Stelabird

Friday Favorites

2012-01-27T13:56:00.000-06:00

These owl measuring cups are so adorable. I would have a hard time choosing which color.

This globe is so beautiful! It makes my heart pitter patter.

This heart nail art tutorial from Wonder Forest is so cute!

I'm always blown away with Emily Martin/The Black Apple's work. This print

is stunning.

I fell in love with the heart sweater from J Crew last year but by the time

I was able to go into the store to get one they no longer had my size. Super bummed. Earlier this week I found this cool DIY on how to make your own.

Now time to find a sweater to add a heart to!

I love these log bowls. The bright colors with the natural wood is simply gorgeous.

What are your favorite things this week?

Happy Friday!

♥

my week through instagram

2012-01-26T00:03:00.003-06:00

Sewing big zipper pouches. I love having a print on the outside and inside.

Taking pictures of products for our future online shop.

Bestie hang out time. Why can't we live in the same state!

Dexter's favorite window. Also my favorite spot to take Make It photos.

A week full of meetings. Sometimes I feel like a kid crashing my parents party.

Delicious drinks with friends makes for a perfect evening...

...So do rainy nights.

Dexter is tired of me taking pictures of him.

Family high five

♥

I love...

2012-01-25T15:02:00.000-06:00

I absolutely love vintage sewing books!
The fashion design major in me bursted at the seams (see what I did there? oh yea I did) when my friend showed me these books she found at local thrift stores. The Complete Book of Sewing on the left is from the 50s and the Vogue Sewing book is from 1970. I stopped listening to everyone around me when I opened up the Vogue Sewing Book. The illustrations were so fascinating.

I did some searching, because I need this book in my life, and found a few on

etsy! I'll definitely be getting my own in the foreseeable future!

What are you loving today?

♥

our little jump dog

2012-01-24T00:46:00.000-06:00

If you were to ask our dog Dexter what his favorite activity was, he would say playing fetch. Since we don't have a back yard you can find us at our city's dog park throwing the ball for him on a daily basis. He loves to jump for the ball whenever it is airborne, hence all the jumping shots.

I love this little guy to pieces! Dexter hopes you're having a great day!

2012-01-23T00:00:00.008-06:00

This weekend my best friend, Goldie and her adorable Chihuahua banana, came to visit us! If we're lucky we get to hang out once a year so I'm so happy we were able to make this happen!

We also helped her set up a blog while she was visiting, and I'll be sharing that with you once it's complete.

And if you're wondering why dexter is wearing a scarf in the pictures above; it's because he is so darn hard to take pictures of! He disappears. So I figured a scarf would at least let you know something was there.

I hope everyone had an amazing weekend as well.

♥

Let's do this

2012-01-22T00:00:00.000-06:00

photo source

Friday Favorites

2012-01-20T00:03:00.008-06:00

I love vintage spools and my favorite accessory are rings so you can imagine my mind

was blown with these vintage spool rings!

This tortellini vegetable soup looks so yummy! Can't wait to try the recipe.

I love this DIY!

I also love this satsuma candle DIY!

I love this banner. So affirming.

This wallpaper is amazing. And the heart print is pretty lovely too.

What are your favorite things this week?

Have a lovely Friday!

♥

my week through instagram

2012-01-19T00:00:00.089-06:00

1. a restock of TOMS for the shop

2. In love with my new phone case

3. A daily routine

4. Cuddling with Dexter before work

5. Husband cooking my favorite

6. working on our future online shop

7. Taking it easy at fb

8. This black dot is our dog

9. Working on this past Monday's DIY post

10. Enjoying the unseasonably warm weather by going on a walk

11. These vintage button rings by Felix and Jayne are one of my favorite

things we sell at the shop

12. vintage spools

13. You would think I was obsessed with black with white polka dots.

♥

The Felt Bird

2012-01-17T21:26:00.000-06:00

As most of you may know, I own a boutique in Enid, Oklahoma called The Felt Bird.

I've gained new readers since I started blogging for reals again so I thought I would take this opportunity to

share a little bit of mine + fb history as well as what we have planned for our shop's future.

Opening a boutique was something I've always wanted to do, I just thought I wouldn't be able to until my 30s or so.

My major in college was Apparel Merchandising so I took a bunch of fashion and business courses. My experience in the retail world was working retail jobs since I was 16, running an etsy shop, and doing an internship with the boutique Dwelling Spaces (which was the most useful and helpful experience).

When I graduated college in 2008, I freaked. I didn't have a job. Or a plan. What in the world am I going to do now?

At this time I was busy and doing well with my handmade brand, Stelabird. I had read those

Quit Your Day Job stories on Etsy and they were so inspiring and gave me the idea to try it out. To make this my new plan. I'm going to attempt being self-employed!

This may sound terrible, but I just hate working for people/companies, and I was going to try my hardest to never have to.

A few months passed and husband and I were packing boxes to make the move back to our hometown. To be honest, I was really bummed about this, but this was a more affordable choice and it would give us a chance to save money while we figured out what we wanted to do.

