It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…CRAFTING!

It snowed the other morning.

For me that means it’s Christmas time.

So even though it only snowed for 3 minutes and it was mixed with rain and none of it stuck to the ground…it still snowed. And now it’s Christmas time!!!

More specifically, it’s Christmas CRAFTING time!!  Here are some of my favorite Christmas crafts from years past to keep you busy while I stretch out my glitter coating, wreath making, snowflake cutting muscles. It’s important to ease into these things lest you pull something and have to sit out the rest of the season.

 

           D.I.Y. FIREPLACE         UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATER

UPCYCLED CATALOG CHRISTMAS TREE

KID-FRIENDLY DIY SNOWGLOBES

I’d love to see any projects you make following my tutorials or any projects you’ve made on your own!  

Merry Christmas Crafting season!!

Geometrical Block Printed Planter Makeover

I made this beautiful block printed planter first thing this planting season and then forgot to share it.  This essentially means it never happened at all and all of my priming and painting and sponge cutting was for not.  So I’m posting it now, just in time for the end of planting season.  Luckily, I think it’s going to look just as lovely stuffed full of Mums and tall grasses as it looked chock full of petunias.  

And the best part of this project?  It  was completely free!

It was super easy (and free!) and would make a great weekend project.  

It took me about 4 hours start-to-finish including the time it took the paint to dry.  

Here’s how I made it…for FREE!  (Did I mention this project didn’t cost me anything?)

1. I took an old banged up pot that wasn’t being used and gave it a good scrubbin’.
2. Then I sprayed the inside of the pot red with some paint I had on-hand; spray the inside first because there may be some over-spray
3. Then I primed the outside of the pot white and covered the over-spray
4. After that I gave the whole thing a coat of Cream colored paint and let it dry.

Cost so far: $0.00

While the paint was drying I made the stamp.

1. To make the stamp you’ll need an old sponge, scissors, a Sharpie & a ruler
2. I used the ruler to measure out a 2″ x 2″ x 2″ triangle
3. and drew it on the sponge with my marker
4. Then I cut along the lines and now I have my stamp…and it’s still FREEEEE!

Now you should test your stamp to experiment with how much paint to use, 

how hard to press down on it and to decide on the pattern you’re going to use. 

I used a piece of blue painter’s tape to create a line to follow while I stamped.  

This helped a little bit but it would be ok without it also.  

I continued to stamp all the way around the planter, 

moving my piece of tape to the next row as the paint dried.

Then I removed the tape and I had a perfectly printed, perfectly d.i.y.’d, 

perfectly FREE brand spankin’ new planter!  And, I can’t remember if

I told you this or not yet but it didn’t cost me a thing!!  

Rit Rooooo!!  (that’s a whistle noise)

I’d love to see your pictures if you decide to make one of your own. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a wonderful weekend!  

Parenting Project #1: Homemade Baby Wipes

In honor of today being the first day of Spring, I thought we could start our Spring Cleaning by focusing the most important object in the house: the baby.

And more specifically- her bottom. 

When my little Sadie Jean was a mere 1 week old she got the most hellacious diaper rash I’ve ever seen.  (**it should be noted here that I’ve probably only seen 3-4 diaper rashes in real life but still, it was BAD!)  So- I started asking around to my circle-of-Moms to find out what they use to cure them and more importantly- to prevent them and was handed down this awesome Do-It-Yourself Butt Wipe recipe from my friend Katherine, who’s the mother of twin boys, and I’m happy to report that Sadie is now 12 weeks old and has remained diaper rash free!  This is a big deal in my life.  (Thank you Katherine!!)

So, without further ado, I give you the…

KATHERINE’S RECIPE FOR A HAPPY BABY BUTT

• 1 roll paper towel, cut in half
• 2C water
• 1/8C baby oil (that’s 2 Tbls)
• a squirt of baby wash (just a dab’ll do ya)
• 5 drops tea tree oil (a natural antibacterial)
• a rubbermaid container with a lid

To make these wipes, first cut a roll of papertowels in half.   

