DIY Photo Canvas

How cute is that face?  I'm a bit biased.

It needs to be displayed prominently and with style. This is the project that I entered into Round 2 of One Crafty Contest.  Unfortunately, my DIY Photo Canvas was not voted into the next round :(  I had a lot of fun making these  and I think they look great. I am in desperate need of some new photos to display and wanted to do something different than just frames.  

MATERIALS

Canvas

Mod Podge

Acrylic paint

Spongebrush

Photo

DIRECTIONS

Print out a photo of your choice at a place such as Costco.  I printed a glossy photo but I assume matte would work too.

Spread a layer of Mod Podge onto the canvas. I used an 11x14 canvas and matte Mod Podge.

Place your photo onto the canvas, starting at one edge and smoothing to the other edge.

(I didn't have any problems with the photo bubbling)

Spread a layer of Mod Podge over the photo.

After the Mod Podge is dried, dab some acrylic paint along the edges to give the photo a distressed look on the edges. If you make a mistake, you can just wipe it right off. 

Let the paint dry and display in your favorite place. I put mine on my mantel.

 These photo canvases are so cheap!  I got a canvas 2 pack for $4 (with my 40% off coupon at Micheals).  The pictures were $2.99 each.  And did you know that you can make your own Mod Podge?  It's just glue and water.  I had the paint on hand so the total cost was $5 per canvas.  You can't get much cheaper than that.

                 Thanks to Girl.Inspired for the great tutorial.

Sponsor Spotlight: Happy Hour Projects

Today I'd like to introduce you to one of my May sponsors, Adrianne from Happy Hour Projects.

I love Adrianne's blog.  She's got so many creative projects and she is always hosting some sort of party. Here is a little bit about her in her own words....

Hi! I'm Adrianne and I blog over at Happy Hour Projects. I got started blogging nearly a year ago and have found it's an awesome way to exercise my creativity, write, and meet and stay in touch with other fantastic people who enjoy the same things as I do!

At Happy Hour, I focus on projects you can make in an hour or less. You'll find all sorts of things there - jewelry, sewing, easy recipes, even some blogging tips and tricks, as well as weekly and holiday link parties and giveaways.

I'd love to have you drop by - there's always something going on, and I love making new friends (like Kelly)! 

Thank you Adrianne for being a sponsor!

Fabulous Friday {27}

Happy Friday and Happy Memorial Day Weekend!  It has been a LONG week of me home by myself with the kiddos while the hubby was out of town on business.  I'm ready for some relaxation!  What about you?  Are you heading to any parties or bbq's this weekend?  I'm so excited for summer.  Although I am a bit overwhelmed with the thought of keeping 2 kiddos boredom free for the next 3 months! EEK!

Let's kick of this long weekend with a Fabulous Friday party!

Here's a look at some Fabulous Features from last week. I have created a new Pinterest Board called "Fabulous Friday Features" where I will be pinning everything that I feature here.
Hani at Craftionary created this cute Cars themed bedroom

Our Pinteresting Family took an old desk and transformed it with an amazing color!

Katie at Creatively Living took this Goodwill shelf and turned it into a tv console! Amazing!

Grab a button from my sidebar if you were featured today!
Have a great weekend and be safe while you celebrate!

On to this week's par-tay...

1. Please become a follower of my blog if you would like to link up.

2. Feel free to link up as many projects as you like but please link to your specific post and not your entire blog.

3. Please no linking to Etsy shops, giveaways or businesses.

4. Visit at least 2 links and leave some comments.  Everyone wants to feel loved!

5. Please link back to my blog using either a text link or my button.

Guest Post: Create.Craft.Love

Today I have a guest post from Jill at Create.Craft.Love.  If you have not checked out her blog yet, you MUST do so.  It is filled with inspiring projects.

Hi everyone!  I'm Jill!  I am so excited that Kelly asked me to guest post! 

I have a little blog called Create.Craft.Love. A little about me...I'm a mommy to a handsome little boy and wife to an amazing man.  I am a nurse practitioner in real life but love the escape that crafting and blogging offer.  It keeps me sane!

While perusing through oodles of fabric at Hobby Lobby (I have a small obsession with fabric), I came across the most adorable yellow and gray floral pattern!  What is it about that color combo that is so appealing?  It's just so bright and cheery!

Anyway...

This delightfully happy pattern brought thoughts of summers by the pool and lounging on the beach.  I wanted to make something that symbolized summer.  And since I can never seem to keep my sunglasses from being mangled in my purse (or by tiny hands), I decided to make this adorable sunglasses case!

 

Don't you just love it?  I found those black rose brooch clips on sale at Hobby Lobby too.  It really pulls it all together! 

