DIYwithjules – Withjulespham

Ronald+Joy

When I look at my four sisters,

I really don’t know how I ever survived childhood.

Ha ha.

So much has changed, but we’re still a big hot mess.

And I know I wouldn’t be the person I am today without them.

There’s no way I can explain or describe the dynamics of each relationship I have with each sister, but I’ll tell you this:

They’re individually so different in their own right.

And I love each one so much.

Today, it’s all about my our baby sister, Joy.

This girl.

We used to “hate” one another … like big sisters versus little sisters do.

Just ask our group of girlfriends growing up.

She’s exactly 1 year and 11 days younger than me.

Room, clothes, friends, and the list goes on…

We were forced to share everything with much resentment.

Everything.

This only added to our annoyance for the other.

And now thinking back on it, I never ever ever thought in a million years that I would be sad to share her.

Like what? How did that happen?

Y’all, my baby sister is a married woman now.

Witnessing her during this whole marriage process was more emotional than I ever thought possible.

Listening to her talk about her soon-to-be husband with so much love, care, and utmost consideration was a prideful experience for me.

For me, the best thing about being a big sister is watching your little sister grow up in all ways possible.

Joy likes to say “Sisters by birth, but best friends by choice” and I couldn’t agree with her more.

I’m so proud to be her big sister.

My family likes to joke that she got lucky with Ronald, but I know the truth.

And it’s the truth that Ronald married a sweet and caring soul who puts those she loves at the top of her priority list.

I know Ronald is at the very top and just know they’re in for a lifetime of happiness.

So Joy asked me to handletter a few signs for the reception.

They turned out a lot better than expected.

Their florists from The Petaler Co did such a beautiful job executing Joy’s vision by incorporating natural arrangements of florals and greenery at the reception hall.

Look at that gorgeous flower wall!

*A little hint for later on*

So when you have two crafty sisters,

Y’all remember Jill right?

Ms. CEO of OMAC?!

…it can be confusing for the two of them on certain responsibilities they each have.

Example Numero Uno: Bridal hangers.

Jill and I both thought the other would take it upon herself to make Joy a bridal hanger.

She looked at me and I looked at her when the photographers asked if there were nicer hangers…

Um no.

We both forgot.

But I was not going to just call it an “honest mistake” and continue putting on my makeup.

I quickly rushed around the cottage rental in search for prettier hangers or pretty ribbon.

Nothing.

I remember holding a plain metal hanger we happened to find laying around.

And then looking at Joy’s beautiful bouquet…also remembering the gorgeous flower wall being set up from the day before.

Freakin’ lightbulb went off.

I hastily told the photographers to give me 15 minutes and bolted out the door.

Yep, that’s me collecting leaves to embellish the metal hanger.

I was determined to give my baby sister a one-of-a-kind bridal hanger.

She loved it!

I saw some palm leaves and remembered my paint pens I packed in my makeup bag for “just in case”.

I live for opportunities like this.

WithJules made me confident enough that day to pull off these lovely details (on short notice).

Thank you both Joy and Ronald for letting me be part of your beautiful day!

I’ll end this post with my sweet family.

Thank you for reading and following along,

with me

Jules.

DIY: Wire Name Hangers

So the other day a friend asked if I still made “wire name hangers”.

Recap: I made one for my engaged classmate who was my Secret Santa. She loved it! Soon after a group of my classmates and professors were planning a Dental Hygiene Mission Trip to Belize. I wanted to go so badly I and came up with the idea to raise funds by selling my “bridal hangers”.

I only had about 2 weeks to raise over $1,500. Unfortunately, I only raise $500 but donated all of it to their mission trip. The money was used to pay for the extra amount of luggage filled with toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, fluoride, and more for the Belizean children.

Khang and I made that trip with my classmates and professors a year later and it’s still one of the most rewarding and life-changing times of our lives.

Back to my friend. Long story short-I was more than happy to do them for her. I get randomly asked about them every now and then, so I figured other people would find it useful if I did a tutorial.

