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?

Mail Holder

I've been needing a designated spot to put our mail, otherwise it starts to consume our kitchen :) So Tony built this awesome box that fits into our mudroom wall! Now when I walk in the door I have the perfect place to put it.

I love how he used crown molding scraps for the frame around it. He also cut a hole between the studs in our sheetrock so it fits flush with the wall & doesn't stick out too far. 

It's amazing how it de-cluttered our house :)

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 :)

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. 

Merry Days

 This was a fun quick little Christmas craft that helped get me into the Christmas spirit :) My sister was so sweet and gave me the vinyl which says: "Merry Days and Silent Nights". I wanted to put it on some sort of plaque and remembered I had this shelf from IKEA. I bought it for $1 in the as is section last year! I had it hanging in our old laundry room but apparently it was too heavy since it fell out of the wall. Ooops! So we moved it with us to our new house and it's been sitting in the garage. After I put the vinyl on it, I decided to put something on the side. I like to use what I have laying around, so I used some brown wrapping paper and some lace. Then I tied tulle around it.

 I was excited to put it up on our entertainment center which Tony made!

 Isn't it awesome!?! He only had the four legs to work with and made everything else from scratch. The cupboards are a cute bead-board, someday I'll have a good camera to show detail :)

Mudroom Makeover

 

Look what Tony's first project was on our house! He was so sweet and transformed our mudroom into a much more usable space! It's the best Christmas present ever!!! Now we have the perfect place to hang our coats right when we walk in the door. 

(before picture)

Here's a few pictures of the progress.

I love the bead-board and the cute hooks! 

He even redid the cute bench to make it match :)

It makes me happy every time I see it!