A Little Entry Makeover

 

Pardon the lack of posts recently. I've had a bit of a dry spell where I feel totally uninteresting and can't think of a thing to write. Blaaaaahhhh.

Aaaanyway...

I am having so much fun helping my neighbor and friend Chandra decorate her beautiful home! And can I just say, she is probably just about the most energetic and fun person I have ever met in my entire life! I am not even kidding. If you know her personally, you know exactly what I mean! She is a par-tay just waiting to happen!

This week we worked on her entryway. She had this area by her front door where there were some electrical boxes right in the middle of the wall leaving no space around them for hanging art. Kinda inconvenient design-wise.

Here's the BEFORE picture:

I came up with a solution to hide those electrical boxes by making some artwork out of thick canvases. Here's the AFTER:

The canvases fit right over the boxes. I found that awesome bench on clearance at a craft store. It's so pretty and fits the space perfectly.

I'll keep you updated with more little "makeovers" that we are doing in her house.

Dwell

I love the word "Dwell".

It makes me feel safe, protected, loved.

So I decided to make a canvas to hang in our family room with the words from Psalms 91:1.




I also made one that's available in my Etsy shop.


I'm plugging away on custom orders, but every now and then I get an inspiration like this one and I just have to make something for myself!

Have a great day!

What I Wore Wednesday

I still can't believe that I'm still actually posting these "What I Wore" pictures - most of the time I feel very UN-fashionable, let me tell you!!

I SHOULD title these posts "My Thrift Store Closet", because almost everything I own is from Goodwill.

Like probably 90%. Hope that doesn't gross you out. It's just how I roll.

Here goes...

(Notice the little man stealing my boots!)
Thursday:
Striped top: Ross
Cream jacket: Goodwill
Jeans: Goodwill (Ann Taylor Loft)

Friday:
Purple tank: Target
Yellow striped top: Goodwill (Old Navy)
Jeans: Goodwill (Ann Taylor Loft)
Shoes: Gap Outlet

Sunday morning:
Orange jacket: Goodwill
Skirt: Goodwill (new from Target)
Shoes: Goodwill

Sunday night:
Blue top: Goodwill
Yellow cardi: H&M
Jeans: Target
Shoes: Goodwill

And here's my stay-at-home-with-the-kids-and-do-housework-on-a-Monday outfit:
Jacket: Target
Jogging pants: Ross
Real inspiring, right? HA!!!

Linking up to the Pleated Poppy.

Basket Liner Tutorial

Happy Monday!

Today I thought I would show you how I turned a basic metal crate (bought at a yard sale) into a pretty and functional storage container.

It went from this:


To this:


I've had the metal crate for a while and just never really used it for anything. The other day I saw this purse in Country Living (April '11) and it inspired me to create a liner for the crate with lettering on it.


To start, I sewed a very basic liner using a cloth laundry basket liner that had torn a few months ago and wasn't usable. I almost threw it away, but decided to save it in case I could use the fabric sometime, and I'm so glad I did!

Note to self: Never throw anything away!

Here's the liner:


To make the lettering on the cloth liner, I printed out the wording I wanted to use onto regular paper.


Then transfered it onto the liner using carbon paper. I buy carbon paper at a small educational book store (if you're local, it's Ken's Educational Joys). You could also use graphic paper which is pretty much the same thing, and I've found it at craft stores (Flower & Craft Warehouse in Blue Ball).


I filled in the lettering with a gray paint pen. Paint pens are SO handy to use and are much more precise than using a brush. Love them!

If I have to wash the liner, I'm not sure how the paint will hold up, but I doubt I'll need to wash it often, so I'm not worried about it.


I wanted it to look a little bit faded, so I didn't make the lettering very dark.


And here is the final product:




Linking up to Making the World Cuter's linky party.

The Latest

I've been on a bit of a creative high lately for some reason (maybe that's why I'm so tired!) and here is the most recent creation of mine.

Sometimes my mind is so full of ideas that I'm afraid my head is just gonna pop right off my pathetically-out-of-shape body. Luckily, it hasn't happened yet. That would probably freak out my kids.

