{twenty}something

Best of 2011

noreply@blogger.com ({twenty}something) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 05:32:00 +0000

Sometimes when blogging, you get so wrapped up in all of the other great posts you are reading of mind blowing projects that you get down on yourself. You think you don't post enough, or when you do post, they are nothing in comparison to blogs with five and seven thousand followers with book deals. That is why I love this post idea so much. It gives you a chance to look back at your year (my 1st year in blogging) and see that you really have worked your bottom off!

Here's what kept me busy in 2011! (All photos link back to the original post)

January

I debuted by 1st major project with my Pottery Barn Hundi Light Knock Off.

February

I got creative and turned an Ikea Ribba Frame into a shadow box for this skeleton key.

March

I jumped head first on the trend train of decorating this spring with my original farm ladder.

April

I won a major contest with my tutorial on how to stencil curtains.

May

I tackled another Pottery Barn Knock Off when I made this faux clock.

June

We got all personal in June when I posted about our extra jobs and our little family!

July

Big month! We redid our guest room with the hot and trendy faux board and batten look and put up a hallway gallery wall.

August

In one marathon night, one of my students and I crafted up all of her dorm room decor.

September

In September, a new obsession began. Milk glass!

October

I splurged on live decor with these bold pumpkins used in my tablescape.

November

I wrote my 1st sponsored post for Plaid Craft Paints and Martha Stewart where I made this Christmas Typography rug.

December

This Christmas, I decorated with fresh garland that I beefed up with some free tree trimmings.

When I look back at my Home Goals 2011 post, I know that there are a few things that I didn't get to in 2011, but I think I squeezed in a few more projects than originally projects. Somehow, in my twisted mind, this balances out to me. Bring on 2012!

Look back at your year...I know you accomplished great things!

Linked up at Southern Hospitality Blog.

How To Tie Duvet Ties

noreply@blogger.com ({twenty}something) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 02:20:00 +0000

On Christmas Eve, I opened some pretty amazing gifts! One of the was this beautiful duvet cover and two Euro shams from West Elm.

I just love its pattern and knew it would look killer with my Gray Matters by Sherwin Williams master bedroom.

Now, I have had MANY duvet covers before, and I always fight trying to get them on and fight trying to keep them looking polished. I decided that the living room would be the best place to spread everything out and tackle it.

First, I lay out the comforter insert on the ground. Next, I turn the duvet inside out and lay it on top of the comforter. As I go to grab the corners to "flip" the duvet over the comforter, I saw these:

Duvet ties! I have never had a duvet with ties, but I went to tying them like so:

After I had all four corners tied, I just flipped everything inside out and buttoned her up. The comforter filled out the duvet perfectly, and it is looking great on the bed.

I can't wait to show you the whole master bedroom.

What about you?! Are duvet ties old news to you? How do you keep yours in place?

Christmas Home Tour 2011

noreply@blogger.com ({twenty}something) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 00:16:00 +0000

Even though I have had my Christmas decorations up since Thanksgiving, I am just now getting around to hitting post for you.

Enjoy some eye candy of what we got to enjoy for the last 4 weeks.

This has been the most relaxing Christmas break ever. No lie. I don't know what is has been about this break, but Rusty and I have been both productive and super connected by spending lots of time together on the couch and under the Christmas tree lights.

I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas!

How to Make Christmas Garland

noreply@blogger.com ({twenty}something) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 04:24:00 +0000

As teachers, we live our lives from break to break. The last day of Thanksgiving break, I dabbled in outdoor holiday decorations for the 1st time. In about 2 hours, I transformed our front porch into a scene of tasteful Christmas bliss.

The best part about my project was that it only cost about $10.00! Here is what I started with:

I bought rolls of 15' Whit Pine garland from Home Depot at $7.00 each. I grabbed nails and 28 gauge wire (from this project) out of my craft box. I then took all of our tree trimmings (and a truck bed load's worth since HD gives it away for free!) and got to creating Christmas.

I first tacked up some nails and swagged some garland. I trimmed off the excess to save for my railings.

Then I used my supplies to add on some of my FREE trimmings to beef up the garland.

Here's a snapshot of what it will start to become....

After finishing, I just strung up some lights...

I went on to use the rest of that roll plus about 8' of the second roll to affix to my railings with twine. I strung some lights around the railings and the corner bush.

I put out my peace rug!

And even UGA got a little Christmas makeover.

I even slaved for hours to trade out my plants in my window boxes....

Just kidding...I cheated! But no one can tell.

I used the other 7' or so of the garland to gussy up my mantel which I will post all about tomorrow!

Merry Christmas Eve, everyone!

Ombre Paint Chip Art

noreply@blogger.com ({twenty}something) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 05:03:00 +0000

This was such a quick and easy project for my living room gallery wall.

Yes, I still have empty frames in a mini gallery wall I put up 1 year ago!!!

I just get creeped out when I see tons of posed couple photos or wedding photos in a couple's home, so I was waiting for just the right idea to come along to fill that larger middle frame. There are so many tutorials online that there is no need for me to recreate it!

Here are the basic steps:

1. Put your innocent face on as you walk into Home Depot to score free paint
chips

2. Punch out your circles using a 1" circle punch (purchased at Michaels using a
50% off coupon)

3. Start at the bottom and work your way up hiding the tape under each layer

4. Go back to Home Depot and grab a few extra paint chips in the colors that you
did not grab enough of in the first place

5. Go back with double sided tape and tape down any flaps that are behaving

6. Frame and hang

The colors aren't the best in the picture, but my chips range from (top) creams, (middle) purples and (bottom) grays.

