To Enjoy Simply

Planked wall and lots of progress

2014-03-03T17:09:00.001-08:00

A lot has been going on in this house lately, just not a lot of blogging. School is back in full force for me and I am determined to keep it in high gear. The hubby and I have been doing a lot to our house in the meantime. I love all of the planked walls popping up throughout the blogging world and Pinterest. We decided to make a feature wall using this style.

I followed a method similar to The House of Smiths. They give a great tutorial of how they created this look. I also used the underlayment and had Home Depot cut it in strips of 6”. I will say that this did not always create the straightest cuts on my strips.

We purchased this Ryobi Air Strike brad nailer for the project. I have already found other uses for it and find it was a great purchase.

I learned a lot on this project and know now what I would have done differently. My seam does not lie in the center of the wall and I was not able to achieve a seamless look. I would now pay better attention to the centering of the seam. You live, you learn. Did the wall turn out perfectly? No. Would I go back and change it now? No. Its not perfect, but then again neither am I and so it is fitting. I still absolutely love it and the impact it had on the room.

A work in progress…I’ll be back with more pictures of the changes going in on in our home!

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

Erin

Fall Door Decor

2013-11-22T15:24:00.001-08:00

I can’t believe that Thanksgiving is next week! I feel like Halloween hit and we fast forwarded to Thanksgiving. I didn’t get nearly half of the fall decorating done that I was thinking of and it will soon be time to put up Christmas décor. One of my neighbors has already had his Christmas lights up for over a week and has been turning them on. They are a little “Griswoldy”, but I guess the world could always use more cheer. I’m hoping this year my husband will go all out with our lights, but we’ll see. I don’t envy him getting up on the roof.

One of the projects I did get to was this fall crate. It was one of the projects for craft night, but we didn’t have enough time for it. So I worked on it myself.

I wished we would have had time to work on these because I love how it turned out. I bought the crates at Michael’s and stained it with the stain I had leftover from my side table.

I used word processor and the font Blue Plate Special to create the wording. I traced it onto the crate using graphite paper. After painting the lettering, I used my sander to distress it a little.

I bundled up the corn stalks from my garden box and added a few things I found in my fall decorations. I was certainly feeling ready for some hayrides and all things fall.

This is one of my most favorite times of the year and I’m not quite ready to see it go. The trees have lost almost all of their beautiful leaves and snow has already hit our valley. This time of year will be one of the many blessings I will express thankfulness for this Thanksgiving.

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

Erin

Calendar Activities

2013-11-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

Hi, welcome back! I hope you enjoyed my Thanksgiving Countdown calendar. I realized after my post yesterday, how much dust was on the table beneath these tags! Oh my, time to break out some dusting spray.

My children are 3 and 5, so these activities were created with them in mind. You could easily adapt them for any age. Here is a list of some the activities I used:

1. For Our Eyes- Watch a special Thanksgiving show together

2. We are kind to others- Think of something fun to do/give to others

3. For Our Teeth- Go to the dentist to keep our teeth healthy

4. For Good Food- Go the grocery store and pick out a food you haven’t tried

5. For Our Car-Go on a special outing

6. For Our Country- Recite the pledge of allegiance

7. For the Seasons- Go out and explore the falling leaves

8. For Our House- Play a cleaning game

9. For Turkeys- Make paper turkeys

10. For Our Cousins- Draw a picture and send it to our cousins

11. For Pies- Bake and deliver pies to people

12. For Our Soldiers- Send leftover Halloween candy to our troops

13. For Our Legs- Go outside and run and jump

14. For Books- Read some Thanksgiving books

15. For Our Computer- Send an email to someone we love

16. For Our Ears- Play some fun music

17. For Our Toys- Take some of the toys we haven’t been playing with to Goodwill to give to other kids

18. For Our Heavenly Father- Go on a nature walk and notice all of God’s creations

19. For Our Brother- Do something nice for our brother and be extra nice to him all day

20. For Pictures- Take a family picture

21. For Our Grandparents- Call them and tell them “I love you”

22. For Our Sister- Do something nice for our sister and be extra nice to her all day

23. For Daddy- Do something nice for daddy and be extra nice to him all day

24. For Each Other- Play a game together

25. For Our Hands- Do some finger painting

26. For Mommy- Do something nice for mommy and be extra nice to her all day

27. For Our Kitchen- Bake something fun together in the kitchen

28. For Our Friends- Make a special visit to some friends

29. For Prayer- Say a prayer before Thanksgiving dinner thanking God for all we have.

Well, thanks for stopping by and happy crafting! I hope that you, too, can find these many blessings in your lives!

