a merry little etsy Christmas!

Hello!! I'm so excited to share all my Christmas etsy store items.... and just a little update, I'm actually selling things! Unexpected but so fun and exciting! 

I made a few samples, some of the new items I've listed in my store are for gifts- so I hope Stephanie is NOT reading this until Monday when I take her gift to work :) (Steph- If you see this, x out and come back later!!)

These are all 3 burlap designs I made (ornament with burlap bow or red) All 3 can be personalized, with the present and the ornament I can add family name or really whatever you'd like :) I'm also adding links below each picture, just in case you want to check them out ;) 

Christmas Gift Burlap

Christmas Manger Burlap

Christmas Ornament Burlap

I also made this super cute (i think!!) canvas for Stephanie and I LOVE IT!!! It turned out soo cute! 

Christmas Canvas

Hope you found something that you love!! If you did, make sure you visit my etsy shop and  shop!! :) 

Bathroom Re-do!

Hello! Today I wanted to share some pictures of my new and improved bathroom... this was no easy feat, the bathroom was the worst looking white room in the world! I can't believe I don't have a picture of the before bathroom! Like everything else in my apartment, it was ALL white! Except this room had awful white wallpaper that had some tan mixed in? SO BAD! Green shower, white cabinets, white countertop, 3 large white doors... so bad! 

I originally decided that I wasn't going to paint the bathroom... it's tiny and I couldn't imagine taping off every single door, cabinet, shower, etc... So one day I came home from work and I just couldn't stand it. I had some painters tape so I made a deal with myself... if you can tape this whole room off before Sherwin Williams closes at 7 then I'll paint this. I finished at 6:15!!! I wanted to paint the room a light grayish blue.. very light, with very little blue. Obviously, I'm not a very good color picker because the color I got is way blue! BUT, I LOVE it!! It's a silverish-blue and before you judge, it looks awesome in person! 

My next idea was to make one of those shelves from pinterest--> you can find HERE. So one weekend in October my dad helped me make the shelf. It was ridiculously hard to hang but I managed.. I'm becoming so handy with a drill that I asked for one for Christmas :) That should take my etsy shop to a whole other level! 

I also took a pin from my pinterest and split my shower curtain in half so add something extra. My mom actually made my shower curtain while I was in college. We found all these table cloths in Bed, Bath & Beyond one day.. they were marked down to like 2 dollars each! So she sewed two of them together, the seem was in the exact center so this project was easy! All I had to do was use a seam ripper and ta-da! (If you can see my shower curtain rings, please don't make fun! These are just standing in until I can find the ones I love!) And again, the bathroom is tiny so taking pictures is tough! 

The jar below is one of my favorite things! I bought this at Paul Michael in Lake Village (if you have never been, you MUST!! They also have a location in Monroe) It's actually supposed to stack 3 high but I didn't have anything else to put in the third.. so I took it out, filled it with split peas and stuck my brushes in it! 

So that's the bathroom! It's about as perfect as it's going to be! I'm so glad I finally decided to paint it, I would have never been happy with that white wallpaper! I also wanted to share a small project I did a while back... I saw on pinterest where someone got a paper towel holder and stacked their bracelets on it... perfect idea! Whats not so easy is finding the perfect paper towel holder. Finally found this one at Goodwill one day.. for $1!!! I painted it white and now I have my very own bracelet holder :) (Don't judge the last bracelet, I just have it on there cause it's big and is a good anchor) 

And finally, thought I'd share a picture of another Paul Michael find... apothecary jars! Their selection is the BEST! 

Hope my bathroom inspires you to create something. I spent my whole evening crafting last night, can't wait to share those pictures! Have a fab day! 

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hope everyone had a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! This year we spent Thanksgiving in NWA with my moms family. I actually helped cook this year and I'd like to take full responsibility for the dressing (although mom helped and possibly made all of the cornbread), the sweet potato casserole (that i have never tried), the homemade cranberry sauce (which was beautiful), and I'm sure I made something else... 

My favorite Thanksgiving foods are ham, dressing and broccoli cheese casserole (my mom and grandma make the best in this whole entire world) The whole family came out to Grandma and Nonno's around 1 and we had a delicious meal, filled with lots of fellowship... great bonding time... like when I fought Courtney nearly to the ground, threw her over my shoulder and ripped a spoon out of her hand... YUP, just another Penzo family holiday :) 

BUT seriously, to explain that last comment... my family is really in to games... scrabble, card games (any kind... you name it!) So I think my mom started it a few years ago.. the kids were too young for scrabble .. so we started playing spoons. It's gotten very intense over the years... we've broken a dining room table (seriously) and torn who only knows how many tablecloths. So now we must lay a quilt down before playing, a very thick one. 