Soon after we settled into our new/old hometown we were introduced to two amazing young artists and gallery owners. Discovering such a creative and wonderful side of Enid that we had never known sort of rocked our world and made us realize that maybe our future was right down the street. Would it be so crazy to open up a business now?

Plus, our city didn't have a shop like what we wanted to do. We imagined carrying cool gifts and accessories for awesome ladies and gents.

After a huge amount of research and even huger amount of work we were able to open our little boutique on a shoestring budget. We opened our doors in September of 2009.

These past 2 years have been fantastic and emotional. Running your own business is so rewarding but can also be quite stressful. I can't imagine doing anything else.

After much thought and planning husband and I have decided to take the next step in our business:

We will be opening a Felt Bird online shop.

Husband has been busy designing and creating our online presence. We are still busy getting product photos ready and hope to go live in a few weeks. I will announce our launch date soon.

We are so excited and looking forward to getting our online shop up and running and available to everyone all over the world.

To learn more about The Felt Bird and to see our journey CLICK HERE and HERE!

Make It // Wood Mushrooms

2012-01-16T00:02:00.001-06:00

This is my first Make It of 2012! I'm going to show you how to make

cute little wood mushrooms! They are easy to make and look adorable on bookshelves.

We like to call them bookshelf enhancers.

Let's get started!

You will need:

wood candle cup (available in craft stores)

wood split ball (available in craft stores)

Glue

White paint marker

paint brush

acrylic paint

1. First we are going to glue the split ball to the candle cup.

Let it dry for a few minutes.

2. Get your acrylic paint and start painting the top of your mushroom.

Let it dry and add a second coat.

3. After the paint is dry it's time to add dots to the mushroom top

with your paint marker.

That's it! We're done! So simple and speedy to make.

These little guys are ready to look cute on your shelves!

Happy Making!

♥

friday favorites

2012-01-13T00:03:00.001-06:00

Here are a few of my favorite things this week...

Essie's Spring collection has been revealed and will be available next month!

As always, I want every color.

This mug needs to be mine.

This dress has the perfect amount of sparkle!

Cannot wait to ~~try out~~ have husband make this vegetarian lasagna recipe!

I love this DIY on giving new life to an old solid colored clutch.

LOVE IT! Do you have the song stuck in your head now? I do!

I hope you have a lovely Friday!

I love...

2012-01-12T14:33:00.000-06:00

I'm so in love with these geo earrings from A Merry Mishap!

I've been daydreaming about them and they've been in a couple

of my friday favorites, so I decided it was time to have them in my life.

I had the hardest time deciding on which color to get, they were all so lovely.

As you can see I ended up choosing pale blue.

I have a feeling I won't be taking these off.

What are you loving today?

♥

On How To Be Lovely

2012-01-11T00:02:00.003-06:00

I looove this song from Funny Face. It's been stuck in my head
for a few days now.
Isn't Audrey Hepburn so lovely?!
She is one of my favorites; she has amazing style and grace.

Here are some tips on how to be lovely:
Be Happy! Good moods are contagious.
Treat others the way you would like to be treated. Be kind and gracious.
Look lovely by taking care of yourself.
Love yourself and others.

Being lovely is quite simple!

What's your favorite Audrey Hepburn movie?

♥

my week through instagram

2012-01-10T00:03:00.004-06:00

1. I've been drinking an Americano daily.

2. Teal pants from college I can finally fit back in to!

3. My husband has adorable freckles.

4. Playing fetch at the dog park.

5. A thrift find: avon perfume bottle

6. Pre-dinner snack: Pinot Grigio and gouda cheese

7. One of my favorite dresses

8. being productive on my day off

9. BOWS!

10. at the shop

11. Making some important decisions

12. The two loves of my life!

13. A simple Sunday morning

14. You guys are my favorite.

And that was my past week through instagram!

for more follow me on instagram @stelabird

♥

Don't forget

2012-01-08T00:22:00.000-06:00

photo source here

Friday Favorites!

2012-01-06T12:05:00.000-06:00

Here are a few of my favorite things this week!

I love the mixture of something super bright, like neon, with something natural!

I must have this poster in my home.

This makes me so happy. So beautiful.

♥

Love this Kate Spade pouch! And don't mind if I do!

This embroidery artwork with the rainbow connection lyrics.

Love this how-to upgrade your home accessories!

I love this clothing rack.

I hope you're having a lovely Friday!

I love...

2012-01-05T00:00:00.002-06:00

I'm falling in love with this tablet.
Earlier this week I was updating the pictures I had in the about me section and I
was telling husband that I wish I could hand-write text on his picture. I loved
the look. He simply stated "You can" and went to grab this tablet he had bought
some time ago. My mind was blown. I had forgotten about it and why wasn't
I using it already?!
So I was geeky and drew hearts on his picture. You can visit my about page
to see the goofiness in action.

So yea, I can't stop writing on everything.
But don't worry friends, I'll try not to write on every single picture!

