Faux Wood Monogram Frame

 I had some odds and ends lying around that I thought I would put to good use. I really like the wood- infused items I'm seeing EVERYWHERE...so I thought I'd try my hand at it. I started with an old picture frame, minus the glass.

Trace paper mache letter on the back of the paper.

 

Cut it out....

 

and apply spray adhesive (I'm sure the Craft Wars judges would see me off rather quickly.).

 

 

I added some more paper (just trace the sides and cut it out) to give it some more dimension.

I placed it in the middle to eyeball where I wanted it.

And commenced wrapping my letter first...then the frame with the wire.

I had some left over burlap from a past project. I knotted one end and started twisting and twirling it around itself.

I cut out a felt circle to give it some additional support and to keep it all together.

I added that with spray adhesive, too. {GASP!}

I took the remaining wire and twisted it around the top and side of the frame, ending at the flower. I attatched  the flower to the frame with it.

 

 

I'm totally digging it!  Wasn't sure if I would come together- but it did!

Frame of Frames

This has been a looong awaited post.  I know I've teased you multiple times with this project but I have been so excited about it that I couldn't keep it to myself..but I also couldn't seem to finish the darn thing!  I still haven't finished it..but I can't finish it for another couple of weeks..you'll see why, but I couldn't possibly wait that much longer to share!  So... here it is!

So here is what happened...

We were selling those cute frames and I couldn't seem the kick the "need" for a bunch of them.. but I needed a fun way to display them.  Then while at Lowe's, I saw this...

I snatched me up 4 pieces

{after carefully examining all the pieces to make sure I had the very best ones}

We painted them white, measured twice and then cut...twice. ;)

Then I grabbed the stencil I bought from Cutting Edge Stencils

and we painted inside the frame, using the same color white we used for the moulding.

I kind of loved it like this, but knew we couldn't leave it like...

I grabbed 4 measuring tapes and measured them out on the floor.  Then, I arranged {and re-arranged} my frames until I was happy with the way they fit.

As you can see, I ended up changing the layout anyway.  I then put the above image in photoshop and dropped colors on the various frames until I was happy with  what color went where.. I debated on doing patterns, stencils, etc. on the frames but with the stenciling in the background, it just got to be WAY too busy.. So.. I just got to painting...

After I was done painting, I plopped them all back down on the floor
{for about two weeks}.

Finally, I turned them all face down and measured where each keyhole fell within the "giant frame" made from the moulding.

Then we got to hanging...

Don't mind that my house is a complete disaster.. I thought about cleaning up the area but realized... reality is.. my house is a mess - why fake it?!

In the bottom left frame I put chicken wire, where I plan to clothes pin some pictures...

In the bottom right frame I put a sheet of metal, where I plan to magnet pictures...

In the top blue frame, there is also some chicken wire, where pictures will be pinned...

Three of the frames will contain pictures {that are being taken on the 5th, thus the reason I can't "finish" the project yet}

Two frames will contain adorable printouts that I have yet to find!

The top left window was a find at a consignment shop that I spend WAY to much time at..

And the empty space at the bottom.. is for another special project that I hope to share soon {another reason I can't "finish"}!

xoxo

-Courtney-

Pottery Barn Kids Inspired

Morena really outdid herself on this one:

I love to ogle the Pottery Barn Kids catalog when it shows up in my mailbox, but I can't bring myself to spend *that* much on some of their pieces.  I wanted to turn our breakfast nook into a family workspace where we could do homework and craft together, but I didn't want to spend a lot on it.  By turning to PBK for inspiration and then shopping my house I was able to come up with a room I am very happy with!

 This was an old poster frame that was on it's way to Goodwill.  I found a dry erase board (24 by 36 inches) at Hobby Lobby that fit inside it.  I found the shelf/hook unit at Michael's.  I used Colonial Red spray paint on both pieces to make them match, then hung them together so they look like one cohesive piece.  That cute Come In sign is from Mindy Mae's Market.

 This was an old frame I used to hate.  Amazing what spray paint can do!  I had the calendar made with our family's picture at Vistaprint for free.  One piece of wall art finished for almost nothing!

