DIY Artwork

I am not an artist.

In fact, fairly far from one!

But, I saw this on The Nester and thought,

"Heck, I can do that!"

Plus, I needed something for my mantel...something with texture...something that would pop without the use of color...but, mostly something cheap! So, with a glue gun in one hand and spray paint in the other, I created a little artwork. It's not beautiful, by any means, but it's super cool!

This.was.so.easy.

The hardest part was waiting for the paint to dry!

I took a small canvas I had on hand and painted it with Elmer's glue. While it was drying, I took a fork and scraped from top to bottom to mess up the smoothness of {what would soon be} the background. When that completely dried, I made the large lines with a little hot glue, not really worrying about making them perfect. Then, I sprayed it ivory!

I think it's adorable and fun...just love how different it is! Not to mention, this project cost ZERO moolah because I already had everything in my craft closet! Whoo Hoo!

How awesome would this be done on a huge canvas for an empty wall!?!

Parties I Linked To:

Someday Crafts

More Laundry Room Wall Art

It's Friday!

Yay!!

What better way to celebrate...

than more talk about my laundry room!

I saw an adroable idea on etsy the other day - a Lost Socks sign!

How cute, right!

The moment I saw it, I knew I had to recreate it for my laundry room re-do!

Here it is:

This was super easy and quite inexspensive to create. I bought a wooden sign from Michael's {for like $4.50} and painted it with a navy spray paint I had in my stash. When the paint dryed, I simply Mod-Podged some green scrapbook paper to it and added the vinyl letters. To finish it, I attached twine and hung the socks waiting for their match!

{Hopefully, the dryer didn't eat them!!}

This adds a cutsie touch to a traditionally not-so-cute room - I'm pretty darn happy with it! I may go back and distress it a little, but other than that, I love it!

Have a very happy and fun weekend! I'm headed to Charleston for thrifting and yummy food with a friend! It's going to be fabulous! {Hope we find some goodies!}

Up Close Look At The Alphabet Wall

I just couldn't wait another second to post the alphabet wall yesterday...

So, today I'm going to take a few letters I made myself

And break them down for you.

I guess we'll go in alphabetical order - tee hee! ;)

The "E" is made of sticks. I went out into the yard, found 4 sticks that seemed to be the right size and hot glued them together. After hanging with a ribbon, I added a button to hide the nail...I hate seeing a nail!

This is actually my second attempt at an "F" - the first was wooden building block glued inside a frame. It was adorable...and it was HEAVY! So, after some thought and a little persuasion by my son {and by persuasion, I mean he broke it} I decided to make a second "F" and choose between the two. The second was my choice! I had this old book in my collection that was just falling apart...and it was a sailing story, so I thought how perfect. After attaching some burlap to canvas, I rolled a few pages from the book to form the "F." I then added the cover and title page in the bottom corner. I'm much happier with this "F!"

For the "M," I found this super cute, antique map print in the scrapbooking section at Michaels for $0.59. After framing it, I glued an "M" in the corner {it was in my collection AND was already painted!}

The "H" was made from an old sign I bought in a flea market for $1 - I bought it a while back and just fell out of love with it...so, I Mod Podged some pretty paper to it and used fabric cord trim to form the "H."

The "I" is kind of a funny story...when I was first getting my thoughts together on this wall, I wanted to use a lobster bouy for the "I." But after seeing the prices on those guys, I knew I needed to come up with a plan b! Then one night I was browsing our local Goodwill when I saw this awesome belt! {Not for wearing, mind you! ;) } So, the "I" is a belt I got for $.075 and cut to fit the space.

The "Q" was quite simple - it's a wooden letter I bought at Hobby Lobby that I wrapped some old ribbon I had on hand around. Pretty cute and easy, right!

The "Y" is one of those landscape pictures I bought in an open air market in Charleston a few months back. To jazz it up a bit, I attached it to a small canvas and glued sand around the edges to frame the picture. To finish it, I added a cute sea shell.

