Photo Wall - DIY

How to make a photo wall

I found a similar photo wall on Pinterest and fell in love with this idea and knew I needed one for the wedding!!! I did a little bit of research but couldn’t find very many DIY blogs on how to make these… so I kinda made it up as I went along!!

Here is how Casey and I built our photo wall:

Step 1 – Casey bought a piece of plywood, a chair rail, yellow paint, gray paint and paint brushes (he also bought the stuff to make the base for it to stand up on its on but we haven’t built that part yet so I will blog how to do that later). My mom bought us a frame and I found the other one at Goodwill.

Step 2 – I painted the bottom half yellow. I read online how high to put a chair rail and most people said 1/3 of the height of your wall. My “wall” /board was 8 feet tall so I went ahead and just did 3 feet high (lower than that kind of looked odd).

 Step 3 – I put the chair rail on the board and laid out frames how I wanted them. I traced the 2 bigger frames (from the inside) with a permanent marker.

 

Step 4 – I painted the top part gray… everything except for where I traced because we were just going to cut that out anyways.

 

Step 5 – I looked everywhere for a stencil that I liked and couldn’t find anything… then as I was leaving the last store I was at, I found a chalk board in a fun shape and figured I would just trace that over and over and over again to make my own design. I traced it with a permanent marker and then went over it with white paint to make it pop (had to do 2-3 coats). The reason I left the cutting until later was because I wanted to make sure I could get my design on the “wall” perfectly, with the holes being cut out, that would have been a bit harder.

 

Step 6 – Find a sexy man and have him cut out your squares for you… the sexy man part was easy, finding a jigsaw was a bitter harder. I finally found one from a friends Dad (thanks Dale!) Then you will need to get some glue (we used Nail Glue from Home Depot and a Caulk gun) and glue down the frames and chair rail. We ended up putting a a couple of heavy boxes on top of each of the frames so make sure and have a good bond… then leave it overnight to dry.

 

Step 7 – Set the board up and place a REALLY cute kid behind it and stand back and admire your work!!

 

Step 8 – Make a base… to be continued!!

Dallas Cowboys Birthday Party

This past weekend was my son’s 4^th birthday party and I want to share a few of the decorations I made!

1^st up is the field goal post – I have seen these on pinterest made out of PVC and I really wanted to make them, however I did not want to spend any more money then I already had. I was wrapping his birthday presents and it hit me… use the empty roll from the wrapping paper and paint it yellow!!! I found 4 rolls and cut 3 holes in one of them. The middle hole I used for the stand, the 2 holes on the outside I used for the arms of the post. I hot glued each in place and then painted it yellow. I needed a way for it to stand up and so I looked around my house and then decided to use my paper towel holder!!! It was perfect size and supported the post very nicely.

2^nd is the banner – I had some leftover fabric from making my Dallas Cowboys dress (see my blog for the how to) and so I cut out triangles and then hot glued them on the a laundry rope that just happened to be blue! For the letters I just printed out his name on card stock from my printer and cut each one out and hot glued it.

3^rd is the popcorn bleachers – I have seen bleachers made out of wood for cupcakes to sit on… well we didn’t have cupcakes but I still wanted the bleachers. I decided to have a popcorn bar so I bought those cute football theme popcorn holders and glued a cute little football related Thank You to each one. My fiancé brought up the idea of putting each one of those popcorn holders on the bleachers. I had some foam board leftover so I took the measurements for the wood (from pinterest) and cut out the foam board. I then just hot glued everything together and painted it all blue to match the party (really didn’t matter because you couldn’t really see them anyways). They were kind of flimsy but they worked perfect for the party and I received a lot of compliments on them.

4^th – Football cake – I found this cake on Pinterest and sent my bakery (The Rolling Pin, Fort Worth Texas) the picture and she came up with this! Go check her out on Facebook and Instagram!!!

We had a blast at the party and Caleb kept telling me it was his best birthday every… heck he is only 4!!! Haha!

Burlap Wreath

I have been wanting to add a POP of color to my front door for a while now, so Sunday when I was at Wal-Mart I decided I was going to make a wreath. Here is what I did:

Supplies:
Foam Wreath - less than $5
Roll of burlap - $5-6
1 bunch of yellow flowers - $3
Hot glue gun
*I am sure you could buy any of this at Hobby Lobby with a coupon or on sale but they were closed and I wanted a project that day.

How to assembly:
Heat up your glue gun
Wrap the burlap around the foam wreath and glue the burlap in place with every turn
After you are finished wrapping the foam, you will need to add the flowers.
I pull the flowers off the stems and hot glued them down to the burlap in a bunch
Then hang it and admire it

This is a very simple project and a very inexpensive project!

Have fun getting krafty!
Love, Krafty Karen

Time to brag on my lil fireman!