So while I'm doing my thang - painting, sewing, drawing, whatever, my poor little son gets locked into a cabinet by his sister. The older one. The one who likes to throw her weight around. Because, at the moment, she is bigger.


So, yes, they do their thing, and I do mine.


This canvas was inspired by my friend Julie Jones. She recently mentioned that this Bible verse is her motto right now.

Here's the story behind the verse:

Jesus and His disciples were leaving the town of Jericho when a blind beggar heard that Jesus was passing by. The beggar called out for Jesus to have mercy on him and heal him. Jesus stopped and told his disciples to call the beggar over.

So the disciples said, "Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you."

The beggar rushed over to Jesus, who asked him, "What can I do for you?"

The beggar said that he wanted to see. Jesus said, "On your way. Your faith has saved and healed you." And that instant he recovered his sight and followed Jesus down the road.


Isn't that an awesome and encouraging story? I love this reminder of God's mercy and His call on my life.



Want to buy a canvas of your own? Check out my Etsy store.

What I Wore Wednesday

Just a side tangent before I go on with my "WIWW" post. Does anyone else have trouble being able to relax during the day? The past few weeks I have been just plain exhausted by the end of the day and especially by the time the weekend rolls around. Like to the point of barely being able to function.

Hubs gives me lectures about making more of an effort to just relax throughout the day so that I'm not so worn out, but I find it really hard to do. And not just because I have three kiddos ages 4 and under either. Although that is the main reason!

I just can't sit still.

There is always something more that I want/need to do. And in the evenings when I probably should be going to bed, I want to stay up late to enjoy those precious few hours of time when nobody needs me to take care of them!

Anyone else have this problem?? Tell me I'm not alone!

Ok, enough about my issues! Onto "What I Wore Wednesday" linking up to the Pleated Poppy...

Thursday:
Striped gray top: Goodwill (Gap)
Purple cardi: Goodwill (New York & Co.)
Jeans: Goodwill (Target)
Shoes: Sofft from Marshall's
Belt: Goodwill

Saturday:
Green top: Target
Cream cardi: Goodwill (Ann Taylor Loft)
Jeans: Goodwill (Ann Taylor Loft)

Sunday:
Cream cardi: Goodwill
Skirt: Goodwill (Anthropologie)
Leggings: H&M
Scarf: gift (Target)
Shoes: Ross

This Anthro skirt is my latest and greatest find from Goodwill! LOVE!!!

My friend-in-real-life Janelle (who wears vintage aprons like no one I've ever met) is hosting a fun Springtime giveaway on her blog. Be sure to check it out!

Ellie Oh's Giveaway Winner!

We have a winner for the Ellie Oh's hat giveaway!

The winner is......

Karla who said...
"WOW!!! These hats are adorable!!! I would love to win the gingerbread girl newsboy hat!"

Congrats Karla! Please email me at maweaver1@gmail.com for your gift certificate! Thanks to everyone who entered!

Some Shirts & A Boy Named Jack

I was in the mood to do some "creative-type" sewing projects and decided to make some tie shirts for Jack. Just because I have so much time on my hands. Yeeeeeeah riiiight.


I found the basic white and black long-sleeve t-shirts on clearance at Target. I used the same method for attaching the tie fabric as I used when I made the monogram shirts.


I didn't really have a pattern that I used for the tie. I'm a complete wing-it-type of girl, so I don't like to follow patterns or instructions. Sometimes it's a good thing and sometimes it's a very bad thing. :)

Luckily, this time it worked out. I cut out the shape of the tie and used iron-on fabric webbing to attach the fabric to the t-shirts. Then I stitched around the tie using my sewing machine.


Because he's a boy and likes to show off his six-pack...


I had to bribe him with fruit snacks and Smarties to take the pictures, so that's why he is eating in every photo. He could literally eat ALL.DAY.LONG and he would be the happiest kid on the planet.


Big sister wanted a piece of the action.




And don't forget to sign up for the Ellie Oh's giveaway! It ends at the end of the day today!

Happy Weekend friends!