What are you loving lately?
♥

tough guy

2012-01-04T00:03:00.000-06:00

When I wear these boots I feel tough. Like I could rough someone up.
Maybe have a motorcycle. But in reality I'm not and wouldn't do that.
That's totally not me.
But I absolutely love these boots and wear them quite often.
Do you have a piece of clothing or pair of shoes that make you feel like a different person?

2012-01-03T00:30:00.000-06:00

1. I can't stop wearing my infinity scarf.

2. Blogging and coffee help make a perfect morning.

3. This is where you can find Dexter everyday at work.

4. Our ceiling. Love it.

5. Coffee run with my love.

6. My favorite breakfast: hard boiled egg and asparagus.

7. It was a bit cold outside.

8. Cuddling my little dog.

9. Getting ready

10. Welcoming 2012

11. Happy New Year, Charlie Brown!

12. Tomato basil, pasta salad and a chocolate covered strawberry.

13. Our shop's neighbor, the Broadway Tower

14. beep beep boop

Husband gave me an iPhone 4s for Christmas so I've been taking pictures

like crazy. I also joined instagram a week ago and am pretty obsessed.

Here are some photos of what I've been up to lately.

You can follow me on instagram @stelabird!

♥

Song on Repeat // Try Me Out Sometime

2012-01-02T11:40:00.001-06:00

This song by Oklahoma band, Broncho, was released months ago and
I've had a very long love affair with it. I was thrilled to find out this song
was selected as one of NPR's Top 5 garage-rock songs of 2011.

If you'd like to listen to the rest of the album (which you should) click HERE!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T13:37:00.000-06:00

Well friends, it's a brand new year. 2012. It looks nice, doesn't it?

Have you decided what you'd like to do this year? Let's make time to create more. To discover new things. Have more fun. Be more patient. Complain less. Be healthy. Laugh more. Love more.

I'm looking forward to 2012 and what it's going to be for all of us.

Let's make this year count.

2011-12-30T00:03:00.001-06:00

Hey party people! Are you ready for New Years weekend?

Husband has a show in OKC that night so that's where we'll be ringing

in the New Year. For today's FF I have a bit of theme going on.

Lots of sparkle, gold, very NYE.

Here are a few of my favorite things:

This sequin photobooth DIY. So fun!

Aren't these jelly shots festive?!

Love everything about this.

Go for the fun bun on NYE night

I was so in love with the geo earrings. Now I'm so in love with these

gold dipped geo earrings.

Pretty magic is going on right here with this Starlette Crown.

Make your own party tassel garland with this tutorial!

And we cannot forget these crazy awesome glitter shoes!!

HAVE AN AMAZING, HAPPY NEW YEARS!!

I'll see you next year in 2012!

a bit obsessed

2011-12-29T00:00:00.001-06:00

I've recently been sucked into the world of Instagram. I'm already obsessed, it's so much fun. Do you guys have instagram? Let's follow each other!

LIGHTS! LIGHTS! LIGHTS!

2011-12-28T00:31:00.000-06:00

The husband, little dog and I finally went to see Christmas lights!

Better late than never. We went to a town 40 miles south of us. They set up 70 displays with over 2 million lights in their park and you can drive/walk around admiring them.

I love this bridge! We call it the party bridge since it is a 100 year old swinging bridge with 90,000 lights. Every year several proposals

happen here.

Did you get to see Christmas lights this year?

This was something we wanted to make a Christmas tradition for us and we didn't get the chance until this week. I'm so thankful they show the lights until the end of this month.

Now it's time to start thinking of the New Year!

Are you guys ready?

2011-12-27T15:59:00.000-06:00

Did everyone have a wonderful holiday weekend? I hope so! We sure did. We watched all our favorite Christmas movies, spent time with our families and enjoyed our time off work. I wish I could have taken more photos of our weekend.

For Christmas we got ourselves a new camera! Since we are planning to open an online shop for our boutique we decided it was time for a new one. Husband also got me a new iPhone! It was tech type Christmas for us!

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

2011-12-24T13:39:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas from The Jantzens!!

We have lots of fun family time starting tonight through Monday so I'll be away from my blog for a few days.

We hope you have a lovely weekend with your friends and family!

2011-12-23T00:00:00.004-06:00

I love this holiday season outfit inspiration post!

Isn't this hand embroidered USA wall hanging so beautiful!! I love all the colors.

I want those tissue tassel garland hanging in my bedroom. I want those cute doggies as well!

This image is gorgeous.

I ♥ rings

this metallic wrap headband is absolutely lovely.

♥

I have a lot of color and sparkle in this weeks friday favorites. I suppose I'm ready for the holidays.

What are your favorite things this week?

Have a lovely Friday everyone!

what I wore // shiny toy gun

2011-12-22T00:00:00.157-06:00

wearing: dress- Urban Outfitters; cardigan- american apparel; infinity scarf- handmade by me;

necklace- Amity Treasures

I'm so in love with Amity Treasures! Her jewelry is vintage and reconstructed jewelry made into one new awesome piece. We sell her accessories at our shop and it is so hard not to buy every single thing! I love how it's all one of a kind and random. My favorite piece on this necklace is the yellow pistol.