Its time to brag on my lil fireman!

Caleb is a firefighter (or so he thinks he is)... everything in our house is firefighter this and firefighter that! This kid has more trucks then you can ever imagine, a hat in every color, his boots that have holes but he wont let us throw away, he got a Super Fireman Caleb cape from Santa and for his 3 1/2 year old birthday (yes I celebrate everything) he got Fireman undies!!!

I had won a free photo session with B Faith Photography (check her out, www.bfaithphotographydfw.com) and so we decided to go with a firefighter theme!!! Hope you enjoy these adorable photos as much as I do!!!

Princess to Zebra Mirror

My sister has been moving and we all know when you move you end up throwing away a lot of "crap" you really don't need anymore. One of the things she wanted to get rid of was a princess mirror that was in one of my nieces rooms... well instead of throwing it away, she asked me to re-do it! Since it was for one of my nieces I of course said yes!!! I love being their Aunt Jay!

The mirror had a yellow heart sticker on the crown and a big sticker on the mirror... it is something that would have been trash to anyone who didn't have Krafty Karen as their sister. My nieces room is done in hot pink, lime green and zebra so my sister wanted it painted zebra and rhinestones to line the mirror. Please note that the rhinestones will be added later due to my sister having surgery and we have not made it to Hobby Lobby yet. 

How I flipped this piece:

1. I detached the mirror and scrubbed it with a Brillo pad, hot water and soap to take the sticker off

2. I sanded down the frame - the sander had no problem taking the sticker off

3. I painted the frame white - ended up doing 2 coats.

4. I then started painting zebra lines

5. I will go back later and add rhinestones to the frame line the mirror

Here is the before and after!

Tutu Rocking Chair - Kate's 1st Birthday

It has slowly become a tradition that if I am invited to a 1 year old's birthday party, I will make them a chair for their gift. When I received Kate's 1st birthday invite, I knew I needed to start my hunt for a cute chair. I usually find these chairs at Good Will over in the kids section or close to the furniture section. You have to keep an open eye because these chairs go fast! I found this one for $5! It was a perfectly good white rocking chair, needed no repairs just a good colorful paint job and of course a tutu.

Casey sanded down the chair for me and then helped me paint it lime green. Kate's bedroom is purple and pink with a hint of lime green...the reason we decided to do lime green all the way was because we have a can of lime green paint we need to get rid of, haha! While Casey sanded and painted, I created a cute tutu to hot glue around the chair. I made the tutu in 4 pieces and then just hot glued each piece to each side of the chair. After the paint was dried, I added the tutu and we started to antique the chair out.... It needed something, so I added Kate's initials in purple.

I have to say, it turned out to be a really cute chair... and Miss Kate loved it!

Easter Flowers

Last weekend I went to a birthday party and the center pieces of the tables were cute vases filled with colorful candy with flowers popping out... I loved them so much that I decided to make my own!

I did not want to break the bank (and I suck at keeping things alive, heck I am doing good keeping my 3 year old alive I don't need to add anything else to the mix haha jk) so I went to the local Dollar Tree (I love that place) and bought 3 bouquets of colorful flowers. I also bought a glass vase (which I found out later, I had one at home) and then I bought 3 boxes of mini tropical gobstoppers. I was going to buy jelly beans but the gobstoppers had more in a package. I ended up spending $7 on this project and I think it was money well spent.

Directions - pour candy into vase, shove flowers down into candy... you are done!

Tip - if you want to use less candy, you can fill the middle of the vase with another vase, tissue paper, canned foods (if the jar is big enough), or really anything to take up the space.

Here is my creation!!

Mirror turned Chalkboard

When Casey and I went to our cake tasting, a HUGE chalkboard hung on my cake lady's wall caught my eye! I told Casey on the way home "I am going to make us a chalkboard like that!"... the poor guy had no clue what I was talking about BUT he did know that I meant business.

That was a Saturday...

Monday on my way home, I stopped at Goodwill and found me a HUGE mirror and took it home. Casey was not surprised one bit when I told him I needed him to bring it in from the car! Gosh, I just love that man! The downside was that we had to wait 5 whole days before we could start working on it due to our hectic lives... I wanted it finished that night! HAHA

We decided to spray paint the frame of the mirror a turquoise color (mostly because I had a full can of spray paint and we didn't want to spend money on another color). After the frame was dry, we decided to antique it out a bit... after all it needed to fit the rest of the decor in the house. A friend gave us some chalkboard paint to use on the mirror but before she brought it over, Casey had bought me some chalkboard spray paint (he knows me oh so well). I was kind of nervous on how the spray paint would work, but it worked like a charm. We applied the paint according to the directions and waited for it to dry.

