DIY Edition: Indiana Artwork

Our family is huge. Not huge like the McCallisters on Home Alone but big enough that my husband’s siblings and their significant others draw names for a Secret Santa gift giving. This year I didn’t think I would have too much time to get crafty with my lucky pick so I decided to keep it simple by shopping on Etsy. Why not buy someone else the things that I'm too cheap to buy for myself; right? I knocked $24 off of our $30 limit with this little beauty from HappyHeat. Five years ago or so I got my very own and still use it faithfully. It’s a hot/cold pad for the neck and when microwaved smells heavily of lavender. When I’m feeling off it’s my go-to remedy.

Photo courtesy of Happy Heat

After perusing Etsy a bit more I found just the inspiration I needed to finish my gift. My pick happens to be my sister-in-law. A crafty, shabby-chicster at heart (see her blog here), her draw to monograms, chevrons and personalized pieces gave me enough to work with to make her the framable piece below. I knew that frames in her house were mostly white, so I hit up Kohls and around Christmas and got the frame for $6. Here's the print:

From the template I also made her a secondary print just for fun.

Download your copy of ‘Home Sweet Home’
Download a copy of Indiana in pink 
OR download a copy of Indiana in blue :)

Thanks for stopping by the Humble Hammock and do come back!

Cara

DIY Edition: Fort Kit

This fall I not only got a husband but three nephews! Over the last five years I’ve helped pick out some pretty cool Christmas presents for these little boys but this year I decided that as an official ‘aunt and uncle’ we had to get something for the boys on our own; not with the other uncles. 

Leave it to me to wait until a week before Christmas to finally get my rear in gear and think of something really really cool. After scouring Pinterest for what seemed like hours, I decided to modify an idea that would be sure to keep any house full of young boys occupied - A FORT!  I then found myself in Wal–Mart on December 15th (you’ve got it, payday for the entire population – big mistake!) with arms full of supplies in a line nothing short of 35 minutes long.

Here’s what I purchased:

• Three 50x60 fleece blankets (pinterest recommended flat sheets but I couldn’t find any sold separately)
• A matching tub for fort storage
• Extra reinforcement clips (clothespins)
• A  small lantern to use inside the fort 
• 4 AAA batteries for the lantern
• Pajamas for all of the boys to wear in their fort
• Ribbon (I had this already, but be sure to buy this to sew to your fleece blankets)

To begin, I unrolled the blankets and cut ribbon into roughly 6 inch strips. I angled the ends and counted them into groups of six. Each blanket received six of the strips (all four corners and one on the middle of the 60” side). 

I then secured the ribbon with four passes on my sewing machine to make it more durable.

I threw in the other goodies and laid the tag on top so that it didn't get ripped off during the rigorous gift opening that always seems to occur and stuck everything into a matching chevron storage tub for easy storing.

I polished the fort making kit off with these nifty tags from KIN. Watch their DIY fort crafting video here.

Thanks for stopping by the Humble Hammock! Do come back!
Cara

Sew: Dresslift

This little gem became too short after a couple of washes (and drys - oops!) It had been in my Goodwill pile for awhile but before this last donation I decided to see if I could lengthen it a bit more. With a little scrap fabric I was able to to turn this....

Before

into this!

After

Now I only have to wait four more months until spring when I can wear it! Thanks for stopping by the Humble Hammock! 

Cara

DIY Edition: Koi Pond Removal

Koi ponds are probably wonderful when maintained. However, this was a mosquito cesspool, animal drowning, ant breeding nuisance. We got distracted by tackling shedding first, but knew getting this Rubbermaid agricultural tank (that's right, it wasn't even a real koi pond) out before winter was a must. We aerated and over seeded our yard this fall too - so it was critical to seed this area so that it wouldn't be behind the rest of our yard come spring. 

Here lies the 300 gallon poisonous water hole with it's equally disturbing shrubbery and (not pictured) endless flat rock. 

To empty the tank, we recruited our families and five gallon buckets. It took about 20 minutes of emptying the tank by hand to get to the bottom. Much like the Rubbermaid containers used for leftover food, it was quite flexible and rubbery, making removal quick. The 2x4 board (pictured below) was used to shake the tub loose from the ground where it had settled.

