Red Button Art - Family Sign

I've seen a lot of "button" art floating around on blogs and Pinterest lately. Most of what I've seen has used buttons to created monogrammed framed art. I really like the look and texture of the buttons, so I created my own art by using buttons on this family sign.

First, I went to Goodwill and spent $3 on a frame to repurpose for this project.

Then, I trimmed two pieces of scrapbook paper that I already had to fit inside the frame.

Next, I went to JoAnn's and got a variety of red buttons for about $5 total.

Then, I went home and using a large font, I printed the word "Family" on my computer.  Once the word was glued to the scrapbook paper, I hot glued a variety of red buttons to the letter "F".

Lastly, using acrylic craft paint, I quickly painted the wood frame black.

After the paint had dried over night, I hung my new piece of art on the family room wall. And as most of my projects do, this piece of art cost me less than $10:)

French Lick Resort Review

 

            This past Tuesday was our three year wedding anniversary.  We always try to celebrate our birthdays and anniversaries with a weekend getaway.  This year, Matt and I drove three hours southwest to the French Lick Resort, in French Lick, Indiana. 

            There is an old-world charm that exists throughout the one hundred and seventy year old resort.  The casino area appears to be newer and has a very cruise-shippy feel to it. Like cruise ships, the resort has everything one could possibly need for a vacation.  A guest at this resort has no reason to leave the hotel to have a good time with amenities such as restraunts, bars, a café, a deli, a pizzeria, an ice cream shop, a bowling ally, an arcade, an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, a fitness center, a spa, several gift shops and a casino.  Activities such as horseback riding, carriage rides, walking trails, hiking and biking are also available. 

            Unlike cruise ships, the resort is not all-inclusive, so a week here can easily be more expensive than a cruise ship ticket.  We managed to stay under budget by eating dinner at the deli, going to the ice cream shop for dessert and having breakfast at the buffet.  We spent the majority of our downtime walking around the gardens, window shopping the different shops and enjoying the pool area.  We’re not much for gambling, but when we do go to a casino we put a $20 cap on playing slot machines and view it as entertainment, much like going to a movie or playing arcade games at Dave and Buster's.  Since we wouldn’t spend more than $20 at a movie, we choose not spend more than $20 in a casino.   However, this past weekend, we quit the casino after loosing just $2:) We should have stopped when we were 85 cents ahead, but we got greedy and lost the whole two bucks....lol.  To be honest, the smoke in the casino was more than I could take.   I felt like I needed a shower after being around it for just five minutes.  

         Overall, we really enjoyed our stay and had a good time getting away for the weekend.  Here are a few pictures of our stay at the French Lick Resort.....

Upon entering the resort.....

....I felt as if I was being taken back in time.

This was my view as I was waiting in the hotel lobby for my husband to check us in.

 The old-world charm was everywhere, and I greatly appreciated the detail that went into maintaining that feeling throughout the resort.

 The bed was very comfortable.  I slept like a baby.  We stayed in a basic room with a basic bath.....

....but again, the old-world charm was still felt in this space.

The weather was very nice for our stay....

....and the grounds were beautiful.

Matt losing our $2.

Ice cream time:)

We enjoyed the pool facilities during our stay.

Breakfast.....

.....and some morning reading on the porch completed our stay.

DIY Beaded Lamp Shades

I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts that we’ve been working on getting our guestroom set up.  Today, I want to share about the pair of lamps I found for the room.

 I found these lamps at Goodwill before Christmas and purchased them with the guestroom in mind.  Both lamps were priced at $15 a piece, which is kind of high for Goodwill.  Since I bought them on the first Saturday of the month, I only paid $15 for both of them. 

That’s still probably more than I would have liked to pay. These are really nice lamps though, and I was just kind of drawn to them.

Knowing that I still needed lamp shades for my new lamps, I went to my craft closet and pulled out two shades that I got during last year’s garage sale season.  I paid a quarter a piece for them and thought that I could get a little creative with them. 

To start this project, I first had to tear off the ugly fabric.

Second, I cleaned the glue from the fabric off the frame and spray painted it with this metallic spray paint.

Once the frame was prepped, I started the beading process. I already had beading thread, but I needed to buy some beads, so I kept my eye on the Hobby Lobby weekly ads. I waited for the week that beads were half off, and then I bought eight bags of these beads (110 beads per pack/sized 12 mm).

FYI: After I bought my beads, I found some here on Amazon for a similar price to the sale price at Hobby Lobby, but the Amazon size is smaller than mine (1,000 beads per pack/sized 6mm).   I also found these beads (480 beads per pack/8mm) here on Amazon .  If you really don't want to spend hours stringing beads, and you aren't opposed to spending a little more money, go here to find 30 feet of linked beads for $20.

Once I had my supplies, I was ready for the beading process to begin.   To do this, I first had to knot a piece of beading thread to the top of the lamp frame.

Once the knot was secure, I beaded the thread, like I would a necklace, the length of the frame.

Then, I knotted the end of the thread to the bottom of the lamp frame.

I repeated until I had beaded enough strands for the frame….

 I screwed the lamp shade onto the base of the lamp…..

