All Things Homie

Meal Planning and Cleaning Schedule

2012-02-16T08:18:00.000-08:00

One of my goals for this year was to eliminate the many trips to the grocery store each week and actually do some meal planning. Well, we're nearing the end of the second month and I haven't been super successful. I've been trying to make it to the gym a few nights a week and with my husbands unpredictable work schedule some nights we don't have a lot of time or energy for food prep. This is where I'm hoping meal planning will help! If I spend a few extra hours on Sunday getting everything together we can eat easy, healthy meals all week long.

Yesterday I was reading Brown Paper Packages and Kierste has a great print out for her daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning. My house could definitely use some more cleaning so I thought I'd make up a few of my own!

Here is what I came up with for our cleaning schedule:

I'm going to laminate this and hang it on our refrigerator so I can check off something each night. I'm hoping this will help me stay on track so the dirt (and dog hair!) don't pile up.

I also made something similar for meal planning:

Same idea, using a white board marker to fill in the blanks each week will help me keep track of what I need to prep the night before and what groceries we run out of.

Wish me luck! I'll let you know how well it works out...

Candlestick Makeover

2012-02-14T08:10:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone is having a very Happy Valentine's Day!

We made a bit more progress on the backyard and the kitchen shelves over the weekend, and I finally got these candlesticks painted and in the house!

These were all Goodwill finds, the white one in front is originally from Pier 1 and when I bought him about a year ago he looked like this:

Nothing a little paint can't fix! He got a few coats of primer and white paint. A few months ago (yes I've been meaning to paint these candlesticks for quite some time) I found these two:

They don't look so bad as is, but the paint was a creamy color and starting to flake off in places. I gave them a good scrubbing and a few coats of gray paint. Since the original paint was flat I didnt even bother priming these ones.

I added some gray and white candles I already had on hand and they are now living happily next to the china cabinet!

I'll be taking down our Valentine's Day decor tomorrow and have a few little St. Patty's projects in mind!

Let's Just Start Another Project...

2012-02-09T08:45:00.000-08:00

I don't know what it is about 2012 but it seems like we never have enough time or motivation and none of our projects are quite complete before we start a new one. Let me introduce you to Home Improvement Goal #4: Backyard Makeover!

Here is a picture of our backyard when we bought the house 3 years ago.

It's nicely landscaped with sprinklers/drip to keep all the plants alive, but it's certainly not what we would have done if we were landscaping. Our lot is fairly large, but the backyard is divided up into multiple sections. Last year we removed the chain link fence blocking off the last 10 feet of the yard and yesterday I came home to this:

Eric has been wanting to take out both the mulberry trees to open up the space and eliminate the need to trim them back to their nubs every year. Yesterday, he and his dad took one down to the base and hauled everything out to the curb and cut down most of the other one.

It has already opened up the yard so much, and I know they have big plans to finish it up this weekend. Let's just hope this dry California winter holds out for a little longer so we can get enough done and get the yard ready for new plants this spring!

Rub 'n Buff Frame Transformation

2012-02-08T07:36:00.000-08:00

I've been looking for a long skinny frame for a chalkboard project and stumbled upon the perfect custom framing reject at Michael's for only $8!

Black wasn't going to work for our house but I've been wanting to try Rub 'n Buff so this was the perfect project! This little tube was only $4 at Michael's (plus you can use a 40% off coupon) and I only used about a third of it. It says it covers up to 20 sq. ft.

The directions say you can use a brush, rag, or your finger and you pretty much just smear it on the surface and rub in circles until it's covered and shiny.If my frame had more detail I would have used a brush but since it was pretty smooth I just rubbed it on with my finger.

I was amazed at the transformation! Just one good coat and you would never know it used to be black. Make sure you do it somewhere you can let it dry for awhile. I let mine sit overnight just to be safe.

Hopefully we can get a board cut out tonight and I'll be able to reveal my chalkboard soon!

Valentine's Canvas

2012-02-07T08:27:00.000-08:00

If you're on Pinterest I'm sure you've seen this picture.

I've seen the saying incorporated in home decor, but it's so perfect for Valentine's Day too! I have a few extra canvases lying around so I thought I'd make my own.

I started out by painting the canvas with several coats of red acrylic paint.

Then I added white vinyl letters cut from my Silhouette. I prefer to use masking tape instead of transfer paper because it's cheaper and much easier to work with. I laid the words down and played with the layout a bit until it was just right.

Once I had the letters pressed down I added a few paper hearts to the front and hot glued some ribbon around the edge.

I love what it adds to our console table.

But adding this meant I also moved around a few other things and finally got our china cabinet just right.

I have one more Valentine's project to finish up and I'm all ready for next week!

Progress... Home Improvement Goal #2!

2012-02-03T07:30:00.000-08:00

The first month of 2012 has flown by and I'm still lacking the energy and motivation to tackle our list of projects! There are a few things holding us up, but that only means there should be a flood of new projects in the next month or two! Thankfully my husband has been working away on making new kitchen shelves (Home Improvement Goal #2!)

If you remember, here is our kitchen before the paint makeover!

It's not very easy to see in this picture but on the edges of the upper cabinets we have 3 shallow shelves. Since we raised the upper cabinets to accomodate our new refrigerator, we also had to cut down the shelves by a few inches.

Here is a better shot of what they looked like once they were cut to size and painted white. If you notice, there is a small gap above the shelving that was originally covered by several pieces of molding. We painted those white as well, but it just didn't look quite right when we put it all back together.

So instead we started back at square one.

Eric measured and measured, and then cut pine boards to make custom shelves that fit the space perfectly and wouldn't need extra molding. It has been a somewhat tedious process since not every wall is perfectly straight and every piece has to be cut and fit and possibly cut again, but they are built!

We decided to go with a two shelf design instead of the original 3 so we could use them for more than short knick knacks! They will still be a challenge to decorate, but I'll show you what I come up with once we get them primed, painted, and hung!

Rearranging Furniture

2012-01-31T08:15:00.001-08:00

One of the most fun ways to redecorate without spending any money is to rearrange your furniture. When I was little I used to change the layout of my bedroom every couple of months to make it feel new and fresh again.

We're still procrastinating about installing the crown molding, but we're also planning for a big makeover of our spare room. Right now the spare room serves as my dressing room and houses all my clothes and the curbside vanity I made over for my jewelry.

The makeover isn't going to include the same furniture or colors and I was getting sad about parting with my vanity, until I realized I could just rearrange the existing furniture in our bedroom!

Last year I posted about our gallery wall and the trunk I made over to hold our bedding. Since the vanity and the trunk are roughly the same size I decided to switch them out. Here is what our room looked like before:

And here is it now:

I added a few new things, this cute bird jewelry holder my mom bought me for Christmas.

And my latest curbside find, an amazing antique piano bench! The top needs a little repair, but I love all the character and the awesome little feet. It fits just perfectly under the vanity.

So next time you're in the mood to redecorate, try switching up what you have first! I'm still hoping the trunk I moved out will work in our new spare room, but it will probably need a new paint job! I'll post details when we get it all planned out.

Valentine's Decor

2012-01-30T12:49:00.000-08:00

I finally got our Valentine's decorations out over the weekend. I still have a little tweaking and a few projects on my do to list, but here is what we have so far!

I strung the mini pennant banner over our mantle and added a Be Mine banner I made a few years ago.

The mercury glass candle sticks I use all year round and the True Love frame I made last year. The letters on the Be Mine banner and the wraps on the red candles are made from vintage raised velvet wall paper. My husband got a huge roll for me a few years ago and I've used it for several Christmas and Valentine's day projects and I still have a ton left.

You'll also notice the felt fortune cookies in a few different places. My friend Alex and I made these last year from a Martha Stewart tutorial. They were so easy and turned out sooo cute! I will post the tutorial again if I can find it.

Our console table is also decorated. If you notice I still have out the Christmas Scentsy warmer I painted. I guess I had better buy a warmer to keep out year round, the gingerbread men need to be put away = ) The large white Love is also out all the time I just added a few Valentine's candles to go with it.

The berry heart and LOVE letters I picked up from Target on clearance a few years ago. The silver tray was a great Goodwill find for $5. It needed a good polish, but I've seen the exact same one several times for $40+ recently.

Our china cabinet is in the most need of a "tweaking" I put the rest of my Target clearance goodies over here, but will be mixing it up a little more this week!

As you can tell, I LOVE decorating for every holiday. Do you do the same? Or just the big ones?

Mini Pennant Banner

2012-01-20T09:40:00.000-08:00

I love decorating for holidays. In fact our attic is jam packed with decorations for every holiday, season, and special occasion. I used to hit up Target and buy all my holiday decorations, but over the past year I have been so inspired by all the ideas around blogland that I try make it myself instead!

One of my favorite trends is the pennant banner so I made a mini Valentine's version!

Start with any pink, red, or patterned paper. I went through my scrap box and used up some little pieces I had.

