Vision Board

Fun random fact... Did you know the author of The Secret and my mother were co-creators? Yep... long before Ryonda Byrne ever wrote the book, she and my mom worked together doing trainings all about this stuff. Then one day they went their separate ways, one continued to help people on a personal level and the other wrote a book and appeared on Oprah. I always said, you are lucky to have ever met my mom because of her infinite wisdom and incredible talent.

A part of The Secret {and the way we were raised} was to create a vision board. A vision board is something you create, much like a collage, that represents the things you would like to manifest in your life. The theory of how it works is to place your thoughts and emotions into a constant fluid movement on an unconscious and conscious level. Through that it will eventually manifest.

I honestly truly believe that whatever you put out in the universe is what you will receive. Sounds like hocus pocus huh? Seriously though.... there is something very powerful about commitments and the power to dream. I also believe that your thoughts become emotions, that become actions, and actions are verbs... it is movement, a flow, a constant progression. I also believe that we are constantly making decisions on a conscious and unconscious level. Whether we can acknowledge that or not, 90% of everything in our life stems back from our decisions. That is the beauty and power of our free agency!

The purpose of a vision board is to place your desires and dreams into a space that will allow us to make it happen. On an unconscious level we create these things to happen. We unconsciously put ourselves in a place of making decisions constantly. There are some rules to making vision boards because the brain is such a powerful thing, you must be careful of the words you place around the vision board and what the pictures may symbolize for you.

For example, I will share with you a vision board I made in 2008. The underlined ones are the ones that manifested {Please note that these numbers are only for your reference. I did not actually put them on my board}

1). Become a mother 2). Own a dog 3). Bake more 4). make good money 

5). Own a house 6). Get married 7). Travel 8). Go through the temple

So as you may see, half of these things manifested for me. I even made one previous to this where I had a Vera Wang dress on a fitting form... I crossed out Vera's name and wrote mine. A year later I got a job on the design team of Maggie Sottero. That was not my intention when I made the vision board, it was to own and create my own bridal line, but I am still astonished and blessed to have had it manifest in a different way.

So here are the tricks and rules in order to make your vision board a success.

There are three topics you should focus on:
1). Heath/Recreation
2). Work/Money/Career
3). Personal/Relationships/Spirituality

You can write down the things you would like to accomplish in these areas. Then, find pictures that represent those thoughts and emotions to you. Keep in mind, the less words the easier i.e. travel, get a dog, make money.... etc,

There are some basic tips you need to keep in mind so things stay in a positive mind set. It is very important that you follow these guidelines because it can shift or change your mood or thoughts around the board and it is vital to the ultimate outcome.

Tips:
- Must be in present tense.
- No negative words should associate to the board.
- Use words like; "I choose", "I am", "I want", "I will" when making your list or when you view the images that represent your board.
- "As if it were so"
- No goals, never make goals because it goes into the unconscious mind. i.e. I want to weigh 125lbs, instead, find a picture of your ideal figure.... and if your like me, my sister, or my roommate, you will cut out a picture of your face and place it on that image (for the record, mine was Cinderella because I wanted to work at Disneyland... it always adds a nice sense of humor to it as well)
- Leave space so other things can fill in.
- Once it is all complete, hang it in a place you will see it frequently throughout the day.

Here is what my current board looks like...

1). I will own my own line 2). I want to own a house 3). I want to make a good amount of money

 4). I want to have a healthy, happy, peaceful, and loving family with more children 5). I want to sew 
more and do more crafts {thank you to Diana for letting me use her image of a sewing machine!}
6). I want to work back at Disneyland 7). I will own a dog

 Close up of #1... yes I put my face over the designer's! 

To me, it symbolizes it's my own line.

If you haven't read or seen The Secret I strongly encourage you to do so. It is awesome! Go on, create amazing things in your life! If you don't believe me then just make one for yourself and let me know what happens a year later.

Spring Monogram Door Hanger

Have I shown you my newest and greatest creation? WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?! It may be my personal all time favorite...

TAAAAAAAAAAA DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

Isn't she a beaut? 

I originally was going to make this one.... 

{via Pinterest}

But I was going to use yarn and make it more springy. When I arrived at the craft store, I saw this spool of moss... artificial moss of course. I must say I like them both, but the moss is so whimsical to me!!!

