White & Blue Felt Initial Wreath

So the not fun thing about us both being in school right now is that hubby has to work weekends. 

Boo. 

So weekend nights can get lonely quick. 

But the kiddos always enjoy some mommy time before they head off to bed. This week little man was gone for the weekend so it was just me & little miss. 

I'm super blessed because little miss absolutely loves anything artsy. 

She begs to paint all the time and is always fiddling with my yarn and leftover fabric. 

So when I asked her if she wanted to have girls night and make a wreath with me I was met with a squeal-y 'yessss!'

I was going to let her help out with my wreath project but after thinking about it a bit I figured she would absolutely love to make her own.

Since she's miss independent and all. 

So hubby dropped us off at hobby lobby one afternoon & we picked out things for her wreath.

There was a lot of 'ok, well we need to pick just a couple colors' and 'we can't put feathers, sparkles AND leopard felt all on one thing' kind of conversations. 

But we eventually agreed on pinks, whites and blues. 

(On a random side note, you're going to DIE when you see some furniture I just painted for her someday room...seriously, soooo cute) 

Here's what we started with: 

Supplies: 

Wreath form (I got her a 10 in one so it was a bit smaller...these take a while) 

White felt (we used 12 sheets) 

Blue ruffle ribbon

Pink Ruffle Ribbon

Straight pins (from the sewing section, we got a box of 450)

Fabric scissors

Wooden 'E'

First things first, cut out a million squares from your felt.

Okay, really you just cut up all 12 sheets you bought.

But sometimes it feels like a million. 

(hint...my sewing scissors could cut through three sheets at a time... it's awesome)

Cut all your squares and then get ready to sit for a while.

This is a great time to invite some girlfriends over and have fun drinks while laughing about the bachelorette... or if you're by yourself, you can just watch it while you work! 

Here's our mess we made while we worked... we had three wreaths going on. 

After you cut your squares, then you start pinning them onto your wreath.

I just fold them around my finger and the stick a pin through the end of it and stick it into the wreath. 

I always fill the wreath completely and then go back and fill in any spots that look like they could use a bit more 'fluff'' :) 

Little miss did this part almost all by herself! 

I was so proud because this part takes a looonggg time. 

We were sitting there a good two hours. 

Towards the end she ended up making a bunch of the pinned squares for me and I pinned them to the wreath. 

Good teamwork :)

And we ended up with the most gorgeous little girl wreath ever!!

She wanted to add her initial to it so we picked up a wooden 'e' and she painted it pink. 

I think that was her favorite part to do!

For a little added sweet touch, we stuck in a few pieces of the ruffled blue ribbon we had. 

Just in random places around the wreath to give it a splash of color. 

I made the hanger by using the pink ruffle ribbon and then tying a piece of the blue ribbon around it. 

I love how it twirls around the wreath and adds some more girliness :) 

I'm in love with how simple yet girly it is!! 

And have I told you yet that blues just go with anything?! 

I'm obsessed, I know :)

Little miss was super happy with how it turned out and incredibly proud of it too!! 

I think it was the perfect mommy/daughter craft night.

It'd be perfect for a get-together with friends too! 

Definitely makes pinning those squares on go by a lot faster if you have fun people around :) 

What do you think? 

Did little miss knock it out of the park? 

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Sweet & Simple Wooden Necklace Tutorial

I'm starting to see signs for school supply sales & school uniforms! 

Ahh! Where has summer gone??

I'm not ready for it to be over quite yet & it's slipping away incredibly fast. 

We went to movies at the park last night which was amazing. 

We had perfect weather for it and little man loved it! 

I wanted to pop in between all our summer fun and share a quick & easy fashion post with you!!

What?? Me? Fashion?

Every now and then :)

Remember last year when I shared my first ever jewelry post? 

Well I'm back with another cute necklace idea!

Wanna see? 

Isn't it cute??

I'm obsessed with necklaces.

They are my favorite accessory and I can never have enough of them! 

And this one is so easy you can make it in a matter of minutes!

Supplies: 
Wooden Beads from Hobby Lobby (2 sizes) 

White Rope (Hobby Lobby) 

Black Enamel Paint

Painters Tape

Seriously, that's it.

And the awesome thing is that you could make several necklaces from the supplies you buy.

It'd be a fun project to do with a friend or even your little girls! 

The steps are super easy. 

