a new hobby

Juggling an active toddler, a part-time nanny job, and household duties has kept me on my toes this past year, but I couldn't be more grateful for all of the blessings in my life. Just to add to the craziness of life my husband and I started creating handmade leather goods as a hobby a few months back, and we have opened an Etsy shop to make our products available to a wider audience.

From colorful and metallic leather tassel keychains to clean and streamlined leather bifold wallets we have a variety of accessories to choose from.

The best part is we truly love the process of creating our items, so our prices are some of the lowest around. Please visit our shop if you have a moment: etsy.com/shop/butterbeanleatherco.

 

Hope that you and yours enjoy this holiday season, and here's to 2013!

Getting my Kraft on.

I was inspired by this post (over at the fabulous blog Little Green Notebook) to make my own Kraft paper botanical art. I recently purchased new pillows for my bed from the etsy shop chic decor pillows. I wanted to use the floral design from the fabric in my wall art.
I came across this post on Design*Sponge (another fabulous blog) that inspired me to make a stencil. First I photocopied my pillow cover, cut out the design, and then played around with it until I had a shape I liked. Then I traced the design onto Kraft paper (four times, like in the Design*Sponge tutorial). This picture is a little difficult to see, but it's my finished tracing.
Then I took a paint brush and filled in the lines with black acrylic paint. This part took the longest amount of time, about two hours for me.
Once I was done painting I erased any stray pencil lines and put it in the frame. I used double sided tape on the mat so the art would be pressed against the glass. Here is the finished product! I couldn't wait to get it up on the wall after framing it, so I apologize for the glare from the glass doors. I like how the paint made the Kraft paper ripple and look aged.Just for fun, here is the new art in our master bedroom. You can see that it is part of a larger gallery wall with some family photos.
The best part about this project was that it cost me absolutely nothing. The frame was a gift from long ago, the Kraft paper was from my Christmas stash, and the black acrylic paint was left over from painting silhouettes of our baby for the grandparents. I'm so pleased with the final product.

SLC style: even more brick

Well, winter decided to finally arrive this week, just when I was starting to dream of spring. We're hoping to get some work done in the yard this year, and there's nothing like looking at beautiful homes to gather inspiration. Here are a few of my favorites around town.

Seven dollar art.

I love the look of art mounted on the outside of a bookcase.

I wanted to create this look on the shelving unit in my daughter's nursery. I found this molded plastic frame at an estate sale for $2 (half off day!) but as soon as I brought it home I knew the gold wasn't going to work for me. The flower print had to go as well.

I picked up a print from thelittletiny at the Bijou Market last weekend for $5. It was originally 8x10", but the writing portion fit perfectly into my roughly 5x7" frame. I love the sentiment of the print.

To paint the frame I had to first tear off the paper backing. I don't know how old it is but there was a $25 price sticker from JCPenney on the back. Pricey, right? Once I removed the old art I could use it as a pattern to cut my new print.

With the print removed I popped out the glass and painted the frame with a bottle of acrylic paint I already had on hand. It took three coats to cover evenly. Then I cleaned and replaced the glass, put in my new print, replaced the backing and voila. Seven dollar art.
To mount the frame on my bookcase I used Command picture hanging strips. I was concerned about how to hang the art since my infant will soon be a toddler and I wanted it to last (and not fall on her head). I've heard great reviews of this product, so I gave it a go and I cannot believe how sturdy the frame is with these strips. They are like a stronger form of velcro, and they are suppose to remove cleanly from both surfaces. Who knows how well they will work on IKEA veneer, but it was worth a try. Here's one more shot for perspective:I love how it turned out. It has been three days now and the frame and strips have not budged a bit.

How to make a doily mobile.

One of the projects I took on for our nursery was a mobile to hang over the crib. By the time I got to this project the budget for the room was used up, so I wanted to make something on the cheap. After searching the internet for inspiration, I decided to combine several ideas and make something out of paper doilies. Here is my how-to:
1. Gather your supplies.
-paper doilies
-rubber gloves
-food coloring
-cooking sheet with rim
-wax paper
-paper towels
-rubber cement
-ribbon (two widths)
-embroidery hoop
-craft glue

2. Fill the pan with enough water to cover the doily only. Add about 20 drops of food coloring. I decided to make colors that would match the rug in the nursery.

3. Submerge each doily for about 30 seconds. You will need four doilies of each color that you choose.

4. Gently remove the doily. They are very fragile and can tear easily when wet. Lay out to dry, blot immediately with a paper towel. Dry overnight.
5. Fold each doily in half, making sure to match the pattern around the edge. Glue two halves together with rubber cement.
6. Lay out your glued doilies and cut a thin piece of ribbon to hang each from the embroidery hoop. Stagger the lengths or your doilies will bump into each other.
7. Glue on the other set of folded doilies to its matching color, making sure to glue the thin piece of ribbon in the middle.
8. Wrap three pieces of wide ribbon (evenly spaced) around your embroidery hoop. Secure using craft glue. Tie in a knot to hang your mobile from the ceiling.
9. Secure each doily ball to the hoop in the same fashion. Ta-da! Your mobile is complete.

Total cost for this project was $13, and I was left with half a package of doilies when I was done.

How to make a fabric letter.

I've always loved these pretty fabric covered letters that Anthropologie carries.I found this great tutorial at Prudent Baby and made one of my own for the nursery. Total cost for supplies was $6, and that includes a 12" tall letter. Growing up in Seattle, where we had earthquakes almost annually, I'm totally nervous about hanging anything over the crib. This soft letter was all I could handle. :)

Baby girl's nursery.

I apologize for the long absence; our baby girl has arrived and I suppose these pictures are better late than never.
The nursery was also featured on Apartment Therapy's Ohdeedoh site. I shared a little bit of information on the room, as well as sources for many of the products. You can view the room here.

Shades of gray.

Back when our home office was upstairs we painted it a light gray, and we love it so much that when we converted the room to a nursery we chose to keep the same color. For months we tried swatch after swatch, each time determining the color to be too blue, too purple, too dark, etc. I wanted a light, warm shade of gray, like in this image.
I finally found a gray with the perfect undertones, but when I painted it on the wall it was too dark. At the home improvement store I showed my swatch and asked for a lighter version, and learned that the lighter colors on the same card are not necessarily just less saturated versions of each other. For example, the lighter shade of gray on my card used much more blue. So they simply whipped up a sample with only 50% of the formula (i.e. more white overall) and it is perfect! Here is Behr's "Dolphin Fin" at full color and the 50% solution.
When we decided to paint the basement a light gray (almost white) we went back to our tried and true "Dolphin Fin", this time having a solution of only 25% color mixed. It gives a subtle contrast to the white trim but keeps the space light and bright.

Take Five Friday.

It's been a long time coming, but today I have another amazing blogger to interview in my "Take Five Friday" feature. You can catch up with past interviews here.

Joi, of Nuestra Vida Dolce

Joi started her blog as a space to keep decor inspiration and update family and friends. She has some super creative ideas, and together with the help of her husband David they complete some pretty amazing transformations. She also does this great feature called "What's Good in Your 'Hood" where she scours Craigslist and finds awesome furniture and decor in your town.

What advice can you give readers on getting started when decorating a new home?
Take your time. It is so tempting to "finish" a room that many people often buy things they don't love just to have a room "complete". I think the more a person shops around and figures out their true style, they will be happier in the long run.

(joi's living room)

Who is your favorite interior designer?
At the moment, it is Emily Henderson from HGTV's Secrets From a Stylist. I can totally relate to her vintage-modern eclecticism and I feel like what she creates is so fun and livable.

What are your favorite online resources for all things home-related?
I love good design that is also affordable. My quick go-to stores are Overstock.com, Urbanoutfitters.com, Fabric.com, CB2.com, and WestElm.com

(joi's master bedroom)

What is your favorite piece of furniture in your own home, and why?

Our dining room table. I envisioned what I wanted and my father-in-law built it. It is very sentimental to me.

(joi's kitchen)

What has been your most successful DIY project?

My favorite project was painting the kitchen cabinets white! It was one of the first things we did and we were so proud of ourselves!

Thanks to Joi for taking five out of your busy schedule to participate in this feature. I love her colorful and creative home!