I could have cut out the pennants using my Silhouette machine, but I find it easier to cut them by hand, especially when I'm using the little scraps. As a template I cut out a sample pennant to make sure they were all the same size.

Since you want each pennant to fold over the string you need to line up the top of the pennant with the fold of the paper. I used my scoring board to make nice crisp lines but you could easily crease the paper by hand.

Once you have all your pieces folded, line up your template and get cutting!

I'm making a large banner to go across our fireplace so my pile is pretty big.

I used red and white baker's twine I had left over from Christmas tags, but you can use any type of string or ribbon. Each pennant should look like this:

Put some type of adhesive on the inside and line up the twine on the fold. My favorite is my Scotch Adhesive Tape Gun (ATG) that I originally bought to do our wedding invitations/decorations. This version is a lot cheaper ($40 at Michael's) and you can use a 50% off coupon, I highly recommend it as I use mine all the time!

Press it closed and repeat, repeat, repeat! Until you end up with something like this:

I plan on decorating this weekend and hope to have pictures to show you on Monday!

Thrifty Ribbon Rack

2012-01-17T07:31:00.000-08:00

A while ago I found this little guy at the thrift store for $1.00 and knew he had great potential. Obviously it was for a little boys room, but I'm not sure about the original use?

I gave it a coat of primer, a few coats of gray paint, and added some vinyl wording and ended up with this:

I need to cut down the dowels and paint them either white or gray, but it will be the perfect place to store my ribbon.

BTW, did you know the dollar store sells a great selection of ribbon? I stocked up on all these colors the other day. It always comes in handy for craft projects or wrapping presents!

Infinity Scarf

2012-01-16T18:07:00.000-08:00

Turn any scarf into an infinity scarf in just a few simple steps! My sister has been looking for a spring (ie lightweight) infinity scarf so when we found this one I told her I could easily sew the ends together.

Start by lining up the edges and make sure all the tassles are out.

Then zig zag stitch about 1/2" from the edge.

Cut away the tassle part close to the stitches.

Turn loop inside out so your raw edge and stitches are inside.

Sew a straight stitch to enclose the raw edge and eliminate any future unraveling.

Turn inside out again to hide your stitches.

Then it's ready to loop.

How easy was that? I think I may be able to dig a few scarves out of my closet and give them a makeover. This would also be easy to do with any strip of material, it doesn't have to start out as a scarf!

Fancy Kindle Cover

2012-01-13T07:28:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week I posted about two Kindle covers I made for my sister. I had a few requests for a tutorial for the second one so here it is... I made the pattern and tweaked everything as I went so let me know if you have any questions!

The materials:

Green outdoor fabric

Brown pattern fabric

Thin silver elastic

Thin black elastic

Blue bias tape

Coordinating button

Start by cutting out all the pieces.

From the green fabric you need to cut 2 pieces (11.5" by 8")

From the brown fabric cut the following:

Left Pocket (8 by 4.5") cut 2

Card Pockets (4.5" by 2.5") cut 4

Kindle Pocket (6" by 2") cut 2

Right Pocket (8" by 5.75") cut 2

3. Take each of the 4 pockets and sew bias tape along the 4.5" side. Start with the top pocket and sew it on the left pocket along the bottom edge. Continue until you get to the bottom pocket.

4. Take the second left pocket piece and put it right side down. Sew along the right side. Turn over and iron.

5. Sew both Kindle Pocket pieces right sides together. Sew a slightly smaller piece of elastic just under the seam on one side.

6. Take one piece of the right pocket and attach thin silver elastic approximately 2 inches from the top of the right pocket. Pin Kindle pocket to the bottom and put other piece of the right pocket right side down. Sew both sides of the right pocket together along the left side. Turn right side out and iron. Still with me? Here is a picture showing how the Kindle will fit in the pocket.

7. Using one piece of the green material. Pin the left pocket on the left side (surprise!) and the right pocket on the right = ). Also, pin a loop of silver elastic with the ends just hanging over the right side.

8. Place the second piece of green fabric, right side down. Pin and stitch from the bottom around, leaving a 4" gap at the bottom so you can turn it inside out.

9. I trimmed the edges a little bit and then turned it right side out. You can use any pointed edge to push out each corner.

10. Hand stitch the bottom and attach a button and you're done!

I hope that made some sense? Let me know if you need clarification about any of the steps!

Picking Paint Colors

2012-01-12T15:10:00.000-08:00

We are ~~procrastinating~~ preparing to install the crown molding (Home Improvement Goal #1!), but have one small project holding us up. Remember this room?

I've decided to change it up a little bit and give it a coat of gray paint and maybe install some board and batten. I'm looking for a "true" gray, not too light and not too dark since the room isn't huge. I've narrowed it down to a few choices but have yet to slap some paint on the wall.

Behr Cathedral Gray

Behr Gentle Rain

I figure there is no point in installing the new crown molding and then having to cut in the gray paint so I'm hoping to get at least the top part of the walls painted so we can cover up the edge with the crown molding.

Hopefully we will be able to make some progress this weekend.

Does anyone have a favorite gray they'd like to recommend? I'm not set on Behr paint, I just liked the tone of those samples but I'd love to hear about a favorite color that's worked for you!

Personalize Your Starbucks Tumbler

2012-01-11T07:20:00.000-08:00

Last year my MIL bought me a Hawaiian edition Starbucks tumbler and I've been in love ever since! I take it to work everyday and I've been drinking so much more water than I used to.

Last week I saw this cute Christmas one on sale for $12.

I love the snowman and trees, but it just doesn't work all year long. The best part? It comes apart and you can remove the holiday film!

So why not customize it and make it a little more fun? I purchased a lace pattern from the Silhouette Store and cut it out on pink cardstock.

Then I used the original lining to trace out the exact shape and added a turquoise L.

Roll it up and slip it inside and you have your very own personalized cup!

And there are endless possibilities...you can change it out for every holiday or customize one for a gift!

Custom Cases - Kindle Sleeve

2012-01-09T10:37:00.000-08:00

My sister bought herself a Kindle for Christmas but couldn't decide which kind of cover to get. I told her I'd make her a few so she could switch it out depending on what she felt like.

I started with a simple pocket case. For this one I just used some thick purple felt, silver elastic, and a fun coordinating button.

Homie watched over the extra felt while I cut off what I needed.

For this case I only needed two pieces: the pocket and an extra strip to reinforce the elastic hook. I measured the Kindle and cut the felt 2 inches wider and 2x the length + 1 inch longer so I wouldn't need a seam at the bottom. Still with me?

Then I reinforced a loop of the silver elastic on the extra strip and sewed it to the top of the large piece.

Then all you have to do is fold the large piece in half, sew up each side, and add a button!

Works like a charm!

I also made her this much fancier case. I'll post this tutorial in a few days!

Goals for 2012

2012-01-03T08:23:00.000-08:00

Something like resolutions, I figured if I outlined my goals for 2012 you could all keep me accountable so I actually do them... let's see how that goes!

Home Improvement Goals

Install Crown Molding. We bought crown molding when we first bought our house almost 3 years ago. We've spent the majority of the past 3 years on other remodeling projects, but we finally pulled the crown down from the attic. Since it's taking up space in the garage we're hoping it will motivate us to get it up in the house!
Build New Kitchen Shelves. As part of our kitchen makeover we had to take down the old shelves and cut them down a bit. After putting them back up we decided we'd prefer a cleaner look. We purchased the wood last week so hopefully this goal will be accomplished soon!
Install Board and Batten in Dining Room. Our "dining room" is part of our kitchen/dining room/family room area. This isn't your typical "greatroom" since our house is 65+ years old so our table is pushed up against one wall. As part of this, the chairs often touch the wall and take off the paint. We're hoping board and batten will solve this problem and eliminate the need for constant touch ups.
Backyard Makeover. My husband would like to gut the backyard, but I think we'll start by removing a few big trees and taking out a bit of concrete. If it goes anything like our other "little" projects this will result in a whole new yard in no time.
Start Planning for the Addition. This won't get completed in 2012, but we've started saving and would like to start planning the layout/size/cost of building a master addition. We love are house and plan on staying her for a long, long time but will need a little more space!

Organizational Goals

Purge, Purge, and Purge! I've already started this one, but I think my closet could even use a second round of purging. Some of the bigger things I would love to put on craigslist. I have a feeling we will have quite a few things to sell this year!
Organize the Garage. A big part of this one is Home Improvement Goal #1. Once that is out of the way, this shouldn't take us more than a day.
Meal Planning. For the most part, I'm pretty good at keeping the fridge stocked, but this year I would like to plan ahead for weeknight dinners so I'm not figuring out what to make when I get home from work. I've tried this before so this will probably be my most challenging goal.

What are you hoping to accomplish in 2012? There's nothing like a new year to give you a fresh start and renewed motivation.

