tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64760941708729694092024-03-13T06:22:48.833-05:00Davis: Day by DayErinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13852697528938921042noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476094170872969409.post-12481517875811801132014-10-08T16:28:00.000-05:002014-10-08T16:28:03.545-05:00Distressed Wood Chevron Wall Decor<br />
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One of our latest projects was creating some wooden arrows to decorate above our TV. I totally fell on the DIY pallet band wagon. Free? Yes! Distressed? Yes! We got two pallets and went straight to work...<br />
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...for about 10 minutes. Have you ever tried to deconstruct a pallet? No? Well it is incredibly difficult and not to mention dirty and gross. If I was going to have hubby's help with this project I needed to make a change. Straight to Lowe's we went to see what our options were. We looked around for a little bit and weren't liking what we saw. Then we stumbled upon these packs of cedar wall paneling and they were perfect! Like only $10 perfect! We were planning on making 9 chevron arrow things and these ended up being the exact amount of material that we needed. I think they came as a pack of 6 boards that were 8 ft long. Hubby cut them to the correct length and then mitered all of the ends at 45 degrees.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freshly cut and ready to be distressed</td></tr>
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First I stained the back side of them with some Rust-oleum wood stain in Kona. The fronts are smooth and finished but the backs are rough and unsanded - the look that I was going for. I have no idea what the proper way to stain stuff is so I just used a foam brush to paint it on then waited various amounts of time before I wiped it off with a rag :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You'll need three foam brushes- one each for stain, paint, and glue</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After one coat</td></tr>
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Next I watered down some grey paint samples that we had leftover. I followed the same process as the stain. On some of the sections I did two or three coats and on others I did just a very very light coat and immediately wiped it off.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some boards with the grey paint wash - waiting to be wiped off</td></tr>
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I glued 4 pieces of varying finishes together - two interlocked on top and bottom and then down the middle. I used some of the scraps that we had from the miter saw to serve as a sort of backing plate. This got glued to the back to keep everything together. (Wood glue and cameras don't mix so I don't have any pictures of this part. I'm a messy DIYer)<br />
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Our initial plan was to just use double sided tape to secure these to the wall (they are super lightweight.) We decided to nail them in after they were positioned on the wall for extra support... I didn't want them falling off the wall in the middle of the night a few months from now. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can see the scrap that I glued to the back to keep everything together and the tape pieces.</td></tr>
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For a total cost of less than $20 I'd say it is a success!<br />
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Once we install our sound system I think we are going to mount our TV to the wall and hide the cords. Hooray for progress! It is so nice to not have that big empty space above our TV anymore.Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13852697528938921042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476094170872969409.post-81119343750061837692014-09-10T14:05:00.001-05:002014-09-10T14:05:59.157-05:00Burlap Wreath DIYMy most recent project was making a new fall wreath for the front door. I previously made this <a href="http://davisdaybyday.blogspot.com/2011/10/fall-berry-wreath-diy.html" target="_blank">Fall Berry Wreath</a> for our old apartment. Our house has a much larger front door and that wreath was itty bitty on our door. It will find and new home inside. <br />
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Even though it is still in the 90's here in Austin, all of my friends and family's posts from back home talking about boots and apple picking has got me in the fall mood.<br />
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Disclaimer: there are probably much better tutorials for making burlap wreaths out there. This is just the way I made mine and I can't guarantee that it is the best or easiest way! <br />
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To make this wreath I started with:<br />
-A wire wreath frame<br />
-Wire rimmed burlap ribbon (4 rolls of 15 ft - more or less depending on the size of your wreath)<br />
-Pipe cleaners (coordinating with the ribbon you choose)<br />
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I ended up wanting to add a little fall banner so I used some scrapbook paper and jute that I had on hand.<br />
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To start the wreath I tied up the end of the ribbon with a pipe cleaner. I connected it to the underside of the wire frame at one of the crossbeams. After it was secured I just started pulling up sections of burlap from the underside through the top to make these burlap poofs. I found it easiest to unroll all of the ribbon and have it hanging under the wreath. It only took around 20 minutes to pull all of the ribbon through this way.</div>
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I didn't measure the poofs or secure each one. I just worked my way through the different sections until I had it as full as I wanted. Once I reached the end of the ribbon roll I secured it with a pipe cleaner. Boom. Done!<br />
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Almost... haha. It was looking a little plain and I didn't want to add some flowers or an initial so a banner it was. I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut the banner shapes and letters. A little glue and some jute later... Happy Fall Y'all!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bonus picture of Phoebe in the window.</td></tr>
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I'm so happy with the way this wreath turned out! Bring on the boots, pumpkins, and apple cider.</div>
<br />Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13852697528938921042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476094170872969409.post-18186296125056292972014-09-09T10:24:00.001-05:002014-09-09T10:24:29.700-05:003 years?!?So I haven't visited my blog in almost 3 years... 3 years! I guess I didn't realize what working full time does to your free time.<br />
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Good news: Hubby and I are now homeowners! So I have a few projects up my sleeve and hope to share them here. Plus decorating our house for fall and the holidays should be super fun!<br />
<br />Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13852697528938921042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476094170872969409.post-70307927616371566812011-11-05T09:58:00.002-05:002011-11-05T09:58:44.616-05:00Quick Life Update - 2 Big ChangesSorry I haven't been posting that much on here lately... I am all crafted out. Just kidding! I have lots of ideas for winter and I can't wait to show them to you! But that will have to wait.<br />
