tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73127461091466577252024-03-19T05:20:19.249-07:00Daydreaming BlissInspired design and crafts from a full-time daydreamerPaolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02335784925844489212noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312746109146657725.post-57365534675032983832015-09-05T20:54:00.001-07:002015-09-05T20:54:25.850-07:00Felt bows<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">I've been trying my hand at a few felt bows lately. I love how bows look on my little one, and they keep her bangs off her eyes, so that's an added plus. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I followed a simple tutorial I found at <a href="http://www.rufflesandstuff.com/2011/09/simple-projects-week-bows.html" target="_blank">Ruffles and Stuff</a>. I like that all you really need are scissors, a ruler and a glue gun. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">You can find the easy to follow instructions on her website. Disney recommends 1.5" for the small piece that wraps around the middle, but I found that to be too small and had to stretch out my felt to about 2".</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm pretty happy with this style. I might try it again in green. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZ_SNqEicWVjHLzFSeYja3aSla1ywVVh_mF7b7-8MWmERXXX9Wn9NXD6HSy0FWG5GHLm7AHZu3ou_qeJsmVq50Xam7I8eqCsfFjeanmsbR_oH2lpVYG9aTWj59QV2BtuT8jnYvtsU5D4/s1600/Felt+bow.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZ_SNqEicWVjHLzFSeYja3aSla1ywVVh_mF7b7-8MWmERXXX9Wn9NXD6HSy0FWG5GHLm7AHZu3ou_qeJsmVq50Xam7I8eqCsfFjeanmsbR_oH2lpVYG9aTWj59QV2BtuT8jnYvtsU5D4/s400/Felt+bow.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Paolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02335784925844489212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312746109146657725.post-38206234006710555092015-07-29T21:19:00.001-07:002015-07-29T21:19:24.214-07:00Battling Anxiety<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">I had no idea the calming effect that coloring would have on me. I'm seriously obsessed with it. I've been battling anxiety all my life, and the older I become, the more I realize how greatly it diminishes my quality of life. It's a daily struggle for sure. </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">For the longest time I'd chew gum thinking it was gonna be relaxing, but turns out it was quite the opposite; I chew really hard without realizing, and then I get tension headaches. </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">My next thing was playing with Play-Doh (who doesn't love the smell anyway?). This one still works, but when I'm feeling really anxious I squeeze too hard and then it's no fun haha</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">And just by chance, I discovered coloring just a few weeks ago. It is super inexpensive. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjck_1jGx4FLsgmjOklp1D-sNDlvrht8xEREPvDl8avLAQ7d93uLTDZqALTQqKB0q6jlPw1F3KXVJvkOhs_QmuRTQTFRL2ZJg815c6JjTX0TWcMZ_pXKzngmX28r0n-7YMFMMGyjYFibYA/s1600/Adult+coloring.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjck_1jGx4FLsgmjOklp1D-sNDlvrht8xEREPvDl8avLAQ7d93uLTDZqALTQqKB0q6jlPw1F3KXVJvkOhs_QmuRTQTFRL2ZJg815c6JjTX0TWcMZ_pXKzngmX28r0n-7YMFMMGyjYFibYA/s400/Adult+coloring.png" width="302" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's my first masterpiece, ha!</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: large;">The book I bought is </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; line-height: 1.3;"><span class="a-size-large" id="productTitle" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.3 !important; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">Flower Designs Coloring Book (Volume 1)</span> by</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; line-height: 1.3;"> </span></span><a class="a-link-normal contributorNameID" data-asin="B00AI2Q5DG" href="http://www.amazon.com/Jenean-Morrison/e/B00AI2Q5DG/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Jenean Morrison</span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; line-height: 1.3;"><span style="color: #444444;">. I got it on Amazon for less than $10. I chose it because it's full of flowers and mandalas. I don't really want to color anything realistic. I like these intricate designs.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; line-height: 1.3;">I got myself some Pentel markers on Amazon as well for $16. Other people like to use regular coloring pencils, BUT I have a feeling I'm gonna start pressing too hard when I color and it'll become a problem. So, I like how I have to actually make a point of coloring gently because these do bleed onto the next page. I'm using a scrap paper to protect the other drawings, but there's only one per page, so it doesn't make a real difference if the ink shows on the back.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">You can also download a ton of pages for free. I found a mermaid drawing I really can't wait to color. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">It's been fun. I don't get to do it all the time because, HELLO! I'm a mom haha but if I'm feeling really anxious I try to stop what I'm doing and color, even if it's for a few minutes to regain mental balance. </span></div>
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Paolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02335784925844489212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312746109146657725.post-88335693636391702662015-07-13T22:07:00.000-07:002015-07-13T22:07:34.510-07:00Giuliana's bday<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Giuliana turned 1! OMG, this was such an exciting day for us and I planned for a few weeks what I wanted to do. I basically was glued to Pinterest for a few hours every day trying to decide on the perfect decor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I settled on a pink lemonade theme and it was so cute. </span><span style="font-size: large;">We had play stations with all the wonderful gifts Giuli received from family before the big day.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSFewPIRrPSTQyKmQ0P7G8_zgI-r7gB-_GqPiq3vURT94YlX8BI0Nm1Zjl-2CgVNg8blWTrLYXIi_z8Pd5ru_uv00HpPifrjVlwf8D9aN0bezZg6Z1CL4q0TC9XWZWusQQQdHqTWuiE0Q/s1600/Bday+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSFewPIRrPSTQyKmQ0P7G8_zgI-r7gB-_GqPiq3vURT94YlX8BI0Nm1Zjl-2CgVNg8blWTrLYXIi_z8Pd5ru_uv00HpPifrjVlwf8D9aN0bezZg6Z1CL4q0TC9XWZWusQQQdHqTWuiE0Q/s640/Bday+2.