My Favorite Products

Firstly want to say sorry it’s been so long since I have been on here! My life has been consumed by wedding planning, summer weather, and now working a full time big girl job! That’s right; I have a real job now. I work for a mortgage company in the document department. (My department receives deeds and records them) And I absolutely LOVE it! We had an ice cream party last Friday to celebrate the fact that it was Friday. I can’t believe how the time is flying.

Tonight, I went and revisited some of my old projects, just to generate some inspiration. And I realized something. My 3 favorite products are definitely stickels, pop-dots (foam dots), and Graphic 45. Here are a couple cards and a circus book project I did using my three favorite products. The circus book is using the same technique Allison used for her father’s day box. Book BoxI just filled mine with a scene after I hallowed it out.

Firstly, if you’ve never used stickles before, you need to try it!! It is a high quality glitter glue that comes in an abundance of colors. It will add the perfect sparkle to any project. Plus, it will never flake off like regular glitter.

My next favorite product is graphic 45. I love this company. They have such a vintage flare on so many themes. They also have great cut aparts that you can literally cut it apart, add a little shimmer, and you have a beautiful card in 5 minutes!

Lastly, I love pop-dots. It’s a tiny piece of double of foam that is sticky on both sides that will act as an adhesive and give it 3-D dimension all in one! I love to get multiple pieces of graphic 45 sheets and fussy cut them and then pop them up using the 3-D pop-dots. Then I add a little of my stickles and call it a night!
I can’t tell you how many project I’ve done using these 3 things. Ranging from gorgeous cards, to paper ornaments, holiday décor to altered art. These are the things that inspire me most. What inspires you?

Until next time!

Just as a PS… I have great holiday inspiration that’s eating away at me! Halloween is just around the corner; wait till you see what I have planned! :)

Have a great week everyone!

Xoxo Mandy

Halloween Witch

I know, I know… its only July. But hey! All the stores are starting to put out their fall décor. And besides… this was an AMAZING deal and a great crafty project. I was shopping again at Good Will (I really need to stop going there) and there she was… this little Halloween witch waiting to be taken home and revamped and improved upon. And she was only $2.99!!

She wasn’t bad to start; all she needed was a little TLC. After all, the charm is in the detail. All this project required was some pretty ribbon and a little bling. I pretty much already had everything, so it was a great way to use some of my stuff up. The thing that took the longest, was sewing on the trimming around the edge of her dress. But I wanted it to last, and taking the time to sew things on lasts so much longer than using adhesive. I also added black thread around the broom stick, which made a huge difference.

I gave her a belt using a broken clasp from a vintage necklace. And found a great jewel talisman for her to hold. Lastly, I added some bling to her hat. The jewel was actually a broken ring. I took a sharpie marker and colored in the jewel black and it was perfect! Then I used my sharpie and colored in some Maya Road pearl stick pins. Then adhered them to her hat and that’s it!

She is going to be perfect this fall. I’m going to keep my eyes peeled to see if I can’t find a little cauldron to sit next to her. I find that the fall is so busy as it is, so sometimes you just have to do your holiday projects at different times throughout the year.

Anyways, I hope everyone has a great week. On a side note, I start my new big girl job today!! I’m going to be working at the corporate office of Guild Mortgage. It’s a great company and I’m very excited to be given the opportunity. Ill let you know next week how it goes.

Xoxo
 mandy

Sneak Peaks and Updates

Well, Im back to work today! And I have to say that these last few weeks off have been some of the busiest times of my life! Here’s just a quick recap as to what’s been going on in my life. And also, just a little preview of something I’m working on.

I’m making a banner for the wedding. And I’ve already put about 12 hours into it, and I’m feeling like it’s going to need another 48!! I’m making the whole thing out of fabric and vintage lace that was my great-grandmothers. So it has a lot of sentimental value to me. It’s taken me so long because for the most part, I’ve sewn everything. I’m only using minimal adhesive, and I am not using any paper. That way it will last a lifetime. I plan on using lots of pearls too. So, we shall see how it turns out. Give me a couple more weeks for the official unveiling!

