Welcome to my home... on a budget

I usually post home projects on my other blog, Brain Food, but since this one involves one of my vinyl decals, I am only going to post part of this here on this blog, and the complete makeover on the other blog. Please visit Brain Food to view the complete project.

As part of my needed home makeover projects and with inspiration from the Tip Junkie, I felt it was due time to get my front entry more welcoming.

I used the "Welcome" vinyl decal for the front door from http://www.ten23designs.etsy.com/ (Yes, my shop, I made it).

I would love to spread the welcome love so I lowered the price to $5 each.

Family Meaning Wall Decal

We have a tight family. My husband & I believe strongly in family values & making sure our children know we value them.

I was recently having a conversation with my son & we were talking about words that describe ourselves individually & as a family. Being that he in an apple that did not fall far from the tree, he said, "Mom, that would make a good wall decal."

And so it was...

Dorm Room Decorating Made Easy

It's back to school time again. While some of us are "lucky" to have our kids still at home with us... some are "lucky" to have their kids going off to college. Most dorm rooms (& rented apartments, condo, houses, etc.) have strict rules about NOT being allowed to paint. Bummer!


How can you turn a space into your own place without decorating & adding your own personal touches to the walls that surround you? WALL DECALS!


Wall decals come in handy for this decorating dilemma. The wall decals go up in a matter of minutes, and are easily removed without leaving behind any sticky residue just as quickly. You can have a design to remember home... or add an inspirational quote. The possibilities are endless.


I have added a few designs for my "going back to school" collection but of course, any custom orders or requests are welcomed. I would love to make you or your study a touch of flair in the form of a wall decal or two.


Sorority and fraternity Greek letters are a great way to represent your organization. I was a member of the honor society which is PTK (Phi Theta Kappa) & used a small version of a wall decal & added them to mind binders.

Remember... these decals can be made in made different sizes & applied to many different smooth, flat surfaces... not just walls.



E-mail me for more information or to make a request.

Personalize This: Special Request

I've said it before & I'll say it again... I love custom requests. I mostly create designs for weddings (monograms) and children's rooms. I couldn't say I enjoy one over the other. Seeing a happy bride use one of my monogram decal on the dance floor makes me just as happy as seeing a child's face light up when they see their name written on the wall with their favorite design.

A dear friend of mine who I have known for ages recently asked me to design a wall decal for her daughter, Destinee'. She enjoys gymnastics & bright colors so I created this personalized wall decal for her.

Victoria the custom wedding garter specialist, who happens to be another friend of mine who I met recently via Twitter left me a message asking me to create a design for her son's birthdays which are coming up.

They enjoy skateboarding. I have a few more ideas to work up, but this is what I have come up with so far.

Both designs will be available to purchase through my shop. If you wish to purchase either of these designs, request a custom design or have any other inquiry, please e-mail me: designedbylauren@yahoo.com.

Welcome

For some time now, I have been trying to figure out what to put in the niche by my front door. I went through a few vases... a few hangings... I even tried to just leave it empty. About a month ago, I finally found a vase I liked. Small & Simple.
After I put the vase in, I realized it needed a little extra something about the vase. Being a decal maker... it was obvious that wording of some sort was the way to go. I just couldn't figure out the right saying, so I went with a simple "Welcome." I added some nice scroll work to finish it off.

I think it left the perfect touch to greet my guests. What do you think?

This is design is also offered in my ETSY shop so you can give your guests a warm welcome too.

Scripture... Written on the Wall

You can have pretty much anything written on the wall... a name, a quote, a poem, a phrase... why not your favorite scripture?



Writing on your wall can make a powerful impact on your visitors. Be sure it is a message you want to represent you, your family & your home. Just like a meaningful expression could make a positive change in some one's life... a not so top choice expression could make someone turn the other cheek.

Vinyl wall lettering is a wonderful way to get your message out & across. Now you can get custom wording (minimum 3" font) for only $15 plus shipping (24" x 18" section). You can leave your letters in a block, cut rows to make a straight line... or even break up each word to make a wall of inspirational words. The possibilities are endless.



Just remember to choose your words carefully.

Boring to Blingish

I have had my laptop for a little while & never really had any complaints about it. But after going to my friends house & seeing her laptop with her fancy swirly designs, I knew I needed to upgrade.

