CHEAP + EASY LYRICAL ART

We're in the process of redoing a few rooms in our house. And while I want to incorporate special pieces from talented artists, it can really start to add up in cost. In comes this DIY. I feel silly calling this a DIY. It's so super simple that it's really more of an idea. But I don't think that there is someone out there pointing fingers at people calling things DIY's that aren't so....i think I'll call this that. When I say "cheap," I mean that it cost me less than 5 dollars to create multiple pieces. It's a super easy and affordable way to add some "filler art" to your wall. 

1.// Pick a favorite lyric (or quote!) and type it out in photoshop. You could also use paint if you don't have photoshop. It is important that you create your blank image in inches not pixels. If you want a large amount of white space around your image (I did on one of mine so I could paint a border around it) be sure to save the file smaller than the size of your frame. If not they will print your image to fill the size that you saved it. 2.// Save the files and take them to Staples to have them printed. I printed mine on cardstock in their thickest option and in matte. They'll print it on an 11 x 17 sheet. If you're frame isn't this big, have them trim it down to size, or you can do it yourself at home. 3.// Now it's time to paint! This part is totally up to you. On one of my prints I chose to paint a little olive wreath. On another I painted a simple Aztec inspired design. I really want to do polka dots next! 4.// After your work has dried, frame and enjoy!! 

A few tips to consider:  --You don't have to limit yourself to only words! I used a picture I took of a field and added text to it. Then printed it in black and white and painted on it. --I got my frames at the Dollar Tree. They are 11 x 14 in size and perfect for this project!  

Let me know if you make some painted prints for your home! I'd love to see.

Mother's Day Scrapbook DIY!

Mother's Day has always been fun + special, and since becoming a Mother it's only meant more to me. This year I had plans to do this DIY from A Beautiful Mess. I bought all the supplies, printed 100 Instagram photos (at .50 cents a piece--yikes!) and it didn't cross my mind that I might not be able to find the binding adhesive. I was walking around Hobby Lobby on the verge of tears not knowing what I was going to do. I somehow wandered to the scrapbook isle and found two cute 6 x 6 printed/fabric scrapbooks, for 40% off! And idea was born!

*The screwdriver and rotary cutter are optional. I used the screwdriver to take the screws out of the book and add more pages (my book only came with 20) The rotary cutter makes it easier to cut the pages on a grided mat and is more steady than a hand and scissors. 

Steps: 1. Collect scrapbook pages in coordinating colors + designs. Since these are for our Moms, I went with a pink/green/beige pallet in dainty patterns, pretty floral prints and Victorian designs. 2. Cut your pages down to the size of your scrapbook page inserts. And easy way to do this is just take out the white liner inside and use that as a guide. While you're at it, go ahead and take out all of the white liners! You don't need them. (This would be a great thing for your fella to do! I had Bean take all of ours out) 3. Arrange your scrapbook pages in whatever way you prefer and start sliding them in the book! 4. After you've got your pages the way you want them, add your pictures! One piece of double-sided tape will be plenty for the plain pages. If you get glittery pages (like I did) you'll need a few pieces of tape to make it stick. 5. Be sure to add touches of you + your family! For Each Mom's book I used some washi tape along the pictures edges. I added little lists of our favorite things about them from my Smash Pads. I doodled frames around some of the pictures, and I wrote some remarks and inside jokes on some of them.

I am so happy with how these turned out, and I'm already anticipating making another! I think this would be the perfect graduation gift too! (I'll go browse my cousin's instagram for pictures, since he's graduating in a few weeks!) Handmade presents mean so much more, especially ones with sentimental pieces like pictures of our little family over the past two years.

What have you made/gotten for your Mama for mothers day? I'd love to see! xo, Meghan

Wedding Project: Groomsman? DIY

It's only here recently, like the past two weeks, that Bean and I have actually done wedding planning. We booked our dream location a few months ago, but hadn't done much planning outside of that. Fast forward to last week. Someone lit a fire inside us because, seriously, we have gotten so much done in these past few weeks! One thing on our to do lists were to ask my 'maids (check) and ask the groomsmen. I obviously put a lot of thought into asking my bridesmaids, but we hadn't put much thought into asking the groomsmen to be groomsmen. Bean planned a little trip with all of the guys to a rodeo on Friday night, but that was pretty much it. On Thursday night  I had a change of heart! I didn't want to boys to be left out! And really, more than anything, I wanted them to read + see what they should be looking like during the wedding. I called Bean (probably a little too excited) and told him about my idea, and he liked it too! Here is how I did it:

I asked Bean to bring home big envelopes with prongs, but they didn't have those at his work, so he brought back huge heavy duty zip block bags. At first I really thought this was silly, and I wouldn't be able to use them, but they turned out to be one of the best parts of it all. (If you want to put a lot of effort into asking your groomsman, but don't want them knowing you tried hard...put all of your goodies in zip block bags, it looks a little less neat!) 