(I use Viva because they feel the most like cloth)

Remove the inner cardboard tube and pull out the first square of papertowel.

Now mix your ingredients.  I put mine in a seperate jar and then dump them over the papertowels while already in the Rubbermaid but you can do whatever you want.  It’s your party. 

Swirl the ingredients gently to mix but don’t shake them up or it will get all foamy and not soak into the papertowels right. 

 

Put the half roll of papertowels into the Rubbermaid, pour the mixture of the entire roll and let sit for at least 15 minutes to get them completely wet and you’re done!  You’ve made your first batch of butt wipes.  These are not only a nice way to cut down on the amount of chemicals being used to clean little Juniors rear end but they’re also economical.  For this roll of 88 wipes the total price was $.98!!  You just can’t beat that!!

Hopefully these work for you as well as they’ve worked for us! 

Diaper rash free in one-three!!

$5 DIY Googley-eyed Fall Wreath Tutorial

I’m not sure what’s happening to me but I felt an overwhelming urge to make an Autumn wreath this year.  I’ve always been into decorating, and over-decorating, for the holidays but I usually keep it to giant fake spiders, severed hands and glittery skeletons.  Your standard October stuff.  So when I found myself shopping for a wreath making supplies, nobody was more surprised than me.  It was as if I blacked out and woke up at the register with a wreath form and fake foliage in my hands. 

So, I’ve accepted it, I like wreaths.  There, I said it.  

But that doesn’t mean I have to make a button covered, gingham scarecrow country crafts with a giant bow type of wreath.   I can like wreaths and still make them look like me.  It doesn’t mean I have to buy high waisted Mom jeans or run out and lease a mini-van.  Not yet anyway.  

So here is my tutorial on how to make a quick $5 Googley-Eyed Fall Wreath:

SUPPLIES (I got the $1 supplies from the dollar store)

$1 wreath form

$1 fall foliage x3

$1 5pk mini squashes

ball of twine (had on hand)

googley eyes (had on hand) 

wire cutters (had ’em)

glue gun/glue sticks (had ’em)

To begin, start by tying the end of your twine to your wreath form and wrap the twine around the wreath for a space about 3″ long.  This is purely decorative. 

Next, arrange your 3 bouquets of fall foliage and begin snipping them off of the main branch with your wire cutters.  Arrange the new seperate pieces so that you have 2 equal bouquets (if you plan on making 2 wreaths…which I did because I have a double front door.)

Now begin adding the plastic foliage to your wreath just under the 3″ band of twine.  I used hot glue to keep the plants in place and then wrapped more twine around the base of each one- mostly because it looks cute but also to secure it in place.  

When you reach the end add another 3″ section of wrapped twine to finish it off.  You can stop here and have a perfectly lovely Autumnal Wreath to hang on your front door but I feel like it’s just too regular.  It needs something. 

In my case, that “something” almost always ends up being googley-eyes.  Or “guurely eyes” as my niece calls them.  

From the 5 pack of mini squashes I scooped at the dollar store, I grabbed a couple of ’em and gave them life.  I am not unlike the good Dr. Frankenstein in this way.  

Take your freshly googelied squashes and arrange them at the base of your fallin’ foliage until you are satisfied and hot glue them into place.  

**Note: my squashes are made of styrofoam which means they basically melt when the come in contact with hot glue.  Turn your glue gun to the lowest setting if you have that option or put the glue on the wreath first and allow it to cool for about 3-4 seconds before placing your squash so that it doesn’t turn into a puddle.**

And finally, add a twine hanger to the top of your wreath and hang with pride from your front door(s).  

Together these wreaths cost me less than $10 and they can be left up through Halloween and all the way through to Thanksgiving.  I hope you like them as much as I do. 

happy fall!

Kids Crafts: My Pet Rock

This is a fun and easy project to entertain kids on a hot Summer’s day and, depending on the supplies you have on hand, it could even be free.  

