our front porch and a summer wreath ♥

we've had the most beautiful weather here in upstate the past few weeks

mid 70's and breezy ... flowers everywhere. gorgeous.

it sorta almost makes up for the horrible winters we have

including this past never ending one.

i kinda skipped my spring wreath and went right into making one for summer

to make your own you'll need just a few things...

a styrofoam wreath, some fabric cut or ripped into long 1-2 inch wide strips, 

hot glue and some pretty paper

i followed LollyJane's tutorial here for the paper pinwheels

wrapped the foam wreath with the fabric, secured with hot glue and added the pinwheels

that's it!

oh and a few cute buttons :)

found these colored mason jar planters at the Christmas tree shoppe

and spruced up the front porch a little bit

Memorial day weekend is usually when the danger of frost here has officially passed

so i was happy to add some color to the front of our home

the wicker rocker was a curb side rescue a few summers ago

it's been a lot of different colors ... last year it got a coat of mint green

i like it still.

thinkin maybe coral next? or maybe white. i love white.

a few coats of spray paint to some old flower pots i found in the garage

were all these pretty plants needed

who doesn't love daisies?

they're the cutest.

the sign used to be an old mirror

i sprayed the mirror with chalkboard spray paint from joanns

then taped & covered the chalkboard part and sprayed the frame 

it's gonna be a beautiful weekend here ... what are you guys up to??

crafting? yard work? hot dogs & smores??

yes please. all of the above.

♥ much love

linking up here ♥

a little more progress ♥

our home is always a work in progress for me.

discovering what our style/function is as a family is a constant learning process.

and trying to combine the two together is something i'm always learning

so while stepping back these past few months 

i've focused on finishing up our family room and i will share a full room tour soon

as well as some of the project how-to's i tackled.

i found this coffee table at a thrift store for $7!

gave it a few coats of white spray paint and a little distressing

finished off the top with chalkboard paint

my girls love it so much ... a big jar of rainbow chalk lives on the table top now.

forever.

gallery walls are hard!

too much? too little?

i kept moving things around but finally settled on this arrangement.

spray paint weather has officially arrived

save all your glass jars girls!

and turn them into something beautiful

these jars were headed straight for this old Coke bottle caddy that i picked up at whatever craft weekend last year ... filled with pens & pencils and other fun colorful things

{the print is from here}

i also took some time to do some clean-up in my craft room

it's been quiet in there for the past few months

and at the same time the window treatments in there finally broke after being on the edge for a year. so after some time at my sewing machine & a few vintage sheets later 

... new curtains!

still need a few adjustments & hemming but i'll get to that.

what are you guys up to lately?

has the farwell of the never ending winter got you started on new projects?

spring cleaning? do tell :)

much love ♥

a little laundry space

kay! i promised pics of our little laundry space ... here we go

a few years ago we were talking about putting our washer/dryer somewhere on the first or second level. this little nook outside our bathroom at the top of our stairs ended up being the perfect spot

our appliances are stackable so that was the main reason for utilizing this empty little spot

on the landing upstairs ... if they weren't i think the laundry would still be in the basement.

really thankful for this space

it saves me gazillions of trips up and down two flights of stairs 

(but bad for my four cookie food group lifestyle)

i mean it only makes sense to have laundry facilities on the level where all the clothes are doesn't it?  

yes. i agree with you.

on the opposite wall is a skinny little table that holds our detergents

family bible & books ... some that we read before bedtime

a little tray with dry erase markers for chore charts

and magnetic alphabets for love notes & messages on the side of the washer

that's some happy right there. 

the JOY clothesline canvas how-to is here

i made that last year sometime

the laundry canvas hoop thingy how to is here

the pom pom flowers are super easy to make ... just whip up your poms 

and hot glue them to some brown floral wire (found in the floral section at joanns) 

orrrrrr... you can just buy some here. love that shop.

i made the doily/ fabric strip bunting while i was at Meg's craft house 

for whatever craft weekend. you can read about that here too

my girls always think that the picture of the little boy on the shelf is my husband when he was little

but it's not... my grandfather was an artist (like for a living not just for fun :) 

he died when i was a teenager but later on after we were married 

i found this drawing in one of his old sketch books and framed it 

...neat huh?

much love ♥

laundry canvas hoop art... ♥

was just hangin out on pinterest a few weeks ago

just for a minute 

ya know

in doggie years. not the human kind

so i stumbled upon this wonderful blog & shop 

and found this really cute printable that was an instant download

i love it! how whimsical it is ...

i instantly had big plans for this little laundry printable

i went to staples and had the 12x12 size printed onto canvas ... 

it was super cheap! like five bucks i think. i was surprised it was that reasonable...

and i scored a huge box of huge embroidery hoops at a huge estate sale over the summer

so with some gray chev, a huge hoop & a cute printable i set to work.

should i say huge again?

i cut & fit the fabric to size with the hoop

did a quick zig zag stitch around the canvas with my machine, 

then lined that baby up in the hoop and stretched it to fit... done!

i did hot glue all around the edges in the back to keep it nice and tight too

i thought some pom pom yarn back & forth across the front would be fun

used hot glue on the ends for that as well (around the side and then glued to the back)

our laundry area is on the landing at the top of the stairs

and there's no light up there at all, except from what comes in the bedroom windows

so it's a challenge to get good shots up there

i did get some fun pictures though!

i'll be back next week to show you the rest of that space

it's little, but it's fun ... and a lot goes on up there

happy weekend!

a craft room update ... ♥

well. i promised an updated tour of my studio

and i finally got it done! whew...

it's a hard room to snap pics of (it's never clean & tidy) and to catch good light at the right time of day is a challenge on this side of my house. 

between upstate NY gloomy fall weather and my messy crafting habits

getting those two things to happen at once are like the planets aligning or something

(i don't think the planets really align)

(but in the new Thor movie they do for pretend)

(wait ... do they?)

(no. they don't)

glad that's taken care of.

i get a lot of questions & emails about this room, and most of them are similar ... but when i originally blogged about it here, things were a bit different and a lot of little changes have happened over the past two years ... 

so instead of narrating, i'll just let you enjoy the eye candy without my annoying descriptions of every picture ... and if you have any questions about how we did something or about where i got something, just leave a comment and i'll do my best to answer them throughout the day ... kay?! 

so grab a cup a somethin' and stay for a bit puh. lease. thanks :)

(oh, and my hubby's original plans for the big table are here)

most of the artwork & prints you see on my inspiration wall are from 

some of my favorite etsy shops ...

pen & paint ~ katygirl designs ~ yellow heart art ~ 

doodles by amy lou (on instagram) ~ joy's hope ~ mandipidy ~ grace for grace

this space in our home is a blessing to me ... a gift from my husband really

who has yet to finish the basement or make a place he calls his own,

 that we often talk about. he wanted to see my dreams and goals come full circle, and is so supportive of everything i try to accomplish. do i love this room? yeah.

but i love why i have it more. i'm loved by a man God gave to me 

and i'm living out my calling for Christ. 

that's more joy than a hundred cute craft rooms :)

thanks for stopping by today and remember to leave a comment

if there's somethin' you want to know.

that this room inspires and makes you guys happy is a gift all in itself, i appreciate all of you.

happy new week ♥

linking up to:

Tatertots & Jello