home decor

Farmhouse Black and White Striped Home Decor • Winter Decoration Idea

6 · Dec 1, 2017 · Leave a Comment

I love dressing my front porch for the season rather than the holiday most of the time. Less turnover, less expensive & I just love celebrating the seasons. Here is my Fall front porch and I’m still in love with it but, it’s time to turn the season and start working on my winter front porch. One of the elements that I love for winter is a vintage sled that I found at a garage sale. I dressed it up with some greenery and some large bells that I found at Michaels. However, I didn’t want them to just be simple bells. I want them to stand out! I busted out some Americana Decor Satin Enamels and added my own special touch to the bells. Come see how I transformed them just a touch but added some real WOW factor.

+ The post brought to you by DecoArt +

Design Decisions

I’ve been in love with black and white LONG before Joanna Gains hit the scene. That has always been my color profile with a touch of red or green at times. I love that it’s so popular now. Those are two colors (or, non-colors) that are simply timeless and classic. I’ve also been a huge fan of stripes. They also, if done well, have a timeless quality too. They are perfect to add to a metal tray or a wood side table to add that classic farmhouse look to your home.

I wanted to add some timeless elements to this beautiful sled and greenery. When I found the large bells at Michaels, I knew that was the ticket. However, I wanted to put my own stamp on it so that I don’t look like everyone else on the block.

I guess that has always been my MO (method of operation.) I’m totally fine gathering fun things at Michaels, Target or Home Goods lets say, and then putting my own simple touches on them. That’s why I LOVE the Americana Decor collection. For this project I used the Americana Decor Satin Enamels in Pure White and Classic Black. I selected this paint for a few reasons.

I love the smooth satin finish
How easily it adheres to slick surfaces without any priming
This paint acts more like and enamel rather than a paint and I love that look for this application
Smooth brushability
Minimizes grain raising on wood
Non-toxic
Soap and water clean-up

Materials

wood or metal home decor item
DecoArt Americana Decor Satin Enamels in your color choice
sponge brushes in the size of the stripe that you desire
painters tape (optional)

Instructions

This project is crazy simple. It just requires some patients and a slightly steady hand. I don’t have the perfect artist hand and I managed to create these simple stripes just fine. My secret… I use foam brushes instead of your typical bristle brush. This eliminates the bristle spread that you typically get when painting with a traditional brush. I just buy the size foam brush that matches the size of stripe that I am looking for. You may find that you need painters tape and thats totally fine. With my round surface it was almost easier to follow the line on the bells using my brush as the stripe guide than it was to tape it.

It may not look like a perfect stripe here but, after I go around the bell a few more times it looks better. I’m not really wanting a nice crisp line anyway. I like the more rustic imperfect look.

I did layer about 4 coats of the Satin Enamel so that I had solid coverage.

Then, after the white is totally dry, I carefully used a flat brush that was the size of the small stripe that I was looking for to create the small black stripe. This one, you need to be careful and watch for the bristle spread. Again, I wasn’t looking for perfect and I LOVE how they turned out.

Once they were completely dry, I waited overnight, I affixed them to the sled.

First, using floral wire, I wired the greenery onto the sled with some floral wire.

I then made a bow out of some red and black buffalo plaid ribbon that I found at Michaels and wired it to the sled as well.

Then, I hung the bells on the sled with some think rope and wired that onto the sled as well.

Aren’t they fun? What would you like to add a little black and white farmhouse flair to?

By the way… My front door is painted with the Americana Decor Curb Appeal Paint. I LOVE it!! I’ll have to share how I did that soon. You’ll be amazed!

Farmhouse Inspired Christmas Tree – Dream Tree Challenge

75 · Nov 1, 2017 · 1 Comment

It’s getting close to my favorite time of year… Christmas!! Every year it’s so fun to participate in the Michaels Dream Tree Challenge and this year has been EXTRA FUN! We gathered together as a family and crafted our Christmas tree together and it was so fun. From trees to ornaments and holiday décor, Michaels has everything you need to MAKE this holiday your own! You can even shop over 100 Christmas Trees at Michaels.com. Crafting your tree together is a great way to bring the family together at the beginning of the Holiday season. Here is what we created to make our 2017 tree magical for our home and family.

The Christmas Tree

This year, I picked the 7.5 Ft. Pre-Lit Jasper Cashmere Artificial Christmas Tree, Clear Lights by Ashland™. At first it was a little wide for our space. BUT… We placed it on top of an old bucket I had and then bent the lower branches down to give it a slimmer figure. I wish ‘slimming-down’ was that easy for all of us! 😉 That also raised the tree up a bit, which makes it look better in a room with vaulted ceilings.

