Just Jen

Flowers for Andie

Years ago I planted this Mexican Petunia by the front door. It's overgrown now, and kind of scraggly. It definitely doesn't add to the curb appeal. Many times I've considered ripping it out. Every morning, though, it puts out new purple blooms that are gone by the end of the day. It used to be covered in them, but it's mostly stopped blooming now. Many days, there may be only one or two flowers. And every day, Andie loves to pick them, leaving it completely bare. Purple is her favorite.

Today when we walked up to the door after church, there was one bloom waiting for her. They're always within her reach. As she plucked it off, I heard a voice in my heart say, "I do that just for her, you know." My heart suddenly felt very full. That flower was meant for her. They're always meant for her. A bush that's all but stopped blooming manages to squeeze out one or two flowers for her every day because He puts them there. Just for her. Just because He loves her.

So the bush gets to stay for now. :)

 

 

Easy Last Minute Teacher Gifts

If you're like me, the end of the school year sneaks up on you. And it gets CRAZY busy...or maybe it's just me that gets crazy... This week I needed teacher gifts QUICK. But still I wasn't willing to just phone it in with a candle or something I picked up in a hurry at Target.

 

Then I came across these super cute cups - $1.99 each. WINNER. I filled them with tropical starburst and jelly beans. The jelly beans help to fill in the gaps between the wrapped candy. I only used the white, red, orange, yellow, and pink jelly beans so the colors would match. Then I ate ALL the black ones, because I am the only weirdo on the planet that actually likes black jelly beans.

Here's a little trick for filling the treat bags - Start out filling just the bottom of the bag with a little bit of the candy, then drop it in the glass and finish filling it to the top. If you try to fill the bags up first, you'll have a really hard time getting it back down into the cup. Give it a shake to get everything to settle. Then close the top with a twist tie and finish off with a tulle bow.

I made cardstock tags and hot glued the gift card envelope directly to the card. Then, to make it a little more personal, I added my kids' favorite happy hour drinks. Tie it on with the twine and DONE. Super quick, super easy, and at less than $10 each, super easy on the wallet.

Have fun, and HAPPY SUMMER!

Related articles

Mini Birdseed Wreath Tutorial

Flag Bow Tutorial

Skillshare Portrait Class

Mini Birdseed Wreath Tutorial

Mother's Day is in just a few days, and this year I decided to make little gifts for all the moms on our block. After all, they've all watched my kids at some point... It takes, a village, ya know? These are simple to make, but it does take a little planning ahead. You don't want to try to start these on Saturday night.

I followed This Moment is Good's recipe and tutorial for the birdseed mixture, and it worked really well for me. I used this mini bundt mold for the wreaths. The silicone makes it really easy to pop them out once they set up. I let them sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes before removing them from the mold, then I let them dry out on the counter for about 48 hours. You don't want to rush this part, or they could fall apart on you. Be patient! (Just like mom ;) Once they're all dried out, you are ready for the fun part!

What You'll Need:

tulle (or ribbon - you don't want to use rope or wipe because it will cut through the wreath)
scissors
hot glue gun
bird seed wreaths (see tutorial)
artificial flowers

Cut the tulle into 36" lengths. Cut a piece of cardboard about 9" long (taller if you want a bigger loop to hang from). Tie the tulle in a bow around the cardboard, trim the ends of the tulle, and slide off.

Insert the loop end of the tulle through the BACK of the wreath.

Pull the loop all the way through the hole so the bow end is near the back of the wreath. Take the loop up and over the top of the wreath, thread it back through under the bow, and (gently!) pull to snug everything up.

You should end up with the hanging loop caught under the bow facing the front on the top of the wreath.

Finally, hot glue your flowers on top of the knot in the bow to finish it off. I clustered 2 hydrangea blooms on each of mine, but you can use any flower you'd like. Done! They are ready to give away. Happy birds + happy mommas = Mother's Day success!

Flag Bow Tutorial

This fun bow is easy to make and just in time for the 4th!

