30 August 2013

Oh you fancy, huh?


I’m all about words in places. You know, like  putting your last name in your living room. Or letting people know that they’re in the bathroom:
{My Fabuless Life}
 Or just reminding your guests that they’re in the kitchen so they should dine. 
 We all lose our mind sometimes, and it’s nice to remember what you’re supposed to do, where.

 That being said, I knew I wanted to put some cutsie letters on our dining room shelves.  The question was, what size? What color? Wood? Cardboard? Metal? The options are endless.

2 weeks ago I went to Hobby Lobby and their wood letters weren’t on sale. (if you don’t know…now you know…never buy anything full price from Hobby Lobby).  I browsed and their metal ones were, like the Rose we have in our living room, but I didn’t want to do the same exact letters and I also think they’re a little too large for those tiny shelves.

So I went back the following week to see if the wood ones were on sale, however I still wasn’t feeling excited about them at all. I decided to browse…(you try going to Hobby Lobby without browsing…yeah, I didn’t think so).  And that’s when I found them…the perfect shape, size, and  color!

Okay they weren’t the right color, but seriously, nothing a little spray paint can’t fix. And at .50 cents a pop…these were going to be even cheaper than the large letters that I was originally looking at. Scoooreee! (Twerking in the craft aisle).

Gold is so trending right now. I originally planned on painting these Chrome to match the appliances in the kitchen, but when I picked up our cute little vintage Sugar Tin, I was too obsessed with the idea of mixing metals...so I went with Gold and Cream. I sprayed with some Krylon Primer (just a light coat) and then 2 light coats of Krylon Metalic Gold and Krylon Paint + Primer in Cream. Easy as pie I tell you. (I never really understood that saying. Baking a pie from scratch is not easy.)  So now we will never forget what we’re supposed to do at the kitchen table. Heck ya! I’ll Dine the crap out of it. What? I don’t know. :)






Until next time,



Have Absolutely Arkansas delivered to your inbox for FREE! You'll never miss a post! Enter Email Here:


29 August 2013

Paint me like one of your French Girls




That’s what my Mason Jar said to me. I was like, “what, Mason? You’re a Leo fan?!” Okay this is getting weird. Anyway, I am sure you’ve seen those adorable painted jars all over Pinterest. There was literally zero creativity put into this quick project…just a simple copy-cat from those gorg jars on our favorite website.



What is with Mason Jars by the way? They’re the cutest ever, we all know that. I have literally purchased over 300 for our May Wedding. Real talk though…what in the heck am I going to do with 300 Mason Jars on June 1st? Yeah I don’t know either.

I’m getting off topic. Anyways, back to this project.  I literally took ONE picture when I was doing it. (I made it when I was still going through the blog-reno and wrist deep in other crafty wedding projects, and I just totally forgot about it. So please enjoy these re-enactments of painting this jar. Or go to Pinterest and find yourself a tutorial that is probably a whole heck of a lot more thorough.  :)

Supplies:
I know I said Sponge Brush..but this was all I had on hand for the reenactment ;)

  • Mason Jar (Walmart sells these Giant ones for 1.62 so that’s what I went for)

  • A paint sponge brush

  • Water

  • Acrylic Paint in your favorite color

There is a good chance you have all of the above supplies in your craft supply already. I really hope you can find water somewhere in your home.

Step one: Put a good amount of paint in the bottom of your jar and spread with the sponge brush until you have decent coverage (from my experience it’s nearly impossible to get a smooth finish…but don’t worry, we’ll fix that)



Step two: Set your jar upside down to dry for about 2-3 hours outside. (Its 1000 degree’s here so it dried right up outside). I recommend taking the lid and propping it up like so, so that the heat can get up inside the jar.

Using the lid between the paper towel helps keep it "propped"


Step three: Add a touch more paint to the bottom of the jar, along with a tablespoon of water. (this is an approximate measurement…you want it to be thin though)


Step four: attach lid. Don’t forget this step folks. You’ll have a giant mess on your hands if you do! Then Shake it like a polaroid picture. (Heeeyyy yaa). Twist and swirl and drop that Thun Thun Thun and Twerk with it on your behind. Whatever floats your boat, peeps. This will smooth out the finish. This is also my favorite step due to the dance party that occurs.

Yes. I am Shaking the jar like a polaroid picture. You're lucky I didn't decide to Twerk with it.

Step five: repeat step two. (Which is propping it up outside to dry for those of you who don’t want to scroll up) Except this time it’s best to let it dry several hours. Overnight even.

Once dry, fill with something you like! I did some Hydrangeas (fake because they never die...like my love for Luke Bryan… Jake) And put somewhere pretty! Like your Kitchen Shelves that you debuted on your blog Tuesday :) 






Easy, Peasy, Cheapie, Weapie craft. Those are all words.


See you tomorrow!



Have Absolutely Arkansas delivered to your inbox for FREE! You'll never miss a post! Enter Email Here:


28 August 2013

Wedding Wednesday

Good morning, readers!
 I am still thrilled about this amazing blog design. Did I mention that? I say "goodnight" to it every night....creeeepy. ;) Today I have a fun little party garland for you, that is a little time consuming…but so worth it on the adorable factor! You may remember this garland that was posted a LONG time ago. This is really similar, but I think way prettier. I love the illusion that the hearts are "floating", & using the fishing line really does that!



 We may be using this in our upcoming wedding…(cough cough…we totally are). I’ve had this struggle with how much of our wedding I should blog about. Trust me folks, I’ve got some solid material here, but I can’t give away the surprise when the big day comes! There will just be a series of fantastic posts after May 31st, 2014. (How many days now?! I can hardly wait!)
I'd also like to mention, it's tough to photograph these in small quantities. We've got well over 300 strands for our wedding...ah I can hardly wait to show you!

For this fun little project you’ll need

old books (I used some of Nora Roberts Finest)

Clear fishing line

Hot glue


I’m willing to bet you have these things lying around your house.  Really, it’s simple.  Cut your hearts. I find this to be easiest if you have a good template. I printed a nice size heart out on a piece of cardstock so I could use it to trace. Once you’ve stockpiled your hearts, (I used over 2000, and had hand cramps for a week) all you do is glue them to the fishing line. Dab some hot glue on a heart, place the fishing line in said glue, sandwich it between another heart and voila! Seriously, couldn’t be any easier.

It really helps to use the most Vulgar old-lady sex books you can find...HAHA!

Please excuse my bony-alien finger!




I can’t wait to show you how we use these on our special day. For now I have to go nurse my finger burns. (Kylie+Hot Glue= a mess everytime).


Until Next Time,

Kylie

Skip to my Lou/Keeping It Simple Crafts/DIY Showoff/
Home Stories A to Z / Uncommon Designs / Tip Junkie /Sugar and Dots / The Winthrop Chronicles
The Girl Creative / House of Hepworths / The Shabby Creek Cottage
Liz Marie Blog / Tater Tots & Jello / Shabby Nest / Whipper Berry /Funky Junk Interiors / Serenity Now /Classy Clutter / Someday Crafts
Reasons to Skip the Housework / Six Sisters Stuff / Be Different Act Normal


Have Absolutely Arkansas delivered to your inbox for FREE! You'll never miss a post! Enter Email Here:


27 August 2013

Shelfie



Get it? Like “selfie!” Maybe not so much, seeing as my kitchen shelves can’t take a picture of themselves, being that they are inanimate objects and all. I won’t have a ton of words for you in this quick update post, but I can tell you that Jake hates me every step of the decorating-way.

 I really believe that decorating is a process. You put something somewhere, and then in a month you might realize it looks so much better somewhere else.  That’s happened several times in our kitchen. I made a simple chalkboard using an old picture frame and some paint (no tutorial necessary…I think you can imagine how we put it together) and hung it horizontally above the table.
I have thought from the beginning that it would look so much better vertically so…I changed it. And dang right…it looks way better.  Jake hates my ever changing mind though. Because he gets most of the work ;)

Anyways our dining room is practically non-existent. It’s TIIIINNNY so I’m faced with creating an impactful space with small things. No buffet or adorable china hutch in here. Shelves are an easy, cheap decorative solution that I think pack quite the punch.

