Family Initial

Unfortunately, we are one of those families whose last name starts with K.

I'm always envious when I see a family letter wall.

Group too many K's together. Bad! Really bad. So I decided to make this freestanding K to present our family.

My challenges...the letter K obviously. Materials....what I had on hand. This was part of my Christmas crafting challenge where I tried to use materials I'd had forever. This is what I came up with.

I started with a wooden letter K.

Pages of sticky backed aluminum  pages. And red and turquoise paint. And Embossing powder, distressing ink, heat gun and Sizzix boutique press. I had a ton of crap on hand!!!!!

Here are the metal pieces.

I put a piece of metal (I cut it with my paper cutter) to fit in my Sizzix folder.

I ran it through my Boutique machine.

I painted them with leftover Turquoise paint (acrylic). Lightly.

Once dry, I distressed them with an ink pad. I think it's a Ranger product. You just rub it across the top. While still wet.....

Sprinkle on the Embossing powder. Let the excess run off. 

Then give it a couple seconds under a heat gun.

It gets this crystalized affect.  

I had to cut and piece my metal to fit my letter K.

Picture Frames

I've had these wooden frames for a while now and didn't really know how I was going to use them.

So I searched in Pinterest.

Here was my inspiration that I found on Pinterest.

I opted to paint mine red because it was the only color I had enough of on hand to cover all the 3 frames.

I had these metal clips in my stash of supplies. I think I got them at Hobby Lobby.

After the paint was dry, I added a piece of scrapbook paper.

Here is a little trick I used to hang them. Get some tooth paste.

I did a drop on top and bottom of where the nail would go.

I held it against the wall.

Then added the nail.

The cool thing is, I can trade out the papers inside the frames.

So for Christmas, I'm going to use the papers below.

Don't forget to use the coupon codes

20PERCENTDISCOUNT for 20% off

and FREESHIP2017 for free shipping in my Etsy Shop.

My New Christmas Wreath

Here is my new Christmas wreath!

It's made out of red burlap, a straw wreath (I recommend using foam instead) and greening pins (I recommend using just regular boutonniere pins....see tutorial I followed below).

The red and blue really go great with our mantel color story.

Here's my inspiration tutorial found over at Find It, Make it, Love it.

I had a different tutorial I was using when I purchased my supplies. Then I stumbled upon this tutorial and wish I'd found it first. It has really great step by step photos. So great, I didn't even bother taking step by step pics of my own. Just go check out her tutorial!

It all started with this red burlap that I purchased on-line about 5-6 years ago (about 1 yard). I knew I wanted to do something Christmasy with it but didn't know what. Our wreath got damaged last year so I tossed it, so our mantel needed one desperately.

The straw wreath was 12 inches and really hard to stick those greening pins into, especially after a few overlapping layers of burlap.

It took me about an hour from start to finish but I used a rotary cutter like she did to cut my squares. If I was cutting them all individually, I could see how it would take longer.

For my bow, I wanted the contrast of the shimmery blue against the rough, red burlap. It had wire edging, so even though I've never tied a bow in my life, it was pretty easy. Here's a good bow tutorial for bow tying over at Skip to my Lou.

I had enough burlap squares left over, I plan on making a banner to hang on the shutter on the mantel. That will probably be my next project.

Bathroom Re-Do

We've been in our house since 2001. So we are currently in the process of re-doing and upgrading.

 

Our master bathroom was our first project in our home. I painted it this goldish, Dejon mustard color back in 2002 (I actually painted it twice. The first time I painted it, it was too yellow, so I repainted it the same weekend with a darker shade).

 

I paired rich cranberry towels and a gingham patterned curtain (from leftovers from the kitchen curtains). I had used jewel tones throughout the house.

 

There I am in my pj's....don't judge. If I'm home, I'm in comfy clothes.

 

I know people say the quickest and cheapest way to change a room is through paint but I disagree. And the reason being the amount of money and time I spend when I paint. I spend tons of money on rollers, brushes, drop cloths, Paint (I tend to repaint immediately if it's the wrong color). And then there's time.....I'm a slow methodical painter but a quick sewer). So choose a color theme and go with that. I already had a Dijon mustard wall....what goes with that? Gray and white! Bam!

 

Having said that, to me, to re-do a room....start with the accessories.

I started with the towels. I added a decorative trim that coordinates with my gray, mustard and white color scheme.

All I did was measure the distance on the towel that would fit a band of color, added the seam allowance. Sewed it on the front.

For the curtain, I just hemmed the edges on the 2 sides. Then did the same on the top and bottom. Then folded over the top to create a path for the curtain rod. Shoved the extension rod through it and hung it up.

Tips on sewing with bath towels...make sure you pre-wash and dry them. I didn't and wished I had. Because the big fluffy towel ate up fabric (once I started sewing I ended up short on one end because it was so fluffy and I didn't pre-wash). The thinner the bath towel or wash rag, the better. It sewed more evenly.

I kept the candle holders I had originally. I had bought the baskets to hold the bath supplies 2 weeks ago. So they are new but still coordinate. I may decide to spray paint the metal part black but for now, they stay rusty. I just didn't want a spray paint smell while soaking in the tub.

By day.......

And the art I already had....my photos from my photog class from my Italian trip. I already had the frame. Free art!

 

As far as time, sewing was definitely the way to go. For me! I tend to take forever on painting (and spend way too much money on it).

 

So to re-do a bathroom...think towels, curtains, rugs. It might be cheaper than paint + all of those things.....