Happy 4th of July {Wreath}!

After 2 1/2 weeks of moving, unpacking, decorating, cleaning....and other such nonsense, I was more than ready to dive in to a craft project for 4th of July.

We have a party coming up this weekend, and I wanted to make sure the house was decorated.  I wanted my guests to be greeted at our door with a festive wreath perfect for Independence Day festivities.

Here's what I did:

{Ignore my ugly wall color.  I haven't painted my craft room yet - k, thx!}

I used a 14" floral foam wreath, some twine (compliments of LeBox Boutique!), and washi tape.

Some of my washi was gifted to me from LeBox Boutique, as well as the twine.

Ok, let's get started:

I started off by tying off the twine around the wreath so it doesn't slip while I wrap it.

Then, I wrapped...and wrapped...and wrapped some more!  I wrapped until I ran out of twine.  Occasionally, I inserted a pin to keep things lined up nice and straight.

Oh, and here's a tip:  Use your fingernail to nudge the twine as you wrap to keep it nice and tight.  I would wrap the twine about 3 times, then cinch it up with my fingernails while pulling the end tight.

I used all of my twine, except for one little piece I reserved, which I'll show you later.  Even if I had twine leftover, I would have stopped here.  Time to add some ribbon!

I used 3 yards of 1" wide satin ribbon.  And yes, it took the entire 3 yards to wrap the rest of the wreath.  :)

Overlapping and pinning as I went, I wrapped the wreath until it was completely covered.

Now, back to that piece of twine I reserved earlier.  I saved enough to stretch the width of the wreath along the top to make a bunting.

I used various washi tapes in red, white and blue to make my bunting.  I simply folded the tape over the twine, then cut the edges.  Finally, I pinned the bunting to the wreath at an angle along the top.

Cute, right?  Yep!  But I'm not done!

{You have to forgive me for the next part.  I didn't photograph the steps for 2 reasons: (1) There are tons of great tutorials for DIY Pinwheels and (2) I wasn't really sure if using the washi would work.  Forgive me!}

Ok, all I did was cut a piece of white cardstock to 5" square.  I covered one side in red washi and the other in blue washi.  Then I followed these steps to make this super cute pinwheel.

I pushed a brad through from the back to hold the pinwheel together, then used my handy dandy hot glue gun to attach the red resin flower to the center, as well as attaching the pinwheel itself to the wreath.

And voila!  :)

This is by far my most favorite wreath that I have ever made to date.  It just makes me happy to look at it!  :)

  Tales of a Trophy Wife   Sugar and Dots  

Simple Things

We spent our Saturday in the yard - pressure-washing the house, trimming bushes that were way out of control, adding mulch...

And in the process of all this, a little baby mockingbird somehow fell out of it's nest and sat patiently on our driveway until my mom found it.  :)

Fortunately, mom scooped up the baby in her gloved hands, so her human scent didn't get on the poor little thing.  The only thing we could find to put it in was Marley's bicycle helmet.  We sat it under a tree hoping Mama Bird would come along...and sure enough, she found her baby and brought her some food!

I continued my yard work and eventually, I found an old abandoned bird's nest in one of our bushes.  (Thank you, God!)  This was perfect!  Using a bit of cardboard for added strength, we placed the nest in a tree, and, just as she did last time, Mama Bird found her baby again.

I've been checking on the little one periodically and it is doing just fine!  Mama keeps bringing food, the nest is holding up, and all is good in it's little world.  :)

Absolutely made my day!

God Made Dirt, and Dirt Don't Hurt!

Thank you COOL WHIP for sponsoring this post. Join us on Facebook for inspiration and recipes for everyday treats. What you add makes it. #coolwhipmoms

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As a lot of you may know, the family and I just recently (as in, one week ago) moved into our new house!  YAY!  We are so incredibly excited, and have lots of reasons to celebrate.

For example, our new house and fabulous new neighborhood are definitely cause for celebration!  And, let me just tell you, we moved in Saturday and have been without a refrigerator since then.  (Our old one somehow died during the move at the hands of my hubby, but he's cute so I can't be mad.)  Our brand-spankin' new one came home today!  WOO HOOO!!!  PARTY TIME!!!  :)  We have been living off of fast food and out of coolers for almost a week, and I'm so ready for something homemade.

But the great thing about this delicious dessert is, you don't need a special occasion!  COOL WHIP Whipped Topping can help make any day an extra special day, simply because it's just that good.

One of our absolute favorite everyday desserts is "Dirt Cake".  It's quick.  It's easy.  It requires little effort and no baking.  And it's super scrumptious!  Score!