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I got accepted into grad school. It looks like I will be attending the University of Alabama Birmingham starting in January. My speciality will be primary care as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and I will go to school part time and work full time.<br />
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Speaking of work. I am started working at Texas Fertility Clinic on Thursday. I am so blessed to have been offered this job - it is regular business hours! I never thought as a new nurse I wouldn't have to work the night shift for my first job.<br />
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That is all. I told you this was a <i>quick</i> life update.Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13852697528938921042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476094170872969409.post-87807292321137292312011-10-20T14:13:00.000-05:002011-10-20T14:13:30.560-05:00Texas State FairLast Saturday Hubby and I took a day trip up to Dallas. We had In-N-Out for lunch and spent the afternoon at the Texas State Fair. That saying that everything is bigger in Texas - well it is definitely true when it comes to state fairs. Think of every carnival ride you have ever seen and then multiply that times ten. We ended up seeing less than half of the park - it is that big. Oh, the fried food. Pretty much anything you can imagine was there and deep fried. I'm talking about fried biscuits and gravy, fried cake balls, fried beer, fried pineapple upside down cake, fried bubblegum, fried brownies, and the list goes on and on. We ended up only getting a funnel cake at the fair since we were so full from In-N-Out earlier. So next time we go I would like to sample a little more of the fried goodness the fair has to offer. Here are some pics from our awesome weekend.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We watched Jump! Ultimate Dog show and saw some dock dogs, frisbee catchers, and rat terrier races. Lets just ignore the blurriness in this picture :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This little guy can walk on his two front feet.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cirque Shanghai was definitely my favorite show. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6xgCWdPE5Y0/TqBqjf1U9DI/AAAAAAAABM4/EvwImjdGoiE/s1600/DSC_0461.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6xgCWdPE5Y0/TqBqjf1U9DI/AAAAAAAABM4/EvwImjdGoiE/s640/DSC_0461.jpg" width="440" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These acrobats were amazing.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m2f4MMy_G7U/TqBqrcTyOpI/AAAAAAAABNA/LTdUnRB8OdA/s1600/DSC_0509.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m2f4MMy_G7U/TqBqrcTyOpI/AAAAAAAABNA/LTdUnRB8OdA/s640/DSC_0509.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That is a woman in ballet shoes on point on the top of that man's head. Crazy!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I just had to take a picture of this. I would hate to carry that gorilla around all day.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apparently this is the largest ferris wheel in North America.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dallas as viewed from the ferris wheel.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We finished our night with some funnel cake covered with strawberries and whipped cream.<br /><br /></td></tr>
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I would highly recommend going (preferably not on a Saturday) and seeing everything there. Like I said, we only saw half of the park and I hear there were some pretty cool exhibits that we missed.Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13852697528938921042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476094170872969409.post-73717744147973039742011-10-14T11:31:00.000-05:002011-10-14T14:50:28.092-05:00Happy AnniversaryHubby and I have been a couple for 4 years now (married for almost 1.5 of those years!) I can't believe how fast the time has gone - it seems like yesterday that I was nervously walking off a plane in California to meet his parents for the first time.<br />
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So in honor of our dating anniversary I thought I would post some pictures of us through the years. (With dates, so I will be able to remember them when I am old and forgetful.)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spring Break 2008 - Meeting his parents for the first time.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barn Dance 2008</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apple picking at Curtis Orchard 2008</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alamo, Christmas Break 2009</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Engagement Pictures 2009; Photo Credit: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Keller-Photography/345223482793?sk=wall">Keller Photography</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Easter 2009 - My parents and Will's parents meet for the first time</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christmas Break, Branson, MO 2009</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bridal Shower, March 2010</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Husband and Wife, May 22, 2010; Photo Credit: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Keller-Photography/345223482793?sk=wall">Keller Photography</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Family Cruise, January 2011</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Graduation, May 2011</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our family :) </td></tr>
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I am so thankful for my Hubby. God has truly blessed me with a wonderful husband and best friend!</div>
<br />Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13852697528938921042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476094170872969409.post-33165257680935709532011-10-13T16:23:00.001-05:002011-10-14T14:51:04.884-05:00Fall Berry Wreath - DIYWe needed a fall wreath for our door. A couple weeks ago I found some berry stems from Michaels that I bought to put in a vase inside. They make me happy so I decided they would be perfect to make a wreath out of.<br />
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I bought 9 more berry stems ($1 each), some 18 gauge wire wrapped in paper ($1.99), and some orange ribbon ($1) to make this project. If you have an old wreath that you could repurpose, use that - I didn't so I got the wire to make the frame for the wreath.</div>
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The wire came with 6 pieces so I just bent them into a circle and wrapped them around each other.</div>
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Then I started wrapping the berries around the wire. Try to get the berries equally spaced or else you will end up with some spots that aren't as full as others.<br />
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This is what it looked like half-way through wrapping the berries around the wire. Each berry stem that you add will increase the strength of the wire form.</div>
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Then I fluffed the berry branches and bent them into shape. I just wrapped the very end of the stems around the wire to help them stay in place.</div>
