Making it Ours: Canvas for Family Room

I found some inspiration for this artwork here.  I loved the concept of using the shapes as frames for some of the words.  I painted the canvas and cut out the vinyl with my silhouette.  I love how it turned out and reminds me to have a positive attitude.

Picture of canvas with the other art I’ve made.

That’s all for today!  Thanks for reading,

~Lynette~

Making it Ours: Love at Home Tiles

 

Thanks for joining me today for another post of the ongoing “Making it ours,” series.  I’m enjoying sharing the large and small projects we’re doing in our home to make it feel like ours. Enjoy!

I started and finished this well before Dash was born.  I finally got it hung last week.   I had bought three mdf tile pictures for $2 each from family dollar.  They were beach themed with large fake seashells glued to them.  It worked for a cheap apartment bathroom makeover, but I am done with beach bathrooms.  So I asked my husband if he could remove the shells and I would reuse the tiles.  And that’s what I did.

Above is what they looked like after the shells were removed.  (Yes, I got ahead of myself and forgot a real before pic).

I sanded the beach themed stuff (which was actulaly paper glued on), and painted them a brown I ahd left over from a previous project.

I got the idea for the ‘love at home,’ from this guest post by Craft-O-Maniac on Tatertots and Jello.  I cut out the shapes with my silhouette.  I slapped the vinyl on, and I was done!

I hung it in my family room next to probably my most favorite vinyl project I’ve ever done.  I will get that posted later this week, don’t you worry.  I love the personal feel my home is finally taking after a year of being here.  It’s starting to feel like ours.

Thanks for reading!

~Lynette~

Making it ours: Kitchen Wall Art

Welcome to another post of the ongoing series ‘Making it Ours.’  My husband and I bought our home about a year ago, and this series tracks our progress to make our home feel like ours.  Some projects and simple like artwork, while others are a full remodel of rooms.  Enjoy!

As my baby has been getting older and more content to play, I’ve had a limited amount of time to finish up some quick crafts.  I have several things photographed and ready to show you.  I am finally getting some artwork on the bare walls in my home.

I started these canvases months ago.  I had two of them done, and one still blank right before dash was born.  I decided to go ahead and hang them up, and once I had a chance I could apply the vinyl to the third one.  So for the first two months of Dash’s life, we had the two outer canvases complete with a blank one in the middle. :)

I designed the canvas on the left on my own, designed the salt and pepper shakers (still missing the red ‘s’ and ‘p’ labels) in the silhouette software, and then used inspiration from pinterest to make the canvas on the right.

 

Close up of the ‘Eat’ sign

Close up of the Salt and Pepper Shakers

Close up of the ‘Happiness is Homemade’ sign

I absolutely love the Eat sign.  I think it’s my favorite because it’s my original design and it’s a little unique.  My kitchen is getting closer to feeling like mine, and it’s fantastic!

Thanks for reading,

~Lynette

Just a Thought

Hello everybody!  I haven’t been blogging much lately.  I just haven’t felt like it.  But today, I think I just need to write a bit to get some things off my chest.  Last week I had to take Dash to a doctor’s appointment.  It was an extremely warm day, I and needed to stop at the grocery store on the way home.  While pulling into the driveway of the parking lot, my car died.  I started it back up and got into a parking lot.  I immediately unloaded the carseat (and Dash of course :)  from the car and into a grocery cart and decided what to do.  I thought I saw my mother in law’s van in the parking lot, so I walked closer to investigate.  If it was her, I could find her in the store and ask for a ride home.  As I neared the van, an older lady began yelling at me.  “You’re going to cook your baby!”  I thought she was just saying that it was hot outside.  I laughed and said, “I know.”  She proceeded to yell and said in a desperate voice, “You need to get him some air.”  Dash was simply covered up by the car seat canopy I had made him.  I made it a little short on the sides so he can usually always have air circulation.  He was fine, and actually more protected from the sun and heat than I was.  I didn’t even know how to react to this ranting woman, so I turned around and went into the store.

