DIY: Burlap Sack Wall Art

I've been a bit obsessed with burlap lately, and last year when we went to Bailey's, I bought a bunch of burlap bags for super cheap. (Everything at Bailey's is inexpensive, and I think I'm needing to make a trip again this year...) You could also by burlap from a fabric store. It even comes in different shades of browns and sometimes different colors. I also had some canvases laying around and decided to put two and two together to make a piece to put up in our dining room.

First off, I bought clearance paint at Home Depot for 50 cents. (In case you didn't know, most hardware stores have a small selection of discounted paint that customers have brought back for various reasons.)

I painted my canvas with the tan paint so that you wouldn't be able to see any white showing through once the burlap was on. Obviously, the paint job doesn't have to be perfect.

Next, my handy dandy model of a husband shows us that we had to measure and fit the bag to the canvas. I really love Germany (and want to travel there someday), so this coffee bag had me at "hallo". Get it? Yep.

Here's the back of the canvas. It was hard to get the bag to fit around the canvas. We toyed with the idea of actually putting the canvas in the bag, but there were a few holes that appeared when we did that, so we had to leave the bag on top.

Once we got the bag where we wanted it, I tried to staple it to the canvas. Apparantly, my muscles aren't big enough to actually work the staple gun, so Dan followed my directions and stapled the bag to the canvas.

Here is the finished product today. The sides are a bit unraveled. I can't decide if I like that look, or if I need to put it in a frame. Any thoughts?


This whole project including the nail for the wall cost about $4.00 and took about 20 minutes. Cheap, easy, fun!

DIY: Tutu

Finally I've had some time to post! Woo hoo! I'm done with my Transition to Teaching classes for the semester, and we've had tons of snow...which means no school for the past couple of days! I love to have 4 day weekends, but I don't love not being paid... However, I've had lots of time to relax, hang out with my hubby, watch 30 Rock season 1, wrap presents, and be crafty.

Here are the step by steps directions on how to make a tutu. Let me know if you try it out!

Step 1: Pick out your favorite colors.

Step 2: Cut the tulle to the desired length. (Dan bought me this handy little cutting board and rotary cutter which has made the process waaayyy easier than using scissors.) As a rough estimate, I usually use around 100 pieces of tulle per tutu.

Steph 3: Cut elastic to the desired size. (Measure around the child's waist. If the child isn't near you or its for a gift, I usually make a 1 year old's waist band about 16-17").


Step 4: Pick the pattern of colors you'd like, and then evenly place them on the elastic.

Step 5: Tie the tulle on the elastic in a double knot. Every once in awhile push the knots together so you can fit more tulle on the elastic. The more tulle, the fluffier the tutu!

Step 5 1/2: Once I'm about half way done, I sew the two ends of the elastic together with my sewing machine. You can also do it by hand, too!

Step 6: Enjoy your tutu!

You can also add fun ribbon, feathers, flowers, etc. to really make your tutu stand out.

Shameless Plug:
Now, if you like the tutu but think that you don't have the time or patience to make one...don't worry! I sell them!

For babies through 2 year olds, it is $20 plus shipping. This price includes a matching headband.

Children 3-6 it is $25 plus shipping. This price includes either a matching headband or ponytail holder.

A tutu for you!

A few months ago, a friend from church brought her two adorable girls in with matching tutus she made out of tulle. I couldn't get enough of looking at these cuties, and I decided, hey, I'll make some tutus for my friends with babies! Well, it turned out to be a super easy project. (I'll post the DIY soon.) I'm even thinking about making a bunch of these (in different colors as well) and selling them at craft bazaars...my husband says I should start an Etsy site with my aprons and tutus, but I'm a bit overwhelmed by that whole venture. Maybe when I finish school...

Thanks to the Yankey's and the Rozsa's for taking pictures of their little girls and letting me put them on my blog! What great models!

Fact: My friends make beautiful children. :o)

Tim and Janae Tie the Knot!

On October 9, 2010, my cousin Timmy and his high school sweetheart, Janae, got married! It was such a beautiful day with the autumn colors, sun shining, and lots of fun! My gift to the happy couple was to decorate their reception...which I love to do! Janae picked red, white, black, and silver as her colors...and it turned out beautiful! The ceremony was at Good Sheperd United Methodist Church in Fort Wayne and the reception was the Marriott.

