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DIY Valentine Graphic Tee | Preciously Paired

Valentines Outfit Inspiration with DIY Graphic Tee

posted in color block party skirts, crafts, diy, holidays, inspiration, women's fashion by Hanna on February 10, 2015

As we get further into the new year, the more “crafty” I seem to get after taking a long break over the holidays. So why not jump back on the bandwagon with some easy diy shirts just in time for Valentines day? If you haven’t noticed yet, graphic tees are all the rage…meaning I don’t have one. Funny enough, I always seem to be the last one on the fashion trend compared to Sara; not necessarily because I’m trying to “stick it to the man” or in this case “fashionistas”, but because I have to see something enough times and on enough people before I’ll get brave and do it myself. That’s right, I’m a fashion follower, not starter and I’m definitely ok with that. Anyway, I’m slowly getting on the graphic tee trend, and have even gone as far as whipping up a few different styles that you can make yourself. They are both ridiculously easy and absolutely possible to make before Valentines Day. The best part about these Valentine inspired tees is that it is a style you can continue on wearing all year long!

Today I’m sharing our women’s Valentines outfit inspiration featuring both one of the diy graphic tees I made, and our classic Color Block Party skirt. But first, here is a quick tutorial on the shirt.

Supplies:

-Shirt

-Cardstock

-X-acto knife

– Fabric Paint and foam brush

– Adhesive Spray

To start, I grabbed a long sleeves tee from Old Navy for $5. I love Old Navy! It was either the best thing or the worst thing I ever did to get an Old Navy card. Next, I decided I wanted to do something a little different than your average “Love” tee so I did the next best thing and did the same word in a different langue; “l’amour which is French for “love”. I just typed the word on a blank document on the computer using a font called “Lainie Day”. I printed that out on cardstock and cut the word out with an x-acto knife to use as my stencil. Once that was done I sprayed the back of the stencil with adhesive spray and placed it on my shirt that was laid out flat with a piece of cardboard placed inside the shirt. Last step is to fill in your word stencil with a couple coats of fabric paint, and once that is dry peel off the paper and you’ll officially be ready to join the fashion club of graphic tees.

Along with getting my craft on, I’ve also started taking more pictures again which has always been a hobby of mine. So doing this shoot with our best friend Ashly, who agreed to be my last minute model, was nothing less than fun! We just love this girl; from her gorgeous face, to her caring personality, and everything in between!

For some Valentines Day outfit inspiration, scroll down to see some different ways this easy diy graphic tee can be styled.

Get this full look by ordering your very own Color Block Party Skirt, which is currently on sale in our shop! Also, make sure to check back later this week for a look at the other graphic tee I did for my daughter that I paired with our Color Block Party skirt for girls!

For more Valentines Inspiration check out some of our other blog post:

6 DIY Projects and Printables That Are a MUST This Valentines Day

Introducing our Valentines Prints and Custom Wedding Illustrations

Kid Approved Valentines Party

Friday Finds Valentines Day Gift Ideas

Monthly Photo Challenge | Preciously Paired

My Monthly Photo Challenge of 2014

posted in family, holidays, inspiration, lifestyle, New Years by Hanna on January 7, 2015

Happy New Year everyone! We are happy to be back with some new changes and goals for our blog and business. Perhaps we’ll even decide to fill you in a little bit on what some of those things are in the near future! Stay tuned!

We spent the holidays doing lots of custom illustrated portraits and Christmas cards which we loved being able to do! Thank you so much to those who have supported us and our creative work! It has been SO crazy how far we’ve come since joining up together last year. We also got to spend the holidays together…like for 2+ weeks! It was fabulous and crazy as usual and I didn’t even take one picture! I actually hosted Christmas at my house for my family. For about 5 days we had anywhere from 11-15 people at our house at any given time. Like I said, crazy! But, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I know we won’t always be able to get together so easily and for such a long amount of time so I took deep breathes and enjoyed the time we all had together.

Although the holidays were fun I’m excited to get back into a routine, get my house back together and start this year fresh with some new resolutions. I decided to be more realistic on myself this year and I made only 2 resolutions, one of which is to become a basketball fan and even more namely a BYU basketball fan. I’m sure that seems like a very strange resolutions but if you knew me and then my husband you would totally understand. Aside from my resolutions I’m starting this 8 week challenge of eating good and exercising. After not consistently exercising for almost 3 years it’s going to be an interesting start. Wish me luck!

