{Craft this}: What I've been up to.

Lately I have been letting my creative juices flow quite a bit. I signed up with a friend to have a booth at Hutchison's Beeline Bazaar on March 2nd (10am-4pm in the Goodlett Gym if you're local) and so I have been making some inventory. I also made an etsy shop to list things because I started getting custom orders as I was posting pictures of my wares on facebook.

Here's my etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/MakinitinMemphis

And here's some things I've done!

A baby girl wreath with white cotton eyelet trim and plastic "baby" blocks -

A hot pink box pleat trim wreath with fabric rosettes -

A mustard yellow yarn wreath with burlap bow and felt rosettes -

An olive green yarn wreath with felt flowers -

A Mardis Gras wreath (I made this one for Jake's sister) -

An Ole Miss wreath -

A bow holder (I can make these with other colors/embellishments and put names on them!) -

A birthday sign, great for cards or pictures for a party -

Two custom orders for VOLS wreaths -

A St. Patrick's Day wreath -

A puppy dog wreath, another custom order -

A Valentine's wreath -

An Easter wreath -

A baby wreath for a sweet brand new boy -

And that's just a taste of what I've been doing! I have been having so much with this hobby. We'll see how things go at the bazaar! In the meantime if you want a custom wreath or bow holder, just let me know.

In crafting,

{Life}: Jake's birthday - a recap.

Jake turned 29 a few weeks ago. I told him he was old. But not as old as he'll be next year when he hits the big 3-0. I'm still in denial. I don't feel like an adult... when did this happen? Anyway. I digress.

For Jake's birthday I wanted to do something special since he works so hard and is studying all the time. Plus it is important to spend some q-time (quality time, catch the lingo?) with your boo. It is good for the relationship.

So for our special night out we went to dinner at Automatic Slim's on 2nd street in Downtown Memphis.

This is the picture on their website - how hip does it look?!

(photo credit: Automatic Slim's)

So Automatic Slim's is known for having an innovative menu that rotates frequently as they use in-season ingredients from local farmers. The atmosphere is very chic and cosmopolitan.

We skipped lunch in anticipation of a great dinner so we ordered an appetizer to maximize the experience. We got the gouda mac and cheese. It had bacon and truffle oil and was probably the best mac and cheese I've had in my life (and I know my mac and cheese).

Then for dinner Jake got filet of duck and I got a chicken picatta. Both were awesome.

They have local art on the walls and an upstairs that would be great for a large party.

It is right by the Peabody, down the street from Beale and the Forum, and really in the central of a lot of things. A perfect place for a night out with the girls (they are known for their martinis) or a hot date.

For the big celebration I splurged and got a hotel room at the River Inn on Harbor Town. We didn't go out of town for our anniversary like we did last year so I thought it would be a nice stay-cation to go there. I had never been before and I can tell you - this cute little hotel treats its guests well. I got the basic room rate and still felt fancy. When we checked in there was complimentary glasses of port wine and truffles in our room.

Also since it was Jake's birthday, his mom surprised him with a basket of goodies! It was so sweet - there were tons of snacks, some wine, and then Jake's favorite - Andygator, with an Abita Andygator glass.

The room was really nice - again we got the cheapest option and it still was luxurious. There are only a few rooms on each floor and our room had a great view of the river and the M bridge lit up.

The floors each had a small lobby that had coffee available. The whole thing felt very special.

I brought Muddy's cupcakes and so Jake and I sat on the bed drinking wine and eating cupcakes - best birthday ever. It was very nice to get away from the TV, computer, cell phone, dogs, video games, etc and spend some time together.

The birthday experience was a great one and I think (I hope) Jake realized how much he is loved and appreciated. It is important to celebrate the ones you love!

In birthdays,

{Craft This}: Spray Paint Brands.

I've been doing a lot of spray painting lately with my crafting hobby. What I've learned is that spray paint brands are not made the same. Some go on smooth and strong while others need about 400 coats to look presentable.

Another issue with spray paint is the color choice. At our Home Depot, the choices are slim in terms of cute colors. You go to Lowe's and it is like a color rainbow... it is amazing. Why is it that spray paint can't come in 200 colors? Is that too much to ask?

Two projects I've done recently involving spray paint are a birthday card/picture holder for my upcoming craft fair and some picture frame memo boards:

 

For these projects I've used three brands and four types of spray paint: Rustoleum (regular and painter's touch), Krylon, and Valspar.

After repeated use, I can tell you that by far my favorite brand is the Valspar. It goes on incredibly easily, doesn't drip, needs only two coats, and has good coverage. The Rustoleum is fine, works well, but is splotchy for the first few coats. The Krylon? Well I'll never buy it again. It was more expensive and it doesn't go on well at all. In the picture below these boards each have one coat. The pink with one coat is almost entirely covered (I did another coat but only needed one). The green is the Krylon and it needed 4 coats to show up. #disappointing

Home Depot carries Rustoleum and Lowe's carries Valspar. Valspar has many more colors to chooce from but for us Lowe's is a longer drive... so I guess I'll suck it up and buy Rustoleum in a pinch. But never Krylon. Never.