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We Interrupt this Post to Bring You Something HUGE!
We've had to keep this secret quiet for a while, but now we can dish. We were contacted by Proctor & Gamble about being the face of their home division. SCORE! The one catch… we're one of 4 bloggers in the running. Oh SNAP! So, today begins the voting on P&G's Facebook Page. We need you (and basically everyone you've ever met) to vote for Monica once a day now until October 4th. I know that the daily voting thing is a pain, but man, this opportunity would rock our world! So, pretty please, with a cherry on top- go vote for Monica (you'll even get to see our very cheesy entry video!)


You can VOTE once a day for the next 15 Days!!

Okay, now onto today's post. Thanks so much for voting!
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Probably the part of my Garage Mudroom Makeover that I got the most questions and comments about was the huge artwork of my crew (or at least their bottom half!) Staples Engineer prints aren't anything new to our blog (we use them all the time!), but every time I fall a little more in love!

If you missed the reveal of my makeover, you can check it out HERE. You can check out the Custom Painted Rug tutorial HERE

On our final Nate Show episode, we used a really large wooden frame with some cool fabric and skeleton keys. All the furniture from the show was shipped back to us, so I knew months ago what I had in mind for it.

I knew I wanted to frame a picture of my kiddos' feet and put it in the garage, I just had to wait until my garage was no longer a disaster! Once the mudroom makeover was underway, I immediate saw the perfect place for my artwork!

I gave the Nate Show frame (originally purchased at a thrift store) a quick coat of spray paint using Valspar's New Avocado. I recently used the same color on some chairs and I'm a pretty big fan of it.

Since we've done this kind of project a few times before I'm not going to go into the full tutorial, you can check out one tutorial HERE or the other HERE.
I know a few of you have had questions about what kind of print to ask for at Staples etc… I went in and talked to our store and got the low down on some details for ya.

I did make a few small tweaks this time around. Since the frame was empty, I needed to use foam core to mount my image and then staple it to the back of the frame.

I sort of underestimated the size of the frame- it's huge! So I just mounted the left and right sides and left the middle… shhh, no one would ever know.

The process was really simple, and would have been even easier if I hadn't run out of foam core. I actually caught my finger in my heavy duty staple gun and a month later, my nail is still purple. Ugh. Although, it doesn't compare to slamming your finger in a car door and cutting off the top of it while taping a TV show for Nate… not that I know anyone who did that: )

For $6.99 I'm over the moon excited about the impact that this art makes in my garage. I come in and out of this door a million times a day and it's pretty awesome to have something I love to look at.

So, what do you think of my Shoe Artwork? Are you ready to try a Staples Engineering Print in your home?

We're so excited to finally share this project with you. We wrote it for Infarrantly Creative last week, and now we can reveal it to you! We're going to give you an awesome, low cost way to frame a humongous photograph that will totally be a traffic-stopping scene-stealer! Not only that, this project is super easy and takes very little time. We were actually very surprised at how quickly it came together. You know when you have a creative idea, and you think it should be easy, but it almost never is? You won't have that problem here!

Here's our cast of characters:

1 Piece 4x9 Underlayment/Luan 24x36 Engineer Print (from Staples!) Spray paint Spray adhesive Modpodge Mini-projector (or a regular one will work too!) Picture hanging hardware

Luan, otherwise known as underlayment, is a type of plywood usually used in flooring. Not today, folks! It's ultra-light (I don't know maybe 5 pounds for the whole sheet?!), and so was the perfect medium for making a frame. We chose it because we were planning on hanging it high on a wall in Jess' entryway that has vaulted ceilings. We wanted something that would be light enough to stay put on the wall so that it didn't accidentally knock off one Jess' guests as they entered the house. Plus, because it's so thin, it was really easy to cut using a jigsaw (more on that later), and cost only $10 for the whole sheet. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We recently introduced you to engineer prints from Staples? Remember Monica's Industrial Art?

Oh.My.Goodness. They have completely changed us for the better. Just wait, you'll feel the same way. Take your favorite picture into Staples and ask for an oversized print (they come in multiple sizes, but the largest is 3 feet by 4 feet. That's huge!) They'll make a copy right there for you, and the best part…it costs less than 5 bucks for a print! You're only able to get the picture in black and white, but who cares?! It's 5 bucks! The tricky thing is that the picture is printed on very thin paper, so you have to be careful not to bend it or mark it.

Here's where having a crafty best friend comes in: Monica has an adorable mini-projector that was perfect for this project. She brought it over and set it all up using the image of the shape we pulled off of Google images.

If you can't get your hands on a projector, We're pretty sure you can make your own using this fun little tip. Monica downloaded the image of the shape onto the projector (you just use"save as" to save any file format you'd like to the drive)

Then we turned out the lights, and voila!

The perfect shape to trace!

Then, we took that bad boy out to the garage and started cutting out the shape using our trusty jigsaw. We use this thing more than is normal for a pair of moms, but what can we say? We love this tool!

Make sure you take a cheesy picture of yourself holding the frame for posterity.

See what we mean about how thin the luan is? I would say it's about 1/2 inch thick.

The next step is to sand all the rough edges so it's smooth. We recommend using a sanding pad vs. an electric sander because of how fragile the underlayment is.

Because my framed picture is going to hang high on a wall, I wanted our faces to be large so you could see them, so I printed the picture as 3 feet by 4 feet, and then cut off the extra space using an Xacto knife. You could avoid this step by cropping your picture close before printing. Make sure you're using a high-quality photo so that it prints clear. Our photo was taken by the fabulous Salvatori Photography, so we knew it would turn out great! (Need pics? Totally check her out!)

We used Rustoleum Painter's Touch spray paint in Satin Lagoon. It's such a pretty shade of blue- almost like a peacock blue.

It took a few coats, but the underlayment takes the paint really well.

Before adhering the picture, Monica added the hardward to hang the frame. We didn't want the picture to get messed up, so we made sure to do this first. You should definitely use actual picture-hanging hardware, but this is what we had on hand and it worked well. We screwed them in about a 1/4 of the way down from the top of the frame and then threaded picture-hanging wire through.

After determining the placement of the photo on the frame, we marked the corners in case we had any slippage during this next step. Since the picture is so big, we decided to place one hand squarely in the middle of it, and fold one half back towards the middle, spray the spray adhesive all over wood on that half and then smooth outward from the middle. You can use a rolling pin to help get all of the air bubbles out, but we didn't find it necessary. Having a friend help you with this is very helpful, though!

Finally, we brushed matte Modpodge all over the picture to seal it and keep it from fading over time. It just makes it look more finished, too. The Modpodge should be applied in a really thin coat to avoid any bubbling. Actually, if it's going to be in a place where it won't be touched, you could skip this step.

Then it was time to hang our beauty up!

Told you it was high! I'm not sure how Monica got this job because she's afraid of heights, but hey! She did it like a good best friend.: )

We're so in love with it, and can't get over the beautiful pop of color it brings to the entryway.

The total cost for this project was exactly $20, and the impact it makes is HUGE!

So what do you think?
How many of you are heading to Staples ASAP?

Only following on the blog? You're missing out. Use the buttons below to join in on all the fun!

Linking up to: TT&J

I'm excited to share one of my favorite projects from Kira's Room Makeover today! These faux canvases make an awesome impact on the room and man alive do they make me smile! Everyone knows that Jess and I are slightly obsessed with Staples' Engineering Prints and this project just added one more reason to love them!

Oh, and if you haven't seen the rest of the post for this room makeover, you can check them out here: Room Reveal & Video
Mosaic Accent Wall
Whiteboard Wall

This could perhaps be the easiest DIY on the planet and, I think I might have said that about a few projects before, but really it is! Here's What You'll Need: Staples' Engineer Prints Foam Core Scissors Tape The first thing I did was to edit and crop my pictures into squares. Next, Jess cut down the foam core into squares (we needed 4)

We placed the prints over the foam core and left plenty of extra on all sides so that we could basically wrap it like a present.

