This doesn't have anything to do with Interior Design, but I am so excited because today I am headed to Portland, Oregon to see one of my favorite legendary artists...



Janet Jackson!! I'm so excited!!! Plus, I get to shop at IKEA tomorrow, and IKEA trips are few and far between for me, so tomorrow is going to be an amazing day! Just thought I'd share...couldn't contain my excitement!

My Version: Chevron Subway Art

When I saw a picture of Jen's Chevron Subway Art that she made over at Tatertots and Jello, I knew had to re-create one. I loved the Beatles lyrics and the bright cheerful colors, so I decided to make one myself. This is my version. You can see Jen's original here. I ended up donating this to my daughter's school dinner/auction and her Kindergarten teacher ended up buying it!

I used my Silhouette to make the chevron stencil, as well as the stencil for the words. I painted it onto a piece of plywood that was sitting out in my garage leftover from the entertainment unit my husband built me.

Fabric Shopping

I've been fabric internet-window shopping lately. I have some large projects coming up...one including re-doing my family room. I've got these Joel Dewberry fabrics right now in my family room... These are my curtains...

Throw pillows...

My walls are vanilla (Doesn't that word sound cuter than off-white?!). I've decided that since I have twins in their terrible two's, who don't like to keep anything clean, I'm going to paint the walls medium-dark brown. Gasp! Really? That's the reaction I've been getting from my family members when I tell them my plan. You see, no matter how clean I try to keep my house, there will always be smudge marks and fingerprints on the walls. I'm sick of it! Not even Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser can tackle what my twins' dish out! So, I am going to darken up the walls and bring in some bright colors with some fabrics. Here is what I will be ordering for my fabrics in my family room...

For my throw pillows... And for my curtains... These will really help brighten up the brown I'm putting on the walls, so we won't feel like we live in a cave! I've always loved the brown/yellow color combination. I can never get away from that pretty chocolate brown shade. And I love that pretty blue herringbone fabric. These are also from Joel Dewberry as well. One of my favorite fabric shops that I always go to first is: Fabricworm You can find TONS of fabrics!

My Grunge-y Subway Art

I was in a crafting funk...but I think the spark is back.

This kitchen Subway Art has been on my to-do list for so long, and I'm so glad I finally got it done! I bought the blank canvases months ago, and once I got my Silhouette machine, it became a much easier project to tackle. I wanted to create some Subway Art for my kitchen using French cooking terms. I've always admired Subway Art. It is so contemporary, and I love how you can personalize it. I've seen it done for specific holidays, couples and words that mean a lot to them, and even street names that a person lived on!

It turned out a lot more grunge-y than I originally wanted, but I actually think it looks cool! I am a little new to stenciling, so it could have looked a little better, but all well! Live and learn, right?

Here is how I made it...

1. Paint a blank canvas any color you desire.

2. Make word stencils. I used my Silhouette for this. I made my stencils out of cardstock, which may have been part of the reason why the paint seeped to other places I didn't want it to. I used the Arial Bold font, and I made them all different sizes and thicknesses.

3. Place your words in an arrangement that looks good.

4. Start stenciling with a brush. I've found that it is best to dab the brush on, rather than stroke the stencil. Stroking = bleeding paint.

Then you're pretty much done after that.

Valentine's Day Goods

Since my daughter doesn't go to school on Mondays, they had their class Valentine's Day party today. I made some cute little Valentine's goodies for her to take (her Grandma is one of her teachers!), and they turned out pretty cute! In the candy bags for her classmates, there are little boxes with decorated sugar cookies. The damask cellophane bags I got at Wal-Mart after Christmas on clearnace for $0.50 for 20 bags, and the socks came from The Dollar Tree.

I used to LOVE Valentine's Day as a kid. Every year, I'd bring all my little cards home from all my classmates and look through them all. Payton did the same today when she got home! :)

I should also mention that this past month I finally bought a Silhouette! I've been wanting one for so long, and I've had so much fun with it. I bought it mostly to use for things in the home decor category, rather than scrapbooking. I love that it can cut fabric, vinyl, and heat transfer. I haven't done anything major with it yet, but I've had a lot of fun practice in th mean time. I used it to mak these cute little Valentine's for Payton's teachers and classmates...and I think they were very well received.

My plans for Valentine's day are to serve my family a candlelit dinner of chesse fondue with potatoes, beef, and broccoli for them to dip. And then for dessert, a chocolate fondue with marshmallows, pretzels, strawberries, and graham crackers. I think the kids will especially like it!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

A Repurposed Dress

I made my mom an 8" x 10" jewelry organizer for her birthday (similar to the one I blogged about here), but it was too small for her vast collection of jewelry. So, I decided to make her a bigger one out of a canvas print that I had just waiting to be repurposed. I also was given a cute dress that didn't fit me, but it had a cute print so I was also saving that for a project. Mix those two things with a little chicken wire I had out in the garage, and this is what I made...



Because there were seams all over this dress to make it "flouncy", I couldn't get away with not having a seam in the fabric, which you can probably see. I am going to make some cute little flowers that clip onto the wire to cover it up.

The concept was the same as my original tutorial...just minus the frame.

Cut fabric to size of desired covering, leaving edges to wrap around canvas or photo frame cardboard.

Do the same with chicken wire. May use tape or a backing so you don't stab yourself with the sharp edges.

Then it's ready to hang. They'd also look cute with embellishments like fabric flowers!

Don't underestimate the Dollar Store!

I had to go the Dollar Tree yesterday to get some things, and I saw these cool little trees. I saw some little trees similar to these last year for about $5 each and I didn't buy them in enough time because they were all snatched up by the time I went back. I planned to make some this year with styrofoam cones and glitter, but when I saw these at my Dollar Tree, I had to buy them because you can't make them for that cheap! I love how they are so simple and cute! So seriously, don't underestimate your dollar store! There are great finds in there!

Have any of you stumbled upon the website, Dollar Store Crafts? It features crafts that you can make using items from the Dollar Store! I think it's so clever!





Here is a picture of our Charlie Brown Christmas tree! We have a tradition of going up into the mountains and cutting down our own tree. They are never lush, but hopefully we are providing some good memories for our kids!