Category: decorating

A Trio of Burlap and Shell Beach Shadowboxes with Tutorial

We found a ton of shells this summer, so I’m trying to find creative ways to display them. I decided to make these three little shadowboxes for my bathroom. I actually bought the sand dollar and starfish, but found the shell. I was mad because we found several sand dollars (already dead) after I bought this big one. Oh well. I’m sure I will find a home for them too.
I bought three of these 5×7 shadow boxes at Hobby Lobby for $4.50 a piece. They were on sale and cheaper than their friends because they are a weird grey color.
I taped the glass to avoid getting paint on it, and then painted all the wood with antique white paint and a foam brush. I let it dry, and then sanded it to give it a worn, beachy feel.
I cut each piece of burlap to cover the backing from the frames. I tried using Gorilla Glue first, but it didn’t hold. I definitely Gorilla glued my fingers nicely. My friend Whitney pointed out that I should use wax paper next time so I wouldn’t get glue on my fingers. She is a genius. I glued the burlap down with hardcore craft glue, and pressed it with the wax paper. You have to be careful with glue placement, because it may still show once dried.
Once the glue dried, I trimmed the burlap to fit exactly inside the frame. My frames wouldn’t allow me to wrap it and staple on the back, as I had originally planned. Then I centered each shell and glued it down, pressing for 30 seconds.
Then I put the finished product into their frames and hung them in my bathroom. I love the rustic, beachy simplicity. This project was a little time consuming, but worth the effort.




If you don’t have time to make your own, I’m selling these on Etsy, made with found shells only, for $20. Check out my Etsy site on the sidebar.

Don’t forget to link up to the Beach Week party!

I’m linking to some great parties. Check them out here.

Festive Paper Flower Wreath – A Tutorial

Back in May, I decorated my living room with handmade paper flowers. They are cheap and easy to create, and I love the festive color they add to our home. I intended to make a wreath of the same flowers to hang on the door between our kitchen and living room three months ago. I just got around to it. The Queen of Procrastination strikes again.

I found a wreath at the Dollar Store, and already had the tissue paper and wire. I decided to create a tutorial this time around, because several readers asked for it last time.
1) Cut a rectangle in your desired size from at least 4-5 sheets of tissue paper. You can cut it all with one cut. Your flowers will be the size of the smaller end of the rectangle. The number of sheets and length determine the fluffiness of your flower.

2)Start at one of the short ends, folding like a fan in one inch (ish) folds. Continue these folds all the way to the other end.

3)This shows the fan like folds.

4)Cut two small triangles in the center of your folded paper.

5)Cut a 10 inch piece of wire and wrap it around your flower. Twist it at the bottom of the flower so it hangs like a stem.

6)Start fluffing your flower from one side, then the other. Do this by separating each piece of paper from the others, one at a time.
You can cut the edges into points, rounded edges, or leave them straight. I prefer the rounded edges.
Take each flower and twist the wire around the wreath. I created flowers of all sizes for this wreath. You could create a more homogeneous design with flowers all the same size or same color. I like the festiveness that the different sizes and colors create.
Here is the finished product. I think it is bright, happy, and pure summer fun.

I’m linking to some great parties. Check them out here.

get crafty – the doily project

a while back i was inspired by a project i saw on one of my favorite crafty blogs,
tatertots and jello.

Visit tatertotsandjello.com

you can see her project and a full tutorial here.

i have several doilies that i inherited from my grandmother and her sister. they were handmade by their mother, my great grandmother. i love that my family has a tradition of handmade crafts that i get to carry on. i wanted to test “the doily project” on some doilies that didn’t have sentimental value, so i found 3 for $1.50 at an estate sale. i changed up the original project, using painted canvases instead of scrapbook paper.

it turned out well, i think. the colors are fun and modern, but the doilies are delicate and antique. i love the contrast.
i bought 3 canvases at micheal’s and painted them with acrylic paint and a sponge brush. it took 3 coats, but eventually looked great.
i centered the doilies and then poured a good amount of mod podge on top of them. i smoothed the mod podge with a foam brush, covering the doily completely as well as the frame.

it will look a little funky until the mod podge dries.

i patiently waited for the mod podge to dry, and the finished canvases look great.

for other awesome mod podge products, check out mod podge rocks, a blog that is totally about mod podge projects.


do you have any heirlooms that you’ve used in craft projects?

i’m linking to some great parties. check them out here and join the fun.

home tour – handmade bedside tables from reclaimed fence board

my sweet husband loves a good project. when he worked at camp he access to an amazing workshop and all kinds of old wood. when a 30 year old white oak fence was torn down, he decided to make 2 matching bedside tables. he made the tables before we were dating, and was thoughtful enough to make a matching one for his future wife. how cute is that?!
here’s mine. i keep it filled with magazines and books, an air freshener, and chapstick. on top is a photo of me with my bridesmaids, and 2 candles. the printed fabric coaster was a wedding gift from marci. the lamps were purchased for almost nothing from windy gap.
i love that he kept the sides rough and made the top smooth.
he is so creative and talented!
his table is filled with magazines as well.
he is the keeper of the alarm clock and flashlight.
i wish that we had access to a workshop here so that jed could build more fun furniture. maybe someday he will have a workshop of his own.

