Changes.

Posted on May 20, 2013 by TheFancyStanton

This past weekend I made a trip up to my parents house to hang out. I have been going through a lot lately both in and out of work and it is so nice to have the comfort of your family and friends to help support you. I truly am lucky to have such a supporting and loving family who will keep me company when things are pretty crappy.

Anyways, when I got to my parents house I noticed that my Dad had a stack of old fence wood on the garbage bin outside. “WHYYYYY are you throwing this away, do you know me at all??!!?” The garbage stack quickly turned into my Dad helping me cut the wood to sign size (oh the perks of being an only child)

After my stack of fresh distressed/weathered wood emerged, I began to think of the possibilities of what I could make. After a talk with my dad, he said focus on you. Start doing things that make YOU happy. I never actually made a sign for myself and to be honest, for the past 5 years I really haven’t done anything for ME. It was always pleasing other people, being overly nice and accommodating to other people. I guess I sort of lost sight in the fact that the person I should care about the most is me. I wouldn’t go to the gym because I needed to make macaroni and cheese for people, I stressed myself out taking on projects I know I can’t handle just to make people happy and to be honest I AM DONE.

The sign I decided to make was for my new art/craft room. Crafting makes me happy and I needed someone extra special to accompany my new craft room. Here is the finished product:

“Life is art, paint you dreams” It seemed fitting to my life right now. Although this is not where I expected to be at age 25, life has thrown me a new adventure. I begin a new job in one week and also will be moving into a new place. I am focusing on myself and doing things I love for ME. In the words of Bell Hooks, “Knowing how to be solitary is central to the art of loving. When we can be alone, we can be with others without using them as a means of escape.”

p.s – how AWESOME is that chest in the picture?!?! I bought it at the Hobby Lobby this past weekend. I plan on using it for all my craft items and writing on the chalkboard what is in each drawer. I can’t wait to show you once things start coming together!!

P.P.S – I am writing this from Starbucks while Bob Marley’s – “Don’t Worry About A Thing” is playing. AMAZING.

Stay Fancy~

-Jess

A Mother’s Love

Posted on April 15, 2013 by TheFancyStanton

Part of what I love the most about being a crafter is being tasked with new design challenges. Recently one of my friends on Facebook reached out to me regarding making a sign for her friend’s baby shower (thanks Lauren!) After some research we came up with a cute idea for a sign to be hung in a Baby’s nursery. Behold the “Mother’s Love” sign:

It took me a while to figure out how the heck I was going to do this. I usually free hand paint my signs but for this one the words were a bit smaller so I wanted to be more precise. I want to give my Dad a HUGE shout out on this one, we worked on many different techniques to make this sign come to life. I first designed the sign within Illustrator then mirrored the image so all of the words were backwards. We then printed on clear transfer paper to iron them on the painted sign=FAIL.

What I ended up doing was printing the image onto the clear transfer paper, coating the sign the mod podge, and while it was still wet, placed the transfer paper on top while rubbing the letters with a Popsicle stick.

It took some time, and patience, but I am happy with the result. I plan I putting these up to my Etsy Site soon – once I get back from my best friend’s Vegas Bachelorette of course.

Stay tuned for some fun bridal shower updates and some crazy pictures from Vegas (of course I have a few creative tricks up my sleeve for that trip)

Cheers!

-Jess

Little Black Dress Invites

Posted on March 29, 2013 by TheFancyStanton

Wow. What craziness I have been up to lately. Now that I finally have some time to breath, I can catch you up on some updates.

With my best friend’s wedding vastly approaching I cannot believe her shower was last weekend! I will update everyone with the details of her shower in the next post but wanted to share the invitations I designed and made.

I definieitly wanted to make something different and creative for the invite. Back in High School I can remember taking a creative writing class (aka scrapbooking 101) Throughout college and high school I was EXTREMELY into scrapbooking, I even would teach classes at A.C MOORE in college. Yes, it’s true I worked at AC Moore in college, mainly to get the employee discount, and because I was/am OBSESSED with DIY. Anyways, within the class we had to make a timeline in which I made everything removable with velcro and the idea came to mind for these invites. “Why not make a velcro removable dress on the invite and turn it into a raffle ticket from everyone to bring in”.