They’re best for bridal parties, but I’ve made one for someone to hang their white coat on after getting her Doctorate Degree. The possibilities are endless!

So this isn’t going to be a step-by-step DIY because they’re are so many names. But I’ll give y’all advice to make it easier for those trying it for the first time.

Warning: You will most likely not get it right on your first try, but it’s okay! The supplies are cheap or at least the kind I use.

Hanger- I get mine from Marshall’s or TJMax. Be sure to get the kind for straps to hang. Also make sure it’s completely wood.
Wire- I like to use aluminum wire like the brand On A Wire. The 16-gauge is the size I use. Do not get anything smaller in diameter (higher the number than smaller the thickness) because it’ll be too think to work with. I haven’t seen them sell a 14-gauge in this brand but that would do too. 12-gauge will be thick and too “hard” to bend especially if it’s not aluminum. DO NOT BUY THE BULK-SIZE WIRE BUNDLE AT LOWE’S. IT IS TOO TOUGH AND YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO BEND IT WITHOUT HURTING YOURSELF AND YOUR PRIDE!
Small flat head screwdriver
Tough scissors or wire cutting pliers
Super glue- I use Gorilla with the small narrow tip. Do not use hot glue because it’ll easily fall apart.

First step is to sketch out the name without picking-up your pencil or pen. This is simply because you’ll use one continuous wire for the entire name you want on the hanger. It’s okay if you “overlap”-there’s a trick for that, but try to overlap as little as possible.

Check the wire in the package before you buy it. I bought one with this “curvy knot” and had to cut it off before starting on my name. Keeping the wire straight is essential to making it look good and this knot would’ve been hard to straighten out.

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Roll out about 4 inches and straighten. Constantly straighten the wire as you bend it to form your name. It’ll keep everything in alignment as you go and you won’t have too much for fix at the end.

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I’m spelling out “mrs. pham”. I like using lowercase letters. An easy way to figure out how to bend your letters is to google “bridal hangers” and it’ll show you tons of examples on every letter. It definitely helped me.

Here’s the “overlap trick”. If you need to retrace a line then just “turn” the wire so that the “second wire line” is behind the “first wire line”. As shown below.

I like to pull more wire out little by little because sometimes you’ll need the wire to curve for a letter like this “s” below and leaving the wire bundled up will make it look more natural when you roll it out.

You really just need to play around with the wire in your hands.

I could see the entire name curved up and wasn’t straight. . .

So I held both ends with either hands and gently pulled downward to straighten it out. See the difference?

Next, I marked where I would’ve like the “holes” to be. You want the holes to be even with each other. I tend to like it on the outside of the slot for straps. It depends on you.

Notice how high the “m” is because you don’t want the letters to be placed on top or above the hanger AND you don’t want to cut the wire too short that it doesn’t reach into the “hole” you’re about to make.

Check both sides and make sure it’s centered in the middle.

Once you mark it then screw a hole into the hanger on only ONE SIDE.

Bend the wire where needed and. . .

. . .place into hole.

With one side placed in the hole, check the other side and mark where you’d like the second hole to be. . . make adjustments as needed.

Once you’ve placed both ends into their respective holes. Check again for adjustments. If you like it then you can finally “trim” the wire.

This is how my final product looked like. Honestly, I made the letters too big for my liking. I aim to have both ends of the wire as short as possible.

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about above^. See how short the end is? That’s how I like it. Sorry, I can’t show you the full hanger because it’s a gift from the bride to one of her bridesmaid.

And the bridesmaid might be reading this!

Sneak peek of 5 hangers 🙂

This tutorial is pretty tricky but don’t let that discourage you. I messed up on so many hangers already like the “mrs.pham” I just did!

Be patient and try not to get too frustrated. It’s just bending wire 🙂

If you buy the On The Wire pack I mentioned above then it should be enough for 2 names depending on how long the name is.

Please feel free to ask questions!

