Love is in the air

I haven't decorated for Valentine's Day in a few years. Frankly I'm usually too exhausted from Christmas to even think about decorating again, but I was inspired this year by all the cute stuff out there. So, here is a sneak peak at one of the things I've been working on.

The first thing is this cute little "LOVE" display. I just love the way this turned out.


Start with a 4 pieces of plain wood.


Then I painted them all different shades of red and pink. I didn't have pre-mixed colors for this, I just took my red & white acrylic paints and mixed until I found the right combination.


Next, I cut scrapbook paper to fit, and picked out some really cute ribbon and embellishments. SO cute!






After it was all decorated and modge podged, it was time to find it a home.....that reveal is coming later in the week. Stay tuned.
Thanks for joining me,

see you soon
Kristen

For the boy who has it all

Hello Friends,

Well I know that Christmas has come and gone, but if you don't mind, I'm going to share with you today one of the crafts I did for Christmas this year (or last year, I guess)

My step-bro-in-law and his wife have been married for several years and had been trying to have a baby for a very long time and when they discovered that things weren't going to be as easy as, well you know just "doing IT" They found themselves going through several miscarriages and disappointing rounds of in-vitro. And just when they were about to give up......SURPRISE! "You're pregnant" Oh, what a joyous day for them and the whole family. 9 months later, they welcomed their precious baby boy!

Now, let me just tell you. This precious baby has been so wanted and so loved and so spoiled. So imagine my dilemma when one of my kids pulled his name for the kids gift exchange. "Aargg, what do you get for the boy who has everything?"

I'm all about educational gifts. Especially when kids already have tons and tons of toys. So, I decided I was going to make some alphabet blocks for him. Luckily, several months earilier I had found bags and bags of these wooden blocks for $.99 a bag at Goodwill. I knew someday they would come in handy.



I started by picking out #26 blocks that were all about the same size. Then I painted them.



I then used a square punch to punch out 52 pieces of white card stock.





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I picked up these precious alphabet stamps that came with a coordinating picture at Michael's for $9.99. I quickly got to work stamping away.






I cut out several strips of coordinating scrapbook paper to put on the other sides of the blocks, I attached all the paper onto the blocks with adhesive and then I sanded all the edges of the blocks. I did this for several reasons. #1, I obviously didn't want the block to have any rough edges, #2 I wanted to dull up the bright primary colored paint and #3 I wanted to "age" the sides of the paper. After I had finished sanding, I then took my brown stamp pad and a sponge and lightly "dry sponged" all the edges of the paper. This added to the "rustic" look I was going for.




I applied a clear coat of Modge Podge and let that dry. I found a wooden crate at Goodwill and painted it a barn red color and used my Cricut machine to print out his name in vinyl letters. I modge podged them onto the side of the crate and his custom Christmas gift was all finished.

**Sorry about this picture being flipped **

I absolutely LOVED the way they turned out and was even more thrilled when my nephew opened them on Christmas and loved them too.

I have a few more crafty projects I did this Holiday season that I will be sharing with you soon, and then its time for more furniture reveals. And then, follow me as I re-do my house one room at a time. Thanks for reading and
Happy Crafting!

Kris

Pep Talk

I had no idea that January is actually statistically the most "depressing" month of the year. Did you know that? Well, it is. And it has so far, proven to be no different for me. January is my birthday month..."yay, yippee" not really. Birthdays just don't have the same excitement once you hit 21 as they used too. Anyway, with the holidays over and all the built up stress done with, I have found myself in a "funk" kind of...well depressed. So, imagine my excitement when I actually read that it is normal to feel "down" in January. But I'm determined to turn my frown upside down.

I was talking to a friend yesterday and she said something very interesting to me. After several minutes of small talk, she asked if she could bring a meal over to my family. She knew I had been feeling under the weather with a horrible sinus infection and although it sounded wonderful, I graciously declined. I thought,"here is this mother of 4, who is just as busy as I am, and who is going through her own issues, offering to bring ME dinner." And that is when she said to me, "Please, please let me have the chance to be a blessing for someone else." She said, I've decided this year instead of "New Year's Resolutions" which I never keep, I'm going to make a "Personal" resolution to put my own issues aside and try to be a blessing to someone else." Wow, how could I possibly say No after that? What a wonderful thing to do, put your own issues aside and be a blessing to someone else?

