Valentine's Prints

I love changing some of my decor throughout the seasons. One of the fun things I've been doing this year, is adding printables in my kitchen each month. I had some fun October and November prints for fall and just slapped up some Christmas-y ones for the holidays. I really didn't decorate for the Holiday's at all this year since we were away. 

I wanted something cute for the month of February so I found two on Pinterest that I liked. 

You can find both of these prints from my board Printables on Pinterest

My printer was running low on black ink, so I changed out the color of the Be Mine print to be more of a grey background. 

Once printed, I added a little glitter to the legs of the bee and a few of the hearts on both prints, just to jazz them up a bit. 

Alabama Living Room Tour

A huge Thank You to Shelby Robert's Photography for the photos featured.  

Shelby is a true professional, with an eye for lighting and capturing every detail. 

If you are in the Fort Rucker or surrounding area, be sure to contact her for any of your photography needs. 

{Sea Urchin DIY} 

{Coral Cabinetry} 

{Sea Fan Art}

Chalkboard Art

Hello, from snowy, icy Alabama.  I thought I would be escaping the icy cool temps of the North by living in the deep South for 18 months, but that doesn't seem to be the case.  This unusual winter storm has fallen on the most inconvenient day for me. I was so looking forward to a visit from my mom and aunt who were scheduled to fly in from Philly to Birmingham today, but due to this once in 25 year weather phenomenon, their flight was canceled.  I am praying very very hard that they will be able to get here tomorrow.  The strangest thing about all of this is the fact that this past Saturday, I was wearing shorts, a T-shirt and flip-flops, to a NorthFace and Uggs on a Wednesday to most likely shorts, a T-shirt and flip-flops this Saturday with the 71 degree and sunny forecast.  

Since I knew we would be having some visitors while we are here, I wanted to make a multi-purpose room out of one of our spare bedrooms.  The purposes being: A Man Cave and Guest Room. 

While my husband was away for some training over Thanksgiving, I wanted to surprise him with a Man Cave when he came back.  I decided I was going to do this room on the cheap! I really had to get creative with things I already owned to spruce it up. I repainted and reframed pictures, I used cheap Walmart fabric for curtains, and tried to make it cozy, but sophisticated manly at the same time. Cozy for our guests, and manly for the hubs. 

My grandma was getting rid of this huge painting she had picked up at an Estate Sale for around $20. 

I took it off her hands knowing that this would make an awesome chalkboard for the guest room/man cave. 

I picked up some chalkboard paint from Walmart

{Via}

and gold spray paint 

{Via}

I got on a roll with the painting and forgot to snap some pictures along the way.  I sprayed the frame gold, not worrying about getting paint on the actual picture because I knew I would be painting over that with chalkboard paint anyways. 

I gave the frame about 2 coats of paint. Then I simply followed the directions for the chalkboard paint. I made sure to allow the suggested drying time before each coat.  I gave it two coats of paint with a foam roller and small paint brush for the corners and sides.  The hardest part was waiting for it to cure 3 days before writing on it!!! 

Once the 3 days were up, I conditioned my chalkboard.  To do this you take a piece of chalk and cover the entire board.  After you erase it, you are all set  you to write.  The conditioning process is important and ensures that once erased, writing does not appear embedded in the chalkboard.

I made a small template on word of the writing I wanted on the chalkboard to surprise my husband when he came home! 

Here is the finished product all ready for my mom and aunt's visit! (Lord will and Weather permitting!) 

I love being able to customize it if we have guests or add "Man Cave" sayings. 

I really love chalkboards a lot. Here is the one I have hanging in my kitchen that keeps me going when trying new recipes! 

DIY chalkboards are so easy and unique because the frames and shapes can be so different.  I love the little personal touch they add to a home that can be changed out with holiday's or special occasions. 

Have you ever made a chalkboard for your home? What kind of sayings do you like to write on them? 

Wrapping Paper Wallpaper

Being an Military family means we have moved a lot since we've been married. We are in our 3rd house in less than 3 years. I am always trying to come up with new ways to decorate the way I would love to if we were in a house we owned.  I adore wallpaper. I think it adds such a punch to a room in a way that artwork and paint simple cannot. Although wallpaper is great, it can be a big job, and a huge commitment.  A simple temporary solution I've found is to use wrapping paper!  It's cheap, easy and removable!  It's a great solution for renters, or even a home owner that is scared of the commitment of wallpaper. 

