major front porch glow up!

My front porch space has received basically all my love and attention since the weather’s warmed up. It’s essentially my new living room and I have loved sitting here to read, pray, and watch kids play. I’ve been wanting to cozy it up and when I realized that Cricut made pillow covers, I knew I wanted to create some custom pillows for this space.

First, let’s talk about what the patio looked like before:

Pretty blah. The 14’ pew bench came with the house when we bought it (score!), and the metal “A” sign is one we’ve had- Shawn hung it up for me not long ago. But there was a LOT I wanted to do to this space.

First, I tackled the door. It was brown and beat up. We’d already replaced the decorative frosted glass with more modern rain glass, but I wanted to add a pop of color and change out the handle. So that’s what we did! I painted it the same color as our kitchen island- Relentless Olive from Sherwin Williams- and we switched out the gold curved handle for a more modern black one.

My favorite hint for painting any type of wood (or even faux wood)- use deglosser! Saves you hours of sanding and allows the new paint to adhere perfectly!

Once the door was done, I set my sights on the church pew. It was in ok condition- but was cracking in some spots and I suspect someone tried to stain it at some point and didn’t do a great job- it was super uneven. The easiest thing would have been to paint it, but I wanted to keep it a wood tone, so I started sanding.

You can see how the pew really needed some love here. I wanted to lighten it up so it didn’t blend in with the brick as much, so that is the reason I decided to sand!

It took me a couple of days to sand all 14 feet of it, but it was worth it. Once sanded, I wiped straight-up cheap bleach on it to lighten the overall color. I ended up doing this about 3 times and it worked beautifully. My Vintage Porch has a great tutorial on this that was very helpful.

Once everything was sanded, I used some wood filler to repair some of the cracks in the wood. This is my favorite kind to use because the color changes letting you know it is dry.

After bleaching, I coated it with Watco Satin Wax to give it a little protection. I wanted to keep the light look but also protect the wood I had just worked so hard to uncover. This did the trick! Once it went on, it did darken the wood a bit, and I panicked, but then it lightened again as it dried.

Now for the fun decorative stuff! I made the pillows using my Cricut Explore Air2 and Cricut Easy Press. Their heat press products and tools are so much fun. I ordered basically everything from Cricut and here is a list of the products I used:

Cricut Explore Air 2

Cricut Easy Press + Easy Press Mat

Cricut Everyday Iron-On (I used beige, avocado, black and mustard for these pillows)

Cricut Pillow Covers

Cricut Weeding Tools

I drew all the doodles and shapes on my iPad, then uploaded them to Cricut Design Space. From there, I made 4 different compositions for 4 pillows, and cut them on the 4 different colors. A few of my design elements were too large to be cut on my 12x12 mat, so I had to slice them and cut them in sections, then put them back together when it was time to heat press them.

I’ve uploaded my design file to the Cricut Design Space Here, and you can use it for free!

Organic Shapes Collage Pillows

FREE Cricut Design Space filed linked here!

Then, it was collage time!

All my shapes are weeded and it’s time to start collaging them onto the pillow covers using my Easy Press!

The Easy Press makes it really simple to adhere the Iron-On to the fabric. You just set your temperature and time, push the “C” button, and it times it all for you.

I adhered the bottom layer first and then added additional layers, being sure to keep all Iron-On Material covered with the transfer film (even if it was already adhered) under the Easy Press (or else it would melt!).

I was really pleased with how these turned out and love the quality of the Cricut Pillow Covers. They are perfect for my patio space.

Lastly, I found a cute little metal coffee table (it was already pink, and I was great with that!) on Facebook Marketplace and pulled out a few pillows and a Mexican blanket I already had.

I had purchased this floor runner for our kitchen and ended up not liking it, but it worked perfectly folded hot-dog style on our bench as a pseudo-cushion! Here’s the final reveal:

I’m so thankful for this space. I never set out to have a matching set of anything- but I do my best to buy and create things that I love- which, it turns out, kind of all go together.

It’s been a collection of little projects that make a big impact on my attitude- I love sitting here and just enjoying every little thing- and I have big intentions for the conversations, wine nights, and prayer times to be had here.

a quick d.i.y. sun shade for the backyard

I’m excited to show you this quick and relatively inexpensive project for creating a sun shade patio area. We created our own planter post to act as an anchor point for the sail and it worked beautifully.

