My Creative Blog [Search results for Crafting with the Stars] 

**Update: Submissions are NOW open! Click here to enter! You'd better be sitting down ladies and gents, because we're thrilled to announce that we are hosting the BEST, MOST AWESOME contest in all of blogland!! Remember that contest we won last year? Crafting with the Stars? Well, not only did we win it, but we also bought it! Tam, from Sew Dang Cute, took a leave from blogging and we jumped at the chance to run the contest that helped jump-start our blogging careers. We're hoping that we can help one of YOU jump start or boost your blogging career, too! Welcome to the new home of Creating with the Stars! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ We're super excited because it's bigger, badder and better than it has ever been. In case you didn't notice, we've renamed it Creating with the Stars, which means no limits to the incredible stuff you can create. It's not just crafts anymore, people.

What the heck is Creating with the Stars, you ask? CWTS is the ultimate creative DIY competition that pairs 12 contestants with 12 of blogland's biggest stars to duke it out over 4 weeks. Only one team will make it to the end to claim the Grand Prize. The best part? You, the readers, choose the winners!
Here's a peek into our projects from the 2012 season…

One of our favorite parts of this competition is that contestants are paired with a super famous, awesome Blog Star! We've rounded up the best of the best and we know you all would LOVE a chance to work 1:1 with any of these bloggers!

Introducing the 2013 Creating with the Stars Blog Stars!

1- Sherry from Young House Love
2- Whitney & Ashley from Shanty 2 Chic
3- Brooke from All Things Thrifty
4- Jane from Tatertots and Jello
5- Sarah from Thrifty Decor Chick
6- Beckie from Infarrantly Creative
7- Mandi from Vintage Revivials
8- Jamielyn from I Heart Naptime
9- Shaunna from Perfectly Imperfect
10- Beth from Home Stories A to Z
11- Kari from U Create
12- Brittany from Pretty Handy Girl
That's some serious talent all in one place! And let me tell you, some of these bloggers are in it to win it-they're all about the competition!! Wouldn't it be so awesome to be paired up with one of them?!?

We also have some ridiculously awesome sponsors, who are chomping at the bit to give you some great prizes!
The 2013 CWTS Prize packages Total over $4100!!
A special thanks to Homes.com, HomeGoods, and Home Depot for their generous sponsorship of CWTS! We're so honored to have them!
The Grand Prize Winners (Contestant and Blog Star) will each receive:
$500 from Homes.Com
$500 Gift Card to HomeGoods
Project featured by HomeTalk

All contestants that make it to Week 4 will be given a $100 Giftcard to HomeGoods to use during the week 4 home decor challenge!
The Semi-Finals Winner will receive:
$500 Gift Card to Home Depot (Contestant & Blog Star)
$100 worth of Martha Stewart supplies from Plaid Crafts
$125 Gift Card to Lucent Lampworks
Project featured by HomeTalk

The Week 2 Winner will receive:
$100 Gift Card to Royal Design Studio
A pair of $120 Robert Allen pillows from Chic Decor Pillows
Project featured by HomeTalk

The Week 1 Winner will receive:
$50 worth of 31 Gifts products
$60 worth of Twtsted Yarn products
$70 of Henle Headbands products
$100 Blog Re-design from 733 Design
Project featured by HomeTalk

Here's how it all works:
Submit one project that shows everyone your best stuff into the linky party here on East Coast Creative that will begin on February 5th. Projects must have been made October 1, 2011 or laterand must be your own work. You have until February 21st to enter. From those entries, 12 of you will be chosen by the blog stars and us as contestants and will be randomly paired up to work one-on-one with a Blog Star, to duke it out in a four-week competition to see who's the most creative. The Star will give suggestions, ideas, encouragement, and help so you can come up with the best project possible. Each round will have a theme and the bottom three will be eliminated based on reader votes. Once the contest is started, weekly projects are anonymous, so big blogger or rookie, everyone's on the same, even playing field! Find your favorite project to link up and be prepared to put your best foot forward if you want to survive!

What to do Now!
Submissions are NOW open! Click here to enter!
Be sure to Like East Coast Creative on Facebook. We're going to be messaging reminders, sneak peeks, and lots of contest info via Facebook, so you don't want to miss out! Also, start deciding what one project you want to submit for your chance to be a contestant! The sky is the limit and we're so excited to see all the amazing project submissions! Anytime you tweet about the contest, make sure you use #cwts2013 to stay in the loop and see what everyone else is saying about the contest!

If you have any questions about the contest, please email us at
CWTScontest{at}gmail.com

We're so excited about our 1st season hosting CWTS and we hope you are too!! Spread the word, because it's going to be one awesome ride!

We're so thrilled to have Tam from Sew Dang Cute guest posting for us today. The name of her blog is perfect for describing her- she is so dang cute!: ) Tam is so creative, and hosts Crafting with the Stars, which we had so much fun being a part of! She was so encouraging and uplifting, and also extrememely understanding when we turned our weekly projects in really late. Ha! Welcome, Tam!
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Hi, my name it Tam of Sew Dang Cute Crafts and I am so excited to be here today at
The Real Housewives of Buck County.

Some of you may know me from Crafting with the Stars, which I host on my site. I was blown away by Monica and Jess’s insane talent! They were definitely deserving to be Season 3’s champions, and I’m thrilled they asked me to guest post for you guys today. I don’t know about you guys, but my jewelry drawer was an absolute mess. Things were tangled up and completely unorganized. I’ve seen DIY jewelry organizers all over blogland, but none of them were quite what I was looking for. Then one day the wheels were turning, and I came up with the Jewelry Medicine Cabinet.

I can hang my earrings on the doors.

And store all my necklaces and bracelets inside.

It’s perfect and it all started with this frame I found at my local thrift store for $2.

My dad owns a cabinet shop, so when I was out-of-town visiting him this past weekend I took my frame with me and ran my idea by him. He took me to his shop and made it happen for me.

Obviously he has a lot of professional tools that make it so much easier, but don’t worry, you don’t need them to make this. Here’s how we did it: STEP ONE: Build a box the size of your frame. (Or if you have an old drawer your box would already be built – you’d just need to find a frame the same size). We took pieces that were 3.5” wide and mitered the corners, then used wood glue and small pins in the nail gun to put the sides together. If you don’t have a nail gun, you can use a hammer and nails.

You may have noticed that the pieces have a little cut-out in them.

My dad is a bit of a perfectionist, so he cut out an inlay in each piece, so the back piece could fit in the box and everything would be flush.

Then more wood glue and pinning the back piece in place with the nail gun.

My dad has a fancy machine that you can program to cut things for you, so he used that to cut out all the holes in the back piece. If I was just on my own, I would have used a drill bit and that would have worked just as well. We did 5mm holes because my dad had that size of dowels on hand.

STEP TWO: Make a face frame. Since we are attaching some hardware to this and don’t want to risk splitting the wood, my dad recommended adding a face frame to the top of the box.

The wood is just a bit wider and goes right on top with some wood glue and pins.

Go ahead and putty all the holes and cracks. Once it’s dry, sand the entire thing down.

STEP THREE: Make the doors. Cut the frame in half.

Add a strip of wood to the inside of the frame.

We glued it in place and used some vices to hold each door.

Then we also angled the nail gun and put some small pins in to really make it secure.

Put the wooden dowels in the holes and you are ready to paint.
STEP FOUR: Spray paint. I went with white and apparently forgot to take a picture of this step. Oops!
STEP FIVE: Add hardware.

