Create a wall display.

Hello! Yes I'm still alive! Priorities change, blogging hasn't been one of those. So sorry.

Slowly I'm getting decorating projects done around our house. Between working full time and enjoying Caraline every single minute I can, crafts don't get completed like they used to. But I'm okay with that.

This arrangement was a long time coming. I've wanted to display family photos on our wall for quite some time. Finally I got around to cutting the cardboard, deciding which photos and wall art I wanted to use and I got to work. I mapped out everything to size using cardboard scraps to get an idea of where on the wall I liked it. This method proved to be awesome. It was easy to cut the cardboard and shifting and changing was a snap using painter's tape. Once I had everything where I liked it, I worked top to bottom and secured nails into the wall.

I love how it turned out.

Eventually, we will have a piano sitting below this collage, but until then we enjoy seeing our family every day.

It makes me happy.

It makes me smile.

I hope you enjoy it.

Happy arranging!!

Organizing photos.

We have a stainless steel refrigerator.

We have lots of photos of family and friends.

We don't want to clutter our frig with said photos.

So what's a family to do?

Well . . . while going through old boxes in our garage, I found a cork board I used in college 2,452 years ago. It was boring then. It was boring when I found it.

The choice was to trash it or make it beautiful. 

I chose to make it beautiful. And to utilize it for displaying our bunches of photos in our kitchen.

I used blue painter's tape and black spray paint. That's it! 

(and you'll notice I didn't tape the whole thing because halfway through I realized I'd be covering most or all of the board with photos, so I stopped)

Okay, now go make something new again.

Happy spray painting!

Build a mantel (no fireplace needed).

I've always wanted a mantel.

I've not always wanted a fireplace, though I'd enjoy one if we had one.

But, I've never understood why I couldn't have a mantel even if we didn't have a fireplace. Why should the two be mutually exclusive?

Well, they're not.

When we moved into our new home a year ago, I had already planned a mantel project in my head. Within a few weeks of living here, I painted the wall blue on a whim. Seriously. On a random Tuesday night I got a burst of energy and just painted the wall.

Once that was done, I talked to my grandpa about helping me follow through with my mantel project plan and last summer through fall, we finally got it done!

The process from start to finish took a few months. Time and energy played a big part (I was working through my first trimester filled with wonderful fatigue and nausea).

But in the end, I'm so happy with it.

I'll spare you the initial steps, ya know, like measuring, shopping for the wood and all that. Basically, Grandpa had some spare wood in his shop for the end pieces and front beam.

By the way, this is how my Grandpa organizes his screws and such, using baby food jars. He's so smart.

Grandpa and I went together to purchase the wood planks from Menards for the top and the bottom. Shopping at Menards was fun with Grandpa!

After we had all the measurements and the wood cut to size, he and I built the mantel. Essentially, it's a big box. We sanded it and then I took it home.

(Don't mind the old mattress in our garage...)

I had a couple different stains to choose from, but I settled on the one I liked and got to work. For those concerned, yes I did wear a mask to protect babe and me from the fumes.

I ended up doing two coats, no top coat, though. I wanted it to look rustic.

Once I made the call to Grandpa that I was happy with the stain job, he came over so we could mount it on the wall. (This was when I got really excited. It was all really happening!)

We left the bottom off so we could secure the back to the wall into the studs.

Then Grandpa did a fine job of attaching the bottom beam.

Soon after the mantel was hung, my husband and my cousin got busy mounting the TV on the wall using a wall mounting kit. They did some kind of fancy cord hiding, hold drilling in our wall and such and POOF!  a floating TV.

I was so happy that it was done in plenty of time for Thanksgiving and especially . . . Christmas.

I couldn't wait to hang our stockings from it and marvel in our handy work!

I'm very happy with how our living room wall looks and especially the mantel. It means so much more that my grandpa and I were able to make it together. I told our realtor that if we ever move, I'm taking it off the wall and it's going with us.

I'm not kidding.

