Chicken Wire Picture Frame

On June 9th, we held our wedding reception/housewarming party.  It ended up being a success, but I was also disappointed that there were many people who RSVPed but didn't show up.  The weather was perfect, our hog was roasted on time, and the people who did come seemed to have a good time.

As a thank you gift for coming, I had set up a homemade photo booth.  I used SparkBooth software, which I love. There are so many ways to customize how the photos will turn out.  I made a simple backdrop from some pvc pipe and sheets I found at GoodWill, and a decent web camera.  There were also several props I picked up from the Dollar Tree, Hobby Lobby (40% off), and Good Will.  One of the props was a frame people could hold up. I found it at Good Will, discarded the ugly picture, then painted the frame.

After the party, I stapled some extra chicken wire to the back and hung it up on the wall.  I added some of my favorite photo strips from the photobooth using mini clothes pins I found at Walmart.  It turned out really well.  One of the nice things about the Sparkbooth software is that it will automatically save both the individual photos and the photo layout in folders on the computer. So I was able to go back and print strips if the guests took both copies. And if there are any great photos, I can print those out too.

Not everyone used the photobooth though. Actually, most people didn't. It was mostly kids, those few people we could get down there, and a few people from my side of the family who knew what it was about. We did get some great pictures in the end though.  I'm not sure if it wasn't successful because of the location, or people just didn't care.  I do have plans to use the software in the future (goofy Christmas cards perhaps).

*note* this is not a sponsored post for SparkBooth.I enjoy talking about products I love.  I really do love the software and all the different options you have.  It was also easy to set up.  I was able to add my own logo at the bottom too, though that was a little fiddly to get right.

Christmas Card

This card is for the Jingle Belles Neutral Noel challenge and



The tree and dots are actually embossed with a pretty gold powder, it just came out poor in the photo. I took inspiration from the tree pillow, then found some grungy papers and went with it. I don't think it quite works, but I still think it looks okay.

On a side note, I got chicks today! I've been wanting some laying hens for a few years, but living in apartments hasn't allowed for it. Last summer was so crazy with buying and moving into the house. So now I have some. There are six of them and they are golden comets.

Birthday Card

This birthday card is for my sister-in-law. I love using K & Company's papers. I think this paper is from their botanicals pack.



Things are starting to get crazy. I'm taking two difficult classes this semester in addition to working full time. For work, we have a large volunteer event we put on twice a year and the next one is in April...about 3 weeks before finals when the professors are cramming in those last exams, projects and other homework. Our kitchen looks like a disaster area. We've been slowly building a new cabinet to fit a dishwasher. Once that's done I'll be painting the cabinets and counter tops. Sadly, I don't expect to get much crafting done anytime soon.

Wedding Soap Favors

For favors, we gave out handmade soap with recycled, handmade soap dishes. The soap was a simple recipes I found on Brambleberry's Soap Queen Blog. The scent I called Summer Wedding, but is Brambleberry's energizing fragrance. To me it smells citrus-y and summery. Almost everything I used to make the soap came from Brambleberry. Awesome shop. The ribbon I purchased at Forever Wed.



The soap dishes were made from scrap wood from the oak flooring we installed throughout most of our house. It couldn't be used for the flooring for various reasons such as being too warped, having the tongue cut off, too short to look good and so on. I couldn't let all this scrap wood go to waste, so some of it got turned into simple soap dishes. To do that, I just cut off the tongue, made them a uniform size to fit the bar of soap, and added three drainage grooves to help direct water away from the soap. In the process I also got to use a table saw for the first time. That was fun.

We still have a bunch of scrap wood left over. Do you have any ideas on how to use it? Please tell me below. I'm itching to make something or somethings with it.

Crafting on a bigger scale.

Just wanted to pop in and say a quick hello.

We have moved into the house, ended up with a third kitty and adopted a puppy. Things have been busy. We've been living out of the kitchen for over a week now since pulling up the carpet. Hopefully we will be done installing the new flooring by Saturday. I really hope this happens because our help leaves Sunday morning. They are the ones who know what they're doing too.

I finished and sent off my wedding invites. As soon as I can get my scanner set back up I'll post some pictures. I love how they came out.

I'm used to working on smaller craft projects. Ones that don't take more than a day or two to complete. The house has been like one big ongoing craft project. We have all the walls and ceilings painted. Most of the trim is done, but today I'll be painting the new base trim we got along with the doors. If the sun decides to come out I'm hoping to get some progress photos.

Along with everything else I managed to get a garden planted. Some of the seedlings I started don't look so good. Some of them look okay so far. I'm hoping at least one plant will survive and produce veggies.

I'm also planning on building a chicken coop. If I can pull this off I'll be beyond happy. I have projects planned that I could never pull off in the apartments I've lived in. We have saws and drills and other tools that I can use to craft stuff now :)

I hope everyone out there is doing well. Time to paint some trim.