Anyways, I will tell you how to make it without any picutres because it's truly that easy....

What you will need:

-Ribbon 1.5 yards {cut into twos}

-Wooden block letter

-Hot glue gun and glue

-Artificial moss 

- Flowers or whatever you like for your finishing touches
-Scissors

How to:

1). Measure out the moss you will need to cover your letter and cut only the length needed to cover the whole letter. Do not worry about width... that comes later.

2). Once your pieces are ready, outline a small section of the letter at a time {i.e. I did each leg of the M at a time so the glue doesn't dry too fast}. Place moss over selected area  of wood make sure that the moss is over lapping and press down to apply pressure. 

3). Continue steps until the letter is fully covered... it may lose its shape by this point and look like a blanket of moss.

4). Cut away excess moss while using the wooden letter as your guide.  {Depending on your moss you may need hardcore fabric scissors to cut through it}

5). You may want to add moss blend in the lines. Just take natural looking pieces and hot glue them in the spots that are needing a more natural look.

6). Add your decoration, then place moss over it to blend it in as well while using a hot glue gun to accomplish the look.

7). to attach ribbon on the back, I used the hole where nails or thumb tacks go. I filled it up with hot glue and rolled the pieced of ribbon. Once the glue secured the ribbon well enough, I used more glue to seal the ribbon into place. {see picture below}

8). Make a perfect bow and you are ready to hang!!

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial... maybe it will inspire you to do something else... something I never ever even heard of! Have fun! 

Apologize

Obviously I have been MIA and would like to apologize for leaving you to fend for your self in this cruel and cold world ahahhaha Just kidding! But it isn't you, it's me... I haven't been blogging, looking at other peoples blogs, or commenting on other blogs. I have been dead to the virtual world.

All I have been wanting to do is spend time with my family, and due to the late and glorious Steve Jobs, I have been able to use my phone for Twitter and Facebook to keep me somewhat in the loop of things which has given me reason to not touch my computer in over a week {not to mention our internet flipping sucks which repels me from my computer}. I have been sooo lazy, but guess what I haven't been too lazy or dead to do... CHRIS-To the freaking-MAS!!! Unlike last year, I had everything up and decorated on November 2nd, except for the tree... that was put up earlier this week! What a magical time of year this is!!!

 Banner made with Christmas scrapbook paper and Christmas ribbon

 Gian, mine, and Ekemona's stockings... Ohh I love them!!!

 Remember the wreath I made 3 years ago... well I decided to make a new one. SHE IS GLORIOUS, no!! 

 Don't judge my phone photography skills!!! Here are the lights that lead to our apartment... ohhh and the Diaper Genie! 

 My mom's nativity set from the 1990's.... I call it "vintage" hahaha

Ohh Christmas tree, ohh Christmas tree!!! Do you like how she is in our kitchen? The rocking chair has taken her most beloved spot, so this is what works. She makes a great night light for those midnight snacks! 

 Our friends opened this awesome store where you can make decorations like this!! 

{I miss judged my colors when picking out paint... I.ROCK!!!}

My Nativity set, hand carved from olive wood, straight from Jerusalem! It maybe my most valued decoration of all. My sister brought it back for me from her trip a while back. 

I saved the best for last.... the ever oh so beautiful mistletoe, finished with a glamorous giant crystal! Once a day I will stand here waiting for Gian to whisk me in his arms and dip me for a kiss ahhaah I am serious... I make him dip me! 

I'm dreaming of a whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiite Chriiiiiistmaaaas... or what I just like to call, "Christmas" {is anyone else obsessed with New Girl and Zooey Deschanel?}. I hope your holiday season has been MERRY & BRIGHT!

Crown Tutorial

Would you like to learn how I made our crowns {look at the images at the bottom of this post}? It is really simple and I will show you how. I love geometry and I think it makes these kinds of things easy and accurately even. If you aren't a huge fan of geometry, then feel free to ask someone for extra help because I am not sure if my notes will be enough for you.... I don't know if these directions are good enough for anyone ahahahha.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

-Empty oatmeal container 

-Scissors

-Pencil/pen/marker {whichever you prefer} 

-Measuring tape

-Spray paint

-Hair piece or elastic thread

-Hot glue gun and glue

OPTIONAL

-Gems

-Faux fur trim

-Metallic rope trim

-Scrapbook letters

-Felt

{These are all the things I used to decorate our crowns. See images at bottom of this post}

Step 1: Foundation of the Crown

*First, you will need an oatmeal container - I used the smallest size. Empty and dust it out. I used the top of the cylinder {the side that did not have the bottom closed seal} to be the placement of what would go directly onto the head since it is already a perfect, smooth, even shape. 

