magnetic tray frames

At the beginning of the week I promised to show you what I planned to do with the trays I bought at the antique mall and as promised here it is. I can't take credit for this one because I got the idea from my crafty mother in law. They are so simple and so cute! Below is the one I made for our house.

Some suggested materials for this project: vintage metal tray, 3/4" round magnets, clear pebbles, stickers, scrap paper, bottle caps, 1" punch, super glue, mod podge, sawtooth hangers

To start I punched out the paper/ pictures I wanted to use for my magnets. If you are using bottle caps the 1" round paper will fit perfectly inside, but if you are making the pebble magnets you will have to trim a little off. You could also just buy a 3/4" round punch...whatever suits your fancy.

Bottle Cap Magnets: Once you have your paper punched out put a small dab of super glue along the inside rim of the bottle cap to attach the paper, you really don't need much for it to hold. I finished by super glueing the magnet to the bottom and put mod podge over the paper circle.

Pebble Magnets: Put a small dab of glue on the magnet to attach the paper, push firmly. Put another dab of super glue on the paper and push the pebble down for several seconds. The glue should spread out between the pebble and magnet. I really like the look of the pebbles because they magnify whatever picture is under them.

And the pebble magnets...

I am planning on selling my trays and wanted to give the option to hang them. Since the trays are metal I just used a sawtooth hanger and attached it where a nail would go with a more goopy super glue. I also put a another glob of glue over the top of the wholes where the nails would go for extra hold.

And the finished trays...

and...

another...

only 2 more...promise.

Lastly...

I probably didn't have to show each one individually but they are just so pretty...and if I found this many you should be able to find 1 for yourself!

year 3 tomorrow

Tomorrow is our 3 year wedding anniversary...

Many people say they married their best friend...but I actually did marry my best friend, although I could not picture myself with him at first. This was mostly because he was the biggest flirt I had ever met. Not only that but he was Joel, my good friend Joel and ever since the first weekend of our freshman year of college. We had the same major so we had to take many of the same classes together. In one of our first psychology classes Prof. Kidwell said it was a proven fact that the more time you spend with a person the more likely they are to have an attraction to you, Joel then leaned over and said, "we are taking the same classes from now on!" I honestly don't think he had any feelings for me at that point, he was just that big of a flirt.

It wasn't really until our sophomore year that I started questioning if Joel liked me or if I could even see myself with him. Due to the amount of time we were spending together many of our friends started asking us separately how we felt about each other, which made me feel wierd. I couldn't imagine losing Joel as my friend if he didn't feel the same way for me. During college I was finding out who I was and through that many friends would come and go, but Joel demanded we remain friends. He was quickly becoming one, if not my closest guy friend. I remember telling my mom about different guys at school that I may or may not have had crushes on at the time and casually brought Joel up, but only speaking about him as a friend. My mom's response was, "I wish I had a Joel in my life!" There was something so different about him, something I knew I didn't want to live without...

Second semester of our sophomore year Joel and I were headed to the coffee shop on campus and ran into a mutual friend of ours. She, without thinking asked us if we were dating yet! Who says that? No one had EVER brought THAT up to us while we were together so we never had to address it before that moment. We awkwardly ignored the topic altogether and proceeded to the coffee shop. I didn't think I was ready to discuss "US" yet so I kept thinking, "don't bring it up, maybe he's not going to bring it up." Then he looked up from his computer after some shallow conversation and awkward silence to say, "I like you and I think you like me too so we should go out." He pretty much said it as quickly as you probably read that line too. Our first date was Valentine's Day and he, without thinking let me pick the movie we were going to see. I didn't watch much TV that year so I hadn't heard about what was showing so I picked the one that I had at least heard of in passing, Hotel Rwanda. I chose a movie about African genocide for our first date on Valentine's Day! I had no clue. There were at least other people in the theater that night but it was definitely not the picturesque first date you dream of.

