Pinterest...my new favorite place!

I had never heard of Pinterest until Ashley from Under the Sycamore shared all about it. It's a website that you can "pin" (super easy) favorite sites, blogposts, or pictures that you find online on your very own "boards." It's much like adding a bookmark or saving a picture, but it's amazing because you post your favorite things in categories and the original link is always there so you can source it whenever needed. It's a great catalog to reference my favorite posts. I have different categories like party ideas, stuff for my home, things to make, kid stuff, and so much more.

My "boards" on Pinterest

Some of my "pins"

Request and invite to join Pinterest here

Find my boards on Pinterest here

Have fun! (It's addicting!)

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!

DIY Handprint Frame

I saw this great idea recently...I can't remember where...and I just had to recreate it with my little guy's handprint. Brayden is 2-years-old now. I traced his handprint onto patterned paper. I went back and found his handprint from the hospital (birth) and traced it onto a different patterned paper. I also traced a handprint from when he was one-year-old onto a different color paper. I cut out each of his handprints and then stacked them, with the oldest handprint in the back.

I mounted the handprints onto paper with a glue stick and put it into a frame. I wrapped the frame's basic white matting with some light brown burlap...It was a little thick...but it went with my decor. You could just put this in a regular frame or one with a plain mat.

It's so fun to look and see how my little guy has grown so much...from his handprints from birth, 1 year, and now 2 years. I plan to add on handprints each year, so I can see how much he is growing.

Our entryway area with the Paperbook Wreath,

my new table, picture frames awaiting the

perfect 2 pictures, and some other fun decor.

DIY Paper Book Wreath

I just got finished re-doing my entryway wall, and I knew when I started that I wanted something unique to go in the space. I was super excited when I saw this idea from Living with Lindsay, because I loved the idea of a non-traditional wreath made from the pages of a book. It's something that adds dimension to the space, and it is super inexpensive...only a few dollars for supplies.

Here's what you need for the project:

10" foam wreath

Paper back book - around 200 pages should be enough

Hot glue gun & glue sticks

Brown & Gray craft paint

A couple paper towels

Small piece of ribbon - around 4-5 inches long

Unsharpened pencil (for pushing down hot glued pages)

Start out with your book of choice that will become the wreath. I wanted to do something that I wouldn't mind seeing the text of every so often, that's why I didn't want to get a random romance novel from a garage sale...you never know what you'll find written on the pages! I like a classic book, so I found The Canterbury Tales at a thrift shop for a mere $1! Score! You could do pages from any book you want - a favorite classic book or even an old Bible...I think it would be an okay thing for the pages of Scripture to be used artfully on your wall.

Next, take the brown paint and put a little onto the paper towel, and smear it onto the sides of the book. Then take a little gray paint and smear it onto the pages as well. This will make the pages look aged, if you don't already have an aged book. Set your book on a paper towel to dry for 5-10 minutes. (If you gently flip through the book after painting, it will make sure your pages don't stick together. When you're ready to rip pages out, flip through it again, and they should pop apart.)

Next, go ahead and rip the pages out of the book to begin the process of making the wreath.

You'll roll the pages of the book individually and glue them to the wreath. You can roll it in any way you want, but make sure not to crease the pages or fold them. Check here for a video tutorial on how to roll pages from Living with Lindsay's blog post.

After rolling your page, put a little glue on the end and stick it to the wreath. Make sure your painted edges are facing out.

Make a layer all around the wreath of rolled pages...

When you've completed one layer around the wreath, flip it over. This will become the bottom of the wreath. You can set something heavy on it for a few minutes to make sure it lays a little flatter.

Now you'll begin filling in your wreath with pages. You can see on the right side of the picture below, I began to make layers. You'll do this by taking the rolled pages and folding a little tab onto the end and glueing the tab down. Use an unsharpened pencil to push down the paper rolls onto your wreath...This will help you avoid a LOT of glue burns! Continue glueing the pages all around the wreath, finishing one layer before moving to the next.