Also on this summer break I went to sea world for the first time in years! It is such a great place to have in San Diego, and I often take it for granted. I saw the baby Shamu while I was there. He was so adorable and I was so tempted to take him home with me. If only I had a whale sized pool in my backyard, I could re-enact Free Willie!!

I’ve gone to the beach a few times to escape the heat, but sadly, nothing will ever compare to the clear blue waters in the Bahamas.

Lastly, I just got home last night from a bachelorette weekend in Palm Springs for my friend Amaya! I have never been to one of those before and let’s just say I experienced some things that I never want to experience again. Haha! It was a great weekend and we all got really tan lounging out by the pool.

I gotta get going, but I hope everyone has a fabulous week!

Xoxo mandy

Houston, we have a Venue!!

In case you didn’t know, his last name is McDade. So I will become Mrs. McDade, Mandy McDade or Amanda McDade… I like it! I think it has a nice ring to it. Plus, I’ve heard a lot worse names so I’m very thankful that that is his. :)

Who would have thought that planning a wedding would be so stressful!? The sad part is though, that having 11 months advance notice isn’t even enough time for some venues. They literally laughed when I asked is next May available. Another thing! So many people have so many opinions; and that can be very wearing hearing what everyone has to say. At the end of the day though, we’ve realized that you can’t please everyone so we just have to worry about pleasing ourselves.

We’ve picked May 11th 2014 to be married because May 11th was our first date. Yes, it falls on a Sunday but it is A LOT less expensive to book venues on a Sunday. And Yes, it is Mothers day. But that’s what worked for us! I told him that once every 7 years our anniversary is going to land on mother’s day, but that doesn’t mean he can only get me one present. ;)

Anyways, the place we chose to have the ceremony and the reception is called marina village. It’s right on the harbor, and it is beautiful!!! We’re choosing to have the ceremony around 4 so when our guests go to the reception they’ll get to see the sunset from the room.

 

And the colors we’ve picked are baby blue, pale yellow, and cream. He picked blue and I picked yellow. I want the overall theme to be vintage, but I might sneak some Chargers in here and there just for him. I’m thinking grooms cake, lightning bolt sugar cookies…we’ll see! Everything is still in the imaginary stages and I’ll have to see how we do with our budget. I have a million ideas swimming around in my head and I can’t wait to start some of them. Anyways, I’ve only been engaged a month and this wedding stuff has consumed my life! Hopefully when I go back to work, things will settle down a little.

We shall see! Have a great week everyone!

Xoxo

Mandy

Shadow Box Tray

I have felt so accomplished this week! I FINALLY finished my shadow box tray that I started over a year ago! I have always loved little things, and I’ve been collecting them for practically my entire life. When I saw these shadow box trays by 7 gypsies, I knew it’d be perfect to house all my mini findings.

I didn’t have a specific direction when I started; I knew I just wanted to concentrate on one window at a time and tinker with it till I was satisfied with it. And after it was all I said and done, I must say it came together quite nicely. It has a lot of travel influence because that’s what I love the most.

It has postcards I got in Paris, a single earring whose mate was lost on one of the best nights of my life, a red bus I bought in London, tiny shards of sea glass that I've picked all over the world, foreign coins, and even a sticker with the lyrics from one of my favorite songs! Everything this shadow box contains are things that are meaningful and hold sentimental value to me, which is exactly what I wanted. Its all about me.

I finished it off by putting an acrylic cover over the whole thing and hiding the adhesive by using decorative corners. That way, the dust won’t creep into the crevices over the years to come. Now I’m onto other unfinished projects!


Have a great week everyone!

Mandy

DIY Gift Wrap

Something I HATE spending money on…gift wrap! The present is inside the paper people, not the paper itself. And something I never ever have…gift wrap for weddings and showers. I went to a bridal shower over the weekend for my dear friend Amaya, the other bride to be in my life. And we had way too much fun!

