DIY chevron Necklace Organizer

A couple of weeks ago we traded rooms with Rachel. This resulted in us gaining a bigger closet and a better layout in our bedroom. It also meant that I lost the tree branches I had painted on the old bedroom walls in order to hang my necklaces from:







What this meant is that it was up to me to find something new to do with my necklaces, because I have a lot. (Probably twice as many now as I did in that picture)

So I looked around on Pinterest, but I couldn't something I was in love with. I ended up going to Hobby Lobby and looking around for a big wooden plaque.

I did manage to find on that I liked, so I took it home to work on, praying it was going to be big enough.

I started out by painting the edges black and middle of the plaque white. Then I started the time consuming process of using my chevron stencil and tracing chevron designs onto the wood.

I used teal paint to make the alternating chevron lines.

Next Justin screwed about a million mug hooks into the wood in an alternating pattern so the necklaces wouldn't tangle.

I love how it looks on the wall. I just need to slow down on my necklace buying... or maybe I don't.  We will see how it goes. ;)

Teal Dresser Chalk Paint Makeover

A few months ago I turned a drab wood nightstand into a fun and funky teal nightstand with the use of some homemade chalk paint.

Since we recently traded rooms with Rachel I decided that our dresser would look great if I painted it to match the nightstand.

So, I took it from this:

To this!

It was very easy to do this DIY! I left the top black, and painted the bottom half of the dresser teal. I used just a couple of coats, and since it is chalk paint, the more worn it ends up looking, the better. I love how it turned out!

Now I need to find Justin a nightstand so I can paint it to match too! :)

Be-You-Tiful Sign

Recently, we traded rooms with Rae so that we could have a bigger closet. This means there is a lot of redecorating to do in both rooms and much settling in left to do.

Rachel saw a sign that said "Be-YOU-tiful" at a craft show over the summer and she told me she wanted it. I decided to go ahead and make her one for her new room.

I bought a large wooden plaque at Hobby Lobby and painted it with some aqua chalk paint.

 After that, I gathered up some wooden letters I had laying around and painted them black. The bigger letters are for the word "YOU" and the rest of the word is in little letters, so the you is emphasized. I also used a couple of wooden stars that I painted black to break up the words. I attached all of the letters using hot glue. I love the way it turned out! And so does she! :)

Now if I could just get her to clean the rest of her room, it would all be great! ;)

{Hungry Girl} SW BBQ Quesadilla

Two things that we love in this house are quesadillas and Hungry Girl recipes. This SW BBQ quesadilla recipe was yumtastic.

Recipe makes 1 serving.

1 tablespoon of BBQ sauce with 45 calories or less per 2-tablespoon serving
1 wedge of laughing cow light creamy swiss cheese
1 large high fiber tortilla with 110 calories or less
2 ounces cooked and shredded chicken breast
2 tablespoons shredded reduced fat Mexican blend cheese
1 tablespoon canned black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon frozen sweet corn kernels,thawed
1 tablespoon chopped scallions

In a bowl mix the BBQ with cheese wedge until blended. Lay tortilla flat and spread BBQ/Cheese mixture on one half. Top mixture with remaining ingredients.

Spray skillet with nonstick spray and bring to medium-high heat. Lay the half-loaded tortilla on the skillet and cook for 2 minutes.

Using a spatula, fold the bare half of the tortilla over the filling and press lightly to seal. Carefully flip and cook until crispy, about 3 minutes. Slice into wedges.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Tuna Noodle Casserole just seems to me like it should be a staple meal in any household. This is why I could not believe I didn't have a recipe sitting around.

I found one via Pinterest from this blog: http://www.whilehewasnapping.com/2010/11/tasty-tuesday-tuna-noodle-casserole.html#axzz1PPQsyS8f

I did change the recipe a little bit by baking it for 20 minutes. Delicious!

1 package of spiral egg noodles
1 can of tuna, drained
1 cup of frozen peas
1 can of condensed cream of mushroom soup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook the egg noodles according to the directions on the package. Drain. Mix in tuna, peas, and can of soup.Place mixture in 9 x 13 casserole dish. Bake for 20 minutes.

"EAT" Letters

If you have searched for kitchen decor on Pinterest, you have likely ran into a lot of pictures with the word "EAT" hanging on the wall. I had those letters sitting in my craft cabinet for quite a few months, but I never got around to hanging them up.

Last week I took them out and dusted them off, but I decided that having them painted flat black was just not going to do the trick, so I covered them in chevron scrapbook paper!

All I did was trace the letters onto the scrapbook paper, mod podge the paper in place and then seal the top with another layer of mod podge.

When Justin got home, I batted my eyelashes and had him hang the letters up for me. I love how they turned out! My kitchen sure is coming together! Hopefully I will have more updates soon! 

What projects are you currently working on?

Distressed "Market" Sign

I have seen so many cute kitchen signs that say "Market" floating around on Pinterest.  I knew that was something I was going to have to make for my kitchen.

So, last week when I was home with a sick little girl I got to get some crafting done. This was one of my projects.

I got three pieces of balsa wood at Hobby Lobby for $1.99 a piece. They are each 2 inches wide by 36 inches long. Here's the link: http://shop.hobbylobby.com/products/36-x-2-x-3/32-balsa-wood-sheets-402917/

First, I laid the three pieces out and painted them with white chalk paint. After they dried I laid the three pieces out and attached them together using popsicle sticks as a brace.  This worked out well since the pieces were so lightweight.

Next, I printed off what the word "Market". Sorry, I can't recall the font/size. But I did have to print it out across four separate pages.

I taped the pages together and laid them out across the boards. I traced the letters onto the board so that the letters were indented into the wood.

I then outlined the letters with a sharpie, and painted the letters in with black paint.

I only did one coat, since I knew I was going to distress the sign.

As soon as the paint was dried I used a sanding block to scuff it up.

Lastly, we hung it up above my kitchen sink using some heavy duty poster strips. I think this made my kitchen feel so much more homey!