…..turned it on, and watched it glimmer:)

In the end, each lamp shade cost about $5 a piece, and I really like the way they look in the guest room.

The Pinterest Plunge

It’s finally happened….I’ve been sucked in…..yes, I’ve taken the plunge….the Pinterest plunge, that is:)  I could no longer resist the undeniable inspiration and organization Pinterest has to offer.  I've been avoiding this for fear of becoming addicted to pinning, but it's too late.....addicted I have become:) 

The truth is, I really only took this plunge because a good part of my blog stats were coming from Pinterest.  I thought it was time to intermingle the two.   In doing so, I’ve added a Pinterest button to my blog.  Won’t you come along the Pinterest journey with me?  Click the Pinterest button on my blog and you too can follow all of my Pinterest fun.

DIY Wedding Vow Art

Three years ago today, Matt and I stood before our pastor and our parents and became husband and wife.  The vows we said on that day are not taken lightly.  For that reason, I wanted to display those vows in our home as a visible reminder of those sacred vows.  So on this day, our three year anniversary, Matt woke up to the following project displayed on our bedroom wall. 

I got the idea for this project several months ago, when I saw someone do a similar project on their blog. At the time, I made a mental note to create a similar project for our next anniversary. I’m usually pretty good about giving credit to people when credit is do, but for the life of me, I can’t figure out where I originally saw the idea for this project. Just know that whoever you are, you inspired me:)

Here's how my DIY vow art was created........

First I bought an appropriate sized frame at Goodwill for this project.  I made sure to shop for a frame the first Saturday of the month at Goodwill.  That is the one day a month everything in the store is half off.  I ended up paying $3 for this frame. 

Once I was ready to begin this project,  I taped around the glass.  I could have taken the glass out of the frame instead of taping it, but this method seemed just as easy to me.

Using a sponge roller, I then painted the glass…..

……. with some chalk board paint that I had from a previous project.  Sponge rollers can be found at Wal-Mart or any craft store for a few dollars.

Once the paint was dry, I began prepping the board for writing. To do this, I used tape to make sure I was writing in a straight line. 

To make sure the spacing of my words looked right, I wrote in pencil before going over the letters with a paint marker. 

Because I wanted the vows to permanently be written on the board, I chose to use a fine point paint marker for this project instead of chalk.   Paint markers can be found at craft stores for $3-6. 

Projects like these make me envious of people who have perfect penmanship.  That is something that I do not have.  I seriously considered paying someone to do the writing for me, but I knew Matt would prefer this art in my own handwriting. 

Overall, Matt really liked this project.   It's nice to have a visual reminder of the sacredness of our wedding ceremony and the promises that were made to each other and to God on that special day.

Ready for Spring Showers With My Rain Boots

While I do realize that it currently feels like summer flip flop weather, spring is technically just two days away.  Around here spring time brings rain showers, and for that you gotta have a cute pair of rain boots;)

I got these cute Paris boots at the beginning of February.  It seems like every time I where them someone is asking me where I got them, so I decided to do a quick post on them.   

I found my boots at Stein Mart and paid $25 for them.  Stein Mart had a pretty good selection of patterned rain boots when I got mine.  In fact, the selection was so good that I had a hard time figuring out which pattern I wanted to buy.  In the end, I couldn’t resist the pink and black look of these Paris bootsJ

More TP Art

 Yesterday, I mentioned that we have been working on our guestroom.  I also mentioned how frugal and creative I've been trying to be in this space.  And that's where yesterday's post,Toilet Paper Tubes Turned  into Art, came in.  Today, I want to share with you more toilet paper art:) 

I am often inspired by other people's creations, but I rarely ever like other people's creations so much that I make the exact same creation....that is until now. 

Several months ago I saw this post from Just a Girl, and I knew I had to create the same piece of art for the guestroom.  In general, toilet paper art is pretty genious, but Just A Girl took it to a new level of genious.  Her peice was simple but beautiful, and I loved it!  The only thing I did different on mine was add a ribbon.  I also used fewer flowers, because my board was a little smaller than hers.  Overall, I'd say it looks really good in the guestroom, especially considering what it's made of;)

Because I had leftover paint, hot glue and ribbon from previous projects, the only thing I had to buy for this project was the foam board.  Since I found my foam board at the Dollar Tree, this project cost me a grand total of $1.  Here's how to turn toilet paper tubes into art......

Cut each tube into six pieces.

Using hot glue, glue the ends of two pieces and pinch them together like this…..

….until you have glued four pieces together to form a flower like this.

Spray paint each individual flowers using a primer or a paint that will stick to all surfaces, even plastic.  For some reason, basic $1 spray paint didn’t stick to the tubes, so I had to buy  $5 primer.

Once the flowers dry, hot glue them to a foam board.  I found my board at the Dollar Tree, but most stores will have them for less than $5.

Next, tie a ribbon and hot glue the ends of the ribbon to the back of the board....

.....so it hangs like this.  One small nail is all you need to hang this light piece of art.

Not too bad for $1 art, huh? I think it looks pretty good in the guestroom.  The best part is that when we are ready to turn the guestroom into a nursery or a kid's room, I won't feel too bad getting rid of the guestroom decor, because I barely spent any money on it:)