Project Post 1 - Barnwood Letters

Levi's Letters

A month or two before Levi was born, we really started cracking the whip to finish his room. Tyler had a lot of good ideas for the room, and I will do a couple of posts on the things he made for the room, but my favorite thing in the room has to be Levi's letters. I wanted to make a sign with letters that spelled out Levi's name. It was my idea to use those gold letters that Hobby Lobby sells for $5 each, and spray paint them. We kicked around the idea of somehow using old barn wood for the sign, to attach the spray-painted letters to.

(Something similar to this piece of wood, but with the attached letters instead of painted-on letters)

So we (I use the term "we" lightly - the pictures will show who really did the work on this) painted the letters red to match the theme in the room, and then Tyler started picking out which piece of wood to use for the sign. The barn wood is actually sentimental - it came from Tyler's dad's house that he lived in when he was a young boy.

getting started on the project

After some brainstorming and tossing ideas back and forth, Tyler decided to try attaching each letter to it's own individial piece of wood. I didn't like the idea at first because I already had the sign invisioned on a single jagged-edged piece of wood, but after he got the first one mounted I knew it would be perfect. The pieces of wood he found were very weathered and have remnants of old wallpaper or newspaper from the house they were originally in.



Levi's letters

We attatched some twine with tiny screw-in eye hooks and we were finished! I doubt the letters will stay red for a long time. I am thinking when Levi outgrows his nursery, his big-boy room will have more of a camo theme (although when he's older he probably won't want anything in his room referred to as part of a "theme") - so in a couple of years the letters will probably get painted olive green. Why do I think this? Confession: I may or may not have found a great bargain from Ralph Lauren a few weeks ago for Levi's big-boy bed.

Camo sheets and pillowcases

The bargain was too good to pass up :) They are perfect!

Here are a few more pictures of Levi's letters:

The changing table in Levi's nursery was Tyler's when he was a baby

Numero Uno

Welcome to the dreaded “first post.” This is the post that can give a newly minted blogger writer’s block for days, months, or even years. I am no exception. This blog has been on my mental agenda for over a year, and the first post is terrifying, because it’s where you’re expected to lay out all-that-is-blog, define your blog, let your “readers,” whomever they may be, know what to expect – what kind of structure you’ll follow, what your posts will be about, what defines you, and the list could go on for days. Let me share with you what gave me the strength to finally write the post (don’t be fooled, I am writing the post in Word and do not dare post until I know I am ready – because I am anally conscientious, so much that it is a weakness more than a strength). After a lot of thought, I just realized that my honest purpose for this blog didn’t hold as much responsibility and obligation as I had previously determined it would. That leads me to conquer my first “first post” element:

The purpose of this blog.

Or perhaps this subtitle should be better titled: “All that this blog is not.” This blog is a lifestyle blog. My main purpose for blogging is to simply provide an outlet for creativity; a person to “talk to” and share about ideas, projects, family, fashion, hobbies, happenings, and life. I enjoy reading home design blogs, but this will not be one. I enjoy reading fashion blogs, but this will not be one. I enjoy reading food and recipe blogs, and this will definitely not be one of those. I enjoy reading DIY blogs; this will not be one. I enjoy reading baby blogs and talking about my baby; however, this will not be a place to do only that (although I will not be able to help sharing some pictures/posts/ramblings about my precious little one, because he is ever-present in my life and on my camera roll). This is a lifestyle blog – a blog that characterizes different aspects of my life for my friends, family, and passersby. There are no expectations, and I will not vow to post five days a week, or sometimes even every week (although for the most part I do hope to at least post weekly). This is merely a hobby, so I do hope you enjoy!

The title of my blog.

Embellishment is a word I have always loved. I love it for its meaning. Embellishment can be defined as an ornament or decoration (dictionary.com); to improve or beautify by adding detail or ornament (World English Dictionary); or, to make more interesting by adding detail (World English Dictionary). The reason I titled this blog with that word is because each of the subjects I will be posting about are different embellishments in my life. {On a different note: one day I will own a store and the name of my store will also be Embellishments for the same reasons.}

The last thing I want to say in my introduction to the world of blogging, is that I treat this avenue of writing as informal. Why am I telling you that? In college I majored in English and my true nature is to critique and correct all grammar and punctuation errors. With that being said, I consider certain written forms of personal conversation to be informal, meaning they do not fall within the boundaries of needing to be perfectly correct. This is one of those things because I am writing as if I am having a conversation with you, just like I would in a text message, on Facebook, or in an informal email. I use many commas and ellipses to convey thoughts; consider this a formal warning. And yes, this last paragraph was probably for my personal comfort only.

H A P P Y  R E A D I N G !

 (Don't say I didn't warn you about my little man showing up in pictures)