Third Frame Is Finished

I wanted a different look for the third frame so I spray painted it black and then went with more neutral paper.

I found paper that looked like burlap, and cut it down to the exact size of the picture frame.

The black frame really brings out the hints of black in the paper, doesn't it?

I took a picture (courtesy of Matthews Photography in Center, TX) and matted it with some black card stock.

Then I used spray adhesive to attach the mat to the burlap paper.

I wound up finding some "rub on" words that I really liked, in black.

You just lay down what you want to transfer, rub it with a popsicle stick and it the color rubs off onto your paper.

And it comes out like this.

And this is it, all done.

And with the other frames. It's a lot different than the others, but I really like it. What do you think?

Details

I've been finishing up some last minute things for the shower and making sure I have my list and am crossing things off as I gather them, so that I don't forget anything. While I'm packing up, I've been adding some last minute details to a few things...

I bought a package of red name tags for everyone at the shower. I went ahead and used the Rope font and pre-printed Bridgett's, the grandmothers, the great-grandmothers and all of the hostess'.

Since it's a western/country shower and should be cool out - we're serving chili and cornbread and all the fixings. I found a couple of little red buckets and bought some blue bandanas to line them with, to put the cornbread muffins in.

I bought 8 of these little pails and tied rafia bows on 4 of them. I'm going to put 2 (with bows) on the table with some peanuts and 2 more, with bows, will be filled with homemade western shaped mints.

The other 4 are going to be used on the food table, to put the sour cream, chives, shredded cheese and jalapenos in.

I'm bringing a big cast iron dutch oven that we are going to serve the chili out of.

I made my own little gift tags to put on the presents that D and I are giving her.

I was able to find some red bandana print paper and brown butcher paper bags to wrap some stuff up in. I put a rafia bow on it and added my little gift tag.

I was also able to find denim printed tissue paper, and some white gift bags to put some other stuff in. I tied them off with jute bows and added bandana print gift tags.

All of the gifts together - I think they will tie into the theme nicely.

Now, on to wrapping the hostess gift and making that third frame!

Wordless Wednesday

Tell Me About It Tuesday - My Siblings

I am the middle child, of three girls. I have an older sister (4 years older than me) named Melanie and a younger sister (2 years younger than I am) named Meredith.

Meredith, Melanie and my mom (Melissa) July 2010

Melanie and Meredith at my house for Easter 2010

It's kind of funny but Melanie is a natural blonde, I'm a natural brunette and Meredith is a natural red head. (Both of my parents are natural brunettes - but my mother had died her hair red for like 20 years)

Melanie Leigh Martin

Melanie is more reserved than Meredith and myself. It takes her a little longer to feel comfortable and start mingling with people that she doesn't know but she is more apt to be sociable when there are some people (like family) around. She is easily embarrased and turns bright red when she is. She doesn't think we realize it but she (pretends to) yawn when you tell her something she doesn't want to hear. She always asks for your opinion but has a hard time accepting it (hence the yawn). She is much more cautious than the rest of us and thinks about things for a long time before she makes decisions. She's a worrier. She is very smart and good with numbers. She is goal oriented and can see the bigger picture. Even though we're grown she still calls Meredith and I "the little kids" sometimes when talking to mom and I think its sweet. She still worries about us and wants to protect us and "keep us safe". She isn't a very patient person but is a wonderful mother and is raising a son that's going to grow up to be exactly like her. She takes after my dad the most, and is so stubborn! She cares way too much what people think of her but she's a caring, generous person and a loyal friend. She's funny and a joy to be around and I couldn't ask for a better big sister!

Melanie and her husband, Roy

Melanie and I at Mer's wedding October 2009

Melanie, Meredith and I

Meredith Page Abke

Meredith is the most outgoing of all of us. She is more reserved than she used to be, but she can still get pretty roudy at times. She's also very smart and good with numbers. She has a bit of ocd and even balances her checkbook to the penny (and uses white out if necessary)! She is funny and a huge smart alleck. She is thoughtful and giving but also lacks a lot of patience. She is a good combination of both of our parents. - Stubborn and hardheaded and giving. She used to be a little selfish, but she has grown out of that. She's an extremely loyal person and a good friend. She is very driven and when she sets her mind to something, there is no changing it. She's always very put together and loves to shop! She tries to be strong, but I think she's the most emotional out of all of us. She has a harder time dealing with difficult things and often removes herself from the situation. She has always resented us calling her "the baby". She is a hard worker and wants to take care of everyone. She is extremely organized. She's funny and loud and always a blast to be around and I'm so glad that I can be her big sister.