Regardless of what this photo looks like below (someone was being a bit dramatic…) The Jasper tree is super easy to set-up. It’s literally plug and play. The electricity runs through the poll of the tree so you don’t have to go hunting around for all of the connections. Then all you have to do is fluff the branches.

Farmhouse Inspired Christmas Ornaments

Part of the fun when decorating for the Holidays is actually making some of your own decor. This year I was inspired by some ornaments that Joanna Gains has created for another store. I LOVE them and thought we could make some of our own with supplies from Michaels.

I grabbed some of the shatter proof ornaments at Michaels along with some of the Americana Chalkboard Paint from DecoArt…

My daughter Haley is home from college with her boyfriend Kyle and we decided to have a paint party. We covered the table with plastic wrap and went to town with the clear ornaments from Michaels. We painted them all over with the chalkboard paint. Now, the only reason I use chalkboard paint is because I like the matte look. Then we used a white paint marker from Sharpie and created all of the little swiss crosses on the ornaments.

They turned out super cute and we had so much fun making them together!

I think they may be my new favorite Christmas ornaments for our tree.

Next, we painted some large wood stars from Michaels with Americana Decor Chalky Finish paint from DecoArt. Then we used my Cricut Maker to add titles of Christmas Carols onto the stars. You can learn how to make those HERE. You can even download the graphics that I designed for the stars!

The next element for my tree is a few types of picks that I found in the Christmas pick section of Michaels.

Quite honestly, picks are some of my favorite ways to add personality to my Christmas trees. They really add to the tree and they aren’t very pricey. I LOVE the fuzzy little stars, the gold antlers, and the cotton stems. They look fabulous on the tree!

The last element is the ribbon picks. They couldn’t be easier to make. I found some perfect ribbon at Michaels and cut it into 6 inch sections…

Then I folded it in half and wrapped some floral wire around the bottom leaving a 4-5 inch tail to secure it to the tree. Super simple and the bottom doesn’t need to be pretty.

Then you use the wire tail to attach them to the tree. An easy, easy way to fill in those bald spots on the tree or add a pop of color. Again, it’s a very cost friendly way to add color to your tree.

One last thing… I almost forgot! We decided to HANG our star from the ceiling for this tree. I bought a large wood star at Michaels and wrapped it with some wire lights and then hung it from the ceiling. We made sure to place our hook in a stud so that we didn’t have issues with the weight of the star. It’s so simple and tops it with that rustic farmhouse look.

Wow, it’s amazing how some simple elements can come together to create a really stunning tree. All of my kiddos have said this tree is the best we’ve ever had. Make sure to download the Michaels App on your smartphone so you don’t miss any of their amazing holiday deals this season. It really is a great app to have. No more saving receipts! That’s worth it right there.

Don’t forget to tag me in your tree photos… I love to see what you guys are creating!

For more inspiration, visit the Michaels blog and their Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram accounts.

DIY Farmhouse Christmas Carol Star Tree Ornaments

111 · Nov 1, 2017 · 6 Comments

It’s officially Holiday Season! One thing that I LOVE about the Holidays is creating my own custom decor for our home. Love FARMHOUSE decor?

Then you are going to LOVE this Farmhouse-inspired Christmas Carol Star ornament that you can create for your home. This week I’ve teamed-up with DecoArt and Cricut to create some new ornaments for my Christmas tree this year.

We decided to go with the star of Christmas theme, so… I thought it would be fun to chalk paint some large wood stars and then put titles of Christmas Carols on them. They turned out so cute… Come learn how to make them for yourself.

A few years ago, one of my good friends had the most beautiful Christmas trees. She had large stars all over the tree and I just adored it.

I asked her where the stars were from and I was devastated to learn that they were given to her from a friend who found them discarded from a department store after the holidays. DANG! There was no way of finding a set of my own.

This year, I decided it was time to make some large stars of my own. The timing couldn’t be more perfect! DecoArt and Cricut have teamed up this year to create all kinds of fabulous fun this Holiday season…

I love it when to amazing companies come together to inspire all of us to bring a little bit of our personalities into our home. These two are perfect for that. I’m sure that this will tickle your fancy… You’ll want to visit the DecoArt Blog to check out the GIVEAWAYS DecoArt & Cricut have up their sleeves this year!

Instructions for Christmas Carol Stars

First, grab your raw wood stars and wipe them down with a damp cloth to make sure they are dust and dirt free. Then paint your base coat with the Americana Decor Curb Appeal paint.

The reason why I used the Curb Appeal paint is… One, it’s a durable paint and will stand up to the distressing of the chalk paint. Two, I just happened to have some left over after I painted my front door. I wanted to have a black base because I wanted it to show through when I distressed the white (Everlast) paint.

