DIY Wooden Stained Sign

January 3, 2013 By 1 Comment

I am so excited to share this tutorial with you today because, well, it’s easy for one but it also turned out absolutely amazing!

For Christmas this year I knew I wanted to make at least SOME of my gifts, not like last year where I made them all, I needed to save my pregnant sanity by not cramming too many things in I couldn’t get done so I decided I’d make my mother-in-law, my Mom’s and my both my sister and my sister-in-law’s gifts, they all turned out AMAZING and this is something I made both my Mother-in-Law and my Mom.

diy wooden stained sign

Ok, let’s get to it!

:: What you’ll need :: 

  • wooden plank sign (my husband bought the raw wood and nailed together the plank for me but you can have the hardware store do this for you or whatever).
  • Stain
  • Vinyl
  • Two rags (one to wipe ON the stain and one to wipe off)

Step 1:

Construct sign if not already done, this is what ours looked like in it’s raw form.

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Step 2:

Create and cut vinyl design (or use pre made designs you can find at craft stores if you don’t have a Silhouette or other die-cutting machine). I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out the vinyl for both the signs I made.

Line up and stick to your board in the exact placement you want the words to appear.

BE SURE to get out all air bubbles and that it’s stuck very well so the stain doesn’t bleed.

(I had left-over pink vinyl that I used for this, color doesn’t matter at all since you’ll just peel it off)

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Step 3:

Use rag to wipe stain all-over board covering letters and entire sign. I used a second rag to wipe off excess stain as I went since I didn’t want some places to be darker than others, this was by-far the easiest way I found to apply the stain, brushes aren’t made to apply stain.

sorry, I didn’t take a picture before I peeled off the vinyl 

Step 4: 

Once the stain is dry (if applied correctly, it should be dry within a few minutes), peel away the vinyl letters.

WAALAA!!

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This was LITERALLY one of the easiest projects I’ve ever done (except for a slight problem I had with the vinyl getting hung in my Silhouette while making the one on the left) and definitely one of my favorite things I’ve ever made too.

I’m totally going to be making myself one for our dining room, I just can’t get enough!

If you make one and blog about it, be sure to let me know, I’d love to see yours!

Filed Under: crafting, Crafts, Projects, Silhouette, tutorials 1 Comment

The Creative Exchange

August 1, 2012 By 5 Comments

Yes, I’ve changed things up again and I am so happy! When I made the switch to JessicaStansberry.com I did it on a whim and I just wasn’t happy from Day 1, nothing seemed to click and even though it WAS “me”, it just wasn’t me. So, born is The UNdomesticated Momtrepreneur! I’ve been playing with this name ever since I switched from Freckles & Dirt and am in love with it and my design so don’t worry, nothing will change for a while anymore, PROMISE!

 

Ok, now back to our regularly scheduled blog post.

You might remember that I participated in my first blogging swap a little bit ago and I had SO MUCH fun, so when I found The Creative Exchange, hosted by Covered in Mod Podge, Covered in Grace & The Grant Life, I knew I had to participate!

 

The rule was that we sent items that we crafted or sent a box full of crafting supplies to the blogger we were paired up with.

 

I’m pretty certain that I got paired up with the most creative blogger ever, April from Illi Style. Seriously you guys, I was like “Crap, what am I going to make her, she already knows how to do EVERYTHING!?!”.

 

I ended up making her some mustache and camera coasters and a mustache mug and I couldn’t have been happier!

 

Wanna sneak peek? I honestly hate to do this because I just mailed her package yesterday (the deadline, procrastinate much?) and it won’t get to her until Friday/Saturday/Monday so this will ruin the surprise. So, if this is you April, DON’T LOOK!

 

 

Linking up today at the hosts of the Creative Exchange!

Filed Under: blogging, Crafts, link-up, Projects 5 Comments

It’s Dino Party Time!

July 10, 2012 By 4 Comments

Have I mentioned lately that my little one will be TWO, t.w.o, years old in, oh, 21 days!?!?

Well, he is and I’m freaking out a little bit. This kid is growing up like crazy and after all of the changes I’ve seen in him from ONE to TWO years old, I look forward to and dread from TWO to THREE, it just means he’s growing up. No matter what I do, he’s growing up!