We have had our ups and downs over the years but I cannot imagine being with a more supportive, fun, genuine person than my husband Joel. He has been my best friend for the past 5 years now and my husband as well for the past 3. I look forward to what God has in store for our future together and pray that we only grow closer to Him and each other as time goes on. I love you Joel, happy anniversary and thank you for choosing to be by my side and loving me even when I haven't been the easiest person to love!

antiques and pumpkins

What a refreshing weekend this was! On Saturday I spent 2 hours at the antique mall...I think I could have stayed for another hour, it's so big. I found exactly what I was looking for and then some. I found several trays in various sizes for a project I hope to do tonight and will show you this week.

I also found this locker basket for only $8! I have been wanting a few for our bathroom but never saw one that cheap before. I also got some vintage ribbon, an old ruler, some doilies, and a miniature candelabra. 

Once Joel got home from class we left for Lexington to visit with his sister, mom, and grandma. Regretably I did not get any scenery shots from the weekend but Lexington is such a beautiful area, especially in the Fall. On Sunday we went to an apple orchard...

There we are...

And again...what's that Grandma Crego?

We had a lot of fun!

I guess it's time to break out the seasonal decorations!

Little gourds...

I hope you're enjoying this weather...go buy some pumpkins.





Sneak Peek

The upstairs is closer to being done than ever before! I can't help but share the parts that are done with you. The bar in the closet broke so the clothes are only there momentarily...

This is what the mini couch is facing...

I got some dresser drawers from my mom to use for storage and I hope to hang some as well in place of shelves.

Some wall decor...

The guest bedroom...





SALE

I was scheduled to work today and somewhat excited about it because it was for skills lab, plus today was an early release day...which equals one easy day! When I got there they told me the teacher I thought I was filling in for was indeed already at school...uh, which meant I COULD HAVE SLEPT IN! I was already awake and near a Target so that is where I ended up. Since I wasn't going to make money today I thought I should spend some instead...

They are really cute and were only $13!

unfinished upstairs...

I promised some finished pictures of the upstairs this week and I really hoped it would be done by now. I have been painting and putting things where they will go, whatever I could do without help. We still have to put the bed together and move the window divider so I have been waiting until my husband felt up to it. On top of trying to finish his masters degree he was also just hired this year as an intervention specialist for middle school and although he dismisses them at 2:30 he doesn't get home until 5 most nights. That to say I take pity on him and just keep thinking, maybe tomorrow he will feel up to it...it has been a long couple of weeks so maybe this weekend we can wrap things up, i hope!
Enjoy your weekend!

this one is called "project upstairs"

Our summer project was to move our bedroom downstairs but it seemed to slip my mind that although we had a lovely new bedroom I still had the upstairs to take on...our former bedroom quickly became the catch all room and a mess! It was the last room we were needing to paint so that was my first task. I keep saying "the room" and upstairs because upstairs is just one HUGE room. It is also the hottest room in the house...I am just trying to paint a very vivid mental picture for you of me sweating away all day, painting with the tiniest paintbrush imaginable so that I didn't have to tape off the ceiling...ok I digress. I like me some before and after shots so here is an actual before picture, no joke.

Above: This is a view of the area at the top of the stairs, it is a small loft-like space. Also the frame of the closet is to the right of the stairs. We did not build our house it was just in such a disgusting state when we bought it that we had to gut it all the way down to the studs.

Below: This is a view from the top of the stairs looking toward the front of our house. Just an interesting side note-the people that lived here before us raised chickens in the basement...of course they did, why not?

I can't seem to find a single picture of what our bedroom looked like before but here are a few of what I am in the process of doing.

Below: This is that loft area at the top of the stairs. After I paint that end wall we are attaching shelves and puting a table and chairs there.

This is a look at the mess at the other end of the room. It is all painted at least!

Joel and I saw that window divider idea in a Ready Made magazine. It works really well in a space like this to create some division...just don't tell anyone what you are doing before you decide to make one because everyone you know will donate 5 windows a piece to you...I warned you. This side of the divider will be the TV area.

The front part of the room will be the guest bedroom, which I am most excited about. You may sweat all night long but you will have the cutest place to stay!

P90X

Joel and I have been doing P90X for a week now. My body aches all the time and I catch myself tensing up my arms and legs to feel my muscles...I've got muscles after a week! I am sure these results are not typical but believe me I am feeling it. I notice a difference already...

I have not seen some of these moves I am doing and I have never worked parts of my body I am feeling pain in. It is great! Ok so that is not my actual body...yet but soon enough. If you have put on some extra pounds and want a workout that you will feel immediate effects from I suggest you do this NOW. I wish I would have known about it sooner.
I have been working on getting my upstairs painted and put together for the past week so I hope to have pictures of that up soon!

Cold Tangerines

   Last night my husband and I started a workout program called P90X. Some of our good friends started it last week so we have them to blame for this. They kept taunting us saying, "when we are hot expect to see us without our shirts on!" Come to think of it they are NOT good friends at all! (Only kidding.) It was good motivation for us to drop this extra weight we gained after our wedding, three years ago. I have had body image issues for a good majority of my life so I decided I have to actually do something about it now. I realized these issues are just me feeling sorry for myself and nothing will happen until I take action.
   A couple of years ago another good friend of ours gave me a book called Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist. It is a book made up of short stories from her life. Even though nothing too exciting happens in the book she writes it in a way that makes you feel like she is writing about my life and that IT IS EXTRAORDINARY. This idea that when you choose to see God in everyday occurrences your life then becomes an adventure, something extraordinary.
  After I read the book through the first time I decided it would be a good one to read once a year because I could get something different from it each time. I picked it up to start reading it for the second time last night. Here is a snippet from the first chapter...

  "I have always, essentially, been waiting. Waiting to become something else, waiting to be that person I always thought I was on the verge of becoming, waiting for that life I thought I would have. In my head I was always only one step away. For twenty years, literally, I have waited to become the thin version of myself, because that's when life will really begin.
  And through that waiting, here I am. My life is passing, day by day, and I am waiting for it to start. I am waiting for that time, that person, that event when my life will finally begin."

It seems like such an obvious concept but how much more powerful a message can be when you need to hear it the most!

Dining Room

I will be honest with you, I truly know nothing about decorating. I really enjoy it though so I steal borrow ideas from people like Martha Stewart...hence the gray in multiple rooms. I also get some good ideas from 2 of my favorite magazines, Country Living and 100 Decorating Ideas. I know it does not come naturally to me because this is what our dining room looked like before...

It felt so dark and drab with all of the dark wood so I knew painting the walls a lighter color would be a huge improvement. We decided to use the same color we had in the living room so that it would flow nicely. Now it is bright and much more inviting.

We actually got the table from our neighbors and we loved it so we knew that would stay but the chairs were cheap wooden fold up ones we both had before we got married. Since dining room chairs are not typically cheap we found various ones we liked at antique malls and the Ikea As Is section. I just painted the chairs and table legs black to make them cohesive.

As for the details, I really like birds so I put them wherever my husband lets me. I would say that is the obvious theme.

We also had to incorporate something Joel collects...he keeps reminding me he lives in our house too?

            

Here are some more pretty things!

bottle cap tacks

Bottle cap tacks are very easy and inexpensive to make. Recommended items to use are: 1inch round hole punch, bottle caps, mod podge, glue, tacks, scrap paper or magazines

First choose what you would like inside your bottle cap. I just punched out paper circles for mine.

You could either leave them plain or use stickers to fancy them up. I used number stickers and a bird sticker for mine. Next I put some glue inside the bottle cap to attach my paper to and covered the surface of the paper with mod podge to seal it.

 

I attached the tacks last so that the bottle caps could lay flat throughout the process.

I have also punched out pictures before to put inside the bottle cap to make more personalized gifts or you could attach a magnet to the back instead of a tack.