Good DIY Finds!

I was paging through a magazine this weekend and came across an article that featured a "professional crafter!"  I wonder how you become that because I think I would like that job!  Even though I don't see this in my near future I did find some great DIY projects to practice my craft-making skills.  I thought I would share them with you.  If you click on the buttons below you will be linked directly to the blog site and if you click on the title of the DIY project, you will go directly to the instructions.

Chevron Clutch Tutorial and Pattern

This project is so cute - I am definitely making these!

Rustic Wooden Wall Sign

This would make a great wedding gift!

15 Inspired Decorating Solutions

These rooms and ideas are beautiful if you are looking for some decorating inspiration!

One last thing I wanted to share was this awesome picture that my sister, Kayle, took this weekend while she and her husband were on a cattle drive in Nebraska.  It was too good not to share with you! :)



'Barnone' on a Nebraska cattle drive



Kayle and her husband, Heath, helped move 1,000 head of cattle for the ranch that Heath works at.  What a neat experience!  I'm pretty sure that this is the first cattle drive that Kayle had ever been on and it makes me think about how exciting new experiences are.  So - I ask this question:

When was the last time you did something for the first time? 

(Feel free to answer in the comment section below!)

I will leave you with that thought for the week!  And happy crafting!

 *Beth 

My Favorite Travel Accessory

My week started off with travel for work to Columbus, Ohio!  While I was sitting on the airplane, thinking about some upcoming blog posts, it came to mind that I should share my favorite travel accessory idea with you - an extra large scarf! I have them in a few colors and they have proven to come in handy often.  I don't leave home without one!

My favorite travel accessory!
(6' x 2' rayon scarf)

Not only do they look cute as an actual scraf to wear casually or paired with a nice jacket, but they work good as a blanket on the airplane or as a shawl to use during meetings at conference centers.  These are much easier to carry around than a jacket because you can wear it around your neck or put it in your bag!

Here is the other great thing about a scarf like this - you can use it to decorate!  In our spare bedroom, I am using one as a throw on the end of the bed or you tuck one over the back of a chair to change the look of a room!

The scarves I get are made of rayon fabric and measure about 6' long x 2' wide and can be found in pretty much any department store.  I've had the best luck finding them rather inexpensive at JC Penny, Herbergers and Younkers.

If you have other ideas for scarves, please leave a comment!  And let us know what your favorite travel accessory is - I am always looking for new ideas!

DIY Vanilla Extract

I am proud to say that I have officially started my Christmas gift-making for 2011!  This is way ahead of schedule for me, but in order to get this done and wrapped by Christmas I needed to start now.  A couple of weeks ago I came across a recipe for Homemade Vanilla Extract on one of the blogs I follow, Whipperberry.  It looked fun and easy to make so I thought I would give it a whirl!  I think this will make a great gift for our mom's, grandmas and the just-in-case I need a gift, gift.

All you need is vodka (anything cheap) and whole vanilla beans.  I took the recommendation from the Whipperberry blog and ordered my vanilla beans from Beanilla Trading Company. 

Who knew that vanilla extract was made out of vodka and vanilla beans?! Out of curiosity I checked the ingredients on the vanilla extract in my cupboard and sure enough - alcohol and vanilla beans and of course a few preservatives.
As for packaging, the mini wine bottles from either Barefoot or Sutter Home wine work great!

DIY Vanilla Extract

Directions:

1 cup of Vodka for 2 Vanilla Beans

Let it sit in a cool, dark place for 1 1/2 to 2 months, shaking it every couple of days

Remove the vanilla beans and strain the liquid thru cheese cloth

Package it up with a cute label! 

(Go to the Whipperberry Blog for packaging ideas- great ideas!)

So this weekend I picked up my supplies from our local HyVee grocery store so I could start my homemade vanilla extract project.  I didn't think of it until I left the grocery store but, I must have looked like an absolute "soak" when I was pushing my cart through the store.  I had a huge bottle of cheap vodka and eight mini bottles of Barefoot brand wine.... and a six-pack of Shocktop... Haha! 

I'm pretty excited for this DIY project!  I just need to empty out all of my mini wine bottles (1 down, 7 to go) so I can keep this project moving. Guess that means I will be drinking wine! :)

Let me know if you take on this project!

Have a great week and enjoy!

Scotch Painters Tape Wall Art

I am the worlds worst at picking out things to hang on my walls!  Thank goodness for this DIY project using Scotch Tape to create your own wall art!

Supplies:

1. Scotch Blue Painters Tape

2. Spray Paint

3. Painters Canvas - Hobby Lobby or Michael's

Supplies



What to do:

1. Create your design using the Scotch Blue Painters Tape

*Make sure the tape is sticking really well to the canvas so the paint doesn't bleed.

