diy board and batten.

we moved into this house knowing it would need a lot of love from us to make it a place that felt like "us".  after removing carpet from the front entry and adding more of the bamboo hardwood featured in the rest of the house {in place when we purchased - not what i would have chosen!}, the entry needed a little something else.  i had been watching board and batten pop up around blogs and magazines and love the look.  so i mustered up the courage to show my husband and ask him if he would be willing to tackle a board and batten treatment on one wall of our entry.  he loved it and we went to work planning it out right away!!

{ta-da!}

i don't have any great photos of it - these {in progress photos} are all iPhone pics, but it give you an idea.  the finished product photos were done at night, so they aren't great, either {such is life}.  we used these two  {really great} tutorials for guidance along the way:

{the natos board and batten}

{casa de lewis board and batten}

here is our version.  it was a Memorial Day weekend project last year.  i left the house with the three littles so my husband could start and complete the project - all in two days!

here is what we started with.  before i left town, we ran painters tape along the wall where we wanted the ledge above the paneling to reach.

john sent photos all weekend to show me his progress.

we also fixed up the baseboard trim with shoe moulding along the bottom {something we will continue as we work on rooms around the house}.

primed & painted paneling.  primed and painted walls.

finished.  then we just added hooks from target {of all places!}

{un}crafty - faux metal letters.

of course we have all seen anthropolgie's metal letters that are awesome.  but i was looking for a cheaper way to make metal letters in my boys' room.  i had previously covered letters in scrapbook paper for my oldest son's room in our other house.  but i wanted something more modern and more boyish for this room.  so, i set out to fine a way...

forgive me, but i found this idea somewhere online.  i have no idea where.  if you google "faux metal painted letters" you will find a million tutorials.

just a reminder: the crafts you find here don't require any artistic skill or crazy tools to complete.  just a little patience and some post-bedtime minutes {and a glass of wine...ok that's up to you}.

supplies you need:

paper mache/cardboard letters {joann's has sales or use a coupon}

black craft paint

silver craft paint

foam brush

 paint your letters black and let them dry.

then brush silver over the black running your foam brush in all directions.  you can't even mess it up, just brush like crazy with the silver paint until you have covered all the black.

this whole project took only a part of one evening for me.  i had 12 letters to paint and it was super quick.  one coat of black, then by the time i was done with all 12 letters, the first were ready for a crazy coat of silver.  i hung them up using 3M command velcro strips - easy!

your letters will look like galvanized steel.  voila.

happy {un}crafting!

the boys' room.

aka {the fraternity}.

aka {where the wild things are}.

i gave you a tour of the nursery, so here's a little look into the boys room.  i'm proud of the boys' room and its been a long work-in-progress.  i've been adding to the room for over a year and i still don't feel like its quiet to the finish line.  but sometimes tweaking over time is the best method for me...i have to try things out and then decide how to change them up.

of course there is a pennant on the door...obsessed, i tell you.

now, this room was inspired by a layout in the Land of Nod catalog.  in fact, we had some paint color matched to a Mythic paint sample we ordered from Land of Nod.  then i found sheets, comforters, throw blankets {at Target, of course!} to mimic some of the colors and layering from the catalog.

my super crafty mom made the chevron valances for us.  just like in eden's room.

my dad even got in on the project.  

parents rock.

this dresser is from the nursery at our old house and i finally changed out the knobs.  of course, now i wish i did different knobs, but these will do.  pretty sure the boys do.not.care.  inside the drawers are always a disaster.  truth.

the shelves hold some special things that don't have another home right now.  this whole wall is so-so...it looks ok, but i'd like to add more interest...

the locker bins hold lots of junk!  usually if the boys have something that we don't want little sister to get or if they get a trinket somewhere, i tell them they can keep it in their bin.  then, periodically we have to go through the bin and decide what to keep and what to throw out.

i recently made this art out of paint chips.  i originally wanted photos in these frames, but i didn't have the right size on hand.  i decided something that i don't need to update or switch out would be good in these frames.  so...i cut up paint chips and pasted them onto cardstock and framed them.  easy. 

this is my favorite corner of the room.  we don't use the chair a lot and it takes up a lot of space, but there isn't another place in our house for it right now.  at bedtime if the boys ask us to sit in their room for a few minutes, or if we are telling a story, we will use the chair.  maybe it won't be in there forever.  the bookshelf was made by my grandpa and my dad and then assembled and stained by my dad.  its great!

more pennant, a world map, and their names.

my sneaky helper.

we really lucked out on these Room & Board bunks we found on craigslist!  the storage drawers underneath are a life saver and the quality is awesome.  the boys love them.  of course, bunk beds are not easy to make - the sheets and blankets are a pain.  {here's a realistic approach to making bunks} but we are easy going about that - making beds isn't a priority around here...yet.  also, i don't think bunk beds are a "forever" solution.  when the boys are big they are probably not going to want to be bunked.

the final little corner of the room.  their chalkboards/corkboards.

props to my husband who has to do lots of the dirty work when it comes to re-doing any room.  we did the majority of this makeover in a 48 hour period when i was 5 months pregnant.  enough said.  he did a lot.  the walls and ceiling of this old room were pretty damaged and by the time he was done with joint compound and a sander, they looked brand new.

i'm sure i'll be making small changes in this room...i'll keep you posted.

