Next Craft Goal

Not that I have much time for crafting these days with a 7 month old, working full, time, and grad school, but I do still have big craft dreams! I've started to organize my projects so I can actually get some done. Rest assured I've been buying plenty of craft junk that has just been piling in my work space, but let's just add one more, shall we?

I'm obsessed with this super simple project from Mad in Crafts. I consider myself a fairly artistic person, but painting is one thing I usually fail at. My husband doesn't really even let me paint the walls, which I am totally sad about (not!). Thankfully, I think even I can handle this!

My Crafty To- Do List

After buying a fixer upper house it seems like my list of to-do's never ends. Not only do we still need to do some major renos (hello bathroom!), but I am definitely still working on making it cuter. Here are a few projects that I have already bought all the supplies for and are just waiting foe me to find some time.

Painted Rug at The Idea Room

Washer and Dryer Pedestals from Ana White

Amy Butler Gumdrop Pillows

Tinted Mason Jars from Momtastic

A Legit Christmas Project

If you are a regular reader you know I've been skimping on the real content lately. I've actually been doing tons of stuff. I've just been very bad about taking photos. Finally I created a Christmas project worthy of going up on the blog. Sadly, I didn't take step by step photos, but I feel confident you don't need them. Also, this is proof I am no longer afraid of my cricut. Thank you all for your tips and encouragement!

Sorry for the poor photo quality, but I am rarely home during the light of day anymore thanks to daylight savings. 

Let me give you a rundown of what it took to make this baby.

1. I painted it with some satin Martha Stewart Craft Paint. It was pretty sheer so it literally took about three coats to get it where I wanted it. 

2. Next I cut the "Be Merry" vinyl lettering with my cricut. I used the outline to make a stencil. I wanted to paint it rather than just use red vinyl so it would be more shimmery.

3. Next I made some more stencils to create the snow flakes. I also used Martha Stewart Satin paint for this in Mother of Pearl.

4. Finally I cut some tress from holiday paper with my cricut and mod modged them onto the board.

It was kind of tedious, but I love it! I am really into blue and red for Christmas this year. What do you think!

Does this Make Me an Artist?

I'm sure you've seen the new Martha Stewart paint products all over the internet lately. Besides the steep price tag I've loved everything I have seen in this line. I decided to treat myself to one of the stencil packs as I have been searching for a small quatrefoil stencil for a while.

I decided to try everything out on some canvas I got on sale at Hobby Lobby.  I have to say I really love them and I'm sure I will get tons of use out of them. I've had a lot of mishaps with stencils in the past and I will say these are better than some of the generic stencils I have used in the past. What do you think?

Have Patience, Have Patience, Don't be in Such a Hurry

So one of the reasons I was on blogging hiatus for a while is because I started to feel oerwhelmed with the projects in our house. On the one hand, we have made TONS of changes since we bought the house and have really worked to make it our own. On the other hand, we still have TONS to do and I am really feeling like I am in a creative rut.

Now that most of the, what I liked to call "muscle" projects are done, I need to start focusing on actually giving the house a personality through decorating. So far I only have a few pieces that I love around the house and have kept the rest of our decor backed away so that I wouldn't be tempted to just slap stuff up to make our house look lived in. Unfortunately, we have been here a year and it still looks like we just moved in. Although I guess I would rather have it like that, than some hodge podge of stuff I don't like.

After purusing through some of the blogs that I am totally jealous of I have finally come up with a plan. I need to take it ONE ROOOM at A TIME. Pretty revolutionary huh? Well, for me it is. I have no patience for getting stuff done. This doesn't mean I dont finish it. It just means I have an obsession with finishing and I do whatever it takes to complete it. This is helpful in things like homework, or doing the dishes, but not so helpful when trying to design a space that is all my own. Great spaces take time.

My plan is to start with a few small spaces in my house that continue to perplex me, and work on making them something that screams, "Meg!" Eventually, I will work my way up to bigger spaces. I hope you will contribute ideas and stuff that has worked for you. I also really hope you will give me feedback if something looks crazy. I am planning on taking some chances with design rather than going the safe old traditional route that I usually do so I'll need your help.

I will post a picture of the first area tonight. I already know what it is but I need to wait until I have the right light to take some good pictures.

In the mean time, here are some thing that I am loving for inspiration.

Painted Wall Paper

Vintage Oars

And the Color Yellow (because I use way too much blue)

What's inpiring you right now?

Dry Erase Tile

I saw this idea over at  Madigan Made. As often occurs with crafts I try to copycat it didn't turn out like I was hoping. The paint looked really crappy so I thought Sharpies would be a better idea. So I headed to JoAnn's to see what I could find and I discovered Sharpie Paint Markers. They were awesome!

Here is my version. It looks super cute on the counter. Did I mention it cost $3 to make? I got the tile for free at Home Depot because there was no barcode and I got the Sharpie Markers at JoAnn's using coupons for 40% off. 

Fun with Chalkboard Paint

I finally managed to buy some chalkboard paint. I've been wanting to try it for a while and I was pretty pleased aside from the fact I accidentally got green instead of black.

BHG Faves

I look forward to my Better Homes and Gardens newsletters. Unlike some other magazines (*cough*Martha!) I can actually do the projects they show and for less than my entire paycheck. What do you think?

So many great things going on in tis picture. First of all I am obsessed with this wallpaper. Does anyone have any clue where you can by sweet stuff like this for a resonable price. Second I love the flower base and I think I can totally make it with my sweet quatrefoil vinyl I bought. Third, I am so painting a peg board for my craft space.

Great use of upcycling here. And again with the wallpaper. Awe.Some.

We've all seen great version of DIY canvas art all over blogland. What I am really loving in this pic are the colors. I am now on a mission to find this blue and use it when I restore the dry sink my friend donated to me.

Home Rehab

We have been putting a lot of time and energy into some projects around the house and I feel like we are getting nowhere fast. We are attempting to give our basement a facelift. We aren't ready for the full redo yet, but there is PLENTY of room for improvement without dropping the big bucks. We aren't done yet, but I wanted to show you what we are up against in order to excuse my flaky blogging as of late.

Exhibit A: See this lovely yellowish outdoor siding? This is on our basement walls. This stuff ain't cheap and it ain't pretty so I have no idea what caused someone to stick this all over the walls. We have primed this and just need to paint. Then we need to paint all the trim and there is a crapload of it!

Here are some of the paint swatches on the walls. We have gone with a really pale blue color shown in the middle. We were afraid to leave everything white and make it seem super sterile. The new plan is a beachy airy theme. 

Here is the hubs with the rag he used to scrub all the walls because they were pretty funky.

Here is the ugly 80's closet door. 

Fancy fake gold outlet covers.

And this little gem. Yes, that is a porch light in the basement. Nice huh? So as you can see we are busy. We still need to do the final coat of paint which will take a while because we have to brush each individual crack by hand, change the light, change the closet door, hang a mirror to bring in some seriously needed light, and set my craft area back up! So yeah no sweat. NOT. 

What endless projects do you have going on?