I Love You Because...

Recently, I printed this art that says, "I love you because: _________"  I framed it and use the glass just like a dry erase board.  Each day, Jonathan and I switch off writing reasons we love each other.  It sits on our bathroom counter, and I love each day seeing what it says.  It's been such a great way of remembering how amazing my husband is and telling him consistently how I appreciate and love him.

Source for printable: Eighteen 25

Craft Day - Wood Photo Blocks

One of my favorite projects we did at Craft Day was "Picture Wood Blocks."  I found this tutorial via Apartment Therapy, and it is a MUST DO.  You actually transfer the ink from a picture onto a block of wood.  So cool!

The supplies you need for this project are...

Wood block (I got a 1"x6"x5' board that I got cut into 10" sections at Lowe's)

Gel Medium (I used Liquitex Matte Gel from Hobby Lobby)

Mod Podge

Picture printed on a regular piece of printer paper from your home printer

   (Tip: since you'll be laying the picture on the wood, 

    so it will be reversed, so before printing, flip it horizontally.)

Black craft paint

Paint brush or foam brush

Ribbon & staples/staple gun to hang wood block (optional)

Video tutorial here on Apartment Therapy.

Cut your picture the size of the wood block.  Coat one side of your wood with Gel Medium and lay your picture down.  Let dry overnight.  The next day, get a paper towel wet and squeeze the water out so it's just damp.  Wipe over entire board so picture is wet.  Begin using your fingers to wipe away the paper.  Your picture will be left!

After getting all the paper off, coat the wood in Mod Podge.  Let dry.

(Note: in the picture below, I didn't reverse the image on the picture.  It's not the same wood block as pictured above.)

If you want to hang your wood block, cut your ribbon to size,

and use a staple gun to attach ribbon.

One last detail to make it complete is to paint the edges in black craft paint.  

The edges don't have to be perfect.  Now it's ready to hang!

DIY Yarn Covered Letter

For our guest room that my sister, Amy, is living in this summer, I wanted to make some personal artwork for above her bed. I cut out a piece of cardboard from a regular cardboard box in the shape of an "A" and wrapped it in bright pink yarn. After tons of wrapping, I probably wrapped it completely three times when it was all done to make it nice and thick.

I had an old frame that I found at Habitat for Humanity's ReStore

and spray painted it white for the "A" to go in.

I hung the frame and simply nailed the "A" onto the wall through

the yarn and fluffed the yarn over the top of the nail to hide it.

I love how it turned out!

Guest Bedroom Re-do

This summer, my sister Amy is living with us and working at our church as a Children's Ministry Intern. Our guest bedroom/office had been my hubby's domain to decorate...it was his one room to put all his baseball memorabilia in. However, since Amy would be living in that room, I wanted to make it a little more girly. So a super budget-friendly re-do was a must.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I covered IKEA magnetic boards with fabric.

I just used spray adhesive to attach the fabric

and wrapped it around the edges. Super easy!

Perfect to hang up pictures!

Welcome to our home, Amy!

I found this dish at Goodwill and spray painted it white.

A little personalized artwork for Amy's new room.

DIY Tutorial to come tomorrow!

Found this metal crate at a garage sale.

Makes a perfect small shelf for storage by the bed.

And, of course, I left a little baseball/sports stuff

for Jonathan on the top of the bookshelf!

Adding Interest...and Color

I love color, but for some reason, my living room was seeming kind of blah. So I pulled all the books off my bookshelf and put them in order by color. Starting with reds, I went sorted them like a rainbow all the way through purple on one bookshelf.

On my other bookshelf, I put all the white books on the top shelf and the black/brown books on the bottom shelf. I love how it looks sorted by color...after all, I do LOVE organizing things...and when it adds color and interest...even better!

DIY Christmas Photo Wreath

I saw a great idea on Parents.com to create a Family Photo Wreath. I love the idea of unconventional wreaths, and this one is a great addition to our Christmas decor.

Here is what you need for this project:

12" foam wreath

Colored cardstock

9 - 4x6" black and white photos

Hot glue gun and glue stick

Decorative edge scissors

4" circle template

Double-sided tape or craft glue

Ribbon (to hang wreath)

Twine

Jingle bells

2 T-pins

To get started, cut out your 4x6 pictures into 4" circles. Attach to cardstock with double-sided tape or craft glue. Using decorative edge scissors, cut out cardstock in a slightly larger circle than the pictures.

Now that I'm done, I wish I would've wrapped my wreath with ribbon, yarn, or strips of fabric. That way, when you look at it from the side, you can't see the white foam wreath. Either way though, it looks good from the front.

Arrange the pictures (now attached to cardstock) where you want them on the foam wreath. They'll overlap a bit, which is fine. This will help you so you can't see the foam wreath. Attach with hot glue.

For a little extra decorative touch and cuteness, I added small jingle bells to twine and tied it in a bow. Attach to the wreath with hot glue.

Using T-pins, attach a long strand of ribbon in 2 places on the back of the wreath. Grab the center of the ribbon and hang from a nail. I also added a little twine and jingle bells at the top where it's hanging on the nail. And there you have it...your new Christmas Photo Wreath!

Putting Up the Lights

I love Christmas lights on houses. I love driving around in neighborhoods and seeing the fun and creative ways that people have decorated their houses for Christmas. We haven't put lights on our house in a couple years (mainly because a few strands went out), but this year it was time. We got some new lights to put up, and Jonathan went to work.

Precariously sitting atop our roof. Makes me nervous!

Brayden REALLY wanted to help. He climbed up all on his own...

...just kidding! Jonathan was right there with him.

They made the house look GREAT!

O Christmas Tree

Our Christmas tree is up. It's feeling a bit more like Christmastime! I really am having a hard time believing that it's December. This year has just FLOWN by. It's been a good year though - one full of great memories and seeing God's goodness in our lives.

This year Brayden really got into helping with the lights on the tree. He thought they were so cool. He was a great little helper for Jonathan.

Our little Christmas tree