DIY Dog Biscuits

It's National Dog Day! I am such a dog lover, but not one of those crazy obsessive righteous one. I just love my puppies and love to spoil them. I have always grown up with dogs. My parents had a dog before I was born, Max. Max was around for the first fourteen years of my life. He was a Black Lab/ Border Collie mix.  He was a fun dog for most of his life, but as he grew older he became a little grouchy. When I was about seven years old, we adopted a Golden Retriever, Mocha, that dropped out of a program to help those in need because he refused to train.  Mocha was the most lovable dog. He let us dress him up and cuddle with him endlessly. I think my brother and I were convinced that he was actually Air Bud from the famous Disney movie. When I turned ten, I had saved up enough money (I think) to buy my own dog. I wanted a dog that I could "carry around with me". I ended up finding an add for Yorkshire Terrier puppies during my search, and my parents went with me to pick up our perfect puppy, Riley.  He was fifteen pounds and thought he was the size of a Great Dane. He was probably my family's favorite dog. Sadly, we lost him about five months ago. You can read about that tragedy here. I haven't been able to write a post about him and losing a pet because it still feels too new and hurts. 

Anyways, on a more happier note. If you've been following along, then you know that we now have two new puppies in our family. Todd and I got a Goldendoodle, Brody, in October. My parents got a Mini Goldendoodle, Graham, in November. They have brought so much love and happiness to our home.  We enjoy taking them for walks, throwing the ball at the dog park, watching them play, taking them to pictures with Santa, buying them new toys, and cuddling with them. You can read about what life with puppies is like here and here. Every day is a different adventure when it comes to having a fourth month and six month old puppies.

If you want to keep up with their adventures, then be sure to follow them on Instagram!

Brody: TheDoodleBrody

Graham: The.Grahamster.Doodle

Today we are celebrating National Dog Day with homemade dog treats. The boys seemed to love this recipe...then again they will eat just about anything. 

I thought I would leave you with a few pictures of the puppies.

XOXO

Mala Bracelets

 Meditation is something that I find relaxing. It helps keep me present, and it reminds me to focus on the intentions/goals I've set for the day, week, month, year, etc. I typically do some form of meditation during yoga, before bed, when I wake up in the morning, or when I'm feeling stressed or anxious. 

In the past few months I've found myself being more anxious than ever before. Anxiety can be scary and overwhelming at times. I have been working to cope with my anxiety before it escalates to a point that I can't control.  Some tools I've found to calm myself down include breathing exercises, meditating, and exercising.  

In early January my mom shared a blogpost with me about Mala bracelets. Mala bracelets have been used for years in the prayer and mediation processes.  We decided to head to the craft store and gather the supplies to make our own.  For each of us they symbolize something different. For me, this bracelet is a reminder to breathe more and relax.  Mala bracelets are always made with 108 beads.  You can read more about their significance here. 

Even if you don't meditate, these bracelets are cute and fashionable! If you'd rather make a necklace, then follow this tutorial. 

Here's what you'll need:

your choice of 107 beads

1 larger bead (Mala bead)

Tassel or string to make your own

Elastic thread

Scissors

Begin making your bracelet by laying your beads out.  You'll want to figure out your pattern before you begin stringing any beads.  My mom and I created a template for our bracelets, on paper, before we started.

Once our pattern was created, we cut our string. I cut mine about three feet long. It's easier to work with more string than less. Next, you'll want to knot one end of the string.  String your beads on according to your pattern.  Slide your beads to the middle of the string, and cut off the end with the knot.  Place the two ends of the string together, and thread your larger bead through.  Now you will want to knot the two ends of the thread so that you have a loop of beads.

 The last step is to add your tassel.  If you're going to make your own tassel, then you'll want to follow this tutorial. It's pretty easy to do.  Once your tassel is made, use a piece of extra string to attach it to your bracelet. 

XOXO

Fall DIYs to Try

Fall festivities give off warm fuzzy vibes. The fall season has so many reasons to do a little DIY project between sporting events, back to school, halloween, thanksgiving, etc. Today I'm sharing some DIY projects that I've found on pinterest. I'm slowly but surely working on becoming more crafty.


Monogram pumpkin


Waverly Pumpkin


Succulent Pumpkin 


Mantel Decor


Wreath

What DIY projects have you been loving lately?
XOXO

DIY Succulent Garden

It's no secret that succulents have been the plant of this summer. Everybody is talking about them, instagramming pictures, they're appearing on the tables of restaurants, and even a hot topic in popular magazines. Working at a garden center I can definitely attest to how popular these plants are.  They are incredibly easy to care for and aesthetically pleasing which definitely contributes to their appeal rate. These plants require a lot of light and a little bit of water (think desert conditions). They make for a great house plant, gift, or item to spice up your office. Succulents come in a variety of 

shapes, size, and colors.  I've created a small guide for you to create your own succulent garden. I'm not an expert, but from my personal experiences these things seem to work. 