We’ve officially been in out new house for a year now and have been excited to work on some outdoor projects now that the weather is warming up. Our backyard patio area has a concrete slab, but that’s pretty much it. We’ve known we wanted to get a pergola eventually, and have even gotten a few quotes for one, but with the cost of lumber sky-high and other renovations taking priority, we opted for a much less expensive quick fix.

Materials Needed:

• Shade Sail- we bought ours on Amazon and got a 14x20 size. There are a ton of sizes and colors available. Tip: be sure you remember that there will need to be some space between the shade sail and your anchor points to properly create tension and keep the shade taut. Otherwise, it will be drapey.

• Outdoor String Lights- these are the ones we got and we love them! They are plastic bulbs but look like glass.

• Large (and I mean LARGE) planter- we bought ours at At Home and it is probably 2’ tall and 1.5’ at the base.

• Quickcrete Concrete- we bought 4 bags

• 4x4 8’ Cedar Post

• 4 1/4” Eye Hooks for anchoring the sail to the house/tree/post (hardware store)

• Coated cable up to 1/8” and cable fasteners- we needed these on a couple of sides where the anchor point was farther away (hardware store)

• Carabiners to easily connect/take down sail at anchor points (hardware store)

• Tension hooks to adjust tension on sail- you need at least 2- these we bought on Amazon

After we gathered all our materials, we got started on the planter post. First we centered the 4x4 in the middle of the pot, and while I held it sturdy, Shawn mixed the concrete around it. It didn’t take long at all for the concrete to set. We let it dry overnight.

After the concrete was dry, we tested the post with a lot of pushing and tilting to be sure we didn’t need to add another layer of concrete. We ended up throwing in some extra bricks we had just to add some weight and drainage for the flowers I would be planting in the pot.

Then, it was time to start hanging the sun shade. This involved a lot of troubleshooting thought about where the exact anchor points needed to be. We ended up drilling 2 eye hooks into the brick of the home, one into the planter post, and one into a large tree probably 15 feet away from the patio area that was at a better angle than the original tree we’d envisioned using. Shawn set an anchor point about 15’ up in the tree so that the cable actually goes over the roof of our home and won’t interfere with anything.

We used carabiners to attach the sail so that in the case of very strong wind we could quickly take the sail down- and we plan to take it down in the winter as well.

Once everything was attached, we used the 2 tension hooks to tighten the shade.

Then, it was time to hang the lights. I’d initially thought I would put them in an x shape underneath the sail, but they hung too low for my liking, so I ended up hanging them in a box shape. Since they are made for outdoor, I wasn’t too worried about weather on them.

It was finally time to pot some plants in the planter. I drilled 6 drainage holes about 1/2 way down the pot and then filled the pot with potting soil and added plants. I am glad we added the bricks because they will soak up excess water as well, while also allowing for drainage.

And that was it! We are loving our new shade sail and I can’t wait to work on some seating/decor for the rest of the patio area!

I wish I’d done a better job taking photos of the process, but it went so quickly I forgot! Here is a semi-put-together recap of my Instagram stories about it for all you visual learners like me!

thrifted word banners made with cricut!

Ya’ll, never have I had such a rollercoaster of a project. When I first pitched to Cricut that I wanted to make some cool signs for my home with thrifted pieces, I couldn’t WAIT to get started. So of course, I waited riiiight up until the last day to make them and GUESS WHAT?!? The project failed miserably.

So I tried it a little differently. FAIL. And then I tried like 3 more times before I just threw up my hands and yelled ABANDON SHIP! 😂Thankfully, I have one of the best thrift shops in town close by and so I hopped in the car and sought out some new inspiration. And like always, the thrift store delivered.

I ended up picking up some old linen napkins (you know, like your grandmother puts out at Christmas and Easter?) and making something I’m really quite proud of- these super cute NO SEW word banners.

I made these using my Cricut Air 2, Cricut iron-on, and Cricut Easy Press. If you’re a newbie to using Cricut iron-on, this would be a super fun project to start with.

The vintage linen napkins I snagged cost me a total of $3 at the thrift store. Mine were 19” square cloth napkins, but almost any scrap fabric would work for this- think tablecloths, placemats, etc. I think a pattern would make some really neat banners as well!

Supplies Needed:

• Cricut Machine- I used my Air 2, but depending on the size of your banner a Cricut Joy would work!

