2018 Planner DIY

For the past couple of years, I have relied on a planner to help me to stay motivated and organized. I have always been a list maker and I was obsessed with my Trapper Keeper when I was a kid. I decided to try to make my own planner this year, one that was more suited to my needs. The first planner that I used for 2016 was a nice planner, but it was wrong for me. The planner was organized by each month. Then, each month had pages for each week. So, if you opened the book, the pages that were side-by-side were for each week. The week pages included each day of the week broken down by the hour. It was way too much for me. I think that kind of planner is great for someone who is super busy and juggling many tasks and schedules. For me, I felt like I had to schedule each hour like I had to fill in the time with chores, tasks, and goals. Then, if I fell behind schedule or didn't complete each task, I felt like a failure. Not to mention, the planner was uninspiring. 

For 2017, I needed something a lot more simple. My husband got me a planner that I really liked. It was a pale blue moleskin cover and it was a day planner. It was organized by the month, with a calendar for each section and then each day had a section to write down anything that you wanted to remember to do, almost like a journal. It was what I needed then. I never felt like a failure for not getting stuff done. 

For 2018, I wanted a planner that had a little bit of everything in one spot. I wanted a section for keeping dates and a schedule, I wanted a section for organizing the budget, I wanted a section for meal planning, and I wanted a section for blog planning. That way, everything would be kept in one spot and it would be so much easier for me to function, it is my household binder of sorts and I love it.

You can buy all kinds of planers out there, but since my needs were so specific, it made more sense for me to make my own. I bought my supplies at Walmart and The Dollar Tree. The actual three-ring 2-inch binder came from Walmart. I found it in the stationery/office supply section. Sold right next to the binder was a bunch of dividers that were the same size s my binder, so I grabbed those too. Then, I bought a bunch of fun paper clips with flags on them, also at Walmart, I think I spent less than $10.00 on all the supplies that I bought from Walmart. 

The rest of the supplies I got at The Dollar Tree. This includes stickers, washi tape, notepads, notebooks, an elasticated headband, gluesticks, a desk calendar, pens, and hot glue. I adhered velcro to the back of the notebook (above) and to the inside of the cover of the binder. That way I could remove the notebook if I wanted to write things down. On the inside of the back cover, I hot glued a cute sticky notepad that I found at The Dollar Tree.

On the back of each month, I glued these sections of the desk calendar. That way, I'd have a place to write down more notes and I wouldn't be wasting part of the calendar. I had already had cardstock on hand. I  cut the desk calendar to size and glued it to the cardstock in order to make it sturdier and then I marked where the rings were and used a hole punch to make the holes to poke the rings through. 

Then, I began the fun part, the decorating of the calendar. I was inspired by the planner videos of  CheapCraftyGirl on Youtube. I intend to get more stickers for each month as the month approaches and jazz up the pages more, but this is just the starting point. I think that approaching each month at a time and sitting down to decorate the monthly pages will be fun and a nice way to relax, it will also be a great creative outlet. I think that starting each month with decorating the pages will keep me motivated to stay on track.

For the meal planning section, I designed my own weekly chart on Windows and I laminated it. That way, I could write down a meal plan for the week with a dry erase marker and be able to edit the plan as needed. Then, when the week was done I could erase it all and start fresh. I also printed out a meal idealist that I made on my computer a long time ago. I just wrote down meals that were cheap and easy to make and that my family enjoys. This list has helped me come up with many meal plans; it's great to have when I can't think straight or when we have a tight budget. Having all of the ingredients listed in the meals makes it super easy to make a grocery list!

