Monogrammed $1 Store Vase

I am in charge of activities for our Relief Society's Christmas Craft Day this year, and I had lot of fun thinking up inexpensive, beautiful, meaning items for the women.  

One thing I knew I wanted to create for them was a monogrammed vase using etched glass (if you've been reading recently, you'll know I am currently obsessed with etched glass!) What better way to do etching than on a vase-- it looks so sophisticated and elegant-- just like whatever goes inside the vase! 

I got this little gem from the Dollar Store!

(My favorite place to peruse for ideas.  There is so much potential there.)

Apply the stencil and Armor Etch etching creme:

Allow the creme to sit for 5 full minutes and wash off completely

(Be sure to get inside all the lines.  It likes to congregate there just to annoy you.)

Starting to peel off the vinyl stencil to reveal the etching is my favorite part... 

Isn't it beautiful??!?!?!?!?!?!

And, so far, the Relief Society women love it! 

Homemade Scrabble Tiles for the Wall

I recently saw this picture...

And immediately put it into my Pinterest board: "Things I Know I Can Make Myself."

And, Guess what? I DID!

And, best part: IT WAS REALLY EASY! 

I'm re-decorating our guest room/ office right now, and this fun Scrabble-style word will be front and center on the wall.  I'll post a picture later of the final view, but I just couldn't wait until the room was ready to try this awesome craft! 

Supplies:

I knew I wanted thin, flat, pieces of natural wood 

(the best part of this project is that scrabble tiles are natural wood, so there is no extra 

painting involved for the authentic look!). 

The pieces I found were perfect-- 6 x 4 inches, thin and flat, and only $1/each from Hobby Lobby!

I also needed to make a template of the scrabble letters: 

I found a useful image of the Scrabble alphabet, then used it to match fonts and numbers!

Now let the crafting begin... 

Four more letters later.... 

Now wasn't that easy? Hmmmmm? 

I am so happy with my new, classic-looking, $5 craft!

Go pick your favorite word and make your own scrabble tiles!

Make Your Own FHE Chart!

My hubby and I hometeach a family of recent converts who asked for some help in conducting Family Home Evening in their home.  Wow... of course!

He prepared a lesson and I was in charge of an activity.  I decided to make them an FHE chart that they could decorate themselves and use throughout the week to remind them of the steps of having Family Home Evening.

I only decided to make this about two hours before we were supposed to go see them, so, believe me, this is a quick one!

Materials:
* Round wooden circle ($.99 from Hobby Lobby)
* Wooden stars or other shape ($1.99 for 5 at Hobby Lobby)
* Craft paint
* Paint Brush
* Magnets
* Hot Glue
* Ribbon
* Vinyl words

Follow the pictures!

I chose to paint the pieces white so they could be drawn on. 

Other colors would look great, too!

I decided to use the font "Girls Are Weird" for the chart.  

It is so fun!

Since there are only three members of their family, I split the FHE chores into

three categories.  You can make a larger back board and have more chores

if there are more people in your family!

When you hot glue the magnets to the board and the stars, make sure you 

glue the right sides down! 

Turn the back board over and use the hot glue to attach a string 

for hanging. 

You can also add some drops of hot glue to the other sides of the board 

so it won't scratch the walls!

They had so much fun decorating their own stars! 

Once the stars were finished, we added their names in 

vinyl to the front.
Make sure the marker dries first, or the vinyl won't stick!

The finished product!

It felt so wonderful to make something that could help someone else come closer to the Lord and their family members.  I really hope they enjoy it, and get in the habit of using it every week!

This was so quick, fun to make, and easy to personalize.  

I will definitely make one for my own family once it gets a little bigger!

La Cage Aux Folles. AKA "The Birdcage."

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Yes, I love La Cage Aux Folles, and I also love antique furniture, and I ALSO love birds. So why did it take so long for me to create a silhouette birdcage and bird?!?!?!

For one thing, I have re-decorated our living room a total of FOUR (4) times! Can you believe it? I'm not nuts (about this, anyway), it's just sort of an akward room that hasn't adopted any of the personalities I've given it. I realized after a while that the things I've been acquiring for that room are more nature-comes-indoors.

We have a tree trunk table,

 a table made from an old window-pane, 

blue walls, brown furniture, wood floors, 

and a nature motif on our mantle. 

 So I got pretty excited when the idea finally hit me to design an old-fashioned birdcage.

 I had the perfect spot :) 

The new shelf and birdcage break up this awkward long wall so well!

Plus, it was so much easier to design than I expected : ) 

That's what professionals call a "Win-Win" 

The finished product!

Just one thing... Ben hasn't seen it yet. This is the third time he's come home to a makeover! Why do I feel the need to surprise re-decorate?! 

Doorway Makeover

I got the itch today to do some decorating... 

Susannah's translation: ADD SOME VINYL!

I knew I wanted some sort of 'welcome' or 'home' sign above the front door, so I looked online at my store for some inspiration. 

I really loved this name monogram: 

But I thought a welcome sign like this would be more appropriate over the door: 

So I put on my thinking cap and combined the two designs!

Here's how I did it: 

It is exactly what our front doorway needed.  Amazing how something simple that I designed and whipped up in 15 minutes can help something really feel like home. 

Welcome!