Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

My mom sister and I have ALWAYS gotten along so well.  We love to dance together, shop together, and spend lots of time together as a family.  Well last night was no exception...we turned a not so fun task into a SUPER fun night.  

We have been cleaning out my grandma's apartment - she unfortunately won't be able to move back in and live on her own anymore.  While it was sad, we made some fun out of it trying on all her old clothes, jewelry, purses, scarves, etc.

Here is our glamour photo session...

ROUND 1...scarves, jewelry, and glasses

 

ROUND 2...it's MOO-MOO time!

 

We love our grams and we love her FASHION!  

While cleaning out her place isn't a fun task, it was great to run down memory lane looking at all of her things and creating new memories that we can share with Grams!

Secret Blogger Swap with Framed Frosting

I LOVE blogger swaps!  This is the second one I have participated in and it is so much fun!  I love getting a package filled of random goodies...makes my day. 

I was paired with Natalie over @ Discoveries of Self  over in the UK.  I had a great time getting to know her through her blog and figuring out her style.  I sent her a package full of bright colors and fun goodies for her to enjoy including a custom ring from my shop, bright lip stick, neutral eye shadow, fun nail polish, and a great bright bag to hold it all in.  Can't wait to see how she liked the goodies :)

 The lovely Kayla from Close Encounters sent me a wonderful package.

(there were chocolates as well but the BF ate them before I could even get a picture...rude)

I have used this lash blast fusion ever since I have gotten it and am in love...thank you Kayla!  This is SO much better than the one I have been using...I am definitely switching.

The mint colored nail polish is a favorite of mine as well...such a fun bright color for the summer!

These bracelets are so fun!  Love the combination of colors and beads!  I am very into the stacking bracelets trend so these will be added to my everyday wear collection!

And the lipstick!  I have been wanting to get adventurous with wearing lipstick more and this is just the perfect shade to do that in.  The iridescent pink color is SO fun and gives a fun pop to any outfit!

 

Thank you so much Kayla! I love everything!  I think we need to be immediate shopping friends - Kansas isn't that far away from me...meet up for a shopping trip :)

Thanks Danielle for putting on such an amazing swap!

Getting Back Into The Swing of Things

HELLO MY FABULOUS FOLLOWERS!

I have been MIA for awhile and I apologize.  I have been crazy busy between work and personal projects going on...I've used my down time to relax.  But I am getting back into the swing of things now thank goodness!

Here is what I have been up to as of lately:

As you all know, I went on a work trip for our customer conference that went SO WELL!  I am so thankful that everything worked out and all the guests had a marvelous time.

After that trip I was home for a day and then off again...this time Casey and I road tripped it to Branson.

We saw an amazing show by SIX - six brothers who sing and make the instrument sounds all with their voices - no actual instruments or outside music...it was awesome.

We relaxed by the pool, enjoyed the beautiful weather, and had a fabulous little getaway.

What vacation wouldn't be complete without morning coffee outside on the porch and yummy ice cream in the middle of the day?

I also bought myself a new hat...first attempt with a fedora...what do you think?

I have also been working on a few personal projects...

More Baby Items for SweetP Baby Shop:

I am sending a package out to my cousin for her baby shower this weekend so I don't want to show you all too much but here is a sneak peek at what will be coming to the portfolio.

Wedding Signs for my friends upcoming wedding:

my inspiration for designs

Hope you all had a fabulous Memorial Day Weekend and I am glad to be back :)

DS Customer Conference

Hey All! 

 I am finally home after a crazy 5 days of planning and running our customer conference.  I am happy to report that it was a HUGE success.  Everyone enjoyed the events, location, food, and sessions.  I received so much positive feedback which makes all this hard work and effort SO worth it.

Registration:

Opening night Reception:

Sessions:

Gala Event @ Air and Space:

Overall it was an amazing time and everyone really enjoyed themselves.  It is great to see that all your planning and hard work comes out so positively in the end.  

Guest Post - Lauren from Lucy Baby Designs

Hey all!  

Hope you had a fabulous weekend!  I'm still hard at work here in Virginia...the conference is going GREAT so far (phew)!  I have a fabulous guest post for you all today - Lauren from Lucy Baby Designs.  She is a new blogging momma with an amazing ETSY shop full of cute baby wall hanging designs such as these:

How cute are they!! She has wonderful tutorials on her blog and is SUPER creative.  She is sharing a FABULOUS one with us today so enjoy!

Hey everyone! I am so excited to be guest posting here at Simply FABulous! I have a fun project to share with you today. I transformed a sad little bench into one full of LOVE!

Before

 After

Great huh? I took a bench that was old and worn, put a ton of work into it, only to make it look old and worn in a different way! Ha! 

First thing I did was give it a good sanding with an 80 grit sand paper. I feel like I’ve read a lot of articles saying that sanding is not such a big deal. If you don’t like sanding than this tutorial is not for you. I sanded at the beginning and in between every coat of paint.

After I sanded, I primed with Zinsser Oil Based Primer. 

 Next step was painted the underneath color. I picked up this great Heather Purple color at Home Depot, on the oops paint shelf. Every time we go to Home Depot I cruise by the shelf just to see what they have. I had no idea what I would do with this color when I bought it, but for $2.00 I just couldn’t leave it there! 

Now I have a purple bench that is begging to be painted white. After a few coats of white paint, I have a respectable bench that a normal person would stop working on, and be very proud of their work. 

While deciding what to do with the heart in the middle, I thought it would be fun to paint a quote with the work love in the middle. We are big Beatles fans in our house so, “All you need is love” seemed like a natural fit.

I wrote the words out with chalk so that if I made a mistake it would be easier to change.  

Then I painted over it with black paint. 

Next, I traced the heart on a piece of paper to make a stencil. I used that stencil to cut out a piece of wood the right size and shape. I hot glued that bad boy to the back, painted it white, and then I painted the word love inside. 

Once again, I have a lovely bench that could be called finished. 

But no, I took a sander to it again. 

I used 150 grit sandpaper on the entire bench except for the words. I used 220 grit on the words. I sanded heavier in areas that would naturally receive more ware over the years, like the top and edges.

Now it is time to antique it. The first time I used this technique, I was scared out of my mind that I was going to ruin the piece of furniture I had just spent 3 weekends working on. I had no idea if it would work or not, but it was either try this or run to the store and buy glaze - which I really didn’t want to do. 

I used pain ol’ Minwax stain and an old rag. I have a ton of it lying around and I thought, “Hey, why not? Let’s give it a try!”

 WEAR GLOVES for this step. I didn’t once, and sorely regretted it. Also, use a darker color stain, as the lighter colors will not show up. Dip the tip of the rag in the stain, then trace the perimeter of the area with it. Use the other end of the rag (the side without stain on it) to rub the stain into the center of the area; blending it while you’re working. You have to move pretty quickly, so work in small areas.

 This step in pretty close to impossible to take a picture of because you need both hands to work the stain, so I apologize for not having a one. 

Let the stain dry overnight, then apply a couple of coats of polyurethane with a foam brush. Let the final coat dry for 48 hours before using. 

 

I am so so happy with how this bench has turned out! It now lives at the foot of my mom’s bed.

If you like this project, head on over to Lucy Baby Designs to see what else I have going on! 

Thank you so much Evanne for having me guest post! Hey- don’t tell anyone, but this was my first time guest posting anywhere, did I do ok? It was so much fun!