I used my staple gun to add the wire mesh (hardware cloth/chicken wire) to the back of the doors. Then I added hinges to attach the doors to the box and put a catch at the top of each door.

It’s almost there.

The last thing I did was add some knobs on the front of the doors. Then I hung it up and filled it with my jewelry.

All done! Now my jewelry is organized and tangle free!

Thanks so much for having me today Monica and Jess! Have fun in Mexico and congrats on turning 30. I’ll be right there with you next week (30 that is, not Mexico). I hope you guys will all come visit me over at Sew Dang Cute Crafts!

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Isn't that adorable? I'm definitely in need of something cute to help me organize all my jewelry, and I may have just found it! Also, we're super excited because we'll celebrating our one year blogiversary with our first annual:

Come back every day next week for new and awesome giveaways. Trust us, you'll love them! Adios, from Mexico! Have a great weekend-

Remember my kitchen before?

Ouch. That actually makes my eyes hurt a little bit. Now I know that I am so blessed to have a home with a fully-functioning kitchen, so I shouldn't complain too much, but now that we've made some progress in our remodel I can't imagine going back to that.

This is the corner of the kitchen that is getting the biggest transformation. We already knocked out the wall, and took down the cabinets. Then after repairing the half-wall and drywalling, we got down to the fun stuff: painting and stenciling. What? That's not fun for you? You're crazy.: )

The new paint color for the kitchen is the same color we used in one of the stripes in our bathroom makeover — it's Olympic Stormy Weather color-matched in Valspar Premium at Lowes. It's such a pretty color and is so calming. Actually, the other day after we had painted the kitchen, my hubs said,"Our home is starting to feel so calm". Honestly, I wanted to jump for joy and give him a big fat kiss, because that's exactly what I'm going for! I married a good man.

As part of our prize for winning Crafting with the Stars, we each received a stencil from Royal Design Studio. I know, right? So fun! As soon as I picked out my stencil (Large Fabric Damask), I knew what I wanted to do with it. My plan was to hang open shelves on one wall in our kitchen, but I though that an all-over stencil would add so much interest to the wall, and make it go from plain to amazing.

Royal Design Studio offers a whole tutorial on their website, which I actually read thoroughly. I'm usually a"let's give it a go, how hard could it be?" kind of girl, but stenciling was new territory for me and I really didn't want to have to explain to my husband why we needed to repaint the wall if I did it incorrectly. I started out by figuring out the layout. This is one BIG stencil, and it worked out perfectly to do three of each pattern across the wall.

Source: royaldesignstudio.com via Jessica on Pinterest
I started on the far left wall and lined up the very edge of the stencil with the end of the wall, so some of the stencil plastic hung off the wall.

Is that gold paint scaring you a bit? Ha! Don't worry, we used this same stencil with gold paint in our most recent Nate Show project (which we can't wait to share with you!). The color I used for my kitchen was one shade lighter than the Stormy Weather- I don't know the name anymore, but if you get the paint chip for stormy weather, it's on there!

Here's what I learned while stenciling: 1. Stenciling is not for the faint of heart! It's very time-consuming and repetitive: each stencil took me about 25-30 minutes to do. 2. To get clean, crisp lines with no drips, use an extremely dry brush. I poured the paint onto a paper plate, dipped the brush, and then dabbed the brush on paper towels until there was almost nothing left on brush. 3. Use a level to keep the stencil repeating in a straight fashion. 4. Don't worry about getting the paint perfectly even througout the stencil, because the variation in darkness creates beautiful depth. 5. All that work is TOTALLY WORTH IT!

It took me stenciling one whole pattern before I figured out exactly how much paint to use without dripping it, but through trial and error, it became easier and I was thrilled with the crisp lines.

The RDS stencils are made of mylar and are so easy to reposition because there are cutouts that you line up with the stencil above/below/next to it.

Seriously, my right arm grew two sizes bigger during this project. I could *almost* qualify for women's body-building.

Once I got down to the back of the counter, I encountered (ha! get it? En-counter-ed) a tricky situation. We decided to pull the cabinet and countertop away from the wall, since we're hoping to replace the countertops and also slide the cabinets down a bit to fill some empty space next to the oven. So.much.easier.

After day one, this is how it looked:

Pretty awesome, huh? I was giddy about it. Really. Then once I finished up the stencil, we hung the shelves back up and were left with this:

We obviously need two more brackets on the upper two shelves, but I'm completely in love. I'm pretty sure this is my most favorite thing I've done in my house to date. You can see in that picture above that we painted the rest of the kitchen. All we have left to do is sand, prime and paint the cabinets, and the kitchen will be pretty close to finished!

You wouldn't believe how my hands are itching to decorate those shelves, but I'm trying to be patient and wait for the brackets. The last thing I need is to explain to my hubs why we need to buy new shelves. (Noticing a trend here?; )
Did you ever take on a project that took forever, but turned out amazing results?

Oooh, I so wish you could see my hallway bathroom right now. It is coming along exactly how I had envisioned. Mostly because I finally found the perfect piece of furniture for my new custom vanity. This vanity earned us a spot in Round 3 of Crafting with the Stars over at Sew Dang Cute, and although she's pretty darn cute in pictures, she's absolutely gorgeous in real life. So, here's the breakdown of the transformation this little table underwent:
Antiquated to Awesome Table Transformation While browsing one of our local antique stores, I stumbled across this table in an out-of-the-way-spot covered in loads of other stuff.

Now, she doesn't look like anything special, but I could see through her battered, yellowing self to see the potential in her simple lines and aged charm. My initial thought was to sand the yellowish tones off to hopefully reveal a distressed white/wood look. After what seemed like an eternity of sanding with two palm sanders, I realized that this piece probably really was an antique and that the paint had mostly likely been there forever. I hesitate to reveal this information for fear of the antique-lovers out there giving me a hard time about sanding such an old piece, but hey, a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.

So anyway, the chippy paint look I was going for totally didn't happen because sanding it made the paint appear the color of a peach and that just was not at all the look I was going for.

So, on to plan B. Monica came over to help out and she brought the custom gray stain they used on their farmhouse table and also a mahogany stain she had. We had some walnut stain left over from when we originally stained our kitchen cabinets, so we tested all three on the top of the piece. We knew we could always sand out the stains we didn't like, but we made sure to place the sample stains in the middle where the vessel sink would go, anyway.

In the end, we decided on doing a custom mix of walnut and gray stains.

I brushed on the walnut stain first in long even strokes.

After about a minute, Monica wiped the stain off with a staining pad.

Even with just the walnut stain, it was absolutely beautiful, but I knew that the addition of the gray stain would make it match the colors in the bathroom even better, so again, I brushed the gray stain overtop of the walnut in long even strokes.

After wiping it off, we had this:

Note to self: Do not stain a piece of furniture in your kitchen. If you're not careful, stain will get everywhere leaving you in a slight panic and making lots of extra work for yourself.

Ahh! Let me stop here to point out how crazy our work environment was that evening:

How we got anything done is a mystery to me. Monica and I work very quickly and as a result, leave a trail of disaster in our wakes. We were simultaneously working on the table, painting a custom destination sign with coordinates for a customer, planning our posts for the next few weeks and drinking our favorite Pumpkin Spice Cappuccino from Wawa. Craziness, I tell you. But I digress… on with the project:

After the hours of sanding the top, I really REALLY didn't want to sand the legs, so we came up with the idea of doing a whitewash treatment. Basically, whitewashing is a combination of paint mixed with water that creates a translucent glaze of color.

You can see that adding the whitewash took away the yellow tones, but kept all that yummy aged character of the piece.