The "AND" is a small piece of wood I bought at Hobby Lobby for like a $1 and painted with chalkboard paint. I attached a cute ribbon and was done!

Finally, the "Z" is one of those chunky, hallow cardboard letters from Hobby Lobby that I wrapped twine around.

Once I had everything sitting in front of me, the wall really came together rather quickly. The hard part was the months of collecting, for sure! The more I look at the pictures, the less I like the anchor as the "T," so that may be changing...but overall, I'm super happy with the way it turned out!

Alphabet Wall

I have been collecting and compiling wooden, wire and metal letters...as well as supplies to make letters...for about 7 months now. And I finally have the Alphbet Wall completed in my son's play room.

The room doubles as my laundry room, so there's a slight nautical theme. For that reason, I went with hues of blue and red...and used many boat and ocean related things to act as letters!

Taa Daa!

I tried my very hardest to do this on the cheap! {Your very welcome, my dearest hubby! ;)} I wanted to add a price breakdown to show you - I tried to remember exacts, but some are approximate costs.

I'm in love with the way this turned out! It was such a BIG, boring blank wall...and now it's so fun!

{And, educational, right!}

Parties I Linked To:

Beyond The Picket Fence

C.R.A.F.T

Someday Crafts

The Country Chic Cottage

Hanger Wall Art

Okay, I know I did a post about this room yesterday...

But, I had an idea that got me out in the snow/ice to purchase what I needed in order complete it! {Once I get something on my mind, it'll drive me CrAzY until it gets done!}

Here it is...more Laundry Room!

I didn't just want any hanger on the wall...I knew I wanted it to be a little bulkier than the average one. I found these at Michaels - 40% off - and the clothes pins were in the $1 section! Not too shabby for 7 bucks! I just hot glued the pins to the hanger, nailed a couple of nails in the wall and added some ADORABLE pictures! ;)

I've been trying to come up with ideas on decorating this wall...I still have a ways to go, but it's starting to come together!

Parties I Linked To:

Dittle Dattle

Craft-O-Maniac

Boogieboard Cottage

Laundry Room Update

LOOK!!

The first step in moving the laundry room INSIDE!! Yay! I don't know if I can even express how excited I am in words...

Minus some diapers and toys...plus a washer, dryer and decorative touches...equals a finished room! Whoop Whoop!

A wonderful friend

{who just so happens to also be a plumber}

is heading over very soon to access the situation!

I.CAN'T.WAIT.

PS: Did ya notice the pretty laundry detergent jar? My awesome and talented friend gave that to me {stuffed with A.LOT. of candy} for Christmas! Love it - thanks Lindsey!

Weekly Schedule

Have you gotten the Jan. issue of Pottery Barn kids? Well, this jumped right off the page at me:

{Source}

How adorable are those cork boards?

I have a large blank wall in the Laundry/Play Room that this would be perfect for...so, off to Michael's I went. I was on a mission!

I scaled it down a bit and combined Saturday and Sunday, since all we do on Sunday is church and nap! ;)

All that was needed were a couple cork boards, a few rulers, 6 letters, some spray paint and a glue gun! To add a little color, I just cut up scrapbook paper I had on hand to frame the plans. I'm super happy with the way it turned out! Yay!

I love this plan!

Thanks PB for another idea! :)

My Family, Our Rules

How incredibly cute are the Family Rules signs floating around blog land?

I bookmarked this post by My Repurposed Life like 6 months ago...and I've finally gotten around to making mine!

Here's how it turned out:

I bought the navy long frame from Goodwill a while back. {$3 and I didn't even have to paint it - wow, right!} I tossed around several ideas for it's use and where to put it when I started work on the new, INSIDE Laundry/Play Room.

It's the perfect place to hang our little reminders! :)

Here's how I did it:

• Mod Podged that awesome houndstooth paper to the back of my frame.
• Drew our the rules with a pencil and painted over it in black.
• Glued on some fun accessories...and I was done!
  

