Painted Rug with stencil Tutorial and a Giveaway!!

Happy Friday everyone! Have you linked up a project yet to the MEGA -21 blog linky party going on now? The party's still going strong with over 350 links so you still have time to help Crafty Scrappy Happy celebrate her 1 year blog Anniversary by linking up, or just swing by and check out all the AMAZING crafts and treats people are posting-lots of inspiration!!

I was over-the-moon excited when I was contacted last month, by Cutting Edge Stencils, to see if I would like to do a review and giveaway for one of their stencil products. They were so kind, helpful and easy to work with and I am just THRILLED with the results!

They have hundreds of stencil designs to choose from including wall stencils, all-over stencils, nursery stencils, geometric stencils, holiday stencils, craft-size stencils, and SO much more! I have never used a stencil to paint anything, so I am as NEWBIE at this stenciling business as they come so you better believe I watched this video from their Youtube channel that gives a detailed demonstration of how to use and apply their stencil about 5 times over to make sure I got it before I started!

Since living in a rental is limiting in the fact that I can't paint or stencil anything on the walls, I knew I was going to need to choose one of their craft size stencils and I spent WEEKS trying to decide what object I wanted to stencil. Pillows? Curtains? Tabletop? Dresser? Then one day after my little one dropped her yogurt on my kitchen rug (that we've had for 5 years) for the THIRD time that day, it was going in the trash and I was gettin' myself a brand new, custom painted rug...by me. :)

I had chosen to try out the Casablanca Allover craft size-small stencil and they sent that to me along with...

...a foam roller and...


...and a stencil brush-just the tools I needed!


I started with this plain, woven, accent rug from Lowes-24x40" (about $10).


I picked out a red color of paint (I used about 1/2 of one of those tester size paint containers that cost about $3-for the whole rug) that matched the red I have throughout my kitchen and got started!

How to paint a rug:
1.Pour paint onto paper plate
2.Tape stencil down onto rug (painters tape would probably be best, but I didn't have any so I actually used packing tape and it worked fine.) I started my stencil in the middle of the rug and worked left and right and then up and down.
3.Roll foam roller through paint till the entire roller is covered evenly and paint stencil applying pressure evenly.
4.Pick up stencil and move to the next spot. Repeat! (watching the video definitely helps visualize this!)
5. For the edges of the rug I laid a cardboard box down and just kept on painting, using the box to cut off the stencil. I love how the stencil just drops off all the edges (which is why I started in the middle-so I'd have that look of an unfinished stencil around the edges)
You're done!


The paint dries SO fast so you can just keep on working and don't have to wait for one section to dry before you can lay the stencil back down. AND the stencil doesn't need to be washed after every use; in fact, I didn't have to clean it at all until I was done! A perfect project for someone whose impatient and eager, and just wants to get done so she can see the final result of her hard work!


I did love doing this project because it was quick, easy and even a novice like me can read the simple instructions and be good to go and have great results; however with that being said, as far as using a stencil to paint a rug, here are some things I learned while I was going along and would caution you about...
Having never painted any kind of fabric or thick material like this before, I was unsure of how much paint exactly would need to be on the roller and how hard I would need to roll the foam roller so-as recommended in the video- I started out with pretty light coats. I found though, that the rug just soaked up that paint and using more paint on the roller and pushing harder actually gave me better results. Unfortunately I didn't realize this till closer to the end and had to go back over almost the entire rug to get the deepness in color that I was looking for. Because of this, the paint is not evenly distributed on the rug and some stenciled pieces came out darker than others. I just couldn't get them to all look exactly the same without going over the entire thing by hand with a small brush (which I was not going to do). This is in no way a reflection of the product from Cutting Edge Stencil, just my own naivety of using a stencil and trying something a little more difficult my first time using one. I still love the outcome and am proud of my first little painted stencil project!



I love the Casablanca Craft stencil I chose and am excited to try it out again in the future for another project!


Cutting Edge Stencil has so generously offered to give away one stencil of your choice of any value-up to $50 with free shipping!!-to one lucky ducky Love Sweet Love Reader! There are sooooo many possibilities with these stencils and so many designs to choose from that anybody can find something that fits their style! Want one???? Here's how you can enter for your chance to win...

