Sweet Verbena

Framed Sheet Metal Magnet Board for Kids: a Tutorial

2018-02-20T13:17:00.002-08:00

If you couldn't tell by that cheesy smile, we are really enjoying our newest creation over here. Talk about hours of entertainment! As a former teacher, I love any kind of play that is educational. With this board, you can work on learning about letters, numbers, animals, or really anything! Win for Charlie, win for Mom.

Inspiration for a magnet board for our playroom first struck when I saw this clever drip-pan idea on Pinterest. I loved the idea, but I wanted something that would hold up a little better and look nicer on our wall. I also didn't love that most drip pans have the words "DRIP PAN" in large letters across the side. So I started looking for other options and found out that sheet metal can be purchased pre-cut in the convenient size of 24" x 36". What is fantastic about this size is that it's a very common picture frame size as well.

This was a crazy cheap project too! I only spent $10 on the sheet metal and $20 on a poster frame at Walmart. The frame was originally black, so I did add another step of painting it white so that it would look nicer in our playroom.

Oh, I love a good, cheap instant gratification project. Here is how I did it.

I purchased this sheet metal at Home Depot for only $9.75. I used the online ordering option, but when I went to pick it up at the counter, the sheet they had picked out for me had a tiny ding on it. I opted to trade it out and pick one that looked nicer in my opinion. The sheet metal comes in this nice cardboard packaging, but the sides are a little bit sharp when you take it out. You'll want to be careful not to cut yourself when you're working with the sheet metal.

I also bought a 24" x 36" poster frame at Walmart. You can save money if you find a frame that does NOT have glass in it. The one I bought had a plastic film attached to the frame. I was able to remove it easily, and painted my frame with a few coats of glossy white spray paint before I put the sheet metal in it.

Then, I laid the empty, painted frame face down, and put the sheet metal in it just like you would frame a picture. Don't worry if it doesn't go in just perfectly at first. It took a little manipulation to get some parts of the metal past the picture fasteners in the back.

You can see here that the metal isn't all the way in the frame yet. I had to go from the other side to sort of "bend" (but not actually bend) the sheet metal to get it past the metal fasteners along the sides. It's a really forgiving material and doesn't dent very easily, so don't worry if you have to do this too.

Once the metal sat flush to the frame, I just needed to put the original backing back on to the frame. In my case, this was just a piece of cardboard that came with the poster frame.

Once the frame was all put together, I just had to figure out how to hang it.

My go-to hanging devices are these Command Picture Hanging Strips. When you use them on all four corners, it is very secure to the wall (perfect for not so gentle toddlers) and very EASY!

The issue I ran into here was that my frame had a raised border that made it difficult to hang with the strips. My solution was to use this Scotch Exterior Mounting tape underneath the Command Strips to give them a little more height. I used two layers of Scotch mounting tape and one Command Strip per corner.

Next was peeling the paper backing off the Command strips and using my picture level to hang the board in our playroom!

Now the fun part! Get out your magnets (we used jumbo letter magnets and animal magnets) and watch your toddler delight in sticking and un-sticking them over and over again.

This board is such a fun addition to our playroom. I've had way too much fun decorating and furnishing this room for my little guy. We spend the better part of most days in this room, so it helps to have a fun space!

Did I mention that you can write on the board using Expo Markers? I love this for when Charlie is older and interested in spelling out words. I also think a board like this would be great for displaying kids' artwork or maybe a board to put in an office to stick reminders on. There are SO many possibilities!

Hope you enjoyed this idea! Thank you for stopping by!

Food Prepping Before Baby Arrives

2016-12-04T11:01:00.002-08:00

I was fortunate to have a lot of time off work in my last trimester, so I did everything I could to take advantage of the time off and do what I could to make life easier after the baby comes. I'm so glad that I devoted a weekend to filling up our freezer with easy, heathy foods. We had some wonderful family and friends that brought us meals right after Charlie was born, but after that stopped, it was so nice to be able to pull some food out of the freezer and make a reasonably healthy meal with ease. It's been nearly three months since our baby was born, and we still have a ton of this food in our freezer.

We decided that a chest freezer was a worthwhile investment. Our other freezer is very limited in space, so we use it mostly for frozen fruit for smoothies and Lean Cuisines for easy work lunches. This freezer gives us the storage we need to plan ahead.

We bought three of these collapsible milk crates from Walmart. They stack and fit perfectly in the freezer. We use the bottom one for game meat (my husband hunts and has the meat processed occasionally). The middle crate has frozen chicken, beef, and turkey. We buy the bulk packs of chicken breast and ground beef/turkey from Costco. The top crate is for frozen veggies.

We use the other side for other random frozen items: pizzas, casseroles, tortillas, tamales, etc.

Getting Started:

All of this took the better part of a Sunday to do. Being 36 weeks pregnant, it was exhausting, but it was so worth it. It's ten times harder to find the time to cook elaborate meals now that we're both back at work and taking care of our three month old. Dinner is all about what's easiest now!

I laid out all of my supplies:

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Frozen ground turkey

Broccoli

Carrots

Asparagus

Green Beans

Red Potatoes

Sweet Potatoes

Seasoning (for cooking the meats)

To start I filled my Crock Pot with the frozen chicken breasts. Then I used powdered chicken broth and water to fill the pot to the line.

I let this cook on low for about 5 hours and then drained the liquid.

This is by far the easiest way I've discovered to shred chicken. Just take a hand mixer to the pot, and in a couple of minutes, it's shredded perfectly.

I borrowed my sister's Food Saver to portion out the chicken into little baggies that could be saved and frozen.

I love being able to thaw out the chicken for a quick and easy dish like chicken quesadillas.

I also cooked about four pounds of ground turkey as well.

Two pounds at a time, I browned the turkey and portioned it into bags as well.

