product:
Oh and by the way.... my friend was so excited to get his present. It's the little and least expected things in life that make you smile! :)

I have looked EVERYWHERE for Captain America stickers. They are no where to be found. Captain America is my husband's favorite super hero and we recently had a Captain America themed party in honor of him (pics coming soon!). I decided to make my own. I drew the Captain America shield (and then copy and pasted it several times) and then printed them on 3M Full Sheet Labels. I should do a tutorial on this one day... maybe I will!

I'm posting these for you to use for your personal use. Maybe there is a Captain America fan in your home too!
Print on this paper:

As I have mentioned before, I am a blog stalker. I could spend hours and hours looking at blogs and then clicking on a link and spending hours on another blog. It's an addiction.... I know! But, just think... if I didn't blog stalk, I wouldn't be able to share all these fun things with you. LOL! That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Erin Vale Designs is another blog I pretty much go to at least 3 times a week. She is truly talented. She has a lot of freebies that you can download as well. I've downloaded several. Go check out her blog and download this awesome card!!!!

While I was blog stalking the other day, I found some really cool envelopes on Etsy. They were already sold, so I decided to make my own.

Items Needed:
Pottery Barn Catalog (I didn't have one so I used another one)
Scissors
Glue
Pen/Pencil
Ruler (or another straight edge)
Envelope Template (I found one here!....I blog stalk this blog too!)

Inspiration:





DIY:

Not all letters/cards have to be sent in the mail. As much as I love to send and receive mail, I also love to hand deliver cards. There's nothing like seeing someone's reaction to a thoughtful card.

Here's an idea for an envelope:
Decorate the outside according to what you have in common with the person you are writing to.

For example, the picture below is a card that I gave to a guy that my husband and I know at the gym. He is a dear friend to us now. He works at Anytime Fitness. (If you're in the Las Vegas area, I highly recommend this gym... especially if you work crazy hours like my husband.) He's pretty hard-core too! On his envelope, I drew the gym's logo as well as some of the equipment we use there.

Make whatever you give personal!

Next week, I'm doing a post on some DIY envelopes.... with paper you probably already have in your house.

Have a blessed weekend!

I have a confession to make.....

I LOVE MAIL!!!
I love to send mail. I love to receive mail. I love mail!!!!! There is just something about getting a letter or package with your name on it instead of bills when you open the mail box. I have always been this way and I'm sure I'll stay this way forever... well, I hope!
Send something to someone in the mail today. It will brighten your day... as well as the person you're sending it to.
My next couple of blog posts are going to be about some fun mail/care package ideas. Come check them out!
 Have a blessed Thursday!