baby shower {traveler by sea}

This past weekend, my friends {Katie & Melody} and I were able to throw our friend Natalie a baby shower for her expectant baby boy! We had so much fun putting this all together for her {and the little guy}! Our theme for the shower took off from Natalie's plans for his nursery, which has a travel theme to it. When I was going through my graphics to make an invitation, I happened to have some really adorable nautical graphics that are perfect for a baby shower.  I went with a ship on the invite and that is what sparked our decision to make this a "traveler by sea." Here's the invite...

We went brunch style for this shower, which meant really good food. {I happen to LOVE breakfast food}. Melody is an amazing cook/baker so she made some amazing staple food items. We also came up with really cute names for all the food items to tie in with our theme! :)

We tied in lots of maps & globes into the decor.  Gathering everything for decorating was very easy and it's definitely a theme that could work for gender neutral showers too. Melody had an antique standing globe and she provided a lot of the serving dishes. Katie had lots of great items in her house that worked well, including a framed ship print, a globe, and a small suitcase. I downloaded free map prints and printed them on just regular paper.  I choose mainly maps with a vintage vibe because all of the colors were softer and had blues & aquas, which paired nicely with black & white stripes for our color scheme. I made the garland using the map prints, ribbon, & twine. I also purchased a 6 foot piece of pom-pom trim off Etsy for less than $1/yard.

We purchased a couple of things for decor use at the shower that would be part of a gift from all of us hostesses to Natalie.  The small ship print and the "P" {for the baby's name} that was mod-podged with one of the printed maps, were our group gifts to her to use in his room or wherever she sees fit!

Paper straws in mason jars & little flags were also a must... because they are adorable! Our beverage of choice for the brunch was OJ + ginger ale! Here's a full view of the food table...

Of course we played a few {non-cheesy} games... including "Name that Tune" with songs that had the word "baby" in the title or lyrics. :)

Afterwards we snapped a few pictures of the relatives & hostesses with the guest{s} of honor...

There's 3 sets of sisters in these pics... :)

Katie, Natalie {and baby}, Melody & I

We all had so much fun throwing this shower! Now we all can't wait to meet the little guy!

home woes & bible verse {printables}

**NEW** Visit my Etsy Store, Lou & Letter, where I sell hand lettered prints and gifts!

The past few weeks have been full of the unexpected and some emotional ups & downs for us.  Unfortunately, the sell of our current house fell through...which means the buying of our new {old} house also fell through. :( Big bummers all around. So we started back at square one with trying to find another buyer for our house while hanging on to the house we want in Liberty with a 30 day contingency offer. We also dropped the price on our current house again to see if being a little more aggressive would help the process along.  So we will see... right now we just wait, and trust in God's plan for us.
It has been difficult for us to try and understand and appreciate the fact that God is in control of this situation.  After all, this isn't what we want to happen... and what we wanted to happen was within grasp {less than 3 weeks away from being a done deal} just to have a major let down take it all away. I can definitely say I've already learned some tough lessons through all of this... Caleb and I have had many conversations about flaws in ourselves that have been exposed through this all. I've definitely been seeking peace through God's word through this all... which has made all the difference!  Here is one excerpt from the She Reads Truth devotional blog about trusting in God's plan of the "big picture" and not getting stuck in the temporary moment... {I highly encourage everyone to read this particular devotional from that day}

This truth really spoke to me as I feel like there have been so many times I have needed to hear this in the past {with my dad's death, with job situations, with this house situation} and so many times in the future I'm sure I will have to reflect on it.

I just so happen to have started working on some bible verse printables right around the time all these house issues started going down, so I thought now would be the perfect time to share them.

This first one I made in two different background colors because I couldn't decide which one I liked best... :)

Then I went with more of a floral theme...