What do you put in those larger frames?!

Get Inspired!

noreply@blogger.com ({twenty}something) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 23:25:00 +0000

Rusty and I have been out of school all of this week. We have spent so much time cuddling on the couch watching movies, but we have also put in some serious work in the cleaning/organizing department. And know what we ran into? An old binder full of torn out magazine sheets that we found almost 10 years ago when we began dreaming about our first house. Let's just say I am SO glad we lost that binder since it was filled with authentic cabin looking decor!

In the days of Pinterest, we can get lost online pinning to our little organized boards, but what do we do with those magazine pages that we rip out?

Apparently, I have a system. I didn't really know I had a system until I ran into about 5 pages thrown around my house. I tape them to the areas that I am planning on transforming! I live by the mentality of putting those dreams/goals/desires out into the universe, lol!

Here is what I have done with some of those magazine pages:

Gallery Wall

Click here for my Gallery Wall post.

Guest Bedroom

I have had this taped to the back of the door. My makeover is almost done, and I'm not too sure I stuck to any of the inspiration. But, hey, it's still pretty!

Click here, here and here to read my guest bedroom posts.

And here are some projects that haven't come to fruition just yet:

Office Desk

This one is an easy transformation since it is basically just staging with things I have.

Click here to read about my office.

Open Kitchen Shelving

This is taped to the inside of my current cabinet that I plan to take down for transformation!

Christmas Decor

Here is what I had tucked under a pumpkin on my last mantlescape waiting to transfer it to Christmas!

Garden Tub

I bought all of the supplies for this lighting project this week and hope to have it up soon!

So - as a tip from me to you - hang some inspiration around your home and be amazed at how much faster you will end up getting the projects done!

Isn't it so funny what you learn about yourself when you just step back and analyze a small pattern that emerged?! Do you still find tangible inspiration outside of Pinterest?

Happy 1 Year

noreply@blogger.com ({twenty}something) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 23:11:00 +0000

Source

Today is my blog's 1 year anniversary. We are very much still in the "honeymoon" stage. I am loving this new hobby more and more each day. Thank you to all 354 readers I have! I probably know about 10 of you irl, and it continues to amaze me that you are enjoying my little corner of the blogosphere. Here's to another wonderful upcoming year!!!

Christmas Typography Painted Rug and Plates

noreply@blogger.com ({twenty}something) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 16:14:00 +0000

Have you seen the new Martha Stewart Plaid line in your Michaels? It's like Martha herself crawled into every craft bloggers little mind and answered our wishes for these perfectly convenient supplies....and right in time for Christmas!

When my box of crack came, I ripped into it to find paints, brushes, sponges, stencils, texturizers and GLITTER!!! It was one of my weaker moments, and I was glad I was home alone.

For today's project, I am using an Ikea rug, Specialty Sponges, 1" Flat Brush and the paint colors Scottish Highlands and Habanero in Satin.

To start off, I tapped into my K-5 days and taped off some lines to create a little piece of penmanship paper. I used this as a guide to free style my cursive font.

When painting the words, here's a tip: start with the middle letter first and finish off the end of the word. Then, work backwards towards the beginning of the word.

Next, I took the Specialty Sponges and made random little red balls that could pass for ornaments.

After I finished up this project, I just wasn't ready to quit. I rounded up some white plates and began playing around with more typography. I chose to work with Peace, Merry and Joy. I also pulled out the Four Seasons Stencil, Adhesive Holiday Icon II Stencils, Holiday Icon Stencils, Specialty Sponges and paint colors Scottish Highlands in Satin, Fruit Punch in Pearl and Sterling in Metallic.

I began with the same technique of taping off an even space/line.

After letting the lettering dry, I went back over it again with my brush. I used the different snowflake stencils to create a random pattern of Winter Wonderfulness!

The stencils were so easy to use with the stencil adhesive. Just spray a little on the back, let dry for about 30 seconds and create up to about 5 stencils before you need to reapply. It helped my lines stay extra crisp, and I highly recommend this product when working on a slick surface such as a plate.

Of course, I had to go back and add some GLITTER!!! Here they are on my floating shelves in the dining room. I can't wait until we go get our tree and garland for me to complete the look!

Playing with my Martha Stewart products was so much fun. This is just the beginning of what all I plan to make. Make sure you stop by her aisle at Michaels and to check out the stencils and pops of paint colors for your crafts, but don't go alone!!! Take a friend and maybe even pack a lunch!

*I received product and payment for this post - all opinions are my own.
** Check out Plaid's Martha Stewart Page!

I'm partying with The Shabby Nest, House of Hepworths, Sisters of the Wild West, Funky Junk Interiors, I Heart Naptime, Making the World Cuter, The Girl Creative, Skip to my Lou, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Sew Can Do, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Slide Beneath My Sheets

noreply@blogger.com ({twenty}something) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 14:22:00 +0000

Nothing like waking up early and getting the perfect light to photograph my new guest bed linens! These came in about 2 months ago, but ..... just but. B.u.s.y.

Enjoy!

I'm not going to lie; our guest bedroom is beginning to feel like a little resort. Rusty walked in there yesterday after I had spruced it all up and told me it looked better than our bedroom! This is true. We waller in bedding like bulldogs and have worn out the comforter...time to shop!

I got this Madison Park Sasha 6 Piece Duvet Set at Designer Living on sale for $83.00 with free shipping!

Now - who's coming to stay with me?!

See the total transformation here and here.

