Bread Charcuterie Board Decor

Hi all!

The (super easy) project I'm showing today I also tackled last week while hubbs was away. I must say, he was quite impressed with all I did while he was gone haha!

For weeks months now, I've had this charcuterie board. And yes, I did have to Google to figure out what it was even called. I may have started my search with "wooden kitchen paddle". Needless to say, I'm not the most well versed in kitchen lingo. This board was in the goodie bags at a design event a while back, and while I may not have known it's real use, I did want to do something with it!

So I transformed that simple hunk of wood into.... 

Who doesn't love Julia Child and her wise words?? 

I knew I wanted to paint it. I knew I wanted a food related quote. It's now perfect to hang in our kitchen! 

The process to do this was ridiculously simple.

Two words.

Mod Podge. 

I love the stuff! Granted, there was a tad more to it than that, but not much. I first painted the board black. You can paint yours any color your little heart desires. I've always wanted a sleek, modern, kitchen with punches of red, so I didn't distress it at all, but you easily could. I then found this quote, and arranged the words in PowerPoint into a configuration I liked, making sure it'd fit within the board when printed. 

After the paint is dry and you've printed and cropped your image, out comes the Mod Podge. I gave the painted wood a couple of coats using a foam brush, as well as the back of the paper. I wanted there to be a good barrier between the black paint and the white paper. I'm not sure if this step is necessary, but I just wanted to make sure the black didn't show through the paper. 

When all of that dried, I added another coat to the board, and carefully placed the paper where I wanted it. While that was still wet, I added a thin coat of Mod Podge to it all. You'll start to see bubbles in the paper at this point. I used an old credit card to carefully smooth all of those bubbles out. This is an important step, because if you don't get those bubbles out now, they'll be there forever. Once I was satisfied that I got the bubbles, I let the whole thing dry. 

Over the next day or so, I added a few more coats of Mod Podge, just to make sure the paper was well coated and adhered to the board. My opinion was that more coats are better than too few. 

See, that wasn't hard at all, was it? I haven't decided how I'd like to hang it yet. I'm thinking my options are to add hanging hardware to the back, or tie a fun ribbon to the hole in the board. What would you do? 

Transferring Images on a Burlap Canvas

Hey all!

Hubbs is away this week, and I frankly had nothing better to do than craft! Saturday, I made my way over to Michael's (and Home Goods... and Taco Bell....) to wander around and come up with something to do. Luckily for me, it was SALE time! My favorite as always! I was beyond thrilled when I came across a rack of different sized burlap canvases for 70% off! Yup! I had a heck of a time choosing which size, since I didn't have a particular project in mind. But I finally settled for a 3-pack of  12" x 16" flat canvases. Three.. for $3! Yippee!

Today I finished my first. What I'm going to do with the other two is a secret still up in the air for now. This was something I had never tackled before, but really wanted to for a while now. Using freezer paper to transfer a printed image or words onto fabric.

**Since originally posting, I've tackled this project a few other times, and have included tips and tricks at the bottom. So don't forget to scroll down so you become a pro way faster than I did! :) **

I knew I wanted a quote for our walls, but also knew I didn't want to freehand this one. Unlike a regular white canvas, I can't just paint over my mistakes. So I used everyone's favorite crafting resource, Pinterest, to go back to that long saved pin of mine. The site mentioned using wax paper, but I had freezer paper on hand, so that's what I used. And, boy did it work way better than I had hoped!

Here's my process (with tips along the way):

• Design an image on your computer. I used PowerPoint. Make sure that it will print the size you need. Since my canvas was bigger than my printer allowed size, I printed pieces of the image on multiple sheets. 
• If there are any words or one-directional images, go into your printer settings to "mirror" the image. 
• Don't quote me on this, but I assume any paper with at least one waxy side will work for this project. Basically, you don't want the ink to be allowed to soak into the paper and set. I used freezer paper. 