I started playing with some wall designs I have made & shrinking them down to "Laptop" size. There was one design in particular that I really liked so I knew instantly it was "the one... for now.

I wouldn't call it bling, since it doesn't actually sparkle... but it is definitely blingish. I used the removable wall vinyl so I could easily peel it off if I needed to.

I posted it in my Etsy shop as a wall decal & a laptop decal so if you like it, you can have it too. If you decide to purchase one from my Etsy shop, mention this blog & receive 10% off.

Personalize This

My favorite decals to work on are custom requests... I love when someone comes to me with a thought & finishes with, "can this be done?" That question trigers all sorts of ideas & excitement for both me & the client. :)

Today I was asked for wall decals for a brother & sister team. The brother does karate & the sister does ballet. Mom wanted something different for each, yet similar enough that they couldn't fuss that one had something better than the other.

And the end result...

{Inspire Me} Hair Haiku

One of my faithful blog followers recently entered a haiku contest on another blog. Me, being a person with extremely curly hair felt the compassion in the haiku she wrote... almost as if she had written it to me, for me, about me. (This is such a romantic tale)

Regardless if she really did have any thoughts of me when writing it, it definitely inspired me. As a good friend & faithful reader, I couldn't resist to turn her haiku into a decal for her...

One of my favorite things about making decals is that you can truly turn any idea into a personal work of art. Ideas always pop in my head for new designs, I am glad I have such great friends (& blog followers) that allow me to put my ideas in their homes... if I had to put all the decal ideas I have up in my own home, it would like like a giant word search puzzle.

Thank you Naturally Clueless for sharing your beautiful haiku with us.

Mobile Advertising

Last week I decided to put my logo & website address on the back window of my car. Since then I had several people (in parking lots) ask me about my business. It has been a great "start conversation" tool to promote my blog & business. And like so many other things, it got me thinking...

Since joining the blogging community, I have come across so many great work at home moms (WAHM), parenting bloggers, bloggers who share their cooking skills, crafty bloggers & so many other amazing bloggers. One thing I have learned is that everyone supports each other in the blogging community & that's what makes it work.

For my fellow bloggers, I want to share what I do, to help you do what you do. I make decals, which could help you to advertise what you do. If you would like a custom decal made for your vehicle to advertise your blog (or other site), I would love to help you out. Vehicle decals are now available for only $5 a line (3" x 22"). Large logos (like mine) can also be made to request.

{Customer Photos} Owl Nursery

Last year I made this cute owl sitting on a branch for a mom-to-be. I was so excited to see the photo of the finished product up in the nursery & even more excited to see she blogged about it.

That's My Name... Can't Wear it Out!

I just love personalizing things. There is something about adding a name to things that gives it that extra special touch. I found this great light green, metal bucket at Hobby Lobby that matched Mya's crib bedding (the material I used to sew her crib bedding came from Hobby Lobby as well).



I used a decal of her name that I made earlier & added it to the bucket...

Where else do you think would be a good place to put her name?

Leave a comment and you will be entered to win a set of 5 name decals (6" - 8" long each). This giveaway will run through the end of July. Want to earn an extra entry? Follow me as a devoted reader (& let me know in the comment section) & you will receive 1 additional entry.

Organize Me!

This is the summer of organization at our house. Each of us, (minus the baby) have taken responsibility of certain areas of our home to come up with new organizing tools. While most who know me might think that the kitchen would have been one of my areas... only part of the kitchen in mine. The hubby took on the pantry & our son has the sink area. I suppose that is possibly because the hubby has the most snacks in the pantry & our son washes the dishes. We will see what they come up with.

My first idea for organizing came to me quite a while ago, but I just finally put it into action. We have several canisters on the counter which holds; flour, sugar, rice & brown sugar... ingredients we use most often. The canisters are stainless steal so you cannot see through them and I always have to open each lid to see what is inside (since they are never in a particular order).

So wah-la! My canister labels were born. We have white appliances so I decided to make the labels white... and they have that "pop" that I just love. Hopefully we will soon figure out what color to paint the walls in the kitchen so it will "pop" even more with the contrast.