These are perfect to add to spaghetti, baked ziti, chili, tacos, etc.

Finally, I prepared the veggies. I think a lot of food prep involves heavy carb. dishes that are not always the most healthy. I wanted it to be easy for us to have some vegetables in our meals as well.

After peeling all of the potatoes, I cut them into cubes to be frozen.

When we want roasted sweet potatoes, we can just thaw one of these bags, spread them out on a pan and roast them in the oven with olive oil.

We also prepared the broccoli and red potatoes by washing them and cutting them into bite sized pieces.

Another thing I did to prep before baby arrived was make double batches of dinner and freezing half in these aluminum dishes.

One night I made a double batch of baked ziti.

And another night a double batch of Chicken Pesto Pasta.

I used a little tape to ensure that the lid of the pan was on tightly (just be sure to remove all the tape fully before putting the dish in the oven).

Finally, we made smoothie packs for quick and easy breakfasts. We used freezer friendly bags and filled them with all the dry and frozen ingredients we use in our smoothies (fruit, spinach, oatmeal, protein powder, sometimes peanut butter)

These are great for tossing in the blender, with almond milk for a quick breakfast!

Whew! Just typing all of that made me tired. But I am so glad we took the time to do all of this. Even though he's totally worth it, this little guy sure makes things like dinner time more tricky for his parents. It's a good thing he's so darn cute. (:

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Our Baby Boy

2016-10-19T11:46:00.002-07:00

Introducing the newest member of our family, Charlie Reed. We were blessed by his arrival last month and have been soaking in his newborn sweetness ever since. He weighed 6 pounds 8 ounces, much smaller than any of us guessed!

I managed to get a few pictures while we were at the hospital. He's already changed so much in the time that we've had him! His once skinny, little chicken legs have now filled out, and those little cheeks get chubbier everyday.

This was my last bump picture before I was induced. I was pleasantly surprised with how smooth and easy my induction was. I had heard horror stories, but it seemed our little guy was ready to make his debut, and things progressed quickly and smoothly.

Aside from a little discomfort at the very end, I really enjoyed my pregnancy. We made a point to document the growth of my belly every other week. We put together a little video here if you'd like to see.

Becoming a mother has been the hardest yet most fulfilling thing I've experienced. The sleepless nights have been rough, but I'm reminding myself daily that this sweet newborn phase won't last long. I'm trying my hardest to soak it all in while it lasts.

Thanks so much for all of the support and encouragement along the way. How fun that this blog has followed me through so many life events, from a college sophomore to a married teacher with a baby! I have some more baby related projects to share soon, but for now I'll be hanging out with my sweet baby boy. You can follow me on Instagram if you'd like to see more regular updates on baby Charlie. (:

Aden and Anais Copy Cat Muslin Bibs

2016-08-15T16:52:00.001-07:00

Thanks so much for your congratulations on my announcement last week! We are so thrilled to be welcoming our son in (hopefully) just under a month!

In typical third trimester fashion, I have been nesting like crazy. Having the summer off gave me some extra time to work on some fun baby DIY projects. One that I had so much fun with are these patterned muslin bibs.

It didn't take long to hear about the brand Aden and Anais after learning that I was pregnant. Everyone seems to love their products. They specialize in bibs and swaddle blankets using their ultra-soft muslin fabric. The fabric is an almost gauze-like open weave and perfect for absorbing spit-up.

Here are some pictures from their website:

source

It also didn't take long to figure out that to order the supply that I would need, I'd be paying an arm and a leg! So when I spotted these plain white muslin bibs at Buy Buy Baby for a much cheaper price, I jumped at the opportunity to make my own.

They also have these apron-style bibs that are very similar to Aden and Anais's "burpy" bib.

The bibs are made using the same organic muslin cotton that Aden and Anais uses. The classic style comes in packs of five for $20 but using a 20% off coupon, I was able to get them for $16. That's about $3 a bib versus Aden and Anais's $6.

I also loved getting to pick my own colors and patterns! I stuck with more muted boy-friendly colors and shapes, but I think it would be so much fun to experiment with some brighter colors or floral patterns for a baby girl.

Materials:

Green Sprout Plain White Bibs

Acrylic Paint

Textile Medium

Foam Paint Brush

Painter's Tape

White Potatoes (to use as stamps)

Assorted Basic Shape Print-Outs

X-Acto Knife

Let's start with the striped bibs. I started by laying out all my materials on the kitchen counter.

Next, I used my painter's tape to start my stencil.

Using my ruler as a guide, I spaced the tape lines exactly one inch apart.

When I got to the label, I taped it out of the way (as shown below).

Then I used small strips of paint to tape off the outer bias of the bib. This gave me a cleaner overall finished look, in my opinion.

One by one, I taped up all of my bibs.

Then, following the directions of my textile medium, I mixed my acrylic paint and medium. The medium just softens the acrylic paint so that it dries softer. Without the medium, you'd end up with a crunchy finished design. Using a medium ensures that, with each wash, your design will get softer and softer.

Working carefully, I started in the center of the fabric and worked the paint towards the edge.

After letting the bibs dry for about 20 minutes, you can start carefully peeling off the tape.

Ta-da! Aren't those stripes so fun?!

I loved peeling the tape off each bib to reveal the fun, striped design. Each one turned out so cute!

P.S.: You might worry that your paint is going to seep through to the back layer of the bib, but I did not have this happen with any of my bibs. Here's the back-side of one after painting to show you.

If stripes are not your thing, then try using potatoes to make your own custom stamps! I loved these simple stars for mine.

Start by cutting a potato in half.

With the designs you've previously printed out (think simple, straight-lined designs for best results), trace the pattern on to the potato. I just used a sharpie to help me with this.

Using an X-Acto knife (or other sharp knife), cut away the negative space around your design.

