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Senin, 24 November 2014

Christmas Craft: Burlap Gift Card Holder

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of BIC®. All opinions are 100% mine.

Ever since I was old enough to make a handprint in a patty of salt dough, I have always treasured one type of gift-giving over all of the others- the handmade kind.

Growing up, I loved cooking breakfast for my dad on Father's Day or making a necklace for my mom for her birthday.

Now that I'm living the married life, I always prefer writing a letter to my husband than just signing a store-bought card.

During my teaching days, my students were sweet enough to give me Christmas presents before winter break, and the ones I always cherished the most were the homemade ones. Because, in the end, they all are made up of a lot of love.

Buying presents for loved ones is a tough one for me though, and I like opting for gift cards. But it's difficult to make them feel personal. So I had the idea to personalize a gift card holder instead with a handwritten note.

Even though they didn't take much money or time to make, they still send a loving message. And, hey, who doesn't enjoy a little rustic style Christmas gift with fun money inside?

I used:

1 sheet of craft burlap
1 sheet of white cardstock
Ruler
Craft knife
Scissors
Red ribbon
Ribbon spool
Hole-puncher
Glue stick
BIC Mark-It™ Permanent Marker in #HoneyBrown

The awesome folks at BIC sent me two packs of their Mark-It™ permanent markers: the 36 pack with fine and ultra-fine sizes and an 8 pack of metallics. You better believe I will be doing lots more Christmas-y crafts with them.

First, I used the ruler to mark and cut a 4"x4" square of white cardstock.

Using the cardstock square as a template, I traced it onto the back of the burlap sheet with the BIC Mark-It™ Marker and scored the lines with a craft knife. I wouldn't have even known these were permanent markers because they don't smell like it at all. They are acid free and fade-resistant too.

Using the ribbon spool as a template, I traced lines for the flaps of the gift card holder.

Then, I cut out the flaps, wrote my message on the cardstock square, and used a glue stick to attach it to the inside of the gift card holder. I hole-punched two of the flaps for ribbon.

Just thread the ribbon through the holes, insert the gift card, tie it closed, and you're done!

I think it looks so much cuter than a store-bought card. And it's much more personal. :)

To keep the creative spirit going during BIC's Month of Merry Marking, BIC Mark-It™ has created an entire booklet of inspirational ideas.

I nominate Cara at Craft Dictator, Ashley at 3 Little Greenwoods, and Charlie at Pickled Okra for the #BICMerryMarking challenge.

get the booklet of merry marking and a coupon to start marking

Blessings,

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Kamis, 20 November 2014

Craft Frenzy Friday #67

Welcome to Craft Frenzy Friday!

We love to see your crafts, recipes, DIY projects, and much more! We will pin every link to our Pinterest board every week. The people featured will additionally get pinned onto our featured board! We hope that you will share your blogs with us!

We want to thank everyone for joining us at Craft Frenzy Friday and hope that you will follow our hosts!

Craft Dictator: Blog/Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Bloglovin’/Pinterest/Google+

Busy Being Jennifer: Blog/Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest/Bloglovin'

Pickled Okra by Charlie:Blog/Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest/Bloglovin'/Google+

Wonderland and Company:Blog/Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Pinterest/Google+

Bless'er House: Blog/Facebook/Twitter/Bloglovin'/Google+

Come link us all on Facebook!

The winner of our November Giveaway winner was Crissie! She has been emailed and has 48 hours to reply or we will pick another winner!

This month our Giveaway is Two Key Fobs from DeBoop Shop! They have such a fun shop with awesome products! Make sure to check them out here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

1-Vintage Floral and Burlap Bunting Tutorial at The Vintage Sheet blog

2-Handmade Advent Calendar Inspiration at Sum of Their Stories

3-Laundry Room Redo at Little Vintage Cottage

4-DIY Christmas Canvas Art at Blooming Homestead

5-DIY Gilded Acorn Napkin Rings at Hello Little Home

If you were featured be sure to grab our button and spread the word!

Even if you weren't featured make sure to Grab our other Craft Frenzy Friday Button!

An InLinkz Link-up

**Please note: By linking to this blog party, you are giving us permission to use your photos and content as part of the weekly features if selected.**

We also pin all of our features on the Craft Frenzy Friday Featured Pinterest board! All other post will be pinned onto our Craft Frenzy Friday board each week!

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Rabu, 19 November 2014

Gallery Wall Reveal and Free Printable

From the time I was 10 years old, I had a keepsake box.

It started out with little things- movie ticket stubs, notes from friends, a few pictures of my family, and even a piece of confetti I'd pocketed from my first concert to see N'Sync. (Maybe Justin Timberlake had touched it!)

As I got older, that box grew. Letters from high school boyfriends were added (and later removed once that phase of life ended).

To this day, it is where I stash my favorite fingerpaint artwork by my daughter and favorite photos of our family. But the world needed to see them. What good did they do hidden in a box only to be seen by me once in a blue moon?