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I added a bow and hung it on our door. Pretty easy, huh? I like it a lot - I especially like that it was only $12. If you already have the ribbon and wreath form on hand this would be a project for under $10.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-moIHy7t7Jhk/TpdOLwmlC3I/AAAAAAAABKA/PWe2kQSG2Us/s1600/Door+wreath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-moIHy7t7Jhk/TpdOLwmlC3I/AAAAAAAABKA/PWe2kQSG2Us/s640/Door+wreath.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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</div>Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13852697528938921042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476094170872969409.post-46902267361097053392011-10-08T21:54:00.002-05:002011-10-14T14:53:18.079-05:00Mud WrestlingIt actually rained today! This resulted in some mud outside of our apartment - where Phoebe plays every night with some other dogs from the complex. Today they decided to wrestle*.<br />
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<i>*By wrestle I mean Phoebe instantly rolling over on her back into a submissive position while the other dogs play with her.</i><br />
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So combine the wrestling with the mud and this is what Hubby carried inside.<br />
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Did I mention that we had just given Phoebe a bath this morning? Yeah, so she ended up getting two baths today. Do you remember this picture?</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TW0zTY0lYiI/TkC9USHm2lI/AAAAAAAABCY/EZEfeiqbfuk/s1600/phoebe+bath+edge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TW0zTY0lYiI/TkC9USHm2lI/AAAAAAAABCY/EZEfeiqbfuk/s400/phoebe+bath+edge.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Baths are not her favorite thing. At least she had lots of fun playing in the mud with her buddies.</div>
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<br />Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13852697528938921042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476094170872969409.post-83939340557134771382011-10-07T22:57:00.000-05:002011-10-14T14:52:23.260-05:00I made a skirt !My Grandma will be so proud of me! I had bought some jersey knit fabric awhile ago with plans to make a dress. After thinking about it I decided a skirt was the way to go... much <strike>easier</strike> <i>more versatile</i>.<br />
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This project needed to be simple which means no elastic or zippers. I found <a href="http://icandyhandmade.blogspot.com/2011/07/tutorial-ice-cream-social-skirt.html">this tutorial</a> from iCandy handmade. It was so easy to follow! Although I must have had extra stretchy fabric because I followed the directions exactly but in the end I had to cut off an extra 6 inches from the waist.<br />
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I had Hubby take some pictures of me and my creation. We had lots of fun being silly.<br />
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It was a tad bit windy.</div>
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Best part about this skirt - it feels like I am wearing pajamas. Next best part - it is flouncy and fun to spin in.</div>
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My next project with this fabric will be a little more ambitious - a top. I probably won't have a nice tutorial to go off of and will have to make it up as I go. That should be interesting.</div>
<br />Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13852697528938921042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476094170872969409.post-73110252349245327532011-10-05T16:29:00.004-05:002014-09-15T11:15:57.549-05:00DIY Sparkly Pumpkins - Tutorial<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8mqG8oBRMNc/TozK5LOL4oI/AAAAAAAABJQ/gsIGSIMKacg/s1600/DSC_0016+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8mqG8oBRMNc/TozK5LOL4oI/AAAAAAAABJQ/gsIGSIMKacg/s400/DSC_0016+copy.jpg" height="400" width="265" /></a>We really needed some fall decorations around these parts. Since we were in school last year we really didn't decorate our old apartment... at all.<br />
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For our new home I wanted some glamorous pumpkins. Can pumpkins be glamourous? I don't see why not. I saw a white pumpkin at TJ Maxx awhile ago that was covered in glass beads and sparkles. I loved it but I didn't want to spend $20 on a fake pumpkin.<br />
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So I waited and looked around for some plain white (fake) pumpkins. Hobby Lobby was a big disappointment when it came to plain pumpkins so I headed over to Michael's. I found a plain white pumpkin, 50% off, for $4. Not bad. A little glue and epsom salt later - this is what I ended up with.<br />
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So you want to make one? Here is what you will need.<br />
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-Elmer's glue<br />
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I poured some glue into a disposable cup and some epsom salt in another cup. Dip your sponge brush into the glue and coat the pumpkin.<br />
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Put a light coat of glue on the pumpkin - you don't want to put too much on or else you will get runs and clumps.<br />
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Sprinkle the epsom salt over the areas that have wet glue. I did about a quarter of the pumpkin at a time. I was working on an old pizza pan (it is my portable work space) and wish I would have used a paper plate - it would have made clean up a lot easier - so you could make a funnel and pour all of the extra epsom salt back in the container.<br />
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Let it dry and find a new home for it. Mine ended up on our little entry table.<br />
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So this project ended up costing $8 - way better than $20! The pumpkin was $4, epsom salt was $3, glue was $1, and I already had the sponge brush and cups. But I barely made a dent in the epsom salt and glue. I am sure I will get a lot of use out of those supplies come winter time. </div>
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I may try to use some food coloring and cover an orange pumpkin with some orange salt. Wish me luck!<br />
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<b>UPDATE: </b>I used some food coloring and was able to tint the epsom salt orange. It looks awesome on my orange pumpkin! See?<br />
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<b>Sept 2014 Update</b>: I just pulled out my fall decorations and the epsom salt on the pumpkins has turned completely white. I'm not sure if it is just an age thing or because it was stored in our attic in the Texas heat. These looked great for a couple of years but I'm going to brush off all of the epsom salt this year.<br />
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<a href="http://www.somewhatsimple.com/" title="Somewhat Simple"><img alt="Somewhat Simple" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a342/stephd757/linkpartythursday.png" /></a><br />
<br />Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13852697528938921042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476094170872969409.post-29333861251414322682011-10-04T17:11:00.000-05:002011-10-07T13:44:38.115-05:00Super Easy Canvas ArtWe needed some artwork for over our bed - artwork that wouldn't cost very much. What is a girl to do? Go to Hobby Lobby of course! I picked up three square canvases along with some green paint. Here is the finished result:<br />