The dress I'm wearing is one of my favs. I love the grey/mint combo plus it's fitted top and flowy skirt.

I'd also like to mention this little post has taken me a long time to write. I have discovered that I edit myself way too much. I'll have something down and then I think way too much about it and delete it. I hope to not edit myself so much in 2012. I'm so surprised I haven't deleted this already!

I've been told a few times from readers I've met in person that I'm more bubbly than they expected. (ohmygod, I hope that doesn't mean annoying!) I suppose my exclamation points aren't doing the trick. I don't think editing is bad, I think I just edit myself to the point of no personality.

Anyways, what I'm trying to say is, I hope to find my voice and convey more me on my blog.

Right now I just asked husband if I should delete what I just wrote.

I have a lot of work to do.

I love...

2011-12-21T00:31:00.000-06:00

Christmas movies!!

Here are my top 3...

I've been watching these movies already several times this week. I love them so much. It's been busy at the shop and when I come home I have to make scarves to restock our store; so it's nice to watch these movies while I knit. They do a great job of getting you into the holiday spirit.

What are you favorite Christmas movies?

at the shop...(with dexter)

2011-12-20T00:19:00.000-06:00

Dexter loves to lie in the poly-fil, that we call snow, in our store window display.

It's pretty cute. I love seeing people from outside notice him and start pointing and smiling.

When he's not in the store window snow he is behind the counter in his cozy bed...wearing his santa outfit. Okay, not really. Just for this photo. Can you see how not happy and shocked he is about wearing it!

Make It // DIY gifts

2011-12-19T00:05:00.002-06:00

Can you believe how fast the holidays are approaching?

I've been a bit busy with our retail shop so I didn't get a chance to do my own DIY. For today's Make It I'm sharing a collection of cool gifts from around the webs that you can make!

Just click on the links below the photos to learn how to make them.

hot chocolate on a stick

paint chip wall art

Happy Making!!

♥

Song on Repeat // Bienvenue by Class Actress

2011-12-18T00:52:00.000-06:00

Bienvenue by Class Actress on Grooveshark

What song do you have on repeat?

2011-12-16T00:00:00.001-06:00

This doodle duvet is such a cool idea! I want one.

action figures and flowers.

I would love every color available in these geo earrings.

I love everything about this dress.

We saw the documentary Bill Cunningham New York the other night and it was so inspiring and charming.

These styling secrets from J.Crew's Holiday Catalog.

This bow clutch tutorial.

What are your favorite things today?

Have a lovely Friday!!

Happy Birthday, Husband!

2011-12-14T00:00:00.004-06:00

age 4

age 19

I love you! So happy you're my best friend and husband.

Can't stop, won't stop!

2011-12-13T00:03:00.021-06:00

I'm a crocheting fool! I started learning last week and it's so much fun.

The other night we went to have dinner with our friends and she crochets so I begged her to help me make a slouchy beanie.

My beanie ended up being a little too big and hilarious so I gave it to the husband. She was making adorable baby beanies for her nephews!

And here is the hat that I was able to fit on my head!

Make It // Pom poms

2011-12-12T00:00:00.010-06:00

I've been getting a little bored with the fabric banner we have above our bed so I decided to make pom pom garland to put there instead; however I don't have a fancy pom pom maker.

For today's Make It I'm going to show you how to make a pom pom without a maker bought from the store.

Let's get started!

You will need:

cardboard

yarn

scissors

x-acto knife

How to make the pom pom maker:

1. Get a small bowl and trace two circles on your cardboard. My bowl is 4 inches. (To get a small pom use a smaller circle.)

2. Cut out your circles

3. Now it's time to draw a smaller circle in the center. I used a small spool that was a 1 inch.

4. Cut out the small circle with your x-acto knife.

5. Place the cardboard with the center cut out on top of the other. Now trace a circle onto that one so they line up perfectly.

6. With your cardboard circles still stacked cut a slit through both of them.

We have finished making our pom pom maker! Let's make us some pom poms!

1. Slip the yarn through the hole from under.

2. Sandwich the yarn between the two cardboard circles.

3. Bring your yarn through the slit, and wrap around and repeat all the way around to the other side.

4. When you get to the right side turn and go back repeating the steps above.

You can keep going until the center circle disappears with yarn, but this is where I usually stop. You can cut your yarn and wrap it in with the rest.

5. Once you have enough yarn wrapped place your scissors between the cardboard circles and begin to cut your yarn.

So fluffy!

6. Get some extra yarn and put it between the two cardboard circles, bring the two ends together tightly.

7. Tie a knot twice! You want it to be secure!

8. Pull your yarn out and guess what...

You're done! Throw your pom pom in the air! WOO!

Trim the yarn if it's uneven.

If you'd like a smaller pom pom you can use a smaller circle!

Here's a smaller one that I made. I put a wood stick through it and put it in a vase. It's now sittin' pretty on my night stand!

I made my garland by stitching yarn through the center of each pom pom.

I hope you guys enjoyed this tutorial. There is so much you can make with pom poms! For example, add with your presents this holiday season.

Happy Making!!

