Canvas Sign

In my mudroom post yesterday, I promised a tutorial on how to make the sign that I had up on the shelf.  So here it is!

I saw this subway sign from Tatertots and Jello and loved the quote and the left justification of the letters.  I decided to use canvas instead of wood for my sign.  Our local dollar store often gets in cheap canvases and I always stock up on a few.  This one is 12 x 16.  

MATERIALS

• canvas
• black and white paint
• paint brush or sponge brush
• sanding paper
• scrapbook paper (2 coordinating papers)
• black ink
• 2 and 3 inch circle punches for the flowers (or draw your own circles)
• 2 buttons
• vinyl or stencils
• glue or double sided tape

INSTRUCTIONS

There are basically three ways {and probably more!} that you can do the lettering on the canvas depending on what materials you have on hand.  I'll start with how I did mine but I will describe the other ways that it can be done at the end.

• Paint your canvas black.

• Cut out your vinyl saying on the Silhouette and, using the negative space, adhere it to your canvas.  Make sure that the edges of the letters are pressed down firmly.  If you don't have access a vinyl cutter, you could use letter stencils.

• Paint over the vinyl letters with white paint.  I did 2 coats of paint on mine.  You could use more if you wanted more of a solid white colour.  I liked having a little bit of the black showing through.

• Once the paint is dry, peel away the vinyl.  You can use a black sharpie to touch up any areas that the paint has bled through or if you would like the edges of your letters to be a little sharper.
• Sand over the front of the canvas and along the edges.  

I think the method I used was probably the most time consuming but it gave me the look I wanted.  To save a huge amount of time, you could just cut out your vinyl letters (using the positive aspect), attach them to the painted canvas and be finished.  I didn't do this because (a) I didn't have any white vinyl and (b) I wanted more of a shabbier look.  

The other option is to adhere the vinyl letters (using the positive aspect) to an unpainted canvas.  Paint over the entire canvas using black paint and then remove the letters revealing the white canvas below.  The only thing to note with this is that you won't have the option of using your sharpie to correct any mistakes.

For the Flowers:

Using two coordinating scrapbook papers, cut two 3 inch circles (one of each pattern) and two 2 inch circles (one of each pattern).  I distressed the edges of mine with this little tool from Making Memories.

It just roughens up the edges of the paper a bit {you could also use the sharp edge of your scissors}.

Flower One: Crumple up the 3 inch circle.  Unfold and distress the edges and creases with black ink.  Cut small "V's" in the 2 inch circle to form your flower.  Make sure that you do not cut all the way into the center.

Repeat around the entire circle.  Ink the edges of the circle and slightly fold the petals forward to add a little dimension.  Add a button to the center.

Flower Two: Repeat the cutting procedure above for both the 2 and 3 inch circles.  Stagger them on top of each other and add the button.

Attach the flowers with glue or double sided tape and you are finished! A cute sign to give you a little morning smile!

Have a great day!


I have linked up with Eighteen 25, A Beach Cottage, Paisley Passions, Katie's Nesting Spot, Delightful Order, The Blessed Nest, The Stories of A2Z, Shanty 2 Chic, Polly Want a Crafter, I Heart Naptime, Under the Table and Dreaming, Be Different Act Normal, Funky Junk Interiors, Tatertots and Jello, Whipperberry, Craft Goodies, Tidy Mom, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Night Owl Crafting, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Somewhat Simple, Christina's Adventures, Lil' Luna, Blue Cricket Design, Tip Junkie, Today's Creative Blog, The Tattered Tag, Skip To My Lou, Keeping It Simple, The Girl Creative, Craft-O-Maniac  DIY Showoff, and CRAFT. 

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Organize Everything - The Front Entry and Mudroom (part 2)

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!  It has been sooo COLD here this week!  I am definitely looking forward to some warmer weather {come on Spring!}
Well, I am finally getting around to sharing my mudroom/front entry organization.  We have two main entrances that we use to our house - the front door and the door off of our garage {which basically goes into our laundry room}  I kept the majority of the kids gear in the laundry room and used the front entry and main closet for the adult storage.
It was kind of an awkward space to take pictures of but here is the kids' mudroom:

I have had the shelf and hooks for a while and bought the bench from Home Depot {it was around $60 Canadian and came with the stain resistant cushion}.  I also had the bins from before and just added some vinyl numbers to them.

