HUGE Christmas sale

Who couldn't be jolly this time of year?! Especially here in North Idaho right now. We just got a fresh batch of snow that is sticking around for awhile and it is soo beautiful! It really makes it seem like the Christmas season. Its been so long since Ive blogged I am about to throw out a whole lot of pics and info. Heres some of the winter fun we've been having:

Santa!! (So sweet, Emma told him she wanted a "jiggly" tooth brush(the electric one), so she is convinced, and fine with that is all she is getting for Christmas:) I love these young years, when they are still so easily made happy with  little toys and simple things)

A morning at Macies school. 

Helped my bestie decorate the church stage for the season

Its the holidays in here!!

Decorating up the house

Brandon took the girls into the woods in the back and let them pick out the tree this year:) and I then let them decorate it. It was soo hard for me when I'm so set in my ways about the decor, but I let go, and they LOVE it! Next year, I think we'll have two:) One for them and one for me:)

Brrr!!!

And last weekend I had the privilege to sell at a great annual show "Home for the Holidays". It was so fun! Here are some pictures of my booth and what I still have for sale. I've lowered prices as we get closer to Christmas, so contact me for questions!  

beamdesign4@gmail.com

One view of my booth

(Still for sale: "On Lake time" barnwood signs-$20

'Noel' and 'Peace' barnwood signs-$12

'Joy' blocks -$8

earrings and rings-$6.50

dishtowels-chevron and anchors-$5

Still for sale:

gray baby cradle from this post-$30

gray chair-$22

Still for sale: 

'home is where the anchor drops' sign-$20

"LOVE" sign-$15

"Let it snow' barnwood sign-$20

6' growth charts-$20

burlap stockings-$15

joy manger sign-$20

Grateful barnwood sign-$12

Growth charts in the back still for sale-$20
childrens vintage anchor chairs-$10 each
burlap stockings-$15
Let it snow sign-$20

$15

 6.50

$15

Buy local, peeps! Handmade love is the best kind of gift:)
Happy Holidays!!!!

How to make your own custom rubber stamps

I have always wanted a chevron stamp. Who doesn't these days right?? But the only one I could find was by Tori Spelling and was like $50. (Ill admit though, I make no apologies, I do love me some Tori)

So after seeing a few blogs on it like this one here from my ALL-TIME-FAVORITE- BLOG-I-READ-EVERY-SINGLE-DAY. I ordered a speedy carve block on amazon and my sister happened to have the carving tool set i needed. You can take any image (off the web, a magazine, a logo) and turn it into a stamp! For my chevron one I:

1. Traced some chevron fabric I had onto plain old printer paper (with a pencil, that's the important part)

You could use a printed image or anything else.

For this one I found this image online and then just altered it a little:

2. Place the paper on your carve block, image side down.

3.Rub over the image with a flat surface like a debit card.

4. Remove the image and you will have the penciled image now on the rubber.

5. Trace your image with a permanent marker or pen so it doesn't rub off while you carve.

6. Carve out the parts you want to be the 'negative space' on the paper.

7. Carve some more

8. Carve a little more

9. It will take a few practice stamps to see where you need to carve a little more. 

10. Stamp beautiful things!!

I have gone a little crazy with my few favorite images and am in need of making a few new ones.

Ive done some on paper with a stamp pad, but mostly on fabric mixing acrylic paint and textile medium.(Theres not much of a fabric paint selection in our little town. neons and puffy paint mostly, so I just get the textile medium to mix with ANY of the beautiful colors that come in acrylics! You just follow the t.m instructions, and heat set it after. 

Here are my favorite projects Ive done lately:

These directors chairs were my first project with the anchor.

Redid the curtains in my laundry room

This coffee table turned chevron bench.
Take that expensive chevron fabric!!!

Some chevron flour sack dish towels.

my price tags


Now go stamp on! I want to see some projects people:)

A nursery makeover!

I redid my sister, Robins office into a nursery a few months back for sweet baby Mckinley(who is now 6 weeks old!)

 I keep meaning to go back and take better pictures, but never have, so I figured Id just do the post already:) I will come back and add more later when I can figure out how to get pics off my old phone. I have a few tutorials I took pictures for. 

Heres the room just getting started:

(We didnt get the crib before. It was your basic wood crib and we painted it white.)

And after:(Its hard to get a shot of the whole room cause its so long.

I painted this dresser coral and white. I still plan on putting a large black owl silouette on the front, but need to find a projector. I painted the two lamps Robin already had white and then recovered the shades with some cute teal polka dot fabric. The candlesticks were pink and I painted them aqua. Right now they act as book ends.

Theres no closet in this room, so Robin came up with a great idea to utilize the space. This was originally her husbands desk, so he added a bar along the bottom to hang the itty bitty clothes.

The crib we painted white. (5 cans of spray paint later!) The bumper is 

one of those new

 breathable  ones that we got in white and I tried to dye. Little did 

I realize that Polyester + dye = no go. I had even gotten onesies and practiced before getting the bumper .

Totally different fabrics:) The velcro worked and the rest is a baby pink, 

but it actually works. I didnt want it too matchy matchy anyway.

The crib sheet was white and I dyed it coral. The curtains are a 

white with gray pinstripes(better picture to come i promise!)

 And the quilt I made one side out of this adorable dandelion silouette 

and the other side out of a piece from every other fabric in the room.

