My Interactive Old Testament Stories!

I just wanted to give an update on our Etsy Shop! My Interactive Book of Mormon Stories launched a couple years ago, and since we have added some awesome Article of Faith Flashcards, and have jumped into Interactive Bible Stories. My Interactive Old Testament is now available as well! You can watch the video to get a closer look! Visit our Etsy Shop- Book of Mormon for Kids or check out our website ScriptureStoriesforKids for a closer look and to answer any FAQ's! 

 

Book of Mormon for Kids

Some of you may already know, but about a few years ago I posted about the one project I was the most proud of. I created an Interactive Book of Mormon Book for my kiddos, and once Pinterest became popular, so did that post. After a lot of inquiries I decided to bring the book to life so that it could be available to anyone.

 I am happy to report that after several months, one illustrator, a few meetings with Publishers, and one etsy shop later- the book is officially available! We took all the ideas from my original book and created a version now available through Etsy. If you decide to purchase it, we email it to you as a PDF file that you can print out and decide what you want to do (bind it, turn it into file folder activities etc.) with it, detailed instructions are attached. This book has the first 9 stories of the Book of Mormon and coming in late February or early March we will have volume 2 with the last 9 stories available as well.

Here is the link to this book on Etsy

https://www.etsy.com/listing/116055936/interactive-book-of-mormon-for-children

 

The Shop name is Book of Mormon for Kids

 Please let me know if you have any questions!! Thnx!!

~Natalie

Modern Cottage Master Bedroom

I decided a long time ago that keeping up a regular blog wasn't where I wanted to allot a good portion of my time, but over the years I have still had fun updating our home and wanted to have an official place to document it. So over the coming weeks I will post our house room by room. So here we go... I decided for Christmas that the main thing I wanted was to finally put my stamp on our master bedroom. We've been here about three and a half years and this was one of the very last places to get any sort of personal touch. It was more of the close the door and don't let anyone see the hodge podge of left over furniture and decor from every where else. 

It sat like this for probably a year

Then we finally tackled paint, crown molding, a ceiling fan, and making an actual bed

Then I dressed it up with an inexpensive DIY and some odds and ends from around the house. It never made it much further than this. It had the cottage feel I've always loved but still didn't ever feel finished or "me" just felt like I pulled a bunch of leftovers from around the house :)

When I decided to tackle our bedroom I REALLY struggled trying to pin down my style. I think Pinterest totally warped my natural knack for design and what I know I like. It tore me in a million different directions because all of a sudden I liked everything and had no idea where to start. Do I like modern? Industrial? Cottage? Vintage? Retro? Traditional? Craftsman? Ahhhh! I looked at SO many pictures and over analyzed til I about drove myself mad. Then one day I decided, FORGET PINTEREST! I stopped looking at pictures and went back to my roots... what do I like? What makes me swoon, feel at home, what was I drawn to before pinterest ever came along. And what do ya know... things started to come together. 

Here's what I LOVE..

-WHITE

-Cottage/Coastal

-A touch of vintage/retro/mid-century

-The THRILL of being thrifty!

Most of the fun about decor for me is being thrifty. I think there are only about 5 things in our entire bedroom that I bought from a regular store. Almost everything else was either free, thrifted, or made by us. LOVE that. It drives me crazy when designers claim to be "thrifty" and then say they had a budget of 5 grand or something for a single room. When I say thrifty I mean... an entire room for under 300 bucks. I believe ANYONE can have a beautiful home, just have to have an eye for design and know a good deal when you see one. 

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AHHHH, that's me! 

Bed: made by us via Anna White- most expensive thing in the room

Vintage Botanicals: Free! ok 5 bucks of printing via PoppyTalk 

Bedding: Shams and Quilted Coverlet were 10 dollars at a garage sale last summer

 Nightstands: Old filing cabinets-14 bucks for the pair- Thrifted via Savers

Grey Pillow: Home Goods- LOVE!

Lamps and Vase: Ikea that I already had

Botanical Notebooks: Target

Wire Basket: Thrifted @ DI

Flowers: Michael's 50% off

Ampersand: Hobby Lobby 40% off

We have added some sort of custom molding to almost every room in the house. This room was screaming for a focal point and planked walls are all the craze, but work perfectly with the overall feel for the room so we did it! And I LOVE!

Mid-Century Dresser: Thrifted via DI for $40- A steal of a deal we found years ago

Mirrors: DIY with leftover crown molding

Books: Thrifted via DI

Branches: My parents yard :)

Sunburst mirror: Way old trend but still love. DIY that I made a few years ago. I intended on painting it out until I saw it finished, I loved the natural wood tones and kept it as is. 

Dresser: My childhood dresser growing up, changed out the knobs a few years back

Wood Planter: Thirfted a few years ago, turned upside and backwards here. 