To hang these canvases, I nailed directly through the foam core into the wall. The nails barely show (I used really thin ones), but you could use chunky ones for an industrial look, or Command Strips for a more polished look.

Don't they look awesome? Kira LOVES them and I do too. The bottom picture is of KJ and her Papa while we were waiting for the gates to open at Disney World last year. The look on her face is priceless!

And oh.my.word- Those Converse with her skirt rock my world! This little girl has so much spunk and personality and I just love that this simple DIY project captures that.

You can check out some of our other Staples Prints Projects: Huge Family Art for Under $20

Garage Artwork for $6.99

Ginormous Family Art

So tell me, do you have a have a place in your home where these faux canvases would be an awesome addition?
P.S. Jess and I are pretty excited to spend the day FILMING something amazing on Monday. We are bursting at the seams to tell you all the details, but our lips are sealed… for now!!

Believe it or not, my kids are pretty rough on our house… We're pretty laid back parents and our kids do a lot of ball playing, wrestling, and just being kids in our house. I love this pic that Salvatori Photography took for us- this is SO our life!

The one problem I was having was that they kept breaking everything on my family room gallery. Frames would fall and break, glass was cracked a few times from footballs- it was getting old! So, I decided to create a Kid-Friendly Gallery Wall!

Everything on the wall is either plastic, paper, or wood and there's NO glass on anything! I'm writing this post a while after completing this project, so I can tell you that we've made it over 3 months without one break!! Woohoo!
You might remember seeing a peek of this wall during Creating with the Stars- my knock-off round project was in the gallery… You can check out that tutorial here.

Here are a few more pics of the gallery and then I'll show you how I made the awesome vintage camera prints!

Now let's chat about the vintage camera prints- I love them SO much! I think they have just the right blend of vintage appeal and classy style. I got the FREE download here- gotta love an awesome, free printable! Thanks Design Editor!

I headed to staples and had them printed as 2"x3" engineer prints. They cost me about $5 bucks each. Since I knew I didn't want to frame them with a glass frame, I thought about just taping them right up on the wall… my hubs mentioned he thought it might look a tad cheapo, so I kept thinking… then it hit me- Washi Tape! I had ordered some from Consumer Crafts a while back (they have a great selection and super cheap prices).

I simply used one long piece for each side, stayed right at the edge, and folded the excess onto the back. It took me about 5 minutes max!

I think it was the perfect touch to give the paper is more finished look!

I used command strips to hang them on the wall- it was perhaps the easiest and cheapest DIY with an awesome impact on the family room!

Later this week I'm going to share how I go about creating a gallery wall- I think some people feel it can be a tad overwhelming if you let it, so I'll kind of show you how it all went down here at the Mangin pad!
What do you think of my huge, almost-free pics? And am I the only one whose kids rough up their home decor?

I don't know about you, but I always forget how much fun it is to decorate a mantel for different seasons. Sometimes it feels like the seasons go so quickly that it's silly to decorate for such a short time. Am I the only one? And then I realize…man, it's fun to try out different arrangements and see what I can come up with. Plus, for the Fall season, decorating the mantel totally makes my room feel more cozy. Last year, I actually did two different mantels: one for early Fall/back to school and the other for late Fall. I know…crazy.

And here's what's going on this year on the ol' mantel:

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I knew that I definitely wanted to include a branch of the gorgeous leaves from my trees outside. I mean, just look at those colors!

The little owl candle came from CVS (yup, on clearance!) and the giant acorn is from Hobby Lobby.

The most fun part about this mantel is the large leaf print in the middle. I actually made this in Picmonkey (a free photo editing site) using free clip art and chalkboard background. Then I had it printed at Staples as an engineer print- it cost me all of $4.00. We luuuurrrrrvvvveee Staples engineer prints (we've done loads of projects with them- you can see them here, here and here ), because they are so easy to work with and inexpensive.

*Update: Several of you asked if I could make the leaf print available as a download. Well, your wish is my command! Download the fall leaf print here.
You gotta love the colors of Fall.

The silver vase is from a thrift store and the reddish gourd-shaped vase is another CVS clearance find.

All in all, it's looking pretty cute, although my leaves probably won't live to see another day…

Its been about a year and my Stenciled Faux Tile Fireplace is still one of my favorite projects to date! It's the perfect backdrop to all my mantel decorating craziness.: )
Do you decorate your mantel for the seasons?

The hubs and I had a little chat a few weeks ago… we were both pretty sick of having a semi-finished family room. We’ve had bare walls for pretty much ever. I just couldn’t decide what to do… stalking other blogs and design sites had me leaning a different direction every day. Finally, I decided to just do something!
Remember my fingerprint artwork? I still really love it, but decided it needed to be relocated to the other side of the room.

What, you might ask, did I have planned for the striped wall?
Welcome to my Ginormous $4.99 Family Art work

Pin It Right off the bat… YES, I know the picture comes beyond the frame, and I did do it on purpose. My kids have asked me about that about 214754 times in the past two weeks.
Here's how I made a 4x3 Ginormous piece of family art for only $4.99! I headed to the Bucks County Re-Store on Saturday afternoon without anything specific in mind. I just knew I hadn't done a project in forever and I needed some inspiration. I only bought one item, but it was $15 and just what I needed to spark a project idea!

Check out my new $15 mirror and my super-cool dance move! (Yes, I was doing that while taking the picture. Too cool for school, I know…)

This was how it came from ReStore and where my demo needed to begin.

I unscrewed the wooden boards from the back and then took a screwdriver to pry off the wooden backside. I just tapped it in with a hammer and then angled the screwdriver. I did this all around the edges until it came free.

I was left with a big mirror (still plotting what to do with it), the frame I needed, and a piece of wood that headed to the trash.

I primed the mirror first… do you know how rare it is that I take the time to prime? I was proud. After the primer I gave it two coats of Valspar's Navy spray paint.

Remember the awesome family pictures that the fabulous Stacy Salvatori took back in the fall? Well, I knew I was ready to have one blown up really, really big, but I didn't want to pay big bucks for a massive print. Thankfully, Staples will print huge black and white pictures. Just ask for an engineering print. They can go over 3 feet wide and really long. I just brought the jpeg on a flash drive and they uploaded and printed in about 5 minutes. The best part… It cost me $4.99!!

Do you recognize that black paper behind the photo? It's the infamous Nate Show Tar Paper! I was wicked excited to use it for another project!

I got out my trusty yet my nemesis spray adhesive and got to work sticking the pic to the tar paper.

The engineer prints aren't on heavy paper, they're on average copy weight paper, so I wanted to give it a bit more stability with the tar paper.

I adhered it, trimmed the edges with a utility knife and then got out my favorite new tool… my grommeter! I only had gold grommets, so I spray painted them a hammered metal first. I put one grommet on each side.

I had two copies of this framed print laying around back from my old homestaging days. I decided to ditch the boat and use the frames.

I also had about five of these frames laying around in my basement and decided to have them join the navy spray paint club as well.

Here's the arrangement as it looks now. I added gold chain to the grommets and I'm in search for the perfect doorknob to hang it from in the middle. I might need to head over to Architectural Antiques this weekend. I'm also going to add sketched artwork to the 4 empty frames.

All-in-all, I'm thrilled with how this completely inexpensive family artwork turned out. I love having my family's faces right in our main living space, and I love that it's a little quirky and unique.

Don't worry, I'll share the true finished product once I get a knob and artwork added. I was just too impatient not to share the family pic right away!
So, how many of you are running to Staples to BLOW-UP some Ginormous pics?

