DIY Wood Frames

This is the cross that my Mom and I had made. I wanted it put on a piece of wood, and make the cross stand out.  In order to do that, I made a trip to Home depot and purchased some wood. I had to buy a huge piece because I needed specific measurements. So, I went ahead and asked the friendly worker if he would be so kind to cut me some more of the same piece and some in different sizes. I went home with a lot of wood, needless to

say.

I came up with this 'Genius Idea' to make picture frames from some of the pieces of wood. I already had some 8x10 frames that I wasn't using. I spray painted them brown, painted Provence Chalk Paint, and sanded them down. Then I sanded the 25x25 piece of wood, painted, sanded again. I attached a hanging wire on the back of the wood. Next, I nailed the picture frame to the wood (like I was hanging it on the wall). I'm sure there is a more professional way to do this, but it works:). I almost put wood glue and glued the frame to the wood. I changed my mind in case I ever want to switch out the picture.  I got a lot of wood for different projects for $10. If you walked into a gift boutique, you would pay $50 or more for a frame that looks like the one I just made.

Canvas Art Work

Cooper painted a canvas red and sponged (or rather with a towel) the baseball. We used three different colors to make the ball look a little dirty. I outlined the circle for him, but he did the rest. I framed it along with some other art work he has done. I'm thinking about hanging a collage of these in his room or play room. Don't know yet.

20x20 Picture Frame Redo

This picture is taken with my camera phone, so it's not the best. Nonetheless, I had this frame, that I absolutely love the chunkiness of it, but I didn't want the black. So, I pulled out my great Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and repainted the frame to old white. Then I sanded down the edges to give it a little bit of an aged look. Now, I waiting on some picures of the kiddos to come in the mail and the frame will hang above my couch downstairs. Yea!

Wood Cross

This past weekend my Mom and I spent all day making Wood Crosses together. This has been something she has wanted me to do with her for almost a year now. There is a little 'Story' behind the crosses. My Aunt made my Mom one last year. It had different items on the cross that were 'Meaningful' to my Mom. My Aunt Dado and my Mom were wanting to get the all the women together in the family, and do these crosses together. Well, we all planned on meeting one weekend, but it fell through and never got rescheduled. Needless to say, It was my mom and I who ended up doing the crosses together. She had the wood already cut and glued together. We painted the crosses ivory. (The cross my Aunt did for my Mom was Black in the background) Then we started gluing with Tacky Glue, things such as, Jewels, shells, beads, etc. to our cross.

all of our beads from old jewelry

This is my cross finished. I really want to get a large piece of wood in the shape of a square and have more wood added as a border around that piece. Paint it. Put this cross in the middle to help off-set the craziness that is going on in the cross! Ha!

This is my Mom's cross she is going to hang in her office at work.

On my cross, I modgepodged, in the middle a picture of Cooper's sonogram and a picture of Tristan's sonogram.

This is my Magnolia flower, that was given to me when I was initiated as an AOII.



The time on the watch is set for 5:30, because that's what time I was born. I also put a pin of a little dachshund with a diamond collar, on my cross. For my prissy Savannah, she is my first child, after all. The whole cross itself represents Blake and I. That is why I decorated the cross in seashells. I have some shells that the kids picked up at the beach, from our last beach trip and some that my mom had bought. There was still a little sand in them.



While we were decorating our crosses, the kids painted. Cooper picked out a pirate ship at Michael's Craft Store, and Tristan picked out a dog house. It has a stuff animal that goes inside.



Brother and Sister Handprint Canvas

I painted Cooper and Tristan's handprints on canvas. I turned thier handprints into fishies. I'm going to get a picture of them together at the beach or pool and have it framed with the canvas. Cute Idea to do with your kids for the summer. Or, if you didn't want to do siblings, you could do Mommy and Child handprints.

Playing with the Camera

If you haven't learned already from reading my blog, but two of my many greatest passions are photography and my children. If there's anything I've learned about these kiddos growing up, it is how fast they do grow up! When you are little, you are "Eating" to get bigger, you can't wait to turn 16 years old so you can have more freedom, etc, etc. Well, now that I'm 31, I'm like, "HOLD UP! Let's SLOW IT DOWN A NOTCH!" I love that Country Song by Trace Adkins. I think it's called something like, Your Gonna Miss This, Your gonna wish these day's hadn't gone by so fast...

So, there is nothing that I love more than taking pictures of these FLEETING moments that are of my children. Because one day, they aren't going to be this little. I will always treasure these sweet memories. 

 I love how out of the blue, Cooper will look at me and say, "Mommy, I love you!". And he will give me a sweet Cooper hug. I love how he is very sensitive, just like his Mommy. It will help him have compassion one day.  I love how you teach him once and that's all it takes. He's smart as a whip and I love that he's all boy!  I love how Tristan has to have: not ONE, but TWO paci's at bedtime. She likes rubbing the one that's not in her mouth. I love how she has the sweetest voice I have ever heard and she loves babies so much that we have to stop and look at every one.  I love how she loves princesses, her blankie, and how she calls her brother YA-YA. 

With all that being said...Sorry, if you get tired of ALL the pictures of my kiddos. But, for me, my Blog has been the best scrapbook ever!



I love this aged photo! Reminds me of the 60's!



I had my cousin Jennifer  take pictures of the kids and recently got the pictures back on a cd. They are posted on my blog under Photography by Jennifer Neely. Cooper and Tristan's Phootshoot, 2011. The kids saw them and remembered how we made a Tent. Ha! They wanted to make a tent like the one in our picture. Cooper said he was going to put on his handsome clothes. Love it! He came downstairs with one of his ties. So Cute.  So, I tried to rig a tent the best I could in my front yard. I guess I have finally trained my kids well, and now they know what to do when I pull out my camera. :) 

Thrift Store Redo!

Purchased this End Table at a local thrift store for a whopping $13.00.

I sanded the top and applied a Walnut Stain

The rest of the table was painted with Old White, Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. I took off the handles and spray painted them in Rustoleum Chocolate Brown. I only sanded over the scroll in the drawer. Giving it a "little aged" look. It's amazing what paint can do! I also love this peice because now I have extra drawer storage and a place to put another basket or magazines! My options are limitless!