Summer iPhone Wall Papers!

I LOVED my spring iPhone wall papers I created so much, and I'm feeling VERY summery these days, so I figured it was time to update my backgrounds!

Here is a FREE lock screen and home screen for your iPhone!  
CLICK IMAGES TO BE DIRECTED TO IMAGE TO SAVE- DIRECTIONS BELOW (if you need them)

"Summer" For your LOCK SCREEN

"Summer2" For your HOME SCREEN

Here's How:

• Just click the image and you will be redirected to where you can save it from on my website.  
• If you do it right from your phone, hold your finger down over the image until the menu comes up and click "Save Image".  
• Then go to your Photos on your home screen and find the image you just saved.
• Click on it to open it to full screen size.
• Click the arrow in the bottom left corner.
• Then click "Use as Wallpaper" in the bottom right corner.
• No need to crop or move, just press "Set".
• Then use the first one with the large frame in the middle as your Lock Screen.  Save "Summer" as your Lock Screen.
• Save "Summer2" for your Home Screen using the same steps above- and

ENJOY!!!

LOVE the background image?!  I found it and SOOO many others that were hard to resist at Doodle Craft!  Please comment on this post if you use any of them for something creative- I'd LOVE to see!

Here's so Summer Days!

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the 36th AVENUE

*Shutterfly and Looksi* Photo Storage and Display Cabinet Update

The Power of 3

We have had 3 sessions working on the photo cabinet so far, and I think it'll only take 3 more!  I wanted to give a little sneak peak, because I LOVE the way its coming together.
Having three Capable and Creative Minds working together on this project has definitely been a benefit.  My dear friend Serena, and the Hubby and I have combined inspiration from the following 3 sources:

Beautiful Yellow Cabinet

I was not able to find an original source for this photo- but this is the style and design we decided would look best to incorporate the vintage window for the door.

Ana White Plans

Because of the size of the windows we are using for the doors, we decided for this project, to make it a one door cabinet.  Otherwise it would have been a very large price of furniture, and that is not the intent.  The goal for our finished piece is for it to house 12x12 scrapbook albums, regular photo albums, two storage bins and some mini books.  We don't need a two door cabinet for this.  SO, we modeled our design after the cabinet above, but made A LOT of modifications, specifically for height, and to work around the window.

After completing our design and getting most of our wood cut in the first session with the three of us, I got the frame complete in the second, short session and tonight, Kyle and I got to the point where we were able to decide on a finish.

Two-Toned

I came up with the idea of having a stained wood top to the cabinet in our first session, but with all the beautiful wood we've used, I wanted to showcase it more throughout the piece.  The solution I've talked Kyle into= stained side panels, top, and interior shelves with a painted frame!  When I first thought of it, I wasn't sure it would look good, so I did a quick search for "two-toned cabinet- paint and stain" and came up with this BEAUTIFUL chest of drawers created by The Golden Sycamore.

So, it is settled.  The frame will be a beautiful "slate blue" and the rest will be stained dark.  Check out our progress!!!!

What do you think?

My final result for the Shutterfly and Looksi Sponsored Project will be posted no later than June 17th!  Can't wait to share!  A Big thanks to Serena and Kyle for all their help!  Its much more fun with 3!

Sewn Applique' Rag Tie Bunting Tutorial and Candy Land Themed 1st Birthday Cake Smash Reveal

Before Madisyn was born, I came across the facebook page of a local Newborn Photographer.  She had a Newborn Photography special I just could not pass up.  We bought one for our little Sweet Pea and one for our friends due with Little Baby Hunter 6 weeks before Madisyn.

A few days after Madisyn was born we had our first major outing- Visiting Miss Lindsay Porter at her studio she had at the time, in downtown Snohomish (which is a SUPER cute little town, if you've never been- GO!).  We had so much fun taking photos of our sweet babe and scrunching her up in the funniest little poses- Lindsay was such a professional and I adored her personality.

