White Board Calendar

In an attempt to get organized with the life of my busy husband and children, as well as myself, I suppose, we needed a new calendar. We had for years the hanging paper type, which always worked well, but last year I decided to try a digital online version. The calendar was cool, it updated everyone, and worked well, if you logged in and looked at it, which isn't my husband's strong suit. And the kids never did. So, back to the kind that is right in your face. I actually saw that my hubby wrote something on it the other day! Surprise, surprise! Maybe this one will work!

This is how I made this calendar.
1) I purchased the calendar white board from Target. I believe it was under $10. You could actually make your own with white board from your local hardware store, and either writing the calendar on with sharpie or using vinyl. I didn't feel like being that crafty, & I was afraid if I added one more step, I would go another year without a calendar. (Not good at all!)
2) For the frame, I purchased 2 plain 1" x 3" pine boards & 1 furring strip from my local hardware store.
3) I cut the 1" x 3" to fit, using my miter saw, and nailed them to the front of the calendar, after applying some clear liquid nails to the edge (just to give it some added bonding).
4) I then cut the furring and applied to the back all the way around the frame. This made the sides flush with the wall.
5) The only thing left to do was paint and hang it up. Really, it was that easy.

January Pinterest Club

January Pinterest Club was definately well attended. These are some of the examples of the Valentine's Board we did. My niece, Shelby, did the light gray above, & I really like the way it turned out!

I like this dark gray one as well. I am making mine very similar to this one above. The stencils were cut with the Silhouette Cameo. I really like the versatility of the machine. I like that I can cut any font, any size that I might have on my computer. I also like that they made it Apple compatible, since the first version was not. I do think that the Silhouette is fairly easy to use, and cuts a little better than the Cricut machine that I have. 

One of the other projects that we did were these frames. They are 15" x 15" square, with an 8" x 8" opening. The stencils, again, were cut using the Silhouette Cameo, using binder cover for the stencil material. I would say that it did very well, holding up wonderfully project after project. We only had a couple minor problems.  One, on a few, some of the sticky tape used to connect the binder covers together making it large enough, would come apart. The second thing, was actually with the person doing the stenciling, and it was in using too much paint on their brush, or using a sponge stencil applicator instead of an actual stencil brush. 

I love this chevron look!

I have to say, the stencil brush does do a significantly better job than that of a stencil applicator sponge. This frame above, in the blue and periwinkle, was done by my daughter, Haylee. Some of the trim was hand cut, and it did give it a very cute look. She did a great job. 

The black and white frames are also a favorite! I haven't actually done mine yet, and I don't know exactly what color I am going to choose! 

The third project we did was a burlap pillow with a stitched ribbon heart. It was so cute, but I neglected to get a pic of it before my friend who did it went home. There was definately a giant amount of work for Pinterest Club this time. If I had to do it again, I think I would limit the amount of frames that could be ordered, as most people weren't able to finish theirs anyway, and it just was a little too much! 

However, they all turned out amazing! They even looked great in a solid color only!

Happy crafting!

The Craftermath of Pinterest Club Prep

Pinterest Club for January is happening this Thursday. That is in 2 days, and the 58 frames are finally done. I think next time there will be a limit on how many people can order. These beauties are 15" x 15" with an 8" x 8" opening. They cost about 6 dollars to make, and although they don't have them now, each will be dressed up with some paint, stencil work and a bit of trim. So excited for mine to be done. Loved the ones we saw on Pinterest, although they were a bit smaller.

My husband says that "this" (meaning the picture above) is the craftermath. Craftermath is whatever is left after you make stuff from Pinterest. Funny honey!

Happy crafting!

Craft Room Organization, Pinterest Craft With a Little Gardening Thrown In

Check it out! I love it! This was a pinterest craft find...from Little Birdie Secrets. So easy. She even has a short tutorial. That's the best.

This is what has taken up most of the time since Christmas...the dreaded workroom clean out! I have been purging through every craft item and finding ways to make the space I have more useable, since, as everyone knows, a craft person will fill every nook and cranny and then need even more space. I think I probably could have gone through everything a second time as well, but this is as good as it gets for now.

As you can see, I have a space for the sewing machines so that they are easily reachable to use, but still are not continuously sitting on my work table. That has been pretty great. I do have cases for them, but then I never seem to want to put them back in...it's so much hassle. And they do get used on a weekly basis, so it's not like they are just sitting there gathering dust.

I put a piece of glass on this table due to make it easier to scrape paint off it, and also due to the soldering irons that I use sometimes for jewelry. I had one out on the table and the heat caused the paint to bubble slightly. That was when I knew I had to invest in a glass top. Pier1 has them for a good price, which was where this one came from.

In the corner of the room, you can just see the new ribbon organizer I found at Joann's for 40 percent off (around $13). These are, by far, the best way to organize ribbon that I have seen. And, as you can see, I already need one more. (grimace)

This little tomato starts are doing pretty well, considering one of the grow light bulbs is burned out, and I am needing to rotate the trays around to make sure each plant gets enough light. Supposedly the replacement bulbs have shipped. (wink, wink) We shall see. Be that as it may, from the picture above, you can see that they are just getting their 2nd set of leaves. This is about the time that they can start receiving some liquid plant food. As these little guys will grow, those larger leaves, their first ones, will actually start to turn yellow and fall off. They have those so they can get enough nutrients to get their true leaves and then when they have them, these first ones aren't needed anymore. So don't be alarmed it you see that happening. It's perfectly normal.

