Wedding Part 1/2

As I try to get my blog up and running again (but this time on a computer that is hanging on by it's last key) I am promising myself that I will be a bit more disciplined when it come to making sure I post. I have so much to share! In the spirit of sharing, here is a sneak peak from the MANY wedding crafts and ideas I will share from my own wedding this past November! I loved the invitation and programs so very much! Please feel free to use these ideas! Please ignore the lovely shadow on the pictures...

I had all of the printing done at a local printing shop. I brought them my ideas and had them print them on the cheapest off-white paper they had. I bought all of the envelopes at Hobby Lobby when it was 50% off. Same with the ribbon and the paper dollies. For the heart punches I used a scrapbook punch and a pad of Hobby Lobby 50% off 5x5 paper in a color scheme that I liked. I spent an evening punching hearts in front of the TV. 

The only thing I would have changed about the invitations would be adding a part for names on the RSVP. I did not care who was coming because we had free seating but a lot of people seemed upset that there wasn't a place to put their name. Oh... I also maybe would have hired a calligrapher for the addresses.

More wedding stuff and DIY things are to come!!

New title and new intent!

Recently I have come to the sad realization that I am on a sick mission. That mission you ask? To be better than everybody else. I'm not proud of it, but I feel like I can finally put a finger to my madness and OCD (even though that's an entirely different story!) Maybe I'm being a little hard on myself...maybe my condition isn't as self-centered. Anyway, whatever the problem, I dabble. I dabble big time. I become and "expert" on everything. So if somebody happened to ask me to describe myself the description would be what follows. 

Katie is a...

Vegetarian

Crafter

Scrapbooker

Sewer

Young Adult

Knitter 

Traveler

Musician

Disney Movie Enthusis 

Decorator

Super Cleaner

Builder 

Farmer

Hippie

Sales Lady

Foodie 

Ice Cream Lover

Humanitarian 

Landlord 

Homeowner

Rule Follower

Party Planner

Non-Drinker

Chef

Wife

Teacher

Counselor

Gardener

Runner

With all this in mind I am going to use this blog to better document my life as I dabble in things from book club parties to getting a new tattoo. From attempting to compost to getting my ham radio license. From awesome teacher lessons to getting backyard chickens! If you like to DO then this blog is for you!! Welcome to Dabble Diaries! 

My favorite salad!

Eating healthy is not something that is necessarily easy for Brandon and I. It is also something that we have put on the front burner. Here is a salad that we both enjoy that has lessened the blow. Please spare me the "calorie counts" and the "dressing is just as bad as a cheeseburger" crap. This has a green leafy base and that consists of more green that we use to consume in a week. Here is the yummy salad I have named....

THE WANNA BE SALATA SANTE FE

Enjoy my non veggie loving friends!

The dressing came from a restaurant called Salata. It is a chipotle ranch! You can buy similar ones from the grocery store :o)

Updates!

I figured while y'all were waiting for me to finish the dang curtains, I could give you a little update and maybe some yummy dinner ideas! The wedding count down has hit the 5 month mark!! This means that I'm starting to have those scary dreams where everything goes wrong, but they always seem to end happy so that much be a good sign. 

We also added a new member to our furry family! Jase (named after the character from Duck Dynasty) is the sweetest craziest little puppy boy in the world! This is him the week we got him! He is now 8 months old and weighs in at 56 lbs!

AND for DINNER tonight we will be having Greek Pasta Salad

Cook the pasta. Add sliced cherry tomatoes, black olives, and feta cheese. Add Greek vinaigrette to taste! I might cook Brandon some chicken to go with it.   

On a side note, please join my book club this month as we read "11/22/63" by Stephen King! I have only gotten to the 3rd chapter so it's not to late!!!  

coming soon......

Best addition to a Classroom!

DIY Wedding Crap (and LOTS of it!)

Easy PJ Pants (really SUPER easy! I did these with my 9 and 10 year old sewing camp!)

Book Club update! 

Ruffle Curtains Part One

I haven't posted anything for a while because I have been working on a project that is proving to take WAY longer than I intended. I found some curtains on pinterest and followed the link to anthropology where I was informed that the curtains I had quickly fallen in love with were going to cost me almost 1600 dollars for the number of panels I needed for a bay window.

The curtains I love are on the left and the ones I am making are on the right. I am going to do a tutorial, but I wanted to make sure it was possible first, so stay tuned....

Make Curtains Longer!

This weekend I decided that the curtains I had put up to cover the ugly sliding door blinds were not getting the job done. The problem was that I had to hang the curtains over the existing blinds that I'm not allowed to remove. My solution? Sew curtain extensions! 

I decided to go with a vintage looking fabric. Mustard goes with everything :) 

I didn't take any process pictures, but the project was super simple. I cut the fabric to the width of each curtain panel and the length that I wanted (with a 1/2 inch seam allowance on all 4 sides) I wanted my extensions to look like part of the curtain so I decided to see them onto the front of the curtains a little bit higher up. All you have to do is hem each side of the panel and sew them on! It only took about 1 hour! 

Happy sewing!!

Cleaning makeup brushes!

I got my makeup done at Mac for my engagement pictures a couple weeks ago and was shocked when I started to buy some brush cleaner. I don't know why anyone would spend so much on it. This is coming from somebody who had never cleaned there's and determined that that was gross. Here's an easy and effective way I found on the net!