Tufted Upholstered Headboard Tutorial

On Wednesday I gave you a little peek at my 14 year old daughters new silver and white glam bedroom makeover. To refresh your memory, my oldest son moved away for college, and my daughter has spent the past year scheming up a design plan for her new room. It's a HUGE change from the teenage boys room full of flags and random things my son collected into this amazingly beautiful grown-up glam girls bedroom.

Part of the transformation included making this tufted upholstered headboard. To be fair, Isabella has been begging for years to create an upholstered headboard for her room. DIY projects don't move too quickly around here {it took me 15 years to get board and batten installed} when we need help from my husband, and my guess is, he was hoping she would forget about it or quit asking. She finally happened to mention it to the right person and her newly retired grandpa offered to help her. I think that it turned out better than any of us could have imagined for their first project together!

Today, my 14 year old daughter Isabella will be taking over my blog to give you the full tutorial on how they created this full size tufted upholstered headboard for her new glam girls bedroom.

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Glam Silver and White Teen Girl Bedroom Makeover

When we first bought our house almost six years ago, there was one kids bedroom that was much larger than the others. We made a deal that the oldest kid got the biggest room and then when that kid moved out, the next oldest would move in. Each child would get a chance to have the big room in the house. For much of our oldest son's senior year of high school, my daughter {the next oldest} was scheming about her plans for her new {much larger} room. This plan included upgrading to a larger full size bed and creating a much more sophisticated space in our home to call her own.  

In the past month, we moved our oldest son to his new home at college in Texas and moved our daughter into her new bedroom, complete with an accent wall with some pretty fabulous wallpaper, new furnishings she's stock piled through the year at garage sales and thrift shops and a tufted upholstered headboard that she created as part of a DIY project with her grandpa. 

It's hard to believe that this is the before and after of this room! It's changed so much and become a beautiful room for our daughter to spend her teen years in. 

On Friday, Isabella will be sharing the tutorial for how she upholstered the headboard in her new room. It was a really fun project for her and her Grandpa to share together.  In the meantime, lets look at some of the rooms details.

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Homemade Chocolate Strawberry Pudding

While I must confess to buying store-bought puddings from time to time, there is nothing like homemade pudding to satisfy that sweet tooth! And really, it's not too difficult to make either. It's one of the easiest and quickest desserts that you can make at home and it travels fairly well so you can bring it along with you to a pot luck or for that perfect fall picnic at the park.

The possibilities are endless too! You can add many different variations and make chocolate pudding parfaits just by adding a layer of graham crackers, cookie crumbs or sprinkles to the bottom or by toasting a marshmallow or adding chocolate shavings on the top. 

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Using Washi Tape in Your Bible Journal

Using Washi Tape in your Journaling Bible

Earlier this year I received a journaling Bible and I have really been enjoying exploring my creative side and mixing that with time spent in my Bible. There are so many different fun Bible journaling supplies.  One of my all time favorite supplies that I come back to nearly every single time is washi tape. Every month, I receive more supplies as part of my partnership with Dayspring that come in the Illustrated Faith devotional kits, including a new roll of washi tape every month. Today, I'm showing you how to use washi tape in your Bible.  I think you are going to love it.

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Mojito Lime Chicken with Black Bean Salsa

You know the feeling after you have been gone from home for a few days, there is nothing like coming home to a home cooked meal, especially if you have been eating out for days on end! Home cooked meals are my comfort food. There is something about using fresh, local ingredients {even better if some of those ingredients come from my garden} and knowing exactly what is in my food to give me that comfort food feeling, which is why I am so excited to be partnering with Foster Farms Simply Raised Chicken, raised locally on the west coast {the best coast} with no antibiotics ever. 

Foster Farms Simply Raised chicken is one of the best foundations for your new comfort food meals. We all think of those traditional comfort foods as being really heavy and super rich, but I'm happy to say that there is an evolution happening and comfort food is becoming healthier and simpler to make. With growing kids at home and a metabolism that seems to be slowing down as I get older, I'm happy to embrace this new comfort food. 

I'm sharing one of our family favorites today, Mojito lime chicken served with a black bean salsa. I always make extra chicken because it's fabulous the next day cut up and served on top of a bed of lettuce. Two meals in one is always my favorite!

