Stairs

I have been totally jazzed by the numbered stairs that have been all over the web. I have yet to see a place that lists vinyl numbers specifically for this purpose (I think pottery barn kids may have had them at some point) and everywhere I looked into having them done seemed a little excessive... so I figured a DIY was in order

It took me a little while to think of an easy way to accomplish it but it finally hit me- black contact paper. I found it off of Amazon for somewhere around $11 (I actually bought the chalkboard contact paper because it had better reviews). 

Then I played around in Publisher until I found a font I liked and a good text size. After that it went fast I just laid out my printed numbers on top of the contact paper and cut through both  layers with an exacto knife. 

With just a little bit of measuring they all went up super fast. They have been up a few weeks and they continue to look good and are staying stuck. I would suggest cleaning your stairs very well so there is no dirt to get in the way of your sticker sticking. I took this opportunity to finally fully paint my stairs since I was so sick of painting when we originally refinished them that I had never bothered to finish .... and then forgot all about it. 

I barely used any of the contact paper so I see more projects in the future. Martha Stewart has all of the neat holiday silhouette stickers at Michael's so I might have to try my hand at something like that. 

Vintage Skis = awesome

We've been on a role fixing problem spots around the house. Today is more of the same (no the problem is not Smokey... sorry if he offends anyone) the wall above the stairs is very narrow and long and I have been trying to figure out what to hang there for 5 years... 

Our friend Kris left a pair of vintage skis at Mum and Dads and since Dad already has a set I stole them. 

 We used this tutorial to hang them. I LOVE the way it turned out. And it is definitely fitting in with our travel outdoor theme that is going on in the hallway

 And yes I do think that people from Florida who come over don't really get our house... Who am I kidding probably no one from anywhere gets it... but our homes are all about what make us happy right?

And these make me super happy... and Kris can have them back when ever he wants but he'll have to get them off the wall all by himself

Uber's crafty

This wall has been bothering me forever.  It's very frustrating to have all of your furniture purchased and still feel like your space looks unfinished. We have 9 ft ceilings in our downstairs and something was needed above the TV. 

I had saved a few images for inspiration-  (sorry I don't know where the top one is from) 

  And asked Uber super nicely if he would build me something, lucky we had a bunch of scrap molding in the garage from old projects so this was a great way to clear some of it out. I think this project ended up costing about $9.  

 Here it is close up. I did distress it ... but apparently not enough to really show. What made it even better was the next Pottery Barn catalog I received in the mail had this $400 version which seems a little ridiculous to me but I was super happy to show it to Uber so he could see what an awesome job he did.

 And here is the wall as it looks now. We raised the TV up about 5 inches since we both had never been happy with the height and I switched out the picture for this mirror.

 I'm not done accessorizing yet but I'm slowly working on it. The giraffe by the way is Ubers gift to Micah from a recent trip to Central America.

I have a bunch more house projects to show you so stay tuned!

Chalkboard Paint = hours of fun

I have a few  plans to update our house this year- just fun smaller things to spice things up a little since I am home all day. The first thing I wanted to work on was our entry way which I have never really done anything with. It's pretty small so there isn't much that can be done but it went from this:

 To this:

I used chalkboard paint to make the area a little more interesting. Below the cork cork board I also put a few layers of magnet paint so now the fridge magnet letters can be used here as well. I drew birch trees on the one wall but I plan to switch it up through out the year... or really just when every I feel like a change. Also I bought chalk markers which write on the walls much better than just plain chalk and they don't come off unless you use water- so no worries about someone brushing the wall and being covered in dust. 

 This is behind the front door Mum and I found this fantastic HUGE mirror at Home Goods for a ridiculously low price- I have been looking for a mirror for here forever and hadn't found anything I loved and was affordable. The frame is really neat. And now I can get one last peak at what a mess I am before I leave the house.

 A better view of the cork board/magnet wall. That is Micah's silhouette down there, his grandparents traced him!

 So another room that has been bugging me for a while is this small half bath its very narrow which makes putting artwork on the big wall that you face when you walk in difficult because it feels like its in your personal space- Excuse the OLD photo I forgot to take a before so this is a pre new flooring photo!

 Chalk board paint now covers this wall to- so yeah i am totally embracing the writing on stall walls look in here. Weird - probably but it's a lot of fun.

 And anyone is welcome to add decorations - infact the walls are a lot more decorated now than when I took this picture. I figure I will wait until it is filled up and then think about erasing and starting over.

 Here's a view of the other side of the room. It's just impossible to get decent photos!

