Two DIY Window Treatments

The first of my DIY window treatments goes back to this original “vision” I had for our dining room area. I thought it was called a valence until I started researching how to make it and found out what I really wanted was a cornice board between the two shelves. I found this great series of videos that were easy to follow and our finished product is pretty professional looking...would you believe it only cost $100?

Materials

Step 1: Build the frame (Roger is such agreat sport, even if he doesn’t understand what he is doing or what the final product will look like he follows my directions...and looks cute while doing it:)

Step 2: Cover w/ foam

Step 3: Cover w/ quilt batting (at least I think that's what it's called)

Step 4: Cover w/ fabric

Step 5: Hang it...this was the most challenging step because of the size but I think it was well worth it.

***Side note, the burlap pillows were another DIY project. I saw some on etsy.com for $50 and thought "I could make those". I bought a souvenir coffee sack in Nicaragua this past summer for something like $9 and covered up some old pillows that were looking pretty sad. It's fun to have something that says "Nicaragua" even if they aren't as polished as the ones on etsy.***

The second window treatment is very green...literally...and very minimal. It works for a window where you already have privacy (notice the bottom pane is frosted) and/or have something pretty outside that you don’t want to block...like all those leafy palms. We got the glass bubbles at West Elm and then spent about 2 months looking for air plants before we found them at West Elm on a later trip. So I guess this window treatment isn’t really DIY, but it’s fun!

February...the month of LOVE

Over the past month our church has been doing a series on God's divine plan for relationships called "The Sexperiment". Roger and I are also going to start reading the book next week (when it comes out in Spanish) because we've really enjoyed the sermon series and want to learn more. The bottom line is really about being intentional in your relationship with your spouse...so when I was reading my dear friend Meagan's blog I thought this fun idea would be a great way for Roger and I to be more intentional in our relationship. I also have to admit that I saw the cute mailboxes at Target in the dollar spot and didn't buy them because I didn't have anything to do with them...until Meagan gave me this great idea:)

We've been writing each other little love letters daily and plan to continue for the rest of the month. I think it will be fun to save these and look back on them, especially since a lot of our 'love letters' during our early relationship were text messages that no longer exist.

I love my husband...and I love that he knows that he can NEVER go wrong with orchids and Dairy Queen ice cream cakes:)

29 weeks

25 weeks

A few pictures as the baby bump progresses. I'm actually 28 weeks now but I am really slacking on the weekly photos - not to mention that the ones I take myself just aren't as nice as these professional ones. Image 1st did a great job - it was fun to play supermodel for a day:)