A Crate Story w/Shanna Noel

Hiya friends! I am so excited to be joining you today. I wanted to share some personal things I have had going on these past couple of months. My husband and I have been married over 12 years (we were 18 when we got married, crazy... I know) and we have never lived in our home state where all our family is. Instead we were up for any adventure, and found ourselves moving all over the country. We moved to Minnesota (brrrrr) for college, to Washington State (stationed at Ft Lewis), to Oregon (hello BEACH!!!), to Nevada (SUN!) and finally back home!!! We were both so excited to be back home. Imagine our surprise, in that exact moment my husband was deployed to Kuwait. Of course we all miss him like crazy, but being in the military you expect these sort of things. What is really astounding is the fact that this was his first long term deployment, and it coincided with the moment we were with family. During this deployment I have a village of friends and family around to surround the girls and I with support! How lucky are we? It would be easy to get down about the fact that my husband will be gone for a year, but isn't it just more fun to be grateful for the timing in it all?

I find that most the time when something big happens in life like this, there are many things to be grateful for!

I'm a HUGE fan of WORD art around my house and I wanted something that would remind me and the girls to be thankful for all the things we DO have in this time. I searched pinterest for some ideas..and WOW, they're a great source of inspiration!!! I came across this: Gratitude. I love the graphic feel of it all! And this sentiment really spoke to me as well: Happiest.

I ended up just falling in love with the following quote:

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." ~ Melody Beattie

I also found this fun tutorial and wanted to give it a try using Crate Paper as the background: Four Leaf Clover.

So, I had my father-in-law cup up an old fence board and mount it so I could hang it on the wall.

Then, I picked out my favorite Crate Paper patterned paper to use as a background!! I just ADORE this paper, but haven't found the perfect project...I knew this was it! I think the boldness of the pattern will help it stand out.

Then, I designed the word art using Silhouette software and Ali Edwards word art. I trimmed it from vinyl I had left over from another project. Once I cut it all out, I put transfer paper on top of it.

I followed it up with a thin layer of Martha Stewart Gesso, and allowed it to dry for about thirty minutes. Don't wait too much longer as it will tear the paper when you peel up the vinyl.

Finally, peel the vinyl off and enjoy your new piece of art!! I just love coming down the stairs to this little reminder every morning!

What are some of your favorite quotes that might make for beautiful word art?

Comments

Sounds like you have had some exciting things in your life this past year! I loveeeeeeeeee your project!! It is GORGEOUS!!! Praying for your hubby's safe return to you!

Posted by: Julie Tucker-Wolek | April 10, 2012 at 05:41 AM

beautiful! and thank you to you and your family as well as your hubby for taking care of our country!

Posted by: Melita | April 10, 2012 at 09:11 AM

Beautiful project!

Posted by: NinaN | April 10, 2012 at 09:15 AM

Well now that is pretty neat. I love the wood behind it all. Thanks for the tutorial.

Posted by: Amy Jones | April 10, 2012 at 09:29 AM

Such a fun project! Love it! TFS!

Posted by: Sarah | April 10, 2012 at 09:34 AM

Shanna - this is just AMAZING! Love, Love, Love! And that paper is my fav too :)

Posted by: Jen B. | April 10, 2012 at 03:07 PM

SUPER fun! I am SO glad you get to be home and close to family while going through such a hard thing. I LOVE the gratitude quotes that you shared!! They are fantastic! :) Thanks for blessing my life with them!

Posted by: Court's Crafts | April 10, 2012 at 10:46 PM