Updated Garland On The Cheap (...Okay Free)

I know it's not really original but I thought I would share how I fancied up my $2 garland from Walmart for free.  First off the garland was 9 feet long.  I though it was long enough but when I got it home discovered the ledge in our front room is more like 10 or 11 feet long.  Luckily I already had filler I planned to use around the garland (the bells).  Out came my wire cutters and I snipped the garland into 3 separate pieces so I could spread it out.  I wanted to add some embellishment to it.  Conveniently, I had leftover pine cones from our bird feeder activity so I added these on.

Wash and bake your pine cones on aluminum foiled cookie sheet prior to using for decoration.  I washed mine in hot water and then baked them at 250 degrees for about 30 minutes.  They didn't have sap on them to worry about thank goodness. 

Next using fishing line or possibly jewelry string (I used fishing line), tie it around your pine cone first wiggling it into the center to get a tight hold.  Secure this with a square knot leaving a few inches on both sides of the knot.

Then attach the secured pine cone to your garland with the excess line.  I wrapped mine around the metal center but you would place them on stems of the pine also.  Make sure to tie a couple square knots so it doesn't come lose.  Trim off excess line. 

Somewhat close up of the pine cone attached.  The larger pine cones were also found (last year)...these required more washing and baking than the smaller ones.  Also, I promise my wall isn't so distastefully green as it looks, although I've been dying to paint it since we moved in a year ago. 

Last of all, love yourself for saving money this season...Merry Christmas!

Personalized Wedding Picture...

I've been trying to find different things to decorate our newly remodeled bedroom.  I had recently pinned something about how to make your master bedroom your own...it included things like not doing chores (laundry folding, etc) in this room, adding romantic lighting and personalizing it with couple things.  I liked the idea of bringing the lyrics to our wedding song into our room.  The words and meaning were the reason we had chosen it.  When I Fall in Love by Nat King Cole.  Classic.  Timeless.  Never ending.  Here is what I came up with using photo editing software.  I love it.  Now to just find something to frame it and somewhere to hang it.

* Want one of your own?  This is available (personalized of course) on my Etsy Shop.  Stop by and use coupon code: N2CBlog10 for 10% off your total purchase.

Free Craft Friday -- Keepsake Pillow

My husband and I first met in person on August 14, 2006.  He work a t-shirt from his favorite band at the time (Lagwagon) and I wore a black shirt with these camoflauge cargo shorts.  We had an amazing first date.  He took me to a restaurant that his family visited every Labor Day weekend.  I joked it was a dive as it was the first time I'd eaten there although I lived much closer to it than he.  We laughed over "stupid ash chicken" they had burnt my orange chicken and went on to enjoy the movie Goonies at the movies in the park in Ogden.  A little over a year later we were married in October 2007.  The t-shirt and shorts were still frequently worn and finally this summer (2012) they both had enough.  His t-shirt had developed holes at the seams and armpits and my shorts finally split down the inseam.  I didn't really want to get rid of either item.  So I asked my husband if he would mind if I turn his favorite t-shirt into a keepsake of our first date.  He agreed and this totally awesome pillow was born.

Keepsake Pillow

Materials:
-significant clothing from dates, special occassions, etc.
-scissors
-pins
-thread and need or sewing machine

Step 1.  Determine the size of pillow you wish to make.  Make sure you have enough material to cover this size.  You could a pillow form but I decided to just use some extra batting/stuffing I had left over from another project.

Step 2.  Piece your project together.  For me this meant measuring my husbands t-shirt to include the image as well as some material for bordering.  I was then able to piece together a back on the pillow with my shorts.  I cut them apart at the seams and tried to use the least worn pieces for the pillow.  I then pinned the back together and sewed this first (really a mesh of different sizes and shapes).  I pieced the back together making sure that it would oversize the t-shirt piece (size of pillow).

Step 3.  Trim down both from and back pieces of material to be the same size.  In my case I trimmed the shorts to be the same size as the t-shirt piece.  I laid out the t-shirt on top of my sewn shorts and then trimmed off the excess.

Step 4.  Pin both pieces with right sides together and sew along the outter edge with a 1/2" seam.  Leave a hole approximately 2 to 3" in order to stuff the pillow.  If you use a pillow form this "hole" will need to large enough to put your pillow in.

Step 5.  Stuff your pillow.  To finish use needle and thread to sew up the opening in the pillow with an invisible stitch.

*I'm sure there are other ways to form a pillow with remnant clothing, etc.  I simply went with the simplest of ways and one that I knew I would have enough material for.   And yes the pictures are crap on this one...serves me right for using my less than desirable camera.