Introducing the Planck's!

Saying their vows.

The rings hanging on a centerpiece. (Keep scrolling to see what it looked like!)

They used the same lady I did to make their cake, and I thought it turned out beautiful! We collaborated on decorating the top, and I banded the table with red chair ties that I rented from a local party store in Fort Wayne called All Occasion. I also used these chair ties to band the head table and gift table.

I made Dan set out the place cards. I should also give my other assistant, Bryan, a shout out as well. Couldn't have finished in time to get to the wedding without them! I laid a couple chair ties across the table so it wouldn't look too white. I banded this table with some thick ribbon.

The wedding party

Lovely flowers

The Marriott had glass cylinders that I was able to use (free of charge!). About a week before the wedding, Dan and I went on a stick gathering adventure and collected hundreds of twigs. We spray painted the twigs silver and black. (We used about two coats for each stick.) I bought scrapbook paper, cut it to the right size, and placed it in the vase. Simple! The Marriott provided the mirrors as well. Thanks, Marriott! :o)

I bought tons of ribbon in their colors, and we ended up glue gunning the ribbon to the cylinder to get it to stay. (For some reason my glue dots weren't working...) I alternated putting a beaded garland and ribbon in the water with a floating candle on top!

Congrats to the newly weds, and welcome to the family, Janae! (Even though it already felt like you were!) Blessings to you!

You are my sunshine...

I've been loving yellow lately. Here is a cute birthday party from one of my favorite blogs, Hostess with the Mostest. The cool thing is that you don't have to use it just for a baby's birthday party, but you can adapt the idea for other events as well.

Buy a cheap frame from a thrift store and spray paint it. Easy! They sell letters at craft stores for a couple bucks.

Use scrap fabric from old t-shirts or sewing projects. Again, so simple!

Cute Eats.

I'm trying to get inspired to decorate our dining room. (I have given up on the living room for the moment.) One of my favorite blogs, Design*Sponge, had some cute restaurants that I loved. It's like they took the ideas in my brain and made a restaurant out of them. Feeling ready to decorate...

More pictures here.

More pictures here.

Sarah and Jeremiah and the Bridesmaids' Clutches!

Ok, so I've been waiting to post Sarah's wedding so I could include a link to a blog for her cute clutches, but I can't wait any longer.  I'll just post the link later. :o)

Sarah and Jeremiah were married on June 26th in Denver, CO.  We had a great weekend hanging out with some of our best friends, and we were so honored to share in the Heiser's special day!  

Throughout the whole wedding planning process, Sarah was SOO excited about the bridesmaids carrying clutches down the aisle instead of flowers.  I was excited for this unique idea because (a) I thought it was super cute and (b) I have never actually taken a bouquet of flowers home with me after I've been in a wedding because I always forget to pick them up before we leave.  I knew there was no way I'd forget a clutch! Sarah found a cute shop on Etsy called Dear Lillie.  She ordered the clutches, ring bearer pillow, and the guys' bouttoneires from this site.  

Jeremiah and Sarah were married at Cherry Hills Community Church.  It was a great location because the wedding chapel and reception hall were right next to each other!  And yes, those are the Rockies in the background.

Here they are!  The bridesmaids wore pearls (SO Sarah!) and carried these cute clutches.  Isn't the rose adorable?  

Sarah wore blue shoes to add a little pop of color to her black and white wedding.  

Card Box.

Sarah asked me to make a card box for the reception.  I whipped this up for super cheap with some storage boxes and chip board.  Of course, there is a rose to tie it into the theme.  

The cakes!  

Jeremiah is a big San Francisco fan.  

Memory Table.  

Loved this idea.  The couple had pictures of their grandparents and Sarah's dad who had previously passed away.  

The wedding party. 

Check out those mountains in the background and the awesome color contrast.  

This is one of my favorites.  

Clutches.

Such a simple, elegant, and classy wedding!  

I LOVE pictures of shoes on wedding days.  Don't know why, just do.  

The Happy Couple!

Kem RAs!

They tell you in training to look around because these are the people who will be in your wedding one day.  And, well, it's true!

Last but not least, the Brownie Townies.  These are some of our best friends, and Dan and I cherish the times that we get to spend together.  Welcome to the club, Jeremiah! 

(Photos from Andrea Skinner.  She did a great job and was very calm, cool, and collected!)