I'm so excited to share this project today! It was by far my favorite project in the room! Lots of fabulous Nate Show viewers have contacted us over the last week asking when this tutorial was coming… well, the wait is over, here is is!

DIY Reindeer Artwork

First off, I want to give a shout out to a few bloggers that inspired this project. During a Nate Show Challenge we can't be browsing Pinterest or anything, but we do rely on remembering some cool ideas we've seen in the past and are ready to try. Check out Amber's project that she hand painted or this cool canvas on sale on Etsy for more inspiration.

Ok, now get ready, because this project is so simple that you might miss it if you blink! I didn't take any process pictures, and I really wanted to steal the artwork from Jess, so I made a new one for myself last night!

Start with a plain canvas. For Jess' I used an 11x17 and for mine I accidently bought 18x24. During the show, I quickly looked on Google images for a reindeer that I liked and found this picture.

I printed out the picture as an 8x11 and took it to Staples to blow it up for me. It cost all of $1.04! Score!

Have I mentioned that I seriously can't cut well with scissors? I actually had a"Needs Improvement" on my elementary report card for cutting…I still Need Improvement! So… instead, I cut it out using my handy, dandy, Xacto knife.

I used spray adhesive and spray paint.

First, flip your reindeer over and spray a thin layer of spray adhesive.

Position it onto your canvas and then pose for a cheesy picture. Okay, the posing is optional, but will make your hubs really happy, especially if you ask him to do it at 10:30pm!

Did I mention it was getting late? Perhaps all the fumes went to my head! Ugh!
After making sure that the template is pretty well sealed down, all you need to do is make a creepy face and spray!

Try to spray from directly above the artwork. Less paint will sneak through under the template. A little bleeding is okay and gives it a pretty cool look though.

I wanted to get the template off right away, so simply peel off to reveal your masterpiece!

Ta-Da! I'm totally in love!

Because I'm a blog slacker, my new artwork is still drying and not ready to be hung on the wall. I'll put some pictures on Facebook later.: ) Darn my procrastination!

So there you have it. Insanely simple artwork that makes a BIG impact!
Ta-Da!

We know lots of you plan to try this project. When you do, be sure to tag RHBC on Facebook so we can see your handiwork!

P.S. Confession Time: I may or may not have gotten totally sucked into my guilty pleasure (Gossip Girl) while writing this post. Feel free to email if you have any other questions. Bad blogger watching embarrassing shows!
P.S.S. How much do you love this awesome project I just found? Check out her blog and give her some RHBC love!

We'll be getting back to our regular Fab Find Fridays next week, but today we want to share the project that won Round 3 of CWTS! We love it so much and I'm kind of jealous that Monica gets to enjoy it every day. (The next big project better be at MY house.; ) Enjoy!
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What are girls to do when they CAN'T SEW and are part of a fabric challenge? Hmm… well, we're kind of lovin' wallpaper lately, so we thought we'd use fabric in a non-traditional (and non-sewing) way!
Fabric Wallpaper I had ordered some fabric a few months back, but never used it. Amazingly there was just the right amount to cover the width of my office wall. While we're talking about my office… this is a judgement free zone, so go easy on me about the state of my office. Yikes!

There wasn't enough fabric to cover the whole wall, so we came up with the idea to put board and batten below the fabric. The big decision was what color to paint the moulding… Grey, White, or Yellow. We kind of hold to a"Go Big or Go Home" mentality, so we went with yellow! Darn that the color paint we bought wasn't made correctly and looked like Sunshine Yellow, not a cool muted color.

Once the paint was dry (ok, well almost dry) it was time to start working on the fabric. We measured the height and cut accordingly. We left about 6" extra that we trimmed later.

This is NOT a glamorous process… it's a lot of holding & pinning and really would be great with two people, but with only one ladder, Jess got to give advice from below and take awesome pics of me!

There are lots of methods for hanging fabric, but we thought the pin & staple was our best option. We used pins to get it lined up correctly.

Somehow we forgot to take a picture of the stapling process, but it's simple… just staple along the edges. After stapling, we used a razor to trim the edges.

Once again we were wrapping up a project at midnight… Jess is awesome at styling, so before she headed home, she got to work on the desk accessories. The Love sign is something we made for our etsy shop, but I kinda love it, so I haven't listed it!

The next morning we finished all the painting and got to work on the rope. Unfortunately, rope doesn't come in many colors…just rope color. So, we decided to stain it grey. I had no idea my table stain would get so much use! It gave the rope just the look we were going for!

We used a hot glue gun to adhere the rope around the outside edge. We liked the idea of adding a cool detail, and we also had to hide the staples!

We couldn't be happier with the finished product! The total cost was under $50.00 (and most of that was for the gallon of paint we didn't even use!)

It totally looks like wallpaper and at a fraction of the cost. I'm so glad this challenge inspired us to finish my office!

So, how's that for a fabric project from two girls that can't sew?
Monica & Jess
Linking up to: TT & J, Show & Tell Saturday, Tips & Tutorials Tip Me Tuesday, Sundae Scoop, Sunday Showcase

A few weeks ago during round 4 of Creating with the Stars, I showed you guys the bathroom makeover we did for our kids. I love this happy, colorful room- it feels so fresh and clean. One of the little projects in the room that I never mentioned were the hanging frames on the wall as you enter the bathroom.

This was a super easy project that took about 30 minutes total to complete and it's so darn cute. Let's take a look at how I made it, shall we?

I went to a World Market for the very first time while vacationing in Hilton Head, SC (we don't have one near us- boooooo) and immediately noticed these hanging frames, but they were $49.99!! I knew that with just a few cheap frames from Ikea, I could recreate this look for less!

Here's what you'll need to make your own:
- Plain frames (I got mine for 3.99 each at Ikea) — Braided rope — Staple gun (optional) — Hot glue gun — Level — Measuring tape

Step 1: Pull the arm off of your frame, if they have them, so that the frames lay flush against the wall.

Step 2: Roughly estimate how long you want the rope to be by placing the frames the same distance apart (mine are 3 inches apart) and looping the rope up and over the top and down the sides. Cut the rope. Don't worry about being exact here, you just want to make sure you have more than you'll need.

I found this awesome multi-colored rope at the Dollar Tree and am in love. (Remember? You've seen it right here before) For only a few bucks, I have more than I need so I can use it in lots of different ways!

Step 3: Place a knot a few inches down from the top so that you can easily hang your frames when you're ready. I also think this adds a fun detail to the frames!

Step 4: Lay your frame upside down on a flat surface and line it up with a straight edge. I used the edge of my countertops as my guide. This ensures that the frame will be level when you hang it up. Using your hot glue gun, dab some glue to the upper corner of your frames and hold it in place. Do this on both sides. Then run a line of glue down the sides of the frame, pulling the rope tight as you go.

Step 5: Line the next frame up and masure your desired distance (my frames are 3 inches apart) and hot glue in the same places as above. This part gets tricky, so try to keep a steady hand! But the nice thing is that if you mess up, you can just pull the rope off and do it again! (Not that that happened to me or anything:) Repeat with the remaining frame.

Step 6 (optional): Use your staple gun to shoot a few staples in the corner to secure the rope.
Step 7: Fill your frame with cute pics and hang it up! I used a large knob I had to hang the frame- I love the way it looks!

That's it! For under $10, I created a fun piece of wall decor for my kid's bathroom! Can't beat that.: )

And now I just have to ask…is there anything you can't do with a little hot glue??; )

Looking for the top 12 contestant announcement for Creating with the Stars? You can find them, the awesome projects that earned them a spot and their amazing blog star partners here. Don't forget to like us on facebook and follow us on Twitter @EC2blog for all the up-to-date info and juicy details!

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I'm so excited to show you guys the first step I took in making our living room jive with the attached dining room. This project is super simple, easy on the wallet and totally customizable! Love that.