I did have some trouble getting the vinyl to stick initially but found that if I heated it a bit with my hairdryer and then pressed it in firmly down, it stayed better.  It has been a few days without any problems so I will let you know how it goes!  The number 1 bin is for Connor's shoes, the number 2 bin is for hats and mitts, and the number 3 is for Matthew's shoes.

Mornings are very hectic around here and definitely not my favorite part of the day.  I made this canvas sign to remind me to smile! {I'll post the tutorial tomorrow!}

It's hard to tell but there is also a bottom row of hooks underneath the jackets, to hold Matthew's backpack and for Connor to be able to hang his own coat up.  I would love to add some board and batten in here but that will have to wait for another day!

Since I am the only one that parks in the garage (we only have a single car garage}, I have my own little organization station right off the garage to hold my car keys, loose change, sunglasses, and any other goodies that I may have in my pockets.
Now on to the front entry.

When you come in the front door, there is a bench {with storage inside} and a pebble boot tray for the kids' wet boots when we walk home from school.  To the other side of the door is a basic shoe stand.

Almost all of our storage goes in this hallway closet.  It's not the most beautiful but it functions well!

I bought these hooks from the Home Depot and added the vinyl {KEYS} above them.  I was originally just going to use it for our car and house keys but I went back and bought another set of the hooks to organize the rest of our random keys too!

The bins above hold our mitts, scarves etc. and the third bin is for all of our dog's toys, leashes, and other items.  I cut out some tags on the Silouette and attached them with a few trusty clothes pegs {I did tell you how much I love clothes pegs!}

The white cube shelf used to be in the laundry room but I moved it into the closet for some extra storage and added a few bins.  The basket above the shelf is for Dave's wallet, cell phone and other items that he wants stored out of reach of the kids.  The other basket is for umbrellas {which are well used around here!}  A couple of brooms and the mop are stored in the far corner.
If you would like to check out a few other mudrooms, I have posted some inspirational photos here. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and don't forget to enter my Scentsy and Norwex Giveaway.  Only a few days left!

I have linked up with Eighteen 25, This Blessed Nest, Shanty 2 Chic, Polly Want a Crafter, Be Different Act Normal, Funky Junk Interiors, Tatertots and Jello, Whipperberry, Craft Goodies, Tidy Mom, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Night Owl Crafting, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Somewhat Simple, I Heart Organizing, Lil' Luna, Blue Cricket Design, Tip Junkie, Today's Creative Blog, The Tattered Tag, Skip To My Lou, Keeping It Simple, The Girl Creative, DIY Showoff, CRAFT, Craft-O-Maniac, I Heart Naptime and  Under the Table and Dreaming.

The Story of Big Blue

Before Dave and I had kids, we fostered animals {mostly cats and kittens} from the SPCA.  When I was about 6 months pregnant with my first son, Matthew, the shelter had a huge increase in their kitten population.  We agreed to take on a few kittens {okay 12 kittens!} but said that they would have to be gone by the time the baby came.   Slowly, the kittens were adopted until we had one left.  I don't know why he didn't get adopted.  He was extremely sweet and affectionate and one of the cutest of the bunch.  We called him Big Blue because he was the biggest kitten that we had and the only one that came with a blue collar.

As my delivery date approached, we made plans to give Big Blue to another foster family.  We already had three cats and a dog of our own, and, with a baby on the way, did not have time for another cat.  On the day that Big Blue was going to be leaving us, Matthew decided to arrive.  We were off to the hospital at 4:30 am so Blue's transfer date was put on hold.   When we brought Matthew home, Big Blue decided that he was Matthew's little guardian angel.  Wherever Matthew was, Blue would follow.   

Two weeks after Matthew was born, we were told that he had a hole in his heart.  He was put on medication and we waited to see if he would require surgery.  Due to his low energy, eating was difficult for Matthew and he would generally nurse for about two hours at a time.  Two hours later, he would be hungry again. This made for very long nights and Big Blue was my faithful companion.  

As soon as Matthew was up, Blue was there.  He had a little mouse that he would play fetch with {I didn't even know cats did this!}.  Time after time, I would throw the mouse for Blue while Matthew nursed.  Blue would race after it and the drop it back right beside me.  When he wanted a break he would curl up on the nursing pillow beside Matthew and purr away.   This continued every night and every night I was thankful to have my Big Blue to keep me company.  

When Matthew was about 7 months old, the doctors decided that the medication was not enough for him and open heart surgery would be required.  As far as heart surgery goes, it was a common operation. For Dave and I it was a very scary thought.  

