Meet Courtney from Life These Days

I'm so excited to introduce you to my friend Courtney this morning. She and I met years ago when we were both foot-loose, fancy-free gals living on the east coast. We've both moved, married and started little families since that time. The wonderful thing about blogger is that you're able to still keep in touch with each other's lives. 

I was so excited when she agreed to be Coffee Cups and Crafts very first guest blogger. She has an amazing tutorial to share with you this morning that I'm sure you're going to love! :D 

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My name is Courtney & I stay home with my 2 year old son, Berkley and I work part-time for a ministry called Passport.  I have a blog about Berkley, a blog of easy & quick recipes, and a blog about my own life (including any fun crafts I've run across)!  All of my blogs can be accessed from my original blog.

One of my favorite crafts to make is a ribbon wreath, and I was thrilled when Cristan asked me to post a guest blog with instructions on how to make this simple, yet versatile craft! 

Notes Before You Begin:

Buy more ribbon than you think you'll need.  It takes a lot of ribbon.  I'd say to plan on about 10-12 spools of ribbons (including at least 4-5 spools of the widest ribbon).  

It's possible to do this by sewing, but since I can't sew, I use hot glue.  

What You Need:

* Styrofoam wreath form (the larger the form, the more ribbon you'll need)  I've discovered that I like a wreath form that is flat on the front versus a complete cylinder.  It's just a bit easier to work with, but any type will work.

* One spool of wide ribbon for wrapping the wreath form

* 10+ spools of grosgrain ribbon for decorating

* Hot glue gun & lots of glue

* Scissors

* Ruler

* Pencil

Instructions:

Wrap the wreath form in wide ribbon.  This doesn't have to look good since it will mostly be covered by the other ribbons.  But, it makes for a good platform for the glue & ribbons and covers up any stray styrofoam.

I simply wrapped the ribbon and then secured it with a couple of pins at the end (I'm sure hot glue would work just as well.)

Cut ribbons into 4.5-5 inch strips.  I measured the first few of each spool of ribbon and then eye-balled the rest.  They definitely don't have to be exact.

 Place a bit of hot glue on one end of each strip- leaving about 1/2 inch at the bottom. (I found that I could put glue across 3 or 4 strips and still have time to deal with them before the glue got cold.)

Fold each strip over onto itself, creating a loop of ribbon.

Do this with every spool of ribbon until you have piles of ribbon loops.

Now the fun begins!  Spread open the bottom of each loop.  Put a little glue on that part and stick it down on the wreath form!

I started with the wider ribbons and made my way around the wreath.  That way, I could fill in later with smaller ribbons.

On the inside and outside of the wreath forms, just glue down the loops along the sides.

If you look closely you can see that I glued the bulk of the ribbon facing in one direction.

Then I added some more of the smaller ribbons going all different directions.  And I also glued some of the smaller ribbons on the inside and outside of the wreath.  I've discovered that the more ribbon I used, the better the wreath looks.  

I made the above wreath for a baby shower, and the wreath below for my son's 2nd birthday.  I plan on making these for all major events/holidays in corresponding colors! 

So, pick a few colors you like, buy a bunch of ribbon and have fun crafting!

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Are those wreaths not AMAZING!!! 

Thanks so much, Courtney, for sharing this tutorial. I want to make a jillion of these! :D 

Black and White Monday

Hello, Faithful Friends! :) Happy Monday to you! My little guy and I are up in Mammoth Lakes, CA 

(again) and going just a little nuts. Don't get me wrong, it's beautiful here. The mountains, the lakes... it's all breathtaking. But I'm a city girl. I like the mountains for a week or two. But several months and I'm going bonkers. 

Lately, I'm a really homesick city girl. I'm not talking homesick for our home in SoCal. I'm not talking homesick for our home in Oregon. Sigh. I'm talking, this Southern gal is MAJORLY homesick for her FAMILY and for TEXAS. I'm so ready to go home to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and put down roots near my sweet grandmother and my sister and my awesome extended family. Something about having my little guy makes me want to go home and raise him where I'm the happiest and where he can get to know his cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. If I had my way, I'd be buying a house in Frisco about right now.  I don't even care that they've had over 30 days straight of weather over 100 degrees. It'd be worth just being around my folks. :) 

I know I'm rambling and even whining just a bit...but a girl has got to vent every now and then. Thanks for putting up with me. :) But enough of that. On to today's little blog post. 

This morning my little guy woke up way before the sun came up. So... in an effort to get out of the house and do something relatively fun, I packed him up, pjs and all and he and I went out for a little breakfast date. I wish I'd taken the camera with me. He had his first bits of pancake with the tiniest smidge of syrup and he was lovin' it. Folks in the booth nearby were crackin' up. His hands started waving and his feet started kicking and his smile was a mile-wide. Apparently he likes that a bit more than the standard carrots and peas he's been accustomed to. It was too cute. :D Totally made me smile.