Happy woodworking!

Christmas Card Display.

It's been 11 months since my husband and I moved into our new home. I was flipping through old blogs about when we moved and came across the one about settling in.

I thought it would be timely to show you again how I organized and displayed all the Christmas cards we received (while homeless at Christmas last year). Even though it was January when we moved in, once we got in I was anxious to put all the lovely cards up somewhere to appreciate since we spent the month of December setting them aside.

If you'd like to read the original post click here.

All I used were some basic ribbon and mini clothes pins (found at most craft stores or box stores) to secure the cards to the ribbon. You could use tape if you decide the pins aren't your thing, of course.

Click on the photo to view larger.

This year I'm using the neat card display stocking I usually use since I was able to bust out all the decorations again! It's crazy to think that it's been 2 years since I saw most of the Christmas stuff.

Is your house all decorated for Christmas already? When did you start (I mean, did you wait until after Thanksgiving like I did) or did you have stuff up at Halloween?

Happy Holidays!

DIY Mug Lights.

It's Holiday craft bazaar season. In a couple weeks I'll be headed to my first one of the season. One thing I find myself doing at these bazaars is saying "I could totally make that" or "that would be simple to recreate" and then I don't buy it. But I let time pass and I never make said craft. It's a funny thing.

Another thing I enjoy doing is going to friends' houses and appreciating how they've made their homes unique to their personalities. You all remember my friend Tracy's hair dryer & curling iron storage solution made from PVC pipe that her dad created - man, did THAT became oh so popular! Well, now it's time to showcase my friend Sarah's husband's handy work.

What would YOU do if you had boring stock can lights in your kitchen? Live with them or buy a lighting kit and a couple of mugs and make something awesome? Sarah and her husband Aaron chose to create unique and clever lighting over their kitchen island!

I asked Sarah to brief me on she and her husband's experience making these and this is what she said, "We already had can lights, so he bought the hanging kit at Lowes. I think it was $10ish. There are other kits you can buy if you don't have exisiting can lights. I bought the mugs at Target for 25 cents on clearance. Then he drilled a hole in the bottom of the mug and put it together. That's it. Voila!"

$10?

25 cents?

Clearance?

Voila?

All music to my ears!!

I love how these look in their kitchen! You could do this yourself, but make sure you take necessary precautions before starting a project like this . . . um, you know, like turning off the power first. And, maybe hiring an electrician? I'm not good with electrical stuff, so I really don't know. But luckily Sarah has Aaron to do these sort of things for her!

Happy decorating!

Lamp revamp and such.

I haven't begun nesting yet. At least I don't think I have.

However, there are little "projects" around my house that I've been checking off my list.

One project that I've been meaning to do is spray paint some lamps. There's this one lamp in our living room that I've had a few years but never loved the GOLD. Not my style.

I removed the finial and shade. Then, I grabbed a can of spray paint and went to work.

First I taped off the part of the lamp that I wanted to save. You can't see it in any pictures, but I do like the reddish color on the top portion of the base, so I decided to keep it.

Then I sprayed it down using a metallic spray paint.

I used a cardboard box under the lamp in our garage, because it was raining. But in hindsight, I'd recommend using a larger piece of cardboard or doing it outside. I sort of left a mark on the garage floor. Oh well, character!!

I love how the lamp turned out. Even my hubby said he prefers the new color over the old gold.

And looking at the side by side of how it used to look, I like it even more!

While I was painting that lamp, I decided to spray a lamp I've had just sitting around (shade-less) that I plan to work into the baby room. I don't have a shade yet (so I won't show you the finished product) but it's one less thing to paint later. Plus, I just love this pewter color metallic spray paint!


Another small item on my to-do list was creating a bumper-like something or other for behind our trash can. I didn't take a before picture, but let's just say our trash can lid was tearing up the drywall behind it. Every time the trash can got scooted back against the wall the lid scraped against the paint. Over the last 9 months in our home, we had created quite the impression on said wall. So, I painted a piece of scrap wood and screwed it into the wall.