• Cricut Light Grip mat

• Cricut Easy Press

• Cricut Easy Press Pad

• Cricut Iron-on- I used white for “Hello Spring”, Beige for the shadow and Gold Shimmer for the main on “Life the Life”, and Black for the shadow and white for the main on “Always Be Humble & Kind”

• Cricut Weeding tool

• Old Linen Napkins or other fabric

• Hot Glue Gun

• Scissors

• 5/8” Dowel Rod (or whatever suits the size of your banner)

• Fabric De-fuzzer (obviously this is optional- but the napkins I bought needed it, and the iron-on wouldn’t have adhered well without a de-fuzz)

Check out this video for the full tutorial!

You can access my design files for FREE in the Cricut design space!

Always Be Humble & Kind Banner File

For this design, I used white Cricut Iron-On for the shadow and black for the main text. Click on the image to be taken to the file in design space!

Hello Spring Banner

For this design, I used white Cricut Iron-On for the text. Click on the image to be taken to the file in design space!

Live The Life You’ve Imagined Banner

For this design, I used beige Cricut Iron-On for the shadow, and shimmer gold for the main letters. Click on the image to be taken to the file in design space!

I would LOVE to see your banners if you give this project a try- please tag me @lissaanglin! It was a relatively quick one, and so much fun to add the beads and twine. You could really go crazy with the extra decor- I’m thinking tassels, felt balls, buttons, flowers…you name it!

More Posts Like This:

perking up my coffee bar with my cricut!

This post is sponsored by the awesome people at Cricut, who give me the freedom to create the projects I want to do, and the ability to do them well with all their amazing products.

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See what I did with that title?! You guys know I love a good pun.

I’ve finally finished decorating the new coffee bar area in our home- for now, anyway. :) And I couldn’t resist creating some customized coffee canisters and flavoring syrup bottles for it! To see some crazy before + afters, check out my previous post for the before + afters of this part of our #anglinabode reno.

I wanted it to be an area I loved to look at and spend time in, but also highly functional as well. We do a LOT of coffee here, but we also have an ice machine and like to make fun sodas. The syrup flavorings we use for these are delicious, but I didn’t love them cluttering the countertop.

So, I was so excited when I found these inexpensive olive oil bottles at WalMart. To up the ante, I also ordered these super cool weighted spouts in a gold color.

I also wanted to pull in some gold accents to match our knobs and fixtures, so I was pumped to find these gold and clear canisters (which come in a bunch of different colors too!). They look like glass and metal, but are plastic- which is honestly much better for this clumsy crew. I also added these really cool coffee scoops to put inside the canister that also function as a bag clip.

This is a pretty simple cut and stick project, so I’ll just fill you in on all the details!

Here’s what I used for this project:

Cricut Joy

Cricut Transfer Tape

Cricut Permanent Vinyl

Scraper and Weeder Tools

Cricut Joy mat (optional)

Gold Canisters

Coffee Scoops

Olive Oil Bottles

Gold Weighted Spouts

I used the font Hanley that I purchased from Creative Market. This is one of my most-used fonts and has been a great purchase for me!

I was sure to keep my font size the same throughout all of the labels. This keeps the overall look consistent and professional. Be sure to double check your measurements and make sure the longest word will still fit in the space given the font size. I alllllmost didn’t get the word “peppermint” to fit!

Here’s a quick video of the process:

I really love the way they turned out! I’d love to see your coffee bar projects, too- be sure to tag me @lissaanglin on any social media!

This post contains affiliate links, on which I will receive a small commission should you purchase anything/sign up/subscribe etc. I would never share something I didn’t actually like or want to share with you, so I wanted to let you know. Sharing affiliate links affords me a few more lattes and it’s always my aim to add value to your life with the brands and products I share. Thanks for supporting me!

#anglinabode coffee bar before + after

So excited to finally share one of my favorite spots in our new home- the coffee bar! This space used to be a blank, open corner- and I knew immediately upon walking in the house that there needed to be something there to draw you in. Here’s the before:

Soooo much blah. There were several issues here we had to deal with:

• The weirdo uplights that are along the walls above the doors and windows. We removed those ASAP.

• The french doors (open in the above image) that led to the master bedroom. I have nothing against french doors, but I did not want them leading to my bedroom off the main living space- especially when my son has friends over (yikes!)- so we closed in this opening a bit and made it a regular door.

• The thermostat had to be moved.