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">This turtle was the hit of the party.<br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I got most of the pom poms from The Dollar Tree (they're great for party supplies) and the others I got from a generous mom. Hobby Lobby was running a 50% off sale on most of these super cute lemonade items, so I got pretty lucky. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">To make matters even better, I received a coupon for a free Shutterfly photo book a week before the party. We had done a photo shoot and it was perfect timing. </span><div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_qCaOmwd7-k9jMpqVksbgz7L6k3aLNaeO_GfbiOcOstZA1pKnNqfnheKJTkzrOt39SOofSQV4ZyjwWtYxehaiYrlKBg-4KfK0D1mYElOBKl1yFSL71uRL2swtZP3RVDMFT47JdeKnK_c/s1600/Bday+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_qCaOmwd7-k9jMpqVksbgz7L6k3aLNaeO_GfbiOcOstZA1pKnNqfnheKJTkzrOt39SOofSQV4ZyjwWtYxehaiYrlKBg-4KfK0D1mYElOBKl1yFSL71uRL2swtZP3RVDMFT47JdeKnK_c/s640/Bday+3.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Since most of the guests were babies, I got these non toxic bubbles from Toys R Us as favors, and then </span><span style="font-size: large;">ordered these personalized stickers from <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/Chickabug?ref=l2-shopheader-name" target="_blank">Chicabug</a>. She sells all sorts of cute party supplies and decor. I highly recommend her. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The party was mid-afternoon and we offered light snacks and pastries, as well as baby finger foods for the littlest ones. I got these raspberry lemonade cupcakes from <a href="http://www.sweetdaddycupcakes.com/" target="_blank">Sweet Daddy Cupcakes</a>. They were soo good!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The final detail, and one of my favorite decor items, was this amazing poster I ordered from <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/PrincessSnap?ref=l2-shopheader-name" target="_blank">Princess Snap</a>. I got the file and was super easy to print at Costco.com. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Overall, I'd say it was a pretty successful one-year old party. There were minimal tears and lots of giggles. Giuliana was excited and we were beyond proud of our little girl.</span></div>
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Paolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02335784925844489212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312746109146657725.post-59164171722745236012015-07-05T18:52:00.000-07:002015-07-05T20:22:49.418-07:00Peg Dolls<span style="font-size: large;">A lot has gone on in the last year since my daughter was born and even though I had every intention to keep up with the blog, I was barely able to keep up with getting dressed in the morning haha. Giuliana turned the big ONE last April, and we had lots of fun. I'll share some of the bday decor later.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The other day I was scrolling through Instagram and saw a picture of a friend's little girl playing with peg dolls. OMG! Where have you been all my liiife? I decided <strike>I</strike> Giuliana needed to have these, but was sad to find they were a little pricey. They're handmade and making the real deal is truly an art, so I get it, but I couldn't justify spending $40+ on peg dolls.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">SO, as usual I thought to myself, I could probably do a simpler version of that, and turns out I can!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I bought the pegs at Michaels, but you can get them for cheaper on Amazon. I just wanted to get a couple to see if I could actually pull it off.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I drew the hair and dresses on with pencil first and painted with regular acrylic paint and voila!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDSpPvHsT9uyWCiATJHhTi80aybRAt4TAohA0uv0p25vOFcpxc1Q4twARNYfcf4yK30POt-ngjAMgU9OCrTnOiv2d_pBpBPg2b93P2GjYokKyyVOU7GpKyQlpR33wsPdooxDpuXaPYHEk/s1600/Peg+dolls+front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDSpPvHsT9uyWCiATJHhTi80aybRAt4TAohA0uv0p25vOFcpxc1Q4twARNYfcf4yK30POt-ngjAMgU9OCrTnOiv2d_pBpBPg2b93P2GjYokKyyVOU7GpKyQlpR33wsPdooxDpuXaPYHEk/s640/Peg+dolls+front.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I was pretty nervous about making them, but I felt more confident as I went along.</span><br />
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Paolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02335784925844489212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312746109146657725.post-35484824278399706602014-09-11T17:20:00.001-07:002015-07-05T18:56:33.610-07:00Life changes<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">You truly don't understand how much your life is going to change once you have a baby. Sure! Everyone understands that your life is going to change, but not to the degree that it does. It's both terrifying and amazing at the same time. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Well on top of that, my saint husband was relocated to Arizona and so we sold our stuff, waved our friends and family goodbye, and left the comfort of the life we knew in Costa Rica. Giuliana was 10 weeks old. Talk about your life changing forever haha</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Right now we're in corporate housing in a lovely apartment. But our "real" life is beginning tomorrow and we're moving into our rental home. I'll be sharing a lot more about our new life, house, car. Heck! even our dogs have to adjust to living in the desert. We're still waiting for the temperature to go down a bit so they can fly out here. The flying mutts should be here soon though :)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> We'll see where our American dream takes us. </span> Paolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02335784925844489212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312746109146657725.post-17478601289655071482013-11-19T12:00:00.000-08:002013-11-19T12:00:05.753-08:00What a change a few months can make<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hi! Just wanted to take a little time to update you on Vicentico, the poor puppy I found near my job's parking lot. I'm sad to say that he lost his leg. Apparently the damage was too severe and the accident where he broke his leg had taken place a few months earlier. He must have been in a second accident right before I found him because his eye was filled with blood and he nearly lost his eyesight. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I know this all sounds like terrible news, but I'm happy to report that Vicentico is doing great. He lost all the thick, coarse hair he had and now has a shiny, silky coat. He's no longer covered in ticks and his teeth and mouth have been cleaned. It didn't take him an hour after surgery to be back on his feet. He looks fantastic and he's doing fantastic. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">He adapted so well to our home, that after he lost his leg, we decided to keep him. He was neutered during the amputation surgery and his behavior changed greatly. He was skiddish and a little territorial before. But now, he's the sweetest dog. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I think there are very few other things I've done in my lifetime that have felt more rewarding than caring for this animal. He's won our hearts with his superb attitude and I've learned a lot more than I could've ever imagined from this little 10-pound dog. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Paolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02335784925844489212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312746109146657725.post-80080884230881550492013-11-11T12:00:00.000-08:002013-11-18T11:13:11.386-08:00It's a GIRL!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I had the most wonderful gender reveal party this last weekend. Our families came to our home and we had a great time. I put a lot of effort into the details because I wanted to make it special for everyone. I think my family got the most surprised about the happy news because they were all convinced that I was having a boy hehe. However, I have to say my best friend and mother in law were the ones who got the most excited. You can see them jumping up and down in the video below :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We had little pink and blue clothes pins with dimensional embellishments. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh62ujrw3Hf9e3hoaakK6OiJx7YlTJiR0dlJavAW7Q4RdszVZmvbP_kJhjvEcQ-6k71c-xNA1nOPq9dcdwUv7BcOAzGkyBIBgEdZyzseS1_kiR5YxmdVvAvRpZn75htV8D4YKvEyeqCGr8/s1600/Detail1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh62ujrw3Hf9e3hoaakK6OiJx7YlTJiR0dlJavAW7Q4RdszVZmvbP_kJhjvEcQ-6k71c-xNA1nOPq9dcdwUv7BcOAzGkyBIBgEdZyzseS1_kiR5YxmdVvAvRpZn75htV8D4YKvEyeqCGr8/s640/Detail1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Everyone had to make up their minds before the reveal and wear one of the two. My mom went back and forth haha She originally said I was having a girl but that everyone convinced her otherwise ;) I guess mom knows best.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">But I think the star of the party was the cake. Not only was it delicious but it looked amazing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My hubby and I made a cute chevron banner for everyone to see the names we had picked. So we're having a little Giuliana in April. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKQnUXhEikZ2PpWXzkL8v4w99_Q2NxMflwZCB6IgTnz_53sUm4VAt4zw9EunjfnpYMHov7HVQx0GDtpIOuOYqMRc8TiJq8Ll7Iq338CI_f6ClZGAC6LzSM6wZ0Wuj5mUWO5vULx9Jx1kc/s1600/Detail5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKQnUXhEikZ2PpWXzkL8v4w99_Q2NxMflwZCB6IgTnz_53sUm4VAt4zw9EunjfnpYMHov7HVQx0GDtpIOuOYqMRc8TiJq8Ll7Iq338CI_f6ClZGAC6LzSM6wZ0Wuj5mUWO5vULx9Jx1kc/s640/Detail5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here's the video of the big moment!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivkEmgGBNy_UACB0zQo6pMaW6VkGrotHbFIu3cIJD9mNFUhmru3svyvimLhXilxWK-ebEA_8tmOzj_ia99TZlRpZ1nx-fTp0wflz0uLGKlDKgt-Ql7PvolvzAkRLSiMK84WpchnAQNU5g/s1600/MVI_0090.MOV" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivkEmgGBNy_UACB0zQo6pMaW6VkGrotHbFIu3cIJD9mNFUhmru3svyvimLhXilxWK-ebEA_8tmOzj_ia99TZlRpZ1nx-fTp0wflz0uLGKlDKgt-Ql7PvolvzAkRLSiMK84WpchnAQNU5g/s400/MVI_0090.MOV" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Paolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02335784925844489212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312746109146657725.post-40020816599758602752013-11-08T09:01:00.001-08:002013-11-09T18:27:55.121-08:00A late Halloween post<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I just wanted to share a quick post on the cute halloween costume I wore this year. I have a couple of posts coming up from my gender reveal party that's taking place this weekend. I'm sooo excited about it, but don't want to give anything away just yet :)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjddvs_RbCAxPhGwObMnFa7_ozRYgnOaEOCgxBtwtsHVmdoI6UPN4iejwdP3e8xTph5Mw8glfEi3LcI-Wvp03z9VygnCqqlTi-FILy4YYbPwxTGFEOp_YYP8Tm2t0a6z9gc6aK2-IYR1ls/s1600/IMG_20131031_202024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjddvs_RbCAxPhGwObMnFa7_ozRYgnOaEOCgxBtwtsHVmdoI6UPN4iejwdP3e8xTph5Mw8glfEi3LcI-Wvp03z9VygnCqqlTi-FILy4YYbPwxTGFEOp_YYP8Tm2t0a6z9gc6aK2-IYR1ls/s640/IMG_20131031_202024.jpg" /> </a> </div>
Paolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02335784925844489212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312746109146657725.post-24320076358134170112013-10-16T17:54:00.000-07:002013-10-16T21:19:59.797-07:00My biggest project yet!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hello hello! Thanks for sticking by during my self-imposed hiatus, but I'm finally back with very exciting news to share: there's a baby in my belly :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This was a very long journey for us that thankfully has a happy ending. Call me silly, but I just didn't feel comfortable sharing the news until the first trimester was over. I'm still quite anxious, but I'm taking it one day a time. I'm so excited and feel so blessed. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'm on relative rest right now, basically no walking around for no apparent reason, no heavy lifting, and no exercise, but all is well. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjttH1APw59S6Cb5h0Qsk5uQa7uhx62G1oPx69fF9ckDT294LOafCQCF9pPeo947r-ODl5P97hxttha4PYdPAzP9s4bRp7K6yT54zWXAUwrZcu2q66wQEIZNG7QGyCzF4zM4nzF5hMBRoQ/s1600/Baby+Ultrasound.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjttH1APw59S6Cb5h0Qsk5uQa7uhx62G1oPx69fF9ckDT294LOafCQCF9pPeo947r-ODl5P97hxttha4PYdPAzP9s4bRp7K6yT54zWXAUwrZcu2q66wQEIZNG7QGyCzF4zM4nzF5hMBRoQ/s640/Baby+Ultrasound.