The Best of 2011

2011-12-28T09:00:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's almost 2012~! It seems like just yesterday that I dove into the world of blogging, the past 6 months have been such an amazing experience for me and I want to thank every single one of my readers! You give me so much encouragement and inspiration, I wish I could turn this into my full time job!

Here is a little recap of some of my favorite projects over the past 6 months.

June

The Start of My Craft Room

July

Restoring An Antique Dresser

August

Mirror to Thread Board

September

Kitchen Cabinet Drama

Thermostat Frame

Fall Decor

October

Finishing the Gallery Wall

Map To My Heart

Key To My Heart

Luggage Rack Makeover

Photo Coasters

November

Pottery Barn Knock Off

Personalized Baby Onesies

Deck the Halls

December

Burlap Runner

Burlap Advent Calendar

Fabric Storage

Kitchen Reveal

Kitchen Organization

Thank you for following along on this journey with me! It's been quite a year and I have big plans for 2012!

Glass Etching

2011-12-27T07:20:00.000-08:00

I'm sure you've seen these personalized Pyrex dishes all over blogland and pinterest, but they are such a good gift idea, I couldn't help but make a few this season!

I've used the etching cream for several projects in the past, but this one was one of the easiest since the sides are relatively flat. Sometimes it difficult to get the stencil to stick properly to a curved edge.

I started with a large Pyrex dish and cut out my brother-in-law & sister-in-laws's last name and a large letter A using contact paper and my Silhouette.

Stick these down on the outside and bottom of the dish (you don't want the etched edge to be inside where food will be). Some letters will need to be cut out backwards so they will show correctly on the bottom of the dish.

Once you've pressed down the stencil and made sure all the edges are secure, cover the stencil generously with etching cream. I believe the package says to leave it on for 5 minutes or so but I always wait at least 15 to make sure it has plenty of time to etch away...

Since the cream isn't cheap I scrape off the excess and put it back in the bottle. Then give the dish a good rinsing, peel off the stencil and wash it again. You don't want any extra cream eating away at the glass.

Then I did the same process for the letter A.

I added some delicous Tastefully Simple spinach dip and holiday napkins and it's a great personalized gift that they will put to use!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T16:05:00.000-08:00

Hope you are all enjoying a nice, lazy, relaxing day with the ones you love! We have been blessed this Christmas and can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for us!

Shabby Apple WINNER!

2011-12-21T18:29:00.000-08:00

Thank you so much to everyone who entered to win this beautiful necklace from Shabby Apple!

And the winner is....

True Random Number Generator

Min:

Max:

Result: 13

Congratulations...
Jessie Lynn said...: Mine has to be the turquoise ring you posted! Have been lemming one for ages. My mom used to wear one just like it. Fingers crossed so hard! XXOO

Magnetic Refrigerator Organizer

2011-12-21T07:26:00.000-08:00

I finished up a quick and easy project I just had to share! I've been wanting a whiteboard/calendar in our kitchen, but with our new fancy refrigerator I wanted something simple without having to clutter up the kitchen.

I posted about my cubicle makeover where I made this simple whiteboard and I figured I would make a similar version for our kitchen.

I started with a large frame (which I painted white), assorted scrapbook paper, and a blank calendar printed from Word.

I covered the cardboard frame backing with 2 pieces of scrapbook paper.

I trimed the calendar edges and mounted it on a piece of scrapbook paper.

Then I cut out a few different sized pieces of paper to use as note pads at the bottom. Originally I was going to put titles on each of them like "Birthdays", "Groceries", and "To Do" but I decided to leave them blank so I could use them for whatever purpose suited at the time. I'll just write in the title with my whiteboard pen.

Clean the glass and assemble the frame and you have an easy white board!

I attached several extra strength magnets on the back with hot glue so it would stay up on my fridge and now I have a great place to keep track of birthdays and things we need!

Music Wreath

2011-12-20T07:40:00.000-08:00

I've seen these all over blog land and couldn't believe it when I went to a craft fair and they wanted $64 for one! A good friend loved it so I promised her I'd make her one. Mine cost a grand total of $2.

I started with an old book of sheet music ($1.50 at goodwill), my tape gun, paper cutter, and a glittery poinsetta ornament from the Dollar Tree.

I pulled out the sheet music and trimmed it down so it was 8.5" x 11".

Then I rolled each piece into a cone and taped the last corner to hold it together.

Repeat, repeat, repeat.

Once I had about 20 done I assembled them on a small piece of poster board with hot glue. I kept making more and layering them as I went until the wreath was full enough. I kept mine all one length, but you could do varying sizes to give it more texture.

I cut out a scalloped edge circle to cover up the middle and then added the glittery poinsetta.

Then attached a piece of twine on the back to hang it up.

I don't know who would pay $64 for one of these, but it was so easy I guess I better get in the business!

Closed: Shabby Apple GIVEAWAY!!!

2011-12-19T08:51:00.000-08:00

I'm soo excited to offer a fabulous giveaway from Shabby Apple! They have tons of great clothing and some of the cutest vintage jewelry out there!

I love the Honey Bee Necklace.

The Uma Turquoise Ring.

And I have a little obsession with birds so of course I'm in love with the Sparrow Earrings.

NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY!

Shabby Apple is giving away this beautiful Light As A Feather Necklace to one lucky All Things Homie Reader!!

Two Ways To Enter:

1. Check out Shabby Apple and tell me your favorite item in a comment below!

2. Like Shabby Apple on FB and let me know you did in a comment below!

You must be an All Things Homie follower to win!

The winner must have a US shopping address and there will be no exchanges for the winning piece of jewelry.

AND....

Shabby Apple already has great prices, but they are also offering a 10% discount to All Things Homie Readers with the code "allthingshomie10off"!

Perfect for some last minute holiday shopping!!

GOOD LUCK!!

The winner will be announced Wednesday so make sure you enter!

The Kitchen is Finished~!

2011-12-14T07:47:00.000-08:00

Well for now anyways... we are planning on replacing the countertops and backsplash sooner than later, but I think we both need a break!

It's been a while since I last updated about our kitchen progress, but last weekend we finally had to time to work on the last few finishing touches.

If you remember from this post about painting the cabinets, our kitchen used to look like this.

We moved the upper cabinets, painted the cabinets white, installed new hardware, installed crown moulding, moved some electrical, ran gas to the new oven, patched and textured, painted, and got new appliances and I couldn't be happier with the result!

It looks like a whole new place! It's amazing what a little paint (and pretty appliances) can do.

Easy Fabric Storage

2011-12-13T08:35:00.000-08:00

This is one of the simplest projects, but it has already made a huge difference in my craft room. I don't know about you but I have tons of left over fabric, it's hard for me to keep track of what I have so I usually just end up buying new. I've been keeping it in a plastic storage bin, but it just ends up in a huge pile and I have to dig through it to find what I'm looking for.

I went to Ikea last week and stocked up on their white office boxes. I thought these large ones would be perfect for my fabric storage.

I used scrap cardboard and cut TONS of pieces into 11" squares. Then I simply wrapped each piece of fabric around it and secured the end with a pin.

File them away in the boxes. I kept one box with whites/neutrals and the other for colored fabric.

Don't forget your favorite helper. He always likes to be in the middle of what I'm working on = ).

SO much better! The boxes easily stack and can be put away, but it will be so nice to pull them out when I'm working on something and be able to find just what I need!

I'm working on purging and organizing the rest of my craft room, I'll show you the reveal soon!

Christmas Pillows

2011-12-12T10:13:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend I made several Christmasy pillows for my mom. I've had the fabric for awhile and finally made a trip to Ikea this week to pick up pillow forms.

I made this Peace On Earth pillow.

The front is made with a piece of canvas. I used a freezer paper stencil to paint the lettering. It amazes me how crisp the paint comes out, no smudges!

While I waited for the paint to dry, I used my serger to cut some upholstery strapping in half.

I ended up with this.

I pinned the strapping all the way around the front piece of the pillow and stitched along the edge.

I used red and white striped canvas for the back. Like the poinsettia pillow, I made these covers so they could be easily removed. Pin both back pieces and stitch down.

Turn right side out and stuff with the pillow!

I also made a simple plaid pillow using the same technique. Instead of painting lettering on the front, I stitched a piece of upholstery webbing down the middle before I attached the back panels.

I'm sure you've seen these around blogs and even in stores. I recycled an old red sweater to make this one.

I love the knit texture and making it was so easy. First lay out your sweater and place your pillow.

I wanted to use the finished edge on the bottom of the sweater so I lined the pillow up at the corner. Then cut out your square and stitch the sides, leaving the bottom open.

I stuffed the pillow inside and covered the open edge with an extra strip of the sweater. I stitched a few pieces of red ribbon to act as ties for the open edge.

You could easily sew the edge closed, but I liked the added interest of the ribbons.

Lastly, I made a little striped NOEL pillow to throw in with the others.

I love that they are all so different, but have something in common. That's what makes them work together without being too matchy.

