Sometimes Homemade - Mom. Professional. Design lover. Sometimes crafter. Aspiring cook. Reformed perfectionist.

Monogram Gallery Wall

May 15, 2013 No comments

If you follow my blog regularly, you’ve seen that I’ve been working on a monogram gallery wall collection for my mantel by making several diy monogram letters. I’m happy to share with the finished project!

I’ve numbered all the Monogram Letter H’s in the photo above with descriptions and links to projects or purchase notes below.

Vintage Metal Letter H – purchased from Hobby Lobby
Acid Etched Letter H – purchased from Urban Outfitters
Vintage Wood Tile Letter - made using a bare wood tile board. Click the link for my instructions.
Aged Paint Monogram – get the step-by-step tutorial from my recent post.
Letter Press H’s – I purchased these from Etsy. 6 vintage letter press letters in varying heights.
Framed Monogram Letter H - This was the easiest of all my monograms. Click the link for details.
Silver Plated Letter H – I’ve had this one since our wedding 12 years ago. Purchased at TJ Maxx.
Burlap Monogram Letter H - Includes wedding year. Get the step-by-step instructions.

There are a few other projects I’ve posted about previously in the mantel gallery as well. Button Flowers which are next to the Aged Paint Letter and then the Double Framed Family Tree in the center. Not to be left out, I restained our mantel during this process as well. I’m so happy that things match a little better now.

Some of my favorite elements of the mantel gallery aren’t new. The wedding pictures you see on the shelves on the right side and the silver plated H were from our wedding. We had all of our immediate family members’ wedding photos printed in black and white and displayed at our guest book table at our wedding – parents, siblings, and our grandparents. At the time we got married all of our grandparents were still alive, and it was really important to us to honor that and hold up the example they had shown us about successful marriages. It’s still such a special reminder that we have always displayed them prominently in our house. See below for a picture of the display at our wedding. At the time we just had our engagement picture, which has since been replaced with our own wedding picture.

Linked Up At: Someday Crafts; 52 Mantels; Live, Laugh, Rowe; Shabby Creek Cottage; Simply Designing; Thirty Handmade Days; Diana Rambles; Too Much Time On My Hands; Tatertots and Jello

Aged Paint Monogram {tutorial}

May 13, 2013 No comments

I think this aged paint monogram will be the last project for my mantel monogram gallery. I promise I won’t stop making monogram decor, I’ll just have to find some new spaces for them! I’ve had this aged paint technique saved from the Brassy Apple for several months and finally got a chance to try it out.

While there are several steps, it’s a pretty simple process to get this distressed look.

Supplies:

Wooden letter (any size)
Acrylic craft paint – dark brown, mustard yellow, and then a top color – I used red.
Foam brush
Pure bar soap (no fragrance, dyes, etc)
Sandpaper

First paint your letter the brown base color. Since I was going to be painting with additional coats of other colors and sanding between, I only did one one coat of each color and didn’t worry about perfect coverage. After the first coat dries, rub the parts of your letter that you want to be most distressed looking. There’s not science to this. I did a few middle spots and some edges.

Next paint a yellow coat on top of the brown coat and soap layer. If you want you can leave a few spots unpainted or less painted or you can choose to just sand it a little more later. Then, take your sand paper and sand the places where you rubbed your soap. You should be able to see them pretty well, but if not, just go over lightly with your sandpaper. The paint will rub off easily in the spots you applied soap.

After you have done your first round of sanding, go over some of the spots you originally soaped along with a few new ones if you wish. Then do your final coat of paint with your third color.

Finally, sand through the soap spots and on some of the edges. Brush off any additional soap flecks. I painted mine both front and back, so that I could decide which side I liked better.

This aged paint technique for making something look distressed or antiqued would work for most wood projects. You could also use different base colors other than the brown and yellow, but I liked the look of this as I felt like it almost gave it the look of rusted metal.

If you ever try this technique, leave a link in the comments to show it off. I’d love to see other aged paint projects.

Linked Up At: Craft-O-Maniac; Uncommon Designs; Today’s Creative Blog; Naptime Creations; Not Just a Housewife; Housewife How To’s; Daisy Cottage Designs; Craftberry Bush; Thirty Handmade Days; Diana Rambles; Whipperberry; Too Much Time on My Hands; Tatertots and Jello

Fireplace Update – No More Brass!

May 9, 2013 No comments

Earlier this week I posted about my staining my oak mantel a little darker to try to banish some of the 80′s from my living room. One of the things that bothered me the most about the fireplace though was the brassy doors. I decided to try a quick and easy fireplace update on the doors using high heat spray paint.

