I Love Stenciling!

I am so excited and grateful to have been chosen to receive a beautiful wall stencil from "Cutting Edge Stencils" I entered the give away from one of my favorite blogs, Joys of Home ~ http://joysofhome.blogspot.com/. There were so many amazing stencils to choose from, but I chose the Damask stencil named Anna. For my first wonderful project I took two inexpensive shelves from IKEA that had been used in the playroom and I decided to use them in the flex area near our informal dining room now.

I took the backs off by removing the small nails. Then I just turned them over and laid them right on the back of the shelves. I know I was being really risky by not putting any plastic down underneath. Very carefully I stenciled away. The application was really easy with a high density foam roller. I made a custom color out of mostly Glidden satin paint (Rain Washed) that I already had from a previous home. Then I mixed in some dark brown & some dark green acrylic paint. The color is soft & subtle and I think it is beautiful.

It is so fun for me to display some of my white milk glass pieces on this pretty shelf! Most of the glass I picked up at thrift stores and antique stores. But there are some very special ones that came from my Mother in-law, my Mother & my Aunt that I love! The old bicycle basket on the bottom shelf holds some table linens. I tried to put items on the bottom shelves that wouldn't be dangerous for our little Grandcuties, but I'll just have to put some things up when they come, even though they are such well-behaved children!

I'm still working on getting our new home decorated, but you can see how nicely the shelves go with our blue window treatments and throw pillows.

And now for a bunch of close-up shots!

Crystal picked up this gorgeous blue vase for me from DI a few years ago.

If you like blue & white keep scrolling down!

With Gratitude ~*~Lynda~*~

My Girl's Room - ABC's and Easy Art

A few simple additions to my girl's room:

I found some wall stickers at a nearby dollar store (Dollar Tree) and put the alphabet along a boring window wall in my daughter's room. My 2 year-old loves singing the ABC's.

Also in the last few weeks, I used a fancy software called Microsoft Word (haha) to put the words "I love to see the temple" onto a black and white photo I took of my daughter at the Mesa Temple. Then, I printed it out on normal copy/printer paper and used decoupage and smoothed the print onto an 8X10 sized canvas. I picked up this canvas in a pack for really cheap at Michaels awhile back during a sale.

I like making art on these canvases because they are easy to hang and I like the canvas look. 

I love how this looks with the contrasted black and white. Shea loves it too.

~ Chelsea ~

Bright Baby Room - for the Window

This bubbly valence is the result of many hours of envisioning, some fabrics I already had along with a few purchased additions such as wide quilt binding and jumbo ric rac. 

I started by measuring the window and curtain rod and then drawing a sketch of my idea. Then, I made a template for my "semi-circles" (more like semi-ovals). I cut out all the fabrics, each piece has a white backing piece cut from a cheapo Ikea sheet. I sewed the round edges and left the tops open to insert a piece of quilt batting cut to the same shape (I made a template for that too). Then, I laid all the pieces out on the floor to align them how I liked them and overlap them enough to achieve the right length for the curtain rod. I pinned and sewed the pieces together. Then, I sewed on the quilt binding which served three purposes; to piece the semi-ovals together, cover up the raw edges and create the tubing for the curtain rod. Then, the white ric rac added a little more interest and covered up the raw edges that could be seen through the white quilt binding. 

I was excited to hang it up, so excited that I risked waking my baby up and snuck into her room ever so quietly to see my creation up on the window.

See my other Bright Baby Room decor: WALL ART AND COLORS.

~ Chelsea ~

Formal Dining Room Decor

I'm having so much fun decorating our new home! I'm still being very careful not to spend a lot of money to help our goal of being completely dept free as soon as possible.

Do you remember this pretty chandy? It used to be painted metallic champagne. I felt that it would look better painted oil-rubbed bronze now.To make the 3 fabric wall art boards, I started with these canvas's that I picked up at a yard sale last year for 50 cents each.
Then I found some colorful fabric that I really liked (on sale, of course).
Place the canvas board on the under side of the fabric. Cut the fabric about 3/4 inch larger than the canvas.

Then hot glue the fabric to the back wooden frame pulling it tightly to stretch to get a better fit. I must say that it is helpful to do this with another person, but I did manage to do it myself. It would have been better on the edges with help though. If you are using a fabric that that has a particular pattern, make sure to keep it straight. I really like the easiness of this paisley. I did make sure that they were all placed on the fabric in the same direction though. I use a skewer to press down the fabric with the hot glue applied so I don't burn my fingers.