For this project you’ll need:

• some rocks
• spray primer (optional)
• acrylic paint
• googley eyes (never optional)
• a couple of kid-friendly paintbrushes
• tacky glue
• some chil’ren

Start out by collecting some rocks.  

This comes as naturally as breathing to my 5-year-old niece so luckily after a day of adventurin’ I already had a pocketful of rocks to start with.  If you can’t find any “good” rocks, you can always buy some at a craft store.  

Next, using a spray primer lightly coat both sides of the rocks. 

This helps the paint to adhere to the rock’s surface and allows bright colors to show up better on darker colored rocks. 

Once the primer is dry (about a 1/2 hour on each side) put some aprons on some kids (some that you know preferrably), put out some paint and let them get creative.  

Encourage the kids to paint monsters with big mouths, stripes, polka dots, animals they like, flowers…anything that gets their imaginations going.  

 
If there are globs of paint on a rock, the googley eyes may be able to stick right to it.  If not just glue ’em on.

Acrylic paint is non-toxic and washable before it’s dry.    

And now, if your little people really love you, they might just give you one of the rocks they just painted.  I was lucky enough to have this rock gifted to me.  “She’s a girl on this side and a boy on the other”….obviously.

Giving in to Trends: Ombre Paint Chip Art

I spent a good portion of my teenage years rejecting all things trendy and popular.  That habit has stuck with me now into my late 20’s (ok, early 30’s) whenever I see something adorable on another craft blog and/or everybody’s favorite website, Pinterest.  (See, I’m even trying to pretend like I don’t totally love Pinterest.)  Instead of happily jumping on the bandwagon and admitting that something is adorable, I dog ear it and come back later, trying not to make eye contact with it and acting like it’s not so great. 

Today I decided that it was time for me to make eye contact with paint chip art and I’m glad I did because it was a fun and easy project (not to mention practically free!) that only took about an hour to finish.  

Here’s how I did it:

First, go to your favorite paint store and grab some paint chip samples from the big wall of colors (or use different colored construction paper).  I actually felt a little bad about taking so many so I asked the guy behind the counter if it was ok.  He shrugged with complete indifference and I was guilt-free.  

Next, find a small circular object to outline onto the paint chips to utilize as much of the colored area as possible- I used a small roll of tape- and cut out your circles.

Experiment with the layout of your circles until you have ’em just how you want ’em.

Prepare your frame– I got this white matted frame for $5.99 at the Christmas Tree Shop by my house- the frame has some dings in it but I’m writing them off as “shabby chic.”

Remove the mat and backing from the frame and outline the opening of the mat directly onto the cardboard backing.

Now, starting and the bottom and beginning with the lightest layer, glue the circles to the cardboard using a glue stick.  The second layer should overlap the first slightly and the circles should become progressively darker towards the top of the cardboard.

You only have to fill in the area inside of the outline we made but be sure to overlap the edges so that none of the backing shows.  

To add a letter, take another paint chip in a coordinating color and draw your letter backwards on the BACKSIDE of it.    

Cut out the letter, glue it into place wherever your little heart desires and presto- you’re an artist.

I decided to let some of the lettering from the names of the paint show on my final product.  It gives it extra home-made-i-ness.  

Now you have a personalized gift to give as a new baby or shower present and no-one has to know about the ridiculous internal struggle that it took to make it.   

Happy Friday!

Super Mario Bros. the Cast

I had a small outpatient surgery last week to correct my DeQuervian Tenosynovitis.  When I woke up from surgery, I found a big cast on my arm.  It was unexpected but during the last week it’s turned into my favorite accessory.  I’ve had it hot pink, black, red, yellow, white with a “POW!” and now, my coup de grace, it’s Mario Brothers World 1-1.

The cast started out white and I covered it with Coflex which comes in a bunch of colors, I chose light blue and grass green.

Then I made the decals- tunnels, bricks, clouds, man eating tunnel flower- out of white fabric medical tape and started arranging them on my cast.