Needless to say, our relationship with Miss Lindsay did not end there.  Madisyn has had the pleasure of being photographed by Lindsay Porter Photography every couple of months in her first year and a half of life.   I am so glad that we took the time and expense to have these photos done- they will be treasured FOREVER.

Over the last 20 months I have gotten to know Lindsay a little bit better at each photo session.  And as the bunch's product line in Baby Galore, 1st Birthday Outfits and Accessories grew, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to offer these adorable outfits to Lindsay's Clients as well.

What better way to launch our co-branded effort than for a  CANDY LAND THEMED CAKE SMASH!?  I had SO much fun creating the outfit AND Lindsay asked me to handcraft a Sewn Applique' Rag Tie Bunting for her photo-shoot backdrop.

I found a few tutorials here and there- but none of them had the step by step with photos like I longed for... SOOOOO- here is one for you!!!

Cut, Iron, Sew

The first step is to figure out how big you want your bunting triangles to be.  I wanted about a 3 foot banner total, so I eye balled the length on my ruler and decided they needed to be about 9 inches tall and 6 inches wide at the top of the triangle.  I used my fabric ruler to measure and rotary cut 1 triangle.  Then I laid that triangle on top of my ironed fabric and the ruler over the top of that and rotary cut along the edges, using my first triangle as a pattern.  I cut a total of 6 triangles (You will need two for each finished triangle.  

I used my Silhouette to cut out my letters with interfacing and ironed on my letters onto 3 of the triangles.

Once the letters were ironed on, I sewed around the edges of each letter with a coordinating color thread and puled the loose ends through to the back side of the fabric.  Because this isn't a peice that will most likely be washed very much, or at all, I didn't tie off the loose ends of the thread, they should be fine just pulled through to the inside.

With all 3 of the letters Applique'd, I then laid out the triangles without applique' over the top of each letter triangle (right sides facing), pinned and stitched around 3 sides (leaving the top open).

Cut, Flip, Iron

After you've sewn around the 3 sides, cut the tip of the triangle off (the excess fabric outside of where you sewed) so that when you flip it inside out there isn't a lot of bulky fabric preventing you from getting a pointy tip on your triangle.

I used a chop stick to carefully poke the tip of my triangle to get all the fabric pushed inside out.  Once you have it all flipped, iron it to get a crisp finished look.

Trim, Measure, Bind

After you sew your 3 triangles and flip them right side out, they won't be perfectly straight across the top (unless you are perfect, I obviously- AM NOT).  Use your rotary cutter and ruler and trim the edges so you have a straight edge to enclose in your binding.
I purchased premade Extra Wide, Double Fold Bias Tape from Hobby Lobby to use as the ribbon for my bunting.  I cut the bias tape to 3 feet long and then folded in half to find the middle.  I marked it with a pin.

I arranged my bunting triangles on my cutting mat with the spacing I wanted to allow for room for the rag ties between each triangle.  Notice my center of the bias tape pin is the in center of the middle triangle.

And then I pinned each triangle inside of the bias tape fold so that the raw edge was covered.

Sew, Rag Tie, and Done!

After pinning each triangle, I used my widest zig-zag stich on my sewing machine and started at one of the ends of the bunting and sewed all the way to the other edge, taking out the pins as I went.  After it was sewn, it looked like a finished project, but I wasn't done yet.  I used strips of coordinating fabric and tied knots in each strip between the triangles until there was no exposed bias tape remaining... And that's all there is to it!

What do you think?  Easy to make, right?!  Stay tuned to see a few photos of the cake smash session with this set as a prop and maybe even a little Photography Special and Etsy Coupon Code!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

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by Stephanie Lynn

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the 36th AVENUE

Shutterfly Brand Ambassador- My First Sponsored Project Idea

Super Exciting News!!!

We are So, So, So excited to announce that we have been chosen to participate in a project through Shutterfly and Looksi Square, which means we are working on OUR FIRST SPONSORED BLOG POST!  A very exciting milestone to achieve  and only after 5 months of blogging!  