We're both huge fans of Ikea. I mean, really, who doesn't love cheap, Swedish, hard-to-pronounce and even-harder-to-put-together furniture? I purchased this chair for the my living room, but the scale of it just wasn't right. It really needed something to help fill the space, and I thought an ottoman would do the trick nicely. While at IKEA, I came across this LACK side table which is only 10 bucks (depending on the finish you choose), and knew it would work as an ottoman that could fill the void in my living room. Round up the following supplies and let's get started!
Lack side table 1 1/2 yards of fabric 1 1/2 yards of quilt batting- Look for a coupon or a sale on this! Foam (mine is 2 inches thick)- Don't buy without a coupon! Staple Gun Spray adhesive Paint (optional) Chop saw (optional)

1. Lay the table top upside down on the foam and trace it using a Sharpie.

2. Cut the foam with an electric carving knife. I saw the girls at JoAnn's doing this, and let me tell you, the foam cuts like butter when you do it this way! If you don't have one, use an X-acto knife or razor.

3. Spray one side of the foam with adhesive and press it firmly onto the table top.

4. Grab your helper and lay the foam-covered table top onto the quilt batting and trim the excess. Make sure you leave enough batting around the edges to cover the sides of the table. (Adorable little helper is optional.)

5. Using your staple gun, fold one corner in towards the middle of the table and staple into place. Work your way around the table pulling tight on the batting and stapling as you go. Use a hammer to wack any stubborn staples into place. I've always wanted to use"wack" in a sentence. Check that off the bucket list.

6. Iron your fabric so you don't have to deal with any annoying wrinkles. Or ignore this step if wrinkles don't drive you nuts. If they don't, I envy you. Please tell me your secret.

7. Determine the placement of your fabric and trim the excess, but be generous with your cuts so that you have enough to go all the way around. Working the same way as with the batting, start with the corner and fold towards the middle. Staple in place. Work your way around, pulling the fabric tight. Every once in a while, flip the top over so you can make adjustments to the placement of the fabric if necessary (and it will be necessary, trust me!)

8. This step is completely optional, as well. I wanted the ottoman to be a bit lower than the height of the seat of the chair, so I used a chop saw to cut about 3 inches off of all four legs. Surprise! Ikea table legs are hollow! I guess that's how they keep the price at $10. *Wink*

9. To achieve a similar finish to the chair, I used two coats of Annie Sloan Chalk paint in French Linen, then lightly spray painted them with Valspar Satin in La Fonda.

That's it! For under $25, I have an adorable ottoman that helps ground the chair in my living room, adds additional seating (yes! You can sit on it!), and a comfy place to put your feet up at the end of the day. I call that a win-win.

I'm super happy with the finished product, and love that I can easily change the fabric when I get tired of this one. I mean, let's be honest, that WILL happen at some point, knowing me, and when it does, it won't break the bank to recover it! Woohoo!
To see these other projects in the living room, click below:

Planked Wall with Exposed Studs Stenciled Faux-Tile Fireplace
Have a happy Tuesday!

It's amazing to think that it's already been a year since our whirlwind season on the Nate Berkus Show. Jess and I wanted to share the full segments from our Christmas Episodes with you today, but unfortunately the widgets aren't working. Boo! Instead, we're going to share one of my favorite projects from our holiday episode. I was at Jess' house tonight for our Favorite Things Party (re-cap post coming later this week!) and she had her deer hung proudly again this year!
Also, tomorrow we're going to begin our 2012 Christmas House Tours. We're both excited to welcome you guys into our homes and show you how we fancied them up for Christmas this year!
Okay, without further ado, here's a great DIY from 2011! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm so excited to share this project today! It was by far my favorite project in the room! Lots of fabulous Nate Show viewers have contacted us over the last week asking when this tutorial was coming… well, the wait is over, here is is!

First off, I want to give a shout out to a few bloggers that inspired this project. During a Nate Show Challenge we can't be browsing Pinterest or anything, but we do rely on remembering some cool ideas we've seen in the past and are ready to try. Check out Amber's project that she hand painted or this cool canvas on sale on Etsy for more inspiration.
Ok, now get ready, because this project is so simple that you might miss it if you blink! I didn't take any process pictures, and I really wanted to steal the artwork from Jess, so I made a new one for myself last night!
Start with a plain canvas. For Jess' I used an 11x17 and for mine I accidently bought 18x24. During the show, I quickly looked on Google images for a reindeer that I liked and found this picture.

I printed out the picture as an 8x11 and took it to Staples to blow it up for me. It cost all of $1.04! Score!

Have I mentioned that I seriously can't cut well with scissors? I actually had a"Needs Improvement" on my elementary report card for cutting…I still Need Improvement! So… instead, I cut it out using my handy, dandy, Xacto knife.

I used spray adhesive and spray paint.

First, flip your reindeer over and spray a thin layer of spray adhesive.

Position it onto your canvas and then pose for a cheesy picture. Okay, the posing is optional, but will make your hubs really happy, especially if you ask him to do it at 10:30pm!

Did I mention it was getting late? Perhaps all the fumes went to my head! Ugh! After making sure that the template is pretty well sealed down, all you need to do is make a creepy face and spray!

Try to spray from directly above the artwork. Less paint will sneak through under the template. A little bleeding is okay and gives it a pretty cool look though.

I wanted to get the template off right away, so simply peel off to reveal your masterpiece!

Ta-Da! I'm totally in love!

Because I'm a blog slacker, my new artwork is still drying and not ready to be hung on the wall.
So there you have it. Insanely simple artwork that makes a BIG impact!

We Love Simple Silhouette Art! Have you tried this simple DIY yet?

Our most popular blog post has been the Farmhouse Table Remix. If you haven't read the post, check it out here for all the nitty gritty details and the steps to make your own.

Since our table made its debut for the taping of The Nate Show, we thought we'd give you an add-on post that might answer some of the popular questions we get about it. Farmhouse Table Q & A Q. How long is your table and how many people can it seat? A. The table is just under 11ft long and can comfortably seat 16 people.

Q. How long did it take to make the table? A. Building it took about 4 hours, but the sanding took double that. However, if we had the proper tools it would have been a breeze. Eric just used an orbital sander on all the edges to round them. A router would have made this step a breeze. Total time was about 20 hours.

Q. How did you hide the original tables so well? A. Creating the edge casing was essential to hiding the old school tables underneath. If we hadn't added that detailing, you would have seen the old tables and the extender planks we added.

It would have looked something like this…

Q. Is it weird to have an 8-legged table? What does it look like underneath? A. Nah… we think it's kind of cool! Plus, if we have someone over for dinner and have any awkward silence, we can just be like,"Hey, did you know this table has eight legs?" I wouldn't recommend it as a pick-up-line, but for a conversation saver it works like a charm.

Q. What color stain did you use? (this is the most popular question we get) A. I can't answer this one. SORRY! Here's the deal… I tried a million stains and methods and finally had to go to Sherwin Williams. They were able to create a custom stain for me. They matched the stain to a paint swatch from the chair paint. I literally jumped for joy (can you picture that?) when we did a sample board. It was exactly what I was looking for. So, head over to the fellas at Sherwin, they make a mean color match! The reason I can't give you the formula is that we were messy with the stain and it got all over the label. We can't read it no matter how hard we try. Blogger foul. Sorry!

I hope that helps and we love getting emails and comments from our readers, so feel free to contact us if you have any other questions! The biggest thing I want to encourage you with is that YOU CAN DO THIS! We're not woodworkers, we're not all that savvy with tools, but we're pretty determined. If your you (or your husband) are doubtful, just shoot us and email and I'll have Eric convinceyou it's totally doable!
Got Chairs? A 16-seater table means 16 chairs! Yikes… with most chairs costing well over $100 each, that would be a whopping $1600! Thankfully, my mom found us FREE chairs that a restaurant were getting rid of. Remember this post? Well, here's how I took these chairs from weak-sauce, to super-cool! (and yes, occasionally I talk like I'm 16 years old… I'm a high school teacher, it's not my fault!)

