This is a joke, right?

While perusing Etsy for some cute puppy accessories, I came across these:

It's a joke, right?? I mean...I think so, but Etsy isn't normally a platform for selling fictitious items. Check them out by clicking here.

DIY dog collar and leash

A trip to Petco left me astonished at the price of leashes and collars! $30...seriously? The additional fact that we have a tiny little puppy led me to make one for Wyatt.

Here's the supplies you need: 1 D ring, 1 swivel clip, one side buckle, one slider, 3 yds nylon webbing, and decorative ribbon. {you could also embellish with desired fabric with a little extra effort}. I purchased all of this at Hobby Lobby for $9 and will have some extra parts. I picked out mostly plastic hardware, but you could use metal if you prefer.

First, you will want to sew the ribbon to the nylon webbing. If you have a dog that is in the water a lot or outdoors often, you might consider using embroidery thread for additional durability.
Next, cut a portion of the webbing for the collar. You can always start with a couple of feet and cut it down to size after trying on your pup. Thread the webbing through a d-ring, then through the female part of the buckle.
Sew on either side of the d-ring, and in an 'x' pattern to the left of the buckle.
Next, you thread through the slider and male part of the buckle as shown below, twice. After this, you will be able to pull and shape the collar to the right size.

Here's what it will look like:

Use the remaining portion of the webbing for a leash. Simply fold over and sew in an 'x' pattern for the handle.

Then thread through the swivel clip and sew an 'x' pattern again.

Voila : a leash and collar on the cheap.

Add a cute puppy and you're all set!

I'm linking this project to:
Between Naps on the Porch , Making the World Cuter, The DIY Show Off, The Persimmon Perch, Skip to My Lou, Keeping it Simple, A Soft Place to Land, Today's Creative Blog, Blue Cricket Design, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Beyond the Picket Fence, Remodelaholic, Tatertots and Jello

A great weekend!

This weekend has been so great that I feel the need to recapture it via blog. Sean had to work Friday night, so Wyatt and I stayed in to watch girly movies {Leap Year and Freedom Writers...both good flicks}.

Saturday morning I woke up and decided to go visit some garage sales. Boy did I hit the jackpot! I purchased a pair of shoes, a shoe rack, 2 dresses, a cardigan, 2 dress skirts, a jean skirt, a pair of white linen pants, and a pair of seven for all mankind jeans for............drumroll........$24.00!! A lot of the items still had their original tags on them, too.

To celebrate the garage sale victory, I went to get a mani/pedi/eyebrow wax, all for just $45. Sean was studying in the afternoon, so I took my book to a nearby apartment pool and caught some sun.

Yesterday evening, Sean's brother Kyle and his wife, Jessica, came to visit! We had dinner at Sean's mom's house, then went to a baseball game. So fun! Here's a picture of my MIL with her boys.

Kyle and Jess Today I'm have time to catch up on laundry, cleaning house, crafting and blogging. I mean, seriously, this is a GREAT weekend!

Meet the newest member of our family!

Fellow blog readers, I introduce you to our new precious puppy, Wyatt. He's an apricot poodle and is SOOO cuddly!

He's tiny and very well behaved, especially for an 8 week old puppy. Also, he doesn't shed, which is awesome!
It's already so fun to have him around. Someone else to hang with when Sean's at work in the evening, someone to laugh with/at, and someone to love! We look forward to many years ahead with Wyatt as a part of our family.

Sean's first day of school!

{grad school, that is}

I was out of town on business this week, but it was Sean's first week of grad school at U of A, so I made him take a first day of school picture! I'm really proud of his desire to become the best athletic trainer he can be and his eagerness to learn more about the profession. I'm completely confident he will be one of the best trainers this program will graduate and look forward to seeing him serve athletes in the Fayetteville region for the next two years!

  Proud wife,

Turning a rental into a home: DIY headboard part 2

We don't have the option to paint in our rental, which is a shame. I had wonderful visions of a soft blue-grey color on the walls of our bedroom. Since we can't paint, I wanted to make a headboard that would become more of a focal point and hopefully take the eyes away from the boring walls.