• The AC vent was an issue- because I wanted to do lower cabinets there. I am pretty proud of our solution!

• Sooooo much electrical work had to happen. Light switches and outlets needed to be moved, and I added sconces, under cabinet lights, pot lights and a chandelier. Because this room was originally a porch, there is NO attic space so installing all of this was a real task I’m thankful our contractors were up for.

The original view from the main hallway. Unfortunately, all of these shelves are now gone, but it’s for the better, I promise! You can see how this corner is visible at the end of the hall.

Here is my Coffee Bar Inspo:

Coffee Bar by Lissa Anglin

Here is the area mid-construction. This home has been renovated at least 2 times before this one- you could see all the layers and modifications once the walls were peeled back. Poor old house- I hope we will do her justice and make this the last renovation.

Annnnnnnd here’s how it turned out!

I’d originally thought about doing green cabinetry (Relentless Olive by Sherwin Williams, which is on our kitchen island), but chose to keep it white (Pure White by Sherwin Williams) so that this potentially dark corner stayed as light and bright as possible.

It was important to me to have a large decorative element (the open shelving) to draw you into the space from the front door. This corner is the perfect landing space for everyone, and it perfectly accommodates a solo cup of coffee or a bunch of rowdy kids!

One day, I’d love to find a tulip table to put in place of my vintage black one here, but for now this table is serving us well!

I mentioned the issue of re-routing the AC vent earlier, and the solution was to create a vent on the side of the bottom cabinets (see that gold box? It’s actually a vent!). We also created a new vent (also housed inside the lower cabinets) into our bedroom on the other side of this wall to keep the air flowing. Amazingly, we still have quite a bit of storage in those cabinets.

When I shared this corner on Instagram, many people thought this was actually my kitchen space- and it sort of is! It is open to the kitchen, so it feels like an extension of the kitchen, really.

This little corner packs quite a bit in to keep it super functional for our family. I didn’t want to have to walk all the way across the room just to throw away old coffee grinds or to fill up the pot. It includes:

• pull out trash can

• double drawer fridge

• nugget ice maker

• RO system

• small sink

This little area of our home is where I splurged the most. Having the extra drink space and “Sonic ice” has really made working from home enjoyable- and I also love the fact that everything is accessible for the kids.

Another thing I was very intentional about was the black quartz sink. Knowing that there would be a LOT of coffee in this sink, I wanted to avoid having to bleach it often, and the black sink has been so wonderful for that!

Here’s a “lights on” image- we put the sconces, chandelier and pot lights on all different switches and have really enjoyed the ability to adjust the lighting to the time of day/mood. The bulbs inside the sconces are actually grow lights and I keep them on all day so that my planties get the sun they need.

For the glass in the upper cabinet, I chose rain glass. I’m not into the frosted look, but I also wanted a little diffusion on it. I really love the way it turned out!

I’m going to do my best to link everything pictured here:

White Paint Color: Pure White by Sherwin Williams. Our trim, cabinets and walls are all this color and it has made painting the whole house (my primary job in this reno) SO much easier!

Tile: Saltillo (terracotta) tile from Yates

Countertop: Macaubaus Quartzite purchased from Stone King in Lubbock

Contractor: Re-Purpose Construction

Chandelier (I really wanted this one from West Elm, but it was just plain out of budget. In the end, I’m really happy with the one we have and think it is a more appropriate size for the space anyway).

Sconces (these were surprisingly affordable!)

Knobs

Sink

Faucet

Drawer Fridge

Ice Maker

Grow light bulbs (for keeping my plants alive! I put these in the sconces)

Backsplash tile was a clearance find and we almost didn’t have enough to finish the job because it was disappearing from stores so quickly! Thankful my sister picked some up for us in the DFW area so we wouldn’t have a half- finished wall.

Just in case any of you are coffee fanatics like us, here are our coffee makers:

Coffee Pot

Espresso Machine

Coffee Grinder

So, let me know what you think! We are loving our coffee corner and I have so much more to share with you soon!

This post contains affiliate links, on which I will receive a small commission should you purchase anything/sign up/subscribe etc. I would never share something I didn’t actually like or want to share with you, so I wanted to let you know. Sharing affiliate links affords me a few more lattes and it’s always my aim to add value to your life with the brands and products I share. Thanks for supporting me!

Anglin Abode Reveal: Pantry Organization with my sidekick Cricut Joy

This post has been sponsored by Cricut, who has enabled me to create the custom pantry of my dreams!

