iPhone Upgrade!

It's not what you think, I didn't upgrade to the brand new iPhone 5 - I went from my 3GS to the 4S.  I was up for an upgrade for about 6 months, but I knew that Apple would be introducing a new phone soon so I waited.

When the iPhone 5 was revealed I wasn't overly impressed.  I didn't want to have change out all of the chargers in my house and car and adding an extra row of apps in the screen wasn't super necessary.  The larger size of the phone didn't impress me either.  I want smaller phones, not larger.  My decision was easy when I saw that a new, 16G iPhone 4S was now only $99.  

Once the phone was ordered I wanted to design my own case.  I found a website, Coveroo, where you can pick you own case, your own design or upload your own design and even personalize the case.  I chose the above case and added my monogram.  When it arrived at home I fell madly in love.  

But our love story wouldn't last forever.  That first night I took a picture of Goose being cute, as usual, and I noticed that something was wrong with the camera.  Our house looked like it was filled with fog.  I didn't know if it was the camera or the new case so I took off the case and tried the picture again - perfect.  I had to admit, the case was causing my flash to reflect off the case and wash out the picture.  I've contacted Coveroo and they will be refunding me the money as soon as I send back the case.  I'm on a search for a new case now.  Sadly, I don't think I'll find one that I love as much as my polka dot Florida Gator case.   

University of Florida Ribbon Wreath

I've seen quite a few Ribbon Wreaths on Pinterest and I'm obsessed.  I could probably have an entire board on just wreaths, I love them.  It's a weird goal of mine to have a wreath for every event/season.

My newest Gator decor!

With the start of football season I started a wreath for my team, the University of Florida.  Over the past few months each time I went to Michael's I bought some orange and/or ribbon.  It feels much cheaper if you spread out the cost of the ribbon over a few trips.  I also tried to get as much as possible while they were on sale.

In total, the wreath took me about 4 hours to complete, over two days.  I'm SO happy how it turned out, I'm not sure I've loved any of my crafts as much as I love this one.  Here is what I used to make my Gator Wreath:

1. 14" foam circle from any craft store or dollar store.  
2. Hot glue gun and glue sticks.  I used about 4 sticks on this project
3. 10 or more spools of ribbon, varying widths, colors and textures.  I used some thick ribbon, some very thin ribbon, some solid colors and some with patterns.  I also used some glitter ribbon (I made sure it didn't shed glitter before I bought it!)  I think the variety is important.  Pick one solid color for your base ribbon, different from any of your other ribbon.
4. Wood letters from the craft store
5. Acrylic paint

The first thing I did was to wrap the green foam circle in my base ribbon so all of the green was covered.  I used hot glue to hold it into place.  Then I cut my ribbon in to 4 1/2" to 5" strips.  To cover my wreath I cut 20 strips of each ribbon.  I found that I needed some shorter strips and some a little bit longer.  I measured once and then used that to cut all of the rest, nothing was too exact.  

With all of the ribbon cut I folded each piece of ribbon in half and glued it together.  I didn't make circles because I wanted the ribbon to stand up off of the wreath.  The cutting and gluing of the ribbon might not have taken the longest, but it sure did feel that way.  When all of the ribbon is glued and ready to go, it's time to start placing them on the wreath.  

You can see in the center of the wreath that I used an orange ribbon as my base.

I didn't follow any pattern when putting the ribbon on the wreath, I was only focusing on filling in all of the areas.  I would place the large ribbon first in groups of two then I would fill in with some of the smaller ribbon until it was time to place another large ribbon.  The part of the ribbon that was glued together is the part that I then glued to the foam wreath.  This part of the project took about 3 hours and I have about 5 burnt fingers, but it was worth it.  I also didn't go all the way around the wreath, only the front 2/3 that will show.

While I was finishing ribbon, Stephen was nice enough to paint the UF for me.  When they were dry I glued them to the fatter ribbons where I wanted them to sit and they were set and ready to go.  The last piece was the ribbon that hangs the wreath.  I didn't glue it to the actual wreath because I may use a wreath hook at some point to hang it, so I wanted the option of taking it off.

There you have it!  GO GATORS!

Gator Football 2012

It's football season, thank God.  Finally.  Eight months is a long time to wait for football.  I try to make it home to at least one football game each year and this year we were able to get tickets to the first game of the season against Bowling Green.

My favorite 1.3 acres

There were a few firsts this game - there were entire sections that were empty, they announced that there are seats available for home games, our seats were actually really good seats and, lastly, there were points in the opening game that I didn't know if we'd come out victorious.  It's a frightening feeling.

It was very, very hot. We loved each and every cloud, especially when they are that pretty.

We're not going to be very good this year, so I have a feeling if I want to go home to another game I won't have a problem finding tickets.  Sad.

Me and my super handsome husband (ignore the sweat)

Me and my Daddy

The who group!  Lots of love in this photo.

Regardless how this season turns out, I'm a Gator fan through and through.  I bleed Orange and Blue.  I'll be there next season, cheering just as loud.  And maybe a bad season means we can get season tickets next year!

I love Florida - a craft with thread

I love spending time on Pinterest and Etsy looking at crafts that people have spent blood, sweat and tears on to create.  People are so much more creative than I am.  Not just a few people, but a LOT of people.  I think I have it in me to be creative, but I never developed it as a kid (I get embarrassed very easy and any criticism as a kid kept me from trying new things).

I saw this listing on Etsy and fell in love immediately.  She does amazing work.  I am a Floridian living in Atlanta.  Not only that, I'm a Florida Gator living in Bulldog country.  As much as I wanted it, I don't have $80 to spend right now on art.  There are just too many trips this year, and it's only January!  I decided I would try to re-create her art myself.  You can see from my picture above, it's not as organized and precise, but it's close.  Close enough for my house.

My first step was to find the plaques.  I tried Home Depot, no luck, so I went to Michaels.  It was by far the most expensive part of the project at $8.  I then painted with some acrylic paint that I already had on hand at the house.  Once painted I printed out an outline of the state and placed it where I needed it on the plaque.

I began following the border with my nails.  I used nails 1/2 an inch long.  I drew the University of Florida's F on to the area above Gainesville and nailed there as well.  The HARDEST part of the project.  Once all the nails were in I thought it looked pretty great!

Then it was time for the string.  I found a 750 yard spool of orange thread to use inside the state.  I learned that my nails weren't deep enough into the wood as I needed them to be.  Once I started stringing the orange a few of the nails that had a lot of pressure on them started to lean to one side.  I had to cut it all out and restart.  Another note, nailing into the paper leaves little paper scraps once you pull it away.  You can't really tell from far away or in the pictures, but I know they're there close up.  Next time I'll probably try pressing the outline into the wood and following that instead of using the paper.

I love the way it turned out, however next time I'll probably choose an easier center object - maybe a heart.  Maybe something else.  I'll give another one or two of these a shot.  It's a lot of fun and they are pretty unique pieces of art.

Any thoughts on what I should make next?  I have three more plaques at home.