1. Cut the length of rope you want your necklace to be. Be sure to leave a little more at the end than you want so you can tie a knot or add a clasp. I made mine long enough to just slip over my head. 

2. Add beads to the rope. I added smaller beads on the outsides leading to larger beads in the middle. 

3. Paint desired amount of beads.

This is the fun part. 

I painted just three of mine. And only half of two of them to give a fun effect.

But you could do more or add different colors in. 

I just wrapped painters tape around the halves I didn't want painted, let them dry and then added them onto my necklace.

4. Tie a knot & wear your fun new accessory!!

I mean, can you believe how simple it is? 

It makes me want to go make a few more :) 

I love the simplicity and neutrality of it. It goes with nearly everything and adds a fun pop of interest to my outfits! And the beads are very light so it's not heavy at all. 

And the possibilities are endless! 

You could do different color combinations, add in different beads, cover them in washi tape, and all kinds of other fun things! 

What do you think?
Need a few more cute necklaces in your life??

If you're like me, the answer to that is never no :) 

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Linking to:
Inspire Me Please @ Liz Marie. Feature Yourself Friday @ Fingerprints on the Fridge. Tickled Pink @ 504 Main. Shine on Friday @ Young and Crafty. Catch as Catch Can @ My Repurposed Life. Friday Link Party @ Craftionary

Geometric Coffee Table Makeover with 3M

I have such a fun project to share today!!

If you hang out with me on Facebook, you've heard me mention it and saw a sneak peek from last week :) 

It's definitely one of my most favorite furniture redos (& unique!)

I partnered up with 3MDIY.com to bring a fresh & fun piece to you guys with some of their awesome products! 

Soooo are you ready to see some awesomeness??

Let's check out the before: 

I loved the shape of this coffee table when I got it but it had seen better days.

The sides & top were scratched up and worn. 

And that orange finish? Ugh. I was soo ready to get it covered up :)

Supplies: 

Paint in desired colors

3M Advanced Abrasives SandBlaster Sandpaper in 120 grit

3M Wood Filler in white (not pictured...I accidentally put in the spackling patch which is awesome too!!) 

3M Tekk Protection Premium Safety Glasses

Paintbrushes

ScotchBlue™™ Painter's Tape with Edge Lock

ScotchBlue Drop Cloth

First off, I have to rave a little about that drop cloth. 

If any of you are blessed with a nice, smooth paved driveway be SO happy.

I have a rock driveway which does not feel good on my knees & bum when painting :) 

This drop cloth was awesome at not only containing my messy painting self but giving a little cushion against the rocks. Yay :)

Moving on...

For the top area of the table, I used my mouse sander to get a smooth finish before painting.

I used 3M Advanced Abrasives sandpaper to sand around the sides and legs of the table.

It was perfect for getting all those small, hard to reach details. 

Plus, the 3M Tekk Protection safety glasses were awesome for keeping the dust away from my eyes. I wear contacts so I'm a bit paranoid about it. They also have attached ear plugs to drown out the 'bzzzzzzzz' of the sander. 

After a good sanding, I used the 3M Wood Filler  to fill in all the small grooves & scratches it had acquired over the years. It dried incredibly quick and was ready for paint! 

I knew I wanted something unique for the top of the table- I mean it was practically a blank canvas!!

I painted three coats of Sherwin Williams 'Synergy' which is a gorgeous deep aqua color. 

After letting it dry for a couple days, I used ScotchBlue™™ Painter's Tape  with Edge Lock to tape off a fun design.

Ok, ok I can't take all the credit for the amazing taping job. 

Hubby swooped in & took the vision I had in my head and used his amazing math abilities & OCD to tape it off for me. 

I'm definitely more of an 'eyeball it' person which would have not led to all those perfectly lined up points.

Didn't he do an amazing job??

After taping it all off, I used Sherwin Williams 'Snowbound' to paint in all the lines. 

I gave it three coats and then we peeled off the tape.

This is my favorite- I love peeling off the tape to reveal the awesomeness underneath! 

Check out the gorgeousness...

I don't think I can ever go back to normal painter's tape again! The EdgeLock made perfect lines with no seepage! Totally a win in my book!!!

And because I'm me, I roughed it up a little :)

I'm kinda obsessed with the awesome geometric pattern on the top. 

Hubby was quite proud too :)

I sealed the top with three coats of Polycrylic to seal & protect it. 

It also gave it a gorgeous glossy finish. 

I painted the original worn brass hardware with oil-rubbed bronze. 