Fall Tablescape and Mantlescape 2011

noreply@blogger.com ({twenty}something) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 00:03:00 +0000

I have never been one who like to be alone. It has been a challenge for me to sit at home for a few hours on a Friday night with Rusty coaches his team. In fact, I ended up signing up to sell tickets for the 1st half of his games to occupy my time. I never want to eat alone. I will wait until Rusty gets home to eat with him. But one day last week, I got a wild hair and went to a local pumpkin patch with an empty truck and two $20s....all my myself. I spent about 1 hour and bought a wagon full of fall.

After a few hours at home, I came up with this dining room tablescape and mantlescape. Enjoy!

Notice I just used a box of Uncle Ben's rice to fill the vases with my left over stems from Waters Mill. I also played around with stacking and propping the pumpkins all different ways.

I am also planning on taking a large mirror from my dad's shop, doing a little Vintage Revival's treatment and trading out the clock for the mirror. Stop by in a week or see and see my updates.

Like the clock? Check out my tutorial for it here.

Here is my Christmas 2010 Mantlescape and my May 2010 Mantlescape!

How often do you change out your tablescapes, mantlescapes or shelves? I mean - are they ever really "done"? Once we get them the way we like them, don't we all just start of different ways to do the next one?

Have a great week!

I'm partying at The Shabby Nest, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Home Stories A to Z, Dream Home DIY.

Milk Glass

noreply@blogger.com ({twenty}something) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 18:13:00 +0000

One of the things I am playing around in my house right now is staging the shelving in the dining room. Sadly, I made this goal back in January on my "Home Goals 2011" post. Since the dining room and living room are connected, am trying to stay away from anything too over-the-top "dining room". I also have an issue with thinking that these shelves compete with the fireplace, so I try to keep the height of the shelves low. Here are pictures that show the dining room and living room and how they are connected.

This summer, I removed the top shelf and touched the paint back up. I think it looks much more balanced and doesn't steal the thunder from the mantle. Here is what I just threw together.

I am loving the top shelf full of white dining room themed items, but I want to change out the bottom. It looks too crowded for the look I am going for. I would rather keep the walls simple and pimp out the dining room table with a killer centerpiece and an awesome tablescape.

I love white ceramic pieces.

This tray and pitcher came from Homegoods for about $5.00 each.

The goblets and bud vases are milk glass. A vintage glass that you can find at estate sales, antique stores or in your birthday package from your grandmother (thanks E.I.!)

I'm almost positive that the bud vases came from a florist's shop. I remember when arrangements came in these vases over the clear glass ones. I am hoping to keep adding to my little collection. The white is so timeless and classic!

What about you guys...do you find yourselves tweaking and rearranging shelves and table tops all the time?!

Friday Finds

noreply@blogger.com ({twenty}something) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 01:25:00 +0000

This morning, I started out with VERY good intentions. I was going to teach all day, coach after teach, tutor after coach and clean after tutor. Well, I taught the same writing lesson to 133 freshmen, practice finished early because my team rocks and my tutoring kid canceled, and Rusty left on a 4:30 bus to coach an away game.

On my lunch break, I caught up on my Google Reader and saw this inspiring photo:

Source

This picture really got me thinking. I started feeling guilty that I haven't blogged in over a month and have completed no major projects. I miss my time. I miss my creativity. Is it summer break yet?

After practice ended, I decided to stop by a thrift store to see what deals I have been missing. Here's what ended up in my shopping basket:

I can't wait to get these frames sprayed in some fun color!!

All 4 frames totaled about $15.00.

2 little wire baskets at .99 cents each.

This great square basket was only .99 cents. I am going to fill it full of toiletries and put it under the sink in the guest bathroom.

This wire magazine rack was only $1.00 and will work perfectly in any room!

Then I stopped by the outlet malls and scored these shoes!!!!

The heels and wedges were on clearance for $6.99 with a buy one get one 50% off sale! The sandals were $2.99 a pair. Then I scored some $5.00 coupon card at the register, so who knows what they ended up costing.....dirt cheap!!!

And then, just because I could....I bought this huge, flower clip. WHOA (Blossom reference).

But now I'm home. Alone. The weather is perfect for eating and movies. There are a million things I need to be doing and 2 million things I could be doing. The house is quiet. I was home before 7. And this is what I did....

My favorite oversized hoodie and Rusty's Navy boot camp sweats....

A chic-flick....

and....dinner......

I wish I were lying, but I'm not! It's a dream come true! Cheese, crackers, chips and cookies. Confession: while I took this picture, I was cooking a stovetop Knorr's Pasta Side (college days!). Good news: I drank a Coke Zero with this feast. Bad news: I haven't been to the gym in 2 months, and I will probably eat a biscuit for breakfast. Confession #2: I put chocolate icing on the cookies I made to make them like the ones you buy in the mall.

I love it!

Did you know that this was an awesome Friday to send an awesome week? It was awesome because I turned 28. I went to the Yellow Daisy Festival at Stone Mountain. My guest bedding I ordered came. I ordered a new necklace from Etsy. My team won their 1st competition. My kids were awesome at school. The new County Living magazine came. I cleaned my house during the week, so I can enjoy the weekend. I am going to dinner tomorrow night at a restaurant that the hubs had to make reservations for. It hit 67 degrees today. AND....I discovered gel nail polish! I lasts for 2 weeks without chipping!

Rusty, I know you will get this post on your EVO during the game. Please hurry home; I am tired of feeling single.

Why was your week awesome?!

Sneak Peak

noreply@blogger.com ({twenty}something) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 01:43:00 +0000

Here's a little sneak peak of the duvet cover I ordered for the guest bedroom!