He has started telling me when he poops, TMI? He’ll walk up, hold his diaper and say “I poot” and 99% of the time he really has. If I was tweeting that I’d say #holycrapmykidisabigboyandcantellmewhenhepooped but I’m not tweeting that and I don’t believe in really long hashtags, lol.

Anyway, all of that aside, we’re having a dino party in a few weeks around these parts, because, well, homeboy is in love with dinosaurs! Trucks are a close second, but dinos, dinos are the best thing since cookies to Case.

In preparation (and a little late actually) for the party, I decided instead of designing the invitations this year that I’d make them by hand and use my Silhouette Cameo to help me cut out cute little dinosaurs!

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I just got blank cards & the stamp for the ‘you’re invited’ insides at Michaels and used Scrapbooking paper I already had, cut the background to size, the little strips & the dinosaurs all with my Cameo and glued it together. I love them! I’m a little short on them so I doubt everyone will get one because I have to keep one for his book but at least some people will know I’m super creative (not).

Hope everybody’s having a great week!

Filed Under: crafting, Crafts, life, Mommy talk, Silhouette 4 Comments

Mother’s Day Gifts

June 6, 2012 By 1 Comment

Woah, I’m late on this…I…know…sorry!

I made both my Mom & my Mother-in-Law these awesome glass etched plates and monogrammed candles for Mother’s Day and I had to share!

Wait, before I start…feel free to blow.up.Pinterest with these easy awesome ideas!

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Cute, right? Here’s what you’ll need.

  • Candles (dollar store, Walmart, anywhere) – just get them to coordinate with the persons home, etc.
  • Vinyl & a Silhouette Machine (or Cricut or just buy Vinyl letters, whatevs)
  • Washi tape (OMG…this stuff is the best, I could die for washi tape)
  • A mirror plate (again, dollar store, Walmart…)
  • Etching cream

Step 1 :: 

Cover those candles with washi tape!

It’s that easy, take washi tape and roll it around the candle like you want it. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

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Step 2 ::

Cut out your monogram letter using your Silhouette Machine, they have awesome tutorials on their blog about the best way to do this BUT, if you’re having trouble with yours cutting all the way through the vinyl with the factory cut settings in the software, refer to this site, their setting specifications are peeerrrffeeeccttt!

Step 3 ::

Stick that monogram on baby. Use transfer paper or not, just stick it.

Step 4 ::

Cut out the stencil for your etched design. I chose to have a quote on my plates. Remember, when creating a stencil you keep the negative space and throw away the actual letters.

Step 5 ::

Etch that glass. Follow the exact.same.steps that are listed on this tutorial I published a while back.

Wala, easy peasy! Right?

Here are the finished products for your viewing pleasure!

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Let me know if you try this.

Filed Under: Crafts, Projects, Silhouette, tutorials 1 Comment

Spring Swap

May 18, 2012 By 1 Comment

I’m putting off this week in Instagram until Sunday or so because I’m going to a wedding Saturday and plan to include some pics of that!

I am part of a Christian Ladies group on Facebook that has truly been a BLESSING to my life.

A way to ask for prayer when needed.

Connect with other shop owners & bloggers who are in my same faith.

A place for friends to “get together” from the comfort of our own homes.

Sweet Aleks from our group (she’s getting married next month y’all and I think she’s freakin’ out a little) arranged a Spring Swap. Now, I had never been involved in a Bloggers Swap before and I didn’t know what to expect.

I had a GREAT partner who sent me some ADORABLE goodies.

Made a new friend.

And got to create a few crafty things to send my lovely partner.

Ahhh, wonderful.

Side Note :: It was a suggestion that at least something be handmade that was in our goodies to one another. 

Here are the goodies that Heather sent me…

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Gelly Rolls (because I told y’all about my love of pens, right?), a mini-journal, handmade CUTE bobby pins and crafting flowers.

I sent her a few things that I purchased and then I made these adorable coasters, I’ve been so excited to show them off and hopefully Heather will have some photos of the other stuff I sent on her blog…I totally forgot to take pics of my box before I mailed it back to her.

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I made these with tile from Lowes, vinyl, my Silhouette Cameo & a little mod podge. I love coasters, I’m getting ready to embark on making myself some new ones!

This swap was a ton of fun, seriously!

Heather sent my goodies in an Erin Condren box and I sent her loot back in the same box, pretty sure I won the recycler of the year award and the award for confusing my swap partner for that one!

