A little Pinspiration: Inexpensive and Easy Kitchen Wall Art

My husband and I are major DIYers when it comes to updating our home. We recently began to tackle the first half of our kitchen.  Here is a quick peek of what it looked like before...

Need I say more of why we wanted to tackle this?

My husband's grandfather built this house in 1951 and we were lucky enough to be looking to purchase a home at the right time to be able to keep this lovely home in the family :) When you look back at pictures of family events here in the 70's, sadly it pretty much looks exactly the same. Our family spends a lot of time in this room whether it be meals together, playing games, baking, art projects, homework, etc.. and I just hit a point where I could not look at paneling on top of paneling anymore. So...

Paneling came down, Sheetrock went up, walls got spackled, primed, and painted and here is the result...

I am IN LOVE with retro inspired aqua and red kitchens, but knowing myself and realizing I have painted some rooms approximately 3-5 times in the 8 years we have lived here :) I knew I couldn't go as bold as aqua or red walls. So I picked a neutral wall color (Benjamin Moore-Shaker Beige) and decided I would add the pops of red and aqua as accents so that way if I ever stopped being IN LOVE with retro (highly unlikely) I could easily make the changes without repainting :)  [Side note: Smitten with my red door]

This weekend was absolutely beautiful and my daughter unfortunately has had a cold/fever thing going on so I thought what could be better than doing a little art project when you are stuck at home? Whenever I need a bit of inspiration I head on over to Pinterest and this time I found this lovely gem of an idea for wall art from Homespun With Love (click link for DIY directions-)...

Homespun with Love

Could it get any better than black and white vintage prints and red frames?! The only way I could see was by adding some touch of aqua. I headed over to Michael's and to my luck the frames were 40% off!!, add some paint (we used acrylic paint not spray paint like directions say), and brushes to my order and you have an under $20 for 4 frames art project, SWEET!

Here is a peek at our finished project...

I could not be happier with the final outcome. The perfect touch of retro and a great day out in the sunshine painting with my little girl.

Hope this brings some inspiration in to your home :)

<3 Kris

1 Year Anniversary!

It is a big weekend for Fabric Nerds! Tomorrow is officially our 1 year anniversary and I can not believe it! I feel so blessed to have been able to start a business that I absolutely love and to work with such amazing customers everyday.

Fabric Nerds would not be where it is today without all of you. So as a way to thank you for helping Fabric Nerds be a success, this weekend (Fri-Sun) take 20% off your total purchase in either my etsy shop or at fabricnerds.com  Use coupon code: 1YEAR.

I am excited to see what this next year brings!

Happy shopping and Have an Amazing Weekend,

<3 Kris

LABOR DAY WEEKEND SALE!

AND SHOP!

FABRIC NERDS IS HAVING A LABOR DAY WEEKEND SALE. SAVE 15% OFF YOUR ENTIRE PURCHASE UNTIL 9/3. USE COUPON CODE: LABOR

"Little Monkey" Blend Fabrics

LITTLE MONKEY IS HERE!!! (or almost here) There was a slight delay in shipping but Little Monkey will be arriving Tuesday!!! Get an awesome new line 15% off using your Labor Day coupon code: LABOR!

Here is a closer look at the prints that are available at Fabric Nerds:

Alphabet in White

Jungle in Blue

Cloudy Day in Blue

Hanging Around in Green

Chevron in Light Blue

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend with family and friends

Kris <3

Fabric Nerds

Celebrating 2000 Fans!

We are celebrating the success of 2000 Facebook Fans!! I wanted to thank all of my customers and supporters in helping make my little Fabric Nerds dream come true, because without all of you Fabric Nerds would not be here. I figured what better way to say thank you than a giveaway! Hop on over to our Facebook page to enter our celebration giveaway where you have the chance to win a HALF YARD BUNDLE of the upcoming line "Little Monkey" by Blend Fabrics. Retail value $23.00!!

<3 Kris

Fabric Nerds

Bit by the Sewing Bug

I think a couple of weeks ago I was bit by the sewing bug, because I just want to keep creating :) 

I have been making some dolls as Christmas presents for little munchkins in my life. After posting pics of them on Facebook I keep getting asked the same question...Are they for sale? So I have decided to make a new Handmade section in the shop. So stop on over and check it out!