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Because of the rest time, I haven't been able to tackle many projects lately, well other than the whole I'm-growing-a-human-being business. Morning sickness has not been kind to me, so that has also affected my blog time. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">But I did manage to sneak in one little project. My front yard is in need of some TLC. The first thing I wanted to do was repaint my outdoor clay mushrooms. It's a trend here in Costa Rica. If you don't have mushrooms you're not "in" haha</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The rainy season had not been kind to the paint job, which was a little "rustic" to begin with. The clay was starting to show through the paint.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPkJplu5Amn3suE0FumobrFCDUkQuu1VxY7HuMBXauA9xdcu8mi1e0GD5pdf6rOwVx1JnvOmUbRawlO6PljCdEopx4h4EyMawgLwnrCW8zcsv78iQS_puH_OQ3XApMaJfTNhTsqzst3D8/s1600/HonguitoBefore.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPkJplu5Amn3suE0FumobrFCDUkQuu1VxY7HuMBXauA9xdcu8mi1e0GD5pdf6rOwVx1JnvOmUbRawlO6PljCdEopx4h4EyMawgLwnrCW8zcsv78iQS_puH_OQ3XApMaJfTNhTsqzst3D8/s400/HonguitoBefore.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Basically, all I did was repaint the bases and seal them with a glossy finish. I also added more rocks to the inside of the mushrooms to keep the wind from knocking them over, and I glued the tops to keep them as a single solid piece. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I think they look like new, don't they?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Paolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02335784925844489212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312746109146657725.post-20029182639149399082013-06-30T13:08:00.001-07:002013-06-30T13:13:04.177-07:00Glass knobs<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I've been kind of obssesed with glass knobs for a while. They're just impossible to find here in Costa Rica. However, one of the few perks of my SH (saint husband) traveling so much lately, is that he can find the impossible :o)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The before wasn't bad, I just wasn't crazy about how the knobs got lost against all the dark wood.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS1xLCHbYRWs7N1w9WMyUPd1f-jGc2ermpko-WCt9RI7-DWh1I-irDeFzV-zvbxREUEQJgPKTMTFC5gHygUUSpF28uhUVEB37G9BHPmvBo899OqmUN2hrC-mKkf47rE7opPpdjied_Cwk/s1600/BeforeKnobs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS1xLCHbYRWs7N1w9WMyUPd1f-jGc2ermpko-WCt9RI7-DWh1I-irDeFzV-zvbxREUEQJgPKTMTFC5gHygUUSpF28uhUVEB37G9BHPmvBo899OqmUN2hrC-mKkf47rE7opPpdjied_Cwk/s640/BeforeKnobs.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">They were beautiful and I'm keeping them for some other project later on, but the new ones are just how I imagined they would be. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We got them on sale at Hobby Lobby. I just love them!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2_lgPBlAbA07novP6oSxl-bV9CqzvUmgzOa2E0mGG5P3k6ydJZBHAvEIiBA0QVPPRWBckE-l9bU4RNBLn6N4kxBtaflp8xdPke88OaA8xrlq7au7BLcJJR7Wr56uy-zmO93KPfKOwbWE/s1600/After.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2_lgPBlAbA07novP6oSxl-bV9CqzvUmgzOa2E0mGG5P3k6ydJZBHAvEIiBA0QVPPRWBckE-l9bU4RNBLn6N4kxBtaflp8xdPke88OaA8xrlq7au7BLcJJR7Wr56uy-zmO93KPfKOwbWE/s320/After.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDQS9VlroznFqssKRg11TMzKSc8PygOHazYgwAhjJQquq9I63K_DYxF2MX430dcmppZnrgIxf8lKHyoRDOnFRxt3ixzk0-gR8OiPrJx2F1jJ_xDMT5GMvbSsXipcn55710hMza5yKX_jM/s1600/Before.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDQS9VlroznFqssKRg11TMzKSc8PygOHazYgwAhjJQquq9I63K_DYxF2MX430dcmppZnrgIxf8lKHyoRDOnFRxt3ixzk0-gR8OiPrJx2F1jJ_xDMT5GMvbSsXipcn55710hMza5yKX_jM/s320/Before.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This was literally a five-minute fix and I just cannot get over the difference.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">These glass knobs really pop against the dark wood and they give it a more sophisticated look.</span></div>
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Paolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02335784925844489212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312746109146657725.post-53867153234566648562013-06-18T11:46:00.001-07:002013-06-18T11:46:13.076-07:00Different kind of project<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">You know how sometimes things change in the blink of an eye? Well that's kind of what happened to me last week. I was on my way to get my car after a hard day's work and out of the corner of my eye, I saw a tiny ball of fur... sigh! I went to check up on him and the bitty dog was injured. His hind leg appeared to be broken... it was starting to rain...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I carefully picked him up (and I advise caution if you ever attempt this because injured dogs can bite if you hold them the wrong way, but I've gotten pretty good at it... double sigh!) and took him to the vet. His leg was definitely broken and on top of that, his lung was beaten, he has blood in his eye, he's got some scrapes on his mouth, and he's got an ear and skin infection. POOR LITTLE FELLOW! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I started a fundraising campaign and I'm now close to having the full $260 for his surgery. I'm also hoping I'll have enough to neuter him. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As to this week's project, you can probably imagine I've had my hands full taking care of Vicentico (as the vets named him). I'm hoping that it'll be ready for next week, but first things first! I need to nurse this baby back to health.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you want to donate to help Vicentico regain some use of his hind leg or are interested in helping him out in some other way, contact me! I assure you, he's a sweet dog that shows me every day just how grateful he is that we ran into each other.</span></span>Paolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02335784925844489212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312746109146657725.post-65057427877949160352013-06-10T06:56:00.000-07:002013-06-10T06:56:29.336-07:00Butterfly Art<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'm just going to state a fact of life: I have no artistic talent! haha I can be creative and my crafts tend to come out just fine, but I just cannot draw, color or paint. Usually I'm perfectly OK with it, but I had a very specific look in mind for this project. I wanted to get butterfly prints, but wanted them to look like watercolors. I tried looking, but as usual, my ideas were too specific to find on any mainstream store and I secretly wished I could've just painted them myself. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For this project, I used what I had in hand: MICROSOFT WORD! haha Call me crazy, but </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I don't have any kind of picture formating software and I sometimes amaze myself at what I can do with Word.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">First, I found pictures of real butterflies with a white backgroung. Nothing really specific, I think I Googled "Butterfly".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Then, I started playing with the photo Artistic Effects. I ended up selecting "<span style="background-color: white;">Paint Brush"</span>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I just loved the effect. I found two more colorful butterflies and did the same. Then I printed them in glossy paper at Pricesmart (AKA the cheapest place I could find hehe) and used some frames I'd bought on sale at Aliss specifically for this project.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">They're just what I was looking for and I love how they look in our TV room/office.</span></div>
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Paolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02335784925844489212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312746109146657725.post-8485915343572028762013-05-27T19:46:00.000-07:002013-05-27T19:54:45.793-07:00Tipsy flower pot tower<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Lately I've been running across lots of fun gardening projects and it so happens that the rainy season is upon us here in Costa Rica, so this project was just meant to be. Since we bought our house, I've been slowly but surely getting more and more into gardening and plants and this just seemed like such a fun way to display them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The materials I used were clay pots, a <span style="background-color: white;">re-rod (rebar), paint, a glossy finish sealer, and some plants. I think it could've been easier to spray paint the pots, but I couldn't find the right color at EPA. Of course I could've tried other hardware stores, but I didn't :) Instead, I bought Protecto Green Apple and had to apply three generous coats to each pot and then seal them with a glossy finish. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The process was fairly simple. First, my saint husband helped me drive a 1.60m/63ยจ <span style="background-color: white;">re-rod (rebar) into the soil 60cm/2ft. Then, we placed</span><span style="background-color: white;"> a bigger round clay pot at the base, threading the re-rod through the drainage hole. You have to fill it with dirt so the next pot has something to sit on. And then I </span><span style="background-color: white;">threaded onto the rod and tilted the other pots on opposite sides of each other to distribute the weight evenly. Finally, I planted each china (impatients) to add more color.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI8zmc5suRMjgkcup-hCRfseEgn6NEC9Q_3KJ8KtuQCb2k4NtvpmjNk0IpEgolQyKfso1XIF2yg5bDGBBLpjwBvkhOr581DZO7hWXjTIWImcQ5UNTaNQB2_ioJ3Zhqu5ZIktApT3tEkBc/s1600/Assembly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI8zmc5suRMjgkcup-hCRfseEgn6NEC9Q_3KJ8KtuQCb2k4NtvpmjNk0IpEgolQyKfso1XIF2yg5bDGBBLpjwBvkhOr581DZO7hWXjTIWImcQ5UNTaNQB2_ioJ3Zhqu5ZIktApT3tEkBc/s400/Assembly.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This project was labor intensive and took a while to complete. I want to say you'll need an entire weekend to complete it, though if you spray paint the pots it'll probably take even less. I'm really satisfied with the final result, though my husband is the biggest fan. I don't think I've ever made anything he liked quite so much as this. I specially like how the color of the pots really pops (I was nervous of them looking neon green for a while).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So there you have it! A fun alternative to a regular flower pot stand. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiD-nVqMRLjRat4W0awoqjYTswb0tO0WxaDWmKpprSTjE7wPLEKJ-PC0Dg8w052c2hdt_lLGkDH0a7v-MjMjDJBrpHGZEGGSLhcUQMcatF6I60MBfjFbc8HzQBqUuvbeXJokKP5VAEGHU/s1600/Final+House.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="441" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiD-nVqMRLjRat4W0awoqjYTswb0tO0WxaDWmKpprSTjE7wPLEKJ-PC0Dg8w052c2hdt_lLGkDH0a7v-MjMjDJBrpHGZEGGSLhcUQMcatF6I60MBfjFbc8HzQBqUuvbeXJokKP5VAEGHU/s640/Final+House.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Paolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02335784925844489212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312746109146657725.post-58784589401779875762013-05-20T09:19:00.000-07:002013-05-22T09:44:37.356-07:00Spring vase<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">To be honest, I can't even remember how I got this vase. It was just one of those things that has been around forever and I hardly ever used. I liked it, but I'm not one to buy fresh flowers very often, so having an empty vase sitting on a counter seemed pretty pointless. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoeWhslirBhkz9myzPyX4zrM5zKq4i1b-8OeO61mNVwgDEItxJhmfI6TFk_kyErZ3Zj9qhrsE8x8rUxdfguE_gEgUnDslsauwNJX0a1XagjlY49sd4cl_YcFyw090vT45msNfpkXPuhnA/s1600/Final+Close+up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoeWhslirBhkz9myzPyX4zrM5zKq4i1b-8OeO61mNVwgDEItxJhmfI6TFk_kyErZ3Zj9qhrsE8x8rUxdfguE_gEgUnDslsauwNJX0a1XagjlY49sd4cl_YcFyw090vT45msNfpkXPuhnA/s400/Final+Close+up.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I really can't believe I didn't think of doing this earlier because I've seen multiple versions of this project, but I finally decided to give it a try. </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKsI8YKnVF2t3kaRJ8nWNGsoDV2d2yfVj-xTEM156gfH1MhBaOsJ3PWODgz7Evwr9Sf7wAKya7ydne6h6AMOXaD809P7-5mMY7ZCAKL2g8C1pQMmrHL1muILYuwKP1oMjwFxwFu8j80vc/s1600/Inspiration.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKsI8YKnVF2t3kaRJ8nWNGsoDV2d2yfVj-xTEM156gfH1MhBaOsJ3PWODgz7Evwr9Sf7wAKya7ydne6h6AMOXaD809P7-5mMY7ZCAKL2g8C1pQMmrHL1muILYuwKP1oMjwFxwFu8j80vc/s400/Inspiration.