The first step was to sand every single chair. QUIZ: Do you think I actually did that? ANSWER: Not a chance! I'm far too impulsive and after sanding one chair I decided that sanding was for the birds! I like quick and efficient. I made a little chair assembly line in the basement.

To remove a chair cushion, just flip it over and unscrew all four corners. It might take a little kick to get it to pop out, but it'll budge eventually. Ugh, look at that hideous material.

The chairs needed two coats of grey paint and Eric and I just lined up the chairs in the kitchen and watched a movie while we painted. I must give the hubs HUGE props because I took the kids on a planned trip to Boston, and he finished painting all the chairs so that they'd be ready for the Nate Show taping. <3

This next step is really crucial… find some gal pals that are willing to come help you reupholster 16 seat cushions. If you could read the clock on the DVR, it says 10:15pm and we were just getting started. Have I mentioned I love my girls? We just pulled off the old material and wrapped and staple-gunned the new fabric. It's just like wrapping a present, but using staples instead of tape!

I had picked out some fabric at Calico Corners, but it wasn't going to arrive in time, so I went to JoAnn's and found these two fabrics that I was pretty happy with. I wanted something with grey, yellow, and some kind of aqua or blue. These fit the bill nicely.
The Finished Freebie Chairs

I can't wait for everyone to see how great the table and chairs look in my dining room since Jess designed it on The Nate Show. Really, we're both like little kids waiting for Christmas! It can't get here soon enough. Countdown is T minus 3 days! (I really don't know what that means, but it sounds cool when they say it in movies right?)

Oh yes, we almost forgot! The winner of the Starbucks giftcard is…

Liz

Just shoot us an email with your address, and start checking your mailbox! Happy Starbucks-drinking!

If you missed all the amazing projects of our first annual Creating with the Stars, be sure to check them out below!

Round 1 Projects & Winners Round 2 Projects & Winners Ro und 3 Projects & Winners Round 4 Projects & Winners -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sarah is back today with another awesome tutorial from the home decor project that won her the grand prize in Creating with the Stars. I love the way she built this headboard and broke it down for us- it makes any custom headboard within the realm of possibility! Plus, it looks unbelievable with that grasscloth and nailhead accent wall!

To complement the accent wall, we wanted to create a headboard that wouldn't compete yet wouldn't get lost against the nailhead and grasscloth.
We made a plan and gathered our supplies.
1/2" plywood (1 sheet cut to width of bed frame, ours was 62.5") 2x8" (x2) 1x8 (x2) 1x3 (x4) coral curtain panels from Target heat n' bond batting
I drew a few diagrams for the basic construction and dimensions of the headboard. See below for some the specifics on the upholstery. Measurements are for a queen bed frame. Note: make sure to measure your bed frame first, in case yours is different! You want to make sure that the frame will fit inside of the arms.

For the arms, we screwed a 1x8 and a 2x8 together, measured and drew the circle with a lid. We then followed the line with a jigsaw to cut it out (we did remove any screws that were in the way first!).

For the foam, we cut a 3" camping pad in half and attached to the plywood with spray adhesive.
Next we upholstered the back piece by wrapping in batting and then fabric. To make sure that the top was pulled evenly, we attached a thin strip of scrap wood and pulled tight. This made it much easier to get an even look!

Next, we cut the fabric to wrap around the entire arm, starting at the inner part of the arm, we put a few staples in (on the inside so it stays in place while you attach the arm), we cut little holes in the fabric at the pilot holes (where arms attach to the frame). We then installed the arms with heavy duty screws (we used cabinet anchors) and attached it to the 1x3 frame.
Then we finished upholstering! We pulled the fabric tight around the arm and stapled, leaving it loose at the top. We cut the angles, almost to the edge, but not close enough so that it frays to the side of the arm, pull tight and staple. It doesn't have to be pretty on the top because that will be covered next. We cut a band of fabric the total height of the arm (accounting for the bends) plus a few inches and the width (2.5") of the arm plus enough fabric to fold under (at least.5" on each side, so at least 3.5" total). We folded the raw edges under and pressed with a hot iron so that the edges were crisp and attached the band to the arm with no-sew adhesive (my preference is Heat n' Bond) and a hot iron, staple to secure the ends.
That's it!

I finished the bed off with a few DIY pillows. The euro pillow shams are made from a white table cloth and a scarf from World Market. Since the scarf was translucent, I doubled it up with the white table cloth. The throw pillows are white shams from Ikea, I then painted a border using painters tape and latex paint with fabric medium. The bolster pillow is a kitchen towel from World Market and the left over headboard fabric.

I love how the grasscloth slightly shimmers depending on the lighting.

The nightstand is from World Market, the sphere from TJ Maxx and I picked up little letters (to spell his and hers) from a local antique store. Books were wrapped in paper from the Paper Source.

Hydrangeas and Ranunculus are two of my favorite flowers!

This week was sponsored by Home Goods, and if you've read my blog, you probably know that I'm pretty obsessed with the Home Goods/TJ Maxx/Marshalls brand! I love the thrill of the hunt, designer names and the affordable prices!
I picked up a cute accent chair, fluffy white rug (my puppy love it too!) and the white sphere!

Finally, here's where we got everything!
Headboard: Fabric Coral drapery panel from Target (x2), Batting,

3" camping foam from Home Depot only $20!
Feature Wall: Grasscloth wallpaper,

Nailhead (we used about 2.25 boxes),

Trim- I found 2.5"wide synthetic trim from Home Depot on clearance for $4/8ft board
Accessories: Night stand (World Market — not on website), decorative sphere (TJ Maxx), His and Her letters (local antique shop), Throw pillow on chair, chair (TJ Maxx), lamp and lamp shade, duvet cover
I'm crazy about our new transformation and I hope you love it too!

We totally love it too! Well done, Sarah! We 're ready for you to make a trip to good ol' Bucks County to fix up our master bedrooms. Any time.: )

P.S Have you linked up yet?

Phew! Can you believe that 2012 is over already? We are gearing up for an unbelievably awesome 2013 filled with lots of fun and exciting things for this little blog (we'll share those with you tomorrow!), but we thought we'd take some time to round up our favorite projects from each month in 2012. Take a look, let us know what you think, and pin it if you like it!

January Monica's Fav: I loved going green in 2012! Not really in the earthy-crunchy way, but by adding a pop of color to my collection of ornate frames. These Green Granny Frames had a fun impact on my dining room!

Jess's Fav: I breathed some new life into our New and Improved Entryway by adding a striped accent wall and a big gallery wall.

February:
Jess' Fav: This project injected what can only be called Stencil Happiness into my kitchen renovation. Thanks to an awesome stencil from Royal Design Studio, my kitchen now has style for miles!

Monica's Fav: I took a bit of a risk and got personal with all of you by sharing my Game of Love Perfect Valentine's Gift. You ladies sure loved it, because it became our #1 post of 2012! Stay tuned for this year's version- it'll be on the blog on Monday!

Since 2012 was a leap year, I get to add another for February! This post went live on 2/29 and it's such a time saver in our house! Once a Month Sandwiches

March
Jess' Fav: This Giant Shaped Frame is by far my favorite project from 2012! I'm pretty sure there is no better way to dress up your wall for this crazy low price. This is a big impact project, people. *I also have to nominate this one too! Jess and I had no idea how successful this project was going to be when we created it- we sure love Staples Prints! -Mon*

Monica's Fav: I love the BIG impact my Chevron Wall made in my kitchen. It's packed with personality and was pretty easy to paint!