For best results of stamping, I found it best to paint the stamp with the foam brush as opposed to actually dipping it in the paint. This will give you a more uniform, light coat of paint.

Then you just start stamping! It's best to reapply paint with the brush after each stamp.

Again, I used painter's tape to protect the bias edge of the bib.

For the classic-style bibs, I made a little apron to keep the edges neat.

Here's another stamp that I didn't end up using. I found that the designs I made with straight lines were better looking and decided to use those instead.

I love the way these star-printed bibs turned out!

After painting, you'll want to carefully follow the instructions of your textile medium. Mine called for a quick heat-setting of the paint using a hot iron. It also suggested waiting a full 7 days before washing, so I followed those instructions as well. I found that the more times I washed the bibs, the softer the paint became.

I can't wait to try out these bibs on baby boy! He's got a nice collection now to keep him stylin' and spit-up free for quite a while. (:

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I'm Pregnant!

2016-08-08T18:45:00.002-07:00

If you follow me on Instagram, you already know that I've shared some exciting news in recent months, but I thought it was time to share it officially on my blog. I'm pregnant!

My husband and I were thrilled to find out earlier this year that we have a little BOY on his way this September! The official due date is September 14th, and I have been a nesting nut this summer trying to get everything ready before I go back to school later this month. I'm happy to say that I've nearly accomplished everything I set out to this summer, and we're feeling more and more ready for his big debut.

Let me tell you though, being nine months pregnant at the hottest time of the year in Texas has been no piece of cake! Maternity shorts and tank tops have been my best friend this year, and I've spent more hours than I care to admit at the pool. All in all, everything has gone really smoothly. I've been told I'm one of those "lucky" pregnant women. I had only a couple bouts of morning sickness early on, and aside from some recent unpleasant experiences with heartburn, very little other issues.

I am beyond thrilled that I'm going to be someone's mama and can't wait to snuggle with our little babe this holiday season. I get giddy every time I think about Christmas time with our new baby boy. Rest assured, he is going to be sufficiently loved on.

If you're interested in future pregnancy updates, I'd love for you to follow me on Instagram. I also have a few baby-related sewing tutorials I plan to share soon, so be sure to check back for those!

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Party Paper Bunting Tutorial - Sew AND No-Sew

2016-02-14T08:07:00.001-08:00

I'm excited to share one of my recent projects with you. It is honestly really easy and SO MUCH FUN when it's all done.

I'm going to show you two versions today. One is made with a sewing machine, and the other is completely no-sew, yay!

There's nothing happier that gold sparkly triangles all in a row. It's such a perfect backdrop for any party. Of course, you don't have to use gold, sparkly paper. You could use any card stock that fits the theme of your party.

When we decided to have a little New Year's Eve party, I knew I wanted some fun pops of gold and black in the house. A trip to Michaels and about an hour or two later, I had the most fun backdrop that can be used again and again.

I'm hoping to break it out another day soon, either for another NYE gathering, or maybe in hosting a shower one day.

Here is what you'll need for the sewing machine version: (for about a 12'-13' bunting)

5 sheets of 12" x 12" card stock (any should work, as long as it is thick card stock)

Bias tape (I used 1/4" double-fold, but any double-fold tape would work)

Ruler

Scissors

Matching thread

Line your ruler up to one side of the back side of your card stock. Make a small line every three inches, at 3, 6, and 9 inches across.

Repeat for all four sides of the paper.

Then, draw a line that connects the 6" marks that are directly across from one another.

You'll have four 6"squares at this point.

Now to make some triangles! Use your ruler to draw a line between the three inch mark on one side and the 9 inch mark on the other side.

Repeat on the other side.

Next, draw lines that connect the 3 inch mark on one side to the 6 inch mark on the next side.

Repeat until you have something that looks like this:

This is a good time to take your project over to the couch and put something good on TV. It will take a little time to cut out all of your pretty triangles. However, if you're using a glittered paper like me, beware of the glitter that will inevitably fall off the paper as you're cutting. You may want to cut over a surface that can be easily wiped down when you're all done. (:

Each piece of 12" x 12" card stock will produce 6 equal triangles.

If you're paper-conscious and want to save money, you can certainly take the four left over pieces and put them together to create two more triangles per piece of paper.

Once all 30 are cut out, you're ready for the next step!

Prepare your sewing machine with a coordinating thread color and have your bias tape ready to go with your triangles nearby.

With the bias tape opening to the left, begin sewing a "tail" end of the bunting. The length of this may depend on how you plan to hang your decoration. I only left about 6 inches at each end of mine.

Once you've sewed a long enough "tail", you can insert your first triangle between the folds of the bias tape.

Then just sew right over it! Be sure to make sure that the paper is as far into the bias tape as possible.

You'll want to leave a small amount of space between each triangle. This will allow the bunting the bend more easily when it's hung. Here's a close up of mine to show you what I mean:

I left around a 1/3" between each triangle. I didn't measure, just eyeballed it. You could certainly leave more space between each one if you like that look better.

Then just keep going until you reach the end of your bias tape. I had a few triangles left over at the end, which I used for my no-sew version.

Be sure to leave another tail at the end of the bunting, about the same length as the beginning. Sew all the way to the end, and you are done, my friend.

Now, hang up your bunting, and admire how cute it looks!

Now for the NO-SEW version, you'll need:

Card stock

Scissors

A sharp razor / X-acto knife

1/8" Ribbon (any kind)

Cutting mat (a thick magazine works in a pinch)

ONce you've cut all of your triangles out (per the instructions above), you are ready to cut. Turn the triangles around and cut about a 1/4" slit at each top corner of the triangle. Be careful not all the way through to the top.

Repeat with all of your triangles.

Next, thread the ribbon trough each slit. You can have the ribbon in the front of the triangle like I did, or you can have it in the back. They are both equally stable. Be sure to leave a small "tail" at the end and beginning of the bunting for hanging purposes.