What you'll need:
1.5" ribbon in both blue/white polka dot and red/white striped ribbon
scissors
needle and sewing thread
hot glue gun
marking pen
hair clip
lighter or fray check

Step 1

Start by measuring and marking your ribbon. Cut 1 striped piece 5" long. Cut another striped piece 18.25" long. Mark it in 6" sections with a .25" section at the end. (Don't worry - the marks will all get covered.) Cut 1 polka dot piece 6.25" long. Mark it .25" from the end. Seal the ends of the ribbon with a lighter or fray check so they do not fray while you are working.

Step 2

Knot a length of thread and sew a running stitch along the edge of the striped ribbon. Loop the ribbon over to match up and sew along the marks you made. When you get to the end of the striped ribbon, overlap the .25" section of the stripe with the .25" section of the polka dot, lining up the marks,  and continue sewing the running stitch to the end. (Note: if your ribbon is only printed on one side, it is important that you loop it in a spiral pattern as pictured instead of zig-zagging it back and forth so that the printed side always ends up facing out.)

Step 3

Slide all the ribbon down the thread towards the knot so it gathers and forms 4 nice loops. Hold together with your fingers and use the leftover tail of thread to wrap tightly around the gathered ribbon, securing the loops in place. Tie off and snip the thread.

Step 4

Take the 5" section of the striped ribbon, fold in thirds, then knot loosely in the middle.

Step 5

Put a dab of hot glue on the back of the knot and attach it to the front of the bow, covering the threads. Make sure the polka dots are in the top left position.

Step 6

Turn the bow over so the back side is facing you. Fold up the bottom end of the knotted ribbon and secure with hot glue to the back of the bow. (You may need to trim the ends a little if they are too long.) Attach the hair clip to the top end of the knotted ribbon with the top side of the clip facing up.

Step 7

Fold the end of the ribbon over the clip and secure with glue.

Step 8

Fold over again and secure with glue for a nice finished look.

Step 9

Sit back and admire your work!

Skillshare Portrait Class

Have you discovered Skillshare yet? It is my latest obsession. So many great classes and so affordable! The last class that I completed was Start Drawing: Techniques for Pencil Portraits by Gabrielle DeCesaris, Portrait Artist. Pencil drawing has always been my favorite, but drawing people - especially faces - has always been intimidating. Gabrielle's class was packed with great info. By following the techniques she demonstrated in her videos, I was able to draw both my kiddos and...they actually recognized themselves. I'd call that a success!! :)

I started with some reference photos:

I drew my daughter first. I have always loved this pic of her. Such a pretty little subject, no? :) Her hair was my favorite part to draw with all those fun little flyaways.

  

Once I finished with Andie's, Jack asked if I would draw him too. I was having too much fun to be through, and who could turn down that sweet little face, anyway? :) The challenge with him was capturing the way he smiles with his eyes which lights up his whole face. That little smile brings me joy every single day. I'm not sure I would ever be able to fully reproduce it. I don't even think the camera does it justice. But I sure had fun trying. :)

I really loved this process, and though they aren't perfect, I am pretty happy with this first attempt and can't wait to get some more practice in. :)

 

10 years

Today is my 10th wedding anniversary. 10 years. Feels like it wasn't that long ago that we were sharing this day. Ok - sometimes it feels like FOREVER ago. I was so young. And tan. And skinny. Sigh...

If you know my husband, you've probably nominated me for sainthood at least once or twice. I like to think I am the only woman on earth that could put up with him. Truth is - you can't find a better guy. He's not perfect, but he loves me and makes sure I know it. He is an awesome husband and the kind of dad I always hoped my kids would have. We have our ups and downs like everyone else, of course, but I can say that life with him has never been boring. I am a very blessed girl. :)

He hijacked my facebook today and posted this video that I had no idea he had been working on. I cried - from laughing. We are not the mushy type. This fits us much better. And I'd rather have this than any gift he could have bought. Enjoy :)

 

4 Generations of Elizabeths

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day! I got to do what I wanted most - to relax (a little) and spend time with family. We went to church then headed to my parents' to have dinner. While we were there, I managed to talk my mom and grandmother into taking pictures for this portrait. My grandmother HATES having her picture taken (but loves to take everyone else's, of course). She suggested I use this one for her part of the picture... Not a chance, Grandma. :) I think she looks beautiful.

