Crafty Signage

The holidays make me get crafty.  So do special events like weddings and babies.  I did several really fun crafts that I never got around to sharing with you over this past year. One thing I did a lot of was making signs!  Here's what I did along with my inspirations.

Project 1:

The event was my in-laws' 30th wedding anniversary.

My inspiration was this timeline on White Table Style and I'd been wanting to try making a sign.  This method to make a rustic sign from Magen's Cottage was the basic idea I used designing it.  Using a wood plaque from Hobby Lobby, I pasted on a piece of scrapbook paper and then put a layer of Mod Podge over that.  Next you lay out your text with sticky letters, the Mod Podge helps the letters come off more easily later.  I recommend using at least 1 inch letters as shown.  The next step is to paint over your letters.  Allow to dry and then use an exacto knife to pull back the stickers! Practice the letter thing on a sample like I did (shown above). I decorated it a bit and did another layer of protective Mod Podge over the finished product.  This method was not quite as clean as I would have liked. The stickers weren't always easy to pull up and sometimes the paint peeled.  Still a fun final product.

Here's a tip on giving the paint that rustic/vintage/buffed-up look:  If using latex paint, go to down on your dried paint with sand paper.  If you're using acrylic paint, however, I've found this magical trick using vaseline to work much better!

Project 2:

This sign was a wedding gift for a sweet friend.  I used a different method for the letters and I like it more.  It requires large, bold letters - but you have a lot more choice in the font style since you use a computer print out.  Here's a tutorial from Picklee.  Basically: paint your sign, lay out your printed letters, use a ball point pen to outline the letters by pressing into the wood, and finally use a tiny paintbrush to paint in the letters!

You can see here the indent in the wood from the pen

Project 3:

This was for a friend's housewarming gift.  Monograms are so in, and when I saw these giant wooden letters at Hobby Lobby I had to snatch one up.  Can you tell I like roughed up paint?  It worked well since the new house in question is vintage itself.  I used a hammer and beat the stuffing out of the sign first to give it a more dated look and make all those wonderful grooves.  For an antique paint job, you want to put your dark color on the bottom and a light color on top.  I used the above mentioned Vaseline method as well.  I purposefully did a very thin layer of the white for a very aged look.  You can also do several coats so it is clean and then using the Vaseline method have a more subtle antique look on the edges.  

Project 4:

I made this key and hook rack for my own new house!  Recognize my life verse?  I forgot to get a "before" picture, but it was a simple sign on clearance at Hobby Lobby.  I painted over it, used the printout and pen technique I mentioned earlier for the letters, and then added cute drawer-pull hardware from World Market.  I felt so handy using our drill!  The birds are perfect for hanging keys and the knobs work well for umbrellas, sweaters, or dog leashes.  I also grabbed a couple of screw eye hooks from Home Depot and added them to the sides which is a great place for extra keys that you don't use often.  I maybe got a little carried away with the gold touches on it... but I think it turned out well!  It is right over our little mail center so it really helps with organization.  

I hope I gave you some ideas for your own home projects or Christmas gifts for your favorite people!  Look for another post coming soon with more easy crafts.  

Freezer Breakfast Sandwiches

I was blessed to grow up in a home with a mother who loved to cook and was amazing at it.  She would go to the store multiple times a week on her way home, get fresh ingredients, come home and cook us up homemade from-scratch dinners on a regular basis.  Nothing was ever frozen and we rarely ate anything out of a box mix (except for maybe macaroni and cheese and brownies! Yum..) I wanted to do that for my family just like my mom did for us!

Then I grew up!!  Need I say more?  I realized that my mother is a kitchen goddess. So I still like to cook fresh homemade meals and I try to about once per week, but really... I like for meals to take up less of my time.  I grew up and I discovered the miracle that is the freezer.  So I'm always excited to find new meals that freeze well that can be pulled out, warmed up, and eaten in a jiffy.

My Bestie had her baby at a birthing center last month.  You get to eat food there if you want!  So when she was in labor at the center her husband called and said, "The only thing my wife wants is cornbread. Can you help us out with that?"  So cute.  So I whipped up a batch of corn muffins so that they were easy for her to grab and hold as needed and they worked out perfectly.  After baby was born I decided to supply them with some breakfasts since their church had dinner covered.  I wanted to again provide them something that could be easily grabbed but was delicious and filling.  So I made pumpkin muffins and breakfast sandwiches!  The beauty of them both is that they can be individually wrapped, put in a freezer bag, and when you're ready to grab one they can be heated up in about a minute and be eaten with one hand.  Perfect for the brand new mommy and daddy!

