Friday, February 28, 2014

Spring Countdown

Spring is only 19 days away

Woo hoo!!!
You know I'm excited about Spring's arrival. 
I count down the days on the framed chalkboard in our Foyer. 

Couldn't resist buying this cute green bunny at HomeGoods this past week.

Been changing up the decor in the Family Room, as well. All the sunshine we've been having just brightens up the whole room. 


Our oldest daughter's old room is so light and airy now that it's been painted Revere Pewter (Ben Moore).
I would love to redecorate our master in a similar fashion. 

I bought two of these Safavieh chairs at HomeGoods awhile back and love them...the perfect shade of gray and cream.
They are comfy too.  



I borrowed the sweet bunny from our youngest daughter's room. The tissue paper pom poms were saved from our oldest daughter's graduation party

Do you save stuff like that too?



Sammy came in to visit me and loves to have his picture taken. Maybe we should have named him Hammy. hehe.

So excited about Spring this year. I've been busy planting things outside already and can't wait for them to come up. 

We'll also be getting back to the mountain cottage soon and hopefully finishing the upstairs bathroom.  
I believe it qualifies to be on of THE smallest half bath on the planet, 
but it will be good to have a bathroom upstairs.

Mr. DIY (yep I changed his name)and I have been working on a few other projects at the mountain cottage, as well.  

Can't wait to show you. 

What have you been working on? 
Any Spring projects planned or in the works at your house?

Pam

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Get Ready To Plant ~ Spring Is Almost Here!

Are you ready???

Spring is almost here! 

I know for some of you still buried under 2 feet of snow, that Spring seems a long way off, but it's only 25 days away and will be here before you know it.


Winter may linger awhile for some, but it's still coming.
Now is the time to start planting your cool season seeds, if you're in the South and it's time to plan your garden if you're further up North. 
Just a little note for those planting outside now before your frost date: Be sure to watch the weather report and cover your seedlings if it's going to be in the low 30's or below.


I've already purchased seed potatoes and planted some broccoli plants. 
For those of you who don't know, broccoli is a cool season veggie and will live through a little bit of snow when planted in the Fall. 
This weekend I will be planting my cool season veggies, which include some snow peas (my favorite), lettuce, and yes, more broccoli!



The past Spring and Fall, turnips did very well in our garden, but you know what? I don't really like them, so I won't be planting them this Spring. They are a cool season veggie, as well.


I never really liked broccoli until I grew it in our garden. 
Home grown broccoli is good with a little butter on it. 
It's really difficult to go back to eating store bought broccoli after growing it in your own garden.

Herbs are pretty easy to grow and some are gorgeous enough to put in your flower beds. Just make sure you don't spray the area with pesticides or chemical fertilizers. 
This is oregano and is a perennial in most climates, so it will come back year after year.  Most herbs should be planted after the frost date, so be sure to look up when your's is before planting. You can also buy plants from your local store.

I plan my garden every year and rotate my plants to the next bed the following year. This is from a few years ago. 

You can always grow veggies in planters or even 5 gallon buckets and put them on a sunny patio or deck if you don't have garden space. Last year I planted green beans in some wood planter boxes that Mr. diy Design Fanatic made for me. 


In addition to growing veggies, I can't wait for our yard to be in full bloom like this again!


What are you planning on growing this year?

Happy Planting!

Pam

You can see 5 things I've learned about gardening HERE





Friday, February 14, 2014

Michaels Hometalk Pinterest Event

Had to share all the amazing craft projects from the talented and creative bloggers who are hosting the Michaels Hometalk Pinterest Party across the US (and some places in Canada) this Sunday, 

February 16th from 1-4 Here they are... 

 ENJOY!!!

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Burlap Canvas Art



 Yesterday I showed you how I made a  super easy stenciled burlap wall art.
Today's  burlap canvas is super easy, as well!

Once again, here are the supplies I purchase for both projects.