This lady had no idea what I had just gone through.  She had no idea that my car was giving me trouble and that I was counting my blessings that I had made it to a parking spot.  She didn't  know that because I was worried about my baby being out in the heat, I hadn’t checked my car out very well.  It was 111 that day, and I was rushing to get him inside the store.  Don’t worry, the story ended well.  I was able to get a ride home, and my husband checked my car out when he got home.  He couldn’t find anything wrong, so I still have a car to drive. 

As much as I’d love to be upset at this woman, I am taking it as a reminder that sometimes people are going through a lot more than we think they are.  And if we were aware of what they are going through, we would probably be a little more accepting and lenient on him.  It was a great reminder to be slow to judge others.

Thanks for letting me share!  Have a wonderful day,

Lynette

Easy Button Bobby Pins

Saturday afternoon, I got the urge to craft.  I started to get out my fabric, but little Dash demanded to be held. There was no way I could sew or cut through fabric and hold an infant safely.  So I decided to use the infant carrier, and make these hair clips.  I waited until he was down for his nap to glue, and got a few made in less than an hour.  Today, my sister came over to craft and we opted to make more.  They are quite addicting to make I must say!

I used Ashley’s tutorial  from Make it and Love it to make the cover buttons without a kit.  I must say she made it super easy for me to make all sorts of adorable buttons!

Then I used this tutorial (found via pinterst of course!) from Elisa Mclaughlin Designs to attach the buttons to the bobby pins.  I think I will also use this method with alligator clips. 

I used hot glue on one batch, and E6000 on the other.  Just use what you like. :)

Well, better go save my fussy son!

Thanks for reading,

Lynette

Stenciled Car Seat Cover

About 2 weeks before Dash was born, I decided I should probably make a couple things for him.  I had the fabric shown above from a previous shopping trip, meant for a boy car seat cover, but I had never gotten something for the other side.  I looked and looked for boy fabric at a reasonable price, but couldn’t find anything.  I had a yard of plain cream fabric that would go, but I wanted something fun and boyish so the cover could be reversible. 

So I got out my trusty silhouette and cut out a stencil of vehicles.  I made 9 grids, ironed them onto the fabric, and then started painting everything one by one.  I used acrylic paint mixed with fabric paint medium, and it worked great. 

The ironing took FOREVER, but it was worth it because this project used only on hand materials.  (I would probably never do this much stenciling with freezer paper again, and probably recommend doing this with stamps, but my budget demanded creativity, and it was pretty fun to paint all those cars by hand!)

The whole process took a week or so because I got tired often, but it turned out great.

I finished the blanket part of the canopy a week or so before we had Dash, but I never got around to attaching the straps.  About 5 days after Dash was born, my sister grabbed some ribbon, and attached it so we could use it.  It’s completely reversible, and we love having something to cover up the baby with when it’s windy or around strangers.  And the best part is that nobody will have fabric like this! :)

Thanks for reading!

Lynette

What I’ve been up to lately…

Hi everybody!  Posting time is far and few between, but a car trip to the post office and utility office was just what my tired guy needed.  He is zonked out in his car seat and I’m not moving him til this is posted! ;)

Lately I’ve been doing lots of this…

(And under NO circumstances am I doing cloth diapers, but they make GREAT burp clothes.  Dying done by my awesome mom.)

I’ve been writing lots and lots of these!

(Thank you’s cut out by my silhouette machine, and then used a stamp for the ‘thanks.’  They are just simple cards to turn over for the message.)

And enjoying lots of these in several colors!

What have you been up to lately?

~Lynette~

Two More Feet, Ten More Toes

Our family grew by two feet!  Introducing our little guy, “Dash.”  At least that’s what he’ll be known as in blog land.  One of my tech’s at the hospital called him Dash because he would move away from the heart monitor while he was waiting to come.  He didn’t like being messed with. :)

Born April 26, 2012.  9 lbs 3 ounces. 21 inches long.  Big baby for a little 5ft 1in mom!  We had a rough 30 hours of labor, with a possibility of a c-section, but through several small miracles and a wonderful doctor and several amazing nurses, we made it.  We are all doing well!  I even got to sew for a bit yesterday!

