Holiday Rush

I don't know about any of you but the holiday hustle and bustle is in full swing at our house. We have already attended one Christmas party, we have another one this coming weekend and then 2 the following weekend.   In between there we are working hard to finish the playroom, craft room, have carpet installed, finish up our shopping, and for me...making gifts!!   I love to give people small tokens to let them know just how special they are to me, especially at this time of year! I also really enjoying adding some fun new crafts that have been on my "to do" list to my "done" list!!   Currently on my to make list is: *Initial cup *People blocks *Matching shirts (for my neices!) *Cookies *Ornaments with the kids *Holiday tags *Hot Chocolate mix/chocolate dipped spoons *Popcorn Seasoning Kit *Holiday shirt for kids   I think that is it for right now...but I'm sure I will think of many more things that I should make!!

 

And I finally got around to ordering my holiday cards, so at least that part of things is done! YEAH!

Chevron Fun

We are on the move and planning to finish up the basement, meaning the playroom and my craft room! YEAH!!!   With a number of projects on my list I have started to work on some of the small ones bit by bit. One that I have been wanting to do is chevron initials for the playroom. I have a current color scheme going of yellow, red, turquoise, and lime green. So I got my supplies and got started!!  

Supplies:

craft paint

canvas (I used 11x14)

wooden letters

painters tape

foam brush

pencil

ruler

 

To start I measured off 3 horizonal lines each 3.5" apart. That was where the bottom of my chevron hit, this kept them evenly spaced and pretty staright.

I then taped my chevron...this wasn't easy, but wasn't too bad once I got going. Once I got the first row of chevron, I then drew a vertical line from the tip of each down point (sorry, you can't see the pencil lines) this helped me to make sure that all my zig zags were even.

 

Once I had it completely taped I then painted using my craft paint. I didn't completely cover the tape, and also made sure to keep the paint off the sides of the canvas...I plan to go back and paint this one of the other accent colors.

While my canvas was drying I took that time to paint my letters. For the letters I used another bold color to make them stand out. When all the paint was dry I pulled the tape off and then hot glued the letter right in the middle.

 

Here is what the finished product looks like:

 

And I can't wait to hang this up!! This one is of course Jake's, Emmah's is turquoise and green...they are going to look great!!

Month to Month

I LOVE making crafty gift for others...its fun, personal, and gets my need to be craft out!!   Well with babies galore coming in every direction right now I have been on hunt for some good ideas. I am sure you have seen all the adorable monthly onesies out there. Here are a few examples:   {photo credit: boogaboohandmade.blogspot.com}   {photo credit: brittanyleighpotter.blogspot.com, and be sure to stop by her site since she even gives you the files to print your own (both boy & girl colors!!)}   Since I have a Silhouette I decided to create my own since the mom-to-be isn't sure if her bundle is a boy or girl!!   To start I went out and got onesies in a variety of sizes. The sizes I purchased were 3 month, 6 month, and 12 month. I figured that even if they were a little big it would be okay.

 

Supplies:

Onsies (variety of sizes)

Inkjet Transfer Paper

Iron

 

To start I used my Silhouette to make a basic design for my onsies. I went with a frame and then added the month on the inside. Once you have your design down (you'll want to keep them at a size you can fit 4 per page, print them out on your Inkjet Transfer paper. **For colors you could totally customize for a boy or girl or go neutral like I did.

 

Then cut them out, keeping only a tiny edge around the outside of your design.

 

 

Once all mine were printed and cut I ironed them on the onesie.

(Follow the instructions from Transfer paper package as times may vary)

 

Here is a completed onesie:

Here is my collection, I rolled them and put them together in a box.

I added a fun little note to go with them for the mom-to-be!!

   This is one of my new favorite gifts...now if more people I know would just have babies!!  

Initial

I LOVE to put a festive holiday wreath on my door, but sometimes there isn't a holiday that is really celebrated and you have those in between months.   So problem solved:

 

Here's the how to on how to make your very own Door Initial!

 

Supplies:

 

Wooden Initial (mine is 10", but you could go bigger or smaller)

Craft Paint

Foam Brush

Ribbon or Trim (for decor, I used ric rac)

Accessories (flowers or buttons)



 

1. To start paint your letter using the craft paint in the color of your choice. I went BOLD since my door is black and I wanted it to stick out!

 

2. Once the paint is dry begin to layout your accessories. I started with my ric rac.

Depending on your letter you may want to omit this, and just use a flower or some buttons just add a little fun to your inital.

 

 

Here it is ready to go:

 

 {Sorry, not my best pic!}

Cake Stand

I am absolutely in LOVE with all the fun, colorful, adorable cake stands that are out there these days!! Here are some of my favs:

http://sarahsstands.com/

 

 or this beauty from delightfully lovely

 

 

oh and these from marsh home!!

Well being on the crafty side and liking to keep things budget friendly I decided I would make my own!
Here is what you'll need:

• candlestick (also could use a glass as well)
• wooden plaque (any size will work, and really almost any shape too)
• E6000 glue
• craft paint/spray paint

To get started first you will want to decide if you want to paint your candlestick. I chose not to since I liked how it looked and planned to use it with my larger glass cake stand.