Plants and white planters are from Ikea

We wanted a little reading area so a few years ago I found this chair at DI for five bucks! It had great bones and looked so similar to our bed with the wood slats. It was oak and had forest green cushions, but nothing a little white paint and an Ikea sheet can't tackle!

I wanted a little area to display mementos and have fun styling over the years. We had some pine left over from making our bed so we just painted them out and added some brackets from Ikea. 

Two maps: Free from a neighbor- I picked out the two states where we've lived the longest

Chalk Board: From Home Goods with some DIY chalkboard art

Daily Calendar: Gift from a friend

Journal: DIY

Jewelry dish: Thifted from DI

This dresser is one of the very first projects we ever did. We spray painted it white in a church parking lot about 9 years ago! It was Paul's grandma's and came to us painted alternating colors of white and mustard yellow. A few years ago we changed out the knobs with some vintage knobs for less than ten bucks!

Books: Thrifted from DI

Plant/Planter: Ikea

Letter: Hobby Lobby

I'm sure in 5 more years I'll look back at these pictures and think to myself- What an amateur! But for now, I love it. I love knowing that every little thing has a different story but together they make a place that I love!

*Coming up... Boys shared bedroom and little girl nursery

Quick Fix

I think this dresser is the very first piece of furniture we ever spray painted-about 7 yrs ago, in a church parking lot b/c we didn't have space at our apartment. It used to be banana yellow and white, from Grandma. It's cheap but for now it gets the job done. When we painted it white I painted the knobs black to go with some other dresser we had at the time. 7 years later, the knobs were driving me crazy in our room because they look so cheap. So a few months ago when I was roaming around in an antique shop- I happened upon these knobs. Nothing too fancy but metal instead of wood and at 50 cents a piece I knew it would be a good upgrade! 

 Of course, I didn't take a picture til half way through- so now u can see the difference

 After

 A little DIY styling on the top- the S is from Hobby Lobby at 50% off it was $5, the frame was something I had, and the stencil print I did myself with some butcher paper and a sharpee, books I gathered from around the house

Bedroom Details: Rustic Touch

 Next up, I wanted to add a little personal touch and I remembered I had a piece of barn wood I got at an antique shop several months before. It was $6 and I intended on using it for something else, but that didn't happen, so I thought--- I'll use it now!

All it took was some white acrylic paint, a few stamps sets, some memories, and a little creativity 

I just thought through things that are special to us-- kids, where we got married, first date, cute sayings, places we've lived, favorite vacations etc.

 

Now it is above our bed- not sure I love it there, but now it's too meaningful- I have to hang it somewhere! 

All the stuff above the bed I had, just pulled from around the house- but the white vase was $1 at a garage sale, the duvet set was $30 online (i can tell u where if ur interested)- I still want a white quilted coverlet to mix and match the bedding a bit more, & I made the pillow covers

 

Bedroom Details: THE BED!

Well our bedroom has finally come together one piece at a time. It's not the most amazing thing in the world, but without spending much money- it has come a long ways! Instead of doing one mammoth post, I thought I would break things down a bit. So first up and most exciting was THE BED! Here is what we had when we moved in- white walls, no molding (u can see where we started doing molding in the top left corner) a brass headboard we painted black years ago, old bedding etc. 

 After scouring KSL and trying to find a good deal on beds, I came across Ana White's site, and loved the farmhouse bed. It's been floating around blog land for awhile but it really is perfect. After showing the plans to Paul-one night he just packed up, went to the store, came home with all the supplies, and only a few hours later  he had totally completed the headboard! I was shocked! I knew he was a handyman, but holy moly- I am so lucky :) It was a good excuse to get him the drill set he's always wanted, and if that means he'll keep up the projects then that's fine with me!

I think it only took him one more night to do the foot board and rails. Then it took me 3 times that long to fill all the holes and paint. It was kind of a beast to paint actually, lots of primer and paint. I do love how it looks unfinished in these pics though.

 

  Here it is when we first moved it into the room. I just kinda threw the bedding on and it's not looking great. But at this point we did have the crown molding up (ALSO thanks to Paul, ok I guess I filled all the holes and painted too) and the wall color was up. But still lots to work on--- notice the way too short nightstand and hideous puke orange chair (no offense to Grandma) --- these eye sores will be addressed in upcoming posts!

Virtual Family Room Design

Recently my close friend moved into a new rental and asked for a little help figuring out how to pull things all together and make a space she and her family will love! Since she lives out of state we had fun with lots of emails back and forth and were able to pull a few things to get the ball rolling. 

The family room was painted in ButterCream from Restoration Hardware.

