DIY: Moss Covered Letters

When Rustyn and I were planning our wedding this past March I knew I wanted it to represent us. We were blessed to have a lot of help from our incredible wedding planner; we could not have made it happen without her and her team. They got together almost all of the decorations but I wanted some personal touches here and there. I was limited due to the fact that I was living in Tulsa and was getting married in Shreveport, LA. So I thought of some things I could make here and take there. 

One of my favorite personal touches was my moss covered letters.

Materials:

Wooden letters from Michael's

Mod Podge

Moss (can be bought in a bag at your local craft store)

Directions:

To cover my letters I simply worked in sections. I covered a small section in Mod Podge and then applied the moss, until the entire letter was covered. I did not cover the bottom of the letter because that would make it uneven and it would have been difficult to stand up. After the letter was covered I used scissors to trim the excess moss from the sides. 

If you make your own handle the letters gently because the moss does seem to shed and leave behind a trail of dirt if moved around. 

Our Initials

Photos by Soul Rebels Photography in Shreveport, LA

DIY: Crafty Key Holder

For some reason my husband and I lose our keys like nobody's business! They get left in pants pockets, in backpacks, on the table under papers, heck, even when I know they are in my purse it still takes me 5 minutes just to fish them out of that gargantuous bag! For this reason I decided to make a key holder to put up by the door. 

Materials Needed: 

A Piece of Wood (Michael's has some really cute shapes!)

Acrylic Paint (my Favorite kind is Liquitex Basics)

Scrabble letters (also found at Michael's, *Please don't go buy the game just for crafts like this one!!!*)

Nails (could use hooks but I like the homemade look)

Gorilla Glue

Wire

Directions:

First paint the wood. Be sure to wait for it to dry between coat, wood does a good job of soaking up the paint and requires 2-3 coats. I did 2 but I should have done one more! 

Next you will decided what you want your board to say. Place the letters on the board to make sure they will fit. Once they are arranged how you like them you can glue them down. 

Next you can hammer in a few nails or screw in a few hooks.

To finish my board I added two nails to the back and wrapped a wire around each so that I would have something to hang it on. 

And there you have it. Another DIY project in the bag.

I Should have added another coat of paint.  

DIY: Up-cycled Vintage Suitcase

When Rustyn and I went Garagin' I fell in love with a couple of old suit cases. I found the first one at an estate sale. I was so excited, it was marked at $20.00 but we arrived on the last day of the sale so everything was marked down 50%. Woohoo, $10.00!!! I thought I did so good. I was so excited. Then Lo and behold there it was at the next place we stopped an even cuter vintage case for only $2.00. Rustyn thought it was so funny but I didn't let this get me down, I just bought it to and said I got two cases for only $12.00, what a find! :) I knew when I bought the cases that I wanted to paint them. Here's how I did the first one.

Here is the original case. Great condition, boring color!

Materials: Case, Latex Colorstay Satin paint, brush, tape, Krylon Primer, and Diet Coke to help me along~ of course!

Taped off and ready for primer.

The first thing I did, after cleaning my case with Clorox, was tape off the metal parts. You could paint all of it but I wanted to keep the silver metal. After I taped all the metal parts off I headed outside to prime my case. I used a can of Krylon spray primer, otherwise I'd probably just do it inside. It's over 100 degrees here in OK and it September!!! 

Case primed and ready for painting!

After I primed my case I went back inside to the A/C! To start painting.

Bermuda Bay Colorplace Paint.

I chose a color called Bermuda Bay and I am thrilled with the way it turned out! I painted in stages, letting each side dry before flipping over to the other side. I ended up painting 3 coats. 2 would suffice but I wanted to make sure it was even. When I took the paint off I had to touch up around the metal. It took a lot of work but I am happy with the way it turned out.

I cut out the Tiffany's logo from a magazine. I'm kind of obsessed! Plus the case needed my name on it anyways :) 

Cinnamon Roll Doughnuts

Two breakfast items I love most are Cinnamon Rolls and Doughnuts! When I came across a recipe for Cinnamon Roll Doughnuts I thought I died and went to heaven! The directions sounded easy enough so I decided to give it a try. The verdict: AMAZING!!!!

Ingredients:

1 can of Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls

A saucepan full of Vegetable Oil

1/4 cup of Sugar

1/2 T Cinnamon

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions:

Heat your oil to 350 degrees. While your oil is warming up Mix the sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl; set to the side. Then cut each cinnamon roll into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a ball and drop each into the hot oil. Let them cook until golden brown. It may be helpful to experiment with a couple to make sure your temp. is just right. I had to throw a few out because my oil was too hot at first.

