DIY Shabby Chevron Window

 

Yay for getting another project checked off my list! I bought this window frame a few years back at a garage sale and it has been sitting in our garage just waiting for some love since then. I wanted a new art piece in our den and I loved the idea of bringing in this window for it. I combined two of my favorite styles: preppy & shabby chic. The following is the end result... I really like how it turned out! :)

Materials:
Old window frame
stencil (I cut apart some chevron contact paper I had)
craft paint (I used Martha Stewart "Pond" and white)
1 yard burlap (I used a light cream color from Hobby Lobby)
foam brush
staple gun



LOVE Martha Stewart Multi-Purpose paint!

Trace the window pane so you know your workspace.

 LOVE this contact paper from HomeGoods :)

 

I cut it apart & stuck it to my burlap, spacing it equal distances apart.

You have to dab the paint down - if you brush it, it will get under your stencil.

 The fun part- peeling back the stencil :)

 I thought it looked too perfect so I got out my white paint and dabbed it around in several places to make it more shabby :)

A couple canned goods to hold the burlap in place and a staple gun...

Voila! The finished product:

My cute little model :)

 

 

Now to frame a couple pictures of the kids to put on either side of it :)

 

 

Labeled Canisters

Another project on the "do later" list checked off...

Canister Labels:

Silhouette Cameo Craft-Cutter Machine

black adhesive vinyl

"artisan shapes" design from Silhouette Studio

Font: Modern No. 20 (free from a Pinterest pin website on my "craft-cutter fun" board (http://pinterest.com/meganbellsmith/)

glass jar-like canisters from World Market

 

 

New Year, New Life

I have been quite testy lately (mainly toward my husband, sorry babe) and I think I have figured it out... this new life change of being a stay at home mom is taking a toll on me. I haven't even officially started SAHM life (until tomorrow) but I think the "letting go" of teaching has kind of had me in a funk. I guess I should have expected it since I don't "do" change well but it has been something that I haven't really recognized until now looking back on the last month or so. I didn't shed a tear on the last days of teaching, even as I watched co-workers and students cry... SO not me.

I am thinking about all of this today; about how one chapter of my life is closing but an amazing one is beginning. Brooklinn is at such a fun age right now- singing, dancing, and her vocabulary: mind-blowing. Warren is also becoming fun for other reasons: ooh-ing and ahh-ing when you talk to him and his whole face lights up when he smiles :)





I am blessed beyond measure to get the opportunity to stay home with these two sweet babies and I am excited to have the chance to watch them grow. So, my New Years Resolution is to look back on teaching with a smile and look forward to my new role as mommy/teacher/extraordinaire with an even bigger one :)


           Happy 2013, everyone!

Craft Cutter Banner

I was inspired by my friend Lauren's banner she made for New Years so I used some things I had around the house and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out :)

New Years Banner

• Silhouette Cameo Craft-Cutter Machine
• White Cardstock
• 4 in tall triangles drawn in Silhouette Studio
• "snowflake" design from Silhouette Studio
• Font: Sybil Green (free from a Pinterest pin website on my "craft-cutter fun" board (http://pinterest.com/meganbellsmith/) 
• thin white ribbon

Mercury Glass / Mirrored Tray

I'm beginning to use my Silhouette Cameo craft cutter more and this is a project I've been meaning to do for a year while now. I picked up the mercury glass tray at HomeGoods and it's just been sitting in our storage closet. I have plans to etch the glass in the future but for now, the vinyl looks just fine :)

Personalized Mercury Glass Tray:

Silhouette Cameo Craft Cutter machine
Cream-colored vinyl
"frame" shape (I think it was one of the free ones you get at start-up?)
font: Modern no.20 (free download from a Pinterest pin on my "craft-cutter fun" board)