1 entry-Head over to Cutting Edge Stencils website and tell me what your favorite stencil is!
1 entry-'Like' Cutting Edge Stencil on Facebook
1 entry-Although it's not required that you be a follower of my little blog to enter this giveaway, I'll give you an extra entry if you already are, or become one! :)
1 entry-'Like' Love Sweet Love on Facebook (or tell me if you already do)
1 entry-Tell me one of your biggest pet peeves! :)

Please leave a SEPARATE comment for each entry so you get all your chances to win! 5 ways to win, 5 days to enter...giveaway will end Feb. 21st at midnight. Good Luck!

HUGE linky party with Crafty Scrappy Happy!!!

Today I am just THRILLED, jumping with JOY, ECSTATIC, and just darn tootin' EXCITED to have the opportunity to co-host Crafty Scrappy Happy's 1 year anniversary linky Par-TAY! I have considered Jaime one of my absolute DEAREST blogging friends since we became friends...almost a year ago!

We both started our blogs about the same time and I am just so happy to see how much success Jaime's blog has achieved and how much happiness it has brought into the crafty blogging world, and to so many peoples lives. She is truly one of those people that is just gorgeous on the inside AND the outside. If you don't know her...GET to know her, she will embrace you with open arms and a warm heart. I'm so happy for you my dear friend and wish you even more happiness and success this next blogging year!

So won't you PLEASE help Jaime celebrate by linking up your projects here at this HUGE linky party! There are TWENTY (20!) co-host to this party (meaning when you link up once it will be seen on 21 blogs-including Crafty Scrappy Happy's!!) so your projects will get SO SO SO much attention and could bring lots more traffic to your blog, so link up mmmkay?!

Feel free to link up anything and everything Crafty, Scrappy and/or Happy! No giveaways or etsy shops please.Check out other links, be inspired and make some new friends!Grab a button if you would!And check Crafty Scrappy Happy for features all next week!!!!

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Valentine Scavanger Hunt

Happy Valentines day my wonderful friends!!!! I hope your day is filled with happiness and laughter and surprises, but most of all with LOVE!

I have a few fun things planned for my kiddos (cupid's visit is always a favorite!) and we're excited to do our traditional pizza making for dinner!

I just thought I'd stop in for a quick sec today (well for one, to wish you a happy VALENTINES day! :) ) to share a couple of the little valentines I've put together over the past week.

For little Miss's dance class valentine exchange we did these...

{source}

For the little Mr.'s pre-school friends we did packets of a Kool-aid with a tag that said, "you're a KOOL-kid Valentine!"

{source}

For the Mr. this week I've left little treat surprises around the house, in the car, in his backpack, etc...everyday-I'm pretty positive I enjoyed it more than he did. ha ha!

• Smokehouse BBQ nuts-"I'm NUTS about you!"
• Vitamin water Zero-"I have ZERO regrets choosing you!"
• Sweedish Fish- "You are the best FISH in the sea for me!"
  
• Mountain Dew- "Thanks for all you DEW!"
• Beef Jerky- "Thanks for never being a JERK or giving me any BEEF, I love you!" (I know that one was a stretch, but he LOVES beef jerky so I had to throw it in and make it work!!)
• Packs of gum- "I CHEWS you!"
• Pack of Crush- "I don't think it's any secret now...I've got a CRUSH on you!"

{source-Lots of fun v-day ideas and free printables for a hubby at this link as well!}

Nothing super BIG, but fun all the same!

Annnnnd, I also thought I'd share a SUPER fun scavenger hunt we did for the kids last year (and we'll be doing it again tonight since it was such a hit!!).

It all started when we heard a knock at the door and found that Cupid had left us our first clue...

