DIY: Tissue Paper Bows

Merry Christmas yall! I hope you are all having a peaceful, relaxing, extraordinary Christmas this year!  A part of me is kinda ready for it to be over. I know there are only two days until Christmas and you probably already have your presents wrapped but my friend, Allison R. asked me how I wrap my presents like this so I figured I would share t in a blog post. So here ya go....How to make a  super inexpensive, easy, and beautiful ...

 What you need: 2 pieces of tissue paper, scissors, and ribbon. The type of ribbon doesn't really matter!

 Cut the two pieces in to thirds

 Stack all 6 pieces of tissue paper.

 Start folding the tissue paper like an accordion with 1" folds. It doesn't have ti be perfect!

All folded!

 Round off the ends

 Fold it in half and cut the folded side into a V

 It should look like this when its not folded in half.

 Tie it on top of your package

 Gently pull apart the each piece of tissue paper from the stack.

 This is what it should look like when one side of the stack has been separated.

Ta-da! This is what a finished bow should look like! You kinda cant mess it up. If you accidentally rip it, you can trim it off and no one will ever notice. Good luck!!!

Holy crap, its almost Christmas!!!

I just finished my last final exam this afternoon and I am finally getting to experience what relaxation feels like! Its been so long since I experienced it! As soon as I got out of class for my last final exam, I drove over to Chickfila to get the peppermint chocolate chip milkshake I had been promising myself if exams went well. It was DE-VINE! As that well deserved shake went down, I couldn't help thinking that it tasted like Christmas in a cup. That sparked another thought...Christmas. And it dawned on me.......  

Sweet baby Jesus! Christmas is in two weeks!!! 
I about had a panic attack this morning in my car! You know those pretty and sweet little girly drinks that barely have any alcohol in them? You think, "ah man! you can never get drunk off of this!" So you keep drinking, and drinking and chit-chatting with your girlfriends until you have to stand up to go to the ladies room and BAM! That pretty little martini you have been sucking down all night long hits you straight across the face like a boss! That is what I feel like! They put Christmas stuff out in the stores when I am still in shorts and tank tops. I think, "Man, it's so early Jesus will come back to earth before Christmas even gets here!" Well here I stand, 17 days until the big show and I still haven't even bought any gifts, put up my tree, or done anything remotely Christmasy! Boy am I bad!

So here's what Ive decided: 1. I am not going to do a tree now. I always leave town to go to my parents for Christmas so its not even worth it for just a couple days of decoration. I did put up garland, stockings and mistletoe so its not like I gave up completely!! 2. I'm not hosting my annual Christmas shin-dig this year either. Instead, we are doing girls night at a restaurant. Sorry yall! Miss America will be in January and I promise my annual Miss America party will be bigger and better instead! Beside, there is NOTHING to do in January anyway! 3. Now that schools out, I will be jam packing everything into next week...Lights of the South, gingerbread house night, sending out Christmas cards, boat loads of shopping, Christmas craft time, slumber party with our reindeer footie pajamas and Christmas movies, do some volunteer work, wrap presents for everyone 2 families, and the list goes on and on!!!!!

This was my tree from last year. Enjoy it now 'cause its not going up this year! Yankee candles will just have to do!

Well congratulations ya'll college kids for finishing your semester! Hope you all have been better at planning then I have this Christmas! Have a great start to your weekend!
XOXO

Cameron's Camera + Strap Giveaway

I have a honkin' big camera. Period. I love my camera but I just hate lugging it around. I never bring it anywhere other than places I am going to do a lot of picture taking because I feel like I look like a tourist, minus the fanny pack. I know you have heard me talking about my sweet precious friend Cameron Freshwater before. She is a stupid awesome photographer and a really great friend. Her camera is even more honkin' big than mine is! She showed me these cute handmade camera straps on Etsy one day and I made her one. She now looks super cute when she goes out for shoots and her shoulder doesn't hurt as much. I have made her 3 of these camera straps since, (shes is about to get 2 more!) and about to make myself one!