After breakfast we made a productive early morning trip to the grocery store and then it was back to the condo (sigh) where he's currently taking a nap - giving me a chance to peruse some favorite blogs and even discover a couple of new ones. I know it's not Friday, but I'm doing some features anyway. There were several projects and posts that stood out to me this morning and, when I realized they were all black and white, I figured it was a sign and I had to blog about them. :)

Random Picture: Here I am with the little guy I'm head over heels in love with. I can't even believe he'll be 10 months this week! The time is flying. He's crawling all over the place, pulling himself up on any and everything, stable or otherwise, and keeping me incredibly busy. Thus the sporadic blogging. :)

Check out this adorable owl art over at Till Death Do Us Part. I so want to do these! I need more rooms in my house to decorate! :D 

Meg over at A Little Knick Knack made these Easy Envelope Pillows. It was one of the first blogs I checked out this morning and the beginning of the black and white theme for the day. :) Thanks, Meg, for sharing. It almost makes me willing to brave the Ikea craziness to try to find this cute fabric! :D

These adorable First Day of School Survival Kits were made over at Sassy Sites for just under $1 apiece! That's hard to beat! Such a cute and thoughtful way to start the school year. 

This is my newest blog discovery. I'm looking forward to exploring it more. Randee over at How About Them Apples looks like a kindred teacher spirit. She's currently teaching kindergarten (brave soul) and is celebrating reaching over 100 followers by hosting this adorable giveaway! Be sure to check it out. It runs through the 12th of August and would make such a cute gift for your favorite teacher or for yourself. :)

Hope your week is off to a great start. My little man is now enjoying a snack of grapes cut into tiny pieces, graham crackers, vanilla yogurt and rice cereal. Fun times. My husband walked in a moment ago with a dozen beautiful roses. Such a surprise!! He must have known his wife needed a pick-me-up today.   :D I don't even remember the last time he brought me roses. His timing today was perfect. :)

Thank you, Honey.

Girlfriend Inspirations In Portland

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, our family went out of town this past week. We used to live in Portland and it was good to go back and see family and friends while we were there.

I had brunch with a couple of girlfriends one morning and we had so much fun! We all used to teach 2nd grade together and I have missed these girls so much since moving away. 

I don't miss the Portland weather, but certainly miss these Portland girlfriends! :)

My girlfriend Shauna was the hostess and she made everything so cute! 

She had the most adorable straws I've ever seen. I can't remember exactly where she ordered hers from, but I did find them along with alot of other fun things over at The Sugar Diva.

My girlfriend Stephanie is the cutest pregnant girl ever. We were loving our sugar-rimmed glasses. It made our OJ taste oh-so fancy. :)

Check out this adorable play area Shauna and her husband put together for their little girl! The teacher in me is "all kinds of lovin' this!" :D My little guy loved the little mirror that was just his height.

I even got inspiration in the guest bathroom! I LOVED these pictures and knew immediately that I wanted to try to make some for my little guy. What great gifts these would make! Just a bit of wood, paint, mod podge and scrapbook paper and you can go to town! I think I know what I want to do for my nieces next year! :)

The nursery was adorable. Shauna had decorated quite a bit with Pottery Barn Kids as inspiration. Check out the butterflys. Don't they just make you happy? Shauna gave me two that she had leftover to use as a template. I can't wait to try it! If I still had a classroom, these would totally be going up on the walls every spring! :) She got the idea for the dollhouse shelving from PB Kids. She showed her husband the picture and he built it! I SO wish I had that kind of skill! The things you could do!

The PB Kids mobile was adorable. I took a picture so I could store it away for a future project. I really liked the simplicity of it. So perfect for a little girl's room.

I loved the different letters she used to spell out Emerson's name....

Let me know if you try any of these projects! Hope you've been as inspired by Shauna's place as much as I was! :)

So Much Cuteness!

Well, it's been ages since I had the chance to sit and look at some of my all-time favorite blogs and explore some new ones. The other night the baby was sleeping and my husband was in the other room watching a movie with a friend. Perfect time for me to slip out and do what I love! 

As I mentioned the other day, I have ZERO crafting supplies here with me in Mammoth. The nearest craft store is down in Bishop. I may have to make a trip pretty soon. However, between cooking, keeping up with my little guy, running errands and trying to fit in a little fitness, I'm content to take a brief project respite and look through the blogosphere to admire the many amazingly creative women and their projects. Here are a couple I've come across that I thought were so cute and are totally going in my, "Do This Someday" file. :)

Tales of a Trophy Wife (how cute is that title?) made this adorable pinwheel wreath. So perfect for summer and this coming July 4th!

