Auntie M's Destiny

I have discovered my purpose in life.

My discovery happened today when I received the most amazing picture ever.

The sonogram of my sister's belly.  Also known as: my unborn niece.

So excited to be an aunt.

In fact, being so excited, helped me discover my purpose in life!

Ready?

I am destined to be an aunt to nieces and/or nephews AND, because I love crafts so much, I must sew and make things for my nieces and/or nephews.

Doesn't that just sound fantastic?

Forget a profession and all of that worthless stuff.  Who needs it?

You might have assumed that this post is about something I made for my new niece...you're wrong.  I just needed to rant about being an aunt and how excited I am.

I'm actually going to brag on a project I did for my brother's birthday.

I think it's awesome.  I was inspired to do it because I actually want something like it for myself.

You could say...this was kind of a trial run for what I will make for myself...just don't tell my brother. 

It might make him feel unimportant or something.  :)

So, this is what I made.  A sign my brother can hang up in his house.  

The inspiration came from a blog you can see here.

I started out by buying different sizes of plywood from Lowes and screwing them together.

I then stained the wood with Minwax in Early American from Lowes.  I had to stain it twice, just a heads up.  And, it's important to give yourself a day for the stain to fully dry.
The stain turned out beautifully!

I wanted to put a really cool phrase on it, but of course, I couldn't make a decision.  So, I decided to do something easier.

You know, something easy...like...a star!

Yeah. If you think that will be easy, you're crazy.  Just like me when I made that decision.

Completing the star was a LONG process.  I tried free handing it...that failed.

Basically, if you're going to do a star, either have a projector like the lady in the original blog, or have someone else...do the majority of the work.  That's what I did.  Thanks to my brother-in-law, we have the next picture.  He used protractors and all of that crazy stuff I haven't used since 6th grade.

Once we found the five points, I used blue painters tape to make the outline of the star as well as the center lines which, we hoped would end up making it look 3Dish.

I painted the area around the outer lines of the star as well as the assigned areas in the center of the star.

Here is the end result...well...except for the fact that it should be hanging on my brother's wall in his house.

I think it's awesome and I'm really proud of it.

There is NO way I could have done it without the help of mi familia.

I would love to give a detailed price list of this project, but it was sponsored by my parents since it's technically a birthday present from them.  I'll give an estimated amount.

-Wood (different sizes)- $25 for 8 boards

-Minwax in Early American- $8 for 1 quart

-Painters blue tape- $6

-Foam brush- $1

-Screws taken from my Dad's collection

-Screwdriver borrowed from my Dad

(Everything was purchased from Lowes)

Total:  $40.00

Hope you enjoy!

Mrs. W...or as I will be called come June 23rd, Auntie M

Christmas Productivity

I have had a month-and-a-half break from school.

Most people are jealous when they first hear how long my break is...and let me tell you, I was SOO excited and loved every minute of it...well...up until this past week.

Don't get me wrong...sleeping in until noon, doing crafts, reading, watching movies and Netflix....those are all fabulous....but after a month-and-a-half of that...you start to feel like your life is worthless.

Also, like you are super lazy.

Due to feeling worthless, I would like to give an overview of everything I completed this break, in hopes that I will feel like I was some-what productive!

While I was visiting my family in Texas we went to the most amazing flea market in Canton, Texas.  This is the most amazing place in the world. For those of you who like flea markets, I highly recommend going.  I spent a lot of money there and bought a lot of really cool things, but my favorite are the old suitcases I bought.

I've wanted to make a night stand out of vintage suitcases for a long time now and I was finally able to do it!  

Adorable. I know.

And before showing off my other creations, I must introduce the best Christmas present ever.

 This is my brand new Brother sewing machine. Ohmygoodness. It's my favorite and I love using it.

BUT it has reminded me how extremely messy I am. This is...well...was our kitchen table. Oops.

I thought it would be hard to learn how to sew but instead I have loved every minute of it.  The first thing I made was an infinity scarf, but I don't have any pictures of that.  It was SUPER easy though.

My next sewing project was a pillow that I love!

 The fabric is a khaki colored linen and then I hand sewed a doily onto the front.

I am very proud of my next sewing project because many people did not think I would do it.  

Attention please! Presenting, our wedding guest book quilt! 

I know it's almost 9 months late, but better late than never!

I guess my month-and-a-half break paid off since I was able to do a lot of projects.

And...I never thought I would say this, but I'm ready to go back to school.

Hope you enjoy!

Mrs. W

p.s. I actually finished two other projects this break that I will post about later.  One is a birthday present that hasn't been given to the person yet and the other is a sewn furniture piece for our living room.  Get excited!