Olioboard

Planning out the rooms for our new home has become really fun since I discovered Olioboard.  It's practically a Pinterest for decorating.  In Olioboard you can create virtual inspiration/mood boards using pictures that you've uploaded, items already in Olioboard from a variety of vendors, or even items you find on the internet along the way.

Here are a couple samples of what you can create that I found on the site (currently trending):

(boudoir glam by livluvdesign)

(NP Nursery (peacock blue) by alamodemaven)

(Mid-Century Living Room by cre8)

(english bedroom by olgaflamuraj)

So, check it out and play!  It's free for most features.  Here's the direct link.

DIYs to try

I have a long list of things that I want to try to do myself, but I've got my hands full with family visits, a first birthday party, and prepping for a move.  As such, these things will have to be put on the back-burner for now.

I still wanted to share a few with you.

Ok...so, I actually have the time to do this one once we move and will likely NEED to do this one.  All you need to do is punch a few holes in the cap of a milk gallon and--voila--you instantly have a functional watering vessel for your plants.

(found here)

We also have some mismatched furniture that we were given by family over the years and I finally want to do something about it:  Paint!  Here are couple DIY tutorials that I've got a hankerin' to try out...hopefully sometime this summer.

(Tutorial found here)

(Tutorial here)

Lastly (for now, anyways), I know we'll need proper doormats.  I just don't want to spend a lot of money on fancy-schmancy doormats considering their sole purpose (no pun intended) is to get the dirt off your shoes so you don't traipse it into the house.  Instead I hope to find decent and paintable doormats that I can customize as I like.  I dig how this:

 ...turned into THIS:

(Original post found here)

That's all for now!

That's Pinteresting! - Growth Chart

I did not have one of those childhoods where your family has roots in a community and you grow up in one house in the same neighborhood with lifelong friends.

We were more like nomads...moving from apartment to apartment, city to city.

Don't get me wrong.  One upbringing is not better than the other.  I enjoyed many benefits from moving fairly often.

One of the things that I missed out on, though, was the stereotypical markings in a door frame to note your growth through the years.  You know what I'm talking about?  They often show it in family-type movies.  I know it's such a small thing, but it became kind of a symbol to me of growing up in a real community.  It's not just in the movies, either.  I remember going over to friends' houses and seeing the markings on their walls or doorways noting the dates, ages, and names of the kids as they grew.  It always held a special place in my heart--dunno why.

Being a new mommy in a metropolitan area, knowing that odds are we'll move several times, I still want a way to track our family's growth.  I just need something portable.  I found this growth chart on Pinterest:

(The Brimfield Growth Chart by Karen on Etsy, found here)

My hubby was trying to purchase it for my birthday earlier this year, but it was back-ordered.  Being impatient and all, I decided to try and make my own personalized version.

Off I went to JoAnn's (again), with coupons in hand.  I knew the growth chart above was printed on artist's canvas.  I had already looked at rolls of primed canvas, but knew I would never get around to using that much...so the price was way too high for my smaller project.  Instead, I purchased a half-yard of 60" outdoor canvas and asked the cutter to cut it in two equal pieces (each piece finishing 60" long by 9" wide).  Woo-hoo!  I now had the basic fabric for my custom growth chart.

At first, I thought I might use iron-on transfer paper.  I bought a pack at Michael's (using another coupon), but after a quick test learned that the white areas that are not cut off the transfer remain completely opaque and glaringly white.  Bummer.  The font I planned to use had WAY TOO MANY jagged edges to make that a hassle-free endeavor.

So then I tried permanent marker on another scrap.  Nope.  It bleeds.  A LOT.  Lastly, I tried acrylic craft paint.

It worked.

So here's what I did: 1) I stitched the two pieces of canvas together on one seam, short-sides together to make one really long strip of canvas. 2) I used stitch-witchery to iron seams on all sides to keep the fabric from fraying.

3) I used pencil to mark out the inches on each long side of the canvas and to freehand the numbers at each foot mark. 4) I hand-painted the measure marks, numbers, and letters on our growth chart.  Here's the finished product.

I still need to decide how I want to hang it, but that's for another day.  Right now I'm just thrilled I got it done.  (That's a big accomplishment right now...)

I gotta say, I'm actually really pleased with how it turned out!  We now have a portable growth chart, specialized for our little family that coordinates with our style--and is 100% unique and handmade with love.  It's not professional by any means, but I kinda like that about it.  I can't wait to find the perfect place to hang it in our *hopefully* new place.  Hurrah!  I get to start a new tradition with my family.

I love it!

That's Pinteresting! - Words

I like quotes and I love scripture.  I hope to someday hang some of these pieces of word art on my walls.  So much to do, so little time to do it all.

That's Pinteresting! - birthday edition

Birthday parties were a big deal for me growing up.  My parents were both so creative and they went to so much trouble to make my birthday parties special.  In fact, I sometimes had to reign them in from going way, WAY overboard.  I don't know how they did it either.  We were living paycheck to paycheck during the BEST of times.

All that is to say that I am absolutely thrilled to begin that tradition with my G-O baby.

In April, she will be celebrating her FIRST birthday.  I'm not gonna lie, I've been pooling ideas together for months.  I sent out save the date cards...in January.

Yeah.  I'm crazy like that.

To get an inkling of where my inspiration has come from, here are some of the pins from my 1st Birthday Ideas board.

I'm not a professional and I did not hire one.  I will be making most things by myself, so please don't expect our party to turn out (quite) as fabulously as the pictures above.  For the most part, they came from party planning companies.  The inspiration is there, though.  I've got a goal.  But, of course, there may now be a crimp in my plan.  I thought I would have all of March to put the decorations together while Baby G-O slept at night (she's not too much of a napper and has recently decided she only wants to take one, short nap a day).  As it turns out, we may be packing and moving...just before the party.  Of.  Course.

So my plan needs to be rearranged.  Still, I'm excited.  I am SO excited.  It should be fun.  I'm open to additional suggestions and recommendations, too--especially given my new time constraints.  Ideas are appreciated!  Gah.  I am so EXCITED!

That's Pinteresting! - Home Inspiration

I don't know about you, but I'm on a budget.  Now, just because I'm on a budget doesn't mean I can't spice things up around our home.  I like to decorate and redecorate with the seasons.  I'm no Sandra Lee (does she seriously have the storage space for a Kitchen Aid stand mixer in EVERY color and all the matching accessories to boot???), but I do like to reorganize, refresh, and repurpose.

Here are some of my home inspiration pictures.  I'm thinking paint and inexpensive accessories...or maybe using thrift store finds and my new sewing machine.  Possibilities, possibilities...

Painting blocks of color in Baby G-O's room:

Maybe some DIY stencil pillows:

What about neutral stripes in the Master?

Oh! How about MORE STORAGE for all of Baby G-O's stuff???

And while we're at it, let's stick to these five steps:

What are some of your best home decorating tips?  Any suggestions?  I'm all ears!

A touch of Christmas...

So, remember how I said that I like to decorate for Christmas BEFORE Thanksgiving?

Well, I started tonight.

Not a whole lot...

Just a touch...

Here and there...

But it adds just enough sparkle to these quickly darkening nights.

And it's enough to get me through Thanksgiving before I REALLY start to decorate.

I am lucky to be so blessed!