Burlap Canvas Button Art

 

I had seen some cute button art projects on Pinterest and with friends having babies I thought it was a cute piece of artwork to make to have in their room. Here is how I made mine.

First you want to take your burlap and wrap it over the canvas to determine how much burlap you need. I used two layers of burlap so you couldn’t see the white canvas. You could paint the canvas a complimentary color and then use one layer of burlap so the color shows through if you like.Then use a rotary cutter and a straight edge to smoothly cut your burlap to size. If you don’t have those items you can use scissors but I strongly recommend them as it makes it a lot easier to cut the burlap or any fabric. Then you are going to wrap the burlap around the canvas and begin hot gluing the edges down while holding the burlap tight so it lays flat. Try to keep it so the weave in the burlap is straight on the canvas. If it is crooked it makes you think the letter is crooked and will drive you crazy.

Next take your buttons of varying size and color and lay them out in the desired letter or pattern. It takes awhile to play with them to figure out what looks best so take your time. For letters think of the type of font you want to replicate. Once you have it laid out, begin hot gluing each button down. Then you are done!

 

 

Tips:

*Use a hair dryer to blow off the left over hot glue cobwebs

*make sure you have plenty of glue sticks, it takes quite a bit of glue to get the burlap on

*Use a cool hot glue gun (or just be careful) as your fingers are pretty close when you are holding the buttons

*Use common sense and keep this artwork away from young babies and children as the buttons are a choking hazard

*Use both sides of the buttons to create variations

*Use clear ruler/straight edge to make sure the letter is spaced appropriately on your canvas

*Make sure you cut your burlap so there is enough room to wrap it around the edges. As I was hot gluing mine I also realized a staple gun would have made this pretty quick and easy to attach to the canvas.

Please share your canvas art pics! I would love to see what you make!

Summer, where have you gone?

 

 

It’s October 1st and I think fall has officially arrived. The leaves are changing and the air is crisp in the morning and evenings. I set out to work this morning in capri’s and sandals and quickly realized it’s time to take these out of my wardrobe as it is just too chilly. I had the most amazing summer playing in the sun and I am just not ready for it to end! I never am ready for fall and winter to come but this year I am really bummed. All summer we spent on the boat with friends and family visiting beautiful places (when I wasn’t working). I am truly lucky to have spent it doing such fun things with the ones I love. What in the world are we going to do all winter?

That’s just a few of my many photos of fun on the boat!

 

I took this photo last fall before I could have even dreamed of having a boat. Come summer time and the MR has bought a boat and we were on this water!

 

Luckily for me I am getting a much deserved break from work and headed on a Caribbean cruise! Ah to be basking in the warm sun and taking a dip in warm water. I just can’t wait! The best thing about a cruise? No phone or email access! Here is a photo from my last cruise 5 years ago! I can’t believe it has been that long since I have cruised!

 

Be optimistic and enjoy all seasons of the year! Yes, even the rainy season in Portland!

White Marble

 

Oh how I love the look of white marble! It is just so chic and sexy. I don’t think it is possible to even do white marble wrong. Now if only I could afford it!

 

Coco Kelley

HGTV

 

Fubiz

 

Design Sponge

 

081

 

Poppy Talk

 

iXtra

 

Pinterest, original source not available

3D Printing Pen

 

This is going to blow your mind. There is a kickstarter fund going on right now for a 3D printing pen. It was hard for me to imagine how that actually worked until I watched the video. It is pretty cool! You insert plastic filaments and it heats up and works somewhat like a hot glue gun, but dries quickly. Surprisingly, this pen is pretty affordable! I’m not sure what the final sell price will be but on kickstarter, you could purchase the first version of the pen for $70 and the refills will be around $10 for 10 inserts. For more info check out their website.

 

LIX THE SMALLEST 3D PRINTING PEN from LIX 3D PEN on Vimeo.

DIY Garbage Disposal Fresheners

 

I have been using the plink garbage disposal cleaner but what’s better than something cheaper and better for the environment? So I found a great link telling me how to create these garbage disposal cleaners from Savvy Sugar. The only ingredients you need is:

 

• 3/4 cup baking soda
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1/2 teaspoon liquid dish soap
• 1 lemon

1. Mix together the baking soda and salt.

2. Add the dish soap, stirring it in.

3. Grate the lemon peel and stir into mixture.

4. Squeeze and mix approximately 3 tablespoons of lemon juice.

5. Scoop the mixture into a teaspoon and put onto parchment paper. Keep doing this until you have ran out of the mixture. Allow to dry overnight. The teaspoon was not working very well, so I rolled the mixture into balls.

6. Put the refreshers in a tightly sealed jar or container.

To use: When your sink is smelling funky or you think its time to give it a refresh, run your disposal with water for about a minute, then add the refresher and let the ingredients work its magic!