Are you working on any holiday sewing projects?

Krylon Glitter Blast Transformation

2011-12-09T07:23:00.000-08:00

This year I decided to change up our Christmas decor a little bit. In the past we've had an assortment of bright colors, but this year I went through all 15 storage tubs and decided to stick with red, green, and silver.

I put away a lot of our gold decorations, but there were a few things I still wanted out. I had been itching to use the silver Krylon Glitter Blast I picked up awhile ago and this was just the project.

We've had this Pier One gold present box for a few years so I decided to give it a glitter blast makeover.

I wasn't sure how it would take since there were so many thin metal pieces and it already had glitter chunks so I gave it a base coat of silver paint. After seeing how well the glitter blast coated, I probably shouldn't have bothered!

After a few thing coats I was amazed at the transformation!

It looks great on our fireplace. You would never even know it didn't come that way!

I'm trying hard not to Glitter Blast everything!

Shutterfly Christmas Cards

2011-12-07T20:29:00.001-08:00

I'm a little late, but I finally got our Christmas cards ordered from Shutterfly. Over a month ago I won 25 free cards from Thrive and I should have done them weeks ago, it was so easy and I can't wait to get them sent out to our friends and family!

Seasonal Chic Christmas Card

Creating Christmas cards has never been this easy.

View the entire collection of cards.

Krylon Looking Glass Spray Paint

2011-12-06T07:16:00.000-08:00

I love the look of Mercury Glass and was so excited when Krylon came out with their Looking Glass spray paint. I haven't expiremented with it very much, it certainly dresses up plain glass, but so far I haven't been able to get the exact spotty texture I love.

I took this plain glass vase and gave it a few quick coats.

Before

After

I added some prelit silver branches I picked up from Bed, Bath, & Beyond and filled in the rest of the vase with mini red ornaments.

Burlap Advent Calendar

2011-12-05T07:43:00.000-08:00

After I posted about my burlap runner, I wanted to incorporate burlap in a few more places around our house. I love all the advent calendars I've been reading about lately and figured a burlap pennant banner would be the perfect project!

I started by determining the dimensions for each pennant. Since I needed 25 of them I had to make each one relatively small. I decided on 3" wide and 4" tall.

I cut a section of burlap 4" wide and serged each side to help limit the unraveling while I was cutting.

Then I created a template for each pennant. I did this by cutting a 3" by 4" rectangle. I folded the 3" side in half and cut from corner to corner to make a pennant shape.

Discard the small triangles and use the middle section as your template. I flipped it back and forth to cut out 25 pennants.

Then I serged the 2 raw edges of each pennant.

To add the numbers I used my silhouette to cut stencils out of card stock and painted them on with red metallic paint and a Martha Stewart blotter.

While I waited for the paint to try I sprayed a mini clothespin with Krylon Glitter Blast spray paint, this stuff is amazing and really does look like pure glitter, not like other glitter paints I've used in the past.

Then it was time to attach all the pennants together. I used a piece of jute twine and zig zag stitched it on top of each pennant, making sure I kept them close together.

I made another one for my mom using ribbon and you could even glue them on if you didn't want to sew.

Then it was all ready to be hung up!

The clothespin acts as your marker and you move it each day to mark the countdown to Christmas!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cute and a Great Cause!

2011-12-02T07:25:00.000-08:00

Last night I went to West Elm and just couldn't resist this cute mercury glass owl. Not only would he look great in my house, but half of his purchase price is donated to St. Jude's!

I bought the smaller version (5") but he also comes in 7".

I just love him on my table, but I will definitely be keeping him out after the holiday season!

Couldn't-Be-Easier Burlap Runner

2011-12-01T07:32:00.000-08:00

I've had a bolt of burlap for almost a month now with a million projects in mind and I finally got around to one last night. It couldn't have been easier and maybe took me 15 minutes from start to finish!

Pottery Barn (and everywhere else) has all kinds of cute burlap Christmas decorations and I especially like the look and texture of burlap table runners.

My table is 5 1/2 feet long so I made my runner just over 6 feet to have a little hang over each end. I wanted mine to be a little wider than usual so I can layer it with another runner if I want so I cut the piece in half (making it about 40" wide).

Burlap frays very easily so I used my serger to finish off the sides. If you don't have a serger you could sew a zig zag stitch near the edge, use some fray check, or just leave it as is!

The serger left nice finished edges like this:

That was it! All I had to do was put it on our dining room table.

I added my Pottery Barn (but purchased at Goodwill) hurricanes with some cinnamon pinecones from Michael's.

And a Christmas wreath from Target a few years ago. I need to make a trip back to Michael's for some more pinecones to fill in around the candle.

Since this project was so quick I had a little time to work on a second burlap project I'll post for you tomorrow!

Deck the Halls

2011-11-29T09:14:00.000-08:00

I was a little late this year (and worn out from black friday shopping) so I didn't get our holiday decorations finished up until yesterday. I still have a few projects on my list and we need to hang the lights outside, but we're getting there! Installing the new appliances (and all the little hang ups that go along with them) have been taking all our free time!

This is our china cabinet when you first walk in our front room. The candle holders and feather tree are both from Pier One (bought during their after Christmas sale). The "Let It Snow" came from a great local craft fair my mom and I attend every year.

Here is our tree with a new star from Home Depot.

Our console table is covered with some of my favorite ornaments and the scentsy warmer I transformed here.

I LOVE these mosaic mirror candles I bought at Pier One several years ago... they were still pretty pricey at 75% off after Christmas, but well worth the money! I filled the tray with small ornaments and jingle bells.

My Grandma made our stockings (I've had mine since I was little and Eric got his last year when we got married). The stocking hangers are also from Pier One.

Eric has a little Christmas tree down in the pool room.

It's covered with special boy ornaments like pool balls...

Sportscenter Santa...

And a little Christmas pool table...

I'm hoping to finish up a few more touches tonight and I'll post more soon!

Fabric Flower Name Tags

2011-11-23T08:19:00.000-08:00

Now that Founder's Day is over I finally have the time to show you how to make the flower name tags.

I did a fabric flower tutorial with a few different options, but decided to keep these simple (since I was making 300)!

I started by cutting a flower shape out of cardstock. I used this as my template for the fabric. For each name tag you will need 5 flower cut outs.

Set one aside and fold the other four in quarters and securing it with a dab of glue.

Then glue each of the quarters onto the fifth cut out.

These petals stand up a little more than some of the others because it was a thicker canvas material, but I also made flowers with printed cotton fabric.

I used ribbon to secure the pin on the back and provide a place for your name. My ribbons strips we about 10" long.

Secure the ribbon with a bit of hot glue in the middle of the flower.

Then glue down the pin. I found these at Michael's, the pack was about $3 for 60 of them.

Once the hot glue is dry, loop the upper part of the ribbon back under the pin. This will help secure the pin on the flower.

And add a dab of glue to keep it in place.

Lastly, I added a rhinestone in the center. Here is the finished product:

We used small white labels for the name part, this way the girls could remove the tag and reuse the flower for something else!

Much better than a label name tag, I love how they turned out!

Founder's Day

2011-11-21T09:18:00.000-08:00

Every year Phi Sigma Sigma celebrates Founder's Day by having a luncheon with the other Northern California chapters. This year CSU Sacramento was hosting the event which means the Capitol City Alumni Chapter gets to do all the planning. Somehow I got that job = ) and it's been consuming my life for the past few months.

I'm happy to report that Founder's Day was held yesterday and it was a huge success! We had over 300 attendees and were able to raise over $1200 for the Phi Sigma Sigma Foundation which supports the National Kidney Foundation.

Here are my wonderful friends checking everyone in:

I decided to make everyone a fabric flower name tag instead of the usual boring labels when I was planning on only about 150 attendees. It was too late to stop when the final count doubled so as you can imagine I was cutting and gluing for weeks to make 300!

I kept the centerpieces simple and they also served as a door prize for one lucky lady at each table.

The view from the stage, while everyone enjoyed lunch.

On of the most time consuming parts was making all the raffle prizes, but I loved being able to customize everything with our sorority's colors and letters. I also wanted to raise as much money as possible so this was a great way for me to cut costs!

I also asked the girls to bring gently used clothing and household items to donate to WEAVE. WEAVE provides crisis intervention services to women, men and children in Sacramento County who have experienced domestic violence or have been sexually assaulted.

We had enough donations to fill up a truck and a car! It's that easy to make a big difference in someone's life, but it definitely made for a cozy ride home!

It was fun, but I'm so glad it's over~!

Easy Magnetic Bulletin Boards

2011-11-18T07:45:00.000-08:00

I've been working on the last few raffle projects for the luncheon I'm planning this weekend and finished up a few magnetic boards last night.

All you need is a frame, sheet metal, fabric (optional), glue, and magnets!

I traced an outline on the sheet metal and used tin snips to (carefully!) cut it out.