And now I have a cast that any 80’s baby could be proud of.

Save the Princess!!

Why don’t you make me?: Three-Tiered Terra Cotta Planter

With limited space in my small city yard every inch counts so each Spring I am faced with a decision: do I want pretty flowers or a functioning vegetable garden?  I envision myself having friends over for dinner and quickly running outside with my schears to an adorable, and lovingly attended to, little vegetable garden- I’d grab fresh herbs for the potatoes, pluck some peppers and lettuce for the salad and maybe bring in some grape tomatoes for my friends to snack on before dinner.  They just love that.  Then, after dinner we’d all get in my spaceship and go visit Unitron, the home of the last living unicorn.  In other words, it’s not going to happen.

What did happen however is this- a triple-decker half veggie/half flower tower of compromise.  I’m taking baby steps to becoming the world’s best hostess by growing only the greens to my future salads and I still have room for flowers! 

Here’s how I did it:

First, I invited Liz over who did everything.  (This was an important step because Liz is wicked good at this stuff and because I have a cast on my right arm up to my elbow right now.) 

Next, we took pots from the pot graveyard on the side of my house and selected 3 in decending sizes.  (These don’t have to match perfectly, as you can see.)

Pick a sunny spot in your garden to place the biggest pot- we nestled ours right into this Vinca Minor- and fill with soil until just below the top.

Add a small dowel or bamboo rod into the largest pot and thread themiddle pot onto it burying the pot about an inch into the soil of the largest pot.

Then trim the dowel until about 3-4″ is showing to be inserted into the smallest pot.

Now have Liz thread the smallest pot right over the dowel and press into the dirt on the lower level burying it slightly.  Great job Liz!

And finally, you are ready to plant your Garden of Compromise.  Liz and I decided on some green lettuce, purple lettuce, white & purple flowers, 2 small cascading plants and topped the whole thing off with a ponytail fern.

Now we truly can have our garden…and eat it too.

Thanks Liz!! ❤ ❤ ❤

Day 2: Craft Day!

It’s Saturday, aka craft day!  I decided to try my hand at the trash-to-trasure example from yesterday:


the recycled bottle cell phone charging station.

 For this project you’ll need the following supplies:

• a bottle destined for the recycle bin
• 1/4 yard of scrap fabric
• mod podge
• X-acto knife
• sandpaper
• outlet cover
• sharpie
• paintbrush

To create this charging station, cut your plastic bottle in half, you’re creating a small cup.

Cover this cup with your scrap fabric using your paintbrush and mod podge.  

On the back of the cup, add a long piece of fabric to attach to he outlet cover. (seen below)

 While that dries, cover the outlet cover with the same fabric.  Follow my tutorial here.

Once both pieces are dry, cut the fabric extension into 3 pieces and cut out the middle piece- you’ll be left with 2 strips on either side to adhere to the outlet cover.

Place the cover face down on a surface that is level with the cup and mod podge the pieces together, below.

Allow to dry, plug in your phone and you’re done!

Day 2: Recycled Crafts for Kids

Teaching kids at a young age what it means to reduce-reuse-and-recycle is always something taught in school but to really drive the point home, it’s important to incorporate those things into real life.  Here are a couple of great crafts to do with kids to show them ways to recycle bottles into something fun and  useful.  

Ages 9+: Ashley over at Make-It-&-Love-It made this awesome cell phone caddy out of a lotion bottle.  This craft would be great for older kids, especially those just getting their first cell phones or iPods.

Ages 5+: This awesome bowling set made by CreativeDish would be perfect for kids old enough to wield a glue gun and is a great way to keep 10 bottles out of a landfill!

Ages2+: And finally, check out this “lava lamp” made by Rainbows & Unicorns (great name by the way!) made with a plastic bottle, oil, water, food coloring and complete with sea creatures!  This is a wonderful project for little ones- also consider throwing in some glitter or sequins!

Happy Friday!!!