It's a sign!

Found myself another piece of scrap wood from that pile out front!

My mom's repainting and redoing her kitchen and she wants to have a coffee theme. So I thought I would make her something with my scrap of wood.

Can you tell it was originally just a 2 by 4 piece of wood? I had actually sanded, painted, and gave it a bit of a distressed look and stenciled the words on it, then I decided I wanted it cut in half width wise because it was too fat and heavy if it were going on the wall. 

For "Kelly's Koffee" I just printed it out out in the font I wanted on regular printing paper and then tediously cut each letter out by hand.. for hours! I wanted to try cutting it out with an exacto knife so I could use the outter part of the font as my stencil, but the knife I found  wasn't sharp enough, so I just went ahead and stuck each letter down with a teeny bit of glue stick. {This project was started and painted before I learned how to make my own transfer paper!}

 Husband drilled holes in the wood for me to hang ribbon after it was all painted and sealed.

cutting a piece of an old shirt.. 

gluing it to the back ...

snipping the material where the holes were drilled and then I glued around the edges...

  Then for the fun part.. 

adding the pretty brown ribbon!!!

then tying knots at the top of the board after getting the ribbon through so it would hang on the wall without leaning forward. I wrapped some of the excess ribbon from the knot around the knot towards the back and hot glued it down and cut the rest off .. just to make the knots a little chunkier.

And there it is! 

Hope she loves it!

Lovin' the inspiration!

OOH! Lovin' aaallll of these creative ideas I came across recently!

Maybe you've seen these ideas already, maybe you haven't. Oh well, I'll just show them all anyways because they make me really excited!

Numbered placemats by Oopsey Daisy  

These would be so nice to have! I think I'll see what kind of plain place mats I can find at the dollar store and then totally make my own set!

The most beautiful pantry ever by House of Smith's 

The "ooh's and ahh's" wouldn't stop spilling from mouth as I coveted over her amazing pantry work! She found the greatest things to store her food in. I love love LOVE large clear glass jars for storage!! I must find some of my very own. Congrats to her on the most beautiful pantry I've ever laid my eyes on.

Plunging neckline cover-up by Shannon Makes Stuff
Now who doesn't need a some modest coverage in this place!? I'm always looking for just the right undershirts that will go high enough to cover me up, but it's getting harder and harder to find them these days! HELLO, not all of us care to show off our ... ehem well, you know! (what belongs to US and our HUSBANDS!.. not the whole world!) This is a neat and easy way to make sure you're well hidden and modest. (the white shirt you see in the photo is a piece of shirt material she has cut and attached to her bra).

Photo in a jar by The Lettered Cottage
Isn't this simple and sweet? What a precious idea for a keepsake.. like from a vacation trip, or whatever else!

another cool jar idea..

Christmas lights in a jug from Country Living.com
{couldn't find the page when I searched for it again}
This is random and neat! I absolutely LOVE little lights in the house. I've had a little strand of white Christmas lights strung in our bathroom around the mirror for months! They bring a little bit of coziness and romanticness. {did I just make that word up?}

Fitted tablecloth by Projects by Jess
What a perfect idea! My kitchen table is square just like this size and I would SO love to have one of these since I'm always so paranoid about the tabletop being scratched!

Fabric covered canvas wall art by How About Orange

Ever since I saw this amazing idea it's been on my mental list of things to do! Seriously, this is one I'm definitely going to make for our apartment. It looks SUPER easy to make!! I don't have anything on our walls yet, and we moved in last November! I think something like this will look great on our big wall behind our couch!

Twin headboards into daybed by Country Living.com
How unique is this!? People come up with the most amazing DIY ideas! Hmm, I'm thinking guest room!

Little side table redo by k.f.d
I l.o.v.e furniture makeovers! So can't wait to do some of my own. We have a tv entertainment stand that I would like to redo, and a little bookshelf too. I just love what people do to raggy old boring furniture!
{sorry, the link doesn't take you right to that item because I can't find it again! But it will take you to the blog where I found it, and it will direct you to the blog it came from.. still couldn't find it from there!}

Movie Drawers by Projects by Jess
What a very cool and organized idea to keep your DVD and VHS videos in little file boxes! Oh, this is the 2nd thing I've mentioned about "Projects by Jess." I just found her blog this week and I LOVE EVERYTHING! She's very creative.

Pretty lace jar lights by kootoyoo
These are pretty cute. She has some battery powered type of lights inside the jar for safety. I'd probably just use little tea lights and not cover with lids. Although these are pretty cute with lids included! I really like candles and little lights everywhere!

