Our Life...

I wanted an area on my blog that gives me the outlet to record all those things in life that deserve the time and effort of remembrance. I don't keep baby books, I purge way to many school projects and recently I have joined the 'dangnamit where is my purse, keys, shoes, mind' team. Our life isn't always easy but I am a firm believer that we must go through all things..the ridiculously impossible and the ridiculously hilarious to mold us into who we are meant to be. Kevin and I have been on an unbelievable journey these past 10 years and we still haven't had the chance to pause (or breathe) much for reflection. It is my goal for these stories to be that pause.

Frenchy Ceramic Tile Coasters

I have seen some tile coasters on etsy and was thinking it would be fun to make some for my sisters for Christmas. Coasters seem to be one of those things that you can never find any that are really 'you'. They are somewhat pricey and I have yet to find a set that would look great in my future, perfectly decorated living room.

I did the obligatory googling of, how to make's, and was off to Home Depot in search of my tiles. I decided on getting 2 styles. The stone tiles with the perfect imperfections and the plain slick ceramic ones..I prefer the latter. I then jumped on over to the graphics fairy and found some super cute images of french chairs, birdcages, vintage keys, etc. I printed those images on to some old gospel hymns I had and voila' frenchy theme squares. It was then onto the simple glue and adhere method. I used modge podge at first to adhere the squares to the tiles then I also covered them with several other coats. There was where it all went wrong. I have seen posts where others have done this and they said all was well with them. Not so much. After applying the coats of modge podge I sealed it with an acrylic sealer. I then proceeded to try to see if it could hold up to a hot mug..no go. The mug would always stick to the coaster. Not a great idea when using breakable tiles. I finally just decided to adhere the image squares with the modge podge but not use it as top coats. Instead I used the spray acrylic sealer as the last step. Perfect. I did 4 sets and 2 have sold already (music sheet and frenchy chairs) so here are some shots of the others I did. These make great, easy gifts at about $.25 each!

Craft Room Ideas..

http://pinterest.com/pin/245516617155509144/

Here is a shot of a nice clean organized office...LOVE!  I will be blogging my office/craft room redo in the hopes of keeping me on task! In order to accomodate our unique family situation we recently downsized to a house half the size of our previous one. I don't have a true dedicated office but instead was granted a very spacious den as my work area..sooo excited..(amazing hubby). I even have a fireplace to work with!  I can't wait to see if I am able to use my new found creativity (with help from amazing blogs) on what is virtually a blank slate. For the most part I know what pieces and style I want I just need to see if I can pull off making it look cohesive without breaking the bank. I will be posting pictures of the 'before', mess and all. Here I go!!