2. Evenly spray paint the canvas

3. Allow the paint to dry and remove the tape



Geometric Art

This quick and inexpenisve project is a great way to add some color and visual interest to any room. You can hang it vertical or landscape and even use multiple colors if you want to take the time to paint. 

Good luck and have fun!!

DIY Fall Decor

This weekend I found time to do some fall decorating and thought I would share these easy DIY decorating ideas with you!

Fall bring so much creativity and opportunities to bring the outdoors in so I created this centerpiece with mini pumpkins.  This time of year you can find mini pumpkins and gourds just about anywhere.  All you have to do is fill a glass vase!

Dining Room Table

Aren't these guys cute?!  They are ridiculously easy to make.  All you need is a glass jar, vase or glass of any size, gauze, googly eyes, glue and tape!  Just wrap the gauze around the jar, tape the ends of the gauze to the jar to secure it and glue on the eyes. 

DIY Halloween Mummies

They look really cute at night with a candle in them!

DIY Halloween Mummies

And, because I had some googly eyes left (since you have to buy them in packs of 100 eyes) I just glued them on some mini pumpkins.  I think they look pretty cute!

All of these projects are easy enough to do with your kids too.  Try them out if you need an activity for your classroom or your family.  This is an easy and less messy alternative to painting or carving pumpkins.

Finally, I thought I would share our new addition to the farm! We were able to sneak away to a cattle sale in Nebraska yesterday and brought home two new heifers.  They are pretty sweet girls and will make a great addition to the farm!  We are excited to have them!

Have a great week!

Blue Eyed Designs

Did you notice anything new this week?  I just added my new "Design Your Dwelling" logo to my blog and I'm so excited about it! 



Logo designed by Blue Eyed Designs


My good friend, Amy, works in Carson City, Nevada as a graphic designer and has her own photography and graphic design business called Blue Eyed Designs.  Some of the items that Amy designs include; logos, brochures, fliers, advertisements, announcements, displays and more!  Check out some of her work - it's pretty awesome!

Isn't her work beautiful?!  I really like the picture of the little girl reaching for the bubble!

Get in touch with Amy through her website and take time to "Like" Blue Eyed Designs on Facebook! 

Thanks Amy - You are awesome!!

Preserve Your Battery Life!

My blog is all about ideas to lead a beautiful life both inside and out.  Lately, I've been sharing a lot of ideas to make our homes beautiful (the outside part).  So, today I thought I would write a post that includes some ideas to lead a beautiful life on the inside.

I know that most of you, like me, feel like our life is so fast-paced and our task lists never seem to end!  Between work, friends, family and all the random demands we encounter throughout the day our personal batteries wear down quickly.  When my battery wears down I am generally not very fun to be around.  I do it to myself because I always want to do a good job, give more, do more and be more.  I need to remind myself to sit down and relax so I can preserve my battery life. 

I came across this list on the Personal Leadership Insight Blog and thought I would share it with you all!  These are some simple things we can do that will keep us happy, healthy and well charged for the long haul!

16 Ways to Preserve Your Battery Life
1. Get adequate sleep.
2. Consume nutritionally sound food and drink.
3. Maintain positive relationships.
4. Do meaningful work that aligns with your core values.
5. Have a hobby and do it often.
6. Keep harmful chemicals out of your body.
7. Remove the clutter from your vehicle, home, office space and life.
8. Stop the gossip.
9. Help others in need.
10. Stop making tiny issues into big deals.
11. Forgive others.
12. Create a cool memory often. (I.e. - new restaurant, road trip, date night, catch some live music, etc.)
13. Take vitamins daily, naps weekly and vacations yearly.
14. Clear your email inbox regularly.
15. Forgive yourself.
16. Listen to positive, uplifting music and human interactions.

I love this list!  It's hard to remember to do all of these, but by just picking a couple of them to do on a regular basis you will do a lot for yourself in the long run!

So below, I posted a picture of Adam and I  at the ISU game on October 1.  We took time out from being busy and time away from our task list to have fun tailgating, enjoy the awesome fall weather in Iowa and make a memory or two.  He is great at helping me to re-charge and preserve my "battery life."  Unconciously we do a lot of these 16 things aleardy. Adam is naturally better at doing a lot of the things on this list but continually reminds me that it's ok to take a break, relax and not make a big deal out of something so small. 


ISU Game - Oct. 1, 2011

Print this list, keep it close and enjoy! :)

It's A Girl!

GOT YA!! For some of you, I bet you had to read this post because the title completely caught you by suprise and you had to figure out what was going on!  No, I did not and am not planning to have a baby.  Maybe someday, but not any time soon...

