Etsy = Easy

Each year I look forever to find the perfect Christmas card to send to all our family and friends.  I check all the traditional places (photoshops, drug stores and Walmart).  My fear every year is that I will send the same card as other members in my family and since our family is so unique I want a card that shows our personality.

This year I checked Etsy.  I have purchased baby girl hair bows on there before and found other unique items, but never did I think they would have christmas cards.  It was so easy!!!!  We used Conveying You Designs by Kim Nelson.  We selected the design we liked, emailed a picture and our proof was sent to us about 4 hours later (they say 24 to 48 hours).  Once we approved the print, a jpeg was emailed to us and we were able to get them printed at our local print shop.  In a matter of 24 hours (faster if we were on the ball) we had the perfect Christmas greeting ready to be mailed out.  The design cost us $15 and then we could print as many as we wanted where we normally print photos.  This is awesome since our list seems to be growing each year but the choice between 25 or 50  (the number most online christmas cards offer) is too big of a jump.

Take it from a girl that has shopped around...these are the best looking Christmas cards for the price.  We are so thrilled with them.  Even the Mr. approved these, now that's a good Christmas card!  Now that the cards are out, stay tuned for other fabulous Christmas projects!

Joel Bray of House and Home

Where have I been????  

I guess in the process of living in the states, then making the move back to Canada and having a baby I lost track of my friend Joel.  Last time I saw Joel was at my wedding, and while I knew he would one day be hugely successful I had no idea just how quickly he would do it.  For those of you who are avid House and Home readers you know exactly who I'm talking about.  Joel Bray is a design editor for House and Home magazine, and how did I find out...I saw him in the December 2010 issue of the magazine.  I started yelling out loud "Joel...it's Joel".  Luckily I was at my Mom's who also loves House and Home (and my friend Joel) so she appreciated this monumental moment in my life.  Not since the Boss first said "Dada" have I been so proud (she will regain the title when she says "Moma").

So how did I spot him???  Well I loved this cute needless christmas tree idea.  Here is the DIY image that introduced me to Joel's success.  See the project video here.  Adorable!

Congratulations Joel on your success!  I am so happy for you and can't wait to follow all of your great design tips!

Joel and Me on my wedding day!

I love....

I've seen different sayings and different versions of this popping up everywhere.  One of my favourites though are by Jen Ramos on Made by Girl.  You can order her I love blogs and coffee here either in print form or unwrapped canvas.  Such a cute piece of art for the blogger in your life.  If I was to order one I would need it to include "Jumperoo".

Dear Fisher Price, 

Thank you for inventing a toy that not only keeps my child occupied while I catch up on my blogs, but also tires her out so she is ready for a nap when I am ready to DIY.

Love, Chic Momma

* This is not intended to be a copy of an original design but instead a fun take on a great piece of art!  This piece is not for sale but to purchase an original visit Jen Ramos at Made by Girl

So Sweet...I Feel Honoured

Thank you so much Sarah @ The Birds Papaya for this award!  It was so sweet of you and I hope you get as much inspiration from my blog as I get from yours!  I have no idea how you accomplish all you do as a mother of THREE!!!  You're awesome!

Rules for accepting this award are:

1. Thank & link back to the person who awarded you this.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Pay it forward to 15 recently discovered great bloggers.

4. Contact those bloggers and tell them about their award.

 Here are 7 things about me!  Much harder than you'd think.

1.  I'm a middle child...enough said.

2. One of my favourite things about my husband is how much he enjoys shopping with me.  While he would prefer to be watching football or doing anything else sports related, he is always willing to take me shopping when I want to go.

3.  I enjoy watching sports almost as much as my hubby does!

4.  My Starbucks order is a tall, soy, chi-tea latte OR a double tall, no whip, toffee mocha (if I need the caffeine...anytime I am out alone with the Boss).

5.  It's my goal/ dream to one day be on HGTV doing something fabulous!

6.  I would rather be in labour than be pregnant! 

7.  I am pretty much useless in the kitchen.  Even following a recipe rarely works out for me. Infact, given the option I would eat pasta everyday.  There is nothing about food that really interests me.

These are the blogs I would like to recognize.  Unfortunately, I don't follow 15 blogs yet (still really new to this) so I would like to highlight just a few of my favs!

Melissa @ Hare Styling for her amazing sense of style for your home and being my partner in crime!

Mrs. De Vore @ Dwellings by De Vore for her inspiring thrifty finds that turn into must have pieces.  Cannot believe the way she re-purposes old furniture.  Not sure she is recently discovered but still a must check out blog!

Christi and Rebekah @ Y Pastor's Wives for their inspiration and encouragement.

Jen @ Jen C Designs for her creativity and fun digital scrap booking materials.  If you like to scrap book this is a blog you must follow!

Hair Bows and Letter Art

I recently completed two projects for the Boss' nursery.  I created a frame to hang her hair bows and I spiced up letters above her crib.

First, I started with the yellow frame seen in this picture.  I picked it up at a thrift store for $2.  I disassembled it and sprayed it white.

Next, I cut a piece of cardboard to fit in the frame.  I then glued batting to the cardboard and covered it with material.  I then glued pieces of ribbon to the board in an X pattern and glued buttons to where the ribbons crossed to add detail.

When this was done I put the finished product in the frame I sprayed and hung it on her wall.  It looked great and was perfect for hanging all her bows on.

