{Classic Vintage Rustic Reception}

My brother Matt got married a few weeks ago. They had a GORGEOUS reception up at Sundance in Utah. Oh my gosh, have you ever been to Sundance??? If not, you MUST go. Their reception theme was...well...the only way I can think of to describe it was classy vintage rustic. And I am kicking myself for not taking any pictures while we were there. I was too busy chasing after my kids, eating, talking, dancing and just having a GREAT time!

A few weeks later we held an open house for them here at my parents house. Now, my parent's house is really cool. It was built in 1908, so it's sort of a classic victorian style brick house with pillars and all...it's beautiful. (Hmmm. I wish I had a picture of it.) Anyway...we kind of wanted to go with the same theme as their reception in Sundance. I was SO EXCITED to help with the decorations and stuff! Seriously, I thrive off of that sort of stuff.

So, to start out, I made this:



It is SO easy to do! All I did was paint and antique a shadow box frame (you can use any frame, though, it doesn't have to be shadowbox!) and I printed a big "Mr. & Mrs." onto some brown cardstock. (The font I used is called Traveling Typewriter from Dafont.com). I LOOOVE that font! Then, I put the printed paper into the frame, added a 3D paper flower I had cut out with my Silhouette, and that's it! This would be SUCH a fast, easy, inexpensive and AWESOME wedding gift for anyone! You could even just type their initials or their last name...so many possibilities!

I was also in charge of making cupcakes and a display for the cupcakes. Our local thrift store was having a rennovation sale, so everything I got was 25 cents! I bought a bunch of random plates and candlesticks and little bowl things and we glued them together to use as cupcake stands. They turned out so cute! ANNND, if you just glue them together with a glue gun instead of permanent E600, you can pop them apart and store them or wash them or whatever. When you're ready to use them again, just glue them together with the glue gun again.

I also made some cupcake toppers and wrappers with my Silhouette. They were a big hit!

I also cut out some strips of card-stock and circles with "R" for Reschke to make some napkin holders. We tied it all together with twine. So simple and so cute!



I think everything came together so well!

And, last but not least...a picture of the happy couple! They are SUCH goofballs, I just love them! Matt picked an AMAZING girl, she is a perfect addition to the family! :)





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Lolly Jane
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Master Bedroom Makeover

Guess who has a new master bedroom? Mua. Muah...Moi? Cursed French. It's MEEEE! The long story made short is....my husband turned our previous master bedroom into a home gym. He put the treadmill, weights cage, free weights, benches, etc. in the bedroom so he doesn't have to work out in the freezing cold garage this winter. I know, I'm such a nice wife. But I'm totally happy because our master bedroom had turned into sort of a "catch all" room. Random mismatched bookshelves, storage bins, guitar amps and guitars...you name it, it was probably in our room somewhere. I wanted a room that FELT like a bedroom, ya know? So, I'm TOTALLY not complaining. We moved the girls in together (which they are LOVING) and we moved the master bedroom into Whitney's "old" room. Would you like to see what I did?

First, there was finding a paint color. I wanted something that was in between brown and gray. I chose Better Homes and Gardens 814 Earthy Stoneware. This color ended up PERFECT. Exactly what I imagined! I really wanted some contrast with the white and light robin egg blue.



I wanted something like the hotels have now for bedding...the white coverlet that they just fold the sheets over. I love that it looks so crisp and clean and that it's easy to just throw in the wash.
I got this nice set from Target for around $50. I love climbing into a crisp clean bed!



I made each of the pillows accept for the brown one...(I can't even imagine how long it would take to make the brown one! *GAG*)

All of the fabrics are Premier Print fabrics from Fabric.com. I absolutely LOVE the giant shabby rosette pillows! OH! And do you want to know how I got the size for the blue pillows? All I did was cut a normal queen sized pillow in half and sewed the edge closed! It makes a perfect longer rectangle size. DON'T cut a pillow full of feathers in half...just FYI. Not that I did it or anything...*giggle*





I also covered an old canvas that I had with the fabric and stenciled on a "B". The frames were SOOO easy, too! I just took some old frames and took out the backing and glass and made a bunch of shabby fabric rosettes. Then, I glued them to the frame and that's it! I LOVE, LOVE, LOOOOVE my shabby rosette frames!