♥

Song on Repeat // Home by Glasser

2011-12-11T00:00:00.002-06:00

I love listening to different types of indie music during different seasons.

During these cold winter months when I'm not listening to Christmas music, I'm in the mood for electronic music. I believe I love it when it's cold out because night starts at 5:30, there are lights glowing, and all the holiday parties.

My song on repeat is Home by Glasser.

Home by Glasser on Grooveshark

What's your song on repeat right now?

How was your weekend?

2011-12-09T01:25:00.000-06:00

I just discovered the blog Cat vs Human and it is hilarious! I love all of her drawings; they are adorable and funny. And even though Dexter is a dog I can totally relate to Sleeping with Cats.

This print makes me happy!

Can someone please yarn bomb the trees outside my shop? I love this!

This is an adorable greeting card of winter animals! Aren't they so warm and cozy in their fancy winter wear?

So pretty & tasty looking!

LOVE everything about this room!

This Peppermint Cocoa Mix DIY makes a great gift that everyone would love!

I'm in love with the gold and black eyeshadow for holiday parties!

What are your plans this wonderful weekend?

I hope to go to a play at our local theatre and perhaps do lots of knitting & crocheting. I made a slouch beanie tonight for Riley that I'll have to share with you guys! I'm obsessed. I can't put down the yarn!

Have a happy Friday! ♥

28 before 28: Learning how to crochet

2011-12-07T15:03:00.000-06:00

I'm so excited to cross something off my 28 before 28 list!

I get to cross out #7: Learn to crochet!

I've been wanting to learn for some time and so I finally bought a book to help me learn in 2008. I was so confused and didn't understand the photos, I wanted to pull my hair out. I was able to learn how to knit from a book, why couldn't I learn how to crochet?! After awhile I felt defeated and stop trying to learn.

Now here we are in 2011 and I decided this was a good year to try again. I put it on my goal list so I could see it everyday and finally give it another go.

Husband suggested to watch a video tutorial. Why didn't I think of that in 2008?!

So I sat down with my hook and yarn on Monday and watched several tutorials on youtube. And guess what friends...

I LEARNED HOW TO CROCHET!

That little strip was my first attempt. Crocheting was fun to learn and I'm so mad I gave up so easily last time. What was I thinking?! I will admit it took a few hours to get it looking decent.

I didn't want to cross #7 off my list until I actually made something, so last night I decided to make a crochet headband.

I'm pretty happy with the end result!

*I learned how to make the headband with THIS video.*

at the shop...

2011-12-06T14:46:00.000-06:00

It's that time of the year where we get awesome gifts on a daily basis at our shop! I love these note pads that we carry, they say the best things ever!

We also just got in mystery undies and The Worst Gift Ever (which is a pair of tube socks and briefs!) Flip the gift over and it's already pre-wrapped for you lazies!

We got in some holiday styles of TOMS. I love the new black sequins!

We also got in awesome handmade pretties from Gleeful Peacock and Sunshine and Carousels!

I suppose I better get back to work. The merchandise isn't going to stock itself!

Make It // felt owl ornament

2011-12-05T00:03:00.212-06:00

It's December and it's time to start decorating our homes with Christmas trees and pretty things! For today's Make It I'm showing you how to make a felt owl ornament. This owl ornament is easy and doesn't take long to make so let's get started!

You will need:

felt (I chose brown for the owl and orange for the beak)

fabric

buttons

ribbon

needle & thread

stuffing

scissors

owl cut out

Create an owl pattern. Mine is 2.75 X 2.75

I folded my cardstock in half to have my pattern even on both sides.

1. Cut out 2 pieces of felt from your pattern for your owl.

2. Time to get your fabric! I chose a holiday plaid. Cut a rectangle with

a rounded top.

3. Place your fabric on your felt where the rounded top is at the center.

Turn over and cut off the excess.

4. Hand stitch your fabric to your felt using coordinating thread.

Time to stitch on the eyes! Grab 2 buttons and some thread!

5. Stitch on your buttons!

6. Cut out and stitch on a little triangle to be the beak and place between the two buttons.

7. Get your black thread amd stitch a line across the beak to create a mouth.

8. Now that the front of your owl is complete let's put on the ribbon!

Place the top of your owl on top and pin it up top to keep the ribbon in place while you stitch your ornament.

9. Time to stitch up your ornament! I just did a regular hand stitch but

you could also do a blanket stitch. Start after the right side of your fabric and stitch all the way to the other side of the fabric leaving an opening so you can add stuffing.

10. Add the stuffing to your ornament.

11. After your ornament is stuffed, sew it up! We're done!

Now all you have left to do is hang it up on your tree!

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial.

I've included a little holiday playlist of songs that I love to listen to

while I create, decorate and wrap presents!

hot cocoa & candy canes by Stela Jantzen on Grooveshark

Happy Making!!

Song on Repeat // Phantogram

2011-12-04T00:00:00.001-06:00

I chose a couple of songs for my song on repeat this week!

The band Phantogram released their new EP Nightlife last month and I cannot get enough of it! Today I'm sharing my two favorite songs from that EP: Don't Move and 16 years.