SUPPLIES NEEDED FOR THIS PROJECT

large wood letter
spray paint 
11" x 14" burlap canvas
hot glue and glue gun
popsicle sticks
1 1/2" wide ribbon
narrow ribbon (1/4)

(If you don't like the bow, just leave it off.)
(you could also Mod Podge some cute craft paper to the letter instead of painting it)



HERE'S HOW TO MAKE THE PAINTED LETTER BURLAP CANVAS:
 Spray paint the ampersand with the Krylon ColorMaster paint.
The label says it dries in 10 minutes or less and it did. 
Spray several coats, letting it dry between coats.
Sand the edges once the ampersand dried thoroughly.



These little eye hooks were in my stash and I screwed them into the top corners.
But, you could  hot glued the smaller 1/4" hanging ribbon directly to the canvas, instead.


The next step is to tie the bow on.
I used 40" of the wide, striped ribbon, tied a knot in the center, then tied a bow.
I attached a 1/4" ribbon to the eyehooks as a hanging ribbon

The canvas hangs from the 1/4" wide ribbon. 
Hot glue the 1/4" "hanging" ribbon to the striped ribbon at the knot. 


Also hot glue the striped ribbon to the 1/4" ribbon about 2/3rds down.
Finally,  hot glue the ends of the striped ribbon to the burlap canvas.





Once the ribbon is attached, "dry fit" the painted ampersand on the canvas. 
Place it exactly where you want it to go and place popsicle sticks around it so you know where to place it once  you put hot glue on the back. 


Once the hot glue is on the back, place it on the canvas, remove the popsicle sticks and press it until the hot glue dries.


I told you it was super easy!






I hope y'all will come out and see me at Michaels on Sunday from 1 to 4. If you can't visit me in Charlotte, be sure to visit the Michaels store near you. 

Pam


Tuesday, February 11, 2014

How To Make A Stenciled Burlap Canvas & A Fun Event!



Before I get to the Stenciled Burlap Canvas, 
there's a very special event coming up this Sunday, February 16th from 1-4 pm.
It's the Michaels - Hometalk Pinterest Party at all Michaels stores across the US and Canada.





There will be featured bloggers at select locations HERE
I will be at the Michaels Store in South Charlotte at 7836 Rea Rd in the Stonecrest shopping center and I hope you will join me!


Check out the Pinterest inspired displays at your local Michaels store, buy your supplies, and meet us in the classroom to create your own pin-worthy project.


I'm sure y'all know about Michaels Stores, but do you know about Hometalk??? Hometalk is a home and garden social network. You can get inspired by wonderful projects, post your own project or ask a question and you don't have to have a blog. You have your own page and you can interact with others.

There's a giveaway at the event on Sunday too!
Follow Michaels on Hometalk to enter to win a $100 Michaels gift card!
Five winners will be announced on Hometalk's Facebook page on February 17th after the party. 




 Now here's the "How To"

I spent a couple of hours in Michaels picking out my supplies. 
Don't know about you, but I can't help picking up a few things whenever I'm there. 
Ribbons, markers and cake supplies are my downfall. Come to think of it, I like the aisle with the craft punches and stamps too. Here are a few things I picked up for the crafts I made.



The first project I made was super easy and is one that anyone can make. Michael's makes it really easy with their stretched burlap canvases. They are available in an array of different sizes. The one I picked had 3 canvases, so I made two and will demonstrate one on Sunday.

The first thing I did was to do a mock up of where I wanted the flowers to go. I used a Martha Stewart stencil and some cardstock. After stenciling, I cut out the flowers and placed them where I wanted them to go on the burlap canvas.


There wasn't a stem in the stencil kit, so I made my own using a piece of cardstock and some tape.

I removed the first mock up flower and taped down the stencil where I wanted it to go. Notice I taped all around the stencil so I wouldn't paint through the other flower stencils.


I'm not really proficient at stenciling, but I did figure out that paint on the foam dauber needed to be blotted on some paper before putting it to the stencil. 
Practice makes more perfect  applies in stenciling.


