A Beginner's Guide to Cricut Iron-On Vinyl

I've seen so many cute flower girl shirts online that I decided to make my own using Cricut Iron-On Vinyl. I found a metallic pink that would look great on the white tank tops. I'm using these tank tops for the girls to change out of their dresses after the ceremony. I had never used iron on and watched a few YouTube tutorials and figured "how hard could it be?" Well, I wasted about half my roll trying to figure it out based on the guides I was following. I'm here to help share my mistakes with a step-by-step tutorial to save your iron on rolls!

Cheers to 2018!

Happy New Year! Over the past few months, I've been getting my craft on from wedding plans to furniture updates. House hunting has been motivating me to explore different styles and creative DIY home updates. Here is a few sneak peeks of what I worked on over the holidays:

Vintage inspired drawer knobs found at Marshalls.

Wedding Cornhole Boards

Today I am 137 days away from saying "I do." I've been trying to tackle little projects on the weekend for the big day. This weekend I worked on our custom wedding cornhole boards. I bought the pre-made boards on Craigslist and they came pre-stained. Otherwise, I probably would have gone with a darker stain. I also have a set that I painted white for guests to sign as our guest "book." I used my Cricut to cut out the lettering, which is why they look so crisp. I recorded a bit of the painting process - I hope you enjoy and find some inspiration for your next project!

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Cricut Craft: Christmas Wood Slice Ornaments

I'm having a blast with these fun and custom wood slice ornaments. They are simple, fun and a creative gift idea. They look amazing as gift tags on bags or wrapped presents.

Fake It 'Til You Make It: Dresser Update

If you love nice furniture, hate painting, and have money to spend, then stop reading because this tutorial is not for you! Keep reading if you love nice furniture, are broke (or just thrifty) and don't mind putting in a little elbow grease! I've been working hard to bring some style into my house on a dime. I find loads of inspiration online but can't stand the prices! For today's tutorial, I repainted an old white children's dresser to look like a sophisticated piece that belongs in our house. The original dresser I used for inspiration is featured on my guest bedroom design board. 

Design Board: Dining Area

This design board is for a dining room or kitchen nook. I'm building my design around the black round dining table and wooden x-back chairs. I got them for a steal at $50 for the set. The main color of this room is white with a purple-gray accent wall. The patterned wood wall also adds a nice design feature while still complimenting a small budget.

Design Board: Guest Bedroom

Jon and I have started our house hunt and I've been scouring Pinterest for interior design ideas. I'm slowly accumulating new furniture and design pieces off of Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. I've found amazing deals on items on my wish list, it just requires a little patience and flexibility.

Post Grad: Round 2!

I graduated! I went to Mexico! And I moved! 

It's been a whirlwind but check out some of the decorating and DIYs I've done around the house...

2015 undergrad graduation to 2017 masters graduation

A Very Merry DIY Christmas: Dog Biscuit+Ball Jar

The temperatures here are dropping and we are just a few weeks away from Christmas! If you're anything like my family, it can be hard to buy for everyone. But, if you know any dog lovers, anything you get for their beloved pups will be a welcomed gift. This is a quick and simple glass jar stuffed with goodies and toys. Fill it with items from around the house, small bones, treats, balls, clothing... whatever your heart desires. I used a paint pen in white with a small rounded tip to write the quote. I used fonts "Cheddar Jack" and "DK Yellow Sun" as guidance. 

A Very Merry DIY Christmas: Hand Lettered Wood Signs

Hello and welcome to part three of my Christmas gift series! Of course these wood signs are fabulous for gifting for any occasion or holiday. I love that they can be used year-round. I got the wood from the Home Depot and they cut it there for me. These boards are approximately 12"x15". To see how we stained the wood, check out my last tutorial here. 

If you love the look of hand lettered signs but don't have the time or patience to create your own look, shop them on Brooke Gordon Designs. 

This first design is for my Hawaii family 🤗

I used basic acrylic paint and this brush set to tackle this project:

I used the flat brush for the thick strokes and finished with the rounded tip for thin lines and rounded edges. 

A Very Merry DIY Christmas: Fabric Cross Wood Sign

Welcome back to part two of my Christmas gift series! This beautiful (and easy!) fabric cross is a great piece for gifting. It is relatively inexpensive and thoughtful and you can put your stamp on it, or theirs, to personalize it. Here is what you'll need to complete this DIY: wood, stain, fabric, hot glue, fray-check, ribbon, and nails. A huge thanks to Brooke from Brooke Gordon Designs for helping me with the process! You can check our her wood signs on Etsy.

Check out the time-lapse and then keep scrolling to see the step-by-step pictures!

A Very Merry DIY Christmas: Photo Ornaments

Welcome to part one of "A Very Merry DIY Christmas" gift series! My goal behind this series was to find inexpensive gifts that still show the receiver that you put time, thought, and effort into it. This is also a great option to add on to another gift, or even use it as a gift tag to identify presents under the tree. 

