When My Husband Gets His Craft On

He was in the garage most of Christmas Eve and Christmas Eve Eve.

From our closet where I was fetching the boys' present to wrap, I could hear sawing and hammering on the other side of the wall. There was some cursing, too. And there were multiple trips to Home Depot and Hobby Lobby.

I knew it would be good.

But I didn't know it would be THIS good.



He constructed and stained the frame, cut out the openings, and printed and matted the pictures (including that one of us from two weeks ago, BIG, right in the middle).

I ADORE it. Talk about a labor of love. Evidently I'm not the only crafty one in this family!

Paint Matters

We moved.

Our new place is AMAZING. I feel like I'm living in someone else's beach house for the weekend (and enjoying every minute of it) but Monday, I'm gonna have to go back home. It's a little surreal.

In a new place, you get a lesson on accentuating the positive. This place has 10 ft. ceilings, a reeeaaalllly wide front hallway, fabulous 18" tile floors, lovely kitchen counters (granite and Caesar stone!) and big, light-filled rooms. I told you--lots of positives! And the previous owners painted it...Dog Puke Yellow. It was a dirty, mustard-y, lifeless, brownish yellow. No redeeming qualities and didn't do this beautiful house any favors.

So! My first order of business: PAINT.

Thankfully, my dad is a long-time professional painter and my husband has a lot of practice painting interiors. I did not hesitate to put them to work. I just could not abide the yellow. And our time-frame allowed us to paint for two days before the actual moving process started. Painting an empty house is the way to go.

And now for some before and afters!

I will be tweaking this house for...well, probably for as long as we live here! So this is just the 1st of MANY "afters!"

{paint color details appear at the end of this post}

The dining area, BEFORE. I knew I wanted to give this space a little "wow" because it gets nice light and frames the backyard view. Our rental had no back yard so you know I'm appreciating this one!



AFTER. My only accent wall, painted in "Aqueduct," with our dining room table and chairs. I envision bamboo shades for these windows. Someday I may paint the table and chairs black.



A different look. These were the cookies waiting for Andrew when he arrived home from school after his first day of kindergarten!



My baby started school! Sniff, sniff. As cute as he is, all I'm looking at are the wall colors behind him!



Kitchen BEFORE. To me, the paint color just makes the cabinets and counters disappear.



(almost) AFTER kitchen. Our new color makes the taaaallll cabinets stand out and compliments the Caesar stone counters. It wasn't trimmed out yet, nor was the ceiling done. I'll add that "after" ASAP!



Pantry was just dingy! BEFORE...



...and AFTER. Just gave it a cleaning and two coats of "Swiss Coffee" white. The paint was trimmed out around the outside at this point, too, which really helps.



Looking from front door, BEFORE. This was from the MLS listing.



...AFTER. I envisioned our turquoise sideboard here, I think it will stay. Just needs some artwork above and accessorizing.



The hall looking toward the front door, BEFORE.



The hall, AFTER.



I adore the bright, light, airy feel! Plus it's still very neutral, so we can add more fun colors to the mix. I'm very excited about personalizing our space! Stay tuned!

INTERESTED IN THE PAINT COLORS? "Sea Salt" walls (eggshell), "Crystal Clear" ceiling (flat) and "Swiss Coffee" trim (satin). All Sherwin Williams.

The three paint colors together.



And in natural light.



More to come!!

I Heart Turquoise

I've been wearing turquoise for most of my life. Clothes, shoes, jewelry, I've always loved it. I think it's because it's beachy (I grew up in Florida), clean and vibrant. It makes me feel relaxed and energized at the same time. It's fun that it can go with green, orange, red, pink and a variety of other colors.

At the house we lived in for seven years, however, my color scheme was taupe, paprika and sage green (as you can see here).



No turquoise. My earth tones needed some sky!

Then my husband was working for a Chinese imports store and brought THIS turquoise sideboard home. HELLO!!

(see my old "paprika" wall??)



"But that doesn't go with anything!" I despaired. I thought he was nuts-o but it quickly grew on me. Now it's one of my favorite pieces of furniture EVER. Eventually I started adding more turquoise to our decor.

Like this Southern Living At HOME (now Willow House, which I am currently a rep for) painting that I got on clearance. I adore the colors.



Here they are together in our former dining area.



I like the turquoise piece better in the rental with the "fresh guacamole" paint! That's more of the direction we'll be going in our next place. I love the turquoise pitcher, too, of course.

I also spray painted my patio set turquoise. It really jazzed it up!



AND did a DIY artwork trio in shades of turquoise to brighten up our living space.



You can find the artwork tutorial HERE.



I FINALLY got my true turquoise fix when I went CRAZY and painted my former craft room Glidden's "True Turquoise."



With Glidden's "Orange Slice?" Divine! And inspiring for a creative space!



