Joy Fold Card

The other day I came across the joy-fold card, and decided I had to give it a whirl. It was so easy for such a unique looking card. If you've never made one,  it's basically one card with a second placed inside, but backwards. That probably doesn't make sense, so check out the second photo for the visual clarification :)

I apologize, because I made this weeks ago and don't remember the measurements I used for each card. BUT just google or youtube "joy-fold card" and many, MANY tutorials will show up.

I wanted to do a quick and simple card, so I just grabbed a stamp and used some gel pens to color it in. The yellow buttons on the left are attached using pop up dots, which helps the front card flap stay closed. You can experiment with different objects to help keep your card closed. I tried decorative paper clips but didn't like the clutter. As long as it has height so the card can slide under it and stay shut.

 

Easy.Peasy.

Yet, unique.

 

The last few days I've been busy making things for my nieces 4th birthday. She's obsessed with the Disney movie Brave, so naturally that is her theme. I just finished her banner tonight. I'll have pictures and a post on that next :]

 

 

Getting Settled, and some re-upholstering

We drove for three days. The drive surprisingly wasn't so bad. I was pretty sure I would go crazy along the way... I'm still not sure how I didn't.

When we got here, we only had the few necessities we were able to cram into my little Malibu- being our pots and pans, pillows, blanket, a Pyrex set, my sewing machine (that was a MUST), some silverware and toiletries. And clothes. We were told the moving company would have our stuff here in a week.

 

First dinner together in our new place! (No table yet)

But for any of you who are familiar with the military, you things are rarely as they say.



our sleeping arrangements

yes, that is a broken dresser mirror... :(

So FOUR weeks later, we finally get our things. Yes, FOUR weeks of sleeping on the the ground, not having a couch, or lamps, or laundry baskets, or basically any of the things we typically take for granted. But it left us with some fun memories and learning to be like MacGyver.

 

Alas! The crafting can resume!

So my first project was to re-upholster our dinning room chairs. The set was given to us from my hubby's parents. It was his dad's mother's set, and the seats were already re-upholster once. In some AWESOME 70's style fabric.

 

So I went to Hobby Lobby, got some fabric, and a staple gun, and went to work.

I had some extra fabric and decided to make a place mat for the center. I added brown lace to the edges to give it texture and flair.

Sorry I don't have a close-up.  I love the end results! Even the Mr. liked the fabric and place mat. And I couldn't pass up the wall decor from Hobby Lobby. I'm in a lot of trouble having one only a few miles away! (Compared to 40 mins away at home)

Have a great week :)

 

 

Changes Along the Way

It has been quite a long time since I blogged... I'm pretty sure I lost all my readers, but rather than starting completely over I figured I'd start right where I left off. Well, kinda.  So in my hiatus I had gotten a new job, had my boyfriend deployed to Iraq, had my sister along with her 3 young boys move in with my parents and me, gotten engaged, planned a wedding in 6 months, got married, and moved 1700 miles away to start a life with the man of my dreams.

Needless to say, my crafting was put to a bare minimum. But I'm back on board, and since I'm currently an unemployed army wife, I've had LOTS of time to regain my creative bug. I just wanted to start off by sharing our story through photos of our wedding and travels to Texas. Then I'll begin to share all the adventures in craft - land I've been having :]

So it starts with this. Our engagement. He flew home on Christmas Eve. (After just finishing a deployment in Iraq). An hour after he landed, we were on our way to my Aunt's. Before walking into the house filled with my giantic family, he "realized" that he left the camera in the car (totally planned) and walked me back to the front yard to get it from the backseat. As he grabs the camera and closes the door, he kneels down, opens the camera bag to get the ring from it, and proposes.

Well, clearly I say YES! And now full of tears and joyfull anxiety, I had to face the 32 family members inside.

The next morning we were off on our 3 hour drive to visit his family. The next few days will packed and went VERY quickly. 

And a week later he left. The next time I would see him would be two days before the wedding.

 Let's just say that was an interesting 6 months.

But it was all worth it to have such a beautiful day. A day full of excitement for the future, as well as complete sadness to be leaving my family and friends behind for a few years. But after two long years of being away from my boyfriend, he was now my husband, and we could finally begin to have a 'normal' life again.

 

 We got married on June 30th. And by July 5th we were on our way to the desert, aka, our new home.

 



View from our hotel room in Little Rock

chuckin' along...  

And slowly it became less and less green around us. After driving on a road with absolutly nothing, going 75 mph, for 2 straight hours, without sight of a gas station or rest area (something straight out of the horror movies) we got to our destination.


Hello El Paso. Let's see what this side of the country has in store for us...