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/2009/03/five-dollar-spring-projects.html"><b>http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/2009/03/five-dollar-spring-projects.html</b></a></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCqaDOMmhuOJGIXOMkx7Z9rIOej6nJr0OECQUYvomO2kEVkOFMIW9-ky2RmOUtJecx4KV-gw1hyXcary4KZlO8Ch7t9rq3OPsqlun81JM9FHlD5cKLrB_R63815aK5VfYICiMjSbUooaY/s1600/Final+Room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The materials I used were a 30 cm/12 inch vase, a hot glue gun (FINALLY decided to face my fears), two hot glue sticks, garden scissors, jute (10 meters/33 feet), and flowers. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFNP5FvhM-1etqwzmSImcflgPjmgIDbGMqF2jtES_BNYrFO9cgR6SmnEDn7zUsRK_iX9wrTX9hC-cyOYgtpELYGSQtIhq3dRta9lrBPhZc9VdsipgocPrGotGcTuT9BWn2fZHWzyNdObw/s1600/Vase.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFNP5FvhM-1etqwzmSImcflgPjmgIDbGMqF2jtES_BNYrFO9cgR6SmnEDn7zUsRK_iX9wrTX9hC-cyOYgtpELYGSQtIhq3dRta9lrBPhZc9VdsipgocPrGotGcTuT9BWn2fZHWzyNdObw/s400/Vase.jpg" width="258" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I initially underestimated the amount of jute I would need. I think I first got about 5 </span><span style="font-size: large;">meters</span><span style="font-size: large;">/16 feet of it, thinking I could store whatever was left, and I had to go back to the store for twice as much. So if you have a </span><span style="font-size: large;">vase of a </span><span style="font-size: large;">different size, definitely buy more than you think you're going to need. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The process was really simple. I just hot glued the jute very tightly around the vase. I've also seen it done with double-sided tape. Remember to hot glue the jute all around the bottom of the vase, so it won't slide off. </span><br />
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<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I got the flowers at Aliss after much deliberation. I was looking for
white peonies, but these felt really soft and high quality for a
fraction of the price of the white ones. If you're after white though, Cemaco has some and Pottery Barn also has some really nice ones on sale right now ;)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCqaDOMmhuOJGIXOMkx7Z9rIOej6nJr0OECQUYvomO2kEVkOFMIW9-ky2RmOUtJecx4KV-gw1hyXcary4KZlO8Ch7t9rq3OPsqlun81JM9FHlD5cKLrB_R63815aK5VfYICiMjSbUooaY/s1600/Final+Room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCqaDOMmhuOJGIXOMkx7Z9rIOej6nJr0OECQUYvomO2kEVkOFMIW9-ky2RmOUtJecx4KV-gw1hyXcary4KZlO8Ch7t9rq3OPsqlun81JM9FHlD5cKLrB_R63815aK5VfYICiMjSbUooaY/s400/Final+Room.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I liked that the project wasn't very time consuming, maybe half an hour in total, and that I can remove the jute if I get tired of it or want to die it a different color for a special occasion. </span></span><br />
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<br />Paolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02335784925844489212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312746109146657725.post-59367156915530569022013-05-07T16:43:00.001-07:002013-05-07T16:50:25.097-07:00The perfect picture frames<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I'm on a quest! Finding the perfect frames has proven to be a challenge. Why do I always want what I can't have? ha! I've been trying to find some frames to complete <a href="http://daydreamingbliss.blogspot.com/2013/04/i-dream-of-trees-part-1.html" target="_blank">the wall decal project </a>and sadly, I'm still searching. I found three frames I really liked at Aliss. They were also 20% off so that was nice. I want two more to add some variety. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlyHRibOEIrZEZenycSe1mMj27YT8DKk9_q9AyBklRAzyU5jhTc7GVuSxtSMh0ctcamM2DJtWbS3Sqxj2fozQkI8y6JeQFha8h7yRcq6b66plafrT8klnTiEwquqyIX_wovUi-DyvEVOc/s1600/Frames.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlyHRibOEIrZEZenycSe1mMj27YT8DKk9_q9AyBklRAzyU5jhTc7GVuSxtSMh0ctcamM2DJtWbS3Sqxj2fozQkI8y6JeQFha8h7yRcq6b66plafrT8klnTiEwquqyIX_wovUi-DyvEVOc/s400/Frames.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I'd like to find a couple more oval picture frames, possibly in the same shade as these. I wasn't intentionally trying to find them all in this color, but sometimes you just got to go with the flow. I considered spray painting them black, but I think I like them better in cream.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnYMMGSeQ9IHdZ8tn_tLv-5UBWl1Fn09ITx4f_7JLKyvrQdO_zcCecZOriR5E00E4PM1Tt1hP4IBXI-mtmMTxRul-5roG5Gc_9JUuNR1LQ705081rRLQRaCMceeLZ10hnlpR1v5c9JbFw/s1600/Frames+side+by+side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnYMMGSeQ9IHdZ8tn_tLv-5UBWl1Fn09ITx4f_7JLKyvrQdO_zcCecZOriR5E00E4PM1Tt1hP4IBXI-mtmMTxRul-5roG5Gc_9JUuNR1LQ705081rRLQRaCMceeLZ10hnlpR1v5c9JbFw/s400/Frames+side+by+side.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Left: </span><a class="irc_hol irc_itl" data-ved="0CAQQjB0" href="http://www.bombayduck.com/index.php/homeware/photo-frames-1/decorative-frames/fifi-photo-frame-4-x-6-oval-cream.html" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="irc_hd irc_iis"></span></a><a class="irc_hol irc_itl" data-ved="0CAQQjB0" href="http://blissandbloom.co.uk/default.aspx?go=productdisplay&productid=25021" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="irc_ho">blissandbloom.co.uk</span></a><span class="irc_dim" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Right: </span></b><span class="irc_hd irc_iis"><b><a class="irc_hol irc_itl" data-ved="0CAQQjB0" href="http://www.bombayduck.com/index.php/homeware/photo-frames-1/decorative-frames/fifi-photo-frame-4-x-6-oval-cream.html" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="irc_ho">www.bombayduck.com</span></a></b><span class="irc_dim"></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'm not sure whether to try to find something simple or more ornate. I have to think about the possibilities. What would you do?</span></span>Paolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02335784925844489212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312746109146657725.post-36270738356307851762013-04-26T15:49:00.001-07:002013-04-26T15:51:20.181-07:00I dream of trees - Part 1<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">I love my house, but when we moved in, it became pretty obvious that there was a trouble spot. There's this wall between the bedrooms and it's always felt like some sort of focal wall because you can see it from pretty much every angle in the house. I hated that it looked so large and bare. I honestly did not even know where to start. I thought some sort of artwork would be great, but the size of the wall (2.5*2.5 meters/8*8 feet) was a problem. I would've needed to get a single huge canvas or multiple coordinating pictures, but I remained unconvinced. I wanted it to look full without really adding furniture because it functions as a hall. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Then I started daydreaming about trees one day. Trees have got to be one of my favorite natural element in the world. They're just so big and free flowing. I figured some sort of tree art work could be the solution and a wall decal just felt right. Finding the right one wasn't easy, I must've looked at hundreds of ideas on Pinterest and Google. Then, as usual, I just fell in love. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaFxsWgnCg3SfDSnkeRjof1tAiO247ipLGl2x2nbzbHqzzjYxGa4_lXlz-QxOIWnZ8MXFSvlYL1j4wu0yQQOlDvkBvIFMolPPP5lp0NCs-2F0eccP4JdgITWgR_C3yyBhYajXYWzK230Y/s1600/Inspiration.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaFxsWgnCg3SfDSnkeRjof1tAiO247ipLGl2x2nbzbHqzzjYxGa4_lXlz-QxOIWnZ8MXFSvlYL1j4wu0yQQOlDvkBvIFMolPPP5lp0NCs-2F0eccP4JdgITWgR_C3yyBhYajXYWzK230Y/s320/Inspiration.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This was it! I found a local company that customizes decals and the rest is history.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguFzsm3GeBu76wC2mT6-zFdQgEQSlJU6iWAQ47c-mOD8n8_oW6ekrTv9Rd6YDhhcxSiszolwmBzl6Q9MYdNBZdAUNuOZDKsnpvppJS21X7uW2YWtBAvskCiGNfM7gmgHTELlEdj_9jDvE/s1600/Step+by+Step.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguFzsm3GeBu76wC2mT6-zFdQgEQSlJU6iWAQ47c-mOD8n8_oW6ekrTv9Rd6YDhhcxSiszolwmBzl6Q9MYdNBZdAUNuOZDKsnpvppJS21X7uW2YWtBAvskCiGNfM7gmgHTELlEdj_9jDvE/s640/Step+by+Step.jpg" width="204" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">These are only a few pictures of the process. It was time consuming and it's a two-person project. But even though we had no experience, it was a relatively simple process. You have to be very careful and thorough. There were 15 pieces that we had to match exactly. And we stuck the leaves one by one onto the wall. The whole thing took about 4 hours. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO79Ij5b3Ge2HI89sXKhcY6kqsNOclqo-QjE8DMu2Q8QJVzSxclaW0KtooPvQlj-KI-MCFcfApKuk-iIUlnsIkyM-6l5RCfZWGQ_cUNdqTT6sABcnNYmWZZCKbWBlXUV_SCbGSZ6TR_ng/s1600/Arbol+final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO79Ij5b3Ge2HI89sXKhcY6kqsNOclqo-QjE8DMu2Q8QJVzSxclaW0KtooPvQlj-KI-MCFcfApKuk-iIUlnsIkyM-6l5RCfZWGQ_cUNdqTT6sABcnNYmWZZCKbWBlXUV_SCbGSZ6TR_ng/s400/Arbol+final.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I loved the final result. Now we're onto finding the perfect frames to add to it. I want it to be a sort of family tree with our family photos. I'm thinking a max of five frames so it doesn't look too busy. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTLeaVeG-8rSMnHtXDRfTJEokTVsywxLDOaLOnYhQElJbpwovufF0Wfs_6rDPK9er5mZ0XVp3OTI4XG_IAKHybpVlswysfLodESPiSwmXH4drYCRC69v_UB5T8lBM5DKsU3eha-kCHu-8/s1600/Final+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTLeaVeG-8rSMnHtXDRfTJEokTVsywxLDOaLOnYhQElJbpwovufF0Wfs_6rDPK9er5mZ0XVp3OTI4XG_IAKHybpVlswysfLodESPiSwmXH4drYCRC69v_UB5T8lBM5DKsU3eha-kCHu-8/s400/Final+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Do you dream of trees? Or is it just me? ;)</span></span>Paolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02335784925844489212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312746109146657725.post-69848788150717420562013-04-10T10:28:00.004-07:002013-04-10T10:42:49.872-07:00My dream topiary<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">This project is an oldie. I made it about a year ago, but to this day, it's one of my favorite decor pieces. This whole topiary obsession began a few years ago and I even had topiaries for my own wedding. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLljHMudyB_YCRATxY1HEBCczIqyoYpZLQ_0A-QkmtJ1jE7oU6CuJF8puB1j1oLKxrQTto8OAaaj5KnIPJ10MGtbyeTDr4EAQb_hqLNVGDtpwz4dGEi2Y8XrXzqQulEI6QD2mFP3berXs/s1600/Centerpieces.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLljHMudyB_YCRATxY1HEBCczIqyoYpZLQ_0A-QkmtJ1jE7oU6CuJF8puB1j1oLKxrQTto8OAaaj5KnIPJ10MGtbyeTDr4EAQb_hqLNVGDtpwz4dGEi2Y8XrXzqQulEI6QD2mFP3berXs/s320/Centerpieces.jpg" width="208" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="color: #a64d79;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><b>My wedding centerpieces</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">But my love for topiaries didn't stop there, and as I type this I realize it might not ever completely go away :) There is this spot in my house where I've always wanted to put a plant. Let's just say it is a death zone. No plant has ever survived and I just started feeling bad for the poor innocent plants and stopped trying. But I wanted a little bit of green in that area, so a green topiary seemed like the natural thing to do.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">One of my biggest decorating challenges is that I don't live in the US</span><span style="font-size: large;"> and in my tropical rainforest world, most of the time I have to improvise</span><span style="font-size: large;">. My inspiration came from another blog</span><span style="font-size: large;"> Scissors & Spatulas, and i</span><span style="font-size: large;">n her tutorial, Jen just bought the topiaries. As most of my projects, this one started with a ray of light from heaven pointing me in the direction of the right materials. I found the artificial baby tears at my favorite Chinese store and the whole thing just came to life.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://scissorsandspatulas.com/2011/02/ballard-inspired-boxwood-topiaries.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwYbxKyXp3kq5EjA563vNbqZQgzvF5AE7wDlUcViMVgfDqN6uZzg9Vva3jEqIVdktJYKfdB6TnnxwF_H_L8bQ6z9lU2M4qoUULWw5NTmJ6oZhSKzBb_PzI95orsIqTxhzp4JbKkifx6Qg/s320/Inspiration.jpg" width="232" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Topiaries from Scissors & Spatulas</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>scissorsandspatulas.com/2011/02/ballard-inspired-boxwood-topiaries.html </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My saint husband was skeptical to say the least. We had just moved into our new house and I was finally starting to let my creative juices flow. But I was on a mission! So I bought the artificial baby tears, a styrofoam ball, green paint, cold silicone glue, and used some BBQ sticks I had home. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;">First, I painted the ball green, though any kind of dark color will do. You just want to make sure the white ball is not showing through the greenery. I used the BBQ sticks to not get paint all over my hands and help it dry more evenly. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Once it was completely dry, I started the gluing process. Though I used cold silicone glue to do this because I absolutely hate hot silicone glue, I think I might recommend using the hot instead. The process is going to be faster. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">For the pot, I just used the base of a candlestick I already had. </span></div>