When I found the idea on pinterest, I knew that I wanted to do it with my own family. Sunday was the perfect opportunity, so honestly, I just didn't give them much choice. I really love how it turned out. It was pretty special to me to be able to capture each generation and life in one picture. I have an amazing mother and grandmother, and they have shown me by example what it takes to be a great mom and wife. I pray that I can pass that down to Andie too. One thing I did pass on to her was the middle name "Elizabeth". It's something we all share. Which I think is pretty special too.

Andie's Ice Cream Party

First of all, I can't believe my baby is already 2. Nope. Can't be.
That's all I have to say about that. :)

I knew that I wanted to do an ice cream party for Andie's 2nd birthday while I was still in the planning stages of her 1st birthday party. (I'm a little obsessive like that. I've even had some ideas about party #3, but she will probably have an opinion about it by then, so we will see.)

When I'm planning the kids' parties, I always start with the invite, since that usually determines the feel of the whole party. I knew I wanted to find a way to make it 3D or interactive in some way. I toyed with the idea of a pop up card of some sort, and after lots and lots of sketching and thinking - and thinking some more, I finally came up with a flat invite that could be rolled into an ice cream cone shape  by the recipient. 

It needed to fit into an envelope to mail flat, and had to be easy enough to assemble. I was really excited with the way they turned out! I even heard that a couple of Andie's sweet friends actually tried to lick/eat it. I love that. :) 

The party was mostly centered around a ridiculous spread of ice cream and sprinkles and toppings and sauces. I did make a big batch of plain ol' salty popcorn just to balance out the sugar overload. The ice cream was Blue Bell, of course, because we are in Texas, after all. God bless Blue Bell. And Texas. :)

There were cupcakes too, of course, because it is a birthday party, and there wasn't enough sugar already, you know?

This common saying is actually quite special to me. My grandmother used to always say this as she served us little cups of ice cream after a big family meal. It was my little way of including her in Andie's special day, though I am pretty sure she was looking on anyway. :)

I covered the kids' play table in some plain newsprint and set a bowl out with crayons. It was quite a piece of artwork by the end of the party!

I was inspired by this tutorial for making cute crayon wrappers, and followed it to make these. They turned out great! And Sparkle Mod Podge is now my new favorite thing.

Andie didn't really care for being sung to by a room full of people, so I handed her the cupcake (after I got plenty of good pics :), which immediately made it all better. 

Andie loves her "eh-bows", so I had to make her a special one for the day. It's made from felt with seed beads hand-stitched on. The cherry is a red pompom with a piece of red cotton yarn glued to the center. If I can find some time (someday...), I'll try to get together a little tutorial. :)

And her party shoes totally made the outfit. Just like Dorothy's, only better.

The letters behind us on the table were inspired by this project, but instead of using flowers, I glued in little pieces of tissue paper. 

The favors included a few of Andie's favorite things: ice cream shaped bubbles, ice cream shaped marshmallows, a sparkly bracelet (hot wheels for the boys), and a polka dotted hair bow. 

My niece handmade this card for Andie, and I loved it so much I wanted to share it here. It was such a fun day with family and friends!

"Jessie's Cold"

Andie LOVES her "babies." Especially her new Jessie doll that she got for her birthday. Lately she's been telling me, "Jessie's cold," and covering her up with blankets. I had watched her wrap up the baby dolls at church in little doll blankets, amazed at how this nurturing instinct is just hard-wired into little girls. I decided she needed a dedicated doll blanket at home too - and Jessie was cold, so the sooner the better. :)

I had this stash of charm squares that were intended for a larger project I never found the time to start. I'm kind of glad now, because I love the way they work in this little blanket. It's far from perfect, but I loved watching Andie's little eyes light up when I gave it to her. Jessie looks much more comfortable too. :)

I sewed a dress!

I used the same pattern from this top and just made the length a little longer for a dress. This pattern really is fun to sew, pretty quick (probably even quicker for those of you that actually have good sewing skills) and is really cute on.

Helps that my model is the prettiest little girl in the world, though. Not that I am biased. :)