{31 Days} Chalkboard Wine Glasses

Note:  Due to some unforeseen family illnesses, I am having to play catch-up on my 31 days challenge! Thank you for reading!

Day 13: Chalkboard Wine Glasses

Speaking of chalkboard, while I was working on my chalkboard coffee mugs, I decided to finally get around to another DIY pin of mine- chalkboard wine glasses!

When David and I registered for our wedding, we must have planned on having large dinner parties with lots of wine. We registered for two of the box sets of not expensive but still good wine glasses.  I decided to dress up our "extra" set with the chalkboard paint! I first tried the dip method but ran in to problems when I turned them upside down to dry. The paint was very thick and even after tapping and twisting, the excess paint ran down the stem of the glass. I was able to clean them up and decided that I would just sponge brush on a couple of thin layers of paint to eliminate this problem. I set the glasses upside down to dry.

I let the paint dry for a full 24 hours and then tested them out. The glasses are great but it seems my chalk might be a little tough to write with!!

I can't wait to have our next dinner party and use our new glasses! I just need to find a good piece of chalk!

13 down! 18 to go!!

{31 Days} Chalkboard Coffee Mugs

Note:  Due to some unforeseen family illnesses, I am having to play catch-up on my 31 days challenge! Thank you for reading!

Day 12: Chalkboard Coffee Mugs

These chalkboard mugs have been a favorite pin of mine for a while. Earlier this year one of the local thrift stores had a moving sale and I stocked up on a few white coffee mugs (some that I used for this project) for only 10 cents each- including these four Crate and Barrel coffee mugs that looked so similar to my inspiration mugs!

I cheated a little bit for my chalkboard mugs. I didn't want to take a trip to the store for the "porcelain" chalkboard paint. I had a can of chalkboard paint made for furniture and walls- so that is what I used. I taped off the top half of the mugs and brushed on three coats of the chalkboard paint on the bottom half.

After I removed the tape, I let the chalkboard paint dry a full 24 hours before writing on the mugs. Because I did not use the porcelain paint, I did not bake the mugs. I didn't know what might happen so I decided it was best to just not do it!

I plan to use these mugs occasionally and only hand wash them. I hope they hold up well. So far so good!!

12 down! 19 to go!!

Where in the World?

Earlier this year, I let you, my sweet followers, in on a little secret! It was back in January when I shared my Word of the Year- Trust and my little hint was this....

"David and I have a big year ahead of us! We will be making a BIG move (and by big, I mean like over an ocean big). Well... the big move won't be until this time next year but the preparations and all that leading up to it will take a lot of trusting and leaning on God."

Now that we have shared it with family, friends, and bosses and know that it is for sure going to happen- I thought I would let you in on where it is that we are moving! 

But you have to guess first!! : )

My husband will frequently visit this place..... 

And I hope to do a lot of this.... 

 

Any guesses? I will post links to the images here soon!! 

{31 Days} Glitter Pumpkins and Fall Mantel

Note:  Due to some unforeseen family illnesses, I am having to play catch-up on my 31 days challenge! Thank you for reading!

Day 11: Glitter Pumpkins and Fall Mantel

I love fall! We are still feeling some summer heat but we're getting there. To help give Texas a hint, I did a little fall decorating here in our home.

 I decided this year to use brighter and cooler colors than the typical warm fall colors. I created a yarn wrapped leaf wreath, painted a chevron pumpkin and added a little bling with colorful glitter pumpkins.

These pumpkins are easy! I started by sponge brushing on some modge podge on the top of the pumpkin, leaving the stem clean.

Then I sprinkled on some glitter out of my stash from my sorority days.

I love the color and sparkle that these pumpkins add to our bright fall mantel.

11 down! 20 to go!!

{31 Days} Family Tree

Note:  Due to some unforeseen family illnesses, I am having to play catch-up on my 31 days challenge! Thank you for reading!

Day 10: Family Tree

For each of my grandmothers' birthdays this year, I created a sweet family tree. I found this cute idea on Pinterest and decided I could recreate it using Microsoft Word like I have on other word art projects here and here. By downloading a new font and playing around with word art, I was able to create three different trees with each of my grandmothers' kids and grand kids. They all loved this sentimental gift!!

Word art makes such a simple and sweet gift.

10 down! 21 to go!!

Just a Quick Heads Up!

Hopefully no one (but me) is counting.... but I realize I am 6 days behind on my 31 days challenge! I have been battling a two week cold and my husband's grandmother has been in the hospital since last Wednesday! I fully plan on playing catch up but things have been a bit hectic these past few days!!

See you soon with more fun projects!!

{31 Days} Initial Mugs

 

Day 9: Initial Mugs

I'm running a little late on this Tuesday so I needed a quick DIY for my 31 days challenge.  I found this tutorial on Pinterest over a year ago and also picked up the white mugs from the thrift store not long after! They had the mugs on sale for 10 cents each so I stocked up! I thought these initial mugs would make great gifts with some homemade hot chocolate this Christmas.

 I started with my three white mugs and washed each one so they were good and clean.

 Next, I sketched on the initial and name with a plain Sharpie marker.

Then I baked the mugs in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Let the mugs completely cool and then you are good to go. These mugs are hand-wash only and not dishwasher safe! Great simple gift and easy DIY!!

I am behind on my schedule for this 31 days! Last week I had each post written at least a day if not two in advance. But I have been feeling a bit sickly and falling down on my job! I will get better at this!!

