Wood Wall Hanging- Having somewhere to go is home...

I found this quote on a wall hanging idea at Craft Warehouse. I instantly wanted to make my own. I used my miter saw to cut a piece of wood I bought at Home Depot into 3 even pieces, then used my power drill, (Woohoo, girl with a saw AND a drill!!! could be dangerous! ). It was a little bit tricky getting the holes the same distance from the edge, but I think that's due more to learning curve with the drill more than anything else. I then base coated the wood pieces in a dark brown, allowed them to dry, applied Weathered Wood Crackling Medium by Americana, let it dry, then used Italian Sage colored paint by Folk Art. When that was all dry, I used dark brown grosgrain ribbon to tie them together. I did this first to see if I could make it work, before going to the time and trouble of cutting and applying vinyl lettering and having it not work right. Well, call me happily surprised, (Thanks, God! ) it actually looked alright to me, so I was content to cut my vinyl out with my Cricut. There you have it. This project is going into the MOPS auction this Friday... and that concludes, I think... all my planned and unplanned projects contributed to the auction... whew!

"Shh!! We're reading" sign

If you've checked out anything else on my blog, you'll at some point run across the mention of our MOPS group's spring auction and what I've made for it. I tend to make a variety of items- there are some things I've made several years in a row because they did really well, and then there are specific to the year and my whim and fancy. Anyhow, I digress..... :) Each year every table of ladies in the MOPS group comes up with a themed gift basket in which we put together items that go with that theme. Our table chose "Child's first library" in which all those classics are included that you'd typically buy for a new baby. I decided to contribute a little sign, the idea just came to me... thanks God!! I think God gives me the best ideas :) So, what popped into my mind was "Shh!! We're reading" Pretty basic, really. I painted a little plaque from Craft Warehouse a bottom coat of red, then painted over that with a light aqua color. I then sanded around the edges a bit and on the front to let the red show through slightly for contrast. I used a red ribbon hanger to complement the red and aqua, and then used my Cricut with the Alphalicious cartridge to cut out some vinyl lettering. I think it will be a fun addition to our First Library basket.

Journey's Boutique by journeysboutique on Etsy

Today's post is all about Becca and her fabulous new Etsy shop Journey's Boutique by journeysboutique on Etsy. Here's the link: http://www.etsy.com/shop/journeysboutique?ref=pr_shop&utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=PageTools&utm_campaign=Share . She has some beautiful diaper bags that you'd never know were that by how stylish they are, "binkie babysitters"- for those pacifiers to not get lost or icky, and other fabulous handmade baby items. Go check her out- she even has a free shipping code if you visit her Facebook page- and here's a link to that : https://www.facebook.com/pages/Journeys-Boutique/148251425237219 . Way to go getting your beautiful baby items out on Etsy, Becca!

Cricut vinyl wall hangings

I found these MDF plaques at Craft Warehouse- on sale for a dollar each- they're about 6x6 inches in dimension. I painted a dark brown base and cream top coat, then sanded lightly around the edges ( I really like how it looks).. If you are familiar with my latest habits craft-wise, you'll be surprised that I didn't crackle it :) I was tempted, trust me. Anyhow, I used my Cricut to cut vinyl letters for these sayings. The "life happens, love helps" quote was actually from a stamp that my best buddy used on a layout of her daughters. I really like it a lot. The other I found just "around", but I like it too. The paint drying took the longest amount of time with these little wall hangings. I'm donating them to our MOPS auction. (Hopefully other people like them enough to bid on them in the silent auction- if they dont', I still like them well enough :) ).

New (Old) and improved Knife Block

I've had my knife block for a long time now, and it's starting to show its age- it's been looking kind of shabby (and not in a good way). I finally decided the last week was the time to finally change it up a bit- with a cute little monogram too- inspired by Allison at House of Hepworths. Here's the original post of hers that got me ooh ooh oohing... : http://www.houseofhepworths.com/2010/03/24/fun-with-vinyl/ . She used spray paint for hers, but I wanted to use the acrylic paint that I've been using lately in the colors that are my thing right now (for whatever reason I'm really into aqua and red together- SO pretty! ) So I sanded a bit first, then base coated the knife block red. Once it was dry, I painted it the aqua color. The original color was a bit bright for me, so I lightened it up with an equal amount of white paint in the little bowl I used. I then sanded a bit around the edges and in the middle to show the contrasting red. To protect the paint, I used DecoArt Sealer, just brushed it on lightly. I finished it off with my Cricut and some red vinyl. I didn't care for the capital "F", so I opted for the lowercase for the monogram, can you do that? Well, for the moment, that's what I did, and I like it well enough. Now my knife block is back in my kitchen, getting all "matchy matchy" with my other aqua colored accents..... Okay, it's not EXACTLY like the breadbox, because of the red, but.... I like it. I love Allison's blog, and have gotten tons of inspiration from her many projects, so check it out! Thanks Allison!