This was definitely one of the quickest DIY home improvement projects I’ve done. On the left is the fireplace after staining the mantel darker with the brass finish fireplace doors. The photo on the right is after the update to to fireplace doors.

First I taped off and covered the fireplace doors and surround that I didn’t want sprayed using painters tape and newspaper.

Then, I used Rustoleum High Heat spray paint in black to spray the brass trim on the doors. I sprayed two coats waiting about 20 minutes for drying in between.

I then let it dry completely for about a half hour and removed the tape and paper.

Such an inexpensive, simple and quick update, but I think it really makes a difference. Spray paint is such a wonderful thing!

I finally finished my mantel monogram gallery and it looks awesome on my “new” mantel, but I need to wait for this weekend to take pictures so I can do it during daylight hours because our living room doesn’t get much natural light. It feels good to get some projects done and crossed off the list!

Linked Up At: Craftberry Bush; A Night Owl; Tatertots & Jello

Oak Mantel Makeover

May 7, 2013 Comments: 3

A few weeks ago posted about what to do with my honey oak trim – paint or re-stain it? I like the look of darker wood trim and I also like the look of white trim, what I don’t like is what I have. If we were going to stay in our house more than another year or two, I’d probably replace it all. In the end, I’m not sure if I’m going to tackle the whole house, so I figured staining it a little darker and warmer would be the best option. This weekend I decided to tackle updating my honey oak mantel.

I tried the technique out on a few pieces of extra trim from the kitchen to make me feel more comfortable with the color of the stain, the technique and the number of coats.

Supplies:

General Finishes Gel Stain in Brown Mahagony
Painters tape
White cotton tube socks
Wiping cloths (cut up t-shirts work well)
Plastic or rubber gloves
Wood Deglosser & scouring pad (optional)

I had heard great things about General Finishes gel stains, and luckily it’s sold locally at the Woodsmith’s store in Des Moines, so I was able to go to the store and ask the people there some questions on what color I wanted to use for my oak mantel makeover.

Clean and prep: I started by dusting and cleaning the wood on the mantle. When I did my test on the trim, I did nothing more than wipe down the wood and it turned out fine. Since I had some deglosser left from another project, I decided to use it on the mantle before applying the stain. I used a scouring pad with deglosser on it to in circular and wiping motions. I then used damp cotton cloths to wipe off the deglosser. It took about 15 minutes. After that I used painter’s tape to tape off the wall, tile, and carpet around the mantle. I hate this part of any painting or staining project!

Applying the stain: To apply the stain, I put on a plastic glove and then put my hand inside a tube sock. Then I scooped a little bit of stain out with my covered hand and rubbed it evenly on one section of the mantle and then using a clean wiping cloth (cut up t-shirts), I wiped off the excess stain. The directions indicated you should work on small sections at a time, so I split mine into four parts – top, front and underneath, left side, right side. After applying the stain in a section, I let it sit for about 1-2 minutes and then started wiping off.

After doing each section once, I decided I wanted the finish just a little deeper, so I waited about 1.5 hours to let everything dry and then repeated everything for a second coat. The directions said to sand lightly between coats, but I didn’t and the finish still came out very smooth. I let everything dry overnight and decided I didn’t need to do any sort of top coat. The directions said it was optional. If this was a bathroom or kitchen cabinet, I would have used a finish coat, but since this is a low traffic and no moisture area, I felt it wasn’t necessary.

Prep including taping took approximately 45 minutes. Staining each coat took a half hour with 1.5 hours in between for drying. For such a small time investment of less than 2 hours of work, I’m really happy with the results!

Here’s a look at the restained mantel.

And here’s a sneak peak at a post to come later this week, I got rid of that ugly brass on my fireplace doors.

Next up – I am going to use the same technique on the trim in my kitchen. I’m not sure I’ll go farther with it than that. That seems manageable. As much as I’d like to get rid of all of the honey oak in my house the thought of spending the time to do my staircase, all the doors and every inch of trim for a house we aren’t going to live in much longer reminds me to value my time a little more. We’ll see…

Linked Up At: Today’s Creative Blog; Not Just A Housewife; Housewife How To’s; Daisy Cottage Designs; Someday Crafts; 52 Mantels; Live, Laugh, Rowe, Shabby Creek Cottage; Thirty Handmade Days; Diana Rambles; Too Much Time On My Hands; Whipperberry

40th Birthday Collage

May 5, 2013 Comments: 2

One of my more popular posts is often the one from my husband’s 40 Rocks Birthday Party. I like seeing that because it reminds me of a really fun night with family and great friends. I’ve also had quite a few questions on the 40th birthday collage I did. I think it’s the only project from the party that I didn’t actually write a post on at the time, so here goes…

Since the party was at a winery, I needed to do virtually everything before hand so we could set everything up in about an hour that afternoon. The process was fairly simple for the 4-0 collage I made. The most time consuming part was sorting through all of the pictures and deciding which ones to use.