home tour – our comfy, casual, and slightly rustic bedroom

our bedroom is a peaceful place.
the simplicity of the white, green, blue, and brown color palate
is relaxing and natural.
best of all, everything in our rustic bedroom was free or found at a very frugal price.
jed made most of the furniture from reclaimed fence wood when he worked at windy gap. he created the headboard, picture frame, bedside tables, and shelf. i love the rough wood and the fact that they were created by my husband’s talented hands.
the bedding was a wedding gift from my meme, aunts barbara and kelly, and cousin jessica. we use this summer quilt in hot weather (a birthday gift from jed last year), and a duvet cover and down comforter in cold weather. the lamps, dresser, and chest of drawers were bought from windy gap (when they redecorated the camp) for under $100 total. the mattress was given to us by the camp for free. you can read about the fence wall art here.
the tiles were a flea market find, as was the painting. the empty frame was a pottery barn outlet find. i’ve got to find a photo to fill it. jackson’s bed was a gift from my parents. the baskets full of headbands were used to hold favors at our wedding. the curtains are hand-me-downs from my meme. the sign and vases were wedding gifts. the fabric leaves were an etsy purchase. i made the paper flower.
i hope you enjoyed the tour!
i’m sure not everyone shares my taste, but the important thing is that you love your own space, and feel comfortable there. both of those things are true for us in our home.i would define my style as comfy, casual, and a little rustic.
what is your style? 

blooming in my living room

i put away my spring decorations,
and decided it was time for summer.
i learned how to make paper flowers when betsy (friend and younglives leader) taught our younglives girls a few weeks ago.
i needed a refresher, so i looked to a few of
the great tutorials out there in blogland.
some didn’t turn out well. they went into the recycle bin.
all of the decent flowers went on green fuzzy pipe cleaner “stems”
and then into my mason jar collection.
i made 3 different sizes for 3 displays
on a bookcase and 2 end tables.
the photo effect used is “1960s” on picnik.
they were fairly quick and easy to make, and cost almost nothing.
i think they make my living room come alive
with bright colors and fluffy blooms.
are you ready for summer?

i’m linking to: All Thingz Related DIY Day @ ASPTL  http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/

frugal friday – estate sale decorating

we love estate sales, and have had a lot of luck with great finds lately. here’s the big one…
isn’t she lovely?! we had an ikea ektorp couch that was great, but we needed more seating. jed loved the back support of the ektorp, and wasn’t liking anything else. please excuse the ugly rug. it belongs to our landlord and she makes us keep it to “protect the floors”. u.g.l.y. you ain’t got no alibi…
at an estate sale in a ritzy neighborhood, we found this bigger 2×2 ikea ektorp sleeper & storage couch. it is $1200 new, and the people bought it one year ago. they had an extra brand new cover for it worth $200. they wanted $800. we bought it for $600. cash works. we loaded that sucker in the back of the truck, stuck the wicker set up front, and rolled through the ritzy part of town like the beverly hillbillies. it’s ok, i’m from arkansas.
we called a friend to help us move the couches, and he bought our old one on the spot for $300. so, we basically got my dream couch for $300. amazing!
what is your favorite estate sale/thrift store/flea market find? what would you love to find? now i just need some new throw pillows…

picket fence wall art, finally finished

remember that piece of picket fence i picked up off a curb, cut into pieces, and hung on my wall? you can see that project here. my crafty to-do list is approximately 9 miles long, and i’ve been meaning to finish this piece off by adding hemp clotheslines and some of our favorite pictures. the inspiration was this:
this is the barn where we held our wedding reception. we had clotheslines hung throughout the barn with our favorite pictures attached with little wooden clothespins. one line held my pics, another held jed’s. at the end of the barn were 2 lines hung with the pictures of our dating and engagement story. my life, his life, and now our life together…
we still have all the hemp cord and pictures mounted on cardstock. we picked out 6 of our favorites and i hung them with the same cord and wooden clothespins. now we have a piece of our wedding reception in our bedroom, just in time for our 2nd anniversary next week.
i love it! we’ve included pictures from my baptism, our engagement at disneyworld, jed with his brother and daddy, jed and one of his best friends, our first date, and me and one of my best friends. we can always change them out later and mix things up.
it cost absolutely nothing, and is so personal for us. it makes my heart happy every time i look at it. that, my friends, is my new decorating rule. what in your home makes your heart happy every time you see it?

i’m linking to:

DIY Day @ ASPTL
 http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/
The Trendy Treehouse

a little frugal spring redecorating…

spring is finally, officially, here. it was time for a little redecorating in my living room to bring in some spring time flair. my local grocery store had beautiful bunches of flowers on sale for $4.99. they had my favorites- stargazer lilies, and i couldn’t pass them up. for a vase i used one of my meme’s old mason jars. tie a piece of raffia around the neck and it becomes a vase. i used a fun effect on the pics on picnik.com – called ortonish. i love how it makes them all soft and glowy. if only i could get this effect on my face in real life…



here is another mason jar vase, a smaller version. we use them as drinking glasses at our house. this $2 bouquet of faux daffodils and a little ribbon leftover from our wedding make it festive. you can’t go wrong by adding a few cheap plastic easter eggs. i played around with 2 other effects from picnik, special focus and reala400.