Once removed, our yard still left plenty to be desired.

My parents brought fill dirt from back home and we used an entire trailer load to fill in the hole. The dirt was then tilled with top soil from The Home Depot to prep it for seeding. 

And here is the finished product!

Thanks for stopping by the Humble Hammock! Do come back :)
Cara

Decorate: Dining Room Wall Prayer

I scoured the internet for weeks looking for some sign of a prayer (that my husband and I say regularly) to display in our dining room. I'm not an overly religious decorator, but I wanted a little something to put into our dining room that told our guests, "yes, we do pray before we eat and you can too!"

After realizing that Pinterest was going to be my only hope, I took myself to Kohls, bought a couple of three photo frames (no longer available online) and made inserts to fit. Of course, if I want to add photos at some point I'm not committed to some chunky wall art with our favored prayer instead.

The frames were for 5x7 photos but I made these to fit a 4x6. They look great in either and help to brighten up the wall without added paint.

My handy husband added wall hooks with teeth to the back so that we could hang them a bit more precisely (some people are really anal like that).

You can download your copy and make your own by clicking here.

Get the center wall decor from Bed, Bath & Beyond. Don't forget your 20% off coupon!

Thanks for stopping by the Humble Hammock! Do come back :)
Cara

Host: Fall Pinterest Party

The latest phenomena that I was exposed to was a Pinterest party. With pitch-in style dining provided by all guests, it was an easy edible win for those who came hungry. From pumpkin dip, Brie and apple crescent rolls, ham and cheese hawaiian sliders with poppyseed dressing as well as cheesy, tomato artichoke wontons to chocolate chip cookies, chocolate eclair and warm, spiked apple cider. The fun didn't stop there – all guests brought pumpkins for decorating. Paint and gem stickers littered the table where the food stood only moments before. With help from Pinterest (of course), pretty, scary and detailed pumpkins took shape. 

My contributions included the chocolate eclair and the spiced/spiked cider. To make this delectable drink, follow these instructions:

1. Add 3 cups cider for every 1 cup of carmel apple vodka (Smirnoff worked well and ran about $10) into a large pot (I added 9 cups cider/3 cups vodka for this recipe). 
2. Heat on the stove until it becomes warm. Refrain from boiling as the vodka will begin to evaporate.
3. Once warm, pour into pitcher (over 1 sliced apple) and serve with brown sugar rimmed glasses!

To rim the glasses we rubbed sliced apples along the edge. This helps the sugar stick (especially against plastic) better than water.

Viola! Spiced/spiked cider and the brown sugar rimmed glasses. Be sure to slice apples to float on top of your cider for flavor and visual appeal. Don't forget to show off your libation in a glass pitcher!

Here's the delectable spread in all of it's homemade Pinterest glory.

Furthermore, I doubt the pumpkins need explaining. Here is the end product.

Thanks for stopping by the Humble Hammock. Do come back :)

Cara

DIY Edition: Keepsake Ornament

For us, Christmas is our favorite holiday. I knew when we were tying the knot that we would want a little something to drag out every Christmas to remember how thankful we are for one another - even when Christmas has fewer gifts, more traveling or not such blissful circumstances.

I made this ornament with scraps from my wedding dress (after it was altered) and left over materials from our wedding invitations. On our wedding day, we put grass seed from our fist go at helping our lawn to flourish and birdseed from the bag that was thrown on our wedding day. The grass seed will help us remember that all large things begin as something small and take a lot of work. The birdseed will remind us how we felt after our walk down the aisle as husband and wife.

I even made a stand to hold it during pouring out of felt covered styrofoam that I hollowed out to act as a nest. It worked great and looks nice as display if I decide not to hang it on the tree.

If you're looking for an awesome wedding keepsake, this is easy, cheap and unique! If you're looking to give something like this as a gift, here's a little peek at an awesome gift from my aunt. She cut up our wedding invitation, line by line and put it into an ornament just as awesome!

Furthermore, if you find yourself with a whole sheet of extra stickers that you bough just for the numbers, here's a little something that I chose to do with my wrapping to help finish off the rest!

Thanks for stopping by the Humble Hammock and looking around; do come back!

Cara