I can't wait to see it on the bed with the faux board and batten and SW Svelte Sage walls!!!

Source: http://www.designerliving.com/Madison-Park-Sasha-6-Piece-Duvet-Set-P11188.aspx

College Dorm Room Decor

noreply@blogger.com ({twenty}something) — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 02:38:00 +0000

Last weekend, one of my former students and I held a marathon crafting night to get her all set up for college. Together, we had collected many ideas...mostly from Pinterest. After about 6 hours of cutting, gluing, painting and mod podging plus some enchiladas and brownies, we ended up with all of these awesome pieces:

She bought a light gray duvet cover from Ikea and chose these bright colors for accents.

This is an upholstered headboard for a twin bed that we made out of FOAMCORE, 1" foam that we doubled and batting. We covered some buttons in a light cream and tufted the headboard. This will work perfectly for her dorm room since she can't put any holes into the walls. We just looped some ribbon on the back to make a hook to hang from command strips!

Amber also bought one of these $5.00 lamps from Wal-Mart. We just took some extra fabric from the headboard and made some little rosettes with ribbon accents.

For some quick door decor, we mod podged this letter A with some scrapbook and tied a ribbon loop.

I got this bunk bed ladder at a garage sale for $1.00. We sprayed it with spray paint and used the belt sander to rough it up a little. Since she won't have a lot of floor space in her room, she plans to use this ladder to take advantage of some vertical space. She will hang her purses, hats, scarves, throw blankets, etc on this ladder.

Source

Inspired by this picture on Pinterest, we decided to make some cheap art with the toilet paper rolls I have been saving for the last few months.

Literally, we sprayed some flat canvases with spray paint or used some acrylic paints for a base color and glued contrasting painted toilet paper roll clippings to the canvas. The designs are limitless!! I love the girly flowers she went with. That blue color with white flowers really made me want one of my own! Hanging on a wall, it truly looks elegant.

It was a great night of collaborating with ideas and techniques. I can't wait for her to get to college, set up and send me some pictures of everything together!

And wouldn't a slipcover for under $49.99 from UglySofa.com look great over a beat up couch in a dorm room! My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia is hosting a KILLER giveaway! Check it out here!

What about you? Did you live in a dorm room during college? Remember your color scheme or decor? I lived at home and commuted, so my high school bedroom followed me into college!

Linking up to the Pinterest Challenge over at: Young House Love, Bower Power, Style By Emily Henderson, Making A House A Home.

Decorating With River Birch

noreply@blogger.com ({twenty}something) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 13:00:00 +0000

I just wanted to share a few pictures of my entryway bench.

Before last week, I just had the two blue baskets. The middle one was empty due to loaning it out, and it started to look lonely to me. I got this ~~idea stolen from Pottery Barn~~ totally original idea and decided to fill it with some wood.

But not just any wood.

River Birch.

I love it! I called up my childhood girlfriend, Holli, and she and her husband went to her dad's property and harvested some wood for me. She passed it off to me last week when we met up for dinner, and that same day, I cut it up to the dimensions of my middle cubby.

I am loving it!

And I just found this tutorial on how to make a cushion for this bench....

And we also saved a little branch for this project:

Love Logs!

Coffee Table...er...Situation

noreply@blogger.com ({twenty}something) — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:56:00 +0000

Over the last few days, I have been analyzing our coffee table. Well, we really don't have one. Here is what we have been using since we moved in.

Now - I love this huge basket. When we first bought it, we had it between our couch and wall. It functioned as a home for our quilts. I have no idea what brought it out into the middle of the floor, but I slapped a tray on there and it stayed.

But it's just not working for us. Here's what I have pinned on Pinterest for inspiration.

Source

I love this option because it can function as a coffee table, a place to kick up your feet and a place you could sit on if I needed to move it around when we have a full house.

I am currently a MWF seeing a SRCT....let me translate: Married White Female seeking a Short Rectangular Coffee Table that I can upholster. I am shopping Craigslist, yard sales and thrift stores. I love the size of the basket, so I am looking for the same size and shape.

Of course, when I find one, that will only begin the torturing part of deciding on a fabric!!! Anyone want to do a little mood board for fabrics that will work well with Sherwin Williams Ancient Marble walls, nude couches, white curtains and some dark, rich brown woods? I'll love you forever :)

Bedside Bling...

noreply@blogger.com ({twenty}something) — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 19:57:00 +0000

Without much of a budget and nothing really rushing me, I have been tinkering around in the guest room since the recent overhaul. So what do I do? I just roam around the house and start grabbing what I have. I knew that I wanted to flank the bed with tables of some sort, but I don't have any. I threw this $14.00 thrift store chair beside the bed and love how it could function as a table!

For now, I threw a $5.00 yard sale end table (that is in desperate need of painting) on the other side with a $4.00 consignment shop lamp.

I love the curves of this lamp. Those same curves are on the vase that I placed on the chair, actually... I guess I like big bottoms, haha.

There isn't a lot of space in the room after we put in a queen size bed. I think the room is 10' x 11'. A day bed would be perfect for the size of the space, but not in function. We mostly have lovely romantic couples like us who need enough room to rhomp in when they stay over (did I just say that?!)...so... god save the queen...size bed. Anywho....I am thinking a sweet little campaign desk on this wall would be so perfect!

Source

For this room, I would need a more narrow desk, but I am thinking this is completely DIYable...

