Summer Pinterest Challenge #1

Posted by Nick in DIY on July 9, 2012  ||  23 Comments

Custom-Artwork

Amber and I are doing our own separate Pinterest Challenge posts, so mine will post today and her’s will post tomorrow. They work together but are different projects (read too long for one post).


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Above is my inspiration image. Yes, I understand that it is making fun of the genre, but when I saw it I had an idea. Basically I wanted to find a cheap vintage piece of art, so I could put a type treatment on top of it. Finding a vintage landscape-ish piece was on the top of my list when we went to the Nashville Flea last month.

This is the piece we found. Amber wasn’t sold on it, but she knew I had a plan which never happens when we antique shop. (Side Note: Amber wasn’t the only person not feeling it. When we were showing our scores at the flea to some of Amber’s family members in TN, the only nice thing they had to say about this one was “Well, it’s got a nice frame.”)

The first thing I did was remove the artwork from the frame.

Boy howdy, was that bad boy filthy. A little windex and some elbow grease and the glass looked good as new.

With the glass and artwork separated, Amber took the frame to the garage to update it with a bit of flat black spray paint after she primed it of course.

Here are the supplies I started off with to layout the type:

  1. 2 in. white helvetica letters from office depot. I bought 2 packets for about $5 each.
  2. Wax paper
  3. Yard Stick
  4. Iced Tea (optional)

Originally, I thought I would use the yard stick and lay them out by hand. This proved to be really difficult and looked bad. Unhappy with the results I regrouped a bit.

After a text message conversation with Mrs Weydeck (Her husband and Amber were in the group text as well, no funny business happening at Wills Casa), an expert seemingly at all things craft, I decided to lay the type out in Photoshop, print it out, and use it as my guide.

Using the printed text under the wax paper proved to be much easier, exact and faster. A real win-win-win situation we had working there. You probably can’t tell from the photo, but I misspelled the word is (added an extra ‘s’) in the first run…. yea, hurts to miss that one.

After the type was done, we put painters tape across the top to pull the letters off the wax paper. I used Frog Tape because it’s what we had laying around, though I would recommend using a tape made for delicate surfaces if you can.

Next I peeled the letters off the wax paper. Lots of gratuitous peeling action happening in this photo.

Here’s what the type looks like peeled off and ready to stick on the artwork.

Then we placed the type on the artwork and peeled the frog tape. Here’s the part where more delicate painter’s tape would have helped. Some of the print peeled up with the tape (you can’t really tell in fact it gives a little charming noise).

After letting the frame dry over night, we reframed the artwork and BOOM! The piece was done.

The total project cost us about $25, not too bad eh?

If you’re wondering where the quote is from, it’s a line from an old Leon Russell song seen in the video above. I actually got the idea from a vintage rolex that I saw on eBay (but appears to have sold). The quote is the main reason why I wanted it to be a landscape. I thought the quote needed to be on top of a Place.

So what do you guys think of the artwork? Any of you guys doing the Pinterest Challenge as well? We’d love to hear from you!

See this guy in our gallery wall here.

Check out what Sherry, Kate, Katie, and Michelle did for their pinterest challenge!

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Shop: Antique Archaeology Nashville

Posted by Amber in Antiquing, Shop on July 5, 2012  ||  1 Comment

One stop on our Nashville mini vacation was Antique Archaeology. It is owned by Mike from American Pickers where he sells all the things you watch him pick on tv. It’s in an old automobile factory which is beautiful and makes my early 1900s heart (stuck in a 20 somethings’ body) sing.

This locker was gorgeous and $695. When you think about it that’s not a bad price for legit antique lockers since reproductions are pretty pricey themselves.

This beauty was screaming to come home with me, but my bank account was screaming much louder. It was $1,500. There are some reasonable reproductions of spotlight lamps like this, but you know me I like the original especially when they are this lovely.

Did you notice these to the right of my the lamp? I don’t know the technical name for these, but I do know I want to own some. They weren’t for sell which I found was the case with some of the things I really wanted. Honestly it wouldn’t have matter I had already maxed out my car and budget from the flea.

The lighting options were killer. The top left candelier was $495. Totally worth it, but I have no where to put it. The top right chandelier was $400. The smaller lights at the bottom were around $150 or so. I felt like the lighting options were amazing and reasonably priced.