Here's all you have to do:

Grab your ingredients:

 - COOL WHIP

- about 15-20 Oreo's

- 1 box of Instant Jell-O Chocolate Pudding Mix

- 2 cups Cold Milk

It's also nice to have a really cute assistant.  :)

Making this loveliness is half the fun!  Put the Oreo's in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag and use a spoon to smash them to bits.  (This part is really fun for us moms who are totally stressed out and need a non-violent way to take out our aggressions...just sayin'.)  After you finish killing the cookies, set the bag aside for a sec.

Beat the pudding mix and milk according to package directions.  Stir in the whole tub of COOL WHIP and half of those poor innocent cookies you just beat to a pulp.

Spoon the whole concoction into a pan, or, separate into little individual cups if you'd prefer.  Top with the rest of those helpless cookie crumbs.

Pop that bad boy in the fridge for about an hour, then dive in!!  You know what they say - "You gotta eat a bucket of dirt before you die!"  Well, it might as well taste good, right?

You can get as creative as you'd like if you want to make this for a birthday party or classroom treat.  Throw in some gummy worms, for example.  You could even serve it in a (clean and unused!!!) flower pot with some plastic flowers for decoration.

You might recall that we made this same treat for our Halloween Party last year.  We added marshmallow ghosts to make it extra spooky.

No matter how you dress it up or down, Dirt Cake made with real COOL WHIP is the way to go for a simple, everyday dessert your family is sure to love.

By the way, clean up is a breeze!  :)

Sponsored posts are purely editorial content that we are pleased to have presented by aparticipating sponsor.  Advertisiers do not produce the content.  I was compensated for this post as a member of Clever Girls Collective, but the content is all my own.

Quick & Easy DIY Closet Fix

Unpacking and organizing and throwing around boxes...that's my life right now.

In the midst of all the unpacking, I ran across a little problem that I think a lot of people may have.

Too few cute shoes?  Well, that is a problem, but not the one I'm talking about today!  :)

I wear heels pretty regularly, and have several pair (more than what's in this picture, I assure you).  Anyway, in our new house, my closet has these lovely shoe shelves.  The problem?  My heels fall through unless they are placed justright.

Easy fix!

I have LOTS of cardboard lying around due to the insane amount of moving boxes.  I measured my shelves and cut a piece to fit.

I don't really care too much for the look of cardboard, though.

I used this awesome adhesive shelf liner in the bathrooms - found it at TJ Maxx for only $6 for 60 feet!  Well, it works perfectly on cardboard, too!

See?  Now my heels don't fall through the cracks AND I have a few super stylish shelves in my new closet!  (I'm so stinkin' clever!)  :)

Check out this other shelf liner I found at TJ Maxx for the kitchen:

Cute, right?  Seriously - loving this whole decorating and organizing and home stuff.

Later taters!!!

A Quick Tour Around Our New House!

We have spent the past 4 days moving into our new house!!!  I'm so stinkin' excited about the whole thing, and can't wait to give you all a formal tour, but for now, I just want to show you what we've been up to...

{Warning:  Picture-Heavy Post!!}

The top priorities before we moved in were (1) clear the back yard and (2) paint the interior.

Item #1 - The back yard:

BEFORE

Now, by hubby is 6'2", so you can see how tall some of the growth back there was.

AFTER

It isn't completely finished - not by a long shot - but it's cleared enough that I feel good about my dogs running around without getting eaten by something.  We'll eventually landscape a bit, build a deck...the whole nine yards.  (And yes, I'll be documenting it all here!)

Item #2 - Painting the interior:

DINING ROOM BEFORE:

AFTER:

I'm in love with this color, especially with the wainscotting.  For anyone who cares, it is Naval by Sherwin-Williams.  :)

LIVING ROOM BEFORE:

AFTER:

SOOOOO much better!!!  We used the Naval on the accent wall, then painted the rest of the living room, and kitchen (see below) in Sands of Time, also by Sherwin-Williams.  You can get a better feel for the Sands of Time in the kitchen pictures.

KITCHEN BEFORE:

{Looks like Christmas - that red dining room peeking into a green kitchen.  Ew.}

AFTER:

Seriously?  Way better, right?  :)  LOVE!!!

MASTER BEDROOM/BATHROOM BEFORE:

AFTER:

I was determined to have a gray room, and I absolutely adore this color.  It's Gauntlet Gray by Sherwin-Williams.  We painted the bedroom and bathroom the same color.  I'll be accenting with beachy blues ;)

So there you have it for now!  We have tons of boxes still to unpack, and of course, you want to see these rooms furnished!  :)  I promise I'll post more soon.  Busy, busy right now.

What do you think so far, though?  I'd love your feedback!