*Pop off the bottom closed seal of the container. This is where you will cut down away the pieces. Now that your cylinder is ready, begin your measurements. 

*Take your measuring tape and get the full circumference, divide that number into 4, i.e. if the total circumference is 12" divide it by 4 and you have 3". With the measuring tape, mark a small dot every "3 inches" {or whatever your measurements are} close to the base of the cylinder. 

*Depending on how tall you want your crown, the peaks will vary to your ideal size. On the new dots you just made, measure from the base up to the desired hight of your peak {my measurements were 3.5" from the base to the highest peak for the birthday crown. Note, if you are adding fur trim, it can add height to the crown} and mark that with a small dot. You can do a different color if it helps you stay organized. You have just made the peaks of your crown. 

*Now you will need to make the valleys of the crown. If your peaks were 3" apart you will now need to divide that number in half which would be 1.5". Go in between each peak and place a dot with that distance on the base of the cylinder. Again measuring from the base up, you will now need to decide how thick the overall crown will be {the birthday crown is 1 5/16" from the base to the valley}. Mark that new height. 

*You should now have 8 dots total for the valleys and the peaks and 8 dots on the base. With a ruler or measuring tape, connect the two dots to create V like shapes. Are you seeing it yet? Now with the best pair of scissors you have go ahead and cut out along the line.

This is what your container should look like before cutting

Step 2: Painting

*You have completed the foundation of your crown and the decorating can begin. Spray paint whatever color you want and let it dry completely for about 15 min. I used prongs to hold the crown while spray painting to help get the whole thing sprayed. Be sure you spray paint the inside as well. People will be able to see that too. Continue decorating as you imagined!

Step 3: Adding Attachments

Now to make the the crown stick to the head, I did two different attachments, one with an elastic thread and one with a comb/hair piece. Both will require the hot glue gun. 

*Elastic Thread; Measure the length you want for your crown and on the side exactly 90 degrees from the center front, hot glue the end of the thread to the inside of the crown. Hot glue a nice size bead of glue and either wait and hold that elastic there until the glue dries completely or you can add a decretive piece of scrapbook-ness {I had little golden hearts that were made of a really thick cardboard} to hide the bead of glue. I also think that adds a more secure finish. Do the same to the other end of the thread directly across {180 degrees}. 

This is the elastic thread with decretive finish to hide the glue beads.

I am not proud of how the faux fur trim looks on the inside... don't judge!!! 

*Hair Piece; If you would like to do a hair piece, it is a little more difficult because the two are not the same shape. I used felt to help with the different curves. At center front of the crown, I hot glued a piece of felt the same length as the hair piece. I then hot glued felt on to the hair piece. Once they were both done drying, I hot glued the two felts together. With a lot of pressure, I secured the two together. Be sure you are not placing the hair piece too high in the crown, otherwise it will not be able to grip onto the hair. 

This is what my hair piece attachment looked like

If you want to keep your crown for a long time I recommend finding a box to keep it in. I used an old shoe box from Ekemona's pair and it worked out perfectly!!! I decided to decorate it as well.

Now you are done and ready to go!!! Please take pictures and send them to me!!! I would love to see all the different kinds of crowns people make! 

 Princess Peach Crown and the Birthday Crown {our family tradition}

Princess Peach Tutorial

I am so glad to hear that everyone liked the Princess Peach costume!!! I thought I would do a break down for you in case you were wanting to make something of your own. It really isn't all that hard!

I was originally going to make my costume from scratch.... but then realized I didn't have the matterials for making a pattern and then realized I haven't made a pattern since I was at FIDM in 2006, so when I pulled out my book I said, "Noooooooooooooooope, not happening," I then began to search for an 80's prom dress and came across this beauty....

She was 6-8 sizes too big, so I had to take her in. She was the perfect length, with the most perfect sleeves and I was in love. However, she has a keyhole in the back, which was absolutely glamorous, but it did not meet my standards of modesty, so I added fabric to the back. I know, lame huh, but I had to take in the key hole anyways because it was too big through the shoulders, so it naturally changed the beauty of the keyhole and it was no longer as beautiful as it used to be. Pretty dang good transformation huh!!! 

Here is what made it blah to taaaaaaaaaaadaaah...

1). The crown is made from an oat meal container {tutorial... click here}

2). Earrings are small glass Christmas ornaments that were dipped in paint. I reincarnated an old pair of earrings by taking off the clasps and adding them to the ornament to hang from my ears.

3). The turquoise on the dress was also a Christmas ornament, however, this one is a clear plastic one made for crafts and was already in half. I wrapped a metallic rope trim around it {the same trim as on the crown}. FYI, the paint I used was my friend Kelli. It was paint from here salon, so that is all the information I can give you. It was wall paint - I do think acrylic would do the job. Oil paint leaves too  many streak marks, so I wouldn't recommend that. 

4). For the fullness of the dress, I used my slip from my wedding dress. 

5). There are pick ups in the skirt to give the scallop design. 

1). The bow was really easy. I sewed two rectangular pieces of fabric together, just like a pillow case, then turned it right side out and in the center I hand threaded a few stitches to bring in the center of the bow to make the "knot". I then hot glued a strip of the same fabric in the center to hide the stitching and to continue the knot look.

What shoes does a princess wear you ask.... well Steve Madden sparkly flats of course.
Hands down my favorite pair in my closet right now! 

Viola!!! An easy and cheap way to make your Princes Peach accessories, or you can do it for anything else you want.

In case you were wondering where to buy the Yoshi hat, this is where I got Ekemona's. PS we are totally using it as his winter hat so we can get multiple uses out of it... half the reason we even did this whole Halloween theme ahahhaha!

First Birthday

This last weekend we were able to celebrate Ekemona's first birthday. It was the first party I ever planned/hosted... and I must say I am very very pleased with the way it turned out. It was organized, fun, and just the way I envisioned it...well, almost. I might take this up as a new career hahahahaha just kidding. It was a potluck, costume contest, and games and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Plus all the food that was brought was delicious!!! I was amazed at all these hidden chefs. Thank you to everyone who came, we all had a blast!

We had games: Pin the Heart on the Skeleton, Pumpkin Bowling {there was a small pumpkin as the ball and recycled formula tins, decorated, as the pins}, Donuts on a String, and a Craft Station where everyone was able to make their own halloween mask.

Princess Peach, Mario, and Yoshi. I would like to inform you that I made my entire costume!!! Gian's is all thrifted and Ekemona's is PJ bottoms with a onsie from Gap and a hand crochet hat from Etsy {his did not turn out the way I planned because of all the different colors, but who cares!!!}

Katie and Lily!!! Doesn't Lils make the best Minni Mouse?

All the kids running around having a blast.

At one point the kids were running from Frankenstein, which is my favorite monster of all!

Frankenstein showing Yoshi his scariness. 

Everyone is having fun!

Love to see the babies do their own thing!

In the corner, the kids were Pumpkin Bowling before people came.

The cutest dang butterfly I ever did see! We love you Olivia!

Cal the Pirate and his Parrot Crosby

Cutest Strawberry Short Cake {who wanted to dress in her special fairy attire} with here little sister, Strawberry. I LOVED THIS!!!

The Lumber Jack family, they have an axe and there little man already grew a beard hhahah.

Harry Potty dropped by!! Pretty freaking sweet!

 Callum as the best pirate. Love his sparkly red cast!!! 

 Andrew showing his spooky Dracula mask he made.

Love the new face!!

The girls (and Andrew) race to eat the donuts.

 The boys go at it.

My dad is the best in the whole wide world!

Tatu playing with Ekemona.

 The birthday boy getting ready to blow out his candle! I made his birthday crown, do you like it? Everything was stuff around the house except the fur trim I found at JoAnn's. This is our birthday tradition. 

 When they sang the "Happy Birthday" song Ekemona looked at me and smiled the cutest little grin when they said his name. It melted my heart! I love my little baby sooooooooooo very much and I love the way he looks at me!

We had a few favors left over. This was just a hint of what was inside. We are so spoooooooky! ahhahah