Annnnd, that's it! An easy, inexpensive change up for a BEAUTIFUL bedroom.


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Ballard Cork Board Knock Off

I have been drooling over the latest Ballard catalog. I have been wanting one of their big cork boards for FOREVER. But...at $300 it just isn't possible. Or is it? Wait...IT IS! I just have to make my own!


I've been on the prowl for a big cork board and chunky frame all summer. The thrift store hasn't had any. Then, yesterday my mom called me from down the street, "Hey, Nat! There's a garage sale down here on the corner, you should come check it out!"

So, I did. And guess what I found. For 50 cents. That's right, 50 cents! Pretend you didn't notice it's upside down. And, they had a big cork board for $2, too! Talk about jackpot!

So, I ripped out the picture. Then, I took it out to spray paint it with Krylon Ivory Gloss. While it was drying I removed the cork board from it's frame and cut the board to the same size as the picture. Then, I stuck the cork board piece in it and......TA DAAAH! My very own beauuutiful cork board.

I love it. Like...a lot. Take that, Ballard!!! And I'll keep my $297.50, thank you very much.

This project was SOOO easy! And SO inexpensive! Stay on the lookout and you'll find just what you're looking for!

Linked up to:
Nifty Thrifty Things
Tatertots and Jello
Little Rays of Sunshine
The Girl Creative
Making the World Cuter
Family Ever After
DIY Home Sweet Home

Platter Platter On The Wall...

I have been doing a little "updating" in our dining room. I have been trying to find some nice wall decorations for our dining room and it has been so frustrating! But...I think I finally found something I like! I've been seeing a lot of nice wall collages going up lately, and I wanted to do something similar. So, off to the thrift store I went and spent about $8 on random plates, frames and platters. Now, the cool thing about these plates and platters is that they are PLASTIC. So, there will be less mess if they fall off of the wall. Nothing has fallen so far...*crossing fingers*.

I really love how it all turned out. I spray painted everything in Krylon Ivory Gloss. (Remember how much I love Krylon spray paint???) Then, I put that Scotts Wall Mounting Tape on the backs of the plates and platters and stuck them to the wall.

This is my favorite piece of the collage...a pretty wall...sconce...thing. I drool over the details every time I look at it.



THAT'S IT! Oh how I love easy peasy beautiful! (Dude...that totally sounded like that "easy breezy beautiful, COVERGIRL commercial! HAHAH!)




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DIY Home Sweet Home

The BEST Homemade Granola Recipe!

Hey y'all! I'm back from the wedding, my nicely wrapped gift made it safely to the new bride and groom's apartment and I have an AWESOME recipe for you today!

I don't know about you, but this whole economy thing has been kinda sorta freaking me out. I've been trying to be a lot more frugal with things, and especially trying to learn how to cook with our food storage so I don't have to be trying to learn while I'm under a lot of stress the world is ending and don't know what the heck I'm doing.

Food storage, you ask? Yup. I'm talking wheat, beans, rice, dehydrated and freeze dried fruits and vegetables, powdered milk (gag), oats...stuff like that. I am LDS, and our church leaders of have advised us to have at least a years supply of food storage so that we are prepared. (It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark, ya know?) I've been working on building ours up for about 5 years now. I could do an ENTIRE week of posts on food storage, maybe later. Right now, I'm hungry. (Though, if you would be interested in some posts on food storage, what to get, where to get it, how much you need per person, how to store it, etc. let me know!)

So, ANYWAYYYYY...I decided to make homemade granola yesterday. I have to say, it turned out AMAZING! Granola can be really expensive! At Safeway it's around $4 a box. A little box at that. I made about 7 cups of it for around $1. No joke. And it tasted SOOOO much better than the store bought granola with all sorts of random preservatives and who knows what in it! Now, aren't you just dying for the recipe? :)

HEEEERE YOU GO!

Honey Coconut Granola

4 C. rolled oats
1 C. whole wheat flour (you can use white, too...)
3/4 C. honey OR
1 1/4 cup pure maple syrup (it just gives it more of a maple-ish flavor)
(heck...maybe you could try half honey and half maple syrup! Mmmmm!)
1 C. coconut
1/4 C. cooking oil
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 C. chopped pecans (optional)

Thoroughly mix together. Spread on a cookie sheet, bake at 300 degrees for 25 minutes stirring occasionally while baking.