It was my friend’s idea to have a “Little Black Dress” night time shower to shake things up a bit, and I just played off of her idea. Here is what the invites ended up looking like:

I used the cricut machine to cut out the dresses and used sticky velcro so the dress was able to be removed.

The dress then became a raffle ticket for all the guests to bring in for a drawing.

We had the bride pick 6 winners for the door prize. We also supplied extra dresses for tickets at the shower, just in case anyone forgot. But for the most part everyone brought their ticket in! So what did we give away for the door prizes?? Little Black Dress wine of course!

Of course, you can always make the dresses white for a bridal gown! I plan on adding these to my Etsy shop soon. Be sure to check it out at https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheFancyStanton

Valentine DIY

Posted on February 4, 2013 by TheFancyStanton

It has truly been such a long time since my last blog post. I have been super busy with Etsy orders, working full time and helping to plan bridal festivities for my Best Friend’s Wedding (all of which I CANNOT … Continue reading →

Finally

Posted on January 2, 2013 by TheFancyStanton

There are many meanings behind this “Finally” post. First, I FINALLY did it, I opened up my own Etsy shop featuring an engagement sign I made for my very best friend Jessica. I am so happy to say that on May 26th, 2013 I will be right by her side as her maid of honor which she FINALLY marries her MIDDLE SCHOOL sweetheart. Yes, you heard me – they have been together since they were 12 and are finally getting hitched (hence why I made them the “Finally” sign for their engagement shoot.) I simply cannot wait until their big day as I have seen their relationship grow from the very beginning. (I am already crying over the speech I have to make)

Here are a few beautiful pictures of my very best friend and the sign I made for them. Photos 1,3 and 4 below were taken by Hanlon Photography of Woodbury, Connecticut http://www.hanlonphotography.com/

The Finally Sign can be found at my Etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/listing/117474810/finally-sign-for-a-wedding-engagment

The Stockings Were Hung

Posted on December 27, 2012 by TheFancyStanton

If you haven’t noticed already, my blog has got a slight face lift for 2013. After many comments and emails about how all my projects are inexpensive and where I bargain shop, I decided to dedicate my blog to focus more on how to make exactly what you want, for a fraction of the price. Pocket Of Pennies will reflect DIY projects, tips and where to bargain shop, flea market finds and cheap fashion finds. I will still keep in my diabetic twist on recipes as well

To start my first blog post under the new face lift – I decided you show you my stockings that I made for Christmas. Since it is the first time my boyfriend and I have been moved out and away from home on Christmas, we both needed some new stockings. I must say, to try to keep down the cost, I tried to sew my own burlap stocking = FAIL. This later lead to a Christmas gift of a sewing machine from Evan (Thank you!) However, since the sewing machine came after the stockings I decided to do the semi-homemade version. Here’s what you’ll need:

Stocking: $8.99
Since Pottery Barn is a HUGE inspiration for me, I decided to take a look in the store while Christmas shopping. To my surprise all the Christmas items were half off!! I got 2 of these White Channel Quilted Velvet Stockings for $8.99 each. They are so well made and will definitely last!

Burlap: You will only need two 14x3in strips however, you can buy 2 yards for $1.50 at Joann Fabrics (using the 40% off coupon) Tip: Download the Joann Fabric app on your phone for coupons you can use right in the store. You can also sign up for their email coupons here. I highly recommend the app, you can download it in your iTunes store right on your iPhone.

Wooden letters: 4 inches. You can pick these up at any craft store in the wood section. They range from 1-2 dollars and you can always use a coupon.

Twine: I got mine for free from my Dad but a whole role will last you a LONG time and only costs about 2 dollars.

Sparkle Snowflake Ornament: After Christmas is the time to buy these! However, I got mine for a buck at WalMart in the Holiday section.

Ribbon: 14 Inches – I got mine off of a gift package for free

Here’s how you make them:
I first wrapped the wooden letters with the twine to completely cover the wood.

I then took my stocking and the burlap and hot glued it on to the top of the stocking. You can also use iron on stitching for a now sew approach.

