Wondrous things calendar log.

First, I want to wish my mom a happy birthday! The little one and I just enjoyed a lunch with my mom. It was definitely my wondrous thing today. Last weekend I took salad bar fixings and a chocolate cake to my parents’ place to celebrate her birthday {also a wondrous thing.}

We enjoyed fresh food, chocolate, and family…all the fine things in life. :)

One of the gifts I gave my mom was what I’m calling a “wondrous things calendar log.” Probably one of the best things my mom ever taught me was to look for a daily wondrous thing from God. {See more about what that means in this post: Wondrous thing in full bloom}

My favorite blog to read is Ashley Ann’s Under the Sycamore Tree. She has such a heart for God and her family {not to mention that she is an amazing photographer and crafter.} Without sounding too creepy, she inspires me to love deeper through her blog. She posted a link to a free download of her “Best of my days calendar.”  Here’s her lovely version…

I simply printed the pages and used some cardboard, scrapbook paper, ribbon, and mod podge to create some fun covers for the little books.

I made 6 of these with different paper and ribbon for some special ladies in my life {including my mom.}

Feel free to make your own! I think it’s a fabulous daily habit to get into – makes me intentional about looking for the lovely in life, the precious gifts from God.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8

Hanging glass knobs and vases.

I’ve had this project in my head for probably every bit of a year now. In our living room, we have one blank wall that is perpendicular to our gallery wall so I’ve struggled with finding something that would work well on this wall while not competing with the busy photo wall in the same room. I thought these colorful glass knobs {all purchased at Hobby Lobby either on sale for 40% off or on clearance} would be a fun accent to the room.

Originally, I wanted to {somehow} affix the colored glass knobs straight to the wall as hooks; however, that “somehow” never quite worked out. I purchased these wooden plaques, spray painted them antique white, and nailed metal hangers onto the backs…

Next, I drilled a hole in the center of each plaque for the glass knobs…

Then I used my typical paper template method to determine where to place them on the wall {blurry cell pic, sorry}…

Anchors and screws and then I was done!

I used some basic twine and my $0.79 Ikea vases to finish it off…

I plan to use single flowers, leaves, wheat, etc. in the vases, and I may even hang stockings from these come Christmas time.

I think the glass pastel colors compliment my new vintage plate wall nicely…

I think it’s a bit too “out of the box” for Eugene’s tastes, but he’s nice enough to let me keep ‘em. :)

Bathroom floor.

Eugene spent one of his vacation days re-doing our main bathroom’s flooring. The original floor was fine, no damage and it looked “just okay.” He already fixed up the flooring in our small half-bath attached to the little one’s room, so we just used the same peel & stick tile. We know it’s not top-quality, nor will it last long, but we thought it’s worth the $45.00 to have the bathroom look much better and cleaner, even if we have to re-do it in a couple years.

So here’s the original pink-tiled, wallpapered bathroom in all its glory compared with today’s version…

{Painted tile post here and diy curtains here.}

The original flooring was one sheet of vinyl.

We have had a toilet in virtually every room we own – bedrooms, front yard, living room, you name it…

No matter how much I cleaned it, it was permanently stained…

This looks much better {and cleaner!}

 

The lighting is awful in the bathroom, and I took many of the pics at night after the little one went to bed, so I apologize for the poor quality. Here’s a couple more before & afters…

Not bad for the price of a tank of gas!

This bathroom’s come a loooong way with a little budget!

My fierce little athlete.

This wasn’t posed; I promise. She actually threw up on another outfit, so we were in the middle of a wardrobe change.

Her great grandpa gave her a pink volleyball for Christmas. I can’t believe she didn’t have a volleyball before now, but she loves it…

I hope she likes volleyball when she gets old enough to choose. It’s such an amazing sport – brought me so many fun friends, such great experiences, and some absolutely fantastic adrenalin rushes. :)

Cutie pie now, hopefully a fierce athlete later. ;)

Vintage plate wall.

For quite a while, I’ve been searching for something for a big blank wall in my kitchen/dining area…

I originally planned to do Anna White’s $10 ledge with some photos and plates, but I already have my photo gallery wall in the next room. After a bit of thought, I decided to try my hand at a plate wall.

So we’ll cut to the chase, here’s the before & after…

And now for the process. I bought some random plates at various local thrift stores for less than a buck a piece. I bought two from Home Goods for about $7 total, and two were given to me generously by my great aunt. I plan to keep my eye out for more plates to add to the arrangement, but for now it works for me!

I searched online for different methods of hanging plates without the generic 4-prong wire holders. I read here, that E6000 glue is strong enough to hold plates on the wall. It was about $4 and I have tons left over. I don’t like the look of the wire plate hangers {not to mention they’re expensive for being just wire} so I figured it was worth a shot trying the glue and safety pins…

I glued safety pins to the back of the plates and let them dry for a few days. Mine actually dried for a week or so because I didn’t have time to attack the wall… I put glue on both materials – the safety pin head and the plate – then let both dry for 2 minutes. After that, I attached them to each other and added more glue.

Once they dried {and I had more time to actually tackle the project}, I traced each plate on some paper to determine the proper placement on the wall…

…all while wearing my 17 lb. sick baby…

I originally wanted to wrap the plates onto the adjoining wall with the windows too, but my husband apparently isn’t a big fan of asymmetrical designs, so I nixed that route and went with a more centralized arrangement.

After lots of moving and re-taping the paper templates, I finally settled on a placement.

I then traced the safety pin top’s location onto the template and hammered a nail there. {I should probably note here that I’m not a super precise person. I don’t care if things are perfectly spaced, so this method worked just fine for me. No tape measure needed!}

I started with the center plates and worked my way out so I could adjust them as needed…

The pup was less than interested, but I like how they turned out! {Pay no attention to the light or the unpainted door; they’re still on my to-do list.}

I wanted to use this tin bowl that I received from my other Great Aunt, but it didn’t quite match the others’ style. I like it on my table any way. :)

I love the look of the plates without seeing any wire hangers!

So far none of the plates have fallen off the wall, and the hangers feel really sturdy. You can barely see the nails from the side, only if you look really closely…

I think they match my vintage-ish curtains {diy’ed here.}

And my instagram collage….

I’m really pleased with how it turned out! What do you think?

 

Project linked to: Hope Studios, Sugar Bee Crafts, Ladybug Blessings, New Nostalgia, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Crafty Confessions, C.R.A.F.T, Someday Crafts, Trendy Treehouse, Sew Much Ado, Polkadots on Parade, Gingersnap Crafts, The NY Melrose Family