For the budget section, I printed out monthly budget charts that I found for free on Pinterest, so I printed twelve of those. I also printed out a bill tracker chart that was for the entire year. That chart was also free to print and found on Pinterest. I also found a nice weekly blog planner free to print on Pinterest. Lastly, I went on Pinterest and found a bunch of inspirational quotes and I printed them out to stick throughout my planner. Sometimes, it's nice to read kind words when you're being hard on yourself. Lastly, once my planner was assembled, it needed something to keep it tight. With all of those pages and additional notebooks, the binder wanted to splay open a bit. So, I bought a bunch of headbands from The Dollar Tree. The packet came with an assortment of colors and I chose one that I thought would complement the teal. I simply used hot glue to glue the headband to the back cover of the binder and positioned it where I felt it could keep the binder closed. I like the way it came out. I really didn't spend a whole lot on this planner/household binder. I will continue to buy more stickers and washi tape for each month, but I will be buying them at Walmart and The Dollar Tree since I am able to find adorable supplies at those stores and they are very inexpensive. I can't wait to go find some Valentine's themed stickers! This is going to be a lot of fun! With any luck, this planner will help me feel more confident in my managing of the household and I will feel less scatterbrained. Soon, I will be decorating the house for Valentine's Day and before I know it, it will Be March and I will be decorating for St. Patrick's Day! Until next time~ Toodahloo!

DIY Cake Stand Using Dollar Tree Supplies

If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen a post I made with a picture of this cake stand. This project was super easy to make. I made it in two days because I wanted the glue to dry properly. I already have a very lovely cake stand but I wanted another one where I could place the gluten-free baked treats that I make for my stepdaughter. It didn't seem fair that the rest of us were able to have our treats displayed on a nice cake stand while she is reduced to a boring old plate. I wanted something special for her, where I could present her treats in a pretty and inviting way. Ever the frugal crafter, I decided to make one. While I was out on a girl day with my bosom friend, I searched the Dollar Tree for items that I could use to fashion a cute cake stand. I already had some ideas in mind, after searching the Dollar Tree website.

I knew the plate and bowl that I wanted, so I was able to find them quickly. I thought that I wanted to use another candlestick, but then I found the one that I chose. It is very solid and sturdy, and it was even heavier than the one that I had originally intended to use. Those candlesticks come in black or white, so I chose black. Then, I needed and handle. At first, I looked for a knob, but couldn't find one. Then, I looked and tealight candle holders, but I couldn't find one that I liked. I decided to think outside of the box and headed to the toy section. There, I found rubber farm animals and I thought that the sheep was not only the perfect size and weight for the handle, but it also matched the color scheme.

After I brought the candlestick home, I noticed that it was scuffed up. I decided to paint the entire surface with chalkboard paint, simply because I had it on hand. I left it on my deck to dry while I worked on the rest of the cake stand,

Using a clear salad bowl that I found in the catering section, I used the super glue that they sell at the Dollar Tree to stick the sheep to the bottom of the bowl. I flipped the bowl upside down, squeezed a tiny bit of glue to the bottom of the sheep's hooves and centered it onto the underside of the bowl. I set the bowl aside and allowed for it to dry overnight.

Next, I wanted to glue the candlestick to the underside of the plate. I found the center of the plate and I used a dry erase marker to trace the shape of the top of the candlestick. This way I could place super glue on the plate and the candlestick so they would adhere more securely.

After squeezing a bead of glue around the perimeter of the candlestick top, I added more glue on the circle outline and carefully placed the candlestick on the underside of the plate. I let that dry over night.

The next day, I had an adorable cake stand. The bowl just barely fit on top of the plate, so keeping it on was tricky. I need to add a lip along the edge of the plate to keep the top on better. Were I to try this again, I might use one of the plate chargers that are sold in the dish aisle. I really do like how this came out. It almost has that "Farmhouse Chic" that ladies seem to be going gaga over lately. I am just happy to have a cute cake stand for the gluten-free goodies. It fits the decor of my kitchen and it only cost me $4.00 to make, because I already had the glue and painting the candlestick is entirely optional. If you were going to do this with all new supplies, it could be done for $5.00, not including tax. Still, a nice bargain for something that you will only use on certain occasions. This would be a cute thing to try for different holidays, too. Think of the fun you could have with holiday decorations for the handle, and festive colors for the base! I had a lot of fun doing this and would likely try it out again. Until next time~ Toodahloo!