PRO TIP + When using chalk paint, you will typically distress your paint to create the look that is typical with chalk paint. You’ll need to keep in mind what color you want to show through once distressed. You’ll need to use that color as your base color then paint your finishing color on top. Then make sure when you are distressing your piece, you don’t use too much pressure. You don’t want to accidentally distress down through your base coat.

Once your base coat is dry, paint your top coat with the Americana Decor Chalky Finish paint in Everlasting.

Pro Tip + Don’t worry about making your top coat look PERFECT with multiple layers of paint. You will be distressing them, no need for perfection. The heavier your layer of paint, the harder your piece will be to distress. No need to make extra work for yourself.

To distress, use a 250 grit sandpaper and lightly sand the raised edges of the stars.

Christmas Carol Graphics

Now, it’s time to break out your Cricut machine. I’ve used the Cricut Explore machines and the Cricut Maker and I LOVE them both. For this project, I used my Cricut Maker but, either one is fine.

To begin, I created these designs to put on the chalk painted stars…

I love how they help to usher in the spirit of the season. They remind us of seasons past and they also help to remember the true meaning of the season… The birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.

You can download these Christmas Carol designs HERE

Then all you need to do is to upload the SVG files to the Cricut Design Space. You can check out this post on how to upload a design in the Cricut Design Space to learn how to do that.

Then you’ll cut your designs on your Cricut machine and then apply the vinyl to your stars. To learn how to apply vinyl, visit this post… How to Apply Vinyl Tutorial that I created.

It’s really not hard if you follow a few simple steps. It truly is one of my favorite ways to create for my home.

Pro Tip + Make sure you wipe down your stars with a damp cloth to remove any remaining paint dust. It will make applying the vinyl much easier.

Now your stars are ready to add to your tree!

I can’t wait to see what you guys create this Holiday Season! Make sure to tag me on your social media posts. You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram & Pinterest.

Welcome to Our Patch • Fall Porch Ideas

2 · Sep 15, 2017 · Leave a Comment

Easily dress-up your front porch for Fall with gorgeous white Autumn pumpkins from Michaels and a few DIY projects created with a little help from Cricut that will turn your drab porch into something the neighbors will truly envy!

You guys!! I’m so excited to share my new front porch. If you’ve been following along in our home journey, you will know that back in March we purchase a new home here in Lincoln, Nebraska. I’ve been slowing getting the house up to snuff and I’m finally ready to show off our front porch with the fun Autumn decor that I’ve created. I’m calling it, Welcome to Our Patch.

I’ve been working on some fun design elements with my Cricut Maker and playing around with different types of Cricut vinyl. Plus, I found these amazing PUMPKINS from Michaels. I LOVE how Michaels has really stepped up the pumpkin game. From playful pumpkins to spooky sights, Michaels has everything you need to MAKE it fun or beautiful this fall!

Fall Porch Ideas

I tend to stick with the more classic and neutral white pumpkins when it comes to fall decorating. I found these BEAUTIFUL white pumpkins at Michaels in various shapes and sizes. They are all in that heirloom, pumpkin carriage type of pumpkin and they are just so pretty. I also LOVE that they won’t ever go bad and I can keep them year to year. Here are some ideas on how to use them in your decorating.

Grab a fabulous basket at Michaels and fill it with the smaller white pumpkins like the photo above.
Use pillows as part of your outdoor decor. I created this “Oh, Delicious Fall” pillow using my Cricut Maker and some of the Cricut Iron-On Lite along with the NEW Cricut Easy Press.
Invest in some of the large vintage style pumpkins to add to your beautiful “pumpkin patch.”
Fill a lantern with some of the smaller white pumpkins.

Create some wall art with a black canvas and some of the Cricut Iron-On Lite again. This works well for a front porch, indoor wall art or a mantel piece. I actually attached it to the brick with my FAVORITE Command Strips that I stock-up on at Michaels. I have been amazed at how well they work on the brick. It’s really cool! I see a whole bunch of outdoor wall art in my future.

Grab an A-frame chalkboard sign from Michaels and add the “Welcome to Our Patch” design that I created for another great typography element. You know I love my word art!
Add a watering can, another pillow in a rustic crate, some plants… Anything you have around that could make this grouping look fall like. And of course… Pumpkins, more pumpkins for sure! It is a patch you know.

You can download all of the SVG files for each element HERE

Let’s get busy and start our Fall crafting! Visit Michaels TODAY for all kinds of FABULOUS DEALS! For more inspiration, visit the Michaels Blog, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest. They for sure have you covered.