A DIY Project: Picnic In A Suitcase Wedding Gift

While I'm not usually the most craftiest gal around the block, marriage has somewhat made me jump on the "hey I can do that!" band wagon a few times here and there. I found this little project while googling suitcase projects in hope of finding something clever to do with a couple of old two dollar thrift finds I had found. To my surprise, I found/created two: one being a kitty bed for Mila and the other, a sweet wedding gift for a dear friend of mine who is going to be getting married to her best friend in October! I had to wait until I actually gave it to her of course, before I could share my How To's: with you guys so that I wouldn't let the cat out the bag or should I say suitcase? I was going to initially wait until her shower to give it to her, but since my sister in law was so sweet to take her engagement pictures today, I thought, why wait!? They were able to use it in their engagement pictures which seemed like the perfect idea! I had so much fun making this little project that I had to share! I hope you enjoy making it as much as this girl did! Feel free to Pin this little project to your pin boards by clicking the yellow pinterest hover symbol on each picture!

Picnic In A Suitcase Wedding Gift

Most of the articles for this projects were bought from a craft store, Hobby Lobby being my choice, you can find yours at any craft store I am sure! Get creative because there are so many fun ways to make this project your very own! **Notice that my picnic silverware is all plastic, (cups, plates, bowls, forks etc..) they will keep alot better than glass silverware in a suitcase being handled around/stored away until the perfect picnic day.  You can find most of these items at your local dollar store for a little of nothing!**

So Here's What You Will Need:

- An Old Suitcase

(You can find these for a little of nothing at thrift stores, 

although my grandma was sweet enough to give this one to me.)

- Spray Paint 

(Tape up the parts of your suitcase you don't want spray painted and 

give her a new look! It's amazing what a little color can do!)

-  1 Yard Of Fabric Your Choice

(You will want to rip out the original lining of your suitcase before you start getting all Martha Stewart here. Beware of the smell of yester years, trust me it will get better. I modpodged the fabric onto the inner/sides of the suitcase first, and then used a heavy duty staple gun to make everything nice and pretty around the edges. If your not used to using such equipment, you may be a little sore afterwards, words for the wise yet wimpy.)

-Mod Podge

( I had always heard about this stuff but never knew how awesome it was until now! It has to be the crafters dream dope in a bottle! If you need something stuck real good, this stuff sticks better than fresh boogers, no kidding!

- Staple Gun

(There is absolutely no sewing to be done in this little do it yourselfer! Not for me anyhow! I used

this heavy doer mostly for attaching things like the fabric neatly around the edges of the suitcase and velcro-ed ribbon attachments for holding the plates, cups, and other things.)

-Velcro Tabs

(I wanted her to be able to put these items back with ease so I immediately thought of Velcro! I stapled each tab to the back and front of the ribbon and the back of the suitcase if needed.)

-Ribbon Of Your Choice

-Plastic Silverware/Dishes

( Like I said, it's best to go plastic on this project. I found all of my items from my local dollar store.) You will need plates, two cups, straws, forks, spoons, bowls etc.. get creative, I'm sure I missed something you have thought of!)

- Fun Stuff

( This part is limitless to the things you can find! I not only wanted to incorporate just silverware for eating, rather I wanted to make it fun so I added things like the pair of pinwheels, confetti for decor, a burlap rose to maybe place in a vase as a center piece for such a romantic setting, and a letter to place on the front of the suitcase representing the couples soon to be last name.)

This has to be my favorite project I have ever made yet, and what made it even more fun was that I was able to give it to someone to enjoy! It is such a cute, fun and unique project that I know a sweet southern couple (like my friend) will love and have as a keepsake! 

Weekend Ramblings.

This weekend has been such a busy one, to start off we thought long and hard on our decision to get Mila, our beloved furbaby as you know if you are a devoted follower of ours, declawed. Many people are strongly against such a thought and we did not necessarily want to go that route, but our furniture suffered so badly from her constant clawing that we had to do something, the glue on rubber tips just weren't doing the trick.

