Pinned it, done!

Made this cute felt tree after xmas but at least it will be ready for next year! ;)

Camera strap

I also made this camera strap!

A few accomplishments...

I love completing things! I'm not always so good at it and have way to many good ideas but here is one I finished! I ripped apart some wooden pallets and made acute potting shed for my back yard. I'm so excited!

Pinned it, Done it!

This next gift was for my sister-in-law. I really liked the color of the one I saw on Pinterest and I happened to have the same paint at home! I can't quite remember what size canvas I used but it was "big enough". :)  I painted three coats of paint onto the front and edges.

 I picked a cariety of fabrics from my stash and chose a few to be the main staple colors and then added other fabrics as the flower grew. I didn't trace the leaf shaes. They were all quickly cut as I needed them. They are also two or three different sizes. I cut and placed all the pieces.

 One by one I glued the underside and then glazed over the top with mod podge once it was in place. I painted over the entire thing including the sides around three times.

This is the finished product! I love it and it was so easy!

Pinned it, Done it!

I have finally begun doing things that I find on Pinterest. Unfortunately, they were Christmas presents and I couldn't very well post them before I had given them! So, here is my first one! Woohoo!

I saw this in the background of a picture and loved it at first sight. There wasn't any tutorial so I will share what I did...
I decided to use two 11x14in canvases. I chose colors that would match my parents house versus the cute colors I saw on Pinterest. I painted a few layers of brown paint and decided to stop at two coats because I like the fact that I could see different tones as well as brush strokes. It almost looked wood-like.

I was hesitant about painting letters onto it because I really didn't want it to look messy. I decided to use a textured paper and, at first, I printed on practice paper. I realized it would be easier to not see the lines of the letters when I was cutting if I printed the letters on the wrong side of the textured paper! So, my husband helped me figure out how to print the mirror image on the back side of my paper.

 I used really sharp scissors to cut out the letters. I decided on spacing and laid all the letters out. Then I carefully painted mod podge on the back of each letter and placed it back in it's place. I realized I had to quickly paint/glue over the top of the letter because they started to curl.

After everything was in it's place, I painted mod podge over teh entire thing. I painted three coats. On the right is the mod podge still wet and on the left it is dry. I used glossy mod podge this time but I think next time I will buy the matte finish. I was super happy with how they turned out!  Pinned it, Done it!

The biggest nose ever!

I thought I'd stick this on here. A while back a friends and I were trying to think of new games for a carnival. We wanted the kids to stick there hand in one hole and find slime and in another, find a prize. So I thought it would be hilarious to make a huge nose.

First, I found a large piece of partical board. On a huge piece of paper I created the shape of a nose by looking at those goofy glasses with the mustache. Then, I traced it onto the board. I used a saw and cut out the nostrils. Then, I took chicken wire and started forming a nose, stapling the wire on the lines I made on the wood. Here is the chicken wire all stapled on. A view from the front and from below because it's pretty funny.




I cut strips of newspaper and mixed good 'ol fashion flour and water together to create a paste. I paper machéd the whole thing three seperate times, allowing it to dry completely before adding the next layer. Then, I mixed paints creating a skin color and painted the nose. I also painted the board, made cardboard glasses, painted a mustache, and found fur for the eyebrows! Voilá! The greatest nose ever! Well, I guess that depends on what you consider a great nose...

Refinishing Project

Well, a while back I chose a new comforter for Aiden's bed once we knew we were moving to help give me direction on what I would ultimately do to his new room. I am one step closer to a beach room for him. He has had a loft bed for a while but with his small room I really want to make it lighter in color and washed white to look even more beachy. I do have the drawers to finish (and you can see the color comparison from the drawer fragments on the ladder picture.) I am super happy with the results! I will eventually paint his room but the living space is first on the list of things to paint. I will put up new window treatments and turn his loft into a cabana with hanging "walls." I won't try and explain. I'll just post pics once it's done, after the drawers. Stay tuned.

Here we are

Life has been a huge whirlwind. The everyday life mixed with a lot of visiting Ryan and Jess, hosting Andy and his family for a month plus bonus family members, photography, mission trip, more visiting with family and friends, camping with family, Emma's first summer camp, new pta duties, Faith Quest. The list goes on.... All those things are just things until you mix in a whirlwind of emotions with regards to Ryan's health, Jones' health, Jess and the entire families well being and mental state. Then just having all those places to be while laundry continues to pile, dinners have to be thought about and actually prepared... You get the picture. It's been a loaded three months. And now... Now, the kids have all started at new schools. Emma at her new middle school and the other kids at Wildwood Elementary next to our house. No more dropping off and picking up children. Emma rides the bus and the other two walk. But even now, as life seems simpler and the days have routine, the sun begins to disappear. What seems to have brightened my spirits as the birds chirped and the sunny crisp air wafted through the window is now dreary and dark. All of this is such a reminder that nothing is constant save for one. My hope in despair, my light in the darkness, my strength in the storm. I just don't get how people can go through life without the hope of life in Jesus. Life where communities care for each other. Life where the helpless are helped. Life full of mercy and love. Crappy things are going on all around me but I have to have hope that through each curveball, He will hold me and the hope is that others will see a redemption story lived out. Over and over and over. If we can't witness God's redemption and love story to us, the world, amidst all the crap thrown at us, then what is the point of being here? I really think that God's whole plan is to redeem us all, in the midst of our lives. Over and over and over. So, bring on the rest of September. Let's do this.

Projects

Amidst taking plenty of pictures of friends and family, I have also been working on some other fun things. The girls needed something more in their room so I did a painting to match their comforter. I also found an outdated queen headboard and repainted it for the girls' room (picture to be posted later). I'm still working on a painting for the living room that will be on hold for a little bit while we potentially move between now and Christmas! I also got the idea of making cute coffee cozies from my sis-in-law Jess and have been making them with my friend Tabitha to give to friends and teachers for Christmas. :) Assuming we do get to move I have plans on redoing our dining room table which I am very excited about! I will sand and restain the top with a dark stain and paint the rim and legs a yellowy/off white with the distressed look. I think I will also do the same to our living room side tables to bring a little flow between the rooms. They're small but I think it will work well with our leather couch. Anyways, just a bit of what I've been doing.

To live or not to live? I'm all over it!

I have been completely overwhelmed lately at my desire to be creative. I don't know if it's just that I'm in a better place emotionally or what but it's all I can think about. I have all these ideas that go through my head. I want to take pictures. I want to print and mount creatively all these different pictures on my walls. I want to paint all these different things in my head. I'm just bubbling at the seams. (Can you bubble at the seams?) Well, I can!

Anyways, the kids are just about to start school in a couple days and I am so excited for an empty house. I'm excited to have my quiet time at the beach by my house. I'm excited to exercise. I'm excited to only have one pick up time in the afternoon for the kids instead of three. I'm excited for my lunch time not to be interrupted by picking up Izzy from school. So much awaits me and I just want to be thorough and not leave things undone. I want to be able to focus all my energy and do things well. I want to unpack thoroughly and condense and repack the things we don't need right now in our smaller house. I want things on my walls. I'm just so excited about life. Whoopee!

Here are some of the things I've had printed to put up in our home. They're mounted on a special 3/4 in foam board. I've got another really cool one I'll post as well as pictures of our house. But you might have to wait a week or so. I do have to attend Faith Quest which I am also very excited about! Maybe I'm really back to blogging now. Only my posting will tell!