The second project was her name letters.  These are her letters pre-makeover.  I felt like they were boring and didn't really add anything to the look of the room.  Let's also talk about how they hung awkwardly on the ribbons.

I traced the letters onto scrapbook paper and then cut them out.  I then mod-podged them to the painted letters and trimmed off the excess.

When they were dry I hung them on her wall. I know, the second "E" needs some adjusting.

To see her full nursery feel free to check it out on Project Nursery.

LOVE Lonny

www.lonnymag.com

I LOVE Lonny because Nate Berkus told me too.  I was catching up on the Nate Berkus Show yesterday while working on hair bows for a baby shower my sister is going to this weekend (that's right, I was making them and she is going...somethings not quite right).  Anyway my love for Nate Burkus lead me to  a new love for Lonny.  He spoke with the Editor in Chief Michelle Adams and featured designs from Lonny alumni Antonia Thompson and Ari Heckman.  Some of the images they feature I have seen on other blogs but hadn't paid too much attention from where they were coming from.

Lonny was launched in October of 2009 as a bimonthly online magazine featuring articles on lifestyle and home decor.  This online mag has been designed to make decorating easy and accessible.  When they post images you can scroll over the items in the picture that you like and instantly order the product online.  They make it super easy to get the look you love.  Previous to the launch of Lonny Adams worked for Domino, which I also loved.  Here are a few featured rooms that I love.

Love this colour pallet and this headboard by Antonia Thompson

I love this kitchen by Ashley Putman.  I really want a dining space with a rustic table like this and modern chairs.

Lamp

When I started this project I wasn't 100% sure how it would turn out.  This lamp is part of our bedroom reno and started when I was inspired by this base at a second hand store.  I spent $3 on this lamp and love the teak look .  I thought is was awesome but finding the perfect shade proved to be a little more difficult.

Before I even tried the lamp I stared looking for a lamp shade.  My Mom kept asking me if it worked and luckily, when I tried it after I was totally done all the work, it worked!!!  I found a lamp shade at Home Sense for $7.  It was not the colour I was hoping for but the shape and size was perfect.  I was extremely difficult to find a shade so I was happy when I found this and knew the recovering of the shade would just be another project for me.

I found some fabric to cover the shade in the ends section of my local fabric store.  It is amazing because it matches our new chair perfectly and has the same felt finish as our chair.

I cut the material to the right size and used spray adhesive to attach the fabric to the shade.  I used a credit card to spread as I went, ensuring there were no creases when it was complete.  This was a little more tricky than I anticipated.  It's really difficult to cut the fabric to the right size, and you want to be careful with the spray adhesive when using a light coloured fabric.  There is definitely a back side to the lamp shade. 

 I set to work and when it was all said and done I loved it.  The best part...it cost me $14 total!!!!  Can you believe it?  I think for future lamp purchases I will start at a thrift store.  I was inspired by the shape of some of the older style lamps and think a coat of spray paint would bring these awkward coloured lamps into 2010.  I love how I was able to completely custom design my lamp for my room.  It was perfect on the budget and you won't find it anywhere else.

Waiting Bench

When I was growing up, my parents had a bench in their foyer that we jokingly referred to as the waiting bench. The name was the result of multiple different men over the years who had found themselves taking a seat waiting for one of the three girls to be ready to go out for the night.  In an effort to spice up my small foyer I decided to add a bench, and while there are no men waiting on this bench (yet), it serves its purpose for me to pull on my boats and store the Boss' outdoor accessories.

I started with a tv stand from IKEA.  We are renovating our bedroom and no longer need these for nightstands.

I used a piece of wood cut to fit the top of the stand, spray adhesive, batting, carpenter glue and canvas material from IKEA.

 I cut the batting to size and used the adhesive to stick the sheets together and then to the piece of wood.  I used 4 sheets but you can continue to layer them until you reach the softness you desire.  I then cut the material adding an inch all the way around the bench pad.  Next, place the batting face down on the back of the material and pull the sides up tight.  Use the staple gun to attach the fabric to the back of the bench pad.  I then used wood glue to secure the pad to the bench and my husband placed 4 screws (one in each corner) for me to ensure that they wouldn't separate.  I finished the look by adding two small baskets on the bottom shelf to keep the Boss' stuff.  Easy!!!

Easy Frame

I saw this frame here.  Loved the frame but hated the price.  (The website is American so in Canada this frame was retailing for about $34.99).

 I've gone back a number of times and hummed and hawed over it but still can't justify the price.  Then it came to me.  After looking it over for a few minutes I thought I really could do this myself.  So while on one of my thifty sprees I came across this great frame for $3!

I loved the wood and the teak look to it.  We are reno-ing our bedroom right now and I'm using teak accents, so this stood out to me.  I took it home, used some twine I had laying around the house (vase project) and added some mini clothes pins.  I had to purchase the clothes pins but I had a Michaels 40% off coupon so they cost me $2.50.  Total project cost....$5.50.  Totally worth it.  I haven't yet decided where it will reside in my home but I have currently put it in my living room/ dining room for now.  I am going to keep it here through the Christmas season to hang Christmas Cards and photos we receive in the mail on it.  After that it might be moved to the bedroom...we'll see.

Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween!!!  The Boss had a great time and looked fabulous!