Here's the headboard in all her glory:

Here's a close up of the tufting and the pattern of the fabric.

I picked up the burnt orange panels at TJ Maxx on clearance.

I painted on a blank canvas a couple of years ago and decided I still liked it enough to hang in our new room.
I really like how the headboard is a little taller than normal.
My dear husband installed a ceiling fan! It was totally worth it! We didn't have to rewire or anything crazy, so when we get ready to move out we will put their light fixture back in place.
Pricing:
Foam board (Lowes) $13
Shower curtain (Tuesday Morning) $20
Twin foam mattress (Walmart) $9
Button kits (Walmart) $2.50 ea.
Curtains (TJ Maxx) $8 ea.
Curtain rods (Hobby Lobby) $8 ea.


I'm linking this project to:
Between Naps on the Porch , Making the World Cuter, The DIY Show Off, The Persimmon Perch, Skip to My Lou, Keeping it Simple, A Soft Place to Land, Today's Creative Blog, Blue Cricket Design, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Beyond the Picket Fence, Remodelaholic, Tatertots and Jello

Turning a rental into a home: DIY headboard part 1

Here's our master bedroom before: blah, blah, blah. Tan carpet, tan walls, tan bedding.

Another view of the boringness.
I ran accross this shower curtain at Tuesday Morning and instantly knew I wanted to cover a headboard with it.

We purchased a sheet of insulation from Lowe's, which Sean cut to size.

Next, I used spray adhesive to stick a twin sized mattress pad to the headboard. The thicker padding you can purchase by the yard at a fabric store probably would have been better, but I was going for cheap and quick. Next, I poked a nail through the padding and foam board to denote where to place the buttons later for tufting.

After ironing it and cutting to size, we stapled the shower curtain fabric to the foam board.

Making your own buttons is seriously DA BOMB! I've never done it before and have no idea why! It's super easy and cost effective. Just follow the easy directions on the package.

These are the buttons we ended up with and I used for tufting. I had 8 buttons, so I spaced them out equally to have 2 rows of 4 buttons.

Using fishing line would have been the best for the tufting, but we didn't have any, so I just triple threaded my biggest needle. I threaded through a small button {which anchored my tufts}, pushed the needle through the foam, threaded the decorative button, then back through the foam to tie it off on the backside while Sean pushed the decorative button in.

  Stay tuned for the after pics...laundry is covering our bed right now, so I'll snap some photos later today hopefully. I'll also break down the costs of future projects!

My 24th birthday!

Friday was my 24th birthday! Sean made me my favorite breakfast, french toast {which he doesn't particularly like, so I don't make it often}.

I worked, went out to a birthday lunch with my co-workers at a restaurant called Mama Dean's Soul Food -- it was so yummy! Later, my parents came in for a little slice of American culture -- a TED NUGENT concert!
Fayetteville has an outdoor amphitheatre and boy were the crazies out for this concert! People watching is my favorite pass-time, so I loved it!

Mom and dad at the concert...reminiscing of their high school years.

Uncle Ted himself.

Saturday the four of us went shopping for patio furniture. I love what we got and can't wait to share pictures after it's all put together.

Sean ordered me a new iPhone4 for my b-day -- I'll be 'hip' and 'with it.' :)

Summer sangria!

We made some seriously delicious sangria this weekend! {side note, sometimes when I spell the word delicious, I spell it using the black eyed peas version "D to the E to the L-I-C-I-O-U-S"}

So yummy, in fact, I wanted to share the super easy recipe!

Ingredients:

1 bottle of red wine {we used a sweet red concord}

4 cups of sprite {or ginger ale}

A splash of OJ

1 small can of crushed pineapple with juice

1 of each: lemon, lime, orange -- quartered and squeezed

3 sliced strawberries

1/2 cup blueberries {ours were fresh picked!}

Let it sit for at least a few hours to chill and allow the fruit juices to blend. Enjoy, friends!