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I never would have guessed that one of the first “reveals” I’d share of our new home would be the pantry- but here we are! And it really makes sense- with a family of 5- I had no other choice than to attack the pantry and get it in order before chaos ensued. I ended up finding some really cool organizational items and creating some custom labels in a pinch with my Cricut Joy (tutorial below!).

Let’s take a quick second to remember the pantry (or lack thereof) that our house had when we first bought it:

See those white sliding doors to the left of the fridge? That was the “pantry”. It was nice and wide, but only about 6 inches deep. I’m not kidding- 6 INCHES deep. Basically pointless.

Thankfully, the room directly behind the pantry had a closet that wasn’t super necessary- so I chose to bust through the wall and create a larger pantry. I also wanted to add a bit of character with the new pantry door, so I found a great antique door at Jux Ta Posh (one of my favorite shops here in Lubbock!) and stripped it so you could see the original wood. It turned out to be quite a project and my Dad and Shawn even had to jump in- but I’m so pleased with the results!

Here’s how it turned out- quite different, right? I don’t typically keep the light on when the door’s closed. :)

Anyway, because of all the new space, it was high time to get ORGANIZED. I was really thankful to have had time to think about how I wanted to place everything- what needed to be accessible for my kids, things I grab for cooking frequently, pain points from our last home’s pantry.

I ended up finding quite a few great products for the job- they have been total game-changers in keeping the area looking tidy- especially now that it’s somewhat visible.

Here are a few things that were really helpful with organization:

Gold Wire Baskets - used here for baking supplies

Clear Plastic Canisters - for rice, beans, flour, sugar, etc.

Clear Tall-Sided Lazy Susans - I splurged for these tall-sided ones and am SO glad I did. Things don’t fall over/out of these and they are sturdy and spin well even with heavy glass bottles in them

Large Stacking Bins - for chips, cereal, anything large and bagged. I have LOVED these because they keep everything from falling over or on the floor. (These are out of stock at the time of this post 😫which breaks my heart because they are one of my favorite things! But, I’m linking some similar ones here.)

I also wanted to make the most of the space at the bottom of the pantry- and was happy to find a couple of shelving units that fit perfectly, along with a stool that easily folds and tucks away right inside the door.

White Shelves - these are actually shoe racks but work perfectly for the bottom of the pantry!

Foldable Step Stool - I will probably be buying more of these, haha- we all use this constantly.

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To create the labels for everything, I used my Cricut Joy and the mobile app. It was super simple and I filmed a short tutorial on how to do it below. One of my favorite things about the Joy is that it is so portable- so I literally set it up in my kitchen and cut everything straight from the app on my phone.

If you’ve never used the Cricut Mobile App before, don’t be intimidated- it is super intuitive and basically just like Design Space on the computer. Feel free to check out my tutorial below- but here are the basic steps:

Tools needed for this project:

Cricut Joy

Cricut Joy Design Space mobile app (free)

Weeder and Scraper

Joy Smart Vinyl - Permanent in the 2 colors of your choice

Cricut Transfer Tape

Scissors

1. Measure the spaces where you’ll put your labels. My canisters had the smallest available label space at about 1x3 inches, so I decided to make all the labels that size.

2. Create the black boxes using the shape tool. I made mine 1x3 inches, duplicated them, and cut them out on the Joy.

3. Type out your words in Design Space and ensure they are all sized to fit within the boxes you’ve cut. I used Market Street Fonts- Eloise in all caps for this project. Cut them out on the Joy.

4. Weed your words and use Cricut Transfer tape to place the words on the boxes. Labels are done!

5. Stick your labels on your stuff. Done!

This post contains affiliate links, on which I will receive a small commission should you purchase anything/sign up/subscribe etc. I would never share something I didn’t actually like or want to share with you, so I wanted to let you know. Sharing affiliate links affords me a few more lattes and it’s always my aim to add value to your life with the brands and products I share. Thanks for supporting me!

Terracotta Floor Vase DIY (on the cheap!)

Well friends, we have officially finished the renovation process of our home- I really had great intentions to share more of the in-between process, but now I think it’s best I go room-by-room so that I can show you the full transformation in each space.

That being said, as I work on getting everything styled/decorated, I have been working on some fun little side projects, like this one!

