Making a House into a Home: DIY Wreath

Since I am still renting an apartment, it makes it hard sometimes to feel like i am are coming home to...well my "home". Nothing matches, were using hand-me-down silverware, sitting on a couch that has been in Brent's parents basement since 1992 and we're def not wasting money on painting the walls because we'd have to paint it back white when we move out. To break it down even more, we are planning on moving out of here as soon as we can. BUT until that is possible, I am on a mission to make this place "homier".. is that even a word? Oh well.

This past Saturday was kinda dull so I decided to run to Michael's and see what I could pick up and throw together. As I was walking through the isles I saw styrafoam rings and I thought WREATH! I have seen them on pinterest and thought it would be fun and probably easy. I went and got 2 different colored yarn rolls, one tan and one cream/gold.. who woulda thought, right? I wasnt sure what else I wanted to add to it so I just browsed each row to see if something stuck out. I saw these mini branch wreaths and figured I could make it work. Last but not least I picked up a hot glue gun and some glue sticks and I went on my way.

Here is what I purchased along with an old grey shirt:

I started by hot gluing the tan strand to the ring and proceed to wrap it...

10 min later I was half way done...

Once I was finally done (took a lot longer than I thought because I wanted to make it perfect) I hot glued it to the same area as I started. Then I glued the cream/gold yarn to the same spot and wrapped it around.

yes... wearing the pj's again. I need a second pair

I am using the same start/end point for everything so I only have one place to cover up with my add-ons. I added another strand of the cream/gold but going in the opposite direction to create a crisscross effect.

I thought it would be cute to take the cream/gold yarn and roll it into different size balls and place them around the wreath however I pleased. All I did was make a bunch of knots and then just start rolling the yarn around it and glued the end when I got it to the size I wanted.

I played around with different layouts for the smaller wreaths and really liked how it looked when I placed them in the same area with a slight overlap effect. I made sure to place them in the same area as my start/end area so it would cover up the imperfections.

I thought the yarn balls would look cool inside the smaller wreaths so I made two small yarn balls and one larger one.

 Then I sat there and pondered what I was going to do to make it more interesting. I rummaged through some old t-shirts to see if there was anything I could use to make it look better. I found an old cotton/spandex shirt that I really never wore and decided to cut the sleeves off and make small roses. I have done this "rose" technique on scarves before and thought I could make it work for this.

Pardon my nails- Sunday is usually my mani day- I have terrible nails.. they are so thin and nail polish only lasts me like 2 days before they start to chip so they are usually completely bare by the end of the week.

As you can see, I cut the end part of the sleeve first. Then i cut a thin piece and cut it in half to make it long. I then just rolled it and glued it to stay together. I also put some glue on the bottom and rolled the material towards the bottom center to make it flat in order for it to be able to be glued to the wreath.

I then just randomly placed the flowers on and viola!! A masterpiece is created!!

I have done crafts here and there but this is my all-time favorite. I still can't believe how it turned out! I normally follow a pinterest idea or google an idea but this was all my own design and I love coming home and seeing it on the door.. it just makes me happy knowing I made it :)

This is just the beginning of my mission to make my small one bedroom apartment a home. What to make next???? hmmmmm 

Organization on the Brain!

So lately I have been OBSESSED with organizing and finding different ways to manage my day-to-day life. In my search for some organizing tips I came across a blog called I Heart Organizing. Jen (the blogger) shows you ways to organize and redecorate your home. I also found some awesome print outs, check em out!

There are wayyyyy more free printables to choose from! If you like what you see and you want to download them for yourself, you really need to link up below and give Jen a visit! 

                                        

While I was on the I heart organizing page, another blog caught my attention. See Jane Work is another blog about how to take a space and make it decorative but useful and organized. I can not wait until I have money to make my home beautiful and have a amazing office space. For now, all I can do is live through blogs, pinterest and ikea/target... sigh. So after navigating around the blog I saw that there was a place for me to actually buy stuff! So i browsed... and browsed... added a few things to my shopping cart.. and browsed (if you havent caught on I will do anything to get distracted from my work). Needless to say, by the time I was done looking through all the categories I had almost $100 worth of stuff in my shopping cart. I obviously would never spend that much on decorating/organization things at this time, but its always nice to pretend I can afford everything I want. Here are some of the things I "pretended" I was going to purchase.

Some one please buy me all of these things. I told myself that if/when I get a better job, I will allow myself to go a little crazy with decorating. Its sad that my motivation to look for jobs is the possibility of buying new clothes and home/office accessories. If you like organizing and have about 2 hours to spare, go check out See Jane Work, you will not be disappointed!

I will leave you with a picture of my pup Lilly. I used an app called Aviary to add funny stickers to her face. I feel like this picture describes her personality. ENJOY!

P.S Hocus Pocus (my all-time favorite Halloween movie) is on!!! 

What's your favorite Halloween movie??

