Wednesday, December 19, 2012

a giveaway!

Pin It
good morning!  it almost seems odd to try to go on with normal life today.  almost makes me feel guilty.  so many parents are trying to come to terms with the reality that their babies are with jesus now.  i wish that i could help—could do something to take their pain.  but i remember in times like this that the one who can do something, anything, already has them right in the palm of his hand.  so i just pray that they allow themselves to sit in his comfort.  god be near you sandy hook.  our hearts bleed for you.

we are so excited to be hosting our first giveaway!  it’s a pretty cool one, if i do say so myself.  ramsign is a small danish company specializing in manufacturing and selling classic enamel signs for your home.  check out some of the stuff they offer at www.ramsign.com.  the winner of the giveaway can choose any house number sign with 1-5 digits in any of ramsign’s 5 design styles.  *it cannot be the name signs or address plaques.*  here are the designs you can choose from:











the giveaway will end in 72 hours, so start entering!  you can follow ramsign on facebook or twitter.  best of luck to you and have a great week! :)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thursday, December 6, 2012

diy pallet sign

Pin It



i am an etsy addict.  there.  i admitted it.  so when i was redoing my bedroom, i naturally began scavenging on etsy for some wall décor.  i came across the most gorgeous pallet sign i’d ever seen.  but it was $145.  yikes.  i am a tightwad thru & thru and that just didn’t work for me.  so, naturally, i set out to make my own.  and it took me three months.  not the actual work, but life, coupled with screwing it up the first time, just made it take for-ev-er.  in fact, when i texted leshia, “pallet sign’s done!”  her reply was “about time!!” J  she loves me.  really.

here’s the scoop on the diy pallet sign:

materials:

*pallet
*some apparatus to bust it up (we found a sawzall worked best and just sawed thru the nails)
*nails
*wood glue
*spray paint
*stencil
*pen/pencil
*paint for words
*sandpaper (optional)

after you’ve busted your pallet up, decide on how big you want your sign.  i wanted mine pretty big, so i left the longest boards alone and just lined up seven of them.  it turned out to be roughly 2ftx3ft.  i flipped the boards over to the side that i didn’t want to be the face of the sign, and used some scrap pallet wood to attach them together.  i would suggest first using wood glue on each board, letting it dry, and then tacking the boards in with the finishing nails.  if your nails are longer, you can drive them thru the front and just cover them with duct tape if that stick out the back, so not to scratch your wall.




after the pallet sign is assembled (it’s really not hard), the painting begins.  i found several cans of rustoleum’s american accents in whitewash at a hardware store in town that’s going out of business.  it was a great deal, and it was the perfect color for my sign.  i painted just a coat or two to give it a little color and then began to stencil. 

*here is where the three month issue comes in*



















if you’ve read any of our other diy posts, you know that leshia and i rarely complete a project that we don’t screw up somewhere along the way.  while i admire and aspire to be more like the blogging women who can do a diy project perfectly the first time with their eyes closed, that is just not our reality at this stage in the game.  i guess we’ve learned some valuable lessons that way?  i mean we can hope.  so i got these 6” stencils from lowe’s.  i did a rough measure of my letters for the phrase “you have my whole heart for my whole life.”  it was a tight squeeze, but i thought i had it.  wrong.  i managed to get “you have my” on the first line and it looked pretty darn good.  i even remember calling leshia and saying “i can’t believe i haven’t screwed this up yet!  it is looking so good.”  pride cometh before the fall, right?  wellll, “whole heart” was up next, and i got to, oh, about “whole hea” when i realized that it was either going to say “whole hear” or “whole heat” or something weird and definitely not what i’d envisioned.  so i got mad.  naturally.  i put the sign away and didn’t work on it for a while.  but i’m kind of glad i didn’t, because i planned out my final attempt very carefully and am so happy with how it turned out. 

when i finally got the gumption to try again, i started by sanding the words that i had painted on as much as i could, and then applied lots more coats of the same color.  because the wood isn’t treated, it soaks that paint up like crazy.  so once it was sufficiently covered, i started stenciling.   


 i printed out my letters off of microsoft word and cut them out, taped them on, and stenciled in pen.  i didn’t mind  using a pen because i knew i was using black paint.  but if you’re not all wild and crazy like me, you might want to go with pencil.  in hindsight the whole pen thing really wasn’t the greatest idea.  once i got the words stenciled on, i set out painting. 





 i just used black craft paint and only one coat because i liked how it looked a little distressed.  if the words were darker, i would definitely sand it, and i still may.  but for now, i love it.  i think this is one of my favorite projects i’ve done so far.  i’m pretty much obsessed with it.  so, my charge to you: plan your stenciling.  you will be better for it.  best of luck! J


 
 
sunday
monday
tuesday
saturday


Friday, November 30, 2012

high five for friday!