Cameron and her camera

 so I was thinking....ya want one? I know a bunch of y'all are into photography so this could be a little mini Christmas present to ya! I'll be giving away one...maybe more of these little babies, depending on how many responses I get. I don't mind making them, they are super easy and cute! So here's the deal, I'll give away up to 5 of these! If you are one of my followers and you have one of those cameras that has a shoulder strap on it, respond in the comment box below before December 1st. Let me know of your favorite color/color combo or just surprise ya! If you want to get specific on me, I'll try my hardest to give you what you want! Also, I need an email address if I don't already have a way of contacting you. I'd love to give one to whoever wants one but I'm not sure what kind of a response I'll get from posting a freebie! Anyways, hope you guys had an awesome Thanksgiving and got some great deals today on Black Friday! Xoxo

-Maddie

Turkey Break Complaint

This fall has absolutely flown by! I can't believe its the start of Thanksgiving week already. Next week will be Christmas! As I type, it's 5:30 in the morning and I am finishing up laundry and packing to drive to my parents house for the holiday. Ugh, I hate being up this early because I feel like my eyes are SO tired but my body is awake. It may have something to do with the fact that I just chugged a Red Bull so I physically can't go back to sleep!!

If you are still a college student like me, you are going to feel my pain on this one... My professors have always done this every single semester. It comes down to the last couple weeks of the semester and they bog us down with projects and grades right as we go to Thanksgiving break or spring break. Therefore, you have no time to enjoy your break and time with family because you are diligently working on school crap. Why?! Because your last minute teachers wait to the end to come up with grades. This week while I am home for Thanksgiving, I have 2 major projects, 2 assignments, and student loan stuff to do (FAFSA takes Fo-evah!) Yes, I am sitting here griping and I hate to be negative Nancy but I'm just a little perturbed that I can't enjoy my break. Needless to say, my senioritis is getting the best of me right now and I want to be done with college! I really wish it wasn't 5:40am so I could fix myself a sippy cup and enjoy procrastinating all that I have to do!

P.S. promise I wont be pissy like this again for a while! Sometimes a good vent session works wonders!

Classy Turtle Giveaway!

Who doesn't love a giveaway?! Right now, my sweet friend, Rachel at Classy Turtle is giving away this precious little golden wristlet! You can enter for a chance to win it by going to her page at www.theclassyturtle.com or click on this direct link, http://www.theclassyturtle.com/2011/11/christmas-is-coming-earlya-express.html and sign up!
Follow her on Blogger, BlogLovin, Twitter, and re-post this for extra chances to win! Even if you don't win, you're going to want to follow her! I absolutely love her and I know you will too!! :)
Xoxo
Maddie

Sew What!

One thing you probably didn't know about me is that I sew...a lot. I've shown you a couple projects I've done but that's not exactly the extent of it. I've been doing it since I was about 4 or 5. I made my first dress with my grandmother when I was 6 and sold my first set of drapery when I was 18. I think I have tackled just about everything from clothing, home decor, bridal, and upholstery. I think I can do just about anything but smocking! (I'm sure as soon as my baby-hungry sister gets preggers I will learn how to smock so her kid will be best dressed kid in town!)

I never really told people growing up that I could sew, especially in middle and high school. I would make a lot of my clothes to mimic the ones I would see in stores but couldn't afford with my allowance. Caddy girls I went to school with made fun of me for being Susie Homemaker that made her own clothes, so I kept it to myself. Now, I don't really care who knows. Friends and referrals pay me to make them things all the time! It's such easy money!

I have been the worst at taking photos of things I've done but I am about to start getting better at that! When people ask me what I can do, I want to show them pictures of things I have done prior. These pictures suck but pretty soon I want to make a good database.

This is a down bed set I made for a lady this past week. Camera phone pictures suck! She has the comfortor turned down here but its 3 euro shams (striped), 2 standard shams (birds), and the bedspread (birds and stripes)

I made this dress last Saturday. It is cotton on top, wool on bottom, and a silk dupioni sash. I mimicked it from a LaRoque dress

These next 3 dresses are all from the same simple design I made to mimic Judith March dresses. I showed you one of these I made for Cameron earlier (the pinkish one). Its amazing how you can switch up a fabric and use the same pattern and the dress looks different every time! This was so easy, it took less than an hour!

The one of me and Lauren at a nasty club was the same dress I made for here too... HERE

This was my best shot at mimicking a Lilly P tunic dress. Its so hard to mimic her dresses because finding fabric like hers is impossible!!!