Pumpkin Picking Outfit

Pumpkin Picking Outfit by smallgrlbigworld featuring madewell

Madewell / Fat Face , $73 / Bootcut jeans, $125 / Buckle boots / MICHAEL Michael Kors michael kor / Kate Spade jewelry / Madewell

More fall/ October outfit favorites! If only my my paycheck was big enough to afford all of this good stuff. Go to Polyvore and create your favorite fall looks and send them to me!

What I love About Fall

Fall Favorites by smallgrlbigworld featuring michael kors handbags

Levi's levi s, $69 / Cable knit cardigan, $265 / Cable cardigan / IRO motorcycle jacket / Slim jeans, $125 / Rachel Roy glitter shoes / Nude shoes, $37 / High heels / High heels / BCBG Max Azria wedge shoes / Madewell ballet flat / MICHAEL Michael Kors michael kors handbag / LOFT crystal jewelry / LOFT flower jewelry / LOFT statement necklace / Gold jewelry / Sterling silver jewelry / John Lewis , $48 / Polka dot scarve / Oasis leopard scarve, $32

Here are some of my favorite fall trends.As you can tell I like fairly neutral tones with a pop of color!

What do you like about Fall?? 

Knickknacks

So although I have placed myself on a 60 day shopping hold, I am still able to browse and look at things I want, right?? I recently discovered a website called ThreadSence that has the cutest knickknacks for your home.

I love love loveeeee these chalkboard mugs! They are so handy when you have people over and you can even add a fun saying to spruce up your morning at work. The business card clip is definitely a great addition to any home office if you want a place to stash your cards in a decorative way. I have been obsessed with colors and patterns lately so the coasters and notebook caught my eye immediately.ThreadSence doesn't just limit themselves to home decor, they also sell some really awesome clothes and accessories. So while your eating your breakfast and sipping on your morning coffee, take a second and browse through. You wont be disappointed!

Favorite Products

I am constantly looking for skin products that don't dry out my skin or cause unwanted breakouts. After years of trial and error and unfortunate proactive memories that I choose to repress, I can finally say I have found some incredible products. All of these can be found at ULTA or Sephora.

1. Clear by Philosophy- I used to use Purity by Philosophy as my primary face wash but after a while I feel like my skin gets immune to the cleansers I use, so I switched to Clear. Philosophy is a trusted brand and has numerous amounts of products that are designed to help every type of skin issue. It's a light weight oil free cleanser that leaves your skin soft and clear (wonder how long it took them to come up with the name huh??). I definitely recommend this product to anyone who has mild breakouts and/or has dry skin.
2. Mineral Mudd Masque by Purminerals- I love mudd masks, and this one is by far my favorite. You can feel it working the second it hits your face. I usually try to use it on my whole face once or twice a month or do some spot treatments if I am having some problem areas.  It doesn't over dry and leaves your face feeling tingly and smooth after you rinse it off. If you are looking for a new mask that wont dry your face, Mineral Mudd is the way to go. I bought mine 2.5 years ago and I still have plenty left.
3. Hope in a Jar by Philosophy- I'd say this moisturizer is pretty popular.. if you are reading this you have already probably heard of or bought Hope in a Jar. It's great for those winter dry skin days; you just lather up at night and you are as smooth as a baby's booty in the morning. For me personally, I can only use this at night. The creme is definitely too thick to be a "before the makeup" face lotion to me. Dry skin sistas, you gotta try this out.. esp with the cold weather right around the corner.
4. Smooth Indulgence Concealer by Dermablend- You ever wake up with a huge family of pimps on your chin? I have. This little devil saved me having to call out of work, skip class, or cancel a date... pimples are embarrassing!! You put a dab of this concealer on top of any problem area and it instantly covers the redness. This is an oil-free product, along with all of the others listed. This concealer can be worn under both liquid foundation or powder. I'm telling you people, it works! This may seem like a small tube for $22 but you barely need to squeeze it to get the amount you need so it lasts a while. I would only recommend this for a spot treatment cover up, not whole face concealer.
5. Oil Control Mattifier by Murad- this is the lotion I use after I wash my face in the morning and before I put on my makeup. It gives a great base for makeup and it protects you from looking shiny later in the day. This lotion does a really good job of giving just the right amount of moisture to fix the dryness without being too greasy. 
6. HD Foundation by Makeup Forever- My all time favorite foundation ever! I have been searching for a foundation that will cover my imperfections without having to cake on a thick layer that gives me "makeup face".. (makeup face is where someone cakes on foundation so much that you can see the ring around their chin where the makeup stops... me circa 2006) This foundation is light and gets the job done. Hands down awesome product.
7. ClearCalm 3 Replenishing Night Serum by Ren- I use this every night before bed to re-hydrate my skin. Its super light and really helps clear up blemishes overnight. If my skin is feeling more dried out than usual, I'll leave a small layer on the serum on my skin without rubbing it in completely and its all good to go in the morning. 
8. Cleansing Facial Wipes by Simple- I like to use these wipes to take my makeup off before I wash my face. They are oil-free and leave your face feeling refreshed and clean. I usually buy the big pack that comes with 25 wipes and cut each of them in half because I never need a full wipe all at once. If you are interested in trying this product, here are a few coupons!

Let me know about your favorite products!