I ended up stealing some chalk from my son's chalk bucket (shh don't tell him) and smooth a layer of chalk dust to the chalk board... it was complete!!!

The only down side to all of this, the mirror didnt have hooks on the back for hanging so now we have to go and buy a picture hanger set that is for a very heavy picture (probably weighing 20) pounds... It WILL be hung this week because we have guest coming over for Easter this weekend. Here are the before and after photos, I am in love with it!!!

Now its time for me to find some cute loving quotes to write my family each week!!!

Have a KRAFTY day!

Love Krafty Karen

Old Desk Turned Cake Table

I have been wanting to find an old desk that I can turn into a cake table for our wedding... last weekend, Casey's aunt found us one!!! She spotted it outside on the curb (her neighbors are moving) and quickly claimed it. I was so excited when we went over there to pick it up... it is exactly what I have been wanting.

We brought it home and I was so anxious that I started work on it that night! I had a small amount of sealer left from my last couple projects so I went to town covering every last inch of the desk. I then drove up to a local store and bought some cheap spray paint. I didn't buy the expensive stuff because, 1. I know this stuff does not run and 2. because I knew I was going to antique the desk out so if it did mess up, I could just antique that one spot.

After I antiqued it, I sprayed it down with a gloss spray and it was done! Casey and I stood back and just smiled... it is perfect! We have a little less than a year to the wedding so until then, we will be using it in the entry way of our house.

This project cost me a total of $2 (+tax)!!!

Shabby Chic Plate Setting

I have a 3rd eye that my fiance does NOT have and sometimes when I get a vision, he has to just put his seat belt on and (try to) enjoy the ride. Sometimes it turns out ugly and horrible and he is left wondering what is wrong with me (this happens very rarely)... but then most of the time it turns out better then what I could every imagine!!! This is the case for what I came up with for our table settings for the wedding...

Our theme is a very "Shabby Chic meets Country"... LOVE IT! I wanted the table settings to really help pull this theme together. Before looking at the photo please keep in mind that the centerpieces aren't 110% done. They will be raised on some kind of wood bases to create some height and then each mason jar will have water and a floating candle. There will be a white table cloth with burlap and lace as well.

The plates I bought from Good Will on half price day. I spent a total of $6 on each table... the plates will either go home with my guest or be left at the reception for us to re-donate to the YWCA to help single Mom's set up their new homes.

***Please note this isn't a final table setting (hence the mismatch forks and spoons)... this is just something I set up for my Fiance to see so he could fall in love with my idea!***

Soon to be Mr. & Mrs. Cards

I found some REALLY cute cards on Etsy but I am cheap and decided I could make them myself! With a little help from publisher, I did just that!

For the thank you cards, I created a blank template in publisher that is half a letter sized piece of paper and at the bottom I drew out a text box. I typed in what I wanted the card to say and made it all pretty! When I was done, I printed the cards out on card stock paper. When you print it, you will get 2 cards on one page... just cut the letter sized page in half and then fold the cards in half and BAM! You have a thank you card! - You can even turn a text box upside down at the top of the template and write something that will be on the back side of the card!

For the envelopes, I just bought a box from my local store and then cut craft paper to fit inside the flap of the envelopes. I used my spray adhesive to glue them down and waited for them to dry, then I folded at the crease... I have to say, they look so great!

Why spend money on something you can make yourself... plus this gives it way more meaning!

Stay Krafty (and thrifty)!

Love, Krafty Karen

Wedding party Gifts

My bridesmaids and Casey's groomsmen are 6 special people and when we decided we would ask them to be in our wedding, we wanted to do it in a very special way. I looked through Pinterest and found a BUNCH of cute ideas for the girls but very few for the guys...

The Bridesmaids:
I bought each girl their favorite bottle of wine (2 buck chucks from Trader Joes) and ordered labels from Etsy that said "I would be so honored if you would be my Bridesmaid" (My sister's said Maid of Honor).

I also made them each a cute little box from some felt in our wedding colors and stuck a ring pop inside with a piece of paper saying "Now its my turn to POP the question"

They were a hit!

The Groomsmen:
Like I said, I had a hard time finding an idea so I came up with my own. I wrapped the guys favorite 6 pack and then tore it open at the top and took a beer out and duct taped a card over the hole saying... "Will you take ONE for the team and be my groomsman" (for Scott it said Best Man). The guys loved getting the beer but gave me a hard time about how you NEVER take a beer out of a 6 pack if you are giving it as a gift... All the girls thought it was cute!

These gifts were just fun little gifts to ask them to be a part of our big day next year. I cant wait to actually pick out their real gifts we will give them at the rehearsal dinner... any ideas?