About 2 weeks before Matthew's scheduled surgery, Blue stopped eating.  We took him to the vet where they found a small mass in his intestines.  They did a biopsy and we were extremely happy when it came back negative.  Blue was placed on antibiotics and we were very hopeful that he would recover.  Over the following week, however, Blue still refused to eat and became weaker and weaker.  He continued to carry around his little mouse but could no longer play fetch.  1 week before Matthew's surgery, we had to say good-bye to our Blue.  

On August 25th, Matthew ended up finally having his surgery.  Our little miracle went from this

To this

in just one week!

I have had many pets over the years and have loved every one of them.  But I do not think I will ever have a pet like Big Blue again.  After Matthew's surgery, his nursing improved dramatically and he no longer woke up during the night.  Blue had been there while I needed him and left when his job was up.  

So why am I writing {and crying!} about this over 6 years later?  Today I was moving out our old oven to get ready for the new one and I came across this:

It's Big Blue's beloved mouse!  We miss you Blue!

I linked this up with Funky Junk.

A Little Taste of Spring

Happy Monday!  I hope everyone had a great weekend.  Dave and I had a fabulous weekend away in Vancouver with lots of relaxation time.  We had a gorgeous suite overlooking the ocean and Stanley Park.  The sun was shining and the taste of Spring was in the air.  And then today...SNOW!!!  Such is life on the Westcoast!!

Well, I didn't let a few flakes of snow stop me from looking forward to Spring.  And to bring a little Spring inside, I created this paper tree:

MATERIALS

• Styrofoam cone form 
• wood dowel or stick
• paint
• scrapbook paper in 4-5 different patterns {My paper is from My Mind's Eye}
• 2 inch circle punch
• glue {I used Quick Grip}
• black ink
• berry twigs
• tin or ceramic pot
• Spanish moss
• Styrofoam ball or florist foam to secure the tree in the tin

TO DO

First off, sorry about the lack of photos.  Our camera broke a couple of weeks ago so I was using a really old one and most of the pictures ended up blurry.  It's an easy project to do though so I am sure you will be fine!

• Before you get going, poke the wooden dowel into the bottom of the cone and then remove it.  {It is easier to get the hole set before you add the paper.}
• Trace the bottom and top of your cone onto the scrapbook paper.  Cut out the circles and glue to the bottom and top of your cone.  {This is the large pink circle on the bottom of the cone}

• Punch out circles from the patterned scrapbook paper.  Ink the edges with black ink.
• Starting at the bottom of the cone, start gluing on the circles overlapping them as you go.  I just ended up placing glue on the top half of the circles.  You do not need to cover the whole thing.
• Work your way up to the top of your tree.  At the very top I wanted my circles to extend over the top of the tree form.  You could also add an additional row of circle if you wanted it to come more to a point.

• Paint the wooden dowel dark brown.  Poke a hole through the paper in the bottom of the cone form to line up with the dowel hole that you made at the beginning of the project.  Insert the dowel.

• To get the tree to stay upright in the tin, I placed an old Styrofoam ball that I had lying around in the middle of the tin and then shoved cardboard pieces around it until it was a snug fit and the ball was stable. {You could also use florist foam.}  Stick the dowel into the ball and add some Spanish moss on top.
• I added a few berry twigs to my pot and the top of my tree.  Add ribbon or other embellishments around the pot.

And there you have a cute little tree to tide you over until Spring!

My tree is looking a little crooked from this angle but I promise that it is actually straight!  Hope you all have a great week!

I have linked up with these wonderful blogs: Nest of Posies, The CSI Project, This Blessed Nest, The Stories of A to Z, Polly Want a Crafter, Craft Goodies,  DIY Showoff, Craft-O-Maniac, CRAFT, I Heart Naptime, Under the Table and Dreaming, Be Different Act Normal, Tatertots and Jello, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Tidy Mom, Frou Frou Decor, The Speckled Dog, The Shabby Nest, Chic on a Shoestring, House of Hepworths, Katie's Nesting Spot, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Night Owl Crafting, Somewhat Simple, Passionately Artistic, Blue Cricket Design, These Creative Juices, Tip Junkie, Paper Issues, Today's Creative Blog, and The Lettered Cottage.

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Ode to the Clothes Peg

Hi everyone!  I thought I would highlight one of my favorite {and cheapest!} craft supplies: the clothes peg. These little clippers can easily be dressed up to match any colour scheme or seasonal decor.  And at about $1 for 100 pegs, you can't beat the price!  I'll share some of my projects and then some of my favorite finds from around blogland.  

