diy monday: custom facebook covers [how-to and free downloads!]

Happy Monday, friends! Have you switched to the Facebook timeline yet? I switched a few weeks ago, and I think it's a lot of fun, especially the cover photo. The only problem with the cover photo is that a lot of low-resolution photos (especially ones pulled from Facebook) tend to look blurry when blown up to that size. So, I decided to design a few Facebook cover images with my favorite quotes/verses. Here's what I came up with (and how they would look on my--or your--page):

 

 

If you have photoshop, here's how to make a custom Facebook cover:

Step 1: Create a new document that is 1000x368 pixels

Step 2: Create a New Pattern Fill Layer

Step 3: Select Your Pattern (see sources below)

Step 4: Using the type tool, add text to your image

Step 5: Save the image as a JPEG

And that's it! Also, I should point out that I have no graphic design training, so if I went about this the wrong way, or I'm making any of you real designers cringe, my apologies.

Now, for your free downloads. To download, right click on any of these images, click "Open Link in New Tab" and drag the image to your desktop. Then go to your Facebook page and upload your new cover! 

And here's some versions without text. You can always add your own, or leave them blank.

If you don't have the timeline yet, but want to get it, the easiest way to switch is to visit one of your friend's pages who has timeline, and you should see a prompt at the top to switch to the timeline format.

Happy cover-ing!

xoxo.

Sources

Doily Thoreau Cover: Lace Doily // Paper Background // Typeface

Blue Chevron Isaiah 54:10 Cover: Blue Chevron Background // Typeface

Yellow Lace Churchill Cover: Yellow Background // Lace Ribbon // Typeface

Gray Chevron Hepburn Cover: Gray Chevron Background // Typeface

diy monday: 10 (easy) last minute holiday gifts

 Can you believe Christmas is only SIX days away? My, this year has flown. If you've still got a few gifts to shop for, consider these quick and easy handmade gift ideas...

1. Lace tile coasters by The Crafts Dept. at Martha Stewart

 2. Gold-dipped holiday glasses by Liz Stanley on Say Yes to Hoboken

3. Tassel earrings by Full House

4. Mercury glass candle holder by Walk With Me, Darling on Blue Eyed Yonder

5. Sequin striped tote by Anna of In Honor of Design 

6. Map picture frames by Martha Stewart Weddings 

7. Hot Cocoa Kit by Meagan Reardon of Not Martha, via Kirtsy 

8. Jersey knit bracelet by Vanessa of V and Co.

9. Washi tape candles by Anne of Copy Craft

10. Colorblock earrings by Lindsay of Delighted Momma

Which is your favorite? I'm partial to the mercury glass candle holders, and I've got some metallic spray paint laying around, so I'm planning to give them a try soon! I hope your holiday shopping and gifting is wrapping up (pun definitely intended)!

xoxo.

P.S. I found a lot of these DIY projects on Pinterest, of course, but I've linked to the original sources here.

P.P.S. A very happy birthday to my brother (today), and my dad (last Friday)

diy monday: o christmas tree.

 So, remember all those great Christmas tree alternatives I posted a few weeks ago? Well, I ended up not doing any of them. My plan was to make the newspaper tree last weekend, but I ended up not having time. This weekend rolled around, and when I realized that we leave for Portland in 10 days, it just didn't seem worth the time, money and effort for a week and a half. So, I improvised. I took down the holiday garland that was gracing our chalkboard and made a tree out of it...

 It's neither green or shiny, but it will do for us. You'll notice there are just a few presents under the tree at this point. Translation: Landon has done all of his Christmas shopping for me and I've just barely started on his! We're planning to have our own little Christmas morning next weekend and have breakfast and open presents, since we don't want to cart our presents for each other to Portland.

 I found these gorgeous, glittery snowflake ornaments at my favorite antique/home decor store here in Abilene for less than $3 each. I used one as the star on our tree.

 The other two snowflake ornaments found their way to the chalkboard...

So, while I nixed the newspaper tree, I still get to cross of #11 on my 12x2012 list: Come up with an inexpensive, but festive Christmas tree alternative.

Have you found any thrifty and creative ways to celebrate the season? If so, I'd love to hear.

xoxo.

diy monday: crafty wishlist.

Every crafter needs top-notch supplies, right? These items are on the top of my crafty wishlist:

1. Cavallini Numbers Paper Tape | $16

2. Striped and Stitched Ribbon | $10.95

3. Small Kraft String & Button Envelopes | $8

4. Red and Teal Stitches Washi Tape | $8.50

5. Brown Bag Labels | $8

6. Envelope Template | $13.95

xoxo.

P.S. If you missed yesterday's post, The Bright Life got a makeover! Find out more here.

diy monday: holiday garland.

I didn't waste any time adding some Christmas spirit to our house this weekend. We weren't able to bring any Christmas decorations with us to Texas, so I'm improvising. I remembered yesterday that I had this fun two-sided Christmas cardstock that my grandparents gave me a few years ago, perfect for making a festive garland. I've included a tutorial in today's post in case you want to make your own!

1. Gather your materials: cardstock or paper, twine or yarn, scissors and tape (any kind will work, I used packing tape because it's all I had).

2. Find a small circular object and trace circles onto your cardstock (I used a mini juice glass from IKEA for mine). You could also use a round punch to cut the circles.

3. Place your circles on a flat surface in a line, wrong side up. Place your twin or yarn in the center of your line of circles.

4. Tape the twine or yarn to each circle, spacing them evenly as you go.

5. After all your circles are taped, flip over your garland and voila! I hung mine over our chalkboard in the living room with a festive holiday message...

 This would also be fun to hang in a dorm room or around your desk at work. I'm thinking of making another one for my office (I made this garland for my desk last year).

Have you started decorating for the holidays? 

xoxo.

P.S. I'm linking up here...