Ok, so I’ve made a goal this year to blog a few more personal posts and this is my first for 2012! I tackled this DIY Tufted Headboard project just after we moved and started setting up our new master bedroom. I am a huge fan of Pinterest and that’s where I got the idea. If you don’t know what Pinterest is than you haven’t lived. I love to make things and I had fun with this project even though I probably did make a few too many trips to Home Depot and JoAnn’s from not being prepared.

This project was a little bit more difficult than I though it would be but still was a fun project I love how it turned out. I read many blog posts before, during and even after my project. Below is a list of the most helpful ones.

• Jenny Komenda Interiors/Little Green Notebook
• Dream Book Design
• Centsational Girl
• Project Pretty
• Jillian Harris

Here’s a great video from Design Sponge:

And another with more details from The Upholstery Studio. They have several on YouTube.

I’ll give you some of the details I remember but the other blogs will help a lot too. If you are planning to give this project a go for yourself than read a few postes in their entirety. I wish I had done this as each of them have a little different way of doing it and each have their own super helpful tips.

I purchased most of my supplies on sale and with coupons at JoAnn’s. I purchased the wood, screws and bolts from Home Depot. They also cut my wood for free to the size I needed. I spent approximately $100 in total on this project.

Supplies:

• Staple Gun
• Batting
• Regular Density Foam
• Spray Adhesive
• Ruler
• Tape Measure
• Button Kit & Buttons (You may want to have a few extra buttons on hand. You may get a few duds.)
• Rubber Mallet
• Scissors
• Upholstery Needle
• Upholstery Thread (tough kind)
• Fabric
• Medium Density Fiber Board
• Drill
• 2×4′s (This is what I used for my king size headboard. You could probably get something smaller for a smaller headboard.)
• Screws
• Nuts and Bolts

Then took on painting the accent wall for our room.

So I forgot to take photos during the upholstery part. The blogs above will give you lots of good info on that though. I put the headboard up off the ground using boxes since I didn’t have 2 sawhorses. I first measured and marked where the holes needed to be drilled for threading the buttons and then drilled the holes using a drill bit not to much bigger than my upholstery needle. Remember to have lots of extra fabric to account for the tufting. I made te mistake of not getting enough fabric and ended up using a white table cloth I had but rarely used. I plan to use the fabic I got from JoAnn’a for pillows instead. For the foam you’ll have to get several squares if you are using the 22×22 from JoAnn’s but they also sell it in rolls which is a little easier but sometimes more expensive.

I pre-drilled 7 holes in the 2×4′s and then put the screws in to attach the legs to the headboard.

Stay tuned for Part 2 with pillows, nightstands and wall decor. Will post just as soon as I can make up my mind.

I wish for every bride to have a photographer that captures their day just the way they dreamed. I know that budgets, dates, times and so many other details factor into the matter but choosing the photographer you really love for your wedding will never be a regret.

I recently had a bride tell me about how she spent a considerable amount on her her dress, the decorations, flowers, cake and 2 receptions but decided to skimp by with a cheap photographer with not much experience. As she “confessed” to me she said that it’s been a year since her wedding and she’s only seen 2-3 pictures from her wedding that the “photographer” emailed to her. She’s so scared of what the rest of her pictures are going to look like that it makes her sick to think about it. She’s knows she’s not going to have detail shots of her decorations and some of the meaningful pieces of her wedding. Yikes!!

So after I said “Shame on you!” I started racking my brain on how to help brides make the best choice in hiring their wedding photographer. I know where so many brides are coming from and I myself had to learn the hard way with my own wedding as I didn’t know much about photography when my husband and I got married. My thinking was “Oh, she won an award in the fair. She must know how to photograph a wedding.” NOT TRUE!  There is so much more to wedding photography than just knowing how to take a good picture. A good wedding photographer is in touch with their clients emotions and can catch that look a bride gives her groom when no one else is looking. They make you fee comfortable and at ease so they can capture the best you possible. They know that every little detail took time and money to create and is a special part of what makes up a beautiful wedding day. Those traits don’t just come with someone who knows how to use a camera.