Oh! I don't know exactly where these will go, but they were $4.97 at Wal-Mart in the college section. They had this chrome color and a brushed nickel color and a lot of empty rows that I am sure were filled with different colors. They had about 5 or 6 different color shades that you could also mix and match up at $4.97 each. Yesterday, I grabbed 2 to move around the house and think I will keep them no matter what. They are so small and cute and big bottomed and can be sprayed any color!

Happy Tuesday! This is my last wee of freedom...I start back to work next Friday :(

Gallery Wall

noreply@blogger.com ({twenty}something) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0000

Again - I just finished a project that wasn't even on my 2011 Home Goals List OR my Summer to-do list!

Can somebody please pass me an Adderall?

I went to Ikea twice this summer and just randomly grabbed a handful of Ikea Ribba frames in different sizes. I also started cleaning up our office and storing all of our random frames in the closet. After assessing the situation, I realized that I had a butt-ton of frames!

See, my dad owned a family business. It just happened to be a frame shop. Let me tell you, we had everything framed in our house. If I got a new softball trophy, a picture was framed. I went on my senior trip, he framed a group shot. We went to a museum, the picture of the exhibit went behind glass. I loved this!!! Well, some things I kept in the frames and others came out. Needless to say, it was obvious a gallery wall needed to happen.

Here was my blank slate. This is our hallway. You are standing in the living room. As you walk past the laundry room (on the right) and the guest bedroom (on the left), you will come to this dead end with the garage door and basement door to the left and our master bedroom, office and bathroom to the right. Notice how lovely it is with the attic light switch, electrical outlet and some other random cover that looks to serve no purpose.

One night, I sat in front of the T.V. and cut out newspaper/sales flyer templates for each of the frames I had. I also wrote on the template what size frame it was or some other detail about the frame to help me match it up later. The next day, I taped my inspiration photos to the basement door and started placing the templates on the wall.

My tips would be....

1) Place your larger templates first. Those will be the hardest to move later. Just think about filling in with the smaller frames.

2) Cover any uglies. I would do this first. If you notice in the picture, I placed the large templates first. I immediately went back and covered the attic switch and adjusted the larger frame farther to the left. Switch these steps when you do them!

Here was my final placement:

And my homework:

That night, I primed about 11 frames that weren't white and got up the next morning and high gloss whited them (yep, that's a verb).

The next step was to start hanging everything. Again, go in the same order. Hang over the uglies first. Start hanging your larger frames next.

Next, hang your medium frames and work on filling in all gaps.

Here is where I would just eyeball it. Since I already had my large frames up (and wasn't moving those!), I just tweaked the placement of the medium frames in between them to even out the random spacing some.

(hhmmm...clearly, I can't remember the linear process. I guess I placed everything on the wall and then sprayed them).

Here you can see how easy it is to make changes. Thanks to the digital camera, I could just put both up, snap a picture and compare. I didn't have to pull Rusty away from Angry Birds to get his opinion!

And I am a husband's nightmare. I am good enough with eyeballing! Seriously, Rusty stayed away during this project. I seriously nailed right through the templates, hung the frame and ripped the paper out from behind it on the larger frames. For the medium and other fill in frames, I used the trick above. Just dab on a little toothpaste where the middle is and press it against the wall where you want it! The wall went up in no time, and I have no regrets.

Here are all of my final pictures!

Notice how I tied the outlet in? I just took the glass out of a frame!

And just a few close ups of some frames that have something in them....

My "Owl Love You Forever" Etsy art, a fight night card that Rusty was on, the Kipling poem "If" that my dad framed for me when I was a teen and a $5 piece of Ikea art.

A newspaper clipping and article, my keys in a shaddow box and a wedding photo of us running to his truck (this covers the light switch...which, btw, Ribba frames are great for since they have hollow backs!).

A gallery within a gallery wall and a Robert E. Lee print that my grandfather framed when they first opened the business. It's a family thing, you wouldn't understand, lol! The tradition continues.

Well, the wall has been finished for a few days now. I believe this was the most impulsive project I have done yet! This has also been the project that I have not had one little piece of regret on. I haven't even switched up any of the frame placements! I love it.

I also formed an opinion. If you want a cleaner look, go for larger spaces between larger frames. In areas where I put too many frames that were 4x6 or smaller, the wall started to take a cluttered look.

Now to go and fill the rest of the empty frames....

P.S. - Dad, don't worry. Lee is facing South. I downloaded an app to double check!

I'm linking up to Home Stories A to Z, Coastal Charm, Ladybug Blessings, Sugar Bee Crafts, Giggles, Glitz and Glam, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Blue Cricket Design, Sew Much Ado, Night Owl Crafting, Someday Crafts, Gingersnap Crafts, My Repurposed Life, The Shabby Nest, Funky Junk, Spunky Junky, KoJo Designs, Vintage Revivals, Remodelaholic

Faux Board and Batten with Picture Ledge Guest Room Reveal

noreply@blogger.com ({twenty}something) — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 20:09:00 +0000

A few weeks ago, Rusty and I had planned to pressure wash the house, porch, deck, stairs and fence. Then we needed to seal all of those surfaces. Well - on top of it topping out at almost 100 degrees that week, our weather app also forcasted rain on and off. Sooooo, instead of signing up for all of that fun, we decided to tackle an entirely new project that wasn't even on our to do list for this summer (typical, right?!).

I have pinned so many different pictures of the faux board and batten, that I knew I just had to jump on board of this blogosphere trend (yes, I know I am about a year late... don't blame me, I was homeschooled). All it took was mentioning it the night before when Rusty was about 3 beers deep out of his build-you-own six pack. See, it's all about strategy.

