Mother's Day

My sister Amy took some awesome pictures of our kids recently. I was so exciting to get them hung up! Tony was so sweet & made this picture frame for me for Mother's Day!

About a year ago Tony stopped by a cabinet shop & asked if they some any leftover scraps. They gladly gave him a bunch of random free scraps. He has used them for a few projects. For this one, he cut random colored pieces of crown molding with his table saw to make the frame. Then he placed a panel of beadboard behind it. We spray painted the whole thing white. Then we bought the smaller picture frames from Walmart & spray painted them turquoise. To finish, I hot glued some thick rope cord around the edges. 

I love it! It reminds me everyday how blessed I am to be a Mother. When I stop & look at my kids & think of how beautiful, pure, precious they are, it helps me have more patience with them :)

Here's a quote I've been thinking about the last little while. It's helped me keep perspective as a mom: "Heavenly Father taught you before you were born about the experiences you would have as you left Him and came to earth. You were taught that the way back home to Him would not be easy. He knew that it would be too hard for you to make the journey without help."

"You were tutored by Him before you came into this life. He helped you understand and accept that you would have trials, tests, and opportunities perfectly chosen just for you. You learned that our Father had a plan of happiness to get you safely through those trials and that you would help bring others safely through theirs. This plan is marked by covenants with God."--President Henry B. Erying (Daughters in the Covenant)

Just a Few New Touches

I have loved this headboard in our bedroom! Over the last year I put a few more touches on the room & thought I'd share :)

I already had most of the pillows for the bed but I found the 2 cute blue ones at  Home Again.

Have you ever been there? It's awesome!! I saw the turquoise throw at ROSS. It was about the softest thing I had ever touched & was only $10. So I added it to our bed.

I love the sales at Hobby Lobby & was excited to find this mirror for half off. 

 
After being married I for almost 8 years, I was so thrilled to finally get some matching nightstands. I found these ones on KSL & they fit perfectly in our room. Yay!!!

Over time little things start to make a big difference. "By small & simple things are great things brought to pass" (Alma 37:6). Can you see the differences?

Travertine Kitchen Back-Splash Wall

I've been meaning to post this for a while now. Tony surprised me for Christmas with this amazing back-splash!!!

Before:

We had a small 4" granite lip with our gray paint up the rest of the wall.

Tony found a great deal on 18 x 18" Travertine tiles at Home Depot. We didn't want the backsplash that big so he spent a whole day cutting them (with his tile saw) into 3 " slabs. This took some time but saved a lot of money!

 He started from the bottom up...

 ...and continued it above the kitchen cabinets so it reaches the vaulted ceiling. I love that it completely changed the whole look of our kitchen!

Around the door was one of the trickiest spots to make sure everything lined perfectly, but I absolutely LOVE the look of it :)

One of the best things about this tile project was it required no grout! He simply stacked them on top of one another & sprayed it with a sealant. 

 He also changed the outlet covers once he finished. Now they match our appliances.

Eventually we want to add crown molding & handles to the cabinets, a new faucet, & pendant lighting....but for now we are enjoying our new awesome backsplash! It all takes time :)

Bria's Room

It's so fun to have some pink in our house! 

Hanging Tulle Pom Pom's: about 2 yards folded up then fanned into a ball. I trimmed the edges a little to make it more circular. I tied ribbon around them to hang from the ceiling. I used white thumbtacks to attach the white ribbon to the ceiling.

 I had so much fun making this cute flower. The best part about it was it cost $1.50 to make. I cut each petal out of felt and then formed it into a circle and layered 3 circles. We had a bunch of clip on earrings that were Tony's grandma's so I glued one of the pearls on for the center of the flower. I found the board/frame at DI for 50 cents. It looked like ugly outdated wallpaper and I think it had a duck on it. So I spray painted it white and covered it with a flower :)

 I found this giant vinyl sticker at the Scrapbook Expo about 3 years ago for $1. Now I can finally use it!

 I made this B for Bria's room out of buttons and a blank canvas. It turned out okay but I'm not quite sure how I feel about the font yet :)

I was so excited once we finally chose a name for our sweet baby. I was even more excited when I found out what it means: "Noble, Strong, & Virtuous". I feel like I couldn't have picked a better meaning :) I want her to always remember it, so I put it up in her room. 

Since I've been way too busy with these awesome kiddos, I haven't been able to finish Bria's room, but at least it's a beginning! After all, these guys are definitely what matter most!!!

Headboard Wall

 Look at this sweet headboard Tony built on our bedroom wall! Since we moved in, we haven't done much with our bedroom. This is what it used to look like:

We were in Las Vegas a few weeks ago and saw this cool wall at Outback Steakhouse.

 We also saw this awesome picture & frame, which I absolutely love!

I love how each color in the background matches the colors in the photo.

Don't mind my awkward face :) I didn't realize I'd be in the picture.  With these as our inspiration, Tony started collecting wood. Most of it came from a friend's fence 

that had blown over.

First he made a big mess :) and framed the wall so that it would pop out. 

 He got the colors from a photo we had taken when we went to Mexico. 

 I love how he also made the picture come out of the wall. He bought big 4" bolts and put 3 nuts behind it to hold the picture stiffly.

I loved the way it turned out! It makes me want to put the finishing touches on the rest of the room. 

Welcome Home

I have always loved cute front doors! The front door at our last house was really squeaky and not in the best shape. I was so happy to get a new door when we moved here :) 

It's a normal basic steel door so I decided to cut out our house number with my Cricut and put on it. 

I also got this cute "F" from the Wood Connection and painted it. Then added some simple burlap ribbon and berries.

 I love how it turned out :) simple but fun!

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