AS Hanging Systems

We were pretty excited when we were approached by
AS Hanging Systems to work with them on introducing
their Click Rail Art Display System.

They are an "art hanging" company~in business since 1964, one that provides contemporary design solutions for hanging up paintings, prints, posters and photography~all the products are gallery/museum quality and make it easy to incorporate art into interior design.

I'll admit that I still have boxes of pictures and frames that have still not been hung up on the wall since we moved in 5 1/2 years ago because honestly sometimes the thought of trying to group them just right, measure, measure again, and then put nail holes all over in my wall seems a little overwhelming.  I've been pinning on Pinterest idea after idea for wall set ups and have completely been at a stand still.

The Click Rail Art Display System made easy work of my dilemma
and I'm so pleased with the results!
For years I have gone to gallery after gallery with my Father-in-law, who is quite an art connoisseur, and I have seen these systems in use.  I didn't realize that a normal person like me could have access to these great hanging systems.  They truly give a very sophisticated and elegant look to the artwork displayed.

The system is quite easy and comes with 3 simple steps:

A basic 12 foot system runs just under $60.
It comes with:
 2 6' sections of wall track,
2 end caps,
4 48" cables
5 mini hooks
and all the triple grip anchors, screws, and connectors you need to install it.

All you'll need is a level, a drill, a hammer, 1/4" drill bit and some pictures to hang!
It was quite easy to put up and it was so easy to adjust the pictures with the little adjustable hooks that connect to the cables, and even better~having them on a continuous cable helped ensure they were straight!

Currently AS Hanging Systems is an online company so you can order easily from the comforts of home and you can customize them with different colors and styles to match your decor.
I am sure pleased with how my family picture wall turned out but even more happy that it's finally done!

Chocolate Cherry Cake

I've been moping around the house this morning
gorging on Chocolate Cherry Cake~a recipe our Mom shared with us this last week.
I'm not quite sure what to do with all this quiet.
I am soooo one of those moms that cries each year when they
drop their kids off at the first day of school.
Today was no exception.
Out of the last 37 days we have either had family here visiting in town or we've been out of town
visiting family, with a total of 3 days out of 37 in which I was home by myself and my own family.

My Mom and I got quite accomplished at running what felt like a soup kitchen when you have that many mouths to feed and I instantly fell for her Chocolate Cherry Cake recipe that she found from a church dinner.

CHOCOLATE CHERRY CAKE
1 box devils food cake mix
1 21 oz. can cherry pie filling
1 tsp. almond extract
2 eggs

FROSTING
1 cup white sugar
5 Tbls. butter
1/3 cup milk
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Heat oven to 350*.  Grease 9x13 pan.
In large bowl combine: cake mix, pie filling, 2 eggs and almond extract.  Mix with wooden spoon by hand.  Mix until well blended.  Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool.

Frosting:
In a small saucepan, combine sugar, butter and milk.  Bring to a boil and stir constantly for 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips until smooth.  Immediately pour over partially cooled cake.

It's quite moist and pretty yummy!
Only a few more hours till school is out and my sweet girl is home!:)
What do you guys do on the first day of school?

WYLTC? Growth Charts

Hello!

We are happy to be able to pick this month's Wood You Like To Craft? theme, Growth Charts!  We have wanted to make growth charts for our kids for a long time.  They grow up so fast!

We were inspired by growth charts made by Petite Lemon and Ferm Living.

Our kids are animal lovers and these are perfect.

First we had Home Depot slice up a piece of 1/2 inch mdf, 12 inches wide and 42 inches long.

To create the pennant, we cut with a jigsaw a notch about 2 1/2 inches up from the bottom.

We also glued in grommets into drilled holes to create the official pennant look.

Nicole and her daughter picked what they thought would be my boys' favorite animals and cut the shapes out on 1/8 inch mdf.  They are so cute and the boys love them! We had fun naming all the creatures as we mod podged the papers on.

The majority of the paper we used is from the "Sweet Day" line by Echo Park.

We added a "grow" paper pennant to the top.  This would also be cute with your child's name, but since I have multiple boys, this will do.  We drew the numbers and lines on with a paint pen.

Nicole's daughter is a serious animal lover and especially fond of owls.  (They have owl boxes in their back yard and regularly spot visiting owls. )

Nicole cut and papered an adorable owl along with her daughter's name to go on her growth chart.

She used a cricut to cut the numbers and lines for the ruler along the side.   A vinyl ruler would also be a great option.

We are so happy with how they turned out and we especially love the smaller size.

Come on over this week to Wood You Like To Craft? to see what the other girls build!

duct tape flip flops

 In a couple of weeks I get to help 50 tween girls decorate flip flops with duct tape. 

The duct tape flip flop idea is from Skip To My Lou and it is so clever and easy!  

In order to prepare, I made a few.  Yes, I got carried away with the duct tape! The colors in the stores are just so cute and I couldn't resist the duct tape with patterns. My son later joined in on the fun, covering up an old pair of shoes with bright blue duct tape.

Along with the fringe flowers by Skip To My Lou, I thought double bows out of zig zag duct tape would be great on the flip flops.  I found the zig zag roll of duct tape at Wal-Mart. 

To make the double bows, you will need 1 (10 inch) strip, 1 (8 inch) strip, and a tiny piece to hold the bow in place.

Fold over each side to create a seam in the center.  Just make sure there's no sticky showing.  You will end up with one (5 inch) piece, and one (4 inch) piece.  Double them together (seam side down) and pinch in the middle.  Roll the small sticky piece over the pleat to hold in place. Wire and tape them to the flip flops. Be sure to cover any sharp wire edges with tape.

The stores have the prettiest metallic colors of duct tape.  I had to make me a pair! 

I followed Skip To My Lou's tutorial for her flowers, but scalloped the edges of the strip instead of cutting a fringe. I thought about using a decorative punch, but duct tape is so sticky.  Using sharp scissors was easy enough.

The metallic scalloped flowers add a fancy touch to my regular flip flops.

Thanks To Skip To My Lou for the creative duct tape idea! I know the girls will have so much fun decorating their flip flops! Wish me luck as I prep for the day.  I hope I don't end wound up in hundreds of sticky duct tape strips!  Let me know if you have any clever prepping ideas!