Note: This is not a tutorial! Here is a great resource if you need one. Scroll to the bottom of Centsational Girl's blog post, and you will see about six or eight hyper links for more tutorials in all different styles!

Enjoy some before and afters:

The color we chose was Svelte Sage by Sherwin Williams. It was a left over can that we used under the chair rail in the dining room. The good thing about this project is that if we want to change the color, there will be very little painting! I'm thinking this room will be great for little mini makeovers when I get bored.

It's about 60" high. I just stood next to the wall and Rusty held up his hand for me to step away and see if it looked right. It looked about right. My only tip would be to not cut your room in half and try to let your board and batten fall either 1/3 or 2/3 up the wall. Mine is right about 2/3 of the way up the wall.

Here are the supplies you will need:

1. 1"x4"

2. 1"x3"

3. 1+3/8" Base (163 at Home Depot)

4. 1"x1 1/2"

Here is our order of operations when it came to the process.

1. Mark a line where we wanted the top of the ledge to be.

2. Paint everything under that line white. We used a gallon of our trim paint (high gloss white by Sherwin Williams). We figured that if this were real trim, it would be a high gloss white anyway.

3. Put up the 1"x4" all around the room.

4. Space out the batten strips anywhere between 16" and 17" inches. This just depended on what divided best with the length of each wall as well as where outlets were. We didn't want to split any outlets. We also started each corner with a batten strip to keep things structured and continuous.

5. Attach the 1"x3" picture ledge.

6. Attach the trim.

7. Caulk and fill in nail holes.

8. Paint a coat of high gloss over everything.

Here is a picture of the bottom of out batten pieces. I know that some blogs replace their baseboards to be as wide as the strips, but we kept our baseboards because they are much prettier than the replacement option. It is just cut on a 45.

In some of the pictures, you can also see where we attempted to put up crown moulding. We still have to go back and caulk and touch up paint, but the crown was free from a friend, so we are happy!

So - Some things we still need to do with this room...room arrangement, bedding, curtains, accessorize. I am thinking a little bench at the end of the bed for a tray to rest on and a little throw. I will put some frames and other tchotchkes on the picture ledge. I am thinking about two matching lamps to flank the bed in a nickel or silver. Maybe a night stand on one side under the lamp and a wooden chair painted and chipped up in an accent color under the lamp on the other side acting as a table. Maybe stack some books in the floor and even prop one of my ladders up against the wall (chipped up in the same accent color?).

Overall - we LOVE the look! I am not ashamed to leave that door open in the hallway anymore. I bet we spent about $150.00 on the 10'x11' room and worked on it for maybe 10 hours.

What do you think?! You can come be my guest now!

Linking up with:
Making The World Cuter
I Heart Naptime
Skip To My Lou
Sumo's Sweet Stuff

And In The Blue Corner.....

noreply@blogger.com ({twenty}something) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 17:36:00 +0000

Last weekend, I wrote this post while in Charleston, S.C. for Rusty's 9th MMA fight. We didn't take many pictures of the event because that's not very "hard core" apparently, but I did snag a few and a video of the his victory.

The weigh ins were at 6:00 that night, so we left home around 9:00 a.m. and got to the hotel around 3:00. Right away, Rusty still had to cut 6 pounds, so he dressed in hefty bags and put on black sweats and a hoodie. He did two 1 hour sessions of running and sitting in the sun....while I held down the fort in the air conditioned hotel :)

At 6:00, he made weight at 205 and took his promo picture with his opponent.

Right away, we headed to his favorite pre fight restaurant, Olive Garden. When we stopped for gas, Rusty popped in to buy some Cheerwine!

After dinner, we went to take a constitutional in downtown Charleston. It is our favorite city, and we know it well. We got some gelato and snapped this single picture on one of the few cobblestone streets that are left.

Here's a video of his entire fight.

And a single shot after the win!

It was a great weekend. He hopes to be back in the ring July 30th!

A Portrait of a Family

noreply@blogger.com ({twenty}something) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 02:36:00 +0000

Wow. I have such a huge post coming up on a total redo of our guest bedroom! We have been working about 3 hours a day in there since Monday, and I think we can put the furniture back in there tomorrow. I hope to get pictures and a post up by Sunday!

For now, I want to just post a few pictures of my family. I have a wonderful student who is a budding photographer. He met me, the hubs and the pups at a park and shot us for an hour. Within 2 days, he Photoshopped and gave me a jump drive with about 150+ pictures....for $75!

Rusty and I have never had photos taken together outside of our wedding....almost 8 years ago :( We also don't have any pictures of our pups that prove that they do live part of their life awake!! See what I am talking about here.

Here are a few of my favorites!

I love how my student cracked jokes for us to laugh. How he got down on the pups' level to take some shots. How he captured our individual styles in the hand photo. And.....how he took these

LOL!

Crazy Coupon Lady

noreply@blogger.com ({twenty}something) — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 04:16:00 +0000

Several months ago, Rusty and I got hooked watching Extreme Couponing on TLC. We were blown away by this entire culture of people who were beating the system. We actually made it a goal, and said it aloud, that we wanted to try couponing over the summer.

So we have.

It all started the last week of school. During that week, kids are coming and going, you are sitting for 3 hour blocks of times for finals and the days end at 1. That was the perfect time to start learning how to coupon.

I picked up a paper and worked with my friend, Lisa, to learn what she had picked up in just a few weeks of clipping. We went out to a few stores and tested out our skills. I tried to talk her into filming me at the register just like in the show, but she didn't go for it! Here is what I first came home with.

