Favorite Things Friday and Lia Sophia Winner!

Thanks again to everyone who participated last week!  Here are a few of my faves:

Craftopotamus shared some easy wall art:

Sew Can Do shared some great uses for felt, one of which was a Treasure Map for the kids:

Reach Beyond Limits shared something that makes all of her worries go away: a field of pink daisies

My mom actually pointed this one out to me: Peanut Butter Playdough shared by The Pumpkin Patch

This sign idea is such a great idea shared by Crafts By Amanda:

Whimsical Creations made these beautiful gift tags:

The Crafting Chicks made this awesome corsage tee that I am pretty sure I am going to have to copy soon...

And lastly, A Load of Craft shared how to make an inexpensive swaddle blanket...I really loved this picture though:

It may make me a little baby hungry...

And now for the winner of the Lia Sophia Necklace:

#7

Katie said... 7

I love the Apex ring! I think this necklace would be a awsome gift for my mother :) winner will be contacted via e-mail and will have 48 hours to respond, otherwise a new winner will be drawn

Thanks to everyone for participating!  

My New Obsession: Swiss Dot

And my new little white dress has a skirt made of Swiss Dot :)

Posted this on Wordless Wednesday

5 Problems and Solutions to Apartment Living

Last week was a pretty eventful one.  I was informed of a job opportunity, had an interview, and got it all in a matter of 2 days.  I am going to be the manager of our apartment complex!  I have mixed feelings about this, but have mainly felt excited and like it is supposed to happen.  I have been bored the last couple months and I think this is exactly what I needed.  I thrive on change I think.  I love our apartment and my life, but I just love to mix things up every so often!

So, we are moving September 1st.  Luckily it is just downstairs and the building next to ours.  Unfortunately it is an older version of our apartment (although we are getting new blinds) and the ceilings are a normal height.  I am SO going to miss our 13 foot vaulted ceilings :(  We also will have our own washer and dryer, but it takes up Allie's closet.

Here are a few of my ideas of decorating solutions to these problems:

1. Lower ceilings: mirrors on the walls to make it feel more open and I want to use lots of light colors/white in the main living space

2. Less closet space: put most of our stuff in storage (we get unlimited amount of this) use wicker baskets to store other things we use more often (on top of cabinets, on shelves, etc.)

3. Smaller windows bring in less light: sheers in the windows to bring in more light, use lamps in darker spaces

4. Ugly Counter-tops: There are lots of temporary options for this, I just am not sure what the best option is yet...granite tiles laid on top, large cutting boards, contact paper, tempered glass boards, vinyl adhesive tiles, vinyl tablecloth, or faux granite wallpaper...

5. A little less square footage:  This is similar to the solution for lower ceilings, but I will also be storing more of our furniture.  I will be arranging what we do use to keep the room feeling open by putting the big pieces closer to the walls and not cutting the room in half with the couch.

These are my ideas for color schemes right now:
Main living room: Gold and whites/creams along with some brown (and possibly turquoise)
Allie's Room: Browns (woods) and some accent colors (mainly turquoise/light blue)
Bathroom: White and black, along with some silver
Master Bedroom: Possibly Silver/gray and yellow, as in these colors:

Needless to say, I have a busy couple of months ahead of me: training for the job, going on vacation for a little over 2 weeks, then jumping right into moving and starting the job on Sept.1st.  I will try to keep my blog updated as much as I can, and I am definitely keeping Favorite Things Friday going, but please forgive me anything is lacking in my blog for the next couple months :)

Little White Dress Refashion

Lately I have been noticing a lot of pretty white dresses:

I particularly liked this one, although it is hard to see in this picture:

I decided that I wanted to make this one (from my sister's wedding) a little more fancy (its the one on my little sis at the far right):

See what I made with my turquoise skirt here.

First I wanted to make a pretty sash that would tie in a bow at the back.  I bought some ribbon at Walmart for $1.50 that was the exact color I wanted.  I decided to sew some lace on top of it.

I pinned the lace to the ribbon and just sewed 2 seams down each ribbon (I had to use 2 pieces of ribbon to make it wide enough)

I folded over and sewed the end of the ribbon/lace to finish off the ends.

Here is what the back looked like to get an idea of where I sewed along the lace.

I also attached lace just above where the sash was going to be.  Mainly to cover up the bigger eyelet pattern (which was also being covered by the sash)

Then I cut along the bottom of the dress (just the outer layer - not the lining) to make it a little shorter and to make the lining show at the bottom.  I attached the same lace along the bottom of the outer layer. (This outer layer is a Swiss Dot fabric and the lining is just a thin white cotton)

Then I attached the same lace along the inside of the neck (front and back) so that just the top of the lace would show when the dress was not inside-out.

That's all I really did, but it made SUCH a difference

The back:

Some jewelry options:

What do you think?  Which necklace do you like better with it?  I will post the pic of it on me on What I Wore Wednesday  in a week or two after I wear it :)

And, speaking on white dresses, check out the pictures I took over the weekend:

I am posting this HERE.

Red Letter Rising Necklace Giveaway

Corie, the owner of Red Letter Rising, has offered one of my readers a necklace of their choice from her etsy shop.  Look at all of the cute necklaces she makes!

And, I love these coasters too:

To Enter

Leave a comment for each of the following you do:

1. Visit Red Letter Rising and tell me one of your favorite necklaces.

2. "Like" Corie's Facebook page.

3. Follow A Few of My Favorite Things.

Giveaway will run into the weekend.

Thanks Corie!

The Guilded Bee Giveaway Winner...

 

...is...

#5  Morgan @ Meet Virginia!!

Congrats!  

For everyone else, there will be another Etsy jewelry giveaway tomorrow so stop by and try your luck again!

Thanks again Sasha!

Favorite Things Friday!

Hey guys!  How's it going?  I realize a lot of you just stop by on Fridays, so in case you missed them, here is a recap of my week in posts:

Sunday - A smokin' deal you don't want to miss

Monday - J. Crew Tee Tutorial

Tuesday - Where I am dying to be right now

Wednesday - What I wore last week

I also just finished editing the pictures from the wedding I did a couple weeks ago.  This is one of my faves:

And here are my favorite posts from last weeks link party:

Kristine @ The Painted Hive has pretty much my dream house.  Check out her dining room before and after.

I am in love with Mason Jars right now. Decor Chick made a Mason Jar soap dispenser.  This is going in my "To Make" folder for sure. 

Rebekah @ Potholes and Pantyhose made this dress from a pillowcase!  What?!

Kit @ Chic Provence designed this small, intimate and very chic wedding setting.  Are you kidding me?!  It is SO pretty.

Amanda @ Shabby Remix shared this Anthropologie inspired shower curtain.

Ashley @ 6 Inches of Ribbon shared her bookshelf revamp.  Here is the fabric she used:

The Cape on the Corner shared this succulent wreath she was debating on buying.  I say go for it!

La Maison Reid made this pretty french feedsack pillow.

Staci @ Craftify It shared this meaningful clock she had made for her parents.

Adorkable Annie shared some really cool chairs

If you were featured, feel free to grab a featured button on the sidebar :)

If you haven't entered the Gilded Bee Giveaway, the winner will be announced sometime this weekend, so hurry and enter!