Keep threading your triangles through until your bunting is as long as you'd like.

Here you can see both bunting versions. I'm holding my mini no-sew version, and hung above me is the sewing machine version. Both are perfectly adorable and ready for your next celebration.

I hope your new year is off to as great of a start as ours is! Cheers to you and yours!

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Christmas House Tour

2016-01-10T14:00:00.003-08:00

Decorating our home for the holidays has been one of my favorite things of 2015. I really did try to be frugal and not spend every last penny on decor, but there's something about Target that sucks me in like no other store. I managed to not spend every last penny on Christmas items and made it home with just a few pops of red to brighten our home for December.

Here are a few pictures of around the house. I'm already missing all the joyous red and green, but now that it's a new year, I have some fun new plans to bring color into our home.

Of course, Lou's stocking is hung front and center. He even managed to get quite a few Christmas gifts this year. He must have been a pretty good dog.

I've loved changing out the filler in these apothecary jars for every season. It's such a fun way to bring in a little extra color into the kitchen.

What fun it's been celebrating our first Christmas together in the house! We're excited for many more to come.

Our First Thanksgiving

2015-12-06T14:01:00.001-08:00

We've spent a lot of time looking forward to this time of year. When we first started the process of building a home a little over a year ago, we dreamed of what the holidays would be like. It's crazy how fast time flies, and I can't believe that time is now! We kicked off the holiday season by hosting Thanksgiving in our home for the first time.

With 21 hungry guests, we had our hands full getting the house ready for such a crowd. Of course, I had the most fun decorating.

I got the cute "Give Thanks" banner on Etsy. It was the perfect finishing touch to the mantel.

We opted for paper plates to make the clean-up easier. I was SO glad for this when it was time to do the dishes. I found these cute pumpkin plates at Hobby Lobby for 50% off.

These apothecary jars ended up being my favorite part of all our fall decor. They were all purchased at Hobby Lobby and filed with split peas, corn, and black beans. It was such a fun, simple centerpiece that I can use again and again. I'll be filling them up with red ornaments for a fun Christmas pop of color.

We were so fortunate to receive this large, beautiful table from Brandon's grandfather as a wedding gift. With both leaves (leafs?) in and some folding chairs borrowed from my sister, the table comfortably sat 10 people.

We counted the day a success with a TON of food, drinks, and laughter. I even took some video, so that we could always remember the day.

Brandon, with the help of a friendly neighbor and his dad, was able to get the house lit up for Christmas. We decided on a white and red alternating pattern, and we just love how it turned out.

Of course, now we can't wait for Christmas! What kind of traditions do you have in your home? We're anxious to start some of our own as we celebrate our first Christmas as a married couple. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Wishing you Christmas blessings from our family to yours!

How to Make Your Couch Look Like New : A Tutorial

2015-09-20T09:06:00.001-07:00

When we moved into our new house, I spent a lot of time contemplating our couch. It's the first couch that I bought after college, and while it's served us well and is incredibly comfy, it looked like this:

No amount of fluffing or beating the cushions seemed to make a difference. I thought that surely we'd just have to buy a new couch. In a last-ditch effort, I googled "tricks to make your couch like new", and I came across some tricks that actually work!

They took my couch from this:

To this:

From this saggy mess:

To straight-from-the-delivery-truck:

Seriously, it's like new again. I did this in preparation for our housewarming party in July. I had friends and family asking me if the couch was a new buy. Two months later, now, the couch is holding up exceptionally well, still looking like new.

Here is how I did it.

I stripped down all of the seat cushions to just the inserts. The covers went straight into the wash on a low-heat setting (Don't skip this step- It makes a big difference!).

This is what the cushions looked like without the covers, a thick foam covered in a batting and an interfacing material on top.

Over time, the cushion start to lose their fluff. This is what causes the couch to look saggy and old. The insert has been sat on over and over again and been sandwiched into oblivion.

All they need is a little more "fluff" to restore them to their former glory. Using the thickest quilt batting I had on hand, I wrapped each seat cushion like a present.

I used just a little of this to help the batting stay in place.

Then I put the interfacing material back around the cushion.

Once the covers were dry, I slipped the cushions back in and moved on to the back cushions.

The back cushions are built a little differently. They are really just pillow inserts within the cushion cover.

I found some extra pillow inserts I had on hand so that I could use the poly-filling inside. You could also just buy a bag of poly-filling at a craft store (or Amazon).

Using the filling from my extra pillow insert, I unzipped the back cushion and stuffed it with some additional filling. I think I ended up using the filling from a 16" x 16" pillow insert for each back cushion. I just kind of kept going until the cushion felt full.

Finally, I gave the whole couch a vacuuming, and I was done!

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Settling In

2015-09-01T17:19:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I shared pictures of our finished house with you. Here are a few more pictures of the rooms with furniture. It's still very much a work-in-progress, but we're really pleased with the progress we've made so far. We're looking forward to adding more furniture and decor items over the years. There are some empty rooms now, but we know that slowly it will all come together, and it will feel more and more like home!

Our favorite and most-used room. Somehow, even with 2 extra bedrooms, a den, and a study, wee find ourselves hanging in the family room.

I've used this wall in the breakfast nook to showcase vintage recipes. The frames are called Kingston from Pier One.

Some of are favorite recipes from our grandmothers and great grandmothers. Others I found on Etsy as a filler until I can fill the wall with genuine, family recipes.

Moving from our apartment to the house has been such a relief in so many ways, but my biggest and brightest happiness has come from cooking in my new kitchen. There is so much more room, and I do not think I can go back to cooking on an electric stove! We are so happy to have the extra room to make delicious meals in.

We'll be hosting Thanksgiving for the first time this year. We're hoping to complete our dining room before then, but for now we're letting it come together slowly.