 

This next verse is one my sister sent to me during this rough patch... I really love the promise here that if we obey the Lord, He will come through for us - possibly not in a way we want, but He is faithful always.  {I have the best sister, thanks Lee!}

If you would like to download any of these prints for yourself, feel free. They are all 8x10 size. The links are below.  I like to get them printed on thick white card stock.  {I've used places like Office Depot or an online printing site called Zazzle}

**NEW** Visit my Etsy Store, Lou & Letter, where I sell hand lettered prints and gifts!

Printable Verses:

Anchor Print, Hebrews 6:19 {blue}

Anchor Print, Hebrews 6:19 {coral}

Dark Background Floral, Isaiah 40:8

Stripe Background Floral, Exodus 14:14

meal planning & cookies

Meal planning... one of those things I've mentioned on the blog before that I was going to "start doing" {<---- when you read that, feel free to make air quotes}.  I believe I talked about starting it during my freak out, crazy-list-woman post... ga'head and read that here if your unfamiliar with that wonderful trait of mine.  Anyway... similar freak out senario while I was at the store yesterday after I text Caleb and asked...

"What should we do for dinner?"

{It was six o'clock - I just got off work and Caleb was at a master's class}

Caleb's response was "Something good."  

Gonna be real honest here... I'm not your gal to just whip up "something good."

So I'm walking through the store picking up 2 more cans of refried beans when I already have about 5 cans at home, because I have no clue what food I have nor do I know what to make. So then, after I spent $60 at the store and Caleb calls me afterward and asks what we are having... my repsonse was...

"I still don't know... :( "

At home, I proceeded to give Caleb and lecture {which was really directed at myself} about how we were going to start meal planning for real because with my new job and new work schedule, I can't be getting off work at six and going to the store.  So here I go again, let's try this one more time...

To make this much more fun for myself... I designed my own weekly meal planner in photoshop! :) I will share it with you in case you need something similar. I know there are a ton of free meal planners on Pinterest, but I really just wanted to make my own for fun! Here it is....

The size is 8.5 x 11 - to make sure it fits within the margins, choose "scale to fit" or similar when printing. Link to download is below.

 Download the meal planner for yourself:
{Weekly Meal Planner} click to download

While I really dislike cooking and think it's a pain, I really don't mind baking. Last night while I was going through my own Pinterest board with meal ideas, I ran across a M&M cookie recipe I pinned a long time ago and never tried.  I really felt like some homemade cookies and I just happened to have all the ingredients... {including the secret ingredient of vanilla pudding mix powder}.  I found the recipe here.  Let me tell you, they are glorious!!!  I love them so much and will make them for many years to come!

I used my Silpat baking mat, which I have almost never used before... but the original blogger used one and I think it contributed a lot to how perfect the cookies were!

Happy planning & baking! :)

living room for a bro {mood boards}

Last week I posted my ideas for bedroom decor of my brother's new downtown Kansas City studio loft.  He already purchased a new sofa and chair so he was also looking for pillow ideas.  I took it slightly beyond pillows and came up with two different living room mood boards that could work for anyone wanting that slightly modern or urban vibe!

Since he already got his sofa and chair, I didn't have to search for those and it made it easy having the larger living room pieces already selected.  He choose very clean and streamlined look in a charcoal gray from Room & Board's Ian collection.  I also tried to keep in mind the colors he liked best from the bedroom mood boards, which was option #3 of blues and oranges.  I didn't want it to match exactly nor did I want it to clash, since this is a studio loft that is completely open.

Here's the first board I put together, using mainly warmer colors...

1.  Bondis Wall Clock - Ikea $19.99
2.  1900's Kansas City Map - Etsy $15
3.  Leisure Burnt Orange pillow 23" - CB2 $39.95
4.  Ribbon Pillow - Crate & Barrel $24.95
5.  Gray Linen Pillow Cover - Etsy $40 {shop sukanart)
6.  Jarvis Azure Rug - Crate & Barrel $249 {5'x8'}
7.  Kite Kilm Floor Pouf - West Elm $149

 Next option using blues and lots of geographic shapes...

 

1.  Amsterdam Canal Watercolour Print - Etsy $120 {shop simoneridyard}

2.  Vintage Blueprint Map of Downtown Kansas City 20"x30" - Etsy $29.95

3.  Castillo Floor Lamp - Crate & Barrel $229 {I imagine with the popularity of this style of lamp there is most likely a cheaper option available as well}

4.  Stockholm Cushion in Black & White - Ikea $12.99 {I own two of these and love them!}

5.  Stockholm Cushion in Blue - Ikea $12.99

6.  Leisure Blue 23" pillow - CB2 $29.95

7.  Lappljung Ruta Cushion Cover - Ikea $10

8.  Olin Black Rug - Crate & Barrel $149 {5'x8'}  --- I think this is a great price for such a classic looking rug - comes in other colors as well.  The gold color is currently on major sale!