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{easy to make} Antler Jewelry Tree Tutorial

{easy to make} Antler Jewelry Tree Tutorial

I have a thing for antlers. They are spread all throughout my house. I love to decorate with them, so when I found a faux antler Christmas tree pick at my local Hobby Lobby, I picked it up. I knew exactly what I wanted to make with it.  I have a lot of small jewelry pieces and sometimes out of sight means out of mind. If I don't have something in front of me, I forget about it. But not now! I can see all my favorite pieces on the DIY faux antler jewelry stand and it's a beautiful art piece too! I'm partnering with HomeRight to share with you how I created this jewelry stand {for under $5!} and how you can too!

I took this faux antler...

and created this DIY faux antler jewelry stand. It's one of my favorite pieces in my master bedroom closet now.  I can't wait to show you how you can make your own too!

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Glitter Coffee Mug Made Two Different Ways

I was slow to the party, but after living in the birthplace of Starbucks for a few years, I finally started drinking and enjoying coffee. I like my coffee iced, I like it sweet, I like it blended, I like it plain, I like it hot, I like it period. Since I drink coffee every day, I have started making cups and mugs that I like to drink my coffee out of. I made a few new glitter mugs and I made them two different ways. 

Would you believe that one of these is made using heat transfer vinyl cut on my Silhouette machine? The other is made using mod podge and glitter and it's actually safe to wash and use! I'm showing you how to make both kinds of glitter mugs today

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Chili Bowl The Perfect Tailgate Chili for Game Day

I'm not one of those people that loves fall, I usually enter into the season grudgingly, but I do find the cooler temperatures a welcome relief from the hot summer days. I think my favorite part of fall is chili season. Nothing says tailgating for a football game like a nice big bowl of chili. I think you will love this yummy take on the classic bowl of chili, game day or not.

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Joanna Gaines Leather Statement Bracelet Tutorial

I'm a Fixer Upper fan. I can't say that I've seen all of the episodes, but I do follow Joanna Gaines on Instagram and I love all of the pretty things that her hand touches.  I also am a big fan of Joanna's style. If I had to pick one person in the world to switch wardrobes with it would be Elton John. Only kidding {though he does have some pretty rad pant suits}, it would be, Joanna Gaines of course! I love her neutral comfortable style, that translates into her jewelry as well. I saw this leather statement bracelet on her in an Instagram photo more than a year ago and drooled over the piece when I went to The Silos, but the $66 price tag had me going back to my old mantra of "I can make that." And so I did.

I'm a woman on a budget, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to dress like a million bucks. I even put together this post on how you can get Joanna Gaines fashion style for less. 

photo Rachel Whyte

When I see an item that I can recreate for a fraction of the retail price, I do just that. I'm excited to share with you how you can make your own leather statement bracelet just like the one you can find at Magnolia Market. If you would like to buy your own, you can shop here. 

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10 Things You Never Knew You Needed For Your Dorm Room {But You Do!}

It's been a few weeks, but I recently moved my oldest son into his first dorm room. My son decided to go out of state to college and is now more than 2000 miles away from home. It's not an easy weekend trip to pop up and bring any forgotten items from home, which is why I am glad I went with him to get him settled. There were a few items that came to light very quickly on after we moved him in and a few that have bubbled to the surface. Before he left, I created a list we used for packing that included all of the essentials. This was a bare bones list and included only the essentials. 

Today, I'm sharing with you 10 things you never knew you needed for your college dorm room {but you do}. Some of these things are things you don't really need but that would be really helpful to have to make your life easier, and some of these things you will wonder how you lived without them.  

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Pillow Created using Handwritten Note and Heat Transfer Vinyl

One of my childhood friends lost her oldest son in a car accident in April. We no longer live down the block the way we did when we were kids and could walk to each others houses, but thanks to social media, I still feel connected. I'm not able to be there in her time of grief the way that I would like to be. Our oldest sons were just a few weeks apart in age, and I could never imagine the kind of loss and heartbreak that she is enduring. My heart is broken with her for a life lost far too soon. In the week leading up to his birthday in August, she posted a sweet note from her son that she had received a few years earlier as a Christmas gift. I knew immediately that I wanted to create a lasting keepsake for her with his handwriting.  