I have the labels for sale in Etsy shop for only $6 for 6 labels. Of course, they are custom made to your request, so I can make any labels you need. I recently did an order which had Margarita Salt as one of their selections. If you can think it, I can make it. The labels come in any over the colors I have available & if you have a desired font, I can use that too.

Family Monogram on the Mirror

I love using our family monogram. Sometimes I run out of ideas on places to use it. We have a large mirror in our living room that I thought would be the perfect place to place our family monogram.

I matched the color of the "The Atwaters Family" piece to coordinate with the living room furniture. It gives the once plain wall a personalized, warm touch.


This monogram set is also available in my etsy shop for only $18.

Sharing My Passion

Having a passion is always a great thing. Being able to take your passion & making a living from it is an even better thing... but sharing your passion with your love ones is the very best thing.

My son turned 11 at the end of January. Days before his birthday he came to me & told me that he has been doing a lot of thinking about his future & he has thought of something he enjoys that may generate some income to help pay for college. To my surprise, it was graphic design.

His first project was for his own room.

He knew he wanted his name & he wanted it to be "cool." He spent a few days coming up with a design to put on his wall in his room. His final design did not only spell his name, it spoke it.

He did have my assistance cutting the design from vinyl, although he is learning how to cut vinyl designs on his own.

{Real Wedding} Cathy & Jose

When Cathy came to me last year requesting a custom decal for her wedding, I could tell from our very first conversation that she was so in love with her fiance, Jose.

She came up with a beautiful idea to write her future husband a love letter & to have me turn it into a decal for her. She posted the decal in the entry of her venue as a surprise to Jose when he walked in...


Not only was he able to see her love note to him as he came in, but she shared it with her guests... it was a reminder to all of the reason they were brought together on this special day.


Cathy also requested a custom font to one of my monogram scroll designs to personalize the front door of the venue. She truly made the venue her own for the day!


Cheers to the happy couple!

Introducing: Hand Crafted Creations by Victoria Joanne

Don't you just love it when vendors come together to give you want you want? I know I do & that is one reason I always search for the greatest vendors to collaborate with. In the past, I have featured custom garters by Victoria Joanne... but today I would like to introduce you to her Handcrafted Creations line.

Handcrafted Creations was created by Victoria Joanne to bring you custom embroidered ring bearer pillows, dress tags, flower girl baskets and more. She has many years of experience in embroidery and has the ability to create a special design made just for her clients or to recreate a design the client brings with them. This talent takes many hours to accomplish but to Victoria, it is worth every minute because customer satisfaction is her goal.

So what can the two of us do for you? If you follow Ten23 Designs, you are already aware that I create custom monograms for dance floor decals and other decor needs. Now, that same monogram I create for your decal, can be embroidered into a custom ring bearer pillow (& much more) by Handcrafted Creations.

Check her out...

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/hand.crafted.creations
Twitter: http://twitter.com/handcrafted_hcc
Blog: http://blog.hand-craftedcreations.com/
Website: http://www.hand-craftedcreations.com/Gallery
Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/victoriajoanne
Wedding-Luv: http://club.wedding-luv.com/profile/wedding_garters

{Real Wedding} Marie & Jared

Once again I had the pleasure to work with Tanya Hendricks of Southern Charm Events located in Jacksonville, Florida (where I live). Tanya is known in the industry for having an amazing eye for detail. She knows that some of the smallest things, can have a very big impact.

The monogram glass blocks with the lights inside of them were a big hit once again. They add such a charming personalization to any area of the room.

If your wedding has a theme other than your monogram, a decal of your theme image would also make for an awesome focal point.

One area that can sometimes be tricky to decorate is the sign-in table and place card table. Tanya added the couples monogram decal to a frame and wha-laa, personalized decor that doesn't take up too much space on the table.

*Great home decor idea* Take photos from the wedding and create a collage under the glass so the monogram sits above it. It's all about creating memories.

The venue had a large dance floor. To bring the open space together, Tanya added the dance floor decal and then spaced 6' snow flake decals I made for her sporadically throughout the dance floor. She created the perfect winter wonderland for the happy couple.

For the ceremony, Tanya even added a monogram decal to an aisle runner, for a quick, affordable personalized touch! (Photo coming soon).

Congratulations Marie & Jared!