The Task at Hand

Shutterfly and Looksi Square have challenged the bunch to come up with some sort of display for 4 x 6 photo prints.  I've thought, and thought, and bounced ideas off Kyle and my good friend Serena and together, we've come up with a concept!

See those old, dirty windows up there?  They will become cabinet doors for a furniture piece similar to a small china cabinet or buffet- but its purpose will serve as photo storage.  Albums, Scrapbooks, Mini-albums and even Photo Boxes will be able to be tucked neatly inside this piece of furniture.  I am SUPER excited about the idea of having a home for all of our photos- IN ONE PLACE.  

But That's Not All----

The Cabinet will also have a built in Photo Display!  The window frames will become a sweet place to display family photos and can be switched out with the seasons of life! 

I am super excited about the concept we've come up with, and even more excited that I get to work on this project with one of my best friends, Serena.  

We are getting together next week to begin construction, but not without a challenge of course.  Nothing is ever simple, or easy it seems.  

Dark Shadows

Two nights ago our house was broken into in the middle of the night.  They came in our sliding glass door from our back patio and quietly walked through the craft/play room into the garage (moving my laundry bins out of the hallway) and packed out most of my beloved woodworking tools, a friend's bicycle, some wheels and tires, Kyle's chain saw and more.  Then, they came into the kitchen and took Kyle's keys and 1 credit card out of his wallet.  

I keep reminding myself that these are just THINGS and I am SO THANKFUL that no one got up to see what the noises were- it scares me to think what could have happened if we met face to face with these terrible people.  Needless to say, yesterday was wasted with insurance claims, police and getting our vehicles re-keyed so that we didn't wake up this morning and have no cars in our driveway.  

It is so frustrating that there are people out there who are brave enough to violate someone else so terribly and enter there "safe space" while they are sleeping.  We have a long way to go feel safe again but all of our "things" are replaceable.  With this project on the line, they will just have to be replaced sooner, rather than later!  And all through the process I will remind myself-

"Keep your face always to the sunshine, and the shadows will fall behind you"-unknown

Stay tuned for updates- and the finished project will be revealed in the middle of June!

Please, make sure your homes are as secure as possible- and write down the serial numbers of all important and or valuable items you own- without documentation of these, if they were ever stolen, they can't be reported stolen and looked for without serial numbers.

My Mother's Day Creation- Barnwood and Vintage Window Planter and a FREE PRINTABLE!!!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

This is my second Mother's Day, officially- and I feel honored to be a part of this club.  As I was reading through quotes to find the one I wanted to put on my project for my Mother, many of them brought tears to my eyes upon taking time to reflect on what they really meant.  I wanted to pick a quote that would inspire my mom in the place she is currently in life.
My mom thought she had her "dream come true" life, when she purchased Cedarbrook Lavender & Herb farm almost 10 years ago.  At first it was amazing, then it got really tough when she realized she had to focus WAY more on "business stuff" than what she really enjoyed doing on her flower farm.  As soon as she got comfortable splitting her time between business and the pleasure the farm brought her, the economy took a down turn.  With that big change, came a whole new set of challenges which has lead to a drastic change in her daily life activities.  

I am proud to say, that she is FINALLY, ALMOST at a point where she will, again, be able to enjoy flowers because her dream is back in sight and possible- although VERY different from what is was initially.  I hope this gift I made for her, sitting in front of her new little home, will remind her on a daily basis to DREAM!

Dreams

It is SOOO important to Dream.  If you don't dream and make goals how will you get ANYWHERE!?  I have this discussion with my husband often, as he and I think very differently.  I am a Dreamer down to my heart of hearts, hence why I am an Entrepreneur.  I have been working very hard lately on a project that will change my little family's life DRASTICALLY, and I am SOOO excited about where it will take us. Only because I Dream for a future where we can live life comfortably in a way and place we are happy.  Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers this next week as hopefully all my hard work will begin to pay off!  And DREAM BIG for your life, you never know what might become reality if you dream it!