The curtains are a white with gray pinstripe with this great Amy Butler fabric

 on the bottom. It said "cherry" as the color, but I just knew it would work! 

The curtains totally lightened up the room! The gray was on sale for 2.99 a yard! 

You cant beat that and I think the flowers for the whole thing would have been too busy.

Heres the comforter on one side

I made this mobile with circles of coordinating fabrics , coral ribbon and an embroidery hoop. I just love how it turned out!
The artwork I did also. It was so simple. I just stretched some fabric over an old canvas with my staple gun(on the back), and used my cricut to cut out different sizes and shapes of flowers(and painted some aqua).
The framed flower I made out of fabric, painted an old frame and attached it to some chevron paper I stamped. Sooo easy!
The 'M' is the same paper I stamped, cut out on my cricut and attached it with some baby clothes pins to a strip of lace.

Heres the two drawers I painted, distressed and lined. I originally was going to hang these on the wall as shelves, but ran out of wall space.
So I decided an under the crib storage worked just as well.
(And the other side of the comforter)

This owl I am very proud of:) I couldnt find a cricut cartridge with an owl that had any more images I would use much. So I finally just used the basic one I have and cut out all different shapes to put him together! Isnt he cute!!? I got all these frames at garage sales this summer and painted them all white.
The "you are loved always" was a quote on my sisters pinterest, and cut out with my cricut.
The little two are just scrapbook paper and stickers I already had(with the right colors!!!)
And the 'M' I cut out of some old mat board and covered in glitter. That was a mess:)

So there it is!! Mckinley is still sleeping in her mommy and daddys room, but I know she will enjoy this room soon and her mommy already is!

And one more picture because I cant help myself:

Partying at :

DIY by design

Primp

My uncommom slice of Suburbia

My repurposed Life

Miss Mustard Seed

Rock a bye baby

The girls have wanted a baby cradle for their dolls for as long as i can remember. We got them a doll bunk bed a few christmas ago, but the cheapo plasic thing was finally breaking down. 

I got this cradle a few days ago and didnt tell the girls about it until i redid it. They were soooo excited:)  Here it is before:

I added a little embelishment to pretty it up and then Emma and I applied a good coat of gray chalk paint. And that was it!

Then of course I had to make some blankies and a piilow for the babies:)

I have some vintage fabric Ive been collecting. I love it so much that I keep 'saving' it. So I think this was the perfect project to use a little. Im made Macie the stripe/flower one and Emma picked out her butterfly/damask one:) The pillow I just traced a crown off this french graphics site and then sewed the pillow. Macie wanted a crown sign I had made, so she was pleasently surprised with the pillow. 

shhhhh, the babies are sleeping.................

#30 done! while I'm 29!!

My Internet is not so reliable lately, and Ive been soo busy making making making. I thought I better do this post though to update you all. I realized that all the people that come to the sales and buy my things found out about me on some part of the Internet. Either my blog, facebook or facebook yardsale. So, I better keep up that part:) 

This blog started out as "aprills30before30" and has turned into so much more! I have met so many great people through it that understand my vision and can share in my ideas. I have also gained so many  customers through this venue and I am so thankful. I have a year left before I'm 30 and this is my 30th piece!! Through this blog I have been able to share my family, my love for food and all things DIY and design. I'm thinking about setting a new goal, but haven't come up with it yet. While its nice out and Amy over at Vintage Farmhouse is doing so many great sales shes letting me be part of, I am out in the shop much more than on here blogging!! So in the winter, I guess, I will catch up on my posts:) Here it is though, #30.

Here it is before:

And here it is after:

 I made it for my niece whos almost ready to make an appearance! McKinley Jean! I will do a post when I have more time on the nursery I designed and did for her! It is so adorable! 

Yay for completing my 30!! 

And yay for my niece on the way!!! (Sorry Robin, I know you're not so excited at the moment about being on bed rest:( Keep her in there. Ill be over to see you in two days!!! Love you!

One of a kind dishtowels anyone??

I forgot to post pictures of the dishtowels I made at my booth at Foxs. I sold the couple that I made at the last Vintage Farmhouse Sale, so whipped up some more for my booth. How cute are they?? I can also make custom ones(like initials, monograms, you name it:)

1,2,3

EAT

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Support crafters!!!

I got this awesome chippy dirty old wood the other day and couldnt wait to make something with it. I know that sounds weird, but its sooo cool looking. I love the old, the retro, the chips, the peels.....most of it that is:)

It was my dads gf's birthday yesterday so I whipped this up and have to say...I kind of want one.

I also added a few things to my little booth at Foxs Fun Factory:) I thought I'd share some of them with you to entice you to go take a look:)

Here are these rings Ive wanted to make for awhile. Thanks to W and J for my amazon gift cards I finally could order the supplies. There are rings and earrings. Each $6.50

                                                                      

Silver w/ blue flower,  gun metal with coral flower, pink with ivory flower, teal with coral flower, red, yellow and coral earrings.

I have lots more to make, but wanted to see how they would sell. Let me know what you think!

Heres my favorite chalk board I have displayed over there. 

And this cute little nightstand w/coral anthro knob

And if any of you are headed to a baby shower or to greet a new baby this summer make sure you stop by to grab one of these great wipe holders:

The Foxs crafters mall is right on hwy 200 across from the mall entrance by Deitrich. And are open Mon-Sat. 10-6. There are about 50 different vendors who sell there, so theres something for everyone!