Finally, we broke out the power tools and got ready to make our holes for the new sink and faucet. This is a lot easier than you probably think it is. After measuring the center of the table where the sink would go, we used a drill with a 1 1/2" circle bit to make a hole for the pipes to run through.

This creates a lot of sawdust which for us was a problem. DESIGN BLOGGER FOUL! We should have drilled the holes FIRST before we stained!

Brushing off the saw dust on stain that hadn't dried yet gave us a minor heart attack, but we recovered after restained the parts that needed it. Phew! No big deal. (But if you attempt this project, drill first, stain second!)

We added the sink that we bought at Lowes so we could determine the placement of the hole for the faucet. We didn't use any scientific method here; we simply placed the faucet next to the sink and eyeballed where it should go. Remember folks, I don't claim to be a perfectionist.: )

In pictures, the faucet looks kind of goldish, but in reality it has a brushed nickel finish that adds just a touch of modern that is perfect.

We wanted to add some detailing to the piece to make it more unique, so I picked up some oil-rubbed bronze knobs from Lowe's. Monica pre-drilled a few holes, and then we screwed them right in. They look so cool and give the affect of a drawer on the front.

So, at the end of night one, this is how the table looked. Pretty sweet, huh? But the fun part was putting it all together the next day after I (and my mom who wanted to save me some time while I was coaching my tennis team) added 6-7 layers of a water-based polyurethane to the top to prevent water damage that may occur from my very messy wonderful family. We went with a water-based poly because it doesn't change the color of the wood tones. I'm not 100% sure this will be enough protection, and I'm paranoid about anything marring the surface of this beauty, so I'm going to be doing a bit more research on protecting the wood before we use it. Any suggestions?
So now that all is said and done, this is how my beautiful vanity looks:

I am so in love with this table, and am thrilled to death that it turned out just like I was hoping. It looks amazing in the bathroom, and pictures just don't do it justice. Next week, I'll be showing you the final reveal of our hallway bathroom after I add some finishing touches and I can't wait!
What do you think of my table-turned-vanity? Have you ever turned a thrift or antique store find into something fabulous?

Now, on to Round 3!

Linking up to: TT & J, Show & Tell Saturday, Tips & Tutorials Tip Me Tuesday, Sundae Scoop, Sunday Showcase

Well, after all the hoopla with the Nate Show, you'd think Monica and I would be ready to take a break and relax for a while, but because we're completely crazy we love a good challenge, we're jumping in head first to our next big thing. And that big thing is…

That's right, Crafting with the Stars!. We entered the Barnwood Artwork into the contest last week and were chosen in the top 12 out of 200 entries to compete in this season's Crafting with the Stars. It's a really fun DIY/home decor competition where we'll be paired up with a blog celebrity and will have to compete in several different categories. We just found out today that we've been paired up with Linda, from Craftaholics Anonymous! Woohoo- this is going to be awesome!

There are 4 rounds and the first one is Knockoffs.

We are super excited, and feel totally honored that we were chosen. You can check out our fabulous competition and their entries here. Of course, we'll keep you posted along the way with all the fun details! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And, just in case you missed our segments on The Nate Show yesterday, take a peek:
(We're not mean people, Mon just appears to be scowling!)
{How Nate used the same items in the crate.}

To see the in-process renovations, check out our Nate's Crate Challenge Here, and to see the Big Reveals, click here. To see the before and after photos of both spaces and also more pics of our fun projects, click here. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you so much for ALL of your kind words about our TV debut, and for your support along the way! We appreciate each and every one of you and have loved sharing the journey with you.

I'm going to keep it real here and first say that I felt like I was in a blogging slump the last few weeks. But a wonderful Christmas break and looking back over our past year has rejuvenated me! I'm so proud of the projects Monica and I completed, and of this blog that we love! I'm going to try to keep it short and sweet (I tend to be a bit wordy, yes?; )

1. Ever hear of a guy named Nate Berkus?

I just couldn't do a 2011 recap without mentioning our whirlwind love affair crate challenges with Mr. Nate Berkus, himself. You can see what we did for the show here, here and here.
2. Barnwood Artwork

This beauty was, by far, my favorite project of the year. Modern, rustic, simple. Plus it was made with love for my best friend- you can't beat that!
3. Easy Door Headboard

This sort of makes me laugh, but this project is one of our most popular. My hubs and I made this headboard on a whim using some very non-traditional methods, but it's a winner!
4. Antique Table turned Vanity

I had been wanting to do this for a long time, and the Crafting with the Stars challenge gave me the perfect opportunity to give it a go! Monica and I spent one looooong evening getting it just right, but now I can't even express how much I love this vanity! (That sentence is ridiculous, but oh so true.) You can check out two of the other projects we did for CWTS on Monica's post yesterday.
5. Modern Typography Meets Reclaimed Barnwood

Oh barnwood, how I adore thee. Same to you, typography. Why not marry the two and make something fabulous? Well, ok, I will. Thankyouverymuch.
6. Pallet Shelf Love

Who loves free projects? This girl (said with thumbs pointing at chest)! This shelf was free, easy and quick. Love that.
7. DIY Drop-cloth Window Treatments

Drop-cloth window treatments have been floating around the blogosphere for a while now, but I tried my hand at making some valances for my living room when I heard aforementioned Mr. Berkus was sending a team to my house to film. That sure got my rear end in gear, and boy, am I glad. Those naked windows were in desperate need of some clothes!
8. From an Oops! to a Yes! Mirror Transformation

That this mirror turned into something I'm proud of, is an absolute miracle and purely an accident. It made me so thankful that, sometimes, persistance pays off!
9. Faux-Stained Glass Window

I have a crush on old things of all kinds, but can't often pay for the real deal, so I came up with this idea of using a wall decal from Home Depot and an antique window from my in-law's barn and making a faux stained glass window! I really liked it then, but liked it even more after Monica used it in my basement makeover! 10. A Garden Wall

I brought a bit of green into my kitchen by creating a garden wall with succelents. You know, the kind that are ridiculously hard to kill. It's true! I've had these since May, and they're still living, for which I can take no credit!
11. The Barn

Monica and I were so excited to combine our talents this year to design and create one-of-a-kind products using reclaimed barnwood. We opened our etsy shop in September amidst all our crazy Nate show stuff/ Crafting with the Stars submission/ and our first appearance on our local news. Can you say bad timing?: ) Even so, we love the items and our shop, so if you are ever in need of a unique gift or item for your home, we'd be thrilled to make one for you! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So, we've had a GREAT year, and owe you a huge, fat thank you! This year would not have been possible without you and we so appreciate you taking time out of your busy lives to stop by our blog! Here's to another fantastic year in 2012!

Welcome Nate Show Lovers!
Well, Monica and I are just over the moon today for several reasons (which I'll share in a moment), but we first want to say how flattered, humbled and thankful we are for all of your support, good wishes and super-nice comments over the past several months. We never dreamed our little blog would take off like it has, and we have YOU to thank for that. So, thanks!: )
So, here goes: 1. Remember that contest we entered called Crafting with the Stars? Well, we won. This contest was one of those things we were dying to do, but we didn't fully realize how much time and effort it would take from us. It was seriously like Design/DIY bootcamp! We are so excited to have won, since we were competing against some pretty fierce competition. In case you were wondering, here's the project that sealed the deal for us:

Check back tomorrow for all the details on how we made that amazing pallet wall, and how the room came together.

