Family Tree Wall- Three Generations

I've had this project in mind for a long time, and finally got around to finishing!  I framed wedding pictures of Ray and I, our parents, and our grandparents. For some I didn't have an actual wedding pic, so I just used  couple pictures close to the time they were married.   I got the frames and letter "H" at Hobby Lobby, Michael's, and Home Goods.  They were all on sale, and they averaged about $6 each. I was going for a variety of colors and textures with the frames, but an overall cohesive look.  

The pictures were all printed in a sepia tone to pull them together. 

 Here is a before and after of the stairway.  I painted the hideous white railing, painted the wall a light yellow, and added the pictures.  I arranged them to follow the line of the stair rail, with my side of the family on one side of the "H", and Ray's side on the other. 

 I love that my kids can see their ancestors every time they go up and down the stairs!  

"Family faces are magic mirrors.  Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present, and future."  ~Gail Lumet Buckley

Dirt Bike Valentines

 Here are the Valentines Landon passed out this year. They were fun, and very easy to make! I designed the Valentine and had them printed at Walmart's 1 hour photo.

The pictures are cut out and attached to scrapbook paper to make the bag toppers. I found these cute zip-lock bags at the Dollar Tree, along with some candy.

 These are address labels I had sitting around, I ran them through the printer and wrapped them around Hershey's Nuggets.

 Landon stuffed the candy and I helped staple the toppers to the bags.

Happy Valentine's day!

Oversized Cross Stitch

I made this over-sized cross stitch at a craft night with friends a while back.  All you need is a canvas, paint, embroidery thread, and a needle.  First, I painted the canvas a metallic copper color and let it dry.

 I then chose a cross stitch pattern I liked, enlarged it, and printed it. You may need to print it on several sheets of paper then tape them together, depending on the size.  I put the pattern on the canvas and used a pin to poke holes through the paper and canvas at each corner of the squares in the design (where each "x" would go).

Then, I used a brown embroidery thread and followed the pattern.  Just sew like you would a normal cross stitch, tying off the last stitch on the back of the canvas.The result is an inexpensive, unique piece of art!