How-To: Engagement Ring Holder!

Once my best friend's engagement party was over and done and all there was left to do was pack away leftovers and chat, she realized that she did not know what to do with her engagement ring.  We joked about it and found a solution.

When I went home, I started working on a little holder that she could use when she wasn't wearing her ring, whether for sleep, showering, or cleaning. 

This craft is very simple and cute, and makes a great present. 

To read about her engagement part, click here!

What you will need:

• Small frame
• Flowers, buttons, pegs, etc.
• Glue
• Paper
• Scissors
• Pen

I spent under $5 on it, and it turned out adorable.  They are really easy to customize to the person's unique tastes.

 First thing you will need to do is take the paper insert out of the frame and trace it onto some pretty paper.  I chose to use blue card stock, though it looks green in this picture.

 This is the frame I used, still with the paper insert inside.

 Switch the paper insert for the piece of new paper you have traced and cut out.

 Pick what you want to add to the frame.  I chose to use one of the darkest paper roses I acquired from Michael's.

 Take the foam sticker off and glue the rose down using some sort of glue.  I chose to use E-6000 because it is the strongest stuff I had on me. 

 I think the rhinestones, bow, and flower combination make this frame super adorable.

 I was working on my sister's bed, which is why my background looks so fabulous! This is how a ring will fit on it.  It will hang down, which is fine.  I chose to use a rose that was a bit snug, so that the ring would not fall or slip off.  There are many ways to make these ring holders.  I have seen many on pinterest, but did not like them enough.  I decided to make my own.

How it looks standing up.  

It really is adorable, and Hayah loved it! :]

Happy Crafting, 

♥Riley

P.S. Do you have any engagement crafts you'd like to share? I'd love to see! :]

Big & Little Season

The excitement is in the air! You can feel it building in all of the members, initiated and new.  Big and Little season is almost upon us once more.  

All of the girls have smiles on their faces and attendance is nearly perfect.

With each class of new members brings a new outlook on sorority, an excitement.  

This semester, my sorority has the Beta Beta pledge class.  We are all so excited for them to go through our process and grow to love the sorority as much as we all do. 

In this group of young college girls, are leaders. They all have the potential to get where they want to be and we are just the organization to assist them.

The most important assistance they will receive through these six weeks, and the rest of their life, is their Big Sis. You all have heard me talk about [praise and fawn] my big sis before.  I think she is an amazing young woman.  She really is going places and I cannot wait to sit passenger to her journey.  She's driven, hardworking, and smart.  There's not a thing in this world she could not accomplish.

I hope that I have been able to provide valuable guidance for my little.  I love her dearly and missed her sooo much during her semester abroad to Cheltenham, England.  She too is an amazing woman.  She's so open and friendly, but holds herself high.  

This picture, while completely unflattering of me, is of my entire sorority [minus a few] and our new member class.  In this picture might stand a new little, or grandlittle.  Someone new to love in my Tiny Family line.  

Even though I am a graduating senior, I have decided that I would love to have another little one.  We shall see if the Big/Lil gods favor me, but for now I will just sit and wish. :]  I already have one perfect little, who makes me smile everyday. & I am so proud of her for deciding that she would like a little sis.  

Whether or not we get new additions to our family, my line is already perfect, and going strong.  With this being said, I am feeling many things.  I think the best word to describe it is that I am nesting.  I feel like I need to make stuff for my new potential little/grandlittle.  I've already broken out all of my glitter and bought way too many new craft supplies.  

I will keep this blog posted on this, as well as posting some ideas for Big and Little crafts, old and new.  

Can't you just feel the excitement?

♥Riley 

P.S. If you are feeling any of these emotions, I would LOVE to hear from you! :)

How to Go to a Sporting Event/the Races & Why you Should!

This will be kind of an odd/unnecessary/short post.

For Christmas 2013, I decided to out-do myself and all my prior Christmas presents to my family.  Money is just money, and I'd rather them have really cool gifts.  

For my dad this past year, I bought him tickets to all 4 days of Winternationals.  Winternationals are the drag races held in Pomona, California every February.  It's the start of the season.  Then, in November, the finals are held in the same place.  

