Month: January 2014

Valentine Wreath with Paint Chip Flowers

Written by Jenna on January 16, 2014. Posted in DIY, Uncategorized. 2 Comments on Valentine Wreath with Paint Chip Flowers

Thanks all for loving my printables so much – I didn’t realize what a hit they’d be. I guess next time I should have more confidence… Weren’t all the other printables along the Blog Hop super cute as well? I am still in the romance mood (that sounded corny), and wanted to share with you a wreath I created last year. It was originally featured on Jen’s blog, but I wanted to give it a refresh and share it all with you. It’s one of my favorites to-date!

Come see how I made this Valentine Wreath with Paint Chip Flowers…

It wasn’t difficult to make at all and the flower petals were actually a bit calming to create.

The supplies I used for this wreath creation were:

Grapevine wreath ( I got mine on sale at AC Moore for $2.50)
Eucalyptus leaves
White spray paint (I used a gloss finish)
Paint chip samples in an array of pinks and reds
Hot glue gun
A heart punch or scissors to manually cut out hearts

I started off with the paint chip flowers.

Using paint chip samples in a range of colors from pinks to reds to purple, and a 1.5â€³ heart-shaped hole punch, I cut out about 40 hearts. I got this decorative paper punch at AC Moore for less than $10, but as an alternative, you could cut hearts out with plain oleâ€™ â€œold schoolâ€ scissors. The hearts may not result as exact, but the idea is still the same.

Then I cut a piece of felt about 3â€³ round (any heavier material will work as well), laid out 6 hearts around the outer edge, and secured them with a nice-sized dab of hot glue.

Then for the inner hearts, I curled the top edge using a pencil to create the look of a flower.

I layered (4) â€˜curledâ€™ hearts in the center, on top of the outer edge of hearts. To complete each flower creation, I added a small 3 dimensional piece of paint chip for the center of the â€œflowerâ€.

After making a few more flowers of different sizes (they donâ€™t all have to be this large size â€“ differing sizes make it more interesting), I added them to the wreath. Having the back of the flowers on felt, allows the ease of adding them to the wreath. With a dab of hot glue, I attached the felt-backed flowers to the wreath. Once Valentineâ€™s Day is over, the flowers can easily be removed from the wreath, and different embellishments can be added for other holidays or occasions.

This wreath truly was a joy to create and took only about an hour to make (I add the eucalyptus & spray painted the wreath Day 1 which took about 15 minutes, then made the flowers and attached them Day 2 which took about 30 minutes).

This festive Valentine wreath would be great hanging on a front door or inside the home. I have it above my fireplace â€“ itâ€™s the perfect centerpiece above my mantel.

Super cute, right?!

I like it so much because it doesn’t scream Valentine’s Day. It could really take you right through the Spring months. Wouldn’t it also look good with fall colored paint chips – Ooo, that gives me an idea!

Want to see some more of my Vday creations? Here are a few:

> The valentine burlap wreath with felt flowers that I created a few years ago

click on image for tutorial

> My ‘love’ connection wood sign. Do you see lame / dorky or wow, she’s really creative?

click on image for tutorial

Do you decorate for Valentineâ€™s day?

Central Command Center Revamped (again)

Written by Jenna on January 7, 2014. Posted in DIY. 16 Comments on Central Command Center Revamped (again)

The year has been a little slow going for me. With the 2 week christmas break for the kids + a couple involved (but uber-exciting) client projects + computer issues (my laptop keyboard stopping working due to a virus – UGH), I’m a bit behind. BUT, I’ve got something good for you… My Revamped (again) Central Command Center.

I Did It again.

This is the 3rd time I revamped our family central command center (the previous posts can be found here and here). Our hub of the home. The 30″ wall that keeps our family on track so we know where we are going when.

So why did I change it once again? Because our family needs have changed in the last year. Over time, I found that there were elements on the CCC that we weren’t using and I found that there were other things that we needed. Keep on reading and I’ll tell you all the particulars about the changes…

But before I share the 411 on the details, you might not know a little something. Our central command center (the previous version) is featured in this month’s (January 2014) Better Homes and Gardens magazine on the last page in the “I Did It” section. If you want to read more about the article + some behind-the-scenes footage, take a look at this post.

So onto the revamped (again) command center.

One of the major needs for our family (actually more so the needs of the 2 kids) were a spot to put ALL THE IMPORTANT PAPERS that they receive from school. Even though we are a “paper-less” school, a lot of 8.5 x 11’s come home each day.

When making the decision to revamp the CCC, I was on the lookout for some file folders. Obviously since the wall is small, I couldn’t get anything that was overly large. After a little searching and waiting, I found a great 3 file wire bin on Joss and Main. The size was just right, so I snagged it.

Each of the kids now has one opening and there is enough room for a few small folders for the different kinds of papers that come home (ie: school, sports, religion, etc). A cute little label front in an apple green hue pulls it all together and adds a splash of color.

So as you might notice from the before CCC, the black bins came down (after we redid the foyer, they weren’t needed anymore), and we reduced the amount of clipboards from 4 to 2. The clipboards that remain now contain our grocery list and a peek at the week ahead. The other 2 charts that went away – the chore chart and the reward chart – were relocated to another spot. BUT, I’m still going to share ALL the chart printables with you – see below.

The top of the CCC also had a few changes. I reduced the amount of inspiration framed images to one and replaced the others with a round wall clock. I realized other than the oven clock, we didn’t have any other place to tell time. Plus, an actual wall clock (which I scored at Target for less than $10) is great for learning versus the typical digital style.

The 2-month personalized calendar is still in use – a definite MUST-HAVE for our family to run!

One more change… The corkboards. Aren’t they adorable with the ikat pattern?! They are by Nate Berkus available at Target and each square panel was about $10. I put 2 together to make a rectangular look. With the previous command center, I didn’t have a place to pin ‘stuff’ like invitations, announcements, cards, etc. That was a major need, so now we have that.

The glass jar pipe clamp pen/pencil holders are still in tact and they are great + uber-functional.

And that’s about it for the updates.

The result…

And a breakdown of the changes I made for the revamped 2014 central command center…

Here’s an interesting before + after. The blank slate I started with 2 years ago and how it looks now…

It’s truly amazing how such a small wall can be used to the max. From floor to ceiling, side to side, this wall is 100% functional!

Okay, so I mentioned earlier in the post that I’d share the printables that I created for this wall. Some I still use and some I don’t, but were featured in the magazine article.

Calendar

Click to Print: Calendar Printable (for personal use only)

Grocery List / Weekly Menu

Click to Print: Grocery List (for personal use only)

Chore Chart

Click to Print: Chore Chart_2014 (for personal use only)

Reward Chart

Click to Print: Reward Chart (for personal use only)

Peek at the Week ahead

This is a printable I created for the BHG photoshoot, but the idea for this printable came from Jen at I Heart Organizing. I would never want to take someone’s idea and present it as mine, so I’m not sharing a copy of this for you to download. Instead I encourage you to print the one she created (which is much cuter than mine) or be inspired and create your own. Click here for Jen’s Peek at the Week Printable.

If you have any trouble downloading the printables, please let me know. I don’t often create printables, so I hope they are easy to print. From my end, they look good to go!

Later this week I will be guest posting about ways to create a command center in your home over at the Style Spotters blog on the Better Homes and Gardens website. Be sure to check it out and of course, I will share a link.

In the meantime, cheers to 2014 and getting organized + making life simpler for the New Year!