Well, that's enough for now! I could just keep going. Hope you enjoyed all those great ideas from great minds!

hApPy cReAtiViTiEs!!

It's the simple things in life..

Simplicity:  

Freedom from artificial ornament, pretentious style, or luxury; plainness; as, simplicity of dress, of style, or of language; simplicity of diet; simplicity of life. 

 Sometimes things can get so busy in our lives that we often neglect paying attention to the simplest things in life. Those simplest things, if we stop and think about it, have the potential to bring us joy. 

I have a couple photos that I've recently taken and I wanted to share them. They're just simple things that brought a smile to my face and a reminder to pay attention to life because it goes by so fast. I don't want to be a person that lives through life never "stopping to smell the roses." I want to notice the "smallest" things and enjoy those moments. 

Baby bird peaking out of his nest

My husband and I were helping a friend from church move out of her house and she told us there was a nest full of baby birds in her bush. Naturally, we peaked inside the bush to spy on the nest full of baby birds. They must have thought we were "mommy" because they all opened their little beaks up in hopes for food. I was actually too short to look in the nest, so I lifted my camera up for a shot. And this is what I saw on the screen! It makes me laugh every time I look at this picture! He looks like a clumsy little dope, resting his head on the side of the nest saying, "Hey, what's all the commotion?!" And the fuzzy little Einstein feathers on his head!  Can anyone not find this so humorous and so sweet at the same time?

 Gorgeous blue clouded sky above a yellow canola field

I took this photo from inside the car during our 7 hour road trip to take two girls from church to camp. All along the way we saw these bright yellow fields that went for miles! And to "top" that, the bright blue sky scattered with fluffy white clouds added to the beauty of it to make it perfect. I couldn't help but stop and think about God's greatness in how He created such an amazing art. He is the ultimate designer in decoration! Just look at how the colors He chose from the beginning of time jive perfectly together! There's never a doubt in my mind that wonders if these colors right here actually look good together. 

 The Peekaboo kitty
 

This little kitty lives somewhere in the neighborhood. We don't know if she actually belongs to someone or not. We often see her wondering around in the back yard, just keeping to herself. One day we were downstairs in the living room sitting at our computers and all the sudden we see this little cutie peek inside the window! She just sat there looking in at us as if to say, "What'ch doin in there'?" This little incident made my day! We laughed about it all day. She must know we like it because she's visited this same window several times this summer. Don't you just love that nose? 

Vase of Carrots

The neighbor next door has a beautiful little garden growing in her front yard. After talking with her for a few minutes while she was playing in the yard, she gave us a handful of fresh, just pulled carrots. Hubby was washing them up and I wondered how they would look in a mason jar. Pretty neat, I think. A little on the random side, but I really like it. Kind of makes a cute centerpiece, huh? Yah, pretty simple!

Tiny broken egg shell

 I found this little blue egg shell in the grass under a tree as I was walking through the yard. It's so tiny and precious! What a teeny little guy that new baby in the world must be! New life is so precious. Life itself is so precious. We need to take it and embrace it and thank the One who gave it. Our lives are like a vapor! They are only here on earth for a short awhile. 

 Don't buzz through life without ever seeing the beauty and humor around you that life brings! Don't forget to look up at the sky and notice it's beauty. Don't get too serious or busy that you can't laugh at the funny things. And while you're doing all that.. Remember where all these came from. 

Psalm 24:1

"The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof; the world and they that dwell therein.."

To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter... to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring - these are some of the rewards of the simple life. ~John Burroughs

Tiny decor blocks

Everybody seems to be making those decorative wooden blocks lately. I'm constantly seeing a new tutorial pop up about decor blocks. So I thought I'd try some myself. 

Seriously, I should have taken a photo of what the little blocks looked like before I sanded and painted them. They were totally "trash." I'm not kidding. There's a pile of trash wood in the front yard and that's where I found these pieces. I think they were actually one block and they broke in half. So I sanded them up a bunch and painted them, then roughed up the edges and every side actually as well. 

Nope, that's not exactly painted on free hand. I found online a neat way to get my print/design onto the block. Maybe most of you are going to say, "Well duh, we all know about this!" .. Be nice! I just learned this! 

I made my own transfer paper! 

Print your font or image in the desired size and then cut it down.

{for mine every letter is a different font}

Then turn your print over and start coloring with just the side of the pencil lead. Try not to leave any little cracks and lines in the pencil marking... or your image will be missing some spots.