Erin

Thanksgiving Countdown Calendar

2013-11-08T09:24:00.001-08:00

I want to foster in my children thankful, giving hearts. I decided that I wanted them to spend more time during the holiday seasons focusing on all that we have to be thankful for. I made this Thanksgiving Countdown calendar as a way of focusing on a few of the many things the Lord has blessed us with. I came up with a small activity for each day to help my children recognize these blessings.

The board was purchased at Michaels and the elements were created using my Silhouette. If you don’t have a Silhouette, you could easily create this with mini envelopes, scrapbooking paper and stickers.

I used Microsoft word to create the activity cards and distressed the edges. I added the ribbon to make sure the cards were easy to pull out for little hands. My son is very excited about the calendar this year and asks to do it each morning. This morning’s activity was a little less exciting for him as it was “We are Thankful for our Toys.” For this activity, I ask each child to go through their toys and find some that they are no longer playing with. We will then donate them. We spent time this morning discussing how blessed we are that Mommy and Daddy have the ability to buy them toys and how we need to share those blessing with other less fortunate children.

Stop by tomorrow for a list of some of the activities I chose for our Thanksgiving Countdown.

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

Erin

A Crisp Autumn Day

2013-10-23T17:08:00.001-07:00

Our family recently went on a day trip to Apple Hill in Placerville, California. It was a wonderful time to enjoy the beautiful scenery painted by God. The leaves were falling in a beautiful array of colors-coppers, golds, reds, and oranges. It was a perfect time to enjoy being together.

Before arriving in Apple Hill, we stopped at Sutter’s Mill. This historical site is the location where gold was first discovered. This discovery of gold led to the biggest migration of people in American history. It is amazing how one little action changed the landscape of our country. Some of the original buildings and equipment still stand.

I wish we could have spent more time enjoying this site, but we had to move on to Apple Hill to meet friends. I’m sure it will be a place we return to again soon.

This girl was meant to ride horses! We might have to think about getting her lessons in the future.

I wish I could have gotten her to smile, but that’s kids, right?

It was a wonderful day, good food, good friends, and beautiful scenery.

Thanks for stopping by!

Erin

DIY Halloween Cemetery Sign

2013-10-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

To go along with all of my skulls this Halloween season, I wanted a sign for the front porch. I found some cheap cemetery signs around town, but wanted something that would last longer than one season. I grabbed a wooden plaque at Michaels and my handy Silhouette.

I didn’t have any grey paint so I mixed up my own. I wanted it to look more like stone and have an older feel to it, so I wasn’t careful with painting. I put a couple layers on it and messed it up a bit so it wouldn’t have such a smooth look. After the layers of grey were dried, I streaked it with black paint. The wording is cut out of black vinyl and I believe the font is Black Widow. I felt that it needed more, so I hot glued some Spanish moss and spider webs to it.

Right now, it is just sitting on a stand outside. I’m trying to figure out how I want to display it best. I’m afraid if I hang it on the door, the wind will blow most of the moss and spider web off.

These are some light up shrieking skulls that my kids just love! My husband found them on clearance after Halloween last year. They are sound activated and I can always tell when its windy out because I can hear them shrieking with each gust.

This project took about an hour with drying time—Can’t beat that!

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

Erin

Craft Night!

2013-10-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

My friends and I spend a lot of time pinning craft ideas on Pinterest, so we decided it was time to actually make some crafts. We got together with some wine, desserts, and crafts. It was a blast and I can’t wait to do it again for some Christmas crafts.

Everyone had their own personalized spot with some treats to boot! I found this roll of brown paper in my garage. I have no clue where I got it or when but it worked perfectly to cover my table and was fun to decorate!

It was so much fun seeing how different each girl’s project turned out. They all had the same supplies and each piece was unique.

Some of the girls made their monogram an indoor item and some attached ribbon to use on their front doors. I actually had three projects planned for the night, but we only had enough time for two. An excuse to get together again soon!

I highly recommend getting some girlfriends together and having a craft night!

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

Erin

More Halloween Decor

2013-10-16T08:53:00.001-07:00

I’m back with more of my inexpensive Halloween décor!

This skeleton hand came from Michael’s for under $5.

I found this picture online and printed it on regular computer paper. I used Modge Podge to apply it to this wooden plaque I painted black. I distressed the edges with distressing ink.

Some dollar skulls and river rocks from my yard! Easy, breezy!

I love Halloween! More to come!