 I just love how they turned out! I picked up knick-knacks here and there, mostly thrifted or from home-goods. 



I just love the beer print. “You’re just like Beer, you make everything better”. Ain’t that the truth?


I also added a little Ikea spice jar to keep chalk in. (It's hidden behind the napkins) Simple and free since I already had it on hand.


I am obsessed with this little sugar tin. I found it at a thrift store for ONE BUCKAROO. I snagged it so quick, and looked around to make sure no one else saw me grab the best thing in the place.


These letters were a fun little project i'll share with you this week. Best part is...the whole thing was under 3 dollars.



How great are giant Mason Jars?! I saw one that was a whole gallon the other day and almost snagged it up. This one is only a half gallon...but I loveee it none the less.




My chalkboard secret is this: be a copy-cat. I am terrible at chalkboards. I just melt at Jessica over at Little Baby Garvin and her ability to just dream up an amazing, beautiful creation. Nope, not me! I go on Pinterest or Etsy and search chalkboards prints and try to draw them out myself. {Usually unsuccessfully…teach me to be as creative as you ladies!}.

This kitchen has a long way to go. It’s probably the most complete room in the house, yet we have big, big plans. Don’t worry, Jake, you’ll have plenty of time to hate me along the way. J

Until Next Time,



Have Absolutely Arkansas delivered to your inbox for FREE! You'll never miss a post! Enter Email Here:


25 August 2013

Happy

I am downright out-of-my-mind excited to share with you today. I’m talking Christmas morning/Going to Disneyland/21st birthday/haven’t slept in weeks excitement. Notice anything different around here?! HOW AWESOME DOES THIS PLACE LOOK?! Absolutely Arkansas went under the knife! And let me just say…a facelift looks good on her.
What's New?!
Let me share some of my favorite features that are new around here.
1) The obvious...it looks awesome! The header, the side buttons, the organization. Swooning all over the place.
2) Hover over a photo...I dare you. THAT'S RIGHT! You now have the ability to Pin photo's to your favorite Pin boards right from my blog. Neat-o, right?! If you're on your iPad or iPhone, just switch from mobile view, and you can click the photo to Pin. Yahoo!
3) INSTA-GRAM. I had to add the dash so you knew I was making that 2 words not 1. Notice the little feed to your right? YEAUHH! All insta's upload right to the blog. SO COOL!
3) Connect. It is so darn easy to connect now. Simply click one of the 3 buttons at the top right of the page to follow Absolutely Arkansas on Pinterest, Instagram, or Facebook!
4) Everything is organized to the max now. It will be so easy for you to click on "Projects" and find categories to help you decide on what to view. The same goes for Recipes! woot-woot!
5) Joining as never been easier. Simply "Join this site" via google, or subscribe by email. Either way, you won't miss an Absolutely Arkansas Beat!
 What does this mean for my sporadic blogging? Well, let me back up. What’s the happiest time in your day? I have several. When I can come home and see Jake and make dinner, that’s one of the happiest. Right before I fall asleep, and I’m In the state of “drifting” that’s another happiest. But what I enjoy, so, so much is sitting down, and reading my favorite blogs, learning from the amazing bloggers who came long before me who are so innovative and smart and crafty. Everything I hope this blog can be. I love to spend the weekends with Jake working through each room in our first home. I love to catalogue my projects on instagram and help another project bite the dust. This blog makes me so over-the-moon happy, so I’m going for it.
I don’t know how successful it will be working full time, fitting in projects, and blogging full time, but I am determined to find out, because if I can be a part of just one readers “happiest”, it has definitely been WELL worth it.
I really hope that you’ll join me in this adventure. I will try to keep it fun, interesting, and not half as serious as this post is. :)

Stay tuned for a week full of projects.

I will see you tomorrow!

Until Next Time,

Kylie




Have Absolutely Arkansas delivered to your inbox for FREE! You'll never miss a post! Enter Email Here: