hey pinterest, thanks.

If I am lacking inspiration, I can usually count on Pinterest to get my mind going. I love scrolling through the endless crafts, recipes and pictures posted. And every so often, I find myself saying, "I would LOVE to do that!" So I save the image or idea and put it aside for another time. But how often do I actually make or create those things? Not often. 

So I have decided when I am feeling that creative pull, I'll go pick out something I have "pinned" and give it a try. Here are two of my recent projects, Pinterest inspired of course. 

1. What I found: This cute canvas where you can use vinyl letters to create text of your choice, paint over everything, and then pull the letters away to reveal your finished piece.

Finished product! 

2. What I found: This little fabric banner! I really liked the sizing of the words she used, so I kept the feel of it very similar. 
 
Finished product! 

I love the finished pieces! 
So tell me, what have you been creating lately? 


meg

DIY: Potato stamp fun

Sometimes it just feels nice to start making something you know you can finish all in one sitting. This is one of those things, I promise.

Here's what you'll need:

A carving utensil (a small knife works fine for larger designs)

A potato! I used a sweet one (aw) just because I had one already

Paint of your choice

Some pretty paper, or cloth to print on

& if your the kind of person that always needs a ban-aid, maybe grab one of those too.

First, wrap your mind around the idea that you carve away what you don't want. For some reason that concept took me a second, but I am sure you are quite the whiz and think less of me for hesitating. Thats okay.

Then if you need a guide, draw your design on your potato before you begin cutting away. If you mess up, or your "hand slips" you can always just cut an inch or so off and start again.

Finally test it out with a couple trials runs, just to make sure it stamps evenly and your happy with the print. Then dip your cute little potato in the paint and stamp away!

Remember, simple works! This flower (aka, swirl) design did just the trick for a little project I'm working on. Happy creating!

meg

I meet Seth, Seth meets whale.

This weekend one of my best friends flew to Virginia for the first time since her little baby was born. I was so excited to see him in person and not just on a computer screen. I wanted to make him something special, so I attempted one of my first stuffed animals ever. I decided on a whale (so trendy i know) and picked out some great "feeling" fabrics to make him the perfect playmate and pillow.

And here is what I came up with! I learned some tricks along the way that will help make the next attempt a little less stressful, but all in all I was really happy with the outcome. Torri's family lived in Italy a few years back and they always speak so fondly of their time there, so I named him "Balena" which is whale in Italian.

Here are a few snaps of Seth and his new whale, Balena. (translated: whale, whale) Look at that little guy (!) , he is so precious.

Even though Tor and Seth couldn't stay too long, I am so thankful for my sweet time with them. Seeing Tor as a mom first hand, was a surreal thing because we all used to talk about being moms "one day." I am blessed to have had these two girls in my life for so many years, and thankful for the blessing of watching friends becoming wives and mothers.

Love you (three)!

meg

Guest Blogger DIY: Kristi Taylor

[ Kristi is one of my oldest and best friends. We spent many weekends in high school coming up with the newest crafts and doing anything and everything we could with modge podge. She is fun and super crafty, so I asked her to share one of her latest projects here. You can also keep up with her on her cute little blog, here. Enjoy! ]

So, in my blogging addiction I noticed that these yarn letters are all the rage at weddings and in nurseries. I've made a handful as gifts and wanted to post the world's easiest DIY project! Ere goes one of the easiest crafts you'll do this year!

Supplies needed:

1. Chipboard letters. (I get mine from Hobby Lobby for about $2 a piece.)
2. Yarn. (I use Vanna brand, mostly, but I also really enjoy Caron.)
3. Some Mod Podge.

1. Start with your letter. I made this one for my godson, Seth. I think it will go great in his room!

2. Grab the end of your yarn and and start wrapping! I keep the end loose and then wrap the yarn around it in order to keep it in place. It's really quite easy.

3. For the ends of the S, it's best to wrap horizontally, and then go back and wrap vertically. You want to make sure that your yarn, for the most part, is all going in the same direction over the entire letter.

4. Keep doing this until the entire letter is covered! Some parts, like the end curves of the 'S' will be thicker- to fix that all you need to do is keep looping/wrapping the yarn around the thinner parts of the letter. Do this until the letter is even thickness (if that matters to you). Then, snip the end and grab your mod podge. Hold the yarn in place and glob the glue to the loose end and to the yarn that is already secured. You can also trim it longer and knot it, if you like. If you choose the Mod Podge method, this is what you will end up with.

5. Wait for it to dry, flip it over and admire your finished product. It should look like this.

HOORAY! It's really that easy. It takes about 20 minutes, depending on your letter. A's, B's, D's and other letters with an opening in the middle are a bit more difficult- but are still very simple. You could spell your whole name, write a word, some letters, or, like I plan on doing for my godson, the whole alphabet!

KT

DIY: Serving Tray

It has become kind of a joke that I like to pick things up off the side of the road. I slow down anytime I see something interesting being thrown away and often, stop to pick whatever it is up and bring it home with me. Well, a few months ago a house down the road was re-doing all of their windows and left the old panes to be thrown away. Spotting those gems was such a wonderful moment. I was riding with a few friends and enlisted both of them to carry over as many as I could fit into my trunk.

I decided to use one of them to make a cute little serving tray. Here's what I did, incase you want to make one too!

1. I cleaned up the old windowpane and sanded it a little to get the loose paint off.

2. Then I found some cute knobs at a local trinket shop and used a drill to help me fasten those baby’s into place.

3. I decided I wanted some kind of an image on my tray, so I drew the outline of a city in India I lived in for one summer a few years back. The city actually prides itself off of their grid-like street system. Very unlike India to be so organized, that’s for sure.

4. Finally, make sure to find your little tray a home. Mine sits in the entryway of our apartment.

So next time your out driving around town, slow down and check out what the neighbors are throwing away.

meg