Tshirt Yarn Bib Necklace

On a completely unrelated note, Weight Watchers is going very well! Even with falling off of the horse once or twice (or 3 or 4 times), I have lost a little over 10lbs in the past month and a half. Woot woot!

Now that I got to brag a little bit, let's get to the real subject matter: a bib necklace made out of an old tshirt.

Spiced Pecan Pumpkin Pumpkins

How much do you like short-cuts? A lot? Me too! Well, these little pumpkins are practically made of short-cuts.

Semi-Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

One of the meals I remember most vividly from my childhood was my grandma's Chicken Noodle Soup. I can remember how the aroma would surround the house and you'd smell it before you even walked through the front door. The chunks of chicken breast, the fresh stock, and the tasty combination of stewed vegetables... Yum! Just the thought of it makes my tummy grumble. There are so many days where I find myself sitting at work craving that soup for dinner; too bad the recipe takes at least half a day to make.

Well, how about the authentic taste of a homemade chicken soup in a fraction of the time?! Sound too good to be true? Not so!

Want to know my secrets? Well, read on.

Guest Post at Cocalores

Hi everyone! I had the pleasure of hosting my first ever guest blogger on Sunday. I hope you loved Anja's tutorial as much as I did! Isn't her stitching absolute perfection?! She was such a doll to return the favor and invited me over to her blog yesterday!

You may have already seen my Lace Earring tutorial, but if not, stop by Cocalores and check it out.

Hope to see you there!

Insta Replay Monday #1

I finally decided to get down with Instagram and... yeah, I'm obsessed.  Now I know what all of the hype was about. While I haven't caught Twitter  fever, the idea of taking pictures of the things that defined my day got me hooked. Totally loving on it right now. Every Monday I'll share the snapshots from the previous week. Feel free to follow along: @spool_and_spoon

I won't find it necessary to bore you with captions, but if you have questions or comments about any of the pictures, I'd be glad to elaborate!

Happy Monday!

Embroidered Pillowcase by Anja of Cocalores

One of my favorite ladies, who hails from a land far far away (aka Germany), is stopping by as our guest blogger today. I absolutely adore Anja's inventive furniture makeovers, crafty projects, and pretty much all of the things she writes about. I hope you'll take a moment to stop by her blog and see what she's all about; I promise you won't be disappointed! Now, let's get this party started...

Hi everyone! My name is Anja and I'm so glad to be here today at Spool and Spoon. You can usually find me over at Cocalores, where I blog mostly about my creative endeavors (which include sewing, baking, and giving new life to old furniture) but also about anything that strikes my fancy. Jess writes one of my favorite blogs, and she is such a sweet and amazing person! (Well, I guess that's preaching to the choir because you as her readers already know this!)

Do you also like reading the About Me page first? Well, here is mine in a nutshell:

• My husband, dog, and job are my everything. Well, that and my creative side.
• I'm German, so you'll always find lots of entertaining mistakes and clichés.
• I'm a redhead, but my go-to accent color is pink. Not always easy to make it work.
• My vices include coffee, chocolate, ice-cream, and lots of DVDs. Preferably at the same time.

I like pillowcases. There's nothing like a cute pillowcase to change the look of the room. So I'm going to share with you an easy embroidery and sewing project!

Yes, there's pink, but you can choose any color ;-)

Purse to Camera Bag - A Tutorial

Ahhh, do you have any idea how much I love my camera? The only issue I have is that I'm way overprotective of it. I am so flipping paranoid that I refuse to bring it out of the house for fear it will get damaged or worst yet, stolen. My solution? A pretty, economical, functional, and undercover camera bag. 

You see, most camera bags are ridiculously expensive, not my taste at all, or so obviously carrying a very expensive piece of creative equipment. I wanted something that reflected my style, protected my beloved Canon, had room for accessories, but could easily pass for a classic handbag. I'm pretty sure that this bag hit all of the bases.

Love Autumn {Printable}

While some people are Summer folks and others sincerely adore the Spring, I am definitely an Autumn girl at heart. I love spiced cider, pumpkin patches, pies, corn mazes, picking apples, football, the colors, and most of all the change in weather. Seriously, what's not to love? 

