Time for an update

This picture was taken in 2004.  Since then, we have gotten new tile, a new stove, and a different table.  Otherwise, it looked exactly the same.
Well, we randomly decided to do a little painting.  We're not too brave, so we're taking it one step at a time.  For now our kitchen looks like this:

I know it's not a huge change.  A little paint, a little more decor- but I think it just looks more "homey" and it really ties in the colors from the living room part of the great room.

It's fun to beautify.  We're not really able to do major renovation, nor do we want to since this isn't the house we plan on staying in forever, but a little attention to a room can make a big difference.  Thanks for looking, and don't tell me if you hate it. :)

4th of July Decor

So, I wanted to make something I could use for both Memorial day and the 4th of July.  It took me awhile to get to it, but I finally came up with this.

This was pretty easy, and the best thing is you could use any variation of patriotic words.

Materials:  3 pieces cut from a 2x4-  7.5 inches, 5.5 inches, and 3.5 inches.
                 Stain or paint  (I used maple)
                 Scrapbook paper in red, white, blue, and yellow for the star
                 Mod Podge and brush
                 Button and thread or floss
                 Vinyl (if you don't have vinyl, I'll discuss other options below)

I simply cut my wood into the measured shapes, stained all the sides except where I wanted the paper, cut my scrapbook paper to fit, then Mod-Podged it on.  I sanded the edges of the paper for a more worn look.  For the star, I used my Silhouette to cut a primitive star shape, but you could just as easily cut it out freehand or trace it from a pattern.  I attached it to the block with 3-D foam tape so it would stick up a little.  I tied a little bow with floss through the button and hot-glued it on.

For the letters, I cut them using the Architect font on my Silhouette.  If you don't have vinyl, you could easily stencil it or use letter stickers.  Sometimes I have even just trimmed the scrapbook paper to fit my printer and used Microsoft Word to align the words where I wanted them on the paper, then printed them directly on the paper itself.

Oh- here's a hint.  If you are a digital scrapbooker, or even if you aren't- there are amazing free "papers" to download online.  I just made a document with strips of my digital paper, then printed it out and cut it to fit.  It was perfect!  I have "papers" for every occasion, all downloaded FREE, that are perfect for crafting.  Talk about a money saver!

This project took me about an hour and since I had all the materials on hand, it was FREE!

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