Enough philosophical babble- and on to my fun project!

Step by Step - Barnwood & Vintage Window Planter

I always start a project by perusing through my stashes of materials in the garage, on the side of the house and on our back patio- I knew I wanted to make a planter box for my mom for Mother's Day, but I didn't know what style.  After some inspiration gathering on Pinterest, as always, I had some ideas in my head, but went to take a look at what I had to work with.  I decided it was time to use one of my vintage windows that have been sitting around for a while.  I also picked up some scrap wood for the structure and base from the side of the house- and I picked out a piece of barnwood to use for the outside walls.

Step 1

I set up my window on my work bench and figured out how deep I wanted my planter box to be.  Then I measured the long piece of scrap wood to figure out if it was long enough to cut into 3 sections to create the base for the planter.  

After I cut the 3 equal pieces and laid them out under my window, I realized the gap between them would be large enough for a significant amount of soil to leak through.  So, I found a scrap 1x2 to add into the mix, making the gaps between the board basically nonexistent.

Step 2

Seeing as I only had my two hands working on this project, it is very difficult sometimes to hold pieces into place when you are screwing them together in a manner that they won't move.  To help combat this issue, I always start my screws by getting the screw into the wood before I attempt screwing into the other piece   Just like this-

Then, I was able to hold everything together where I wanted it and begin to push the screws into the other piece of wood.

Step 3

With my base all secured to the bottom of the window, I laid out some scrap 1 x 2's to create a frame for the top of the planter box.  Attaching this frame to the window was challenging because I had to make sure I wasn't screwing into the glass set inside the frame.  I also had to pay close attention to screwing into an odd angle on the back side of the frame.

This frame was to be secured into the middle of the window frame where I wanted the top of the planter box to be.  Again, only having two hands, I had to get creative in how to support the frame in a way that I could get it secured in place.  I ended up stacking misc items under the top of the window frame to put it at the same height as the bottom where I screwed on the base.  Then I was able to slide the 1x2 frame under it and screw in through the backside of the window frame into the 1x2's.

You can see that the base boards are all wonky-  this is because they are not straight (one of the challenges that arise from using scrap wood for building projects).  Luckily, you can always force the boards to be somewhat straight when you attach the other side to something- as you will see in the next step.

Step 4

With the base and top support screwed into the window frame, I was able to attach the barnwood to the outside to create the walls for the planter.  I set the barnwood on its side on each side of the planter and marked where I needed to cut.  I made sure to have the two sides go from the very back of the window frame to the front edge of the frame and base.  The front piece then covers the raw edge of the sides giving a more seamless look.

I used wood glue and finish nails to attach the sides- needed to be strong enough to hold it all together with the dirt and plants inside, but I didn't want to see any screws.

And, then it was ready for planting!

It was beautiful after I planted the flowers and they will grow in to be stunning in a few weeks.  I used lobelia around the front and side edges, when it lobelia grows along an edge, it drapes down- and will be so pretty.

I love how it turned out, but it needed something else... and that's where the quote comes in.  I wasn't happy with any of the stock quotes available in the Silhouette online store, so I used my software and created my own, and I am happy to share it with you.  Click on the image below to be directed to the PDF that you can download- feel free to use it however you'd like (but please be sure to share photos!)

Did you make something crafty for your Mom this Mother's Day?  We'd love to see or hear about it- tell us or link us in a comment!

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By Stephanie Lynn

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36th Ave

Looksi

Camper Overhaul Introduction- How to Create Your Own Pattern & Giveaway Winner Announced!

The Winner of our Mother's Subway Art Barnwood Photo Holder is.....

Serena Harkless!!! 

Julie Swagger was the initial name drawn by random.org, but I wasn't able to find her in the bunch's Facebook Likes (which is a requirement for entering the giveaway) and was not able to make contact with her.  Julie, if you read this, please get in touch with me and I'll make sure you receive a gift from the bunch as long as you are connected with us on Facebook =)

And now for some other, just as exciting news.....

