Still To Come...

Hello again! I've been working feverishly to get this vintage-inspired project done. It's taken me a few days to get done, since I have only been able to devote time to it when the kids are asleep. Hopefully I'll have it up for you Monday or Tuesday. In the mean-time, you should check out Poppies at Play's Parade of Homes click here to be transported over there. There is so much creativity floating around out there. If only I can hone-in on some of that stuff...
Here are a few other linky parties going on that I think are great.
Chic on a Shoestring's Party
Miss Mustard Seed's Party
and
Common Ground's Vintage Inspiration Party

Have a WONDERFUL weekend!


P.s. Stay tuned for a giveaway in the coming days!

The Quiet Activity Book

Hello, friends! I made my son a quiet book a while ago. Actually, about 18 months ago. It has just been sitting in a closet because I didn't have the grommets to finish it and make it into a book, rather than pages of muslin fabric. So here it is, almost 2 years later than previously anticipated... drumroll please!

TA-DA! The quiet book. We really struggle with keeping Jude's attention during church, (we sit in a confined pew for one hour) with a VERY active 2 year old, it's quite an accomplishment if he didn't escape from our bench more than 5 times.

I made this book all from ideas in my head, no pattern, no nothing really to go off of, other than my superbly awesome ideas. I did all of this before I had my cutting machine, so all of the shapes and letters were all cut by hand. The "pages" are muslin (I just used the cheapest kind) that is 12" x 12". All of the shapes and letters and anything on the pages is felt. I did a lot of hand sewing, because I frankly really suck with my machine.

The alphabet, obviously.

Hopefully this can help him learn
how to button his own coat...

I did the sew-on snaps for everything. I did want the
tearing velcro sound in the middle of a very quiet
Sacrament meeting... I think that sound is annoying.

Learn the colors. I had wanted to do a rainbow,
but then I decided to something a bit more
   original. It took me forever to figure out how to cut
the umbrella pieces.

Shapes, don't look to closely at the sewing I did with
the machine, it's a little skeewompus.

I LOVE LOVE these pages, they are for counting. Each
number has it's own abacus made with a shoestring,
and star beads, can he can slide back and forth as
he counts. It goes to 10, I just didn't take a picture of
the other page.

This is probably Jude's favorite page. He is obsessed
with cars, in all their varieties. 

"The Garage"

The seasons pages, Spring's raindrops are snaps.
Summer sun's ray's are snaps as well.

The leaves, the snowman's hat, nose and buttons can
all come off too.

It does keep him quiet.

Mostly...

All of the pages are my ideas, I own them. If you decide to use them, you may only use them for your personal use. Do not sell them. If you have any questions about how to make your own quiet activity book, feel free to email, or leave a question in the comments. I do read and reply to every one that has an email, or I'll just leave the reply in the comments.

My World

All around you is a beautiful world of inspiration. A little photo editing can be really inspiring. These are images from my town. I know it will make it look very quaint and rustic, but I drove a ways to get these photos. I do live in a small town, however, it is mostly residential. Not many businesses. It is a wonderful place to raise a family. We absolutely love it here.

 As I have said before, here in Utah, Spring hasn't quite sprung yet. Just last week, we were playing outside, (I even got a sunburn!) Only to wake up on Sunday morning to a few inches of snow. The tumultuous Utah Spring has me craving for when Spring really does arrive.

And now, the photos... 

A beautiful view of the wheat field a few miles down
the road

Something about this set up of a water tank, a broken-
down building, and a few hod-podge farm items speaks
to me. Especially with this sepia tone. It makes think of
the Pioneers and what the unsettled territory must have
looked like.

Aren't the mountains beautiful?

All of these photos (along with all of the chippy, broken, worn-in items that are so frequently blogged about) have inspired me to take a new direction with my kitchen. I've got a lot of wonderful ideas up my sleeve, and I can't wait to show them to you all. Keep watching, I've even got a give-away coming up!

What items (or pictures, or just ideas) give you inspiration?

You can share them in the comments, or email to me!!

Show Off

Okay, I wanted to show off my Antiqued Family canvas. Here it is in it's permanent home; my mom's house. Look at how adorable her vignette is! The 2 little cup things with straws coming out are from Argentina. They are some kind of cup that the Argentine people drink tea out of. My little brother just got back from a 2 year LDS mission there. For those who don't know, we haven't seen him in two whole years, we only get a weekly email from him and can only hear his voice over the telephone twice a year. 

Anyway, The wreath she has so great, and Springy, I am also a wee bit jealous of her awesome wainscoting.  (My dad made it!)

