Damn You Pinterest!!!

Sometimes when I am rummaging through the photos on my computer, I go through the photos from our wedding. Even though we have only been married for about 2 years, there are so many things I would already change. I swear if it wasn't for Pinterest I wouldn't be second guessing any ideas. Damn you Pinterest!!!

Photos by Jennifer Leatherwood

Included in our photography package was not only the rights to all of our photos on a disc but a coffee table book with images that we choose. I still have not picked out my photos for my book yet. I know, what am I waiting for? I'm a procrastinator with things that have already been paid for. I know that sounds bizarre but if I had to pay for it after the fact, I would have had it done the second we got our photos.


Regardless of how many things I would change, I know that day will always be unique to us. I definitely think that how much time you have to plan your big day plays a big part. I planned our entire wedding (and spent whatever I wanted) while the hubs was deployed :) He knew he just needed to show up aka get himself home safely. I hand painted 125 mini birdhouses as weddings favors. This was a great busy project to pass time. Not ONLY did I became a pro at painting but also at wine drinking. And when you put those two together, you get seriously creative! With the help of my sister and my mom, there were plenty of different ideas AND empty wine bottles. I wanted a keepsake from our big day that couldn't be eaten on the way home, or wasn't just another trinket that was way to personalized to implement in your everyday home. These were perfect and one of a kind.

There is always going to be something more unique than yours, but I fully believe that if you are the originator, nothing beats that!!! The style for your wedding is also a era. I look back at my sister's wedding, it was in the 80's and it was the best for it's time. She had the best of the best! Regardless of the shoulder pads, baby's breathe with AquaNet, and a 3 tier water fountain wedding cake with iridescent lighting, it was hers and that's what mattered.

I fully abuse Pinterest now for house ideas, recipes, DIY, photos and more. Pintervention, Pinspiration and Pinformation are all okay with me! And yes, just like everyone else, there are days that I feel stupid and say to myself "Why didn't I think of that?" LOL.

DIY Vintage Crate

I'm always looking for old crates. They could be apple crates, liquor crates, milk crates etc. I've been on a mission for a while to find one that I could stencil on. My impatience grew, so off to Michael's Crafts I went. They usually always have great coupons.

yay me!

 I stumbled upon this little guy! He was $12.00 and I had a 40% off coupon!!!

First, I sanded the entire unfinished piece down. I usually do this to pieces just to remove all the loose jagged edges.

Next, I stained the crate. I used Minwax stain in English Chestnut. This is a great stain to get that distressed look on furniture also. Just paint the furniture the color you want, sand off some of the edges and then push the stain all over the piece with a rag and wipe off. With this piece I used a small brush to get in to the cracks and a rag to lightly stain the wood. *Note- You do not need to saturate the rag, you want a very light coating, it will darken as it sits.  After it was dry I sanded it again lightly to remove any of the sheen that was still visible.

For the final touches, I bought 1 1/2 inch stencils from Michael's Crafts. They have all kinds of sizes and fonts to your preference. I laid them on the front of the crate and traced out our last name with a pencil. I then traced the letter's with a sharpie. After about ten minutes, I sanded the sharpie-d letters. This gave it a nice vintage look!!

My plan was to put the cable box in this little guy and have the sensor peek out. I hate the look of the cable box !  But, unfortunately the cable box is about a 1/2 in too big (project for the hubs-make custom crate). 

The items you need are listed below, and if you have any questions, ask away!!! 

Good luck,

Jess

Items needed

-Unfinished wooden crate

-fine grit sandpaper

-minwax stain (your color preference)* the table in the pic that the crate is on is Minwax gray.

-cheap disposable 2" brush

-rag

-stencils

-pencil

-sharpie

-steady hand

I'm a Bad Blogger, Bad, Bad Blogger

I'm such a bad blogger!! I know :) Well there are reasons for my MIA-ness.  I will not call them excuses as they are legitimate. The hubs was gone for his two weeks and I've been a painting machine.

UPSTAIRS BATHROOM

 My goal was three bedrooms and the bathroom. I did complete 2 bedrooms and the bath AND organized every closet in my house!!!

PANTRY (overflow is down the hall)

All of the ceilings in the upstairs rooms, had the same ceilings as the walls, so I had double the work!!! Needless to say that my goal wasn't fully accomplished, I do have another REASON for that.

I should have know that every time Josh has Army for a lengthy amount of time he comes home early or likes to surprise me. IE. In 2009, he left in May for his deployment to Baghdad. He wasn't supposed to be home until 400 days later. I chose to not get involved in the FRG meetings that they had with his unit, as I was made aware that anything that you share there is not sacred ( and I didn't need any drama). Apparently every soldier gets to come home for two weeks while they are deployed. Boy was I surprised!

 I had started selling Tupperware when Josh mobilized. #1 My social life needed to change and this was a good deterrent and #2 I love the stuff!!! (my cabinets are overflowing and I never spent a dime). I had a party the night he came home. The party was at a older lady's house and her guests were extremely rude. They wouldn't let me do my presentation, and they yapped through anything that I had to say. I packed my things as soon as I closed the party and left, aggravated, and headed to my temporary home (I had moved in with my sister and her husband shortly after Josh deployed). I walked in to the house, dropping the 20lb awkward shaped bag of Tupperware and vented!!!!! In between breaths my bro in law asked me if I could fix the computer because he couldn't play poker (new to technology). I opened the closet where the modem was and there was my husband, standing there, in his uniform, smiling. Holy emotions!!!!! I hugged him for what felt like a minute, but soon realized that it was much longer when I was told that we could come out of the closet lol!  The fastest 2 weeks of my life ever!!!

Long story short (breath), I went out for a girls night on Friday to go see Magic Mike. I know we're perverts! But it was so worth it. Hubby called after the movie and as we were talking, I heard a dog bark in the background. DEAD GIVEAWAY!! So I told him that if he wasn't home, to put another soldier on the line. And so my husband does as asked, he talks to himself out loud and comes back on the phone with a different voice! LOL.  I came straight home with excitement and forgave myself for my projects not being completed immediately as he was 1 day early and that was going to be a busy day!!!

So that's the last 2 weeks re-hash and I'm sticking to it! I hope that everyone has a safe and fun Fourth of July and a great weekend!!!!


xoxo

Jess