Have a Little Faith

Greetings from the Sunshine State! That's right folks, we are officially in Florida!! It was a loooooooong drive from Virginia, & to say that our kitten was miserable the whole time would probably be the understatement of the year. (Did you know that kittens can sound like babies when they are trying to sound really pathetic?! ) But, we all made it in one piece! We set to work right away looking for a place... & we looked... & called people... & looked some more... all to no avail. We had both started to get really frustrated, & I was really stressed. We didn't know how many days Micah would be able to go on the house hunt with me before he became busy with Army stuff again. Not to mention, staying in a hotel isn't really ideal. I prayed my hardest last night that we would be able to find a place soon, & I told God that I was going to give all of my worries & stress over to him (I've really been trying to do this more lately... I'm a worrier, what can I say...). This morning, while talking to a realtor, we once again stumbled across this little gem of a place that we had seen online, but kept dismissing for its location & lack of washer & dryer (that last one was mostly my objection). With no other leads to go on & time running out, we decided to swing by & give it a looksie. It was perfection. We were able to move the few things we had with us in Virginia in today (& once we got there it DID have a washer & dryer!). I feel so incredibly blessed to have found such a great little home for us. Despite all of my worries & doubts, God provided for us, just like I should have been confident that He would all along. Its moments like these that truly remind us how great our God is & how He is always there to take care of us. 


I can't wait to put up my first blog post with some "before" pictures! Although, the house was recently renovated, so they will mostly be like "blank canvas" pictures. I am so looking forward to crafting for & decorating our new little nest!!

Personalized Bunting Banner

This glorious "little" project that I was so excited about starting almost took multiple a turn for the worse & ended up in my trash. However, I was so set on it that I put my problem solving skills to use & persevered. Boy, am I glad I did!! 


I started out with the same fabric that I used for the Shabby Chic Table Runner & Button Monogram Pillow. I guestimated how big I wanted my individual pennants, measured it out & cut out a template.

My next step was figuring out how many pennants I needed. I wanted each one to be 2 layers, so taking that into account I needed 12 pieces. I cut out squares of my fabric roughly the size of my template. I traced my template onto one of the fabric squares & stacked them up. Then, using my new cutting board & rotary cutter (on the setting for multiple layers), I finished up the pennants. 

Next up, were the individual letters. I created my own little templates on some heavy paper & cut them out. I traced the letters onto the back of my fabric with a white water soluble pencil (making sure to reverse the direction of the letter). I used a dark navy blue fleece that I got from the remnants basket at JoAnn's for only 58 cents!

Once they were all traced. I used my new pinking shears to cut them out. This can be a bit challenging at first, but once you get the hang of it, its easy-peasy! Plus is keeps your fabric from unravelling. One little tip that I have to offer is if you have a letter that has a space that needs to be cut out inside your letter (like my a & e), just cut out a little circle from your background fabric & tack it on. (I really hope this makes sense.) That's a lot easier than trying to cut out a little hole in the middle of your letter!

After all of my letters were cut out, I laid them out on the pennants just to make sure that they fit well. Then, I pinned them down & took myself to my sewing machine. Now, this is the step that gave me some serious trouble. My original idea was to sew on the letters with colorful thread. Wrong, very bad idea. My sewing skills are not that superb (yet!), & it ended up being a hot mess. So I went to JoAnn's (for the 3rd time in 3 days) & got some thread that matched my letters. I really like the Gutterman thread, so thats what I went with in a dark navy. Very carefully, I sewed on each letter. Going slow was the key here for me. Once they were all attached, I admired my handiwork for a minute & did a little excited dance (all while Micah looked at me like I'd lost it). 

The next step is to pin both pieces of your pennants together, making sure that the wrong sides are together. You are going to sew them with both of the right pieces facing out. I promise, I haven't lost my mind. Its gonna work! Make sure you change out your thread on your machine to one that matches your fabric. After the two longer sides are sewn (I left the top open), trim up the excess fabric with your pinking shears. 

pre- pinking shears!

Then, I took figured up how much ribbon I needed to go along the tops of my pennants & attach them. After that, it got pretty meticulous... I folded the ribbon in half (it was 2 in. ribbon), pinned it, iron it down to create a good crease, & then pinned my pennants in between the folded sides. All that's left is to just stitch it up!

A close-up after it was stitched.

I really, really love how this project turned out, & I can't wait to make a few more! Please let me know what you think about it!!

Sewing Supplies to the Rescue!