Other honorable mentions that didn't make the cut... :)

Drake Natural Shag Rug - CB2 $339 for 5'x8'

Stripe Cabana Pillow in Cobalt - Pier 1 $20 {it's an outdoor pillow, but could still work as long as it's comfortable}

Eivor Throw - Ikea $19.99

Happy decorating!

bedroom for a bro {mood boards}

Based off the title of this post, you may think I'm going to talk about designing a bedroom for an obnoxious frat-dude, obsessed with partying, self-absorbed college punk... well no, that's incorrect.  Actually I'm helping out my actual BROther, Tommy, with ideas for his bedroom and living room in his new downtown studio loft.

I created 3 mood boards, which I have never done before, using Photoshop {I found a tutorial for using Photoshop here}.  Once I got going it was pretty easy to do! And it always feels better coming up with all these ideas knowing it's not your money that would have to be spent! ;)
Tommy and I have similar yet still fairly different styles.  Often times we like the same store but not always the same pieces.  He has much more of a modern style than I do.  I made 3 boards because I had a feeling the more options the better, in this case.  So here's my take on a modern, masculine, bedroom design...

Option 1... using gray, navy, a citron greenish/yellow...and stripes!

 1. Stripe Duvet Cover + Shams in white/feather gray - West Elm $69 {full/queen} $19 {standard sham}
2. Stripe Sham in white/citron - West Elm $24 {euro sham}
3. Stripe Sheet Set in white/citron - West Elm $69 {full set}
4. Embroidered Dot Pillow Cover in India ink - West Ellm $39
5. Solid Throw in regal blue - West Elm $49 {on sale!}
6. Nash Table Lamp - CB2 $49.95





Option 2... using gray, navy, off-white/cream, mustard yellow, and some different patterns...

1. Pietra Duvet Cover - Crate & Barrel $189.95 {full/queen}
2. Cotton Velvet Duo Pillow Cover in golden gate - West Elm $24.99 {on sale!}
3. Colorblock Stripe Pillow in mustard/cream/charcoal - Etsy {JillianReneDecor shop} $45
4. Y City Pattern Pillow Cover 20"x20" - Etsy {designjennis shop} $28
5. Evan Throw - Crate & Barrel $59.95 {on sale!}
6. Sherwood Table Lamp - Crate & Barrel $79.95
7. Solid Throw in regal blue - West Elm $49 {on sale!}
8. Window Pane Throw - West Elm $39.99 {on sale!}





Option 3... gray, orange, bright tropical blue, and a mix of stripes and chevron... plus some urban art!

1. Linen Cotton Duvet Cover + Sham in slate - West Elm $149 {full/queen} $29 {standard sham}
2. Leisure Burnt Orange Pillow 23" - CB2 $39.95
3. Chevron Crewel Pillow Cover 20" - West Elm $44 - could replace this with a cleaner, more straight-line chevron design, or the Y City Pattern pillow from option #2
4. Leisure Blue Pillow 23" - CB2 $39.95
5. Striped Orange Throw - CB2 $69.95
6. Clutch Walnut Table Lamp - CB2 $99.95
7. Avenue Print - CB2 $199.95
8. Rajika Bed Linens Standard Sham Set - CB2 $59.95 {for set of 2}


Next, I'm going to try to come up with some ideas for his living room! 

{Joy to the World} map

I've really been loving some of the map & globe trends lately, so I really wanted to make something with that map or globe them with "Joy to the World" on it for the Christmas season. I also wanted it to be fairly big to take up some of my blank wall space in my living room. Here's what I ended up with and below I'll take you through the steps I used...

My inspiration really came from Lindsay Letters, an AMAZING calligrapher and artist whose handwriting styles are my absolute favorite.  Some things she have done that really inspired me are things like this:

A beautiful "Come Thou Fount" quote print

 & this:

A "Peace on Earth" canvas for a mere $200!

 both can be found on her website by the way.  I'd also seen tons of her work on Pinterest too and I looked at several of those items to try and copy her seamless, flow-y handwriting.