If you’ve been on the internet for half a second lately, you will have seen the HUGE pampas grass trend that’s happening right now (here you go just in case you don’t believe me)- which is super handy for those of us living in West Texas, because it grows really well here. In fact, my parents happen to have some in their backyard.

So, I asked my mom to bring me some to use on our fireplace mantel. Little did I know that they would literally be 5 feet tall and waaaayyyyy too big to put in the tiny vase on our mantel I’d planned. So I decided to just put them in a floor vase on the ground. Problem was- I had no floor vase, and barely any budget to go out and buy one.

That’s when I found myself hanging out in the air ventilation section of Lowe’s looking like a crazy person to the many contractors who came and went while I pondered. But guess what, ya’ll? I DID IT. I made a vase, and it only cost me $15.

This project was definitely more of an experiment than an actual “project”. I had seen the terracotta paint trend on Tiktok and thought this would be a fun opportunity to try it out. Warning: THIS IS A MESSY, IMPERFECT PROJECT. If you are a perfectionist, maybe just save up your dollars and buy yourself a vase. But if not, read below to see how it turned out!

Here’s a quick little video if you want a sneak peek of the process:

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What you’ll need:

• Galvanized Steel Round Duct Pipe found in the HVAC section at the home improvement store

  • I used a 6”x24” one ($7), but you could use any size- they have larger ones

• Galvanized Steel Round End Cap (also in the HVAC section)

  • You will want to be sure you get the same width as your pipe- in this case 6” wide

  • This cost around $6

• Plaster of Paris (found in the paint section, but I already had some at home)

• Medium to coarse grit sandpaper- I used 60 grit I had at home

• Vinegar

• Water

• Duct Tape

• Wide Paintbrush

• Acrylic paint (I used brown, red, black and yellow to create a terracotta color)

• Polycrylic Satin Finish (not necessary but recommended)

Step 1: Build the vase

This is pretty self-explanatory: the pipe has a snap-lock design that literally just pops into place. Might want to wear some work gloves while doing this, though- those edges can be sharp!

Once the tube is made, insert the end cap. It should fit perfectly on the plain end of the tube (not the side with the waves).

Step 2: Prep for paint

I used the duct tape to cover the top end of the vase- so that it had a rounder edge and I wouldn’t be cutting myself while working with it. I used several pieces and just folded it hot dog style over the lip.

Next, you’ll want to wipe the outer surface with vinegar. Just wipe and let it set. And then sand your little heart out. The galvanized steel has a chemical layer on it that keeps it from rusting, and that needs to come off in order for the paint to adhere. The vinegar helps it break down, and the sandpaper takes it off.

Sand everything for as long as you can. The rougher the surface, the better your paint will adhere- and even sand the duct tape a little. It will be fine, I promise.

Step 3: Paint

So there are many different recipes for terracotta-style paint- but I chose to use Plaster of Paris because 1. I already had some at the house and 2. I like working with it. It’s water soluble and pretty forgiving.

To mix your paint, you’ll dump a cup or so of the plaster of paris into a bowl, add your paint (I did generous squirts of brown, a little red, and a little yellow), and then around a 1/2 c of water. Use a popsicle stick (or some other hard tool) to mix. You want your mixture to be spreadable, but hold it’s shape- I would say a thick milkshake texture. If it’s too thick, add a bit of water. If it’s too thin, add a bit of plaster.

For more of a visual on mixing the paint, check out my short video above.

1st coat finished and dry! As you can see, the plaster mixture is much darker when wet.

Also remember that because the plaster is white it will naturally make your mixture lighter. It will also dry significantly lighter than it is when wet. I did a few test colors on the protective cardboard I was working on to check color before I actually started painting the vase. To do this, just wipe a bit of the paint/plaster mixture on a surface and use a blow dryer to dry it. It should lighten considerably and give you a realistic color representation.

You will need to work relatively quickly, because your plaster will harden and create chunks in your mixture. If you’re into the texture, go with it. If you’re not— don’t say I didn’t warn you. :)

Turn the vase upside down and start painting. Your first layer will be thin and you’ll likely be able to see the metal through it in places. Be sure the bottom is completely dry before flipping it over to paint the top lip. I also painted the top 3-4 inches of the inside. The plaster is very fragile as it dries and so it will chip off if you’re not super careful when you’re moving the vase around.

Here you can see the texture of the plaster and the inside of the vase with only 1 coat.

Once you have 1 coat, cover your plaster mixture (if you don’t, it will dry and chunks will form!) until you are ready for the 2nd coat.