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These were so easy to make! I didn't take pictures of the actual process because it was a lot of white paint - which makes for boring pictures. </div>
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Here are the steps to make this project:</div>
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-First I painted all of the canvases white - since that is the color I wanted to lines to be - and let them dry.</div>
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-Then I used painters tape and randomly taped off lines. For some lines I overlapped the pieces of tape for wider lines and for others I cut the tape in half.</div>
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-Next - this is the key to getting those crisp lines - I painted over the edges of the tape with white. This way any paint that seeps through the tape will be white and not green. </div>
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-Once the white was dry, I put on two coats of green paint. </div>
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Full Disclosure: On the first canvas I didn't paint it white before I taped the lines. Then you could see the spots where the white paint bled through onto the unpainted white canvas. It drove me crazy so I ended up painting in the lines white after. I wouldn't recommend doing that.</div>
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Seriously, so easy. To paint all of these canvases and the time to let them dry only took an afternoon.<br />
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I also think it would be really cool to do an ombre effect with the canvases - either the same ombre effect on all three canvases or paint each canvas a slightly different shade in the same color. These canvases would also be great to hang in a dorm room. They are super light so they could easily be attached to the wall with some command tape.Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13852697528938921042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476094170872969409.post-45750158950859191462011-09-29T09:13:00.001-05:002011-10-06T14:39:21.514-05:00Custom lamp base - Paint it!So how in the world do you find the perfect lamp base... the perfect <i>blue </i>lamp base. If you are me, you stumble upon beautiful blue lamps (for under $25!) and immediately order two. Wait anxiously for your beautiful lamps to arrive.<br />
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Now this step is very important: open up the package when they arrive and be super disappointed when one is smashed to pieces. Become even more disappointed when you find out that they have zero left and can't send you a replacement.<br />
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It was really difficult to find other blue lamps for a reasonable price... almost impossible. Since we really needed the extra lighting in our living room I decided to take matters into my own hands. On <a href="http://pinterest.com/erind28/">Pinterest</a>, I saw that you could paint small glasses and vases by swirling paint around the inside.<br />
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Enter IKEA.<br />
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They have big, clear, glass lamps with a big hole for the bottom. These beauties are pretty much screaming to be painted.<br />
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I cleaned the inside of the lamps with some rubbing alcohol and then poured in some acrylic paint through the bottom. Next, I swirled the paint around until the lamp was all covered and let it dry for a long time.</div>
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How easy was that? I like the finished result because you still get the nice, polished glass surface on the outside but with the blue color (protected from scratches) on the inside. I am still not crazy about the plain white shades but I haven't decided what I want to do with them yet.<br />
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On a completely different note: do you like the tissue box cover I made? I think it is fabulous.<br />
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<br />Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13852697528938921042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476094170872969409.post-65500806005094348952011-09-26T14:48:00.000-05:002011-10-06T14:39:42.074-05:00Cupcakes - Filling, Frosting, and Toppers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I love cupcakes. </div>
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My husband loves cupcakes. </div>
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My parents love cupcakes. </div>
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I blame my mother. She makes the most delicious white cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting. They are simple but are always super moist and have the perfect cupcake to icing ratio. Unfortunately, I cannot make cupcakes as good as my mom. To disguise my weakness, I like to make cupcakes with filling and pretty swirled tops. </div>
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There are a lot of ways to get filling into a cupcake. You can buy a little tool that will hollow out the middle of the cupcake, use a knife and cut out the middle yourself, or you can buy this nifty little cupcake decorating kit from Wilton for $8 (or for $4 if you use a coupon.) The kit comes with 4 tips, one is long and designed to fill cupcakes. </div>
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I like this method because it isn't messy and the less raspberry filling on my counters, the better. All you do is put the tip into a bag and cut off the excess, fill it with your filling, poke it into the cupcake and squeeze. You can see the little bit of filling poking through the tops of the cupcakes - this will get covered and no one will know it was there. </div>
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Helpful Hint: You can use fruit jams, like Smucker's Simply Fruit, to use as filling for cupcakes. I use to make a raspberry filling that never quite turned out the same consistency and it took forever to get the seeds out. Now I just go to the store and get whatever fruit flavor I want, smiling the entire time because I know that I won't have a sticky raspberry mess to clean up later.</div>
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I like to fill my bags in a glass. All you do is put the bag (with the tip already inserted) into a drinking glass and fold the excess down on the outside. Now you are ready to easily fill up the bag without getting filling or icing all over the top and sides of the bag. Again, less mess and easier clean up.</div>
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I used a Wilton 1M tip to frost these cupcakes (from that decorating kit I was talking about). It is a large tip with an open star. All you have to do is start in the middle, do a big swirl to cover the top of the cupcake and then do a second layer on top of the first. The key is to use consistent pressure and don't stop moving until you are done icing the cupcake. </div>