My mom always told me to touch my sister’s feet when she was a baby, so I decided that Dash’s feet would be safe to show and tell online. :) *If you know me in real life, shoot me an email at necklacebliss(at)gmail(dot)com, and I will be happy to send you a full picture/announcement.* 

Thanks for reading!

Lynette

Three Things Thursday #5

Hi everybody!  Here's my quick three things for the day.  I really need to take some pictures so there's something exciting on this blog. :)

1.  I think that somebody should invent self-cleaning dishes.  :)

2.  I use an electric toothbrush like this one, and it's probably close to 6-7 years old.  It's been working great until last weekend when it wouldn't turn OFF!  I asked my husband what to do, and he said, smack it against the sink.  So here I am, smacking my toothbrush against the sink every time I use it to get it to turn off.  It's pretty funny.  Then we discovered that if you put a running toothbrush onto the charger, it will stop it.  I'm glad we figured something else out, my mirrors are really gross because of the spray.  I think I should take a regular toothbrush to the hospital when this kid comes, they may not release me thinking I've gone nuts if I'm smacking my toothbrush on their sink. :)

3.  I (try) to make bread about once a week.  It's cheaper, and tastes better, and once you get the hang of it, it's done in no time. :)

Well weren't those random things?  Thanks for reading!
~Lynette~

Three Things Thursday #4

Hi there!
I like this three things Thursday deal.  At least it's keeping me blogging once a week, huh?  :)  I have been working on lots of things, I just need to finish and take pictures to show you all!

#1.  I love the dollar store---as long as I have a list when I go in and stick to it. :)  Yesterday it was batteries and bins for the baby's changing table.  They had both in stock, it was a great feeling!  Just need to add some vinyl love to the bins and then I'll show you!  (Or maybe I won't and I'll show you anyways!)

#2.  Last night was fantastic!  I made a strawberry pie (I really do need to share that recipe, it's absolutely delicious), & my husband and I went and stocked up on case lot sale items.  We bought 4 whole cases plus odds and ends of things!  I have NEVER bought that much at a case lot sale, but it made me feel super grown up and prepared.  :)

#3.  I bought a big spool of purple thread a few weeks ago, and still haven't used it!  I need to find something purple to make soon.  Oh, and I also bought blue since I didn't have any boy colors.  I figured since our kid's a boy, I needed to make sure he was taken care of! :)

Have a fantastic day and thanks for reading!
~Lynette

Three Things Thursday #3

Hi everybody!  Let's see what I have to ramble on about today, shall we? :)

1.  I've been knocking out lots of projects this past week.  I got my sister's birthday present made, covered a travel wipes case with vinyl, and nearly finished making myself a nursing cover.  I still have a few projects in the works, but I figure it's good I haven't done much yet.  It will keep me busy and partly distracted up until the baby comes.

2.  I loved general conference this past weekend.  Especially this talk, and this talk.

3.  I have been thinking of a way to keep all my personal stuff together in my diaper bag.  I simply don't want to carry a diaper bag AND a purse, so I decided to make myself a clutch like this one from I am Momma Hear Me Roar.  I have decided to add little loops on each side so I can attach a strap to it if I need to run to the store without the babe.  I'm going to add some pockets and things too.  Her tutorial looks awesome, I can't wait to try it!

Well that's all for today!  Have a great one, and thanks for reading!
~Lynette~

Another Lily Skirt

Hi everybody!  My sister had been dying to make herself a skirt, so we found some cute fabric on a 50% off sale at Joann’s, and went to town one Friday afternoon.  It took us just a few hours to make this super cute piece.  We ended up cutting the fabric the wrong direction at first, but we were able to make it work just fine.  Thank goodness! 