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

Erin

Easy and Inexpensive Halloween Decor

2013-10-11T16:52:00.001-07:00

I love the fall, when the leaves start to change and there is that fresh, crisp breeze in the air. Halloween is another thing I love about the fall. I love to decorate and to be a kid again. I am slowly building up on my Halloween décor and I am always looking for inexpensive crafts to add. In September, I was walking around my local Michaels, when I spotted these little bottles. I believe they were around $1.19 each. I thought they were fun and immediately thought of potion bottles for Halloween.

I have seen plenty of free printable Halloween potion labels on Pinterest this season. I wanted to keep it simple and get it done sooner rather than later, so I found these little labels in the Halloween scrapbook section.

I believe they were around $3.99. I took them home and decided which label would look best on each bottle and then I distressed them up a bit. They were a little to crisp and clean for the look I was going for. They are made of cardstock, so I just bent them to give them a more aged and wrinkled look. I took some distressing ink to them as well. I used Modge Podge to attach them to the glass bottles. The finishing touch was some food colored water.

Its hard to see the food coloring in this picture. I think they are super cute and worked perfectly in my Halloween display.

The wine bottles were projects from last year, using Print and Cut labels by Silhouette. I’ll post more of my Halloween display later.

I hope you find this a quick and easy project you can complete today!

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

Erin

Refinished Side Table

2013-08-20T20:40:00.001-07:00

My husband found this cute little side table at the Goodwill for $14.99. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a before picture, but it wasn’t in bad shape. It is mostly made of hardwood, but with a little laminate along the bottom shelf edge. I started off by sanding the whole piece, except for the laminate shelf siding. I wasn’t too worried about the sides and the legs because I knew that I would be painting them white. I used a medium grade sand paper and removed all of the old paint from the top. I used two coats of Mirawax in Cherry leftover from another project and two coats of polyurethane that cost about $6.00. The white is Rustoleum brand which cost me around $9.00. I used a paint brush to apply the stain and white paint to the top and sides, but used a roller along the shelf to avoid brush marks. This was the first project that I used a polyurethane and I did not realize that it would dry with a yellow tint. I made the mistake of using it on my white portion, so I had to do an additional coat of white to get rid of it. You live, you learn…

I love the two tone look! The existing hardware looked great so I kept it. Here it is in my living room (a work in project).

I found the lamp at Target and the little blue bird, I found at Michael’s. I had originally bought it for my powder room but decided that it looked better out in the living room to help bring in more color.

I can’t help but in enjoy my little table and really enjoy the finally price around $30.00!

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

Erin

Refinished Bed Frame

2013-08-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

We decided it was time to move my daughter out of her converted toddler bed into a big kid bed. I have been keeping my eye out for a bedframe for her new bed and found a cute one at my local Goodwill for $29.00.

I loved the detailing on the bed. I thought it was super girly for my little lady. It is particle board with a laminate finish. This is my first time working with something with a laminate so I searched the web for some tutorials. There are a lot of great ones out there.

To start, I scrubbed the bed down using a little soapy water to ensure a clean work surface. I then used a smooth roller to apply two coats of Zinsser. It’s the oil-based primer. This is the product I got at Home Depot. It is just under $9 for a quart.

The great thing about this product is that it doesn’t require you sand your project and can help to cover any funky smells that older furniture can have. After allowing the primer to completely dry, I used Rustoleum spray paint in Jade to paint the frame. I do have to say that I wasn’t super happy with the coverage I got with the spray paint. I decided to use spray paint instead of painting with roller because of the detailing. I think that there probably is a learning curve to applying spray paint evenly. So I wouldn’t recommend using it for a large project until you have mastered the technique. I think it works for my daughter’s bed because of the color and the use so I am happy with it.

The bedding is from the Circo line at Target. The name is Love n’ Nature.

Don’t you love the beautiful artwork on the wall behind the bed? We specifically put her bed up against this wall to try and hide the “art.” I’ll get around to painting when I know both of the kiddos are out of this phase.

Loving her “princess” bed!

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

Erin

Life This Summer…

2013-08-12T14:14:00.001-07:00

This summer has flown by! What’s new for this family? We finally finished our back yard! It’s been a long process since we were doing it all ourselves.

Last spring my husband built a paver patio. The ground here in Nevada can be very hard so the excavation was very back breaking. He did a great job, being that it was his first time doing it! This spring he laid a sprinkler system and laid the sod. It is so nice for the kids to be able to go out and play in the backyard. I can also say that my floors have looked much better without the dog trailing in so much dirt.