April
Jess' Fav: My hubs and I surprised my daughter with this Playhouse Loft Bed for her fourth birthday. It was totally worth it, because she and my son play in it all the time. I'm all for a DIY project that keeps the kids happy and occupied! *wink*

Monica's Fav: My Front Door got a major face lift with a super cool color and house numbers that are so my style!

May
Jess' Fav: We started our kitchen renovation in December and were finally ready to do the big Kitchen Reveal in May. Of course, I'm still tweaking it, but this room makes me super happy. It's filled with tons of DIYs like painting the cabinets, stenciling the wall, making a fabric shade pendant light, painting color-blocked curtains and adding a fab rug.

Monica's Fav: Warm weather meant it was time for some outdoor projects! I loved how simple and inexpensive these DIY Planters were. Even now, they have winter pansies and look great on my front porch!

June Jess's Fav: I love the ability to customize things and this Fabric Floorcloth let me create the perfect mat for my entryway!

Monica's Fav: Jess and I completed our Super-Fab Guest Room Makover. We loved everything from the shutter headboard, fun accessories, and of course the houndstooth stenciled wall! We also had a blogger's dream come true when Young House Love featured our makeover!

July
Jess: My son turned 2 this month so I showed you how I made his custom invitations using digital scrapbook paper and picmonkey. How to Make Custom Printables became one of our top posts- you guys obviously love free things!: )

Monica's Fav: While we were busy finishing up our patio project, I also worked on an Outdoor Furniture Upcycle

August
Jess' Fav: We took our house exterior from boring to awesome by painting the front door and shutters. Hello Curb Appeal!

Monica's Fav: August was when I pulled off a birthday surprise for my hubs with a Garage Mudroom Makover I'm still loving the organization and how it's actually functional for this family of 6!

September
Jess: It's a tie! I just can't decide between Stenciled Faux-Tile Fireplace & Planked Wall with Exposed"Stud' Shelves. Both of these guys transformed the room and I'm in love with them!

Monica's Fav: I went a little outside the box with my Shut the Front Door — Foyer Update. It's still one of my favorite things in my house.

October Jess: Our dining room has been slowly undergoing a transformation and my refinished dining table fits perfectly in the new space! Refinished Dining Room Table

Monica's Fav: In October, we had our DIY Patio Reveal! It was a HUGE DIY project, but we saved tons of money doing it ourselves and the end result was pretty awesome!

November
Jess's Fav: I love Mr. Berkus and didn't think he would mind me knocking off one of the items from his new line- the Rope-Wrapped Hurricane Vase. Want to know a secret? I like mine better.: )

Monica's Fav: During a road trip to visit one of my best gal pals, I whipped up a Fireplace Makeover in her new house. It's a super-simple way to get rid of that brass fast!

December
Jess: This project was honestly a surprise to me. It came out so much better than I ever thought it would! The Wood Slice Wreath is the perfect winter decoration.

Monica's Fav: Just in time for Christmas Jess and I made this Illuminated Silhouette Art. It looked great next to my Christmas tree, and now I'll be swapping out the silhouette for a lovey-dovey Valentine's quote!

One thing that stands out to us the most this year is how thankful we are for YOU! We so appreciate your comments, emails and faithful visits to our blog. Here's to another crazy, fun year!

Yesterday, I shared my daughter Kira's Colorful Bedroom Makeover with all of you. Check it out here if you missed it. It's interesting when you're doing a room for a little person… there's this part of me that wants to go all crazy blogger-designer-nutso on the space, and then there's the realistic mom side that reminds me that her room will be a disaster of toys in about 3 minutes flat and that I don't need to go over the top to make her happy. Honestly, I'd kind of be going over the top just for my own self-interest. So, with that being said, the mommy voice won out and I went with a fun, yet practical room makeover. I'll guess I'll save up the glitz and glam for the master bedroom (if I ever do tackle it!).

Today I'm going to share with you the focal point of the room… The Mosaic Accent Wall!

I'm a total sucker for an accent wall. Honestly, since I was a junior in high school I've been whipping them up! My very first was a blue feather dusted wall in my parents' house. Then, I did a pretty cool square grid wall (again at the 'rents house) when I was a senior. Kenzie's first bedroom had vertical stripes and stars, then I changed to a fun magenta gingham. We had an argyle bedroom too! I wish I had pictures of all of those, but it was in the film day and age- boo! Enough of the trip down memory lane, let's get going with the tutorial! How to Create a Mosaic Accent Wall Since this is the room of my 5 year old, I asked her what she wanted, and she told me LOTS of colors."Mommy, I want purple, blue, green, orange…" and the list went on and on. I thought about it and finally decided, I could give Kira exactly what she asked for- lots of color!

I bought a sample size of each color and a gallon of white paint to use as my base and for all the other walls. One word of caution, Valspar sample paints do not have the normal bonding agents that regular paint has. It will require more coats for solid coverage. Just keep that in mind when you're planning a project. For me, buying 8 quarts wasn't an option (this was a makeover on a budget) and I'd rather have to do a few extra coats of paint. I had JUST enough- it was close, but we stretched the samples far enough.

This unfortunate event occurred as soon as we got home with the paint. Grrr… I was sort of hoping Hurricane Sandy would wash some of the stain away a few weeks ago- No.Such.Luck!
Blogger Fail!

Here's my supply list: Valspar® Sample Paints Base coat paint Purdy® Paint Brush Chalk-line (a DIYer Must Have!) Tape Measure Pencil Frog Tape® Mini Rollers Paint Trays

I had to get rid of that BRIGHT aqua color and amazingly, the Valspar white paint & primer in one did the trick! I was left with a blank"canvas" and two weirdos (the hubs and my oldest)!

There are all kinds of approaches to getting perfectly straight painted lines, but I really think we use the BEST method. I'll tell ya about it, and then you can be the judge…
1- Measure out your stripes and put tick marks on both sides of the wall.

2- Use a Chalk-line to get Perfect Guide Lines- Simply, put the string directly on the tick marks on both sides of the wall, pull the string taut, and snap that baby! It is so much MORE accurate and FASTER than using a level and a pencil. Let me remind you of something… you've seen how awkward I am at dancing… would you trust me to use a level on wall stripes? I think not.

These bad boys are crisp, straight and ready for some Frog Tape!

3- Use Frog Tape to Divide your Stripes. When I'm working on an accent wall, I know it's going to be the main focus of the room, so I have to have crisp, perfect lines (yes, perfectionist tendencies admitted).

My hubs uses a few pieces per stripe, but I'm a one stripe wonder. I definitely prefer to do the entire stripe with one piece to make sure there aren't any uneven seams. Also, make sure you tape off the two side walls.

I love me some stripes!

After all my horizontal stripes were finished, I randomly placed my vertical dividers. I toyed with using a mini level to get them perfect, but then decided I could do it well enough by eye. Please ignore the epitome of frumpy DIY clothes, no shower, and tape on the leg.

Whenever I'm working on a project like this I rip off a bunch of pieces the length I need and keep them on the wall so I can get to them quickly, if I'm not using that method, I keep the roll of tape on my arm. Works like a charm.

4- Paint the Edge of your tape with your Base Color. It's one extra step, but it's the MAGIC INGREDIENT to perfect, crisp lines. Frog Tape alone is excellent, but on an accent wall like this, I had to be sure everything would be perfect. Just take your base coat color (whatever color is under the stripes) and with an semi-dry brush (not dry, but not sopping wet either) paint over every edge. I don't recommend using a roller for this step, I always use a paint brush.

It makes the wall look a little scary, but it will all work out in the end! Allow it to dry- I gave it about 40 minutes before putting color over it.

I had a tray and roller for each color. I wanted to work in a random pattern and that meant making decisions as I went along- no time for washing rollers and brushes.