9 down! 22 to go!

{31 Days} Big Things Baby Gift

Day 7: Big Things Baby Gift

On this lazy Sunday afternoon, I needed a simple DIY project to complete for today. Baby Rhett celebrated his first birthday this past week and we are heading up to see him and his parents this weekend. I wanted to create something for the little man and after seeing this quote on Pinterest, I knew what it was that I was going to make.

I thought it was a great saying for a nursery. I grabbed an old sketch book from my college days and had fun doodling this fun little print.

I had a frame at home so this was a simple project I completed in about 15 minutes!

Anyone have any cute gift ideas for baby Rhett to go with this print?

7 down! 24 to go!

{31 Days} Do Whatcha Gotta Do

Day 6: Do Whatcha Gotta Do

Just getting this post in in the nick of time! The reason- David and I had a garage sale and are completely worn out! We pulled a late night last night- later than this old married couple ever see- and then worked from sun up til sun down today!

Sometimes, as a DIY hoarder, you do what you got to do to make space in the junk room and keep the husband happy!! I sadly had to part with some of my projects at today's sale. I had a small business dream a little over a year ago that I would hunt down great deals on furniture and bring it home to fix up and sale for a profit- but that dream didn't get too far past a collection of chairs, a few tables, and one large dinning set before I soon realized that these projects take time and that is time I didn't really have. So I sadly said goodbye to quite a few today but... I saved just a couple to hopefully get to soon!! We'll see!

Sorry there is no fun DIY project today! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!!

6 down! 25 to go!!

{31 Days} Vintage Mail Collector

Day 5: Vintage Mail Collector

(Now I don't know if this project would be considered a DIY project but it is one of those "why did it take me so long to do this?" projects!!)

I have a sweet spot for vintage anything and when I spotted this cute little green dust pan I had to have it!

I knew immediately that it would be a great place to collect our mail which normally piles up on the kitchen table until we finally decide to go through it! But when I told my husband about my plan, he thought I had to be crazy! Hang an old dust pan on the wall?

BUT a few months later I saw this in the HGTV Magazine! This was all I needed to convenience David I wasn't completely crazy after all!!

HGTV Magazine

Deggum! They beat me to it! But I finally did what I set out to do a few months ago! I hung our mail station by two nails in the handle. I hope one day to find a cute little hook but it works for now!!

 

The size is just right- it doesn't hold a months worth of mail so it will require that we stay on top of the ever growing pile! Anyone have any great tips at keeping the mail organized? Any fun mail stations around your place? 

5 down! 26 to go!!

{31 Days} Doggie Car Hammock

Day 4: Doggie Car Hammock

David and I had the opportunity to do a little road-tripping this summer and we decided to bring our little pooch along with us! Anyone with a lab knows they have a lot of hair and that hair gets EVERYWHERE! To try and keep the dog hair situation under control, I made a doggie car hammock to drape over the back seat!

Dog car seat covers can cost quite a bit if we were to have bought one from the store. I knew I could make one for a better price and the color would be prettier too! : )  I found a great tutorial on pinterest that I used as a guide. For this project, I used:

3 yards of upholstery weight cotton fabric
3 yards of fleece fabric
3 yards of cotton strapping
sewing machine/thread/pins
patience! (I got a "new" old sewing machine and had a heck of a time figuring it out!)

I first started by measuring the back seat of my car (length and width). I chose to use three yards of fabric for the length of the hammock. It is extra long and reaches down to the floorboard. I could have probably been safe with only two yards but my thinking at the time was that if I made it longer it would also work in our Jeep. Now- I don't think we could. I simply used the width of the fleece fabric to determine how wide the hammock would be.

When I got home with the fabric, I washed and dried the cotton fabric and strapping to prevent shrinkage once it was sewn and washed. Then I laid the fabric out on the floor- cotton fabric face down and then the fleece centered on top, pretty side up. Leave at least a 2" border of cotton around the fleece fabric. I then folded the cotton fabric in 1" inch and then folded again 1". This made a 1" double thick border (the "binding") around the fleece fabric. I then pinned everything in place.

This was the trickiest part trying to get everything to line up straight. At the corners, the tutorial said to make a "quilting corner". I had no idea how to do that but this is how mine ended up looking after I pinned. (Probably not correct- but it worked for me!!)

After all sides and corners were pinned and ready to go, I got the "ok" from Quality Control and then headed back to my sewing table!

 

The tutorial said to sew a 1/4" seam around the binding. I did that but maybe didn't sew completely straight so to ensure that the fleece was secure in the binding I went around a second time about 1/4" from the opposite edge of the binding. 

The next step is to find the placement and length for the headrest straps. I made the two straps that wrap around the backseat headrests long enough to slip completely over the headrest. For the front two straps, I made them pretty short so the hammock stayed tight between the two front seats. So for these two, I have to remove the headrests to put the hammock in place. Once I found the correct length, I pinned each strap.

 

 I sewed the straps on from the back. To make sure the straps were secure I sewed in a zig-zag stitch down the left side, reversed stitched back up, and then reversed again back down- across, reverse, across on the bottom and up, reverse, up on the right side. I decided to forgo the buckles on the straps (from the tutorial) because I thought that would be the first thing to break with my wild man pulling and tugging all over hammock. 

Berkley did great on our trips. This hammock got quite a bit of use with us being on the road for four weekends in a row! And I'm sure it will get a lot of use in the future! 

"Are we there yet?"

4 Down! 27 to go!!