Printable computer art

I cannot take credit for this one....Click here to see the blog post I used to help me learn how to make this lovely computer quote. I have been wanting to add personal bible verses and quotes strategically to my house to inspire us and help us remember what is important. I've seen dozens on Pinterest or Etsy. I have tinkered with it over the past several months in Adobe and Word and nothing came out of it that I liked....until, I used this blog to help me. My one tip is to download the fonts you want with Picasa closed, so they are all there when you open it. I thought it wasn't working, I just had to close out. And of course, my new printer worked awesomely, wirelessly from the laptop! Ah, technology

Mission: Organize jewels

That my friends was my idea of jewelry organization when I had to organize and declutter before Ayla was born. Well, since then I've discovered Pinterest and having be pining for a more functional and eye-appealing way to organize my jewelry before baby boy comes. These little containers were a great way to contain the earrings in one locale but definitely not easy to find matches.  And once Ayla found them, forget it. So, I made this:

Just by going through and picking out the pairs to put on the jewelry holder was eye-opening. I found a pair I loved, but never knew I had and have never worn. 

And this fancy little holder cost me 25 cents, actually maybe less.  No kidding. I already had the purple beading wire and white spray paint. The frame was a Rescue Mission find. It's marked 25 cents because it was missing the glass (which I didn't need anyway) and frames were but one get one free that day, seriously. 

To be fair, I didn't know what I was going to use this frame for. It was a candidate for Ayla's gallery wall, but I didn't end up needing it. I pick up inexpensive materials as I find them. It makes my craft corner a cluttered mess, but saves me a trip out when I have a project I'd like to start. This is part one of three parts of mission organize jewels. So there is more to come! 

Garden's glory

Even after several years of gardening, I'm still learning what to grow and how much to use without a lot of waste. I feel like I hit the right amount of tomatoes this year. And, they are heavenly. Today, I made Caprese salad. The basil is also from the garden. Yum! 

Saving on salad

It seems that my grocery bill keeps climbing. Last week, before coupons it was nearly $200. I got it closer to $150, but I'm still looking for ways to cut back with my upcoming maternity leave. I decided to try to make my own salads. Not only does it save money, but I think it's much more fresh and healthier, too. I can sub sugar substitute, light mayo, less mayo and more vinegar, lower fat cheese, etc. Today, I made broccoli salad, thanks to my mom's recipe. 

Here it is: 

Dressing:

1 cup mayo

1/2 cup sugar 

2 Tablespoons vinegar

-----------

8 oz shredded cheddar

2 head broccoli

1 red onion

1/2 lb bacon

Just a guesstimate for non-dressing items, you can put in as much as looks good.

Ayla's big girl room

 For the longest time, I have been plotting Ayla's big girl room. I scoured Pinterest, came up with some ideas, visited tons of thrift stores, yard sales and flea markets and slowly started assembling the pieces. My goal was to come up with a shabby chic, vintage-looking pretty room for my little lady. It's really a room that I would love to sleep in, but I am sure she will, too. It still has a little work to make it complete, but I think it's ready for her, when I am ready to move her out of her nursery. The plus of this room is that it has a huge closet where we can put all of her toys and clothes and keep the room looking clean and girly. And this room was seriously very, very inexpensive. Really. You know me!

In the first photo, is the reading corner.
1. The tree is a hand-me-down from grandmother.
2. The rocking chair was a gift.
3. My dad is an avid auction goer and gets me the best deals, so I do have an insider. The little wicker shelf beside the rocking chair was probably only a dollar or two at an auction.
4. The window came from Re-Stor in Lancaster for $10. I added the bird decal (Stampin' UP) and the Dream word (A.C. Moore) for only a few dollars. It's hung with a rustic looking chain and hook I found at the Re-Stor in York for less than $1 for both.
5. The dresser was $2. Not kidding. It needed a little TLC and after fixing a few problems, I painted it white and distressed it with sand paper. The new knobs were less than $20 at Home Depot.
6. The shutter was 25 cents at a yard sale, and I added a light coat of acrylic paint.
7. The pictures on the wall were made by my crafty mother.
8. The jars and glasses came from yard sales.

 This photo shows the gallery wall...my new obsession. I love the look of these and they can be done so inexpensively. I eventually may add more, and of course replace the old advertisement in one. I can with all honesty say that this wall cost me less than $10, with most of the cost coming from the Command Strips I had to use to hang some of the frames. Most of the frames were from the York Rescue Mission Thrift Store. They were having a 50% off frame sale (as if they weren't cheap enough), so they came out to be about 25 to 50 cents each. I looked for the old gold and silver metal frames. After I got a stock-pile, I laid them all out and spray painted them in the yard. The silver tray was 50 cents at the same thrift store as well as the two small mirrors. You really can't look at something for its color or material. A coat of spray paint does wonders. I painted the silver tray with chalk board paint. I found the old sheet music at the coolest little store in York New Salem on the square. The little place is full of old books and quirky little things. He is open Fridays and Sundays. The quote and the bird on the sheet music were cut out with my beloved Cricut. The A, is really just a wooden A from the craft store and covered it with decorative paper.  Her bed is under the gallery wall, but for now it's just a mattress on the floor for safety...so I kept it out of the photo.