Next, I hot glued the ribbon all around the middle of the burlap.

Now it is time to embellish. I first hot glued the twine wrapped letter onto the snowflake. I then hot glued the snowflake onto the left side of the stocking. I also added a wooden button I had laying around on the right hand side because it looked a little bare. And there you have it – Personalized Stockings. Do you have any traditional items that you always get in your stockings?

Cookie Party

Posted on December 17, 2012 by TheFancyStanton

It has been a dark few days over here in the state of Connecticut, and all around the Country. The complete devastation of the tragedy of Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown has shaken the nation and has made my heart truly ache. Living so close to Newtown, and actually seeing people who may have been directly affected is heart wrenching. Although my boyfriend was not directly involved with the tragedy, his services as a first responder were called upon to help in the town and for him I am forever grateful and proud. Hearing such devastation makes it remarkably hard to get into the holiday spirit but I have found strength through family and friends to help put a smile in my heart if even for a moment. We must never forget all those affected, the children who are now beautiful angels, the teachers who are all heroes and the first responders who risk their lives every single day to protect others.

In light of the devastation, I did attend a cookie party this weekend. I must say, I felt utter guilt in feeling happiness when I know so many families are grieving and hurting, but found comfort in talking with friends and family. For the cookie party I decided to make 2 different types of cookies. Although, these are NOT diabetic friendly AT ALL – they are yummy, creative and super easy to make. I decided to put snowman faces on the truffle because frankly, I lack the skills of making the perfect truffle, so if it ends up looking like it’s a melting snowman head, you might as well decorate it to look like you actually meant it to The second are a knock off version of the Girl Scout Thin Mints – I will share those in a separate post!

Melted Snowman Oreo Truffles

What You’ll Need:
1 (16 oz) package Oreo cookies
1 (8 oz) package of Cream Cheese (Room temperature)
1 package of white melting Chocolate (I used Wilton that I got at a craft store with a coupon)
1 tsp shortening

Ingredients for snowman face
- Orange and Black tubes of gel icing

Directions
1. Crush entire package of Oreo cookies. I put them in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin as I don’t have a food processor.
2. Mix entire package of cream cheese (room temperature) with Oreo crumbs.
3. Melt entire bag of chocolate with 1 tsp shortening. (The shortening keeps the chocolate smooth, shiny and easier to work with) NEVER EVER add water to the melted chocolate
4. Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and dip in the chocolate
**TIP I found it much much easier to refridgerate the dough while in balls for a half hour or so before dipping into the melted chocolate.
5. Let cool in refriderator for about 15 minutes and decorate with gel.
6. DEVOUR – enjoy with a cold milk or hot cocoa and make sure to share some with Santa!!

The Elf On The Shelf

Posted on December 8, 2012 by TheFancyStanton

Elf On The Shelf, created for children to behave during the holiday season, has now become a staple in our adult household. If you haven’t heard of The Elf On The Shelf, here’s a quick summary: The Elf and book come together as a set. The book tells the story of how the elf gets its magic by naming him. (We named ours Stanley, we are so cool) Once everyone goes to bed, the elf “flies back to the North Pole” to report back to Santa about what activities, good and bad, took place throughout the day. The elf then flies back to your home and hides in a new spot each morning around the house. Basically an on-going game of hide-and-seek throughout the month of December.

As you can tell this tradition is designed for kids to behave or is for children, however, we are 25 and do it – what of it?? haha As adults we each take turns hiding it for the other person. Evan has the odd days in December and I have the even numbers. Here are some fun ways we hid Stanley..so far.. What are some fun ways you hide your elf?

And Lastly, my favorite – Stanley in the bathroom. I got him to stand by covering a cookie drying rack with paper and poking holes in the paper. The “poo” is a Hershey kiss!

Merry and Bright

Posted on December 5, 2012 by TheFancyStanton

Christmas season is here again and this is the first official year that I am able to decorate my own place. However, after purchasing a new car a few months ago, buying all new decorations for our new place just wasn’t in the budget this year.

