Exciting News!

So... the posting has been non-existent for the last couple of weeks. I have a really good and exciting reason why though. Other than it being busy at work, my birthday, and Thanksgiving.... I got engaged!! :) Yay!

My amazing fiance', Lu, put A LOT of work into my proposal to make sure that I was surprised, and boy was I! I woke up thinking that it was going to be a normal day of work, but Lu surprised me with a card saying that he had taken the day off for me. He told me that we were going to Austin for the day to have a relaxing day together. After lunch he gave me another card while we were in the car that said lunch wasn't enough and that he wanted to spend the day floating in the clouds with me. What does that mean? As I looked up we were pulling into the Austin Airport. Whaaaat?!? We checked our bags (that he had my friend pack for me without me knowing the day before), and were told we had a flight to VEGAS! Woohoo! I have always wanted to go there! When we got to Vegas we cheked into our room and I got all dressed up for our dinner. When I came out of the bathroom, he was dressed super nice and he said he had another card for me. Wellllll..... the card was adorable and after I read it he was on one knee asking me to marry him!! I was in shock! Of course I said yes, but little did I know the surprises weren't over. We went downstairs to go to our dinner reservation, turned the corner, and there were my two best friends and their husband/fiance'! Oh my goodness gracious! We had a fabulous dinner and I was so excited that they were there. After dinner we walked around the hotel. When I turned a corner, there was my Mom, and both of my sisters! I could not believe that they were all there! What a FABULOUS day that I had. I was completely overwhelmed and couldn't be happier. Here are some photos from our trip.

We were very happy!

Our amazing friends when they surprised us!

Right after seeing my Mom and two sisters.

 In front of the Bellagio!

 All of our fabulous friends on Freemont Street!

 Such a great trip!

 One last stop before our flight at the Hoover Dam.

 So, the moral of the story for you guys is.... no new crafts! But, never fear! Christmas is coming up and I plan to make most, if not all, of my Christmas presents. So, there will be new ones soon! AND I plan to make most of the things for our wedding. I haven't deided if I'm going to post those before the wedding, or after, but I definitely will be looking for good ideas! We're going for an outdoor rustic wedding. If you know of any good posts or blogs, I'd love it if you would share!

Crafting soon, I promise!



Share With Me!

I wanted to thank everyone for their kind words about my Pottery Barn Knockoff! If you create one of your own, send me the link! I'd love to feature it on my blog and see how yours comes out!

Happy Crafting!

Pottery Barn Knock-Off: Painted Numbers Canvas

When I saw this on Pottery Barn's website I knew that it would be perfect for my sister. It's totally her style. It's not for sale through the website anymore, but I can only imagine the price tag on something like this!

Photos from Pottery Barn here.

So, I decided that I should just make my own! I used a 20x16 canvas that I got at a garage sale for $2. I read on Little Blue Boo's blog about mod podging newspaper or phone book pages on your canvas to be able to sand it down at the end, and give it a more rustic and distressed finish.

 Here's what it looked like after it was covered in phone book pages.

 Then, I painted over the whole thing in an antique white acrylic paint. When that was dry I went over that with a bright white acrylic paint. I didn't cover the whole thing, but more in random places to give it a streaky effect.

 Once that was completely dry, I found my center and drew lines in pencil so that I could work in sections. For the numbers I used my Silhouette to cut out vinyl letters. I google searched "Pottery Barn Numbers Canvas Font" just to see if anyone knew which font they were. Lucky for me, Stephanie Lynn over at Under the Table and Dreaming had made a cute mini version and told us what fonts she used to make hers. So, I played around with mine until I liked it the best. I ended up using two fonts: Engravers MT and Century Schoolbook. I typed them into word and then went back and forth between my document and the picture that I had from Pottery Barn to decide which number fit best.

 I kept working in sections to make sure that all of my numbers fit correctly.

After I got all of the numbers places where I wanted them I used my brayer to make sure that all the edges were really stuck well. At this point I was busting at the seams to go spray paint it and see what the finished product would look like! 

I took it outside and gave it two good coats of flat black spray paint. I made sure it was completely dry and then brought it in and peeled away the vinyl letters! Loved it! But I knew I would love it better after I sanded it. I just used a piece of fine grit sandpaper, wrapped it around a block, and really hit the edges and where my phone book pages were a little crinkled.

 I was so super happy with it!

 I had to test it in my house before I gave it to my sister. I thought for a minute that I should just keep it!! :) Just kidding! I love the way the edges look and the crinkles. It really makes it look like a sheet of canvas.

Take that Pottery Barn!

Linking to:

 

 

   

Polly Want a Crafter? Craft Linky Party 5

Pottery Barn Knock-Off COMING SOON!

I'm so excited to share a Pottery Barn knock off that I finished tonight!! It turned out better than I expected. The only problem is... it's a housewarming gift for my sister who just bought her first house, annnnnd I don't want to give away the surprise. But, I can't wait to share it, so come back this weekend for the post!

Fairytale Bridal Shower

This weekend I had the pleasure to host a bridal shower for one of my good friends, Katharine. Her favorite color is pink, and so we chose a "Fairytale" theme for her decorations.

 I made the banner for the fireplace using scrapbook paper and pink foam.

 I made this wreath using Beverly at Flamingo Toes Semi-Scary Halloween Wreath as inspiration. I used a white styrofoam wreath form and tied strips of white tulle around, and added a pink glittered foam heart to the center with the couples initials.

For the side table in the dining room we decorated with vases filled with ornaments, some ribbon and little princess sayings. (My friend has a slight affliction with Silly Bands, so there had to be princess silly bands strewn about!)

 Vases with ornaments and ribbon.

I bought a charger from Hobby Lobby and used by Silhouette to cut out pink vinyl that read "Happily Ever After". I bought a package of glittered dome dots in the scrapbooking section to apply as well.

 A good trick when decorating is to plan ahead. We decorated the night before, since this was a brunch bridal shower and we knew we had lots of things to do the next morning. We went ahead and laid out our table settings and just used post-its to label where everything was going to go. It helped us stay organized and not be searching for a dish at the last minute!

 A drink serving station for the Pink Punch.

 The bride's glass. I used the same glittered pink dots on the glass to make it more special.

 Another great idea that we had for easier clean-up. If you have a double sink use the bigger one as a chilling station for the beverages. This keeps everything cold, while saving your guests the need to search through your refrigerator! We didn't put the stopper in, so when the ice melted it would just drain. Easy clean-up! If you notice is getting low, just add more ice to the top!

 The table with all of the yummy food! Pigs in a blanket, doughnuts, quiche, fruit, cheese ball, and yummy cupcakes from my friend Kelly at Baby Cakes.

 The hostesses, Me and Kristen.

 The happy, beautiful Bride-To-Be!

DIY Cake Stand

Using a few basic supplies, you can make your own cake stand! I found this orange candle stick at a garage sale for 25 cents!! The plate is one from the wedding section at Dollar Tree! Using some E-6000, just stick them right together!

After it dried overnight, I spray painted it glossy white! I added a clear acrylic sealer after that was dry.

Super cute right? It's the perfect little stand for some good fall decorations. I think if I wanted to put food on it, I would add a little piece of scrapbook paper cut to fit.

I love an easy project!