Anytime anybody wants to involve me in a swap, I’m all for it! I would love to host one but don’t even see myself having time for that until like after Christmas (no joke) so doubt that’ll happen. LOL!

Aleks has a link-up going on over on her blog so we can all link up and be jealous of see each others’ stuff! Check it out, I’m sure it’ll be fun!

aleks handmade
Filed Under: blogging, crafting, Crafts, Projects 1 Comment

Fancy Little Things

April 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Well, Fancy Little Things blog that is…I’m over there today sharing a DIY/upcycling post for chalkboard water bottle labels! Be sure you stop by!

Here’s a sneak peak!

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Filed Under: Crafts Leave a Comment

My first sewing project..woohoo!

November 11, 2011 By 3 Comments

I have been wanting to try to be ‘crafty’ for a while now. I have TONS of ideas in my head and on my Pinterest boards and I mentioned before that everybody on my Christmas list should expect homemade gifts this year so I thought I better get started.

The first project was a camera strap cover. I saw the tutorial for this probably a year ago on Kevin & Amanda’s blog and I knew I HAD to have a sewing machine. LOL. My mom bought me one for my birthday (eh em, my birthday’s in March) and the hubs bought me some accessories. Well, it sat in my bedroom floor this long and I don’t know why! I think I was intimidated, I just didn’t know where to start and I knew it’d be hard to do anything with a toddler running around.

I’ve never even touched a sewing machine before yesterday, at least not that I can remember anyway. I broke out the thing and I knew how to make it go and stuff but I couldn’t figure out how to thread it and the instructions were crap. So, I loaded up my car with the machine and supplies, bundled up the baby and headed down to the bottom of the driveway (long driveway) to my husband’s grandmother’s house and asked her to help me. Between her knowledge and the instructions, we figured it out and a sewed a few seams and I was ready!

I came back home and measured and cut my material and made my first strap! I have plans for making myself (and one for a Christmas gift) one with a ruffle going down the middle but I thought I needed to master the actual strap first so I just started basic.

This is how is turned out.

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I have decided I’ll be giving this particular one as a Christmas gift to a good friend of mine and I’m pretty darn excited about it.

What do you think? Did I do good? LOL!

Last night as I was laying in bed I realized that it needed a pouch to store the lens cap! I am not always wearing pockets when I take photos and I never have anywhere to put the stupid cap so I thought this was a great ideas. So, I sewed together a little pouch (confession, I didn’t even measure, I just eyeballed it with the cap and it came out a little short but still functional) and then used my hot glue gun (bought at the same time as the sewing machine, was also still in the box) to glue the pouch to the strap.

This is what the final strap looks like.

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I am so excited! I’m ready to get crackin’ on the other two straps I’m making for myself and another gift and then the other crafts I have in my head! The hubs is home all day today and I’m hoping that he’ll bring my old desk downstairs for me so I can set my machine up in my bedroom because, right now, the sewing machine is sitting on the vanity in my bathroom! LOL!

I probably won’t be posting about any of the other crafts I make until after Christmas because if any of the recipients are reading (and I know they are), I don’t want to spoil the surprise.

Are you guys making anything handmade for Christmas this year? Or do you have any good crafts I should try now that I’ve figured out my machine?

I just have to take the time today to say Happy Veterans Day to all of the past, present and future military men/women and their families! My brother-in-law is a Marine and we (the family) are so proud of him and his family because it takes so much strength to do what he (and everyone else in this position) does!

Happy Friday!

I’m still looking for guest posts/bloggers, please let me know if you’re interested!

Filed Under: Crafts 3 Comments

I’ve got the crafting bug

September 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I am naturally a crafty person. If I see something I want, I think of a way I can make it instead of having to buy it.

The problem is. I don’t make the time to actually BE crafty. I have a sewing machine that my Mom got me for my birthday (March) that I’ve never used. I have a hot glue gun I bought around that same time that, you guessed it, has never been used. I have paint and primer ready for my crafting projects and they just sit there, down in the basement, all lonely.

Well, I have to get to crafting, I just have to! This year for Christmas, I’m going to have to craft if anybody wants gifts, lol! We’re a lot lower on money approaching the Holiday season than we ever have been and I’m going to have to be thrifty which means crafting for Christmas. Oooohhh…that’ll probably be a new series on this here blog, Crafting for Christmas. Oh, the ideas!

Anyway, I thought I’d show you some of the craft projects at the top of my list (there are hundreds more, these are just the ones at the top, mainly because they look easy).

Oh, if you are on my Christmas list, don’t be surprised if one of these shows up under your tree!

Filed Under: Crafts Leave a Comment

Homemade Biscuits {tutorial}

August 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I’d never tasted a real “homemade” biscuit until I started dating my husband.
My mother-in-law and Grandmother-in-law make them all the time, it’s the norm…

What? No biscuits out of can? Nope. I don’t know that either one have them have ever bought those kind of biscuits.
It’s all I’d ever had.

Let me just state that I love biscuits from a can.
They’re my favorite to eat.
But the dough from homemade biscuits is yummy
AND
My husband won’t hardly eat the canned biscuits.
So, I had to learn.

They’re fairly easy. But Messy.

Prep-time: 10-15 minutes
Cook-time: 12 minutes 

You’ll need: 

  • Self-rise Flour (2 cups/15 small biscuits or 12 large)
  • Sifter
  • Crisco – Vegetable Shortening. I prefer the name brand, any off-brand has never worked well for me.
  • Cookie Cutter
  • Milk (just a tad)

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I keep my flour in a storage bowl. Living in the south, I use flour a lot. It’s easy access this way so that I’m not trying to scoop my sifter into the bag everytime.

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Get Started:




    

  • Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.
    • 

  • Grease pan (if you use a metal pan, I’d recommend greasing it with crisco instead of spray)
    • 










Step #1


Sift about 2 cups of flour into mixing bowl.




    

  • I have an old-timey sifter (I found this at Mast General Store, if you haven’t been to one of these, you need to…they’re awesome!) and it has a 1 cup mark on the inside so I usually do 2 of these.
    • 







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Step #2


Scoop 2 HEAPING tablespoons of Crisco per cup into mixture.

Since there are two cups here, I scooped 4 tablespoons.


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 Step #3


Work Crisco into flour with the spoon.


Basically, I use the back of the spoon to “smoosh” the Crisco into the flour. It’ll start forming little itty bitty balls or flakes of crisco/flour mixture.


This is what you want!


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I actually think I put a little too much Crisco in my mixture, the flakes are normally smaller than this but it’s ok as long as it looks something like this. 


Step #4


Pour in just enough milk to moisten the mixture. This is where you’d add buttermilk if you want to make buttermilk biscuits.


I hate I don’t have a measurement here but I just don’t, I’m sorry. Just a little though, maybe a few tables spoons.

 If you pour too much – add some more flour to try and thicken it back up.

 If you pour too little – add more milk.

 Basically, you just want enough to make it all stick together into a ball, or a least gather.


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Step #5


Stir up the mixture until it sticks together but is wet. Like I described above.


Step #6 & #7


Coat clean countertop with sifted flour and plop mixture onto surface.


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 Step #8


Sift flour all over the top of the “ball”.


*As you can see, mine is not a "ball" yet, it is just a goopy mess, that's what you want.


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Step #9


Knead mixture into a ball. If you’ve never “knead-ed” dough before, you just fold it from bottom to top with one hand and then repeat with the other, it’s actually fairly easy. If you need additional help, I’m certain that there’s a YouTube video for that. 

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Keep adding flour to your mixture while you’re kneading until it’s not longer sticky. Be careful not to add too much flour though, it’ll cause it to be tough and hard to work with.


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Step #10


Roll the mixture out with a rolling pin (or, as some do, flatten with your hands).


This needs to be about 1/4 of a inch (maybe a little less) thick.


 


Step #11


Use biscuit cutter (cookie cutter) to cut biscuits out of rolled mixture.


I normally use a bit of a smaller cutter just out of habit but I couldn’t find it. You can make any size you want.


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Make sure that you put some flour on the ends of your cutter so it doesn’t stick. 


After you have cut all you can, re-knead the mixture and re-cut until you get as many as you need/want.


Step #12


Place on your baking pan. I use a Pampered Chef baking pan (I have like a million) and they are VERY seasoned so I don’t have to grease them. If you’re using one of these for the first time, you can either use spray or Crisco so they won’t stick but I actually recommend spray for this because it will help season your pan for later use. If you’re using a metal pan, coat with Crisco so the biscuits don’t stick. 

