Time for Christmas crafts!!!

It's that time of year, when the world falls in love! Every song you hear seems to say "Merry Christmas, may your new year dreams come true!"

I LOVE this time of year! As soon as Halloween is done, I move on straight to Christmas! Yes, I know. The turkey deserves its day, and he gets it! I just happen to have my Christmas tree up in the background as we "gobble" him up :)

I happened to have some free time on my hands today cause I wasn't feeling too well. So, I decided to try my hands at my first Christmas craft of the season! I started with this....

and ended with this!

I have seen these letters on Pinterest and just knew that I had to have a set of my own for my mantle! This was so easy to do, and even better, it was so inexpensive!!! You could use actual wood letters which I will probably do for a different project, but for today, this was perfect!

Materials:
Foam core project board
Stencil or printed letters on computer paper
Exacto knife
Finishing supplies
Hot glue

First, print out the letters you want to use in the size you want on your computer. Or use a stencil if you want. I went the more difficult yet cheap route :)

I used pencil and put a layer on the back of my letters...

Then when you trace on your foam board, it will leave an outline behind.

You may not be able to see the outline, but it's there ;)

Next, cut out all your letters with an Exacto knife. Note: use a SHARP Exacto knife! I used a not so sharp one on my first letter, and it was nearly ruined.

Now it's time for the fun part...painting! I wanted my letters to look like wood even though they weren't, so I wanted to do a really antiqued, grainy, crackled look. I painted all the letters brown.

Next, I painted on a layer of Elmer's glue. Did you know that Elmer's glue works as a crackling medium?! I have learned some amazing things on Pinterest! Don't let it fully dry! You want it to be tacky!

Now, add your main color paint. I used white and blue to go with my Christmas color scheme.

As it dries, you will see it start to crackle. I think this was the coolest part :)

Let that fully dry. You can stop here if you'd like. I went one step further and did a wash of brown over the letters so they looked old. Just water down brown paint, paint it on, then wipe it off.

Next, hot glue the letters together in the way you want.

Last step, put it on display and admire your crafty work! I'm in love with this :) I might make one that says "love" to display all year!

I hope you all enjoyed this post! Until next time, happy crafting!

Floral Painting...

It's been quite a while since I have had the time, or been in the right frame of mind, to sit down and be crafty! This weekend was different though! I've been a very productive girl, and decided to take a few hours and finish a project that has been on my mind for a few months now.

This is my mantle...

It's ok I guess. But I'm not quite sure what to do with it. I had the tv up there for a while but then found a better layout for the room, so now I have a mirror. This is the wrong place for a mirror. It's encased and doesn't reflect any natural light, and it's pretty small. I wanted something that made a statement.

This is a piece of artwork that was given to my husband and I by friends who didn't think it fit with their decor...

This is pretty and all, but honestly, who's decor would fit this painting? It hung around my house for a while waiting for some love, and finally an idea came to me. This would be perfect for above the fireplace! It's pretty big and I could do something great with it! By the way, Spencer and Rachel, I'm sorry that I did this to your painting, but I hope you will find it in the goodness of your heart to forgive me after you see the final product!

In comes the spray paint! My fave! ORB...

I let it dry over night, then busted out some acrylic paint that I had lying around. I drew up a layout on paper, and then put it to the canvas...

And voila! I LOVE it! It fits perfectly with my decor, it's handmade, and it was cheap! I think painting might be my new favorite hobby. Too bad the only thing I can really paint are flowers. Oh well! 

Faith.Hope.Love

Life is up in the air...