And the final photo is her vanity/desk/bookshelf. Who knows what she will use this for.
1. The vanity/desk was the most expensive buy ($75) and it's probably the one piece she will take the longest to use. However, I fell in love with it at Restoration Warehouse in York. It is also clear that whomever painted it knows much more about it than I do..because it's gorgeously distressed with silvers and grays.
2. The chair was the perfect color and already distressed, and again, my dad got it at an auction for a steal, I am sure.
3. The magnetic board behind the desk/vanity is my masterpiece. I used an old frame I found in my basement. I think it was part of a box lot at an auction for $1. I covered a piece of sheet metal (aluminum so it's magnetic) with fabric (a few dollars at Joann Fabric). I can't remember what I bought, but a nice gentleman at Home Depot was very helpful in finding me what I needed. It was $10. I cut it with tin snips to fit the frame.Take a magnet with you to make sure. The magnets are actually vintage buttons and old clip-on earrings I found at yard sales. I used metal cutters and glue to assemble them.
4. The bookshelf was $1 at an auction (again my dad). I cleaned it up, removed the ugly legs and distressed it.
5. The mirror above the bookshelf was $1 at a church yard sale. It was gold, and I spray painted it gray. Going with the distressed look is lovely because you don't have to worry about chipping paint or colors showing through because that adds to its charm.
5. The silver frames on the book shelf were 50 cents each at same church yard sale. I added some acrylic white paint. I have to find something cool to put in them.
6. The top shelf has old children's books I've collected over the years.
7. The middle shelf has a large food can I covered with decorative paper, as well as a frame I painted with chalk board paint.
8. The plastic storage bin are from the Dollar Tree. $1 of course.

Overall, I am pleased with the room. Of course, I don't think it looks much like the lovely ideas I had in my head or the dazzling photos on Pinterst, but it's unique and there is no other room like it. I put a lot of love into it and used many items from family that mean a lot.

Pinterest Craft Party

Of course my addiction to Pinterest started nearly two years ago when my tech savvy sister told me to sign up before most people knew about it. I have always loved to craft, DIY and decorate on a dime, and Pinterest fuels my obsession even more. I'd been eyeing so many projects but never had time to sit down and tackle until I proposed to my lovely sisters-in-law that we set aside a day together and each bring a craft. I love that you can see something you would love to try and just save it for later on the World Wide Web! That saves the extra paper clutter in my house. With the four of us being artsy, crafty and a whole bunch of other adjectives...we came up with some really great projects. We each brought the supplies and ideas for one (or two) crafts and worked away. Mod Podge was the theme of the day. We LOVE that stuff. Here is what we came up with.

Sam: Distressed chalkboard frames. We cleaned and spray painted the glass of some Goodwill picture frames with spray chalkboard paint. Some of us distressed the wood with spray paint. We also embellished with a T-shirt flower and rolled up ribbon.   

 

Hannah: Hannah brought a variety of really cool glass containers and a stack of magazines. We each chose a theme and cut out magazine parts and used Mod Podge to adhere them to the bottles. They turned out really unique.

 

Lindsey: Lindsey brought mugs. We each researched our favorite Bible verse or quote and wrote on the mugs with Sharpie. After baking the mug, it's supposed to be permanent. She also brought a large bag of T-shirts and we made T-shirt headbands. With a little practice, these things are the coolest. She also showed me how to make a T-shirt flower (as seen on the Jesus chalkboard), but I ran out of steam to try that one.

Me: I brought the canvas for quotes. We each chose a quote or verse that we loved, cut the letters out of decorative paper on the Cricut and pasted them to the canvas with Mod Podge. I love how we each chose something to make ours different and stand out. Sam used her paper snow flakes as a stencil before she sprayed her canvas pink and I used a mixture of light blue and gray spray paint to make mine a little textured. Hannah used decorative paper and Lindsey used the Cricut to add a bird and branch. I also brought large aluminum cans and covered it with decorative paper. They make for great storage on shelves and in cupboards.

 

Can't wait to do it again!

Storage bin beauty

It's been my mission to organize like crazy. I've always been really organized, but it's not always been incorporated into my decor. Thanks to all the glory of the Internet, I've been inspired. Here is my latest..Amazon boxes into storage bins. It's super easy. All it took was an search for homemade bins and a million ideas, videos and blogs come up. This requires a little sewing, but it's so forgiving if you are not perfect!