monograms - it's a southern thang

If you live in the South, chances are you own at least one item that has your monogram. Monograms are kinda a Southern girl's staple. We put them on anything and everything and give them for every occasion. It's just what we do!

Personalizing your things is not only a Southern tradition, but it's super helpful in making sure people don't steal your things :). I mean, what will Sarah Elizabeth do with Barbara Jo's casserole carrier? She would just look silly carrying around a cute, pink, polka dotted carrier with someone else's initials on it! Just silly!

Now, I personally do not own nearly as many monogrammed items as some of my "G.R.I.T.S" friends (for those of you who don't know, that stands for "girls raised in the south."), but I can assure you I have no lack of customized bags...

My problem? Four names. Thanks to my ma and pa, I was blessed with not 3 names, but 4 and that causes quite a stir when trying to add that fancy circle ownership stamp on anything that's able to fit on an embroidery machine. I mean, what's a girl to do with more names than initials are allowed on a monogram??? Well, you just have to decide which ones you like best! For me, it's E. (ebonn) Y. (yvonne) T. (thomas).

I've always wanted some personalized stationary and I did receive some one time when I was young, but as you grow older - pink stationary with your name in big black letters just isn't as nice as it was when you first received it. Plus, with all the fun new note cards, letterpress options and other fun paper options, who wouldn't want 10 sets of personalized stationary? Unfortunately, however, some of these personalized items come with a hefty price tag and being the bargain hunter I am, I just can't make myself spend the dough.

ENTER - Hobby Lobby and the handy, dandy printer!

I was walking through HL the other day and spotted these super cute note cards that I immediately pictured with my initials. For $3.99 I figured, "oh what the hay! Let's see if I can do a little DIY project on these babies." The end result?

A not too shabby set of personalized note cards! Aren't they cute? I probably could have gone a little more to the right with the monogram, but I think it's fine for my first try.

Here were the steps that I took -

It might not be quite that easy, but you get the point :) I suggest testing the printing on a same size sheet of paper first before wasting the cards you paid good money for, but other than that, it's a piece of cake!

Anywho, I plan to do some for gifts in the future, but for now, I'm going to enjoy my very own personalized note cards :). Hope you can do the same!

Good luck and stay tuned for my porch reveal - I hope to have it finalized in the next couple of weeks so I can enjoy this beautiful weather!

Have a great week!

seeing red!

I know! I know! I'm super, duper slack. I've got to get better with this posting thing! I just get so busy, I honestly forget about it...just bear with me :).

Today was a day for posting for sure. I went Goodwilling and hit the motherload! Motherload as in I was looking for chairs for my porch and wahla - there they were! Just calling my name as I walked in.

A whole $5 each and DYING for a making over! So, I hoisted those boogers into my buggy and away we went! You can't tell from this picture, but they are actually wicker and aluminum and they are surprisingly sturdy! In addition to these fabulous finds, I also found a Cuisinart coffee maker, some summer placemats and some super cute burlap-y/linen fabric.

Anywho, after proudly purchasing these "in need" porch sitters, I drove on over to Lowes to agonize over which color would look best for their new look. I contemplated greens and blues, taupes and ivory, I even looked at just repainting them white again and accenting them with a cushion. I decided on a very pretty blue color and went inspiration searching all over the store. But, blue wasn't striking my fancy so back to the spray paint department I went.

I finally decided that I'd stood there long enough and decided to use a lifeline - "I'd like to call a friend, Meredith." - I called my Mama. The entire conversation took all of about 5 minutes and before I knew it I was walking out with.............RED! Now, most of my home is decorated in soothing colors like greens and blues. Red is not a color I use often, so I was a little hesitant of what they might look like when I was finished with them.

Once I'd decided on the color, I had to go looking for a pillow or cushion to match (once I get going - forget it...) Ever heard of Southeastern Salvage or Ollies? If you haven't, google them IMMEDIATELY and run to your nearest location. Both are wonderful stores with lots of great stuff at not too expensive prices. Although, I left mostly empty handed from SS, I scored 2 outdoor pillows at Ollies for $6.99/each! I couldn't beat that.

To the house I went to begin my makeover and about 4 hours later the end product made me pleasantly surprised.

Meet my porch apples :). So cheery! Thanks to my mama for convincing me to try a little red in my life! I couldn't imagine them in the blue color I originally walked around with for 10 minutes. The red adds a whole other dimension to my porch! One I didn't imagine was possible!

The Plan? Red, Aqua and Yellow. Like this:

{pintrest}

I have a table that I sprayed yellow several months back that I'll use and once the once the weather decides to stay warm, for longer than a week, I'll plant some geraniums and marigolds to brighten up the space even more. What fun! This is the goal:

There is a lot more of my porch to decorate so hopefully it will all work out. I'm looking forward to fun and color spring/summer!! Keep an eye out, I'll be posting more soon (hopefully, sooner than later).

Night!!