The painting was a little time consuming, but overall it was pretty simple...and I love how it turned out!

{PS: There's a little sneak peek at the alphabet wall! Post to come soon!}

My 2011 Goals

I've set goals for 2011!

{I did the same last year, but due to things out of my control...as well as a little bit of "I'd rather just sit here today," I did not accomplish many of them!}

Here's to better luck this go around! ;)

1. Learn how to use my brand new Cricut Cake!

My fabulous family all pitched in to give me this for Christmas! I haven't broken it out of the box yet, but I am soooo excited to get to know this machine!

2. Move my laundry room INSIDE!

Yes, you read that correct...I have to walk outside into this little yucky room filled with bugs and lent to wash my family's clothes. I LOATHE that room. I have from the moment we moved in - 4 years later, I can't take it anymore. I'm bringing it in! I.am.beyond.excited. Whoo Hoo! I can not wait to have a cute laundry room!

3. Plan my son's 2nd Birthday

Ugh, I can not get over the fact that my baby boy will be 2 in just a few weeks! :( I am sad...and happy...but, mostly sad that he is growing up! He's becoming a big boy way.too.fast. I am looking forward to the party, though. I have some fun plans in store for my lil' *tractor* enthusiast!

4. Finish my son's big boy room!

I have decided on a theme and started moving his things in...it's going to be awesome! Perfect for a little {ahem, I mean BIG} boy! But, for now, I'm keeping all details a secret! ;)

5. Take my son for his first real haircut!

Okay, I'll admit I've been a little silly about his hair! I guess because I can't control the fact that he's going to grow tall, he's going to starting talking like a big boy and he's going to become more of a daddy's boy rather than love on me all day, I decided I would hold on to the very last thing I could. I have not cut his hair since birth...well, other than a slight trim to keep his bangs out of his eyes. I have been picked on, laughed at and told "it wasn't a big deal," but I just couldn't do it. And although I still don't want to...and although I'll probably ball my eyes out...I will take him this year to get a professional hair cut. {tear}

6. Turn our den into the master bedroom!

Our house has 2 large rooms...one I call "The Formal Living Room" and one "The Den." The den is where we spend most of our time. {It's where the computer is as well as the t.v.} The formal is hardly used, except for the occasional get together. Well, the formal is just too pretty not to enjoy! So, we're moving the t.v in there and the den {which is MUCH bigger than our room now - plus it has a FIREPLACE!} will become our master bedroom! Yay!

7. Get my nails done more often!

Santa left the greatest gift in my stocking this year! It was a gift certificate to a local salon and spa for a day to myself. Ahhh...it was fabulous! I had my nails done as well as {a much needed} hair cut and color. You know what? I really like having my nails done...it's been years since I've had them and I love 'em! So, one of my goals for 2011 is to make a little more time for myself...and with that time, keep myself up! :)

8. Last, but in no way is this least, I'm going to set aside some time each week to read more of my Bible. I slacked a little in that department during 2010, so I'm going to try to be better this year!

2010 was a rough year for my family, so I'm really looking forward to what 2011 has in store!

A Crafty Christmas #4

It's December 23rd and this will be my last post before Christmas. First of all...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I hope you and yours have a wonderful weekend full of laughter, joyment and remembrance...take this time to sslllooooowwww down, drink lots of hot chocolate, give multiple hugs and "i love you's" and relax with family and friends!

{Eat more than one cupcake, too!} ;)

Well, last night I finished up the final Christmas craft:

This gift is for my sister-in-law who is anxiously awaiting her second child {gender to be a surprise}, a caring full time nurse and super busy homemaker on her off time. So, what better gift to her than something that can organize her crazy schedule!

This magnetic board is covered in some fabulous fabric I found that is right up her ally...she loves red and the frame matches her home theme perfectly! I can not wait to see her reaction! Hopefully, it will get lots of use...from baby pictures to toddler drawings and a grocery list here and there, it should be a great way to display and organize!