I made some big purchases today... I invested in some essential supplies for the budding sewing enthusiast... And, man, did it feel good! Well it wasn't THAT big of a purchase, but still... I'm excited. I had intended to start a new project on Monday, & was struggling with it. It was then that it hit me that I really needed to update my sewing kit. So here we are. These are my new toys (all from JoAnn's):

First up is the Dritz Rotary Cutting Kit that includes a mat, ruler, & cutter all in one. This little puppy saved me a crap load of time today & also kept my sanity in tact. I highly recommend it. I sliced my way (uniformly) through 9 layers of linen earlier with this amazing kit without batting an eyelash! 

Secondly, I got some pinking shears. This was for a specific project that I started on today (which I don't want to spoil right now!), but they seem all-around useful, too. I got hot pink ones since they are "pink"ing shears! I almost croaked when I saw how much these suckers were in the store... but I'm already kind of obsessed with them, so obviously it was a good purchase!

And lastly, I bought a white water soluble marking pencil for my fabric. Ironically enough, its no where to be found on JoAnn's website. I just got the most simple one that was $1 & some change. Nothing fancy. 

These 3(ish) things have helped me a ridiculous amount today! They are up there on the lifesaver list, now. Check them out if you like sewing & are still trying to build up your supplies like I am. 

Shabby Chic Table Runner

What you need:

fabric of your choice

thread that matches your fabric 

straight pins

a measuring tape

scissors

sewing machine

I told y'all in my post about the Monogram Button Pillow that I had more plans for the fantastic curtain I bought on sale from Target... Well, here is project #2! I have been searching (with no luck) for either a table runner or place mats to go on the gorgeous table my hubby made us that coordinate with the dishes we got as wedding gifts. When I saw that curtain, with its vintage-y embroidery, I knew I wanted to make my perfect table runner instead of purchasing one. 

Since we are currently living in a temporary, fully furnished apartment (yay, Army life), none of our furniture is up here. So, I wasn't able to measure our table to get the dimensions for my runner, like most of the websites I found were suggesting. Then, I randomly found a website (which I can't find now, sorry!) that suggested 13" x 60" as a good, generic size, so that's what I went with. 

First, I cut the embroidered section off of the bottom of the curtain & cut that into two 15" sections, with a little still left over. (I decided to give myself an inch on each side so the finished product would be 13.")

Next, there came a bit of math my 2nd worst subject not my favorite thing. I measured & cut a strip of fabric for the main part of my table runner. I had to allow for the embroidered bit of fabric that I was planning on attaching to each end. All in all, I wanted it to equal 60" after it was sewed up. I also cut the width of this strip 15" like the embroidered parts. The next step was to attach the embroidered ends to the main strip of fabric. I pinned & then sewed this together. Make sure you sew both ends on the same way... I got distracted on the phone while I was pinning & had to rip out & redo one end... 

After that was done, I started pinning the edges to hem. This was a bit of a task... I was trying to manage it while fighting off a kitten who thinks fabric is REALLY fun to play with. I kind of guestimated (once again) my hems. They are a little crooked by not enough to tell unless you look really closely.

After pinning to my little heart's content, I sewed up the edges, trimmed up any leftover threads, & voila! It still needs to be pressed, but I was so excited to show y'all that I saved that final step for a little later. 

My lovely new shabby chic inspired (custom!) table runner. I love it! And, it cost me next to nothing since I used the same fabric & thread from my button pillow. What do you think?! 

Button Monogram Pillow

Being a newlywed, I am slightly obsessed with monograms. Particularly, my new one! Unfortunately, my darling hubby does not share my love of monograms. He calls them "the letters" & actively vocalizes how much he dislikes them. As you all know from my post For My Deer-est, I try to take into account both of our likes & dislikes when I'm planning projects, & ultimately when I decorate our house. But, this is one major exception! I saw this blog post on Pinterest about a monogramed button pillow, & I knew I had to make one for myself!


A few months ago, my awesome mother-in-law gave me her old sewing machine (which was originally her mother-in-law's as well!). We (Micah helped) finally got it up & running, so I've been chomping at the bit for a sewing project. I stumbled upon a great deal at Target the other day while I was aimlessly looking around. They had a whole aisle dedicated to curtains on sale, & I found this amazing Shabby Chic curtain for $13!  I have VERY big plans for this curtain, but we will cover more about that in a later post.

I love the burlap look of it! I decided my first project with it was going to be making a button pillow. So, I made a trip to my local JoAnn's & picked up the necessities. After some browsing, I found a box of assorted buttons, which was just what I was looking for. You could also get buttons in the same hue or color family, but I wanted an eclectic mix. I also picked up some thread... as a sewing beginner, my supplies are seriously lacking. I found a very helpful blog for sewing newbies like myself that outlined what you need. She recommended a high quality thread, like Gutterman Natural Cotton Thread, in a neutral color. The natural cotton is a little pricy, so I went with a spool of the polyester in Col. 512.