Here's what the project requires: 

-clear plastic disc ornaments

-photos

-thread/fishing wire

-printer paper

-ribbon

-decorative snow (optional)

My project started at a craft store where I purchased two medium/large clear plastic disc ornaments and three smaller ones. I used my local Walmart photo center to print 5 4x4 photo prints. You can always use photo prints you have around the house, too! 

Identify how much space you want your picture to take up in the ornament. I made mine approximately the size of the bulb to use most of the space. Trace out a circle and cut the same size for your picture and printer paper backing. I printed out the text for the backing to my ornaments but you can always hand-write anything in. Use sticky dots or a glue stick to secure the printer paper to backside of the photo (both right-side up!). 

Fonts (top): Bromello and DK Yellow Sunshine; Backtalk Sans BT
(bottom): Daydreamer; Bromello; Cheddar Jack

I used a needle to make a small hole in the top of the photo and used thread to attached the hook of the ornament. This step felt tedious but it's important because if you don't secure the photo to the top, your photo inside will shift and it could end up upside-down.

Roll the photo up and place it into the bulb. Using photo paper allows it to roll easier than using cardstock. You may have to give it a little shake and tap to get the picture to open up flat. Good thing our bulbs are plastic, right?! If you would like to give your ornament a snow globe feel, add some artificial snow. This also gives it more of a festive holiday feel!

I really enjoyed using the pictures of my great grandparents. One set I knew as a child- even knowing my great pap into my young adult years- and the other set I never met. It's a nice way to connect family, past and present, around the holidays. A warm reminder that they are always here with us.

Let me know if you have questions about the project! Be sure to save this on Pinterest and I hope you check out part two of the series next week!

Weekend Project: Bathroom Update

As a renter, there isn't much to be done in terms of updates to the property. However, there is still room for improvement! With a few nail holes, you can transform an entire space! Our downstairs half-bath faces the family room so it's all too easy to see into the plain space. I used the wooden floating shelf as inspiration for this update (check it out here). The wooden boards were very inexpensive, and not the best quality :). I made sure any marks or bumps would be on the bottom or against the wall. It took two coats of black spray paint to get the look I wanted. I also accidentally used black metallic on the first coat, oops! 

After letting both boards dry, I eye-balled where I wanted the shelves to be, and screwed in the L brackets (aka corner braces); first to the boards, and then onto the wall. There is about 2 inches of space on either end. From far away, it gives the illusion that the boards are flush with the wall. You can find those in the hinge and fasteners section of any hardware store. Because I am not placing anything heavy or valuable on the shelf, the two L brackets will hold it easily. If you are using heavier wood or heavy objects, check out some tutorials below. I used decorations I already had around the house and incorporated them into the design. This project took me less than an hour and makes a huge difference! I really feel that it gives it a more home-y feel and it doesn't look all that stark and bland anymore!

Here are a few more DIY floating shelves to inspire your next project!

Chunky Shelves by Desert Domicle

Corner Shelves by 4 Men 1 Lady

White Shelves by BlogLovin

DIY Upcycle Chalkboard Frame

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am so happy to be on Thanksgiving break and finally have time to relax with friends and family. I made these chalkboard frames as gifts for Thanksgiving. These upcycled frames came from Goodwill and all three cost under $3. The chalkboard paint can be purchased at any craft store (I bought mine at Michael’s) and I used acrylic paint for the wooden frames. I painted the chalkboard paint over the glass frame and let dry 24 hours before putting on a second coat. I waited another 24 hours to decorate the chalkboard. Check this tutorial by MonkeySeeMonkeyDIY on image transferring to recreate the perfect text or picture every time!

DIY Upcycle Chalkboard Frame

DIY Fabric Headboard

I'm back at school for my Senior year of college! I have been busy traveling, working, and moving all summer and wish I could have published more content on my blog. Here is a little DIY for a fabric headboard I made for my room. Because I am in college I'm not too concerned with buying a nice expensive headboard but still wanted a way to make my room more comfortable and add some of my personal style to the room.

I bought a yard of fabric, a yard of batting, and a staple gun for this project. I used the wood as my base because my mom had it laying around but my cousin made hers using Styrofoam and there are some tutorials using thick cardboard packaging.

 Measured the fabric for a Full/Double bed, but it may be helpful to buy a little extra fabric depending on how much batting you want to use and the shape of your headboard.

 Be sure to line up the fabric before stapling. Mom and I were too excited to get it completed that we forgot to double check and it was slightly off on one side. Oops! Thankfully I was able to hide that side. 

Here is my finished product and I want to attach some different DIY headboard options for you all! Good luck, I would love for you to share what fabric you found and what shape you use!!