Finally, it was time to put some color on the walls!

If you want a random look (like mine) I'd recommend working in one section at a time, mixing your colors as you go.

Because of the sample paints, it took 3 coats per square. It was a tad scary at first, but by the second coat, I was confident the coverage would be good.

Jimniy Cricket- Even before I removed the tape I knew I was in love!

Now, for the Moment of Truth-Removing the tape…
Once again Frog Tape & the Mangin Method = Perfection!
Seriously, I do a cheesy dance (you can picture it) every time I remove tape from a project!
I do recommend removing the tape as soon as you're done-I don't wait for the paint to dry, and I remove it VERY slowly and evenly.

Here's the finished product!
It was so simple and took me and Eric about 4 hours from start to finish.

Here's a before and after…

It's a lot of color (as requested by Kira), but I like the extreme contrast that the white walls bring. I also could totally picture doing this with muted tones or even all in one color with an ombre effect!

Almost every morning, I find KJ hunkered down reading books in her PJs… She loves her new room!

Tomorrow, I'll be giving you all the details on the whiteboard wall and Wednesday one of our favorite things… DIY faux canvases with Staples prints! Make sure you check it out!
What do you think of the accent wall? Have you ever tried something bold with paint?

This project was featured in an episode of our DIY show Knock It Off. To watch this episode online, click HERE.

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Vaulted ceilings can be a real bear when you're trying to decorate a space…should you hang something high or at regular height? How can you fill a huge space without spending a fortune? We came up with a great solution by layering headboards- making one really big neutral-colored headboard as the backdrop (actually ours was 8 feet by 8 feet!) and then one smaller queen-sized headboard with fun fabric. We found a way to create these upholstered headboards using some unusual materials that kept it right where we needed it…below budget! However, if you're not concerned with keeping the price as low as possible, definitely go the traditional route with foam padding and batting! Trust us on this one.; )

Decide on the dimensions of your headboard. The standard width for a queen mattress is at least 60 inches, so plan on making the width of your headboard at least that wide. The height really depends on your preference and the space you want to fill. We had a giant wall to fill…just take a look at this before picture!

Gather your materials. We could have purchased plywood, foam and batting, but those items would have cost us too much for our small budget, so we decided to use foam insulation panels and carpet batting from the Lowes! We found that while using these unusual materials helped with our budget, it made the process a lot more difficult! You'll use the same method either way, but it will go a lot faster. You’ll also need fabric of your choice. Our funky colorful fabric came from Ikea.

Cut the insulation panels using a utility knife to the size that you want. Do the same with the carpet batting but allow for a few extra inches so that it can easily wrap around the insulation board. Lay the insulation board onto the carpet padding. Beginning at one corner, fold carpet padding in towards the center of the board and staple into place using a heavy duty staple gun. Continue wrapping, pulling tight, and stapling as you work your way around the board. We found the stapling at an angle helped the staples"grab" the insulation better.

Lay the batting-wrapped insulation board squarely on top of your fabric, making sure that the pattern is aligned correctly. Use the same method as with the batting and staple fabric all the way around the board. About half-way through, lift the board up to make sure your fabric is still aligned correctly. Make any necessary adjustments and continue. (And yes, I like to work barefoot.; ))

You can hang your headboard a bunch of different ways, but we decided to screw them right into the studs. You could hardly even see the screws because of the busy pattern on our headboard. However, you could do a french cleat, or build legs that will attach directly to your bed frame.

We love the way this came out…and of course, how cheap it was to make!

Don't forget to check out the rest of the projects in this fun and colorful bedroom makeover here.

Let's face it, with Halloween on one end and Christmas on the other, Thanksgiving often gets a raw deal. I know that when the holiday season is in full force, being intentional with projects and decor gets really hard. I find it so easy to scoot right by Thanksgiving, without a second thought, and dive right into Christmas stuff, so I decided to tackle a project that would keep my family centered and focused on being grateful throughout November. A Thankful Tree that can be reused every year!

Here's what you'll need to make your own:

• Canvas (mine is 18in x 24in)
• 1/2 yard-3/4 yard of fabric
• Spray Adhesive
• Spraypaint
• Mod podge (not pictured)
• Baby clothespins (not pictured)

Step 2: Locate your tree image (there are tons of free clipart images listed in Google images) and enlarge it to fit your canvas. We love the engineer prints from Staples and use them all the time. Step 3: Use a sharp-edge razor to cut the tree out. Don't worry about all the little limbs, and focus on the larger ones. This seemed super daunting, but surprisingly went quickly and smoothly. I accidentally cut a branch that I wanted to keep on (doh!) but was easily able to use tape to fix it.  

Step 4: Lay your image down on the backside of the fabric and trace it with a pen.

Step 5: Spray the fabric tree with spray starch and iron it to make it stiff. This makes cutting it out with scissors a piece of cake. Step 6: Center the tree on the canvas. Starting at the trunk, lift small sections and lightly spray with adhesive. Smooth out all of the bubbles from the center out to the edges. A little spray adhesive may get on the canvas where you don't need it, but that's ok. We'll be taking care of that later.

Step 7: Place stencils on your canvas and stencil away! I used Martha Stewart's self-adhering stencils which are awesome because you don't have to worry about them moving around while you stencil. (Insider secret: This project was originally posted on U-Create, so there was a deadline involved. I was actually stenciling this bad boy in the car in between a shift at work and tennis practice. Pure craziness, I tell you #cantwasteevenoneminute.) 

Step 8: Mod Podge the entire canvas starting at the center of the tree and working out to the edges. This will seal the tree and make it more resistant to wear and fading. And remember that spray adhesive I mentioned before? The Mod Podge takes care of hiding that, too. Score! 

It's scary at first, but dries clear! 

Step 9: Spraypaint the clothespins and adhere them to the tree with hot glue. 

Step 10: Print out our fun"thankful" labels on card stock (download them here) and cut them out using scissors. Have your family write what they're thankful on each of the tags and then clip them to the canvas.

Voila! You're done and are left with an adorable, re-useable canvas that will help your family focus on what's really important in the next two weeks. Plus, it's super cute, so it's a win-win! 

 So, that's it! I love that I can use this every year. I plan on writing the year on the back of each tag and keeping them to look through each year. I'm hoping my son won't say that he's most thankful for Cinnamon Toast Crunch every year. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aannnnnd since we've officially welcomed the holiday season here on the blog, we wanted to share something exciting with you! When we were looking around for cool Christmas vinyl options to share with you, we found very few that were modern and stylish. So, since we had several requests for the vinyl phrase we used on the front door last week, we decided to create a few just for you! A limited number of Be Merry Christmas decals are now for sale in our Etsy shop at a very reasonable price- only $8!! That's a whole lot cheaper than buying a new wreath, people. And we have a couple more coming this week, so be on the lookout. Get yours now!

Let the holiday craziness begin!  

One of my 2012 resolutions was to add more of ME into the style (or lack thereof) of my family room. I might have taken that resolution a tad literally come to think of it, but I'm still happy with the progress so far! Let me give you a little back story…

See that artwork? It was hanging in my family room for the past year. It's fine… if you know me well, when I say fine, I mean ehh… take it or leave it. In this particular case, I was ready to leave it, so I started by taking it apart.