However, our good friends in northern Iowa just had their first baby, a girl, named Riley Jo.  And, because I love giving gifts you better believe we mailed them one right away.  I am pretty proud to say that I actually made the majority of their gift (if you count items and not $$ because we did give them a Target gift card.) Some of you might think I am crazy for spending time on this stuff because it is SO MUCH easier to go out and buy something but that's definitely not as fun when you want to give a unique or personalized gift.

Here is what I made.  It's not much (that's why they got a gift card) but it was fun! :)

I love making greeting cards!  I do a lot of rubber stamping and use a lot of Stampin' Up products.  Making cards is something I do to relax.  Not to mention it saves quite a bit of money when you consider buying $3.59 greeting cards these days - Ridiculous!  Even though I love making greeting cards my boyfriend, Adam, said I can't make a living do that...

I also do a little bit of sewing- mostly straight lines yet - so I made a burp cloth.   If you can thread a sewing machine you can make one of these.  Just pick out some cute material, sew the material right sides together and then turn it right side out and stitch up the opening.  Very Easy!

This was my favorite part of the gift!  I picked up a cute jar a Hobby Lobby, (usually 50% off every other week), tied a ribbon around it and used my rubber stamps to jazz it up.  You can't see it very well but I filled it with those cheap, plastic, little girl barrets that I found at Target.  It would be cute filled with diaper pins or candy if you wanted to give something simple as a birthday gift. 

Personalized gifts are fun and pretty easy as long as you are willing to put a little more time into them.  If you don't like taking the time to make gifts or don't feel very creative, let me know, I would be happy to make personalized gifts for you to give.

Happy Crafting!!

Great Fabric with a Personal Touch

I love stopping at the mailbox when I pull in the driveway - I always hope for something good and once in awhile it happens! 

Last night I opened the mailbox to find the fabric I ordered to start my living room makeover project from QuiltHome fabrics.  I was so excited!  QuiltHome fabrics is an awesome website that has designer fabrics from Amy Butler, Ty Pennington, Joel Dewberry, and others.  Below are two fabrics that I ordered to re-cover throw pillows for our living room.

L to R: Joel Dewberry 'Modern Meadow' and Amy Butler "Lotus"

The blue fabric is designed by Joel Dewberry called Modern Meadow and the cherry color fabric is designed by Amy Butler called Lotus.  The fabric is pretty inexpensive in comparison to going to a fabric store without a coupon! :)  I can't wait to start sewing this weekend!

Now, here's the BEST PART....

I got a PERSONAL NOTE on my receipt!  It totally made my day and now I can't wait to order more fabric from here!  What a neat touch from an online store!  Lesson learned for those of us that work in sales, always say thank you.  People love a personal connection and hand-written mail because today handwritten notes are far from the ordinary.  I will definitely be sending out more notes!  When was the last time you sent a handwritten note, letter or card?

Fall Decorating Pumpkin Tower

I LOVE this idea for fall decorating - Love it!!  I found it yesterday while I was reading A Thoughtful Place Blog. This is such a fresh new idea for decorating your front porch with pumpkins so I thought I would pass it along if any of you are looking to spruce up your front door with some fall decor.  I don't know about you all, but I'm not too successful when it comes to carving pumpkins.  They never turn out like the ones I see in magazines. 

If you can't tell I'm pretty excited about this idea and you are probably wondering "Why don't you do it?"  I would love to build a pumpkin tower.  In fact, I'd probably be working on this little project today because it is a beautiful fall day here in Iowa.  Unfortunately I have three problems that make this project a little difficult.

Problem 1:  Meet 'Bam'
Bam is our smart, young, and extremely energetic black lab.  He would see these pumpkins as the best toy that he has ever played with!  He litterally couldn't keep his paws off them.  I could see these pumpkins rolling around our deck, strung through our front yard or eaten within the first day.

Problem 2:  We live in rural Iowa (Not actually a problem)
We live in rural Iowa, on a county road.  Below is a view of what we see from the deck on the front of our house.  It is beautiful here! There are very few vehicles that drive by - it's great!  This time of year, during corn and soybean harvest, there is actually more traffic with farmers hauling grain to the local elevator. (They probably aren't my target audience.)

Problem 3: Five-digit house number
Because we live in rural Iowa, we have a rural 911 address that is five digits.  Could you imagine this pumpkin tower?  It would be huge!  I think this is a two or three digit house number project.



There are my three excuses.  I actually laughed when I was writing this post thinking about our dog tackling this pumpkin tower to play with the pumpkins and me trying to size up and stack 5 pumpkins on top of each other.  It would be chaos to say the least...

If YOU would like to do this project here is thelink to instructions from the Better Homes and Gardens website.  And, if you do build a pumpkin tower, please email me (contact me page) with a photo of it.  I would like to post it on my blog to show off your project!

Happy Fall!