I covered the first board in fabric by cutting a piece to size and adhering it to the sheet metal with my tape gun. I put a few strips on the front and also taped the fabric securely to the back.

Then all you have to do is secure it in the frame and add a few magnets! The sheet metal is naturally magnetic, but you may need some extra strong magnets to make sure it holds through the fabric.

I also like the industrial look of the sheet metal so I left the second one uncovered, but you could easily stencil on lettering to personalize it!

Progress: Slowly but Surely...

2011-11-17T10:02:00.000-08:00

As usual, every projects turns into more than we were anticipating!

I came home Tuesday to this:

A family room of new (and old) appliances! They look great, but would be even better in the kitchen, don't you think?!

We read all the manuals and figured out what all we need from Home Depot to install them. Of course, the gas hook up for the stove is on the left side and the gas line is on the right. In order to push the stove all the way back against the wall this means Eric has to move the line over a few feet. And we need a new outlet for the microwave and a lower voltage outlet for the gas oven. I tell you, nothing's an easy project around here....

He worked all day yesterday deciphering the mislabeled fuse box and moving electrical and got our dishwasher put in!

It may not look like it, but this helped clean up the kitchen and I ran a load of dishes!

We moved everything from the old refrigerator to the new and are eating out of the family room for the time being!

I'm hoping to have some after pictures for you this weekend! It's a good thing we aren't hosting Thanksgiving this year.

Chalkboard Countdown Sign

2011-11-17T09:32:00.000-08:00

I've seen quite a few cute countdown boards lately. I'm sure these are particular fun for kids counting down to a birthday or holiday, but I thought our house needed one too!

I found a nice little sign at Goodwill for $0.49, I think it was originally for halloween as I could faintly make out the words EEK, but it had already been painted solid black.

I painted the back side with Chalkboard paint (just to ensure a nice smooth surface for writing) and used my Silhouette to apply white vinyl.

Wouldn't it be cute in the center of a holiday wreath? Add a festive ribbon and you can use it for any occassion. Now I just have to remember to update the countdown everyday!

Kitchen Update

2011-11-14T11:03:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I posted about painting our kitchen cabinets.

Our kitchen went from this:

To this:

But of course it added quite a few more finishing projects. Over the past few weeks we have installed the crown molding and quarter round trim. And last weekend we purchased all new appliances!! I guess you know you're a grown up when new appliance make you more excited than anything....... = )

Our new appliances are being delivered tomorrow so we spent yesterday moving out the old ones and painting under the cabinets white and the new exposed walls tan.

Can't wait to get them in and show you new pictures of our kitchen! Now we just need to decide on countertops...

Wine Cork Boards

2011-11-09T07:59:00.000-08:00

I've seen lots of clever ideas using wine corks for home or wedding decorations. When I found a big bag of corks at Goodwill I scooped it up and figured I would try a wine cork board.

I started with a plain wooden picture frame and painted it white. Preferably you would just use the picture frame backing for your cork board, this one did have one so I used a thick piece of cardboard and glued it in place.

Then I started playing with the arrangement of the corks. You want to figure out your pattern before you start gluing them down.

I started with varying rows:

Then staggered them:

You can easily cut the corks with a serrated knife to fill in any gaps on the edges. Since mine were pretty minimal I decided to space the corks so there was a little border instead.

I used my hot glue gun and started at the bottom left corner, working my way across. I continued up each row until they were all secure. If you wanted, you could glue each pair together first and then glue them to the board.

I added a few flowers and it was done!

This is going to be one of the raffle prizes for the luncheon I'm planning and it was so easy I'm thinking about making a few more!

Linking up to:
Christmas Ornaments & Gifts Blog Hop!

Project Overload...

2011-11-08T11:39:00.000-08:00

I'm busy planning a luncheon for about 250 people. As you can imagine it has me running around in circles!

Between planning, coordinating schedules, and crafting millions of ~~self imposed~~ projects, I've had very little time to work on fun holiday crafts! I'm down to the last 2 weeks and the last few projects and then I'll have lots more fun posts for you!

It's pretty much like planning a wedding. I've made invitations, centerpieces, table numbers, programs, menus, name tags, and raffle prizes!

Here is a little sneak peek of what I've been up to:

Just picture this times 100! There will be 30+ tables and each attendee will recieve a fabric flower name tag!

Unfortunately that means my craft room has turned into this mess:

And my dogs are confined to the little space in the middle!

I'm wrapping things up this week and will show you how it turned out soon!

Pinterest Challenge!

2011-11-04T12:54:00.000-07:00

Have you heard of the Pinterest Challenge? It's a competition to get you to actually make something from Pinterest (not just pin projects for hours on end...) I know, what a crazy idea!!

Ironically........from Pinterest, I stumbled up Addison's blog Changing My Destiny and she's using my Thermostat project as her Pinterest Challenge!

Here is her spin and it looks great in her hallway!

Thanks Addison, you inspired me to link up my Customized Baby Onesies!

Customized Baby Onesies!

2011-11-04T09:04:00.000-07:00

My cousin had the cutest baby boy a few months ago and I'm sure he's already spoiled rotten! I wanted to make him something unique and personal and meant to get to these before he was born... but somehow I never found the time!

See Kate Sew has this wonderful tutorial and I made these three in no time!

All you need is a onesie (or three), a graphic you want to apply to the front, fabric, and

fusible interfacing (I used Heat n Bond and it worked great!)

Cut a piece of fabric and a piece of interfacing big enough for all of your letters/graphics and iron them together following the directions on the interfacing.

Then I printed out the graphics and cut each one out. My cousin lives in Canada so I chose to do a maple leaf, where he was born (Alberta), and his name.

Cut each graphic out of your fabric by placing the fabric interfacing side down. You should end up with this:

Place each graphic where you want it on the onesie. I used a strip of fusible seam binding to tack it in place while I sewed it down.

Once they are all in place you are ready to sew!

I used navy thread, but if you're feeling really brave you could use a contrasting color! Stitch around each graphic or letter.

For this one I used embroidery thread to mark an X for the city he was born.

I spent less than an hour on all three, and love how they turned out.

I'm linking up to the Pinterest Challenge & Christmas Ornaments & Gifts Blog Hop!!

Picture Frame Cork Board

2011-11-03T07:59:00.000-07:00

I found these thick cork tiles the other day for super cheap and knew just what I should do with them.

I have this frame that I had originally painted to go on my vanity. I never got around to having a mirror cut, so I might as well put it to use as a bulletin board!

The cork was the perfect length I just had to trim off a few inches for the width.

Put it in the frame and glued on a few of these fabric flowers (can you believe I still have some left!? I feel like I've used them on EVERYTHING!)

Much better than sitting empty!

Linking up to:
Christmas Ornaments & Gifts Blog Hop!

PB Poinsettia Pillow Knock-Off

2011-11-02T09:05:00.000-07:00

My mom and I recently took a trip to Pottery Barn to check out all the new Christmas decorations. There were so many things I loved, but what I didn't love were the prices!

I thought this pillow in particular was darling! It's pretty simple, but oh so cute!

Their version is small (12x12) and costs $29. I wanted mine to be a bit bigger (20x20) and knew I could make it for much less!

Sewing the Pillow Cover

I started with one of my favorite fabrics (a painting drop cloth from Home Depot) and cut it to size for my pillow.

I made this pillow an envelope cover so I could easily slip it off to store it the rest of the year. Using the finished edge I cut the drop cloth to 19" wide. By making the cover an inch smaller than the finished pillow size it will ensure a nice snug fit!

Once the width was cut, I wrapped the fabric around the pillow so I could mark where to cut the length. For an envelope cover you want there to be plenty of fabric overlap to cover the pillow on the back side.

Now is a good time to mark with pins where the top and bottom of the pillow is so you can center the poinsettia on the front.

Then cut off the excess fabric and finish off the cut edge by folding it over twice and stitching it down.

I didn't sew the pillow closed until I had applied the poinsettia to the front.

Making the Poinsettia

I started by making a few poinsettia petal templates, but you could easily freehand these if you want. I cut three different sizes (but two versions of each size) so they didn't all look the same.

Then cut out 5 of each size (for 15 petals total) on cream felt. I used the 8x11 felt sheets you can find at any craft store or you could buy felt by the yard.

Next, fold each petal in half and sew down the middle, stopping about an inch or so before the end.

This seam gives the petal some depth.

Starting with the largest petals, position them in the center of the pillow and pin down.

Repeat with the medium petals.

And the small.

When everything is pinned, sew a small circle in the middle to tack the petals down in place.

Cut a felt circle and make sure it will cover your stitches.

Then cover the circle with jingle bells. I started with the large ones and then filled in the spaces with the smaller bells.

When it's completely covered tack it down.

The last step on the poinsetta is to add the detail stitching (which also helps to tack the petals to the pillow). I used embroidery floss and hand stitched down each petal starting with the largest and working my way to the smallest on top.