And if you have ever wondered  it may not seem possible but you can in fact fit 3 adults and a baby in this room.... 

I know this look wont be for every one but it has been fun for us and a quick coat of paint will put it all back to normal if I should get bored with it-- that's what I had to tell Uber when he walked in from a business trip to see half painted black walls in his house... I realized I hadn't really run the project by him... SURPRISE! But he ended up really liking it so I guess it is a good thing I forgot to ask because talking him into it would have been hard (apparently)

Box of Chocolates Garland Giveaway *and the winner is*

For full tutorial go here.

Box of Chocolates Garland Giveaway

*this giveaway is closed*

Finally a little giveaway for you! This garland might look familiar to some of you since I made a similar one for myself last year. (And I don't want to talk about it but I like this new version better) I thought that since I was nearing my 250th post (what?!) and Valentines day is just around the corner one of you might like to have it!
So up for grabs is this yummy (roughly) 8 foot long wool blend felt garland with hand embroidered detailing.

If you would like to enter please leave a comment.

For extra entry's you can

1. Follow me

2. subscribe

3. blog about my giveaway

Just leave me an additional comment for each one (if you're already a follower or subscribe it still counts as an additional entry so leave a comment!)

The giveaway will be open until next Friday (the 28th). When I will use random.org to pick a winner (If the winner does not respond within 5 days, a new winner will be chosen)

This giveaway is open to everyone anywhere!

Pine Cone Tutorial

Full tutorial here.

Christmas Garland

It's been on my to do list to finish my Christmas garland ... and after a few weeks I can finally say it's complete!

Ridiculous right? I have no idea why I did this... it's just been in my head for a while... goodness knows I don't really have the time!
It took 4.5 yards of 3 different green colors and 1 yard of 2 different brown colors of yummy mixed wool felt, plus 2 yards of velvet ribbon to make this (roughly) 9ft long garland.... oh and brown grosgrain not sure how much of that but a 12 yard spool still has plenty left on it!
I know I made a bunch of the pine cones last year but I couldn't for the life of me get them to come out the same way... I wish I could remember I looked for a tutorial too but no one seems to be saying how they make them! They are fun to make but I was getting frustrated because I couldn't get any of them to go together the same way! If I figure it out I will try and draw something out to at least give people the gist.
I think this is going to be my new thing to have a really fun garland for every holiday- I already have valentines day done ... now I just have to get started on all of the rest of them... hahaha

Somethings Fishy...

Another pillow completed! I actually finished this at the beginning of the week but the sun hasn't been cooperating with my schedule so today I just made due with the flash... sorry!

I am really stoked with him. I used different colors of felt on him than the last time and made him more red and blue... I am not sure which one I like more, they both strike me for different reasons. But the other one is already at it's new home so I guess it doesn't matter!

This one is done on a light blue linen and is 18x18" (I stuffed a 20" insert into him) the felt is 100% wool

I am not sure what I am going to do with him... probably keep him... but I may get a wild hair and list him in the shop to see if he sells.... and then be more then happy to keep him if he doesn't... lol.

I have been trying to wipe out old projects that have been collecting dust around the house... which means a little lack of enthusiasm around here and in turn less things completed to show you!

My older brother is flying in tonight so fair warning I might disappear for a little while...again.

Shirts!

Amanda was totally up for some crafting while she was here so I taught her how to do freezer paper stenciling and we even got her all set up so she can continue when she gets back to her dorm!
We picked up some plain T's on Friday and she got busy with some sparrow designs.
How cute is that?

Next she went for a peacock! Which she was a little intimidated by but I think she did a marvelous job! What do you think?

I love the butt feathers!!!

I can't wait to see what she does with her new skills!!

While she was busy with her exact-o knife I made her a logo from some of her drawings. I have decided that everyone needs a logo!

Saturday we got the tree up and decorated. The house is decidedly more festive! I love Christmas lights!

I haven't added much to the tree since last year but I did manage to make up some garland. Its from the shell lamp I took apart last year to make my crystal lamp. I couldn't see throwing all the shells out so I kept them in a bag and finally realized they would be great for garland on the tree. They are perfect... now I just need more shells!

Oh and for a black Friday deal... Amanda got some wonderful deals but this is all I came home with (well for me anyway)!!

They're from Urban Outfitters .... you just can't resist this kind of awesomeness on sale! These suckers are HEAVY and around 3 inches tall. I just with they had done them in realistic colors.

Alright well I am off. Fair warning I may possibly disapear for a while again!