Once I had those two key items, I got started on the design. First, I unpacked my curtain & figured out the size I wanted my pillow to be. I measured a throw pillow that came with our couch to gauge what I wanted mine to be. It was 17"x17", so I measured out & cut my fabric at 18"x18" to give myself some leeway while I was sewing it up. My squares were all wrinkled from being folded in packaging, so I went ahead & ironed them before I started anything else.

Then, I found a K that I liked by searching on Google (of course!). I enlarged & printed it out, but it wasn't quite as big as I wanted so I freehanded the same K on a blank sheet of paper. I cut it out to create a template, pinned it to the center of my fabric, & traced it with a pencil. A pencil wasn't necessarily the best thing to use, since the lines are still faintly visible, but I was working with what I had. I think I'm going to invest in a few Pilot Frixion pens that have ink that disappears when heated with an iron, as is also suggested in the sewing beginners blog post.

Once I had a pattern to follow, I got to work! I started out by picking a few buttons I liked & arranging them on the K, starting in the center. From there, I worked my way out along the rest in small sections, hand stitching the buttons. I tried to mix the colors & sizes of the buttons up. It doesn't matter if it looks perfect either... believe me, its impossible to get it perfect! To make things a little easier, I doubled up my thread on my needle so I could cut down on how many times I stitched through the button holes without worrying about the buttons not being secure.


I'm not going to lie.... this process is SLOW, but remember the classic story about the Tortoise and the Hare. My patience most definitely paid off! (And your's will too!)


Once I was satisfied with my finished monogram, I pinned the two pieces of fabric together. (Remember to do that with the buttons facing in - VIP!) I used my same thread to sew with my machine as well. Now remember, this is my very first sewing project with a machine (eeek!), so I'm not really going to go into all the details, because I am by no means an expert. I was just excited that my stitches weren't completely wonky! I sewed up 3 of the sides completely, & then did about 3/4 of the 4th side (This is so I can stuff the pillow & hand stitch the little hole up). I made sure I left the gap on the bottom of my pillow so it would be less noticeable.


I stuffed the pillow with Poly-Fil that I also got from JoAnn's & stitched up the hole. Voila!! A brand-spanking-new monogramed pillow! All in all, this little project cost me about $25 to make... but I will also be using the same fabric for a few other projects. I am pretty much in love with my pillow, & I'm pretty proud of myself (if I do say so myself) for my first sewing project! I hope y'all like it as much, too. :)

Personalized Save the Date Sign

I decided to post about one of my most favorite things that I've made... a "Save the Date" sign that Micah & I used in our engagement photos! I made this last summer, so once again, there are no step-by-step picture, but I feel like this is a pretty straightforward project. 

The finished product!

I started out by making a trip to Hobby Lobby for my supplies. I looked in the unfinished wood aisle for a plaque, but I wasn't satisfied with the sizes... I wanted something bigger. So then I headed over to peruse the wall decor section (which was 50% off that particular week!) & found a rectangular wooden sign that already said 'Bon Apetite.' As much as I would have loved to hang that sucker up in my kitchen, I decided it was the perfect size & shape for my project, & it was already equipped with  a way to hang it! This was a bit pricey. It helped that it was half off, & I justified it by telling myself that it would be a nice touch to add to our future home's decor. 


I knew I wanted a slightly distressed look for the sign, so I mosied over to the acrylic paint section & picked up some crackle finish. The type that I got went on top of my paint. Last, but certainly not least, I also grabbed some antiquing finish & headed home. 


Our engagement session was outside in the height of a brutal, muggy Tennessee summer. Instead of fighting it... I decided to embrace it & wanted a playful, slightly Americana feel for our pictures. That idea was my inspiration for our Save the Date sign. I chose to paint it a basic cream (that went best with the colors we were going to be wearing). It took 3-4 layers of paint to get a nice even coat over the whole thing. You could still faintly read 'Bon Apetite' under the base layer, but once I was finished, it wasn't visible anymore. After that dried, I applied the crackle. (For this I just followed the instructions on the bottle.) The crackle I had went on your topmost layer & was supposed to crackle down to your bottom layer. Since I had to use so many layers of cream paint, it didn't really crackle down to the base. Never fear, because that's where the antiquing finish comes in! 


