The Creative Imperative

20% Off in the Etsy Shop for Cyber Monday!

2013-12-02T08:21:00.000-05:00

Hi friends! It is my favorite time of year... I get to start using my Christmas wrap for the etsy canvas orders.

It's kind of like when the red Starbucks cups start showing up... it just gets me in the holiday spirit!

We have a deal in the etsy shop today... 20% all items for Cyber Monday! That includes canvases

"God made you" prints

wedding lyric prints

and digital designs so you can make your own print or canvas.

Just enter BLESSED in the box for the coupon code and your order will be discounted 20%.

Here is one more link to the shop!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/thecreativeimperativ?ref=l2-shopheader-name

Thanks so much for your support!

Blessings,

Jamie

Unique Wedding or Anniversary Gift: Song Lyric Prints in the Etsy Shop

2013-08-05T07:28:00.000-04:00

There is a new item in The Creative Imperative etsy shop. I recently made this print for a friend; she was going to a wedding and was looking for a unique gift. I made this one into a canvas; I am only offering them as prints in the shop right now though.

Here is one that I designed for another couple

and if you're looking for a bolder style, here are the same words in a different layout

Be sure to check out the Custom Wedding Song Lyric Print Listing if you're interested. It comes in 11" x 14" or 16" x 20" and they are completely customized to your specifications (words, colors and style).

This makes a great wedding gift or anniversary gift!

Thanks so much for stopping by; let me know what you think in the comments.

Blessings,

Jamie

A Bathroom Update: The Chartreuse Outhouse

2013-08-01T06:35:00.000-04:00

We recently updated our powder room. I am starting to feel like our house is a little too serious so I thought I'd try something a little more playful in the bathroom

There is zero natural light in the bathroom... sorry for all the harsh shadows! I had an idea to make a faux outhouse door out of some old pallet wood.

I just used nails to hold the whole thing together and then painted the moon and star on it.

I used to be a big Phish fan; the inspiration came from their Farmhouse album cover.

I found a tutorial online to show how to make a pendant light from a turbine roof vent

I really love it, I wish it gave off a little more light though. My husband was joking about the overall look we were going for in the bathroom... he calls this style "industrial outhouse". Maybe it's a trend that will catch on!

The whole look is a little bold and took some getting used to, but I really like it now. I found the cutest hooks at Hobby Lobby; they were only a little over $2 with the 40% off coupon.

I made little loops from ribbon to help the towels stay on the hooks. It just helps a lot when there are little kids using the towels regularly. The tutorial for that can be found here.

What do you think? Too bold? Too "outhouse"? Thanks so much for stopping by!

Blessings,

Jamie

This post is linked here: Today's Creative Blog Blue Cricket Design Kurtz Corner Mommy by Day Crafter by Night Cherished Bliss Lines Across My Face Southern Lovely Bear Rabbit Bear French Country Cottage Craft Junkie Too DIY Home Sweet Home Saved by Love Domestically Speaking Funky Junk Interiors Homemaker on a Dime Eisy Morgan The Answer is Chocolate Making the World Cuter Craft-O-Maniac lolly jane 504 Main I Heart Naptime Singing Three Little Birds mad in crafts House of Hepworths Somewhat Simple Chic on a Shoestring Keeping it Simple Be Different Act Normal Sew Can Do Sew Chatty Pinkapotamus The Girl Creative Flamingo Toes Tatertots and Jello Sisters of the Wild West Reasons to Skip the Housework Giggles Glitz and Glam Tip Junkie The Trendy Treehouse Ladybug Blessings Night Owl Crafting Tea Rose Home My Girlish Whims Allie Makes Gluesticks Thrifty 101 Momnivores Dilemma A Little Knick Knack Miss Mustard Seed Freckled Laundry kojo designs A vision to remember Primitive and Proper 733 Rook no 17 Home Stories A to Z Naptime Crafters Whipperberry delightful order blissful and domestic elizabeth and co diy by design gingersnap crafts>my repurposed life http://www.myrepurposedlife.com/http://www.remodelaholic.com

Star Wars Bedroom Reveal

2013-07-24T07:09:00.000-04:00

The same week I worked on our daughter's princess room, I also finished our son's Star Wars room. It was a lot of work, but I think it was so very worth it! I'm really happy with how it turned out

The headboard is made up of the magnetic boards that used to be on my son's dresser. You can buy them at IKEA. We just put two of them on the wall, side by side.