You can see how we did that fabulous fabric wallpaper here, how we transformed an old dresser into an amazing Anthropologie Dresser knockoff here, and how we took an antique table and turned into a gorgeous bathroom vanity here.
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2. We were on the front page of The Intelligencer (our local Philly paper) today! We were happy to read such a nice article about us, and also share a little bit about our Design it Forward initiative!

You can read the whole article here, and see the video we shot with them here. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And 3) Of course, our 2nd appearance on The Nate Show aired today! We know you want to hear all about the behind-the-scenes stuff, so let's get right to it!
It all started with a crazy hectic arrival into NYC on Tuesday night around 10 PM. Monica and I got to stay at the very nice Lucerne Hotel a few blocks away from the studio. Well, not really stay there… we stopped in for about 2 hours after we redesigned the room.

We had a million ideas so we jumped right in and worked from 11-3 AM on our room design and then headed back to the hotel for a measly 2 hours of sleep. I must love you guys a lot to let you have a sneak peek at me getting ready that early in the morning!

Can you say tired eyes?
Thankfully, after the magic of hair and makeup we looked somewhat presentable…

I honestly had no idea that Monica and I matched so exactly. We were literally just running on adrenaline at this point, and I guess we're just lucky we remembered to put ANYTHING on under those aprons. Speaking of the aprons…could anything be less attractive? But we were thrilled to have our blog initials thrown in there for all to see. (We're so not afraid of the shameless plug!: )

So, this is the room in process. This was our first time doing a redesign on the actual set of the show. It was pure madness! There were a million people adjusting the lighting, checking our mikes (mics??!) and moving things around.

Tada! This is the room after we finished the show. We LOVED the way it turned out. I had the idea to use the foam core they gave us to do a board & batten treatment on the back wall, and Monica made that idea come to life! It added such a nice architectural detail for the focal wall. We also used the newspaper to create wallpaper- this is SO easy to do. Just spray the wall with spray adhesive and then give it a coat of matte mod podge to seal it all in. But forget all the good stuff, let's chat about the elephant in the room; the mason jar disaster in the corner of the room:

Our goal was to create somthing like this:

Source: etsy.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest Unfortunately, with the limited materials we had on hand, our project didn't even come close to looking like that. Even Nate asked us what it was and if it was a place to store macaroni. Ugh. So embarassing. Moving on… (please)

Using our perfect stripe painting method, we added navy blue stripes to our chair and whipped up two little pillows to throw on there. The stencil was a last-minute addition, which we LOVED.

And yes, the most exciting part of the whole ordeal was that WE WON and are already planning our trip to Mexico to celebrate our 30th birthdays in February. Woohoo!

Ignore the fact that we sort of look plastic (tv make up is simultaneously pretty and wierd, isn't it?) and that we look extremely sleep-deprived, and take a look at the gold hard hats and yellow roses we were awarded for our hard work. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So, if you're new to our blog, thanks so much for stopping by! We hope you'll come and visit us again (and again, and again, and again…:) Have a great day!

Now that we have our hallway bathroom redesign almost completed, I've already moved on to my next big project (because life is not complete without some sort of project going on, am I right?)! I'm just in the daydreaming, inspiration-pic collecting phase, but there are two things I know I want: A neutral color pallette (surprise!) and a bench at the foot of the bed. We recently rearranged our bedroom on a whim one night (say goodbye to the simple door headboard!) and I'm totally digging the new layout. All of a sudden it feels like we have a lot more room, and so now the wheels are turning about a major overhaul to the whole space. Am I excited? Oh yeah. So, back to the bench: There is something so appealing to me about using the space at the foot of the bed that often goes overlooked. Plus, I can't wait to have a spot to throw all my clothes on sit down and put on my shoes, or pull up my stockings. Who the heck am I kidding? I don't wear stockings. Anyway, here's a little round-up of some of my favorite benches at the, you guessed it, foot of the bed. There are so many different design directions I could go in, but I think I've narrowed down my top four categories: Rustic & Simple, Upholstered & Chic, A Double Ottomon, and Completely Non-traditional. Take a peek:

Simple & Rustic This obviously fits the coastal cottage feel I'm going for, but I also want to be careful I don't go overboard with the"theme".

Source: None via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: valdirose.blogspot.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: scotchandscones.tumblr.com via Jessica on Pinterest
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! Who knew a bench could make your heart stop beating?!

Upholstered &Chic I kind of like the idea of the element of surprise this could bring to the room- a little more modern (or at least, transitional) than the rest of the space.

Source: housebeautiful.com via Jessica on Pinterest
Isn't that bench just plain awesome? I love that it has a back and it just looks cozy!

Source: crateandbarrel.com via Heather on Pinterest
This had me at the nailheads, for sure.
The Double Ottoman This is so clever. It definitely breaks up the space at the end of the bed instead of seeing one solid piece, and so, creates the look of a little more space. Plus, you could totally use these somewhere else if you ever needed extra seating.

Source: granvillehouse.blogspot.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: bhg.com via Jessica on Pinterest
My personal fave of the bunch are the ones above. Glorious color, lines and detail.
Completely Non-traditional I'm pretty sure I won't be entering this territory, but it's so fun to see the options out there. People are so creative, aren't they?

Source: imminentenvironment.tumblr.com via Jessica on Pinterest
Of course, I love a good basket, but I have a small bedroom and visually this looks huge to me and takes up a good amount of space. I'm looking for something a little sleeker, but isn't it perfect with the nautical vibe? And did you see that vintage map wallpaper? I die. Source: buzzfeed.com via lila on Pinterest

Source: housebeautiful.com via Peanut Butter Fingers on Pinterest
I could turn my old suitcase into a bench, but doesn't this scream beauty-and-the-beast-household-item-that-came-to-life? I'm afraid I'd wake up to it singing to me or something.

Source: bucketsofburlap.blogspot.com via Amy on Pinterest
Now who would of thought to put a vintage bathtub at the foot of the bed? Not me, that's for sure. I'm obviously not that creative. But it's beautiful in all it's rusty, chippy glory.
So, can you see the beauty in a foot-of-the-bed bench? Are you digging it like I am? 

Oh yeah, there's still time to vote for our knock off project for Round One of Crafting with the Stars. Polls are open until 8 PM tonight, so please take a trip over to Sew Dang Cute and vote. Thanks a million! Click Here to Vote

Are you looking for the link party for your Creating with the Stars submission? Yay! We're thrilled to have you! Click here or use the button below to link up. Submissions are now open until February 21st. If you want to read more about the contest and all that it entails, click here.

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We've had some just for adults Valentine's Day ideas on the blog (here and here), but today we're keeping it PG! (I always give Jess a heart attack when I venture into PG-13 land! lol) With 4 kids this year I had 79 valentines to prepare. Thanks to Pinterest, I spent some 1:1 time with each kiddo, browsing for ideas, and then making each of their cards. I gave them each the option to buy, but they were feeling crafty I guess.
Kira went with Arrows and Pencils with kind of a Brave theme. We got the free printables here.

Callen wanted Superheros…and again we found a Free Printable! (noticing a trend here?!?)

Little Bit Funky blog has an awesome tutorial using felt with these printables.
Did you notice that I didn't perfectly coordinate paper or add extra fancy ribbon? I've made it a goal that kid projects (even if being blogged) don't get bogged down by mommy details. It's all about the fun and that boy sure looks like he's having fun! hahah! He actually said,"Mom, look how happy I am… {INSERT CHEESY SMILE}. See, that happy!" My kids kill me.

Kaden is 8 and it's one of those ages where you have to decide if Valentines are cool or lame. Thanks to Minecraft, he decided they were cool!

We just made them together using Google Images and two Minecraft Fonts (find them here and here). Sweet"Cool", Simple, & fun for me and my guy to make together!

Last, but not least was Kenzie… at almost 11, valentines are almost a thing of the past, but since school still does them, they had to be Epic (at least in her mind). Eric and I don't let the kids have Facebook accounts or anything, but we did let Kenz get an Instagram account (set to private). You might see her commenting on my pictures 24-7: ) Anyhow, Instagram is very cool in her class this year, so we made Instagram Valentine's… but wait, there's more… we also added a scratch off element! Booyah! (Haha, sorry, I got a tad excited)

I'll warn you… all these pics were taken with my phone, that's another part of kid crafting,"No annoying Mom pictures"…
Here's how we made them… We started off with a picture Kenzie took on Instagram (Fried Egg A-la-Kenzie). Using my I phone, I took a screen shot.

We saved the picture and pulled it into Picmonkey where we covered the eggs with a little Valentine's note. We put a few different comments in the area below the picture…

We printed our design out on plain computer paper. Kenz liked the scratch off idea we saw on Pinterest, so… we added that too! First, take a clear (or white if you don't have clear- we didn't) crayon and color over the area to scratch off.

Then we mixed together silver paint and dish washing soap. We used about 2 parts paint to one part soap. Then you just paint it over the colored area. (Let it dry a full 24 hours before moving them around. They need to really cure, so they don't wipe off too easily)

Blogger mommy might have suggested we make the scratch off area in a fun shape or something, but plain old mommy bit her tongue: )
We attached the Instagram print onto cardstock- and of course, we did it in happy face fashion…

And then it occurred to me that most 5th graders don't carry coins, so we used a little washi to attach a penny on the back of each card. Kenz and I both liked this little touch!

It took us about an hour to make all 27 pretty awesome Instagram-Scratch-Off Valentines. It might be the last year we get to make them together (who knows what middle school will bring), so it was an hour very well spent!

So, 79 Valentines later, I had one really fun afternoon of crafting with my kids and 4 sets of pretty cool Valentines. What kind of cards are your kids giving this year?

So I've confessed that I'm impulsive, but have I mentioned that I'm a procrastinator? Yup, it's true. I never return library books on time… this is awful, but I actually owed over $100 in fines after completing my senior thesis in college (Sorry to any librarians reading our blog!) Anyhow…try as I may, I still put things off all the time occasionally. This week it was my new family room curtains. Since this blog is committed to keepin' it real, I'm going to show you my project anyhow! Painted Curtains
Remember my journey to the perfect stripe? Well, now I needed to journey down the road to painted curtains. It's really simple, so here's what you need to do… Get your Suzie homemaker on… you need to iron! {GASP} People that know me, knowt that I don't iron! Honestly, before our Nate Show appearance a friend ironed for me (she's the best!) I did do this project's ironing all by myself! Go Me!

You need a big open space to complete this project, I wouldn't do it outside though because bugs and dirt could end up as part of your curtains- gross! (Oh, and ignore the wrinkles… I didn't say I ironed well!)

Determine the width of your stripes. I used 19 inches (almost the same as the wall stripes). Then, measure across the stipe and put a few pencil marks to use as guide lines when you're taping it off.

Make sure you get your tape nice and flat and seal it down with your hands a few times

Ta-da! (I swear, they're"wear wrinkles!!")

Now, I took my own advice from Journey to the Perfect Stripe and I used Mod Podge to seal the edges. I'd rather have a clear liquid sneak through than paint. That's the idea with the Mod Podge.

I waited about 10 minutes and then took my handy-dandy foam roller and got to work. I really need to invest in some"decent" looking paint clothes. These pink plaid pants and inside out tee are not the rockin' blogger look I should be going for!

Don't worry if the fabric is a tad bunchy… it will dry fine. I needed to do two coats, but if your curtain will be having any direct light shine through, you'll probably need at least 3.

I heart crisp lines!

Well hello awesome curtain… welcome to my room!

WAIT… Did she say curtain doesn't she mean curtains? Don't you need two panels for the window? Ugh, now we're back to confessions time… I only finished one panel! The other is hung, but plain white!

Maybe you're wondering what's going on with the rods? Well, I didn't measure the window… I bought a rod… it was too short… so I ran with plan B! We're just going to cut down the rod and just have a little mini rod on each side. Even though it was born out of a mistake, I really love how it's going to look… when it gets done…

Now the million dollar questions… how long have they been hanging that way? 9 Days. How long will they remain that way? Either 3 days or 14 (I'm headed out on a little trip soon, so we'll see if I get it done first)
So there you have it… Custom Striped Curtains. This is a totally doable DIY. Ok, well I can't really vouch for that, but half of it is totally doable!

PS One thing we didn't procrastinate on was our Crafting with the Stars Entry! Head over to the contest to see the winners from the first round. We are so excited about the results!! Check it out HERE! We'll give you a little hint…

:)

I'm a mom of 4 kids… do you know what that means??
Lots and Lots and Lots of kids' artwork and school papers!

I love seeing all of their cute drawings and journal entries. I especially love seeing how much they grow and change within a school year. What I don't love… piles. I have piles of school papers everywhere! A few years ago I considered starting a little business… in my head I called it"Pint Sized Picasso" I never pursued it as a business, but I did start making books for my family. Rather than having a million boxes of papers, I make artwork photobooks!

At first it was hard to part with the piles of papers, but honestly, we adore these books! The kids love looking through their books and showing their Grandparents when they come over.
Here's my method: 1. Create a massive pile for the month. As homework and papers come home they all just go into one massive mess of a pile. (My hubs loves this part!)
2. At the end of each month (approximately) I sort through the pile and toss the generic work sheets. I hide them in the garage trash can because my middle son takes personal affront to my throwing away any of his papers.
3. At the end of school year I have a massive sort party! I make a pile for each kid and then determine which items to scan and which to take pictures of (the big, bulky ones)
4. Scan and Photograph (pretty self-explanatory) I don't have a fancy scanner, but it does the trick. It's pretty time consuming, but so worth it in the end.
5. I use Blurb to make my books. They make the best books and are so reasonably priced! Remember when my handsome hubs guest posted about Blurb in this post? (There's a link on our sidebar for 20% off of a Blurb book!)
Ok, so now take a look at how adorable these are…
I add an"About the Artist" page with the school pic from the year and a little about what was"cool" that year.

Goodness, I could look at these over and over. They make me smile so much!

Scanning the pics preserves all the details! I love that these pictures won't be getting all crumbled and old. I have them forever!

I even put a few non-school papers in… the note on the left was one my daughter wrote when she was grounded one afternoon.

The note is too funny not to share…

One other thing I add is journal entries. I scanned lots of pages from her daily journal once it was sent home and I love reading all the cute entries. Since it's almost Halloween, I'll share a fall entry…

If you want to preview my whole book, you can check it out here. So, what do you think?
Can you part from the papers and create a photo book?

**Don't forget to use the coupon on the sidebar if you make a book!
************************************************************************* Did you hear about our Design it Forward challenge? We still need donations and helpers! Check out our post HERE and be a part of this awesome project!
************************************************************************** Also, don't forget to VOTE for Crafting with the Stars! Today's the last day for Round 3! Vote HERE

Board and batten has been all the rage for a while now, but I'm still surprised at how many people haven't heard of it or ask, "What was it that you did below your fabric wall?" So, we figured it was high time we did our very own post on the infamous b & b.