After painting the 3 flowers and stems and letting it dry, I cut 40" of ribbon. The actual color is closer to Radiant Orchid, which is Pantone's color of the year for 2014.
I tied a knot in the center of the cut ribbon, then tied a bow.
The bow has to be tied tightly.

Once the bow was tied, I hot glued the end to the back at the top corners of the canvas.

Voila! The finished project! The whole craft should take you 30 minutes or less.


Here's a list of the supplies I used for this project:
1 artists burlap canvas
Martha Stewart stencil
cellophane tape
wide satin ribbon
glue gun and stick
white craft paint
small foam paint daubers




Tomorrow I will show you how I made the super simple ampersand  sign on another burlap canvas. I'm sure you can guess, but just humor me!


Here's the classroom at the Michaels in Stonecrest. 
Isn't it cute???



I hope ya'll will come out and see me at Michaels on Sunday from 1 to 4. 
If you can't visit me in Charlotte, be sure to visit the Michaels store near you. 

You can see how I made the ampersand on the burlap canvas HERE

Pam

Disclosure: I've partnered with Hometalk and Michaels for this event, but the opinions and love for crafting are all mine!

joining: 


Tuesday, February 4, 2014

A Good Source For Pillow Covers

Shhhhhhhh, don't tell anybody...
...even though I can diy my own pillow covers 
aka sew, 
I don't always do it. 
Especially when I find a source that has really pretty pillow covers that I love for $13.99.  I could probably make pillow covers for about $6-$10, depending on the fabric, but for me, the extra cost is worth my time and trouble because even though 

I KNOW how to sew,
 I don't LIKE to sew. 

I always end up sewing something the wrong way and end up ripping at least one seam out. 
Anybody feel the same way?


I found the pillow covers online over at Very Jane (jane.com~ sorry no link)  and ordered them for our youngest daughter's room. But, silly me, she wants to change her colors to indigo, not this pretty shade of blue. I realized they were the wrong color for her room when they arrived, but thought they'd look good on our grey sofa. 
Problem is, I only ordered two and our daughter isn't really happy with all of the "mismatched" pillows in our Family Room. 

So, I ordered 2 more and now she's happy that we have "matched" pillows. 

Couldn't resist picking up this little heart shaped ivy topiary at Trader Joe's yesterday. 
It looks perfect next to the sofa  with my new pillow covers. 

The ikat fabric on one of the pillows has a great texture to it. 

Regarding Very Jane, even though this isn't a sponsored post and I'm not an affiliate, I still wanted to spread the word. They offer daily deals for really good prices. 
If you miss the deal, you're out of luck. 
They do offer pillow covers quite often though, but they may or may not be the same style. 

In the past, I've purchased 20 x 20 down pillow inserts from Ikea for $6.99. Unfortunately, they are only available on the West Coast. Wish I had purchased a dozen more for that price!
Would love to know if you have an inexpensive source for down pillow inserts! Otherwise, my big suitcase is going to be packed full of them when we visit SoCal in July. 

Pam

joining: 

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Happy February First

Just wanted to wish all of you a Happy February First
&
Happy Weekend!

We hope you and your family made it through this week all safe and warm.
We made it through this week enduring a couple of really, really cold days, some ice and a little snow, but we're back up to warmer temps. 
I'm thinking about all of you buried under a foot or more of snow and wanted to cheer y'all up with my Spring Countdown:

Yup, hang in there because Spring is a little more than a month away. 
Every day I get to count one less day until Spring on the fancy framed chalkboard in our Foyer. 

So are you hanging in there?
Keeping busy?
Are you working on projects or are you getting cabin fever?

We're headed up the the Mountain Cottage for the day to finish up the rough plumbing and  electrical.
Last week it was in the low 30's...
in.the.house. 
Of course our pipes were frozen, but I'll share about it another time. 

Follow me on INSTAGRAM and I might even post a quick pic or two.

What are you doing this weekend?

Pam

PS: sorry about the four old posts that all got posted yesterday. I was updating and cleaning up some stuff and I have no idea how that happened....and have no idea what date they should go back to :( 
Oh well.