We also used puck lights with magnets on the back of them (from Dollar tree), to make the headboard seem more like a control panel. The green things are little glass "stones" from Dollar Tree that we glued magnets onto. We wanted to give the effect of driving the Millenium Falcon. Our son really loves playing with the lights at night and we read his bedtime stories by the light of the puck lights

We ended up adding a few more lights... these are LEDs that are attached to a button.

Here is the button that controls the LEDs... I have no idea how my husband did this this, but I think it's awesome

We also put up a "light saber holder" (it's actually a broom/garden tool holder from Home Depot). I originally saw the idea at Quite Contrary

I cut some white vinyl with my Silhouette to make the sign; the black and gray areas are painted

I also repainted what used to be the Spiderman trunk

Here is the sign on the outside of his door

and here is another mural; this one is the view from the gunner turret on the Millenium Falcon. I chose the battle of Endor for the scene

Here is a detail

and no Star Wars mural is complete without the Death Star

Just like my daugter's room, it's totally over the top. I figured we might as well do it up!

Do you have a little boy who's into Star Wars? I was a little worried our son would be scared of the battle scenes, but he loves everything about the room.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Blessings,

Jamie

This post is linked here: Today's Creative Blog Blue Cricket Design Kurtz Corner Mommy by Day Crafter by Night Cherished Bliss Lines Across My Face Southern Lovely Bear Rabbit Bear French Country Cottage Craft Junkie Too DIY Home Sweet Home Saved by Love Domestically Speaking Funky Junk Interiors Homemaker on a Dime Eisy Morgan The Answer is Chocolate Making the World Cuter Craft-O-Maniac lolly jane 504 Main I Heart Naptime Singing Three Little Birds mad in crafts House of Hepworths Somewhat Simple Chic on a Shoestring Keeping it Simple Be Different Act Normal Sew Can Do Sew Chatty Pinkapotamus The Girl Creative Flamingo Toes Tatertots and Jello Sisters of the Wild West Reasons to Skip the Housework Giggles Glitz and Glam Tip Junkie The Trendy Treehouse Ladybug Blessings Night Owl Crafting Tea Rose Home My Girlish Whims Allie Makes Gluesticks Thrifty 101 Momnivores Dilemma A Little Knick Knack Miss Mustard Seed Freckled Laundry kojo designs A vision to remember Primitive and Proper 733 Rook no 17 Home Stories A to Z Naptime Crafters Whipperberry delightful order blissful and domestic elizabeth and co diy by design gingersnap crafts>http://www.myrepurposedlife.com/http://www.remodelaholic.com

Little Girl Princess Bedroom Reveal

2013-07-19T06:17:00.000-04:00

I am so happy to finally have the kids' rooms painted! Every time I would go to work on a painting job the kids would ask when I was going to paint their rooms. The mommy guilt was especially bad if I was going to paint a mural for another little girl or boy.

We decided to surprise the kids with new rooms. Here is what we came up with for our little girl...

I know I know, it's a little over the top. I told you, I had mommy guilt! It all started with that blanket on the end of the bed. I found it at Hobby Lobby for 50% off and the little lady fell in love with it. She calls it her cheetah blanket and takes it everywhere.

I found pink sheets and leopard print sheets at Wal Mart... I sewed two of the pink sheets together to make the duvet cover and I used pillow cases for the fabric to make the border on the curtains and the cornice above the bed.

My husband built the cornice and I added all the decorative elements. I found sheer curtains at Hobby Lobby for $3.50 a panel because they were 50% off. It took four panels to get all that drapey-goodness!

I painted the crown headboard right on the wall and I used Martha Stewart Gold Metallic paint

There are actual little gems hot glued onto the wall... we are on day 6 and she hasn't picked one off yet! Woot!

I changed out the polka dot fabric for the leopard sheet fabric... there is a tutorial here for how I originally made the curtains longer.

Here is another way I used the sheets. The panel isn't exactly sewn onto the pillow yet, but you get the picture. Girlie was horrified when the panel fell off the pillow when she went to get into bed the first night.

She loves flowers so I thought, "why not give her her own vase?" The flower bunches were on clearance at Hobby Lobby for $.80 a piece!

The nightstand/bookshelf was from Goodwill and it was painted in the Martha Stewart Metallic paint.

And this simple little piece might be my favorite part of the room.

I just made the design in Illustrator and printed it out on our printer. I spray painted an old frame to match the room.

Here is a printable if you'd like to print one for your little princess.

This is on the outside of her door... I made it with the Silhouette and some adhesive vinyl.

Her favorite part of the room? The bow holder!

And above the bow holder hangs this

What do you think? Do you have a fierce one who'd like a room like this? I'm hoping this will be something she'll like for years to come!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Blessings,

Jamie

DIY Hair Clip Holder from a Picture Frame

2013-07-15T08:02:00.000-04:00

I finished the kids' rooms! In the next week or two I'll be posting about the various projects I worked on for each room. Here is one of my favorite elements of my daughter's room...

I found some sheets at Wal Mart in the leopard print and I used it for most of the projects in the room.

Here is the before and after

The frame is something I found at a garage sale (two years ago) with the intention of doing this one day. That is NOT a quick turn around, but hey, at least it's done now.

I took the frame apart by unscrewing it from the back. I then placed a sheet of batting over the picture and particle board that made up the back of the frame

Then came the fabric layer

The fabric was cut to fit a little better

I then cris-crossed the pink gross grain ribbon to lay it out. I used a little dab of hot glue at each of the intersections. Then I turned it over and hot glued the heck out of all the layers to the back of the particle board.

Here's what the back looked like right before I went nuts with the glue gun. I replaced the screws that held the back onto the frame at this point.

I also added these little gems from Hobby Lobby to give it a little sparkle. What did I use to adhere them? You guessed it! Hot glue!

Here is it all done but without any bows or clips on it.

What do you think? It was definitely a hit with the little one. She is such a girlie girl... I seriously have no idea where she gets it! I didn't have so much as a Barbie doll growing up.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Blessings,

Jamie

Some Girly Decor

2013-07-02T15:17:00.001-04:00

My friend Corinne told me about a great clearance sale going on at Hobby Lobby... I ended up scoring some great stuff!

I found this frame and cut the artwork out of it (it was a cowgirl-themed painting... SO not the style of my daughter). I replaced it with a print of a quote that describes her perfectly. I made the artwork in Adobe Illustrator then had it printed as a photo.

Anyone who knows my daughter just laughs when I show them this quote. She is tiny. But man does she have an attitude!

I was inspired by this artwork on etsy.

I can't believe how perfectly the frame and mat match the room; I've been slowly but surely decking the room out in hot pink and leopard print.

Here's a sneak peek of the room

And here's another piece of art I bought at Hobby Lobby

The canvas painting was only $7!

I'm hoping to have both the kids' rooms done in the next couple weeks. I'll have a big reveal when they're done! We've been in this house for over a year now and I still haven't gotten around to painting anything fun in their rooms. Every time I have a mural job to paint a child's room, I feel pretty badly about not taking care of my kids' rooms first.

Anyone else out there work in other people's homes but never get around to taking care of their own??? Let me know if you can relate in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Jamie

The Way, the Truth, the Life

2013-06-25T08:46:00.000-04:00

I recently painted this at church

I love the simplicity of the quote; it is a great reminder of who He is.

"Jesus Christ" is hand-painted and I made a stencil with the Silhouette to paint bottom part.

My friend, Sandy, asked me to paint this in the Connection Corner at our church. This is a room in the lobby where new believers go to learn more about Jesus and how to grow in their relationship with Him.

Sandy has such a gift for sharing Christ's love with others; you can find out more at the Sharing God's Grace website or by following on Facebook.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Blessings,

Jamie

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Buckeye Brownies Recipe

2013-06-05T06:54:00.001-04:00

Oh. My. Goodness. These things are so amazing! I found the recipe on Pinterest, but they were adapted versions of the original from Buns in My Oven

Warning: They are rich! But anyone who loves the peanut butter and chocolate combo (and who doesn't?) will flip for these brownies.

*note: It helps to get a head start on this recipe. Make the brownies the night before or in the morning on the day you'd like to have them

Here's what you need:

1 box mix brownies, prepared according to package directions (I used Ghirardelli and added extra chocolate chips)
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup softened butter (I microwaved it for 15 seconds)
2 cups powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons milk, if needed (I didn't end up needing it)
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

Here's what you do:

Prepare the brownies according to recipe or make brownies from a box mix. I added extra chips to mine because, you know, they probably wouldn't have been rich enough without more chips. Allow brownies to cool completely.

With a mixer beat together the peanut butter, butter, and 2 cups of powdered sugar until well combined and smooth. Add more powdered sugar if needed to get the consistency you prefer. The mixture should be thick, but add a tablespoon or two of milk if needed, so that you are able to spread the mixture easily on the brownies.

Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat until it just begins to boil. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate chips in a bowl. Whisk until the chocolate is melted.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes and then pour over the peanut butter and brownies. Smooth with a spatula and then place the brownies in the fridge to set for at least 1 hour.

You can really see the layers here. It doesn't matter if they're a little messy looking, they'll look great when they're cut.

Let me know if you decide to try these... you won't regret it!

Blessings,

Jamie

Mason Jar Storage for the Kitchen

2013-05-31T09:54:00.000-04:00

The pantry in our new house is very small. I'm not complaining... it's actually easier to find things in a smaller pantry, but I really have to stay on top of keeping it organized. Small bags of nuts, rice and things like baking soda would still get lost regularly. So I decided to bring some of those items out into the light of day!

I used the Silhouette and some Armour Etch to put the labels on each of the jars

I used a white painted 2 x 4 for the "shelf" that the back row is sitting on (actually, it's this sign until I replace it with another piece of wood)

You can see it peeking out behind the pecans in the picture above.

I love the way they look! But my favorite part of this project: all the space that is now freed up in the pantry.

What do you think? Do you have any tips for organizing your food? Let me know in the comments. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Blessings,

Jamie

Some Yankees and Nationals Baseball Murals

2013-05-27T15:53:00.000-04:00

I have been painting a lot lately! The government furlough is going to have a big impact on our family's finances this year so I've been taking every painting job I can get. This is also the reason I haven't had a lot of time for blogging. I thought I'd take this opportunity to share with you one of the jobs I recently worked on...

I used a couple tips to paint the pinstripes:

Use a credit card to burnish the tape before you paint

paint one coat of the background color and let it dry before you paint the stripe color.

The stripes came out really crisp and there were only a few touchups for me to do!

I adore the family I worked for; they planned for me to paint as a surprise for their boys while they were all on a missions trip in Mexico. Everyone in the family is a die-hard Yankees fan, except for the older son. He loves the Washington Nationals.

He also had a baseball painted on his wall. I have been wanting to paint a mural like this ever since I saw the inspiration here

This is how the wall I painted turned out.

It was so much fun to do! I made a messy faux finish on the walls first with tan, off white and white paints

I just brushed each color onto the wall and then smushed them together with another brush. This is what made the "leather" of the baseball finish look old, dirty and worn.

Then I drew in the line the stitching was to follow with some chalk. I added detail from there with a light tan paint.

I then followed those lines and painted the stitches in bright red, adding more detail as I went.

I love these rooms because I am confident the boys will enjoy them for years to come! So often kids outgrow murals quickly. We have a neighbor who has the Yankees logo painted in his garage, which goes to show some boys never outgrow sports murals!

What do you think? Do you have a little (or big) boy in your life who'd love a baseball mural?

Thanks for stopping by!

Blesings,

Jamie

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Bring Some Life Into Your Decor {the Low-Maintenance Way}

2013-04-11T15:01:00.000-04:00

Terrariums!!! We needed something short on the mantle and I've been trying to bring more green into our home. They were the perfect solution for a Spring Mantel!

Here's the story on how to make them for yourself

1) Go get all this stuff

-glass containers

-rocks

-charcoal (to help with drainage, I got it from the pet store)

-small plants that don't need a lot of water

-soil (I used a well draining soil that is mixed with sand)

So that picture of all the things you'll need is cute, right? It all ends up looking like this

And you'll never believe where I got a lot of my plants...

The succulents are good for the open containers. The ferns and mosses do well in the covered containers.

2) Now start layering (from the bottom to top):

-rocks

-charcoal

-soil

-plants

Pay close attention to how your layers look from the outside of the glass.

You kind of have to make a hole in the center of the soil layer to get your plant's roots in there.

Here are a few of the individual terrariums

3) Water your plants next to never!

The moss in the open containers needs a little extra care in keeping them moist, but the succulents are so low maintenance! The closed containers really hold in moisture so they rarely need water. When I do water any of these plants, it's just a tiny bit until the soil is moistened.

Seriously, I have a pinterest board titled "I kill plants". It's that bad (usually) yet everything is still alive so far!

This tutorial from Apartment Therapy was a huge help to me, as was this one from the Fern and Mossery.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Blessings,

Jamie

Easter Egg Garland for the Mantel

2013-03-18T07:10:00.000-04:00

I've really kept the Easter decorations simple this year... I feel like Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day and now Easter are flying at me faster than I can keep up with them! I at least put up a little garland.