So I framed them on the most visible wall in our house.

Bless'er House | Eclectic Gallery Wall Reveal and Free Printable

It's hard to believe it looked like this six months ago. I'm really glad I didn't do that pallet wall I'd originally planned.

I catch myself staring at it all the time, and I can't help but smile. It's our entire past together: our engagement pictures, photos from our wedding ceremony, Olivia sleeping at just a few days old, a few beach vacations, moments with our parents and siblings, and I wouldn't change a single square inch of it.

I added a map of Ireland a few weeks ago as a nod to our Irish heritage.

And yesterday, I made a silhouette of Olivia on burlap. I whipped up a family definition printable to go along with it. Once these babies were hung up, it was like the cherry on the sundae. It's done!

So now, you can probably guess, I'm staring at it even more. It certainly makes our suburban house feel less like a builder grade shoebox.

The printable I made completely sums up what our little family of three is all about.

If you have a wall needing some lovin' in your house, feel free to snag the download below. For one like mine, you can run a burlap sheet from your local craft store through your computer printer, frame it, and voila!

Family Defined Printable - White

Family Defined Printable - Burlap

Cheap but sentimental. The best things in life are free anyways. :)

What do you think of it now that it's all done? Am I getting anywhere with this crazy quest for an eclectic cottage?

If you liked this post, be sure to check out tips for the most efficient way to create a gallery wall.

Blessings,

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Selasa, 18 November 2014

How to Make a Faux Planked Eclectic Bookcase

I've come to the conclusion that from now on when I find myself struggling to define my style in my home, I'm just going to slap the term "eclectic" on it and call it a day.

Every Friday, I post my Friday Faves because it helps me sort through my Pinterest boards always overflowing with inspirations from a thousand different directions- rugged rustic, glamorous French, modern industrial. And a lot of times I realize I have no clue what I'm doing 99% of the time.

So as I was styling my bookcase from my latest furniture makeover, I decided. My home is in the eclectic category from now on. Because guess what! That term is defined as "deriving ideas or styles from a broad and diverse range or sources." Done. Eclectic it is.

Bless'er House | How to Make a Faux Planked Eclectic Bookcase

I guess you can look at it as a way to say, "This chick just can't make up her mind." Or you can see eclectic as "A style that is never boring because it involves lots of story-telling collections from all sorts of times, places, and cultures." It sounds so much better that way, right?

My little bit of soul-searching all started with this bookcase I found on Craigslist that I knew was destined for our back wall in our living room.

I loved the little bit of detailing at the top and the price wasn't too shabby either. Once I painted it with a few coats of Annie Sloan Pure White, it was like an entirely new piece.

But the back was too plain for me, and I even polled my Facebook followers (thanks y'all) to weigh a few options: painting the back a dark gray or creating a white planking effect. Since I knew most of the items on the shelves were going to be dark, I didn't want them to blend in with a dark background.

The only thing was (and if you haven't figured this out yet, hang around a little longer here and you will) I didn't want to spend any extra money on this thing. Lugging a tempermental toddler to Lowe's to buy wood for planks, attaching them, and painting all over again was not my idea of fun.

So here is what I used to create a faux plank effect:

Level
Paint pen in gray
Tape measure
Pencil

And it didn't cost me a cent or my sanity.

First, I measured each section of the bookcase and marked the widths of each "plank" with a pencil.

I used a level to draw on the lines with the pencil too in case I made any mistakes.

Then, I went back over the penciled lines with the paint pen. I still used the level as a guide to keep the lines straight.

It was so simple and easy. Best of all, it didn't require a single power tool (awesome for napping toddlers who are light sleepers).

I still have some tweaking to do on the shelf styling, but I'm happy considering I mostly used items I've collected over time. And best of all, they have meaning.

That birdcage was a centerpiece from our wedding three years ago. The little bird figurines were hand carved by my father-in-law. That old sewing machine was even passed down to me from my mother's side of the family. And, of course, I always have a slight book obsession.

Now all of my little treasures have a home and don't have to be banished to the depths of a closet. So many of them have a story to tell.

What do you think? Is the eclectic thing working? Let me know in the comments or on Facebook. :)

Blessings,

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Senin, 17 November 2014

Thrifty Wall Art Tip and an Exciting Announcement!

Whew! I don't know about y'all, but my weekend was gone in a blink. I have been putting the finishing touches on several projects, and even though a few are finished (happy dance), I wanted to share one of my favorite tips for cheap wall art.

Time is of the essence here. I guess we technically have a month and a half until the official end of the year, but if you're like me and you start getting into a throw-out happy mood around the time you start pulling out your Christmas decorations, I'm here to save you from yourself!

Bless'er House | Thrifty Wall Art Tip - Cut up old calendars!

Cut up old calendars and frame them! So easy, right? Back during my college days when I thrived on Ramen noodles, I had the need to decorate even then. I actually planned out my dorm room decor before moving in with a motif and color scheme and fabrics and everything. Who does that?! But I did. I repurposed anything and everything to make it work.

