Knob !

I've been reading a lot about the store Anthropologie and decided to stop and see what the rave is all about.  It is a pretty neat store with lots of knick-knacks for the home and it has clothes as well.  I really didn't have anything in mind to purchase when I went in the store, but I came out with this pretty little thing.

There is a door knob on our linen closet upstairs that keeps falling off.  I planned on fixing it, but when I saw the door knob at Anthropologie, I figured I'd just replace it.  We plan to paint the upstairs hallway and stairway a lighter yellow and I already have two teal plates lined up to hang in the hallway.  So when I saw the knob, it was a no brainer.

Here's the door before:

I just pulled off the knob and unscrewed the rest from behind the door.  I'm not sure what this part is called, but it's what the knob was falling off from attached to.  

It was quite simple to put the new knob on.  I just put it through the hole and twisted the nut on it to secure it.

Looks good and I'm pleased with the results.  Now I can open our linen closet without the knob falling off.

What simple adjustment have you made to your home?

Now you can Do It Yourself Too!

~Stephanie

Frame of Mind

I'm going to start this post off with a tribute to my Grama (one of the best cooks I know) that passed away last week:

“If God had intended us to follow recipes, He wouldn't have given us grandmothers.” 

― Linda Henley

I was blessed for 28 years to know her and she will be missed dearly.  She was a fantastic cook and an even better Gram.  On that note, as my mother and I were taking a trip down memory lane and rooting through some random stuff in my Gram's home, we came across some old mementos.  My mom found the memorial prayer funeral cards for her grandmother (my great-grandmother) and I found some old "vintage" McCormick extracts.  I told my mom that I could frame them and make them fancy.  

So this is what I did:

I went to Ikea and bought two frames, one brown and one white.

For the funeral cards, I looked through my scrapbook paper and found appropriate coordinating colors for the cards and frame.  I cut them to the size that I wanted then used my scrapbooking tape to stick the cards to the new matte.  I used the scrapbooking tape because it is acid free and won't harm the cards.
Here's the final result:

I got to keep the extracts for myself.  I used the white shadowbox
frame for these.  I went to a neat website to make a word cloud to go behind the extract boxes.
Here's the word cloud:

The website was fairly easy to use and free to sign up.  I just printed the cloud out with my printer.  Then I cut a 9x9 piece of white scrapbook paper to use as the background.  I cut out different sized blue and red circles from scrapbook paper as well.  I taped them in certain spots on the white paper, then trimmed the edges that were sticking out off the white paper.  Then I taped the word cloud onto the white, spotted paper.

 I placed the extracts in the shadow box the way that I wanted them and taped them in place (using scrapbook tape).  Then I placed the background on top and then the back of the frame.
I used a staple gun to put a white ribbon at the top to hang it
(it is sitting on top of a small ledge.  I don't think the ribbon would fully hold the whole shadowbox on a wall).



It adds a nice decorative touch in my kitchen and it is a nice daily reminder of my Grama.

What memories have you put in a frame?

Now you can Do It Yourself Too !

~Stephanie

Put A (Bottle) Cap On It

Once I found out how easy it is to make bottle cap magnets, I made some for all of my family and friends for Christmas and birthday presents.  They can easily be personalized and everyone needs magnets!

Tools:

• 1 inch circle punch  

Materials:

• Scrapbook paper (or whatever you want to put in the bottle cap)
• Elmer's clear glue
• Resin (I use Envirotex Lite purchased at Michael's)
• Little magnets (also purchased at Michael's)
• Bottle caps (my mom has been searching for and finding bottle caps for me at Michael's and a craft store called Pat Catan's.  You can also collect bottle caps and spray paint them)
• Some sort of super glue (I used FutureGlue Gel)

First, take your punch and paper.  Align the paper with the hole to punch out exactly what you want to put in the bottle cap.

After you've punched your circles, take the clear glue and put an itsy dot inside the magnet, place the paper circle in and press.

Once those are dried, you can get your resin ready.  Depending on the type of resin you purchase, the directions may vary.  Just follow the directions that come with it.  Make sure to place paper or cardboard or something under your magnets in case the resin spills or leaks.  