My dad and I frequent these events because they are really fun and a great way to spend time together.  

Dad and I at the finals 2013

Not so sure when this one is from. I think it might have started raining.

Note my crazy hair and my dad's awesome shirt!

This one was taken at a NASCAR race, in March a few years back!

Right before we got rained out! Thursday, Feb. 6, 2014

I often will have my dad pose in front of things for pictures.

I really enjoy it.

No, seriously, it's my favorite activity.

See the sun on our faces?

Friday, February 7, 2014.

I love these pictures! The way I presented this present to my dad was by filling a huge frame with construction paper and these photos. Then I gave him his tickets in a nice plastic folder for safe keeping.

 Now he has a cute wall decoration and a folder to hold his things in.

I think that going to events like NHRA drag races can be a great experience. You can find interests between yourself and others and go out and enjoy yourself.  It's really nice to get out of the house and go on an adventure sometimes, and it's easy to find inexpensive days to do such! For NHRA events, you can save $7-8 on ticket prices just by bringing in a Mello Yello can or bottle.  I bought my dad's tickets on the NHRA website for $130 total, including all four days.  You can save a lot this way!

Races are awesome ways to bond with your parents, significant others, friends, and other family! You learn more about each other and get to share in the excitement. 

Now on to the actual "How-to".

California usually has awesome weather to be outside in, but February and November tend to be really chilly.  We have made several mistakes with what we have taken before, but those days are long in our past.  

We now know what to take with us.  Bleachers hurt to sit on after a time.  It can get really really cold, and those bleachers will only make it worse.  You'll get hungry and thirsty. I highly recommend you take a backpack with you, and fill it with some key items!

In your backpack:

1. Sunscreen, if necessary. Some events are hot and bright.
2. Jackets. Trust me, you'll need them.  We've gone to events that start in the day and seem hot, only to find it freezing after dark.
3. Sunglasses. It gets really bright! 
4. Small Blanket. GREAT to keep you warm and keep the wind off of you. You can also sit on it if you need to!
5. Seat Cushions. You REALLY need these, or something to substitute them with, like a small blanket or sweatshirt.
6. Snacks. We like Cheez-its!
7. Soda/Water.  It can get expensive buying snacks and drinks at events.  We've found that they don't care what you bring in, as long as it's not alcohol.
8. Hand Sanitizer. Port-a-potty's, need I say more?
9. Ear Plugs. If you're going to the races, you'll probably need these.  It can get VERY loud.  & even though I can handle it without them, I like to use them to protect my ears. 

On your person:

1. Layers, layers, layers! You will seriously high five yourself!

I'll definitely add to these lists if I think of more things you'd need to bring!

That being said, have fun at the Drags! :] ♥

My dad was SO excited he wrote it down in his calendar the day he got it.

This is what the tickets look like if you buy them online.

Pomona Fairplex.

Please let me know if you have any tip/tricks  to going to events, and what your family likes to do together!
 ♥ Riley

Engagement News!

My best friend is getting married!! 

Hayah, that is. 

Here we are at our "engagement shoot", after she had told me her amazing news!

If you read my blog, you know that I talk about her constantly.  She's my best friend of 12 years, and we're inseparable.  

I knew that there was talk about her getting married, but I was still so surprised to learn that she was engaged.  It seemed to come out of nowhere.  

Before I go on, I just want to say that the lucky guy is an amazing kid who I know will make her happy in life.  He's sweet and kind and pretty much a male Hayah.  

They had known each other for years before their announcement.  Their families have always been good friends and gotten along well.  It really only made sense that they would become family themselves. 

It's so exciting to see her life unfolding before me.  We've been there for each other in thick and thin for everything. See, the thing is, we've never really had bad patches. We've never been fair-weather friends.  We don't only call each other for the bad, or for the good either.  Our friendship is life-encompassing.  

Her engagement party was amazing.  It was a traditional Muslim affair, and it was beautiful.  It was intimate, with only family and some friends invited. [The wedding will be packed, however.]

Hayah and I, on her engagement day. ♥ [I love borrowing her clothes!]

Cute little table decorations outside, where the kids sat!