Repeat the process with 2 more coats. The texture should build considerably, and the pattern/seams in the metal should disappear under the plaster. If you feel the vase is getting too texture-y, don’t worry- once it’s dry, you can lightly sand it with sandpaper and it will smooth out.

I paid special attention to the tip rim of the vase once I was finishing up- making sure there was enough thickness there with the plaster.

Step 4: Paint Details (Optional)

Once the plaster was completely dry, I decided to add some detail to make it look more pottery-ish. To be honest, I’m still not sure if I like it, but I’m going to let it hang out by my fireplace for a while to see if it grows on me.

To paint the detail, I just thinned out some white acrylic paint and used a round brush. I wanted the detail to be a little transparent, and this did the trick. If your paint is too thin and it drips, it’s pretty easy to wipe off with a damp paper towel.

The finished product!

Step 5: Topcoat

This step could also be optional if you are super in love with the matte look and don’t want to change it in any way. However, I will say that the Polycrylic Satin is quite matte when dry and will actually make the vase more sturdy and strengthen the plaster/paint mix- so I highly suggest it.

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If you give this project a shot, be sure to share your results with me by tagging me @lissaanglin on social! I’d love to see if I could find some type of cardboard tube to also try with this plaster-paint treatment.

Come say hi on Instagram!

Animal Print Wall Mural DIY

Newborn Penelope in her nursery. Design by Dru Ammons, Photo by Looney Digital, Mural by me!

A few months ago my friend Dru asked me if I would be interested in creating a wall mural for her new baby’s nursery. I was honored and excited because I love Dru’s style and knew it would be nothing short of chic and cool- go peruse her site HERE- you won’t regret it. So, when she showed me what she was dreaming of- and then told me she was getting a custom neon sign with the baby’s name to go on top, I was ALL IN.

Sweet Penelope is here, and so precious! Beyond any of the decor, she is what makes the room special. It was an honor to get to paint this mural in her room- and I filmed the process so I could take you along with me!

Dru originally showed me an animal print-inspired pattern. We selected these three paint colors after looking at several in the room. (Never, ever just pick a swatch from the wall and order paint without looking at it in the space first! Lighting can completely change the color. It’s also important to view a swatch at different times of the day in the room- light will change from morning to night, and so will the tones of your paint.)

Once we had our colors down, I experimented with several ways to create the print, and landed on old-school potato printing. I grew up making potato prints with my mom, and it was the perfectly imperfect solution to creating a consistent yet organic feeling to this pattern. In the video, I show you how I cut them to create the pattern.

A finishing touch was the metallic paint I used to create the centers of the print pattern. I used Plaid’s Liquid Leaf paint in gold, though I would call it more of a rose gold. I love this paint and haven’t found one quite as metallic as this one:

Check out the whole process and more detail in my video here:

I am so pleased with the way the mural turned out and appreciate Dru for trusting me with it! Just in case you are wondering, that amazing neon is from Brite Lite Tribe.

Design by Dru Ammons, Photo by Looney Digital, mural by Lissa Anglin

custom marble sticker DIY

Anyone else a sucker for good packaging? I know I have purchased things solely because of the pretty package- and when it comes to the products I make and sell, I like to package them special, too.

I’m teaming up with a few other crafting + lifestyle bloggers to share a quick and easy little DIY I use for my business today- custom marble stickers! I use these stickers to package my creations and add a little extra love. They’re also perfect for packaging any type of gifts and I’ve made similar ones for baby and wedding showers, teacher gifts, etc.

Materials Needed:

• Cricut Cutting Machine- I am using my Cricut Joy, which is perfect for a small batch of stickers like this

• Cricut Extra Fine Point Pen

• Sticker Paper- here is the kind I love and use. I use the waterproof matte inkjet in the 8.5x11 size.

• Watercolors & brush

• Isopropyl Alcohol

• Eyedropper (you can also use a paintbrush if you don’t have one)

Click HERE if you want to use my exact design file in the Cricut Design space!

That’s it! This project is a relaxing one- I love getting to do the actual marble paint on the stickers- it is a pretty foolproof method and using the alcohol to create the marble effect is a lot of fun. Then, I use the draw and cut features on my Cricut Joy to give them a professional look.

Check out my video below with the step-by-step guide.

So go out and make yourself some stickers! And please tag me @lissaanglin on any social sites so I can see your beautiful work!