So call us inhumane if you must, but she is doing very well to have just had surgery. I was very worried about her recovery from it but when I let her out of her pet carrier when we first got home with her, she headed straight for her food bowl and has been trying her best to do everything she usually does on a daily basis, though I do have to correct her when she tries to jump up and down things around the house and she talks back, well meows back as a child would who just got told no. She is going to heal very quickly it seems and we are very pleased with that. The pain medicine that the vet gave us makes her very sleepy, so she just sleeps & sleeps and every now and then prowls around the house to see what me and the husby are doing. We are so glad to have her back home... and she cannot wait to wear her new pretty collar mommy bought her for doing so good!

If you follow me via Instagram, you've also seen that I  went through with my big decision to get full bangs! I have always told Garrett that I wanted to just woman up and do it, so I did & I am so glad that I did! Full bangs are intimidating am I right?! I didn't want to take any length necessarily from my hair but I wanted something different, something classy and I think I got it! The husby went head over hills over my hair and I swear he told me he loved my hair at least ten times, I was so proud he loved them because after all his approval was all I needed! His first words once he saw me as he came through the door from work was this: "Whoa lady, my wife will be home soon...." That man is something else, I love him so big.

Speaking of that husband of mine, I just started my newest read, Wife After God by Unveiled Wife. It is a thirty day devotional centered on marriage of course and is filled with encouraging words on being the wife God called us as women to be. Our marriage is one of the most important things I hold dear to my heart and the Lord is really teaching me during this second year of our marriage that it takes alot of love and respect. I have always wanted to "start off on the right foot" in my marriage and I really think it is crucial to keeping our hearts in the right place as we journey throughout lifes many bumpy and winding roads in the years to come. I have gained so much insight from just two days of reading this devotional and I just know it is going to take my heart far. I want to make my God proud and that sweet husband of mine. If you are interested in joining along, you won't regret it, it is only $12 plus shipping on Amazon and it comes in the mail in no time!

I do hope your weekend has been so good to you and I cannot wait to share what I learn from this devotional, I hope you too will join in on this opportunity to grow closer to the Lord and your hubby!

The Dreaded Thought: Grocery Shopping

I'm not going to even sugar coat it sisters, I despise grocery shopping. The very thought of having to go makes me cringe in agony. Sure, the first couple of times were blissfully engaging as I pranced down each aisle with my "new wife smell" but a few more trips later, I was whooped out like a piece of bologna in between two pieces of bread!

I can't decide whether it's the overwhelmingness of the crowd of people driving their carts histerically down each and every isle I go through or just the stress of knowing what to get, how much of this to get, or both but by the time I reach the register I seriously contemplate stretching out on the roller counter.  Bag me up while your at it, Lady! Because of my hate/hate relationship with the grocery store, I usually don't go for three to four weeks at a time and sometimes even longer sadly. But the good thing is, nothing spoils for the most part because we eat everything, down to the last crumb..literally. We are newly rats, it's true, roaches don't stand a chance at our place, they simply curl up and die from starvation. 

This morning I woke up refreshed, I knew it was that time again, so in an effort to charm myself into the idea of grocery shopping, I locked my lips on a warm cup of coffee and decided it was time to get serious.  Get serious you ask? Let me break it down for you, Two words: Meal Planning. Yes, this little wifey did the unthinkable, I actually took time this morning and planned out our meals for the next three weeks. Countless times have I heard how I needed to incorporate this little idea into my wifey agenda, but I always shook my head at the thought. It would come to me, I said. The strawberry jelly will voluntarily jump into my shopping cart and the mayonnaise will leep at it's first chance! But does it really happen that way? Of course not, because I always find I end up with three full jars of mayonnaise by the time I get home that I mistakingly forgot I already had, two unopened boxes of sweet tea bags minus the sugar needed, and did I really forget toliet paper again!? Thank goodness for paper towels, (you know you've had to, too) or did I forget that as well? Tell me I'm not alone in this aspect of life.

To my surprise, meal planning was a success. I knew exactly what I needed for each dish for each day, and I got it, saved some money too wouldn't ya know? Turns out you save money when you buy only the things you know you need. 

I even found I'm pretty clever myself, instead of using an entire package of hamburger meat which usually doesn't all get eaten because let's face it: there's only two of us, I decided to half my meat portion and separate them into plastic bags! So instead of two potential meals, I made four! And you know what that means? A few more days away from the grocery store! Hallelujah!

After a year of living this newlywed wife, it's finally beginning to sink in that there are loop holes in this beautiful thing we call marriage, but there is so much more to learn, Lord help me.