Long Weekend Inspiration

I’m not gonna lie…I’ve been a little lazy this week.  But hey, if I can’t be lazy during my third trimester, when can I?  So instead of posting a completed project, I’m posting some of my inspiration for the upcoming long weekend.

First up, I am in love with these planter boxes that I’ve been seeing lately.  I might have to jump on this band wagon!

This one is from Shanty 2 Chic.

Second is this great frame from It’s Overflowing, made from an old wooden box.  We have an old wooden bench that Hubby is going to cut up; I might just have to steal some wood from his pile.

Finally, I have a ton of clear glass vases that I would love to try adding some color to.  I love the look from this BHG tutorial.

I’m hoping to take some of these ideas and use them on a summer mantel.   If I don’t work on that this weekend, then maybe I can finally put some finishing touches on that nursery.

Wish me luck!

Nursery Alphabet

Well, it’s finally up.  The alphabet project that would never end…

At least it looks good!  Not perfect, I won’t point out any of the flaws…I’m sure you can find them.  But I’m happy with the results.

You may remember that I started this project a few weeks back.

I was originally picturing the big letters that are all over pinterest.  But I couldn’t commit to the price per letter.  So I wandered around Hobby Lobby for another route.  I decided to use two sets of plain chipboard letters.  (because one set just didn't seem thick enough)  They were 4.99 a set and I had Hubby with me so that we could each use a 40% off coupon.  So the letters ended up costing me about $6.00.

After I glued the two chipboard sets together, I painted the tops and edges.  Half of the letters were painted in an off white and half in a very dark brown.  Then I used Mod Podge to apply the paper to the chipboard.

 

To hang the letters I used some 3M poster strips that were cut in half length wise.

This was my very high tech way of marking the center of the bookshelf.

I started at the bottom and worked my way up.  As I put the letters up I noticed a pattern to the paper.  This was unintentional.

Also, I decided on the messy/whimsical as opposed to the straight line, because it’s more forgiving of errors.

I have to end this by saying I couldn’t have done it without my friend, who was visiting from out of town.  Without her help, my pregnant brain would have messed up the alphabet…several times.


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Cover Those Walls!

So an update on our living room wall.  Things are hanging on it!  But I wouldn’t call it done.

First, a quick shout out to Snug as a Bug Baby, who shared a great way of hanging arrangements on a wall.

 I was originally going to cut out individual pieces of paper for each item and tape them to the wall, but this way was much easier.

 You can’t really see my pencil marks, but they are there…I promise.

Now for a quick tour…

Here we have our fun, yet slightly creepy, windy wood guy.  We got him as a wedding gift from my mom’s cousin.  He makes these little guys from pieces of wood he finds on his vacations.

That empty space to his right is where I am going to put the tile picture.  I’m still working on finding a Hubby approved way to hang it.  To be honest, I haven’t really looked around much.  Maybe I’ll add that to my weekend to-do list.

Next, you will find the lovely cross that I made a little while back.

Hanging over a family picture, you will find a candy box lid…another work in progress.  I’m planning on wrapping that bad boy in some paper or fabric.

 

Now we have the decorative letter that I made along with the cross.

Finally, there is the shelf that belonged to my grandma.  On it is the Willow Tree figurine that my sister recently gave us.  Also, you might recognize the flower pot from a previous mantel arrangement

I like how it’s coming together.  And I’m really glad that it’s no longer sitting in the middle of my living room floor.

In a couple months, I’ll be adding little baby pictures to the arrangement, and an updated family picture!

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Nursery Bookshelves

Thank you to everyone who is visiting from Pinterest!  I haven't posted to Crafty Kate in quite a while.  Please visit me over at https://twitchetts.blogspot.com


Happy belated Mothers Day to all you moms out there.  I hope you all had wonderful weekends.  My weekend was relaxing and slightly unproductive. 
But I was able to snap some pictures of the completed bookshelves that Hubby made.

I originally wanted some of those gutter shelves I’ve found on Pinterest.  I was a little obsessed with this idea.

source

Then I figured out how much it would cost to make them.  It’s the end pieces and corners that will get ya.  Luckily, Hubby is handy.  He volunteered to make something cute and fun out of wood…much cheaper…

They turned out super cute. 

Plus, I love the fun orange that he used.  It really helps to break up the green walls.

note to self...do not put a green book against a green wall when taking pictures...

I would give you a breakdown of how he made them, but I was not a part of that process, and I’m pretty sure he was making it up as he went.

As soon as he hung them, I put all the baby books we have for the little one up

Now I need to go book shopping! 

 

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Homemade Gift Giving

I’ve been trying my hand at homemade gift giving, and it seems like my go to idea is picture frames.  I’ve become a little obsessed with taking a thrift store find and turning it into something personal.

I used some fun scrapbook embellishments for the letters.

This one is just a block of wood that Hubby cut for me.  I painted it and sanded the edges, then I attached a piece of wrapped cardboard and a decorated clothes pin.

Please ignore the bad picture here...I had a house full of people and wanted to get the sucker wrapped...

I got the inspiration from Pinterest.

source

And don’t forget the custom frame I posted a little while back for my Sister-In-Law.

I’m loving being able to give homemade gifts! 

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Milk-aholic Baby Shower

Happy Tuesday!  My weekend was so good, I was still recuperating yesterday.

I have to show you another great shower that was thrown for me, over the weekend.  This one was hosted by my sister, mother in law, and two of my very good friends.

It was a Milk-aholic themed party.  So cute!

They even made sure they included my watermelon cravings in the otherwise black and white food.

Good job girls!  Love you all!

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Cheap and Easy

The other day, I was browsing Pinterest and came across a tutorial for mounting pictures to tiles.  I immediately thought of the living room wall project and had to try it.

I must say, I like the way it turned out.  And it was SUPER easy and cost all of $0.13.  My type of project!

The tutorial was from Crunchy Betty.  I didn’t put any Mod Podge on the top, because I didn’t want to smear the ink, but I still think it turned out really cute.

I used a picture that I had taken a while back.

It’s a view from above of the angel we have in our yard.  There’s just something about her that makes me smile.

Next step is to hang this puppy on the wall.  First I need a Hubby approved method of hanging.  He’s worried that it will fall off the wall and hurt the hardwood floors.



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