Peony Flower Stencil & Giveaway!

Our house is always a work in progress as houses should be.  It wouldn't be any fun if you ever actually "finished" a room, right?  There has been an empty wall space above our bed for a few years now.  I have thought of different ideas, but never settled on anything. 

This is a real life "before" picture.  I went into our bedroom Sunday afternoon and took a picture "as is" complete with an Avery drawing, baby monitor, burp cloth, and the un-made bed.  I am not a bed maker.  Wish I was.  I am not.  I digress.

BEFORE

We have talked to you multiple times about Cutting Edge Stencils.  They are so much fun and such a quick and easy way to liven up a space.  I chose to use the same white paint as I did on the large tree in our "loft" area.  I used DecoArt's Designer Series All-Purpose Home Decor Acrylic.  I love white.  Who doesn't, right?

I chose the Peony Grande Flower Stencil this time.  I got it level and taped on the wall ready to go.  I painted one coat...

And then two.  I removed the stencil and was very happy with the results...

Ah, finally, a special something to fill that blank wall space.  

And the {very staged} "after" picture...

AFTER

 Quite a difference, huh?  I love it.

So here is another chance for a Lemon Tree reader to win their very own Cutting Edge Stencil !  They have so many amazing ones to choose from.  We have had some serious fun with ours as you can see here, here, here, and here.

Some of my favorites on their site are

Poppy Field Flower Stencil

and Silence Wall Pattern Kit

To enter this giveaway...

1.)  Make sure you are a follower of Lemon Tree Creations.  Leave a comment letting us know for 1 entry.

2.) Then visit Cutting Edge Stencils , find the stencil of your dreams, and comment letting us know where in your home you would love to put it for another entry.

The giveaway will close Friday at midnight and the winner will be announced Saturday!   Good luck!

Thanks for stopping by!  See you next week.

Happy Tuesday!


***This giveaway is now CLOSED! Thank you for entering. Stay tuned for more giveaways on Lemon Tree Creations!***

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30 Minute Scrapbook Valentine Wreath

I made this little wreath months ago to hang beside my front door, and though it's simple I really love it. The secret is that it was so easy, quick and inexpensive to make.

I started off with this fun piece of scrapbook paper with cursive handwriting all over it. I'm not sure what is says, but it looked sweet and a bit romantic so I grabbed a few pieces, and started cutting them into 1 inch wide strips with my paper cutter.

I got a round floral planter from the dollar store, cut it in half and started wrapping the strips around it. The glue didn't stick to the planter very well, so I wrapped each strip around the planter and used hot glue to secure each strip to the one next to it.

The back looked a little choppy...

but the front was perfect.

I then made a few pearl adorned book page flowers to attach to the front, similar to the Pearl Adorned Paper Blossoms I did months ago. I cut the scrapbook paper into a bunch of circles in various sizes, and did the same thing with a few pages from a book that I use for my book page crafts. I made sure that the circles were very rough so that piling them on top of one another would be more interesting-looking, meaning that some that were more oval than circular, and several had straight edges or points. Once I had a good stack of circles, I grabbed my brown and black stamp pads and inked the edges.

I then stacked a pile from largest to smallest, trimming up a few circles and sliding some of the “petals" out of the center a bit to make them stand out more. I poked a hole through the center of the flower and twisted the different circles around until I liked the arrangement.I then removed the push pin and replaced it with a brad to secure the blossom. I also added a little pearl embellishment to the brad to dress it up a bit.

I wanted to blossom to have a little bit of a 3-dimensional aspect to it, so I took a few of the blossoms, cut a tiny slit from the edge to the center, pulled the two pieces together until they overlapped slightly, and glued them together with a glue stick. This gave that layer of the flower the slightest “cone” look and made the whole blossom pop.

I then layered the book page circles with the scrapbook page circles until I had a fun little blossom. I hot glued a push pin to the back of each blossom and stuck them into my planter wreath.

I attached a short strip of brown twine to the back of the wreath with 2 push pins to hang the wreath from.

Then I was done!

My intention for this wreath was that it would change with the seasons. The planter base gives me the flexibility to change up the blossoms regularly, because anything that you could attach a push pin to becomes the new temporary embellishment. I could also change out the short twine for something longer and hang it from a frame or in front of a mirror.

But I haven't changed it yet, not once. I'm just so in love with those little blossoms, I don't want to take them off! The addition of the book page paper helps them to pop from the background and I just really like them. Hopefully you'll have more imagination for your wreath, but if not, you'll still really love this one!

I'm linking to these incredible parties this week. Hope you'll check them out!

Also, we have some incredible giveaways these next few weeks that you won't want to miss, so be sure to check back with us! You won't regret it!!

See you next week!

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Fancy Weathered Frame

After discovering Americana's Weathered Wood, I have been completely inspired. I have always loved the look of anything Shabby Chic, and this stuff makes it more than easy to create. I took an old, slightly unsightly frame, a couple of my favorite paint colors, Weathered Wood, ribbon and some sparkle...
To make this!To use the Weathered Wood, you simply apply a base coat of acrylic paint...
Then paint on an even layer of the Weathered Wood...Then another light coat of your top paint choice. As you are painting, the top layer begins to crackle, giving your frame an awesome texture.

Now to finish it up, I wanted to add a little 'chic' touch. I simply hot glued a sparkle-ly button onto a complimentary ribbon choice, and hot glued both to the frame.
This was the final result...
The easiest little gift for many on your list. Christmas may be over, but don't you have a year full of birthdays, appreciations, etc. to look forward to?I'll be linking to these parties this week. Happy Thursday everyone!

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Simple Package Topper

I realize Christmas is over.  I sure wish it wasn't.  Birthdays, however are all throughout the year and this simple package topper will work for any gift.  

