DIY: Cardboard Letters for Home Office {My Home}

I am in the midst of organizing and re-designing my home office.  I think at this point, it will be a never-ending project.  It seems there is always something to be organized or rearranged.  And then as soon as I think I have it the way I want, I do some kind of craft project in my office and it is a crazy mess again!  Oh well!  That is what the space is supposed to be for!

You can see more of how I started organizing my office here!

I showed you a sneak peek of how I added signage to my office to claim my space in this post.  I just thought it would be really fun to add my brand to my space and to have my company name posted in my office. 

There are SO many amazing home office design ideas I have seen.  See my JSD Office Pinterest Board for more inspiration.  Some people have some crazy awesome craft rooms that I will probably never have, but they are really fun to look at!  I have always loved this home office design from JDS Designs out of Texas.  Jenna transformed a spare bedroom of her home into a home office.  Perfection!  

via Houzz.com

 

I purchased these cardboard letters "JSD" for Jessica Stout Design from Hobby Lobby.  They are about 9" in height.  They were about $2 a piece full price or you could wait until they are 50% off because we all know Hobby Lobby has 50% off sales ALL the time.  I used these same cardboard letters for my niece's 1st Birthday Party too!  They are awesome for lots of different craft and decorating projects. 

I knew I wanted to hang these on the wall above my window.  They come as a basic brown cardboard color, so I really wanted to decorate them and make them look a little prettier.  I like the plain brown look for a more rustic, natural space, but that's not the look I was going for.  I thought about just spray painting them black, but I needed a little pizzazz than that.  So I decided to cover them with 3 different scrapbook papers to give each a unique look.  

But first I need to spray paint them!  The scrapbook paper only gets glued to the front side.  Which means the sides are still visible.  A quick shot of spray paint would fix that.   So what are the push pins for?!?!

The push pins are a trick I learned on Pinterest that actually works really well! The push pins lift the letters off of the ground just enough to be able to get all sides of the letters sprayed with paint and they won't end up sticking to the ground or whatever you are spraying on.  

Since the tops would be covered with scrapbook paper, I wasn't too worried about getting a nice even coat of spray paint on that area, just the sides. 

Luckily the weather was really nice this week when I spray painted, so it literally dried in like 10 minutes!  I think my neighbors think I'm crazy because I am always outside spray painting in my not-so-big "driveway."

Next is covering the tops with scrapbook paper!  These are the three I chose for my design. 

Just trace the letter onto the right-side of the scrapbook paper with a pencil.  If you have a straight edge on your letter, put that end right on the edge of the paper.  Just one less edge to have to cut!

Once all of the letters are cut out of the scrapbook paper, it is time to glue!

I used a homemade Modge Podge to glue the paper on the letters because it is easy to just spread over the letter and you want to be sure all of the corners and edges get enough glue for the paper to stick to.  You don't want the corners peeling up.  My Modge Podge is equal parts Elmer's glue and water.  Just half and half and poured into a recycled glass salad dressing container actually.  Yes, just watered down glue, basically!  I have been using it for almost a year now and it still stays mixed and gluey!!

I spread the glue on with a mini sponge brush.  Most Modge Podge crafts have you paint the top with glue as well.  But for this project I didn't do that.  I have found that doing that with black and white scrapbook paper sometimes makes the black areas smear.  And I really didn't want that glossy look that Modge Podge gives.

I used a super heavy double-sided adhesive to hang the letters on the wall.  I will probably regret that decision the day we are moving and I peel down the entire wall with the letters, but for now, it was just so much easier that way! 

It was a super easy project.  And if I ever get tired of the black and white scrapbook paper patterns, I could easily just remove it or even put another piece of scrapbook paper over it for an entirely new look.  I love this idea for lots of rooms -- bathroom spelling out "BATH", guest room spelling out "GUEST", or a nursery spelling out babies name! 

UPDATE!! 

In this post, as I mentioned before, I talked about some products I use to organize items in my office.  I mentioned how I ordered new baskets and new hangers for the closet.  Well they arrived much quicker than I expected!  And these wire baskets -- OMG! 

 

Yes, that's right, ONLY $10 from Wal*Mart.  I'm not one to usually shop at Wal*Mart.  But when I came across these from another blogger on Pinterest, I HAD to buy these!  I actually bought these online, just so I didn't have to go into a Wal*Mart! 