I am *attempting* to make terrariums to put on top of the mantel so it's a little bleak up there now. I was able to use the glass bowls to anchor the garland.

You might remember these eggs from last year's Easter post

I used some of this twine to string them. 5 minutes and the project was done!

Thanks for stopping by! I'm hoping to get a few more decorations up this week... we'll see how it goes.

Blessings,

Jamie

House Tour: Purple and Gray Living Room

2013-03-11T12:22:00.000-04:00

We have made some updates to the living room

I think this is what it looked like last time you saw it...

One of the "new" items is this table that I found at Goodwill

I really wanted to mix as many metals as I could in this area, so the brass and glass was perfect! I know a lot of people aren't ready to embrace the brass trend right now, but I'm secretly a little excited about it. That doesn't mean I'm going to go out and replace all the hardware in the house with brass, but I do like a few accents here and there.

I love how the decorative scrolls on the table mimic those found in the rug

Speaking of the rug... I am soooooo glad I splurged on it. To quote The Dude from the Big Lebowski, "It really tied the room together"

I found it at Home Goods and would go and visit it daily. I couldn't bring myself to buy it because it was $300. After a week of visiting the rug, I figured I had better buy it before someone else did!

Another newbie in the room that I haven't talked about yet is the mirror. I use the word "newbie" loosely since I bought it last summer... I just haven't talked to you about it yet.

It was another splurge; this time from Z Gallerie.

And here is a little tablescape that makes me happy. I'm trying to bring more plants into our decor.

Anyone want to place bets on how long it will take me to kill them?

Have any questions about this room? If you want to know about the really long curtains, click here. The wall color post is here. And you can learn about the slipcovers here.

What do you think of the changes? Let me know in the comments!

Blessings,

Jamie

Crocheted Coffee Press Cozy {Free Pattern!}

2013-03-04T13:00:00.001-05:00

I gave up on my coffee press a couple years ago... the coffee would never stay warm enough by the time I got to the last cup! French press cozy to the rescue...

I was inspired by Alyssa at Hands Always Creating and all the mug cozies she has been making lately. My friend Stephanie recently taught me to crochet (I've been a knitter for years) and I love it! I kind of made the pattern up as I went. I added some ribbing for a little interest, but you can do straight double crochet for the entire thing if you want.

Crocheted French Press Cozy Pattern

What you'll need: 2 skeins sport or worsted weight yarn

(I used contrasting colors)

Size M (or similar) crochet hook

2 medium or large buttons

needle and thread

Let's get started!

Using 2 strands of yarn (you will use both strands for entire pattern), chain 16

Row 1: Skip 2 chains and DC for rest of row (14 sts)

Row 2: Chain 3. DC in first st and each st after to end of row. Turn (14 sts)

Rows 3-12: Same as row 2

***I added a little ribbing in next few rows... you can continue with a regular DC if you want through the end of the body of the pattern (rows 13 - 23)***

Row 13: Chain 3. FPDC in first st and each st until end of row. Turn (14 sts)

Rows 14 - 18: Same as row 13

Rows 19-23: Same as row 2

Tab:

Row 24: Chain 3. DC in first st and next 2 sts. Turn (4 sts)

Rows 25-26: Same as row 24.

Bind off

Other Tab:

Row 27: Join yarn at other end of row 23 with a sl st. Chain 3. DC in first st and next 2 sts. Turn (4 sts)

Rows 28-29: Same as row 24.

Bind off and weave in edges.

Sew a button to the 3rd st of row 2 and another button to the 12th st of row 2 (or you can place your buttons wherever works best for your coffee press).

Wrap cozy around your press and button through one of the sts in each tab with the needle and thread.

Let me know if you decide to make one! Thanks for stopping by.

Blessings,

Jamie

How to Create an Understated Valentines Day Mantel

2013-01-24T14:01:00.000-05:00

Our mantel is difficult to decorate... the TV gets in the way of anything tall, which poses a challenge for using objects that vary in height.

I also didn't want to go over the top with red and pink hearts everywhere. I was hoping to make it a little festive for the kids and a little ethereal for me. The book page garland is a perfect fit for us!

I found an old book that had lost some pages and cut out a bunch of hearts with scissors. I then fed them through my sewing machine in strings of anywhere from 3 to 11 hearts. I left a long "tail" of thread at the top so I could secure them with tape to the mantel. You could always tape the hearts to some string if you don't have access to a sewing machine.

