Yarn Letters

Hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend!  We were pool bums all weekend and now it is back to business as my vendor booth opens tomorrow and we have company coming on Thursday.  All that said, I will be taking a little break from blogging this week.  We have lots of fun things planned with our friends, and I don't think I will be able to stay up past 9pm to do any blogging!  :)

As always, I want to thank you for coming back again and again to read this little blog.  I had no idea when I started this blog a few months ago that I would have so many people coming back to read!  Thank you for taking the time to stop by and hopefully you have been inspired to do a little something crafty to your own home!

Here are pics of some yarn letters I have made for gifts in the last few months...

For my sister's new basement

A gift for my parent's good friends

For sweet baby Paige's nursery

For sweet baby Lyla's nursery

No owner yet ;)

I might just have to keep this one for myself!

Paint Update: Faux Bamboo Frames

Thank you so much for your comments regarding my faux bamboo frames with fabric.  Here is another shot of the before.  I decided to hang them vertically in a little alcove that leads into the master bedroom.

Many of you suggested to paint them a crisp white, and I decided to go for it.  I actually just redeemed a coupon for a free quart of paint from Benjamin Moore in the color "Decorator White" that I thought would be perfect.

As soon as I applied the first coat of white, I knew it was all wrong.  The white seemed to stark against the natural color of the matte.  You can see how off it looks...

Back to square one.  I searched through all my paint samples and tried a shade of green.  Nope.  Didn't do anything for me either.  Then I tried a blue/grey (my go-to color) and again, no.  Finally, I tried some navy blue left over from my son's bedroom furniture makeover, and it spoke to me!  I love navy blue, and wish I had more of it in my home.  I am a sucker for most shades of blue.  I just love it.

I applied two coats.  Consider this project finished!

Yes...We've Had More Visitors!

We have had A LOT of company in the months of April and May (all Midwesterners looking for a little sun)!   We have more coming tomorrow, and then our dear friends are coming on Thursday!!  Hotel Larson is open for business!

Steve's parents came for a visit recently and we all had a great time.  We were able to spend a lot of quality time-we shopped, ate, went to the children's museum, watched Drew play soccer, took a day trip to Fredericksburg, and celebrated Steve's birthday!  I was also able to get a few things done with the help (hair, oil change, etc)!

Children's Museum

We had a little, large meltdown at one point.  Gotta love a 2.5 year old girl!  :)

"Coffee" Break...

Day Trip to Fredericksburg, TX

Daddy's Birthday Dinner

Thanks for visiting!  See you soon!

Bow Hanger Makeover

My sister made Kate a bow hanger when she was still a baby.  She made it out of a cheap frame, a small letter, and some ribbon.  I love it because it was homemade by my sis and it is super functional.  Kate's baby room had a lot of pink and green, which were the colors of the bow hanger.  I thought I had a before shot (bad blogger), but I can't find it.  Here is a pic of my niece's bow hanger (hence the "M"), and Kate's is similar (Mia just has way more bows)!

I am currently changing out a few things in Kate's room as we get geared up to transition her to a big girl bed.  She has PINK walls, but I am taking most of the green out of her room and I needed to change up the bow hanger a bit. 

First I ripped off the old green grosgrain ribbon and attached some new polka dot ribbon (left over from another project in her room).

Next, I removed the gingham fabric from the glass part of the frame and added a small piece of burlap that I already had in my stash.  I also painted the white frame a light blue/grey (the same color that I used on her new recovered chair).

Finally, I spray painted the multicolored "K" a watermelon color (also had this in my stash) and distressed it a bit.  This makeover was free because everything I used was already in my home from other projects!  I love that as Kate gets older, her bow hanger can grow with her!

Road Trip to IKEA

The Larson's took a little road trip this past Sunday.  I needed a new work/craft desk and found a few other things while we were there.  Who doesn't love a full day of winding two carts around crowded showrooms and having a few Swedish Meatballs?

Drew was clearly over it...

Thank goodness for my trusty Element!  She isn't the cutest car, but she sure does come in handy.  We have hauled many a Christmas tree, two Great Danes, a washer and dryer, thrift store furniture finds, and many other large items in the Ellie.  We had no doubt all of our items would fit! 

I'm not so into bribing your kids, but sometimes it is needed on 3 hour shopping trips.  Ice cream was rewarded for good shopping behavior!  :)

This is a glimpse at the room I am currently working on.  First things first, getting rid of the old desk and replacing with my new crisp, clean, white one. 

 I will share all the details as soon as it is complete!

Tuesday Tip: Spackling Walls

I decided to post a little tip on spackling those pesky holes in your walls.  I actually heard the tip on the Nake Berkus show several months back, and recently used the tip as I am currently tackling my guest bedroom/work space.