Tackling Small Home DIY's and Pretending To Know What I'm Doing pt. 1

My laminate countertop after I sanded and cleaned the surface.

 I admit it, I am a bit of a home improvement diy wannabe. If I were a Spice Girl, I'd be "Crafty Spice," because I need to create. Growing up, I watched endless hours of  This Old House and Hometime on PBS. When the diy channel and HGTV became available on my cable channel package, I was a bit excited in a very dorky kind of way. To me, an idea of a good time is to cuddle up to my husband and watch Chip and Jo Jo and marvel at the before and after. When we were first able to get into our house last year, my husband spent a lot of time removing carpets and gutting the bathroom, while I scrubbed and painted walls. My kitchen needed love. When we are totally done with the kitchen, I will do an entire post on the before and after. Here I just want to show what I did to my countertops since I needed to re-paint a section last week. **I am not a professional. I am a novice, a housewife who experiments with inexpensive diy solutions. This is not recommended as a tutorial, it is simply a "show and tell" type of post. I am NOT an expert, I'm just showing you what I did..**

Adding a layer of primer.

 When we moved into our home it needed a lot of TLC. Most of it was on the surface. The old gal just needed a makeover with a little nip-tuck in one area. The rest of the makeover just involved some fresh paint, flooring, and curtains. With a bit of wall art, throw pillows and candles here and there. Since there was a lot of little things and an entirely new bathroom to install, keep on a tight budget was our only option. We didn't have the time nor the money to fuss about with installing new countertops. So, I did some research on Pinterest ( something I did A LOT during our home makeover) and I found a solution for updating our countertops for very little money. I bought a can of black chalkboard paint for $10.00 and a small foam roller for around $5 (we already had the roller handle, we just needed more sponge rolls). I already had a can of paint latex with a built-in primer, so I used that to prime the surface. The first time I did this last year, I skipped sanding the countertops. I shouldn't have done that, but I was in a rush. I recommend sanding the laminate surface and cleaning it so that the paint can really adhere to the laminate countertop. Since I skipped that step, it peeled off last week, which was why I had to do it again. This time I did it the right way.

My laminate countertop after the primer had dried.

 After sanding and cleaning the surface, I painted two layers of primer on the entire area. I made certain to really let these dry before adding another coat. This primer and the chalkboard paint took twice as long to dry because it was very humid outside.

My laminate countertop after I painted a few layers of chalkboard paint onto the surface.

 Once the primer was dry, I painted three coats of chalkboard paint, making sure the layers were dry before adding another. I really should have let each coat dry for a day to harden properly, but when you have pets trying to jump on the countertops and you need to use the countertop, that is hard to do. I should have waited a day to let things really dry and made sure to do it when it isn't humid. After all of my hard work, once hot dinner plate on the paint made the paint bubble and peel away. This didn't happen last year because we weren't living in the house yet, so it had plenty of time to harden, not to mention it was colder and not at all humid. I have covered the spots with electrical tape in order to conceal the spots and also to protect the paint from peeling even more.

The end result after two layers of wax.

Once the paint was dry, I smoothed on a layer of butcher's wax all over the top surface and I waited for it to dry. After the wax hardened I buffed the wax until shiny and smooth, then I added one more layer for extra measure. I really do love the look of this, it's a fantastic solution for revamping a laminate countertop when you are on a budget. Down the road, we will be replacing these, but for now, this works. The only thing that I didn't use to make this a total success was PATIENCE. If you don't let the paint harden for at least 8 hours after it has dried, it will not set correctly. It's a lot like painting your fingernails. If you add a base coat, you let it dry before adding your nail color. If you don't let you nail color harden between coats and then try to add a topcoat, the nails never dry completely and your nails smudge.
When the weather changes to more Fall-like weather and the humidity finally dissipates, I will touch up the spots to peeled. Until then, the tape covers it nicely, the color is an exact match, fortunately! This post proved to be longer than I had expected. So, I will post about my other diy project in the next post. This post isn't meant to be a tutorial by any measure. I am a novice who needed an inexpensive solution and this is how I solved my problem. There is paint made specifically for countertops, but those kits are so pricey, that you might as well buy a new countertop for the price. This is what I did for my home and it worked, but it still needs to be corrected in a few areas. At any rate, I hope you enjoyed my little experiment.
 Until next time~ Toodahloo!