Now, if it scrapes the wood, I can just paint over it and our wall is saved.

I also cleaned out an old powder foundation container to use as safety pin storage. The plastic insert that sifts the power is easy to pop out and toss. The rest just needed a good clean.

It goes right into our "junk" drawer but it has a screw cap that keeps the pins secure.

I know these are all such little fixes, but they are 3 things checked off my ever-growing to-do list. It feels good to have a couple small projects finished!

Happy Day!

DIY wooden sign.

I'm a pretty CHEAP frugal person when it comes to home decor. Most of the time when I'm shopping at Hobby Lobby I think to myself "I could so make that for next to nothing," because to be honest, I could! You betcha I plan to decorate baby's nursery on a dime if I can help it!

I love DIY projects and crafts for a few reasons.

They make me feel:
1. empowered.
2. proud.
3. artistic.

Recently, a friend asked me to design a piece of wall art that her daughter-in-law (also a friend of mine) had seen for sale on Etsy. Her mom passed away almost a year ago and this saying struck a cord for her. Plus, I'm always up for a challenge so I said yes!

The supplies I used were:
• computer
• printer paper
• laser jet printer
• pallet wood & shims
• wood nails
• pure acetone (not nail polish remover, the real stuff)
• rubber gloves
• a mask (because safety first when you've got a baby on board) - this is optional, though I'd recommend it because the acetone smell is STRONG
• safety pins
• paint brush handle (or any blunt object)
• 2 pop tabs

DIY WALL ART

For the video tutorial that I followed click here.

The first thing I did was design the wording on my computer. This, for me, is the easy part. I own approximately 2,493(ish) fonts so I have plenty to choose from when doing this sort of thing! It's important to mention that I printed this wording on a LASER JET printer. I did some internet searching and most tutorials recommend using a laser jet. I even tried it using a printout from an ink jet and it just didn't transfer the greatest.

**UPDATE**
I forgot to mention a very important step when printing your text! You must print the design IN REVERSE so it applies to the word reading left to right. I typically use InDesign or Illustrator to create these sort of things and it's super simple to flip the image horizontally. As for other programs, fiddle around. I'm sure you can find an option to flip the text pre-print or "mirror" the print out in the printing options.

Next I constructed the "board." I cut sections of wood from a pallet (using my new jig saw - whoop whoop!) and connected them using shims on the back.

Then I sanded the face to prepare it for applying the letters.

Next, I cut the words out and laid them on the wood to decide where I wanted them.

I used safety pins to secure them to the boards so they wouldn't slide.

Then came the stressful intense critical step . . . transferring the ink!

I poured the acetone directly on the paper over the letters. I pressed down lightly and let the acetone absorb into the paper to help "stick" it to the wood. Then I used the blunt end of my paint brush (pictured in the corner above) to rub directly over the words. I treated this like I would a scrap-booking rub-on making sure to rub firmly but not tear the paper.

I took my time working my way down the board and didn't pour it all over everything at once. Acetone dries super fast, so even if I had done that it would have been dry by the time I made it to the next row.

Next, I slowly peeled the strip of paper up to reveal the letters had transfered to the wood. If there was a spot that didn't transfer I laid the paper back on it and rubbed it a little more. I continued this down the board until all letters and words were applied.

After examining it, I noticed it was a little lighter than I was hoping in some parts. I grabbed my Stampin' Up markers and filled in spots that needed it.

On the backside, I nailed in pop tabs to make hanging easier.

I chose not to stain or poly coat this after I was done because it would have made the marker run. Even without the top coat I think the raw wood looks neat.

I love how it turned out! And the girl who it was given to as a gift loved it, too. She even sent me a picture of where she has it hung at her home. That makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. Since this one turned out, I think I'm going to try my hand at other sayings and running the boards horizontally. I have a new sense of reassurance that I can do more of these!

Happy DIY'ing!