Today, I'm sharing how you can create a keepsake using heat transfer vinyl and something as simple as a handwritten note so that you can create your own treasured memory.

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20 Places you Should Visit in Waco, Texas {thinking beyond Magnolia Market}

This post is in collaboration with Mazda and Driveshop. All opinions are 100% my own.
Hey friends! I just returned from Waco, Texas and if you are a fan of HGTV's Fixer Upper {you can find the first two seasons on Netflix}, the first question I always get is, did you visit The Silos. Of course I did! Chip and Joanna Gaines have put Waco, Texas on the map as a destination to visit.

I ate a cupcake at the new Magnolia bakery {Cup o' Jo in case you were wondering} and shopped the Magnolia Market.  I tried to answer the question that I often get, is it worth a trip to Waco, Texas just to visit Magnolia Market, and wanted to follow up with a list of stores and food stops that are just as worthy of a visit if you find yourself in Waco.  

In fact, I wish I had had this list in my hands when I was visiting. I had a few hours to kill one afternoon and having already visited Magnolia Market {5 things to know before you visit}, I was looking for somewhere else to shop or something else to do in the Waco area. I hope you will find this list helpful if you are visiting Waco, Texas.

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Could This Be the Next House on Season 4 of Fixer Upper?

UPDATE: Read to the end to find out what this house will be used for!
I'm not one to speculate {OK, maybe I am} but I happened to be driving around Waco, Texas a few weeks ago and passed this gorgeous white home. I read a bit about it because I heard that this 110 year old beauty known around town as the Bradshaw Estate was recently purchased by Chip and Joanna Gaines after being on the market for more than a year. In a recent article in the Waco Tribune, representatives for Magnolia has said that they are unsure what the Gaines family will do with this property. or whether it will be included in the HGTV show Fixer Upper.  However, I was driving by and I saw something interesting that had me wondering...

Could this home be the next house featured on Season 4 of Fixer Upper?

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Restoration Hardware vintage subway art knock off

Restoration Hardware wall art knock off tutorial

I love the Restoration Hardware catalog.

I have a dog eared catalog from several years ago just sitting on my coffee table.

I love to peek at it for inspiration.

When I spotted this large framed picture at a garage sale,  

 I immediately remembered this framed subway art

source

but at $550 it was out of the budget.

I think my ugly framed canvas for $1 turned into a great replica, don't you?

Let me show you how I made it.

Side Note:  It would just be my luck that this canvas I got for a buck is probably one of those Antique Roadshow fab finds.  I probably should have made sure that some rare artist didn't paint this, but I didn't.  So if you are an art expert, and this painting is worth like a zillion dollars, don't tell me. 'K.

O.k., so first up, I set up saw horses and put this fabulous piece of art on top.  I painted the whole thing cream (that I got for free on the side of the road--score!) frame and all.

Look how nice it looks!

I then taped off around the frame with painters tape and made an outer black frame.

I also painted the inside all black as well.

The hardest part was figuring out how big to make the letters.

I knew I needed some spacing at the top and bottom as well as between each of the letters.

I ran my numbers a few times.

The size will all depend on how big your frame is.

Mine was massive (over four feet tall) so each of my large letters were 8 1/2" each.

I used my Silhouette machine to cut the vinyl out.

I eyeballed the placement and did my best to center the letters

The vinyl transfer paper was super helpful for this project

I kept my tape measurer handy since I wanted to make sure the sign looked professional and was equally spaced.  I had a 2" gap between each of the sections.

 This is my finished project.

I really like it.

This project cost me less than $5!

 Much better than the $550 original price tag don't you think?

I put it up in my entry.

It's one of the first things you see when you walk in the front door.

What do you think?  

Do you love it as much as I do?

Not a bad knock off if I do say so myself! What do you think?

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Cinnamon Waffles

I must confess, I'm not that big of a breakfast foods fan. I am usually happy with a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee, but I feel like in my home, I am the minority. We've all heard it said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and with kids heading off to school in the mornings, I want to make sure they start off their day on the right foot. I love that you can make this cinnamon waffle mixture and store it in your fridge for up to a week so that you can have fresh waffles made hot every morning!

Top your waffles with some fresh fruit and you have a great start to your morning!

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