Thanks for reading and following,

with me

Jules

DIYwithjules: Sweater Weather

A few Christmases ago, I tried to convince my four sisters to do this awesome DIY elbow patch tutorial together. Cute right?! Well not everyone was feeling it (surprise surprise) so it didn’t happen. I was pretty bummed out, but kept telling myself I would do it anyways.

I finally did it.

And I can’t wait to wear it to one of my many holiday events this winter-ish season! Now, I just have to control myself from placing elbow patches on all my (and Khang’s) sweaters.

Step One: Picking out a sweater (hardest part) and gathering rest of supplies (Hobby Lobby FTW)

1. Sweater (mine contained rayon+polyester)

2. Felting needle or similar

3. Dense foam pad (cut to size)

4. Wool roving (a little goes a long way)

5. Any cookie cutter shape to your liking or stencil or draw out your own!

6. Iron

Step two: Mark elbow with tape

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It’s important to try on your sweater and not just guessing it. Trust me. Remove tape after you place foam pad underneath marked spot.

Step three: Position your “shape guide” and evenly place wool roving.

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Step four: (Slowly) Stab away m’dears. Stay VERTICAL or the needle will break. Trust me again.

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I agree with Erica about starting at the outer edges and working your way in. Don’t worry about the “holes”-that’s what the iron is for. Feel free to add more roving where needed. I like to remove the “shape guide” after getting an even surface to really refine the edges.

Step five: Slowly remove patch from pad. Spritz water and iron on wool setting to smooth surface.

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Confession: I do not iron. Honestly, the iron pictured is brand-spanking new. I bought it for this tutorial. Judge my wrinkly clothes all you want.

Slowly pull patch from pad. You may need to use felting needle again to secure loose roving.

Step six: Admire your lovely elbow patches. Always admire, y’all.

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Step seven: Ask a sweet friend to take photos of you…you cute little thing you… because it’ll be hard to do by yourself. Again, trust me. Plus, I really want to see too!

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Depending on the fabric, if you mess up then you might be able to pull off the roving and start over. I practiced on old sweaters just in case I messed up, which I did a lot. So please feel free to ask questions if you run into a problem.

This also inspired me for my dental office’s “Ugly sweater contest” in a few weeks. Here’s a sneak peak. Did I mention that I’m a dental hygienist? Shout-out to all my UMMC girls!

Thanks for following and reading along,

with me

Jules.

DIYwithjules: Fall leaves galore

It’s November 1st and I know I’m not the only one thinking “LOOK AT ALL THESE BEAUTIFUL FALL LEAVES”. If this is you and you’re wondering how to preserve a few of those lovely leaves then this DIY is for you m’dear.

This blog post is dedicated to my sweet cousin, Caitlyn, who asked to “show me your ways” when I did something similar several weeks ago.

Step one: Collect leaves-I went scavenging in our backyard. To my delight there were red, orange, and yellow leaves!

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Step two: Admire and take fun snapshots!

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Step three: Wash and dry. There will be dirt (&bugs).

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Step four: Find a book to begin dry-pressing asap. Be careful when placing to avoid folding edges of leaves. Wait about 2 days depending on size.

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Step five: Open up those pages and check out your #foreverfall leaves 🙂 You can frame them, use as place cards, or something I like to do is write a quote with them.

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Yes, I know. I’m missing the ‘s’ in ‘crayons’. Brain fart.

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*Shout out to my cousin, Caitlyn Do.

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I used DecoColor Extra Fine Paint Pen. And no, Hobby Lobby is not sponsoring this post. I just really love Hobby Lobby.

Old photo of when I first did this. Look at all those lovely fall colors on EACH LEAF.

I know this is about preserving fall leaves, but you can use green leaves too! Ya know, for gloomy winters. They’ll be reminders of what is to come as the cold bears down on you.

Well I’ll leave y’all to it. Please share photos if you try it out or ask questions if you’re not sure about something.

Thanks for reading and following along

with me,

Jules.