Christmas Stencil Projects using Cutting Edge Stencils

I love the holidays! I love to decorate and spend time with my family and friends. With two littles in the house we're starting to DIY a lot more stuff for around the house. And when we make our Pumpkin Pillows from Cutting Edge Stencils the kids loved them and we had several compliments from friends who stopped by.

So now that the Christmas season is upon us I couldn't pass up a chance to make a new pillow and use a second stencil for a DIY table runner.

Using the box my pumpkin pillows came in I put in my  new pillow cover with stencil and secured it down.

Using my handy foam roller I rolled out all the parts I wanted in the red paint.

Then followed it with a stencil brush to paint the holly.

I happened to have some leftover black so I decided to take a small paint brush and add onto my holly leaves.

Once everything was completely dry I used my iron to set the paint so I could machine was the pillow  covers later.

Once I had all that finished I decided to add some red tassels to the corners to glam it up just a bit. I absolutely adore this little pillow. And those two red plaid pillows next to it.....well those are the inserts from the pumpkin pillows and I made them new covers using my big comfy floor pillows tutorial and scaled it down. I decided to do this because since we received these pillows from Cutting Edge Stencils my kids won't use the other pillows on the couch they are so comfortable.

After I finished my pillow for the couch I wasn't quite through. I had just built a new dining room table. (details coming to the blog soon) and my old table runner wasn't long enough! So what's a girl to do but make a new one.

I bought 3.5 yards of muslin fabric folded under the edges and sewed them down. But it was too plain. So I used this adorable script Noel stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils to make it look nice.

I laid the fabric on a piece of cardboard so the paint wouldn't bleed through onto a table, then secured it down using some clips and painted it in red and green just like my pillow.

Then I repeated on the other end, carefully removed the stencil, and let it sit till it was completely dry before ironing it as well so I could wash it when one of my children (or a friend) decides to spill something on it.

I love how simple and beautiful the script looks with my big farmhouse table. It's the perfect view when coming into the dining room from the kitchen.

I hope you enjoy the holiday season with your family and friends. If it'll slow down here I'm going to get some extra muslin and make some dinner napkins to match for our big Christmas dinner.  Cheers.

Easiest Crusty Bread Ever!

I LOVE BREAD! I'm not afraid to admit it. You put a bread basket in front of me and I will eat it....ALL! Let me tell you this is easiest bread that I make. We easily eat two loaves a week. Once volleyball season is over I'm almost positive that number will go up.

The best part about this recipe is that it takes only a few minutes to mix together before bed and almost no work the next day.

Here's what you're going to need:

Enameled Dutch Oven
3 cups of unbleached white flour
1/2 tsp yeast
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1.5 cups warm water

Let's start with the dry ingredients.

Start with a medium size bowl and put in your 3 cups of flour.

1/2 tsp of yeast.

3/4 tsp salt.

Mix all your dry ingredients.

Slowly add your warm water while mixing.

It's not pretty but once it is throughly mixed cover with plastic wrap for 12-18 hours.

The next day preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Once it's ready place your empty Dutch Oven with lid in to preheat for 30 minutes.

Dump the dough out onto a clean heavily floured surface.

Shape dough into a ball.

Place the dough into preheated dutch oven with lid and put into the oven for 30 minutes.

Then remove the lid for an additional 15 minutes.

Now here's the hard part. Let the bread cool (I really don't follow this rule because it's so good to dip hot bread into butter and enjoy! So eat at your own risk right out of the dutch oven)

If you are able to control yourself and can make it to slicing pieces and waiting to take it to the table to eat then major props to you! But don't forget to slather butter all over that sucker and enjoy.

Let me know if you give it a try.

Paint a Pillow from Cutting Edge Review

So fall is finally here and I couldn't be happier! Hot mugs of coffee, flannel shirts, boots, pumpkin patches, football, leaves turning, volleyball state championships (three peat here we come), and of course new decor.

This year I got two great pillows for the couch from Cutting Edge Stencils.  The best part is they are custom because you get to paint them! No two pillows will be exactly the same, not to mention because you're using a stencil means you can make more or re-use them for a variety of projects. 

So let me show you how I got these two great fall pillows.

I ordered the pumpkin DIY accent pillow stencil kit it came with everything I needed to create my pillows.

After reading the included instructions it was time to get started. I applied my first color with the dense foam roller. 

I applied my second color using the stencil brush. I decided to get a little creative and put the green onto the pumpkin around the stem and bottom for some depth.

Then I added my third color, black. I applied it as thin as I could around the edges of pumpkin to add even more depth.

Here is my finished pumpkin! Then I repeated the process on the second pillow cover.

