~no sew personalized pillow~{thrifty Thursday}

Looking for a inexpensive unique gift for Valentines Day?

This one is perfect.

All you need is a computer and printer, a white pillow slip which can be purchased at Ikea or Hobby Lobby, a pillow insert, iron on paper, and a iron.

Instructions

1. • 1
     Pre-wash the pillow case if it is new. This prevents shrinkage from damaging your iron-on letter message.
   • 2
     Determine the size of the space you have to work with. This will help you determine how much iron on transfer paper you will need to buy.
   • 3
     Type out the message or initials you will be using for the iron-on letters. You can choose any font in a word document. Make sure when you print these out they are MIRROR IMAGE. Your computer should have a setting for this. Cut closely around each letter once printed.
   • 4
     Lay the iron-on letters on the pillow case. Play with the spacing and design. Do you want the letters in a straight line or a curve? Use this time to see how the pillow case will look before you stick them down permanently. Use masking or painters tape to make a temporary line to guide the placement of letters.
   • 5
     Pre-heat the iron, and check the instructions for the right temperature. Place the letters on the pillow case, with the adhesive side down. Only lay out as many letters as can fit under your iron.
   • 6
     Press the letters for 10 to 15 seconds. Let cool and peel off the backing. Place insert inside and you are done! 

xoxo

~free Valentine printables~

I have created these 2 little printables for you.

Just simply right click the image and copy it to a word document, and make whatever size you need.

Print out on card stock, frame, or give to a loved one!

~Enjoy~

xoxo

~thrifty Thursday~{heart sign}

I saw this sign recently and thought it was so cute,

 so I tried to recreate it in my own way, for way less money.

I started with some pieces of wood that I already had put together.

You could use pallet wood for this easily though.

In fact it was from this project, which I took apart.

You could say I repurposed a repurposed item!

To make the heart pattern, I taped several pieces of paper together and then folded it in half, and cut.

Using a pencil, trace around the edge of your heart pattern and discard.

Next up you will need to paint your heart.

I used a light grey chalk paint.

Let dry.

Obviously I was to impatient and took a photo of it while it was still wet.

Using 1 1/2" blue painters tape, tape off straight sections over the heart, evenly spaced.

Paint those areas with a cream colored paint, or the color of your choice.

Let dry and then remove tape.

This is the part where you can get really creative.

Using a pencil, hand draw on a quote, a poem, a saying, lyrics to a song, etc.

Don't worry about your penmanship, the more handwritten looking, the better!

Using a thin paint brush, go over the pencil with black paint.

When it is all dry, you can lightly sand over the whole heart to distress it a bit.

Because I had everything on hand, this project didn't cost me a dime.

I love FREE projects, don't you?

Have a great day!

xoxo

~DIY ombre watercolor Valentine's banner~

Here is an easy little project for you for the upcoming holiday.

It's a watercolor banner and it can be made in under 30 minutes, start to finish.

 Start with 4 pieces of watercolor paper cut into a triangular shape.

You can make them any size you want.

I used a paper cutter for a more precise cut, but if you don't have one, scissors work just fine.

Next you will need letter stickers from the office supply store. These are vinyl stickers and are different from regular ones. They are reposition able and will not stick to the paper or tear it.

Pick a word. 

I chose love, and set your letters aside.

You will also need watercolor paints and watercolor pens.

{Pens optional}

Place one letter on each piece of paper, centering it.

I varied the fonts with mine.

Using a colored watercolor pencil that matches your paint choice, outline each letter.

Starting at the bottom, work your way up with the paint.

To get the ombre effect, put the paint on heavy at the bottom, 

mixing with more water as you work your way up.

Blot dry with paper towels if you are impatient like me. 

Then peel off your letter.

When they are dry, stack them up and punch holes in each corner.

Run twine or ribbon through and hang.

xoxo

~thrifty thursday~{stir stick ombre picture frame}

This project started out with my husband cleaning out his garage.

He brought me a box full of stir/paint sticks and asked if I wanted them.

Here is what I made with them~

An ombre picture frame, and I will show you how you

can too.

 Cut the stir sticks to the correct lengths.

You will need long pieces, as well as short pieces for the middle.

Then you will need a unfinished wood frame. 

This one I got at Michaels craft store.

 Here are the short pieces for the middle, they will go on either side of the opening.

 Lay everything out on your frame before you go any further.

This way you can make any adjustments before gluing down.

 I decided to go with pinks for Valentine's day, but you could do any color combination.

 For the ombre affect, start with a light colored paint and gradually make it darker and darker.

I started with white, then added a light pink, then

 I just started adding hot pink as I worked my way down.

 Set the sticks aside to dry.

 While they are drying, you can paint the sides of your frame.

 For the next step you will need wood glue and a disposable brush.

 Once everything has dried, you can brush wood glue all over your frame.

 Start applying your painted wood pieces as you had it laid out in the beginning.

 Place heavy objects on top and let dry thorougly.

 Add a picture to the center and you are done!

xoxo

~sweetheart brownies~

This is a super simple recipe that turns out every time.

When they are done baking, let cool and invert onto a piece of wax paper.

Flip it back over and use heart shaped cookie cutters to make these adorable brownies.

Enjoy!

xoxo

~watercolor Valentines in a few easy steps~

I thought of several titles for this post:

How to fake being an artist

Pretend you are an artist when you aren't

How to make professional looking Valentines for under 37 cents each

Whatever you want to call this, it's super cool, and super easy. 

The steps might sound long and confusing, but if I can do it, you can do it!

First off. 

You will need {the app} 

WATERLOGUE

This app. is for iPhone iPod, or iPad.

If you follow me on instagram, you will be familiar with this app.

I love it!

The first thing you want to do is find some FREE printable images.

Please make sure these are copyright free.

I found some on Pinterest, and various blogs offering them.

Not every photo will look good with this waterlogue app. 

I tried about 30 before I came up with a dozen or so that I liked, so 

play around with it.

Make sure you have on hand:

watercolor paper, {any craft store should have it}

and a printer with full ink.

I found this cute image here.

I saved the image to my phone and turned it into a watercolor with the waterlouge app.

Here is how it turned out:

Cute right?

Love it! 

Next, I emailed the finished photo using the app.

Once I had the email up on my computer, I saved it to my computer.

Repeat this step with all your images.

Once you have all the images saved to your computer you can insert them into a word document and print them out on your watercolor paper.

It's that easy!

When you are in word, you might have to manipulate the size of the image and the direction it is going in order to get it to print correctly. Play around with printing a few on plain paper so if you mess up you don't waste the watercolor paper.

Ready to see some more? 

This image I found here.

I think it is my favorite.

{and darn it, I can't find the blue one anymore~sorry!}

The rest of the images I got from one of my favorite sites~

Wedding Chicks

 The thing I love about the Wedding Chicks free printables is that you can customize them in a ton of different colors and add your own initials and wording.

 Here is the finished product of the first one I featured.

I got one image per sheet, but I suppose if you made the images {cards} smaller,

you could get a couple on a sheet.

I figured these came out to about 37 cents each.

Not too shabby if you ask me!

Have fun creating!

xoxo