I took this sign from the bedroom and added the glass bottles that I scored from a yard sale.

They are patron bottles that I bought from a crazy old tequila-drinking lady who cussed like a sailor.

Anyway, I filled the bottles with salt and made some of these coffee filter flowers from Revamp Homegoods. My kids made some too so we turned it into a Valentine's Day craft morning!

Super simple and I'm happy with the results. When there is a fire in the fireplace the hearts lightly sway and flutter... I love it!

What do you think? Am I Scroogey mean mom for not wanting to cover the house in pink and red?

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Jamie

{You're a Great Catch} Valentines

2013-01-21T15:34:00.001-05:00

These are my son's valentines from last year

I loved how they turned out and they were really easy to do!

The hardest part was getting him to hold the fishing pole in the right place for the picture.

Once I got that, I added some text to the image and had enough prints for everyone in the class printed at Costco in 4" x 6". I clipped the corners and then glued them to cardstock cut to 6" x 8".

Add the Swedish fish and you're done! I originally made them with chocolates that I made in the shape of a fish mold, but then remembered that our school is nut-free (the chocolate I used had traces of nuts in it). Doh! The Swedish fish saved the day though.

Now I need to start working on this year's valentines! Maybe I'll blog about them next year. Do you have any good ideas for valentines this year?

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Jamie

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Craft Room Desk with Shelves

2013-01-01T12:47:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite things about the new house: I have a room of my own! Actually, I share it with the kids, but half the room is mine. I use this desk as a room divider

I couldn't have done it with out the IKEA expedit shelves!

And the IKEA adjustable table legs. And the IKEA tabletop I picked up used at Goodwill... only $10 for the top!

I painted it with chalkboard paint to cover up what a mess the surface of the tabletop was. Now I can leave myself notes

A good reminder, right? We'll see if I follow my own advice in 2013... things are so busy already!

These bins are from IKEA too. The kids and I can keep all our junk stored away neatly!

And you'll never guess where this chair

and this magnetic strip are from

Yep! IKEA! Seriously, I'm not being paid to do this post... I just love all of their stuff for organizing. This magnetic strip has made grabbing my most-used supplies so much easier! I love having all my foam brushes in that old can. They stay up off the work surface but they are still within reach.

The chalkboard is just an old frame painted white. I painted the wall with chalkboard paint because I was too lazy to get a board to fit inside the frame. It's perfect for keeping track of my pending orders and other miscellaneous tasks.

For the record, this is the neatest this room has ever been (and probably ever will be). I really appreciate being able to leave my projects around now that I have my own desk, so I don't mind a little bit of mess in this room.

What do you think? Do I need treatment for my IKEA addiction? Do you have any other tips for helping me organize this space?

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Jamie

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Chocolate Peppermint Milkshake {Chick Fil-A Knockoff}

2012-12-05T07:07:00.000-05:00

Something about December makes me crave all things peppermint! Candy Cane Joe Joe's from Trader Joe's, peppermint ice cream, candy canes, chocolate peppermint milkshakes from Chick Fil-A... the list goes on and on!

So I had this idea

I just took some of this

source

and added a couple of these

source

put them in a blender with a little milk

and you're done!!!

sooooooooo yummy!

Anyone else out there drawn to peppermint this time of year? You should try this shake!

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Blessings,
Jamie

Make a Christmas Pillow from an Old Sweater

2012-12-03T19:54:00.000-05:00

I knew I was holding on to this old sweater for a reason... I made it into this!

I used the sleeves last winter for this wreath

See the resemblence?

I was starting to think I was nuts for holding onto that cut up sweater... turns out my craft-hoarding paid off!

I was originally inspired by these

source

They don't have these pillows anymore (and I wouldn't pay that much for them anyway) so I dug out the old sweater remnant!

This is what it looked like when I pulled it out of my scrap bin.

I cut off all the area above that is shaded gray.

Then I sewed it (inside out) into a square, leaving about 6 inches to stuff the pillow form in. I stuffed it and sewed up the rest of the seam.

And now for the bow...

I made a long chain by casting 4 sts onto a size 11 knitting needle and knitting a stockinette stitch until it was long enough to wrap around the pillow and tie a bow.

The berries were crocheted from a pattern I found at Petals to Picots. I made 5 of them and stitched them onto the pillow. Easy peasy!

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Jamie

Amazing Apple and Cinnamon Chip Pancakes

2012-11-26T07:25:00.002-05:00

Hi! Things have been super busy here! The etsy shop is keeping me occupied with plenty of Christmas orders but I've really missed blogging.