Want to check out our wedding website? Be my guest... http://lassiterflowers.ourwedding.com/

Stay Krafty!
Love Krafty Karen

Flower Girl Gifts

This past weekend my sister (aka my Maid-of-Honor), Val and her husband (aka one of Casey's groomsmen), James threw us an engagement dinner. The dinner was a chance for me and Casey to ask our friends and family to be a part of our bridal party! Later I will blog on how I asked my Bridesmaids and how Casey asked his Groomsmen... this blog today is all about our Flower Girls.

Our Flower Girls are my nieces, Madalynn and Audrynn. They were promised the job LONG time ago and even if I didn't get married til they were 18 and 16, they would have still been the Flower Girls... just the way life goes! They are 10 and 8, they will be 11 and 9 when the wedding happen... not to old and not to young! I wanted a FUN way of asking them to be in our wedding and I remembered that they have been talking about twizlers for a few days now so I figured I would make them some sort of candy basket... It turned out way better then I even imagined and the girls (and their mom, Val) loved it.

1st I stopped at the Dollar Section at Target and bought 2 cute metal buckets,1 bag of fun sized twizlers and 4 boxes of candy. I had to stop at Dollar Tree for the styrofoam squares, they are in the flower section. I had the wooden sticks at home (that I spray painted) and I got busy with my glue gun.

Here is how I made them...
Step 1: I hot glued one of the styrofoam squares into the metal bucket
Step 2: I spray painted the wooden sticks (which I bought at Hobby Lobby a while back)
Step 3: I glue tissue paper on top of the styrofoam square to cover the green up, it was ugly and then I stuck some twizlers down on the side to fill the empty space.
Step 4: I made a cute little card out of some extra craft paper that reads "It would be so SWEET of you if you would be our Flower Girl" - I hot glued this to the metal bucket.
Step 5: I glued the wooden spray painted sticks to the back of each box of candy
Step 6: I carefully stuck the sticks down in the styrofoam that was glued into the bucket
Step 7: Stand back and be amazed at your creation!!

I spent $6 on each candy bucket for the girls and they were a big hit!!!

Faux Canvas Photos

I haven't blogged in a while because I have been one busy little girl... My sweet loving wonderful boyfriend proposed to me last month and well, I said YES!!! On top of that, we just moved into a house together. Talk about all the fun projects I have on my plate right now with both of those events.

With the wedding, I am trying to do everything myself... the planning, the invites, the decor and more. With the house, I have been trying to update a few pieces I already have and then add a few more things to hang on the walls since we have SO much more wall space now. This is where lovely Pinterest comes in handy... I am going to TRY and keep up with blogging what I create while I finish setting up our new house and while I plan our wedding.

Today I want to show you something I did for over our mantel. This past Christmas, Casey, Caleb and myself went to the Stockyards and had our pictures made. We had one done of our boots and since I received the picture back from the photographer, I have been wanting to hang it over the mantel. When we moved into the new house, I knew I had to get that picture hung ASAP or it would never get done. Casey took me to Home Depot and bought me a huge piece of foam board... that was fun carrying it to the car because it was an EXTRA windy day! We then made a pit stop at Hobby Lobby (my home away from home) and I picked up some more spray adhesive. The picture was already at home, I printed out an engineer print from Staples awhile back.

Here is how you make this mock/faux canvas:

What you will need:
Foam Board - in the installation aisle where the sheet rock is at Home Depot
Spray Adhesive
Engineer Print from Staples
Straight Edge
Ruler
Pencil

How to make it:
Step 1. Cut the picture out with your straight edge

Step 2. Turn the photo upside down and measure 1/2 inch from the edge and mark it on each side and then connect the marks to make a box around the edge. So basically leaving a 1/2 border on each side.

Step 3. Cut out of piece of the foam board so that it fits the square you just made on the backside of the picture. You want the border to hang off the foam board because that is how you will cover the sides of the board.

Step 4. Lay the photo how you want it positioned on the foam board and pick up one corner and spray the adhesive and smooth out the photo. If you start with a corner instead of spraying the whole board, it makes it easier to keep the picture straight.

Step 5. After you have the picture glued down, start working on gluing down the edges

Step 6. I used a coke tab and hot glued it to the back so that I could hang the photo... worked like a charm!

Here are 2 photos I have done so far!!

I loved how the boots turned out that I wanted to make one for my son's room. I showed him a couple of photos from his Firefighter birthday party last fall and let him pick one to hang in his room. His room is decorated as a fire station and has a couple of the photos framed so there were only a handful to chose from. He has a corner of his walk in closet dedicated to his Dad's side of the family... pictures, books about Dad's, small trinkets, etc. But he said he wanted a BIG photo of his Momma and Daddy on his wall... so I made him one! Love how it turned out... I ordered a "Presentation Photo" from Staples because I wanted a colored photo instead of black and white.