Pin It
we're linking up with lauren today, as usual!  tgif!  i am so ready for the weekend!

here are some of my most favorite things from the week:


1) this has to be one of my all-time favorite pictures.  my granddaddy and my baby at thanksgiving.  my grandparents are definitely one of the many things i am thankful for.

2) is this not the cutest wreath of all time?  lindsey at the pleated poppy posted this on instagram the other day.  i am going to attempt this weekend, so you are sure to be seeing my version soon. :)

3) my little boy is growing up and we are turning his nursery into a big boy room.  this is a picture of his new bedding.  this girl is excited.

4) braxton's "baby tiny chrisam tree" as he calls it.  i think he's got the spirit like his mama.

5) the picture on our christmas cards.  my sister is a photographer and she always takes our card pictures.  this one has got to be my favorite.  how hilarious.  now it is time to sit and watch clark and eddie. :)

hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Monday, November 26, 2012

knock-off: pottery barn skull plaque

Pin It

deer heads & antlers.  they are everywhere right now in home decor.  have you noticed? 


i ran across this faux skull plaque at pottery barn and had to have one.  instead of buying it i figured i could recreate my own.  all i needed was a plaque and skull.

luckily my family deer hunts so i have plenty of antlers and skulls lying around.  i used a piece of scrap pine that i had and cut out the plaque shape, routered the edges, and stained it.  the skull that i wanted to use was old.  the antlers were faded and the skull was yellow.  i used the same stain that i used on the plaque to stain the antlers to make them darker.  then i used some white paint for the skull.


i cut out a scrap piece of pine to fit inside of the skull and glued it so i would have a way of attaching it to the plaque.  once it was dry i predrilled holes on the back of the plaque and screwed the skull to place.  since i already had the wood, skull, and paint the only cost i had in this project was the stain.  not bad, huh?  :)

i hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving and have a great week!

linking with...
 
sunday
monday
tuesday
saturday


Monday, November 19, 2012

in the kitchen: slab pie

Pin It




happy monday, y’all!  my family had thanksgiving dinner yesterday.  i love the holidays.  i look forward to them every year and i get so sad when it’s over!  i love spending time with my family and trading recipes and laughs.  i’ve become the dessert lady at my family dinners.  the ladies on my side are some fabulous cooks…i mean like mouth-watering, gain twenty pounds, extraordinary cooks.  it’s a hard name to live up to.  but this recipe seems to be a hit.  i’ve adapted it a couple times depending on what fruit is in season, so for thanksgiving this year, i used apples.  it’s originally from the taste of home magazine.  and, if you’ve never tried rhubarb, it’s worth it.  it’s tart and wonderful.

raspberry rhubarb slab pie

 Ingredients

  • 3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup butter
  • 3/4 cup plus 1 to 2 tablespoons 2% milk
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1/3 cup cornstarch
  • 5 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed and drained
  • 3 cups sliced fresh or frozen rhubarb, thawed and drained
  • VANILLA ICING:
  • 1-1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 5 to 6 teaspoons 2% milk

Directions

  • In a large bowl, combine flour and salt; cut in butter until crumbly. Whisk 3/4 cup milk and egg yolk; gradually add to flour mixture, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball. Add additional milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, if necessary.
  • Divide dough in half so that one portion is slightly larger than the other; wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle.
  • Roll out larger portion of dough between two large sheets of lightly floured waxed paper into an 18-in. x 13-in. rectangle. Transfer to an ungreased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of pan; trim pastry to edges of pan.
  • In a large bowl, combine sugar and cornstarch. Add raspberries and rhubarb; toss to coat. Spoon into pastry.
  • Roll out remaining dough; place over filling. Fold bottom pastry over edge of top pastry; seal with a fork. Prick top with a fork.
  • Bake at 375° for 45-55 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack.
  • For icing, combine confectioners' sugar, vanilla and enough milk to achieve a drizzling consistency; drizzle over pie. Cut pie into squares. Yield: 2 dozen.
*my personal side notes*
- it takes more than a couple tablespoons of milk to get the dough to “workable” form.
- rolling out the dough is not an easy feat.  get it somewhat rectangular and then just try to manipulate it in the pan. 
- when you “cut in” the butter, use a mix ‘n masher from pampered chef, or just a plain potato masher if you have one. 

this stuff is crazy good.  and trust me, it will be a hit wherever you decide to take it!



today we’re also featuring a few projects from some other lovely bloggers!  here are a few of the simple with a big punch projects that you shared with us last week:



stacey from embracing change re-did this fabulous sideboard.  if you need furniture ideas, her blog is the place to be!



lauren at the thinking closet. made a wedding invitation ornament.  how cute is that?  what a simple gift idea!



pj at planned in pencil. made this adorable banner for her front door.  i can’t wait to try this!  check out her blog to see why she plans in pencil.

hope you have a fabulous week!  enjoy the holiday and soak up all that food and family time!




linking with...

sunday
monday
tuesday
wednesday
thursday
friday
saturday