Living Room Gallery Wall

So after two years of living in our house, I have finally finished our gallery wall.  I wouldn't say it has definitely been a work in progress because that would be a lie.  We attempted to hang stuff once and after needing to patch some nail holes and not being able to find the correct paint color (the wall was painted before we moved in) we put things on hold.

Last August we decided to try again by changing the color of the wall.  We went to our local Ace and picked out a wonderful yellow and my dream living room was starting to come to life.  We hung a few items, but it wasn't until last Friday that my mom and I finally finished the gallery wall.

Most of the wall is permanent except for the items in the picture frames, two.  The large black picture frame with our family photo in it and the white picture frame with Caleb's photo in it are going to be changing each year.  I decided that I wanted a space to update our pictures and as much as I love canvases, you can't keep redoing them each year without being wasteful.  I plan on printing out our newest family photo each year and we will get a picture of each boy to do the same with so that our momentous events are on canvases and the ever changing life we live will be in the 2, soon to be 3, frames hanging on the wall.

There are two items missing, a frame for Baby E and a canvas that I am creating.  Both of those will be up within the next month, but until then, it is complete and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out!

Items: (Left to Right)
Wooden Number 4: Michael's spray painted black - $7.99
Baby E Maternity Canvas: Sam's Club photo, Hobby Lobby Canvas - $11.50
Picture Frame of Caleb: Michael's painted white, Sam's Club Photo - $12.97
Plate Holder: Gifted from mom, spray painted black
California Print: Gifted Frame, Sam's Club photo - $0.13
Caleb Canvas: Gifted from JC Penny
Wooden H Monogram: Michael's painted white - $2.99
Black Shelf: Wedding Gift
Caleb Maternity Canvas: Sam's Club photo, Hobby Lobby Canvas - $11.50
Mirror: Gifted and painted white
Family Photo: Michael's Frame painted black, Sam's Club photo - $24.96
Heart String Art: Won from Sometimes Sweet Studio
Plate Holder: Gifted from mom, spray painted black
"Count Your Blessings" Print: Gifted Frame, Sam's Club photo - $0.13
Wedding Day Canvas: Sam's Club photo, Hobby Lobby Canvas - $11.50
Trio Tree Canvas: Target (had for years and can't remember the price)
Missing: 
Baby E frame and photo - $12.97
Wedding Canvas - $1.50

Total Gallery Wall Price:
$98.14!

Pricing Disclosure:

We already had all of the paint, mod podge and 

paint brushes so I didn't include those prices into this project.

I also didn't include the cost of painting the wall from

 grey to yellow because we were going to paint it either way.

I was able to keep this gallery wall under $100 because of coupons and DIY.  I bought all the frames on clearance and painted them to the colors I wanted instead of finding frames the colors I wanted and potentially spending more money.  I printed the pictures all at once saving myself multiple trips to the store and depending on where you buy your prints from it could be cheaper the more you order at one time.  I created all of the canvases, except for the one of Caleb, myself to lower the cost of each to $11.50 instead of $30+ using my DIY Canvas technique.

Creating a happy space in your home doesn't have to cost you an arm and a leg, but you will have to put the time in to save the money where you can.  I am so happy with how this project turned out and I can't wait until Baby E is here so that we can add his picture up on the wall as well.

Mother's Day Pinterest Project Fail!

Have any of you attempted some Pinterest projects?

Have any of you been successful?

Well I decided to be cutesy and try out one for Caleb's grandma's for Mother's Day this year.  It seemed super easy!

Here is what it should have looked like...

Source

I planned on making ours less "girly" and decided to go with a yellow flower instead of pink.  I headed to Hobby Lobby to get our materials needed and $10 later we were ready to go!

I sat Caleb down, naked in his highchair, and thought, "This is going to be great!"  Man oh man was I wrong!  What kid hates finger paints??  My kid, that's who!  He was so upset that he had paint on his hand!  It took all of me to get the two handprints we needed for the two small canvases.

Here are our results...

Now I know that they aren't terrible and that Grandma's love crafts no matter what, but I wished they would have turned out a little bit better.  Maybe I should have gone with a red or orange flower?

Either way, here is one of my first ever Pinterest project attempts and finished results!  Good thing Caleb is super cute and can give really great hugs and kisses to make up for his lack in enthusiasm about finger painting!

What Pinterest projects have you tried?  Were you successful?

A Fun and "Simple" Bridal Shower Gift...

Hello ladies.

I thought today I would share a really fun shower gift idea that I have seen and used.

Although above I stated Bridal Shower, this could be used for Baby Showers as well I suppose, just with a few different items.

I say simple because the only hard part of this project is to know when to stop purchasing/filling your container.  You will see if you ever do this, or maybe it is just me and how much I love home decor for holidays.

Here we go :)

So let's say it is April and you will be going to a bridal shower next May.

Directions:
1. Get a large container.  One that you would store Christmas or other holiday decorations inside.  Also, choose a size that you want to potentially fill close to full.

2.  Start thinking about all of those cute holidays that are coming up and plan them out.  You will be hitting up Joann's, Hobby Lobby or Michael's probably once a month for this project.

3.  Start collecting cute things for the Bride/Mom-to-be's home.  (i.e. dish towels, welcome signs, throw pillows, candles)

4.  Wrap, or not - your choice, the items you got for each holiday and put them inside of the container you bought in the beginning.

5.  Bring to shower and watch how many people love the idea!


Holidays to Buy For:(The ones that I have done, if some are missing, obviously just add them for your container)
New Year
Valentine's Day
St. Patrick's Day
Easter
Memorial Day
4th of July
Labor Day
Halloween
Thanksgiving
Christmas
You could do some things for their birthdays so they can use those to decorate as well.
Also, for the months that don't have any holiday look for a seasonal decoration that they could put out.