Again, I used Kingston frames from the Pier One clearance section to fill up this wall in the dining room. This display is to show off some of our favorite wedding pictures.

Brandon's study is another work-in-progress that we hope to complete in the next few months.

This our "den"or second living room.

We've yet to host an overnight guest, but we'll be ready for them when we do!

One more extra bedroom that we're trying really hard to not fill with junk.

I love our bedroom and the immediate feeling of relaxation I get when I walk through the door.

The curtains are Kalah Blue Ikat by Duralee. I lined them with blackout lining fabric which makes them perfect for blocking out all that early morning sun on the weekends.

Finally, here is our little square of concrete in the backyard. It's just big enough for the furniture we already had.

Thanks for stopping by! (:

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We're Home.

2015-08-30T12:36:00.002-07:00

It's finished! Actually, we've been living in it for a few weeks now and are starting to feel pretty settled. I figured it was time for an update after my the original progress post.

Here she is all finished. We have big plans for front landscaping next year, but for now we're just happy to have a yard for Lou to run around in.

To pick up from where I left off on my last progress post, here's the house after getting spray foam insulation.

Soon after, drywall was installed and it became so much more real.

Fireplace is installed.

Then, bricking began.

Pretty soon, we had trim and paint!

And our hazelnut glazed white cabinets. WHAT.

More progress in the master bath...

Time to pour the concrete...

And BAM! We blinked, and it was done!

The flooring really brought it all together.

What do you think? We LOVE it! Coming from a one-bedroom apartment, we are so appreciative of all the extra room. Every now and then, I catch myself walking around smiling and just taking it all in. We are so happy with how everything turned out. I'll be sharing pictures of all the rooms with furniture in them soon. We've put a lot of time into hanging pictures, curtains, new light fixtures, etc. and we're excited to show off our hard work.

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Building our Dream Home

2015-03-16T18:17:00.003-07:00

Thanks so much for your congratulations on building our home. We are beyond excited to live in the finished product! Of course, I've taken to my "home" Pinterest board lately and have been dreaming away of what I'd like our place to look like.

Here's what has been on my mind lately...(click the picture for the source)

Warm white kitchens with golden toned granite

Round, intimate kitchen tables

Built-in mudrooms...

Grand entryways...

Cozy office spaces...

Organized pantries...

Inviting guest bathrooms with tall, to the ceiling shower curtains (genius, right?)...

And for the master bedroom, I'm thinking of....indigo ikat curtains with creamy-tone accents

Complimented with more indigo toned pillows

and a dreamy linen headboard

It's enough to keep a girl up way past her bedtime. I've just ordered my curtain fabric, and my fingers are itching to get some drapes sewn up!

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Other Big News

2015-03-11T22:19:00.002-07:00

Thank you so much for all of your congratulations and well wishes on our wedding! We are so happy to be in this phase of life. We do have a little bit of other big news that I have held out on. In October, Brandon and I started the process of building our first home together. We will be moving from the apartment to our starter home in mid-May! We are absolutely ecstatic and cannot wait to ditch the renter's life for a more permanent residence that we can call our own. For me, that means I have stacks of DIY projects on my to-do list. Sewing up drapes for each room, building a small mudroom, and creating art to showcase in each room are just some of the projects I have up my sleeve. Yep, it's time to dust off the old sewing machine and put it to good use!

In the meantime, I thought I'd share a few pictures of the house progress. I always love to see how quickly homes are built! It's been such a fun process so far. We can't wait to share the finished product.

We started with a little bit of pre-foundation framing. It's amazing how exciting it is to see a few boards nailed together when you know it's the start of your own home.

This one is looking at the back of the house, toward our neighbors across the street.

Then, before we knew it, we had a real live foundation to walk on!

Yay! Concrete is so exciting!

Lou thinks it's pretty exciting too.

Clearly...

Soon after the foundation was poured, they started the framing process.

Then, right after we got back from our honeymoon, we drove up to this beauty and just about lost it. It looks like a real house now!

It's tough convey a sense of the floor plan with these pictures, but it will be a 3 bedroom (with an optional 4th that we will use as a formal living room) and 2 bathroom house. Brandon will have his in-home office, and I'll have an extra bedroom to do my crafting in.

Of course, this is my favorite area of the house. This is standing in the main living room looking toward the kitchen. Six big, tall windows stand letting the natural light pour in, just like I like it.

This is standing in the "breakfast nook" looking into the kitchen.

And here I am standing in the living room, giddy as can be.

The master, again more natural light. There's even a small window seat there, ready for lounging.

Finally, here's a quick peak of the garage with the small storage area.

...

We're Married!

2015-02-28T20:58:00.000-08:00

When I first started this blog in 2011, I knew that it might follow me through some of the major milestones of my life. In fact, I had a hunch that one day I'd be able to share about my engagement and marriage news with my high school sweetheart, Brandon. Well, here we are. Last weekend, on February 21, 2015, we tied the knot in Buda, Texas at a venue called Le San Michele.

I hope you'll humor me in allowing me to share a few of my favorite pictures from our photographer, Jillian Zamora. She really did an amazing job capturing the spirit of the day. It was utterly blissful and undoubtedly the best day I've known so far. I'm so happy to be a Mrs. and to finally move on to this more permanent stage of life.

Gah, so much happy.

A moment I'll never forget was dancing with my dad to our song, Isn't She Lovely. Absolutely tear-jerking.

We're on to the next, hand-in-hand, loving and appreciating the simple blisses of life.

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Chalk Letters and Canvas

2015-02-10T16:22:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago I shared my Anthropologie knock-off zinc letters. After making and loving them, I decided to try another variation: chalkboard letters!

This year I'm teaching writing and social studies, so "WRITE" was the perfect word to display in my classroom.

It's the perfect topper for my writing binder shelf!