So I thought I'd do a quick post about one of the recipes I've been making a lot this fall: apple cinnamon chip pancakes!

They're super easy to make

Chop the apples pretty small so they'll cook quickly. I used Gala apples. Mix them into your favorite pancake batter. If you'd like to make the batter from scratch, here is a great recipe.

After pouring some of the batter into the pan, sprinkle some cinnamon chips on top

The apples will cook a little bit, but still maintain some of their crispness.

Here is the bottom side of the pancake; you can see the chips on this side.

Mmmmmm, delish!

These are the cinnamon chips I used

source

I've been putting cinnamon chips into lots of different recipes lately... I especially like them in sugar cookies!

Have you tried cinnamon chips? Any recommendations for other recipes to try them in? Let me know in the comments!

And one more thing:

10% off in the creative imperative etsy store today!!!

Just enter CYBERMONDAY as the coupon code.

Blessings,

Jamie

White and Wood Nightstands

2012-10-19T08:04:00.000-04:00

After the luck I had at our local Salvation Army with the dresser, I thought I'd go looking for some nightstands. I couldn't fail. After all, I had my furniture thrifting good luck charm, Andi, with me! She knows a lot more about furniture than I do and she just has a good eye for this stuff.

Here's what we found for $25 a piece

I really wasn't sure they'd work, but I'm so glad I took a chance! I really wanted something that would tie the dresser I just refinished

together with our white headboard

that's the headboard in our old house, but you get the idea.

It was super quick and easy to fix the nightstands up. Just a little cleaning on/in the drawers and then some white spray paint on the perimeter of them.

I love how they turned out!

I can't wait to reveal more of the bedroom. Only a couple short weeks ago, it was a sad, depressing place to go. Now it is feeling like a calming haven for us.

What do you think of the white with the wood? Weird? Wacky? Wonderful? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Jamie

Letting Go of the Goat Shirts...

2012-10-16T10:31:00.000-04:00

I find that I am seriously stressed out most of the time. I feel like I am always forgetting something. Letting someone down. Not sticking to my commitments. Not being a good friend, wife, mom, sister, daughter-in-law. The list goes on and on. The truth is this: I bet most of those things are goat shirts.

photo courtesy of Andi from Jane of All Crafts

Confused? Let me explain. I got together with my friend Andi last week and she mentioned that she feels overwhelmed right now. I know she has a ton on her plate so I feel like I have no right to complain about my overwhelmedness.

We were talking about how lately life feels like a series of balls that we have dropped. And then she said, "And I never made you that goat shirt."

Yes, I did mention that I would love one of her shirts that she makes that says, "I love goats". The truth is, if I was that concerned about it, I should put an order in at her etsy shop so it became an official order for her. I find I have the same problem when orders come in from local friends rather than being in my etsy queue.

Anyway, this shirt wasn't even on my radar! I had completely forgotten that I had even mentioned I would like one. And here it was one of the many things that is sitting there in the back of her head, nagging her all the time.

So, my question is this: How many things that I'm worrying about are just goat shirts to someone else?

This is a small fraction of the crazy things that run through my mind regularly

I haven't called that person back

I never been able to help that person find a rug for her living room

I haven't talked to my best friend in weeks... is she OK?

I never finished the sample boards for that client

How am I going to find a sitter for when I have to work?

I completely let the people in the children's ministry at church down

Was one of my kids supposed to be snack helper today?

Is today a color day at school?

Is there field trip money overdue?

I never got back to that client

I'm late shipping that order

I promised my pastor I'd paint for him and haven't scheduled it

I never got a painting bid to the woman at the preschool

Am I reading enough with my kids?

Do I let them watch too much TV?

Did I forget to return some library books?

Whose birthday is this week?

I haven't been out for a girls night with the preschool moms in ages... are they judging me?

I haven't finished the design for that client

I don't cook often enough for my family

I'm not making sure the kids are eating organic stuff

When's the last time the kids had a bath?

Do my kids know they're loved?

I shouldn't have yelled at them like that

Did I leave a burner/flat iron/oven on at home?

What else am I forgetting?

So these are just SOME of the things that have gone through my head TODAY! And it is only 9:30am as I type this. And yes, I did leave a burner on at home. When I look at the list of things running through my head, it's a wonder that I didn't leave all the burners on!

So I basically need to go through that list and figure out which items are goat shirts. I'm not just talking about prioritizing, though that helps. I'm talking about truly letting go of the guilt about the things I can't get to right now.