(Aren’t the red shoes fun with it?!)

I think the whole skirt was made for about $7 or less, so it’s a very inexpensive way to bulk up your wardrobe for spring!  We used the Lily Pattern from Make it and Love it’s shop.  It’s a great pattern, and I’ve now made 4 skirts and thinking of making more!

Thanks for reading, and Happy Wednesday!

~Lynette~

Making it Ours: Craft Room Accessories

*Remember how every now and then I’m sharing my adventures of home improvement projects?  Here’s another one for you!  I hope you enjoy the ongoing series!*

Hi everybody!  I’ve been working on several little things for my craft room lately.  I’ve been using it for a few months, but I’m tweaking things to how I want them to stay.  In fact, my husband and I are in the process of building me a brand new craft desk with 2 cabinets and plenty of counter space!  I can’t wait til it’s done (although it will probably be right before or right after the baby’s born, and who knows when I will have a chance to use it. :)

The first thing I made, was a brand new pin cushion.  I had been looking for a container to use for a few months, and never found what I was looking for.  My intentions were to follow this tutorial to make a cupcake pin cushion like Care did at Obsessively Stitching.  I never could find the right container for he right price.

My husband and I were at DI one Friday evening, and I saw all the glass tea cups and dishes.  I instantly bolted to that isle and started going through them.  My husband surely thought I was crazy that night!  I found this little tea cup for 50 cents, and snatched it up!  Then the next week,  I got some purple fleece and made my pin cushion.  I wanted to make beaded pins like Katy did at No Big Dill, but that project was going to put too big of a bulge in the budget.  So I found these pretty pins at Joann’s (armed with a coupon of course!) and love them.  It’s nice to have something fancy sometimes.

I also made a Cell Phone Charger holder.  I used the tutorial from Ashley at Make it and Love it found here.  It was a pretty slick project, and I like having a place to stow away my cords when I’m not charging something.  And I love that it matches my craft room! :)

This is the latest project I’ve done, and finally last week I hung it up!  I used a canvas as the base, and then I cut out the letters and bunting using my Cameo.  I took a remnant of a purple undershirt, cut it into a strip, tied knots, and attached it to the back of the canvas for easy (and cute) hanging.  I found this printable here via pinterest, and decided I needed my very own in purple.  I love how the letters ended up not very centered, and the words aren’t super straight.  It reminds me that perfection is not key, but the joy of creating is!

Well, that’s all for today!  Hope you have a wonderful Tuesday!

~Lynette~

Craft Room Clean Up!

Hi there!  Today, I’m posting some of the things I’ve gotten done this week.  Cheri over at I am Momma Hear me Roar has been having Git ‘er done week.  She is hosting a linky party today, and I am joining in.

I began the week thinking I would fix the curtains for the baby’s room, finish hanging wall art in the kitchen, weed the garden, and crazy stuff, but it just didn’t happen.  Let’s blame it on being 36 weeks pregnant, okay?  :)  I did wipe down the inside of my husband and my car, and wiped down some cabinets in the bathroom. 

(Before the clean up…but this picture was taken a few months ago, so imagine more things on the floor…like way more!)

So I spent an hour or two going through my craft room and tidying it up- while sitting most of the time. :)  Since I got my Cameo for Christmas, I have purchased more paper and supplies including vinyl and really had no where to put them.  My husband and I are in the process of building me a new craft desk, but I decided I might as well get things organized the best I can, and then I can just slip things into the cabinets under the desk once it’s done (which will probably be right before or right after the baby makes his grand entrance).

(During the clean up, but definitely WAY better than when I started)

Cleaned off my desk,

Organized paper and vinyl into totes, and folded up extra fabric and put it in my cabinet.  I also hung my rotary cutting board and ruler on the wall.  They were always falling over, and driving me crazy.  I love that they have their own home now!
I didn’t take a before picture of the cabinet, but the bottom 4 shelves were a mess.  Things were balled up and shoved into place, and I took it all out, refolded the fabrics, and put like things together the best I could.  I could have done more, but I know it will change a bit once my desk is complete.