How to create your garden:

Step 1:

Fill the bottom of your container with a small layer of pebbles. Succulent roots don't like to be sitting in large amount of water. If your pot has a drainage spot, then you won't need to line it with the pebbles. 

Step 2: 

Fill the planter with potting soil. You can fill it about an inch or two from the top of the container.

Step 3: 

Plant the succulents into the pots. They shouldn't be too tight or too lose.  The soil should be loose to allow for doing to occur. 

Step 4:

Water the succulent garden so that the soil is barely moist. Be sure to place your plant in an area with a lot of light. 

Happy planting!

XOXO

Crafting Lilly Pulitzer Letters

After three years of Lilly Pulitzer agendas piling up, I decided it was time to put them to use. The other day I had a little free time and decided to go through my craft bin to see what I could use all my Lilly print paper for.  I found my initial (M) that a friend of mine had painted for me awhile back and thought it would be adorable to cover it in Lilly Pulitzer paper.  Before I began I gathered all the supplies I would need.

Supplies:

Scissors

Cardboard

Letter of your choice (for me it was M)

Mod Podge

Sponge brushes

White Paint

Primer (optional)

Paper Plate or palate for paint

Paper of your choice

The original color of the letter didn't match the color scheme I'm planning to use, so I began by priming it with a coat of paint so that the dark color wouldn't show through when I used mod podge to adhere the colorfully printed paper to the wooden letter.  Before priming the letter, I found a piece of cardboard and laid it down beneath the letter so that I didn't get paint on the surface I was using to craft (AKA- my parents' kitchen table).  You can also use newspaper, a plastic table cloth, or a brown paper bag.  I think using cardboard is the best option because you are able to move the letter while it is drying with messing anything up. 

After priming the letter, I gave it a coat of white paint.  The sides of the letter won't be covered with paper since the paper is just on the top surface, so the white paint is for the outside and back of the letter. While the paint was drying, I began to sort through my agendas and pulled out the paper that had prints that I could potentially use.  I then laid all the prints out and decided which ones looked good together. This process takes awhile if you are a perfectionist like me!  

If you don't like Lilly Pulitzer, then no worries you can still complete the project. All you need to do is get scrap booking paper or print your favorite pattern online. You can also cover the letter in all one print rather than the patchwork style I used.

Once I chose the paper I would be using, I began to cut the paper to fit the letter. I found that it was easiest to cut a piece that was slightly larger than what I needed. I then folded the excess paper and creased it along the edge of the letter. I then cut along the creese marks to ensure that the paper was the correct size.  I think it works best to not be picky about each piece of paper being the same size because most letters are irregular in shape anyways. 

I cut the paper and sized it to fit the letter beginning with the top left corner, of the letter M.  I did this for the entire left side and then I began to glue.  In order to glue the paper down, use a sponge brush, dip it into the jar of Mod Podge, and then apply the paint to the surface of the letter.  Be careful not to use too much because then the paper will be over saturated, which could cause it to rip or bubble easily. After glueing down the entire left side, I then cut the paper to size it to fit the letter along the left side.  I then glued down the left side. Next, I sized the different pieces of paper to fit the middle of the letter and then glued them down.  Finally, I painted a layer of glue on top of all the paper to seal it and ensure that all the paper was glued down.  I then let the letter dry on a piece of cardboard for about 24 hours. 

This project is really easy and the letter(s) can be used for much more than a simple college apartment decoration. Depending on the size of the letter you could use it on a wreath, a classroom door, or anywhere in your home. This is DIY project can also be a great item to give as a gift.

Enjoy Crafting!

XOXO

Monogrammed Binder Covers

For some reason I have just always been obsessed with school supplies.  I like everything to be color coded, organized, and of course cute!  For my education class my professor requires us to use binders.  I decided that a plain binder just was not going to work for me.  As I've mentioned before I love monograms. So I thought it would be a good idea to spruce up my binder with a monogram cover.

After doing some searching on the Internet I came across forchicsake.  This website has tons of cute things you can customize and print out: monogrammed calendars, wall decor, binder covers,  phone wall papers, etc.  

Make Your Own Monogrammed Binder Cover

I found a template for adorable monogrammed binder covers.  The website has tons of different patters, colors, and fonts.

I created mine in adobe reader and then took a screen shot (command, shift, 4) of it.  I then saved it to my computer, printed it out, and inserted it into the front cover of my binder.

This is what my binder now looks like!  It only took about five minutes to create.  The longest part of the process is choosing a pattern.

Check out an updated version of this post with Lilly Pulitzer prints!

xoxo

-mQs-