So here’s my top 5 questions to ask to help you choose your photographer:

1. Are you in love with their style of photographs and does their style reflect you best? (The nice albums, prints and number of hours in a package won’t matter if you’re not in love with the photographs that will go in those albums. The photographs are the most important!)
2. Do you feel comfortable with your photographer?
3. Do they have a good reputation with their past clients? Have you heard anyone rave about them?
4. Are they well organized and give you confidence that your wedding is top priority? (Can’t have your photographer forgetting to include your mom in the photos or a special relative that traveled a far distance for your wedding!)
5. Are they a professional? A professional spends time and money gaining the understanding necessary to properly and creatively photograph a wedding.  You don’t want a “weekend warrior” winging it on one of the most important days of your life.

I’d suggest making a list of your priorities for your wedding and budget for the most important accordingly. (Note: Your photographer should never be one of cheapest parts of your wedding so you may need to rethink your budget if that’s the case. Just remember you get what you pay for.)

In my opinion one of the most important choices you’ll make for your wedding day besides your man of course is the photographer you choose. Not just because I am a wedding photographer but because after the vows have been said, the cake has been eaten and the guests have gone home, all you have to remember your day is the photographs.  Your wedding day isn’t something you can do over so make sure you hire the best.

And because all posts are better with a picture here’s a pretty one for you. It’s a little sneak peek up an upcoming post.

Eric and I went way out in the middle of nowhere and found a sweet spot that used to be a cherry tree farm to shoot some photographs for my new blog and website. It was so peaceful and quite! Since I grew up out in the sticks of Coquille, Oregon I loved being in the middle of nature. Next time I’ll bring a chair to relax and read for a while or something. Thanks to my wonderful husband Eric Hayes for the awesome photographs, logo, website and blog! He’s amazing!

Couples Retreat Promo from Larry Chappell on Vimeo.

While we did get off to a bit of a late start on the decorating we managed to get it done this last week. We put the tree up on Wednesday night while watching little women and drinking some hot cocoa. Little Women was my pick of course. My mom has probably watched little women 100 times, it’s quite the family favorite.  We’re all decked out for Christmas now and feeling pretty jolly! Here are a few pictures of our tree and the pictures we took today for our Christmas card.  Merry Christmas!!

I love this guy.

And because we like to make silly faces…

Our tree and one of my favorite glass ornaments.

Earlier today my husband laid on the couch to take a nap while I labored over making him a PB&J. I decided to join him instead of making lunch and this is what he said: “Get off the couch, there is no room and I was here first.”  As soon as that came out of his mouth we both busted up laughing because what he just said sounded like it came from a 2 year old. So a few times today I randomly said “I was here first” to make him laugh.   I am so thankful to God for the little things in life and wanted to share just a few of my favorite little things with you on this lovely spring day (despite missing a precious hour of sleep last night). Who knows maybe this will turn into a series of posts. Happy Sunday!!

Click photos to enlarge.

Tulips are my favorite flower ever!! So elegant and simple! If I could I would fill my house with them year round.

I like old fashioned looking jars for some reason. I think my mom passed this love on to me.

This little favorite thing means the most to me. When I was a little girl my Grandmother would keep one just like this on her wood stove and I loved to play with it. We spotted this one at a Cracker Barrel some time ago and as soon as I saw it I have to have it. At that time Eric and I were dating and he bought it for me.

I would cook little pieces of hot dogs in the frying pan. What a good little cook I was. Let me tell you, my hot dog pieces were to die for.

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Click photos to enlarge.

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Here’s some photos from our little outing.

Contact Megan — Portfolio

Instead of asking my husband if he wanted to go I just emailed him and told him we were going. Below is our conversation about going.

Me: “We are going apple picking tomorrow in Tehachapi.”

Eric: “Huh? With who?”

Me: “Just us. Beth told me about a farm they went to and I want to go. Then they went to the Apply Shed for lunch and I want to do that too.”

Eric: “Okay, but I fully expect you to make a pie out of the apples.”

Me: “I knew that was coming.”

So while I didn’t exactly make Apple Pie, I did make apple cake and it took him a whole 2 seconds to inhale a piece of it.

Our pretty apples lined up and ready for the chopping block.

Us skillfully taking our self portrait.

Me enjoying the day

Eric loves to pick apples. Can’t you tell?