Hanging How-To

Friday was probably the most productive day of my life. It was my first day of spring break, so I had the day off (and this week, too!) I woke up early and started cleaning right away! I cleaned for 5 hours! I don't know what got into me, but it felt good. After the apartment was spotless, I decided to hang up some things I've been putting off.

I have 3 shadow boxes that have awkward spots for hanging. They're hard to get straight and positioned how I want them. I also wanted to hang the shutter I found at the antique store, which didn't have a spot for a nail. I hung both with tricks I saw on Pinterest that I thought I'd share.

The first is the ol' toothpaste trick. Use this trick when planning out where you are hanging multiple pieces. Just put a little blop of toothpaste on the hook of the piece you are going to hang. Eyeball it to make sure you know where you want it. Press it against the wall to leave a toothpaste mark, then hammer in your nail. Since I had 3 boxes to hang, this was especially helpful in getting the positioning right.

The second trick I tried out was using a pop tab. This worked like a charm, too! Just put a nail in the piece you want to hang, slide on the pop tab, nail a hole in the wall where you want to hang your piece, and then hang the pop tab from the nail in the wall.

Ok, so this is a terrible picture. It's blurry and looks like I have a few tiny things on two giant walls. I promise it looks good in real life.

I'm pretty proud of my little corner of antique goodness. Handkerchiefs, a vase, brooches, and a shutter. I am glad I found a way to display a few of the items I've been collecting for the wedding.

I'll be back later with some pictures of our apartment! Remember when I shared pictures of our apartment before we moved in? I realized I never shared pictures of it now that we've been living here. I figured since I got it all cleaned up nice, this would be a good time :) I'm off to enjoy the beautiful weather reading on the patio. Hoping to soak up some sun and start my summer tan!

Happy Sunday, friends!

Bridal Party Dress Inspiration

I've been doing some looking at bridesmaids/usherettes dresses as of late and I thought I would share my "visions" for the look I'm going for. I am so indecisive about the bridesmaids. I go back and forth with having mismatched bridesmaids with a common color palate to matching bridesmaids. I know I want my friends to feel very comfortable, and I want to find them a dress they will wear again--I don't want them to feel like they are blowing a big wad of cash on a dress they will wear once. I want it to be affordable!

I have been perusing the ModCloth website as of late, and I thought I'd share some of the dresses that caught my eye. This is half for your viewing pleasure, half for my own unorganized brain, and half for my bridesmaids to see what I'm thinking! (Excuse my math. I'm on spring break.)

Judging from this collection I put together, I'm going for a vintage-y look and a classic shaped dress. I want something that's flattering for everyone! Without further ado...

#1

#2

#3 

#4

#5

#6 

 #7

#8

I'm mostly kidding about this last one... I do love it but I know not everyone appreciates rainbows as much as I do.

#9

I guess I'm drawn to yellow as of late, but never really considered it as a wedding color. I think I am going to go with ALL colors rather than pick a couple, which makes picking dresses a little tricky. What do you think, ladies?? Which ones are your favorites? I want NEED your opinions!!

(These pictures are a little blurry...click the links below to see a clearer view of the dress and zoom in for the details)

#1. Mint Milkshake Dress in Banana (maybe a little too girly?)
#2. Peach Me I'm Dreaming (maybe a little casual?)
#3. Made In The Shades Dress In Floral Furry (I really love the print of this dress and the vintage vibe!)
#4. Pasture Perfection Dress (love the color, but maybe too casual as well?)
#5. Memories Of You Dress (when I picture all my girls standing together I think this dress would be cool)
#6. Lemon Lattice Dress (very vintage looking, but the neckline might not be for everyone)
#7. Banana Bubble Tea Dress (yes, a little too bright, but I like the details in this dress as well as the shape)
#8. Cabbage Rose Dress (I think this would be very flattering on everyone and I love the print and colors!)
#9. Too Much Fun Dress in Rainbow (in a world where I didn't care about anyone else's opinions...) :)

All of these dresses range in price from $47 to $107, which makes me very happy. Does it make you happy?