Once the flower is complete you can finally sew up th sides of the cover. Start by folding up the bottom...

And then overlap it with the top, pin, and sew each side closed. Turn inside out and stuff with the pillow!

Here's the finished product!

I was able to make 2 of these pillows for under $15! On the second one I made the petals a little wider and used tan embroidery thread. It looks even more like the inspiration!

Linking up to:

Christmas Ornaments & Gifts Blog Hop!

DIY Burlap Bulletin Boards

2011-10-31T09:15:00.000-07:00

I've been busy crafting away for a luncheon I'm planning. As part of that I'm making a few raffle prizes.

I have several canvases I bought at Michael's awhile ago and thought I'd make one into a bulletin board.

I started by cutting a piece of burlap just slightly larger than the canvas (with enough extra to fold over each side).

Lay the canvas centered on the burlap and staple around the edges. It's best to start in the middle on all 4 sides (making sure you pull the burlap snug) and then work your way out to each corner.

Once you get to the corner, flatten the excess burlap to give a nice clean finish on the front and staple it down.

The front should look like this:

You can leave it as is, but I decided to embellish it a little more with ribbon and upholstery tacks.

I used my staple gun to attach a strip of ribbon on the back side and hammered in an upholstery tack to each corner.

Here is the finished product:

Lasagna Rolls

2011-10-28T08:07:00.000-07:00

A recipe once again inspired by Pinterest! I've seen a few pictures that look similar and couldn't wait to try it out!

I started by cooking up a box of lasagna noodles and some ground beef. Then I gathered my red sauce, ricotta cheese, and spinach, but you could really fill these with anything!

I layed out three noodles across my cutting board, covered them with sauce, and sprinkled the cheese, ground beef, and spinach.

Start at one end and roll them up, then place in a baking dish.

I made 9 which was the perfect amount for us to eat for dinner and take to work the next day!

Once they were all rolled, I topped each with red sauce and some shredded mozzarella cheese.

Baked at 375 for 20 minutes. Delicious!!

Mason Jar Caddy

2011-10-27T08:01:00.000-07:00

I LOVE the look of mason jars in a wire caddy filled with flowers, office supplies, or even silverware. I've been on the hunt for a wire caddy for quite sometime.

This old milk glass caddy is darling with wild flowers.

Or this caddy:

I found this guy for $2 and figured I could do something very similar!

Did you know that Classico pasta sauces are bottled in Atlas Mason jars?

The spaghetti sauce is a larger size than the alfredo. I recently made a batch of spaghetti sauce and saved my empty jars. After a little scrubbing to remove the labels they fit perfectly!

I can't wait until our hydrangea's bloom so I can fill this guy up! Until then, I may use it to organize in my craft room.

Luggage Rack Makeover

2011-10-26T10:38:00.000-07:00

I’ve seen lots of cute luggage racks used in home décor lately; I especially love the ones being used as nightstands!

When I found this one for $1 at Goodwill I had to bring it home. Unfortunately it’s been sitting in the spare room for a few months and I finally got around to finishing it!

It was missing a strap and the colors weren’t what I had in mind so I removed the nylon strapping and gave the yellow base a good coat of gray paint. I had to adjust it several times to get everything covered!

I love the look of burlap upholstery strapping and figured it would work great on this project. At $0.79 a yard, it’s a very inexpensive option!

I started by stapling the strapping on the inside of the rack. This way when it wraps across to the other side the staples will be covered.

Once I had the first side secured I marked where I should cut the strapping. You want it to be long enough that the feet sit securely on the floor, but tight enough that the straps don’t sag when it’s open.

I wrapped strapping the same way on the second side, but kept the rack folded so I could staple it down underneath.

Easy as that! It looks great with a wooden tray and can be used as an end table.

And it folds up easily to be tucked away!

Key to my Heart!

2011-10-24T14:50:00.000-07:00

All you need for this super simple print is a frame, a piece of cotton material, some acrylic paint, a brush, and a printer! It only took me about 30 minutes from start to finish.

I gave the frame a good coat of brown paint and while I waited for it to dry I used word to print different clipart keys, our initials, and our wedding year.

I drew an outline of the heart the approximate size I needed for my frame and taped the keys, initials, and year inside the outline.

Since I used white fabric, I could easily see the black print through the material. I used brown acrylic paint and a small craft brush to paint the outline and fill in each shape.

Once everything was dry I just wrapped the fabric around the frame back and put the frame back together.

It fits just perfectly on a shelf in our kitchen where we keep our keys!

Thrifty Thursday: Antique Mirror!

2011-10-20T08:19:00.000-07:00

I'm in the middle of planning a large luncheon and I've been on the hunt for all kinds of things (I'll post more about those projects soon). Last night I happened upon this old mirror:

I love the size and detail! It weighs a ton and is real carved wood, so with a price tag of $7 I couldn't pass it up.

I'm still debating where to put it. I originally thought it would be great over my vanity, and I've been meaning to get a mirror for it, but then I'll have to move a few other things around.

This is what my vanity looks like now:

Here it is with the mirror:

I love my chicken wire jewelry holder so I switched out the iron piece.

But it still doesn't look right....I think I'll have to play around with it a bit more. What do you think about switching out the large chicken wire frame for a few small ones hanging on either side of the mirror?

Maybe something like my gallery wall, but with jewelry?

Spray Paint Fixes Anything!

2011-10-19T11:10:00.000-07:00

I recently got a Christmas Scentsy set. I LOVE the scent, but wasn't crazy about the warmer. Here is the before:

I gave it a quick coat of Krylon silver paint:

Here is the After:

This will go much better with our holiday decor! I'm not too worried about the paint flaking off since the warmer is just heated by a lightbulb, but I will let you know how it holds up...

I'm gearing up for a few more holiday projects I will be posting about soon!

Thrifty Tuesday: New Lamps!

2011-10-18T08:30:00.000-07:00

Awhile back you may remember I posted about making over our bedroom. It's still a work in progress (isn't everything?!) but I did come across some great lamps yesterday at Goodwill!

Previously, I had painted a few wooden lamps to use on our nightstands.

I wasn't really on the hunt for new ones, but these were so much better (and only $4.00 a piece!) so they came home with me.

They are super heavy, already the perfect color, and will be so much easier to turn on and off with the little pulls. I kept the old lamp shades for now, but may replace those too if I find the right ones!

What thrifty purchase have you made lately?

Freezer Paper is AMAZING!

2011-10-13T10:01:00.000-07:00

I've been dying to try Reynold's Freezer Paper but it's been a little difficult to track down. My mom finally found me a roll this week and it did not dissapoint! Freezer Paper works as a stencil. You cut your design out and iron the paper onto the fabric. It seals all the edges so your paint goes on nicely and it peels off so cleanly, you would never know it was there!

We're going down to LA to visit my sister who just joined a sorority so

I wanted to bring her a few new things!

I found these tote bags at Michael's for $9.99 (with a 40% off coupon they only cost $6!)

I used my Silhoeutte to cut out "Alpha Gamma Delta" and ironed it on to the front. However, if you don't have a cutting machine I saw a great tutorial recently where she used graphics printed from Word and an exacto knife to cut out the shapes.

Once the outline was done, I placed the little pieces (the inside of the A's, P, and D).

I made sure not to move it too much once I had ironed it on, I didn't want the stencil to come loose so I just painted right on the ironing board. I used her sorority's colors to fill in the words.

I only had to wait about 10 minutes for it to dry before I could pull off the stencil. I made two of these bags, one for my sister and one for her 'big sis' in sorority. Because I love personalization, I added some more lettering to the side of the bag with black paint.

I love how they turned out and I hope the girls like them too!

I also personalized a few more things for her!

Their mascot is the squirrel, so when my mom dug this guy out of storage I couldn't help but make him a shirt!

Thanks for stopping by!!

DIY Photo Coasters!

2011-10-11T08:09:00.000-07:00

When I saw this picture posted on Pinterest the other day, I couldn't wait to make my mom a set for her birthday! Lee La La has such a great tutorial, they were so easy.

I headed to Home Depot and picked up 9 4"x4" Travertine tiles for $4. I only used 5 tiles for this set so there is plenty for another one.

I already had the Modge Podge, tissue paper, and felt on hand, but those are also very inexpensive.

To start, I selected 5 pictures I wanted to put on the coasters. I ended up using pictures from our wedding since there was good variety and they were fairly recent.

I loaded them into Word, cropped them so they were also 4"x4", and changed them to black and white.

I had never printed on tissue paper before and was surprised how easy this was, worked the first time! I cut down a sheet of white tissue paper to 8 1/2"x11" and adhered it to a piece of cardstock using my favorite tape gun (but you could use any type of adhesive). I only taped it on the top and bottom and made sure the pictures wouldn't print over where I taped.

After they printed, I used my rotary cutter to cut out each 4" x 4" picture.