Ingles, $4.02 (One tea retails for $3.99)

Kroger, $10.50 (One of the packets of chicken retails for $4.99)

Publix, $19.00 (One package of Ballparks retails for $4.49)

Walgreens, $9.50 (One bottle of Advil retails for $7.00)

Once school was out, I had to teach Rusty. Here's the problem. The Atlanta Journal Constitution doesn't deliver to Dahlonega. We figured out that there is a gas station at the top of Crown Mountain that carries the AJC...because the owner lives in Atlanta and drives up about 50 copies each day. So.....we either have to get up to go grab one on Sunday morning, or I have Lisa pick me one up and pass it off at the gym. Normally, Lisa bails me out of driving into town!

Here are our purchases the first time Rusty went with me.

All Over, $38.43 (One bottle of the fish oil retails for $25.00)

There have been a few other times we have gone out. Here is what we picked up.

CVS, $4.00 (The Zyrtec retails for $5.00)

Ingles, $12.00 (One bottle of V-8 retails for $4.00)

Ingles, $6.00 (The Air-Wick starter kits retail for $8.00)

Kroger, $4.00 (One package of hot dogs retails for $3.00)

Publix, $9.50 (One package of Beggin Strips retails for $10.99)

Rite Aid, $3.00 (One body wash retails for $4.99)

Rite Aid, $24.00 (Lysol wipes retail for $6.99)

Walgreens, $25.00 (Schick razors retails for $8.99)

If you've never considered couponing before, you probably have a lot of questions! Ask away!!! I am happy to break it down for you. Here is my system:

Clip all coupons from the paper inserts
Read each store add one by one and match up your coupons to the best sales
Stop into the stores with your list and attached coupons when you are passing by that store. Don't go out of your way.

Here are some of the basics that I learned in the beginning:

Check each of the store's couponing policies. For example, most grocery stores will double coupons up to $.50 each day. However, drug stores won't. Go to where you will get the biggest bang for your buck!
Check the drug store couponing policies and Register Reward/Bucks Back policies. More than likely, you will have to split up your purchases into two or three transactions to drive the price down.
Always buy a paper with double coupons. You want two of each of the coupons to pair with the BOGO sales.
Don't pass up clipping a coupon because you haven't heard of the product or never use the product. If you do this, you will find some killer sale in an ad that will make the product free or a money maker if you had the coupon! It is a pain to search through a pile of clippings for a valuable coupon.
To get really good deals, you need to have coupon loyalty over brand loyalty.
Stores will write you a rain check for their deals if a more extreme couponer beats you and cleans out the shelves!
If you think that you only use one bottle of ketchup a year but the deal is for two and you don't think you need two, stock up and venture into the world of donating to a food bank for a family you know who is in need.
Think you will never need 4 large bottles of lotion, or soap, or shampoo or mouthwash but the deal makes them free, make a kicking guest basket for your guest bathroom. What could be more welcoming than having everything you need to host company within a moment's notice!

Some of the awesome deals I got aren't even up here. Twice, I have purchased Jergens Build-a-Tan lotions for summer that retail for $8.99 each. When the BOGO sale is on and I pair two $1 off coupons, I get two bottles for $6.99! Think of what kind of damage you can do on the make-up aisle...especially since coupons work on clearance.

So - that's my exciting summer, lol! Just kidding. I probably spend about 2 hours in front of the t.v. on Sundays clipping, and I only run into stores if I pass them. What about you....is couponing tempting? Maybe you are more extreme than me?! If so, what are you secrets?

Framed Baby Name For Above The Crib

noreply@blogger.com ({twenty}something) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 21:43:00 +0000

Right now, I am sitting in a hotel in Charleston across the street from the venue that Rusty will have his 9th MMA fight in. To kill time until 6:30, I am trying out Crest's Express Whitening Strips and staring down a pack of Peanut Butter M & Ms that I am going to break bad on while whipping up this little post.

Remember my friend Mary? Well - she and her hubby are welcoming a new baby boy into the world in July. We had her baby shower a few weeks ago, and she asked me to make her the name art to go above his crib.

Here is what I gifted to her.

Supplies:

Empty Frames
Scrapbook Paper
Ribbon
Computer/Printer

I purchased these frames at Family Dollar for $3.00 each. They are so sturdy and the perfect for the look she wanted.

For under $5.00 I bought different patterened scrapbook paper that included the green that Mary want's to use in his room. I also bought some white overlay scrapbook paper to print the letters on.

My favorite paper was the owl paper, but I cut two more patterns for Mary to choose or switch out.

Next, I had Mary go to www.dafont.com to choose her favorite font. I then just typed each letter into Word on my computer and printed them directly onto the overlay paper. To play around with size, just print on regular printer paper and lay the glass of the frame over the letter to test placement. Cut the overlay paper and place in the frame.

Next, place the colored paper in the frame.

Finally, I cut 12" inch ribbon and looped it through the back of the frame. I tied a clean knot at the top. When Mary opened her gift, I let her know that she could tighten the knots and cut the excess ribbon if she wanted to stagger the frames and hang them at different heights.

Here is a glimps of the final product.

Mary plans on hanging 6 hooks on the wall above the crib to hang "Landon" from. I think that is a great idea as the hooks can serve many purposes as she chooses to change out what she hangs on them!

Mary and Eric closed on their new home today at 11. I can't wait to head down there to help her paint up the baby room and decorate!

Well, I still have 40 minutes to kill....a good little girl would start in on the next post....

