DIY: Light Box.

As a blogger, you find yourself taking lots of pictures--anything that you can blog about needs a good shot to go with it. I don't have the best camera out there, so I try to use good lighting and location to my advantage. Still, I don't prefer our speckled counter tops or tacky wood grain furniture to feature my latest creations for the blog. So I pursued other options, and there are many: fabric/paper backdrops hung from the ceiling, a unique surface like a wood cutting board, or just the all-natural.

Pins of the Week.

You may have thought that I eluded you this Friday (and in the midst of the craziness, I thought I might have to), but lo, and behold, a little chunk of time on Saturday night and I am making up for yesterday's missed post. So without further ado, here are my favorite Pins of the Week.

Printable

This particular printable has to be my absolute favorite. I am obsessed with this blog, French Press Mornings, and the stuff that she puts out. Each Wednesday, entitled, "Encouraging Wednesdays," she posts a new scripture printable, typically 4x6. Each one is uniquely different from the other, one more simplistic and another excessively artistic. I've already printed out each one available so far, and keep up every week. I use them in frames, particularly one large frame with no back, instead wire and clips to swap out new pieces, which hangs above my coffee bar. It's something to look forward to each week, and I love having a cute, artsy form of foundational truths hanging on my walls.

DIY: Paper Rose Wreaths

Like I've said before, printables can change your life. If you have a reliable printer and some skills with framing, you can decorate your home for nickels and dimes. A month or so ago, I discovered one of my new favorite sites, Elli, which is home to several printables that I have already taken advantage of.

Pins of the Week.

Happy Friday! I'm not sure about you, but it feels like this week has gone by extremely slow. But hallelujah, there is light at the end of the tunnel and I look forward to some R&R this weekend (since last weekend never really came).

Today is the first day of "Pins of the Week," so I'll elaborate on my scheme a little bit. I've broken it down into categories that I've found are my top searches--the things that I look for the most. What I have thus far: Recipes, DIYs, Nifty, Printables, and a Bonus pin of whatever theme.

DIY 

This week I found some pins and links that have me almost obsessed with concrete. I never really thought of that as a crafting material before...but boy, oh, boy, is it. I haven't gotten to try this yet, but it looks really simple and there are so many things to make with it! Plus, the link for this "Concrete Cheeseboard" comes from a really cool blog: A Daily Something. You should definitely check out the rest of her blog, I was greatly inspired by what she had to share.

The mentality behind decorating.

With another semester now under my belt—having experienced all of the emotions, joys, and stresses that come with being a working, newlywed student, I have discovered some truths (at least for myself personally).

But what I am thinking of right now has nothing to do with school, work, or even cleaning the house…instead, I am honing in on the factor of decorating.

This semester I have been wrestling through controlling myself when it comes to decorating our apartment—when we know that we will only be here until next May. We vowed to not make any large purchases and are saving it for the future when we are in a more permanent residence. This is logical—it makes sense.