Speaking of cute pinwheel decor, check out this adorable wall art Make It Perfect did for her kids' room! I HEART this project!

Make It Perfect recently used pinwheels to top birthday cupcakes as well. I may have to store this idea away for the future. 

What an easy way to add color and even a little take-home toy for guests.

Love Sweet Love made this cute Qtip jar.

 Qtips make me smile nowadays. They remind me of this picture of my little sisters who happen to be twins. 

Don't they look like little matching Qtips? :) LOL.

Grey Luster Girl gives a great tutorial on how to make this thread holder. I love it and totally want to make one for my little craft corner!

So many cute projects, so few hours in a day......

Because I'm A Coffee-Crazed Woman...

I couldn't resist sharing this post from Kassandra over at Coffee and Their Kisses. 

Check out her project! So cute. :)

ADORABLE!!

This morning, Dan took the baby for a few minutes after bringing me a hot cup of coffee - I do LOVE that man. I took the treasured time to do a bit of blog hopping and check out a couple of my all time favorites. I was NOT disappointed. For those of you who have a bit more time than me or have figured out how to craft and blog while taking care of a home, a husband and a baby...let me share with you some of the latest projects of some of my "craft idols." :) 

Brown Paper Packages made these awesome sewn books! I SO want to make some!!! 

I think I'm going to have to hire a babysitter once a week just to get my craft fix in. :D

Amy from The Idea Room made this AWESOME headboard and bedframe for her daughter's room!

These women never cease to amaze me. I LOVE their blogs. Now I just need more hours in a day with two hands free! :D One day my baby will have scheduled naptimes and then....craft room here I come!

Shopping Bag Wall Art

So I was doing a little blog-hopping this afternoon and ended up finding this ADORABLE post over at In My Own Style. How many of you have a ton of shopping bags that you don't know what to do with, but don't want to toss out? 

How about a little wall art? What a cute idea! 

Click HERE to see the details of she did it.

I think my sisters Corrie and Caylen should start saving up their shopping bags for me so that I can make them one of these. :D 

Chore Chart from Brown Paper Packages

Check out this adorable chore chart from Brown Paper Packages HERE. What a great idea! For all my teacher friends, wouldn't this be cute adapted to classroom jobs! I can think of a ton of things to do with those cute clothespins alone! Love it!

How CUTE are These Burp Rags???

I've recently discovered this adorable blog, The Autocrat. Check out the burp rags that she makes HERE. I am IN LOVE with them!!!! Check out the brown and cream line! Don't you think our little guy needs some of these?? :D

So, So Cute!!!

An Early Morning and a Book Wreath

They say that the second trimester is supposed to be the trimester of the best sleep you'll see for a very long time. Obviously, those who say that are not taking dogs into consideration. The night started out well; less lower back and hip pain than I've had in a long time actually. It was heavenly....until about 2am when the dogs started going nuts. No apparent cause after thoroughly checking things out. My husband and I tried unsuccessfully to go back to sleep. Finally, around 3:00, we each got a bowl of cereal. I skyped with my family overseas. (They're the only ones I knew who would be up at that time.) My husband got updates on the Boston marathon and I started in on one of my favorite pastimes of late. Blog hopping from one creative woman's site to the next.

I have so much to do when I get home! So many new projects I want to try! Somewhere in the midst of all my blog-hopping, I ended up on the site Living With Lindsay and I found the most adorable book wreath! To see Lindsay's tutorial, go here. This would have been one I'd take to Nana's at Christmas (see site's first post) if I weren't so concerned with ruining it in the roadtrip with a new baby, two dogs and car packed entirely too full. Below are pictures of her wreath. It's beautiful!

Isn't it just gorgeous??? I can't wait to try and make my own. I hope it will turn out half as well! I'll keep you posted. 

Now it's almost 4:30am. I think I'll try for another hour or so of sleep before our day begins....again.

How Cute Are These??

I was blog browsing this morning and ended up on the site House of Hepworths. She made these adorable decor balls that would TOTALLY match my living room! Check out the tutorial here. I cannot wait to get out of Mammoth Lakes and get to a craft store. I've got to try making these! 

While I was on the site, I also saw her large decor ball and fell in love with that one too! She made it using two items from the dollar store! Check out the picture below and the tutorial here. I'm so bummed that I missed her giveaway, but am definitely adding her site to my list of favorites. 

Isn't that beautiful! 

Still don't know all the blogging decorum right now, but as my only follower here on my second post is my mother, I figure I have time to learn all the ins and outs of the blogging culture. :D 

Happy Weekend, Everyone....I mean, "Mom." :D