My contribution to the backyard was two garden boxes I built with my parents help. They were very easy to build. We made them out of 2 x 6 planks. They are 4’ x 6’ in size and have been perfect for starting my first garden. We also extended the drip line to keep them watered.

Here are a few pictures of my first bounty!

The zucchini took over the garden! I am having a major problem with squash bugs so I have taken out two of the zucchini plants.

The kids and I found this little guy hanging out in the zucchini plants. We’ve found him a couple more times throughout the summer.

Besides our completion of the backyard, I have finished refurbishing some Goodwill finds (pictures to follow), celebrated Aiden’s 5th birthday, my hubby’s birthday, and my BIG 3-0! I’m not exactly thrilled yet. I took 3 weeks of work off to adjust! I’m working on a list of personal goals for my thirties and am trying to decide on a one word theme to represent my goals. I’ll get back to you on that one…

Tune back in for my furniture reveals!

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

Mother's Day Printable

2013-05-02T11:12:00.001-07:00

I'm loving all of the chalkboard printables floating around Pinterest, so I made my own. Please enjoy a free Mother's day printable! Show your Mom how much you love her! Put this print in a cute 8x10 frame with some baker's twine around it for a cute, inexpensive Mother's Day gift.

Click here to download your printable. It's formatted for an 8x10 print.

*For personal use only.

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

More Minnie Mouse Birthday Decorations!!

2013-01-20T12:01:00.000-08:00

To continue with the theme, I made these cute birthday banner and door hanger for my friend Melyssa’s little girl.

She was going to choose her own ribbon to match the banner. The three smaller Minnie Mouse decorations are going to be attached to ribbon and wrapped around mason jars to hold the silverware. The shapes were all cut out on my Silhouette out of cardstock. I used two shades of pink, a layer of zebra print (which doesn’t show up well), and black cardstock. The font is Walt Disney Script.

This will become a door hanger to welcome the guest inside! I finished off this Minnie Mouse with die cut lettering that spells out Happy Birthday on the ears and says Brilynn’s 2 on the face portion. I think this will look super cute with some zebra ribbon. Sorry the pictures aren’t great. I snapped them quickly with my iPhone.

I made a Mickey version of this door hanger to go with the highchair banner for my friend Jessica.

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

Mickey and Minnie Mouse Birthday Decorations

2013-01-19T09:55:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to share a few of the projects I have been working on before I start back at school. I've had so much fun working on these decorations.

These are highchair banners for taking all of those pictures of these cuties! My friends are choosing their own ribbon for connecting the banners and other decorations. I can’t wait to see them completed in the pictures!

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

Lighted Craft Block

2012-12-07T09:41:00.001-08:00

Today, I wanted to share this lighted craft block I made. I hound the block at Home Depot for $4.99 on Black Friday. The design was cut from some black vinyl I had leftover and cut on my Silhouette (I love this thing)! The lights were $2.99 from Target. I chose a 50 bulb strand. This was my initial project.

Cute, but the design didn't quite stand out enough for me. So I used a piece of scrap vellum to separate the lights and the image. I was trying to figure out how to get the vellum to stick to the glass but it wasn't working. I tried just putting the vellum in front of the lights. So far it is working perfectly. I finished it off with some ribbon I had previously bought. I think the design really pops. And boy is this bright at night.

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

Two Ingredients....Easy Indulgence

2012-07-27T18:37:00.001-07:00

My husband came home with this new Jif hazelnut chocolate spread that he got for free. I instantly thought of crispy , flaky chocolate croissants. Croissants are just a little too time consuming and beyond my skill levels. Sssoooo, along came crescent rolls from a can. Voila, imitation chocolate croissants! Just add a little of the spread to the wide part of the triangle before rolling. Follow the baking directions on the crescent rolls. They are prefect hot from the oven!

Customized Office Clock

2012-04-26T18:31:00.001-07:00

I’ve finally been able to complete a few of the projects I’ve been working on! It feels great! I’m really good at starting a new project, but not always great at finishing them. Today, I finished a customized clock for our office. The clock is a cheap one from Target. I believe it was $3.99.

I used the Silhouette software to design the faceplate of the clock. The front plastic piece to the clock had tabs holding it in place and was pretty easy to remove. The hands of the clock are kept in place by the winding mechanism in the back that is also removable. It was pretty easy to make and an easy way to add to the décor of our office.

I added it to what will become our office “command center.” I plan to add a second message type board to finish out the look.