And you know how your mom always said that you’d find things that were lost when you cleaned your room?  I found a scraper to help apply vinyl that I’ve been missing for two months!  I thought it had gotten thrown away accidentally.  I was soooo excited, I had to share a picture with you too.  I can’t wait to use this handy tool again!
Whew!  I think I can actually think straight in here to create, but I think I’ll take a nap instead!  That was a lot of work.
Thanks for reading!
~Lynette~

Three Things Thursday #2!

*Last week I decided to share three things on Thursdays.  So here we go!

1.  I’ve been working hard this week trying to get lots done.  I am exhausted, but it’s been wonderful to wipe out our cars, hang up pictures and artwork I’ve finished, mop my kitchen floor (THAT was a workout!), and get started actually working on baby projects (it’s about time!) :)

 

2. My flowers in my yard are gorgeous! Thanks to the previous owners, lots and lots of bulbs were planted and coming up. Every day or two I have a new surprise waiting for me in my yard. And my apple tree is blooming, and it is beautiful!  My husband kind of chuckles when I tell him how amazing our yard is. I didn’t grow up with fruit trees or lots of flowers like he did, so it’s magical to me.

 

(These are a really vibrant purple in real life, and of course they are my favorite!)

3.  I  have been having the hardest time finding fabric that I like at Joann’s lately.  And that’s really the only affordable fabric store in my area.  And some days, I feel like I have to break the bank at Joann’s.  I guess I’m just really cheap—but my husband appreciates it, so that’s good I guess!  I’ve been rethinking my fabric stash and becoming more creative to make things work.  I’ve got a project cooking that I CANNOT wait to show you! :)

Thanks for reading!

~Lynette~

Three Things Thursday

Hi everybody!  Have you noticed the trend lately with people sharing Ten Things on Tuesday, or Five on Friday?  I decided to jump on board and share three things on Thursday.  I can rant and rave about anything I want, from pictures, to what I'm currently working on.  Here we go!

1.  Yesterday I approached a Coscto customer to ask him a question about where to find a Costco product.  It was after I started talking to him that the lanyard he was wearing was from the local school district... (which I have worked for---my husband later said that it would have been worse if it had been my old boss or something) not Costco.  He was really nice but I was so embarrassed and wanted to dig a hole and stay there for the rest of the day!  If you're going into a store, take off your lanyards people!  You confuse me too much.  (And by the way, it's funny now, but it wasn't then. :)

2.  I'm feeling a tad overwhelmed about the amount I still need to do to get ready for this baby to come.  We haven't even painted his room yet!  I have quite a bit of baby stuff thanks to a baby shower, but I'm feeling a bit stressed seeing as I will be 35 weeks tomorrow!  I think I will just really decide what's important, and let the rest go by the wayside.  For instance, because I can't find boy fabric that's affordable, some things will just not get made.  I do need to recover the purple lampshade I have from my teenage years though.  Purple in a boy's room just won't do! :)

3.  I am working on getting projects finished this week that I've started.  I'm working on artwork for my kitchen and family room.  I think once those are done, I can start on other things.  Whew!

Thanks for reading!
~Lynette~

Ruffles and Trim Shoe Refashion

Hi everybody.  I hope you had a great weekend.  I did.  On Saturday, my husband went to work to use the shop to work on one of our vehicles.  I was left home, and my husband said that I didn’t have to clean if I didn’t want to.  (I had literally exhausted myself every day last week from trying to get so much done.  I needed a break, and was glad to take it!)  I finished and knocked out 3 different projects.  This shoe refashion was one of them.  It’s not super original, but I really like how it turned out.

Here’s the before.  I bought these shoes 6 years ago, and they were definitely showing signs of wear.  I have glued down the silver linings a couple times.  It needed it again, so this time I used E6000.  Love that stuff, but can’t stand the smell of it right now. Yuck.