April Showers Bring May Flowers

 

The weather in Portland has been quite bipolar as of late. I always remember the phrase April showers bring May flowers and long for the sunny weather. Last spring I visited a beautiful place, the Wooden Shoe Tulip Fest. If you have never been I highly suggest it.  I enjoyed taking many photos of the different varieties of Tulips and wanted to share just a few. There were also some cool old steam engines!

 

 

Hope you can get out and enjoy the beautiful spring!

Color Series: Yellow

 

 

Yellow, the color of the sun. The wonderful sun we are finally starting to see in the Pacific Northwest, you see it has been hiding all winter! What better way to celebrate Spring and the sun by sharing some very cool yellow spaces.

 

Design Milk

 

Lonny

 

Sarah M Dorsey Designs

 

Elle Decoration

 

Style At Home

 

Lonny

 

Desire to Inspire

Arch Daily

Hope the yellow designs brightened your day

Spring Cleaning

 

This weekend I was finally home and had the urge to do some cleaning. The house has been a mess lately! I did get a lot of inspiration from the recent posts by I heart Organizing and her clean home challenge. All month Jen has been posting cleaning tasks in the goal of having a cleaner more organized home in less time. I love that her cleaning methods are green. I have personally found that the common toxic formulas like 409 and Windex really bother me. I have started using Seventh Generation disinfecting multi purpose spray and I also use the method glass cleaner. I am in the process of purging most of my other cleaning items. I love that Jen uses just a few basic things to create her cleaners, makes everything simple!

These were some of my favorite posts Jen put up: Make your own natural cleaners, cleaning oven, cleaning windows with DIY spray, vacuum mattress, and wipe down trims and doors. I made the super easy baking soda and essential oil mix for sprinkling on your mattress and vacuuming up and it smells so good! I have been using baking soda and vinegar for awhile as they are great multi purpose cleaning products that are cheap and natural! I have loved the results. Here you can see the many uses of vinegar and baking soda uses.

                         

                           Here are some of my environmentally friendly cleaning products

Of course I checked some things off my weekly cleaning checklist but I also did some other things.  I cleaned out my toaster oven which was really dirty! I could not get the stuck on gunk off the inside of the glass, until I did a google search and found to make a paste using baking soda and water, apply it and let it sit for a bit and wipe it off. It worked like magic! Sorry I don’t remember the specific link or I would share it.I attempted to get the toaster oven pan clean as well as the stove pans clean, but just could not get all the gunk off. Any tips?

I was disgusted when I saw all the crumbs, sprinkles, macaroni etc. hiding under the toaster oven and microwave! Eww. I took everything off the counter and gave it a deep clean. This area often gets neglected but it is a great hiding place for crumbs. I also took this opportunity to rearrange the counters a bit. I actually have a decent size kitchen for an apartment, but of course I still don’t have enough room for all my things!

Check out an old post I have for deep cleaning, showing how to clean the microwave, dish washer, washing machine and sink disposal. I try hard to be a better cleaner and have come along ways from my college days! I’m still learning! What are your favorite cleaning methods?

Swoon worthy closets

 

As spring is just around the corner, it’s time for many of us to switch out our wardrobes for the lighter and brighter pieces. That is unless you are luck enough to have one of these amazing closets below Oh I dream of the day of having a walk in closet. That sounds so heavenly. Currently my guy and I share a standard size closet and boy is that tough! Below these photos check out some of my tips on keeping your closet organized.

 

Apartment Therapy

 

Fresh Home

Style At Home

Alias Vaughn

 

Made by Girl

 

My House my Home

 

Decor Pad

 

Merricksart

 

Organization Tips

Buy a scarf hanger ( I have this one below)

Elle Decor

Use these super slim hangers (similar), I promise they have made a huge difference in how much I can fit in my closet and the velvety material on the hangers keeps your clothes from slipping off. I have bought packs of 50 at Costco and also packs at Ross, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Home Goods type of discount stores for reasonable prices.

Inspired Wives

 

A system to organize your shoes according to the space you have, I use this shoe rack and we also have a shoe rack in our entrance. It’s still not enough though! I also have my flip flops and sandals contained in a basket.

Storables

 

A system to organize your bags and purses. Since I am so tight on space, I currently am using my Thirty One large utility bag and within that I hold all my purses, backpacks, and other bags. Nothing fancy but it works for the space I have.

 

The Home School Scientist

 

Invest in under the bed storage plastic containers to keep items you don’t use often or out of season items out of the way. You can also use these with the space storage bags, which really work to flatten out your items and make things smaller.

 

 

Get some skirt/pant hangers to help save space

 

A belt holder will keep all your belts organized and easy to get to

 

I hope these tips helped you to keep your closet as organized as possible. I have found that every closet is different and you have to figure out what works for you. You will notice many of the beautiful closets you see show a few shirts and a few pants hanging in the closet, but that isn’t reality. Most people have many more clothing items then that, so find what works for you and for your closet. I would love to hear your stories and photos on what you do to keep your closet organized.