My Favorite Things Thursday from Hilton Head Island!

Hello! 

I'm coming to you today from Bluffton, South Carolina! We're here visiting Matt's family and having the best time. 

We've lunched on River Street in Savannah...

 We've gone to Hunting Island National Park and have gone to the beach and up into a great light house. 

And we've gotten to spend some precious time with Matt's niece. 

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is the best book to get snuggly to...

And sometime soon we're going to go parasailing. I haven't done that since I was in 8th grade so we'll see how that goes. :)

How is your week going?!

On to my favorites. :)

Chain Knock Off Necklace by Rebecca at My Girlish Whims
I've always loved that necklace from Lauren Elan. It has been on  my "To Knockoff" List forever. Rebecca did a fabulous job on hers! Go check out the tutorial.

Hexagon Applique Tote How-To by Vanessa at VandCo
Love this great and easy applique technique. The style of this bag is so great, too. The fabrics are perfect and bright colors are great for summer.

Color Block Tank Dress by Katy at Sweet Verbena
LOVING this from Katy. I've been thinking about doing a color block skirt myself, lately, but I think I might just follow this tutorial and make one of these! You should, too.

Sweet and Simple Pincushion by Carrie at Hooked on Decorating via  Craft-O-Maniac
I've been on the lookout for cute pincushion tutorials since mine is really sad. I love this one. It really is easy, too!

Dresser Makeover by Melody atMy Passion for Decor
Hello, dream dresser. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

Black Velvet Chair Makeover by Julia at 551East via Chi Chi Studio
AH! I love the gold. You really have GOT to go check out the before of this chair. Great makeover.

DIY Fringed Favor Bags by  at Lulu the Baker
Well, these could not be any cuter. What a wonderful idea. You could put that fringe on the bottom of brown paper gift bags, too for some easy diy gift wrap.

Summer Mantel by Stacey at Embracing Change
LOVING this summer mantel. All the details on the mantel are perfect, daisies in a mason jar with twine bows, a red lantern, a tiny ship, a white nautical wheel, etc. You need to go check out her detail pictures of this one.

I hope you enjoyed my favorites this week!

If you were featured, I'd love it if you grabbed a button! 

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Have a wonderful week and weekend!

30 with 30 Challenge! Join me!!

So I've decided to participate in the 30 with 30 Challenge that the Small Things Blog and From My Grey Desk  are hosting

The idea is to use 30 items from your wardrobe and mix them up to make 30 outfits. This includes jewelry, shoes, tops, and bottoms. I love clothes and I've toyed with doing outfit posts on here before, but I could never get it together. I also LOVE mixing up the things in my closet to make unexpected outfits. I thought this challenge would be a good way to motivate me to start outfits on my blog as well as an opportunity to get creative with my wardrobe. 

 Today was their week 2, but I just started, so I'm sure you could, too! Just go for a week or two after they do on your own blog. 

So let's get on with the outfits. I'm visiting Matt's family in Bluffton, South Carolina near Hilton Head so I had to make due with what I brought which meant no belts. That's right. This girl who LOVES belts forgot ALL of mine at home. Tragedy. Don't worry. I'll work a belt or two into my next outfits. :)

Outfit #1: Neon Herringbone Dress, Pendant Necklace, Gold Chain Flats

I snagged this dress at Target the second I saw it. Love the neon and subtle herringbone design. These gold flats are my favorite because (they're gold, duh) and they have chain on them!! This pendant necklace is also one of my very favorite pieces. It was on sale at the JCrew outlet and I knew it needed to be mine. Love this outfit for anything. Add a cardigan and it's perfect for work. Add a jean jacket or blazer and it's perfect for evening. Wear it as is for ever day! Easy summer dresses (and cardigans) are my staple.

Gold Chain flats: Guess brand from DSW, Spring 2012 (my FAVES), Neon and Tan Herringbone Spaghetti Strap Dress from Target, Spring 2012, Charm Pendant Necklace from JCrew Outlet, Spring 2012

Outfit #2: Blue Floral Tank, Short Sleeve Cardigan, Yellow Cuffed Shorts, Gold Chain Flats,

Love love this colorful summer outfit. Those yellow shorts are my favorite. Love this outfit for running around doing errands or to lunch with friends during the summer.

Blue floral top from Old Navy, Spring 2012, Short Sleeved Cardigan from Ann Taylor Loft, Fall 2011, Yellow Cuffed Shorts from Forever 21, Summer 2011, Bangle from Target, Spring 2012, Flats used again, Pendant chain used again

Outfit #3: Neon Herringbone Dress, Cream Curb Chain Necklace, Tan Skirt, Cardigan and Gold Chain Flats

Yep. I tucked that dress into a skirt and added a cardigan. Tucking a dress into a new bottom is one of my favorite tricks to get more bang for your buck with my wardrobe. This would be an outfit I'd wear to work for sure.

White Three Quarter Sleeved Cardigan from Old Navy, Summer 2011, Tan Skirt from Forever 21, Fall 2011, Cream Curb Chain Necklace from Forever 21, Winter 2011, Neon Herringbone Dress used again, Bangle used again, plus another bangle paired with it also from Target, Spring 2012

another jewelry pic

Hope you enjoyed the first outfit post here! I hope to do more! You should all link up at the 30with30 Challenge too every Tuesday at From my Gray Desk!! 