Overall, the store has amazing things to look at. I mean it’s all extremely unique and super old antique. It’s more of a tourist draw though. There were a lot of people buying shirts and other souvenirs. I don’t watch the show, so I didn’t remember them picking any particular items. (My dad was telling the context of several pieces.) However I felt the store was worth the trip to Downtown Nashville. You get to see a well curated store with pieces that are truly rare.

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Happy Fourth!

Posted by Nick in Side Note on July 4, 2012  ||  2 Comments

Happy Fourth of July everybody! It’s time to fire up the grill and lounge by the pool! We’re having the family over for burgers and lots of dessert.

One cool thing about our neighborhood is that (with a small donation to the local rotary), every morning of a major American holiday we wake up to a flag in our yard (seen above). They line our entire street and it’s pretty neat to drive down. I don’t think we realized when we moved in how much we would like that.

 

In other news, it looks like the Pinterest Challenge is back…..so I guess we know what we’ll be doing this weekend. We started the planning process last night, but we haven’t nailed down exactly what we’re going to do yet. Anyone else out there jumping in on this one?

We hope you enjoy the holiday and make sure to be safe if you’re lighting explosives!

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Loot from the Nashville Flea

Posted by Amber in Antiquing on July 3, 2012  ||  2 Comments

I know you are all itching to see what we took home from the Nashville flea, so here goes the awesomeness.

The beautiful vintage rectangular box was $25. We are thinking about planting a ton of succulents in it. It could go on the formal dining room table or the kitchen island. The only problem with that is I am the only person on earth that kills succulents (note the plural there…yes it has happened more than once).

The task lamp was $10. Too cute and way too cheap to pass up.

The ammo box and 3 brass animals – squirrel, duck, and elephant – were $20. Nick was on a roll buying boxes to use as planters. He also has a thing for squirrels.

The canister set was $20. I loved the pattern on it. I thought I could use couple of them in Ramona’s kitchen. She is also a fan of the pattern, so maybe she’ll be thrilled enough to clean up all her kitchen toys.

Amazing flower print for a $1. Seriously. I wish they had more because I would have stocked up even though I know it will be months (possibly years) before this ever sees a frame.

Ampersand was $15. We are thinking spray painting the inside and maybe just maybe putting lights in it. Whatever it’s awesome.

Large painting was $12. Nick was on a mission to find vintage boxes for planters a landscape painting. He has an idea that’s sweet and awesome…stay tuned.

Wood block print of von Plehve place in Leon Springs, Texas was $30. It is signed which is typically a good sign for art. Some googling led me here and here. I officially want to take a road trip to see it.

These huge letters that just so happen to spell LOVE were $45 per letter. At $180 this was the largest purchase in scale and financially. They are going to be spray painted (color to be announced) and placed on the mantel in the formal living room.

Just to give you an idea of how massive these letters are here is a cute little girl in Santa pjs (in July) to be a frame of reference for you.

**Update: See how the letters turned out here.

Bertoia chair for $10. It is broken on both sides, but you can sit on it. Don’t sit back though. I’m pretty sure it can be welded and fixed. I am not sure if it’s real, but the wires sit on top of the frame which is a sign that it’s real.

Our grand total was $323 which was under the $400 we budgeted. We did however have to put Nick’s golf clubs and the Bertoia in my parents’ car because our SUV was loaded to the max.

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June Goal Check

Posted by Amber in Side Note on July 2, 2012  ||  Comments Off on June Goal Check

It’s that time of the month again…you know where I share how I’m doing on my goals.

1. Complete at least 1 crafty project per month.

So last month I crafted for a baby shower. This month I sewed a nursing cover as the gift. Leave it to me to sew my gift the day before the shower. (I told you it was super easy to make.) I completed this goal on June 1st and didn’t care to get crafty at any other point in the month.

2. Read at least 1 book per month.

I finished the rest of the Sookie Stackhouse novels. Overall I love the series. I love Eric and Sookie together. (Alan Ball please take note.) I do not like how Deadlocked ended. It makes me anxious for the final book (hurry up May 2013). I have a feeling it’s not going to be the happily ever after for my favorite vamp and his woman. I have a ton of hilarious and thought provoking comparisons between the books and True Blood, but it’s too difficult to write about since it would only make sense if you know the series (both book and tv) incredibly well. I’ll spare the blogosphere, but here’s an open invitation to come to la casa and talk for hours about all things Sookie any time.