Love how fresh it made it look :)

I'm loving the white/aqua combo! 

Hubby even fell in love with it and is convinced we need to keep it for when little miss has her own room.

I think it'd be the cutest bench at the end of a bed. 

Now for the fun part,

sharing the before & afters!!

Look how far it came!!!

I don't think I'll ever cease to be amazed by the power of paint (and crazy amounts of hard work!) 

What do you think?

Are you loving the geometric top as much as I am? 

A huge thanks to 3M for creating such awesome products for DIY-ers!! 

This post is a collaboration with 3M DIY. To keep up-to-date on projects, products and sampling visit 3MDIY.com.

Products provided by 3M DIY, but all opinions of products are 100% my own. 

You can get more of 3M DIY here: 
3M DIY Facebook Page
3M DIY Twitter Page
3M DIY YouTube Page
3M DIY Pinterest Page 

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Whatever Goes Wednesday @ someday Crafts. Sugar & Spice @ Seven Thirty Three. Party Time @ The 36th Avenue. 
Friday Link Party @ Craftionary. 
Inspire me Please @ Liz Marie Blog. Tickled Pink @ 504 Main. Furniture Feature Friday @ Miss Mustard Seed. Link Party Palooza. 

DIY Initial Wood Carving

So I asked you guys a few days ago what you would rather see and I was actually somewhat surprised when there was a resounding answer for some fun wall art that would be perfect in the master bedroom :) 

It beat out a furniture before & after AND a way cute shower that I've been dying to post. 

Guess that shows what I know, huh? 

Soooo of course I'm going to share some fun wall art with you today!

Husby got me a dremel for my bday and it has been my favorite tool for the past few months.

I LOVE all the awesome things it can do, it's little but it can do almost anything! 

I was psyched to find out that it came with a wood carving tip and knew I had to find something to test it out with.

So I started with an awesome piece of wood I had in my stash- it was nice & thick with gorgeous grain. 

And I stained it in my favorite dark walnut.

This isn't the exact piece of wood but it gives you the idea of what we were working with: 

Now, since I'm not talented enough to actually use the dremel and take a picture at the same time, I found a picture for you that shows what I was doing (just it's someone else) 

I found my wood carving bit in my accessory kit (it's pictured being used above) and inserted it into the dremel. 

Warning, it's addictive guys! 

The bit slides effortlessly through the wood- I did a couple practice lines on the back just to get used to the feel of it. 

But it was amazing!

For my template, I laid chipboard letters & a heart shape on the board and traced around them with a marker.

Then I just used the dremel to trace those lines. 

I went slow & carefully to make sure it didn't just take off from under me and make a stray mark. 

I was soo excited when I finished and I had this: 

Isn't it beautiful??

I started with something simple for my first time and I LOVE how it turned out. 

I love the contrast of the light outline of the design against the dark walnut wood. 

I wanted to add a little something to the bottom for a little more texture so I decided on this: 

I tore a strip of linen and wrapped it around the bottom on top of a piece of frayed burlap. 

Then I tied a piece of bakers twine & twine together over that. 

Love the texture it gives. 

The whole project probably took a total of 20 minutes to do & that included trying to figure out the dremel & getting the bit on (it was my first time using it!) 

Dremel did NOT pay or ask for me to say how much I love my little dremel, I just really do :) 

Hubby does too- he's obsessed with all the different cutting tips it has. 

It also has sanding tips which I'm excited to try out too. 

I'm betting you could get a similar look with the inexpensive wood-burning kits from Hobby Lobby but probably not the same amount of contrast against the wood. 

But if you do happen to have a dremel or it's on your wish-list, it's definitely an amazing tool to have in your stash. The wood-carving tip came with mine in the accessory kit but they are cheap to buy if you don't have it. 

I added a hanger to the back & hung my little art piece in our bedroom. 

I love the natural & romantic feel it has. 

Sometimes simple is just perfect :) 

Sooo.... do you love it as much as I do? 

Hope you guys are having a great week!!

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Wanting another fun idea for using your dremel? 

Check out the Father's Day signs I made using the dremel to jazz them up here. 

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Whatever Goes Wednesday @ someday Crafts. Sugar & Spice @ Seven Thirty Three. Party Time @ The 36th Avenue. 
Inspire me Please @ Liz Marie Blog. Tickled Pink @ 504 Main. Furniture Feature Friday @ Miss Mustard Seed. Link Party Palooza.