4th of July Decor Idea and So You Think You're Crafty Starts Today!

Ruffletastic 4th of July Wreath

If you're still looking for some easy 4th of July decor, here's a wreath I made last summer that you can make in a couple hours. I love all the ruffles and various fabrics. 

And check this out...

It was THE Top project on All Holiday Crafts' 4th of July Crafts page the other day. Woo hoo! 

If you want the tutorial for it, click here! 

Also, Season 12 of So You Think You're Crafty officially begins today! 

I'd love it if you'd go over and check out all the "Scrappy Projects!" Vote for your favorite...it might just be mine! I can't wait to share the project I made for it on my blog next week! 

My Favorite Things Thursday...A Day Late as Usual

 Hello, Hello!

So yeah. It's not Thursday...I really should think about moving the day of this post since I never make it. I hope you are all having a great week! It's almost the weekend! What are your plans? I'm headed to South Carolina to visit with Mr. Lovie's family. I'm super pumped for some beach time. 

So Monday starts off the So You Think You're Crafty competition. Don't forget to stop by and vote! Don't worry...I'll remind you. :) The project I submitted for this upcoming week is super fun and I think you'll love it. 

On to this week's faves. 

Splashproof Bag by Jacinda and Jamie at Prudent Baby

I just LOVE the fabric on that bag. There's a link in this post for the boxy tote tutorial. I've made some of these and they're seriously addicting. They're a great gift for your man as a toiletry bag!! 

Lemonade Stand by Jamie at Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom

Could this picture be any more adorable, really?! Oh my goodness. How could you not stop and buy a glass.

Boy Swim Shorts by Liz at Cotton and Curls

When I saw these on Liz's blog I couldn't help but smile. How sweet are these little swim shorts. Precious. Precious. Precious.

Summertime Recycled Playhouse by Kellie at Nest of Posies

This idea is beyond great. Kellie made this and then invited some kids over to help paint it. SO fun. 

Rustic Blueberry Pie by Cheryl at Tidy Mom

Cheryl is incredible. This pie looks crazy yum. She says it's easy, too!

Door Bench by Sarah at Dumped and Discovered

What a fun outdoor bench! It would look cute in any garden. 

Personalized Beach Towels by Autie at icandyhandmade

I just love this simple and cute idea. Perfect afternoon summer project. 

DIY Black Toe Pumps  by Anje at Made in Pretoria

I need these. Immediately. 

If you were featured, I'd LOVE it if you grabbed a button 

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Have a wonderful weekend! 

Flag Bunting Tutorial and Free Printable Template

You may remember this sweet little paper flag bunting from back in May when I threw Mr. Lovie a 30th birthday party. I made this bunting to hang on top of the torn fabric garland I made that went over the food table. 

If you want to make your own torn fabric garland, you should! They're easy and beautiful...I got the idea for mine at Kojo Designs! Since I made my own flags for the bunting, I thought I'd go ahead and share the template I made up and how I made it. It's totally easy and I'm sure most of you wouldn't need a tutorial on this, but here it is anyway, just in case! 

 Materials:

White card stock

Scrapbook paper (you can fit 2 flags per large square)

Flag Bunting Template

Ribbon

Glue

Exact-o Knife

Pencil

Marker 

(for drawing letters or you can make letters out of something else)

First, make your flags. Print template onto white card stock once. Cut out. This is your template. Use your pencil and template to trace flags onto scrapbook paper and circles onto white card stock. Cut those out. Draw letters on white circles (or use die cuts, or whatever).  

Glue circles on each flag.  Glue them lower than you would think. Not completely centered-just below that. I promise it'll look right when you have the ribbons on there.

Next, use the exact-o knife to cut slits on each side of the flag. I used my cutting mat to measure where the cuts should be. My measurements were 1/4 inch down from top and over from edge and the cut was about 3/4 inch long (this would depend on the width of your ribbon that you are threading through, also).  

 Then, thread your ribbon through each slit, connecting the flags to one another and tie a bow. When you slide the ribbon through, both ends should be coming out on top, and make sure to be consistent with which flag sits on top. My flag to the right always sat on top of the flag to the left. It seems silly to be so exact, but it really makes it more professional looking (there are totally professional paper flag buntings out there...). 

 Tie a regular bow. (I had to show the picture of the real thing, because the ribbon I was using to demonstrate how to thread the ribbon was so terrible. Please use cute ribbon!) You can also tie a bow around the outside edge just like you did on the flags that connected each other. (See below.)

Ta Da! Easy. I finished this project (drawing the letters and all) in a couple hours one evening. Now to attach it... Here I just taped it on the wall, but you could do it a number of ways. On the torn fabric garland above, I simply thread small pieces of extra ribbon through the slits at the ends of the bunting and tied them to the garland. You could also slide longer bits of ribbon through the holes on the ends and tie it on something to hang. 

Hope you like it! You could even scale down the template and make tiny flags! Ooh!

Enjoy the free template! 

Linking to the parties on my side bar and

See you soon!