We listen to Christmas music all day at the shop so coming home and listening to this is a great treat.

I hope you listen & enjoy!

Don't Move by Phantogram on Grooveshark

16 Years by Phantogram on Grooveshark

What song do you have on repeat?

2011-12-02T15:25:00.001-06:00

This beautiful painted antler.

I still want all these Pantone mugs!

Aren't these embroidered felt necklaces from KnitKnit magical!? LOVE!

I love this collection!

These adorable flats from ModCloth. All the colors are perfect!

This DIY!

Happy Friday everyone!! ♥

I love...

2011-12-01T00:54:00.000-06:00

I love embroidery hoop wall art and I especially love Too Crewel's etsy shop!

Liesi, the lovely lady behind Too Crewel, had a giveaway over at her blog so of course I had to enter a chance to win! And guess what friends; I actually won! I was so pumped.

Isn't it so sweet?!

My new art lives on my bulletin board in my craft room.

Liesi has lots of cool stuff in her etsy shop and her blog is very creative and inspiring so I hope you get a chance to check it out!

♥

Happy December!!

28 before 28

2011-11-30T00:18:00.014-06:00

I turned 27 on Sunday, so I decided to do a birthday goal list!

I love the idea of trying to achieve these things by my birthday next year, and of course I love lists and goals. The picture above is my laughing face. Please don't be frightened.

Here is my 28 things to complete before I turn 28:

1. Make a dress

2. Go to SXSW

3. Ride my bike more

4. Learn to bake something

5. Go kayaking

6. Do a few craft shows

~~7. Learn to crochet~~ Completed 12/7/11

8. Make something new

9. Drink our Dom Perignon

10. Cook dinner for the Mr.

11. Learn to cross-stitch

12. Go to Oklahoma's theme park

13. See a play at the local theater

14. Create an online shop for my boutique, The Felt Bird

15. Visit Chicago

16. Print and hang up wedding photos

17. Visit some places along Oklahoma's Route 66

18. Take more pictures

19. Continue being a vegetarian

20. Get my MacBook screen fixed

21. Redesign the blog

22. Paint the white wall in our shop

23. Try something new

24. Get a new haircut

25. Read 5 classic books

26. Have new features for my blog

27. Go a month without using my credit card

28. Be happy & enjoy Life

♥

it's the most wonderful time of the year

2011-11-26T14:03:00.000-06:00

This was a busy week for us; Thanksgiving, being with family and getting our store in Christmas mode. It's been a tradition for the past 2 years to come to the shop after Thanksgiving dinner to do our window display and put out the special sales for Black Friday. We usually finish around 1am and are dead tired, but it's still fun to do our Christmas window, drink lots of hot tea and listen to Christmas music. It's a tradition I want to keep going!

We love to use snow as our back drop so this year we used cotton balls.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Make It // A Collection of Thanksgiving Tutorials

2011-11-21T00:00:00.066-06:00

Can you believe it's almost Thanksgiving!?

For today's Make It I will be sharing some Thanksgiving DIYs!

Let's decorate our homes and tables and get ready for this holiday with these lovely tutorials!

You can learn to make this adorable pie topper & placecards HERE!

Make your own yarn pumpkin!

Pumpkin smoothie anyone? Pioneer woman is pretty amazing!

These chocolate turkeys are too cute and would be a big hit after dinner.

I love everything about this felt leaf centerpiece!

Happy Making!

Song on Repeat

2011-11-20T12:41:00.000-06:00

How is everyone's Sunday going so far? It's 36 degrees and cloudy here in Oklahoma so we're staying in where it's warm and being lazy.
The song on repeat today is Afternoon by Youth Lagoon.
The other day the Mr. and I were driving down a road surrounded by beautiful trees with colorful leaves while listening to this song and I felt like we were in a car commercial! It was just one of those moments.

Afternoon by Youth Lagoon on Grooveshark

What song is on repeat for you?
Have a lovely Sunday!
XO

2011-11-18T00:00:00.018-06:00

This super adorable dress!

essie's winter collection. I want every single color.

These fabulous sequin letters! Instant party in your home!

This recipe for Hot Cranberry Orange Wassail by Sunshine and Carousels.

Looks so yummy delicious!

This DIY! A great way to revamp an old shoe.

Have a fantastic weekend!!

What are your favorite things this friday?

I love...

2011-11-16T13:27:00.001-06:00

I love journals. I also love looking back to see what I was doing a year or more ago and comparing them to present day. That is why, I love this book!

Q&A a Day has a question for you to answer daily for 5 years. You can compare your answers with you from the past! The questions are really random too.

Can you spot Dexter being nosey?

This is today's question and my answer is:

This past week all I've done is read & knit. I've been knitting scarves for our boutique and once I finish reading a story (I feel weird saying book now since it's not a book!) I buy another one. Knitting and reading are my cold weather hobbies.

What are you obsessed with right now?

dexter is quite fetching

2011-11-15T17:19:00.000-06:00

Every morning before work we take Dexter to the dog park to run and play. His favorite thing to do is play fetch. Here he is in action:

The other dog running with him is boomer. He's also there every morning and loves chasing after Dexter.