Here's what you need:

Two pieces of coordinating fabric

Lightweight fusible fleece

Coordinating thread

Scissors

Brooch or decorative embellishment (optional)

Start by cutting your two pieces of fabric into 10 inch x 10 inch squares. One will be the outside fabric and the other will be the inner lining.  (I purposely made these too big.)  Cut a 3 inch x 2 inch piece out of the fabric you are using on the outside.   Next cut the fusible fleece into a 9 inch x 9 inch square.  

Place the two pieces of fabric right side together.  Lay the fusible fleece in the center and pin around the edges.  (Be sure to leave a 3 inch opening to turn the fabric right side out.)

Sew around the edges (leaving that opening).

Cut the excess fabric and turn right side out.

Iron the square.  (I folded the opening in and ironed so it would be easier to sew.)

Next, pin the opening together and top stitch along that edge and set aside.

Take the 3 inch x 2 inch fabric and fold the long edges to the middle.  Iron in place.  Then, fold in half and iron again.  (I did it this way so the edge looked cleaner than just folding in half and folding in half again.) 

 

Stitch along the open edge.

Fold the piece in half and place the raw edge on the right side of the 9 inch square (loop will be pointing to the middle).  Pin in place.  Then fold your 9 inch square in half and pin along the edge and bottom.

Stitch around the two sides (1/2 inch seam).

Cut the bottom corners.

Turn right side out, push out the corners and add embellishment.

It was so easy to make!  I made three in an hour!

 Click here to download a printable PDF of my tutorial!

 

I am crushin' on this case!

Would love for you to stop by and see what else I've crafted up!

Thanks so much, Jill, for this wonderful tutorial!

Beaded Headband

The project that I'm sharing with you today is the project that I made for Round 1 of One Crafty Contest over at One Artsy Mama.  If you are not following this contest, you should.  There are some amazingly talented people who are competing.  

Round 1 was beads and I have to say that I was a bit intimidated because I usually don't work with beads.  When I saw the other projects that were linked up, I was blown away by the creativity.  My project is very simple and anyone can make it in a very short amount of time.  So here it is in all it's simplistic glory.

 Please disregard those gray hairs on my head.  I've got two young children, enough said.

MATERIALS

Beads

Clear stretchy beading thread

2 hair rubber bands

DIRECTIONS

Simply string your beads onto the thread.  Tie a knot at each end so your beads to not slip.  You only need enough beads to go halfway around your head.  No need for beads behind your ears or on the underside of your head :)  

Take two hair rubber bands and tie them together.

Tie each end of your string to a hair rubber band, securing it with a knot. This makes it stronger and less like to break, spilling beads everywhere.  

This kinda looks like a necklace here.  And that's exactly what I though when I took this picture..."oh shoot, that looks more like a necklace than a headband". If you want to wear it as a necklace, by all means do so.  It can do double duty.

I chose big chunky beads but this would also look good with lots of small sparkly beads too.  Think perfect accessory for that little black dress!

What kind of accessories do you like to make?

Guest Posts and Sponsors

Hello friends! 

Have you ever wondered about how to guest post on someone's blog? Have you ever wanted to guest post but didn't know how to ask?  I'll make it easy for you....I'm currently accepting guest posters and sponsors for my blog.

How does a guest post work, you ask?  Very simple. You write a post and send it to me in html format.  I post it here on my blog and you mention it on your blog and social media sites.  It is a win-win for both of us...we will both get new readers to our blogs. Readers that may have never found each other's blogs otherwise.

You can also sponsor my blog for a month.  The "sponsorship" that I offer is a bit different than many blogs.  Currently, I offer free blog button swaps for sponsors. This will most likely change with increased followers to my blog so now is your chance to get some exposure for free.  At the beginning of the month, I will post your blog button on my sidebar.  You agree to also post my button on your blog.  I accept four sponsors per month and will do a short post 

on each sponsor throughout the month. 

If you are interested in either of these options, I would love to talk to you.  You can find my info under the "Advertise" tab at the top of the page.

Fabulous Friday {26}

Happy Friday!  How was your week?  Mine was pretty good.  I'm in the Top 20 in One Crafty Contest over at One Artsy Mama.  For Round 1, we need to use beads.  I'm very excited because I already have my project done!  You will have to stop on by on Monday and see if you can guess which one is mine and vote for your favorite. {Please pick mine!}

IT'S PARTY TIME!!

Are you ready for some great features from last week's party?

Southern Lovely shared her recipe for Strawberry Freezer Jam.

Sew Sweet Cottage created this Pottery Barn knock-off bookshelf

Lizy B baked this Words With Friends cookie

Chase the Star created this sunny decor from thrift store plates.

Grab a button from my sidebar if you were featured today!
Have a great weekend!

On to this week's par-tay...

1. Please become a follower of my blog if you would like to link up.

2. Feel free to link up as many projects as you like but please link to your specific post and not your entire blog.

3. Please no linking to Etsy shops, giveaways or businesses.

4. Visit at least 2 links and leave some comments.  Everyone wants to feel loved!

5. Please link back to my blog using either a text link or my button.

CampusBookRentals.com and Operation Smile

I was recently contacted by CampusBookRentals.com.  