I have done so, so much more but just never take photos of them! I'm going to do a lot better and promise more photos and super duper simple tutorials to teach you how to do something you can be proud of for Christmas! If you have any ideas of what I should do next, let me know! Xoxo
Maddie

What you didn't know about Jeans

This past week I was watching my beloved HLN morning news show when I heard a story that grossed me out. The folks at Levi Jeans are so worried about leaving a carbon footprint and using too much water that they have new suggestions. They have researched that one pair of jeans will consume 919 gallons of water during it's lifetime through washes. That seems ridiculous! To prevent this, never wash your jeans...ever. Instead, put them in the freezer over night to kill the germs that make them smell. I'm sorry, but that is gross, very gross! Why?
A. These guys are CEOs and business leaders, not scientist saying this.
B. It does not kill all the germs, most will live and thrive on human skin contact
C. Washing them 'washes' away dirt and stuff and the freezer only kills it.
 Can we come to the agreement that this is just nasty?! kthanks!

Dress Jeans

If you read my blog frequently, I commonly state that I hate wearing pants..haaatteee it! So it should be no surprise to you that I don't actually own a lot of jeans! However, I hear a lot of my friends talking about wearing their 'dress jeans' when they go out. This is such a contradiction to me and I don't think I could ever wear jeans to a nice event..but that's just me! However, if you do feel the desire to wear jeans to a nice event, this is a solid definition of what are considered "dress jeans." Dress Jeans= a dark denim made like dress pants (or trousers) with slit pockets instead of the standard blue jean back pockets, wide leg, and to be worn with dress shoes or heels. So please don't roll up at one of your upcoming fancy holiday parties with old fashioned blue jeans on! Its just so tacky and under-dressed!

Avoid This!:

These are called "whiskers"...or whispers (dont know why?) I call them skank stripes. You can't buy a pair of jeans from a teenager-y store without them having this. They bother me so bad because they seriously look like arrows pointing to your va-jay!

Boyfriend Jeans are produced by just about every company and I have yet to find a pair that worth buying. They are supposed to be your loose, comfy pair of go-to jeans, however, they make every girl look like butch or baggy mess. Maybe someone will change my mind one day, but I doubt it. They are the precursor to Mom Jeans...think about it.

Darker jeans are completely proven to make you look thinner. Plus they look a lot classier too. (...just sayin!)

Just because jeans come in white doesn't mean you can wear them after labor day.

You can dye jeans to make them darker! Rit, a brand they sell at fabric and craft stores (and some Walmarts), makes a navy dye that works well but its suggested to use a pot you will never cook out of again when you boil them-you cant get the dye out of your pot. There are great tutorials online and on youtube if you are interested in this.

What else do you know about jeans that could be helpful?? Leave your comments in the box below. Haave an awesome Thursday!

What's Been Going On

Even though I have been very sketchy as far as posting habitually goes, I have been up to a lot! This whole blog thing has really opened up a lot of doors for me! Recently, I have been working with an up-and-coming cosmetic brand on a big new line that is so cutting edge that I don't think I can mention it until it's patented and released. (It's really awesome!) Hopefully, when that happens I'll be able to do some awesome giveaways and send out product samples to you ladies!

This is two of my good friends, Rachel (the blonde) and Leah (brunette) from the other night. We shot product videos for the YouTube channel. Leah was doing the tutorial and Rachel played the model. Man, I can't wait to tell you about this!

I don't know if you have joined the Pinterest movement yet but one of my favorite things to look at is hair. I have been dying to try some of the cute things I've seen on there so I took a stab at it for a recent wedding. 

 

I went with my hair curly but I kinda wish I would have stayed straight. A friend from my hometown told me about this stuff in high school called Pump It Up Gold and I have used it ever since! It's freeze hairspray for black girls that you can buy at drugstores and it works just like it says!  You can position your hair anyway you want to, spray it, and your hair will. not. move! By the way, if you're on  Pinterest, add me so I can follow you too!

Last, how would you like to go to your car and find this on your windshield?! People are so sweet these days! ;)

Have a great rest of your weekend! Go Cocks! ..and Roll Tide! (just for tonight)

Maxed Out Sunday

This was probably one of the coolest Sundays I have ever had! One thing I have been so blessed with since I moved to Augusta for school was finding an amazing church. I go to a Methodist church in town that I just adore. It seriously has been the best thing that has happened to me while I've been here. I don’t know if you are a church-goer yourself, and I try not to uberly spiritual on this blog, but today was just awesome and I have to share it with you!
This morning we had one of the biggest names in Christian literature, Max Lucado, preached at my church! He was so incredible and there was not an empty seat or dry eye in the house! If you don’t know who Max Lucado is, take my word that he is a BIG DEAL! Here are a few books he wrote: (my first one was The Cripled Lamb, a classic children’s book about one of the lambs that was present at the nativity scene birth)

 After the service, my pastor’s wife asked me if I would like to grab lunch with them at Augusta Country Club. Of course I want to go, duh!!! Little did I know, we were eating lunch with Max Lucado too. First off, lunch was incredible! I had never eaten in the upstairs dining room before but it was very swanky and we almost had a private room. Max was such an incredible person on the pulpit and just as amazing in person. He totally surpassed my every expectation! Of course we had tons of people interrupting our dinner, wanting to shake his hands, but he was so personable to every single one of them! I cant wait to read another one of his books because I feel like I know the guy and everything I read will be more personable.