Now that we’re semi caught up without me writing a complete saga of the last couple of months of my life we can move onto what this post is actually about. Last year I saw this post on Pinterest where someone took a picture of their kids once a month for a year. Since we just moved into our house at the beginning of last year I thought it would be a fun way to not only see my girls growth throughout the year but to see the progression of the seasons in our first, very own yard as well. Surprisingly I stuck too it with the help of my husband and bribes that involved candy. I only missed one month…July was a busy month! I’m so glad I decided to do this and love see our first year in our house in review.

Craft Space "Must Haves" | Preciously Paired

My Craft Space “Must Haves”

posted in crafts, decor, home, inspiration, organization, Uncategorized by Hanna on October 10, 2014

For of us “crafters” we all seek for a space to to call our own to store all our supplies, be inspired and do projects. With each of us that space can vary. For me it started out as a small, portable sewing cabinet, then moved to my daughter’s closet, then graduated to a spare room I shared with my husband’s office until we had another baby and finally to my latest craft area in our basement. Each space had pros and cons, but it is what it is and most importantly it is MY space to do what I love!

No matter the space I designate to store my supplies and do projects I’ve come to find my “must haves” for the space.

1. Good lighting. If I had it my way my craft space would include large windows letting in lots of beautiful, natural light. Why don’t we add in an ocean view when we’re at it?! However, this is rarely the case for most people, including me. My craft space is located in our basement and even though these pictures don’t reflect it the lighting is terrible and dark! Right now I have a small lamp to light up my work space but I plan on adding some lighting underneath the top shelves to brighten things up and help me see what I’m actually trying to do.

2. Organization. Let’s face it, no one wants to do a project when you have to go digging for every supply you need and a in ton of different areas around the house. I’ve been there before and it takes me twice as long to complete a project which sometimes I then shy away from doing them all together. My favorite craft space organizers are pegboards, they are fabulous! Storage boxes are another must have and we all know that Ikea is your one stop shop for organization, especially when it comes to storage boxes.

3. Inspiration. When I’m in my element doing projects I like to be surrounded by things that inspire me. This is where my hanging clipboards come into place. Whenever I see something that inspires me in a magazine or there is a quote I like I clip it to my clipboards.

4. Colorful and fun accents. No matter where my craft area is, it can always be brighten up with fun colors and accents. One way I like to add color is through the things I organize with. I painted my pegboard, added some patterned paper to some of my storage boxes and spray painted the lids to my mason jars. Another great way I add color is through some fun decorative art. I scored mine from the Esty shop Poppy Mae. Her “Hello Lovely” and “Love” prints I have displayed in my craft space are just two of the dozens of cute and colorful print she has. Here’s another one of my favorites that is motivational. I recommend checking them out!

So now my craft space is organized, beautified and ready to go for all my projects!

Where is your craft space located and what are your “must haves” for it?

Friday Finds #18: Unique and Thoughtful Gift Ideas

posted in baby, inspiration, marriage by Sara on August 22, 2014

Since we’re on the topic of weddings and baby showers this week, we thought we’d put together a little guide of some unique and thoughtful gift ideas for either a wedding or baby shower. I think the biggest misconception about giving a personalized gift is that it takes a lot of thought and time. While some of these gift ideas do require some planning ahead of time, they are easy to put together, they are unique, and they will most certainly be loved!

Custom Portraits via The Homesteady

Homemaker’s Gift Basket via Natalie Creates

Custom Ring Holder Frames via The Papery Nook

DIY Growth Chart via Thistlewood Farms

Mom’s One Line A Day Book via The Paper Source

Baby Bath Caddy via Raising Up Rubies

Hope you’ve all been inspired! If you have, or have posted about other great gift ideas please share them with us in the comments section below!

If you missed our Custom Cookie Kit Wedding Gift, check it out {HERE}… another awesome gift idea!

Or, if you haven’t seen the photos from the adorable nautical themed baby shower that Hanna hosted, be sure to check it out {HERE}

As for those who are wondering how I survived potty training my 2 year old this week, I’m going to share all about it next week!

Happy Weekend!!

Linked to: http://www.justusfourblog.com/2014/08/show-projects-link-party/#more-8551, http://www.prototypemama.com/thats-fresh-friday-39, http://www.theboldabode.com/2014/08/creativity-unleashed-week-34.html

Creating a Personalized Wedding Gift

posted in crafts, diy, friends, inspiration, lifestyle, marriage, parenting by Sara on August 19, 2014

I survived day 1 of potty training! Granted I had my husband helping me, but for me this is a big deal! For those of you who are just tuning in, I started potty training my 2 year old yesterday. I’ve been putting it off for months and finally decided to just do it. At this point in the training it is going smoother than I previously imagined, but I realize it is still early in the process.

