Treasury of Memories

New Years Resolutions

Can I tell you a little story?

Its a little story about a girl who met a boy and fell in love. And they dated for a long time, even once all of the charms of being in their 20's and in love had long since faded and they made each other sad on a daily basis, and all her friend's insisted that that is not what your early 20's are for. Eventually, that girl got tired of being sad and broke the boy's heart. It sucked because, as the old Mo-town classic is quick to remind her, breakin' up is hard to do, but this canvas reminds her that she did the right thing.

This is a reminder for myself for the new year.... I need to let go of the past and what's already happened, so I can embrace the future and all the big changes that are coming my way, move forward, evolve and be a happier person.

I like being able to surround myself with positive attributes clever little things like this, helps keep me positive. What positive self-affirmations do you like to keep around for yourself? Do you have any great quotes like this that are your motto for the new year?

Leave a comment sharing your favorite stay-positive, don't-worry-be-happy, you're-actually-far-more-amazing-than-you'll-ever-know quote or motto on this blog by Sunday night at midnight, and be entered into a random drawing for a $15 credit towards a custom vinyl!

 

Do you like to Do It Yourself?

If you're reading this blog, I'm betting you do.

So let's talk about that, please? This whole do-it-yourself movement. I think it is just so wonderful!

I especially love the concept of "upcycling". I love giving old, tired objects in my home new life! I love that I'm saving money, and saving just a little bit of space in a landfill somewhere. It makes me feel all crafty and thrifty and proud. I'm even upcycling an old blog post!

I was perusing Target's online store between calls at my other job and found this product:

Hey, that sure looks familar, doesn't it? At $10-$20 per jar, they're not exactly going to leave me feeling thrifty. And when all I have to do is take it out of the box... I'm not exactly going to feel crafty either.

Instead, consider that for  $6 you can "upcycle" four of your existing kitchen containers with chalkboard labels!

This means you get to feel thrifty. You'll place them on the jars yourself so you'll feel crafty. And you can choose one of three pretty shapes so you'll feel special.

Hop on over to our online shopping cart to get the full details about this product!

Merry Christmas!

Hope you finished up all your projects in time to enjoy a warm Christmas full of love and cookies and presents you won't have to return!

I'll be back next week with a fun New Year's inspired post.

xo

heidifay

P.S...be thinking about your motto for the new year.... there might be a giveaway coming up.....

 

Predictable Home Decor by Day.... Diva by Night.

There once was a young chandelier canvas named Chandi who played by all the rules. Everyone liked her well enough... She was polite, attractive, never spoke out of turn, and blended in with her surroundings the way good home decor does. 

In her heart, Chandi knew she was meant for more! She knew she was meant to shine one day, just like a real chandelier!

Then one day, while browsing the internet for tutorials on last minute Christmas gift ideas she stumbled across this tutorial. Chandi knew what she had to do....

She got herself a light and waited for dark....

This project was a lot of fun! I love the beautiful, warm tone that the canvas gets once its illuminated! And I think that this chandelier is such an awesome shape for this project! 

I basically just followed the directions over at Design Sponge, only instead of doing a painful tracing/free hand project I used my favorite chandelier vinyl & a masking technique.

This is how that part of the project should go down: Apply your vinyl to an unpainted canvas. Next, gently paint the entire canvas, painting right over your vinyl. I applied several layers of paint to guarantee it wasn't going to let any extra light through. Once your paint is completely dry, remove the vinyl from the canvas, leaving the exposed canvas for your light to shine through! Super simple!

A few additional thoughts....1. This would be really cool as a night light, done with a 5x5 or 6x6 canvas. What little girl wouldn't want a chandelier for a night light? 2. I was being kind of a dimwit when I put mine together, and forgot to stop and consider the size of the light bulb behind the canvas...My first try the bulb was too bulky and the canvas wouldn't lay flat against the wall! Doh! 3. It's really difficult to photograph lights! 4. I'm so not responsible if you do this wrong and start a fire!  As always, email me at heidi@decoratingyourlifeonline.com to find out more info on vinyl!