So, funny thing… being the English teacher that I am I thought I'd look for the official definition of board and batten, but it wasn't easy! So, here's the RHBC definition… Really awesome molding that is sort of chunky, with clean lines, and is arranged in fun rectangular shapes. Sweet! Send that one to Mr. Webster for sure!
So, rather than walk you through a step by step tutorial about B & B, we'll just tell you to check out Censational Girl or The Nester's tutorials on how to install it.
Instead, we're going to share with you another board and batten project that we helped out with. Our gal pal Connie needed some design inspiration for her crazy outdated dining room. Don't blame her, this was how it was when she moved in. YIKES!

Connie was picking my brain for ideas and I suggested b & b. We jumped onto Pinterest and started getting inspired! Here are a few of the pins that got us all jazzed up!

Source: None via Amy on Pinterest
We love the extra rectangles in this style!

Source: lh6.ggpht.com via Lydie on Pinterest
For Connie's room, she decided on a tall board and batten with a ledge for pictures.

The construction was in process, but we needed to pick a wall color. Connie was thinking some kind of chocolate color, so Jess and I went over to help her make the final decision. Here's what we ended up with…

Ha! Doesn't look like chocolate does it? We convinced Connie to trust us and she forged ahead with Olympic's Antique Moss green! The first coat was a little scary, but we knew it would be fabulous at the end!

Here's the finished room… pretty darn cool eh?

Just in case you're wondering… the C and empty frame are from Hobby Lobby. We made a little accessorizing trip for the room.
It's a pretty drastic before and after…

The ledge is just wide enough to rest picture frames on- nice planning! We chose lots of wood frames in complimentary tones and did a combo of resting and hanging.

So, between the bold, green dining room and my yellow office, are you feeling the board and batten love?

Maybe, just maybe you'll be seeing a little B and B love in our episode of The Nate Berkus Show tomorrow?? (Spoiler Alert!!) Make sure to set your DVR and message us if you see it before 2pm! We have to wait all day to watch, so be sure to give us the play by play!

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Wait! Don't Go! Did you vote for the Final Round of Crafting with the Stars? Check out the final 3 projects, vote, and cross your fingers that it's for our project! Thanks so much!

We interrupt this regularly schedule DIY program for an important announcement (I've always wanted to use that phrase somewhere!): We have some incredible sponsors who provide loads of amazing products just waiting to be purchased for one-of-a-kind Christmas presents! I've broken them down into categories for you…
Gift-Giving

Ok, you may remember me talking about the amazing art prints from Red Letter Words, but did you know Dee also offers adorable greeting cards and candles? Not only that, but messages printed on the greeting cards are so meaningful and thoughtful- perfect as a stocking stuffer, a gift for a friend, a teacher and the list goes on and on. Get 15% off until December 15th with the code MERRY15. Order by December 19th for Christmas delivery. (Excludes custom prints and the print of the month) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Every year I try to give my neighbors a little gift, and this 1-2-3 Dip! Gift set from Pampered Chef is perfect! I am such a sucker for chips and dip. I pretty much could live on it. And if you don't have neighbors, buy a few as hostess gifts (they'll be sure to get you an invitation to next year's party!: ) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok, Jane sent us a few of her 100% soy candles to try, and I can.not.get.enough. of the Christmas pine scent. I've been burning it around the clock since I got it, and the beautiful thing is, that because it's soy, it's long-lasting! Order a few of these as gifts, or just go ahead and buy a stash for yourself! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How about this adorable Littles Carry-All Caddy in the Winter Wonderland pattern from Thirty-One Gifts for teachers in your (or your kid's) lives? Fill it with a mug, some good chocolate and a gift card to Starbucks and you're set! It comes in 10 different patterns, so you'll be sure to find something for everyone. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Entertaining

Planning a holiday party? Spread some Festive Cheer with this cocktail idea from Garnish. Goodness, could their stuff be any more darling? I could literally spend all my party budget on the goodies from Garnish- who needs food anyway? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I came across this super-cute idea to use scrapbook paper as a charger on a holiday table, and I'm in love! You could totally use this fabulous paper from Moo & Puppy and alternate the patterns underneath the plates for coordinated, but not identical place settings! {Swoon}

Use the code HOUSEWIVES20 for 20% off of your order. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I love Dream Dinners. I really do. And they are total life-savers if you are hosting a holiday party or dinner. So many of the meals can be easily turned into appetizers, like this Coconut Shrimp with Sweet & Sour dipping sauce. Make your holidays stress-free with ready-to-cook meals. Use the code DDNC201110 for 10% off your first order. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For the Home

Well, looky what I found on Craigslist. A $15 chair that would be absolutely stunning if reupholstered in some new fabric! Jet Upholstery could do that in heartbeat, and guess what? You can save 25% off any fabric order when you mention RHBC. Now go! That chair won't last long (especially because I can't keep my eyes off of it!) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In our winnings from Crafting with the Stars, we both got to choose stencils from Royal Design Studio. They are the best place to get designer decorative stencils and tools. Monica chose this Morrocan Stencil- Chez Sheik:

And I'm getting this lovely Large Fabric Damask stencil:

We both have big plans for our stencils and come on, you know you have an area in your house that's just dying to be stenciled. Am I right? Head over to Royal Design Studio to be totally inspired.
Use the coupon code RHBC10 for 10% off your order! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Giving Back

We are often so focused on buying gifts at this time of year, but really, it's also a great time to give back. Head on over to Scout & Nimble to see how you can be a part of her awesome iniative to do just that. Also, did you see this ah-ma-zing rug she just got?

So jealous. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ok, that's it! No excuses for lame gifts this year, people!; )

No… I'm not getting all creepo on you… this is a PG blog-Our moms read it! What I'm talking about it this adorable ball of fur that's now a part of the Mangin family…

I'm seriously head-over-heels in love with her! She's a Bernese Mountain Dog that will be eight weeks old today and she has the sweetest disposition ever! Jess came over to meet her the other day and was surprised at how smitten I am, so she said,"I didn't think you were a dog person?" to which I replied,"I'm not! I just like my dog!" Ha! What can I say? It's true!
So in honor of Miss Pennlyn (AKA Penn) I'm sharing some Doggy Style projects…
Four Post Bed… Puppy Luxury! I first saw this bed a few years ago in a Lowe's Creative Ideas magazine, and immediately loved it. I don't think the size will work for Penn, but I love the look and idea of it.

Source: lowescreativeideas.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest
You could also just find a coffee or end table, flip it over and get your DIY on, turning it into a bed. And of course, I'm loving the yellow!
Crate Bed Since Pennlyn will be a pretty big dog, I'm thinking this style bed is a bit more her speed. I'm loving this DIY bed made by Home Frosting and I can't wait to make one. She used leftover 1x4s, but I think I might use some free pallets. The finish she created is fabulous!

Source: home-frosting.blogspot.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest
DIY Pet Tags Leave it to Martha to come up with these adorable tags.

Source: marthastewart.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest
I was about to order a generic tag from the pet store, but I plan to try this DIY this week before going the generic route. I just need to make sure it's heavy duty enough. I'll let you know how it goes!
Pet Art I'm not really a huge fan of having pet pics all over the place (remember… not a"dog person") but I do think some pet art might be cool in the kids' playroom.