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I made these cupcakes for my in-law's anniversary. Those are some chocolate toppers that I came up with & luckily they worked out. They are super easy to make and they add some fun flair to the cupcake. All you have to do is melt some chocolate (I used Ghirardelli chocolate chips and follow the package instructions for how to melt.) You could use a tip with a bag to make these but I just put them in a freezer bag and cut a little off of one corner. Make whatever designs you want on a sheet of wax paper or foil. I stuck these in the refrigerator for a couple of hours and then put them on the cupcakes before I served them.</div>
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Do you like to decorate cupcakes? I wish I had more excuses to make them so I could try new tips, toppers, and flavor combinations.</div>
<br />Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13852697528938921042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476094170872969409.post-6126140831705434982011-09-22T15:34:00.000-05:002011-10-06T14:39:50.503-05:00The closest thing to a cowgirl that I will ever be.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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In my mind it is fall. I don't care that it is still in the nineties here in Austin... I am wearing boots. That is one of the big benefits of living in Austin. In Champaign you could only wear cute boots for a few weeks before the weather would turn all wet and slushy. Then you would switch to the more Ugg style boots to slosh through the snow. Now that we live in the land of virtually no rain or snow, I can wear cute boots all the time! I was feeling very Texan yesterday and this is the outfit that happened. The shirt that I am wearing was from a barn dance sophomore year. You can't tell from the picture but it is a small plaid print of pink and purple. I hadn't worn it since then until yesterday. I don't have cowgirl boots yet so my new tan pair of boots are the best I got. Now I just need a cowgirl hat and a big belt buckle. We will call this our "before" picture and see how my Texas style evolves over time.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IPQ_cXiIuGo/TntEzC5CH9I/AAAAAAAABHY/i96Fu6aF-iM/s1600/DSC_0454+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IPQ_cXiIuGo/TntEzC5CH9I/AAAAAAAABHY/i96Fu6aF-iM/s200/DSC_0454+copy.jpg" width="200" /></a> Will and I went out to eat at Chuy's last night. Our young married lifegroup had a new couple join this week so we invited them out to dinner. They are the same age as us and recently married. Until now, we were definitely the babies of our lifegroup so it is nice to know another married couple our age.<br />
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I love my new camera. We got to the restaurant a little early last night so I snapped a few pictures. The location we went to was new to us and was actually the first Chuy's restaurant. Chuy's makes their tortillas right in the restaurant and they are so soft and yummy. Our awesome waiter brought me 6 extra tortillas to take home with my leftovers. Those extra tortillas will become super delicious breakfast tacos.<br />
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I think Will really enjoys my new camera and me constantly pestering him to look at me... just look at that expression of pure love and joy. I kid, I kid. But seriously, I sure do have one great husband. The other day we were cuddled up on the couch watching TV and I wanted some popcorn, but we were out. He offered to go get me some but I declined. So the next day he stopped by the store on the way home from work and picked some up as a surprise. I just love little gifts of love, especially the popcorn kind.<br />
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<br />Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13852697528938921042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476094170872969409.post-16572991622677733802011-09-17T12:13:00.000-05:002011-09-17T12:13:09.974-05:00Have a good weekend!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Isn't she cute? She is 6 months old now and almost 9 lbs.</div>
Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13852697528938921042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476094170872969409.post-53824946397240225992011-09-16T15:34:00.000-05:002011-09-17T12:12:28.728-05:00Low cost, big impactSo while I was back in Bethalto last week I really wanted to update the downstairs bathroom in my parent's home. This use to be my sister's and my bathroom. At one point it was painted an almost neon yellow color. Then we switched it to a more muted color palate with a pop of red. Somewhere along the line we messed up and took a shower too soon after we painted and ended up with streak marks in the paint. Since Amanda and I no longer live at home and this is the third bathroom in the house, it was feeling a little neglected.<br />
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It is amazing what a little bit of paint can do for a room. Mom and I painted the bathroom a light tan color and painted the vanity black. Amazing!<br />
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Dad took down the tri-fold mirror for us because we wanted a regular mirror on the wall. We had a mirror from my bedroom sitting in a closet, not being used. It was just a plain mirror with a bevel around it so we took it to Hobby Lobby, picked out a frame, and had them put on a back with a wire to hang it. What a difference the new mirror made.<br />
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We also added some handles to the vanity to make it look more modern. Kuddos to my Dad for drilling the holes and getting everything to line up.<br />
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I saw this idea for hanging baskets on the wall on <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/130494404/">Pinterest</a>. Since this is a small bathroom and doesn't have a lot of space to store linens, we decided this would be a good solution. We found the baskets at Gordmans and Dad mounted them to the wall for us. I'm not going to tell you how long it took for us to pick out the shower curtain and linens, it is embarrassing. (Never go shopping with my mom and me... just ask our husbands.)</div>
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The bathroom looks so good now. The pictures don't do it justice. It is a small space and hard for this novice to photograph well... sorry.</div>
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While at home I went through my old closet and cleaned everything out. Once I had the closet empty I realized what carelessly tossing shoes into a closet for over 13 years does... leaves lots and lots of scuff marks. I figured now would be an opportune time to give the closet a fresh coat of paint. Again, it is amazing what paint can do. It looks like a brand new closet! </div>
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Next we wanted to tackle the closet that is in the downstairs living room. Mom and I had gone through this closet a couple of years ago so I didn't think it would be that big of a deal. We ended up taking everything out and giving this closet a fresh coat of paint as well. Mom got rid of a ton of things and now the closet looks great.</div>
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We also ended up working on the laundry closet, the coat closet, the linen closet and started on the master closet. We were able to tackle 5 closets in less than a day. By four o'clock we were taking stuff to donate and were sitting down to eat at Casa Romero by five. It is amazing what you can accomplish when you set your mind to it. </div>