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

Bloom & Grow Art

2012-04-26T09:30:00.001-07:00

Another project using my Silhouette! I used my Silhouette to cut out the words “Bloom & Grow” and the flowers. The font for the wording is Glider Girls. The frame is an unfinished wood frame from Michaels painted using; once again, my favorite spring color Aqua. I gave it a distressed look by going over the aqua with white.

I hope you like it!
Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

Fun, bright pillowcases!

2012-04-23T14:58:00.001-07:00

I’m in love with my sewing machine! It is one of the easiest tools to help decorate my home! I’m still learning but I managed to wing it with these pillowcases. They are slipcovers so I can easily change them out when I get bored or with the season changes.

To make them, start with one piece of fabric 1 in larger than your pillow. For example, the red pillow is 20 in x 20 in so the front piece of fabric was cut 21 in x 21 in. The second piece of fabric is the back and is open to allow for easy removal. Cut this piece 1 inch taller and 3 inch wider. So for the red pillow, it was 21 in x 23 in. Cut this piece in half. Your halves should measure 21 in x 11.5 in.

With the wrong side facing you, fold back 1 inch and sew using a 1/2 in seam allowance. This 1 inch edge is represented by the red in the picture below. Your pieces should measure 21 in by 10.5 in. This will give the back of your pillow and nice finish. Repeat for the other piece.

With the right sides together, pin and sew with a 1/2 in allowance all around the pillow. Overlap your sewn folds when sewing around the length of the pillow. Trim your corners and press open your seams. Turn your pillowcase and your done! Once you figure out the logistics, you came make one of these in 30 minutes!

Here are some pillows I made to help brighten up my couch for spring.

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!!

Spring is in bloom!

2012-04-16T17:15:00.001-07:00

I'm loving our warm weather this week! Of course being northern Nevada, it will probably sneak in some more snow. My mom bought me these beautiful daffodils at Traders Joes. They work perfectly with my aqua painted knorr jar. Aqua is my favorite new spring color.

Customize your glass jars. Simply paint the inside with your color of choice. It will probably take two coats. Just make sure to allow the first coat to dry completely.

I cut off the top of a soda bottle to put inside the jar to keep the paint from getting wet from the flower water.

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

First Attempt...Dress Making

2012-03-31T14:51:00.000-07:00

Pintrest has unleashed a monster in me...no really! I was already one to get excited for a new project, a new hobby, a new attempt at something. Now that Pinterest is arround, not only do I waste hours at a time, but I also find too many ideas and projects floating around in my mind. I have many projects in the works right now. Let's see....subway art (started), Pottery-barn inspired work station (started), custom faceplate clock (started), various scrapbooking projects (started), Easter/spring decorations (started, probably to be finished after Easter), multiple plans for decorative pillows....and the list goes on! Let's just say I love to be creating and love starting new projects! Pinterest has me wanting to build my own furniture and paint my kitchen cabinents (now have my husband wondering if I'm finally losing it.) I'm also in the process of going back to school; an idea that has me fluctuating from excited to dreading. Well, enough of that. I thought I would show you one of my projects in the works. This was my first attempt at sewing a girl's dress for Katie. I followed the pattern and it looks great on the hanger.

However, the fit is not so great on my little girl. She looks like she needed to be an oompa loompa for it to fit. It's a little short, easily fixed by adding a cute pair of shorts. The width of it is a whole other issue. It's very wide, so I'm planning on taking out the side seam and bring it in two inches or so for a better fit. I'm hoping it's done in time for her to wear this year! Better go get working on busting that seam!

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

Reusing and Repurposing

2012-03-18T08:35:00.000-07:00

I’m finally getting around to creating a useable, working space for my many hobbies. I’m trying to reuse products I already have and finding new ways to use products. I found this jewelry hanger at Target and instantly thought of using it as a quick way of storing my most commonly used items.

It is two sided and swivels on the hanger easily. So far it is working out perfectly! I also found in my master closet a hanging holder for sweaters that was rarely being used. It fits my 12x12 papers easily and makes organization by color a breeze. Now I can quickly see what colors I have.

I’m still working on my space but so far these two changes have made a big difference!

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

St. Patrick’s Day Subway Art and Topiary

2012-03-17T08:19:00.001-07:00

I’m loving all of the subway art that has flooded the web lately. Here is my version for St. Patrick’s Day! Also pictured is a St. Patrick’s Topiary using cupcake liners. I wish the Luck of the Irish for all of you today. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

Free Preschool President's Day Pack

2012-02-18T17:09:00.000-08:00

Since my son's school will be closed on Monday for President's Day, I decide to make a little schoolwork for him to do at home. Feel free to print a copy for personal use here!