This took me about 30 seconds to create on Picnik. I used the"Posterize" effect and voila… Pet Art! I think I'll order it as a canvas this week.
Hungry Puppy? Since we've only had Penn for 5 days, her food is just in the bag, but I do have ambitious plans to create some kind of cool looking container. The hubs thinks I'm insane and wants to know why the dog food container needs to be cute, but he knows who he's married to, so he's cool with it. Here's one fun idea…

Source: tidymom.net via The Real Housewives on Pinterest
The style isn't mine, but I think I could add some of my own modern flair to it. I sorta had something wooden and rustic in mind, so we'll see…
Custom Stuffies These are the funniest things ever! I think they'd make such an awesome gift! This seller on etsy makes custom stuffies for your pet. Just send a picture of your pooch and you'll get a look-a-like stuffie in a few weeks! I've contacted the seller, because she doesn't have this as an active listing right now, but I'm hoping she'll be back at it soon! Pennlyn definitely needs a mini-me stuffie!
WAIT! Hold the press! Shevon contacted me and you can now buy a custom stuffie!
Here's the link: Custom Stuffies (Soooo stinkin' Cool!)

Source: etsy.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest

So, it looks like I have a lot of projects to get working on! Although, before I get working on my puppy projects I think I need to get Penn house-broken and doing fancy tricks (can I teach her how to go get my laptop for me?) I'll keep you posted on Miss Pennlyn and any cool projects we make for her!
Oh, one last thing… She WILL NOT be owning one of these… Thundervest…No Comment!

Source: thundershirt.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest
Thanks for letting me introduce my little lady to you!

WAIT! Don't stop reading! The voting for Crafting with the Stars is now open! We've entered our first project and we need your votes. We obviously can't tell you which project is ours, but we can give you a hint… look for the coolest one… that'll be ours! Nah, we really do have some stiff competition, so head over and vote for your favorite 3 projects. The winners will be announced Wednesday. Thanks! Click HERE to see the entries and vote!

First things first:

Today, Mo and Eric are celebrating 10 crazy years of marriage! I can't believe we're old enough to be able to say they've been married for 10 years, and I'll deny it until I'm blue in the face. Go ahead. Try me. Anyway, these two are such a great couple- generous, open, hospitable, fun and talented. Plus, they have four adorable kids to show for those 10 years. Congrats, guys! Love you! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now, it's business time. (Haha- that reminded me of the Flight of the Conchords song. Hilarious. Does anyone else know what I'm talking about?) You may have noticed that Monica and I have taken this week to catch our breath, so you're not seeing many new projects (trust me, we have tons up our sleeves!). We've been downright exhausted after the Crafting with the Stars contest, and our most recent Nate Show makeover. But let me take this time to share an opportunity with you:

Do you or someone you know have a business or product you want to have advertised? We are looking for great shops or products that are representative of who we are and what we would buy or do.We really want to promote other creative people out there! Or, do you have a blog and want to increase traffic? This would be a great way to do that! We have grown by leaps and bounds the past few months, and it doesn't look like it's stopping any time soon (crossing our fingers!: ) Seriously though, now is the time to partner with us!You can see our current rates here, and if you'd like more info, we'd be happy to send you our media kit that is chock full of all the juicy good stuff, like our detailed stats, who are readers are and what we're all about. We so look forward to hearing from you! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And finally, I promised you a bathroom reveal this week, but I'll be honest, this has me stumped:

Notice anything? Yup, those ugly, exposed pipes under the sink are just killing me. My beautiful antique table turned vanity is being marred by the pipe's disgustingess.

We are trying to figure out a solution that doesn't include redoing all the plumbing (not happening- my hubs does have his limits).

Our first thought was to wrap the pipes in rope to make it a decorative feature, but I'm not sold on that idea. We're also toying around with the idea of building a small, removeable box, painting it the wall color, and then sliding it over the pipes. Ahhh, decisions, decisions! Thoughts? Until I figure this one out, we'll be saving the big reveal… -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Have a great day and Happy Thursday!

Did you ever have one of those"Ah-ha!" moments? I tend to have them in two places… the shower (one of the only places a mom of 4 is ever alone) and church. About a month ago during an"Ah-ha" moment, I came up with an idea that has turned into what we're calling Real Housewives: Design it Forward. We're pretty excited about it and we have a feeling you will be too!
So daily we blog about cool finds, amazing projects, and what we're doing on our homes… sometimes we find ourselves pausing and wanting to look and do something outside of ourselves. We thank God each day for our families and that our needs are provided for. So what do we do from here? We design it forward…

We're committing to using our time, talents, and treasures to help someone else. We want to make someone feel extra special, cared-about, valued, and loved. Here's our vision… quarterly, we want to find a family, a single mom or dad, or just someone who could use a little TLC and do some surprise design for them. We're hoping you'll want to join in and help us and then we're going to challenge you to find someone in your area to Design it Forward for as well (think link party). We love this little old blog, but you know what?? We're called to love people even more, so here goes… Real Housewives: Design it Forward!
Porch Perk Up Through the help of Calvary Church of Souderton, we found a single mom that could use a little extra TLC. Since we adore all things fall, we thought we should do a little porch perk up. How cool would it be to come home and have a porch all prettied up for Halloween and Thanksgiving?

http://www.bhg.com/

Shhh… don't tell, but here's our master plan…

So, how do I help? We'd love to have some hands-on help on the 25th as we perk up the porch, but we know our readers are from all over. So here's our Plan B… Since this is a single mom, we thought it would be cool to accept donations related to # of children. Either the ones you have or how many were in your family growing up. For example, I could donate $4.00 because I have four kids (still shocks me to type that) or $2.00 because I was one of two kids growing up. Your money will go directly towards perking up the porch, we promise not to go get pedicures or anything shady like that! If we collect enough money, we have a second and third family lined up and we'll just do more porch perking! Wouldn't that be awesome! And BTW… if anyone knows the Duggars, have them read this post, because that would be like a Twenty-something donation!: ) Just click the little donate button to donate… Thanks!

If you are local and want to lend a hand on the 25th, please use the contact us button and let us know. We'll give you all the details of our covert operation!
Lastly, share this post! The more people that read it, the more people that just might want perk along with us! (and I guess I can confess now, that I wanted to call it Pimp my Porch, but I got veto-ed! That's what BFFs are for!)

Can I do My Own?
Well yeah! That would be awesome! We'd love to have you find someone in your area and then Design it Forward RHBC style! Make sure you sneak in a picture or two (don't get any house numbers in the pics!) an then link up to our Design it Forward Link Party on October 28th! It's our very first Link Party, so we're hoping for at least one or two link ups!

Can I Pin?
We're starting to plan out our"Perking" and want your help! If you follow us on Pinterest (see the sidebar link) just shoot us an email with your email address and we'll add you as a contributor. We'd love some help finding cool inspiration!

We're really excited about this project and we're committed to seeing it through! We're giddy with excitement about the idea of using this blog to help someone! Thanks for going on this journey with us!

Please go on over to Sew Dang Cute and vote for your favorite Round 2 project for Crafting with the Stars. Thanks!

We interrupt the Fall Lovers Series to bring you a super cool project that my BFF completed for my dining room. If you don't have a crafty best friend, I highly recommend one! (I'm not positive we're allowed to share this post yet because of The Nate Show taping we did two weeks ago, but I don't think they'll recognize us do you?)

Now, first and foremost, I adore this project and it looks awesome in my dining room. Secondly, did I mention that Nate Berkus told us that he LOVED it and wanted it for his home (to which I said"Umm…you can have it!" Sorry Jess!)

Jess is sort of obsessed with barnwood. She can get fabulous barnwood from her father-in-law's old barn. We have big plans for all the wood, so stay tuned for more info about that. (dedicated bloggers take pictures in their garages at midnight. Excuse the quality! It's dedication!)