Just pour in the resin about 3/4 of the way.  It doesn't need to be the whole way to the top.  There will be some bubbles in the resin.  You can poke the big bubbles that float to the top with a pin or toothpick.  The tiny ones will just disappear.  Let them dry and harden over night.

Once they are dry, turn them over and glue the magnets to the bottoms.  You might be able to find some magnets that have the sticky part on the back.  If you do, you don't need the glue.  If you need the glue, just put an itsy drop on the magnet and place on the back of the bottle cap.  Let dry.

Once dry, you are finished!  Decorate whatever magnetic space you need - refrigerator, dry erase board, oven, or whatever else catches your eye.

These can make great gifts for moms, teachers, grandmas, friends, etc.  Fun, cute, and easy !

What easy DIY gifts have you made lately?

Now you can Do It Yourself Too !

~Stephanie

Stout Mishap

So, when you have a puppy that likes to chew, this happens:

The pile of stuffing shown is actually the smallest amount that Stout has managed to pull out.  This is just the first pile that I took a picture of before cleaning it up.  

So, I decided to play upholsterer and try to sew up the couch.  I went to JoAnn's and purchased some foam on sale, grabbed my scissors, thread, needle, sharpie, pencil, and paper.  And here's how it went:

First, I needed to cut the foam to the size of the "hole" in the arm of the couch. Before I cut, I took one more look at the damage:

I took the piece of paper, placed it on the arm of the couch and pressed down in the shape of the "hole."  After I got a pretty good impression, I took the pencil and traced it.

Once I traced it, I cut the paper and put it on the foam.  Then I traced that on the foam with the sharpie and cut out two pieces (I needed two to make it as thick as the original stuffing). 

Next, I put it inside the couch to see if it fit.  I needed to trim some off the long side and a little on the corners in order for it to fit flush with the original stuffing and the edge of the arm.

After that, I just threaded my needle and sewed up the seam.  I thought I could try to sew from the inside out for just a little bit, as to not see a lot of the thread, but that did not work.  

Up close, it's not too bad, but far away, you can't even tell that there used to be a big gapping hole in the arm of the couch.

Now, since I've fixed this arm, Stout has chewed on two additional arms.  I think I'm just going to accept defeat on those ones.

How have you fixed your puppy mishap?

Now you can Do It Yourself Too!

~Stephanie

A Little Leafy

Since we moved in last May, I've been trying to find something to go above our headboard in our bedroom.  When we first moved it, I hung a small watercolor of lily pads that my grandmother painted, but that found a new home in our guest bedroom months ago.  Since then, it's been boring and bland:

I've been looking for ideas and haven't found any that I felt was "the one" for the bedroom.  But then one day, with a coupon in hand, I went to visit Michael's craft store.  It's been a while since I've browsed there, plus I needed to find a candle for my Gram.  So off I went with my friend in search of a candle, when I saw THE PERFECT solution to my headboard problem:

The frame + the print came together.  They were naturistic and earthy, the right size, and the perfect colors for our room.  And at...wait for it...$6.99 EACH (plus my teacher's 15% discount) I couldn't pass them up.  I purchased them and off I went to hang them up.

Kerry had to help with this one.  I already had centered the wall from the previous painting, so all we needed to do was measure the size of the new pictures and center them.  The wall from window frame to window frame is 59 inches.  Each picture is 17 inches wide and we wanted even spaces in between the frame, picture, picture, and frame.  That came out to be about eight and one third inches.

We used one of those laser photo hanging devices. It really helped out in making sure that all our nails were in a straight line and level. 

While Kerry held the laser, I put four pencil dots on the wall for the nails. I didn't use picture hangers because the frames are sort of like shadow boxes (sorry for no picture).  I just nailed in the nails and set the frames on the nails.  I plan on getting some Command Stabilizer strips so that the frames don't fall off the nails and bonk us in the head while we're sleeping.

Here's the final (excitingly beautiful) product: 

I think they look fabulous on the wall and it makes our room feel much more cozy.  It's amazing what a difference a couple pictures on a wall makes in a room.

What is your latest photo update?

Now you can Do It Yourself Too!

~Stephanie