Banner for the Nursery

I was searching for something to place above the ledges that Rob had built for the books in the nursery. My first thought was to purchase or make wooden letters or maybe a vinyl word. I remembered I had picked up some gray fabric a few months back at Jo-Ann's with no particular project in mind and I could make a banner.

I ironed out the fabric, and then cut it into four banner pieces. I also then cut out white vinyl adhesive letters on my cameo machine. I like that I was able to have this banner put together in only a few minutes. I attached the banner pieces to some pom pom ribbon I had from Christmas with a glue gun.  I used small wire brads and hammered the banner in place. The brads are hidden in the two poms at the end.

I really like how simple it looks with the shelves we have for all the board books we have accumulated with Wynn.

Thanks so much for stopping by to see a small project in the nursery. I have a few more ideas up my sleeve for the room, and then I think we will be finished with the room. Anyone want to come over to help assemble two cribs?  This project cost around $2 dollars for the fabric and the rest were materials I already had.

Nursery Progress & Book Ledges

The boys room has gotten some attention recently, which has been a lot of fun. I am happy that they ended up being the same gender. I was really nervous about planning a room around two genders for a little while there. 

I had seen a lot of inspiration on Pinterest for book ledges for the room. I decided this would be the best route to take in terms of cost and space. I did not want to have to find a bookcase that matched the style I would be looking for either.  I shared with Rob a project I saw on Ana White's Blog where readers share their projects. He simply used some leftover wood from our ongoing kitchen project to create these 36" long ledges. 

Wynn has already been "checking books out of the library" as she says, and I think they will work great with the rest of the space.

I purchased these adorable prints from Slightly Sprighty on Etsy and framed them in my Home Goods finds.

I also ordered this print from Dalloway Place on Etsy in a navy blue background, and I will group the three prints together on a wall sometime soon.

 

I picked up this cute basket from Home Goods for toys and extra books for only $15. I thought it would fit in with the color scheme pretty well.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a great one!

Nautical Rope Curtain Rod Re-Post

It's been a busy week at the Vaughn house with lots of projects going on in this almost unbearable heatwave we are experiencing in Maryland. While we are in the midst of several projects I thought I'd share a project my sister in law completed in the early days of this blog when I think only our family members were actually reading it.

Original Post:

It will be two years next month that Chris and I moved into our home, and for two years we have not had curtains in our "formal" living room. I changed my mind on the paint color a million times and did not know how I wanted the room decorated. 

As I was putting pieces together the room organically evolved into a shabby chic and coastal vibe. Our window treatments were last on the list and I was determined to put something up. I was inspired by a tutorial I found from Vintage Revivals. She shares a great idea on how to make a rope curtain rod for a great price.

Here is our window after we added the hooks at the top:

I spray painted all the hardware that I would be using with leftover spray paint.  We put the rope up first so we could make sure it was even on both sides. Afterwards, we fed the curtains through the rope and tied the sides around boat cleats.  After two years its finally complete and we could not be happier with how it turned out.

Supplies: Hooks (Home Depot) $ 12

Rope (Home Deopt) $ 12

Boat Cleats (Amazon) $10

Curtains (Ikea) $40

Total: $74

Hope you enjoy! Thanks for stopping by: Amy & Chris

Master Bedroom in Progress

The most ignored room in our home is our master bedroom. Rob had made an upholstered headboard for the room last year, but that was pretty much the only attention it got. It was a plain beige color that did absolutely nothing for the space. We chose to use Sherwin Williams Anonymous Gray as the main wall color behind our headboard. Then used their Amazing Gray color on the other three walls.

Here is what it looks like now that everything has been freshly painted. Rob even did the ceilings, which we are guessing have not been touched since the house was built.  He has been a real trooper doing so many painting projects while I get to avoid them in my current state.

Here is the same space last year with no personality on the walls. I think it looks so much better with the new paint color.  Next up is finding some new bedding.

I picked up two of these Threshold frames at Target for $30 to hang above the headboard. I plan on sticking some black in white photos in them as soon as I order Wynn's from Snapfish, and then the other can hold a photo of the new additions when they arrive.

I got this mercury glass ball curtain road for our one window. I'm going to use Ikea curtains that I picked up on a recent trip for the room. I had Rob measure out about twenty inches on either side of our only window to make it appear larger. I will be sure to get a picture of that soon. 

Target

This mirror was a Home Goods find that I purchased before I found the frames at Target. I think the metal colors match pretty well, and it will go up on one of the walls shortly. I on the look out for other wall decor ideas since I have two others to think about. It certainly is some progress from our point of view. I am no decorator by any means, but I feel like the paint makes a huge difference already.

Hopefully I will be able to share more progress on this space soon. Thanks for stopping by!

Kiwi Crate Nature Box Review & Giveaway

This post is sponsored by Kiwi Crate. I was asked by Kiwi Crate if I'd like to try out their Summer Discovery Series Crate with my daughter Wynn. The strange thing was I was suggesting that my mom look into the Kiwi Crate that day for a possible Christmas gift idea. I'm always thinking months ahead when it comes to the holidays. This crate was offered at a perfect time. I know this will be something that Wynn will enjoy each month. I am offering a crate to one of my readers see the instructions to enter at the bottom of this post.