Here’s what I used:

Large pieces of cardboard
Pencil and black marker
Ruler or carpenter’s square with ruler
Exacto Knife
Photos
Clear tape

First I started out with a large piece of cardboard. We had just bought a new TV for ourselves as our family Christmas present, so I used the box from it. I cut it apart using the knife so I just had the front and back pieces.

Using a carpenter’s square I drew out my numbers. I tried to get them fairly perfect when I drew and cut them out, and then I later realized it didn’t matter quite as much since I was covering them with pictures and just needed the general shape. I drew them in pencil first to get my proportions down and then when over it with a Sharpie in order to be able to see the right lines to cut.

Luckily we had just removed our hardwood floor in the kitchen, so I was able to do the cutting there. I carefully used the Exacto knife to cut along the traced lines.

After that I was ready to start placing my photos. First I selected all of the photos I thought about using and then started to lay them out without using any tape at this point. I separated them somewhat chronologically and grouped together the pictures of my husband growing up and with his family, his high school years, his college years, our wedding and life since. After I had most of my photos in the places I wanted them, I started taping them down. I used regular clear tape to affix them to the cardboard. I made tape loops and used about 2 per photo.

These were pretty heavy and the winery didn’t want us taping directly to the walls. I took one of them to there the week before the event to figure out how we were going to put them on the wall. They had some very heavy magnets for us to use on their metal walls, so we were able to use duct tape to tape the magnets to the back of the numbers and then the magnets stuck to the walls. Several loops of duct tape in various places on the back of each would have secured them though. We also considered stapling a rope or ribbon to the backs and hanging them. I would highly suggest testing out the hanging mechanism prior to the day of your event.

Since the party was a “40 Rocks” theme, I just created a little “Rocks” sign to hang next to the photos. I wish I had made this a little bigger, but I knew there wasn’t a lot of extra room in the area we were hanging it. I found a blow up guitar at a local party store to round it out. After the party, I took the photos off of the cardboard backing and removed the tape. We did keep the 4-0 cutouts for now.

Linked Up At: Uncommon Designs; Skip To My Lou; Naptime Creations; Not Just a Housewife; Someday Crafts; DIY Showoff

DIY Cause Bracelets

May 2, 2013 Comments: 4

A few months ago one of my best friends daughters was diagnosed with leukemia. Thankfully she is responding well to treatment so far and her prognosis is very good. There was a huge outpouring of support for them and a benefit was planned early on. Aside from attending the benefit and rallying some of our friends for a donation, in true DIY fashion, I wracked my brain for something special I could do for my friend to show my support. Since I was addicted to making bracelets at the time (and still am), I decided to make my friend some DIY cause bracelets. The official support color for leukemia is orange, and since they would be going through treatments for over two years, I figured they could use some stylish accessories. Both of her daughters are girly girls and and love jewelry.

Some of these I’ve done tutorials on before, and a few I have yet to post on. I was in a bit of a hurry to get them all finished in time for the benefit, so I didn’t take the time to do step-by-step photos on the new ones. I will in the next few weeks though.

	Circle Inspiration Bracelet My friend, her daughter and their whole family have shown amazing strength through this whole process, so I thought the “strength” charm was very fitting.
	DIY Tube Wrap Bracelet This one was a great stylish addition, easy to make and great for layering and blending into a regular wardrobe.
	T-Shirt Finger Weave Bracelet I made this bracelet for each of the girls. For the one going through treatment, I figured it would be comfortable to wear. Because they are close in age, it seemed like a good idea to have them get matching ones.
	Macrame Knot and Bead Bracelet I haven’t posted a tutorial on this one yet, but I will son and will update this post with the links. I originally tried to make this for my friend, but I cut the leather too short, so it ended up being for her daughter.
	Paracord Bracelet Tutorial to come on this one soon. I made this one for the dad. It doubles as a survival bracelet since it’s about 9 feet of parachute cord, so I think that made it acceptable guy-wear.

I will say, orange is a tough color to find in leather cord. I was able to order it from LimaBeads.com. The parachute cord is a little easier to come by. I ordered mine from Amazon.

My friend’s family still has a long road ahead of them, so any positive thoughts and prayers you can send their way are appreciated. I pray their daughter continues to respond to treatment and they maintain the strength and amazing fighting spirit they’ve had in them since the start of this battle.