One.  I printed out pictures from my 'Wedding Swoon' board on Pinterest that captured the look/attire of the day  rom the boys perspective. Two. I hit up Michaels Friday morning, for a few things to add to the bag that captured the feel of our wedding. Three + Four. I got these alphabet stickers that had a old world circus/carnival feel with the letters and colors. I got some card stock in the colors of our wedding; colors that the boys should be on the look out for, for their bowties. Five. I picked up some cards with tight ropers on the front that say 'Be Daring' and hand stamped what they should wear on the inside. I wanted the bag to be fun, too though, because the boys were having a night out at the rodeo. Six. So I got some different candies, including some caramel something called "Squirrels Nut Zippers." I thought I was so hilarious, and that they'd all think I was so awesome for finding those. hah.  Seven. The final thing I needed to get were some cigars. I was getting them honestly more for the novelty of having them in the bag, rather than thinking they'd actually smoke them. 

Well two funny things happened all because of these cigars...The first thing was actually more embarrassing. I'm obviously old enough to buy them, but having never bought anything because of my age before...I had no idea what I was looking for. I went in there sounding like a novice asking for "some cigars." Any other day would have been a-okay but as I was checking out, and sounding retarted asking for them, the guy behind me made the comment "oh, getting those for 4/20 eh?" HOW EMBARASSING. I honestly didn't even recognize the date. (And lets don't pretend that we don't know what it is...because we all do!) I had Dakota on my hip, and suddenly I felt like a pot smoking mother. Which I am not, by any means!! The other funny thing is that Bean has never once done anything "drinking/smoking/drug" related. So naturally, I assumed he would think the cigars were funny, but a waste of 4 bucks because he wouldn't be doing anything with them. Well, I was wrong! Him and the boys all smoked their cigars after the rodeo! 

If you plan on doing something similar, just know that boys don't need much. A few candies, something fun (lottery tickets or scratch offs would be cute too!) and a few visuals. All in all, these bags cost us like 10$ or less, for all 5 of them. It took me only an hour to get everything together. The hardest part was stamping every card with what they should wear, but you could just as easily write it instead of stamp it. You can make these super simple like we did, or really dress them up + include something fun like a tiny bottle of your favorite liquor or a fun camera! All in all, the bags were a hit and I'm so glad we made them! 

If you make them, I'd love to see!

xo, Meghan

Photo Challenge Updates: week 10

52 Weeks of Instax: Do you see those awesome boxes holding all of my craft stuff? Pretty cool, right?

You might remember this post of my craft room. I have since then made a few changes, and I'm so happy about them! I originally asked Bryan, my step-dad, to build these boxes for our craft show this past Saturday. We used them in the show, and I really liked them. Then when I came home and was putting all the things from the show up, I put these on the table and instantly fell in love. It clears up SO much space, and my table doesn't feel like such a giant pack rat mess anymore. I know exactly where everything is and, even thought I am a fan of open storage (if I don't see it, I probably won't use it!), having everything on the table piled up around each other was both visually unappealing and hard to access the things I needed. Now everything has a home and I can still see everything, it just looks a lot more put together. I'm in love. I just need to convince Bryan to build two more boxes for our DS inventory, so I don't ever have to take these off my table!

xo, Meghan

A week of Gratitude//Thanksgiving turkey appreciation cards!

It's already 11 PM? What, how did this happen? I've been coking up a storm and cleaning a lot today. I probably look like a Tasmania devil going from room to room trying to get things done. This year, I'm cooking my first Thanksgiving meal and I'm equally excited as I am nervous. Even though it will just be us three + Jared, I still want everything to be perfect. I'm more so trying to clean to make sure the house is spotless for when we start setting up for Christmas! I'm so glad the day is finally, almost, here!

This little craft is something super simple, and something you can whip up minutes before heading out to your Thanksgiving festivities! We made these last year for Thanksgiving!

Materials Needed:
Colorful cardstock scrapbook paper (or construction paper)
Marker
Scissors
A willing kiddo (or in my case, a not so willing, which will make the task a little more daunting)

Basically you lay your kiddos hand flat and trace it, but when you're tracing it, keep in mind the body of a turkey. Moms, cut out the turkeys for your kids unless they are big enough to do so themselves. My favorite part about this is when you're done cutting out all your turkeys, make them personal! Write notes to each loved one you'll be spending Thanksgiving with. We did this last year and put Dakota's baby hand print on each one and I'm telling you, there wasn't a dry eye at the table! Give them a prompt to get them thinking: "We love you (insert relative) because (blank)"! It's fun to see what they will come up with!

*try finding pine cones to put your turkeys on!*

Hope you're having the Happiest of Thanksgiving Eve's, and not spending too much time in the kitchen! ;)
xo.