03-09-2013

Gallery Wall- still a work in progress

Happy Saturday! I hope your day is going well so far. I have been working on my gallery wall in my office for what seems like forever. I started with my favorite picture from my time abroad in Perth, Australia. Perth has the most amazing sunsets and I would go up on the balcony of the house and take picture after picture. You could see the ocean from the balcony and the sky was painted with purples and oranges and reds and pinks. I had that picture blown up on canvas and started with that in the middle.

I also blew up one of my favorite pictures of my sister Kendra and I at her wedding this past October. We have done that same pose since we were little (we have a picture on the beach from age 3 and we recreate it every so often!) and I absolutely love how that picture came out. So I got that one blown up but a little smaller.

Above that picture is what I call my ‘Kristen’ plaque. If you have ever seen Maggie Lindley Designs that was started in my town and in the beginning she would handpaint them all with a design behind them and a quote around the canvas. It has since become much bigger and the prints are mass-produced but still absolutely amazing. Anyway, mine was given to me about 10 years ago by the family I babysat (and still babysit) for. I love it because it starts with, “What do I want to be when I grow up? Actually it’s how do I want to be. I want to be….” and then says a bunch of character qualities about me that they choose and then ends with… I want to be just like Kristen.” Yeah, pretty much one of my favorite things ever.

The burlap frame is a picture of my best friend Brianne and me. Stay tuned as I made a tutorial (pretty short one but it works!) on how to make the frame. Simple enough but I absolutely love the look.

The pom pom banner above is actually from Target. I really have no idea why I bought that or why I even put it up there as it is pretty childish but it makes me happy looking at it and that is pretty much all the matters right?

Now the rest of the things on the walls are quotes that I love. I absolutely love printables but I wasn’t really sure I wanted to print them out and frame them so I went another route. I painted them on wood pieces instead. I found some printables I loved on Pinterest (not hard to do, as well all know!) and went ahead and painted them on decorative wood plaques.

This is probably my least favorite. I already had this piece of wood in my craft collection for a while and wanted another quote up there. I truly have no idea why the balloons ended up on there, they just felt like they were the right thing to paint at the time.

Oh how true this quote is. I found these plaques at Michaels and they were already painted white so I just put my colors on top of them.

This is probably my favorite one. I absolutely love the color and I love the verse. I definitely think it is one that is important to remember!

Now I don’t have close up pictures of my Joy print of my Let God print as I painted them a little while ago but you can see them.

Filed Under: Crafts, Home Tagged With: crafts, gallery wall, i made

01-09-2013

Budget Envelope System

So back when I made an envelope system for myself my sister really wanted me to make her one. Well it took me a little while but I finally made her one. I made hers a little different than mine and made it as a big envelope with smaller envelopes in it. I actually think this will work better. She picked all the fabric out at JoAnns and then I just played with it all to make 5 envelopes for the inside, the large one and then some card pockets on the inside.

All 5 envelopes inside the large one. The fabrics are completely mismatched but they work well together.

Here is the inside. That pocket is two pockets that can hold cards so you don’t need to bring another wallet.

Filed Under: Accessories, Crafts Tagged With: accessories, envelope, gifts, i made, sewing, wallet

12-12-2012

Upcycle a Shirt

So I had a shirt that was too big but I LOVED the color. I decided to fancy it up with some fabric to make it a completely new shirt. You can also do this with a shirt that is too small and needs more fabric added to it. Pardon the picture quality, I was doing it myself and didn’t focus it correctly and I cut my head off

Since the shirt was now too big, the neck went down a little too far and instead of wearing a tank underneath I added the flower fabric.

This is my favorite part of the shirt. I brought it all the way up to the top and cut the collar. I tried making it first by using the original collar but I didn’t like how it looked.

Filed Under: Clothing, Crafts Tagged With: Clothing, i made, pink

07-10-2012

Wallet Envelope System

So I would not be lying to admit that I started this project back in March and just finished it the other night. I had all my pieces cut out, a lot of things sewn but then I started getting sick constantly and just never got around to finishing it.

There are quite a few people that mention the cash system of spending but probably the most well known is Dave Ramsey. I have attended his Financial Peace Seminars and while most of his ideas really are common sense he presents them in both practical and biblical ways with examples that can be understood. Since completing Financial Peace I have paid off my credit card, and am paying down my student loans. I have had a lot of setbacks due to the medical bills but I am determined to be debt free.

So, I present to you my own envelope system. Dave’s isn’t nearly pretty enough (sorry Dave!).

I made mine with four envelope pockets that I have velcro closed. I also added two small pockets at the front for cards. You may need more than that but they comfortably fit a few cards without them falling out. I don’t carry a lot of cards with me. I keep all of my reward cards in a small zipper pouch in my car. There are way too many to keep in my wallet all the time!

In the back I added a pocket to keep my check register, checks and a small notepad. With the system you are supposed to track where you spend your money. I have plenty of room in my envelopes to keep the receipts and I debated about putting an index card in each envelope but for now I am not sure. So I am going to try the notebook, but there are options.

I used the last envelope to hold some additional cards I don’t use as often so I don’t need them at the front. You can use envelopes for different categories, common ones are food, clothes, entertainment, blow money, personal care, gifts etc. It is completely up to you. I have four envelopes in here (including the last one that has cards). I have really limited my spending due to the medical bills and wanting to pay off my student loans so they are: food (groceries & eat out- this may not work for everyone but since I am just me it does :), clothes/personal items, entertainment, miscellaneous/extra. Previously to finishing my envelope system I was just tracking everything and still using my debit card so I am sure those categories may change but for now it works. I figure if I need more than four I can place a divider in each envelope and then have up to eight.

I am so excited I finally finished this and cannot wait to put it to good use! You will probably find me linking up at some of the linky parties on my linky page.

Filed Under: Crafts Tagged With: crafts, i made