We don't have any family that lives in town, so finding available and affordable help with the kids can be difficult and I hate asking friends for help. My kids are only young once and they need my attention when I am here with them. Even the best marriages (especially the best marriages) need regular maintenance. My good friends will understand when I don't call them back right away. I tell myself these things, but I don't always believe them.

I just need to extend the same grace to myself that I try to extend to others when it comes to my shortcomings. It feels cathartic just writing this, but it also helps to share it with others.

Do you have any goat shirts in your life you need to let go of?

Blessings,

Jamie

Halloween House Tour!

2012-10-15T05:59:00.000-04:00

Here are a few snippets from our house this October.

The drop-down spider made an appearance in the new house. Mr. Creative Imperative came up with the great idea of using a tack in the top part of the front door. So much better than using tape and then waiting for the tape to give out!

Here is the rest of the front entryway

...looks like some little hands got into the candy corn!

Some bats

A raven

And here's our fireplace

I love how the spiderwebs stick to the stone. It made it so easy to decorate.

Those mercury glass pumpkins on the mantel... they light up and flicker! I didn't even realize it until I got them home from the store. Bonus!

I made the "EEK"/"BOO" sign out of some blocks I found at Marshalls.

$0.30 for three blocks??? Yes please! Have you seen how much blocks cost at craft stores? It's crazy.

I cut the letters out of Contact paper on my Silhouette... it's metallic!

I know it's hard to see in the photo, but I love the way the metallic letters look.

And I just received this beautiful, gigantic acorn ornament from my in-laws for my birthday.

I love it! It's one of those great decor items that you can put out in September and leave out through December.

And last, but not least, we have the pumpkin under glass. It's a painted pumpkin from the dollar store.

Hope you're having a great fall!

Blessings,

Jamie

Refinished Mid Century Modern Dresser/Credenza

2012-10-13T16:47:00.000-04:00

I have no idea what this piece of furniture is called... I've heard so many different names. A dresser? A credenza? A sideboard? I think sideboards have cabinets so it's probably not that. I'm using it in my bedroom so we'll call it a dresser. Whatever it is, I'm in love with it.

Here is how I found it

$50 at the Salvation Army store. Not bad, right? Well, the finish is bad. It's in pretty rough shape. Not to mention the color reminds me a little of Snooki.

I decided I would restain and poly it rather than painting it. I had done a little research on MCM furniture and decided all the collectors might be onto something with maintaining the natural wood finish. This is after I painted an $18 Broyhill Brasilia headboard I had found. Turns out they're worth some money if they're in good condition. Live and learn. I do love that headboard in white, though.

I used Citristrip to take the finish off.

One word: messy!!! A few more words: a lot of hard work!!! A neighbor saw me working and said, "it will be worth it though". I wasn't so sure. Here are the drawers after being stripped

Then I sanded it. Oh my gosh, the wood. I don't know if you can tell just how beautiful it is in this picture after being sanded.

I just kind of rolled my eyes about the MCM furniture purists, but after seeing the quality of wood and craftsmanship that went into this piece, I'm a believer!

I used a dark walnut stain, trying to keep it close to the original finish (just a tad darker and a tad less Snooki).

I was really nervous doing this and thought for sure I was going to end up destroying the piece. It turns out I'm really happy with the final results!

And then I sealed it with this

I really liked the product. It cleaned up with water and I think the finish is beautiful. I can't believe I didn't mess it up!!!

So here is the dresser in our bedroom.

up close

and from the top

I'm so proud of myself. I'm allowed to say that, right? Well, it's my birthday today so maybe just today I can say that. I just didn't think I'd ever be capable of something like this.

Here's the process I used, in case you're curious
wash the dresser down
apply Citristrip
wait overnight then scrape with plastic scrapers
wash off remaining stripper
have husband get into crevices of dresser to remove stuff I'm too lazy to get to

sand with 100 grit
wipe down
sand with 220 grit
wipe down
let dry overnight
wipe down with tack cloth
brush on stain
after 15 minutes wipe off stain with cloth
wait overnight
3 coats poly, sanding with 400 grit and wiping down in between coats

Thanks so much for stopping by!

How do you feel about painted furniture vs stained furniture? Do you say paint it all no matter the history of the piece? Do you like all painted wood in a room or a mix? Is it a sin I painted that headboard in my room? Let me know what you think in the comments!

Blessings,

Jamie