 

These wire baskets are pretty amazing for a couple of reasons.  They fit in my IKEA bookcases perfectly!  They come with this snap on canvas tote inside to hold all your goodies! AND, it comes with this little black label on the front of the basket to label the bin with chalk.  It is really just a piece of metal painted black than a chalkboard, but chalk writes just fine on it.  And it wiped off easily! Such a good find!

Something about matching hangers in a closet just makes it look so much more tidy and organized.  I also ordered these from Wal*Mart so that I could get free shipping on the wire baskets!

 
My office is slowly but surely coming together to look like a designed space, that is functional and beautiful at the same time!! 

This was my VERY FIRST INSPIRATION IMAGE for my office that I came across back in Better Homes & Gardens January 2011 issue.  I always loved this office and wanted one just like it!

Spring Cleaning an Office {My Home}

Download this FREE print HERE!

My home office is a place of work, a place of play, a place of crafting, a place of creating, a place of design....

I could go on and on.  I am so lucky to have a room to myself for ALL of these things that go on in my home office, but when trying to conquer so many different things in one small space, it is hard to keep the room clean and organized!

First, I have to say my office isn't even CLOSE to my expectations of design, yet!  I have started blog posts about my office and how I organize many times!  But I have never finished them because I feel like my office just isn't quite up to my expectations yet.  So, I guess until then, I will have to show you bit by bit how I am putting it all together.  And maybe one day I can do a final reveal of the entire thing!  Until then, my goal is to just keep it clean and organized the best I can.  With so many different projects going on in here, that is often very hard to do!  With any huge project, you have to tackle it one area at a time.

via @jessmarhoefer on Instagram

This is how messy my office and desktop usually looks.  And this is the "clean" side of the room!  As soon as I clean, it usually looks like this by the next day!  Embarrassing!

I have found that an area like an office or craft room really needs to be cleaned/decluttered/re-organized at least bi-monthly to stay on top of things.  I like to

 "clean like I am moving" 

which means, I throw things away that I know I really don't need.  Not just move them to another area of the office.  You know when you are moving into a new house and you end up throwing away or donating a lot more items than a normal cleaning day??  Well that's my mindset for really keeping my office clean because it is surprising all the craft supplies and paperwork I can accumulate in such a short amount of time.  If I haven't used the item for over 2 years (for craft supplies) I throw it away or donate to another crafter.

For me, a huge one is catalogs!  I keep almost every magazine and catalog, thinking I will use them for future reference.  And some I do.  But most I don't.  Also, organizing files.  Organizing fabric -- my biggest hoarding obsession!  And organizing my fabric samples.  Those are my most concerning day-to-day items that usually end up everywhere in my office except in the place they belong.

For me, Mondays are clerical days.  Filing.  Paperwork.  Invoices.  Organizing files on my computer.  Making to-do lists for the week.  Cleaning.  Organizing any chaos from weekend projects. 

I use IKEA cardboard boxes as my filing system for clients.  They are the perfect size to hang filing folders.  And I needed easy access to these folders as I am constantly adding new files, removing old files, and referring to past clients for information.  The lids no longer fit on the IKEA boxes with the hanging folders, but that's okay with me!

I've started hanging my fabric in the closet area.  The larger pieces of fabric anyways.  That way I can SEE what fabrics I have and they aren't tucked away somewhere in a box.  I have some new hangers on order from online too.  This way, it will look a bit tidier with all matching hangers for the fabric.

For now, I have a lot of books, catalogs, and magazines just lined up in my IKEA bookcase.  Which by the way, was the first thing I bought for my office when I first moved into this house.  It is awesome!  I would highly suggest a bookcase like this for staying organized.  It is perfect for books, baskets, and filing.  I have some future plans for reorganizing this as my inventory grows.  I just bought 4 new matching baskets online that I am SO excited to see in person and to use in my bookcase.

If you LIKE the place you work in, then you will most likely be more willing to keep it clean and organized!  I have included lots of pictures in my office space of friends and family to keep me happy and to keep the space not looking to office-y!!  I also love to incorporate words of wisdom and words to inspire me throughout the day.  I spend a lot of time at my desk so it is nice to look at the wall every once in a while and be reminded why I started this little 'ol business of mine and to keep me motivated!