I used this pumpkin muffin reicpe,  but in half of the muffins I added chocolate chips and chopped pecans! Yum!

The new parents both have a love affair with bacon - so bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits it was!

To make 12:
12 Thomas' English Muffins - I used the original
1 dozen eggs
2 packages Hormel uncured bacon - or get cured, whatever floats your boat.  You will have some left over, so load up a few with extra bacon or make some extras.
12 slices white sharp cheddar - or other tasty cheese of choice
salt and pepper

Slice all the english muffins in half and lay the bottoms out on a rack with a paper towel underneath to catch crumbs.

Fry up the bacon,  pat off the grease on a paper towel, break each strip in half and place three half strips on each muffin bottom.

Fry the eggs a few at a time and break each yolk with the tip of a knife.  Salt and pepper the eggs.  When they're good and ready, flip them over.

Place a cheese slice on each egg.  Let the cheese start to melt.  Cook the egg until set (no runny center for these....like in this picture.  I got flip happy).

Place the eggs on top of the bacon.  Allow to cool.

You guessed it. Top them with muffin tops!

Wrap each individually in plastic wrap.  This is when you'll know if you didn't let them cook all the way through because the yolk will explode out when you press on the sandwich.  Live and learn.  Place them in labeled freezer bags and stick them in your freezer.

When you're ready to eat them just unwrap and microwave for 60-90 seconds!  These are really tasty - way better than fast food breakfast, and healthier for sure! I need to make some for myself with early morning clinicals starting soon.

Hipster Baby Shower

We were so excited when my bestie and her hubby moved here to Austin last summer!  God certainly had a plan for them because soon after they became pregnant with their first.  I'm so thrilled that I'll live near them and be able to be an "auntie" to their little boy!  We had a baby shower for her a couple of weeks ago - and it was CUTE!  So even though I really can't take the credit for a lot of this (lovely ladies from her church did most of it!), I thought I'd share some ideas and pictures, since basically everyone is popping out a kid these days...except me. Phew.

The theme was...."Hipster!"  So we had lots of plaid, bowties, ties, and buttons.  This is a theme you could really run with.  

These cookies were thick, fluffy, and buttery but stayed together beautifully!  Sorry I don't have the recipe, but I need it.  As you can see...bowties, buttons, and ties for the little man.

The food was perfect to satisfy after-church lunch cravings.  I found these cute multi-colored plaid napkins at Michael's.  And, notice the use of mason jars. I'm convinced mason jars make any party better. 

This cheese ball was a big hit!  Again, I don't have the recipe, which is at this very moment being added to my to-do list.  But, it's the prettiest little cheese ball I've ever seen with the almonds and roasted red peppers and spinach all wrapped up in it, and it was incredibly tasty.

Another recipe that I need - this punch!  I just kept drinking it.  It was some sort of unique combination that was just irresistible.  We had adorable mason jars wrapped with mini "bowties" to serve it in. I can't believe I missed getting a picture of those.     

Mini quiche, salads, and small ham sandwiches with different kinds of mustard, that cheese ball with little toast crackers, those buttery cookies, and punch! - sure to satisfy any hungry lady.

The game: guests are split into teams and given magazines, paper, scissors, and glue and asked to make a picture or collage representing the new baby!  Then each team has to present to the baby mama (which is the really funny part) and Mama gets to pick a winner.  I've done it twice now, and both times people had lots of fun and got creative.  It can make for some big laughs!  Incidentally, we just had a similar activity in my class and we even enjoyed it there - cutting up magazines is fun! End of story.  
Oh! I also made these cute clothespins for the occasion, then Mama got to take them home with her to hang baby's clothes or stick on her fridge.  They are a quick easy craft with scrapbooking paper and mod podge.  This was my first time using mod podge and I have a lot of leftover mod podge which means you can prepare yourself for whatever I decide to try with mod podge next.  I like the word mod podge!   View the tutorial here.  

Someone made this great name banner with paper and they hung up some of the cutest and most colorful cloth diapers with more of the clothespins.

And these are just the sweetest prayer cards for everyone to fill out!

This was fun - can't wait for the next shower!