Technically didn’t read Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter. I listened to it on the drive to Nashville. The concept is insanely original. I love how actual historical facts are woven with the fictional storyline. It’s probably better if you read it, because it’s a little difficult to follow the switch from narration to diary entry when you are listening and it happens constantly throughout the book.

I listend to The Chocolate War on the way back to Dallas. It deals with bullying in a Catholic high school. As a former teacher there are parts in the book that made me wonder how often I contributed to bullying because the bully was pushing my agenda. It is hard to explain, but it was a good book with a slightly unsettling ending. The book just ends and doesn’t wrap up like books (especially young adult) normally do.

3. Do more fun things with Ramona.

June was full of fun for Ramona. She went to VBS at my parent’s church which she still talks about weeks later. Nick takes her swimming almost every night. She has no fear of the water which of course terrifies me. She is working on a pretty sweet tan. She definitely has Nick’s complexion. Ramona was amazing on the 12 hour drive to Nashville and even better on the way home. It makes me think we should do more road trips with her. She had a ton of fun playing with her cousins and being the baby of the family.

Please tell me I am not the only mom who lets her child leave the house in a ridiculous outfit. Ramona insisted on being Snow White (and wearing slippers) to the Fort Worth food park. We only went for cupcakes (that were sold out anyway), so we weren’t there for long. Sometimes I am just too tired to fight the small things because honestly it’s not worth it. At 2 she is very opinionated about what she wears (always a fancy dress), so I typically let her pick out what she wears every day. I normally don’t put my foot down unless it’s dress up clothes and in this case not even then!

4. Journal every day.

This was Nick’s father’s day breakfast – heart shaped eggs in a basket and buttermilk pancakes from scratch. Ramona finally got to serve her daddy breakfast in bed. I feel like my journal revolved around food this month…actually this seems to be a theme every month. So um July I vow to diet and workout but after the 4th because I am going to delay that goal as long as possible.

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Mini Vacation at the Nashville Flea

Posted by Amber in Antiquing on June 28, 2012  ||  4 Comments

We headed for Nashville last weekend. It was technically for a family reunion of sorts, but you know us Wills we had to get our antique shop on at the Nashville Flea Market.

But not before we tasted the local hipster coffee, so we pumped ourselves with locally roasted caffeine goodness and headed to the flea slightly less sleepy eyed. (Just so you know our thoughts Crema is not as good as Portland’s Stumptown but is still delicious.)

I’m just going to share all the cool stuff we didn’t buy and save all our purchases for later. Otherwise this would be the longest blog post in the history of the internet.

This was an interesting box that I thought could hold our gold flatware. It was $97 which is cheaper than other newer (less awesome) options that I’ve seen. I probably would have bought it if I could have refinished it. I knew it had been refinished because I could still smell the poly. The stain didn’t look even, and it had an odd shine to it.

This sucker was huge. I loved it. I mean who doesn’t want to own a big brass elephant?? Well it was $375 (I think). I have my brass deer, so I couldn’t justify Elmer here at that price.

I would have loved to take these lockers home. I think they were $125 each for the green ones. I don’t really have a place for them in the house and absolutely didn’t have room for them in the car. There was an amazing selection of reclaimed materials like the window in this picture, mantles and doors. Amazing.

There are a few pyrex patterns that I’m obsessed with, and this new dot is one of them. The green bowl is rare, so it’s pretty difficult to find a complete set of 4. Yet here it was sitting there for me. It was $150 which is what they go for on eBay. There was too much that demanded my money to buy them at a price I can get them any time. Til next time bowls.

There’s lots to love in this picture, but seriously look at how awesome that mid century dresser is. It was $50…no joke. It was sold, but I couldn’t have taken it home anyway. Although I might have tried, so I’m slightly glad I didn’t have to consider it.

What the what!! A legit Hudson Bay Blanket in my favorite pattern. (I checked the tag this time.) It was $200. The guy said he added $50 to the price if his cases are already set up on it. I would have bought it for $150 (maybe). It was in good shape, but it did have a few stains. There’s no way I will ever make it to a flea market before the vendors get all set up, so I’d have to eat that $50 every time.

We finished our shopping with a very loaded down car (again I’ll share our purchases later). Nick found this article, so I took my very sunburned self to Mas Tacos Por Favor. It was delicious, but the people who worked there were sooo nice. I mean genuinely sweet and happy to serve the east Nashville hipster population (oh and a sunburned girl and her man).

