giveaway winner!

hiiii everyone!

sorry i've been kindof MIA lately..our weekend was packed! friday after work i went

and got paint for completely outdated wood dresser that was given to us by our landlord,

which we were going to fix up months ago but it's been so cold! saturday, tay had the day

off of work so we primed and painted it mint green with gold pulls-what do you think?

(before)

(after)

afterwards we went to hipsterville (ninth and ninth, ha) to the children's hour

oh. my. heck.

if you aren't baby hungry yet, just go in there, it'll get ya started.

then we went to the tulip festival at thanksgiving point with tay's family.

if you haven't been, you should definitely go next year! everything is in bloom

and it smells absolutely lovely! we found a goose with goslings

that we followed down the river, and tay's little brother found a snake (that pooped on him..ha)

also this: if you haven't been to Lone Star Taqueria yet, you need to go!

it's on fort union blvd in slc and their tacos and burritos are to die for.

Tay and i went there saturday night and tonight for FHE.

their carne adovada taco is so so so good!

(but don't take my word for it...try it!)

sunday we had church and then i met with my cousin and his adorable

fiance because they asked me to do their engagement and wedding pictures! 

i was so flattered and am super excited!

so that was pretty much my weekend in a nutshell! it was lovely!

on to the reason you're all reading this:

giveaway winner!

congratulations Amanda and Mariah on winning!

contact me @ vinylletteringstore@gmail.com to choose colors & info for your address labels!

thanks to all who entered, you are all lovely!

ALSO--my etsy store will be open this week! i will post the link when we're officially open!

{A&T}

the hubs

gosh, i love this boy.

thanks for being my prince charming, taylor grant hawkins.

and forcing me to listen to gross twangy folk music.

{A&T}

etsy.

guys!

i finally did it!

i am finally getting real on my etsy shop!

i cannot tell you how excited i am!!

thank you so so much to all those who pushed and supported me during this journey!

the store will consist of 8x10 paper prints, my mother-in-law's pottery,

(she's amazing, check it out!)

custom mugs, and a few other odds & ends.

(possibly little man bow ties, family art work, and who knows what else!)

mommy likey?

our shop name (which took us like 3 hours to think of, ha) will be

the crooked nook

i'd love to hear feedback of things you love, whether it's

flowers, arrows, quotes, cats, dogs, everything.

i'll post the link as soon as everything is set!

oh, and don't forget to check out my giveaway!
only four days left!

{A&T}

about me + giveaway

i know that when i read other people's blogs, i love getting to know about them,

it makes their blog so much more personable.

so i've created a list of me's so you all know me better and we can become friends;

the basics

+ i am originally from a small(ish) town called grand haven, michigan

+ my birthday is july 18

+ i am 22 years old

+ taylor and i have been married for (exactly) 1 year, 10 months and 1 day

+ i received my associates degree from utah state university

+ i hope to go back to school after tay is done for graphic design

i adore

+ designing on the computer

i am currently working on an etsy shop to sell 8x10 prints & invites

+ when a song comes on that fits your mood exactly

+ when my hair is played with, brushed, twirled, or pretty much touched by another person

+ laughing until your stomach hurts

+ kitty kisses

+ freshly painted nails

+ the feeling of cold grass on my bare feet

+ reality shows

 (i know what you're thinking, but somebody's gotta keep them on tv right?)

+ warm covers & cold pillows

+ an empty sink without dishes in it

+ good hair days

+ building forts and sleeping in them

+ forehead kisses

+ the sound of lawn mowers in the morning

+ when you know all the words to a song

+ baking

+ teacups-i collect them

+ mcdonalds fries & sundae

+ anything vintage or unique

+ a long chat with an old friend

+ home decor / ikea shopping

+ bubble baths

+ babies

not a fan of

+ public speaking

+ heights

+ confronting people

+ spiders

+ competing with others

+ cold fingers / toes

+ sweating 

(i know...it's hard to find my happy medium)

and there you have it! a little insight to lil' ol' me.

questions?

concerns?

you're probably wondering why my title says giveaway--

here's why:

i'm giving away 1 style of 100 customized address labels to two lucky winners!

i mentioned a while ago if you guys would like it as a giveaway

and i had quite a lot of positive feedback!

so here's how to enter:

+ be a follower of this blog

+ follow me on instagram or twitter

+ follow vinyl lettering store on instagram

+ visit vinyl lettering on etsy and let me know one of your favorite items there

+ leave a comment below telling me the steps you did

good luck friends!

