Betting on the Ponies or the Germans

It's friday the 13th. I don't know if I would call myself a superstitious person but I do try to avoid putting shoes on the table or the counter because ewww! That's just gross! I don't walk under latters, mostly because I never encounter them and I try not to cross the path of a black cat since I am a sucker for a stray animal! It has nothing at all to do with bad luck though! I do know plenty of superstitious people. When I was pregnant my bf told me I couldn't watch shows about murder because the baby could hear it and it would make her have nightmares..........I'm not sure if that can be filed in the superstitious category but either way. If you've ever watched the movie "Leap Year" you will see how superstitious the irish can be. "You can't start a journey on a sunday, it's bad luck".

I inherited a book about home remedies and superstitions of Pennsylvania Germans. Listen to this......If a person suffers from homesickness, if you have a garden, take a pinch ground from the cross path and put it into your coffee to cure the homesickness! And it also says you can cure a nosebleed by chewing newspaper! Oh! And here's one that I thought was absolutely absurd........If a person drowns and the body cannot be found all you need to do is throw a loaf of bread in the water......it will hover over the body! Please don't throw a sliced loaf in, it could cause mass confusion or swarms of fish or geese!  Bahaha! If you want to know more about the superstitions of pennsylvania germans all you have to do is find this book "Popular Home Remedies and Superstitions of the Pennsylvania Germans" by A. Monroe Aurand Jr. It's a very thin book but is full of crazy ideas. Or if you want to borrow it, contact me and I'll pass it along. Anyway............. 

I wonder how much superstitions effect the economy. I bring this up because I have a family member who works at a Horse Race Track and they open their live season on friday the 13th. In past years they have brought in tens of thousands of gamblers! That's just the amount of PEOPLE! I can only imagine how much money they spend on bets, food, beer, shoe shines and etc.  I just wonder how this will effect their profits. I tend to think that gamblers are highly superstitious folks! I've been to the track a few times. I'm not sure if I like the "sport" and I don't understand the betting process but,  I've placed one bet and won. It's easy to pick out the hard core gamblers. The beads of sweat forming on their brow as the horses shoot out of the gate, gripping their tickets like it was a free pass to heaven! And when their horse comes in short the color drains from their face or it has the opposite effect and they turn beat red with anger. If they are superstitious,  They have their lucky numbers. They only bet at certain windows. They only bet on horses of a certain color or maybe they bet on the horse in the odd number shoot. Who knows. Either way, they can be superstitious. So, I wonder if they will lose money on a day where people tend to be highly superstitious! Or maybe the Germans have a lucky charm you can carry in your pocket to keep bad luck away on friday the 13th.............Nope! Didn't see anything about that! Sorry! But I did run across something about catching a wife that I thought was silly.......If a man seeks a wife he should put sugar in his armpits (honestly! I'm not making this up) until it gets warm....it will act as an aphrodisiac if put into the womans drink! LADIES IF A MAN OFFERS YOU SWEET TEA.........do not drink it unless you want to fall in love with him or you saw him take sugar out of the sugar bowl! You just never know what a man has been reading these days! There could be more copies of this book floating around! And I'm going to leave it at that! But don't worry! We might have to try out some of these goofy superstitions.......we'll see!

Life's a Beach....a simple beach wedding

June 2011.......My sister got married. It was a simple Beach Wedding at Weko Beach in Bridgman Michigan but don't let the term "simple" fool you. It was a beautiful occasion. I was recently contacted by a bride who needed help with wedding invites and also needed ideas for a beach wedding. And of course my sisters wedding was the first thing that popped into my head. So, I'm sharing some pics with her and YOU!

Getting a few shots before the big event!

The Bridesmaids wore black and walked the walk barefoot. The Groomsmen wore white and khaki. The ring bearer was the cutest darn thing in white and khaki, carrying a ring box that looked like a treasure chest, made by ME.

I was one of the bridesmaids and I have to say that other than my sister looking so beautiful and happy, my favorite part was when I heard the Grooms sister playing her guitar as I walked down the beach to meet everyone at the alter. The soft music coming from that guitar mixed in with the sound of the water was so beautiful.

Who says you can't make your own bouquet?

 I used flowers and plants that we had around the house or in other folks yard to make the bouquets. White Peonies, Hosta leaves, beach grass and Sedum. On the stems I wrapped white ribbon which we saved from my Uncles funeral flowers........No that's not creepy! And to add dimension I added a narrow black ribbon on top of the white. Sorry I don't have pics of that aspect.

The Man of the hour and his Men.

Just thought this said it all "carefree"

My beautiful sister.....the Bride.

Afterwards everyone met up at a local tavern for drinks and cake. The cake was so flipping adorable, made by the Grooms sister! I'm telling ya, we are a talented bunch! Overall it was a momentous occasion that I am proud to say I was a part of! Hope this gives you some wedding inspiration and enforces the theory that you can have a simple, stress free wedding!

Treasure Chest Card box to match ring box & The glass jug was for
honeymoon donations!



Red and Black Inspiration

So, I was playing around with some red and black paper and leftovers from my own wedding, making an example piece for a friend of the family. This is what I came up with. Keep in mind, There was suppose to be a cylindrical vase for a pillar candle but.......it was broken! So, I had to keep that out of the equation.

The random piece of embroidery thread is suppose to be black ribbon. Or white.
I had neither!