Once your doughnuts are golden brown remove them from the hot oil and place them on a napkin to let the excess oil drain. Once your doughnuts are dry roll them in the Cinnamon-Sugar mixture and set them out on a plate.

After all have been thoroughly coated in cinnamon-sugar it's time to ice 'em!!! Mix the Vanilla with the icing that came in the can of rolls. I stuck mine in the microwave for about 10 seconds to make it easier to mix. Then I poured the mixture over the doughnuts being sure to get it on all of them!

Serve while warm and ENJOY!!!

Old Garagin' Memories and Fantastic New Finds!

Some of the best memories I have from my childhood involve my dad, chocolate doughnuts, and garage sales! On special Saturdays my dad and I would wake up really early and head to Southern Maid Doughnuts. There always seemed to be a plethora of elderly gentlemen sipping coffee and reading the newspaper. After eating a sugary breakfast with the old folks, my dad and I would be all hyped up and ready to go on our treasure hunt! I don't remember buying much at those garage sales, but I will always remember how much fun we'd have wasting the day away rifling through other people's junk.

My dad and I back in the day!

It's been ages since I've been garagin! I don't get up as easily now-a-days! But my husband and I had this past Saturday free so I used my dad's old tactics and tempted him with some doughnuts! IT WORKED! haha we got up early and headed to good ol Paradise doughnuts. 

The Hubs and I at Paradise Doughnuts. Yum!!!

Once we had sugar and coffee we were ready for the hunt! We were amazed by all the goodies we found. We found a beautiful lamp for only, two vintage suitcases (one of which I am in the process of upcyclying and will definitely be posting soon!), an iron skillet, a vintage radio, an adorable vintage dress that I will refashion later, and my favorite find... a box of sewing essentials for only $2.00! All in all we had a great time and I hope to build more memories and find more treasures later! :)


My favorite find! Sewing essintals $2.00.

DIY: Photo Collage

When my husband and I first moved into our apartment I was so excited about decorating; however, once I started shopping around and saw how expensive everything was I had to rethink my plans. If I were in a house I would not mind putting more money down on decorations but decorating an apartment that we plan to move out of within a couple of years seemed a little wasteful.

I stomached the boring, plain white walls for as long as I could. After a while I knew I had to get something up or I'd go crazy! So I did what every girl my age would do... I searched pinterest for a little inspiration! I knew two things, I love pictures and I love hearts! So I searched for heart photo collages. I found tons of variations. Collages made from frames, pictures all meshed together, spread out evenly, the options were endless.

Below is what I settled on:

Materials:
48 of my favorite pictures
1 large foam board from Hobby lobby
1 tube of Liquitex Basics Acrylic Paint, Naples Yellow Hue
Mod Podge
2 big foam paint brushes (one for paint and one for glue)
1 square coaster

Step-By-Step:
The first thing I did was paint my board. I painted two coats.
While my board was drying I cut each of my pictures into perfect squares, using the coaster as a guide.
Once the paint was dry and all 48 pictures were perfect squares, I began to create my collage. I started at the bottom and worked my way up.
Once I had a layout I was happy with I added Mod Poge to the back of every picture and glued them down.

Voila!!!

Super easy, really cheap, and lots of fun!!!

How I became Mrs. VanDeventer

Two years ago (June 2010) I traveled to Malawi Africa on a mission trip that would forever change my life. I'd been to Malawi once before and knew it was going to be an incredible trip but never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd meet my husband in Malawi; however, God had everything worked out perfectly and sent Rustyn Joe VanDeventer all the way from Oklahoma to Malawi to work with the same missionaries my team was working with.

 Me carrying a baby in a chitenje.

Rustyn and I in Africa.

 When we got back to the US we kept in contact. Rustyn was living in Tulsa, OK and I was living in Monroe, LA. Our relationship was slow moving but our friendship developed into a relationship and our like for each other developed into love for each other. Then in August 2011 I went on another mission trip. This time I went to El Salvador with Visiting Orphans. It was an incredible trip! When I got back Rustyn surprised me by picking me up from the airport. He took me on a picnic and popped the question with all of my family and friends there "hiding" and seeing the whole thing.

  

Rustyn's proposal Aug. 13, 2011 in Houston, Tx.

 We got married on March 17, 2012 at Shreveport Community Church infront of our wonderful family and friends.

Our Wedding March 17,2012

I moved to Tulsa and am working at a non-profit organization called Blessings International. We got a Chinese Crested, Yoshi. He is our little baby for now! Love that crazy puppy! While I enjoy being a Mrs. I know I have a lot to learn about being a wife. The purpose of this blog is to help others going through the same stuff as me. I am learning to cook and to spend wisely. I love trying new things and even though we are starting out small my goal is to have to most rewarding life possible!

 

Yoshi immitating Rustyn after a long day at work.