Head over to these blogs to see what they have created and how they use Cricut for their blogs!

Kay @ Kay’s Daily Insight:

kaysdailyinsight.com

Instagram.com/kaysdailyinsight

Bria Snyder:

briasnyder.com

Instagram.com/Bria.snyder

Mama Llama Llama:

mamallamallama.com

Instagram.com/mamallama.llama

Emily @ Emily Plus Twins:

emilyplustwins.wordpress.com

www.instagram.com/emilyplustwins/

Gallery Wall Update

Lucy has been home for almost 2 YEARS now- and guess which professional photographer has ZERO framed prints of her newest daughter in her home?! Yep. This one. What’s the saying? The cobbler’s children have no shoes? It’s like that at our house, unfortunately.

Realizing the great need for her sweet face to adorn our walls, I was also feeling all cluttered and anxious about the current state of our living room/dining room gallery wall:

Yes, that is the infamous man lamp. He’s been in the family for years, and he has now relocated to my desk.

Anyway, it was high time for a change. I wanted a simpler gallery wall look and imagined large frames with large white mats. So, my first step was calling up my friend Lauren for some new family photos. Lauren did her MAGIC (seriously, she is magic) in about 10 minutes and the kids were rewarded with giant chocolate bars. I love the photos from this session so much, I’ll have to share them in another post.

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If you’d rather watch the video version of this post, feel free to scroll on down!

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After measuring the wall and deciding how large I wanted my frames to be, I did a little mock up in Photoshop. I knew I wanted an oversized, floor-to-ceiling look, so I measured the wall and did the maximum size I could.

Wouldn’t that completely cover the wall again?! Yes, but the reason this works from a design standpoint is because the large mats and skinny frames don’t require a lot of visual space.

Tip: If you are wanting to recreate this look, it’s very important that you measure your wall space, and use skinny frames close together (mine were 2 inches apart) with large neutral colored mats.

I originally thought I would do black and white, but that was vetoed by everyone else in the family, and also thought I could fit 8 frames in instead of 6…math was never my forte. It did help me plan and visualize, though!

After a LOT of shopping around, I ended up with these frames from Michael’s. They are technically poster frames, which makes them less expensive, and have plastic instead of glass.

When I first hung up the frames, I was a bit disappointed that you could see the slight bending of the plastic when the light glared on them (revealing that they aren’t truly glass)- this is a little thing that my perfectionist self wanted to fix immediately- but after thinking a bit, the plastic is really a better choice for our family right now- especially since these frames sit lower to the ground.

You can see the bending glare a bit in the above photos.

I ordered these prints from Sam’s Club, of all places! They were having a sale and though I typically recommend mpix.com, I thought it was cheap enough to give it a shot. In the end, I was pretty happy with the way they turned out. I was able to pick them up in 24 hours. They were delivered rolled up, so I flattened them out and put them under a weighted piece of artboard for a couple of days to make them easier to frame.

My frames are 24x36'“, and I ordered 16x20” prints. I thought I would just order custom mats for the frames, since that is an irregular mat size, but Michael’s was going to charge me $38.00 per frame! So, I was super excited when I found FrameItEasy.com. I was able to order exactly what I needed for around $10 per mat.

Click here to get 10% off your order at FrameitEasy.com!

(affiliate link)

The mats fit perfectly and were great quality. I also love that they do framing, and will probably be ordering all-out framed prints from them next time.

I used regular ‘ol masking tape to tape the prints to the back of the mats. I realize this is a no-no in the photography world, as it’s not archival quality and the chemicals in the tape will cause the prints to break down over time, yada, yada, yada….but let’s be real, I’m going to change these prints again before anything like that starts happening.

Once it was time to hang, I began with the center two prints and worked outward, using a level to make sure the lines were all straight. I’m not going to lie- these frames are a total pain to hang with the tiny sawtooth hanger (I MUCH prefer wire across the back), but you only have to do it once. :)

Tip: Even after I had then all hung, they still tilted a bit one way or the other, so I attached velcro command strips to the backs of the frames and onto the walls, which keeps them straight (and in place when a kid decides to ram into one- we have a rambunctious crew, ya’ll).

In the end, I was super pleased with how it turned out! The frames are semi-obstructed by the couch in our living room, but all visible from the dining/kitchen area.

Watch below for a few more details on the process. I hope this was helpful!