You can also add things like sesame seeds, cinnamon, chopped almonds, raisins, etc. but add the raisins AFTER you bake it or it'll be like eating raisin flavored rocks. And we ALL know that eating raisin flavored rocks is no fun.

The best part is that granola is so versatile! It's not just for breakfast. You can put in on parfaits or use it as an ice cream topping! You can even use it as cobbler topping in your dutch ovens. Man, I love this stuff. Oh man. I'm starving. I think I'll go have a snack, and I'll bet you can't guess what it is. :)

ENJOY, my sweet little granola munchers!

Just Say NO to BOWS! {BEAUTIFUL GIFT-WRAPPING}

Ladies and Gentlemen, the days of boring gift-wrapping are over. Just say NO to BOWS! Who knew gift-wrapping could be so much fun!?! I didn't.

I had originally bought a GIANT bow at Dollar Tree, thinking that it would do just fine. But as I pulled off the sticky tape from the back, I just couldn't bring myself to put it on the box. I knew there had to be a better way. So, I searched "gift-wrapping" in Pintrest....OH MERCY ME. (If you haven't done that yet, do it.)

I ended up doing THIS instead:

and a close up....

Everything I needed I already had on hand. Wrapping paper, ribbon, fabric strips, cute buttons, mesh stuff, beads/pearls, a gluegun/gluesticks and a crystal thing from Walmart. (It comes in a package of 20 or so in the craft/floral section).

You can do it, too! There are SO many possibilities! Now, get out your scraps and glue gun, put away the usual sticky-back bows and get creative!

For my tutorial on how to make the fabric rosettes on the gift, click HERE.

Now...how do I get this box through a 10 hour trip to Utah without it being destroyed??? Hmmmmmm. :/


Linked up to:
Thrifty Decorating
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Making the World Cuter
DIY Home Sweet Home

Anthropologie Inspired Wedding Gifts

First of all, if you are by brother Matt or future SIL Jessica STOP READING NOW!!! Or, keep reading and PRETEND to be surprised when you open your wedding present, a'ight?

Now, for the rest of you, here's the scoop. My little brother is getting married this weekend. I still can't believe it! He grew up waaaay too fast. But, I am so excited for him, and I absolutely adore his fiancé. He picked a REALLY great girl and she's going to be a FABULOUS addition to the family! So...then comes the hard part. What is harder than finding something to wear to the wedding? ANSWER: The perfect wedding present. Remember how we live in the little tiny middle of nowhere place with nowhere to shop other than Walmart? Well, they aren't registered at Walmart...and honestly, our little valley Walmart is pretty pathetic. SOOOO, what is a girl to do!?! Especially when there is no Anthropologie here? And that's the style they like? Well. I'll tell you. HELLOOOO KNOCKOFFS! So...are you ready to see some nice shabby chic goodness? Good. :)

It all started off with an ugly gold-ish frame. However, it had great details and lots of potential. A little paint and creativity turned it into THIS:




(Just choose a base color, paint it, let it dry, and then choose an accent color and lightly go over the details and edges to make it look shabby. That's it!)

I love creating things because it's something that nobody else has. Which, is da bomb. And all that.

So then I had this knob...hanging....thing (really, I don't know what it's called) that was pink and on clearance from Hobby Lobby (thanks, Mom!) and I fixed it up into THIS:



She can use it to hang necklaces or scarves or whatever she wants. I am SOOO incredibly tempted to keep it for myself. Sigh. But, I already have one. And it's in their wedding invitation colors. Hopefully she'll like the set. Annnd, maybe it will inspire her on how to decorate their bedroom. I'm picturing something like THIS:


And, I'm going to make them a matching throw pillow now. Out of THIS fabric (which is on sale at fabric.com!)


Annnnnd, that's the awesomeness of keeping an eye out for things that have potential. Look for cute details and use your imagination! This whole set only cost about $7. That's including the pillow! (You did not just read that, Matt and Jessica....what I meant to say was $70.)

Now, get out there to your local thrift store or garage sale and get crazy! :)

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