I stopped playing a few years back because it was just too much for me! The competition.. my mom was the toughest one!! I'd always walk away a loser with a messed up hand because someone ripped the spoon from me. But this year my mom decided not to play, me.. being the oldest grandchild in attendance... decided I had to play.. you know, for the old guys. 

Usually in games I'm overly cocky.. I have nothing to back it up, I just think it's fun to trash talk. I kept quiet this time, left the trash talking to my aunts, I played smart.. and two hours in (I'm "A") this is how that was working out.... 

It was about then that all my cousins realized I didn't have any letters! They started to gang up on me.. finally in a brawl between my cousin Courtney and I things got crazy!! Her twin sister, Heather, pulled me away so Courtney could get the spoon (I say, pass interference) but I got the spoon, the straight end.. which any good spoon player should know.. that's not the end you want. So I reach in with the other hand and grab the spoon part.. she's pulling, i'm pulling... somehow I throw her over my shoulder and we're tugging on this spoon like this is life or death.. don't know how it happened but I got the spoon! AND i WON THE GAME!!! Well, about an hour later. Now for the next year I am the champion!!!!! "The Golden Spoon"

These are my cousins Caroline and Maddi... in the madness of grabbing spoons, somehow their arms got tangled up :)

Then we did some Black Friday shopping with my Aunt Toni and cousin Caroline, overall is was a fabulous weekend and wonderful time with family!! I wanted to share my favorite Thanksgiving card, make sure you listen close. I laugh so hard! 

LOVE! 

turkey time!

Hello!! I made this turkey burlap door hanger for Thanksgiving. I finished this way late so he didn't get much door time but he's pretty cute anyway :) 

Mr. Turkey is listed in my ETSY SHOP if you want one for next year ;) 

Happy Birthday, Bubba!

Happy Birthday to my little brother, Clark Hinson! Clakie was born on November 20th, 1992... we're about 6 1/2 years apart so it's been fun to watch him grow up. Clark and I have a close relationship.. I think mainly in part to me moving back to El Dorado after I graduated college. I picked Clark up from school from the time I moved back until he FINALLY took (and passed) his driving test 8 months AFTER he turned 16! I'm thankful I got to spend so much time with my bubs since I moved back. He's a special kid, with an extreme love for hunting... I pray for you everyday bubba and I love you very much!! 

 With our Godparents, best people I've ever known. 

Clark's First Christmas

First Birthday

Hope your day is the best, EVER!! 

Happy Birthday to Brian!

A VERY Happy Birthday to my best friend in this world, Brian William Johnston!! (And a very public shout-out to my very private boyfriend, who will probably never read this)

Hope you have the best day, ever! Love you!!! 

Chevron Wall... AGAIN!

I could not stand my yellow chevron wall any longer!! If you don't remember it.. here it is... 

I painted this over a month ago and included a tutorial... HERE. But the longer I looked at the wall I started hating it. I tried to convince myself that it was OK, when the lights were off it was better.. but then finally on my way home from work one day I just kind of steered myself to Sherwin Williams. Before I got out of the car I decided I was buying navy blue paint and I was going to repaint that dang wall free-handed. So that's what I did! Went home and started painting.. AWFUL idea! 

The next day I went back to Sherwin Williams, bought painters tape, taped off the WHOLE WALL... AGAIN!!!! But.. it was SO worth it! I love, love, love this wall now. the color is what I wanted, the chevron looks amazing and it's so much more cozy than that stupid yellow ever was! 

I also decided to paint the rest of the surround walls with the solid navy and i LOVE them too! It's started to feel so homey and comfortable... now that I only have 3 months left on my lease :) 

Color Run!

This past weekend I did the Color Run 5K in Little Rock with a group of friends. I've seen pictures of people doing this race elsewhere so when I found out it was coming to Little Rock... I had to sign up! The idea is you start off in all white and end covered in colors. There are 4 color stations that you'll pass through during the run and at all they cover you in a different color (which is actually colored cornstarch) 

Here is a shot before the race- Tara, Rachel, Sydney, Stephanie and I. Clean in our white t's :) 

At the end! We are sooo pretty :) 

Ottoman, FINISHED!!

FINALLY I finished my ottoman! I thought this day would NEVER come!! 

My phone crashed last week and I lost EVERYTHING! That includes all the pictures I have been saving for before and after blog posts and so I can explain what happened along the way. So now... this is all you get. 

I used an old coffee table (thanks Clark!) and pretty much followed a tutorial on pinterest. I drilled holes in the table where I wanted to do my tufting then covered the table in 2" thick foam, batting and then material. It wasn't too hard... I just took forever to finish. Picking out fabric was the hardest part. I couldn't find anything I liked until I went to Cynthia East.. they special ordered this fabric for me and I LOVE IT! You can never have too much chevron, right?!