giveaway will end next friday, april 26, at midnight

{A&T}

DIY Instagram Magnets

happy hump day everyone!

i don't know about you guys, but i will probably cry if instagram ever goes away.

so many pictures! some i don't even have on my phone anymore!

in case that does happen..here's a fool-proof way to remember the memories!

so i'm sure some of you may know about a little company called origrami

that creates magnets from your instagram pictures, right?

well, i took the initiative to create my own instagram pictures,

and i'm here to tell you how for around $12!

here's what you'll need;

>> sheets of magnet, you can find this at any michaels, hobby lobby or any craft store

(preferably thin, that you can put on the entire back of the picture)

>> pictures you want to make magnets out of sized to your preference.

(you can have them printed at walmart or walgreens)

the pictures i created at work, which are printed on vinyl so it's sticky one side,

i measured to be 4x4, but you can do any size you'd like!

(if you are interested in doing your own pictures on vinyl, feel free to contact me here)

>> scissors

>> modge podge or rubber cement

if you do get printed pictures with adhesive on the back,

all you need to do is line up the magnet so that it covers the whole back of the picture.

If you are gluing your pictures to the magnet sheets, just glue the back of the pictures

and be sure there is magnet along the entire back of the picture,

then apply to the magnet, rub and allow to dry.

after that, all you need to do is take your scissors and trim the excess magnet off and

ba-da-bing ba-da-boom!

this literally took me like an hour to do (and i had about 30 pictures), it's so quick & easy!

{A&T}

girlz weekend + broken collarbone

what a weekend this has been!

friday night i stayed over night at the little america hotel with some girl friends from utah state

this is probably the last time we will all be together for a long time,

since a few of them are moving away, which makes me way sad!

i am so so thankful for wonderful friends, love them!

the night was so much fun! thanks to mrs tessa brown for initiating it all!

after we parted ways on saturday, i stopped by target to return a swimsuit

and of course, ended up leaving with more than i came in with

(isn't that how it always goes?)

i am in love with this pillow!

later saturday afternoon, i got a text from tay, who had been skiing

with his little brother + a couple of friends,

that his little brother mitch had broken his collarbone.

when tay was 17, he also broke his collarbone skiing--see the scar?

it's on the right side. it's way more gnarly (and sexy) than it looks!

stole this picture from tay>>

poor guy! he was doing a 360 on their last run and his ski caught on the

end of a jump and he went down right on his elbow!

i guess it's the hawkins trade mark-matching collarbone scars--i hope it's not me next!

{A&T}

wedding season.

guys.

the past few days i have been going wedding crazy at work.

and can i just tell you i'm loving it?

my boss and i have come up with so many fun ideas for

the up and coming wedding season!

it makes me wish i could do my wedding over again-

those who had/have pinterest for their wedding are unbelievably lucky.

i got married right before pinterest even existed.

don't get me wrong-i absolutely loved my wedding

but there are so many details i felt like i left untouched, you know?

well, maybe you don't, but just agree with me, ya?

on the plus side i might be busting out my wedding dress for a

vinyl lettering wedding photo shoot to display all of our new stuff!!

freaking stoked, guys. stoked.

here's a teeny sneak peak--cupcake toppers!

on a side note having to do with weddings,

i recently found out that my weddings pictures

which i thought were completely lost

showed up last week, and after almost two years of

not having pictures of our special day, i will finally be getting

a cd full of wedded bliss

which i will most likely post on here for you all to see, so be prepared

also, a word to the wise; even if you're getting pictures done

by someone in the family, write up a contract.

i'm not kidding.

do it.

you won't regret it, like i did.

then you won't have to wait two years to finally get a cd full of all your pictures.

also this;

tay is taking summer school and will finally be done this time next year!

i can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it looks like it's coming from cancun...

COLLEGE GRADUATION, HERE WE COME!
then we can finally start having little ones!
eeeeeeeeeek!

{A&T}

General Conference + Monkey Bread

happy sunday!

tay and i had a lovely time watching lds general conference (learn about it here!)

this weekend with his family and our great friends kristin and nate!

sometimes it's hard to pay attention during the last session...

i love getting that little push every six months on how we can strengthen

our lives, marriage, spirits, become better people and uplift others.

and can i just say how much i absolutely love our prophet thomas s monson?

his stories are fabulous, his facial expressions are priceless, and his spirit is so sweet!

unfortunately we didn't get in to the afternoon saturday session

at the conference center like i mentioned here, so we ended up watching it at the tabernacle.

i wanted to share with you guys some of my favorite quotes & messages

and i would love to hear yours-please comment below!