I've been looking at a lot of these photos lately. Photos of the beach seem to calm me down and fill me with warmth more than anything besides actually being there in person. I'll take what I can get at this point. Like the title states, life is up in the air, and I really don't like it when life is up in the air. I wish I could just sit down and build something, or make something, or even cook at this point, but my mind wont stop reeling enough for me to even thing about that stuff!
If there's one thing that I've learned in the last 10 years of my life, it's that I don't like change. I hate it, in fact. I hate starting over...I hate starting fresh. I just want things that I'm comfortable with. I want to know people...not  meet new people. I want to know how to do my job...not learn a new one. The extent of the change that I'm comfortable with is rearranging furniture in my house, which is one thing that I have done lately to try and turn my brain off.
I don't want to talk about the details of why life is up in the air. All I will say is that it's a big change...huge...to me at least.
I'm not worried, I'm not concerned, I'm not sad, I'm not even scared of the situation itself. The only thing that I'm scared of is the fact that I feel like I'm starting to welcome this change. Since when do I do that??? I should be scared out of my mind that everything I know is going to disappear and I will have to start all over! But I'm not afraid of that at all....I'm actually excited. Excited to the point that I feel like I'll be disappointed if things don't change.
Along with my previous hate for change I also really really hate surprises. Well, I guess I like surprises, but I hate the anticipation for the surprise. A surprise isn't a surprise if you know that it's coming! I've been praying and praying and praying for God to help me find peace in all of this, and I feel like God is saying "Hey, I have a surprise for you! But...you have to wait for it for a while!" ARRGH! Now my mind is sick with anticipation! Which is why I can't focus on anything! I know I can't do anything to make things resolve sooner, but I feel like I need to! Like my mind wont rest until I know for sure!
For now, I guess I will just continue to stare at calming photographs of beaches, oceans, and palm trees...

Who knows...maybe this surprise plan that God has for me will lead me to the beach :)
Faith.Hope.Love

Perspective on the holidays...

This post has nothing to do with crafting, nothing to do with thrifting, and nothing to do with home decor. This post has everything to do with perspective.

As Christmas approaches (it's only 39 days away!) I find myself overhearing a lot of griping and complaining. I'm used to negativity...it seems like everyone has something to complain about every minute of every day (I'm guilty as charged!) but negative thoughts about Christmas?! Of all the holidays to complain about, people choose Christmas? Why not Halloween?! That's a scary holiday anyways, if it can even be considered a holiday. I understand where these negative notions come from. Christmas has become less of a religious holiday and more of a retail holiday. Buy this, buy that, the kids want this, the kids want that...want want want buy buy buy....

Let's take a deep breath...

He is the reason for the season...

Christmas is not supposed to be stressful. It is not supposed to be about lists and shopping trips. It is supposed to be a celebration! Celebrate!

While we are all writing our letters to Santa Claus, it seems that we too often forget that we've already been given the best gift that anyone could ever imagine! It makes me so sad that this celebration has turned so secular. We put a jolly rosy cheeked man in a big fluffy red suit and for too many people, he takes the place of the baby lying in a manger...

God, forgive us.

I pray that we can all gain a little more perspective on this holiday and celebrate it for what it is. I wouldn't mind if they didn't play Christmas music on the radio, or put decorations up in the malls, as long as I could continue to call it a Christmas tree and not a "Holiday" tree. A Christmas tree. It's Christmas...not Xmas.

Now, don't get me wrong...I love Santa Claus just as much as the next girl, and I too find myself amongst those who have forgotten the reason for this glorious holiday. But this weekend, I had a moment that helped put it all back into perspective for me.

This may sound silly to most, but it meant the world to me. This weekend, my amazing mother bought me my first nativity scene. We stopped by a Christian supply store, and when I saw it I just couldn't take my eyes off of it! It was unlike any nativity scene that I've ever come across.

 

 It was the figurine of Mary and Jesus that really spoke to me. In all other nativity scenes that I've found, baby Jesus is in fact laying in a manger, and He looks like He's about 3 years old. But here, He is being held by His mother Mary, and it touches my soul to the core. I stood and stared at this figurine for about 7 minutes straight, trying to hold back tears (I know, I'm dramatic.) But just look at them!

Does that not touch your heart, even just a little? I tried explaining this to my husband, but bless his heart, he could care less. Trying to get emotion out of him is like trying to squeeze orange juice out of an apple...at least when it comes to something that I'm emotional about. Now, if the Portland Trail Blazers ever win the NBA Championships I know he'll be balling happy tears like a baby! But anyways, I know that there are others out there who can look at this and feel touched.

This one picture...this one image of Mary holding her baby sums up everything that Christmas should be about.