Linked Up At: 52 Mantels; Live Laugh Rowe; Shabby Creek Cottage; Craftberry Bush; Simply Designing; Thirty Handmade Days; Diana Rambles; Whipperberry; Tatertots and Jello; A Night Owl; Too Much Time On My Hands; DIY Showoff; Craft-O-Maniac

April Wrap Up

April 30, 2013 No comments

April felt like a productive month for us. While the weather wasn’t great during most of the month here in Iowa, it’s starting to come around. Here’s our month in photos, both from the blog and from our family.

Follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Intstagram to stay up to date all month long!

Lots of Monogram decorating projects as I finish up our monogram mantle gallery and a few extras. I hope to be able to finish it up in May and be able to share it with you.

Vintage Inspired Wood Tile Letter

Vintage Inspired Wood Tile Letter

Monogram Scrabble Tile

Stenciled Garden Rocks – A great Mother’s Day Gift idea!

Stenciled Garden Rocks

I was also working on various gifts and made a few new bracelets. These would also make great Mom’s Day Gifts!

Circle Inspiration Bracelet

Bead and Knot Cord Bracelet

I finally got around to printing off and framing a few of my Instagram photos.

Shadow Box Framed Instagram Photos

Not too many new recipes this month, but a few.

Mini Baked Spinach Dip Cups

Baked Chicken Taquitos

Crunchy Chipotle Chickpeas

Crunchy Chipotle Chickpeas

We had a busy month with family activities and friends too.

Carter started soccer in early April which started out a bit rocky, but he’s enjoying it more now. Here’s the first week and the third week comparison pictures. As you can see it was still hat weather for both games. His expression in the first picture cracks me up every time I look at it!

Carter Soccer [instagram url=http://instagram.com/p/YVZa5WPd0f/ width=500]

We had a few nice days where we made trips to the park. Here’s one where we spent an afternoon doing all sorts of boy things – tree climbing, digging in the sand, and climbing UP the slide.

[instagram url=http://instagram.com/p/X0T5qsPd3Z/ width=500]

Last week I went to a conference for work in Palm Beach, FL. We stayed at the PGA National resort. While I didn’t golf, I still enjoyed the scenery. I’m happy to be done with work travel for a little while!

[instagram url=http://instagram.com/p/YcoDQIvd6q/ width=500]

We had a wedding this past weekend for some long time friends. Carter looked quite handsome in his little tie and hat. He was a dancing machine at the reception. We had a good time too!

Here’s to a great May!

Baked Chicken Taquitos

April 29, 2013 Comments: 2

There’s one recipe I’ve pinned from Pinterest that I’ve made far more than any others – Baked Chicken Taquitos. I originally got the recipe from Seeded at the Table, but I have modified it to fit our tastes – we like things a little on the spicy side. The last few times, I’ve made a double batch and frozen the second batch. You can make these as a appetizer or a main dish with some Mexican rice or other sides.

Baked Chicken Taquitos

Ingredients:

2.5 ounces softened cream cheese
1/4 cup salsa verde (I’m loving one I found from Guy Fieri)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp hot Mexican chili powder (you can also use regular chili powder)
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro
2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded
1 cup shredded Mexican flavored cheese
10 small flour tortillas
sea salt
cooking spray

Directions:

Heat over to 425 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Mix together cream cheese, salsa verde, cumin, chili powder, onion powder garlic, cilantro. Then add cheese and chicken and mix together well.

Spread out a small handful of the chicken mixture onto the bottom portion of the tortilla and then roll up.

Place them on your parchment lined cookie sheet so they don’t touch. Spray lightly with cooking spray and then sprinkle with sea salt.

Bake at 425 degrees for about 17-20 minutes, depending on your oven. You want the edges brown and the middle slightly brown, but you don’t want them to get too crispy.

Let cool for a few minutes. The filling will be hot! You can serve plain or topped with salsa, sour cream or other favorite fixings. I prefer mine plain and then dip in salsa. My husband likes to load them up.

To freeze for later, simply stop before the baking part, put them in the freezer to firm them up on the baking sheet or a plate – about 30 minutes. Then transfer them to a freezer bag. When you’re ready to bake them, you don’t need to thaw them out. You can just place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment, spray the tops with cooking spray, sprinkle with salt, and then bake them at 425 degrees for 17-20 minutes.

Linked Up At: Skip To My Lou; This Gal Cooks; Today’s Creative Blog; Naptime Creations; Too Much Time On My Hands

« Previous Entries

Monogram Gallery Wall

Aged Paint Monogram {tutorial}

Fireplace Update – No More Brass!

Oak Mantel Makeover

40th Birthday Collage

DIY Cause Bracelets

April Wrap Up

Baked Chicken Taquitos

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