I hope you had a lovely Tuesday!

neighborhood cat

2011-11-14T18:02:00.000-06:00

Meet Nike, the neighborhood cat. He likes to hang out on everyone's porch and pretend he lives there. He's pretty cute and awesome. We're allergic to him but that doesn't stop us from greeting him with scratches behind the ears.

The trees in our yard just started to burst with color this weekend. If only they could stay on the trees and be bright and pretty like that forever.

Song on Repeat // Mourning Doves

2011-11-13T11:35:00.000-06:00

The song on repeat today is a song by my husband, Riley Jantzen!

The song is called Mourning Doves and it's my absolute favorite song to date!

He wrote this song when we returned home from getting our mourning dove feather tattoos. This is also the song he sang for me at our wedding.

Our wedding rings were made by Someplace Elsewhere and we had her engrave inside our rings one of the lyrics to the Mourning Dove song: we are all I need.

Please have a listen and enjoy!

If you'd like to hear Riley's new album Feathers in its entirety, click HERE!

You'll soon be able to find it on iTunes, Spotify and many other music websites.

♥

2011-11-11T00:00:00.003-06:00

This amazing recipe for a mini apple pie...in an apple! YUM!

Speaking of pies, check out this cherry pie nail art with a how-to!

Dreamy ♥

This restyle of a sweater! Love!

Happy 11.11.11!

Mr & Mrs

2011-11-10T00:03:00.002-06:00

♥

Our ceremony

2011-11-09T00:00:00.003-06:00

our balloon girls

we walked in with an instrumental acoustic version of one of Riley's songs that I love called Coast to Coast.

We laughed a lot. Our friend Ben did an amazing job!

I wrote something for Riley and he sang me a song.

we had our friends & family release the balloons once we shared our first kiss as husband and wife.

We walked out to Wouldn't It Be Nice by the Beach Boys.

Our ceremony lasted about 10 minutes. We were determined to have a fun and stress free wedding, and we definitely accomplished that!

It was truly a magical day. ♥

Tomorrow I'll be sharing our Mr & Mrs photos!

bridesmaids & groomsmen of awesomeness

2011-11-08T00:00:00.012-06:00

The Ladies: My sister cristina & goldie

The Gents: Jake, Justin and our awesome friend & officiate Ben.

They were so amazing and we couldn't have done everything without them!

They helped make it the most perfect day for both of us.

We love them so much!! ♥

Tomorrow I'll be sharing our ceremony photos!

photo credit: CK Photography

Wedding Favors & Dessert Table

2011-11-07T11:01:00.000-06:00

We got our wedding photos and that means it's time to share them with you!! Today I'm showing photos of our wedding favors and our dessert table.

We had a small wedding ceremony and then afterwards we had cupcakes and drinks with our friends and family.

As our wedding favors we gave homemade salsa and a cd with Riley's songs to me over the years. We used my illustration of us on the cover of the cd envelope, which we also used for the invitations. I also drew what was on the cd itself (Confession: I didn't draw on them individually. We were able to print the images on them with our magical printer).

And remember when we were painting jar lids? There they are in action!

My lovely cousin Cynthia made the delicious cupcakes for us. We had chocolate, vanilla bean and pumpkin cupcakes.

The wedding ceremony started at 2 so it was fun to wake up and have breakfast with everyone and set up everything. I'm very happy we had a store that we could borrow our tables and displays from!

Tomorrow I'll be sharing photos of our bridesmaids & groomsmen!

Have a lovely Monday

photo credit: CK Photography

2011-11-04T11:32:00.007-05:00

We received this beautiful print from our friends as a wedding gift. I'm in love!

All these amazing colored pencils!

This typographic string art tutorial

Can't wait to try this drink! Yum!

I'm in love with these handmade feather cups from Villarreal Ceramics.

This recipe for tomato basil soup & grilled cheese. Warms me up just

looking at it!

What are you doing this weekend? I plan to make owls for boutiques around Oklahoma. I hope you have a lovely Friday!

2011-11-03T00:05:00.001-05:00

Have you guys heard about this documentary Being Elmo?

It's about the man behind Elmo, Kevin Clash! I watched the trailer the other day and it was so cute and touching it brought tears to my eyes! (I told you everything makes me cry!) It looks like it starts playing in different cities beginning this weekend. I'm so excited that it's coming to Oklahoma City's Museum of Art November 17-20th!! The Mr. & I will definitely be there that weekend to see it!

You can check to see if it's playing in your city/state here.

A Recap

2011-11-02T00:03:00.001-05:00

October is one of my favorite months and this year was no different!
Here's some of my favorite blog posts from October:

Ghost Plush DIY

working on wedding favors

pumpkin carving with friends

I got married!!

a trip to the corn maze

my fall playlist

a collection of pretty pumpkin DIYs

Goodbye October! You were a fantastic month!!

Hello November, the month of Thanksgiving, Macy's Day Parade, black friday, and my birthday! I cannot wait to see what this month has in store for us.