The bows have even been repaired at least once, and were just looking really sad. I was ready for a change.

The bows came off…

I made a tube of satin-y fabric, and flattened it so the seam was in the middle.  Then I gathered it using my easy way to make ruffles, and glued it to the shoe.  Once that was done, I decided I needed some trim.  I got a few inches of trim from Joann’s, treated the ends with Fray Check, and glued the trim on top of the ruffles. 

So for just a few dollars, I ended up with a new look to some very old shoes.  I’ve looked for over a year for new ones, and just haven’t found any I liked.  So I’ll make do for awhile more with the refashioned version! :)
Thanks for reading,
Lynette

Spring Skirt with Bias Cut Strips

Yesterday I woke up and decided that I needed to sew something for ME.  I had many plans for skirts that I can use now and after the baby’s born, but I had only gotten 1 skirt done.  So from 7:30am on, I sewed like a mad woman.  It was super fun, especially since I just purchased a new pedal for my machine.  It’s been acting wonky since Thanksgiving, so to have a new pedal was a dream! 

My maternity wardrobe is seriously lacking some color, but I do have a white shirt, so I decided that I’d go with a pink skirt and add the multi colored fabric strips across the bottom. Sorry I’m not modeling the skirt, my 33 week pregnant self doesn’t feel like it today! :)

(I used 5 1 inch strips cut on the bias of the printed fabric.  To finish off the look, I sewed the top stitch with a simple running stitch with stitch width set at 5 and stitch length at 1 on my Bernina 1008.)

This skirt was very easy to make.  I purchased the pattern from the Make it and Love it shop here.   It only cost $5.00, and I’ve made 4 skirts from the pattern so far.  Sadly, this is the first one I’ve blogged about.  I’ll need to have the husband take some pictures before church and I will show them to you!  I also got the idea to add the bias cut strips on the bottom from Ashley @ Make it and Love it here.  You can add this detail to any skirt.

I made the skirt according to my pre-pregnancy size so I can wear it after baby comes.  When putting in the elastic, I kept the casing hole halfway open so I can cinch in the elastic once I need to.  I also have worn the skirts I made pre-pregnancy with no problems, I just wear them lower than I normally would.

Well I think that’s all for today!  I hope you are having wonderful spring weather like we are.

Thanks for reading!

~Lynette~

Hand Made Birthday Card

Good morning!  I just wanted to show a quick and easy card I whipped up for my brother’s Birthday last week.  I made a template for the card in my silhouette software (you could easily just cut it out, but this was easier for me) and then cut out the letters.  I had the decals in my stash that coordinated with the paper, and stuck those babies on.  Easy peasy, and turned out cute too!

Thanks for reading.  Have a great weekend!

~Lynette~

Making It Ours: Laundry Room Sign

*Making it ours is my simple series where I feature some of my projects to make our new home feel more like ours.  Some projects will be simple décor, while others will be major remodel type projects.*

Hi everybody!  I needed a breath of fresh air from maternity/baby stuff today, so here’s a simple project I did with some firewood (literally-but it’s for decent stuff because we get it from a business who throws their crates out for grabs), some paint, and some vinyl from my silhouette.

I had fun coming up with my other laundry room sign, but for this one, I struggled.  I didn’t have a big enough board for the saying I really wanted to use, so I went with an unoriginal “Laundry Room,” sign.  Boring, yes, but I still love how it turned out.  I got the hanger image from Microsoft Word, and imported it into the silhouette software.

Well, that’s all I’ve got today!  Hope you’re having a great day.  It’s raining today.  I busted out my purple paint and added a 2nd coat to one of the sides of my craft room door.  I was in the first trimester yucky stage when I first painted, so I finished it up now that smells don’t bother me. :)  I also painted something else purple, and will show you in the upcoming days/weeks!

Thanks so much for reading!

~Lynette~