This picture is a little blurry, but I love all the flowers on her! This also shows her mehndi [or, henna] and her new shiny engagement ring!

Treats I made for the event! Mickey and Minnie Mouse chocolate dipped oreos!

The best girls I know, or the self-deemed "Bridesmaids"! :]

They had these adorable boxes of treats made up with their names on the ribbon!

Her BEAUTIFUL engagement ring that I just had to steal to take a picture of.

It was a very sweet ceremony, and we have hundreds of thousands of pictures to remember it by! 

I don't really feel comfortable posting pictures of people without their approval, so that's it for now! But isn't it just the sweetest?

Update: I now have approval to post some more pictures, this time with the groom-to-be, as well! 

Hayah's house was done up beautifully for the event, with lights, curtains, chairs, rugs, tents, you name it!

All of the pictures captured are sooo cute.  It's hard to have them be anything else with how adorable they are!

All the girls got ready together. I can't post pictures of that, but here was my  look!

Gal-pals, the bride, and the groom!

I feel the need to tell you all that this photo was staged! We forced them to reenact the proposal so that we could film it. They've already thanked us for making them do this!

They're currently hoping for a December wedding, and I cannot wait.  More opportunities to wear shalwar kameez? I'm in! 

♥Riley 

P.S. If you're reading this Hayah, sorry if it was awkward! LOL

Valentine's Day!: Cookie Valentine Pockets ♥

Here is another quick and easy craft, just in time for Valentine's Day!♥

For this craft, you'll need: 

• Two or more colors of felt, 25-33 cents each
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks, or another kind of glue
• Puff Paint or other paint in a couple colors choices

All together this craft should cost you less than $1!!

 Cut out a good sized heart out of paper for your pattern.  Place the paper on biscuit colored felt and trace two hearts. This is how much of the felt sheet my biscuit pieces took up.

 A closer picture of the hearts traced on the felt.

 Then I cut out a smaller paper heart with rigged edges to look like frosting.

 You can see here, I drew a heart and then drew wavy lines around it to make it look more symmetrical.

 Here is what you should have by this point. Two biscuit heart pieces and one icing heart piece.

 Hot glue gun the pink to one of the biscuit pieces so that there are no holes.  Another way to do this would be to only glue the bottom of the heart so that it could be a pocket.

 Then glue the bottom edges of the biscuit hearts together, so that it forms a pocket.

 Here you can see that it is a pocket.

 This is what the edge looked like.  I hot glued the edges together, to save time but still make it cute.  You could also sew this all together.  Another way to do this would be to glue or sew all around the biscuit hearts and stuff them, then leave the frosting as a cute little pocket. 

 Then add some decorations! I put little blue sprinkles on using deep turquoise puffy paint.

Then I added little pink dots to add some more dimension to the heart!

Thank you for reading! I would love to see if you made a biscuit heart pocket like this! 

♥Riley

P.S. I think this would be a really cute way to give candy or a note to your Valentine! Send me a picture if you make this craft and show me what you put in your pocket! :]

Valentine's Day!: Puffy Hearts ♥

Here is a very simple Valentine's Day craft!

You could make one as a Valentine for someone, or you could even make a bunch of them and hang them from a tree or around your house!

The best thing about them is that you can personalize the colors and styles.

You will need: 

• Two colors of felt, 25-33 cents each
• Embroidery floss
• Needle
• Stuffing

All together this craft should cost you less than $1!

 First thing's first! Make a stencil.  Now, we all know how to make a perfectly symmetrical heart! Think back to elementary school and fold a paper in half.  Cut a half heart out of it and unfold it. Voila! A perfectly symmetrical heart.

 Cut two larger hearts out of red if you're copying mine, or whichever other colors if you are making it different from mine!

 Sew a smaller heart onto the front of one of the larger hearts.

 Here is a zoomed up picture of the top heart.  It isn't perfect, but that's why I like it!

 Sew the two larger hearts together! I pinned them together to try and keep them straight for this step.

 Before you have finished sewing it all together, stuff it to optimal stuffiness.

Sew it shut and you're done! This is a really easy craft to do if you know how to sew or are learning how to sew.  It is very inexpensive to make and I think they are very cute!