Clue #1: Today is about LOVE & family & friends and giving big kisses and Hugs that don't end. If you want to find the gift from yours truly, go look in the place where you watch Scooby Dooby!
*The computer


Clue #2:
Nope it's not here sorry that was tricky, but don't give up yet that'd be too picky! I'll give you another clue & try not to be mean, go look in the place where you wash your body clean.
*The Bathtub


Clue #3:
Yay you found me you're off to a great start, keep going like this and you might steal my HEART! The next clue is hiding in a place that is cold, where you put milk & cheese so it doesn't grow mold. :(
*The refrigerator

Clue #4:
Now you've got the hang of it look at you go, keep up your pace don't get too slow. You'll find you next clue playing in Cinderella's house, but you better beware of her little grey mouse!
*Kylee's play princess castle


Clue #5:
The more that you know, the closer you get, to claiming your prize, are you ready...get set! Your next clue is waiting alone in the dark, in the place you get mail, right next to the park.
*The mailbox


Clue #6:
You're almost done now just a couple more clues, keep doing what you're doing you just can't lose! This clue you'll find where Tyler sleeps at night, when mom tucks him in under blankets just right!
*Tyler's bed


Clue #7:
CUPID'S my name, LOVE is my game, if you've had fun you have ME to blame! The gift you've been seeking is awaiting your peeking at the place where we go if we want to be eating!
*Kitchen Table

They ran to the kitchen table and found their sweet Valentine treats from Cupid. Powdered donuts and strawberry milk for Tyler (his fav) and chocolate milk for Kylee (her fav). I love that tyler's cheeks are all red and his hair's all sweaty from running around.


She was thrilled that she had a prize!!!






Thumbs up Cupid!


If you can't see she has a donut in each hand and is drinking her choc milk.


After their treat they played with these plastic hearts cupid left for them as well for almost 30 min! We found that they're almost as much fun as hitting each other with pillows!


As we were cleaning up in the kitchen we heard Tyler say, "This was the BEST balentines ever!"

I hope YOU have the best "balentines" day ever today! Thank you SO SO much for stopping by today-I love you all!! :)

Burlap Bubble Wreath

Just SIX more days till the day of Lu-huuuuv! Are you excited?! Valentines day has never been a big celebratory, give big presents, go all out kind of holiday for the hubs and I...we're more of the quiet dinner and a movie kinda people...so having kids to celebrate with has been SO SO SO fun! The excitement and energy they bring makes it worth all the preparation and time I put into different projects for the holiday (like the Love Shacks-they have been absolutely GIDDY over them, so happy!!).

My little girl (3 yr. old) has especially loved valentines day since there has been so much PINK everywhere! ha ha! And I have to say, since I have one month a year where the Mr. can't doesn't complain about pink decorations, I release all of my pent-up girly, pink loving, mushy-gushy, love emotions from the previous 11 months and go to town! My heart felt wreath goes perfectly inside, but I wanted a wreath for my door (surprise, surprise ;) ) that was a little more......gender neutral shall we say?!

There are after-all 2 boys living in this house too, so I was looking for something that was feminine enough to make my pitter-patter heart happy, and masculine enough to keep the hubs from taking it down. :) So when I found this burlap bubble wreath on pinterest here I knew it was perfect!!

The Valentines Burlap Bubble Wreath...

The wreath was created by Amanda who blogs at My Heart's Desire and she has a fantastic tutorial, so if you're interested in making you're own you'll definitely want to check it out! And the best thing is, she has one tutorial here just for the burlap bubble wreath and a separate tutorial here for the heart burlap wreath. I, obviously :), used and followed both and I love how it turned out!

I won't re-create a total step by step since I followed Amanda's instructions exactly, but just to show you how simple it is...

I started with 3 things

1. Burlap (1 yard tan, 1/2 yard red)
2. Wire wreath forms (1 18" circle, 1 heart-both from Hobby Lobby)
3. Floral wire
*between using coupons and what I had already on-hand, this wreath came out to under $10-perfect!


To make the round wreath, you're basically just gathering, bubbling and securing all around your circle form on the inner and outer rings.


And I will tell you this, it would have been much easier(not that it was really hard, but my fingers just started to hurt after awhile) if I would have used a thinner gauge wire. I was using 20 gauge b/c I already had that on-hand, but I would recommend 24 or 26 because it will tie around your burlap and wire lots easier and give you a better hold!