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One day while Mom was at work I tackled the entryway. Ever since we moved into this house (back when I was starting 3rd grade) we have had a curio cabinet displaying precious moments in our little foyer. Now those precious moments are lovingly wrapped in tissue paper and in a tote in the basement - it was for the best. </div>
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On Saturday, Mom and I went out to find a little table to put in the space. I think we ended up looking at seven places for tables. We started out at an estate sale, and then drove by an auction that had a lot of cool pieces, checked Hobby Lobby, Old Time Pottery, Weekends Only, TJ Maxx, and ended up finding this table at Gordman's. (Like I said earlier, don't go shopping with us.) It was just the right size for the space.</div>
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We went "shopping" for stuff around the house and already had the mirror, lamp, plant, and picture frames. </div>
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We sure did get a lot of things done around the house. I like how you don't have to do major projects to make a big difference in a room. It makes me so excited to have a house that I can change and turn into a home.<br />
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Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13852697528938921042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476094170872969409.post-69866638773522579362011-09-15T18:25:00.002-05:002011-09-16T09:26:03.301-05:00My 9 day Bethalto eating extravaganza<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I had the opportunity to spend last week at home in Bethalto. When the trip was finalized the first thing I did was make a list of all of the food that I wanted to eat. Even though Austin has some great restaurants, you just can't beat the food you grew up with. Here are the food highlights of the trip.</div>
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I got in late on Sunday night, just in time to go to the carnival on Monday with the family. We only go to the carnival for one reason: to eat. And eat we did.</div>
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I forgot to take a picture of the blackberry cobbler and root beer float with homemade ice cream from our church. I hadn't gone to the carnival since my freshman year of college, so it was nice to be able to go again.<br />
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Later that night we had a bonfire. My dad is the master at roasting hotdogs and marshmallows.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is probably my only s'more of the fall unless Texas gets a ton of rain and they lift the burn ban.</td></tr>
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On Tuesday night we went to Casa Romero and I had Arroz con Pollo. It is the best mexican dish ever and it did not disappoint. People think that I am crazy because I prefer Arroz con Pollo from Rosewood Heights, IL to any mexican dish that I have found in Austin, TX. Mom and I also went to Casa on Monday night. (Never ask me what I want for dinner and say that you don't care... my choice will almost always be Casa Romero.) I meant to take pictures both times but honestly, I was too excited to start chowing down and didn't want to wait so I could snap a picture. I know, I know, I am crazy.<br />
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On Wednesday, we had the grandparents over for dinner. I think if our family had to choose our favorite meal, hands down it would be barbecue pork steak with parmesan potatoes. Seriously, best. meal. ever.<br />
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We also had Roma's Pizza one night. It was delicious as always but again I was too eager to eat to stop and take a picture. Oh well.<br />
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Amazingly I only gained 1 pound over the whole trip. I think that was due to all of the hard work we did on the inside of the house. More on that to come...<br />
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Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13852697528938921042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476094170872969409.post-8006126194716938082011-08-30T16:32:00.000-05:002011-09-16T09:26:15.999-05:00The many uses of toilet paper rolls.So awhile ago my cousin, Jessica, posted a picture of toilet paper roll art on her blog, <a href="http://jessicastiverson.blogspot.com/">My Cute Little Life</a>. I did a google search for more ideas of toilet paper roll art and decided that it would be the perfect medium for decorating our living room wall. Now this wall in the apartment is kind of large and I wanted something to span the whole length. So we ended up getting 4 canvases to hang equally spaced along the wall. By the way, Hobby Lobby is the place to go for canvases. The canvases we got came in packs of two and are super cheap when they are on sale 40% off or if you use one of their 50% coupons.<br />
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Here are the steps to do a project like this:<br />
1. Depending on your design, you may need a lot of toilet paper rolls. Ask friends and family to save up toilet paper rolls and paper towel rolls for you. (You will probably get some funny looks.) Explain to them what you are going to do with the rolls and get a few more funny looks.<br />
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2. Once you (or your friends and family) have gathered enough toilet paper rolls for your project, cut them down to the desired thickness. Flatten out the cardboard rolls and then measure and cut. I cut my strips to 1 cm widths.<br />
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3. Take a break from cutting all of those rolls because your hands are sore or try to convince your hubby to cut them for you.<br />
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4. Once you have all of your strips, lay them out on the canvas in the desired pattern.<br />
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5. After I had them in the layout I wanted, I hotglued the pieces together.<br />
6. Then I spray painted them with about 3 coats of primer and 2 coats of white paint.<br />
7. I wanted my canvases to be blue so I painted them with acrylic paint.<br />
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8. Once everything was dry, I hotglued the toilet paper pieces to the canvas in the corners and in a few spots in the middle.<br />
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9. Hang them on the wall and admire your super cheap artwork.<br />
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The thing that I love about this project is that it is super versatile. The hot glue keeps the rolls attached to the canvas but it will easily pop off with a little bit of force. The canvas isn't damaged so you can paint it a different color or reuse it for a completely different project.Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13852697528938921042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476094170872969409.post-49895332250097928372011-08-28T17:45:00.000-05:002011-09-16T09:26:27.933-05:00Well, what do you think?Hooray! My amazing hubby has finished updating the look of the blog. He did a wonderful job, didn't he? I want to point out a few features that you may find useful. On the left hand side there are lots of useful things. You will find a blog archive, where you can see all of the posts organized by month. There is also a "Tags" section where you can find blog posts that are related to each category. Beneath that there is an option to follow the blog via email. If you enter your email address you will automatically be sent an email with each new blog post. And finally there is the option to follow with Google Friend Connect aka your google account. Also, now comments automatically post as you from your facebook account if you are signed in. With this feature you have the option to post only to the blog or to also have your comments post to facebook as well. So try out some of the features and let me know what you think... or if anything is broken.<br />
