Saturday, March 31, 2012

Laundry Today Or.......

I just love PINTEREST - don't you?  This was inspired by a Pin I saw there.  My very wonderful friend Marty came over to help me with this.

We cut the letters out of white vinyl using my Cricut. The hardest part was deciding which fonts to use and what size to make each letter.  We combined fonts from several different cartridges to achieve the look I wanted.  I think that part took longer than it did for us to actually cut out the vinyl and adhere it to the wall!  8 hours of labor but it only cost me $15 to make it.

 Good thing Marty doesn't charge by the hour!  Thanks girl for all the help!



Here's Marty applying the scrolls to the wall



The color for my laundry room was inspired by the metal Laundry  Cleaning and Delivery Service  sign.


I added the white shelf over the washer and dryer and it is very handy for all the laundry supplies and odds and ends that always seem to make their way there and never come out.

LAUNDRY TODAY OR NAKED TOMORROW - seems to be a recurring theme at our house!

How about at yours?


Friday, March 30, 2012

Fireplace Re-Do

Back in 2009 we had a pipe burst in the front powder room and ended up with an inch or more of water in the first floor of our house.  While it was a huge mess to deal with, our insurance company came through and we were able to replace everything and make it look much better!

About 12 inches of drywall was removed on most of the walls so I decided that if we were ever going to re-do the fireplace NOW was the time!  It only had 12x12 ceramic tiles on it and was very plain. Tim and I both have always loved the look of natural stone and decided we could resurface it ourselves.

The entire project probably cost around $400 for the materials but we did it all ourselves and I still love it.

Here's a before picture - all decked out for Christmas - very plain and boring!


Before

And here is the after picture - 

After

Much better - don't you think?

Here's an in progress picture -



The stacked slate came in 6" x 18" pieces and fit together like a puzzle. The hearth tiles are 12 x 12 slate floor tiles and our wood floor installer put the wood floor and trim in after I laid them down and grouted them.

 It is one of my all time favorite projects that Tim and I have ever completed - and we are still married - so you know it was a success!

This picture shows the white flat trim that we added to the sides to cover up the raw edges of the stone.  Tim did a great job with this and it looks like it was part of the mantel.






Thursday, March 29, 2012

Comments Please and Thank You!

Leigh and I are very new to blogging and would love it if you would leave us a comment.  Let us know what you think and especially let us know what we can do to improve the blog.  Being Newbies we need all the help we can get!

Thanks for the help!



Leigh loves the picture where we make funny faces!

Monday, March 26, 2012

Easter Cross

I wanted to share the Easter Cross that my Mom helped Ty's Sunday School class make last year.  His class is named the C.O.O.L Class (Children Of Our Lord) and is for Special Needs children and adults. Mom also teaches Bible School for the C.O.O.L Class.

This was made with 1/2 a styrofoam ball, strips of purple satin, a few silk flowers and 3 craft sticks.  I saved it from last year and it is now one of the permanent Easter decorations at our house!  Thanks Mom!

Easter Cross


Sunday, March 25, 2012

Bluebonnet Pictures

My Mom and I drove to Waco this weekend to visit with my 2 Great Aunts and visit the cemetery where my Grandparents are buried.  It was also my Dad's birthday on Saturday and he would have been 70 years old.  Miss you Dad!

It was a beautiful day to remember our loved ones and see the flowers.








Saturday, March 24, 2012

Vintage Easter Banner

My wonderful Mom made this beautiful Easter banner for me with vintage Easter graphics.  Most of the images came from The Graphics Fairy.  Thanks Mom - I LOVE IT and LOVE YOU!






 My Mother-in-law, Brenda, made the blown out Eggs for Ty last year.  I love them on the mantel

I always use my Dad's memorial candle at Easter.



Here's another picture of Easter tree.



Thursday, March 22, 2012

Easter Egg Tree

Since Easter is right around the corner, I was determined to make an Easter Egg Tree that was inspired by a post on Pinterest from Sweet Floweret  Unfortunately, I couldn't find any affordable glittered eggs, so I made my own.  I also, couldn't bring myself to spend $4.99 on a styrofoam cone, so I made the cone out of poster board from the dollar store.  I like to think of myself as a Thrifty Crafter - ok I'm CHEAP!


Since I made it out of a cone I was able to place it on a glass candlestick to raise it up.  I think it adds a little bit of elegance to it and also gives it more of a presence.

You will need - Mod Podge, Glitter - I used Sullyn from Hobby Lobby and some very fine purple that I've had for ages, 2 bags of small eggs (48), 1 bag of green paper grass, poster board, and a glass candlestick.


This is the messy part - Have Fun!  Paint each egg with Mod Podge, then cover in glitter.  I poured small amounts of both glitters onto a paper plate and then sprinkled them on to the Mod Podge covered egg that I placed in a small bowl.  Shaking the bowl to make the egg turn helps evenly cover the egg.  I let mine dry overnight, but they would probably dry in an hour or so.



Then it is time to make the cone.  Take a length of ribbon or string and tie one end on to a pencil.  Measure 12" out and tie a knot.

Hold the knot on the corner of the paper and make a mark from one side of the poster board to the other.


Then measure 2 inches on the ribbon from the pencil and a make another line in the corner of the poster board.



Next cut out the poster board.


Roll the poster board into a cone and secure it using tape.  You will want to end up with an opening instead of a point.  It will be a little off, but you can even it out with scissors.



Here it is with the little uneven bit cut off.


If you are going to place the cone on a candlestick you should trace the bottom of the cone now so that you can make an insert to rest the cone on to the candlestick.  Otherwise it will slide down and cover the candlestick.  I traced another circle inside the outer edge and then cut tabs all the way around the circle.  I used my glue runner on the tabs, then bent them up and placed this into the bottom of the cone.  It should fit about and inch up into the cone and may take a few adjustments to get it right.  Once I had it in and level I used the glue gun on a few of the tabs to secure it permanently.



If I had this to do over I would probably cover the cone with green paper and then add the Easter Grass, but you know what they say about hindsight!!!  I used spray adhesive and then lightly covered the cone with grass.  You will add more grass after gluing on the eggs to fill in the holes so don't worry about the white showing through.  Of course, if you cover the cone with green paper that would solve that problem!



Using a glue gun and generous amounts of glue, start adhering the eggs.


After they are all glued on you will need to fill in the gaps with more grass.  I just bunched up several strands, hit it with the glue gun and stuffed it in the holes.




Wishing you all a very Blessed Easter!

Monday, March 19, 2012

Scrapbook Pages

A few more of my favorite scrapbook pages.

Used acrylic paint on white paper along with a large initial cut on the Cricut.

I love to sew on scrapbook pages - border around the edge. I think it just adds that extra punch






Saturday, March 17, 2012

Happy St. Patrick's Day and Happy Birthday to Ty

Today is Ty's 28th Birthday!  I just can't believe that my sweet boy can possibly be that old.  His Grandma Mitchell and Grandma and Grandpa Craft came over for lunch and then we had cake and Blue Bell ice cream - Ty's Favorite!  We love you Ty!






Happy St. Patrick's Day