As I'm looking at these dresses, I am jealous I don't get one. Then I realize I will have a beautiful white wedding dress on, and I'm ok with it. But in all honestly, I'll probably order myself whatever dresses the ladies get. Is that terrible?

Macey, Heather, Lindsey, Maddy, Tonia, Erin, Andrea-- what do you think?
Rest of the world? What do you think?
I think we're getting somewhere!

New reader?! WELCOME!


Read our engagement story here.
Read how I "popped the question" here.
See other wedding details here.

Happy Weekend, Friends!

fun.

I have liked the band fun. for awhile now. They are an indie punk band with a very unique sound and their music just makes me so happy. If you know me, you know I like them even more because they are a band not many people have heard about. Until recently. I have seen many a commercial (car commercial, I think?) with this song. It's on the radio all the time. That makes me sad, because I'm weird and I like underground music. I love to share my favorite music with my peeps (like you!) but once it goes mainstream, I lose a little respect.

However, I love this song a lot and I am going to post it. The video is very dumb, so if you're the kind of person where a bad video can ruin a song (like me) then just listen to it, don't watch!

Update: Ok, so the sound on this one is pretty terrible, but they look like they are having so much fun (pun intended)!! And they are jamming. Jamming is the best.

Here is my favorite song from their first album.

A Spring Inspired Wreath

I've never made a wreath but I see so many cool ones floating around the web, so I thought I'd try and make my own. I always associate wreaths with Christmas time and they always seemed outdated to me. After seeing such creative wreaths from fellow bloggers, I had a change of heart and made my own!

I have seen Styrofoam wreaths at craft stores but I always thought they were so expensive! I found a tip on a blog that inspired me to finally do it. She suggested looking at your local hardware store (Home Depot, Menards) in the plumbing section for pipe insulation. Kevin was rather embarrassed when I sent out on a quest to find this material (for a wreath, nonetheless!) but it was only $1.50 for a big long tube. If I would have bought a wreath at a craft store, it would have cost me about $8. Score!

I had no real vision in mind when I started this, I just started crafting. This is my favorite way to craft. That way I have no expectation and won't be disappointed with the outcome!

Here is my finished wreath! I love it!

Want to make your own? Here's what I did!

Supplies: Plumbing insulation, duct tape, scissors, yarn. I also used hot glue, felt, and lace.

I ended up just using the turquoise and green yarn. I chose the turquoise because it's my favorite color and I knew I wouldn't get sick of it. I thought the added green was a complimentary spring color, and it also looked neon when laid over the blue. I think this color combo will be good for the summer as well!

First, cut your plumbing insulation to make your desired sized wreath. I cut mine in half so I have enough to make another, maybe in another season or as a gift. Use duct tape to secure. You will need to bend it a little to get the kinks out and make it perfectly circular.

Pick a color yarn and start wrapping! To start I tucked one end of the yarn under the tape. You will want to push your yarn together as you go to hide the grey tube. This took me a lot longer than expected! I discovered it was fastest to cut a very long piece of yarn and pass it over and under, scrunching the yarn together as I went. At the end of each string, I would just tuck it under. This was faster than trying to pass the whole ball of yarn over and under.

 I didn't snap a picture of how I made the felt flowers, but I assure you, it is SO easy. I used this tutorial (it's for a headband, but just make the circle bigger and your flowers will turn out bigger.) Then, I simply hot glued the flowers to the wreath.

I cut a piece of lace to hang the wreath and used a small Command Strip Hook for the door. Since we live in an apartment that is not ours, I didn't wan to put a nail in the door.

Welcome to our home! :)

P.S. All photos were taken on my iPhone. Can you believe how great of a camera they fit in there?? I am very impressed by it.

Multi-Media Embroidery

I started working on my 3rd piece of embroidery yesterday and I finished it much faster than the last two. That must mean I'm getting better, right?

I used felt for the flowers and batting (for making pillows) for the clouds and I'm very happy with how it turned out. I made it for one of my favorite readers who appreciates each and every craft I make. Someone will be getting this in the mail real soon!

