Hello August!

Summer

At this point it's been like almost a month since I've blogged. Every week I have all these intentions to jot down some thoughts, and every week it doesn't happen. I remember at the end of the school year right before summer started I was like, "I'm going to have so much more time to dedicate to my business, and to also find time to relax a bit, blog more." Errr yeahhhh.....that hasn't quite happened. If anything I've had less time to dedicate to my business. I've pretty much just been able to fit in the bare minimum, but it is what it is. I'm still happy with the way things are and I trust in God's timing. Right now my kids need me most, and we've been busy most of the summer working on our sunroom renovation which turned out to be a much bigger project than anticipated. 

My nephew and my brother were also here in July, Serena's been busy with her volunteering and I've had a few Junior League commitments. I've been trying to keep the girl's busy with fun activities outside the house and also trying to stay sane while in the house if you know what I mean. I've pretty much reached that "end of the summer" breaking point where I need some of these kids to get back to school. Haha! With that being said Hank and the girls (minus Ava) just left to Texas this morning. It's just going to be me and miss Ava for the next 5 days! A rambunctious 2 year old can be tough sometimes, but I'm so excited about relaxing more, having the house stay neat, and not cook for 6 people! Also looking forward to getting some quality one on one time with Ava.

Sunroom Renovation

Here is the most current picture as of yesterday and a few from before. So before we started this project the whole point of it was just to change the floor because we had leftover flooring in the attic, and scrape the popcorn off the ceiling because of an old leak. Two things. That was supposed to be it! It turned into sooooo much more than that, and I will explain everything in a separate post because it's a long laundry list of things that had to be done and still need to be done. 

I've been sharing a lot of updates on my instagram stories @itsapinklifefj if this is your sort of thing. H and I are very much DIY people so it's been fun, but also a little frustrating at times. We found a handyman who has been doing the custom millwork to fit the doors and sidelights in. Who would of thought it would be so complicated and it's getting a little expensive, but it looks like we only need him to come twice more some time next week, though there is still a lot to be done. He'll help Hank with some finishing touches on the doors and rewire the electricity so we can put a nice light in. 

Have a great weekend!

DIY open picture frame display with crystals!

I realize I haven't blogged in about 2 weeks. I thought things were going to get a lot calmer now that the kids are out of school and I had grand plans to write at least 3 times a week again, but life! What can I tell you? It happens when we are busy making plans. I've really just been busy with the kids and Serena has a pretty busy schedule this summer as well, so driving to and from here and there is still several times a week. It is what it is though and while I'm still going to bed exhausted and waking up exhausted, I feel pretty content and happy these days. I've been tackling a lot of house projects and the creativity of it feeds my soul.

For a couple months now, Serena has been telling me that she wants to display several pictures on her main wall. If it was up to her she would have just rolled up a piece of tape, stuck it on the back and haphazardly placed them on the wall. I told her I could do her one better and suggested we make some sort of frame and keep it nice and neat. In my mind I envisioned an ornate decorative white frame, with crystal beaded string and the little clothes pins. I'd say in the end she met me halfway. 

I was watching Offer up for a while for a huge cheap picture frame, but when I would look I couldn't find anything under $30. Last week we went to Walmart and she ended up choosing a plain black frame for $18. Not too bad I suppose but after I started painting the frame, it dawned on me that I should have looked at Goodwill. Ah you live and you learn though.

Alright so here's what you're going to need for this project:

* Frame of your choice

* String of your choice. Don't get sewing thread. Use skinny twine, leather cord or nylon thread.

* Push pins

* Clothespins of your choice. You can find several different types in Michael's

* Drilled crystals or any other embellishments

First you want to take out the glass or plastic in frame so it's completely open and then paint it if you're changing the color. 

Another tip for you is if you are going to paint the frame, wood would be best. This is plastic and it was a bit of a pain. Wood is much easier to paint.

Walla! One white frame ready.

So the next thing you want to do is lay the frame down so the front part is on the floor, and with a pencil mark where you want each cord to go. In our case we just used a 4x6 picture to measure one bottom from the next. Next, grab a push pin and tie several knots on the pin part.

Push the pin with the string down into the frame. On the other side pull it taut and repeat on the other side. Do that for each row. We did 3 rows. 

One thing though, if you are using drilled crystals or gems, be sure to thread them on first before you push the pin in on the other side. 

Tada!

When I was trying to get the inner part of the frame off, I accidentally knocked off the hook for the nail to go on and secure in the wall, so I used command strips instead. I hope this tutorial was helpful! Have a great Wednesday.

DIY Faux Greenery Hoop

Spring has officially sprung and there's nothing like florals and greenery that really marks the season! If I could have flowers and lace everywhere in my home I probably would. I love a feminine nest, buuuuuttttt....at the same time, I also try to stay conscientious that a man lives here and while he's surrounded by girls, I feel like I don't want to suffocate him with femininity if that makes sense. He lets me take the lead on decorating but I also like to hear his opinion on some of it. When he's in the mood for house projects we make a pretty good team. Or is it more that I start them and he has to finish them if they involve power tools ha-ha! I'm more of the painter than anything.

