DIY Button Monogram Art

I picked up a few frames from the Dollar Tree to create artwork for a gallery wall in my living room. I have been Pinning ideas and arrangements all week. I am so excited! My desire is to create a gallery wall on a budget. Because you don't need to spend a fortune to have a beautifully decorated home.

 I will be posting my progress and DIY art for you all to be inspired by!

I already have a large collection of vintage buttons that I found at the thrift store. And I thought they would make the perfect monogram.

I traced my letter on some thick card stalk. Then I arranged my buttons till I was happy and carefully hot glued them in place.

Keeping to a similar color scheme is key here. And be sure to fill in the gaps by overlapping buttons otherwise it will look incomplete.

Clean up any glue strings and erase any visible pencil lines.

I created this piece for mere dollars!

You could spend a fortune on buttons at the craft store so keep an eye out for buttons at the thrift store, flea market or even garage sales. 

I hope you liked it!

Blessings, Nicole


Linking up here: Marvelously Messy

What I Wore...birds and mint.

Bird top Anthropologie (last year), mint skinnies Ross, thrifted fedora and sandals, charm necklace from a local artisan.

I love when you find a new top hidden in the depths of your closet. I totally forgot I had this beauty!

It has birds...and you all know I have a bird thing! 

I should go spelunking in my closet more often.

Happy Wednesday!

Blessings, Nicole

Linking up here: The Pleated Poppy

DIY Fabric Covered Boots

I saw these cute fabric covered boots on one of my favorite blogs A Beautiful Mess. I Pinned them and waited to find a pair of boots that would work. When I scored these babies at Khols for $15 I knew they would be perfect!

I choose a polka dot fabric because I thought it would go with a ton of outfits, but the fabric options are endless!

Supplies: A good quality glue, Mod Podge, fabric and an exacto knife.

There wasn't very detailed directions to follow on the original post. And it was very difficult to get the fabric to lay right. You don't want any wrinkles. So I cut a rectangle and ended up cutting out pieces so it fit really snug.

This is what it looked like.

  

Apply the glue liberally to the area you want to cover and place your fabric. 

Smooth out any wrinkles and let dry.

Cut around the edges with your exacto knife. 

Coat with Mod Podge to prevent fraying and to protect the fabric. 

Let dry.

I am seriously obsessed!!!

I mean how cute are these?

My total cost for this project was under $20 including the boots!

Blessings, Nicole

Linking up here: The Crafty Blog Stalker
Twigg Studios
Marvelously Messy

and here

Cara Box Exchange

This last month I participated in a fun little gift exchange called Cara Box hosted by Wifessionals.

Here is more info on the box~Cara Box Exchange.

Basically you get paired up with two ladies. One lady you will send a box to and another that will be sending a box to you. 

You get to know each other over a period of time via email and by blog stalking. Then you assemble a box based on their personal interests and taste. 

I got paired up with Ashley from A Nelsons Nest and Kelsea from Overwhelmed by Grace.

Ashley made my box and I made Kelsea a box.

Getting to know these ladies was so much fun! They were both so sweet! 

And I now have two new blog buddies!

Here is the lovely box Ashley made for me.

 One of the things I loved most about her box was that she attached cute little printed notes to every item. Notes that expressed why she included that item and how it related to me. It was so personal and very sweet. In fact I was jealous that I didn't think of it for the box I made! 

Loved it Ashley!

New statement earrings! ADORB! 

She also included this devotional that I can't wait to read!

More goodies...

Almond Joy my fav (which I ate already)!

Gorg Essie nail polish.

Chai tea, another fav!

and

A very sweet handwritten card.

I absolutely LOVED EVERYthing in my box!

Thank you so much Ashley!!!!!!!

I don't know what I enjoyed more, making a box for Kelsea or receiving this awesome box from Ashley!

It was so much fun and I definitely will be participating in Cara Box again!

Blessings, Nicole

What I Wore...transitioning into fall.

Scarf thrifted, tee Maurices, jeans Vigoss from Nordstrom, boots Candies from Khols.