And when my white cinderblock walls made my skin crawl from being so bare, I got the idea to cut up an old calendar of mine that was full of black and white prints of Paris and hung them all over my walls with cheap frames. It looked amazing! I really wish I had a photo of that fabulosity to this day.

I'm already sporting more calendar cut-outs of Ansel Adams prints in our foyer with my Pottery Barn knock-off burlap mats. And I'm using it again as I decorate our living room bookcase, which you'll be seeing tomorrow.

The best part is if you feel completely lost on creating a collection of artwork in a gallery wall, guess what! The work is already done for you in a calendar.

This one from The Creativity Exchange is so bright and fun.

Turn wall calendar art into beautful gallery walls. The Creativity Exchange

Impressive, right? If you have no idea what you're doing in the wall art department, it can at least look like you do. ;)

Right now, I have my eye on these calendars to cut up and frame one day:

Chalk It Up Wall Calendar

Words To Live By Calendar

Some of my favorite sources for calendars are Paper Source and Amazon.

So about that exciting announcement...

The other day I was contacted by Reloved Magazine, and it turns out my rope chandelier will be featured in their February issue!

I had to read the e-mail from the editor about five times because I really couldn't believe it.

If you're a fan of thrifting and upcycling too, be sure to check it out. It is full of all kinds of inventive ideas.

As we near the 1 year anniversary of moving into our house, I can't help but look back and think of all of the ways we have truly been blessed. This is one of many with I hope even more to come. God is so good. And I couldn't continue on this journey without all of you and your love and support. So thank you for simply checking in on my DIY adventures. It means so much.

Blessings,

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Kamis, 13 November 2014

Craft Frenzy Friday #66

Welcome to Craft Frenzy Friday!

We want to thank everyone for joining us at Craft Frenzy Friday and hope that you will follow our hosts!

Craft Dictator: Blog/Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Bloglovin’/Pinterest/Google+

Busy Being Jennifer: Blog/Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest/Bloglovin'

Pickled Okra by Charlie:Blog/Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest/Bloglovin'/Google+

Wonderland and Company:Blog/Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Pinterest/Google+

Bless'er House: Blog/Facebook/Twitter/Bloglovin'/Google+

Come link us all on Facebook!

The winner of our November Giveaway winner was Crissie! She has been emailed and has 48 hours to reply or we will pick another winner!

This month our Giveaway is Two Key Fobs from DeBoop Shop! They have such a fun shop with awesome products! Make sure to check them out here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

1-Falling Stars Paper Bad Advent Calendar at Atkinson Drive

2-My Kitchen at The Striped House

3-DIY Wedding Sparklers & Free Printable Tags at A Bride On A Budget

4- Metallic Christmas Tree Shocking Hangers at Atkinson Drive

5-Silhouette Deer Head Applique at The Seasoned Homemaker

If you were featured be sure to grab our button and spread the word!

Even if you weren't featured make sure to Grab our other Craft Frenzy Friday Button!

An InLinkz Link-up

**Please note: By linking to this blog party, you are giving us permission to use your photos and content as part of the weekly features if selected.**

We also pin all of our features on the Craft Frenzy Friday Featured Pinterest board! All other post will be pinned onto our Craft Frenzy Friday board each week!

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Selasa, 11 November 2014

Little Victories

This isn't going to be the prettiest blog post or anything, but if you're like me and you snag an awesome deal somewhere, you probably like to brag about it. Or at least I do.

After doing a little mini victory dance at the grocery store cash register when my pile of coupons ring in and I skip through the automatic sliding doors, the first thing I do is text my husband with a message usually consisting of something like "Yo yo yo! Guess who has two thumbs and saved $80 on groceries today? This cheapskate."

I love it! I feel like I cheated the system. So the other day when I was gathering up a few supplies at Lowe's for our dining chair makeover, I happened to walk down the lighting aisle to see this little guy:

Lowe's

I loved the vintage inspired milk glass look, and it had a clearance tag on it for $11.24 marked down from $44.97. Woohoo!

But then I found out the store no longer had them in stock. Insert pouty face.

Thankfully, I had a super cute (and at the moment well-behaved) little girl with me who somehow helped me charm the sales guy until he was a total puddle on the floor because twenty minutes later, I had the display light in our super cool racecar cart (for real...why didn't they have those when I was a kid?) marked down even further to $9.00!

Seriously, that light was just begging me to take it home.

So when I got home, that boring builder grade basic light came right down from our butler's pantry.

I'm on a mission to get rid of all of these in our house.

Blah. No personality. It's just...there.

So now our little coffee/wine bar that connects our dining room and kitchen is sporting my lucky find.

Just so ya know, I'm dying to paint those cabinets white. One day, it's gonna happen.

You gotta love little victories. And now our butler's pantry has a bit of something more.

It's pretty smashing with our rope chandelier too. :) What do you think? Better than builder grade?

Blessings,

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