The awesome thing about using barnwood, is that it doesn't have to be perfect. I love the edges of this project. You can use any type of wood for the back of your artwork, just choose boards with lots of character to show on the front.

Jess' inspiration for the pattern came from the material on the dining room chairs I had redone. Remember this post?

Using some heavy plastic, she planned to trace the pattern from the fabric, but you couldn't see through it. Bummer!

Don't worry, that didn't stop her! She FREE-HANDED it! Yup, impressive right? I totally wouldn't have tried it, but she did and it turned out great! If you're not as gutsy, you can just put whatever you're tracing on a lampshade and it will make it more transparent. (I can't be held responsible for minor house fires)

After you paint your design on the wood, let it dry and the seal the entire piece with a water-based wood sealant. This makes the colors darken up a bit, emphasizing all the charater of the wood and gives it that rich, warm feeling.

I hope you're inspired to create your own art. Amazing art doesn't have to cost millions. In fact, this piece is sorta priceless to me because it was made by my BFF.
So, sorry Nate…you can't have it,
but now you know how to make your very own!

P.S. We're submitting this project to Crafting with the Stars… how cool would that be?? We're crossing our fingers and will keep you posted!!

Linkin' Up to: TT&J, Tutorials & Tips Tuesday

Ok, it's time to get really real with you. About us and our blog. It involves a little something we like to call:

We recently received a very nice comment from a regular follower that prompted us to write this post. Before you read it, I have to say that we were very grateful for this reader's honesty, and the sweet way she voiced her concerns. There's nothing we love more than good, honest feedback from the lovely people who visit our blog every day!

Ack! She nailed our current dilemma right on the head! Let me give you a little back story…when we started this blog a little over a year ago, we did not anticipate it interrupting our lives at all. It was just a place to throw all our ideas and projects. We literally thought that only our moms would read it. Then came Nate (not once, but four times!),

Crafting with the Stars…

local TV coverage, newspaper articles (you get the point) which equalled rapid blog growth. AND WE LOVED IT. All of these amazing opportunities meant that we were doing loads of projects, pouring hours of our time into the blog, and spending a lot of money to keep it all together. The blog is the most important, most rewarding and most fun thing we do (yes, even more than the Nate Show! It's our first love.), so we make every effort to put 5 great posts out per week. We LOVE this blog and it has become bigger and better than we ever expected.

But here's where our dilemma comes in: In addition to the blog, we both work other jobs, raise a bunch of kids and try to be good wives, friends, daughters, sisters etc. Realistically we could not possibly keep up the pace we had been going for the first year, even though we would like to. Not only did this little blog take a lot of time away from our families, but we also spent a lot of our own money to do all those projects! We need to find a better way. We are trying to adjust our own expectations (which, believe me, are sky-high!) and are experimenting a bit with our posts.

So what does all this mean for the blog you love to read?
1 You'll probably see only a few DIY projects a week from us. Instead of scrambling to come up with a DIY project just for the sake of having one to post about, we're being more intentional about our projects so that they're well done, and have a purpose in our homes.

2. We'll be highlighting our wonderful sponsors every once in a while to expose you to their awesomeness and also, to express our gratitude for their support of our blog that allows us to keep doing our projects. Don't worry we won't be throwing them in your faces at every turn, and we promise to only accept sponsor whose products we absolutely love!

3. We might host a guest poster, or highlight other blogs we feel like are worthy of notice! The design blog world is like a family, and we want to promote other people, like others have promoted us!

4. We'll keep bringing you our thoughts on all those fun, crazy and fabulous design trends out there, and how we're incorporating them in our homes!

So, in conclusion (are you still there?), we are crazy about this blog and all of you, and hope to continue doing this for a long time, and even (crossing our fingers) turn it into a full-time job. We hope you'll stick around for the long haul, and be understanding as we try to find balance and a system that works for us.
And now, a question for all you bloggers/mothers/wives etc. out there: How do YOU find balance?

P.S. We'll be doing a follow-up post on our top tips for Part-Time Bloggers, so get excited!; )

I'm typically a traditional Fall colors girl, as you might remember from my fancy mantle (seen here), but this year my autumn color-loving self has been tempted by the hues of a different kind of pumpkin: heirlooms! These gorgeous, antique-looking pumpkins have seeds that have been around for hundreds of years, but are making a big comeback in Fall decor! They come in a variety of colors, but are mainly in muted grays, blues, greens and white. These babies are not cheap, but apparently, are absolutely delicious to use in cooking/baking, so you can decorate with them and then eat them. Big bang for your buck.: ) (That's what I tell my hubs, anyway)

Heirloom Pumpkins

Source: theinspiredroom.net via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: thenester.com via Jessica on Pinterest
The Nester used them on her mantle and, of course, they look amazing. Can I just say that I love the Nester and her design motto: It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful? Just sayin'.

Source: hollymathisinteriors.com via Jessica on Pinterest
Gorgeous eye candy for the heirloom pumpkin-lover that I am.

Source: poetichome.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: twentysomethingtransue.blogspot.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: susieharrisblog.com via Jessica on Pinterest
If you're too cheap frugal to buy heirloom pumpkins, you can make your own that will last forever using this tutorial. Pretty convincing and super cute.
I was so inspired by these photos, that I went out and bought my own to use in my entryway. Would you believe it if I told you that I bought mine at Home Depot? Well, I did. They were $8.00 a pop, but honestly, my life wouldn't have been complete without them (ok, I'll admit that that's a bit of an overstatement, but my hubs will tell you that once I get something in my head, I'm pretty darn annoying about it until I have it/do something about it.)

I only sprung for two heirloom pumpkins, but I love the character and colors they add to the little workbench I found this past summer.

And if you're really, really perceptive, you might have noticed two things that are different here: 1) I added a number 4 to my white pitcher (four is a favorite number around here because it's how many people are in our family and '04 was the year we were married). I created a stencil and then dry-brushed it on the pitcher. So easy! It's not perfect, as you can see, but I'll be cleaning up the lines as soon as I get the chance. (I just couldn't wait that long to post pictures!)

And 2) I finally convinced my hubs to paint the hallway that was covered in paint that I loathed. It went from swine-colored to a cool gray/tan neutral that I am in love with (you can see the new paint color here in my newly redesigned bathroom). So.much.better.

As you can see, it's still a work in progress, but the difference is truly amazing. {Love} So, what are your thoughts about heirloom pumpkins? Do you think they're cool like me, or just plain wierd? Have you used them in your home yet? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The projects for the final round of Crafting with the Stars are now up and ready to be voted on. We would be ever so grateful if you'd head on over to Sew Dang Cute and vote (for us)! We're crossing our fingers that this project wins us the whole contest!: ) Thanks for your help. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Happy Monday!

Well, folks, today's post will be short and sweet. We figure you might need a break from all our crazy ramblings once in a while, so today's your lucky day.: )
First Order of Business If you haven't already voted this week for the Crafting with the Stars competition, there's still time. Head on over to Sew Dang Cute and try to guess which one is ours, then vote for it!

We are thrilled with the way our project turned out for Round 2! We're really hoping we make it to Round 3, because the idea we have is super cool. So, vote, people, vote!: )
2nd Order of Business We may or may not be somewhere really fun, working on something totally cool. We're dying to share more about this top-secret project, but here's a glimpse of stuff we may or may not be using.

Clockwise from top left: 1. Mason Jar Chandelier 2. Tissue Paper Art 3. Newspaper Wall 4. DIY Faux Buck 5. DIY Zebra Painted Rug 6. Benjamin Moore Sunburst 
Ok, this meeting is adjorned. Have a great Tuesday!