Cupcake Pix Tutorial

I get bored. I have to keep my hands moving. When I was planning my wedding I had scraps and scraps of paper left over from the invites and save the dates and etc etc that I made. I didn't like the idea of throwing the scraps away. I'm frugal like that! I had some drink stir sticks left over from a different project. So, together with the scraps I made some pretty fancy pix for my cupcakes. I also make them to stick in sandwiches and pie when I am home alone and want to feel like I'm celebrating something.

Here's what I used: A paper trimmer, scissors, hot glue gun, drink stir sticks and 8x11 scrapbook paper or any paper that you have that you can cut into strips..... (To get the lace trimmed flags I used a Martha Stewart paper edger that I found on clearance at Micheals craft store)

First, Cut your paper into strips using your paper trimmer. They don't have to be the same width. I like to mix it up a bit. Skinny, fat etc.

The stir sticks I used were longer than I wanted my pix to be. So, I cut them shorter while my hot glue gun was heating up. You can also use toothpicks but I happened to have the stir sticks left over from something else, waste not, want not!

Now that you have your sticks cut and your glue gun is hot, take your strips of paper and cut them into sections. I make sure not to make a crease in my paper.

Once you have your pieces cut, put a little got glue on the center of your strips like soo....

 While the glue is nice and sticky take your stick and place it in the glue before it loses its gooeyness. Now twist your stick a little to coat it with the hot glue all over the tip and fold your paper so it closes over the tip like a book closing on a book mark (Make sense?)........

When you're all done with that step the easy part begins. I did this while I sat on the couch, watching Trueblood. Use your scissors to cut a "V" shape in your flag. Or use your paper edger to make a fancy edge.

If you want to dress them up and personalize them you could always add a glittery initial sticker to the flag! I kept mine plain. I wouldn't recommend that you use glitter on the flags! There's a chance that the glitter will fall into your icing or drink if you're using them as drink markers. And I am sure it wouldn't taste good!

 I'm sorry I didn't make cupcakes to stick these beauties in! I really wish Iwould've now that I think about it! I've wanted orange cupcakes with a cream cheese frosting for a while now!  

Cupcake Pix

 I am sharing these photos with you because a friend of mine needed ideas for cupcake decorations for an upcoming party she is throwing for a co-worker! I love cupcake pix! These pix in particular were super easy and who doesn't like easy when it comes to DIY?  In a few days I will be posting the Tutorial so you can make your own!

The Card Box

When I got married I wanted a unique card box that could be re-used after the wedding reception. So I did a little research. I'm a DIY type of gal so I decided I would make my own. But then I found this card box and realized that I know squat about working with wood and power tools. And I also didn't want to be the bride walking down the aisle with a missing hand. So I did what I could and delegated this project to my Mom who delegated to her friend the carpenter! He built the box and I painted it to look like a garage.

See, my husband is a mechanic! So, I thought instead of making a card box that looked like a house, you've probably seen them on etsy......It would be way cooler if we had a garage! So, here it is! Isn't it adorable!? Now that the wedding is over with, I use it to store the toddlers extra toys! It looks cute sitting in my living room! The roof of the box is painted with chalkboard paint! And it's lots of fun to see what people write on it when they come to visit now! And it keeps the toddler busy sometimes! I used my computer to make a sign to place on the front of the garage just like a real garage would have. This box is heavy duty so it will last a lifetime. I can pass it down to the kids or keep it forever and ever and ever!

I hope this has inspired you do think outside of the box so to speak when you're planning your own celebration. Try to use things that have a dual purpose! If you can't make it yourself then maybe you know someone who can! If your local high school still offers its students a wood working class, call the school and ask if they would be interested in taking on the project! Schools can always use generous donations! Just a thought!

DIY Dry Erase Board

Here's a useless fact about myself that you could probably go your entire life without knowing.......I use to work at a hospital. (Best Bunch of gals I ever had the pleasure of working with!) Anyway, one of the things I loved about my job there besides the gals I chummed it up with was.....wait for it because it's going to be the silliest thing.......the dry erase board! In the Nurses Station there was a massive dry erase board where the Unit Clerk would write the days line up. You know, that way everyone knew which Nurse and Assistant was assigned to which patients etc. I loved to doodle on that board. An inspirational saying or funny picture! It was fun! But it was ugly! 

Anyway, another useless fact.....I love to leave funny notes for my kids and hubby in the house. Occasionally, I might leave a note to remind them that I enjoy a clean living room floor or that I think they are the best family in the history of ALL families. Or maybe a funny qoute or fun fact. But, I don't have an ugly dry erase board! Oh! NO I do not! I made a fancy dry erase board because I am crafty like that!  And I also happened to have an empty frame hanging on my wall that needed something in it.......but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Did you know that you can use dry erase markers on glass just like you would on the dry erase boards? Of course you did! You can also use them on a mirror! How cool is that? So, don't be surprised if you walk into my bathroom and see "Clean the toilet" written on the mirror! And how cool would it be to have a Chore board for each kid in your house that looks good and trendy! It's super easy to make! The hardest part was hanging the frame straight......I have crooked frame syndrome! Don't laugh! It exists!

I used fabric left over from my wedding.....but use fancy paper if you want!

So, basically if you can put a picture in a frame......you can make this dry erase board! I cut my fabric to fit the frame, placed it in the frame, pretty side up and then replaced the back of the frame. DONE!