Pillow Prints: The Designs

I hope you all had a great easter weekend. We had some really good time with our families this weekend, enjoying lots of fellowship, food, and egg hunts.  We were able to eat out on the back deck for one meal and it was so much fun. I love this weather!

Here are a few pillow prints I am working on now. I still need to sew them all up.  I'm just ordered the zippers on Friday.  Am waiting on them to get here.

I kept putting that off because I didn't know what kind to go with/where to get them for the best deal, etc.  I kinda freeze up when I don't know what decision to make...but I think I'm happy with the one I made.  I guess I'll find out this week!

Thanks to my hubs for helping me put my ideas to life in photoshop.  They would not look NEAR as good without him!

*The copper arrow pillow is actually a foil material. It is a really neat thing to work with. The print has a shiny/metal look to it. I'm really excited about that one!

Hope you all have a great day!

Swatches

I picked up these fabric swatches this past Friday for the new shop. I am going to be making pillows...and lots of them!  I'm so excited.  Justin and I are working on getting lots of fresh designs out.  He has been great with helping me and a really big encouragement.

Friday I felt like I accomplished lots. I have been doing lots of price shopping for items in bulk. Zippers, fabric, etc.  I actually made my mind up...which takes me a while...and ordered some pillow forms to see if they are what I'm going to go with.  I also did some research to see what I needed to do in terms of legally making my name my own. I bought my domain name and filled out a fictitious name form for the State of Missouri. I learned that if you have a business under any name under than your own name, you have to do that...in case any of you are looking to start a business=)


I'm learning lots and have LOTS to learn...but I'm getting excited to start building up inventory!

Headboard: Hammering in Tacks

My tacks came in the mail Saturday!  I wasn't expecting them until Monday so I was really excited!  Justin helped me hammer them in, which didn't take long at all and we were finished in no time!  It really was a pretty quick and easy project for such a big change!

I put a flat surface up against the outside edge of the headboard so that I had a guideline to go by when measuring how far in to make the tack line. I just measured three inches all the way around and made a mark with a pencil so I could keep the line straight.  It was a bit hard to keep it exact...plus, I'm NOT a perfectionist, so you will probably do better=)


Here's the fabric I chose and us hammering in the tacks with our make-shift "rubber mallet." Just a few rubber bands and an old rag. ( ours had a hole in it by the end...so make sure you don't care if it gets ruined)

DIY Headboard: Stapling the Foam

My Mom gave my a plaque this past Christmas that said I was entitled to her unlimited time of service to the project of my choice...BEST GIFT EVER!  She came over Monday and we went to work. Justin and I built the headboard frame over the weekend so it was ready to go.

The dimensions we used for our Queen Bed are:

5 ft. 4 wide, 3 ft. tall and 3 inches on each side.  If you know the dimensions when you go in to lowes for the main piece, they will cut it for you!  It saves lots of time.  

First things First:  Spray the foam to the wood with a spray adhesive so it won't slide around on you.  We kinda forgot this step and had to open the foam up as much as we could and spray the glue down in the already stapled batting...NOT FUN.  So...spray it first!...it really helps.

Winter Projects

Hey!  I've been away for a while busy with some projects.  I know I've been saying that I want to have my own shop...I'm tired of just thinking about it and not doing it. WELL...I'm doing it!  I have LOTS to learn and lots to make.  Justin has been such a great support and has encouraged me to go for it. We are working on ideas and I can't even tell you how excited I am. 

He is such an amazing graphic designer.  He is helping me with my business plan, graphic ideas, website layout, etc. He pushes me.

Everything is in the very beginning stages at this point.  I'm doing lots of research, pricing and fabric hunting. YES...more fabric.

This is just the beginning of all my messes of paperwork.  I am working on being organized though!  Trying really hard!  I even bought files for out filing cabinet.  Yes...I did.

I can't wait to share more with you.  It's not going to happen right away...(like I wish it could) Everything takes more time and effort than you think... but you're welcome to hang in there with me through the journey!  I'm really excited!

Oh, and we are working on doing a little room makeover.  We got wood this weekend to work on a headboard. I'll share progress soon!

