Ricardo finally finished my Mother’s day present, and I’m so thrilled.  I asked for picture frame molding going up the stairs and under the chair rail in the upstairs hallway.

Here’s a post with pictures of what the stairway used to look like.

Under the chair rail I had stenciled some flowers that were cute, but I was sick of them. Also, the collage was kind of bugging me too.

You can vaguely see the lines I drew to mark out where I wanted the frames.

Using some decorative molding he made frames using my not-so accurate drawings. There was a lot of measuring and remeasuring.

It looked like this for a long time. Those little triangles were really difficult to cut! I was so afraid that he was going to cut off a finger. After all the molding was up, I painted everything white.

Here are the after pictures…

The oak banister needed to go.

I also decided to do a black and white photo collage. I love the way it turned out!

Personalized pillows

Fort Kit

I love this look.

I have this in orange and I love it!+

Great table decoration

Clay Dish

Small Embroidery hoop ornaments. Would make great gift toppers and a great way to use up scraps!

Paint circles

T shirt weaving

Cool jars!

Creative suitcase

Weekend bag

Chore magnets

Sock bouquet.

Blanket and cupcake onesies.

Burp cloths.

Stuffed bunny. So cute!

“Sushi” baby gift

Socks in an egg carton

Onesies and bibs in a bowl

Simple and super cute onesies.

Great simple updo.

Chocolate kiss pies.

Ice Cream pretzel cake.

Cornbread and chili baked in a jar. Yum!

Really great Halloween pillows!

Cilantro Lime Jalapeno Chicken Salad. Low Carb!

Its so addicting and part of the reason why I wanted to restart the blog!

There are a ton of ideas out there for message centers.

Some of the criteria for my message center were everyone needed a “slot” and somewhere to put bigger things. It also needed to be CUTE!

I fell in love with these boxes from Pottery Barn and Ballard Design. I didn’t love the pricetag, plus I needed room for 5 and just didn’t have it.

I found wall organizers similar to these at Target for $11 each. The best part is that each one has 3 slots, so I only needed two. I sprayed them with metallic bronze and they became really similar to the Pottery Barn and Ballard Design versions.

I used hanging plant hooks to hang egg baskets for bulkier items. (ignore the mess of shoes in the background!)

As the school year progresses, I’d like to add a bigger basket for library books that need to go back. I might also replace the “E” and candles with a chalkboard where I can write reminders.

I’ll keep you posted on any changes I make. One major change will be paint color!

Let me start by saying that The Dollar Tree is a great place for inexpensive finds when decorating for Halloween!

To recreate this mantel you’ll need:

Glass jars, creepy crawlys, sticks, skulls and Spanish moss.

I had these glass cylindrical vases that I filled parfait style with moss and mini skulls I scored with a coupon at Michaels. Then, I strategically placed some spiders.

These great rats are from the dollar store. Oh, and they squeak!

Ricardo got some great whiskey in this bottle, I got the bottle! I used a candle and dripped some wax on the ledge and hot glued a spider to the outside.

Eerie sign and crows are both from the dollar store. Sticks are from my yard!

I got these bat adhesives from Joann’s on clearance last year.

This picture is from the dollar store…

…see how it changes, so cool!

I love how the spiders appear to be crawling out of the jar! It was just a leftover spaghetti sauce jar and I sprayed the lid black.

To attach the spiders to the mantel, I used a hot glue gun and a prayer. To try and prevent the glue from peeling off the paint, I placed a bead of hot glue on each spider and let it cool until it was almost dry. Then I stuck it on. Hopefully they come off cleanly!!

Larger containers with skulls and spiders.

Back in January I started at a new salon which meant more hours. I decided that my free time should be spent with my kids not on the internet. Plus, until yesterday I hadn’t really stepped foot in my craft room. It became more of a “catch all” disaster area.

August marked the beginning of all 3 kids being in school full time! It was an adjustment for me, but I’ve seemed to manage!I decided to work on my time management skills, clean out my craft room and return to a hobby that I love. I can’t wait to bust out the sewing machine and paint brushes and start sharing some of my creations with you.

I’m not promising consistency, but hang in there with me!

Olivia

Plywood rug.

Fabulous scrappy pillow.

Circle Quilt Block

Great light fixture that I will be making for Oliver’s room.

Rainbow pudding.

I love the way this monogram is displayed.

I want to make these for each of the states we’ve lived in.

Love this shirt!

Carrot Cake pops.