DIY Showoff!!

I am really, really excited and super flattered that Roeshel over at The DIY Show Off is featuring my Pottery Barn DIY canvases on her blog today!  Head over and check out the post and spend some time {hours like myself} checking out all the great projects she has done and all the other things her blog has to offer!  Thank you so much Roeshel!  See it HERE!

Afternoon At The Park

The Harvey's are really enjoying the weather here in sunny Charlotte, NC.  Recently, we took advantage of a beautiful afternoon and headed over to Freedom Park to let Aidan run wild, work off some of his energy and absorb some of the sunshine. 

 Taking a break on the bench with Daddy.

 Stopping to smell the flowers.

 and to talk about the butterflies.

 Looking over the edge at the stream running beneath.

 

 We made it to the playground.  Monkey bars time!

 Walkway to the old train.

Hanging out on the train.


That's all folks!!

Thankful Thursday

***This was set up to post at midnight last night. Don't know what happened!!!

THANKFUL Thursday is back this week!

I have so much to be THANKFUL for this time of year and I love taking time out on Thursdays to share it with you all and hopefully you will share what you are THANKFUL for too.

First and foremost today I am THANKFUL for all of our Veterans.  Today is Veteran's Day.  Thank you to all of you that serve our country to provide us our Freedom.  I am eternally THANKFUL for you!

I am THANKFUL for our friend Vien who was able to at least get all of my pictures off of our old computer. I'm telling you, I was nervous there for a while that I would never see them again. Fingers crossed next week I will be telling you I am thankful he got the computer up and running again!

I am THANKFUL for the strength I have had recently to get in the gym and get some of the extra (theres a lot more than that) lbs off! I am starting to feel a little bit lighter.  I am also THANKFUL for the great women that work at the gym. They are so motivating!

I am THANKFUL for my friends this week.  They seriously keep me sane.  If I am having a bad day, a phone call to a girlfriend can turn it all around!! 

As always I am THANKFUL for Aidan.  Yesterday I thought he was going to cause me to start drinking heavily but we made it through the day and today he is sweet as ever.  Love that boy!

Adam.  I am so,so,so  THANKFUL for that man.  He's the world's greatest husband. It's crazy to me we lived blocks away from eachother our whole lives and never knew eachother.  The time we both could have saved!  He is helping me out with some DIY projects around here so I can get the knocked out before the holidays and I am so THANKFUL for that. 

I hope all of you have something to be THANKFUL for this week!  Thanksgiving is right around the corner...I can smell the food already!!!!! Happy Thursday!

 Link Up If You Want!!!

Sometimes

Sometimes Aidan crawls out of his bed in the middle of his night {also known as the start of ours} and comes in to our room and says he is scared.   I am pretty sure this is all a big fib because when you ask him "what of" he looks at you kind of crazy like he just heard somewhere that's what you should say when you want to get out of your bed in the middle of the night.  

But being the softees that we are, we milk it and let him climb in to bed for a while and he eventually falls off in to a deep sleep and all feels right in our worlds.  He's no longer scared of nothing and we are no longer wishing he could just sleep in our bed forever. 

You Can DIY too!!

I have been hard at work these days trying to knock out some DIY/Craft projects around the house.  Most of them being things I have seen in catalogs or online that I want but don't love the price tag.  You wouldn't believe how much money you can save finding ways to do these things yourself.   I've spent years now trying to find ways to get the "Pottery Barn" look without the price tag.  Every time that catalog graces my mailbox I start tearing out pages of things I want but don't want to pay the crazy price for {and honestly, I give in once in a while}.  Now, I am still tearing out pages, I'm just finding my owns ways to create the Pottery Barn look.    I have a feeling now that I'm on a roll, I won't stop there.  Items from  Ballard Designs and the other online boutiques I frequent will be making there way in to our home in a new DIY form.  I'll try my best to keep up the tutorials so you can DIY too!!!



I really have wanted to find some wall decor that designates our dining area from our living area since we took the wall down between the two rooms.  You know so my husband know he has to eat in the dining room.  I like the idea of these canvases from Pottery Barn but the size was a little much for my space and the color was basically the same as our paint color so I decided I would put my own spin on them.   And I decided I wanted to do it for less than $20.

Here's what you'll need.  Three canvases.  Any size you want.  I had two packs of canvases in my attic that I used. 