I get a lot of my inspiration for home decor from Pottery Barn. Their Pottery Barn Holiday Pinterest Page is out of control AWESOME. Just by looking through I was able to imagine what I wanted my home to look like on my type of budget.

The majority of items I used was pine cones and tree trims – BOTH FREE. As I mentioned in a previous post, you can get all the tree trim for free when you cut down your tree or at any place that sells fresh trees. Just bring a bag and go crazy.

The pine cones I have collected throughout the year. I actually got mine while I was babysitting for a family I used to babysit for in college one weekend. I made the boys play a game “Who ever picks up the most pine cones in 30 seconds and puts them in this bad wins!” – Thanks guys, I’m good I sprayed them with snow spray to give them the wintery look.

Vintage music sheets are also very in, but why waste money on buying actual vintage music sheets? I printed mine out using this template. TIP: To make this look extra vintage, take a spray bottle, damp the paper with water, gently crumple it up in a ball, open the crumpled paper and lay flat on the floor, cover with a hand towel and iron the paper to flatten – Let dry and you have vintage paper. I sprayed mine with glitter spray to give it an extra pop for the holidays.

For the most part I just reused jars, wrapped them with old book pages, the music sheets, tree trim and OF COURSE burlap. I hope you find these ideas inspiring, they are so easy and CHEAP to make.

We still need our tree and I need to making the stockings but…….. without further adieu, from our home to yours, love Jess and Evan (even though it’s mostly just me) haha

p.s – Can you find the “Hidden Mickey” I designed into our Holiday Card?

Penny Pincher Cinnamon Ornaments

Posted on November 28, 2012 by TheFancyStanton

I give a lot of thanks to my mom for all of my crafting inspirations. My mom has been a nursery school teacher for over 30 years and growing up I always had an art set and fun new ideas to explore. Whenever I needed anything crafty I knew my mom could go into her boxes of school supplies and lend a hand. She is amazing at what she does and I look up to her very much. One craft I can remember her making with the kids from school growing up are cinnamon ornaments. She of course made them with me and well and I can still remember the ornaments smelling year after year as we put them on the tree.

This year I really wanted all my decorating to be vintage chic. When I stumbled on the cinnamon ornaments on Pinterest I immediately thought of my mom and making them while growing up. The look of the ornament is also very rustic and went perfectly with my theme. The recipe I used was my mom’s but it SUPER simple. Here’s what you’ll need:

4oz Ground Cinnamon (about 2 small bottles)
3/4cup-1cup apple sauce
A Drinking Straw
Cookie Cutters
Twine and Burlap(optional)

Big shout out to my friend Jes on providing the wine and helping me make these, and a huge shout out to ABC Family Home Alone Weekend for providing the background entertainment, (it made for a fun Friday night)

Preheat oven to 200°F.
Mix applesauce and cinnamon in small bowl until a smooth ball of dough is formed.
Roll dough to 1/4-inch to 1/3-inch thickness between two sheets of plastic wrap. Peel off top sheet of plastic wrap.
Cut dough into desired shapes with cookie cutters.
Using a standard drinking straw, make a hole at top of ornament
Place ornaments on baking sheet and bake in oven for 2 1/2 hours.
Cool ornaments over night on wire rack.
String with twine or ribbon and enjoy.

Once my ornaments we done, I strung them with twine and burlap. I actually utilized them not only as tree ornaments but as decorations for some vases I made. For the vases I used old brandy containers and soaked them in hot soapy water to peel the labels off. I wrapped page from an old book I had around the vase using Mod Podge and then applied a small strip of burlap using the glue gun. The hung the ornament around the neck and stuck in tree trimmings.

**GREAT TIP – when you cut down your tree, or at any place that cuts fresh trees, you can pick up all the trimmings for FREE. I found this out when I went to ask the people who worked there how much it would cost to take them and they said, “NOTHING, take them!” It was a great feeling!! The old free book, each ornament cost me 4 cents, I re-used the bottles, free tree trimmings and old scraps of burlap and twine, the whole project cost me less that 5 cents. WHAT A STEAL!

This is just the start of my holiday decorating – my scrooge boyfriend is convinced we need to wait until December first, we’ll see.

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