• My paper came on a roll, like most kitchen paper, so you'll need to cut it into enough sheets to print your image. Straighten the sheets using the side of a table, so they don't want to roll up as badly.
• Make sure you are using an ink-jet printer for this. Laser/toner printers just won't do! We need the ink to pool on the surface of the paper, and since Laser printers don't actually use ink, that would be a problem. 
• Carefully place a single sheet into the printer tray, making sure the waxy side will be the printed side. I had some major problems with this, because if the sheet wasn't placed well, it would start to print crooked, jamming the printer, and crinkling the paper. Luckily, freezer paper isn't expensive! 
• Do not touch the ink! Be very careful removing the sheets from the printer, and do not stack them on top of each other. Like I mentioned earlier, the ink is just sitting on top of the paper, and it can be smeared very easily. 
• Carefully place the sheets onto your canvas, ink side down. The paper is thin enough that you should't have much of an issue lining up the image correctly. Trim the paper if you need to. Then tape it to the canvas to hold it still. 
• Use an object to begin rubbing the back of the freezer paper, transferring the ink to the canvas. You can use just about anything for this, I used the handle end of the scissors that happened to be next to me at the time.  Rub, rub, and rub some more.
• Carefully lift up one side of one of the sheets, checking to see if there are spots you missed. If so, lay it back down, and keep rubbing. Repeat as necessary. 
• Even though the transfer worked wonderfully, I wanted to make it stand out a little more. So I took a sharpie (fine point), and started tracing everything. At this point, it's basically coloring, so it's not hard, I promise. Go as slowly as you need to. I used a fatter sharpie on the Oregon image, since it was more surface area. 
• Done! Now, how easy was that?? I now have a canvas that looks professionally printed, but only spent $1! Now, for the other two.... 

I promised tips, did I not?? I just wanted you to see all my pretty pictures first! ;)

~When working on a canvas larger than your printer, you have to piece together multiple prints like I did. But with wet, smudge-able ink, it's not always easy lining up all those parts and pieces. So when I split up my image, I duplicated part of it on each page. When I printed, I then trimmed as needed, and actually overlapped the pieces to line up the words perfectly. 

~An easy way to do this is to tape the first piece to a window, then overlap/tape all the other pieces to that one. I say window, because then the repeated image is easily seen through both layers of paper to line up easily.  It then becomes one, easier to deal with image that you can then transfer to your canvas.

~To get the image centered on your canvas, have a ruler handy. Gently place the image, ink side down, onto the canvas, but DO NOT PRESS yet. Since the paper is translucent, you can use the ruler to gently measure from the outsides of your image to the edges of the canvas. By tweaking and measuring, it's pretty simple to get the image centered. Then go ahead and press down to complete the transfer. 

Happy Crafting! 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Whether you are spending the day with your favorite person or pet, or simply indulging in the day's sweet treats....

Even my front door is feeling the love!

xoxo Trena

Holiday Decor in a Small Apartment

This isn't only our first year as a married couple. It's also the first year we will be on our own Christmas morning! So we wanted to jazz up our holiday decor a little this year! So I wanted to share a little of what we did.

Our budget was smaller than our 800 sf apartment, so sometimes creativity was in order! I'll break down all the little ways we made our home a little more festive this year! 

Wreath, of Course!

A wreath is a wonderful way to decorate, without taking up much space at all! My in-laws gave us this wonderful, real evergreen wreath, but with the simple red bow that accompanied it, I felt it was lacking something. I took a modern spin on it, adding a chalkboard wooden plaque on top! I can change out the words whenever I please! :) 

A Christmas Tree... 

This is our first-ever Christmas Tree! I told you, our apartment is small. So we found this wonderful 4', pre-lit gem at Michael's Crafts, on sale for $20! Steal! Remember, we have a tiny budget, so I placed a piece of cardboard on the top of an upside-down storage tub. I then covered the whole she-bang with a yard of some pretty shimmer fabric, and suddenly I had a raised tree skirt to help make our little tree the highlight of the room! 

...With Ornaments!

 

This ornament was inspired by an idea from Pinterest, our favorite creative friend. This is actually our first new Christmas tradition! I wrote the year with a special glass pen, and all the wonderful things that happened during the year. It's a wonderful keepsake, that can include children in later years! I'm also considering filling it with small items to further remind us of the year. Thoughts? 