Thanks for tuning in! Again, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas! See you in the New Year!

A Crafty Christmas #3

What do dudes like better than anything?

Chocolate Chip Cookies, of course!

That's my inspiration for all the guys in my family's gifts! A few weeks ago, I saw several blogs posting their refillable cookie jar idea and I LOVED IT! As a baker, this is right up my ally!

All the men are getting a jar of chocolate chip cookies as either a stocking stuffer or part of their gift...when they run out, all they have to do is drop it by and I'll bake a new batch!

Would you like the Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe? It's so easy!

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 sticks butter
• 1 cup raw sugar {Regular sugar can be substituted here, but I love the flavor raw sugar gives these cookies! I'll never use white sugar for chocolate chip cookies again!}
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• As many chocolate chips as you like - I didn't even measure mine...just poured a lot! :)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter and sugars together. Add eggs and vanilla - when combined, add in flour and baking soda. Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon dollops of dough on a greased cookie sheet and bake 8-10 minutes. Cool on a rack and ENJOY!

I think they turned out super cute! {Cuter if my printer wasn't missing, but they're dudes- they probably won't even read the tag!} ;)

I'm loving this Crafty Christmas I've got going on! Only a few more days....Yay!!

A Crafty Christmas #2

You all have inspired me!!

I've seen homemade coasters on many DIY blogs and loved how easy {and inexpensive without looking cheap} they were to make! Here's how mine turned out:

I found white and beige tiles at Lowes for 36 cents a square! Whaa Hoo on that price! I had the paint and stencil from projects past.

After painting each tile, I sprayed the acrylic sealer in 3 coats {waiting an hour between each.} When the last coat had dried, I placed pads in each corner of the tile's underside and after a little fru-fru packaging, I was done!

Women stocking stuffers - CHECK!

I hope you're all having fun with your Christmas crafts! We're only 5 days away!! Yay!

A Crafty Christmas #1

So, this year I am doing the present thing a little different. Up until this point, I have always bought gifts...I L.O.V.E. to shop! And, by shop I mean slap on my tennis shoes, arm myself with coupons and hunt for awesomely discounted merchandise! ;) It's like such an accomplishment and almost high when I find the perfect gift at a deal. Plus, who doesn't like the hustle and bussle of a crowded mall at Christmas? {Well, other than my husband, who until he met me was a full blown internet shopper!}

I have been inspired this year, though, and will be giving {mostly} handmade gifts. I'm pretty excited and thought I'd share my crafts and ideas.

My first gift is to my husband's grandma, Miss Eloise. She is quite spunky and fiesty for a lady her age. Quick story - the first family dinner I was invited to when my husband and I were dating {also the first time I met Eloise}, she leaned over and said to me, "You know, I've heard redheads have the devil in 'em." I could have died because at the time I was sporting red hair! She thought it was hilarious making me squirm like that! I love her - she is so great!!

Well, other than poking fun at all of us, she also likes birds and enjoys a good trip to Big Lots! This is what I came up for her...

I know most of you saw the Button Monogram Pillow splashed around blogland a couple of months ago. That was my inspiration for her gift. I found this gorgeous pillow on sale and bought a bag of buttons from A.C. Moore {with my 40% off coupon!} With a piece of chalk, I drew a bird sitting on a branch freehand and figured out the button placement. I finshed it by adhering the buttons in place with my handy hot glue gun!

Since I hardly spent $5 on her pillow, I wanted to do something more for her...then, I was shopping in Micheal's and found this adorable mini birdcage for $1! I thought it would be perfect to hold a gift card and since Big Lots is one of her favorites, the rest of her gift came together effortlessly!

I'm super excited to see her reaction...although it won't be a giddy "EEEKKKKK!" I know she'll love it, still! Thanks for stopping in! I'm off to finish some stocking stuffers!

Parties I Linked Up To:

The Shabby Nest