Then I spaced out the tiles, put a good coat of Modge Podge on them and carefully placed the tissue paper photos.

It's very important to let them dry completely so you don't rip the tissue paper. I let them sit overnight and sanded the edges to take off any excess tissue before putting 2 more coats of Modge Podge over the top.

After they were completely dry, I flipped them over and added a 4"x4" piece of felt to the bottom of each one so they won't scratch the table.

Packaged them up and added a fabric flower I posted about here. They are all ready for my mom!

How cute and fun are these? I will definitely be making some for Christmas presents!

I'm linking up to the Pinterest Challenge and

Christmas Ornaments & Gifts Blog Hop!

Decorating for Halloween

2011-10-10T07:54:00.000-07:00

I usually have all our Halloween decorations out the first of October, but the warm weather here in California has pushed back everything just a little bit. Yesterday I finally drug the bins down from the attic and decorated our house!

Here is our front door:

I haven't made many of our Halloween decorations, but they have all been thrifty finds! The ghostly greetings signs and the glow-in the dark BOO! are both from Ross.

This BOO! is painted on slate and I bought it on sale at Michael's a few years ago. The wreath behind it came from Target's 75% after Halloween sale.

My favorite piece is this gargoyle statue which I paired with 2 black pumpkins, also finds from Target's 75% off sale.

I'm debating about painting the pumpkins some metallic color so I can use them with my fall decor as well as Halloween. What do you think?

Inside I decorated the family room. The Halloween tree on the left was originally from Target, but I found it at Goodwill, with the tags still on for $2! The place mats are from Target's 75% sale, the rest of the decorations I bought at Marshall's after Halloween sale for dirt cheap!

The mantle is decorated with a few gargoyle's from Target and a ceramic Trick-or-Treat from Ross.

The coffee table has a Target place mat, skull stack from Ross, and stacking candy corn bowls from Homegoods.

The china cabinet holds our basket for our Trick-or-Treater's candy, the skull runner, spooky tree, and mini gargoyle all came from Target. The Halloween hurricane was a Nordstrom Rack find years ago!

Our dining table also has a target runner, the web basket and Boo! sign both came from Ross.

I've seen lots of DIY decorations I love this year, I'll be working on some to add to our Halloween decor! Do you prefer store bought or DIY decor in your home?

Easy Breakfast Sandwiches

2011-10-09T14:34:00.000-07:00

This is in no way a cooking blog, but when I saw a few variations of these on Pinterest and just had to give them a shot! They are so easy and delicious!

Using a muffin pan, I put a slice of canadian bacon in each hole. We ate a few for breakfast, but I've read that these freeze well and would be perfect for weekday breakfasts so I made a whole batch.

Add an egg.

Top with cheese, salt, and pepper.

And bake for 15 minutes at 375.

While I waiting for these to cook I toasted the english muffins.

Once they were done, all I had to do was pop them out and place them on the english muffin.

Easy and delicious! My favorite!

Personalizing Our Home

2011-10-05T07:56:00.000-07:00

Now that I've spent ridiculous amounts of time on Pinterest, I'm finally tackling my "projects" board!

Awhile ago I pinned this:

I have a similar piece of ironwork I got from my friend http://damselindelish.blogspot.com/ (she is an amazing cook!) that has just been sitting in our spare room.

I added a wooden O I had already painted gray and tied it on using an old curtain tie.

I love monograms and everything looks better with a little personalization!

I'm linking up to the Pinterest Challenge!

Cute and Functional!

2011-10-04T07:43:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I found this little guy at Goodwill for $1. I thought it was cute, would be even better in white, and would be a great addition behind the door in our spare room.

So I primed it, painted it, and hung it up!

I'm going to try to pick out my clothes the night before and use this guy to hang up my jewelry and what I'm going to wear.

Maybe then I'll be able to get out of the house on time....

A True Love Story Never Ends...

2011-10-03T07:48:00.000-07:00

A while back I posted about a gallery wall I did in our bedroom. I was debating about which picture to put in the middle and still hadn't made a decision when I saw this on Pinterest:

As soon as I saw it, I knew it was the perfect quote to put on our wall.

First, I took the cardboard backing off the frame. I didn't want it to look as worn as the inspiration picture but I did want it have some texture so I started with a coat of blue paint.

To add some depth I did a coat of gray.

And then another coat of blue.

While I let the paint dry, I cut the vinyl lettering out using my Silhouette.

I used the mat to make sure the lettering was centered and adhered them using the process I described here.

Put it all back together and up on the wall. I love how it turned out, just what the gallery wall needed!!

Map to my HeART

2011-10-01T10:42:00.000-07:00

I’ve seen several of these floating around Pinterest lately and had to make one! Although our story isn’t as exciting as some (we met, married, and live in Sacramento) I thought it was such a unique way to tell your story!

I still have a padded headboard on my project list, but figured this would be a good way to fill the space above our bed for now and we’ll be able to move it above the headboard once I get that done.

I found the frame at the thrift store for $2 and primed and painted it white.

I printed out a heart in Microsoft Word so I could position it on the map exactly where I wanted it. I just made sure the heart was completely covering the area I wanted before I cut it out. I looked for an old map for awhile, but finally gave up the search. I ended up cutting up our Thomas Guide. I figure it's still usable since I'm only cutting the pages of the areas we know really well = )

Instead of a traditional mat, I used a piece of metallic scrapbook paper to coordinate with the colors on our gallery wall (posted about here). I ended up having to piece two together, but since it has such a small pattern you can't even tell! I cut out three pieces of white card stock as a backing for the maps.

To label each one with vinyl letters I used my Silhouette. I simply typed the letters in the program, formatted the size and font to fit my project, and cut the letters out on brown vinyl.

To transfer the letters I cut closely around the words and peel off all the outside vinyl.

Then, using masking tape so the letters stay together, I peeled the letters off and centered them under the map.

After pressing them down, I slowly peeled off the tape.

Put it all back together and here it is!

Easy and so cute!! I <3 it.

Thrifty Find

2011-09-28T08:01:00.000-07:00

When I first started reading blogs about 6 months ago I was shocked at the amazing things these bloggers found at thrift stores. Since then, I started frequenting these places for hidden treasures and I've found a lot of amazing things. Sometimes it takes a little hunting, but there is almost always something I see potential in.

Yesterday I stopped in Salvation Army and bought my favorite thrifty find to date. And it didn't even need any spray paint!

How cute is this dog treat jar?!

I probably would have paid the whole $9.99 they were asking, but it was 50% off day so it only cost me $5. As you can imagine, Homie and Cali were thrilled about it!

Here is a close up of the top:

This thing is heavy duty, the top probably weighs 5 lbs by itself. I can't imagine how much it "really" cost.

Doesn't it look great on our counter top?

I love finding great things like this. What have you thrifted lately?

Decorating for Fall...

2011-09-27T08:09:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I picked up these guys. The green gourds are from the Dollar Store and I found the box of pumpkins at Goodwill for $0.99.... with all the cute fall projects around blogland I just couldn't pass them up!

This is a terrible picture (from my phone and at night) but this little fall arrangment was also at Goodwill for $1. He was a little too cheesy for me, but nothing a little spray paint couldn't fix!

I took out the pumpkin and a few of the other picks and gave them a coat of bronze spray paint.

Once it was reassembled, it looked much better! I've lagged on getting our fall decorations out of the attic this year. It's been hard to think of it as Fall since it's still in the 90's here in California, but with Halloween quickly approaching I decided it was time!

I decorated our china cabinet with the new fall arrangement, a few ceramic leaves I picked up from an estate sale, and the "Fall" pumpkins I got on sale at Target a few years ago.

The box of orange pumpkins also got sprayed with various metallic paints and now sit on our dining table. The long white tray stays out year round and gets repurposed for the different holidays, it was also a Goodwill find and I think I paid $3.

The clock dome I posted about here also got updated with fall decor.

It's on our living room console table with a couple of placemats and wire acorns I picked up from Michael's after season sale a few years ago.

I put another acorn (from Target) and ceramic leaf (found at a thrift store) on the nesting tables in our entry.

Glass pumpkins on the end table. The largest one came from Target, but I found the other two earlier this year at thrift stores for $1 or $2. I'm thinking about using the new antique glass paint and updating these guys a little bit...

This is our coffee table. I believe the leaf bowl, candle holder, and pumpkin came from Michael's as well. I recently found the acorn dish at the SPCA Thrift Store for $1.49

And of course the acorns I painted and posted about here.

As you can probably tell, I just love decorating for the holidays/seasons. Just wait until you see all the Halloween decorations we have! It's almost as bad as Christmas around here.....

The Wonders of Chalk Board Paint!

2011-09-22T10:43:00.000-07:00

With a can of chalk board paint the possibilities are endless! And I love using it on metal to make the chalkboard magnetic.

I’ve done a few projects lately using chalk board paint.

