Birds Nests and Magnetic Fields. DIY Time by Guest Blogger: Cati Teague Photography

I am thrilled to introduce our guest blogger today, the incredible Cati Teague of Cati Teague Photography. In addition to being a true creative soul and fun party guest (ask her to tell you the story about the time she super glued her eye shut), Cati is an amazing photographer. She has artfully captured some of my families most special moments and she recently has been inducted (or abducted) into craft night!Check out her awesome blog (total eye candy) and without further adieu, here's Cati!....

If I haven’t yet thanked my sister-in-law for introducing me to Gina Sims, please remind me to do so right away! This woman is a constant source of fantastic ideas, crazy cool designs, hilarious stories, and the most enthusiastic smiles you’ve ever seen. Plus, she is always willing and able to volunteer her lovely family to model for my photography needs.

Recently, Gina invited me to join her and some friends for my very first Pinterest Night. Wine, crafting and donuts....what could be better than that! The rules of Pinterest Night state that if it is your turn to host, you get to pick the project and gather up the necessary supplies. Everyone else brings something to eat or drink. Wine, donuts and crafting....seriously, I ask you...what could be better? And thanks to the good fortune to have scheduled this party on National Donut Day, we were quite surrounded by Krispy Kremes. RheaAnn Koppelman co-hosted with Gina and her porch made for the perfect summer evening location.

The project for this night were photo magnets and bird nest pendants. RheaAnn demonstrated the bird nest pendants for us. And made it look so easy! Some of the ladies made pendants with a bead to represent each of their children. They were pretty darn cute and would make great, thoughtful gifts. I had grand plans to make mine with a large single bead. I found a large mustard color bead that I would would look great wrapped in silver wire. But, as it turns out, wire wrapping is NOT a skill that I naturally possess. My pendant looked a little bit wonky and, well, was better for a laugh than something I'd wear. But everyone else’s looked fantastic!

I had much better luck with the photo magnets. I had printed out a few pages of my photos scaled down to 1 inch. Gina showed us how to use the glass beads as a template to cut the photos into tiny circles. Then glue the photos to the flat side of the bead and glue the magnet to the back of the photo and VOILA! Tiny photo magnets! These were so simple and quick to make, but you still end up with something that you would want to display and doesn’t scream “homemade craft project”. I want to make a million of these! «hint: you may a variation of these in my etsy store one day»

This night was just what I needed. Aside from the lovely creations I got to make, I had such a great time meeting this hilarious group of ladies. And learned that Gina used to be a miniature donkey wrangler! I swear, that girl is FULL of fun surprises. Making things with my own two hands and being around other creative people is something that I absolutely need to stay inspired. I can’t wait until the next Pinterest Party!

Check out Gina Sims Designs to be inspired by the many, many talents of this multi-talented woman. In addition to bringing artists and friends together, Gina is also a decorator, photo stylist, party maker, fashion innovator and all around inspiring creative force.