Treasury of Memories

Greetings Fellow Pinners!

Wow! 

So, I recently discovered the fantastic website Pinterest! I have been absolutely blown away by all the fun and inspiring "pins" out there, and it's been fun to see some of our great projects being shared by like-minded crafters!

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but vinyl is a great way to turn some of that inspiration into a real project or product in your home! Recently discover a new favorite saying? Let me know! I love doing custom orders and would love to hear from you! To order, simply email me at heidi (@) decoratingyourlife (dot) com with the details.

For those of you looking for our "Established Canvas Kit", we no longer sell the kit, but have posted a full tutorial complete with a supplies list and helpful hints. We can still create custom vinyl for you, so please feel free to place your order by emailing me at heidi (@) decoratingyourlife (dot) com! 

 

Three Little Words...

They strike fear into the hearts of moms and dads everywhere... 

"What's for dinner?!"

But I am loving this fabulous custom family chalkboard menu.... you can plan out the week's meals and beat your munchkins to the punch line!

Because it is vinyl, it can be applied to almost any surface.... Elizabeth put hers up on the refridgerator, which is so cute, but it can also go up on the wall, a pantry door, etc. So fun! 

If you're ready to order you can pop over to our online shopping cart--fill out the customizable field & it will come with a custom vinyl menu piece!

....help?!

Alright, guys, let's face it...

I'm feeling a little tapped in the creativity department, it's been almost a whole year of fun, fresh & fabulous Friday's.... and I'm stuck.

Totally in a rut. Can't think of anything new. Nearly every surface in my home has already been vinyl-ed in some way.

What little brain power I have goes into figuring out how to debug the javascript webpage I have to make for class (who signed me up for computer science, anyways?!?) and memorizing various archaeological dating methods....

See what I mean? 

I need YOUR help!

Leave me a comment telling me what types of things you'd like to see us do with vinyl. Are you interested in more designs you can personalize? Would you like to see more of the projects we share here end up in our online shopping cart? What surfaces are you interested in vinyl-ing?

All comments that come in by midnight on Sunday 2/20 will be entered into a random drawing for a $15 vinyl credit. I figured a bribe would help. :-)

What a fun project!

I love this beautiful DIY scarf, found over at How About Orange (one of my all time favorite crafty blogs)!

The freezer paper idea is nifty, but I don't think I have the patience to cut that beautiful design with an exacto knife... I am thinking this stencil would be an awesome project to use your Silhouette or Cricut machine with! I am also thinking that I'd like to try using vinyl as a stencil, what do you think? 

Also... She has an awesome downloadable Oscars Night Bingo that looks like tons of fun! :)

Not too late to get your honey the best Valentine EVER!

There is still time to order one of our super popular custom subway vinyl + canvas for only $22! We're running low on canvas, so be sure to order SOON! 

Want to order, but having trouble thinking of ideas for your canvas? Here's a few examples to get you inspired:

Email me at heidi@decoratingyourlifeonline.com with 8-10 words, ranked most important to least important. I'll respond with a digital proof for you to OK. Place your order by noon tomorrow, February 8th so I can have it ready for pick-up on Wednesday!

Fresh Friday Meets Friday Creative

Many of you are probably familiar with our dear friend Carly's blog. It's amazing and her Friday Creative posts are the best! She is one of the most talented and sweet ladies I know.

A little over a year ago Carly posted this fun project. It finally got my corks together & put this together! And the finishing touch? Vinyl, of course!

"EVERYTHING IN EXCESS!
TO ENJOY THE TASTE OF LIFE, TAKE BIG BITES. MODERATION IS FOR THE MONKS."

I couldn't think of a quote better for a cork board sourced entirely from empty vino bottles!

As always, email me at heidi@decoratingyourlifeonline... I can't wait to help you put the finishing touches on your projects!

Oh! Why did I just think of this?

This was a very popular Christmas present and it just hit me, why not for Valentine's Day?

This is the perfect, not-too-girly present for that special man in your life.

Customize it with special dates and places from your relationship... Maybe you wen't to Mallard's for ice cream on your first date? Or had your first kiss at Zuanich park? Where did he propose? Is there somewhere special you celebrated an important anniversary?

Ready to Order?

Custom Subway Vinyl +  Canvas is only $22. The Bellingham Subway Vinyl + Canvas is $18.

 Email me at (heidi@decoratingyourlifeonline.com) with a list of 8-10 words you'd like included on your canvas. Put them in order from most important to least important, as they may not all fit on your canvas, and I want to make sure the most important get included! I will send you a digital proof, and once you approve it will cut it for you!

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!

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!

 

 

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!