Hope you all have a great Monday.

Mustache Pillow DIY

Good Monday to you!  I've been a little slow with the posts lately.   A year ago, Justin challenged me that if I was going to blog, I should commit to it.  I should post every day and give it my all.  I didn't really know what that would look like or where it would lead. 

My year is up and I'm trying to figure out where I want it to go from here.  I don't want to be blogging just to blog. I want a purpose behind it.  I want to be making a difference. I want to help people. I want to be able to use the gifts God has given me and share them....my problem is that I still don't know what that looks like. I never wanted to get too personal with my blog. I've never been a fan of putting our lives online for all to see...but it's hard not to sometimes.  So, if I'm a little off and on for the next bit...I'm just figuring some things out.  

ON another note...

I wanted to share this DIY with you.  Have you seen these mustache pillowcases on urban outfitters?

WELL you can make them for approx. $8 (includes: pillowcases from Wal-Mart, 1/2 yard of fabric and the stitch witchery!)

----------compared to Urban's $34!

Kitchen is Tiled

Here's what the kitchen looks like now with the tile down!  I'm so excited. The grout isn't in yet in these pics, but we just finished up the last of it today. We're letting it dry and will get it all cleaned up tomorrow. Then I get to move the washer and dryer out of the dining room and the fridge out of the living room!  YAY!

Kitchen Progress: Backer Board is Down!

Here's what it looks like with all the backer board down in the kitchen!  I'm so excited.  Our house is a MESS right now though!  The fridge and island are in the living room, and the washer and dryer are in the dining room. There is dust all over our house too! I can't wait to get it all cleaned up.

Christmas Break Projects

Hello all!  It's been a whole week since I've checked in. We've been so busy this Christmas break with family events, home projects, and traveling.  I'm so thankful for the time we had with family and friends.  The week off felt super short and super long all at the same time. When I think of all we did it's kinda crazy!

Our biggest project was starting on our kitchen tile.  I always have a really hopeful outlook on big projects like this one. I think, "Oh, we'll just put in the whole kitchen/laundry/bathroom tile in a couple days...no biggie"... little do I know.  Thanks to my dad, we were actually ready to lay tile down the day we were planning on starting the whole project.

I was unaware of ALL the time it takes to prepare the area.  Here are just a few things we had to do BEFORE we were able to lay down tile:

1. Cut the trim boards around the doors so the backer board and tile will fit under all of them.
2. Take off and number all base boards.
3. Lay down backer board.
4. Put about 40 screws in EACH piece of backer board...ya that leaves a nice callus.
5. Unhook Washer, Dryer, Fridge
6. Take out toilet and sink in bathroom (which lead to going under the house to shut off the main water to the house, since the toilet was leaking...then going to Lowes to get more parts to fix the toilet.)
    *oh, and scraping off the nasty toilet sealant that's stuck on the floor when you move the toilet...ya, not fun!  I had no idea what was under those!

Keep in mind...this is ALL PREP WORK!  Thank you Dad for helping us so much with this part!

Here's the before pics:

Bedroom Makeover

My Christmas present this year from Justin is a bedroom makeover!  I'm so excited. I get to spruce up a few things.  I've had some ideas since we moved in but haven't done them yet. I think our room kinda got the left-over look. I can't complain...it's a beautiful room, but I'd love for it to have a little more cohesion.  I can't wait to get started!

I want to make a tufted headboard.  My friend Jenny (check out her blog!) sent me this link on how to make one!  It doesn't look TOOOO hard and it's fairly cheap...at least compared to buying a new one!

Here's the link.

I might chicken out and just get a simple normal bed...but I think I'm up for another project=)  I like the shape of the one on bottom better than the home-made one. I guess I'd draw up my own pattern. Lots of work, but seems worth it!

I also really like these horizontal striped curtains. They are so bold and fun.

...and some simple night stands

 Isn't this room fun?!  It's so put together.  I don't know if I could do it. I am way too eclectic. I do like how they used different shades of color though. It all goes, but isn't too matchy-matchy.