The month of June featured a Nature Explorer kit with two activities for ages three and up. The first activity Wynn and I completed was the My Collection Box and then we constructed a Starlight Lantern.  This kit really promoted outdoor activity and it was fun to do something different outside with Wynn. Here is what the kit looked like when we opened it up.

 Wynn loved the sticker and the coloring sheet on the back of the cover for the activities. The crayons were the perfect size for her.

 Next she decorated her my collection box with the stickers of insects and crayons too. We put a colored block sheet inside with cardboard separators. 

 Wynn and I went around our yard searching for items in nature that could fit in each square of the collection box. She mostly went for the flowers since we have a few different colors and she even ventured into our neighbor's yard for some purple hydrangeas. 

 She had fun walking around the yard with her box, and here she is waving to her Dad on the lawn mower as he goes by.

 Wynn's collection box was very colorful by the end of our nature walk through the yard. I think kids of all ages would have fun with this box.

 It was a little warm outside so we played memory with the really nice deck of cards that came along with it. There are many games you can play with this set.

 Then we used the star punch included in the kit to create this Starlight lantern. She enjoyed working with me to punch them out and attach the papers with the star stickers. The kit cam with a flameless tea light candle for the lantern. 

 As soon as we put the candle in the lantern we headed for every room we could find in the house that could be dark at 10 in the morning. Her favorite spot was the laundry room that had the stars shining through the onto our washer and dryer. We are excited to try it outside tonight when it is a little dark out.

Wynn had a great time using this kit. I would highly recommend this Kiwi Crate as a gift for another child or your own children. There are subscriptions that start $16.95 a month feel free to check out July's Crate in the subscription plan which is Waters of Wonder and it is available until July 17th.

If you would like to try out a Kiwi Crate I am going to provide one crate to one of our readers!! Here is how you can win...

All you need to do is comment below telling me which crate you would choose if you would win. Check out the site Kiwi Crate to check out some of the available crates.  Note that the crates do change at time so your choice if you are the winner is subject to availability. You can earn an additional entry by following us on Facebook and letting me know in a comment here. Good luck!

I will choose a winner next Wednesday morning. So the contest will end next Tuesday July 16th at midnight EST! Thanks for stopping by!  Be sure to check out my site or FB page if you are a no-reply comment blogger so you can be notified if you are the winner. 

Nautical Bridal Shower

My friends and I hosted a nautical themed bridal shower for our friend, Emily. The first thing I would love to share is this awesome chalkboard that my friend Jessica did! She did this all with chalkboard markers, and this is a chalkboard she already has in her family room. She created this especially for their honeymoon adventures in Spain.

These beautiful flowers came from Potomac Wholesale Floral Market and they were gorgeous.  Jessica wrapped vases from the Dollar Tree in burlap and then rope to give a nautical feel. Then she used chevron table runners that she picked up from the Sassy Steals daily deal site to  dress up the table a little more.

My friend, Christine, picked up plates and napkins from Target in teal, navy and pink that looked great on the tables.

She also wrapped up the napkins and utensils with twine and a lifesaver.  They were a huge hit!

Jessica made these adorable mason jar glasses for the party as well. She used scrapbook paper to cut out sails to write the names of the guests on.  Then she attached the sails to some chevron straws. As an additional touch she tied some rope around the rim of the jars.

This cake stole the show at the party. My friend Jessica is talented beyond words. She created a little clay sail boat with a replica of the couple's dog, Charlie.  The cake was a four layer lemon cake that was absolutely delicious too.

For the dessert table I created a sign using the foam board from Wynn's party, some leftover ribbon and some cutouts from my Silhouette machine on scrapbook paper. 

I created a message in the bottle activity for everyone to fill out a slip of paper to share their well wishes or advice with the bride.  I took an envelope and cut it open across the side to create a pocket for the slips of paper. Then I added some magnetic strips to the back of the envelope and attached it to a Dollar Tree cookie sheet.  The bottle I used came from Michaels. This bottle was filled up at the end of the shower. I am sure the bride to be enjoyed reading the little notes.

 Carolyn made these sweet favors using some salt water taffy and some labels she ordered off of Etsy.

Carolyn's sister Emily put together this really fun wine basket gift for the bride. She purchased tags from Etsy for each of the events that would happen as newlyweds. Here are some of the tags she added.

The shower was a huge success and my friend had a wonderful time. I love how all of my friends and I have planned so many parties as of late that we do not even really plan them anymore. We literally spend an hour thinking about food and who is doing what, and then we show up with things to decorate. We put this together in about 45 minutes max the day of the event! I am excited to plan our next party together. Thanks for stopping by!

Twin Gender Reveal

We revealed the genders of our twins at our annual Fourth of July festivities on the Chesapeake Bay.  It was a lot of fun, and as you can see lots of great grandchildren were involved. We did it early in the evening, so it is almost impossible for you to tell the color from any of the pictures.  Rob's in the middle of the chaos lighting sparklers up.

We are adding TWO BOYS to the Vaughn family! Here we are celebrating afterwards and getting ready for my cousin Bryan's firework display.

Here are some more pictures of the festivities that happened that evening.

Wynn really loved watching the fireworks from up above. 

There was definitely a lot of boats slowing down as they went by to watch the show.

It was so much fun and the best part was there was no traffic after our fireworks. We were all staying there or only a few minutes away. We hope you had a great holiday weekend. Now it is back to reality and finishing up all those projects we have around the house. Enjoy your day!