Here's what I started with. These are from Hobby Lobby for a couple of dollars each.

You'll also need some chalkboard paint. Here is what I used.

Start with two generous coats of chalkboard paint on each letter.

The paint bottle gives instructions to prime your chalkboard. With a the chalk flat against the letter, rub the chalk until your letter is covered.

This is what brings your chalkboard letters to life. I made sure to be heavy on the edges and corners.

Wipe away the excess with a soft cloth.

See the difference?

Fast and easy.

With the leftover paint, I decided to create a chalkboard canvas.

Now I have a fun piece of art to hang on my wall!

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Gold Glitter Art

2015-02-03T20:09:00.000-08:00

I love simple projects that provide instant gratification. This is one of those. This took about an hour from beginning to end, but now I have a fun piece of artwork for my bathroom.

I started with a primed wooden cradle board. These were on sale at Michaels for 50% off.

Using my favorite gold spray paint, I gave the board a couple of coats.

This is the same spray paint I used here and here. It's quickly turning out to be one of my favorite crafting tools.

Using my Silhouette, I selected a design and applied the vinyl securely to the dried board.

A little Mod Podge...

...plus a healthy dose of glitter, and I was done!

Ready for its new place on the bathroom counter.

As for the other boards, they made great drawer organizers. (:

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Watermark Tee Tutorial: Glue Batik

2015-01-19T15:26:00.002-08:00

I've made it my goal for 2015 to blog at least once a week (on Sunday). As I've been searching for content to share on the blog, it occurred to me that I've never shared my "Watermark Tee" tutorial on my own blog. This was originally a project that I shared on the blog, UCreate. It has been, hands-down, my most popular project. I still get regular traffic from the post I shared on Kari's blog. I even won a Silhouette with this little project. For some reason, though, I've never shared it on my own blog.

It seems like, 3 years later, it's about time.

This really is a fun little project that is pretty easy to get supplies for. A lot of people have contacted me and let me know that it was the perfect project for their kids/grandkids or to make t-shirts for an event. It's cheap, easy, and a lot of fun. Sounds great, right?!

What I love about this project is that it's completely customizable. I used favorite quotes to decorate my shirt but you could also use song lyrics, bible verses, favorite book excerpts, etc. You can also choose whatever color you like. I think it would be a very kid-friendly project as well. There are so many possibilities!

Materials:

Elmer's Blue Gel Glue (it must be the blue gel, white won't work)

Fabric Dye (RIT is my tried and true brand)

A white cotton Tee, Tank, Dress etc.

Tutorial:

If you're unfamiliar with Batiking, it's a method of dyeing fabric in which you create a design with a dye- resist. When you dye your garment in cold water, all will be colored except where you've placed your dye resist. In traditional batiking, you would use wax as a resist. I tried this out and found it to be messy and difficult to control. Using store bought glue is much more convenient and very easy to control.

Step 1: Prepare

Wet your tee with cool water and place a water resistant board between the layers of fabric. I used the lid of a bin.

Step 2: Design

I'm not much of an artist, so what worked best for me was writing favorite quotes right across the front of the shirt.

This quote was found via Pinterest

Source

You could also try drawing a simple design like my very amateur sailboat:

Let dry completely. This will take several hours.

Step 3: Dye

Your dye bath should be prepared using cool water. Experiment with different amounts of dye until you find the right concentration. Keep in mind that the color that comes out of the dye bath will be a couple of shades darker than the dry, finished garment.

When you get the color you want, lay your tee flat to dry.

Step 4: Wash

When your tee is dry (to let the dye set) soak it in cool, soapy water for about 15 minutes. This soak washes the extra glue out. Throw it in the washer and dry as you would normally.

Step 5: Wear and Enjoy!

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Zinc Letters: Anthropologie Inspired

2015-01-11T20:49:00.003-08:00

We've all seen those beautiful zinc letters from Anthropologie with just the right amount of industrial charm. For $18 a pop, I decided to pass on the real thing, but I did make myself a nice cheap knock-off.

Anthro's version: $18 each

My version: $3 each

Starting with some $2 cardboard letters from Hobby Lobby, I used an Exacto knife to cut a little slot for each brad. I thought the brads gave the letters a little more authenticity, like they had been welded together or something,

Once each brad was in place, each letter got a double coating of Krylon Stainless Steel.

I used a black chalkboard paint for "grease" and a copper acrylic paint for "rust" to give each letter its own character.

Brushing off almost all the paint on to a plate before touching the letter helped me not to over do the distressing.

I focused on the corners and edges, to give the letters a more "worn" look.

By the end, I swear they looked like real metal. For now, I'll let them add a little industrial charm to the top of my mirror. Maybe they'll give me the nudge I need to pick up a book every now and then and work on that growing stack on my nightstand. I always have good intentions when I buy a book.

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Greetings, 2015

2015-01-04T12:10:00.003-08:00

I love the fresh feeling of a new year, full of possibility. This is one that I've particularly been looking forward to. Not only am I almost back to 100% following my MPFL surgery, but I'm planning a wedding! My high-school sweetheart, Brandon, proposed in the sweetest possible way. He organized an Italian dinner under an umbrella with pictures of us through the years streaming down, tickets to my favorite musical, Les Mis, and a champagne after-party with my family. Talk about romantic. He's the one who is usually behind the camera in all of my posts and my biggest supporter.

After our engagement, we took some pictures with our photographer, Jillian Zamora. Check her out if you're in the DFW area. And if it's alright with you, I'm going to shamelessly share some of the beautiful pictures she took.

Yep, 2015 is going to be a good year. I can't wait to finally marry this handsome fellow at our February Austin wedding. I have a feeling 2015 is going to bring other great things too. One of my New Year's resolutions is to start blogging regularly again. I can't wait to share with you!

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MPFL Reconstructive Knee Surgery

2014-07-01T11:11:00.000-07:00

What a crazy year it has been! When I say year, I'm referring to this past school year. I successfully finished my first year as a teacher! I have had such a wonderful experience as a first-year teacher and have had so many supportive co-workers to help me along the way, but they're not lying when they tell you first year is the hardest. I have met and grown close to some of the best people in this position, and I am so excited to start my second year in with all of the skills and knowledge I've gained over the last 10 months!

Meanwhile, I'm taking some time to relax with a little extra weight to drag around, hence the giant mass that is my right leg.

Yesterday, I went in for a Medial Patellofemoral Ligament Reconstructive Surgery, or MPFL for short. I've had an issue that started when I was very young where my patella will go out of place without any warning. My doctor was able to see the that my femoral groove is exceptionally shallow, and after that first fateful dislocation, my MPFL just hasn't been able to keep it in place properly. Each displacement over the years has resulted in a hard fall and usually some bumps or bruises to show for it. It even happened last summer when I was dressed for a formal night on a cruise. I was wearing a cocktail dress and heels. When I fell my dress flipped right up, giving everyone behind me a nice little show. (;

Needless to say, I'm excited to rid myself of this issue and move on with a little more peace of mind. I'm ready to enjoy an active lifestyle without worrying about my knee constantly. Here's a picture of me from a recent trip to San Francisco with a dear friend. We hiked downhill into Muir Woods, and I couldn't help but look at my feet the whole time to make sure I was being extra careful. A tumble down a mountain would not have been pretty!

And so here we are on the day of surgery about to go into the operating room! I'm trying to hide my nerves with a smile, but really I was pretty scared. Thankfully, Brandon was there to hold my hand and give me a kiss before they wheeled me in.

Here's the before picture of my knee. I haven't been able to see what it looks like now yet. In a couple of days, I should be able to take off the dressing and take a real shower. Woo hoo! (:

This is precisely what I look like right now. I'm lucky that my dad has this nice recliner. It's perfect for giving my leg a little elevation.

Of course, I've got my little buddy by my side. It's funny how dogs seem to know when you're not a 100%. He's been sleeping right along side me, surely willing me to get better soon. (:

I'd appreciate your good thoughts and prayers to a speedy recovery! If you have any advice on how to avoid going completely stir-crazy, please let me know! This whole reclining, reading, watching t.v., surfing the web thing will only be fun for so long!

...

Handmade Gifts Part Two

2013-12-10T20:36:00.002-08:00

I've posted about handmade gifts in the past, hence the "Part Two" tag of this post. In this post, I linked some fantastic DIY gift ideas that are great when you're in a pinch.

We were hit with an insane ice storm this weekend. I mean parking lots turned into ice skating rinks and every square inch was covered with at least 3 inches of ice. I have never seen anything like it. Being that Texans are completely ill-prepared to handle the ice, my weekend turned into a 5 day hiatus. Basically a stay-in-your-house-because-you-can't-even-get-out-of-your-driveway event. I'll admit I was going a bit stir-crazy. One afternoon, a friend who lives close and I ventured out for a quick trip to Walmart for some much-needed supplies. All was well until we met the highway bridge. Our lives may or may not have flashed before our lives as we creeped along the bridge losing traction every few seconds. Thankfully we made it through and I was able to get the supplies for my 5th consecutive Chocolate Covered Pretzel-a-thon! Every year I roll up my sleeves, break out the baking supplies, and painstakingly dip pretzels into chocolate one at a time. By the end of it my back is aching and I'm covered in chocolate with my hair thrown back in a messy bun, but I have saved myself a ton of trouble/money in buying gifts for people. This week's unexpected interruption provided the perfect time to take on this feat.

After letting my pretzels spend the night setting, I set up a gift station. My jars were purchased in groups of 4 at Walmart, and I kept the decoration pretty minimalist with a kraft paper label and some yarned turned into "poufs".

Using this tutorial, I created a dozen yarn pom poms ready to be tied on for adornment.

I tied the yarn in a simple bow so that my recipients might choose to reuse the yarn on their own gifts.

A hand-written note attached with glue dots, and I had one gift complete!

Pretty soon, I had one for each person on my list.

When I ran out of pretzels I opted to fill the last couple of jars with Hershey's Kisses.

I loved how this one turned out. The blue jar with the red bow is such a pretty combination.

Oh what? You want to see what Louie looks like in his grandpa sweater? Here you go, my friend. (:

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10 Golden Pumpkins

2013-10-19T10:33:00.000-07:00

I'm still on a gold spray-painting spree, but this time I'm combining it with my love of all things Autumn.

Also, I found the holy grail of gold spray paint. Forget that Krylon nonsense, Rustoleum is the way to go. This is my new go-to. It goes on incredibly smoothly, and it's so shiny! I found it at Walmart for about $6.

This took me about a half hour last weekend, and now I have all of these beautiful, inexpensive decorations for Fall. It occurred to me later that I could have used plastic, store-bought pumpkins to have these decorations for years to come. Oh well, next time!

It should be mentioned that I am shamelessly copying this idea from Anthropologie. How lovely would this be for a dinner party?

I started out with 10 little orange pumpkins.

I really could not believe how smoothly this went on.

And look how shiny and pretty!

Once they were dry, I scattered them about my apartment.

On a side note, did you know that magic eraser gets rid of sharpie lines on pumpkins?

Look how nice this guy turned out.

I hope you're enjoying the season as much as I am! (:

Paint ALL the things!