I wanted to do something a tad more meaningful. Trust me, I'm all about art just because it looks cool, but for some reason I was determined to create something a little"deeper" for this room.
At first I thought I'd use some cool lyrics I love."American Pie" has always been a favorite song, but then I vetoed that because it just didn't feel right and I'm sure there's some weird deep meaning I am oblivious to.
I decided on Matt Redman's"Blessed be the Name of the Lord", typed it up on an 8x8 and enlarged it at Staples. (Total cost for two was like $5.00)

Here's the deal on the song. I'm not all like,"woohoo it has to be a praise song" or something like that. Truthfully, I hated this song for about 3 years and would actually leave church every time it was played. I wasn't being a jerk, I just couldn't stomach it. You may have heard me mention my twin boys in my birthday post, and this song has a line,"You give and take away, You give and take away. My heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be your name." Let me tell you for a mom that wanted nothing more than to keep holding her babies that line was beyond challenging for me. So why put it on your wall crazy blogger? Well, over time I've been able to get to the point where I do trust and understand that He will give and take and it's not going to be easy, but I'm not in it alone. He doesn't say I'll give and take and see ya later. It's only by grace that I got through each of our losses without becoming bitter and changed. Okay, enough personal stuff, if you want to read about our journey with the twins, you can check it out here. (Who knows, maybe it will be a help to someone.)
So I had my lyrics and needed something to go over them. It took some brainstorming and then it hit me. FINGERPRINTS… our fingerprints!
Here's How I did it! The mat needed a coat of paint. Don't be afraid to change the color of your mat, it's a great, quick fix.

While they dried, I pulled out my kids stamping kit and took some prints. I'm a dork and started with my pointer, but realized a thumb is a better option. Just press, don't roll and don't use too much ink.

Then, I took pictures of our prints. I zoomed in as close as I could get, and then cropped in picasa. Editing the picture to black and white and increasing shadows helped me see the lines.

I happened to have a mini projector on hand (borrowed from a friend about 9 months ago- oops!) and a jar of cherries! I needed the projector a bit higher and they worked perfectly. If you don't have a mini projector an old school, classroom one would work fine too.

Keeping it real… yes, I still have a Christmas countdown on my walls.

I taped the paper on the wall and traced in pencil. I almost went blind. It was not simple to see, but it still only took about 5 minutes of tracing.

I removed it from the wall and traced over my lines with a sharpie.

After reassembling the mat and frame I was ready for after pictures… Darn that my room is bright with a glare 24-7.

Here's my new meaningful, fingerprint art.

I have a second one coming with the hub's print, but I'll show you that when the rest of the wall is finished! I have some fun plans brewing!

So what do you think of my new artwork? It's okay, you can be honest, I know it's a little unique.

I've been so excited to share this project with you, but I promised myself I'd hold off until our Fall Kickoff! Way back in May, I shared my foyer with you… This might jog your memory.

Then, I asked for some help to come up with a solution for this space…

I was leaning towards something like this, but you guys gave me some amazing ideas! Seriously, I was wishing I had like 5 foyers, to try out a ton of different ideas!

Well, in the end, I did go with something graphic, and something with letters, but something that is so much more my personality than just"Hello"…

There you have it…"Shut the Front Door" Seriously, I chuckle to myself every time I walk upstairs. I have a weird sense of humor and this is just so me. Honestly, what I love the most is when people say,"Oh do your kids always forget to close the door?" I just go,"Oh, yup! Those rascals" Ha! The double meaning just kills me and I love that I have a 4x6 foot little joke in my house.
Now here's my soapbox about designing your home how YOU like it… I totally could have just gone with a"Hello" or a"Welcome Friends", or even worse"Home is Where the Heart Is," but honestly I think I'd break out in hives if I had to see that every day. My home is a reflection of who I am, and like it or not, I'm sorta sassy and I think cheeky jokes are funny. So forget what other people will think and embrace your own personality. What would your walls say?
How to Add Personality with Wooden Letters: I was super lucky that Janenifer from The Finest Kind contacted me about my foyer. She was just opening her shop and suggested I try wooden letters to add more depth than just vinyl or paint would. After seeing what she created for her own home, I was sold!

Isn't that awesome? (Her prints were made using the Good Old Staples Print Trick!)
Jennifer's business is 163 Design Company…

You definitely need to check out their store. Your options are endless and they have awesomely reasonable pricing. I loved that I could choose my font (Chunk Five) and Janenifer was so awesome to work with while I planned out my words. She didn't even judge me when I told her what I wanted to write on the wall! LOL.
I used 3M Command Strips to hang each letter- they're not heavy at all. The letters are made from Eucalyptus wood, which let's be honest. just sounds plain cool.

I planned my general layout…

Applied my Command Strips, Did a little measuring…

And then had the hubs help me hang them. He went up and I did lots of"A little to the left, no right, now down, back up…" You get the idea. He loved it! We did use a chalk like to get straight lines to work from. I definitely recommend doing that!

We painted our letters white, but left the sides the dark color they turned from the laser cutting. I really like the effect it has.

There you have it… my new foyer!

Seriously, I'm chuckling now, even as I type this…

This is the view I see from my kitchen and I think it's awesome! (We had our kiddos' artwork displayed all summer, but it's been relocated now. More on that fun project coming soon!)

163 Design Company is offering East Coast Creative Readers 15% off their order for the next two weeks! You might not be ready to make such a huge statement like I did, but I totally encourage you to add some of YOU to your home somewhere! Use the Code ECC15 and get 15% off your order, now through September 30th. Click HERE to go to their online store.

So tell me… What do you think of my foyer update? And, what would you put on your walls? Linking up to: Tutorials & Tips

If you thought Round 1 was impressive, what do you think of these Round 2 Knockoffs? If you haven't already, stop everything and click here to vote for your favorite 3 knockoffs! We aren't exaggerating when we say we were blown away this round. And… lucky me, I get to share my knockoff today… no pressure right! Ha!

Before I share mine, let's enjoy a Blast from the Past and look at the Knockoff that won us Round 2 of Creating with the Stars in 2012. It appears that Anthro is DIYers favorite store to knockoff. Last year we tackled their Ordinal Dresser (you can see the full tutorial here)

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Now, onto my little ol' knockoff project…

I really wanted Anthro's Woodcut Print, but at ahem $1600… are you kidding me?? At that price, it had better grow into a money tree!! I'll take my $6.99 version thank you very much.

Here's how I made mine… it took about 5 minutes. I searched Google images for a woodcut picture I liked. It was black and white, but I wanted a red tone similar to the original. I brought it into PicMonkey (love that site) and used the tint effect to choose a new color. The options are endless as you can see from my screen shot below.

If I wanted a smaller size this project would have been FREE, but I needed a 12x12, so I printed it at Staples for $6.99. It's not an earth shattering knockoff, but I saved $1593.01- Woohoo! Jess and I love getting a high end look for less… Why pay full price, when you can just Knock-it-Off?
The woodcut art is part of my new Kid Friendly Gallery Wall! Every single item on this wall is plastic, wood, or just plain paper. With 4 kids, and after about 7 broken frames I knew I needed a plan B!

I'll be posting more about this wall after CWTS, but here are a few pics for you to enjoy…

And yes, those prints are just paper, framed in washi tape. Break proof!

That metal print is SO us! Eric and I might be a wee bit sarcastic… It says,"National Sarcasm Society… Like we need your support"

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Alright, enough about me, let's talk about you! Are you ready to link up your favorite Knockoff project?

The winner of Round 2's link up will receive an awesome prize package from Belmonili and Perfectly Imperfect Shop, and we promise you're going to love it!

This link party will be open until Friday, March 22nd at 10 PM EST. Jess and I are going to be choosing our absolute favorite knockoff project and revealing the tutorial for it on Sunday! If you win this week, we'll be contacting you sometime on Saturday for the tutorial, so be ready!
Please remember a few things before linking up: 1. Before linking, please LIKE us on Facebook (Thanks!)

2. Make sure you link back to us in your post. Only those linking back will be eligible for the prize! 3. Only one submission per person. 4. Choose a project that you've done in the last 12 months.
Want to see all the amazing Upcycle projects that were linked up last week? Click here! The Round 1 Link Up Winner was this awesome light fixture!