faux (and cheap!) "Canvas" Prints!

After doing a lot of Pinteresting and blog surfing, I have came across several tutorials on how to make your own canvas print. I love the look of the canvas prints but I really hate the price! I am too cheap and too crafty to pay a price like that for one print! So I have been determined lately to make my own "faux canvas prints" and combined a few tips and tricks from various tutorials I read and came up with a system that worked out great for me and the results are awesome!!! Even Jordan stopped dead in his tracks as soon as he walked in the door today from school and was awe struck. His response was, "wow! Those are really awesome!!! When did you get those?!" To which I was happy to respond with, "I MADE THEM!" It's days like today when I am extremely grateful to have my mom's crafty and creative genes!

Here's what you will need:
-foam board (I got mine from Lowe's and they will cut it down to the size that you need so they cut a whole board into 16x20 pieces so one board gave me 15 totals pieces!)
-spray adhesive (I used Loctite spray for general performance/ lightweight bonding)
-engineering prints from Staples and the sizes I ordered were 24x36 so I had enough overlap to fold and cover the sides of the foam
-packing tape

1. spray the foam with the adhesive and then wait 5-10 seconds for it to get a bit tacky **otherwise it makes the ink smear when you wipe across it to smooth it/get the air bubbles out** Also! Make sure to not over-do-it with the adhesive because otherwise it can soak through the prints since they are so thin and that's when it will smear...so definitely wait the 5-10 seconds!
2. flip it over and fold up the sides making sure you have sharp corners like wrapping a present and tape the folded edges across the back with packing tape!
3. And that's it! I used some Command strips to hang them since they are so lightweight and definitely do not need to be hung by nails!

the final products!!!
I got the quote canvas from Janelle for Christmas
And two of our favorite wedding pictures perfectly compliment it!

Definitely loving our new wall decor and happy to finally have some awesome wedding pictures up! We have a digital picture frame that we got as a wedding gift and have it loaded with wedding pictures as well which I love seeing them change but these big 16x20 prints look awesome and for the price, that makes them even better! 

It's go time!

Alright, it is officially finals week! Which means it is officially honeymoon week as well, whoop whoop!!! I have one take-home exam that is due today at 5pm and then one final at 7:30am tomorrow morning. AND THAT IS IT!!! Then I am home free for the week and will be running errands, finalizing a few things and packing before we take off for our trip! Yipee, I absolutely can't wait....this has got to be the best finals week ever! 

Friday Funnies - 12.7

Christmas is two and a half weeks away from today! So that means it is time to start pulling out the ugly sweaters, singing some Christmas carols and indulging in plenty of the best Christmas movies around! Jordan is always down for a good chick flick and it turns out, many of the Christmas movies end up being the typical romantic-comedy type but then there are those that are just down right hysterical. Like Christmas Vacation for example. It never gets old. And it is one of Jordan's all-time favorite Christmas movies so we will be watching it this weekend! I think it gets funnier each time I watch it and I always seem to notice something new! So this Friday Funny is going to be dedicated entirely to Christmas Vacation to help spread some holiday cheer and really get everyone in the holiday spirit! Enjoy the weekend!

image via Tumblrand that is exactly who he will find when he comes down our chimney!

 and here's hoping that this will be the hap hap happiest Christmas for everyone!

one week until paradise!

One week from this morning and we will be flying high and heading down south!! Ahh we are so excited it is already making me lose sleep! I still have quite a few things I need to get done between now and next Thursday but it is hard for me to not wander to my closet and start looking at what all I will pack! Hopefully the next few days will be productive so then after Tuesday when my finals are done, I am able to sit back, relax and start getting geared up for vacation! Jordan presents his portfolio tomorrow and then only has three days left of student teaching so we have a lot to celebrate coming up in the next week and are beyond ready to celebrate it in style with 9 days of vacation together!!

1/3 of the year down

In My LifeBy: The Beatles
There are places I rememberAll my life though some have changedSome forever not for betterSome have gone and some remain
All these places had their momentsWith lovers and friendsI still can recallSome are dead and some are livingIn my life I've loved them all
But of all these friends and loversThere is no one compares with youAnd these memories lose their meaningWhen I think of love as something new
Though I know I'll never lose affectionFor people and things that went beforeI know I'll often stop and think about themIn my life I love you moreThough I know I'll never lose affectionFor people and things that went beforeI know I'll often stop and think about themIn my life I love you moreIn my life I love you more
Happy 4 Month Anniversary, Mr. E!I can't wait for our honeymoon adventure to start next week!I love you more and more everyday.All my love, KE

Wait, what month is it?

I love the screen capture option on the iPhone.
So what if I'm behind on this....I still love it!

It is Monday, December 3rd in Iowa and the temperature is 68* outside. What. The. Hell. Is this heaven?!!! Umm yes, in fact it is!!! If it could stay this nice year round or at least above 50* that would make me oh so happy. Or least making it through the winter without snow? No, still too unrealistic? Well, it never hurts to dream about it! I love seeing the extended forecast snow free and still at least above the 40s! That is definitely something that can make any Monday a good one! Happy Monday!

25 Days of Christmas!!!!

It is December 1st and that means......it is the start of ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas!!!!!! Jordan and I have been having a Christmas movie marathon all day today so far by watching The Family Stone, The Family Man, Three Days and now ABC Family is showing ELF! Seriously, best loungefest and laziest day ever! And we have loved every minute of it! By successfully wasting away today, we have vowed to be productive tomorrow and keep each other focused to get some work done! But as for today and the rest of tonight, we are going to enjoy being snuggled up and soak up some holiday cheer! ELF is one of our Top 5 favorite Christmas movies so what better movie to end the day on! Good news, I saw a dog today!

image via Pinterest
Buddy The Elf! What's your favorite color?