I used wrapping paper in our first apartment to spruce up our drab kitchen. Read about it here!

I knew that I had wanted to do this in our current home but was waiting for just the right wrapping paper to jump out at me! TJMaxx is one of the best sources for fun and unique wrapping paper. That's were I found this great print for only $2.99 a roll! 

I knew right away where I wanted to use it. In my weird little alcove between the kitchen, dining room and living room.  The color was perfect and I liked that the wood texture wasn't too bold of a print since I've got a lot going on in my living room. 

I started at the top and made sure everything was lined up so that the paper would not wander from the corner. I used small staples from a regular old stapler to attach the paper to the walls. 

(I have used double stick tape and painters tape in the past, but my walls are textured so tape was not holding the paper to the walls) 

I used a roll and a half of wrapping paper to complete this space. 

I used an x-acto knife to trim edges and corners.

I carefully trimmed around the light switch with an x-acto knife as well. 

It was difficult to get a completed shot since it's a 3 sided wall, but I think it adds something special to an otherwise drab and boring spot. 

When we move it's as easy as ripping the paper down and removing the staples. 

Never be afraid to think outside the box!

West Elm Art Hack

In my blogging absence, I have done many little projects around my house. I'm sorry to say I have not documented them as well as I should have, but nevertheless I wanted to share one of my favorites on the blog!

West Elm Art Hack

-Cheap Paint Brush

-Any color acrylic paint

-poster board

-frame

The blog world has been featuring this art trend for months now, and I wanted some of my own!

This project is for the complete Art Dummy like myself. Just a few bush strokes of acrylic paint in any color you choose, in any random fashion and you've got instant art! 

Truth be told: I was in a weird late night crafting mood when I made this, and I didn't have any white poster board on hand. I ended up using the backside of blue crocodile print wrapping paper! I actually loved how it turned out because the texture of the wrapping paper came through the brush strokes and made a neat affect! 

Today I tried it with gold paint for my guest bath, and i loved the way it turned out! 

DIY Sea Urchin Decor

I have been drooling over these gorgeous Sea Urchin accessories since I first saw them at High Point last Spring. 

Check out these gorgeous Sea Urchin chandeliers I spotted while at High Point! 

{Sea Urchins}

{Sea Urchins}

Although I could have dropped about $100 to purchase one or two, I decided to make my own. I've seen a few tutorials out there involving a small styrofoam ball for the base, but I didn't like the thought of spray painting the styrofoam. 

Then I found a great tutorial from The Hunted Interior. She found her original tutorial here.

It involves using oven-bake clay for the base instead of styrofoam. 

I picked up my oven-bake clay from Walmart for around $5 and then purchased one pack of long Kabob sticks and one pack of shorter kabob sticks from my grocery store. They run about $2-$3 each. 

{Walmart}

I cut the longer rods in half so that I would have a medium sized Sea Urchin, and used the shorter rods for a smaller Sea Urchin. 

Following the same technique as shown on the Hunted Interior, I started by rolling a ball of clay and sticking the rods in a straight line in one direction. 

Then I started breaking up the circle into pie slices to make sure the rods where evenly distributed all over the ball. 

I kept breaking down the size of the pie pieces until I was satisfied with the coverage of the rods over the clay ball. 

Then I simply followed the baking instructions on the back of the clay package. I baked mine for a long time since the clay ball was so thick. Around 45 minutes, checking it periodically. I wasn't worried about the wooden rods in the oven since they are meant for Kabobs.  I knew they could handle the high temperature. 

After the baking, I let them cool and then gave them 2-3 coats of gold spray paint. Some of the rods  where very loose after baking. I used super glue to reattach the rods that where loose back into the clay. 

(One tip I would suggest if you decide to try out this DIY is to make sure that the your clay ball starting out is large enough. The first one I made, the ball was not big enough to handle all the rods it had in it and started to crack when it was baking.)

Project Breakdown

-Oven-Bake Clay:$5

-Kabob rods, 2 packs of different sizes:$5

-Gold Spray Paint: $4

Total: $14 + 2hrs of work

I still have enough supplies to make one or two more, so I would say this project was money and time well spent!