So, whether I'm taking a meal to someone who is feeling blue, Taking the time to call someone who I know I should, or just saying hello to someone on the street, I'm going to try to put my own issues aside and be a blessing to someone else. Thanks friend for the pep talk. I needed that!

New use for an empty can

OK, so I've decided to get crafty with you all. Please bare with me as I try and explain this craft idea.

I'm always looking for creative ways to wrap gifts. I get so tired of gift bags and boxes, so when I saw this idea on splitcoaststampers.com, I decided I'd give it try.

Here is what you will need to get started


An empty soup can with a "pull tab" top. ...


(I used a large pinto bean can) Now this is REALLY IMPORTANT***Make sure you open the "wrong" end of the can. Don't open the can from the top, you will want to open the can at the bottom. This project will only work if you have a can opener that leaves a lip on the can. I used my Pampered Chef can opener.


Next, you will want to pick out your decorative paper and cut it to fit around the can. Then use your favorite adhesive to secure the paper to the can.



Then you will want to cut a circle of coordinating paper to fit on the top of the can. I cut a slit in the paper to fit around the pull tab part of the can



Slip the paper up under the tab and secure with same adhesive.




Once you have the top done, then you can decorate the rest of the can however you would like.
:


Its time to put whatever you want to wrap inside.



I give my kids a Christmas ornament each year,


I thought it would be fun for them to have to "open" the can in order to get the gift inside. This will be the perfect size to wrap it in.

Once you have finished decorating the can, you will need to glue the bottom back onto the can. You will need to use a liquid glue like this one.


It doesn't have to be this brand, but needs to be a clear, strong glue. After it has dried, your ready to go! Hope you have fun making one of these and remember to just have fun with it.

Happy crafting

Love,
Kristen

Doing it all and then some

Where oh where have I been? Going slightly bonkers that's where. I've been crying in my cherrios and toaster waffles, but I'm back....

I may regret this post later, but what do I have to lose?

I’ve been thinking lately about us gals, and how we seem to constantly be faced with the duty? responsibility? charge? opportunity? of doing it all.

I’m not complaining here, and I only tell you this because I think many of you can relate, but from my own experience and from chatting with friends, it seems like we ladies are responsible for quite a bit: Working outside the home; Working inside the home; Paying bills; Creating budgets; Meal planning (which must be healthy, kid friendly, and budget friendly, right?); Grocery shopping (ugh); Cooking (double ugh); Cleaning/Organizing the house (triple ugh, ugh, ugh); Cleaning vomit (kid…dog…whatever…it falls on us); Home repairs?; Cleaning the car; Looking pretty (within said budget); Being phenomenal wives, friends, mothers, daughters; And, of course, having a beautifully decorated home that’s blog worthy/guest worthy at any moment.

And does anyone else out there feel an enormous amount of guilt if they don’t accomplish all of these things to perfection? And does anyone else feel insanely overwhelmed and like they’re falling short all the time?

I feel strongly that I need to start talking about a few other things: The struggles and obligations we face as women (no offense to men and their own struggles); Healthy living,Fashion, and DECORATING!!!…which will of course continue my heavy emphasis on creating a beautiful home on a budget. And do-it-yourself-because-you-are-WOMAN! projects.

I have to write from my heart. I have to write from my experiences and passion…and hope that those things help, inspire and resonate with some of you out there.

Wow...I'm tired and overwhelmed again, better go sit down with some Oprah and bonbons

With love,

Kristen

Why I do this crazy stuff

I just recently had a yard sale and was so excited to feature some of my Urban Barnyard pieces that I just finished. I set up a section of the sale for the "Boutique". I wanted a section that I could feature some of my pieces, but I needed to get more than yard sale prices for them. So, I figured if I called it a "Boutique" then people wouldn't freak out when they saw that a dresser wasn't marked $5. I had some of my friends put stuff in the yard sale too and it was so much fun! We laughed and ate ridiculous amounts of junk food (with the exception of the veggie tray...that's a whole different story) What a great way to get rid of our junk and make some extra money too!

