Tuesday, June 11, 2013

ABC...Cute Letters Please!

I love, love, love, decorated letters!  I think they are so cute and they can really add some color to a room.  Here's a pic of the letters I made for Miss O's room:

These were fun to make...and easy too!  Scroll down for a tutorial.

We painted the walls a muted gray so that we could accessorize her room with lots of color.  We have stuck with pink, green, and white for the most part and I like the way the room is shaping up.  And check out the flower lamps that I found at IKEA...absolutely perfect!



Tutorial:

If you want to create your own project, these letters are really easy to make.  Plus, they are pretty cheap!

Supplies:

  • Large chipboard letters (you could use wood, but chipboard is generally cheaper.  It is also lighter and is easier to hang with the ribbon).
  • Scrapbook paper
  • Mod podge (pick up the kind that is specifically made for paper - you'll be glad you did!)
  • Sponge brush for applying the mod podge 
  • Embellishments (I kept mine simple, but you might try things like buttons, flowers, ribbon, etc.)
  • Ribbon for hanging your letters
  • Staple Gun


Step 1:  Trace the letters onto scrapbook paper and cut them out.
Step 2.  Brush your mod podge onto the letter directly and set your paper on the chipboard (you'll need to move quickly).  Be careful not to load the chipboard with too much of the liquid adhesive or you'll end up with a soupy piece of paper.
Step 3:  Allow your adhesive to dry (fully!).  You can seal it with another layer of mod podge, but I skipped this step and so far my letters are still looking sharp.
Step 4:  Measure out the ribbon for each letter and start stapling it to the back of the letter.
Step 5:  Hang your letters!  You might have to get creative depending on the weight of the letter.  In my case, I had an issue with the "L."  It wanted to slope and I had to put an extra nail in the wall to hold it up.

See?  Easy peasy!

Monday, June 10, 2013

Race Medals

If you are a runner, you most likely have a few too many homeless race medals and/or bibs.  Maybe they have been tossed in a drawer, or maybe they continually do the "desk shuffle," as you debate the perfect way to display them.  Since my husband seems to have formed a new habit, and loves running half marathons, we had the same problem with his race medals.  He wanted a way to display them that wasn't lame or cheesy, so I came up with a more manly craft.  It lacks a little luster for my taste, but it also matches the stain of other pieces in the room and looks good in the space.

I stained the wood and started measuring to evenly distribute the hooks
First hook placed!  Yes, this involved some drilling...
I did it without the hubby's help!  

4 hooks for the 4 marathons

Here's the final product.  If I had my way, I would have added a saying -
maybe "runner," or "marathons."  But, after all, they aren't my medals!
Now my husband can look at them everyday and continue to be inspired to keep on runnin'.  We will keep adding more hooks for every new marathon.  I think it will be a nice tradition!  


Monday, June 3, 2013

Diapers can be Cute!

Okay mommies and soon-to-be mommies - someone needs to have a baby shower or a gender reveal party so that I can print these invites.  Of course I can't wait to help you celebrate your expanding family, but my crafting crazy is a little overwhelming right now, so get on it!  

Diaper Invite/Card
As for the super duper cute card, I made it with the help of (yep, you guessed it) my silhouette cameo.  It was SO fun!  And really addicting....

So, for those friends of mine that are already preggo, watch out, I'll be nagging you to have a party incessantly.  And for those of you that haven't had your first yet, we will be having several "let's talk about your future" convos soon.  You have been warned!  

Wedding Bliss Isn't Amiss

Just last weekend my husband and I celebrated our wedding anniversary!  We had a blast.  To start, we traveled to the town where we tied the knot...Tulsa, OK.  We hit many of the spots that are special to us and had a great trip down (a not too distant) memory lane.

The weather was gorgeous so we grabbed a drink at a restaurant alongside the Arkansas River.  And by the way, we must truly be getting rain in Oklahoma, because I couldn't begin to see the bottom.  I can't remember the last time that it actually lived up to its name -"River!"
Downtown Tulsa with a full Arkansas River.  Pretty eh?
Photo from virtualtourist.com
We spent the rest of the day lounging at our favorite shopping mall, Utica Square, and had a lovely dinner at Juniper.  We topped off the day at one of my new fav venues, Guthrie on the Green, and caught some great bands playing at the Tulsa Music Festival.

Guthrie on the Green
Photo from inhabitant.com
And for the grand finale....check out the gift that I received for our anniversary....
Photo 1:  Sorry the picture is a bit wonky...
that's the best I could do with an iPad.  
Photo 2
For those of you that might not know this scene, this a section of the gardens at the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa.  The hubby and I got married there and it is just incredibly GORGEOUS!  It is hands down my favorite place in Oklahoma and quite possibly my favorite place in the US.  My husband had a picture of our wedding site turned into an oil on canvas.  Isn't that the best?

So here's to one year of marriage and many more to come!