excited to share all the stories from our house and my creative endeavors! I hope this blog will inspire you to find that Creative Diva that is in all of us!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Fun Friday Crafty Project= DIY Time!

So many of you know we recently moved and with that comes organizing and finding homes for everything!  Okay so I think I have that part pretty much under control- just wish the little people in my house would keep with the system I created!  HA!  


Next comes the FUN part- DECORATING!!!!!!  We have been having fun changing things in the house.  I have to say I am pretty lucky that my Big Guy is so willing to do some of the work I envision because without his skills I would be calling a Handy Man or the men from Lowes or Home Depot to come do it!  So my Big Guy has changed out the lightining in the master bathroom, the entry hall, the dinning room, and installed 3 ceiling fans so far and a light for my office or I should say our joint custody office.  :-)  While he has been doing that on the weekends I have had fun hanging pictures, arranging furniture and putting my spin on the house.


   So where does the DIY part come from....well we had 2 chairs my Mother in Law gave us 4 years ago and they were in need of some tlc- wish I had a before picture.  The paint was chipping off and rust was starting to form.  So I sanded them down, then put a rust primer on them, and then next layered on the new Almond color.  I think they turned out pretty good and look nice on our new enclosed patio.  :-)


Once in awhile my hubby gets involved in the decorating which can be challenging sometimes!  HA!  No seriously he has a good eye but when he decides to go the Sport Route leads me a bit crazy.  He has this Packer Thermoter that we got when we went to Lambeau Filed last summer and he has been waiting to hang it somewhere......yep he found a home for it!  We needed new cushions for our patio set as the other ones were pretty worn out after 6+years.  So I needed to find something that could coordinate with the proud Green and Gold but take it up a level of sophistication if you get my drift!  And thankfully I found these pillows- LOVE THEM!  Then I found some simply Khaki seat cushions and we are good!








     Now onto my new DIY project that will begin this weekend! 


 Our Kitchen table!  Okay when you are military and move as much as we do pieces of furniture need to be transitional.  This was our Kitchen table back in Navarre, Fl four years ago but when moved into our townhouse we did not have room for this and our dinning room set.  So this table became a night stand in our bedroom.  Yep- how crazy is that?!?  Our bedroom was that big that the table could be a nightstand.  The 4 chairs that went with it I had no need for and they were in pretty bad shape so we donated them.  Fast forward to here....we have room for the table but I needed chairs 




and I want to paint the table black to go with the house.  I found 4 chairs at Home Goods- love that store.  They have a weathered gray finish on them and I think they will look really sharp with the table when it is black.  So that is my new DIY project- to paint my table black.  And the big Guy will be putting in a new lighting fixture too this weekend.  





So stay tuned.....I am excited for the results!!!!


Happy Fun Crafty Friday!


~Jennifer

Monday, September 19, 2011

Birthday Gift for Fun Friday Crafty Project!

Yep it is Monday- OOPS!  So I have been working on making my Mom cards for her Birthday present this year.  For Mother's Day she wanted cards made by me and now for her Birthday that is what she requested as well.  So over the summer I have had fun carving out time to create some cards for her and then it dawned on me.....

She needs a cute Card Box to put all of these in!!!!  So here is a fun project I love and makes a great gift and even better when it is stuffed full of cards!


Here is what you need:

* My Acrylix Organzier
*A Paper Pack of Your Choice with coordinating Cardstock- I used the retired Silhouette Creative Basics Paper(oldie but goodie!)
*Coordinating Ribbon
*For Every Occassion Stamp Set(one of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE stamp sets!!!!)
*Alphalicious Cricut Cartridge for the Letters.


Dimensions for the Box:

Need 2 4x12 pieces to wrap around the box.  These two pieces meet in the back of the box and wrap to the front.  You will have a gap in the front but the next pieces will cover that and you will not even know!

1 4x6 piece of carstock- mine was black
1 3 1/2 x 5 1/2 piece of cardstock- mine was bamboo
take a piece of ribbon and wrap around these pieces.

Your cut out letters will fit on this above piece- arrange them to your liking.  I used 2" letters to create my title.

Inside dividers- 6 6x6 cardstock pieces.  I used a true fit folio to trace top of the file folders to make the outline.


Looking forward to mailing this box full of cards to my Mom this week!  Wish I could give it to her in person but Colorado is a bit far from FL!  :-(

Wishing you success with a fun crafty project whatever day you choose to create one!

Creatively Yours,
Jennifer  :-)

Friday, September 9, 2011

Guest Post! for Fun Friday Crafty Project

Sorry I missed last Friday- hubby had the day off and that always gets me out of sink!  Thankfully we knocked out some house projects around the new Casa and made a list of what I still would like to "reasonably" conquer.  :-)

Fast forward to this week where one kiddo got diagnosed with Strep Throat on Tuesday and then the other one came down with it yesterday.  Not much crafting taking place this week as I have been running back and forth from clinics, pharmacies, etc...  As well as becoming the queen of Lysol.  I am just hoping this is not a sign of my year to come with the kids at a new school and new environment.

My fabulous friend and dowline Kris Brown made me the most original and CUTE gift before I left Virginia! You can find Kris here and if you live in the NOVA area you should attend her fun monthly workshops!  I miss Kris' monthly inspirations at club!

 I adore this and I am so happy to have found the PERFECT spot for this in our new Casa!  She told me that she loves to make these for wedding gifts- what a great idea!  I think they are the perfect gift and adds such a classy touch.  I was so surprised when she broke down how easy it is to recreate!

You say you like it too???  Okay so here is what you need:

a black frame(size of your choosing).  Your are going to take all the mattes and paper out and just leave the glass.

a drill(going to have to drill 2 holes into the top of the frame to thread your ribbon through)

Ribbon- fun ribbon to coordinate with your project.  For this frame Kris used our Dark Chocolate Striped Grosgrain Ribbon.

Vinyl- so 12x12 or 12x24 vinyl sheets to use in your Cricut to cut your letters out.  I would love to hear from my readers of the places they shop at to find the best prices and selection of vinyl to use with their Criuts!

And really that is all.  You pick your font or fonts you want to use with your Cricut, size of the lettering and then just put together!

I love the possibilities of this and I am so grateful to Kris for such a thoughtful handmade gift and one that gets my crafty energy peaked!

Here is hoping all are healthy in your house and that you have some time for a Fun Friday Crafty Project!

Creatively Yours,
Jennifer :-)