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Place into oven for about 12 minutes.

*If you’d like, brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter before baking them. I like this but my hubby doesn’t.* 


Step #13


Eat the dough. It’s great. Well, some will think so. I love it, the hubby loves it, the baby loves it :) . Oh and this is how you corral a 1-year-old while you’re doing this messy task.


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Step #14


Drool while they bake.


They are done when they are golden brown on top.

More Brown = more done

Less Brown = more doughy 

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Step #15


Enjoy :)

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Filed Under: Crafts, Random   Leave a Comment

	

		


				
First {Giveaway}!

		
		
June 20, 2011  By  14 Comments 
		

			
I am so excited to be offering my FIRST giveaway just a week or so into releasing this blog! How great is that?!? While I was building this site I came across an opportunity to do a product review and host a giveaway for My Memories, applied and was accepted and I could not think of a better first giveaway! If you know me, or if you continue to read/follow this blog you’ll learn that I LOVE digital scrapbooking. No matter how I make the layouts (by Photoshop or digital scrapbooking software), I love the creativity required and I love the way there is NO MESS and there’s always an undo button!




Want to learn how to digi-scrap with easy-to-use, awesome scrapbook software?!? With My Memories Suite Version 2.0 you can create albums and so much more to display those digital pictures that are just sitting on your desktop (poor little photos, don’t you know they’re sad). When you digi-scrap you can choose to print your albums and made BEAUTIFUL hardbound books to display in your home OR, leave them in digital format and share via social media sites, photo sharing sites and even your own blogs! My Memories Suite is AWESOME in the fact that if you choose to print, it’s super simple, you just upload and print it right from the software and if you choose to leave it in digital format you can add music, videos, etc to your album…cool, right? It’s also very easy to share the album on social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, etc) straight from the software. For those of you who have wanted to try out digital scrapping but didn’t want to shell out the big bucks on editing software like Adobe Photoshop or if you don’t have a steady connection to the Internet so those Internet services were a no go…this is perfect for you! The software is downloaded to your computer (either Mac or Windows) and you work completely offline (you have the option to go online with the click of a button and download new papers, etc) so no Internet connection is needed…oh yeah!


With this program you can be as creative or not-creative as you want, it’s totally up to you. There are templates to choose from or you can design from scratch! Video tutorials are a great way to learn your way around and get started with the software and they are super easy to follow! When I started using the software I wanted to see how quickly I could use the templates and create a page…2 minutes flat! That has to be a record! There can be no excuse that you have no time for scrapbooking with this software because it couldn’t be easier! Want to see the layout I did in 2 minutes? Here ya go!




Ever heard of Mommy cards? Super cool idea! They’re essentially business cards for Mom’s with the mom’s information, baby’s name and contact information so that they can easily swap information for play dates, etc. You know that sounds cool…or at least I do! I decided to whip one of those up and see how quickly I could do that with this software, again, super quick (I didn’t time this one but it was less than 10 minutes)! This was designed totally from scratch and could have had a photo or two but I decided you probably didn’t want to see baby C or my face anymore than you have to :) .




You would just print out at home on cardstock or even print online anywhere where the “business card” size is available.


All-in-all, this software is amazing and I think you should try it! Seriously, do you want to?


I have one (1) to give away!!!!




Here’s how to enter:


Must Have:

1. Go to www.mymemories.com, visit their shop and come back and leave me a comment telling me what you would love to have most!


Extra Entries:

1. Like me on Facebook, leave a comment saying you’ve done this.

2. Like My Memories on Facebook, leave a comment saying you’ve done this.

3. Follow My Memories on Twitter, leave a comment saying you’ve done this.

4. Subscribe to my RSS feed, leave a comment saying you’ve done this.

5. Follow me on Google Friend Connect. Look over there —–>, just click, login and follow


So…you have the option to enter 6 times if you do everything above! 


I will announce the winner on Saturday, June 25th.


Can’t wait to get the My Memories Suite? I don’t blame you!

Just for being the awesome company they are, My Memories is offering all of my readers $10 off of the My Memories Suite when you enter code STMMMS39307 at checkout! This offer expires 10 days from today so ACT QUICK!


 


 

		

		
Filed Under: Crafts, Photography, Products, Random   14 Comments

	

	
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