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In other exciting news, my hubby gave me my birthday present early. I got a new DSLR camera and I am super excited! I have been taking pictures like crazy.<br />
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Will's parents celebrated their 29th anniversary this weekend and we had raspberry filled cupcakes to celebrate. How delicious do these look? Stay tuned... I will show you how simple it is to make beautiful cupcakes.</div>
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And Phoebe has turned into quite the model. Seriously I think I took around 100 pictures of her during my first day with the new camera.Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13852697528938921042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476094170872969409.post-63768423852855206852011-08-22T16:28:00.000-05:002011-08-22T16:28:23.456-05:00New name...... New look. That's right people, the blog is getting a new look and it will involve... chevron! Goodbye to the old, boring, plain blogger template/theme. Chevron is my current favorite pattern and I am trying to incorporate it everywhere. I am so excited that I have an amazing hubby who is creating a new design for the blog... he is just so wonderful to me! So posts probably won't be happening until the transformation is complete. Coming up, I have lots of fun things that I want to show you guys so keep checking back every now and then.Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13852697528938921042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476094170872969409.post-78133129264108992372011-08-08T23:55:00.001-05:002011-08-24T10:15:00.619-05:00The most pitiful thing you have ever seen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Phoebe's first bath.</div>
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The end.</div>
<br />Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13852697528938921042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476094170872969409.post-68487042500092564872011-08-05T17:51:00.003-05:002011-08-28T12:19:36.313-05:00Phoebe's surgery and an overemotional Erin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So Phoebe was spayed today. I cannot believe how emotional I was over this whole process. To be honest, I am a little embarrassed at how worried I was. My wonderful husband kept trying to reassure me that most dogs get spayed/neutered and that it isn't a big deal but I wasn't listening to reason. To top it all off, the mean lady that took Phoebe away didn't even let me say good-bye. She gave me papers to sign and then slipped around the corner and took her away. Sneaky little technician. Our poor pup was shaking and scared.<br />
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In the end, this day was probably much more traumatizing for me than it was for her. Everything went well with the surgery and she is resting at home, still groggy from the big day but doing just fine.<br />
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<br />Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13852697528938921042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476094170872969409.post-91279736713660753622011-08-04T21:28:00.001-05:002011-08-24T10:19:19.046-05:00Split peas and a registered nurse<div>
Did I tell you all that I passed the NCLEX? Well I did... back in June. I have been waiting all this time for my Texas nursing license to come. So this entire time even though I knew I was on my way to becoming a nurse, it wasn't official yet. But yesterday I finally got an envelop from the state of Texas that contained my license. So I am now officially Erin Davis R.N., BSN. * jumps for joy* Now the job hunt is officially on. Hopefully I won't have too hard of a time finding something that is a good fit for me. I will keep you posted.<br />
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On a completely different note. Split peas. These little guys are my new favorite decorative filler. At less than a dollar per bag they are great for filling up large vases. I also really like how they look compared to marbles or rocks. Currently they are filling up space in three vases on our living room mantle shelf thing and in two smaller vases in our bedroom.<br />
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These vases were left over from my bridal shower centerpieces. In our last apartment they were filled with flour, sugar, and pasta but we didn't really have the space to use them like that in our new place. So they ended up empty on this ledge just to get them out of the kitchen. I had been debating on whether or not to keep them or replace them with candlesticks or hurricane vases. I just didn't like them with the lids on and I didn't like them with the lids off because you could see the threads and that they were meant to have a lid. To solve that problem I wrapped the top of the vases with jute to cover up the threads and I am super pleased with how it turned out. I like how natural the look is and I am really enjoying having the candles lit in the evening.<br />
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Now I have to admit that this was not an original idea of mine. I saw the split peas in a couple of different places on <a href="http://pinterest.com/erind28/">Pinterest</a> as suggestions for fall decor and the twine was originally shown wrapped around the middle of flower vases as a diy wedding centerpiece. I love the combination together and how I didn't have to purchase new vases for the ledge.<br />
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Have you heard of Pinterest? It is only my absolute most favorite website right now. It is a website that is like a huge photo catalog with links back to interesting stuff on the internet. Currently I am pinning a ton of craft projects, recipes, inspiration for home decor, and fashion inspiration. Oh how I wish I would have known about Pinterest when I was planning our wedding. It is seriously awesome. <a href="http://pinterest.com/erind28/">You can click here to see my pinboards and look around</a>. Let me know if you like the site and think you would use it... I can send you an invite.<br />
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Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13852697528938921042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476094170872969409.post-13048213048547043632011-08-02T19:50:00.002-05:002011-08-24T10:20:09.762-05:00Stools So for the past couple of months I have been crafting and creating like crazy around this apartment. You have already seen two of those little projects and I have at least three more to show you after this post. One of the projects that turned out pretty well was adding padded seats to some stools.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pK6ZJSr-X4Y/Tjh0KgkltjI/AAAAAAAABBw/OrcGujtdDrI/s1600/Stool+original.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pK6ZJSr-X4Y/Tjh0KgkltjI/AAAAAAAABBw/OrcGujtdDrI/s320/Stool+original.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