 

Place your image on top of block where you want it.

  This was my second block and I had to cut my word up on this one because the letters spread out a little too far. So I just made sure where I wanted them to fit. 

Holding your paper down tightly, trace your image with a very sharp pencil. When I did my first block I had a fingernail mark on the front from holding the paper down! But don't worry, your fingerprint marks will brush off.. just don't worry about it till you've painted your word.

And there, now you have your word transferred to your block! That wasn't so hard.. it's the painting the skinny letters where you find the challenge!

I think they turned out pretty cute! 

Ever hear the song from Harry Connick, JR. "We go together, like a wink and a smile." ?? 

The words just seem to fit together. I think it's cute.

like a

and a

{ha ha}

The end

hApPy CrEaTivItiEs!!

"Just Because" cookies

Saturday marked mine and hubby's 9 months of being married. Wow, I can't believe that much time has gone by already! Well, we decided to make chocolate chip cookies that night, so the two of us were mixin' and bakin' away in the kitchen. M-M-M those cookies were YUUUUMM-EEEEE! Since we've been married I've made several batches of cookies but none of them have ever really turned out so good. They always look like they're flatter than pancakes when they're done and their super hard and crunchy. But these ones turned out amazing! {must have been cause hubby helped!} And they were delicious too! I decided to wrap some up all cute and take them to church with us for everyone Sunday.

Yep, I just wrapped them in good ole' plastic wrap, twisted a piece of pipe cleaner around with a label I made from my computer. I love "Just Because" treats or gifts! I'm the type of person that just gets so much joy from giving away little things like this. It feels good to do something cute and simple like this for someone. That's a way that I've always been, and I hope I stay that way. 

You never know who's day you can brighten just by giving them a sweet little something.

So go ahead, think of somebody you can spare a little love and thought for. You'll be amazed at the reward you'll even find for yourself-- JOY 

.. Ooh! I just had a bright idea! I'll make this cookie giving away thing my special little thing and call it "My JOY cookies." {giggle}

So I shared these cookies with my church friends, and now I share with YOU {except you just won't get the calories!!!} 

"As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men..."

Galatians 6:10

Handmade fish tank stand

So my brother has some awesome skills in wood working. He's put together some neat tool shelves in his garage, he's made some super cute planter boxes for his porch, and I can just bet there are some things he's done that I don't even know about. 

He just finished making a stand for a 30 gallon fish tank that he got for his girlfriend's birthday. He sent me a couple pictures of the stand and I just HAD to share this with everyone! *The photos were taken from his cell phone camera, but I think you can still see the great work* He did such an amazing job!!!

It's beeeeeautiful!

Here it is painted black and all finished for a nice display!

I told him if I still lived in California I'd be begging him to make me one of these for my fish tank! {mine is only a 5 gallon tank though} I would L-O-O-O-V-E to have this in my place!

I'm so proud of my brother. He does such a great job with the things that he makes. This post is my attempt at getting the word out about his skills {you know, cause I'm a proud older sister and I just have to brag when the opportunity arises!}.

Hope you enjoyed this!

Until next time... 

hApPy cReAtIviTiEs !!

Jesus loves me T-shirt

Remember when my friend and I had too much fun using bleach on T-shirts? Well, she finally was able to buy a new cutting mat for the Cricut she's borrowing. So I made some letter cut outs at her house and took them home to try out the bleach fun again. This is what I made. 

This is a child's size T-shirt {from the same pack my friend bought from Walmart a few weeks ago}

I put a little bit of glue stick on the back of each letter and dot. Then got a round pizza pan and shoved it inside the shirt to keep the bleach from soaking to the back.  

.. I decided to tuck the rest of the shirt under itself so I wouldn't spray more areas than I wanted.

Then I sprayed away. I kind of sprayed a little too much, but I think it turned out pretty cute anyways. 

"Jesus" turned out the best! {wink} 

The rest of the paper cut outs kind of got a little too wet and soaked through.. especially the dots. 

I'd kind of like to cut off the sleeves and scrunch up the shoulders and tie them with some leftover pieces from the sleeve material.  {obviously for a little girl}

I was a little disappointed in how some of the letters ended up, but now I don't think it looks too bad. 

Mark 10:13-16

"And they brought young children to Him, that He should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God like a child, he shall not enter therein. And He took them up in His arms, put His hands upon them, and blessed them."

Jesus loves me this I know!