My Maid of Honor gave us this adorable ornament as part of our wedding gift this year! She cleverly cut up our wedding invitation, and curled pieces to highlight them. She then arranged them in this ornament, finishing it off with some jute ribbon! Such a wonderful memory of our wedding we can bring out every year. 

Mantle (or top of TV unit) Decor 

We got these apothecary jars as a wedding present, and I love finding creative ways to display them! I simply bought some cheap but cute ornaments at the Dollar Tree to fill a couple of them. And the last one has candies, because who doesn't like some chocolate in their life every now and then?? These are on the top shelf of our "mantle" aka TV unit, along with our next items....

Jeremy was given these little village homes from his parents, so we might as well display them! Free decor! I paired them with one of my DIY creations from this year, a popsicle-stick tree! Its made from a cardboard cone, a wooden candlestick, and a mixture of mini-popsicle sticks and flat toothpicks. I then spray painted the whole thing with silver glitter paint, and glued a baker's twine garland around it. Each swag of the twine is finished off with a small sticky crystal. I was stumped on the topper, but my grandma saw what I was working on (we did these as a Thanksgiving bonding craft this year), and conveniently pulled out the cute little bow from her stash of goodies! Thanks Grandma! 

We Can't Have Christmas Without Stockings!  

I made these burlap stockings this year as well! I simply followed some directions I found on google. It's easier than you think, I promise! Though I will say, the burlap isn't the friendliest fabric to work with! I topped it off with a black and white fat quarter I had sitting around. (don't forget, cheap!) To personalize each one, I had these wooden letters from my scrapbooking days, and I mod-podged glitter onto each one! 

And being in an apartment, 3M's amazing removable wall hooks are a renter's best friend!

And of course, we can't forget Jetson's stocking too! I just carefully painted mod-podge onto this wooden coin in the shape of a paw, and sprinkled the glitter onto it! I then used another coat of the mod-podge to seal it all in. 

Share with me the creative, cheap, and space-crunching ways you've decorated this year! And I hope I can get your creative juices flowing! Until next time! 

DIY Program Fans {with free template}

Aaaahhh, wedded bliss! Now that we are finally husband and wife, I can start posting my wedding DIY projects! Even better, I have some professional pictures to show them off! Thanks Katy Weaver Photography! The not-so-awesomely-perfect photos are courtesy of myself and some friends in these upcoming posts.

This DIY I'd like to delve into is our program fans, which were a big hit at our wedding! Especially when the temperature was almost pushing 90 degrees during our ceremony.

Katy Weaver Photography

Pretty, no?

I created this design, and printed it via VistaPrint, just like my DIY invites. You can find the template below, if you would like to create your own program fans!

Notice, that the two sides share a middle line. When I cut out the program, I folded it in half along this line first, and cutted both sides at once. This created almost a book. I simply glued a large popsicle stick between the two, so the two sides are permanently folded over the stick. Then decorate as you wish! 

Seriously, that easy. 

Here are a couple more of my crappy shots of the programs. Link to the template is below.

For anyone interested in the template I created and used, here it is in powerpoint: Program Fan Template
To upload to Vistaprint: The slide has been created to be the exact size of the "flyer" option on VistaPrint. Once you finish your design, save the slide as a PDF. This keeps the slide from re-formatting when you upload it. Once it is a PDF, you use that to upload onto the "flyer". The flyers aren't super heavy duty, and there was quite a bit of flex in the fan when completed, but they still did their job beautifully.

To learn how to save your pennies on VistaPrint items (I saved over 70%!), check out the blog of a friend of mine: weddingtips101

Happy Planning!

DIY Pinwheel Tutorials

I have had a few inquiries as to how I've made my pinwheel decor for my wedding, and I decided I'd share my experiences.

When I started this process, I realized that I had not made a pinwheel since elementary school. So I had to look up how to make one. So I will help everyone who had the same problem I did. This first image is a wonderful diagram of how to make a simple pinwheel.