WE GOT A CAMPER!!!

Kyle has been talking about wanting to get a camper or a trailer for at least two years.... I LOVE sleeping in a tent, but I also LOVE the idea of having a place where all of our camping gear LIVES- not having to have 18 bins of camping gear in our shed sounds GREAT!  

So, Kyle's dad is a general contractor and stays very busy with clients on a word of mouth referral basis.  He was working for a repeat client last month, and she mentioned that her dad had passed away and had a camper that he had hardly used.  She had it stored at a friends house since he died, and its been sitting there unused, and in great condition ever since.  Somehow they worked up a deal, that if we torn down a shed on her property and disposed of the building materials (wooo hooo, free reclaimed wood!), that we could have the camper FOR FREE!  

Of course we took her up on her offer, and Kyle and I have had fun talking about what we want to do to make it ours while cleaning it, and sealing a few small leaks.  Our plans include:

• Re-Upholstering all the Cushions
• New Curtains
• New Wall Paper
• New Laminant on the Table
• Possibly new flooring (but the current linoleum is in good condition, and it isn't ugly)
• New Vinyl Pin Striping and Branding Decals on the Exterior (more details to come, but I would LOVE your help in giving our little camper a brand)

A Great Start

This last Sunday morning, my mom was in town, so Kyle and I got up early and cleaned and cleaned for 2 hours and now the inside and out look sparkly new.
We then got a great start on the Re-Upholstery.  Because the foam inside the cushions is still in great condition (actually the fabric is as well, its just not PRETTY), we are able to re-use the foam and just create new covers.  But, in order to re-cover the foam, we needed patterns for the new fabric.

How to Create Your Own Pattern

I was fortunate to receive a gift of fabric from my good friend Candace.  She had quite a bit of beautiful Home Decor fabric left from different projects that she didn't want sitting around her house anymore- They are perfect for the Camper!!!

Any of you who know me well, know that one of my downfalls in crafting (and why I am a TERRIBLE BAKER) is that I HATE TO MEASURE!!!

I often figure out ways to do things without having to use a tape measure and math.  This was definitely one of those times!  In order to figure out if I had enough of the fabric I wanted to use for the tops of the cushions, I rolled out the fabric and laid out the cushion covers on top of the fabric- AND THERE WAS ENOUGH!

1.  I started by taking off the original cushion covers.  There are zippers but they are corroded so we had to destroy them to get them to open.  Once we had them off, we cut apart the original cushion covers on the seams- this essentially created two halves that will be sewn together leaving a pocket to slide the foam into.  (Zippers are NOT CHEAP- especially the LONG ones I'd need for this project, so I've decided that I will just sew them closed.  By the time the fabric needs washing, I am sure the foam will need replacing anyways.) I also cut on the seams that created the corners so that I ended up with one, flat piece of fabric.

2.  With all the seams cut, I ended up with a flat piece of fabric.  I laid that on top of my new fabric (opposite finish sides facing each other) and cut around it leaving about 3/4 of an inch of extra new fabric around the other for a seam allowance.

On the edges where they will be sewn together to create a corner, I cut diagonally into the corner at the point where the two edges meet all the way to the old fabric- this way I know how far in to sew to make the corner.

3. I ended up with a finished piece for one side of the cushion.  I will be buying flannel backed vinyl for the other side just like the cushions came (the vinyl is heavy duty to withstand being up against the base plywood the cushions sit on).  I will lay the other half of the original cushion (the vinyl side) that I cut apart ontop of the new vinyl just like I did for this side and cut around it to make the other half!

Here is the finished piece!

Don't worry, I won't leave you hanging.  In my next Camper Overhaul Post I will outline how to sew these all together to create the new cushion cover!  

This method can be used for almost anything you want to create as long as you are ok with destroying the original to create the pattern!  

Have you created something using this method?  We'd LOVE to hear about it- please tell us in a comment below, or leave a link to your project if you Pinned it or Blogged about it!