Anyways, back to the paper, I went out and got her a very cute little something and realized I had nothing to wrap it in. I went over to the bridal bag area and they ranged from $5.00-$10.00! What!? Are you kidding me?! Sorry Amaya, you’re not that dear to me! Just kidding!! So I went home to see what I could do.

I feel like everyone has a white box or bag in there gift wrapping box. It is such a basic necessity. And after what I came up with, white may be the only color I ever get again! I got out my stamp box and chose a large flower and some blue and teal ink. In literally 5 minutes I had the lid of the box stamped with alternating colors. Then I took my stickles and added a little sparkle to the flowers, and chose a ribbon to tie the box with.

No scissors, no paper, not tape. Yet…Viola!! A perfectly beautiful box for the bride to unwrap. It was fast, easy, and didn’t cost me a thing! I also folded a white piece of scrap cardstock in half to make a little tag. It matched perfectly!

Today I am spending the rest of my afternoon revamping all the white bags and boxes in my gift wrap stuff so they’ll be all ready next time I need a little something. And the fair opened this weekend so my honey is picking me up after he gets off work to go! Yay! I could really get used to this whole not working thing. :)

See you next week!

mandy

I Got IT!!!!

Well I have been MIA this last week because I have been on the ultimate dream vacation with my honey. And guess what!? He popped the question!!

We left Sunday night on a red eye flight to Miami, and Monday morning we boarded the Carnival ship The Victory. We had a room on the eighth floor and we even had a balcony! I had just finished my makeup, curling my hair, and putting on my dress for our first dinner on the ship. David was standing outside on the balcony and he told me, “come outside here when you’re done baby, it’s so beautiful out here”

To which I responded, “No way! I just finished my hair and it’s going to get all frizzy and windblown!”

Then he told me, “Just COME OUT HERE!!!”

“Okay, okay! Gosh!” :)

I went outside and he told me how he knew right away that I was the girl he wanted to spend the rest of his life with and how much he loved me. He then got down on one knee and pulled out the most beautiful ring ever. The exact ring that I had picked out 2 months ago when we went "browsing" for rings. Of course I said YES!! I was thrilled. I have been floating on cloud nine all week long.

The rest of our trip we snorkeled at Grand Turk, Swam on a private beach at Half Moon Cay, and rode the water slides at the Atlantis water park in Nassau. We finished off our trip by spending 2 more days in Miami. It was absolutely perfect and I couldn’t have asked for anything more. I am beyond ecstatic and I can’t wait to see what the rest of this summer has in store.

xoxo
mandy

This Last Week

Its Monday again!! And I must admit that I am thrilled that this past weekend is over. It was definitely one of the busiest, most hectic weeks of my life. Why, you might ask? Well let’s just say that I ate my way through the weekend!

Last week was my honey and mine’s one year. On Wednesday we cooked a fabulous dinner together, King Crab, filet, and Caesar salad. We both agreed that after a whole year of cooking together we have definitely improved our skills in the kitchen and we work very well together. It was wonderful, and he even topped it off by buying me a beautiful full dozen red roses.

Thursday was his dinner work party and we went to Shoguns for the evening. That night we had lobster, shrimp AND filet. In case you haven’t been there, Shoguns is a restaurant where they cook the food right in front of you, so its like dinner and a show all in one! His co-workers are so amazing and so friendly. Every time we get together with them, I like them more and more.

Friday night was one of my very best friends, Ian’s graduation party. He also went to SDSU with me, and he was the first of us to walk. I can’t believe that we are both done with College now and that we have our degrees! I will always remember that Ian and I took geo-science together. We’d go to class, stay for 5 minutes and then go to get lunch together. He was definitely a bad influence and that class ended up being the only D I ever got in the history of my education. Luckily, it was a general-ed course and a D is passing!!