I just pray that everyone at some point during this holiday season can feel the amount of pure joy that I felt when I looked at Mary holding the baby Jesus...even if it's only for a split second. It turned my perspective around. And with the right perspective, this season will be more joyous and celebratory, and less stressful and chaotic. Just remember that :)

Faith.Hope.Love

So Much to Say!

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted on here! I've definitely been neglecting blogland, and my excuse is because I've had a lack of home projects lately! BUT...all that will be changing this week :) I went on a home decor shopping spree with my mom on sunday, and she's coming over on thursday to help me get my house clean and decorated! I love my mother :) She is SUCH a blessing!
I have so many ideas floating through my head, but there will definitely be painting, and picture hanging, and furniture moving! I have some shelves that I'm thinking of re-doing, and some artwork that I'm thinking of creating, so I will definitely have more posts soon! I'm also hoping that after this thursday, I will be proud enough of my home to give you guys a little home tour! I don't know if you'd like that or not, but I'm going to do it anyways :) I'm sure you will have tons of good advice for all the stuff I can't figure out in my home! Well, until this weekend! See ya!
Faith.Hope.Love

Coupons...

Not many people know this about me, but I am frugal, I hate spending money, and when I find a REALLY good deal, it makes me giddy!  At this point in my life, spending any more than $10 on ANYTHING makes my stomach turn...I'm weird, I know. It's not just about saving money either...it makes me feel accomplished! I feel like I've "one-uped" someone in the world because I got an item for A LOT less than what they did! So I'm competitive...big deal :) Anyways! The point of this post is to share with you one of my FAVORITE blogs that helps me save money!!! If you haven't heard of The Krazy Coupon Lady, you MUST check out her blog now! Literally, RIGHT NOW! GO! ok...I guess you can finish reading this post first if you really want.
Here are a couple examples of some deals I got just by following the advice and directions of The Krazy Coupon Lady....

I got 3 tubes of toothpaste for free! Actually, the way it all worked out, I MADE $1.50 by purchasing these! Yup! Making money for shopping?!?! Yes please!

These athletic shorts from target were originally $7.99 each. I paid $.58 each :) 

These 4 items were $13.96...I ended up paying a total of $1.39!!!

This blog has definitely changed the way I look at grocery store shopping! It takes some research and dedication, but it's SO worth it! Go check it out and see what kinds of deals YOU can find!

Faith.Hope.Love

Coffee Filter Flowers...

I found this great tutorial on how to make coffee filter flowers over at Homework, today's assignment: be inspired . This was the PERFECT project to help use up all my old sized coffee filters that are useless to me now! I could have gone and bought silk flowers, but I really don't like spending money. I also could have gone and bought REAL flowers but again, I really don't like spending money...and they would die the first day, guaranteed! So, coffee filter flowers it is! I was surprised with how well they turned out actually. It helped bring a little life into my lifeless family room. Here's my own version of the tutorial!

1. Start with a stack of coffee filters...

2. I used anywhere from 6-10 coffee filters for one flower...I liked the difference in the fullness. So take your stack of filters and poke a hole in the middle. Over at Homework, she used wire. I didn't have any so I used the stems of old silk flowers that I don't and never will use again..

3. If you use something that isn't bendable, you have to fold the filters around the point and tape at the bottom. At this point it looks pretty tacky, but don't worry! It will eventually be beautiful! If you use a wire or pipe cleaner, just use enough wire to poke through, bend, then poke back through the filters again.

4. Start pulling apart the layers of the coffee filters...

 5. Once the layers are all pulled apart, start crinkling them up...not so much that it looks like a ball of garbage...but just enough so it doesn't look like a coffee filter. It's mostly about just trying stuff out and seeing what looks good to you.

6.Once done, it may or may not look like this...remember...it's your own craft so do it your way.

7. After you have all your flowers finished, arrange them in a pretty vase :) 

This project cost me $0 because I had all the supplies lying around. It took me about 30 minutes to complete. It was easy and fun, and I think it made a huge difference to the console table in my family room! Not to mention those awesome candle sticks that I got from Big Lots for $2.50 each :) 

Thanks for reading everyone! I hope you all enjoy the rest of your week! 

Faith.Hope.Love

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