Once you're getting closer to the center, you can roll the inside layer of the wreath. You'll do this similar to the bottom/first layer. You don't need to fold a tab, just roll and glue it to the inside of the wreath.

Continue until the inside ring is done. Then, you can work your way up to meet with the other rolled pages.When you get done, you'll have some gaps in the wreath (You can see spaces of white in the picture below). Simply roll up pages and stick them down into the wreath without a tab. They don't even have to stick to the foam wreath itself, but they'll stick to the other pages and fill in the gaps. It's okay if they're not exactly the same height, as this will add height and dimension to your wreath.

Once you complete your wreath, take your piece of ribbon and attach it to the back of your wreath with glue. This will be your hanger for the wreath. You can put in a couple straight pins to secure it, or if you use enough glue, it should be just fine!

You're done! Now find the perfect place to hang your wreath! I put mine in my entry way, and just love seeing it every time I come in my house!

Recent Custom Paintings

Lately, I've been creating a few new custom pieces for some family and friends. Here's a glimpse at some of my new pieces...

Colossians 1:10 for my niece Emsleigh's room (24x30")

4 piece collection for my niece Emsleigh's room

(4 - 12x12" canvases)

Romans 10:9-10 for our New Member room at church (2 - 24x36")

See more of my art at: My Facebook Album or My Etsy Store

A Budding Artist

We entered the world of finger paint this last week. This picture was in response to my statement, "You can use your hands and fingers to paint with." He was so confused at first, because he always sees me painting with a brush. He kept saying, "Mommy, brush!" So, I obliged and he painted with a brush...for awhile...

"I can really use my fingers to paint with?!"

My cautious one.

Much more comfortable with a brush...

...Even if it was to paint his hands with the brush!

"I can paint myself too!"

"Do you want some paint too, Mommy?!"

"All done!"

Painting Adventures

It's always nice to find fun activities to do with your kids...and especially nice to find ones that are FREE! You know me...I love a good deal! We found a paint-your-own-pottery store in the mall that has a story & craft time for the kids each week. Brayden and I went with our friends Kasey & Priya (remember this post), and the kids had such a fun time! Painting is ALWAYS a fun activity...because it gets on your hands, which to my little guy, is a BLAST!

Brayden & Priya in their paint shirts

He was ready to paint...

not ready to take a picture.

Priya & Kasey - SO sweet!

ALL DONE! Check out those paint-covered hands!

Finished product...such a sweet Mother's Day gift!

My Little Picasso

Brayden frequently sees me working on my paintings that I am making for other people, and he wanted to help out. He grabbed a paintbrush off of the table and ran over to the painting to add his own touches. Luckily, it was dry and the paintbrush was clean...but he had a good time!

Art Festivals and a Sandy Boy

It has been such beautiful weather lately, that we have jumped at the chances to enjoy the local festivals in the past couple weeks. Going to art festivals and just walking among the amazing talent and creativity is something so relaxing for me. Jonathan usually 'skips' on the opportunity to do so...as it's just not his cup of tea...which is totally cool with me. So Brayden and I usually head out to see the amazing art at these festivals.

We've gotten to go to two lately, and one thing that I am discovering - with a toddler in tow - is the kids' areas. There are usually fun (and free) projects for the kids to do. This gives them a break from sitting in the stroller and a quick chance to play and be creative as well. Most of the activities were too old for Brayden, but he did find and LOVE the sandbox area. He sat there - insisted on sitting in one of the tiny plastic chairs - and dug around, scooped, and poured the sand. We then headed over to make a shaker out of a plastic bottle and lentils...that didn't last long...he wanted more sand. So back to the sandbox we went. He played a bit longer, then it was time to go...he was so sad! I'm glad my son likes playing in the sand, because I LOVE the beach! Makes for a good combo...now I'm off to think about planning a beach trip...

Acacia Custom Art

For the last few months, I've been creating paintings for friends and also for my Etsy site online to sell. A friend from college who now lives in Colorado ordered a painting for her parents for Christmas. She was so sweet to write about it on her blog. Thanks, Lori, and I hope your parents are enjoying their new art!

Here are a couple new pieces that I have done: