Pinterest Christmas 2015

Posted in Random by Kendra G.

The Pinterest Christmas blog series (in its fifth year!) started as a motivation to actually do some of the DIY projects we pinned on Pinterest & a way to share them with friends & family. Over the years other bloggers have joined & we have spent the month of December DIYing & sharing our Christmas projects. Sometimes the posts are tutorials with step-by-step instructions & other times it is simply sharing a completed project! You can check out past Pinterest Christmas projects here!

This year we’d love you to join in on the fun of Pinterest Christmas! Misha {from Emerald City Diaries} & I will be hosting a Linky Party set up for the entire month of December where you can share your own Pinterest-inspired projects & discover what bloggers are sharing too. And, we’d love to see the Pinterest Christmas graphic included in your posts!

Here is what you can do now to get started:

(1) Get on Pinterest & pin those holiday projects! (See our Pinterest Christmas board here)
(2) Get your craft on! If you want to do a tutorial, make sure to take pictures during each step.
(3) Write up your Pinterest Christmas blog post.
(4) Join in on our Linky Party! Click on the blue button below to add your blog link beginning December 1st! Feel free to add as many links as you’d like.
(5) Come back and see what other bloggers are creating.

29Nov2014

Pinterest Christmas // 2014

Posted in Random by Kendra G.

I am so excited to be co-hosting the third annual Pinterest Christmas blog series happening in December! Each week the hosts will be sharing Pinterest-inspired projects related to the holiday season. The projects could be anything from decorations and crafts to traditions and recipes. Each of us will be sharing our projects in the weeks leading up to Christmas. We would love for you to join in on the fun. Plan your projects, post them, link back to one of our posts, and leave us a comment! Not a blogger? No problem, we’d love to see your projects on Instagram! Use the hashtag #PinterestChristmas2014

The hosts:

Need some inspiration? Check out the posts from the previous two years here.

Happy crafting!

9Apr2014

A Place to Play

Posted in House Tour by Kendra G.

You know when I said that I would share more “next week”,
that really meant in two weeks, right?
Thanks for being patient.

One of the things we love about the layout of our hours is the upstairs,
which consists of a loft, the guest bathroom, and our guest bedroom.
This makes for a perfect place for our guests to retreat,
as well as a good hiding spot for all of the toys we’ve accumulated over the past two+ years.

It took us a long time to decide on what we wanted to do to this room.
By the time we got around to actually working on this room,
I wanted to wait until we found out if baby G2 was going to be a girl or a boy,
because that would play a factor into the color scheme.
Since we were going with a gender neutral color scheme, we then needed to find
a color that went well with grey (see below). We finally landed on yellow.
The color is Hazy Dawn by Valspar from Lowe’s.

Almost all of the big items in the room were either birthday or Christmas gifts,
which was intentional on our part and helped immensely when furnishing the room.

Art Display – DIGNITET curtain wire and RIKTIG curtain hooks
Easel – Melissa & Doug

Table – Carolina Grow With You Craft Table
Chairs – Carolina Kids Chairs
TV Stand / Toy Storage – EXPEDIT (now discontinued *tear*) and DRÖNA boxes

Shelves – RIBBA Picture Ledge (45 1/2″)

The letter wall was the longest project in the room.
I had seen several variations on Pinterest and loved the idea for the playroom.
I started collecting letters here and there on sale and with coupons
from TJ Maxx, Hobby Lobby and JoAnn Fabrics.
The “I” is a ruler and the “O” is a clock.
Some of them are unfinished wood that I covered in washi tape, paint, or scrap book paper.
The wall totally makes the room and I am so happy how it turned out.

Down the small “hallway” is a closet that holds games and linens, the bathroom and the bedroom.
Obviously, our main living area is downstairs,
and I assure you that the playroom is never this clean.
At some point I’ll show you how it looks on an everyday basis.

The grey paint color continues up the stairs from our downstairs living area,
and it is the same grey from Crosby’s room which is Granite Dust by Valspar.
We love the contrast with the yellow and grey.

Kitchen, High Chair, and Doll Cradle – KidKraft [Espresso]
Shopping cart – Step2

US Map Canvas – Hobby Lobby
Futon – Target (here and here)

I paid far less for this futon last year and it looks like there are more color options now.
The color listed for ours was grey, but depending on the day, it could be purple too.
Either way, I love it and it provides an additional sleeping option if we need it.

There are a few more things I would like to do up here,
but there is really no rush at this point.
I would like to do two cornices covered in a fun fabric over the windows
and get another piece of art, or something fun, for the landing
so you can see it as you come up the stairs.

Greg would like to eventually put crown molding up too,
at least in the areas of the room he can get to the ceiling.
The wall over the stairs makes me very nervous.

Overall, it’s a fun room to hang out in while the kids play,
and it will be fun to see how it evolves over the years.

***

Speaking of IKEA, I shared five of our IKEA hacks over on Orlando Moms Blog today!

29Jan2014

A Sprinkle Shower

Posted in Party Time by Kendra G.

A couple weekends ago, I had the opportunity to throw a sprinkle
for a friend who is due with her second baby next week.
Since it wasn’t a full on baby shower, I ran with the idea that it was a sprinkle.
A sprinkle shower!
As soon as I saw the invitation on Pinterest, I knew it was perfect.

From there, the decor all fit into the sprinkle theme.

Clouds & umbrellas

All of the food and drink items had to have sprinkles.

I dipped the bottle rims into a bowl of water, then into a bowl of sugar sprinkles.
They hardened perfectly within a few hours.
The bottles are Starbucks Frappuccino bottles that have now been through three parties,
and I’m sure will go through many more!

The party was at 2pm, so I figured desserts with sprinkles would be perfect.

Mini cupcakes from Sweet
Chocolate covered pretzel rods with sugar sprinkles
Sugar cookies with sprinkles
Funfetti cheese ball with vanilla wafers

The cheese ball was a big hit. It was so yummy!

We had so much fun sprinkling mama and her soon-to-be baby boy with love!

22Oct2013

Oh “Two”dles!

Posted in Party Time by Kendra G.

For Kenley’s second birthday party, we went with a crowd favorite: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!
As soon as I saw the “Oh “Two”dles” theme on Pinterest for a second birthday,
I knew I couldn’t pass it up.
There were tons of great ideas out there, but we kept the party pretty low key.
I didn’t take as many pictures as I would have liked, but I do want to share the details.

My good friend Michelle whipped up the invitations for me, which turned out perfect.
I gave her very little direction and she knew exactly what I wanted.
She made my job easy, that’s for sure!

The minimal decor was just enough.
The Happy Birthday sign was borrowed from a friend
and I got red, yellow, and black balloons filled the morning of the party.

The menu included:

Hot Diggity Dogs (Pigs in a Blanket)
Donald’s Dip (Buffalo Chicken Dip & tortilla chips)
Mickey’s Meatballs
Pluto’s Pouches
Goofy’s Goldfish
Figuro’s Fruit (Platter)
Von Drake’s Veggies (Platter)
Daisy’s Drinks (Lemonade & bottled water)
Minnie Cupcakes (from Sweet)

Kenley opened her presents with the help of daddy and her friends
and enjoyed the frosting off of her very own cupcake.
She did a great job blowing out the “hot” candles!

The kids had a great time running around inside & out.
Overall, it was a successful second birthday party!

Here is Kenley’s first birthday party.

11Aug2013

my weekend in photos

Posted in Random by Kendra G.

practicing sharing by having a yummy snack together.
organic carrot sticks & yogurt ranch. she loves dipping her food into sauce.

our coffee station got an upgrade. goodbye ugly containers,
hello pretty glass jars. thank you tj maxx!

kyler came for dinner on saturday! they had so much fun playing.

after having the fabric for about two months now,
i finally made kenley’s sheet for her big girl bed.
i thought i wanted to stay away from chevron stripes,
but this fabric couldn’t be any more perfect for her room.

sunday morning, we got up and headed straight to sea world
with hopes of avoiding the long lines for the newest penguin attraction.
kenley was excited for her first big ride!

the ride was fun, but the penguins were awesome!

we watched them swim around.

she was in awe of them. we all were actually.

as we were standing by the glass, this little guy walked right up to us.

so cute!

kenley thinking of a way to get him home with us.

after the penguins, we headed over to the dolphin show before we headed home.

we had some time this afternoon to finish up some lingering projects.
mad props to my husband for completing my pinterest projects.
he found the pallet and then turned it into a wine rack for our dining room.
this project cost us a grand total of $4, which was to buy the stain.
now we just need to fill it with some actual wine bottles.

***

we had a good weekend with no big obligations. it was glorious.
how was your weekend?

23Apr2013

{diy} headboard

Posted in Projects Around the House by Kendra G.

We watch a lot of American Pickers at our house. Greg is really into the show,
mostly to see the unique stuff they stumble upon. I could take it or leave it,
mostly because I kind of get grossed out if the person is a big hoarder, but I’ll watch it with him.

Imagine my excitement when I got home later than usual (on a school night),
and see a door sitting out in our neighbor’s trash to be picked up the next day.
I immediately knew what I wanted to do with it and went inside to tell Greg to go get it.
Since he was already asleep, he was way less excited than I was, and reminded me
that it would probably be there the next morning and he would get it then.
I thought it would be more stealth-like to get it in the middle of the night,
but I agreed and went to bed. He marched over there the next morning in the broad daylight,
and brought the door back… way less dramatic than it would have been the night before,
but whatever.
The door would be turned into a headboard for our guest bedroom upstairs where we have a king size bed,
and the inspiration can be found here.

The door was pretty dented on the white side, but it good shape on the blue side,
so we decided that we would sand it down, clean it up, and paint it, but we weren’t sure what color.
We debated on the color we would paint the door, sanded it down a little, then it sat around while
we got preoccupied with other projects, and life in general.

We finally got back on the ball and started working on the door again.
It must have been a much-needed break, because after Greg (and Kenley) sanded it down again,
we both realized how much we really liked the original color of the blue.
I really wanted to do a color because we don’t plan on painting the walls any time soon,
and we are going with a blue tones-beachy-map-world theme in the room anyway.
How’s that for a theme?
Since we decided to keep the color, we only needed a few more supplies.

We got one piece of crown molding, since we love using crown molding for anything.
See our other crown molding projects here and here.
Greg affixed the crown molding to the door with molding glue and added a piece of wood on top,
so it could act as a shelf down the road, see the inspiration here.

To mount the door to the wall, we used an 18″ picture hanging system.
Keep in mind that this door is metal and relatively light. If this were a solid wood door,
we would have done something different because I don’t think that little sucker would hold it on the wall.

The total cost of this project:

Crown Molding – $18.98
18″ Hangman Picture Hanging System – $10.88
1 x 4 x 8 Piece of Wood – $2.06

For a grand total of about $32!

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
Right?

31Dec2012

A Pinterest Christmas – santa hat brownies & christmas cards

Posted in Random by Kendra G.

This is the final installment of A Pinterest Christmas, where myself and several other friends and friends-of-friends
across the country are making fun, Pinterest inspired (Pinspired) holiday decorations, treats, and keepsakes!

The first (p)inspiration this week is Santa hat brownies!

{source}

We needed to take a yummy treat to our annual Christmas Eve open house,
so we scoured Pinterest for fun ideas. Greg was excited about these brownies, so we headed out to get our supplies.

We opted for the easiest ingredients possible.
Strawberries, brownie mix, and easy frost(ing).

I was in charge of washing & cutting the strawberries, while Greg baked the brownies.

We used a 9×9 pan, which turned out to be a great little round bite for the brownies.
With no round cookies cutters available, we had to get creative.
We ended up using a toothpick holder to make the round bites.

The Easy Frost was just as advertised… super easy.
We frosted the brownie and put the strawberry on top, then topped off the top of the Santa hat.

They turned out very well, but here are a few tips:
Allow the brownies to cool FULLY. We got a little anxious, so the icing melted a little bit.
We ended up sticking them in the fridge to help harden up the icing.

Once you wash & cut the strawberries, put them on a paper towel to dry them.
Along with not allowing the brownies to cool, the damp strawberries were sliding all over the place.

Having a cookie cutter would be much easier than using a toothpick holder,
but I think we get an “A” for effort, right?

I think they were a hit at the party. If nothing else, they were sure cute!

***

The next two (p)inspirations are related to the many
Christmas cards we received from our amazing friends.

Cabinet Christmas card display:

{source}

I opted to use painter’s tape on the other side of my cabinet to affix the ribbon,
because I do not think anyone will be looking at the inside of my cabinets;
and I will still be able to save the ribbon for next year.

I found this ribbon at Target early this season.
I originally used it for a bow at the top of our Christmas tree,
but I was happy to be able to reuse it!
I also looked for it the next time I was at Target, so I could stock up,
because, everyone knows how much I love chevron. But… no luck, they were out.

Maggi also created another version of this (p)inspiration on her pantry door!

***

The second Christmas card (p)inspiration comes from one of my favorite bloggers, Ashley Ann.
I had every intention of doing this last year, but somehow in the midst of having a 2 month old,
it slipped my mind and by the time I remembered, I had tossed all of our Christmas cards. Drats.

I knew I would not forget this year, especially once I saw it floating around Pinterest.

{source}

Um, hello! Genius!
Create your contact photos from their holiday cards!
Need I say more?

***

I hope you enjoyed A Pinterest Christmas series this season.
Next year, we have already vowed to get a head start on our projects!
If you missed any projects this year, here is a rundown of what you may have missed:

DIY Pom Pom Wreaths
DIY Ornaments
DIY Yarn Trees
mistle toes

Don’t forget to check out the other ladies’ posts who participated in A Pinterest Christmas this season.

Amanda @ Without a Doubt
Sally @ Chacha and Mogo
Michelle @ this grey house
Misha @ emerald city diaries
Maggi @ Greg, Maggi & Rodney
Abbi @ The Peña Family

25Dec2012

A Pinterest Christmas: mistle toes

Posted in Random by Kendra G.

Merry Christmas!
It’s week four of A Pinterest Christmas, where myself and several other friends and friends-of-friends across the country
are making fun, Pinterest inspired (Pinspired) holiday decorations, treats, and keepsakes!

I really enjoy making homemade gifts and I wish I would do it more.
Time is always an issue and homemade gifts are not always conducive for packing in a suitcase
to travel here or there for the holidays.
Last year, I put together a sundae kit for our neighbors and their kids.

With that being said, here is this week’s (p)inspiration:

{source}

As soon as I saw this, I knew it would be perfect for the ladies in my office.
Of course, I waited until the last minute to put them together,
and I was worried they would be time consuming, but much to my surprise, they were not!

I didn’t have the supplies I needed on hand, but I had no issue buying them
because I know I will use them for future projects.
I purchased rubber alphabet stamps, a red ink pad, card stock, and ribbon
from JoAnn’s for around $15 after coupons.
Surprisingly, the ribbon was the most expensive! Thank goodness for a 50% off coupon.
The nail polish was obviously a tad more pricey, but I still chose to get Essie because it’s my favorite.
I cleaned out Target’s selection of red and got two shades: she’s pampered and fishnet stockings.

I cut one sheet of card stock into four squares and hole punched two holes at the top.
I used wire ribbon, so it was easy to form and look pretty.
Stamp the phrase onto the card stock and put it with the nail polish.
It’s that easy, but also adorable and my coworkers loved it.

Did you make any homemade gifts this year?
I’m going to make it a goal to do a couple more next year.
What do you think?

***

Don’t forget to check out the other lovely ladies’ posts this week in A Pinterest Christmas:

Amanda @ Without a Doubt – Christmas Cards & Wrapping
Sally @ Chacha and Mogo –
Michelle @ this grey house – Sock Vase
Misha @ emerald city diaries – magazine bows & chalkboard art
Maggi @ Greg, Maggi & Rodney – Yarn Trees

18Dec2012

A Pinterest Christmas: DIY Yarn Trees

Posted in Random by Kendra G.

Welcome back to week three of A Pinterest Christmas!
If you’re new here, myself and several other friends and friends-of-friends across the country are making fun,
Pinterest inspired (Pinspired) holiday decorations, treats, and keepsakes.

Here is the (p)inspiration:

{source}

The supplies:
Styrofoam cones
Yarn
Pom poms (in various sizes)
Scissors
Pins
Hot glue gun & glue

Start the yarn at the bottom of your tree and have your pins handy.
Once you start wrapping around the bottom, pin the yarn every 2-3 inches to keep it in place.
I do not have a picture of this… fail.
After you’ve wrapped a few times, you can put the pins to the side,
because the yarn should stay in place.
Wrap the yarn around, and around, and around.

Keep wrapping.

You can choose to do these trees really any way you’d like.
Michelle went for a more whimsical look, while I did a more sleek look.
My way was a wee bit more time consuming.

The top of the tree is a bit tricky, and this is where the pins come in handy again.
Wrap the yarn in a circular motion around the top and pin as needed.
Use just enough yarn to cover the top of your tree.
Cut your yarn and pin down the tail end.

In the original tutorial, she continued to wrap her tree all the way down again,
but we decided to stop at the top and move on to the tree decor.

We used the hot glue gun to attach our little poms to the trees.

I really love Michelle’s red & white tree and I have a feeling I may be making more of these.
They are super easy and really fun to do.
Even though it took us two separate days to complete them, I promise, they can be quick.

Have you made any yarn trees? What did you do differently?

***

If you’ve missed the last two weeks, check out my wreath and ornaments.
Don’t forget about the other Christmas projects from these awesome ladies:

Amanda @ Without a Doubt – Christmas Tree Forest
Sally @ Chacha and Mogo – A Stocking for Mogo
Michelle @ this grey house – Yarn Trees
Misha @ emerald city diaries – paper tree forest
Maggi @ Greg, Maggi & Rodney – odds & ends
Abbi @ The Peña Family – Yummy Treats