**Update: See what we bought here.

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A Whole Lotta Framing Going On

Posted by Amber in Side Note on June 20, 2012  ||  8 Comments

So it’s no big surprise that 1. we like to frame things on the cheap (specifically in Ikea Ribba frames) and 2. it takes us forever to complete project (no specific link there just read the blog regularly and you’ll realize it). Here’s a story post about 2 prints we’ve had forever and how I finally framed them.

 

This is Ramona’s frog dog hog log bog print that we picked up at an etsy Dallas show (maybe like a year ago!!). Ikea’s frames come with a mat, but it’s dimensions didn’t work with the print.

Instead of getting a mat cut, I just taped the print on top of the mat that came with the frame.

Use scrapbooking tape so you don’t ruin the print or the mat. It’s double-sided tape that peels off easily in case it isn’t perfectly straight the first time.

It will eventually be hung over the toilet in Ramona’s bathroom. Yeah I framed it and then set it back in the pile until I actually hang it…that’s still progress though right?

Onto one of my favorite prints, this chair eye exam print was purchased from Fab.com in November (wowza). I loooove this print. However I don’t so much like the cream print on the white mat. There’s too much white space. Being cheap on framing is a plus, but not when it doesn’t do the print justice.

I went to Hobby Lobby to have a black mat cut. It was only $12. It frames (pun intended) the print and allows the focus on the on the awesome chairs and the quirkiness of the eye exam layout.

I set it on top of the dresser turned buffet in the dining room. It was always the plan to put this in the dining room as a joke about all our chair drama (here and here) before we decided on the bentwoods. It looks even more amazing with the black mat. It wouldn’t have looked nearly as good without blocking out all the white space around it.

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Grandma’s Goods

Posted by Amber in Antiquing on June 15, 2012  ||  Comments Off on Grandma’s Goods

My Grandma came to visit from San Diego back in April. We had a good time antiquing (we found this together). Since I’m pretty much her favorite granddaughter, she sent me some family heirlooms/cool stuff that I don’t have to wait to inherit.

This is a Fenton Carnival Glass Stag and Holly Cobalt Blue Bowl. It was my great-great-grandmother’s. My grandma got it from her mother (my great grandma Pickett) who got it from her mother-in-law (my great-grandfather’s mother). I am spelling that out as much for you as I am for myself.

My grandma wasn’t sure if it was worth anything, so thank you internet for allowing me to do some research. All I knew was my great-grandma said it was a  Stag and Holly. I googled it until I found the same bowl. It ranges from $113 to $180. Of course I wouldn’t sell a family piece no matter how much it would have been.

Apparently one way to tell if it’s a legit Fenton is if the stags are sticking out their tongues. Well here’s a close up and sure enough that Stag is trying to make out with the holly.

When Grandma toured the house, I told her we were going to collect milk glass for the hutch. She said she has a collection, so she sent me this bowl. It’s similar to our cake stand with the oval webbing around the edge.

Nick made some salted caramels just to make the bowls look even more awesome than we thought possible.

Thanks Grandma! You’re the best! Love your favorite granddaughter.

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Sew Cool Nursing Cover

Posted by Amber in Sewing on June 5, 2012  ||  1 Comment

Spoiler alert: If you invite me to your baby shower, there’s a 100% chance that I am going to make this for you.

As I mentioned yesterday, I threw a baby shower for my friend Kristina. I knew she needed a nursing cover since she registered for one, so I thought I can make that.

I used Prudent Baby’s tutorial. It was so easy. I had a yard of Joel Dewberry’s Rose Bouquet in Amber from the photobooth for Ramona’s 2nd birthday (see cute picture here).

I added to the tutorial just slightly. I bought a wash cloth at Target and cut it to fit the right corner (since Kristina is right handed).

I just pinned it under the hem before sewing the bottom. Then again when I sewed the side. I didn’t sew the top of the washcloth, so it can function as a pocket. Also it’s a wash cloth to wipe that sweet baby’s face when she has milk mouth!

Here’s Kristina modeling her nursing cover! The straps are adjustable. When I make another one (yes there will be more, lots more), I am going to make the short strap even shorter, so the D rings sit on your chest. That way you can adjust it one handed without having to reach around your neck.