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I started with two saddle stools that we ordered from Walmart. Our goal for these stools was to use them when we have company over for extra seating at our dining room table. The only problem was that our dining room table is a dark brown and I couldn't find saddle stools anywhere that would match our dining room set. We went ahead and ordered the black stools knowing that I would add some fabric to the top and that hopefully the black and brown difference wouldn't be too terribly noticeable.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vYA4rZDQ7kA/Tjh0IUuD7NI/AAAAAAAABBs/aIV-UtToPcQ/s1600/Stool+foam.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vYA4rZDQ7kA/Tjh0IUuD7NI/AAAAAAAABBs/aIV-UtToPcQ/s320/Stool+foam.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I got some two inch thick foam from Hobby Lobby, traced the shape of the seat with a sharpie and cut it out with a box cutter. (Hint: try to cut in a straight line up and down. The finished product can look all wonky if the foam isn't straight since it isn't covered with batting.) Add a little hot glue to the seat and attach the foam. Normally I would add a layer of batting over the foam to help give more cushion and smooth everything out but the lip under the seats was pretty narrow in some spaces and I didn't think I would be able to staple it down neatly.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ibTeW4Vmiyw/Tjh0NxZY8wI/AAAAAAAABB0/wFiKk6l02fo/s1600/Stool+w%253A+foam.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ibTeW4Vmiyw/Tjh0NxZY8wI/AAAAAAAABB0/wFiKk6l02fo/s320/Stool+w%253A+foam.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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To cover the foam I used extra fabric that I had left over from making our couch pillows. I don't have any pictures of the next step for four reasons. </div>
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1. I am new at this blogging thing and I easily forget that I want to put a project on my blog. </div>
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2. I get really excited about what I am doing and don't want to stop to take pictures because it slows me down.</div>
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3. I was super busy pulling, straightening and stapling the fabric over and over again.</div>
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4. Phoebe kept attacking me. See the proof in the above picture. Do you see her? Do you also see the toy that she kept ignoring no matter how much I begged her to play with it?</div>
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By the time I was finished, my fingertips were too sore to operate a camera. Here is a picture of the final product taken several days later:</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kWepB8NA_9A/Tjh0FW6IiFI/AAAAAAAABBo/NKP64iJBmzI/s1600/Stool+complete.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kWepB8NA_9A/Tjh0FW6IiFI/AAAAAAAABBo/NKP64iJBmzI/s320/Stool+complete.JPG" width="240" /></a> </div>
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What do you think? I like them and I am super proud of myself for getting the stripes straight.<br />
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Oh here are some pictures of the next two projects I am going to show you but I can't decide which one to do first. What do you think, 1 or 2?<br />
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Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13852697528938921042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6476094170872969409.post-56424126443163749012011-07-15T21:22:00.002-05:002011-08-24T10:19:58.073-05:00Favorite project to dateA while ago I got this idea to change a picture frame into a chalkboard frame and use it in the kitchen. I had a picture in my mind of the perfect frame and wanted one of those really chunky ornate ones. Since we have moved into this apartment I have been looking all over for the frame but couldn't seem to find the right one. Will put his foot down and said no to this one from IKEA.<br />
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<a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/images/products/ung-drill-frame__49617_PE145488_S4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/images/products/ung-drill-frame__49617_PE145488_S4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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And honestly it wasn't quite what I was looking for and the $30 price tag seemed a little high for an IKEA find. Also, Will didn't like the chalkboard idea and instead wanted to use dry erase board which I wasn't really too fond of. So I started feeling like this project was never going to happen and the wall in my kitchen would forever be bare. But then I spotted it! I was walking through the aisles of Hobby Lobby and found this adorable cork board with a great frame. Bummer that it was a cork board and not a picture frame though.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2Ncnv7pmJr0/TiDwlq7oTHI/AAAAAAAABA0/FdL6CvtjvqE/s1600/Frame+-+Cork.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2Ncnv7pmJr0/TiDwlq7oTHI/AAAAAAAABA0/FdL6CvtjvqE/s320/Frame+-+Cork.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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After a little investigation it turned out that it actually was a picture frame but instead of putting glass in it they replaced it with cork. So I went to their framing department and had them cut a piece of glass to fit. A quick stop by the fabric department for some burlap and<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"> v</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">oilĂ ! I decided to paint the frame green to give a nice pop of color in the kitchen.</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t5qnucRgybE/TiDw7Ft779I/AAAAAAAABA4/y4f7wxJxwRw/s1600/Frame+Paint.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t5qnucRgybE/TiDw7Ft779I/AAAAAAAABA4/y4f7wxJxwRw/s320/Frame+Paint.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">Don't be fooled by the picture. This job definitely should have been done with spray paint but I don't really have an ideal place to spray paint and didn't feel like carrying the whole project down to the grass in the Texas heat. So after many coats, throwing away many cheap paintbrushes because they left </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;">bristles behind, a trip to the store to get a better quality brush, and a coat of protective enamel it was finished! </span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-skC820XuoRc/TiDxmd0f67I/AAAAAAAABA8/wK0zT4zQUKQ/s1600/Frame+finished.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-skC820XuoRc/TiDxmd0f67I/AAAAAAAABA8/wK0zT4zQUKQ/s320/Frame+finished.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Right now it is being used as a to do list and a place to write down things that I need to get. When we have guests over I write the menu for the night on it.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DrrFIldaLUc/TiDxpqtlCpI/AAAAAAAABBA/t4DSldl0YZs/s1600/Frame+in+Place.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DrrFIldaLUc/TiDxpqtlCpI/AAAAAAAABBA/t4DSldl0YZs/s320/Frame+in+Place.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">There it is in our apparently very dark kitchen. Hmm I really should take better pictures of my projects.</span></span>Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13852697528938921042noreply@blogger.com0