Here a a couple of handmade dolls that just made their debut in the shop...

Eye Patch the Pirate

Sunflower the Ballerina

Keep checking back because each week will bring new creations!

<3 Kris

Fabric Nerds

A Handmade Christmas: Ballerina Doll

These last few months I have really been working on living a simpler life as a family. Putting our energy into what we find important and not what other people tell us is important. One area that I am working on with my kiddos is that "Momma doesn't need to buy you everything you see." In the past my husband and I have agreed to disagree in this department. I admit it..I was a spoiler and my husband well not so much.  In these last few months I have really done a 180 in attitude change on this topic and completely agree with my hubby. Our kids currently have more toys than a lot of kids I know, not just due to me but they also have a grandma and an auntie that love to spoil too ;) Having sooo many toys, I feel takes away that something special each toy holds.

My attitude change brought up a question to myself; "Whatever happened to simple, imaginative fun?" When I was a kid my brother, sister, and I used to pretend that our swingset was an obstacle course that we had to get across, it was so much fun. I got a couple of stitches from it but it was a blast! I used to wheel around this old little shopping cart and pretend nature was my grocery store. Leaves were steak, sticks were fruits and vegetables, and hands down this grocery store had the most beautiful flower arrangements. My sis and I would sit in mom's hosta garden by the driveway and create little homes in the hostas for our My Little Ponies and Glo-Worms.  [Daydreaming down memory lane] :) 

I want that for my kids. I want their creativity and imagination to take the spot/need of wanting "things". Seeing them run around the backyard, letting their imaginations take them away just brings me so much happiness. Last night Abby was a cowgirl and she was warning the town folk to watch out because Old Man Luke was back in town. She would warn them by "yodeling" <3

With this want for simpler came the goal to make this Christmas for my kids a complete no store bought Handmade Christmas. I am not making other family members give them a handmade Christmas, but as far as my husband and I, our gifts to everyone are going to be handmade this year. They are both still young enough that whatever momma or daddy makes is special. I hope by having a Christmas like this it will begin to instill in them that toys and presents don't need to come from a store for them to be awesome, fun, and special.

I just completed my first handmade present. Yay! This one is for my little dancing cowgirl Abby. I found this wonderful softie and doll pattern shop called Dolls and Daydreams. The owner Sarah is the biggest sweetheart around and her patterns are absolutely adorable. She has so many to choose from that it was hard to decide, but I absolutely fell in love with her Ballerina Pattern and knew it would be the perfect doll to make Abby for Christmas. Her instructions were easy to follow and the doll itself was surprisingly really easy to make. If you have some sewing experience you are good to go! 

Meet Amelia the Ballerina. I gave her red hair of course :) and prettied her up with different shades of pink since Abby tells me her favorite color is no longer purple but now pink. 

Let me just warn you...doll making is addicting! I am contemplating on selling some in my recently reopened handmade shop Abby's Attic  because her patterns are just so much fun and easy to create. I have been checking out her other patterns to see what I should make next. I am thinking a pirate doll for Luke. 

Have any of you guys had a Handmade Christmas? What was your favorite handmade item you ever received?  Mine was a beautiful topsy turvy doll my mom made me one year. I remember playing with her all the time.

<3 Kris

Fabric Nerds

Up and Running on YouTube

I have been brainstorming for a while on what I could do to add to the awesomeness of what Fabric Nerds has to offer. After talking with a couple of friends and running around some ideas, I came up with what I think is a great addition to the Fabric Nerds website...YouTube Tutorials! 

After getting over my camera shyness :) and figuring out how to take a video and semi edit a video, I came up with my first tutorial. The first tutorial is on how to make quick and easy Fabric Braided Coasters. It is a perfect project for all those scrap fabric pieces you have lying around that you don't have the heart to throw out but they are not big enough to do any of your projects in mind. They would make awesome gifts for a house warming party, Christmas, etc... when given as a set. They are quick, super easy, and one of those projects I just love because the color combination possibilities are endless.

Here is a sneak peak of what mine came out like...

Well I hope you like it. Bare with me through these first couple of videos as I try to learn the art of movie making :)

<3 Kris

Fabric Nerds