Use some clothes pegs to display some of your little artist's favorite works of art.  Just paint a board, add some vinyl and glue on a few pegs!

{For those of you who would like a visual of what I look like, the picture on the right is a picture of my body}

Create a phone message board:

Dress a couple of clothes pegs up with some scrapbook paper for some clips on a menu board.  Just unclip your grocery list and off you go!

Or add some magnetic tape to the back for a cute magnet set.

Add some vinyl to a giant clothes peg for a To Do list.  I purchased this one a couple of years ago but just picked a few more up from Michaels {thanks Lindsay!}  These would also work great as photo holders.

And my final clothes peg project, was this Valentine's wreath.  Very easily adaptable to any season!

And now for some of my favorite clothes peg projects that I have come across...

Check out this amazing clothesline organization station from Freckled Laundry. The clothes pegs are numbered for the days of the month - just clip up what you need to do on each day!

Use clothes peg to make a banner like this beautiful display from Bird's Party:

Organize your papers with labelled clothes pegs.

I absolutely LOVED this give thanks board from Whipperberry.  It would make a great inspiration board or to do list.

And, finally this tea bag holder/wreath from The Girl Creative.  Functional and decorative!  This would also work great for a card holder.

So go grab some clothes pegs and get crafting!  

{and don't forget to check out my Scentsy and Norwex Giveaway!}

I linked up with Blue Cricket Design, Polly Want a Crafter, Craft-O-Maniac, Under the Table and Dreaming, I Heart Naptime, Along for the Ride, Be Different, Act Normal, Tatertots and Jello, Young and Crafty, Funky Junk Interiors, Under My Umbrella, Whipperberry, The Shabby Nest, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Tidy Mom, Christina's Adventures, Paisley Passions, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Katie's Nesting Spot, House of Hepworths and Somewhat Simple.

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100th Post Giveaway!

EDIT: THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.
I have just finished my 100th post so I thought I should celebrate with a little giveaway.  Well, actually TWO giveaways - one for the "Clean" and one for the "Scentsible"!

When I started up this blog, I really had no idea what I was doing.  Seriously...NO IDEA!!  And I definitely didn't realize that there were so many beautiful blogs out there!  I have had an amazing time learning about the blogging world and "meeting" all of you.  I truly LOVE reading your comments and checking out your fabulous blogs.  This blog has provided me with a huge source of inspiration to actually get off my butt and get things done!  And I hope that I can give a little bit of that back to you!
THE CLEAN GIVEAWAY:
Your choice of ONE of my three favorite Norwex products:

• The Basic Antibacterial Package - includes one antibacterial enviro cloth and one antibacterial window cloth.  These two little cloths are my two essential cleaning products.  {You can read more about the enviro cloths here}.  I haven't done a post on the window cloths yet but they just as fabulous!  With just water, you will get the cleanest, streak free windows ever {and they also work great on mirrors, walls, facets, and pretty much every other surface that streaks!}

• The Ultra-Power Plus Laundry Detergent.

• The Norwex Cleaning Paste.  This paste cleans, polishes and protects materials made out of chrome, stainless steel, aluminum, procelain, and other similar surfaces.  {It also does a great job on grout!}.  It is poison and acid free {unlike those other powdered cleansers}, biological, phosphate free, environmentally and skin friendly.  It also lasts FOREVER!! {well, not literally forever but I use mine quite regularly and still have 1/2 left}

THE SCENTSIBLE GIVEAWAY:

Your choice of ONE of the following Scentsy products:

• One of these super cute Scentsy buddies and your choice of Scent pack.

• Your choice of any plug-in warmer and Scentsy bar {I do have to wait until March to order these!}.

To Enter:

1. Join Clean and Scentsible as a follower {or let me know that you are!} 
2. "Like" Clean and Scentsible on facebook.

Make sure to leave separate comments if you are both a follower on google and on facebook so you can get entered twice!  The giveaway will be open for two weeks.  I will randomly draw two winners on Tuesday, March 1st.  Due to shipping costs, I have to limit this giveaway to those in Canada and the United States {sorry!}.
In order to get to know all of you a little better, I would also LOVE to hear where you are reading from - near and far!  I think it is so cool to check the stats page and see all of the different countries that come up.  Let me know where you are and I will pick one of your blogs to feature!

And, finally, one more great big Thank-You from me!

l