New Kitchen, New Life

We recently decided to "remodel" our kitchen.  I say remodel in quotations because we didn't do anything extensive but it did give it a whole new look.  We have been trying to sell our home for a couple months and one of the few feedback we recieved was about the kitchen and oak cabinets looking dated.  I never minded them but after another month of no offers I decided it was time to make a change.  I wanted to paint them white or cream (I didn't think staining would do much to change the oak grain, etc).  A friend mentioned that she liked a style she saw on Pinterest and it would be simple enough to do.  It looked nice.  It looked modern.  So within a week of serious thought over it the plans went into action.

* hoping to add a few tutorial notes on how to do this for anyone interested but shame on me I didn't take pictures *

 Before

 After

 Close up (beadboard inserted and then painted)

 Close up #2

Close up #3 (I love the cup handles on these)

It took a little longer than I anticipated and although fate stepped in and we had about a week or so with no showings (first one since we listed) it wasn't quite enough to finish up.  Many steps and lots of time for paint to dry.  But we did have a few showings with it in the middle of completion and apparently it didn't scare them all off as one person came back for a second look.  I credit the new kitchen and Jeff is happy to agree with my hard work.  It certainly brings new life and light to our kitchen and hopefully it will help us sell and bring us a new life/direction too. 

--Update-- After this kitchen project was complete we received an offer from each of our next two showings and were able to decline the first and lesser of the two and go with the better offer and sell.  

Steps / Tutorial on the kitchen

Materials:

- bead board (purchased this at home depot in 4' x 8' panels; it is thin ~ 1/4  inch or less)

- clamps

- liquid nails 

- standard paintable caulk 

- caulk gun

- Krud Kutter or other surface cleaner

- primer and paint (we used Kilz Primer basic and Valspar Kitchen and Bath Enamel ; ask a paint   

  professional if you are concerned with products working together or for this type of project -- we weren't    very concerned with this as it was a "remodel" to help sell our home)

- table saw (highly recommended) or other power saw

- spray paint (optional) - we were going to replace all of our hardware but when hinges ended up being $5 a piece I opted to spray paint based off of a tutorial I had seen

- finishing nails and hammer (DO NOT use on cabinets...we used this to fix the bead board under our snack bar in place after applying the liquid nails).

Step 1 :  Measure all of your surfaces that you plan to add bead board to.  We added it under the snack bar and to the inner panel of each cabinet door.  

Step 2:  Using a table saw (my personal preference...thanks to my brother for helping with this part), cut your pieces of bead board.  It is better to go a little smaller (right on top or inside of your line) than to end up with a piece that doesn't fit in where it should. 

Step 3:  Prepare your cabinets.  Take all of the cabinet doors down and hardware (hinges, handles) off.  Clean with Krud Kutter (this is what most tutorials recommend and it is awesome) and then sand any place that will be painted.  You don't need to sand under the bead board sections.  Wipe down everything with a clean rag after you have sanded. 

Step 4:  Using liquid nails glue down your bead board into each cabinet door.  Then clamp the bead board down while it sets and dries.  We also used books to apply equal pressure.  If you don't have enough clamps for all cabinets then do this in steps.  I don't recommend just using weight to keep the bead board down as it will likely bow up in places (we tried this).  

Step 5:  Once the liquid nails is dry and completely set, then use a caulk gun to run a bead of calk along any gap that may be left with the bead board panel.  Then dip your finger in water and smooth the bead out across the surface.  If you get caulk into the grooves of the bead board I recommend q-tips to clean this out.

Step 6:  While waiting for liquid nails to dry and caulk to dry (I gave each 24 hours) this is a great time to prime and paint the cabinets that are on the wall.  Make sure to tape everything off beforehand.

Step 7:  Smooth out and sand any caulk that is raised above the pattern or layout of your cabinet doors.  Once you are satisfied with the appearance of the doors then it is time to prime and paint those also.  

Step 8:  Either buy new hardware (I like this idea as your hardware is probably outdated and you want a "new" kitchen wow factor) or put your hardware back up and replace the cabinet doors and drawers (once they have had a good amount of time to dry of course).

Step 9:  Enjoy, brag and sell that house (in our case...I think the kitchen was a big selling point once we finished it; two offers from the two showings that happened after it was finished said a lot to me). 

* once again sorry that there aren't pictures but hopefully you can put the pieces together.  If there are questions don't be afraid to leave a comment.  Thanks *