Once again, my printer wasn't working. So for the text, I taped together two pieces of printer paper & worked out my design on that in pencil. I just guestimated where everything needed to go & it turned out pretty well! But, for those of you who need things to be a little more exact, I'd suggest using a ruler to measure out where your words are going to go. Now, you need to get your design onto your freshly painted & crackled board! I took the cheap route & scribbled on the back of my paper with a pencil so I could transfer it. An easier way would be to buy graphite/transferring paper to lay under your design as you trace it. I also recently found out that good ole newspaper can also work as transferring paper. I have yet to try that out, but if anyone does, let me know how it works! I definitely suggest taping your paper to your board while your tracing it, so simplify your life & help free up your hands. After I carefully traced & transferred my text, I took a black paint pen & went to town filling in my design. Be very careful during this stage & do not, I repeat do not, shake your pen over your board because you'll get a nasty mess that is tricky to clean up. Take it from the girl who almost had a meltdown from doing this. :) 


After you have your text looking just how you want it, let it dry thoroughly. (I use a blowdryer to help speed up the drying process, because I suffer from a bad case of having limited to no patience.) After its nice & dry, break out your antiquing medium. I used a similar process with this as with my Deer Painting minus the damp paper towel. A dry paper towel is more than enough to wipe off any excess, & if you use a damp one it will take your writing off, too. Here is where the crackle detail really comes out! 

Detail of the crackle. 

I was super happy (& still am!) with how it turned out. This project ended up costing me a little more than I had originally expected - probably upwards of $40. But, I didn't mind, because it was for my engagement pictures after all! And the whole reasoning behind it was to use it in a picture for our actual save the date cards. Since we are only temporarily in Virginia & in a fully furnished apartment, I don't have any of my home decor stuff out, but I can't wait to make a wall collage of some of our engagement & wedding pictures with this sign!

Our save the dates!

If you like our engagement pictures, be sure to check out Emily Lester Photography! She's amazing!! http://emilylesterphotography.com/index2.php#/home/

Rustic Deer Silhouette Painting

Micah is probably the hardest person to buy gifts for, besides my dad. Both of them are infuriating. If there's something they want, either: A. I can't afford it (a watch for 2 grand?!) or B. They get it before I get the chance to. So I've had to rely on my creativity for their presents. For the past few holidays that me & Micah have celebrated together, I started painting things for him. Now he's gotten to the point where he just straight up asks for a painting. So, as I was pondering what I was going to get him for our 1st Valentine's Day as Mr. & Mrs., my mind automatically went to the spare canvas I had laying around from a past project (I got the cheap-o ones that came in a 2 pack from Hobby Lobby & only needed 1). 


I was perusing Pinterest (I could write a whole post on how much I love that site.) a while back & came across this post. 

DIY Deer Head Silhouette Wall Art Decor

As I've previously established, Micah is extremely outdoorsy. Not to mention, he keeps threatening to put up dead & mounted animals everywhere, so any way that I can give him a deer head, but on my terms is perfect!


First, I found a deer head silhouette online that I liked. I couldn't get the printer to work (Don't judge me, at least I'm admitting how technically un-savvy I am.), so I just free handed the design straight onto my blank canvas with a pencil. Of course this would be the perfect time to show you a picture of my deer in its free handed greatness, but, as I mentioned in my 1st post, I forgot to take pictures during the process. If you don't feel comfortable free handing stuff, I suggest printing out the image you want & getting it blown up to your preferred size, then using transfer paper (also called graphite paper) to get it onto your canvas. (I saw this paper at Michael's in the acrylic/craft paint aisle, & I know Hobby Lobby has it, too.) 


I picked green for my background because its Micah's favorite color, & it seemed nature-y & manly. It took for freaking ever quite a few layers of paint to get the background looking like a solid shade of green instead of a splotchy mess. Then, I started in on the silhouette. I squirted a thickish white paint & tan paint (both are acrylic, as is the green I used) directly onto the canvas, & mixed the two together as I painted. Do the same for smaller areas, like the antlers, but be careful to use very small dabs of paint. I like this method because it made the color uneven & textured, but if you want a more uniform look you might want to premix the paint or use just one color. 

This could also be a 'finished product' if you didn't want to antique it. 

Once everything was dry (this is VERY important) & how I wanted it, I took my brown antiquing finish & added it on top. Just like with the other paint, I squirted it directly on top of the canvas. I started moving it around with a sponge brush (go in circles), then rubbing it off with a paper towel. I also found it helpful to dampen another paper towel to remove some of the excess. You need to work pretty fast so the antiquing medium stays wet enough to wipe off

The left half has the antiquing medium on it, & the right half is still plain. 

Keep going until the whole canvas is done. After I had a nice base, I went back & darkened some areas, like around the edges & in the body of the deer. Just mess with it until you're happy! Try not to get too heavy handed with the antiquing... but, in case you do, that damp paper towel will be your BFF. 

Ta daaaa!

Since I had all of these supplies already on hand, this lovely Valentine didn't cost me a dime, & my hubby loved it! Please let me know what you think!

The paints I used. The green is called Arbor Green.