Everyone keeps showing pictures of their beautiful Spring flowers, and everything looks so lovely. This is what Utah still looks like. Every day. I can't wait for the 68 degree weather expected this weekend, maybe that will help some flowers start, or at least this tree outside my house. I miss green. I want some budding something to bring into my house. Here's hoping that Spring will soon reach us here in Utah.

My Talented Dad

My dad is awesome. He was always DIY'ing around our house growing up. He taught us (my brother, sister and I) how to work hard, and enjoy working hard. Our beds were always handmade. Our home was practically built by him, and he always made use the coolest furniture pieces. He made this tool bench for my little J-man. Complete with drawing station, pegboard, and extra storage. Jude just loves his tool bench, and has to show it to all of his friends when they come over.

I just wanted to publicly thank my father. I look up to him so much, and am truly blessed to be his daughter. Thanks for ALL you have done, and continue to do for me, and my family. Love ya, Dad!

Tool storage, just like a real workshop.

Drawing station, complete with lots
of butcher paper for Jude's creative
little guy mind.

The main surface is a re-purposed butcher
block cutting board that I believe was
my Grandmother's.

The MUCH needed storage!

Aren't fathers (and grandfathers) the greatest?

Linking to: Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday

"Antiqued" Family

Hey all! I am really excited to post this project. I spent a bit of time doing it, but it is totally worth it. I am giving it to my mother, who is a wonderful woman, and she inspired me to be the person I am today. {And I am really great.}

    This is the end product, go through 

           all of the pictures to get the know-how 

to make this beautiful artwork (on the cheap!) for your house!

First, get a canvas. I got mine at Hobby Lobby (hereafter
knows as Hobbs) I got 2 canvases for $8 with coupon.
Then tear out pages from the phone book, and line them
up like so. We don't want any blank canvas showing
through. I put the straight edges on the outside so I
wouldn't have to fold them in.

Use Mod Podge to glue it down.

Love the texture. I ripped up extra pages and placed them
over the seams so you wouldn't see straight edges in
the middle of the canvas.

Fold corners like you would a present. We want it
to look pretty.

Paint the phone book pages the color you want your
words to be. I chose black, obviously.

Cut out your vinyl and place it to your liking. If you
don't use vinyl, you can make a stencil out of cardstock.
You would just do different steps than what I did.

After you've placed your vinyl, paint over the whole thing,
vinyl and all. This color will be the main color you want.

After the paint dries, peel off the vinyl letters.

There may be some areas where the black comes off.
This is okay, just go through with a paintbrush to
touch up the areas that came off. Remember though,
this is supposed to look old, so you don't have to
do every part that came off. Unless you don't want the
letters to look old.

Sand it for some extra antiquing.

I added some more paint to the corners and a bit
throughout the middle to give it a more aged look.

And voile! Your finished project looks
beautifully antiqued.

These words all mean family in another language. I don't remember all that I got, but there is French, Spanish, Italian, Irish, and a few others I can't pronounce. I just used Google Translate, and found the words that fit. There were a lot of different languages that used the same spelling though. 
The total cost of this project for me was $6! Can't beat that. 

Have you made any art projects? What have you done?

Linking to: Anything you Want Wednesday at Free Pretty Things For You, and Common Ground's Vintage inspiration, Chic on a Shoestring's Flaunt It Friday

Vintage-Inspired Art

Hey all! I finally got the canvases done! WHEW! Who knew that having an extra kid around would really impede my crafting? Anywho, I bought two packs of canvases from Hobby Lobby that came with 2 canvases. I also used a %40 off coupon. The 2 pack canvases are $8 but with the coupon and 2 packs I spent around $12 for 4. Not a bad deal, if you ask me. My idea was to make vintage-y looking flash cards. I did a car, truck and airplane. 

So, I found a few images from the internet that were perfect: A car and truck from the 1930's, and an airplane that is from... a long time ago. I taped the printed out image onto the back of the canvas and held it up to the light. If I thought that the image wasn't big enough, I just enlarged it by eye-balling it. 

I am a texture fiend so of course I had to take a close
up of the canvas' texture.

Here they are!

I have been trying to figure out which is my favorite, but
there are just so many things about each one that I love.

Well, there you have it; my vintage-inspired DIY very cheap canvases. Every time Jman walks into his room, he loves to point out the plane, car and truck. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do! 
What art projects have you done for your house?


Edited to add: I am linking up to this party Chic on a Shoestring, Freckled Laundry, and Common Ground's Vintage inspiration, Jennifer Rizzo