----------------

>>whate'r thou art, act well thy part

>>Mosiah 3:18 under the carpet under the pulpit-so cool

>>see men (and women) as they are at present, but who they can become

>>love & gratitude are the basis of

happy relationships and a happy life

>>you may not get all the blessings you want, but you will draw

closer to the Savior and He will give unto you what you need.

>>successful marriages are built on the

foundation of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and

adherence to His teachings

>>truth is knowledge of things as they are and as they were and as they are to come

>>we are under covenant, both to lift up those in need and to be witnesses

of the Savior as long as we live

>>marriage is a gift from God to us.

the quality of our marriages is a gift from us to Him

>>make every decision based around the Savior

>>we are not spiritual orphans. we are not alone.

>>catch the wave

>>no force in the entire world can stop the work of God

----------------

since conference is like a huge stuffing our face fest,

i snagged the recipe for my favorite treat we have sunday morning;

monkey bread

oh my heavens it's divine.

here's what you need;

24 frozen rhodes dinner rolls

1/2 to 1 cup of chopped pecans (or any nut of your choice)

1/2 cup of melted butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 small package of butterscotch pudding (powder, not instant)

+grease your bundt pan generously then sprinkle nuts at the bottom of the pan

+place the frozen rolls in a circular pattern as evenly as possible

+drizzle the brown sugar mixture over the rolls

+sprinkle the dry pudding mix on top, make sure all the rolls are covered

+cover with a cloth and let it sit for 8 hours

+bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes (or until you start to smell them)

+let them cool, then serve

(be prepared to hear oooh's and aaah's and the hit of breakfast)

so easy, right?

{A&T}

weekly update

i wish i had something monumental to post about

but honestly this has been the most boring week of my whole life.

besides the fact that i left work early on wednesday to enjoy the beautiful

weather we had and my lovely coworker got married today-congrats mattie and carston! but seriously, that was about the extent of it.

i didn't even do anything crazy the day i got off-i went home and sewed.

how lame am i?

you know how in life, when things start to slow down, and you begin

to wonder what sort of monumental, crazy, unsuspecting surprise or disaster is headed your way?

that's how i'm feeling now. and hopefully it's a surprise, and not a disaster.

and hopefully the surprise has something to do with that fact

that i'll be married two years to this hunk pretty soon.

and by pretty soon i mean like two months!

man, time flies.

i'm so excited for general conference this weekend!

i finally got tickets to go to a session!

i've been living in utah for almost five years now and still have never been

but i landed a pair for the saturday afternoon session and couldn't be more pleased!

to be in the same room as the prophet--i can't wait!

oh, and on top of all the awesomeness about hearing talks, i also

get to pig out on mama hawkins' amazing cinnamon pull aparts.

guys, they are to die for.

i'll try to snag the recipe and post it.

{A&T}

Mustache March..er..April

the hubs is rockin the 'stache

for march...even though it's april...let's see how long it lasts.

i'm not one for mustaches, but he does look prettttty fly

(for a white guy)

also, i found this shirt at target for $6 for him for easter-fantastic right?

you recognize her, right?

#90schild

yes, i just hashtagged

{A&T}

Easter weekend + giveaway winner

happy easter + happy april first! 

what a perfectly lovely weekend we had!

i hope you did, too.

anybody have any memorable april fools jokes to share?

last year tay and i put on facebook that we were pregnant...we got quite an uproar

of texts, phone calls and visits so despite how humorous we thought it was, we didn't play the pregnancy card again, although i almost had a girl i work with who is pregnant pee on a pregnancy test and send a picture to taylor but he's too smart for that...

best things about this weekend;

+dying eggs with the fam

+huge saturday breakfast

+easter baskets (and home-thrown pottery bowls)

+large bouquet from my honey-gerber daisies, my favorite!

+mrs cavanaughs chocolate

+easter egg hunt & family party

+sunshine & my love

+giving talks at the VA elderly home

+sugarhouse park + a million seagulls

+our scooter + skateboard love affairs

+our giveaway winner!

congratulations emily on winning the giveaway!

contact me at aghawkins4@hotmail.com with your address

and i will have your prize out in a jiffy!

thanks for all who entered!

also my handyman husband fixed our shower today! yay!

{A&T}