Tip:  In case you don't have any spackle on hand or you don't want to purchase any, use toothpaste to fill your holes.  Yes, I have used this tip several times and it works!  I have so many little travel tubes of paste that I keep in the tool box, and they have come in handy! 

The tip also kind of ties into the season premier of the Bachelorette, which was last night.  The Bachelorette is a dentist, so very fitting, don't ya think??  Did you watch??  I am a sucker for the show.  Call me a cheeseball, and I never expect the final couple to last, but it is still fun to lose yourself in the show!

What other tips do you have for me?

DIY: Framed Fabric

I found two faux bamboo frames (11 x 14) at the Habitat Home Store a few months back.  They were marked $5 each, but the manager was at the counter when my friend and I checked out, and he said I could have them for a buck each!  Remember, everything is negotiable!  I recently bought a large cabinet door frame to turn into a jewelry holder (to sell).  The price was $10, and I asked the cashier if she would take $5 for it, and she immediately said yes.  It pays to ask!

I tried looking for large prints to put in the frames, but came up empty handed.  They are large frames and they were hollow, so I decided to go ahead and frame pieces of fabric. 

Because the frames were hollow, I need something to adhere my fabric to.  I happened to have a diaper box in my recycling (K still wears one at night), and starting cutting away.

The fabrics are from Hob Lob.  I can't recall the price, but I used a 40% off coupon on the more expensive one.  I did not need a lot of fabric, so this project was super inexpensive!

I simply wrapped the fabric around the cardboard from the diaper box and hot glued around the corners.

Once the fabric was wrapped, I centered the cardboard on the frame and staple gunned it to the frame.

I then added my own hanging mechanism to the back of each one.  These were so easy to attach to the frame (Home Depot).

I love the way the two fabric choices compliment each other and add a pop of color.

I am still debating whether or not to paint the frames.  I love the faux bamboo, but not sure if the natural color is working for me.  Opinions, please?

Linking up with:

http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

http://www.makingtheworldcuter.blogspot.com/

http://itsacraftylife.blogspot.com/

http://runwithglitter.blogspot.com/

http://somedaycrafts.blogspot.com/

http://www.elements-interiors.net/

http://bornagaincrafter.blogspot.com/

http://www.theshabbychiccottage.net/

http://www.atthepicketfence.com/

http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

http://tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com             

http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com

http://www.houseofhepworths.com/

http://www.tipjunkie.com/

http://www.notjustahousewife.net/



One Minute Makeover: Vinyl Numbers

I bought this storage piece at Homegoods when we first moved in to this house.  I don't have any sort of desk space in my kitchen, so I wanted to place for loose papers, notebooks, etc.  It is simple and basic, but cute enough. 

I decided it needed a little something extra, so I purchased some vinyl numbers for $3.

I simply adhered the numbers to each of the holders, which took me about a minute.  It is amazing how something so simple can transform the look of a piece.  Now, instead of being a run of the mill storage piece, it has a little bit of character!

I don't think anything in my house is safe from being "numbered" now!!

Moss Sticks

It seems moss has been all the rage this spring.  I got in on the action with a moss letter and wreath, and my sister found these great moss sticks at Hobby Lobby.  It seems you could probably make a few moss sticks with some tree limbs and some reindeer moss, but for the price of these, you can't go wrong (I think they were 6.99 per stick, and they were 50% off).  Thanks to my sis for the tip, I ran out and got some of my own!

What a good way to add of touch of green into your home!

Oreo Cupcakes

It was my hubby's birthday yesterday.  It begins the time of year (for 6 months) that he is 32 and I am still 31!  Why doesn't age affect men?  He could care less about getting older and all I can think about is how I don't get carded anymore, how I should have thought twice about going to the tanning bed when I was younger, and where did all these grays come from???!!!! 

I digress.  I think I gushed enough about him in the anniversary post, so I will spare you this time.  He doesn't read the blog, so I am not getting any brownie points anyway!  :)

My in-laws were here visiting, so we decided to grill out and I made some homemade oreo cupcakes to celebrate.  I knew I wanted to try these after seeing the recipe over at http://thelarsonlingo.blogspot.com/. 

She actually hosted a "Cupcake Carnival" where you can find several other delicious cupcake recipes!  I love her sweet little blog.  I found out about her blog after she was drawn to the "Larson" part of my blog...we share the same last name and we both have a daughter named Kate!  I think we were meant to be blog friends!!

You can get the full recipe here.  You must try these.  Delicious, simple, and fancy looking!

Yes!  The first step is to put an oreo on the bottom of your cupcake liner.  How can you go wrong here?

Homemade icing is just so much better than store bought (as with most things). 

Happy Birthday, Steve! 

Steve's coworkers and our neighbors are enjoying the leftovers today...too dangerous to keep in my own kitchen!