I've had a large french provincial mirror I painted that hangs on the main breakfast nook wall, but I felt like something was missing. Embroidery hoop decor is a design trend that has really been prominent lately. It's inexpensive and there are tons of different ways you can go with it. I'd been meaning to try it out for myself and I finally bought the materials I needed last month. These hoops are super quick to make!

Materials needed

Green floral wire

Wire cutters

Embroidery hoop(s) of your choice size

Your greenery or florals

I always like to keep green floral wire on hand. There is a lot of projects you can do with it. Something I recently used it for was a real flower birthday number for Mariam's pictures.

Ok, so the first thing you want to do is go ahead and figure out where you want to place the greenery or floral on the hoop. 

Next you want to cut little pieces of the wire and have those handy on the side. I don't recommend just cutting one long piece of wire. Having small pieces you can do it in sections better and if you mess up on a part, it's a quick fix without having to undo the whole wire. 

 Just start winding the pieces of wire around the stem and hoop to secure it as tightly as you can without poking yourself. 

Once I got to the end I didn't like how the stem was poking out. It's hard and not easily bendable, so I cut off pieces of the leaves to fill in that spot and cover it up. You can also fill in any sparse spots you see.

Here is how the back looks

Walla! You are finished!

Just go on and hang them wherever your little heart desires.

DIY Cushioned Bench!

I actually did this project back in April of last year and I'm just now getting around to blogging about it. Every month, I'm like "This is the month I'm going to write about it", and it just doesn't happen. 

Well better late then never!

It took me a couple months scouring Offer Up and Craigslist to find the right kind of bench at the right price to turn into a new bench for my foyer. I love that I found one with character. This bench is actually a 65 year old organ bench and I bought it for $25. 

So while putting together this post, I realized I no longer have all the step by step pictures. My husband attempted to fix my computer a month ago and somehow deleted sooo many pictures. I'm going to do my best to explain it and provide some steps. It's a super easy and quick project. What took the longest was just stapling the fabric on the wood because the staple gun wasn't the greatest. Ok let's get started. Here is what you'll need:

* Heavy duty foam slab (I found mine at Joann's Fabrics and I went with a thinner one. You can get one depending on how thick you want the cushion.

* Upholstery fabric of your choice. Make sure you go in with the measurements of your bench and add on at least 8-10 inches on the length and width because it has to go over the foam and bench.

* Staple Gun

* Paint of your choice. I went with a basic white indoor latex paint.

Steps:

Paint the portion of bench under seat and the legs, or you can do it after you take the seat off. It took 2 coats to fully cover the brown.

Because this is the type of bench with a storage and the seat goes up, I needed to take the top off completely. I suppose you don't have too, but it really makes it so much easier and you don't have to cut the fabric to fit around any back brackets.

Lay the seat flat on ground and position foam on top. Cut an excess off.

Lay fabric over foam and seat. Tightly pull one side of corners and staple underneath. Now that you have it in place, it will be easier getting the rest of the fabric nice and taut on the backside. Staple as many times as you feel you need too to make it secure. 

Put seat back on rest of bench, secure in place. That was a given, but I thought I'd point it out anyways, just so you can make sure you weren't missing any steps. Haha!

I hope that was a little helpful. I hate that I lost so many photos, but luckily the next project I plan on sharing I have all the pictures for that one.

Have a great Wednesday. Halfway through the week!

Out with boring laundry

My main laundry basket has been dying a slow death lately.

Um. Yeah....I don't know how I let it get this bad! 

 So I picked up a new cute and sturdy laundry basket from Target the other day. 

The only problem is--something was missing. 

There that's better. Who says your laundry baskets have to be boring? 

I've been in a major "add trims and tassels to everything" sort of mood. Last year it was polka dots. You don't need any fancy sewing skills to add more spruced up objects in your life. Get yourself a hot glue gun, your embellishments of choice and go to town!

Happy Wednesday!

Sweet summer top

Soooo originally this top I made was supposed to be for Mariam, but it came out too big, so now it's Layla's. (ah the beauty of having 4 girls. ) I have a love/hate relationship with sewing clothes. One, I do things the hard way. I don't use patterns for any clothes I do for the girls. I simply eyeball the design I have in mind and go for it. I prefer making accessories because I like quick results. My patience is a work in progress. 

I do a lot of DIY projects and I wish I could more tutorials but it's too hard with the children. When I do things, I have to move quickly and stopping to photograph the whole process and then write the post takes for-ever! I promise I'll still continue to document some tutorials for you guys--I just can't do it for all my projects at this current stage in my life.

I also made a few hand towels for the kitchen. So easy. I bought some terry cloth at my local fabric store. Cut it to the size I wanted, serged the longest sides and then added a trim of my choice on both ends. A great simple way to add your own style to your kitchen or bathroom. 

Have a great weekend!