Saturday was David’s 29th birthday. Wait, did you say 29!?! Yes, 29 he is. David is 6 years older than me and I absolutely love our age difference. I wouldn’t want it any other way. We got together with one other couple, and we took the bus out to Barona. It sounds lame, but we had a fabulous time! We had drinks before hand, and got dropped off at the bus stop and went and played Blackjack pretty much the whole night long. It was 3 in the morning when we go home. And the birthday boy won big! Over $350 dollars! I was so thrilled for him. He definitely deserved it on his special day. Happy Birthday baby!!

Sunday was MY special day! I graduated with a BA in History from San Diego State University yesterday, and it was unreal. When they started playing the graduation song, and I walked through the doors, I was so overwhelmed with emotions that I almost started to cry! I completely surprised myself. I think I was overcome with the realization that I finished college. When I looked up in the stands, I saw all my friends, family and loved ones standing in the crowed yelling and cheering for me. The feelings were incredible.

My parents had a post-grad party and David surprised me with ANOTHER dozen roses. All of my family was there to support me, along with friends and we had a wonderful time. I couldn’t be any happier of where I am in my life right now. I feel so blessed and so fortunate to be where I am today.

To conclude, and top it ALL off, I have one more incredible thing ahead of me. Exactly one week from today, David and I will be on our cruise ship to paradise, Oops! I mean the Bahamas, for a one year, birthday, graduation Vacation!! I absolutely cannot wait. This week I will be shopping, packing and anxiously awaiting my dream destination vacation.

Have a wonderful week!

Cheers!

xoxo

Mandy

(My second set of dozen roses from the week, Such a spoiled girl!! I deserve only the best) :D



My Girls

I am so excited I get to see two of my girls (Sharon & Allison) who I have not seen in ahwhile...PLUS I get to work with Mandy!!!! It should be a fabulous day. :)

Here's to all my girls

We will be missing you Ashley


Til next week....

xoxo
Danni

Scrap Paper Collages

Something I’ve always loved… making collages. Growing up, I was not part of a crafty family. We had crayons, colored pencils, and Elmer’s glue. That was it. When I would go to various places I would collect things I could craft with; like the confetti on tables at parties. Sad… right? My family knew I liked things like that, so they would take it upon themselves to gather things too. When I tried to do my first collage I used my Elmer’s glue and it turned out disastrously!! I remember begging my mom to please get me a glue stick so that my projects wouldn’t wrinkle Well I have come a long, Long way since then.

I don’t even know why, but it is so relaxing to me to just put on a movie (either Harry Potter or Gone with the Wind) and sit there with my collage box crafting. If you are a typical hoarder, oops! I mean crafty collector! Then you probably hate throwing away scraps of paper that could possibly, someday… well maybe someday be used on another little something. Especially if I love the paper, then I REALLY hate throwing stuff away. Well, I have a box of ALL those scraps of papers, photos that never found a project, half used sheets of stickers, and all the other goodies that speak to me.

When I get in the mood, I just like to get it out and go wild. I use whatever I want and since I love it all, it always has a way of coming together. I collaged my college planner earlier this year and when it was complete I fell in love with it. It was so ugly before, and after it was transformed I enjoyed it every time I pulled it out of my backpack to scribble down schedules and assignments.

Last week we talked about quotes, and another favorite quote of mine, told to me by my cousin is, “Its only ghetto if you can tell.” With that being said, it’s a little ghetto, but packing tape makes the BEST laminate!! I went ahead and laminated the front of my planner with packing tape and it’s the best thing I could have done. It sealed it perfectly and prevents it from getting dirty. And it only took a few minutes. The art of packing taping can be a little tricky because you have to make sure your lines are even, matching, and don’t get any creases in it. But after a few practice runs, you’ll find it’s really not that hard.

So if you’re looking for a great way to use, and recycle all those scraps, why not start your very own collage box? You might be surprised at the artwork you can create.

Have a great week!

xoxo Mandy