To start my project I gathered my supplies, I needed the map itself, I found one at Paper Source (location near me on the Plaza) for $4:

Also a cutting mat, rotary cutting tool, exacto knife, large ruler {owned all of these}, spray adhesive {$6} and a large piece of foam board {$2}.  I got the last two both from Hobby Lobby, and used a coupon on the spray adhesive to get it for less $!

I need to cut down the foam board a bit so that is what the large ruler and rotary cutter were used for.  Then I attached the map to the foam board using the spray adhesive.  To start that process it looked like this:

I just started on one edge and sprayed the corners a little and line it up with the foam board.  Then I gradually went along spraying about another 6 inches or so with the spray and carefully smoothing the paper out with my hand so I would not get any bumps or bubbles.  This process was much easier than I expected and it went on quite nicely.  I would suggested using some newspaper or other scrap paper around your area because the spray adhesive will get on your surrounding surface.

Next I drew out what I wanted my words to look like on just regular computer paper.  I made the letters the size I wanted because I also used this as a stencil.  Once I had them drawn out I cut out my letters {not my little swirlies on the side though} using the exacto knife.  Then I traced them onto the map and added my swirls and some of the other smaller details I didn't take the time to cut out.  Using the stencil in the first place was partly because I didn't want to keep erasing on this paper, afraid I'd erase off the map design or rip up the paper.  Here's the map after using my stencil on the word "joy":

Towards the end I got more comfortable drawing straight on the map and didn't stencil every single word.  After that I just painted in the letters with fine paint brushes and white acrylic paint.  I had to go over each letter several times to get good paint coverage.

To hang it I just used twine and a nail.  Taped the twine to the back of the foam board with strong clear packing tape.  And of course enlisted my handy helper...

I'm pretty happy with the results!

More on the rest of that wall and other Christmas decor later.  And no, that's not my BOO sign hiding behind the Christmas tree... okay it is... :(  That will be gone by next post!

Christmas printables

I felt a need to make some new downloadable prints because my "Boo" printable is still hanging on my wall... behind my Christmas tree. :) True story.  So I need to change that soon, it really clashes with the Christmas decor!  I made up some rather simple printables in several different styles.

 

Here is the link to download each via Goggle docs if you find one that fits your style :)
All are 8x10 inches

Oh Holy Night
Noel
Peace on Earth
Joy to the World
Holly Jolly
Merry & Bright

FYI - The first two files are larger and Google docs doesn't show a preview

Enjoy!

Autumn prints {download}

Lately I've done lots of playing around with new fonts and graphics in Photoshop.  I love finding interesting and unique fonts for free from all over the wonderful interweb!  I've also found some great turtorials for Photoshop.  My favorite thus far, is one that shows you how to make your font look like letterpress.  You can find that video tutorial here.
Then I came across this print on Etsy...

 I really liked it, but it was $10, and I was pretty sure I could make something similar {hers is more snazzy than what I made, and comes already beautifully printed, so I would encourage the purchase of hers if you aren't into printing them yourself}.  I like the idea of switching out cute prints like this one throughout the year.  I recently purchased several Ikea frames during our trip to Colorado, and I still need to fill some of them.  Instead of using photos in all my frames, I wanted to integrate some art as well... so I thought this could be a really cheap way to achieve that!

So I started messing around with graphics in Photoshop and I also downloaded some neat fonts.  When searching for fonts, I searched "free carnival font," which gave me lots of options to choose from.  The one I used in this sign is called "JF Ringmaster". I already had some digital frames that I had purchased from Etsy in the past.  Here's what I came up with...

8x10 Boo sign

Then I decided to try another Halloween saying... this font is called "Monbijoux".

8x10 Spooky sign

And I tried one with a Thanksgiving theme... in this one I use book covers textures as the background.  I found these textures for free on this website.  This font is called "A font with serifs". I did however, purchase the fall leaves, along with some other fall graphics, on Etsy for $5.00 here.

8x10 Give Thanks sign

 I really enjoyed making all of these and in the future I might expand to some other holidays or bible verses.  I also think a set of several signs could be a great budget friendly gift! I've uploaded these three signs to google docs and I have the links to download them below if you'd like to display them in your own home. Enjoy!


DOWNLOAD HERE
Boo sign

Spooky sign

Give Thanks sign - this file is large so it won't show a preview, but you should still be able to download it.