Chalk & Glitter Sign - Blue Christmas Blog Hop

Welcome to week two of the Blue Christmas Blog Hop!  Week one : Ornaments Week 2: Wreaths & Wall Decor

Since this is a "blue" themed Christmas, I decided to whip out my trusty blue framed chalkboard. Who doesn't love a chalkboard, especially at Christmas time!? But I say, even a chalkboard could use a little bling!

I wanted a way to add a little sparkle to my vintage chalkboard, but I obviously wasn't about to do anything permanent...

DIY Wood Mounted Photos {tutorial}

I first shared this project at The Benson Street a couple weeks ago!

Today I am sharing a fun project with you...it's actually what I made for my husband's new office (only they turned out so cute, they may have to go in our home when we find one)! Its super quick and so EASY!

I love big photos and this is an inexpensive way to get big impact for not very much money. I did these 3 photos and two others for grandpas for less than $20!

Here's what you will need:

Arrow Love + a Giveaway!

****this Giveaway is now closed, but I will have more coming up soon, so check back!****

Let me explain...

2 Month Photos- a little bit {vintage}

 I recently did a photo session with our two month old...I don't have a ton of experience with studio type setups and backgrounds, but I thought I would show you what I did to fake it a bit!

 I started by picking my props...I'm realizing I am not a huge fan of lots of "extras" in the photos...I just want to capture my kiddo's personalities in a interesting way. In this case I embraced my obsession with everything vintage! I chose a chalkboard...I know, maybe chalkboards are becoming a bit over done? I don't think quite yet, and who cares, if I like it, that's all that matters, right? You may remember this chalkboard from one of my Yard Sale Posts? It cost me a whopping $1! I have had it hanging in my entry way, not getting much attention,  for a couple months now. The cool thing it is two sided, one side has the alphabet and the other is just a plain chalkboard.

I decided to free hand my design right onto the board- I wasn't going for perfection- I happen to think the imperfections are what make chalkboards so whimsical.

The next prop I chose was this incredible vintage blanket that my husband's grandma made for him when he was a baby( ...using the word vintage makes me feel old! ) Don't you think the chevron/wave pattern is amazing! I found this little gem in my mother-in-laws closet and the second I saw it I knew it would fit right in with what I have planned for the nursery!

Then I set up a photo area...I used our toy box with a blanket draped over it as the background. Its not the ideal set up, but I used what I had...which means if I can do it so can YOU!! The biggest issue I had was being able to get far enough away to get everything in the photo, this took playing with different lenses( which I won't even try to explain because I barely know anything about them). Here is what I ended up with!!

Not bad for an impromptu -oh, no! I better take some photos because this kid is already 2 months old!!!- photo session!

Haha...Elle was mommy's little assistant- she was very concerned that he had a wet diaper- we can't have that in pictures now can we!

Here is a comparison of his newborn/2 month pics!

Babies grow way to fast! 

Stairway Art

I have been MIA these last couple weeks... due to being in full on nesting mode!
Which is a good thing and means I have been knocking projects off my list left and right. I also celebrated my 30th birthday in there and had my parents come visit for a week! Who says turning 30 isn't a blast!?

Having my mom stay with me was a HUGE blessing! She helped with many of the little projects that desperately needed done( like hanging tons of baby cloths and ripping down offending border in the baby's room)! She also helped with a few projects I was too afraid to tackle on my own. One of those was my stairway photo wall... I have a very hard time committing on where to hang artwork, my mom on the other hand just goes for it! Her house is an example of how to hang art work correctly...it all makes sense and is always the right scale for its location. I don't know how she does it! I, on the other hand, way over think everything...which is why my mud room is pretty much an art work storage area. Kinda sad! SO...while she was here, I asked if she would help me hang pictures in my stairwell. I wasn't going to hang much art work until the walls and trim got painted (notice the lovely honey colored stair rail ..blah..), but I think my nesting mode makes me want our house to feel more lived in. Thankfully my mom took on the task and showed me a thing or two in the process!

I had a ton of black framed family photos and an empty one I wanted to make a sign for. We got the idea to add a few other empty frames to balance out the first one!

Burp Cloths Part II {sewing}

I have been on a sewing roll as I prep for our little man's impending arrival!

We are at the 35 week mark which means only a couple weeks until I'm full term!!  Wowza!

I spent the last week and a half teaching myself some basic sewing...it started off pretty rough, but by the time I was done making 12...count them TWELVE burp cloths, I pretty much worked out all the kinks and they don't look half bad! Yay me!

Don't you just love these!??