While a pin and a pencil eraser are a good way to make a pinwheel functional, I am here to make them a little prettier for weddings and other events. I will make note though, that none of the styles I will show are functional, just pretty. None of them spin, sadly (for all of us kids at heart). But they sure do look good!

Let me begin:

Pinwheel Boutonnieres

Katy Weaver Photography

Supplies:
-Felt Sheet
-Hot Glue
-Buttons
-broach pins

The first DIY I will go through is the pinwheel boutonniere. I made these from 3" squares of felt that I cut from the sheets you can find at any craft store. This DIY was fairly simple, as you only have to hot glue the ends into the center. I then hot-glued a button to the center, and a broach pin to the back. Done!

Pinwheel Escort Cards

Pinwheel Escort Card

Katy Weaver Photography

Supplies:
-Scrapbook Paper
-Kraft Paper (or any solid color paper you want to write on)
-Paper Cutter
-hot glue
-faux pearl stickers

 The escort card is very much same as the boutonniere. I used scrapbook paper cut to 3" squares, and again hot glued the tabs to the center. This time, I took the self sticking half pearls to finish off the center of the pinwheel. Lastly, I took a piece of kraft paper (about 1"x5") and glued the end to the back of the pinwheel.

Note: I will be hand writing the names and table numbers on the strips. If you want to type them, you can print out names on the paper directly, then cut out each name, leaving enough room to the left of the name to glue the paper to the back of the pinwheel.

You'll notice in the picture from our wedding, that the pinwheels have those flat filler marbles in the center. These we had to use to hold them down, since the wind kept blowing them away! You can do that too, or put some kind of weight on the back when you are making them. Even better, you could put magnets on the back, and stick them to a large sheet of metal decorated for your wedding!

Pinwheel on a Straw

Katy Weaver Photography

Katy Weaver Photography

Now for the pinwheels with a handle! This gets a little more complicated, but once you get the hang of it, they are actually pretty easy. 

Supplies:

-Paper cut to 6" squares

-Flat head tacks

-plastic disposable straws. I used narrow, transparent, green ones that blend in inside the wine bottle.

-hot glue

For this one, you do not need to hot glue the tabs to the center. Instead, poke the thumbtack through each tab, then through the center of the pinwheel. This holds the paper without any glue. Then, you simply, yet gently, push the remaining part of the tack into the straw, about 1/4" - 1/2" from the top of the straw. Only push it into the straw, not all the way through. You will see that the sharp end of the tack is now enclosed by the straw, not exposed. 

While the straw does a decent job of holding the tack in place, I decided to squeeze some hot glue into the top of the straw, so it could grab the end of the tack and harden around it.

Bridesmaid Pinwheel "Bouquets"

Katy Weaver Photography

I also want to include how I made the bridesmaid pinwheel "bouquets". They took a little more engineering, since the paper is much heavier in such a large size, but they weren't hard, I promise!

Supplies:
-A 1/4" dowel from a craft store. I bought 2, and cut each one in thirds, creating about 12" lengths
-12" scrapbook paper
-Floral or jewelry wire. Get some that is fairly thin and easy to manipulate.
-Double sided tape (you could use a tape runner, or even a glue stick)
-Hot glue
-small piece of chipboard/cardboard
-Large Button

I first cut down the dowels to 12" sections, and had Father-in-Law carefully drill a small hole in them, about 1" down from the top.
Then, pick two coordinating scrapbook papers, and glue/tape them back to back. This helps stabilize the large paper size, as well as adds a decorative element to the pinwheel. You could also pick a heavier weight paper that has a pattern on both sides. Cut like a pinwheel, and hot glue the ends to create the pinwheel shape.
Take the small piece of chipboard, and cut it to be smaller than your button. I actually found chipboard scrapbook buttons, which work perfectly. Once the chipboard is cut, poke two holes in it, to make it resemble an actual button.
Place the dowel in the back of the pinwheel, and the faux button on the front. Starting in the back, thread the floral wire through the dowel hole, poking through the center of the pinwheel, and then through one of the chipboard holes. Then, go the other way, threading it through the other chipboard hole, back through the pinwheel, and back through the hole in the dowel. Cut the wire, leaving plenty of tail on both ends. Wrap the excess around the dowel until the tail is almost gone, and if you can, poke the ends back into the dowel hole, hiding the sharp points.
Hot glue the wire into place.
You may use a duct tape to carefully hide the wire/glue, but I didn't, since the back of the pinwheels were never seen.
Hot glue your actual button over the top of the chipboard one.