I am DEFINITELY looking forward to showcasing my love of turquoise as we decorate our next house--which we will be closing on two weeks from today! Wahoo!!

Looking for a MAJOR turquoise fix and oodles of gorgeous design inspiration?? Head on over to House of Turquoise. Talk about eye candy!! I've spent hours on this site. You'll be addicted, too!

QUESTION: What color do you looooove?? How does it make you feel?

Flip Flop card tutorial

It's about time I did a card-making tutorial, eh??

I'm addicted to these flip flop cards because there are a million fun things you can do to embellish them and you can use them as cards or invitations for virtually any occasion.

My five-year-old crafting buddy made these. Well, she chose all the "ingredients" and assembled them--I did the tracing and cutting.



Here's another variation....

I printed invitation info. four to a page in Word and used that for the top layer for these. Adorable!!



The flowers are just paper embellishments with a little bling.



First you need to print the template out on cardstock and cut them out.

Materials:
paper
cardstock
glue
flower embellishment
ribbon
scissors

{For these to be sturdy, I prefer card stock for the bottom layer but you can certainly use regular paper, then just add card stock onto the back for durability.}

Using your template, trace and cut the smaller shape out of a solid color IF you want to write on the front. Cut the larger shape out of pretty paper. If the back will be solid, feel free to use two prints for the front.

Before adhering the layers together, cut ribbon for the straps and adhere to the smaller (top) layer. I stapled mine at the top then glued them to the back.

If you prefer to use a silk flower and brad, adhere that during this step, too, so the brad will be hidden between the layers.

Adhere the layers together. If you're using a paper flower, adhere it now.

Viola!!

{notice the ends of the ribbon and the brad are hidden between the layers)



If you use a solid for the top layer, you can stamp a sentiment.



For a folded card, trace the larger flip flop on at the edge then cut. Add embellishments. You could do a double layer on the front, of course. You can use virtually any note card for this but one with a cute print is, naturally, ideal.

I used madras plaid note cards for this one.



Do a search on "flip flop card template" for a gazillion other ideas and templates. The possibilities are endless!

Use them for pool party invitations, birthday invites or just as a thinking of you card. They are so charming! Would also be a fun craft for girls. They love picking out their paper and do-dads.

Have fun!!

Organizing paperwork with clipboards

I loved this idea from my recent "Parents" magazine. To corral every one's paperwork, use decorative clipboards! They adhered paper to fit then added chipboard letters to spell each name. You can attach invitation, receipts, reminders, etc.



Here's the one I made for me, using a junky old clipboard I had sitting around. I also attached a pen and hung it next to our family calendar.





Drew's will be next {but more manly, of course}!

My new obsession: fabric flower brooches!

When I see "brooches" I want to pronounce it like it's spelled but I'm pretty sure it's pronounced like "broaches," right??

I should just call them "pins."

Either way, these fabric flowers are addicting. I'm wearing one today and it just makes me feel....kicky!! {Here's me, TODAY, wearing it!}



I also bought more fabric to experiment with combinations. The one on the left is just FUN, then I'm going to use the polka dots for a set for a friend's daughter, probably for hair clips. Then I need some for Valentine's Day, of course!!



The three on the left below are a set called "Butterfly Garden," so I'm going to see how it looks with different fabrics in one flower. The argyle is for a friend who likes argyle, to go on her Valentine's Day card.



I'm so excited!!

Hi, my name is Tabitha....

...and I'm addicted to crafts.

Honestly? I just wanted an excuse to buy some of the cute fabric I see in my paper shopping excursions. This fabric caught my eye and I adore it.

This is the first of many of these fabric flower brooches!!



I sewed a pin to stiff felt then hot glued it to the back of the flower so it's not floppy.



I wore the above pin to Bunco last night and got compliments and feedback. We agreed--smaller would be better. I'm going to secure it to the felt better, too, to cut down on the floppiness. They loved it, though!

I actually made another one today, just a bit smaller. This one, I'll keep! I made a third--they just keep getting better--and it's going into the shop, attached to a card!



And here is
The Tutorial

My best tip is to hold it the way she's showing in the picture when you cut it, or you end up with a pile of scraps. Practice on paper or "junk fabric" first. Also, you do have to cut it almost all the way around, in an oval. Unfold it once and check the depth of your petals before you unfold it all the way. It's fun to experiment!!

I hope you'll try it, they're a blast!!!

Paper flower tutorial

By Dozi Design

Nope, these paper flowers were not my idea.

But I love them!!!

These would be fun for a variety of Valentine's Day craft projects!



Here's a link to

The Tutorial

I used double-sided paper cut into 4x4 squares. The polka dot paper is Valentine's Day, the other two are Amy Butler. I used a dab of hot glue to secure it underneath so it wouldn't unravel. I love how each one turned out slightly different! An imperfect spiral actually makes the flower more interesting! It will be fun to experiment with larger squares.



Here's how I used one of them. Any other ideas???