The hardest part about this whole process is coming to terms with the fact that my baby is no longer a baby– she’s a “big girl” now (as we’ve reminded her about a million times since starting potty training). Each milestone in my daughter’s life has been exciting, yet frightening as I wonder where the time has gone. People weren’t kidding when they say kids “grow up too fast”.

Moving on from my mommy saga; my friend is getting married! I just love weddings! It’s such a happy and exciting time! But with weddings, always comes a certain dilemma; what to give as a wedding present? Personally I’m not a “grab a card and throw in some money” kind of girl. If you are that kind of present giver, personally (as a receiver) I love those gifts, but I also love something that has a little thought and time put into it as well.

Creating a gift basket is a great way to personalize a wedding gift while keeping it fun and purposeful at the same time. Here I’ve made a couple’s cookie kit complete with personalized “Mr.” and “Mrs” mugs, a personalized cookie recipe plate, homemade coasters, and some useful baking supplies. You can easily customize this gift for any couple by using their favorite cookie/dessert recipe. The possibilities really are endless!

Linked to: http://www.mygirlishwhims.com/2014/08/your-whims-wednesday-176-and-features.html, http://www.lambertslately.com/2014/08/create-it-thursday-68-plus-features.html#more, http://www.vmg206.com/2014/08/brag-about-it-vmg206.html

Friday Finds #17: Colorblocked

posted in color block party skirts, decor, Friday Finds, inspiration, tutorial, women's fashion by Sara on August 15, 2014

So lets talk some more colorblock… we’re kind of addicted to it! There’s just something so fun and playful about it and the best part is it can be done in many different ways! You can pair similar or contrasting colors together to create a colorful outfit, or you can wear a colorblock piece of clothing that has already been created for you. It is also very easy to DIY your own colorblock pieces, just take a look at this quick jewelry update tutorial or this refashioned dress tutorial.

At the head of all this colorblock hype is of course our Color Block Party Skirt that is featured in our shop. We had a great opening week and are grateful for all of you who helped spread the word. If you have not yet seen our Color Block Party Skirts, check out our shop to view all four fabulous colors! For more colorblock inspiration and finds, visit some of the links below!

1|2|3|4|5|6|7

Enjoy and have a great weekend!!

Be sure to join us Monday for the Your Design This Time linky party!

Linked to: http://www.prototypemama.com/2014/08/15/thats-fresh-friday-38/, http://lollyjane.com/creative-collection-group-link-party-13/

Outdoor Summer Dinner Party

posted in crafts, decor, diy, holidays, inspiration, party, thrifted, tutorial by Hanna on July 9, 2014

Besides blogging, one of our favorite things to do together is to host a great party full of delicious food, good company, and fun decorations. Since we bought our house last fall, I’ve been itching to throw an outdoor party on our spacious deck. With Sara and her family here visiting, and with it being our one year blog anniversary, we decided to throw a little outdoor summer party to celebrate. Usually we have things planned out several weeks in advanced, but besides our dinner menu everything else came together last minute.

You might be wondering how we managed to pull this off with such a limited budget in such little time? Honesty, we were quite amazed ourselves, but in the end we were very pleased with the turnout. It was the perfect combination of fun and classy. The key to throwing together a nice dinner table layout with limited time and money is being creative and resourceful. Everything you see on the table, besides the white flower centerpieces and the aqua colored plates, were things we already owned that we used or re-purposed.

I think what really made the table, were the fun ikat patterned chargers. And would you have guessed that we made them for under $2 a piece?! About a year ago Sara found a bunch of these gold charges at Goodwill for $1. They have truly been a great purchase as we have used them at several other occasions. For this outdoor summer party we wanted something a little more bright and playful, so we purchased some wrapping paper to cover them with. Below is a simple tutorial on how we did it.

First, trace around the charger on the back side of your wrapping paper, then cut it out. Make sure to cut the circle about 1/2 inch bigger than the actually size the of the plate. Since you only see the outside edge of the plate we decided to only cover the edges, in which case we measured and cut out the middle as well.

Second. use spray adhesive to bond the paper to the plate.

Flip the plate over and spray the excess paper with glue, then fold over to the underside of the plate.

Lastly, spray a clear acrylic coating or sealant over the top for added durability and protection from food and water.

Allow each plate to dry before using, then add these fun new chargers to your table setting for some added color and interest.

Linked To:

http://theblissfulbee.com/work-it-wednesday-no-55/

Share your Fun Creations – From Dream To Reality #125

http://www.bravenewhome.com/diyers-link-party-8/

http://www.gingersnapcrafts.com/2014/07/wow-me-wednesday-162.html

http://elizabethjoandesigns.com/2014/07/designs-time-no-18/

http://gracelangdon.blogspot.com/2014/07/making-monday-49.html

Category: inspiration