Bulletin Boards:

Dog Treat Canister:

Menu Board:

I’m attempting to clean up my craft room and decided I would actually MAKE something out of this guy I picked up for $0.49 a few months ago.

With a few upcoming weddings and baby showers I thought it would make the perfect little chalk board sign, you really could use it for anything!

As I’m sure you can tell, I’m a big fan of white, so I primed and freshened up the base.

And gave the top a few good coats of spray chalkboard paint. I’ve also used the brush on kind that comes in lots of fun colors, but I like the coverage and finish of the spray much better.

Add a vinyl frame cut with my Silhouette, a piece of twine, and an antique key and it’s all ready to go!

Change out the ribbon or add a flower and it would be darling for a baby shower!

I’ll definitely be putting this guy to good use.

Giveaway Winner!

2011-09-20T12:02:00.000-07:00

I'm fairly new the blog world and have just recently started entering blog giveaways. Boy have they paid off! In the past 2 weeks I have won 3 giveaways!!

The first was over at Ucreate, sponsored by The Printable Cottage (which has the cutest party stuff) and I recieved a $50 Target gift card, can't get better than that!

Here is what I scored:

A new fall scarf, moccasin slippers (my fall/winter staple), marshmallow roasting sticks, a towel bar (for an upcoming bathroom project I'll post about), and a few necessities!

This weekend I found out I won the Jamberry giveaway over at Southern Lovely!

I can't wait to give my nails a fun makeover!!

AND.....

I won a Black and Decker Steam Mop from The Idea Room!

Maybe I'll even like cleaning...

So I figured I might as well wrap up the week with a lottery ticket, I'll let you know if we're millionaire's tomorrow = )

Kitchen Cabinet Drama

2011-09-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

WARNING: looooooooong picture heavy post!

As usual, a weekend project turned into a weeklong project and we encountered several hiccups along the way. This is the story of our “simple” kitchen remodel = )!

We are very familiar with blown budgets, blown timelines, and Plan B’s when it comes to home renovation. In fact, when we first bought our house a few simple projects turned into gutting a few rooms (including the bathroom), refinishing the original hardwood floors, and retexturing every wall before we even moved in. I’ll post more about that and some “before” and “after” pictures later!

The only thing we didn’t change, literally, was the kitchen. So naturally, I’ve been itching to tackle that project! Let me preface this by saying that, for our home, we love our kitchen. It is well laid out, has a reasonable amount of storage for a 60+ year old house, and has amazing pull out drawers in all the lower cabinets. This is something the previous owners did and they make the cabinets so much more useful, I never have to dig in the back of the cabinet and I can maximize the space.

However, I do not love the color of the cabinets. I have been eyeing several dream kitchens on Pinterest and love the variety of colors. So, when I saw that Rustoleum had a new Cabinet Transformation kit I couldn’t wait to try it! After checking out a few reviews and the tutorial online I couldn’t wait to get started. Originally I wanted to paint the top cabinets white and the bottoms a color, but finally settled on painting them all gray. I’m obsessed with gray lately and thought it would be a nice contrast against the current countertops and give our kitchen an updated look while still going with the rest of our home.

Day 1: Purchase and Prep Work

After work on Friday I headed over to Home Depot to pick up the supplies. The kit comes in light (mostly whites, tans, and light stains) or dark (colors and darker stains). You pick the kit and the color and have the paint counter tint the cans accordingly. I picked Seaside. It was a nice color without being too dark, since our kitchen is in the middle of our house without any real natural light I didn’t want to make it feel closed in.

When I got home I read through the instruction booklet and watched the how-to video (with a glass of champagne of course, that’s what every good DIY project starts with!).

Then I got to work emptying out the cabinets! I removed all the contents and took off every door, drawer, hinge, and screw.

As they recommend, it’s a good idea to draw a layout of your kitchen and number each piece. Then using painter’s tape you put the number on the corresponding door or drawer and use a labeled plastic bag to hold the hardware. This way you’re not trying to put together a puzzle when you reassemble the kitchen.

Word to the wise: do not misplace the kitchen drawing or cover the numbered tape with so much paint that it’s hard to read. Yeah I did both those things……..luckily our kitchen doesn’t have too many cabinet doors that are the same size so it was pretty easy to reassemble!

Once it was all taken apart, I got to work taping off all the appliances and edges and started Step 1 of the process, de-glossing. Since this kit works on laminate, melamine, and real wood cabinets, there is no need to sand or prime. You use the de-glossing solution and a rough pad (included in the kit) to scrub down the cabinets and prepare them for paint. Once they’ve been de-glossed you wipe them down with a damp rag and let them sit for a few hours before Step 2.

Day 2: ~~Painting~~ Kitchen Destruction

This is the part where we were supposed to start painting, but instead we decided to tear the kitchen apart = ).

Back story: last year my mother in-law bought us a new refrigerator for Christmas. Luckily we decided to measure the space before it was delivered and figured the refrigerator wasn’t going to work. After a little more research we figured that very few refrigerators would actually fit in our kitchen because the opening wasn’t tall enough. So, while we were at it, we figured we’d raise the cabinets before they were actually painted since we do plan on buying all new appliances in the next year.

In order to do this, we had to remove the 6” piece of drywall above the cabinets. After some scoring, hammering, and a huge mess it was all out.

Then we had to actually move the cabinets. Since the boxes are original they have been in the same place for 60+ years and were built in place as one big unit. No pushing and pulling was going to move them. As any DIY’er would do, we improvised! After removing all the screws holding the cabinets to the walls we used a very sophisticated combination of car jacks and 2x4’s to push them up.

Then we stood back to admired our handy work. We are both tall, but even to us the cabinets looked funny… they were a little too high now! As usual, no home renovation project goes exactly as planned…….

After looking up standard cabinet heights we considered ripping out the upper cabinets all together and replacing them with new, longer cabinets (42” instead of 37”). After some more research we realized our cabinets are not standard sizes and any new cabinets wouldn’t work with our current configuration. So we were stuck with what we have! On to plan ~~A, B,~~ C.

In the end we met in the middle. Now they are raised 3” from their original position (making enough room for a standard refrigerator) and 3” lower from our first attempt. Once they were even, level, and screwed in, we called it a night!

Day 3: ~~Reassembling the Kitchen~~ Painting

Sunday we had a few other things planned in the morning, but I finally got to painting in the afternoon. After a couple of hours everything had a good coat of gray paint. Once it dried the paint was blue. Not the beautiful shade of medium gray on the box, but little boy blue. I debated about testing a section with glaze to darken it up, but in the end I decided it wasn’t worth the time and effort and I didn’t want my kitchen torn apart any longer than necessary.

Day 4: Painting Continued….

After work I went back to Home Depot to explain to the paint manager the situation and how terrible my cabinets looked. After a little arguing, she finally agreed to give me a new kit (this time I decided to go with the safest color, white, because I did not feeling the repainting my kitchen a third time).

That night I got to work covering the ~~gray~~ blue paint with white. As I’m sure you all know the novelty of painting quickly wears off. I just wanted the cabinets DONE!

Day 5: Painting, Painting, and More Painting

I took Tuesday off work so I could spend the day painting and [hopefully] get our kitchen put back together. After a few coats on the back of the cabinet doors and one coat on the front we were not very happy with the finish of the Rustoleum kit. We had followed all the directions and used the recommended brushes, but you could definitely see brush strokes. We even used a foam roller on the front, but then the paint didn’t coat very well.

So………we decided to stop there and go with my favorite DIY product:

Rustoleum 2x the Coverage in Blossom White.

After a few more coats and 12+ bottle of paint later, the door and drawers had a nice smooth white finish.

While I waited for everything to dry I finished up the cabinets inside. The frames had been given several coats of the Rustoleum kit white paint so I went ahead and sealed them with the last step of the kit.

After that had dried I painted the interior and shelves with the same blue/gray paint that is on the accent wall in our family room. I love how this turned out!

Day 6: Reassembling the Kitchen

I continued coating the doors and drawer fronts with white paint, sanded where there were any blemishes.

In between coats I worked on getting the cabinets filled and everything off of the pool table. One good thing about emptying the kitchen is that I get to reorganize it all as I put in back in. I mixed things up a bit and like how the new organization is working.

Day 7: FINALLY Getting the Doors Back On

Once everything was nice and painted we were able to put the doors back on using the old hinges. We decided to seal the doors and drawers once they were back in the kitchen so we could touch up any paint from mishaps. After a few coats of sealant our cabinets were FINALLY done.

Here is the before:

And the after:

In the end, I was glad we bought the Rustoleum Cabinet Transformation Kit to use the de-glosser (step 1) and sealant (step 3), but I prefer the smooth finish of spray paint over the traditional paint included in the kit.

Of course we still have several projects on the to-do list!

· Install crown molding along the ceiling.

· Paint far wall a fun accent color (still debating which one)…

· New counter tops and back splash

· New Appliances!

And then I promised to give my husband a break from any big renovation projects = )