Well, Pinterest Club has been rescheduled to next Thursday, January 24th. We had a little trouble finding enough wood at the surrounding stores to make the frames from. What is up with that? Additionally, there were people requesting frames up to last night, and it is just a little difficult to make 43 frames overnight. It's not like we are getting paid for it, either.

So, that's all for today. Happy crafting, and gardening!

Our New Etsy Shop, Beyond Words Boutique, Is Open!

This morning out walking with my husband, we looked over and saw the most beautiful sunrise reflected off the pond. In only minutes all the pink had gone. So BEAUTIFUL! Loved it!

My daughters and I spent yesterday afternoon getting our etsy shop, Beyond Words Boutique, ready to open. Haylee has been working on earrings and we got those photographed and listed. You can see them here <http://www.etsy.com/shop/BeyondWordsBoutique?ref=ss_profile>. Check it out when you have time! 

These are a couple of stockings that should be listed in the shop pretty soon.

On a side note, the garden is just starting to look good. The broccoli is growing and I noticed this am that there are a few little tomatoes growing. Yay!! I do have some lettuce almost ready to harvest and tomorrow I will post a pic of the addition on the chicken coop. I have yet to get new chickens but hopefully soon!

Happy Gardening & Crafting!!

Stamped Metal Jewelry

I do love jewelry! What girl doesn't? So, in the last week, I have put together a couple of things. The first is for our YW in Excellence this year. We want to give something to the girls so they will remember to be like the stars, that are close to our Heavenly Father, and remain close to him - they do not move no matter what! The second one was a gift for my wonderful niece, Kaylani, who turned 16 the other day.

Pinterest Club #1

Our first Pinterest Club was last nite!! My lovely sister-in-law & I are co-chairing a new club that meets on the 3rd Tues. of every month at 7p. We have a Facebook page and post the pics and supplies needed for each project. Last night we did these super simple spring wreaths, as well as the cute little spring chicks! The necklaces were a hit. Alyssa made one, and my super crafty friend, Elizabeth made like 3 or 4!! She tutored Britt on how to make them. She really can do just about anything!! Love that girl! We had about 10 ladies and had a great time. We had 2 ladies bring treats off of Pinterest. Salsa & some Sopapilla Cheesecake bars. Both were delicious! Such a fun nite!! Love it!

Love Love Love

I found these on http://cathypentondesigns.blogspot.com in her newest post. Can I just say, "LOVE"? I really love the way they look. I have to say, better than the ones I had done a few weeks ago. HMMM....

2012 Arise and Shine Forth

In our ward, we are coming up on New Beginnings for the year, and are debating on what little something we can give the girls to remind them of the them. This is, of course, not a necessary thing. However, I do have so much extra supplies from projects that for the most part, something like the necklace above would really cost less than $1 per girl. This is just one example of something we might do. I actually really like it, but the down side to the copper is that it does need to be cleaned periodically to keep it shiny.

Valentine's Day Decor!

My sister-in-law & I decided we needed a new banner for Valentine's Day. I had seen some sewn stuffed hearts and these are our version. They are super simple to make, and stuff. We just used scraps of fabric, so there wasn't anything to buy. To hand them, we just sewed a skinny ribbon onto the heart and then tied it onto a long ribbon that is used to hand them across the entryway. LOVE them! Too bad I can't leave them up all year long...

The streamers are ruffled streamers that I saw a tutorial for. Very simple to make and very inexpensive. The tutorial can be found here...http://www.danamadeit.com/2011/05/tutorial-ruffled-streamers.html

Cute Fabric Rose Bracelets

 These are some fabric rose bracelets that my sister-in-law made for me for some gifts this year. They tie with a ribbon and look so cute on. She does them in a variety of colors and will add bling to the center. I think they are so adorable! Here is the link to her blog. http://beckaboots.blogspot.com/

Cute Fabric Rose Bracelets

 These are some fabric rose bracelets that my sister-in-law made for me for some gifts this year. They tie with a ribbon and look so cute on. She does them in a variety of colors and will add bling to the center. I think they are so adorable! Here is the link to her blog. http://beckaboots.blogspot.com/

Merry Christmas Banner!

I was walking through my local Pottery Barn the other day. They had a banner very similar to this hanging above their stocking stuffers, which said, ironically "Stocking Stuffers"! I loved it, and so instead of hanging up my lighted garland in the entryway, decided to do something similar. This is what I came up with.

These are easy to print on card stock. Punch 2 holes on the top, one on each corner, just inside the red border. Then, string it with ribbon, or twine, to hang it. Couldn't be simpler. Love IT!

Simple Nativity

October & November flew by! I can hardly believe it is December 1st! Nonethless, the Christmas season definitely is in full swing. We recently, and by recently, I mean yesterday, finished 27 sets of these little beauties!

The free pattern came from Melinda over at Under My Polka Dot Umbrella. Here is the link for the pattern : http://undermypolkadotumbrella.blogspot.com/2009/09/nativity-patterns.html

It is a pretty simple pattern and we went ahead and just stained them, since we had so many to do...27 sets x 12 pieces each is a whopping 324 pieces we traced, cut, stained and individually wrapped so the girls we gave them to could open a piece every night for a "12 day of Christmas" experience.

We gave the girls cards that went along with it to read every night. Here is the link to the cards we gave away.

The artwork we used came from one of my favorite sites: http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/

and is titled Noche de Paz Cards. Love them.

The daily quotes came from a great little book "52 Weeks of Fun Family Service" by Merrilee Boyack. It is available at www.amazon.com.