Barstool Makeover

We completed another project this weekend, except instead of using paint to update we used fabric. We met my parents in Austin this past Saturday, and they brought their old barstools with them because they were getting new ones. They have black bottoms and a teal top. So, we decided to give them a makeover since teal is not in my kitchen color scheme. We found the cutest fabric at Jo-Ann and recovered the tops. It was a quick project, and I LOVE the finished product. Check out some pictures!

BEFORE

AFTER!!

We had a wonderful Saturday in Austin, and even got to spend some quality time with Fenway while my mom, dad, Ryan, and Brittyne went to the UT game. Fenway even caused a little catastrophe at the park. He was getting in the water and his foot got caught on something, and he couldn't get back out so he was freaked out. He was sitting halfway in the water making the loudest crying sounds! Poor baby. He even got a cut on his leg and stomach from it all. So, we had a fun and eventful weekend! :)

Blessing Ring

I'm back! Sorry, it's been awhile since my last post. I started subbing a couple of weeks ago, and it has kept me pretty busy and pretty exhausted! I was so excited that Tuesday was the first day of Fall, but I ended up getting sick. So, I stayed home yesterday and today and I'll be back at school tomorrow. Since I was at home today, I figured I might as well do a crafty project.

I found the idea for a Blessing Ring on another of other blogs and I figured it would be very easy to make one. The idea is to take little notes of encouragement, scripture, or cards and string them together on a ring. It's a great way to use all those old cards you have stored in drawers; Mom I'm referring to you. :) I used our wedding and shower cards for mine.

Materials:

Steel Ring (I got mine at Hobby Lobby in the knitting section, it was $1.27)

Ribbon (I used green, white, and brown to match our bedroom)

Cards, notes, etc.

Other scrapbook supplies (stickers, paper, buttons)

Instructions:

1. Punch a hole in each card. I punched mine in the top left corner, but you can really punch it anywhere and it will work.

2. Cut small pieces of ribbon to attach the cards to the ring. I used very thin green and white ribbon, cut about 3-4 inches.

3. After attaching all cards, cut the rest of your ribbon in long strips. (you want it to hang below the cards) Tie these ribbon pieces to the ring in between the cards.

4. I also created a little scrapbook piece that I tied to the top of the ring, and then cut smaller pieces of ribbon to tie around it.

I love this idea because it has an endless number of possibilities! You could do this with Christmas cards, for a baby shower, teachers gifts, and many others. I also like it because it showcases great memories instead of storing them in closets or drawers. Enjoy! :)

Labor Day Happenings

We went camping last weekend for Labor Day at Lake Conroe which is about 45 minutes from our house. It's a beautiful lake and very well kept. There were tons of new stores and restaurants around the lake, and I was even able to enjoy my first Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season lakeside. :) It was a beautiful thing. We camped out Friday night and rented a Jet Ski on Saturday for a couple of hours. It was so much fun!! I can definitely see us purchasing some of our own in the future! We spent two hours jetting around the lake looking at the beautiful lake houses. Pretty much every inch of the shoreline was covered with houses.

I didn't take any pictures of us at the lake, but here is our cute little campsite. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows for s'mores for dinner, and even cooked some eggs and bacon for breakfast. Food always tastes way better outdoors. The weather was a little too hot for our liking, so I think we're going to have to wait until it cools down to go again. Fall get here quick please!!

We also completed another project over the weekend. It's fun getting our house put together! We needed something for over our bed. I couldn't find a picture that I liked so I decided we would create our own art. Thanks to my extremely talented brother, we had amazing pictures at our disposal. We got some of his pictures printed and framed and voila.....

Custom wall art!!

Here it is zoomed in a little.

The pictures were mostly ones Ryan had taken. Some were from London, the Panhandle, and our wedding. We also added in a couple we took in Estes Park after we got engaged.

This week has been a great one because I got my first subbing job!!!!!! YAY! On Tuesday I went up to the Elementary school that's close to our house and gave them my name (Thanks for the advice Mom!). They called me that afternoon for a first grade job for Wednesday and Thursday. Overall it went really well. The kids were a little crazy, but that's to be expected. Everyone was really nice and one of the other first grade teachers even made sure she knew my name and commented that they planned on requesting me in the future! :) I also have a few more jobs lined up in the next couple of weeks. I'm so relieved to finally get started and already have my first one behind me.

This week has been good also because Nicholas Sparks' new book, "The Last Song," came out on Tuesday. I have started reading it and it's pretty good so far. It's the longest book he's ever written, which I was excited about because I always seem to read through them so quickly! Bryan joked that I would probably already have it read by the time he got home on Tuesday afternoon. :) That was not the case, thankfully. I want to be able to enjoy it for longer than that. Mom, you can borrow it when I'm finished.

I will leave you with one last tidbit that I think you should know. I have a new favorite cereal. It is the best cereal of all time, because it has the word "sprinkles" in the title.

Enough said.

Where has this been all my life? I have eaten almost the entire box by myself. And I'm not even ashamed. :)

Cupcake Costume

So, I found my Halloween costume this year!

Go here for directions.

The sprinkles are foam hair curlers! :)

Latest Projects

Today I have worked on a couple of projects around the house to spruce up some things I already have. I used the scrap fabric that you have seen repeatedly throughout my living room. The first thing I did was use different pieces to put inside the windows of a brown lantern. I also glued a small green button in the middle of each window pane. I think it turned out great!

For this candle, I just glued the fabric around the middle and glued a green button on too. It's simple, but really dresses up the plain candle!

Now onto the furniture that we repainted. We did the coffee table, side table, and the kitchen dining table and chairs. Here is a before pic....

You can see the dining table and the coffee table. Both were a light wood.

And now they're dark!! I thought it was a little too much brown after we painted them, so we decided to do a green border. (It looks white in the picture but it's a light green)

We wanted to do a full border all around, but once we taped off, since the tape overlapped we had these little boxes in the corner. We thought we would give it a try, and I am so excited we did! I LOVE the result! I think it classes the tables up a bit. :)

Now for the table and chairs. They were also a light wood before....

Now they're black. Don't pay too much attention to the chairs, they are awaiting new covers. I would love to have green and white polka dots or stripes, but I'm not sure how to attempt making new ones.

We made our way up to DFW last weekend to spend some time with my family. We had tons of fun and I love it when we are all in the same place, even if it's a short period of time. I got to spend most of Saturday with my precious niece Elliot. She has gotten so big since the last time we had seen her.

Doesn't she have the sweetest face!

Here she is with her Nonni riding the carousel at Grapevine Mills Mall.

I already miss her sweet laugh. Can't wait to see her again soon!

Hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend!! :)