We took a few photos but I never thought of bringing my camera! I had no idea when I left for church this morning that I would have such a whirlwind of an afternoon! I am waiting for my pastors wife to post pictures on Facebook so I can share them with you! Happy Sunday!
xoxo
Maddie

Wedding Weekend Fiesta!

I know it has been so long since I posted but I have been so busy with everything going on! This past weekend was my friend, Leah, her sister's wedding. The whole thing was like a big fat party in a white dress...fiesta themed! Leah was her maid of honor and I just showed up for moral support! Here were a few photos I snapped from the wedding..

 Leah and I before the wedding hanging out with the rest of the brdesmaids

 

Two of the other bridesmaids in their beautiful mexican dresses. Notice the one on the right. She needed my sash at the last minute so I took it off the dress I was wearing and gave it to her! lol. Thank goodness I had a spare outfit in my car! Remember this dress...Orange Laroque Dress . yep, it was that one!

 Little sister Leah walking down the isle. Such a hottie!

 Bride Aubrey was a ball of tears as she walked down. She still rocked it and beautiful regardless!LOVE her hair!!! wish i took a photo of it!

 Too bad they are related because they would make a really cute couple!!

Leah and her cousins (two on right), boyfriend-ish (middle left) and friend on far left. We were all sweating pretty hard from cutting a rug out on the dance floor! ...yes there was a margarita machine and that could very well be the responsible one!

Me, Leah, and Janice at the end of the night. For some reason we could NOT get a good photo of us! This was the "best" one out of 10. I wish I could share the others with you but we all look like hot messes!!

We had such a great time and I was so glad I got to spend the evening celebrating Aubrey's wedding with her. I hope them the best and I'm so excited for her! Next wedding is on Saturday! Its going to be a formal wedding but I really hope I can ger a lot of great pictures to share!
Xoxo
-Maddie

Things I’m Loving Now: October

Every time the seasons change I feel like its always a great time to clean out my closets, music selection, kitchen pantry, and everything in between and revamp it all. Here are a few of the things I am loving right now and would love to hear some of yours!

Pistol Annies. This is Miranda Lambert’s new band. I am obsessed. Which, by the way, did you see her wedding photos?? All of her bridesmaids wore cowboy boots. So cute!  <Click here for photos>

The Civil Wars- Poison & Wine

I finally joined Pinterest! I have been avoiding joining because I knew it would waste all of my time from this point on! One of my favorite things to look at is hair! I am in love with these really cute braided styles. However, I am the worst at doing these! If you know how to do it, please blog a tutorial with lots of photos!!! I will be so grateful! lol

I took these sweet photos of Laura and Oliver yesterday when we went on a walk. I wish i could post all 90 of them but they are just so sweet and fun!

A boutique in my town carries the CUTEST Old Gringo boots. I am in love with them and want a pair so bad, especially some red ones. However, Old Gringos average about $500-600 a pair! Ol’ Maddie here doesn’t have $600 to drop on a pair of shoes! So between now and Christmas, I will be on the hunt for a fabulous pair of red boots!

 

Its kind of hard to see from this photo but this is the dress I made Cameron (CWF Photography) for a wedding weekend recently. It only took me about an hour but it turned out really cute! I have decided that come spring, I am going to have enough dresses that are all unique and different to have a little trunk show. SO many of my girlfriends have asked me to make dresses for them but its so hard to make the right size and to make something to their taste. Really soon, I am going to post a bunch of the dresses I’ve done in the past to get ya’lls honest feedback!

Happy Monday!!! Xoxo

-Maddie

Torturing Your Dog

Every other day of the year, I selflessly pick up this dog's poop, clean up his pee, pay for the things he destroys, and stand in the rain while he does his "business." Halloween is the one time of the year it is acceptable to torture the mutt by dressing him up ridiculously for my entertainment. Oliver, bless yer heart dear! There is more of this to come!