What are you looking forward to in November?

The Veggie Challenge

2011-11-01T00:00:00.012-05:00

Last week Husband put a new documentary on our instant netflix queue for us to watch. He always picks the best ones. Anyways, last week we sat down and checked it out. It was called Forks Over Knives.

Forks Over Knives examines the "profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods."

It was very interesting and I personally like it. I'm not a film critic so I'm going to leave it at that. This film did however inspire us to challenge ourselves for the week. Go a week without meat and no fast food.

We don't cook. After work we either go to a restaurant, fast food joint or my family would cook us dinner (meat was in every meal). So this challenge was exciting because we'd have to get to cooking.

On the search for recipes I found two food blogs that I fell in love with: Sprouted Kitchen and A Couple Cooks.

Sprouted Kitchen loves cooking tasty food with healthy ingredients and the photography on her blog is so good!

A Couple Cooks are a young married couple who share the food they cook and it's always simple and fresh. They believe everyone can cook if they can. Their pictures are also awesome. Pictures mean a lot when it comes to finding foods to prepare!

A couple of my favorite recipes we tried this week were:

Sweet Potato, Black Bean and Green Chile Enchiladas by A Couple Cooks

Farfalle with Tomato-Goat Cheese Cream Sauce from Vegetarian Times.

We've successfully completed our 7 day vegetarian challenge and here's what we've learned:

*If you can't pronounce it, don't eat it. There was one day where we made spaghetti and we felt like having bread with it but we ran out of bread. We did, however, have some garlic bread Texas Toast in our freezer. I looked at the ingredients before throwing it in our toaster oven and immediately got nervous. I could not pronounce half of the ingredients on the box! That should have been a red flag. Actually what should have been the red flag was that it was in a box in the frozen section. I should have immediately thrown it away but instead I threw it in the toaster oven. And as you probably guessed, we felt terrible after dinner. I was surprised after eating so well and natural after 4 days that the bread could have such a huge impact. But it did. And never again.

*I have more energy. After dinners before this challenge, I would get sleepy and not want to do anything. I've noticed that after eating dinners this week I felt energized and good!

*We're not hungry. This week our breakfasts and dinners have been way smaller in proportion but guess what, we weren't hungry. Our veggie-filled meals left us feeling satisfied without feeling too full.

*Your body adapts quickly to real food. Like I mentioned first, the one thing that wasn't real made us feel awful.

I'm so happy we did this. We love doing challenges and this one was very beneficial. I don't know why I'm surprised that food makes such a huge difference in how you feel. We've both gained some weight in the past 2 years and doing this challenge helped us lose a few pounds this week. Bonus!

Have you seen Forks Over Knives? Do you ever do challenges to see if you can do it? Isn't pinterest awesome for finding recipes?!

Husband and I love doing challenges and I thought I would share this one with you. I think we're going to continue this one!

Make It // pretty pumpkins

2011-10-31T00:00:00.001-05:00

Happy Halloween!! Carving pumpkins may be over but we can still decorate them and have them around for Thanksgiving! For this week's Make It I'm sharing a collection of pretty pumpkins! Click on the link below the pictures to learn how to create them!

You can add some sparkle to your pumpkins!

Using paint pens is a great way to decorate your pumpkins!

Using fabric paint is also a great way to decorate your pumpkin!

Wrap your pumpkins in yarn!

Cover your pumpkin with fabric!

Melt crayons on your pumpkin!

Add a doily to your pumpkin!

Orange doesn't go with your home decor? Paint the whole pumpkin!

Turn your pumpkin into a votive holder!

Happy Making!!

Song on Repeat

2011-10-30T13:29:00.000-05:00

The Mr. and I got dressed up as burglars yesterday and headed to our downtown square to pass out candy and mustaches on a stick to trick or treaters at Enid's annual Scare on the Square.

I totally underestimated how busy it was going to be. I bought lots of candy but only made 110 mustaches and we ran out of both very quickly. The minute we ran out of candy I swear the kids turned into little candy zombies! I've never been so scared of children until I ran out of candy!

♥

For the song on repeat this week we have Pa Pa Power by Dead Man's Bones.

Dead Man's Bones consists of Ryan Gosling and Zach Shields. Since they sing about ghosts and monsters I always add their songs to our store playlist around this time of year. So today I'm sharing my favorite from them.

I hope you have a wonderful day full of fun and spooky things!

2011-10-28T12:25:00.000-05:00

This amazing sequin graffiti in Iceland.

These lovely heart flats.

This sweet potato, black bean and green chile enchilada recipe.

We made it this week and it was so very yummy!

This Jem embroidery! Truly Outrageous!

This fun way to add to gift wrapping!

Have a lovely weekend friends!

2011-10-27T12:30:00.000-05:00

I'll be listing some new owl pillows in my etsy shop today!

It's cold out today so after work I plan to stay in and watch the rest of Mad Monster Party (recommended by Heidi), It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (which I've watched almost every week. I love it so much) and drink some hot apple cider! Can't wait!

Have a lovely Thursday friends!
XO