Someday soon I'm going to start making these embroidery hoop pieces for myself to start my embroidery wall!

(As I mentioned in my last post, Kevin and I are watching the first season of Jersey Shore. Judge as you see fit. I have watched this show from the very beginning but he just got hooked this season, so we are starting over. He is so hooked, in fact, this is the conversation we just had: The DVD from Family Video sucks and keeps skipping. He says, "Oh no! Look at all the drama we missed!" in the most sincere voice possible. He's very mad I posted this. :) Next up: The Real Housewives of Orange County!)

Photo An Hour

"Photo An Hour" is a trend that I've seen many bloggers do, so I thought I'd give it a go. If nothing else, it would encourage me to have a productive Sunday :) And it did!

9am: Had a hard time getting out of bed due to daylight savings and we stayed up too late watching the first season of Jersey Shore (don't judge.)

10am: Enjoying Marshmallow Mateys and apple/strawberry/kiwi juice for breakfast!  

11am: Messy messy room. Time to clean. 

12pm: All clean!  

1pm: Time for a run! (That green thing is a Nike+Ipod chip. If you like to listen to music while you run, I highly recommend this product! I think it's $15 for the chip and you get get a pouch for your shoe like mine on Amazon for under $5. I don't run without it! You can set a distance or time goal and you get an update in your headphones as you go.)  

Still running... I love having such great trails right outside my door. It makes me much more motivated to run and makes running much more relaxing.

...even in the rain!  

2pm: Lunchtime. Grilled ham and cheese and carrots. 

3pm: Antiquing!  

5pm: Back home admiring my purchases! 

6pm: Blogging. 

7pm: Starting some embroidery for a special person. 

8pm: Supper time! Tuna noodles. An old favorite I haven't had in a loooong time. 

9pm: Finished my project for the night! I'll blog the full thing tomorrow. 

There you have it! That was my day, and I must say I'm happy it was so productive. 

What did you do on your Sunday?

Psst... All photos were taken via Instagram, and if you already follow me, this post is old news for you. If you have Instagram you can follow me @startactingmyage. If you don't have Instagram, you can follow me here!

Thrifting Finds

 I took a trip to the antique Kevin and I went to a few weeks ago, this time solo (which means I spent more money than I should have.) BUT I found a lot of awesome things and most are for our wedding.

My favorite find is this vintage suitcase! I have been searching for the perfect one for FOREVER (ok, since we got engaged) for guests to place cards in at the reception. This one is a pretty blue/green and in excellent condition. I can't wait to put it to use! It was a little more than I wanted to spend ($20) but after comparing prices, this was a good deal.

I love this mustard colored shutter I picked up for $4. I don't think I will put it to use like I did our last shutter find, but I think it will be a good decoration on a tall skinny wall.

More vintage handkerchiefs! I have decided I will use these handkerchiefs I've been collecting as part of the centerpieces on the tables at our reception. I saw them in this wedding Andrea sent to me and I love the look.

I also found some more vintage brooches. I have had a hard time finding ones I like for a decent price, and started to doubt whether or not I really wanted to do a brooch bouquet for the wedding. But, I found a few good ones today and decided I'll keep collecting.

From left to right:

Ok, the first one is kind of a joke, but appropriate nonetheless. It's a carrot. Now I just need to find peas!

The second one didn't photograph as well, but it's a very sparkly silver with bright blue jewels. I needed to add a little sparkle to the bouquet.

I love the bow!! I will wear it often until I have to put it on my bouquet.

I also thought love birds were appropriate (though hard to see.)

I decided to lay out all my brooches I've collected so far to see how far I still need to go. I have more than I thought, but I still have a long way to go! I think I need some more color (not orange) in there!

I also decided to take a look at my handkerchief collection. They look so pretty all laid out. I'm excited to see how they will all come together at the reception.

I must admit, I'm watching Hoarders right now and feeling a little guilty. At least I have a wedding as my excuse, right??

P.S. I'm doing the "Photo An Hour" challenge today and will be back later tonight with a glimpse inside my day!