Meredith and I at my 25th Birthday dinner July 2007

Meredith and her husband, Cole

I am incredibly lucky to have the sisters that I have. When we're all in the same room together, we all seem so different but we somehow manage to all "get" each other and have stayed really close, through going to college, coming back, moving, marrying, children, etc. I hope that we can always maintain such a great relationship. These girls are two of my very best friends and I love them both dearly!

Adding a Few Details to the Country Sign In Book

The baby shower is this weekend and I have pretty much everything finished (except for the third picture frame) so I wanted to go back and add a few details to some things. I think that the difference between a good shower and a great shower is in the details. I went back to the country sign-in book, and took it apart again. I got the idea that I could undo some of the pages and run them through the printer and it would look nicer than having someone hand write info. in there.

I used "Rope MF" font in the book. I started the first page off by just adding basic information about the shower, in red.

Then, I made sure that all the special ladies that were hostesses for the shower were recognized, and since its in print - Bridgett can always remember the ladies that made this day so special for her.

Then, I went through and titled about 10 of the pages with "Guests" so her guests would know where to sign in.

And since we're also going to write down what she receives, in this book, I marked the next pages with "Gifts".

I reserved the last few pages for anyone that wanted to give her any special advise or well wishes.

And I included one of my favorite scriptures. I'll share with you the other last minute things I have been busy with, later this week! Happy Monday!

Country Cake Knife & Server

My mother-in-law and I stopped at HomeGoods the other day, because she had never been. I couldn't stand the injustice of it all so I made sure that she was able to see the wonder that is HomeGoods and all of the treasures that they have. While looking through all of the dishes and holiday ware, I found this cake knife and server set. It is light blue with white snowflakes and was a lowly $6.99, so I picked them up. I didn't want them for Christmas, but I had an idea and thought I could make a craft project out of them.

This is what they started out like, right out of the box.

Close up!

Then, I took the never ending roll of jute that I bought at the very beginning of all of these baby shower crafts, and I started wrapping (and hot glueing) the jute around the base of the knife. It took less than 5 minutes to get the entire thing wrapped and glued. It looked a lot better than what I started off with, but I thought that it still needed something.

I took some red rafia-style material (that I bought to make a bow) and tied a ribbon around it. I didn't like it, so I took it off.

I had found a 6 ft. roll of red bandana print ribbon at Hobby Lobby for 99 cents and haven't found anything to use it on, so I thought this might be the thing! But, I didn't like it, so I took it off. But I really liked the ribbon and wanted to use it, so I cut off a couple of small pieces... And wrapped it around the top and the bottom and hot glued them down. I really liked that a lot better and liked how the red broke up all that brown.

But, of course, I can't leave well enough alone, so I added some rafia.

Because I just love bows and all those different textures! Isn't that cute? Much cuter way to cut a western baby shower cake then a regular 'ol knife!

Happy Crafting and Enjoy Your Weekend Folks!

Second Frame - Completed

I picked up where I left off on the second frame for Bridgett's baby shower. I decided that I wanted to put a poem about being a mother in the frame instead of a picture. I looked online and found the following:

I printed it with "rope" font, although its kind of hard to tell. I decided that I didn't like it on white, so I re-printed it on red cardstock.

Then, I took my paper cutter and trimmed it down so that it was just about half an inch smaller than the black cardstock, all the way around.

It fit well, but I didn't want to just leave it plain so I decided to get out a few more eyelets.

I punched the eyelets at all four corners. This took a little more force because it had to pierce through two layers of cardstock.

I got them all fastened and then decided to add a little something to the top.

I added a small bow with hot glue, that I made out of the Real Leather Craft Lace.

Then I got the glass cleaned off and it put into the frame. Sorry about the glare and my hands in the picture. It's the best one I could get. The first and second frames all done and ready to go! Now, all I have to do is (start and) finish the last frame.