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Thursday, June 30, 2011

{vroom vroom}

You know what's better than a good DIY project?

A free one!

By free I mean that I already had all of the supplies, most of them for so long now that I don't remember what I paid for them. So in my mind, that made them free. :)

Now on to the project. Ben's room needed some more art, and something to cover up the radio/intercom system on his wall. I wanted it to be graphic and bold, and coordinate with his car bedding. So I took a cue from the words on his comforter...


And I gathered my supplies:

  • 16x20 art canvas
  • light blue craft paint
  • discarded CVS card (I'll show you how this comes in handy in a sec)
  • paint brush
  • pencil
  • patterned paper
  • white paper
  • mod podge


I downloaded a free font from dafont.com that reminded me of the font on the bedding, and printed out the word "vroom" in the size I wanted. Then I cut out the letters, traced them onto my patterned paper {backwards on the back of the paper} and cut them out again.

To paint the canvas, I used a little trick that I learned from Melody Ross to speed up the process. I squirted a long line of paint across one end of the canvas, and used the side of my CVS card to drag the paint across it...


 This technique gives you an even and thin coat of paint super quickly, and it dries a lot faster. Considering I started this project when the boys were begging me to play with them, tricks like this are a lifesaver. I then used a paint brush to do the edges of the canvas and do the finish coat.

Once the paint was dry, I laid out my letters and some cute clouds I free-handed on white paper on the canvas. Once I had the arrangement I wanted, I used my new best friend mod podge to glue everything down, making sure I covered the entire front of the canvas with a thin coat of glue.

And here is the finished canvas!


It really gives his room the pop of color I was looking for. And I'm so proud that I was able to create this without going out and buying a single thing!


You never know what you might have laying around your house that you could turn into awesome art.

And I think Ben likes it too..


Linking up with...




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{what are you looking at?}

Thanks to my sweet friend Beth, I know have a new time suck in addition to the plethora of blogs in my Google  Reader, and of course we can't forget Pinterest.

Introducing craftgawker.

It is a lot like Pinterest, but just crafts. Yeah. Addictive.

Here are a few that caught my eye today...
Beth's gorgeous succulent wreath tutorial...


This bohemian chic hair clip...


And I want to make a batch of this citrus scrub...


I figured if I had another distraction, my friends should join in as well!

You're welcome. ;)

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Tuesday, June 28, 2011

{flower re-arranging}

Last weekend when I had my 8 hours of crafty bliss, I got a sweet surprise at the front door...


Flowers from my Mom!

I immediately wanted to take out the lovely daisies and other yellow flowers and add them to the mantle with my new chalkboard...


The rest of the flowers {and there were a lot in that little basket!} made it into two of my milk glass pieces on the dining room table...


I enjoyed the flowers so much more this way...and it didn't hurt to get an issue of BHG in the mail that day as well! 


Do you keep fresh flowers around the house?It is amazing how a few blooms can really cheer up a space.

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Linking up with...

Todays Creative Blog

Monday, June 27, 2011

{all aboard!}

It seems like we are adding a lot of new furniture and decor items to the house these days. This technically shouldn't qualify, but it is big enough to be furniture and it is technically a table...


Yep...a train table! They have become OB.SESSED. with Thomas over the past few months, so when my parents offered to get them one for their birthday, it was a no brainer.


The boys LOVE it. And it keeps them occupied {especially Ben} for long periods of time so Mom and Dad love it too. :) I really enjoy watching them use their imagination and make up little stories with the trains.


And I have been wanting a new coffee table.


But seriously...this bad boy will be finding a new home soon, hopefully in Landon's room.

Are your kids obsessed with trains and Thomas as much as our L&B?


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Saturday, June 25, 2011

{DIY chalkboard}

I have a super easy chalkboard DIY project to share with you today.

When I originally created it, I was inspired by a few images I discovered on Pinterest...





I wanted to create a chalkboard for our mantel, and include a similar "family rules" sentiment. So by using a frame I already owned, a can of chalkboard spray paint, and some craft paint and mod podgee, I came up with this...


Wanna see where this chalkboard started out? The frame had been in storage since we moved to this house two years ago, so it felt like a freebie.


Not much to look at, right?

To transform the frame to a chalkboard, I picked up a can of chalkboard spray paint from Hobby Lobby {$6 after my 40% off coupon}...


And gave the glass two good, even coats...


And gave it 24 hours to dry per the instructions on the can. 

Then I gave the frame three coats of blue craft paint from my stash, followed by a coat of mod podge to seal it...and voila!


Since I created the chalkboard, our fireplace has undergone a small makeover with a nice white painted mantel, and the chalkboard has been so much fun to personalize for the seasons...


Its currently living on our entryway table and is a great place for encouraging greetings to both start and end the day...



I hope this has inspired you to create your own chalkboard!

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Tuesday, June 21, 2011

{8 hours}

I had the house to myself for 8 hours yesterday.

And I made a big mess...



That's right friends, I got a day alone at the house to scrapbook and drink coffee, among other lovely things.

It might sound odd, but I struggled with being alone for that long. I used to sit in my scrapbook room {yes, I had a scrapbook room*} for hours and work on pages, but for the past three years my life has been so full and busy that taking this much time for myself feels weird and selfish. But I pushed through the weirdness and finished quite a few pages. Here are a some of my favorites...





Huge thanks to my hubby for taking the boys to their Gigi's house for the day so I could create. Yeah...he's a keeper. :)

*And just for nostalgia's sake...here was my scrapbooking space in our first house...


It was a little piece of heaven.

Did you create anything over the weekend? Please share!

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