At work, I'm teased because "Who doesn't love..." is pretty much my catchphrase. It's been followed by "mummies," "Martha Stewart," "cheesecake," "the Spice Girls," "Honey Boo Boo Child," and other random thoughts. 

In the spirit of the season, who DOESN'T love Autumn?!

Feel free to download the image here. 

I'd be delighted if you'd consider following Spool and Spoon via email or through Google Friend Connect; there are plenty of other printables, mouth-watering recipes and incredibly simple projects for you to discover! Also, did you know Spool and Spoon has a Facebook? Hop on over so you don't miss any of the fun. 

I'm linking to:

DIY Showoff | S3 | Classy Clutter | A Little Tipsy | I Heart Nap Time | Mine for the Making | Flamingo Toes | Craftomaniac | Shabby Creek Cottage | Somewhat Simple | My Simple Home Life | My Girlish Whims | Stone Gable | Young and Crafty | Nifty Thrifty Things

365 Days of Bliss

For where you go, I will go. 

And where you stay, I will stay.
I will love you today, tomorrow, and forever. 

I will trust you and honor you. 

I will laugh with you and cry with you. 

I will love you faithfully, through the best and the worst. 

As I have given you my hand to hold, so I give you my life to keep. 

It's hard to imagine that it's already been a year since I said those words. Well, if I'm going to be accurate... it's actually been 366 due to that extra day back in February. I am so grateful to have a husband who supports my every dream. I'm so blessed to have a man who respects me and cherishes me and loves me more than I deserve.

Happy anniversary to my amazing husband!

the song that played during our first dance.... AWWWWWWW!!

Indoor S'mores

I already mentioned that I had a girls' night on Saturday with my bestie. She had the most brilliant idea ever to do a wine, cheese, and chocolate night at home and what's not to love about that? Her papa got us some amazing artisanal cheeses (he spoils us girls), she picked out some delicious wine, and I was tasked with the chocolate treat. I was a huge procrastinator and didn't actually decide what I wanted to make until 90 minutes before I was supposed to be at her house. Being that time was not on my side, I threw together a quick dish of Indoor S'mores.

INGREDIENTS:
Graham crackers (quartered)
Marshmallows
Dark chocolate *Quality is important here*
Chopped and toasted hazelnuts

Morse Code Necklace Tutorial

Yay, I got another project off of the to-do list! Enter in the Morse Code necklace {and tutorial!}. I've been meaning to find a necklace to symbolize the unity between the Mr. and I, but the whole two hearts intertwined thing just isn't my style. I thought about maybe an M for our last name but even that seemed a bit too obvious. After much thinking, I decided upon doing a simple Morse Code necklace. 

This really was simple... almost as simple as my bar pendant necklace except this took a tad more planning with the pattern. As with most of my favorite projects, this is completely customizable -- any colors you like in any word/phrase that you want. Want to see how I made this little beauty? Read on!

Shorts to Skirt Refashion

(Please don't judge me for the blurry pictures. It was late and my fancy-shmancy camera was charging so I had to use my phone instead.)

So remember when I mentioned that I had tons that I wanted to do and even more that I needed to do? Yeah, well, this little refashion was one of the latter. Even so, it's nice to have something crossed off of the list.

You see, my WBFF asked if I wouldn't mind fixing a pair of shorts that her mom accidentally bought. I say accidentally because if you took only a quick glance, you'd be positive that it was a loose skirt. Unfortunately for her, it was not and she was not happy with the idea of wearing a pair of frumpy shorts to a lively nighttime party next weekend.

Git-R-Done

So you may have noticed a bit of a lull from me for the past few days and for that I apologize. It's been a busy week... what with a sick Mr., the stress at work, this whole eating healthy thing, and getting things done around the house on the minimal hours I have to myself. I'm lucky to even keep my head above the water each and every day. This weekend will definitely provide some time to unwind and get caught up on the many things I have floating around my head {and Pinterest!}. I figure that I'm much more likely to get at least some of the things done if I publicize my goals.

This weekend:

• Anniversary gift for the Mr.
• Treats for the pupper dog 
• A camera bag
• A new camera strap
• Morse Code necklace
• Girls' Night treat
• PB Inspired candy dish

Before the end of September:

• A bed for Quinn, and Aubrey as well
• Pillow covers for the sofa
• Tetris coasters for the Mr.'s man cave
• Monster Mash decor
• Halloween wreath
• Wrap Clutch
• Flea market makeovers
• Skeleton Leaves
• Geographic coordinates wall art

Before Halloween:

• Curtains for the living room
• Start on DIY Christmas presents for coworkers, family and friends
• Little pumpkin cupcakes
• A cover for Quinn's crate
• Pumpkin Pie drinks
• Create business cards for the blog
• Order Christmas cards

Later:

• Kitchen cabinet makeover
• Recipe art
• Felted gloves
• Ruffled tree skirt
• Pine Cone elves

Are you like me? Do you have a bajillion things you want to do but no motivation/time to get any of it done? The worst part about this is these are things that I WANT to do, not even the things I NEED to do. Don't even get me started on the stuff that needs to get done haha. Please hold me accountable to this list though. Pretty please?! Thanks a bunch! I heart you!

Keep posted because I hope to get tutorials or recipes up for most of the things that get accomplished. As always, I'll throw in a couple of printables here and there as well. Thanks for being you!

Notes for the Teacher {Printable}

I had a very sweet reader send an email asking if I had a printable to give to teachers. While I have one for babysitters and one for parents (from babysitters), I unfortunately did not have what she was looking for. To be honest, it never really crossed my mind either. Because she was so kind to go out of her way to ask, I really wanted to do what I could to accommodate her request and committed myself to making one.

Since the Mr. and I don't have kids (let alone ones that are in school), I wasn't even sure what a parent might notify a teacher about. After a night of trying to figure out exactly what I wanted to include and how I wanted it laid out, I finally ended up with a finished product.

DIY Monochromatic Fabric Pumpkins

I feel like my sewing machine and I have an ":it's complicated" relationship. I go weeks without touching it and then out of nowhere I can't get my hands off of it for hours on end. Is anyone else like that? Well, I made a few things last night while I was feeling inspired and thought I'd share a tutorial for one today: Monochromatic Fabric Pumpkins. 

Materials:

• Fabric scraps
• Coordinating heavy duty thread (Coats Glace line is perfect for this)
• Poly fill
• Twine
• Ribbon
• Sewing machine & necessary tools

Halloween Subway Art {Printable}

I'm a bit obsessed with Halloween already. Please don't judge me. I'll be the first one to admit that I rush the holidays. Still, two Halloween projects before the first week of September has come to an end might be a record, even for me. I have too much I want to accomplish before October gets here.

I have to start on the outdoor decorations, figure out costumes for the Mr., Quinn, and I (never again will I attempt to put clothes on Aubrey, haha), decide what fun treat I'll be making for our annual Halloween party, pick what candy we'll be handing out to the trick-or-treaters, and make little gifts for our favorite kids. Since it's still really hot and humid out, it's hard to focus on those things though. Instead, I put all of my inspiration to good use in a fun subway art printable.

Low-Fat Crispy Eggplant

Happy Labor Day!!

So we all know that my zucchini chips did not turn out very well, but that didn't mean I was going to give up on my healthy food quest. After all, I've lost another two pounds this week! Woohoo!! Ever since starting Weight Watchers, I've been much more cognizant of what I'm eating. Being that all fruit and most veggies are "point free," I really do my best to load up on them rather than carbs or fatty proteins. Last night I made these yummy baked eggplant slices for a whopping one point per serving (due to the bread crumbs).

Halloween Luminaries

It's September! Guess what that means? The Autumn holidays are upon us. Yay! I am so flipping excited about the next few months. I couldn't help but to get a Halloween project out of the way already. 

These would look spooktacular clustered on your dining room table. They cast a fun shadow when lit and look eerie even when they are no flames inside. The best part is that they are completely customizable... you could do different shapes, colors, or even words! Just think -- how fantastic would these look spelling out Happy Halloween across your mantle?? The possibilities are endless!