Fabric to cover your canvases.  I used black burlap from Hobby Lobby. I bought a yard and a half and it was on sale 50% off so I paid less than $5.  Fabric paint. I used white.  A glue gun.  Something transparent to make stencils with. I used contact paper I bought to make paper xmas ornaments with Aidan for his grandparents.  Tracing paper will work.  An Xacto knife.  A pencil.  Paint brush.  Ribbon of your choice to hang canvases.

First thing you want to do is cover your canvases with your fabric using your glue gun and gluing the fabric to the edges of your canvas.  Using burlap was a pain in the bum. I'm not even going to lie.  It pulls all over the place because the weave is so loose.

Next I used Google images to find a picture of a fork, knife and spoon.  I saved them to my computer and then opened them in my photo editing software so I could zoom them in and used my computer as a light box and traced them on to the contact paper.  I then took my Xacto knife and cut out the fork, knife and spoon.  The pieces of contact paper are now stencils and you should have these left over.

I eyeballed the center of each canvas and taped the stencil on to the fabric.  I then took a rough paint brush and painted away from the edges of the stencil to try and prevent bleeding {it worked!} I lifted the stencils and used my paint brush to add some paint to some of the areas that were lighter than others.  I did not want the fork, knife or spoon to be completely filled in because I wanted them to look a little worn.  This is what they looked like when I was finished! Not too shabby.

 I really thought I would want to use a green silk ribbon to hang these but with my new Crate and Barrel china cabinet being red, I didn't want anyone to think it looked like Christmas year round.  So I chose this gun metal colored ribbon and I ended up loving it.  I just cut three pieces 2 ft long, tied a bow in the middle, centered them and hot glued them to the back of the canvas {on the frame}.

I hung them on a nail to show them to you but they will be hung on a wall in our dining room as soon as I can get the time to take down the family photos that are there, patch those holes and hang these.

 I think for the price and the amount of time they took me to make {barely two hours} they are perfect and I can't wait to get them

hung in their proper home.

COMING UP....

{a little sneak peek, can you guess what this is going to be}

I am linking up to the DIY Show Off Today!

Picture Day

Recently Aidan had picture day at school.  He looked so handsome.  Some of the parents really dress their kids up!  They take the pics on the playground so I thought he looked perfect.

Standing at the door waiting to leave for school. 

 Refusing to smile to spite all my picture taking.

 Cutie McCuterson

 Goofing off with Daddy.

Blue Button Down Shirt-Gap Kids

Jeans-Gap Kids

Navy Vest-Gymboree



Dear Computer Gods,

Please, please, please have mercy on my little Toshiba baby.  I have been so good to her.  What did I do to deserve this?  Better yet, what can I do to prevent it in the future?  I've done everything right. I keep up my Spyware subscription, I do bi weekly disc sweeps {I think that's what they are called} to clear up unused space.  I  let her sleep on top of my pjs in the basket beneath my bed.  I  use the spray stuff that can freeze off your fingers to keep the junk between her keys to a minimum. 

Luckily, out of the blue I started to copy all of our photos on to discs recently.  I had no idea this was coming.  I didn't get them all and that makes me so sick to my stomach.  It  brings tears to my eyes.  I never was one to delete my photos from camera until I thought I was on the right track to backing up and BOOM she just decided she doesn't want to load up on Wednesday.   What could I have done wrong?  Could you have warned me?  Thank you for giving me the time to get the video of Aidan's first steps. 

She's not that old.  I remember the day I first opened that box and she gleamed that metallic silver and the screen was so fresh and clean.   I have recorded so much of my life on that computer.  The keys that spell out LOVE have the most wear.  Can you please try to bring her back to life?  I  have left her with the best computer doctors money can buy. Even though it means I will have to give up the fall shopping spree I have been putting money aside for.   My husband says he will just buy me a new one but do you know the emptiness I feel thinking about all of my favorites being gone, my pictures being lost, the way I arranged my icons perfectly on my home screen.  The flawless picture I took of Aidan when I first got my new camera is gracing my home screen.   Ugh the thought is almost unbearable.  Oh Dear God, my iTunes.  I just remembered you.  I'm sick now.

Please Computer Gods, have mercy on me and my laptop.  I'll buy her a spiffy new padded case if you spare her.  I won't download anything I don't REALLY need ever again.  I will back up everything.  Every last thing.  And lastly,  I will prevent Aidan from dropping her that one time and breaking the plastic around where I plug her in.  You remembered that, I didn't want you to think I forgot. 

Thanks and love,
April Harvey