A DIY Project to Celebrate the Best of 2013

This year has been one of great highs and, unfortunately, a couple significant lows. Taking the cake as the top highlight was my wedding. As a natural born planner, this was the moment I had been prepping for my entire life. After helping family and friends with their big days, I was so excited to finally have my own event. Excitement also came with marrying the boy I had been crushing on since our UK days in sociology class!

On the flip side, we unexpectedly lost my grandpa the week before our wedding. Words cannot describe the sorrow my family felt on the eve of such a momentous occasion. While this added an element of heartache, it also made me put aside stress caused by wedding details and focus on what really mattered - having our family and friends present for our big day.

The photos of our family, wedding party and friends are such special mementos of our day. These are the images I will cherish forever.

I recently partnered with Mill Creek Supply Co. to create a special frame design. This frame showcases a photo of my mom, husband, grandma and me on our wedding day.

Mill Creek Supply Co. creates unique frames from reclaimed barn wood. They gather materials from local Ohio farms and craft them into unique frames. I partnered with one of their woodworkers to design a barn wood frame with Simply Sarah Style flair. I have seen several variations of this frame at stores like Hobby Lobby and Kirkland's and knew I had to have one.

To create this design I used:

Reclaimed Barn Wood from Mill Creek Supply Co.

Burlap Ribbon

Twisty Tie

Decorative Broach

Mini Clothes Pin

Hot Glue Gun

To create a perfect bow, I utilized two pieces of burlap ribbon. I used a flat piece as the bow tails and then a folded piece for the actual bow. I wrapped a twisty tie in the middle of the folded piece to secure the bow and then hot glued the pieces of ribbon to the wooden board.

To finish it off, I glued on the beautiful brooch and mini clothes pin in place.

Other Reclaimed Wood Frames

Mill Creek Supply Co. also creates a variety of other gorgeous frames. My personal favorites feature a bit of color.

Mill Creek Supply Co. is offering Simply Sarah Style readers a 15% discount on all items in their Etsy shop. Just enter "SARAH" at checkout.

If you're interested in making a frame like I did, you can contact them through Etsy and request a listing for the square board I used. They will offer you this piece for just $10.

Thank You

Finally, I would like to thank you, Simply Sarah Style readers, for tuning in throughout 2013. It has been a crazy year, but I'm thankful to have this outlet to share my creative ideas and people who enjoy like things.

Happy New Year, my friends!