Just when I think I'm back...

On the 3rd Day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

a burst pipe under our kitchen sink!  Along with mold mold mold.  And destroyed pergo flooring. And destroyed cabinets...

Yes, I've been missing in action - I started the 25 Days of Pinterest only to get to day 3 and have my posts come to wet and soggy stop.  We are now completely sealed off from our kitchen and the mold Remediation company has started drying out our kitchen.  We're without cabinets, sink, oven, stove, flooring... if you need it to cook, we don't have it!  So, this has been monopolizing my time along with finishing up orders, shipping orders and, of course, Adam!

I'm hoping to finish up all of my orders and have them ALL shipped by Wednesday of this week so we can concentrate on having lots of Christmas fun!  I don't plan on posting again until after the New Year... When I started this blog, it was a showcase for my QuicKutz Ambassador projects and has evolved over the years.  I enjoy sharing different projects, recipes and ideas but have been struggling with time allotment - blogging takes up a significant amount of time! 

I'm hoping with the New Year I'll be newly organized and can get back to sharing with all of you!

I hope the holidays are very Merry for you and yours.
Andrea

25 Days of Pinterest! Day 2!

Good Morning!

Welcome back to Day 2 of the 25 Days of Pinterest posts!  I hope that you enjoyed Day 1 and felt inspired to do something, even if it was just to look at Pinterest!

Today I'm sharing a seasonal favorite, the Advent Calendar!

{Photo courtesy of twigandthistle.com}

 

Advent Calendars seem to be the big thing this year... and I can see why!  They're a fun tradition that builds the excitement for old and young alike!  I've loved them since I was a little girl and had fun making a few different ones over the years!

 

{Photo courtesy of www.marthastewart.com}

 

One of my favorite things about Advent calendars is that you can really use just about anything, as long as you have 25 of them!  Different sized envelopes taped to the wall in the shape of a tree?  Genius!

 

{photo courtesy of www.designspirationsk.com}

 

I love the simplicity and colors of this one!  And it doesn't look expensive to make, which is a huge plus in this house! Just a few clothespins, a board, number stamps or stencils, paint, decorative tape and some wrapped goodies!

 

{Photo courtesy of www.marthastewart.com}

 

I think this one is my favorite!  It's made from baby socks!  Isn't that cute!  Love it!

 

Last year we did a Book Advent calendar... you can see the posts here and here...  We're going to be doing a mixture of the Book Advent Calendar and Acts of Kindness Advent this year... unfortunately we're 2 days behind, but luckily Adam's still too little to realize that so I think we're safe this year!

 

Here's a fun, simple print and cut Advent Calendar that I made using my Silhouette Cameo!  Take a look!

 

 

All of the little banners are included in one $.99 image download from the Silhouette online store! 

 

 

 

I used red Bakers Twine and cute, red mini clothespins to hang my small number banners.  You can either hang this advent from your mantle or in a frame!  I found the pretty frame at Michael's, it's plain when you buy it, but you can paint it any color you'd like!  I liked the burnt edges and I didn't want to lose that contrast by spray painting it, so I rolled paint on!

 

Hope you have a wonderful Sunday!

Andrea

 

 

 

 

25 Day's of Pinterest! Day 1

Good Morning!

I'm over at the Penelope Lane Boutique today, talking with the fabulous vendors and ogling all the amazing creations!  If you're looking for a fun and fabulous boutique to do a little Christmas shopping at, come down and join us!

I'm so excited, because today is Day 1 of my 25 Day's of Pinterest!  I'll be sharing different Pinterest projects that I've either been inspired by or straight up copied!  I'm going to include Holiday Decor, Gifts you can purchase or make, Elf of the Shelf ideas, Recipes, Outings/Traditions and more! 

So, without further ado, here's Day 1!

{Photo courtesy of  vosgesparis.blogspot.ca via Pinterest} 

I fell in love with this idea!  I love the simplicity of the star and the rustic feel of the wood.  I believe that they used yard stakes for this star, but I could be mistaken (I looked at two pins that were similar to this).

Here's my interpretation...

I decided that I didn't want to purchase anything for this project, so I walked very nonchalantly, with my hands in my pockets and whistling, past the paint desk in Home Depot and grabbed a few paint stirring sticks maybe a few times... and then I ran!  Okay, that 's a little dramatic, but that's what I felt like I was doing!  The paint stirring sticks are free, but I'm pretty sure they'd frown on anyone taking 10 sticks at a time!  It was like I was revisiting my paint chip days!

So, I took 5 paint stirring sticks and I sanded them down to try to get the orange Home Depot a little less noticeable.  I then glued the sticks together in a star shape.  I used Gorilla Wood Glue and just did a little dab where they connected - wipe off the excess glue with a damp cloth.  I then clamped them together at each glued point and let them dry over night.

The next day I used Killz Primer - Odorless - and did a few coats on each side making sure the Orange Home Depot was completely gone.  I let this dry over night.  I then grabbed my can of cream spray paint (again, odorless) and did 2 coats of paint on each side. I let this dry again overnight.

I had a package of battery operated white lights that I typically use on my mantle so I wrapped them around the star, popped in a few batteries and BAM!  A fun, FREE (if you already have a strand of battery operated lights) Christmas decor!  You could really paint the star any color or use colored lights on the star, it's up to you!

Afterthought - I wanted my star to look a little more rustic, so I ended up sanding the edges a little to show the wood underneath.  I like it a lot more now.  I also added some greenery, ribbon and a few jingle bells and plan to put this on our front door.

Have a great Saturday!  See you tomorrow!
Andrea