They bring a lot of interest and color to the room. I already had the 2 metal iron work pieces. I spray painted them oil-rubbed bronze also. I was really feeling the urge to buy 3 new metal pieces from Hob Lob to go over the top of each of the fabric boards, but not now, maybe later.

Here are a few items that make a pretty center piece!

And on the buffet the bunny comes out for spring time. I'm not suggestion anything by placing it on the platter. That's not very nice of me now.

Our china cabinet holds the china down below and a collection of brown and cream dishes along with my many off-white ceramic pieces. Some of these dishes have been in a box for 2 years. It was so much fun to get them out and enjoy them again!

I saved the best picture for last! I love having one of my favorite nativity scenes up all year long!

Thinking about Jesus Christ is one of my very favorite things to do!

~*~ Lynda~*~

Adding Color to my Family Room

Well, after a few months of thinking about all the things I want to do to add some color to my family room, I have had a little time here and there to create!

This wall hanging was fun because I didn't have to make it from scratch. My mom made it previously and I just changed it up a bit.

I really like this turqiouse color because it is just bright enough to give some life to the room. I also love the lace ribbon I found for really cheap at SAS fabrics.

Here it was before I painted and added my touches to it:

~ Chelsea ~

GRACE

This painting has always been one of my favorites. A small copy was in our home growing up and its simplicity is powerful as a reminder of humility, gratitude and faith. Read the HISTORY of this painting HERE.

A few years ago, I stumbled across this large painting of "Grace" on craigslist. Although I knew it was larger than the little one my mom has, I didn't realize how HUGE it was until I got to the seller's house to purchase it. It's a good thing we had a large empty wall in the dining room for it to call home. 

Since hanging it on our wall a few years ago, the frame has always slightly bothered me. The frame was just too fancy for a humble painting, with gold and cherry wood coloring. And, I don't have any of those colors in my decorating. I have wanted to paint it for a long time, and I finally did.
All black.

And I painted it right there on the wall, because it's huge as I mentioned. I sanded it, taped it off and painted it with a foam brush and then a smaller paint brush for the detailed border.

I enjoy the new look with a solid black frame. 

~ Chelsea ~

Little Touches For Our Guest Bathroom.

Our new bathroom with the ordinary towel bar (hung at an angle).My Handy Honey said "I know you will do something better than that". So, I gathered some items that I already had and.......
made a "Pretty Bird" towel hanger!

Brown glaze over antique white paint!

Do you like?

And while I had my brown glaze going, I applied some to this awesome old cabinet that a dear friend gave to me recently.

I LOVE the quote hanging on the knob! "The future is as bright as your faith", by Pres. Thomas Monson.

Chelsea gave that to me as a special gift!
~*~ Lynda~*~

Felt Fun

Today, I made a little felt book for my daughter using a baby wipes case that was given to me. The case was embellished by someone else, so is very cute on the outside. 

I didn't use it very often, so I turned it into this.

I sewed a layer of quilt batting to two rectangles of felt and hot glued them to both sides of the interior. The quilt batting allows it to have a softer padded surface and prevents the hot glue from seeping through the felt. 

Then Shea helped me decide what colors to make the different felt shapes out of. We had a good time making it and I think it will make a nice quiet toy for her to imagine with. 

I love the simplicity of felt. It doesn't fray and it comes in so many bright colors.

~ Chelsea ~

Valentine's Day Infant Outfit

I love Valentine's Day! Whether there is a special someone or not, it's a wonderful time to show the people in my life that I care. I especially love celebrating with my favorite little people, my kids! Today I made a special outfit for the newest member of my family. I wanted to do something representative of Valentine's Day but also versatile enough to be used other days. In addition, baby legs were on the menu since her little knees are in contact with the floor a lot these days. I found some cute knee-high socks with hearts on them at my local dollar store and that was my inspiration. Using other fabrics from around my house and my friends house (we crafted together today), I whipped something up. I am pleased with how it turned out, but mostly I just think my daughter is adorable! I asked her to model the outfit for me and she obliged (although, she was moving around so much my camera could barely keep up). I hope you like this non-pink Valentine's Day outfit. Maybe you'll want to craft something "love"ly of your own!
<3 Crystal