Have any of you mamas been to Target lately?! I finally got the chance to see some of the Pillowfort collection in person last weekend and oh. my. word.... I am IN LOVE! Coincidentally, a plan had already been in the works to make a playroom for Kate with shades of mint, coral, and pink in mind so when I initially walked down the Pillowfort aisle at Target I may have hyperventilated for a brief second. It's a decorating lover's dream when you have a vision of a room in your head and then walk into a store and see nearly every piece that you need to complete said room. Here are some of my favorite things from the collection that I'm dying to get my hands on and a little preview of the inspiration I have for Kate's play space. 

Pendant Light - Wall Decor - Play Canopy - Scallop Table - Chairs - Storage Bins - Pillows - Rug

What are some of your favorite pieces from the collection and would you use them in a kids room or somewhere else in your home? Please do tell, because I'm looking for reasons to buy every single item!  :)  Happy Friday!

xoxo,
Hannah

Friday Favorites - Painted Trim

This week's Friday Favorites is all about the new trim trend! I'm usually pretty boring in the fact that I really love plain white trim. It's classic, clean, and you just can't go wrong with white. However, lately I've been drawn to the painted trim look. I love how it draws your eye to the trim rather than just the wall color. I'm not saying I'm ditching my white just yet, but these pictures are making me do some serious thinking about adding a little color to my trim game.

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 What are your thoughts on this trend? Would you do it? What color is your favorite?

xoxo,
Hannah

DIY Banner Wall Hanging (with no sew option)

I have had the materials for this project for umm..... about a year. Which is awful. I can't believe it took me this long to get to it. 2016 definitely needs to be the year for this girl to kick her bad procrastinating habits to the curb for good! Wish me luck with that, would ya?!  :) This beauty was worth the wait, however! I absolutely love how it turned out. It has it's imperfections, but it was handmade by me for our miracle baby and so I think it has a special place in my heart for that reason. 

I was super intimidated when I first thought about trying to make a canvas wall hanging. I do that a lot (psych myself out) and I'm sure some of you do the same, but I'm here to tell you that this was much easier than I anticipated it would be and I would venture to say that even a beginner DIY-er could successfully complete this project. 

MATERIALS

Here are the things you will need to make this banner wall hanging:

Materials -

• Lighweight Canvas or Fabric to make your banner
• Felt for the letters (you could also use fabric, leather, cardstock, etc.)
• Twine or Yarn to hang banner and to make decorative tassel (optional)
• Dowel

Tools -

• Glue Gun or Sewing Machine (either will work great!)
• Scissors

RECTANGLE PIECE FOR BANNER BASE

STEP 1.) Make sure to iron your canvas or fabric that you are going to use for the banner base before you start. Next, decide how big you want to make your banner. I just proportioned mine to the 12 inch long dowel that I purchased. Before I hemmed any of my edges my rectangle piece measured 14 inches long (from top to bottom) and 10 inches wide (from side to side). 

SIDES FOLDED OVER BEFORE HEM

STEP 2.) Fold over the left and right sides of your banner base about 1/2 inch to make a hem. Make sure to iron them down before you attempt to sew or glue them. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP. You will regret it if you do - - - >  #beentheredonethat. Hem the sides with a sewing machine or glue gun (both work just as well). 

BACK OF BANNER SHOWING DOWEL CASING

STEP 3.) After the sides of your banner are hemmed, you can move to the top of the banner to create the casing for your dowel. My dowel was 1/2 inch in diameter so I folded my fabric over 1 1/2 inches to make sure there was ample room to slide in the dowel. Next you can sew or glue the casing. Then you are ready to insert your dowel. Can you see it starting to take shape now?!

STEP 4.) I don't have any pictures of this part, because honestly I struggled with getting the points on my banner to look the way I envisioned them. Halfway through this step (after I had already made the cut) I realized I should have stuck with an easier banner shape like THIS ONE. It would have made this project go more seamlessly and saved me some time. 

STEP 5.) Now for the fun part!! After your banner base is complete you are ready to decorate and bedazzle it to your heart's content. Since Kate's nursery theme is very soft and sweet I stuck with a neutral palette and simple design. I enlisted the help of my Cricut machine to cut out paper letters to use as a guide before cutting my felt because my scissor skills are horrible and I didn't trust myself to be able to freehand the letters. After my felt letters were cut out I used a hot glue gun to attach them to the banner. Lastly, I made a fun little tassel out of baker's twine to add a little whimsy (awesome tassel tutorial HERE) and then tied twine around the dowels to create the hanging piece. 

I haven't decided exactly where I want to hang my banner yet, but I had so much fun moving it around the room to take pictures for this post! Honestly, it looked perfect in just about every place I put it. It's such a versatile piece and I hope that when she's older Kate will love it as much as I do. What do you think about the finished product? Is this something that you would attempt? 

You guys, it feels so wonderful to be blogging again! Thank you for taking the time to read this tutorial! Make sure you tell me if you try this project. I would LOVE to see what you create!!!

xoxo,
Hannah

Things I'm Loving Thursday : DIY Winter Decor

It's been awhile since I wrote a "Things I'm Loving Thursday", you guys! I've missed it! This week I'm obsessing over winter inspired DIY home decor. I'm really into the natural rustic look this season... neutral colors with touches of greenery are kind of my favorite. So without further ado... here are a few of my current DIY winter decor crushes!

DIY PAPER SNOWFLAKES

DIY SWEATER PILLOW

DIY TINSEL WREATH

DIY WINTER TERRARIUM

DIY PINECONE WREATH

DIY PAINTED LOG CANDLE HOLDERS

DIY TUFTED WOOL WREATH

DIY Magazine Holder

Today I am so excited and honored to be guest blogging over at Living Well Spending Less for their Handmade Holidays series! L.W.S.L. is currently featuring a different blogger every Monday who will be sharing a simple and frugal handmade gift idea. This week it's me! I'm still pinching myself that I was asked to participate! 

The gift idea I'm sharing is how to make this easy DIY Magazine Holder. It's a knock off of one I saw on Etsy a couple years ago that was selling for $40... mine cost under $10! Make sure you head over to Living Well Spending Less to get the tutorial and to find many more amazing handmade gift ideas!

Quick and Simple DIY Placemats

Over the weekend my Mr. took a trip to the lake with his dad... I missed him like you wouldn't believe, BUT I was able to catch up on some crafting in his absence which was kind of great. I even got to play around with my new sewing machine! As I've mentioned in previous posts, I'm still super new at learning to sew so when I attempt something new I make sure to stay very basic. I figured that placemats would be pretty easy to make since they just consist of straight lines and after looking at THIS tutorial by Wait Till Your Father Gets Home I decided to give it a go. Thank goodness I did, because I love the end result and they were even simpler to make than I realized! So here's what you do... 
Step 1 - Pre-wash and press your fabric.
Step 2 - Measure and cut your placemats. I wanted my placemats to be 13" x 18" so I cut them into 14" x 19" pieces to allow for a 1/2" hem on all four sides. Step 3 - Press and pin a 1/2" hem on each side of your placemats.

Step 4 - Hem the placemats... and you're done! Easy peasy and just in time for Thanksgiving!

DIY Cinnamon Sticks Candle Holder

 

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a beautiful weekend. Mine was CRAZY busy, but I loved every second of it! I even squeezed in a little Fall crafting!

 

While perusing the Fall decor in Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago a bag of cinnamon sticks popped out at me and said "Make something out of me!". And so, with the help of my glue gun, I did. I started with a yummy smelling Fall candle in a glass and simply used the glue gun to adhere the cinnamon sticks all the way around. It was super easy and smells AMAZING!

 

By the way... thank goodness Fall is almost here! I can't wait to share all the seasonal crafty projects I have up my sleeves!

Chow for now!
 

Things I'm Loving Thursday : DIY Welcome Mats

I recently realized how many DIY welcome mats that I have been seeing (and totally loving) on Pinterest. There are so many amazing ideas I want to try that I might need to start making a different welcome mat every month. Seriously. I love them all.

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