Reclaimed Wood Arrows

My sister-in-law and I have recently started making 

some fun items out of reclaimed wood.

It all started with Pinterest.

(I'll bet you've never heard that before!)

We saw something that we LOVED and thought,

"We could TOTALLY make that!"

So our adventure has begun....and I actually really love it!

Here's one of our projects that came about by happy accident.

We had a project in mind, but it wasn't going as expected.

After playing around with the wood pieces, I had an 'aha moment' 

and figured that if our other project didn't work out, 

we could salvage the wood and make these.

Aren't they so cute!

I learned how to use a miter saw and a nail gun with this project.

Using power tools and making stuff out of wood

was never something I thought I would enjoy.

I'm glad I was WRONG about it!

We decided to not paint or stain our arrows

because we loved the look of the wood as it was.

I think we made the right call!

These arrows aren't super big.

They only measure approximately 17 inches from tip to tip,

and about 5.5 inches wide.

Lots smaller than others that are floating around on the web.  

We've got more reclaimed wood projects to come!

I'm loving my new hobby!

DIY Burlap Monogram Wall Decor

My husband and I bought our very first home in December.

It was a dream come true for our family!

We went from a 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom rental home,

to a 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom home.

It has been wonderful!

I've been slow to start decorating,

because, to be quite honest,

it seems SUPER daunting!

The hardest part has been trying to figure out my 'style'.

What do I like as far as decor is concerned?

What if I buy something, hang it up, and hate it?

All the 'what if's' have stopped me cold.

Until now.

I'm getting the itch to fill up the walls

and make our home OURS.

Starting with this....

I absolutely love monograms, and I love burlap.

So I decided to combine the two 

and make a cute frame to hang near our stairway.

This frame was my starting point.

I found it at the thrift store for $2.

After taking it apart,

I cut a Ritz cracker box to fit inside the frame,

then cut some burlap a little bigger than the frame opening.

I really wanted to try THIS for my monogram, but didn't have any freezer paper.

So I improvised and printed off the 'R' 

on a regular piece of paper in the size and font that I wanted

(I think the font was 'Georgia', and the size was 400).

Then I taped the paper with the 'R' on a window,

and taped the burlap on top of that.

Next, I got a sharpie and traced the 'R' onto the burlap,

then colored it in.

The last step was using packing tape 

to tape the burlap monogram around the cardboard insert,

then hot glued it inside the frame.

Easy peasy!

The final touch was tying burlap ribbon on it to hang it with.

I just love how it turned out!

What projects have you made for your home?

I'd love to see your ideas!

'You Made My Day' Card

One of my newest favorite tools 

is the flower punch from SU!'s Itty Bitty Punch set.

Earlier this week I shared 2 cards 

using the negative space of the punch.

Instead of throwing the flowers away,

I decided to make another card with them :)

I really hate to waste any of my paper scraps.

These are from my favorite color combo at the moment:

Crumb Cake, Coastal Cabana, and Calypso Coral.

They are so pretty together!

The sentiment is from SU!'s 'And Many More' stamp set.

Another simple card that packs a punch!

Card inspiration came from HERE.

Supplies Used (all are from SU! unless otherwise noted):

Paper: Whisper White, Coastal Cabana, Crumb Cake, Calypso Coral

Ink: Jet Black StazOn

Stamps: And Many More

Other: Itty Bitty Accents Punch (flower), Pearl Basic Jewels,Whisper White Note Cards

One Card, Two Different Looks

So I mentioned in my last post that I'm going back to my first love.

Simple card making.

Today I'm going to share 2 cards.

Both are made the same exact way,

but I used different cardstock and stamp sentiments 

to change them up a bit.

Up first, one of my favorite color combinations:

Crumb Cake, Coastal Cabana, and Calypso Coral.

I'm really, really, really sad that Coastal Cabana is retiring. 

Super sad face :(

The sentiment is from SU!'s Painted Petals stamp set.

Such a great one!

For the second card, I used 2014-16 In Colors:

Blackberry Bliss, Mossy Meadow, and Tangelo Twist.

The sentiment comes from the Sale-a-bration stamp set, 'Big Day'.

These were such fun cards to make.

And the best part?

You guessed it...they were simple!

I'm looking forward to making more with different color combinations...

I'll be for sure using SU!'s 2015-17 In Colors :)

Have you seen them?

One word....Fabulous!

Inspiration for these cards came from HERE.

Supplies Used (all are from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Painted Petals, Big Day 
Ink: Jet Black StazOn
Paper: Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Coastal Cabana, Calypso Coral, Blackberry Bliss, Mossy Meadow, Tangelo Twist
Other: Itty Bitty Accents Flower Punch, Square Punch (non SU!), Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Stampin' Dimensionals

Simple Card Set with Matching Box

Long ago, I used to make very simple cards.

I loved that I could make lots of cute cards 

in a relatively short amount of time.

Somehow, I've gotten away from simple.
I've been trying my hand at making more elaborate cards
and trying new techniques.

It has been fun, and I've learned a lot...

But I miss simple.

After taking a little break from card making,

I'm ready to dive back into my first love.

Simple cards.

Like this...

The inspiration for these cards came from HERE.

And a close up shot...

I decided to make a matching box for the cards.
I put 6 cards & envelopes in this one, but there was room for more.

The box was made using THIS TUTORIAL.

I had so much fun making these cards and box!
I ended up giving them to my SIL for her birthday,
but they would also be great for a Mother's Day gift.
It'll be here before we know it!

Stay tuned for more simple, beautiful cards :)

Supplies Used (all are from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):

Paper: Coastal Cabana, Calypso Coral, Whisper White, Best Year Ever DSP

Stamps: Flower Patch, And Many More 

Ink: Calypso Coral

Other: Banner Punch, Scalloped Edge Punch, Pearl Basic Jewels, Flower Fair Framelits, Calypso Coral Ribbon