{Blog Relocation}

Hey everyone there is lots happening behind the scenes here for me, one of those things in my own domain on the web.

With that process I am getting my blog ready and it is now located on blogger.

Please update your bookmarks and such to reflect the new location of the blog. You can click here or you can copy and paste this link: http://www.goagainstthegrainblog.blogspot.com

The design of the blog isn’t finalized yet so don’t be alarmed if it changes on you!

I appreciate your patience with these updates and changes, I promise it is all for the better!

 

Thanks so much for everyone’s support!

{4th of July Mantel}

If you have followed me on twitter you might remember I said I was getting a mantel to decorate. I have a traditional mantel with a fireplace, but because our TV is mounted above it, it is not ideal for decorating. I’ve been longing for a mantel to decorate and now I have one!

It had never dawned on me to just hang a mantel as a shelf on its own until I saw the beautiful mantel over on Decor Chick.

Isn’t that great?! The mantel shelf is from Pottery Barn and I just love the worn look it has.

I mentioned this idea to my mother and father in law and showed them the above picture for inspiration.

Well my father in law built me one! He is extremely handy and has built some other amazing things for us too.

It took me a while but I think I’ve come up with a mantel design for 4th of July that I am happy with.

For my first time attempting a true mantel display and using the items I had on hand, I don’t think I did a bad job!

The subway art was a freebie printable I found on Pinterest  via the blog Eighteen 25 that I printed out and placed in a frame I had.

The silver letter 4 is an old house address number that  I bought on sale at an antique store near by.

The 3 stars re from Michaels that I bought in an after season sale last year.

The large open frame is from hobby lobby and I wrapped a red and blue circle garland that I made around it.

The American flags were in the dollar spot at Target for $1 for the 3 of them! I placed them in a mason jar I had and put that on top of one of my new cake plates that I got at Home Goods to add some height.

So what do you think of my first attempt at a mantel display?

I’ve gathered an insane amount of mantel inspiration that I organized on a Pinterest board. You can check it out here.

I’m always looking for more ideas for mantel decor so please let me know if there is something I should see!

Do you have a mantel that you can decorate? Do you have any suggestions to help me out with my mantel decor?

{Etsy Manners Monday}

Today is the start of something new and big for the blog. I am very excited about it and I hope you will enjoy it as well as gain some valuable information and insight on the world of Etsy.

Etsy Manners Monday

Each Monday I am going to cover various topics that will help both Etsy sellers and Etsy customers better understand each other. A kind of Etsy etiquette to help get the best results out of your interactions with one another. The posts will go over things from the basics to more complex issues and will have real examples from etsy shops and customers to help you better understand the information. {No real shop or customer names will be used}

On occasion I will have guest bloggers help out and share about their experiences as sellers or customers.

If you are interested in being a guest blogger or have suggestions on topics that this series should cover, leave a comment below and I will be in touch with you!

I also need your help to get the word out about this new series.

You can grab a copy of the button above, created by the super talented Jen from Blush Printables, and post it on your blog.

Also be sure to follow the hash tag #etsymannersmonday on twitter for updates there as well.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas of this new series. I know that together we can make it a success.

The first topic I’ll be covering is the importance of reading- listings, feedback, policies, etc…

This is an important topic for both the seller and the buyer and is a big part of the 2nd topic, Conversations, so be sure to come back next Monday!

{Font Friday}

Arrrrr you ready for this week’s Font Friday post?!
It is called 1695 Captain Flint… can ya guess what this font is styled like?!

A European, hand written inspired type face that contains various alternates to get a true hand written style that resembles the writing a buccaneer might have!

As my family and friends will tell you, I’m a HUGE fan of pirates. There is so much history behind them and they cross so many cultures.

That also means I love the Pirates of the Caribbean movies {mmm Johnny Depp!}. That is a man who looks good in eye liner!

Here is the description found on myfonts.com

This rough font, was created inspired from a lot of various european documents dated from the end of 1600’s. We were in search of a hand to accompany with “The Treasure Island” novel by R.L. Stevenson, and this seems to be the good one.

It is a “Pro” font containing Western (including Celtic) and Northern European, Icelandic, Baltic, Eastern, Central European and Turquish diacritics. We have also included a few old English specific abbreviations. The numerous alternates (four sorts of standard lowercases and two sets of capitals) and numerous ligatures allow to made the font looking like a real various hand. Using an OTF software, the features allow to vary each character without anything to do but to select contextual alternates and standard ligatures and/or stylistic alternates options.

To get more info about Captain Flint, or to buy it head on over here. He is available for as little as $21 with various purchasing options to fit your needs.

To check out the other Font Friday posts please visit the blogs below or follow the hash tag: #fontfriday on twitter.

Allison Owen, Lauren Elise Crafted, Design Editor, Blush Printables, Bubblerock Studios, Fourth & Folded, Hank & Hunt, Little Bit Heart, Palm Papers, Super Swoon, Aerialist Press

Have a terrific Weekend!

{Giveaway Winner!}

Thank you all so very much for the birthday wishes you sent me!

Really made my day even better!

 

Now to announce the winner of the giveaway and make their day better!

 

The winner of their choice of gift card is….

Jessica!!!  Congrats and I will be emailing you shortly!

 

Thanks again to everyone for making my birthday so great!