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<span id="goog_1582209876"></span><span id="goog_1582209877"></span> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjSqVX1q7NdXIrHq1erIrmA6AEjDBOYyipt0HWTFrl-zwwEbAzHmTB9xBZ9UqXHImi6xaFzTlSEG3rbRxeK2E4BjbAceiGDaiqm3rztzyDvzlFBi2Ev0mBszBV-_AYj1GdePdm80RnMxA/s1600/Base.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjSqVX1q7NdXIrHq1erIrmA6AEjDBOYyipt0HWTFrl-zwwEbAzHmTB9xBZ9UqXHImi6xaFzTlSEG3rbRxeK2E4BjbAceiGDaiqm3rztzyDvzlFBi2Ev0mBszBV-_AYj1GdePdm80RnMxA/s320/Base.jpg" width="220" /> </a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I loved the way it looked and the final product even more. The total cost for this project was about $7, a bargain compared with store-bought topiaries that range between $30-40 or even more if you go to high-end stores. </span></div>
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Paolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02335784925844489212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312746109146657725.post-92228858221468032022013-04-03T11:46:00.001-07:002013-04-10T10:40:45.683-07:00What to do with my basket?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPQnuXuM74yswTHhqXFfGElfLwLq-6mAbkiu7iAnfNZKe9iOJ5fzZTRxZM6wZBm7CHEmumGXqlkE_OSmjhyphenhyphenAcM9qPnFgUVx-YDpg2hI63y9MLQcb4eHOBxIEyR7AlxtS8s2e1SYRGKZZ4/s1600/Basket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPQnuXuM74yswTHhqXFfGElfLwLq-6mAbkiu7iAnfNZKe9iOJ5fzZTRxZM6wZBm7CHEmumGXqlkE_OSmjhyphenhyphenAcM9qPnFgUVx-YDpg2hI63y9MLQcb4eHOBxIEyR7AlxtS8s2e1SYRGKZZ4/s320/Basket.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The lonely basket when we first moved in</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I got a lovely basket for my wedding shower. I think my grandma originally wanted me to use it as a towel display in my bathroom, but the basket was just too big for the space. I struggled with what to do for the longest time. Then I got the idea of temporarily putting it in our living room, but it just looked so bare. It didn't have a purpose and I feared it was just going to sit unused forever. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> <span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then one day I was struck with inspiration from an ad I saw on one of my favorite blogs <a href="http://www.thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/">www.thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/</a>. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Ad from www.decorsteals.com</span></b></td></tr>
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</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The basket wasn't the same and I initially thought of hydrangeas. I pictured beautiful white, puffy hydrangeas.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLBO3CFwV8sv_Jbezx9kY3WwIsx3DD9B9tJZFabE7qPeOR1Zofz3NMNuLxMXNlGNPCBzNECfTd_gUrX55wiOH5NT-1DA-HmZWdTaAjIzoBXm_ZWdIyqwETBSzxOoKRb4Xm9NATEaPqBU8/s1600/Hydrangeas+Basket.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLBO3CFwV8sv_Jbezx9kY3WwIsx3DD9B9tJZFabE7qPeOR1Zofz3NMNuLxMXNlGNPCBzNECfTd_gUrX55wiOH5NT-1DA-HmZWdTaAjIzoBXm_ZWdIyqwETBSzxOoKRb4Xm9NATEaPqBU8/s320/Hydrangeas+Basket.JPG" width="262" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Hydrangea basket from www.rtfactflowers.co.uk</span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't know why, but it seems to me that every time I come up with an idea, shop owners around the country decide to hide their products from me. For real, I think I have looked for the last six months and the best I was able to come up with was a pink, totally fake-looking hydrangea. I know the flowers I want exist because my grandma has some lovely hydrangeas, but I think she paid something like $15 per flower. She only needed a few for her house, and I would need at least ten for my basket ($$$). Anyhow, the store she got them from has been out of stock for months.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then last week, I was at one of my favorite Chinese stores and a ray of light from heaven pointed me in the direction of some lilacs. Immediately my heart started racing. All I could think of was the original basket with the lilacs I'd seen a few months ago and I was sold. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I could not believe how great they looked. I sent a picture to my husband who thought they were real, and I completely agree with him. Unless you touch them, these don't look like artificial flowers. They were only about a dollar per bunch and these are bushy bunches, so the project was soo cheap to complete.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think I still dream of finding my dream hydrangeas, but I love the look of these lilacs. Don't you agree?</span></span></span></span></div>
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Paolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02335784925844489212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312746109146657725.post-59357508275787721842013-04-02T17:16:00.000-07:002013-04-02T17:27:33.080-07:00Welcome to my crazy world of ideas<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I love reading blogs and I bet you do too :) I've had this blog itch for a while because I love writing and my head is full of ideas. I wish most of them were useful HAHA, but that's the thing about a racing mind: It can't be stopped. However, I'm betting it can be channeled into beautiful, productive projects, and here's where this blog comes in. I love daydreaming about all sorts of things, mostly about decorating my home. I get simply thrilled when I can make one of these ideas happen, especially with a limited budget. So this is it! I welcome you to my space where I plan to share all sorts of crazy DIY ideas and hope to see you again :) ENJOY! </span></span>Paolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02335784925844489212noreply@blogger.com0