I have used cardboard letters covered in pretty scrapbook paper.  Just glue magnet strips to the back and tape it to the top of the package.  

You can also use wooden circles found at a craft store to top your packages.  They could be painted, covered in scrapbook paper, etc.  I used plain ones this year and added letters stickers to them.

For this one, I used a rub-on letter.

Glue a heavy duty magnet to the back, tape it to your package and make sure to tell the recipient so it doesn't get tossed in the garbage with the wrapping paper.

Easy, cute, and useful!  Gotta love that combination.

I'll be linking to these parties this week!

Happy Tuesday!

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Post Christmas Re-Decorating

I love filling my home with Christmas cheer, and as much as I love putting things out, I just hate to take it all down. The house seems so bare and empty afterwards, but it is obviously a necessary evil, as it makes me equally annoyed to leave my decorations up for weeks after the holiday. I've tried to find a way to keep some of the beauty and decorations in a way that is respectable well into January and February. Here are some of the rules that I try to follow.

1.) Condense the Christmas

What to Remove: First things first, no matter how adorable that little sign, wreath or banner is, if it says "Merry Christmas," then it needs to make its way back into storage. Along those same lines, anything that is obviously attached to Christmas and not just winter, such as Santa, reindeer, little wrapped gift boxes, etc, needs to go. It's up to you what to do with your nativity sets, but I usually put away all but one and reduce it to just Mary, Joseph and Jesus.

How to Replace It: Use a wintery sign (available here) or wintery props instead.

2.) Remove the Red

What to Remove: Nothing says Christmas like red and green, right? And nothing screams "I am still celebrating Christmas around here!" like red poinsettias, stockings, ribbons and bows. If left alone, red still says Christmas, where green left alone looks lovely and wintery. So if you're debating about an item, and it is red, I would say remove it and replace it with a more seasonally subtle counterpart.

How to Replace It: Once you've removed the bright red bows, replace them with white or maroon berry clusters. Red poinsettias can be replaced with white or gold poinsettias, and opt for a winter wreath instead of a Christmas wreath. (wreath available here)

3.) Ornaments are Out

What to Remove: Much like red, Christmas ornaments are one of the easiest ways to spread the Christmas cheer around your home. We all obviously love this idea: we've been stringing them from our ceilings and window ledges, making them into ornament wreaths, filling bowls and apothecary jars with them, and, oh yeah, putting them on our Christmas tree. But now that the holiday is over, ornaments need to make their way back the the boxes.

How to Replace it: Fill your bowls and jars with pinecones and tree trimmings. String a neutral banner across your fireplace. Leave the white lights on your tree alone, or wrap the tree in a garland of gold ribbons or thin strips of white or oatmeal colored cloth. Substitute your ornament wreath for a pinecone wreath (tutorial for above found at V and Co).

4.) White is Right

What to Remove: If you were decorating for Christmas with a particular color scheme in mind, even if it may not scream Christmas to others (such as blue and silver, or green and gold), you will still associate these pairings with the Christmas season.

How to Replace it: Opt for creamy tones and whites instead. Make a fun white vignette, hang some white frames (available here), and pull out your white candles. White has both a clean feeling and a welcomed calming presence after the craziness of the holidays, so feel free to spread it around.

5.) Rearrange the Regulars

What to Remove: Red or very Christmas-y stockings over the fireplace need to go, but if they are more neutral they can stick around a bit longer. If you had little evergreen trees on the mantle put them somewhere less prominent, like on a side table or ledge.

How to Replace it: If your stockings were the creamy colored version, (such as these from Winternook), consider keeping them out a bit longer and moving them to a less conventional spot than the fireplace, such as along the stairs, or as a part of a wintery vignette. If you had snowmen out for Christmas, keep a few of your favorites but switch them to a different spot.

What are some of your best tips for re-decorating post Christmas? We'd love to hear them!

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Cutting Edge Stencil Giveaway: Take Two!

First off, let me say Happy New Year! I hope that your day was a lazy and fulfilling as mine!

I am here to announce the new winner of the Cutting Edge Stencil from back in early December. If you can still remember anything from the whirlwind leading up to Christmas, you might remember my Kitchen Art, and the giveaway we hosted for the fab Cutting Edge Stencils. Unforunately, we were unable to make contact with the original winner, so we are picking a new one. Hopefully that means lucky you as winner #2!

Our new winner is...
Congratulations Spann Fam, who said:

Please get in contact with me as soon as possible, or leave you email in a comment so that I can contact you and get you your stencil!

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My Top-Picks!

When I was asked to be a part of this blog, I thought "Oh how fun, this should be neat." I had no idea these ladies were going to be so much fun!! I get excited every morning to log-on and see what they have posted.

Here is a look back at some of my favorite picks from some of my favorite girls!

Erin on Mondays:

Mondays, what a way to start off the week! Erin has definitely led the weeks off with some amazing projects. One of my favorites; simple, yet stylish: The Pearl Adorned Paper Blossom



Tiffany on Tuesdays:

I adore Tiffany's style. Anyone that can run a sewing machine..well, practically steals my heart. I fell in love with her Photo Placemats. I tried them out my style (hot glue) let's just say...there is no match.



Patrice on Thursdays:

This girl amazes me. I have the privilege to craft and work with her on a daily basis. One of my many favorites is the Stenciled Accent Wall. Her living room completed a huge transformation in less than a few hours. Shew, completely jealous!




Amy on Fridays:

I was so excited to see all of the cute parties Amy was throwing. However, I was even more thrilled to see this Book Page Necklace one Friday in June. Man that girl is that jack of all trades. I love that necklace..it looks so cute on her!



Just a reminder to check out some of our old post that are still so fabulous! Have a safe and Happy New Year.

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