 

 

The weather outside is frightful...

Ugh. This Bellingham winter weather is depressing. 

Thankfully, I have a cure. Hop over to one of my favorite blogs-- Joy the Baker-- and check out her recipes for homemade hot cocoa and homemade marshmallows.

xo

heidifay

Bellingham Subway Sign

Here's the finished sample of our Bellingham Subway Sign:

I'm really happy with the way it turned out! I can't wait to display it in my home!

One of my favorite elements of this canvas is the rough edges. First, I painted the front of the canvas taupe and let it dry. Next I painted the edges of the canvas black and used my brush to very carefully sponge the edges and corners. The trick to this part is not using a lot of paint on your brush, which allows it that soft/faded feel.

If you haven't ordered your vinyl+canvas set, you had better get on it! We only have 2 pick-up days between now and Christmas and I know there is someone in your life who needs this for Christmas!

This plus the 11x14 canvas is a steal at only $18! And don't forget the custom option, which is only $22!

Order by Midnight, this Tuesday, December 14th and I can have it ready for pick up/ shipped out on Wednesday the 16th.

To Order: Email me at Heidi@decoratingyourlifeonline.com.

Fresh Friday Creative Battle: Heidi Vs. Tommy

Plus, a Pretty Dang Cool Gift Tag Idea.

I didn't brave the cold and the crowds on Black Friday, but I still found enjoyment in flipping through the holiday ads. One of the things I found, that I wanted was a boxed set of four Tommy HIlfiger ornaments from Macys. But.... $20? For 4 ornaments? And I don't even like one of them! Do you know how much that would cost to decorate my tree? And I only have a 3' tree! 

So, I took a deep breath and thought for a minute.... Turns out, I happen to work at the Coolest Place on Planet Earth. I realized I could just decorate the ornaments I already have with some super rad vinyl, for significantly less than $5 an ornament!

The left is the Tommy Hilfiger set, and on the right, you'll see my version. The ornaments I already had were pretty small (2") so I had to keep the wording minimal, but I was super happy with the way it turned out! It was a super sweet, inexpensive project that allowed me to customize my holiday decor for less. Thats what I love about vinyl. It lets your personality shine, and it doesn't cost a small fortune. I win.

While I was decorating my tree, I was also working on wrapping presents, and another briliant idea hit me....

Why not use that same idea to make cute custom ornaments for my friends and family that also double as gift tags? It probably took less time than using my "good handwriting" to print everyone's names on a tag.

This is a super simple project to bust out on your Silhouette machine, or if you don't have one, just email me at heidi@decoratingyourlifeonline.com and see what I can do for you!

Fresh Gift Idea Friday

What to get the person who has everything?

You want to get them something thoughtful, homemade, but also functional. Something that can blend in with any decor.

Something personal, but not too personal, because you don't have access to all of those fabulous family photos. So canvas is out.

Or is it?

Canvas is totally in.

 Here at TOM, we love this fantastic look-- I call it "Subway Sign Chic", which is why we've done up this gorgey Bellingham-themed vinyl for all our local friends.

What a fun way to celebrate the city we all love, right? This plus the 11x14 canvas is a steal at only $18.

And if you're not in Bellingham? As it just so happens, I've got something for you too! A customizable subway sign! This is perfect for anybody and everybody you know because you can customize it with things that are important in the life of the person you're shopping for.

This custom vinyl + the 11x14 canvas is also a deal at only $22! Choose from black, cream or white vinyl.

Ready to order? Great. Just email me at heidi@decoratingyourlifeonline.com with a list of 7-10 words/short phrases (i.e. Bartlett Ave) you want included. They may not all fit on the canvas so be sure to rank them most important-least important. I'll send you a proof to OK before you come pick it up on Wednesday from 2-6pm.

PS.... Our sample isn't quite ready yet... come back and check on Monday for a real photo sample! :)