Even if this is just a craft room for you, and not a place of work, let people know who creates here!!  For me, I thought it would be fun to add signage to the wall to show who works here!  Like a REAL place of business.  Because after all, my office is a REAL place of business.

 (more info on how I made the JSD sign later in the week!)

That's just a start to my organizing/cleaning/decluttering of my office and craft room.  There is still a lot of things going on in here and a lot of supplies that each need their own space.  It is definitely a post in the makings as each area gets reorganized.  One day I might do a complete "staging" of the space and do a really pretty photo shoot.  But for now, this is my office and this is how it looks most days! When it is clean!  :)

Shopping + Wine featuring Dottie Couture Boutique

As a small business owner, I appreciate other business owners and what they have done to get to where they are today.  That is why I love to shop local as much as I can and support the local community.  One of my new favorite clothing boutiques in Indianapolis is Dottie Couture Boutique!

If you are local and you haven't checked out Dottie Couture Boutique yet, you must!  If you aren't local, they have a great website that you can order off of as well.  They have two convenient locations, one on the south side in Greenwood and one on the north side across from the Keystone Fashion Mall.  Not only do I love their clothes and always find something in there I want to buy, I just love the style of their boutiques.  Their clothes are very trendy and brightly colored (which help me think outside of wearing just black all the time) but their store is more Rustic, Shabby Chic.  A-dorable!

Purple is their signature color, from their logo to their tissue paper for wrapping your purchases.  But inside the store, you will see teal of all shades, light pinks, purples, and whites.  The store has a very personal and comfortable feel to the small shop.  Almost like you are just shopping in your closet, but much better clothes! The furniture was all hand selected from thrift stores and antique shops.  They are all well weathered and distressed for a very unique look unlike any other boutique.  I loved the look of all of their pieces they use for store display.  The handmade chalkboard art can't be missed.  It is displaced throughout the store for decor and for signage.  Such as the "fitting rooms" sign.  All handmade by the amazingly talented local artist Erin Barrett of For the Love of Letters Shop.  If you love this chalk art, you can shop on her site to bring the same look into your home.   Her website is worth the browse, it is so cute!  Oh, and I can't forget to mention the chandeliers in the store!  They are gorgeous and vintage looking.

 My sister Julie from JLM Moments and I hosted this gathering last night with some of our stylish girlfriends at the Keystone location.   Some had shopped at Dottie Couture before and others hadn't.  So it was a great way to share one of our favorite boutiques with our friends and all shop together.  Thank you so much to all the ladies that came!  It was one of Dottie's biggest turn outs for a private party!  We provided wine and cheese and chocolate for the ladies as they shopped the latest trends for Spring and Summer.  I mean, what's better than shopping + wine + chocolate?!?!  Nothing!! 

I tried on a couple different items, but ended up coming home with only a long maxi dress and a necklace.

This is the dress I had been eying on their website, and couldn't wait to try on.  It's a navy and white striped dress with an attached beaded necklace in bright green.  But once I tried it one -- WAY too short for me.  I like it as a top though!  So that was a NO!

I've been loving the trend of Palazzo pants for Summer, so I really wanted to hopefully purchase some of these.  They are thin, flowy pants that I think would be really cute with just a basic tank tucked in for the summer with wedges or flats.  These were the only ones they had in the store, so I had to try them on.  I wasn't in love with the print or the fit.  NOT today! 

And then I saw this dress!  It looked so comfortable and easy for Summer, yet super stylish!  It was a winner and went home with me.  Of course I bought another black dress though!  I just can't get away from wearing black for some reason.  I need to work on that.

This pretty little necklace caught my eye too!  A beautiful Kelly green and cream large statement necklace.  Oh, how I adore statement necklaces right now.  I am actually already wearing this today!

If you missed the party last night or aren't local or maybe there was something you wanted that they didn't have in the store, there is still a chance to shop Dottie Couture Boutique with a special discount!  Head on over to my sister's blog for a one time only special discount for online purchases!

jlmmoments.blogspot.com

I already bought something online with the discount code!!!

I LOVE this tee and I was so disappointed they didn't have it in their store last night!  So I went and bought it today!  I can already see it at a Summer country concert with my blue jeans and cowboy boots or our upcoming trip to Charleston, SC!!  Hey Y'all!!!

Go shop local this weekend!!!