Have you heard of this site? For those of you currently attending college, you MUST check them out.  I KNOW there are many of you out there in college right now who can benefit from this.  Have you ever waited in long lines to purchase your textbooks?  Have you ever completely emptied your wallet when purchasing said books?  Well...not anymore.  This site is pretty amazing!  You rent your textbooks. That's right...you RENT them.  I wish this site was around when I was in college.  My parents I could have saved so much money.

You search for the book that you need from their inventory, you choose how long you need the book, and you pay up to 40-90% off retail.  It ships for free and arrives right on your doorstep. You can even highlight in the textbook!  And when your class is over, you send the book back and you don't have to pay shipping!

                    As an example, here is a book that I used during my college studies. 

This is the MOTHER of all books when it comes to the study of wetland ecosystems.  And it comes with the MOTHER of all price tags. But not if you rent it through CampusBookRentals.com.

You can click here to get detailed info on the pricing of this book.

And as an added bonus, with every book rented, CampusBookRentals.com donates to Operation Smile, an organization that provides life saving surgeries for children born with cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial deformities. 

 I can't really think of anything sweeter than a child's smile, can you?

CampusBookRentals.com is donating 1,000 surgeries this year.

So if you want to save some time and some cash while helping out a wonderful organization, please consider renting your textbooks from CampusBookRentals.com.

This is a sponsored post for CampusBookRentals.com.  All opinions are my own.

Sponsor Spotlight: Wait Til Your Father Gets Home

Today I want to introduce you to one of my May sponsors, Meredith from Wait Til Your Father Gets Home.  I just LOVE that blog name, don't you!  So let's all get to know a little more about her!

Hi everyone! I'm Meredith from {Wait Til Your Father Gets Home}. I'm a brand new stay at home mom to my adorable baby boy, Jackson and wife to my former military (here's a hint-Semper Fi), all American husband, Shane. My son is already very patriotic as well since he was born just shy of our nation's Independence Day on July 3, 2011! Needless to say, we're a red, white, and blue kinda bunch. Since leaving the world of full-time teacher and entering the world of full-time mommy, I've developed some new loves. Number one on that love list is my little guy of course! Number two is blogging! {Wait Til Your Father Gets Home} is a place where I share a little bit of my own life, my likes and dislikes, cool crafty and DIY projects that I attempt, and delicious new recipes that I enjoy trying out. I can't promise that the outcome will always be perfect, but that's how you learn, right?!

Thank you so much Meredith for being a May sponsor!

Please be sure to stop by and check out her blog. You can also follow her on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.

Mason Jar Bathroom Organization

I am absolutely in love with mason jars.  Are you? You can do so much with them.  Last year, I made my Mason Jar Luminaries. Today I am sharing yet another way to use them.

Mason Jar Bathroom Organization

 Simple, right?  

I used my Cricut to cut vinyl letters "wash" "brush" and "primp".

The font cartridge that I used was Songbird.

Then I just applied the vinyl to the mason jar.  If you do not have a cutting machine, you can make your own stencils by printing out your words on cardstock, cutting them out, and then use the stencil and craft knife to cut the vinyl.  You can also paint the words onto the mason jars using acrylic paint.

For the soap pump, I took a pump from a plastic soap dispenser and drilled a hole in the top of the mason jar lid to fit the pump.  Be sure to use a drill bit that is the same size as the pump so you will get a tight fit.

I added some cotton balls to the "primp" jar so I could have them on hand for removing makeup.

I think they turned out great and they match with any decor.

How do you accessorize your bathroom?

Fabulous Friday {25}

What a week, what a week!  I hope you all enjoyed my Blog-i-versary celebration.  

This week's Fabulous Friday is a bit late but it's still Friday so that counts, right?

Again, thank you all who link up.  I noticed this week that I have quite a lot of newcomers to the party so Welcome and thank you!  I'm glad you have found my blog and choose to link up here.

Here are some FABULOUS features from last week.


The most viewed link was this Kitchen Remodel from Creatively Living.  I just want to say that I am thoroughly jealous of this kitchen.

The ice cream sundae cake pops from Randee's Organized Chaos are sweet!

 Check out this amazing planter from Wait Til Your Father Gets Home

Homemade Pico de Gallo from Cookin Up Good Times. YUM!

Homemade Soft Pretzels from Thrifty Crafty Girl. DOUBLE YUM!

I just noticed.. three food features.  I must be really hungry:)

Grab a button from my sidebar if you were featured today!

On to this week's par-tay...

1. Please become a follower of my blog if you would like to link up.

2. Feel free to link up as many projects as you like but please link to your specific post and not your entire blog.

3. Please no linking to Etsy shops, giveaways or businesses.

4. Visit at least 2 links and leave some comments.  Everyone wants to feel loved!

5. Please link back to my blog using either a text link or my button.