Katy Weaver Photography

Done! See how easy that was? Pinwheel decor for all aspects of your wedding or event. :)

*I apologize for my lack of instructional photos.  I hope to clear up my written instructions when I can. Feel free to leave a comment to ask me any questions, I will be happy to help!

{How to Make} Ruffle Pillow Cases

I really need to get into this crafting and blogging routine a little more. Now that I have a new job, and things are getting back to normal, I'm starting to have time again to make fun things! The latest project? To cover some plain black pillows we had bought for our couch. I've seen ruffled pillows on pinterest, but wanted to change it up a little by making the cover removable.

Yup. That's right: removable. For those of us who lead somewhat messy lives. I made these pillow cases in the spirit of a sham, with the opening on the back as opposed to one of the sides. This technique is nice, because you don't have to worry about zippers or buttons either.

Let me begin.

First you'll want to measure your pillow. Mine is an 18" basic black pillow from target. I measured it, and sure enough, it is true to size, being exactly 18", with my tape measured draped over the fluffiest part of the middle, in both directions.

Based on that measurement, I cut a piece of fabric to 44x19. The 44" happened to be the width of the fabric, and I like minimal cuts. I had originally planned out that for the 18" pillow, I needed double that to wrap around, and about 7-8" of overlap (including seam allowance) for the back opening. 18+18+7=44". 

The 19" width of the fabric allows one inch of seam allowance total for the top and bottom of the pillow.

With the front face of the fabric up, I folded the ends into the middle, like folding a letter to fit into an envelope. I played with the folding until the new folded length reached the 18" I needed for the pillow.

I made sure to check both the top and bottom, because sometimes the folds can end up not totally square. Measuring both sides ensures that everything is lined up right. To keep these folds, I ironed them down to make them nice and crisp.

I then folded over the ends of the overlapping sides to make a clean seam. I also ironed these down to make them easier to sew later. 

This is what it looks like when everything is ironed down. You can see that overlapping piece with the seam ready to sew. The flap underneath it has the same look. 

This clearly shows all three layers made by the folding. Make sure that you had turned the seam to the outside, as shown above for the flap ends. The face of the fabric (if you have one) should be facing in at this point. 

Unfold the fabric, and sew the short ends that you had ironed, as shown both above and below.

Place this piece aside.

Cut another piece. This piece will become the ruffle. The length will be at least double the length of the pillow. I kept the 44" from before, for ease of cutting. The width will be the width you want your ruffle to be, plus seam allowance. I wanted a wide, center ruffle, so I made the width 9" to allow for seams. 

Iron and finish the long sides. Mine is now about 8" wide after finishing. 

Another view of the finished long sides of the ruffle piece.

I then folded the piece in half, long way. To use primary school terms, folding in the 'hot-dog' direction. Yup, I just went there. I ironed that fold, to give me a clean line to follow. Then, using a long, straight stitch, I followed that line down the middle of the length. Make sure you don't back-stitch on this step. This is important so we can create the ruffle. 

Keep some length when trimming the ends of the thread. Take one of the threads, and shimmy the fabric down it to create the ruffle look.

You will end up with a piece that looks like this. Get out that other piece of fabric, and place the ruffle in the center of the middle section, as shown below. 

Make sure the ruffle hangs over, or at least matches the width of the fabric. Sew the ruffle in place, following the original seam of the ruffle.

Re-fold the side pieces of the fabric, to cover the ruffle. We're almost done! All you have to do is sew the top and bottom, to close everything up!

Trim any of the ruffle that is sticking out beyond the main pillow. Using the opening created by the overlapping layers, turn the case right-side-out. Stuff your pillow in there and....

Enjoy your new pillow case! :)