Cooper came to visit. . .

. . .so i snapped a few shots of him while he was munching on a bag of cheetos.

Fireplace!

This is what our fireplace looked like when we moved in.

Dark. .flat. .boring.

I needed a BIG something to hang up there to break up all that darkness and add dimension.
I also wanted some sort of mantel.
I found those two posts at Bargain Town for $5 each.

I hated the brass on the surround so I spray painted it.

In the house.

Yep.

Doesn't that look better?


Then I gave Travis some supplies and instructions.
After fighting a not so straight board and some paint we finally ended up with this.


I think it needs an old clock on the left side.

Improvise

Last summer I painted a bunch of frames I got at thrift stores or on sale super cheap and hung all these photos up.

I liked the look, but really hated that pesky light switch.

Who puts a light switch in the middle of a wall anyway?

Then we took family pictures in the fall and I painted one more frame.

I decided to rearrange the pictures and add one to the mix.

I figured I could disguise that light switch if I tried.

Close up. . .

Much better.

Black and White Apron

I taught my niece to make this apron to give her mom for Valentine's Day. It was a skirt in it's past life. I bought it at Value Village for $3! We cut a big chunk out of the middle of the back and hemmed the sides. Then we used the piece we cut out of the middle to make the shoulder straps, the ties and the pocket. I LOVE how this apron turned out. It's sooooo cute.

By the way. . . . I made that dress form using the tutorial found here on Threadbanger.

Bird Nest Jewelry

I fell in love with this bird nest jewelry from Victorian Trading Company. I did not fall in love with the prices. $100 for the necklace and $90 for the ring.

I thought "surely I can make a nest myself". ( I have that thought about a lot of things actually.)

Last night I decided to try. My version was FREE because I used supplies I already had left over from other projects. I used green pearls because that's what I had and I really think it turned out lovely. Now I just need to make a bale so I can put it on a chain around my neck. That part will be even easier than making the nest itself.

I'll post another picture once I get the bale done. . . .

Rosette Headbands

Found this great tutorial a while back on how to make these super cute rosette headbands and decided to make some myself. I've had them half done for awhile now, but finished them up this afternoon. Camryn reluctantly posed for me.

What a gal. . . .