Since I have two kids who love pillows....hello forts. I decided it would be best if I set the paint with my iron per the instructions so I could machine wash the covers.

Using scrap fabric I covered the pumpkin and pressed with a hot iron.

Insert the pillows into the covers and voila you have two custom pillows!

The white pillow cases are a great punch of brightness for my couch, but if you prefer they have a neutral pillow cases available. I'm thinking I might reuse these stencils for a table runner for Thanksgiving because I'm in love with them.

 Now if you don't mind I'm going to curl up with the tea and croissants and enjoy the fall breeze coming in through the windows. Happy Fall!

*Cutting Edge Stencils provided me with the Paint A Pillow Kit. But all thoughts, opinions, and love of products are my own.

Patio Dining Table and Benches

Ok so the hubs and I spent the first years of our marriage traveling for his competitive softball games or for me coaching competitive volleyball. So we never took the chance to to buy real furniture or decorate. Now that we have kids and we've slowed down how much we travel it was time to start decorating and the one place we use the most is our patio! If you check out patio backyard design part 1 you can see the whole space I'm working with. 

We decided the first thing we needed is to make ourselves a dining table of our patio. And we are so happy we did....and you really can't beat $125 for lumber!

We decided to make use of our stay-cation and work on the table bit by bit. If you've seen any of my other diy posts you might notice my miter saw is no longer on the floor! YES! 

Anyways....So for my plans I went over to the girls at Shanty 2 Chic used these bench plans and this dining table plan. I made a few changes but I am so happy with this table. It's beyond sturdy. and the pans are perfect.

So this plan called for mitered edges for the frame of the table. after you cut the pieces make sure they are nice and square before you assemble them. We rigged up a nice square piece out of scrap wood so we could make sure our corners didn't slip while assembling them. 

I pre drilled the holes and used the counter sink bit before putting in the wood screws.

Once the frame was made the hubs helped me measure end to end before I cut the table top planks. Then following the plans I used my Kreg Jig to make the pocket holes to attach the planks.

Unfortunately we don't have a flat surface anywhere to lay the frame down and attach the planks so hubs held it on it's side while I attached everything via pocket holes.

We used our handy Home Depot pencils as the perfect spacers for our boards.

So the first deception from the plans we added two 2x4 planks to the top since our outdoor patio area where the table is going is covered.

Next up is the table legs.

 I used the center leg supports found the centers and lined them up before attaching the legs.

Once the table legs were attached I added the center legs.

Then I attached the center stretcher and table legs using wood screws.

Once those were in place and secure. Hubs helped me measure for the lower stretcher. We waited to cut this piece so that we knew it would fit and then used pocket holes to put it in place.

The plans called to install X's under the table. But once we got the first pieces in we fell in love with the way it was. 

Plus the kids like to sit under the table and use the lower portion of the legs as mini tables. This has become a miniature fort for them.

The benches are the same as the table. But now that I have the table I had a great surface for assembling the benches on.

I cut the pieces for all four sets of legs for the two benches.

So the girls at Shanty 2 Chic have all the perfect tools for the job....the one thing we don't have is a right angle drill....so we had to improvise (next time I'm buying the drill)

So we used a ratchet with an extender to screw in the pocket screws.

I had to do this 32 times....yes 32 times. 

But it was totally worth it. When we stood this bad boy up it was perfect not a single wobble. So I couldn't bring myself to add the lower stretcher or any of the X pieces. 

I suggest you find a sweeper for your shop. My accepts hugs and cookies for work....although I had to clean up after him.

How amazing does this look and we worked on it as we had time around relaxing, going to a baseball game, and doing some hiking. 

So for our table and benches we chose to use Minwax Wood Stain in Slate. And then Minwax Helmsman Urethane for the final coat. We sanded down the whole table and both benches before we started.

So what I did was a very quick process. I would apply the stain.

And then wipe it off immediately. It was pretty dark so I had some more work to do.

So I ended up doing some heavy distressing on all three pieces. 

I was every excited with how it lightened the stain as well as allowed more of the natural wood grain show through.

Even though the table is under a covered area I chose to use the urethane on top of and under every piece. (plus it goes a lot faster when you jam our to your favorite Pandora station.)

I waited the allotted time for it to dry then we moved this bad boy outside....and let me tell you it's heavy...really heavy. So you definitely can count it as your bicep workout for the day.

We feel like this space is almost complete just a few more things are needed but for now we are content. 

 It's the perfect space. We've enjoyed every meal outside since we've finished it. And I love the way it looks with my Easy No Sew Outdoor Curtains.

 We even spend our evenings watching baseball outside when hubs gets home from work.

So for my first major build I'm pretty pumped with how things turned out. So are you ready to build your own table and benches? If you do please share them with me!