Why do I do this crazy stuff? I'm not sure if you asked me this question a few days ago, I would have an answer for you, but today I realized I do it because it makes me smile! I love finding old pieces and giving them a new chance at life. Take this old desk for example...
I found it at Good will for $19.99 and I was immediately drawn to the fact that it was a roll top desk, and that it was smaller than the monsters you usually see. I had to have it! After several hours of sanding, painting, sealing and adding some really pretty glass knobs here she is all finished! Isn't it beautiful?



On that same trip to Goodwill, I also found this old birdcage.



It was a little bit more expensive...$29.99, but once again I had to have it. I have seen birdcages like this retail in the $300-$400 range. Do I need a huge birdcage? NO, not really. I don't even like birds, but I love birdcages. This one was in pretty rough shape, so I cleaned it, painted it (several colors) and finally settled on this crazy, wild Aqua color! I LOVE IT!!!
I had so many people at the sale ask me how much it was, and I kept going up in price because I didn't really want to sell it! So now, it is sitting in my living room where it really doesn't match ANYTHING in my house, but I've decided that doesn't really matter. Who wouldn't want a HUGE aqua birdcage RIGHT???

I was also able to finish another french style dresser that I have had in my garage for 6 months.
I love the way this blue color looks,(oops paint $5 a can from Home Depot) I kept the original hardware on it, it really added to the vintage look I was going for.

I was able to sell all these pieces (not the birdcage) and several other pieces that day. And although I was running around like a crazy lady trying to get all these pieces finished before the sale, it was totally worth it when I saw the look on people's faces when they got to take them home.

I'm taking a break now...well until I get up enough energy to finish the numerous pieces still in my garage, but I never stop looking for those perfect pieces that need me to rescue them and give them a new chance at life. Thanks for stopping by.

Love,
Kris

Jackson's Radio Flyer Birthday

It's not everyday that your LAST baby turns one. Did you notice how I put the emphasis on LAST??? Yep, he is going to be our last baby and although that has a sad, final sound to it, it also makes me so happy because it gives a really good reason to make every birthday the best it can be. It is no secret that I love to plan, decorate and pretty much go over the top for all my kids birthdays. It makes Scott go bonkers, but in my mind this is how I justify it....it is the one day a year that it is all about them. No one can take their special day away and if I can do a little something to make them feel extra special, well...them I'm gonna do it.

Case in point. I have been planning Jackson's 1st birthday since he was 6 mo old. I know, crazy many of you may think, but this is how my mind works. I have to come up with a theme in order to start looking for all of my treasures. And a little side note, if you plan ahead, it gives you lots and lots of time to hit all the thrift stores to find even more treasures for a better deal.

Jackson's 1st Birthday theme was Radio Flyer. I fell in love with this theme for several reasons. One, do you remember the Radio Flyer wagon I got at the church yard sale for $3, the one that I fixed up??



Well, I also found this most precious Radio Flyer pair of overalls at "Once upon a Child" in Gilbert for $6...had to have them, ooh I feel a theme coming on. Once I decided that I was going to go with a Radio Flyer theme, I put the word out and my friends and family started looking for things that were Radio Flyer. Amazing how much stuff is actually out there. OK, OK on with all the fun cute little details..

I started with his birthday pictures. I always include a picture in the invites that I send out. I make it so that whoever is receiving the invite can take the picture out and have it to keep. Jackson takes really great pictures, so this part was easy. I dressed him in his over-alls and we just went out into the back yard. I took his wagon with us and it served as the perfect prop.




This theme was perfect for a red & white checkered table cloth and sunflowers for the food table. I found this really cute little wooden wagon at the thrift store, so it became the perfect place to display the cookie favors for everyone to take home when they left. I also had collected several of these little wagons from the thrift stores. They made perfect centerpieces for all of the guest tables.




The rest of the party was pretty straight forward, I just let you glance at some of the pictures. The weather was great, the company was wonderful and we couldn't have asked for a better night to celebrate our "last" baby turning one. We are so very blessed to have such a loving family and great friends.








Sorry about the layout of all the pictures, I'm still trying to learn how this blog thing works.