{un}crafty - fabric flower pom poms.

every craft you see her is do-able by everybody.  no skill or special tool needed {just patience and a little me-time}.  this is the tutorial i followed to make the pom poms in my sweet little daughter's room.

i call it a nursery, but i hope she loves the room for a long time!  after my best friend, mollie, and i completed these poms poms {long hours and late nights pre-baby!}, i joked that eden has to have these somewhere at her wedding.  kidding-not-kidding.

supplies you need:

paper lanterns, styrofoam balls, or anything else that you want to use for your pom pom {consider size and shape when you choose your object}

fabric {iron our your fabric - doesn't have to be perfect}

scissors

circle pattern {trace a circle on a cereal box or piece of cardstock}

pencil

hot glue gun 

iron

use your circle pattern, trace with a pencil, cut out with a scissors...just keep going.

then glue those circle to the lantern over and over again until you get the finished product!

mine were originally paper lanterns with a wire in the top, so i tied ribbons on and hung them from hooks in the ceiling.

happy {un}crafting!

*photo credits: mollybaileyphotography.com

(Un)Crafty - T-Shirt Scarf

I am not a Black Friday shopper, so on the day after Thanksgiving, my sister and I decided to do a few projects.  She was more ambitious than me and made some cute glittered votives, but I just came away with this super easy to make t-shirt scarf.  

We bought XL size cotton t-shirts and used my mom's rotary cutter and mat. 

 Step 1: Cut off the bottom hem.

 Step 2: cut off the top of the shirt from right under the sleeves.  Then you are left with a tube.

 Step 3: Measure and cut into strips.  I did about 1-inch strips.

 Leave about one inch (or more) of the tube uncut at the top - this will be how your loops stay connected.

 Step 4: Stretch our each loop - this will cause the cotton to curl.

Voila!  Ours are bug enough to double up around your neck and are pretty cute!  I'm thinking of making more...it took up only about 10 minutes!

(Un)Crafty - Christmas Countdown

Happy December!  Can you believe it?  The fall was beautiful and it went by so fast!  We are busy: still moving into our new house and preparing for our new baby who will join our family in just three short months!

Since today is the first day of December, it was the first day to put our Christmas Countdown, or Advent Calendar, to use!  The boys were so excited when they woke up!  Of course, they would love to go through each day this morning and enjoy all the fun and treats.  Waiting each day will be the hard part!

With our life circumstances feeling super crazy, this is an especially (un)crafty project!  I pulled out all the Christmas and winter-themed books (about 40 in total - whoa!) and wrote the titles on popsicle sticks.  The sticks fit well in the felt calendar I made a couple years ago.

 This project took over the dining room table for a couple days.  

 I wrote the titles on each stick, leaving room at the end for a treat!

 Then I wrapped up all the books in some wrapping paper from the Target $1 Spot.  I used 4 rolls to wrap all the books.  Each book is numbered so when the boys take the sticks out of the "December 3" pocket, they can find the books with a "3" in the basket under the tree.

Most days have two books, which is perfect for two kids.  They each get to pull out a stick, have a treat, and open a wrapped book.  Do you have any great advent calendar ideas?  You can find some seriously crafty calendars at Hi Sugarplum's link party.

Changes in the Nursery

Our two year old is still sleeping in the crib in the nursery at our house.  After a short stint in a "big boy bed" we reverted back to the crib and its been best for his sleep (and ours!).  The room is pretty gender neutral and babyish, but with the move coming up so soon, there won't be any changes until we are well-settled in the "yellow house".  

Here is the room BEFORE, as you may remember from this little house tour:

Most of the room stayed the same, I just changed some wall decor...

 This wall above the crib used to have the wooden sign above it, but nothing else and for years, 

it has been begging for more attention.

 I moved the wooden sign and the letters over to the wall with the canvases.  

I like the look of these three elements together over the bookshelf.

 Then I gathered up frames and other decor from the house to create a gallery wall above the crib.  The embroidery hoops are so fun and easy!  I got the hoops (a set of 5) at a thrift store for only $0.80!  Then I just traced the hoop on fabric I had left over from other projects and inserted into the hoop!  So easy to make, change, and so cheap.  The hoops has been living downstairs in the hall by our laundry room, but I realized the colors would work in the nursery, so the moved.

The wall also included some newborn photos, some other special art, and a card I framed from his baptism.

I laid the objects out on the floor how I wanted to hang them and then just went for it!

Here is the finished product.  Much better!

My other project cost me $3 in this room.  I found a shower curtain I liked at a garage sale down the street but mostly just liked the pattern, so I cut it and recovered the lamp in the nursery.  I also have plans to make a little pillow for the rocking chair out of the same shower curtain.

BEFORE

AFTER