This is what the back of the wreath looked like when I had finished-just so you can kind of see how I tied the wire around.


Also, with such thick wire I had some problems with it showing in some places. With thinner wire I think you'd probably be able to hide it better.


For the heart I did basically the same thing, but just made one row of "bubbles" rather than one for both the inner and outer rings.




Using a recommendation from Amanda, I took some extra scraps of red burlap and stuffed them into the bubbles on this wreath to give it a little bit fuller of a look.


Then I safety pinned the heart to the round wreath so that I can use the burlap wreath on it's own for something else in the future!


And that was it!


I love that this doesn't have to be just a valentines wreath- stretchin' those pennies as best I can! ha ha!




So are you doing anything fun with your Mr. Love or your littles for valentines day?? I would LoVe to hear about it!

Thanks for popping in, talk to ya soon!

The Love Shack

As I mentioned last week, The Shack...Radioshack, holds a very special place in my love story.

Without it, the BOY wouldn't have met the GIRL, and the GIRL wouldn't have ever known the difference between a red, white and yellow TV cable. And most importantly, there wouldn't be two little sweet loves that call us parentals.
Whiiiich is why The Shack become fondly known to us as...The LOVE shack.

I had been wanting to create some little valentine mailboxes, similar to this idea, that I could stick a little note or treat in for my two kiddos every day until Valentines day (starting in Feb. :) ) but I couldn't find little mailboxes like that anywhere!! I came up with a few other ideas of things I could put ontop of a candlestick to create a mailbox type project and when I saw these little birdhouses in the $1 aisle at Michaels I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

Make some *Love Shacks* to house love notes for my love birds!


I love that we now have a more aesthetically appealing, meaningful object that reminds the Mr. and I of our beginnings (the old, rusted Radioshack magnet on the fridge has now met the garbage man-thank goodness!!) and we can include our kids now by making new memories with them!

I started with these 2 wood bird houses-I tried to pick one that was a little more masculine for my boy :)-and painted the one for little miss K sweet pea pink, and the one for the little Mr. metallic silver (by Rustoleum).


And because I can't just leave well enough alone, I had to add something to make them...standout. :) I have lots of glitter around my house, so I decided to add a little sparkle to the roofs of the birdhouses. I just applied a thin layer of Mod Podge to the roof and poured on the glitter (this pic is from before I shook off the excess).

And then I had a craft FAIL moment. Splotchy white glitter on pink roof=hot mess.


So I had a momentary freak-out moment, ran back to my stash of glitter and re-covered the roof with ruby red. WOW! Just the bold statement I was looking for. In yo' face bird house.


Then I dug out some glittery scrapbook sticker letters to spell out "Love Shack" on the houses.


Since I couldn't really figure out a way to put a "flag" onto the side of the bird houses-like a mailbox has-I just used these heart picks I had leftover from the dollar store last year, snapped them in half, put each of my kids initials (scrapbook sticker letter) on their heart for their shack (added a little rhinestone bling to miss K's of course) and the houses were done!


I chose to go with silver, red and black colors for Tyler's shack, for ONE because my husband would have died if their was pink anywhere on his sons birdhouse (I was already treading on thin ice with that as it was :) ) and TWO, because after seeing the metallic and black together I felt okay adding GLITTER to his because it reminded of a tuxedo! That shiny metallic and black just says STUD to me, ha ha, so I added a little black "bow-tie" to the front of the candlestick I had painted black to finish off the look.


That's when I went back and added a pink bow to the roof of Kylee's shack, to add just one more touch of femininity and compliment the look of the stud standing next to her ;).


Both candlesticks were purchased from a thrift store over a year ago for .50 each (and I painted them red and black for this project), but you can find glass candlesticks at the dollar store year round! They are glued to the birdhouses using E6000.


Since the holes aren't quite big enough to stick a treat in (without losing it!), I'm just sticking a new "love note" inside for each of them everyday! They just eat this stuff up, I love it!!








So happy that 2 little buckaroo's turned into this...


I dare you not to have "Love Shack" stuck in your head all day now. You're welcome. :) Have a fantastic weekend, see you back here next week and thanks for dropping in!