Plaque Tutorial

I did a fun little project that is very easy and I thought I'd share the tutorial with you.

All you need are scraps of paper, a piece of wood (or canvas), some mod podge, and some paint.

 

I grabbed a piece of scrap wood and pulled out my scrapbooking papers.  I save all the leftover pieces.
I cut them in strips and just glued them on vertically using mod podge.
You could use any shape of paper, any size, and glue them any way you want.
Slightly overlap them and then do another coat of mod podge on top.

I used a brayer to push out any air bubbles.  You could also just use your finger or an old credit card.

Here it is with all the paper glued down.  I let it dry for about an hour.

 

 

For the next step I printed out my letters from the computer, cut them out, and traced them onto the board with a pencil.

You could always draw your own letters if you'd like.

 



 

After tracing your letters, paint around each one with white acrylic paint.

You could use any color you want, but white really makes the colors pop.

 

 

Paint the edges too for a unified look and you're done!

I wouldn't actually put this outside unless you give a good coat of sealer.

I love this project because it's quick and easy and there are so many possibilities!  :)

Rainy Monday

It's a dreary, rainy Monday here.
I'm grateful for a couple of hours of relaxation and reflection.
A little time to ponder and dream, to write and create.
Maybe a little laundry and cleaning too...:)
It's nice to put fun things first sometimes.

Have a happy Monday!

Back-to-school organization

I completed this project after pinning it awhile back.

(Please note:  The idea and credit links here.  The original woman who thought of this is an organizing genius and actually sells the children's calenders in her etsy shop.  I was trying to be frugal and I came up with my own.  )

To create a back-to-school organizing wall I bought one of these frames for each child. I bought the frames at IKEA.  I chose plexiglass instead of glass for safety issues and it works just as well as a dry erase board.

I just kind of eyeballed where to place everything.  I wanted each one to have the child's name, a weekly to-do and monthly calendar, a notes section, and a place to hang important papers from school.  I covered the backs of the frames with brown craft paper and used a glue stick to adhere the paper.

Then I put it back under the plexiglass and it's a great way for each child to know what they are doing each day of the week.

 

With four kids in different activities, three different schools, and stacks of paperwork for each child, this has really worked out well (for all of us).

 

 

 

 

We are running low on wall space around here, so I am getting more creative with it.

This hallway is down the kids hall and it may not be the prettiest thing, but it definitely serves its purpose well!  :)

Pillow discount

I made my 450th custom name pillow this weekend.
It's hard to believe I've sewn that many.  I love that each one has been designed by someone who cares for and deeply loves the child they are ordering it for. I love thinking how that person prays over the scripture that will accompany the child's names...

I feel blessed and honored to to make these for people.
For a limited time this week, I'll be offering a 10% discount on any custom name pillow ordered.
Just enter 450PILLOW into etsy as a special code.

Thanks for allowing me make these special items for your loved ones.
It feels like a dream come true.  :)

Some things I'm loving right now

Some things I'm currently crushing over right now:

I found this image on pinterest but the original link is here.

Totally where I want my head space to be.

Especially in regards to the kids.

I want their childhoods to be about the memories, not the things we bought them.

love it

This movie.

It was so sweet.

And innocent.

Just a feel-good type of movie.

The kids loved it and there was nothing inappropriate.

This book.

When I finished reading it I was sad.

I felt like I lost my best friend.

She has a way of making you fall in love with God all over again.

I love everything she writes.

This mug.

I fell in love with it and bought it for myself.

All of her on my ipad and the pandora station too.

And this blog.  She is so creative, so inspirational, so colorful.

Now I'm off to paint my mural :)

A mural and a winner...

Saturday night I got a wild hair up my you-know-what and decided to draw on this wall.
The wall measures about 6 feet by 9 feet.  It had a couple of awkward shelves on it that weren't working out.  It is literally the first thing you see when you walk in our home.

On Sunday I got out my paints and started going to town.
Mike took some surprise photos of me as I was working.  I had my Pandora station set to Brandi Carlisle and I was having a blast.

 This is where I was at as of last night:

The walls are very porous and everything needs at least two coats.
I'm having so much fun painting it.
I'm hoping to get back to it tomorrow.

**************************************************************************

Oh, and I didn't forget about the lucky winner for Lindsay's $25 gift card.

Congratulations Suzanne!  :)

The Joyful Shop

I created this piece of artwork for my lovely friend and her beautiful dream that has become a reality.

I am so proud and honored to be a part of this amazing collaboration of artists.
Heather from Life Made Lovely has opened The Joyful Shop in honor of her son Samuel.

100% of the profits from the shop are used to buy books for the Joyful Life Library, which provides books for the pediatric intensive care units in eight children's hospitals across the country.

Please check out Heathers blog today to learn more about the project and to find links to all of the amazing artists who contributed.

A back-to-school gift and photos

It's the first day of school!

I've now got a first grader and a third grader.

Logan and his best bud.

How did 7th grade come so fast?

Even though the quality of these photos are terrible, I thought I'd show a little teachers gift we made for back-to-school.
I found these cute crayon boxes in the $1 section at Target.

We filled them with just a few essentials:   note-cards, gum and mints, a nice little candle, a stamp to use on papers, and a $5 Starbucks gift-card.  Teachers are my heroes.  :)

I found this little clipart for free on google and the kids filled them out.

I'm praying for a wonderful school year.
I was kind of looking forward to them going and having a little peace and quiet today, but I find myself missing them :(
Happy Monday!

An Awesome Give-away from Pen & Paint

Good morning and Happy Friday!I have an amazing give-away to share with you today.
If you aren't already a fan of Lindsay from Pen & Paint, let me introduce you to her work.

I am collecting art to make a beach themed wall for my hubby on our Master Bedroom.
When I saw this print, I bought it right away:

I have been a big fan of Lindsay's work for a long time.

You know I love color and she has a knack for bright, bold prints.

I love her positive sayings and honest heart.

Please check out this recent blog post she wrote.

It is authentic and true and I loved it.

When you see her work, you just have to smile!

Lindsay has offered a $25 credit to her shop.  Woo-hoo!

Check out some of these beauties:

I looooooooooove them all :)

Leave me a comment telling me what you will choose if you win the $25 giveaway.
I will choose a random winner next Wednesday, August 15.

Good luck!

A couple of new corners...

I am nesting big time.

No, I  am not pregnant.  But I go through nesting phases.  I feel the compulsive need to clean, organize, re-decorate, and change things around.  With school starting in just a few short days, I am especially wanting to organize everything!

Here are just a couple of new corners.  I always have a hard time taking quality photos in the house because of the lighting.  But no more excuses.  I am going to do a good ol-fashioned home tour on my blog very soon...I am putting it out there as incentive to finish up what I've started  :)

I found this face planter last week at an antique/thrift store.

I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I love the quirkiness of it.  It needs a bigger plant but at this point I'm trying to do everything by shopping around the house before I spend any money.

The print I ordered on etsy...it's a digital file and I printed it myself.  It hangs right next to the kitchen table, and I love the message.

Right around the corner is the hallway on the kids side of the house.  I actually took all of the kids books out of their rooms and put them in this shelf.  It feels much more cohesive this way and takes a lot of clutter out of their rooms.

I will probably paint the shelf white at some point...maybe a bright yellow?

One of my favorite quotes, doodled on a home-made chalkboard.

This is my little hand collection.

It started with the tin one that Mike and I bought in Philly over eight years ago.

It's a tiny collection but I love it.

I don't actively look for them, and I'm not willing to pay a lot for one either.

So it will slowly grow...;)

So anyway, I'll show you more soon!