WAIT!!! I haven't even mentioned my new look! Do you love it?! When I won the Knock-It-Off contest for my West Elm Curtians, I won a blog makeover from Seven Thirty Three. We e-mailed back and forth for a few weeks, and today, Kim loaded the new design!! She was so helpful and worked with me to show me many designs. Check her out!!! She made me legit...I have a button now.

(and a signature)

Front Yard Overhaul

noreply@blogger.com ({twenty}something) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 03:33:00 +0000

**This post might only be enjoyed by family members, myself and Rusty**

Since Rusty and I moved into our house 14 months ago, we have heard many stories about it's history. We have always known that a young couple bought this house new and lived here. As we get to know our neighbors, more and more secrets come out! One neighbor told us that they liked to party and would sit on the porch playing a guitar and singing until 3 a.m. Another neighbor told us that their yard was perfectly landscaped. Just the other day, I learned that after they lost the house (quote, "They liked to party more than they liked to pay their mortgage."), they snuck back in the middle of the night to dig up all of their plants!

BOO for us!

By piecing together all of the different stories and time lines, I am pretty sure that our raped property sat vacant for about 2 years. Add the year we have lived here, and it has been in a sad state for 3 years...

Since Rusty and I are so competitive (as a team, not with each other....unless you ask him. He swears we will never play racquetball against each other again as it is terrible for our marriage), we just couldn't bare to let the neighbors' yards outshine ours.

Project "I GUESS WE'RE GROWN UPS NOW, SO LET'S DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS YARD" was born!

Rusty worked the last two weeks of school in the yard. I would help out in the evenings and weekends, but he did all of the grunt work! Here are before and afters of some parts of our yard.

Front of House BEFORE

Front of House AFTER

Here, we transplanted one Japanese Maple for another, added flower boxes and ferns to the porch, planted an herb garden and put in some flowers to fill out the space that we mulched and put a border around. We also added some cute house numbers on one of the columns, but I cropped that out so none of you will stalk me in real life, lol!

Front Island BEFORE

Front Island AFTER

Here, we left the original plants and tree and mulched and added the border. Of course, we had some major set backs....

Side of House BEFORE

Rusty added cross tie planters with lots of hydrangeas.

He dug up several plants that the previous owners planted and didn't dig up in the middle of the night and raked and tilled the yard.

Side Yard BEFORE

Side Yard DURING

He planted Fescue seed in the side yard since it is pretty shaded and Bermuda sod wouldn't do that well. But the Fescue is a tall, skinny bladed Fescue that will blend perfectly with sod.

Front Side Yard BEFORE

He had to remove a tree that looked cancerous...

...plant a new maple (his favorite) and till the bare patch...

...and add a border around the new tree...

...mulch inside the border and lay the top soil for the sod.

He layed the sod and planted me some purple ground coverings that I was begging for. Clearly, he worked hard! Our yard is looking amazing. I was scheduled to take after shots of the grass seed, sod and front of the house as a whole, but we.....FINALLY......had a huge thunderstorm, and I couldn't go outside. Tomorrow, Rusty is cutting all of the grass, and I will post some new pictures.

Neighbors....be jealous. We DOMINATE (no, I'm not competitive...)!!!

The Perks of a Side Job

noreply@blogger.com ({twenty}something) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 00:17:00 +0000

Some of my side jobs are:

Tutoring (SAT/ACT prep)
Hospital Homebound Teacher
Sponsoring Student Council at the high school

Together, we work:

Teaching (English and Special Ed at the high school)
SAT/ACT for College Board (I am the testing coordinator for our test center, and he is the hall monitor)
Coaching (Competition Cheer for me; wrestling for Rusty)
Waters Mill (I bus tables, and Rusty is the bar tender)

Ok - I am super busy. I mean, people get tired just looking at me. Everyone is always making fun of us because we work so much. We do! What everyone doesn't understand is that this is all I know!! AND...that I lounge just as hard on my down days. I mean JUST AS HARD! I won't leave the house for 24 hours on an off day sometimes, and I might only then leave the couch to trade Rusty for the loveseat. I do require a pay check at all places, so I always tell everyone that they shouldn't feel sorry for me...they should hop on board with me!!

What's my real point? What are the perks of a side job? Other than the OBVIOUS pay check perk, one of my jobs offers some pretty special bonuses each and every time I work there.

Waters Mill

I have worked for Waters Mill for three seasons now. Here is how the owner, my boss, describes the facility:

Waters Mill is a full service event facility nestled deep in the North Georgia Mountains. The house is part of the Waters Estate and has remained in the family since the 1700’s. The Waters brothers traveled from Virginia, settling in the North Georgia Mountains where they began their lives as farmers. The Waters family farmed the land and built the existing farmhouse. The original pine floors throughout the house were hand hewn and laid by the brothers from a mill located on the property, thus the name Waters Mill.

Other than getting to work in a gorgeous historic home with the family who runs it, I get to taste gourmet cuisine, see amazing floral designs and breathtaking centerpieces and drool over immaculate landscaping. The entire place is inspiring and refreshing. I mean, you are sharing the happiest day in a couple's life with them!

But here's the best secret about this side job...you get to bring home the beautiful centerpieces. And these aren't like scoring a free bouquet from Publix. These flowers are professionally prepped and last well up to two weeks in my home!!!

Just take a look at some of the more recent arrangements I brought home:

I am uber spoiled!!! I worked a wedding this weekend where the bride took home her flowers...I had to hide my mean-mug-glare I was sporting. Seriously, though...other than some cash-money tips to bring home, what could be better!

Check Waters Mill out here, here and here. Book a wedding. Drop my name. We can negotiate if you get to take your flowers home!