 

The stairs and upstairs hall were going to be tan and she wanted a fun pop of color in the kitchen that went with everything else. I gave lots of suggestions and she picked my fave- Sherwinn Williams Sea Salt!

Next up was fabric for the curtains. Something that pulled the two spaces together and freshened things up. There was a lot to choose from between online stores, etsy, etc. I just started pulling some and putting them in a pinterest file...

Then she went to her local Joanns and found this one! Lucky for her it was on sale- perfect!

Next up... define style- I had her take a few fun design quizzes that help you "define" your style. You can check them out too- it's always fun to see what the books say you like even if you don't think they ring true.

BHG decorating style quiz

BHG decorating personality quiz

HGTV style quiz

Kaboose decorating style quiz

Ethan Allen find your signature style

Last steps- she sent me a few pictures and told me what they need as a family- more lighting, storage for kid stuff, fun patterns/personality. So here are the before's....

 BEFORE

  

 

I just focused on the left side/family room because I couldn't figure out how to do both in one photoshop doc. But I used furniture from both pics. (slight disclaimer-- I can't get that silly blue pillow from that tan couch smaller and I know it looks silly and off, but whatever- I'm still trying to figure out this whole photoshop thing)

 

Color palette: I pulled colors from the curtains you already have, the wall color, and light colored carpet etc

Style:
formal- The side table, lamps, and picture frame are a sleek shape/luster to give a little sparkle
french- I had no idea how to incorporate that part of your surveys given what you already have :)
vintage- A few rustic/fun pieces - the basket full of books, little toy box by the chair, coffee table- I have seen some fun rustic/vintage coffee tables online lately using old pallets or trunks or things that you could do way cheap. Oh and the cute little blue clock is a fun little vintage accessory

Functionality:
* Play/storage space for the kids: an ottoman/coffee table like that would hold a lot of stuff and serve as a toy box if u wanted, the little toy basket by the chair, basket of books etc. I was thinking of making the other half of the room the main place with large storage, a twin to the bookcase you already have and a storage thing between the two etc.
 *Lighting: I put a tall lamp in that area (u could just use the one you already have) and then one on the little side table, but if you do the sofa table you could also flank two on either end or in a grouping to add a lot of light right there

Keeping costs low: I used most of the large existing furniture pieces- the major thing is if you don't use the drawers in that sofa table that putting it behind your sofa gives you the perfect spot to put cute, fun accessories or artwork, or lamps for reading to give more light in the room. It also give a focal point to the room besides just the window. You could also just re-paint or use the side tables you already have in place of the ones I put on there.

**Once again... this was TOTALLY a fun project! I love these little virtual design projects- just as fun to design and it doesn't cost me a dime! You can see the other one I did for my friend here 


If you or anyone you know would like a virtual design- let me know! I work for free :)

Free Fall Decor

When I was walking to a neighbors house the other day I noticed several pallets that had just been dumped in an empty lot. My mind started reeling on what I could do with them, and there are ideas online everywhere. Table, headboards, dresser, art... I wasn't sure what I was going to do with one but I knew I would put it to use some how. So after watching for a couple days and realizing no one was going to claim the pallets, I broke my back dragging one back to my garage. It sat there for a week or so until I decided I wanted to spruce up the entry way a bit and add some touches of fall. 

Here's a reminder on what the entryway looked like before board and batten

This is how it looks now...all the decor stuff was free, minus the 2 dollar pumpkins I bought a week before & stuff I already had

Scrapbooking paper and paper bags for the banner- all stuff I had

Some wheat looking twigs I grabbed on our morning walk & some mulch with a candle on top

 

 Then my DIY pallet sign. It took me a long time to rip the pallet apart, & I woke up the whole neighborhood trying to do it. Then I cut them down a bit, hooked them all together with wood on the back- then created my own saying/stencil. I saw this quote years ago on an old window in an antique shop, I've always wanted to use it somewhere- and now it's perfect for fall/thanksgiving. All I did was print out letters from Word, then cut them out by hand- using the negative space from the paper as a stencil. I just used some white craft paint & my stencil brush. I love how it turned out, and love that I didn't spend a dime!

 

Done and done.

A day at the zoo

A few months ago my brother-in-law asked if he could come pick up the kids and take them to the zoo for the day, of course I said yes and then I panicked- an entire day to myself?? Where to start!? Of course I wanted to run to a million stores and just look at stuff, but since we were really trying not to spend any money- shopping seemed like a waste of time. SO... instead, I decided to do something free and stenciled the hall! I know this pattern is EVERYWHERE, but when I first saw it on Jones Design Company I knew I had to do it somewhere.

  

 The two things I learned in case I attempt stenciling in the future-- it takes a LONG time, and DON'T use a dark pencil- then it takes 2 coats of paint to cover it, ugh