Fall Has Arrived

Fresh apples from the local orchard.

 According to the Autumnal Equinox that just passed over the week, Fall is officially here. I have seen little signs of its arrival, with all the candy corns, pumpkin scented candles, pumpkin spice coffee on the shelves in stores. The new Fall line-up is coming this week on tv. Soon, I will be able to cozy up with a warm blanket and a hot cocoa and watch Poldark. I even found delicious Macintosh apples from the local orchard at our grocery store. When you grow up in a town that has an orchard, not mention the numerous apple orchards in surrounding towns, you get to enjoy the tradition of fresh apples in the Fall. It won't be long before we jump in the van with the kids and the dog and take a trip to a nearby orchard for apple picking and pumpkin harvesting. Not to mention a trip to a local corn maze.
 I have been preparing for fall by gathering my old decorations and finding new additions to my collection. I have also been working on home diys that will be harder to do once the chillier weather sets in. This week, I will be gathering materials to help winterize my home. Last year was our first fall and winter in our home. We didn't get to move in until October and by then, we were exhausted from home decorating and remodeling. We didn;t have any more energy to expel on the house. Instead, we wanted to focus on the home. That being said, we learned over the winter where all the drafts and cracks were. So, this week, I am being proactive and will be gathering supplies to help make the home warmer. Not that the house was too drafty, but I'd prefer to eliminate all, or at least reduce as many as I possible, drafts.It is much better for our wallets to keep the house snug in the winter. 
   

Late summer wildflowers in bloom.

 I'm itching to decorate the inside of my home with my Fall decor, but I'm waiting for the perfect day. Last week it was very summery weather and this week will be much the same. It's hard to get in the Autumnal mood when it is sunny and 80 degrees outside. I've had only one cashmere day so far. I just can't bring myself to decorate, yet. Traditionally, I don't do much decorating until October anyway. I certainly don't put out my Halloween decor until after Columbus Day. So for now, I think I will continue to gather my supplies and wait patiently until the right time arrives. This week, I am having a long overdue girls day out with my childhood friend, who is still my dearest friend. It will be a nice break from the preparations. Still, will we are on our adventure, I will certainly be gathering materials for my decorating, crafting, and winterizing. I'm just looking forward to chatting like little chipmunks and consuming far too much caffeine.

Murr the cat isn't ready for Fall either. He prefers the sunny spots of summer.

In my next post, I will tell you all about some of the recent diy projects that I've tackling. There will be more to come next week, too! Until then~ Toodahloo!

T-Shirt Refashion

 This week has been a doozy! Most of the week consisted of days that were grey, windy, sometimes rainy, while other days we had flurries. It was a good week for working on projects. Today, it is actually sunny and calm. This is a great day to inspire me and to give me the boost that I needed to sit down and compose a post. IN the spring and summer months, I stay as far away from pants as possible. I prefer skirts and dresses to shorts. I reserve shorts for nature walks and gardening. I made a group of listings on my amazon wishlist for summery dresses, all of which looked comfortable, were modest and inexpensive. The problem with the dresses was that most of them came from China, so getting the correct size was proving ot be tricky. The reviews that I read were also very inconsistent. I think that part of the confusion comes down to the fact that women have varying ideas of comfort and fit. What might be too short or too clingy for one woman, might be exactly what another woman looks for in her dresses. Ultimately, I decided to find similar styles at the thrift store. I found a nice pile of cute dresses and a skirt at Goodwill. However, there was one dress that I knew I'd never be able find a duplicate for, so I decided to make one myself.

I visited my local thrift store, where you can fill a bag full ( I mean FULL) with clothes for $3.00. It's fantastic for crafting. I think I'll post about my thrifting in another post. Otherwise, this post will be way too long.