2013-07-14T23:13:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I'll have an idea and it will just take off in my brain. This particular idea came to me while shopping at Michael's the other day. And of course once it was in my head, there was no turning back. I happen to lack all self control when shopping for craft supplies. I like to think I'm saving money because I could buy something comparable for a much higher price, but often the reality is that I spend money that I never needed to spend in the first place. This logic plays in my mind in all of the following (but not limited to) stores: Hobby Lobby, Michael's, Joann. I can spend money on fabric and paint like nobody's business. Now that I've got a classroom to decorate, I have seemingly no restraint.

via Hyperbole and a Half

It started with this section at Michael's. I needed a little plastic moose for a little boy's preschool graduation celebration, and while searching I had the idea to give some of these guys a little makeover. I am loving gold these days and recently heard about Krylon's gold metallic spray. If there is one thing I have learned from following craft blogs, it's that spray paint has the power to transform anything and everything. It's quite seriously a crafter's best friend. I thought some of these animal friends might look nice in coat of gold, of course figuring I can find a place for them somewhere in my classroom.

Then I started picking up anything and everything I saw that I thought might look nice in gold. Picture frames, tins, an urn, a lamp, you name it. Before I knew it I had a cart that looked like this:

And I left the store scratching my head about how I just dropped $50 on supplies I didn't even need. Grr.

Anyways, I made it home with this pack of unlikely friends.

And quite honestly, a whole bunch of other random stuff.

Armed with 1 can of Krylon gold metallic paint, I had quite the day painting.

Everything got a coat of white paint first.

Followed by a couple of gold coats.

A few hours later these were my results. What I love about this paint is that it really does leave a metallic look to your subject. These figurines really do look like they are made of metal.

My little clearance urn went from a shiny green, to a cool gold.

These cheapy $1 plastic frames made a total transformation.

The best part was finding places for my new little treasures. My apartment was in need of a little touch of gold.

Moral of the story is don't go overboard on an idea. But really who am I kidding? I'm a craftaholic by nature. Good thing I've got that job thing now. I could use some money coming in for a change (;

Big News

2013-07-02T14:30:00.000-07:00

Friends, I've been holding out on some very big things happening in my life lately. First of all I graduated from my beloved Texas A&M this May with my degree in elementary education. It was an incredibly proud moment in my life. The last four years have flown by faster than I could have imagined. I also passed all my certification exams and am now certified to teach K-6 in Texas.

And the even more exciting news is......I got a job!!

I was incredibly blessed and fortunate to land the first job that I interviewed for. It was also my first choice for a number of reasons. It's literally 2 minutes from home. Hooray for no traffic mornings! I'll be teaching 4th grade language arts, which is the grade level I student taught in and have the most experience in. I also love that I get to focus exclusively on teaching reading and writing. The kids will have a homeroom class and will move together to three different teachers, myself included.

And finally, it is a brand new school in a fantastic district. And when I say new, I mean new. They're still in the process of construction right now. Here's some of the progress pictures from a few weeks ago.

This will be the front office/administration office area.

This will be the library, right at the front of the school.

Here's what we'll be a beautiful courtyard in the middle of the school.

And this is my favorite part. This is the incredible view we'll get from the back of the school. Gotta love those Texas plains.

And last, but certainly not least, here are pictures of what my classroom may look like. All of the rooms have virtually the same design. Plenty of room, plenty of natural light, and lots of storage.

This is the wall where my board will be.

The window area over in the corner will likely be my reading nook.

This was a feature that had me scratching my head for a while. I later found out that this little secondary room connects two classrooms together, and can be used for any number of things. We'll have tables in there and can use it as a workspace for kids, perform assessments, etc. Each room will have some kind of foldable wall to close off the space if needed.

LOVE these big, dark cabinets.

Looking out one of the windows from the flex space room. Good reference to see just how HUGE these windows will be. Bring on the natural light!

Rest assured I will keep you updated on the progress of my classroom. When I finally get my keys in August, I will be a mad woman, decorating like crazy. I've decided on a forest/woodland creatures theme. Plenty of trees and apples decor along with cozy, reading themes. I've been collecting fabric with plans of sewing giant squishy floor pillows, a colorful bunting for across the room, and maybe some curtains and seat cushions as well. It's going to be a busy summer!

Oh and teacher friends (or non-teacher friends) please, please send any great first-year teacher resources my way. I'm especially interested in 4th L.A. lesson plans and resources.

...

Spring Clean

2013-05-28T12:09:00.002-07:00

I finally got around to organizing my craft supplies. I put it off when I first moved in and before I knew it my closet looked like this:

Everything was in boxes, making it impossible to find when I really needed it. And of course that made me less inclined to do any projects. I decided I had to come up with a system and utilize all the space I have in my master closet.

This is what I came up with:

It may be tough to see with my poor lighting, but each bin has a label and houses a different category of supplies.

I LOVE this form of organization because I actually stick to it! When I need to put something away, I just find the category bin it belongs in and toss it in. There's no painstaking straightening and organizing everytime I want to clean up. And it's just as easy to find what I need. Another plus is that all of the supplies needed were less than $100 at WalMart.

I got a couple of these at Walmart for only $15 each. They're not amazing quality, but they are solid enough to do the job I needed them to do.

Once I had assembled the shelves and put them in the closet, I spent time making some labels for the linen baskets. They were just $5 each at Walmart. They're nice and durable and I love that they have an easy way to label them.

It started out rough. I emptied my boxes that had previously held all of my supplies and tried to come up with a system.

I knew I had enough paint, thread, and fabric to constitute having their own bins. Then I had to start grouping everything else together in a way that made sense to me. I spent a lot of time on the carpet going through each and every thing. I can't believe how much I've accrued over the last few years.

Of course the biggest category was scrap fabric. I have enough of that to take up a whole shelf.

Ahh starting to feel better. No real rhyme or reason to the way things are put in the bins, just kind of tossed in.

One day these projects will get done...

So much better!

A place for everything, and everything in its place.

I can't even tell you how much this has helped me. It's amazing how much more inclined I am to work on a project when I have easy access to everything I need.

And yes, there are some projects to show soon (: