Dried Framed Wedding Bouquet

 After I was married, my mom took great pains to hang my wedding bouquet so that it would be preserved for me to display in my house. She gave it to me when we got home for our honeymoon and I promptly put it in a box and forgot about it. Every time we moved across the country, I would find the box, make my husband swear it would reach our destination in one piece, and then forget about it again.

When we moved into our townhouse, I finally had some room to craft and I swore up and down I would finish all of the projects I always said I would get to. This was one of the first projects on my list. Originally, I  had wanted to use a shadow box, but I didn't love how expensive they were and I decided I really wanted the bouquet to stand out, not be enclosed. This is what I came up with.

 You will need:
Your Bouquet, or another bundle of dried flowers
a frame with a cardboard backing, big enough to display your flowers
satin or another shimmery fabric if your choice of color
paint, to paint the frame
white vinyl
thin wire
hot glue, scissors

 Take the cardboard out of the frame and lay it on top of your fabric. Cut around the cardboard, leaving about two extra inches on all sides.

 Fold the fabric over the back of the cardboard and hot glue.

 Cut the corners off on a diagonal, so they will lay flat on the back.  Glue them down.

 Paint your frame. I painted mine navy blue, my wedding colors were navy blue and silver and my roses are wrapped with some blue ribbon.

Add vinyl to the opposite corners from where your bouquet will lay. Pick any saying that relates to you. If you are a Harry Potter fan like me, "Always" is a great one. It is my way of being slightly nerdy without everyone knowing. 

 Thread your wire through the bouquet, preferably through the ribbon as well, to give it more stability. My bouquet is secured by wire in two places, but if your bouquet is really heavy, you might want a third place. 

Put the cardboard back in the frame. Lay the bouquet across the frame and poke holes in the cardboard where the wire hits from the bouquet. Thread the wire through the holes and twist them behind the cardboard. You are basically using the same concept that holds a Barbie doll in her package. So twist, the wires nice and tight. 

I am thrilled to finally have a way to display my bouquet and next time I move it across the country, my husband can't grumble that I have never done anything with it. ;)

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WotW: Learn Photography Basics Without Feeling Stupid

Being married to a photographer, I often feel ridiculous when she hands me her digital SLR. It has a gazillion settings and I panic whenever it migrates off the auto setting. I understand the basics of photography, but for some reason I forget them all when I get a camera in my hands.

Perhaps you're like me in knowing a little about photography, but would like to improve your skills. Today, more people than ever before are taking pictures. Unfortunately, this also means the number of truly terrible pictures has increased exponentially. This is especially true when I see more and more people buying digital SLRs because they are pretty affordable. The problem is, most people don't know how to use them.

While I can't claim to know everything about cameras, the good folks at Canon can. For most photographers, there are only two names in the camera business: Canon and Nikon. Personally, my wife and I like Nikon, but Canons are dang good cameras too. And the brilliant minds at Canon have found an easy way to help people understand how to use a camera.

The site Canon Outside of Auto provides a very quick and easy to understand overview of the basics of a camera:

• Exposure - the amount of light a camera captures when a picture is taken.
• Aperture - the size of the lens opening.
• Shutter Speed - how long the shutter stays open, allowing light to pass through to the camera sensor.
• ISO - available light settings.

Photography all comes down to light, and understanding how your camera interacts with light is key to getting good pictures. By going through the quick tutorial, I was able to review the basics in less than five minutes.

Once you feel good about your knowledge, Canon lets you test it out with a virtual camera.

Here you see a moving image through a camera viewfinder. Then you can mess with your aperture, shutter speed, ISO and exposure meter settings. You see how adjusting one setting affects the others and the outcome of the shot. You can take a number of shots and get a feel for it. 

Once you really get good at it, you can participate in the photo challenge.

Hopefully you'll be as surprised as I was at how fast I learned the concept. It felt good to get nice shots too. While I still don't think I'll be quite as lucky with a real SLR, at least I have a bit more confidence in my photography skills. Give it a try!

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9 Fabulous Books that Deal With Tough Subjects

I love a funny, uplifting book as much as the next person, but life isn't always funny and uplifting. Sometimes it is hard and heartbreaking. Sometimes it is agony and unfair, but it is overcoming that makes life so sweet. Here are 9 of my favorites books that deal with hard subject matter. Linking up with The Broke and the Bookish.

The Picture of Dorian Gray- Would you sell your soul for youth? This classic by Oscar Wilde touches on the innocence and the evils of the soul. I love this commentary on human decision.

Dark Triumph- Some people have stories so tragic, you wonder how they can keep moving. The heroine of Dark Triumph, Sybella, is that way. She has suffered tremendously and still finds love and friendship and the strength to face her demons. This sequel to Grave Mercy is one of my favorite books and even with its dark subject matter it is beautiful.

The Fault In Our Stars- The life and love of Hazel and Augustus, both teenage cancer survivors. I cried through the last half of this book, but I often laughed through the tears. It was healing and beautiful.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer- Mara Dyer has just been in a terrible accident. She may have walked away, but her best friend did not. Now Mara faces PTSD and other psychological traumas. This series is one of my absolute favorites. It is so different from anything I have ever read.

I am Regina - Regina's life changes forever when her family's cabin is burned to the ground and she is taken captive by Native Americans. This story based in the 1700s, is about Regina adjusting to her new life, in a new culture, mourning her family and wondering if any of them are still alive. This historical fiction book is perfect for the middle grades and older.

The Upstairs Room- Annie is 10 years old when she and her sister must go into hiding from the Nazis. The Upstairs Room tells the story of growing up when your aren't allowed to leave a small room or even take a chance for a little fresh air. It is a juvenile fiction book that I read when I was younger and still love now.

The Glass Castle- This is a story of family dysfunction and children having to fend for themselves. It is a story of a sometimes drunk father and flighty mother, but it is also a story of family love, determination and overcoming obstacles.

The Secret Life of Bees- After accidentally killing her mother as a child, Lily deals with an emotionally abusive father until she decides to run away. She makes her way to the May Sisters, good friends of her mother who keep a large hive of bees. This coming of age book, is difficult in some moments and hopeful and enlightening in others.

Okay for Now- An emotionally abusive father, a brother who's a bully, a new school and another brother seriously injured in the Vietnam War. This middle grade book by Gary Schmidt, is sad and frustrating but uplifting and hopeful. The main character goes through more in one year than some do in their whole life, but he grows and learns and strives to be better. This is a pretty fast read and worth the time.

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Creative Showcase- Creative Features and Link up

Phew.... running a day behind this week. For some good reasons and some bad. My cute little brother came home from two years of living in England this week and it is so good to see him. We also lost a close family member this week unexpectedly. It has been a week of ups and downs for us, but I am glad to be back to blogging and creating. Here are some of my favorite link-ups from last week's Creative Showcase. 

I have always wanted to try a gel manicure and there is a great tutorial for it from the Warfield Family.

Look at this cute Light Weight Infinity Scarf from Mama To The Max.

I love the idea of using a Pallet as a Garden Trellis. So creative! This idea is from Fablifyit.

This Make Your Own Chalkboard Art tutorial from Being Spiffy, is perfect for the beginner.

I love Amy from Ameroonie Designs and this week she has created an amazing tutorial for Custom Roman Shades. I needed this one for my house! 

Now to this week's Creative Showcase. Want to be featured? Link up below!

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Some guidelines for linking: 

Become or be a Follower of Housewife Eclectic 

Visit other links

Link back to Housewife Eclectic with a button or a link. 

Link your favorite posts 

What have you been creating?

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Show Mom Some Love this Mother's Day and More

Mother's Day is almost here. It is a time of reflection for me each year. I reflect on how much I love my little girl and especially how grateful I am to have my mom in my life. I can't imagine how I would live my life without her guidance and love. She truly is the perfect mom for me. My mom isn't one for huge displays of love and affection, the simple things have always been her favorite. This year, although I will be able to spend the days before Mother's Day with my mom, I won't actually be able to be with her on the day. I want her to know that I am thinking of her, even though we are apart, so I am planning on send her a little e-message, so she knows that I wish I could be with her.

 Show Love, new from FamilyShare.com is a free service that lets you design sweet messages for your loved ones. First you write your note.

 You can select an image to go with your note. You can pick from their image gallery or chose one of your own. I LOVE this option. My mom thinks everything is a little bit better with a picture of her grandchild attached.

 Type in their e-mail and it will send you Mom, or any other loved one an e-mail to let them know where to see your message. The perfect way to let someone know you care.

ShowLove is a new feature of FamilyShare.com, a site that is dedicated to strengthening families. It includes articles on practically every subject applicable to the family and it has groups with forums and boards so you can connect with people who are dealing with the same things you are. There a groups talking about emergency preparedness, some talking about raising kids and others about strengthening marriages. Within just a short time of looking around I found other like minded people who understood my values in life.

I think my favorite part of Familyshare.com are the articles. They seem to have an article on everything and stories submitted by members filling in any gaps. I was able to find help on some of the struggles our family has been having lately. TV always seems to turn into a battle in our house, this article 8 Tips To Break Kids' Bad TV Habits. Did you know that some school-age kids are spending almost as much time with electronics are adult with full-time jobs? Crazy, right?

I also found a great article about Dating on the Cheap. Sometimes I am scared being silly with date night will make it lame, but I loved the ideas in this article. I love knowing that other couples do silly things too.

I think sometimes all we need is the chance to see that we aren't alone in our situations. FamilyShare gives everyone an opportunity to do that, to find like minded individuals and get the resources we all need to be better parents, siblings and children. It helps to show a little love too and who doesn't need a reminder every now and then?

(This post was sponsored by FamilyShare.Com, All opinions expressed are my own.)

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Mail Organizer from a Cereal Box

Mail has the tendency to get scattered all over our house. It has never been a problem before, until we got slapped with a late fee because I never noticed that a certain letter was actually a bill. After that, my husband insisted we have a central location for the mail. I wanted something simple, something that I could change easily as my decor changed. After thinking about it for awhile, this is what I came up with. 

 You will need:
a cereal box
a piece of sand paper
scissors
paint and scrapbook paper in coordinating colors
Mod Podge
Chalkboard Labels
Poster Strips (to hang the box)

 This is a really simple project. First thing you need to do is cut off the flaps of the cereal box up at the top opening. Then cut the front part of the box off about halfway down.

 After you cut the box, take a piece of sand paper and lightly sand the cut edges of the cereal box. This will give you smoother edges to work with. Trace the front and side pieces on the back of your scrapbook paper and cut them out.
Paint the inside of your cereal box. Paint as few coats as possible to avoid warping the box. After the box is try, coat the front and sides with Mod Podge and apply the scrapbook paper, trim off any excess and add another coat of Mod Podge on top of the paper to seal it.

Add a chalkboard label (you can find them here,) to the front of your box and prime the chalkboard by rubbing a piece of chalk all over it before writing your mail label.

I was worried that this little organizer wouldn't hold up very well, but it has held up great to daily use. It is the right size and shape for the mail and if I ever decide I want it to be a different color, all I have to do is finish off another box of cereal.

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Decoboards Unlimited- Finally A Cute Whiteboard

Last summer, my parents redid their house. New carpet, new tile in the bathrooms and kitchen, paint and even new pictures and wall hangings for each room. My parents are pretty much out of their kid phase and my dad wanted the house to reflect that they weren't worried about marker on the sofa anymore. The one snag came when my mom wanted to hang a whiteboard in the kitchen.

A whiteboard has hung in my parents kitchen for as long as I can remember, it is a place for the shopping list, notes saying we are at friends houses and other important information. All my mom could find was a plain metal whiteboard, which my dad hated and didn't want to hang in his new kitchen. Until we found Decoboards Unlimited.

Photo Courtesy of Decoboards Unlimited

Decoboards Unlimited are custom magnet or whiteboards that you create with their Build-a-Board generator. You can choose a frame to put around your board as well choose or upload an image for the background.

Photo Courtesy of Decoboards Unlimited

When I received my Decoboard in the mail, I was determined to replace the plain whiteboard that is currently in our family command center. My husband was impressed with how nice it looked and suggested I instead use it as a place to keep my thoughts and to do list straight in our bedroom. I hung it in my room and I absolutely love it. It keeps me organized and lets me write down reminders right before bed. I love that it is functional, but it doesn't feel out of place with the rest of the decor.

The people at Decoboards are offering a discount code for all Housewife Eclectic readers. Use the code DJH2013 at checkout to receive 10% off the board of your choice AND free shipping. The code is go through May 31, 2013.

(I was given a Decoboard to review in exchange for my honest opinion and I LOVE my Decoboard.)

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