I was able to find a collection of shirts that had similar color tones and tossed them in the bag, not knowing how I'd pull all together. I figured I would decide the design once I brought the shirts home. From the pile of shirts, I selected a black crop top, a purple long sleeve t-shirt and then a grey and purple polo shirt. 

At first glance, the two shirts with the purple were the exact purple. The lighting at the thrift store isn't spectacular. When I inspected the shirts at home, I was delighted by the subtle pattern in the purple long sleeve shirt. Ordinarily, I would pair a pattern with a strip, but in this instance they work.

I left the crop top as it was, and decided to base the rest of the dress off of that, keeping in mind the dress that inspired this dress. I cut the purple shirt one inch below the armpit. That shirt had thin strips, which made it easy to cut a straight line. Then, I cut the polo shirt to the length that I thought would be appropriate. Again, the polo shirt had a stripe, so it was super simple to cut in a straight line. I left the bottom of the polo shirt as it was, that way I'd have a clean hem line. For the sleeves, I cut the sleeves off of the purple shirt and added them to the 3/4 length sleeve of the crop top.

I matched the purple shirt to the crop top, right sides facing each other and pinned them in place. I used a zigzag stitch with a heavy duty needle and slate colored thread.

When I was finished with that, this is what the top of the dress looked like.

Next, I joined the polo shirt with the purple shirt, right sides facing, and I lined the polo shirt just under the finished hem of the purple shirt. This way the shirt would be bulky. I also, trim the excess fabric after the shirts were joined.

Finally, I added the sleeves to the drop top and cleaned up the cuffs.The shirt dress still needs to be washed and ironed before I wear, and that is okay. After all, it's still only in the 40's here. This will be a comfortable dress to wear on those days that are a little cooler, a bit less sunny. I really do like the end result, it is similar in style to the dress that I wanted and I know for certain that it will fit me. Best of all it was a lot cheaper to make than to buy.

My next sewing project will likely be a new quilt. I want to have a new, lighter in weight, quilt that will be perfect for the warmer months. Also, I want to make a quilt that will pull up more of the colors of our bedroom. I am going to get some fat quarters, today, and that will be my focus of the week. I have been wanting ot do a post on makeup palettes, but I'm still waiting on a palette that is shipping from China, so it could arrive any time this week. My fingers are crossed that it arrives soon! When it does, I'll play with it a bit and then do a post on that. Until then~ Toodahloo!

Spring Cleaning and Crafting Pt. 1

Now that spring is here, I'm finally seeing buds on the trees, I have been spending my rainy days crafting and working on home improvement projects. The race is slow, but steady and with the unpredictable weather, it's a cat and mouse game.  Some days, I get outdoor work done and other days, I get indoor work done. I am, admittedly, ambitious. I tend to write up long lists of tasks and projects to complete. I am learning, though, to not try to get these entire lists done in one day.I really want to beautify the already gorgeous yard, start a veggie garden, decorate the inside of the house, craft, prepare for next winter, plan a wedding, and do all the everyday stuff, like baking and cleaning, too. Again, I'm learning to NOT try to get it all done in one day, I've been finding a tremendous amount of inspiration on Pinterest....

I began this project, last year, and completed it this month. I know that it was inspired from a Pinterest pin, which may have been art inspired by Pottery Barn; it was so long ago, I can't remember. Here, I took a large scrap sheet on panelling board and glued an assortment of paint sample chips onto the board.

After taking a break for a year, I finished gluing the sample cards onto the board. Then, I made a monogram template. I used an old cereal box and free-handed the letter. Then, I cut out the shape and taped it to the board.

After that, I carefully painted the letter "B" with black acrylic craft paint, making certain to not get under the template.

The end result was a fun piece of wall art that cheers up an empty space on my dining room wall. 