Making the transition into fall with a light scarf and lace up boots. Cool enough for the warm weather but warm enough for the cool weather. That made more sense in my head, ha! Ya'll know what I mean!

I have been wanting a pair of lace up boots for this fall and winter. I found these babies at Khols, regularly $79.99, but with sale and coupon my final price was only $15! Not to shabby, right?

Hope you are having a great week!

Blessings, Nicole

Linking up here: The Pleated Poppy

Life Lately

These moments are few and far between, so I had to document it. I heard laughing coming from Caleb's room the other night. Caleb was reading Deacon a book that was quite entertaining. 

Awe...the brotherly love!

I have been spending lots of time with this cutie and her lovely mama!

She is such a sweetie! 

My tomatoes are finally turning red! 

I picked these pretty heirlooms today.

Hello caprese salad!

We got a new couch from Costco! 

Our previous couch was two years old and literally falling apart. Costco is so awesome they returned it no questions asked! Seriously....Wow!

Caleb poked fun at my outfit posts.

That's lately around here.

Blessings, Nicole

A little update on my surgery

A few weeks ago I was able to schedule my partial hysterectomy to remove my fibriod tumor who I affectionately named Mr. Tumor. Really original right? I met my new doctor and got my labs done. My surgery was scheduled for next week. I was totally nervous but excited to see Mr. Tumor off, wave good bye and never look back.

But last week I got a phone call that I knew was bad news. I just had that feeling. The sweet lady from my doctors office did have some bad news. My new health insurance would not cover my surgery because I had preexisting condition. The only thing they were willing to do was to cover my surgery in June of next year. I completely lost it on the phone and started a ball. Not just a sniffle, but a full-on Kim Kardashian ugly cry.

This has been such a long process. Finally finding an answer to my mystery abdominal pain. Finally having a solution. The end was in sight. Having to wait another second to finally feel better feels like eternity.

After my brief Kim moment. I started to pray about it. And I realized something I already knew. God's timing is perfect. If I am not meant to have surgery next week I don't really NEED it. Because sometimes God gives us what we need not what we want.

 I really don't like Mr. Tumor but he is going to be around for a little while longer. At least until my insurance will cooperate in his removal. And we will continue to work on that.

So I wait....

But I know it will happen when it is supposed to happen.

Blessings, Nicole

What I Wore....a no brainer outfit.

Blazer and lace tank thrifted, jeans Vigoss Nordstrom, shoes Cynthia Vincent thrifted, gold bird necklace Stella and Dot.

What I wore to the doctors office and lunch date with the hubster today.

This outfit was a no brainer and sometimes (okay most the time!) that's a good thing, especially when you are getting back into the school routine. Which means no more sleeping in till 9 am....boo!

My no brainer formula for this outfit was a simple lace tank, blazer, skinnies, and fun printed flats. A cute sparkly bird necklace topped it off and I was good to go! 

What is your no brainer outfit formula?

Has school started in your neck of the woods yet?

Blessings, Nicole

The Pleated Poppy

Inspired By Pinterest~Crock-Pot Lasagna

Oh, how I love my Crock-pot!

I recently Pinned this recipe. I was so thrilled to find an easy lasagna recipe for my crock pot.

I always make extra spaghetti sauce for lasagna later on in the week. So I used my homemade sauce for this recipe. I also added about a quarter cup water since my sauce was really thick.

It took me only 10 minutes to throw this together and I was able to go about my day. A few hours later a beautiful, hot, gooey, and cheesy lasagna was ready!

Winner winner lasagna dinner!

Here is the original recipe post: Crock Pot Lasagna

Blessings, Nicole

Crock Pot Lasagna

DIY Kid's Mustache Tee

For this project I used a plain children's tee, brown felt, white thread, a needle and scissors. 

If your printer works....unlike mine.. you could print a template of your very favorite mustache. If you are having technical problems like me, you could trace your own template of your favorite mustache.

Cut template, pin to felt and cut out your fab mustache.

Make sure you are happy with the placement.

Pin to the tee and sew.

I decided to hand sew mine because I love the look.

 But a machine zig-zag stitch would be super cute here too!

So sweet and simple!

And a great handmade gift idea.

Blessings, Nicole