Next paint either both the candlestick and the wooden plaque or in my case just the wooden plaque. (**if you are using either a glass or metal candlestick you will want to use spray paint as it will ahere better)

Once the paint has dried you can go ahead and glue your candlestick onto the plaque. I used E6000 as it is my go to glue...I use this stuff for EVERYTHING!

Let dry and then sit back and enjoy your handy work!

 

Upcycled Pillows

**In case you missed my guest post, here is the fun project I did!! It was pretty easy and super fun!! Jake is already requesting more!!**



T-shirts always seem to wear out around our house...and with a husband that wears them everyday, we go through A LOT!! 

Well, my hubby has a few that bring back some special memories or are just plain cool, but he has, well let's just say made them not as attractive to wear anymore. So I have been looking for a cool way to use these t-shirts. I've heard of the quilts, but they don't quite fit so when I saw some t-shirt pillows I knew that it was the PERFECT idea!! My son's room is baseball themed and since most of the t-shirts I had to work with were baseball/sport related they would be a great addition to his room! So I got to work!

Supplies: 

• old or new t-shirts
• stuffing (higher polyfil the better, or you can use a pillow form)
• pins
• rotary cutter and cutting mat
• lightweight fusible interfacing

Now let's get started:

First off decide what part of the shirt you are going to use.

Using your rotary cutter and mat line the shirt up and cut you will want your image to be centered so cut accordingly. Cut through both layers of the shirt.

Now cut your interfacing to the same size as your pieces. You will want to iron this onto both sides of the pillow, it helps to keep the shirt from stretching and tearing after you sew.

Next, pin right sides together and then sew around the outside leaving 3-4 inch opening for you to stuff.

 

Trim corners and then turn rightside out, and STUFF! Then finish off with an invisible stitch.

Display with JOY and ADMIRATION!!

The smile on my son's face is enough for me to know that it's a job well done!

Guesting

Oh my...I am so excited to share this really FUN site with you! It's called Room Mom Spot. It is the perfect blog if you are looking for a fun class treat, activity, teacher gift, or well just a fun idea to do with the kids! I had a blast looking around at all the great ideas and finding fun new treats to make for my kids! I'm sure it will be a new fav when we are looking for a special treat to share! I did a post on T-shirt pillows, which has been on my To Do List...for WAY to long! And this was my much needed motivation! Here's a link: http://www.roommomspot.com/2012/03/13/kids-craft/ Be sure to check them out!!They also have a sister site that is great to arrange volunteers (http://www.volunteerspot.com/) 

{LOVE}

Here's how we spread the love yesterday: 

These turned out really cute!!

This has got to be my most favorite Valentine!! I have some really fun outtakes to share with you later this week!! (Sorry I can't figure out how to turn it!)

I waited a whole year to make these!! I bought 90 mini candy canes so I was sure to have enough!

Banded Together

Pinterest Project Alert...In my goal to try and really organize the house this year I continued on my quest for Emmah's room to have some order. Next on the list hair supplies!! I mean what girl doesn't have a TON of these??Emmah has recently really gotten into headbands and they are taking over my shelf in the bathroom so I had to do something! To make a headband holder of your own, here is what you'll need:

I began by cutting my paper to size, you'll need 2 sheets, and you will have extra and can use that for the top.

Lightly Modge Podge the paper around the oatmeal container, being careful not to overdue the Modge Podge. (You will want to trim the 2nd sheet so you have enough for the top)

Once the bottom is done you can trace around the top. I chose to use a different paper and make it about 1-11/2" bigger so it would fit around the lid nicely.

Cut out circle...if you are looking for the edges to wrap around the outside you will need it at least 1" larger than the lid, you can then start by Modge Podging the center on, then start to cut the extra around the outside into strips and gluing them down 1-3 at a time. I used hot glue as my top paper was thicker.

Then VIOLA...

I am loving it...and couldn't be happier with how it turned out!

Pajama Monster

Now what would Christmas break be without a little craftin?? NO FUN that's what!!Well my niece found this super fun Pajama Eaters tutorial so of course we had to make it!! Since neither one of us are particularly good sewers we called in an expert, Grandma Fowler!!She made an example for us and then we gathered our supplies, she headed over with her machine and we got to work. I wasn't very good about taking pics at the beginning...sry!Here we have after we have attached the body and head to the mouth, which includes a zipper, and also added the eyes which we used Steam-a-Seam for.

Adding the lining...

Getting arms and legs all sewn up!

Here are our Pajama Eaters with the arms attached...not too bad!

Sewing on the legs, this was a little tricky, but not terrible. You just have to concentrate!

Here we all are with our complete Pajama Eaters!! I LOVE how they turned out and the kids can't wait to use them!

Thanks Grandma Fowler for your help and sewing expertice!

Watch out Pajamas...here we come!!

Want to make your own Pajama Monster, then head over to see Jodi and she'll show you the way! (And A LOT of other fun stuff too!!)