This is an entirely different sort of craft project. Here, I made small fire starters. In the winter, we burn wood to heat the home. On damp days, I often have a difficult time getting the fire to catch. So, I decided to make these, ahead of time, and save myself some frustration this winter. I squirrelled away some toilet tissue rolls and dryer lint. In know that sounds a bit like an episode of Hoarders. However, I figured that since I'd throw this out anyway, why not make some use for it. So, I collected my dryer lint and kept it in a bag. Once I had enough cardboard rolls, I cut them into smaller bits.

I lined the cardboard rounds onto a cookie sheet and stuffed them with the dryer lint. After which, I melted some paraffin wax, that my mother hand on hand, and I poured the wax onto the dryer lint. I know this seems very odd, especially since it will be months before I'll even use these. However, I know that once summer comes around, I'll be busy gardening and I won't have time for this. I'm trying to prepare for winter ahead of time; this way, I'll be set once the cold weather returns. For now, I have these stored away in a box. Once winter arrives, it will be one less thing for me to worry about. 

I will be continuing to prepare for the colder seasons, periodically, between now and the fall months and I'll post about those projects as I work on them. For now I'm focusing more on spring time projects and preparing for the summer months. I have more crafts that I have been working on, but it would have made this post far too long; which is why I'm posting a part two to this. Between now and the next post, I'll be crafting, baking and diy-ing even more.and I'll have much to share with you all. Keep an eye out on my instagram and tumblr page for posts. Until next time~ Toodahloo!

I Made A Kitchen Chalkboard!

Now that Spring is here I've been itching to do some housework. While it's still far too cold to do any yard work or work on my front porch, it was in the 30's today, I can still spruce up the interior of the home. The other day, I began working on touching up some of the paint that has chipped away throughout the house. Then, I decided that I really wanted to have some sort of message center in the kitchen. We do have a bulletin board, of sorts, but I wanted something different. After being totally incapable of finding my roll of cork, I decided to just have a chalkboard. The entire project was completed using materials that we already had around the house!

Since I am not handy with a saw or a drill, I had the mister construction the board bit. It already looked like a chalk board, even without the paint. Then, I spent the bulk of the weekend in a minivan travelling up north to see choral competitions. So, this had to wait until I wasn't exhausted anymore.

I first began my painting stage by painting a layer of chalkboard paint on the inside surface of the board. We did tape off the edges of the frame so that I wouldn't accidentally get paint on the it. 

I had to allow the chalk paint to dry between layers; this is when I painted the frame.

After a suggestion from the mister, I found a phrase that I liked on Pinterest and I painted that on the sides of the frame. I used white acrylic paint for this step.

After everything had dried, I "distressed" the board. I first used sandpaper to wear down some of the edges and to rub off some paint. Then, I used brown shoe polish to rub onto the exposed wood, I also smudged it over the white letters and on the sides of the frame, in order to make it look aged. I really like the way it worked out. I especially like that everything was made with materials that I already had (besides the shoe polish). Now, I can post what's for dinner and we won't have to answer the question "What's for dinner?" Also, if there's a school event coming up, we can write it on the board to remind ourselves. That is one crafty project down with many more to go. I will keep you updated as I complete more projects, Until next time~ Toodahloo!

How I Made My Own Weeping Angel Tree Topper

It's taken me a while to finally sit down and write a new post. I knew what I wanted to write about, but it seemed like such a daunting task. I'm not certain why, perhaps it was the thought of uploading photos that has turned me off from this, but I decided that enough was enough and it was time to post again. So, I'm at my desk, the window above is displaying a grey morning, snow is lurking high above; a Spotify playlist is echoing throughout the room. I'm contemplating on making a latte, but I know that is just a ploy to distract myself from completing my writing. I refuse to be distracted. My reward for finishing this is cuddle time with the dogs, whilst watching the latest episode of "Younger." I know that I have a busy weekend ahead of me and I need to get a lot of things done before the weekend begins.
I DIGRESS!