Have a good day!

DIY Advent Calendars

I was thinking about making a fun advent calendar for Christmas.  I probably won't until we have kiddos in the house, but this one caught my eye. It's so fun!  I remember having one when we were little.  There were a bunch of really small little gifts individually wrapped, one on each day.  It was the most fun thing ever!  The anticipation was so hard to bear!  I remember asking multiple times in a day if I had already opened the one for that day or if I had to wait for the morning.  It was THE FIRST thing I wanted to do when I woke up.

Gifts were never a huge thing in our home. I think the advent calendar was a gift from someone to us kids, but it sure was fun.  My parents wanted us to always remember what Christmas was all about.  I am so thankful for them and the things they taught us...and are still teaching us. 

I do love though how gifts are a way for us to show others how much we love them.  After all, Christ coming to earth was in itself, LOVE.  It is so much fun to be able to bless others with a little gift representing love.

shadow boxes

Happy Monday to you! 

My sister just got a shadow box from Hobby lobby this past week.  She said they were really cheap and a really fun simple craft.  She just got a wooden one and painted it white.  I'll have to post a pic of hers soon...it's so cute!  Here are a few others I like too.

Hall Bath Project

We worked on our hallway bathroom this weekend.  I wanted to show you the before pictures first.  It's still not done.  I need to paint one more coat...even though I'd like to say it's finished. I'm not a fan of two coats.  Such a momentum breaker!  Anyway, I bought some fabric for a shower curtain too. I'm looking forward to making it!  It's kinda out there, but I think it'll be fun. Oh, and we decided to paint the mirror a fun turquoise color.  I really like how it turned out.

Hand Painted Bathroom

We are well under way with the major projects on our home.  I'll be honest, I was set on an older home...with "character"...but it's crazy how many projects there are, even on a new home!  I am so thankful for what we have!  I couldn't ask for anything more. God has truly blessed us.

I saw this hand-painted bathroom in a really neat eclectic house a while back.  I've been wanting to try it myself ever since.  I figure how hard can it be...right?!  So, I think that will be one of my next projects.  I'm really looking forward to it. I figure the worst that could happen would be I hated it and I'd just paint over it.

I've been looking for inspirational vintage wallpaper patterns that I can put together to make my own.  I think I want to stick with a pretty monochromatic color scheme, but I like these prints.

Kitchen in Progress

We are still trying to get the main rooms painted in our new house so we can get things put away!  It's been kinda crazy around here for the last few days...a fun kind of crazy=)  I'm loving the projects. The more the better in my mind.

I love things that show immediate results.  Painting the Kitchen today did just that.  I'm not a fan of painting over wallpaper, but in this case we decided to.  We peeled back a portion and the wall was almost like cardboardy sheetrock? I don't think they prepped it right to begin with.  Painting over it is turning out lots better than I thought.  The seams look really good, you can't really even tell.

It's crazy how much more open and cheery it's already looking in there.  Thanks Mom for all your help...and Becky...and Justin...and Dad=). 

Wanted to share a few pics of the progress so far.

 The wallpaper is lovely huh?

Here's my mom working hard, yet again. 

We're going to paint the top wall section a light pistachio blue color. I'm excited to see it all finished!

Oh and we took out the chunky old island and put in this new wooden one (the one covered in junk!)  It really helped open up the place. 

Look forward to sharing more photos soon!

Kendra

It all comes at Once...

I'm not sure why this seems to happen, but every year about this time, things get a little crazy!  I suppose the graduations and weddings add on to that a bit! Add on moving and we've got quite the month!  lately I feel like I just can't keep up with it all.  I'm not complaining about having work to do, or a house to move in to...I'm just excited for things to die down a bit.

Here are some things that are coming up for me this week:

• On top of my part time job, work lots with Sharon on a fun wedding we get to be a part of! 

• Finish a side job that my mom and I are doing together.  There are 1200 shirt tags we are working on for a woman who just started her own company! I'm glad I get to do it with my mom, but it is a lot to take on!

• Keep packing boxes!!! 
• Attempt to paint and move in to our house this weekend!