When to Buy:
Buying these items is where you want to be strategic.  I know that when first thinking about this project you might think that it is pricey.  That is where you could be mistaken.  Of course, with all things, if you do not pay attention you could end up over paying for many of the items.
My suggestion is this:
~ Buy for the next holiday during the current holiday.  This might seem silly, but the three stores listed above will all have their decorations on sale already.
~ Look for clearance items left over from past holidays to save those pennies. - Just because it is on clearance doesn't mean that it is ugly or not nice enough for someones home.  I like to think that it just means that the store over bought and I am the lucky lady who gets to take it off their hands and save a few dollas! :)
~ ALWAYS use a coupon!  All three stores that I listed offer paper coupons, online coupons and even mobile coupons!  Take full advantage of these.
~ Check sale dates.  Most stores run their sales Sunday - Saturday.  The above mentioned could in some areas but not others; so before you head out, pop online and check out when their sales begin and end.

Added Bonus:
Don't be afraid to get crafty with this fun gift as well.  There are plenty of home decorations that you could make for close to the same prices as buying and they have added sentimental value to the gift receiver.  :) Make a cute garland or wreath.  The possibilities are endless.

*********************

With that, I hope that next time you have an upcoming shower or party to attend that needs a gift that you will remember this little project that won't take any time at all.

Our Wedding Day: DIY and Etsy

I am back for some more fun on Wedding Wednesday with  Meredith and Jordon!

Today I will be talking about all things DIY and Etsy purchased from our big day.

I was really big on having home made items at our event...1 because it is usually cheaper and 2 because I think it would add a nice touch to our rustic vintage theme.

Let's start with DIY:

Centerpieces:

I knew from the beginning that we would be using mason jars.  My mom and I searched and searched for the best deals and ended up getting all of our mason jars from OSH.  We got each pack for $9 which ended up saving us almost $100!  Once we had the mason jars we were on a search for what to do with them.  Lace was huge in our wedding so I knew that it would have to be on them.  We went to JoAnn's twice and bought them out of the perfect lace! :)  We didn't have any extra and it was perfect.  The next step was to find the candles and rocks to fill them with.  I went to the Dollar Store and found the perfect rocks.  I bought little rocks for the middle size jars and big rocks for the large jars.  We ended up spending $17 on rocks.  We found the candles at Hobby Lobby for $5 a pack and only needed 2 packs.  Once all supplies were purchased we had a craft night - one of many for this big day - and assembled the centerpieces.  With a little bit of hot glue and alcohol, my mom, me and a bridesmaid got these babies done in an hour.  I was so happy with the end result.  Total cost: $9.60 per table.

Signage:

I knew that I wanted signs every where for different things.  I searched and searched Etsy and couldn't find the exact ones that I wanted for the price that I wanted.  I ended up finding all of my signage from Hobby Lobby and Kohl's and couldn't have been happier with how they turned out.  I bought the chalkboard easels (on sale) from Hobby Lobby and the picture frames (on clearance) from Kohl's.  We bought some chalk pens from Hobby Lobby and Michael's and a dear friend offered to write them all out for me.  Total cost: $45!

Seating Chart:

"Friends of the bride, Friends of the groom, Please sit together there is plenty of room!"

This is probably the item I was most excited for as far as the DIY projects went.  I knew that  I wanted something old and rustic.  While it isn't that rustic looking it was an adventure getting to the final result.  I had everyone on the look out for an old window or door.  For months we were searching and searching.  With no luck we finally told my Mother-in-Law about our troubles.  5 minutes later she called me from a garage sale and found this beauty for $3!!!!  We snatched it up and that is when the make over began.  We had to cut off the wires that were attached to it and my mom found some clearance black fabric that we stapled onto the back.  We used the same chalk pens as mentioned above and voila!  Our seating chart was born and I loved it!!!  Total cost: $10!

Button Art:

Probably the oddest thing I requested from my guest was a button.  I had put it in with the invitations that when they replied with a yes or no that they please include a button.  I didn't know that this would be such a confusing thing, but in the end I got enough buttons from my guests and made this beautiful DIY project that sat at our Guestbook table and hangs in our house today.  I loved that each button on their is from someone that we love and care about and a part of them and their family will always be in our house.  My great aunt even sent us a button that she cut off of my great grandma's dress.  It is the center of the "H" and I wouldn't have had it any other way.  It is so special to me and an easy request I believe.  Total cost: $10!

Now onto Etsy:.

Guestbook:

I knew that I didn't want a traditional guestbook.  I went back and forth with different ideas.  I thought about doing a calendar where every guest would sign on their birthday.  Well then people started suggesting that I might hurt people's feelings if I forgot their birthday because they signed it on my guestbook.  LOL.  Plus I wouldn't look at that very often after the year most likely.  I started searching Etsy and found the perfect item.  It was a handmade wooden box with our names on the top and wooden hearts inside.  The vendor, dazzlingexpressions, was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G to work with and it shipped and arrived so quickly! It is currently displayed in our entry way, but unfortunately all of the hearts are inside and not visible.  I have bought all of the materials to make it something that can hang in our house and I am hoping to get to that soon.  For another DIY project :) Total cost: $84!

Garter:

Oh the garter!  That awkward moment when your newly wedded husband dives under your dress and your family watches.  WEIRD!!!!  Well, I didn't really care by the time of the night but I knew that I wanted something special and cute and manly.  LOL.  As manly as a garter can get.  I searched Etsy once again and found exactly what I was looking for.  I got a camo and lace garter that had our wedding date engraved on mine and "you're next" engraved on the receiver's.  SnickerdoodleClothes was awesome to work with.  I gave them my leg size and it was at my door shortly after.  Total cost: $35!