 I spray painted this frame as well and used my Silhouette cutter to make the subway art (this clip art was purchased from the silhouette store).  I then used transfer tape to apply the vinyl directly to the glass.

 For the art corner, I spray painted some wood pieces from Michael's and cut them to frame an old magnet board I had purchased at IKEA years ago.  The magnets were made using old milk bottle caps purchased at a flea market.

  A picture of the magnet board in progress.

Would you believe I only used one can of spray paint to paint everything? Yeah, its true!

 The caddies were labeled as "CD Holders" at Michaels.  They were also spray painted, and then I added the craft buckets which I already had.  The kids love having easy access to their supplies!

And here is the room in action.  I love that we have a place where we can work and craft together, and have everything we need in easy reach!  I also love the fact that I was able to upcycle so many items I already had.  Instead of buying new things, I was able to give new purpose to things I thought I no longer needed.

Isn't it total fab?! Love that Morena! Be sure to check out her blog for more tutorials! xoxo

 

I hope this inspires you to shop your house for your next project!  I hope you'll visit my corner again, or  follow my blog!  Comments and suggestions are appreciated!

Front Door Lovin'

Ursie is amazing and she is the sweetest thing!  She is even kind enough to share her stinkin' cute door decor with us!

I LOVE changing out our front door decor.

I have a feeling this piece will probably stay for a while, it's cute, and super functional!

I'll show ya how I made it! :)

First up, I got these frames at Mindy Mae's Market.

I'm pretty much obsessed with these frames!!! Really.

They are made so nicely, great to paint, cover with paper or fabric, all of which I have done!

I also showed you these pillows I got from them, if you missed it, check out this .

Since this was going on the front door, I didn't want it to over the top or seasonal looking, so I went with a nice aqua blue color.

I painted it front and back.

{see that paint on the table? comes off easy so I didn't mind it getting on our dining room table}.

After it was painted, I got a piece of sheet metal that fit inside perfectly, {this frame was 5x7, although you can do any size}.

I used a thin bead of hot glue in the back to make sure it was secure.

Then I grabbed some sand paper, and roughed up the edges to make it distressed. You could use some distress ink if you'd like, I liked the way that it looked so I left it as is.

You could sand it before you put the sheet metal in, but I was to excited to get it put together! :)

Next up, some flowers....

Since I'm kinda addicted to Mindy Mae's, I have a ton of these sweet little flowers.

They're called Cabochons {I'm yet to figure out how to pronounce that word}.

Anyways, I grabbed a few that would coordinate with the front door area....

so many fun colors to choose from.....

I found these little tiny magnets at my local craft store. They have an adhesive side on them.

They were a bit large for the base of my cabochons, so a scissors took care of that for me!

I stuck the magnets to the flowers.

And got some ribbon to hang the frame from.

Some hot glue adheres the ribbon to the frame.

I hot glued some flowers to the front of the frame. And wa-laa!!!

So cute for the front door.

As I have mentioned before, I use tiny little nails and nail in whatever is on the door on the upper edge of the door...leaving the nail out stick out a bit to be able to pull out, but yet not touch the top of the door frame.

Now we have a message board to add fun little notes on the front door.

I have been known to leave messages for the UPS man, like please walk my box to the door, don't just throw it...

I really have not left that note, although I should!!!!! But really....I asked him to leave my box and signed the paper because I was not sure if it was a signature required item and I was not home.

Hah!

I was really liking the way that it looked, but it just needed one more touch:

Twine and fabric fix everything!!

I cut some little triangles to make a tiny bunting!

Here it is opened up. Make sure to cut when the fabric is folded.

I just laid the twine along the top of the fold, put some hot glue in there, and squished it together!

Yay!

I used a dab of hot glue on the back, so if I want to change out the bunting, it will be super easy!

LOVE!

I will be honest, I don't know a Mary, but it was the first name that popped into my head, so I went with it!

I have left an envelope taped to the door before if someone was coming to my house and I was not going to be home. But now, I have a place to put the note!

It even looks super cute with no note!

Like I said, this may stay up for a while, or it would be great to add on the side of the house for notes, if you have a wreath on the door.

I Love Fun and Functional!