Back in December, I was in full on festive mode. I spent a great deal of time decorating the house and making tree ornaments. The Mister and I decided early on that this year's Christmas tree was going to have a "Doctor Who" theme. We already had white lights, so we bought blue lights, blue and silver balls, blue ribbon, silver garland,etc. I also made Dalek inspired balls, as well as Cybermen balls. What really pulled it all together was the Weeping Angel Christmas tree topper that I made. Here is how I did this....

I started with a Barbie that I acquired at the local thrift store. I braided her hair and fashioned the tail end of the braid into a bun. I fastened it together with clear tape at the bottom and tucked it under. Then, I removed her legs (sorry, but it was for a worthy cause.)

Next, I took a large plastic drinking cup that I found in the clearance section at Wal*Mart and I cut an "X" into the bottom of the cup. I used a marker to mark the X for carving. I VERY, VERY carefully used and x-acto knife to accomplish this part. After the X was in place, I squeezed the bottom of the doll into the X. Using and X, instead of making a hole helps to keep the doll firmly in place. This was to create a skirt and to have an opening to use to place her on top of the tree. I positioned her at the point of her waist and then I hot glued her in place, for extra security. 

Once the doll was in place, and still had my hot glue gun plugged in, I glued her arm over her eyes, so that she appeared to be shielding her eyes. Then, I took scrap fabric from a previous project and glued it on to look like a loose dress.

I made angel wings by cutting out the shape from a plastic gallon milk jug. Then, I layered "feathers" cut from a paper grocery bag and glued them onto the plastic wings. I made certain to include tabs so that I had a way to glue the wings onto the back of the doll.

 Once the wings were glued in place, I began the painting process. I wanted the angel to look as though she were made of stone and had been exposed to the elements for years. I used acrylic craft paint to accomplish this. I layered grey that I made with black and white paint. I also added a little bit of mossy green paint. I covered the hair with the paint, as well as the wings and the dress. I applied many layers to get the right look. I also took the white paint, and watered it down and then dripped it over the doll to make her look very weathered. Once the paint dried, the dress was nice a stiff. It held the shape, perfectly.

Once she was placed on top of the tree, she really looked spectacular! Considering it only cost less than $2.00 to make and most of the materials used, I already had on hand. The tree was really pretty and a whole lot of nerdy! That is the beauty of being an adult and having the ability to declare that you will have a Doctor Who Christmas tree. Now, she is safely packed away in her own box, until next year.

There you have it, my post about my nerdy Christmas tree. I don't know why I was so worried about writing this. Yes, it is a month overdue; but at least it will be available for any Whovian who wants some insight on the subject for next year. Now that this is finally out of my system, maybe I'll feel a little less skiddish about my posts and things can get back to "normal."
I hope you enjoyed my nerdiness! Until next time~ Toodahloo!

The Decorations Are Up

This week has been one of those weeks where the weather was a bit off. The past couple of days have been quite damp. When damp mixes with cold, it makes it the perfect weather for staying inside and getting the crafts started, Earlier in the week, I decorated the front porch and took advantage of the warmer, rain free day while I still had it. The rest of the week was better suited for indoor work. I decorated the hall, the living room and the dining room. I even made a wreath today.
Next weekend (not this coming weekend) we'll be getting the Christmas tree. We decided that we wanted to have a Doctor Who inspired tree. So, next week, I will be focusing on making tree decorations, including a Weeping Angel Christmas tree topper. I will share my efforts as I work along; it should be quite fun!

Today was a very productive day. Since I knew that I was going to be busy with tasks, I planned ahead and let the Crock Pot cook for me and I let the bread machine do my baking. "I" made mozzarella stuffed meatballs in marinara sauce and "I" baked homemade garlic bread. I also took the time to make some Rice Krispy Treats. Right now, the house smells amazing! With the smell of food, paired with a Gingerbread Cookie Yankee Candle and soon, the smell of freshly brewed coffee, this house is very snug, indeed.

I have two pooches hanging out with me in the kitchen as I write, and they're patiently waiting for the arrival of the rest of the household. They look like they could use a bit of a cuddle too. At that note, I will sign off for now, I will check back in on Monday. Until Next Time~ Toodahloo!