Acute Designs: January 2014

One of these years I am going to skip Christmas cards and send New Year's cards. Or better yet, Valentine's.

I love all the Christmas cards I receive but the past few years, I have had absolutely no time to put together a quality Christmas card. November and December are my busy months...but January is a little bit slow. I should just admit defeat on the Christmas card front and start sending cards in January or February.

One of these years, I might plan ahead and order New Year's cards from Minted. They have such pretty designs.

Any of the cards and prints at Minted can be personalized with photos, text, color, or shape.

The Valentine's designs on Minted make me want to send Valentine's. SO CUTE.

On top of holiday cards, they also carry Save the Date Cards, Custom Art Prints, and Business Cards. They have so many pretty and inspiring designs.

LOVE.

Today I am excited to be co-hosting a surprise virtual bridal shower for my friend Julie.

Julie got engaged a few months ago and to celebrate her upcoming wedding, I am joining a few other friends in this virtual bridal shower fun. Pop over to Leo's blog to see what everyone else is "bringing" to the shower.

My contribution to the bridal shower is a fun and simple wedding inspired diy.....for your dog, naturally.

If you know Julie, then you might know how much she loves her dog Penny. I love a fellow dog person. We have spent hours discussing our pups while working craft fairs.

I am not sure if Penny is going to be part of the wedding ceremony, but if she is, she needs a flower crown. Have you seen anything cuter than a dog in a flower crown?! I just about died when I placed one on Finn's head.

This diy is super simple and can be used as a crown or collar. The collar is definitely better for a long period of wear since most dogs hate having something on their head.

All you need to make a simple flower crown is fake flowers, floral wire, floral tape, and ribbon. You will also need sharp scissors or wire cutters.

I bought the inexpensive bunches of flowers from the craft store. There are really nice and pricey fake flowers out there but for a dog crown, I went the cheap route. My dogs get everything dirty.... ;).

In order to make the crown/collar, figure out how long you want the crown to be and cut a length of floral wire that is four times this length.

Fold the wire in half and twist each end so that you have a loop.

Trim the flowers and wind the wire around the stems. Secure the stems with a little piece of floral tape.

Once you have all your flowers placed and taped to the wire, tie a piece of ribbon to each loop. The ribbon doesn't have to be that long - just long enough to tie the crown around your dog's head or neck.