Here’s the breakdown:

  • Fabric: $0 (on hand – but it was $10.50 when I bought it for the photobooth)
  • D Rings: $2 (a package will make 2 nursing covers since there are 4 rings)
  • Boning: $1.50
  • Washcloth: $2 (I bought an individual one because it’s softer)

Total $5.50 or $16 if you have to buy the fabric

The one at Babies ‘R Us is $36.99…win

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May Goal Check

Posted by Amber in Side Note on June 4, 2012  ||  Comments Off on May Goal Check

May is always busy around here. It begins with Nick’s birthday (which is celebrated for about 2 weeks), and our anniversary falls right there near the end. This is the first year I haven’t had all the end of school year stress/paperwork added to it, so I took that opportunity to pretty much kill my goals.

1. Complete at least 1 crafty project per month.

My best friend since 4th grade Kristina had her 1st baby in April (the 27th to be exact). Kristina is a brave soul who didn’t find out the sex of the baby until delivery (such patience), so she opted to have the shower after Lyla was born. I made 2 buntings for the cakes, 2 flower arrangements, and painted the L. Of course if you’ve ever hosted a baby shower (or birthday party…), you know there’s more to it than that. All those lovely decisions that have to be made so it will all look just right – a total right-brained, crafty labor of love.

Oh yeah and I finally added straps to Ramona’s romper I made last year. Small craft. Minimal sewing. New wearable outfit.

2. Read at least 1 book per month.

I began with Michael J. Fox’s book A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future. Yet another read inspired because it was free on Amazon Prime. It is basically like a long commencement speech. I liked it. It was an easy read and made me laugh. Crazy to think that Fox dropped out of high school, moved to the states (he’s from Canada), and then succeeded in Hollywood. He did talk about how he reads a lot of books that are turned into movies which may have influenced my next book choice(s)…


via (but I did add the little READING banner to make it apply to me)

Yeah that’s right I read 7 more books after I already met my goal this month. I probably would have finished more, but I checked these out from the library (Kindle + Free Digital Library Books = best. thing. ever.) and had to wait to get a few of them. I seriously read about 1 a day in the Sookie Stackhouse series. I have been thinking about reading it since I saw it on the 40 Books You Won’t be Able to Put Down list.

I always read the book before I watch the movie, but I thought tv is different. I tried reading Dexter once and couldn’t make it through (too much alliteration??). I watch True Blood, so I kinda knew what to expect for the first 4 books. Now that I am 7 books into the series, here are a few of my thoughts…

  • The characters are a million times more likeable in the books. I mean a million.
  •  You don’t have to deal with subplots that aren’t related to Sookie and whatever shenanigan she’s gotten herself into now.
  • There are some things HBO has done that are really smart that aren’t likely to happen in the books.

I don’t want to say more because I still have 5 more books to read. I was a little leery of starting such a long series. I figured at some point it would just get stupid for lack of material, but Harris has keep it suspenseful and created characters you actually care enough about to continue reading. I don’t know if Harris will write more after the 12th (okay just googled and according to this there will be a 13th and final book), but I am 7 books in and can’t get enough. I am sure I will finish the series in June and will have more thoughts on my next goal check. Go read them now. Then chat with me about them because I’m dying to sort through my feelings about the books and the show and all my inappropriate feelings toward a certain vampire who shall remain nameless…

3. Do more fun things with Ramona.

Ramona had her first official sleepover with her BFF/cousin Macie. Of course her cousins have slept over before, but this was just a girls night (and it wasn’t because Macie needed to have a babysitter). Dinner was complete with cupcakes then a trip to the park. Mainly because they needed to run off the sugar. (Notice the purse…I can’t get enough of color blocking.) Getting them to sleep is always difficult, but other than that they played so well and had so much fun. We need to move west in a bad way, so this can happen more often.

4. Journal every day

Mother’s day began with breakfast in bed. Nick and Ramona made me Nutella and banana crepes. As I look through my journal it is filled with food stories. Nick has been a cooking machine lately. I even got pancakes in bed for no reason the other day. (Also he doesn’t eat carbs, so it’s not like he was making them for himself.) I have been so blessed with a wonderful husband who always does sweet things for his girls. I hope Ramona thanks him later for showing her what it is to be an amazing husband and father. (Did you see the precious Knuffle Bunny picture of the 2 of them?)

So maybe all this public accountability has helped me!

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