Growth Chart

I had Caitlin and her family for Christmas a few weeks ago. I made them a Growth Chart as their family gift. 

I found several tutorials via pinterest. Then I did what I usually do. Look at the picture and made up my own way to do it. :)

First thing I did was go to Home Depot and found pre-sanded wood. Conveniently they are sold by the foot. I decided that since Nick's family is tall, they needed a tall one. I bought a board that was 6'1". And then when it was hung 6 inches from the floor and it would be 6'7" total. Perfect!

I was going to paint the board, but Nick is a wood purist and painted wood offends him. :) So I stained  it with Minwax PolyShades in American Chestnut Satin. I've never really stained anything before, so I thought this would be a good practice project. 

Who knew that gloves would have been a good idea...or that water doesn't wash stain off things...like a porcelain sink and that my hands would turn super sticky when I tried to wash the paintbrush with water (thus the stain in the sink). Probably everyone. But in my defense...nowhere on the can did it say that it was oil based stain, or that gloves would have been a good idea. 

Thankfully Nick is an expert in staining, so when I realized the problem, I called him and he suggested nail polish remover. Thankfully I had some and dumped it everywhere. It worked pretty well. Eventually my hands returned to their normal color and non-stickiness. :)

So I started with a pretty piece of poplar and began staining.

I did two layers of stain. For the tick marks and numbers, I cut them out with my cameo out of white textured cardstock. The numbers are inked in silver ink to give them a bit more character. They are then modpodged on and then sealed with another layer of mod podge. Vinyl is a perfectly acceptable option, and one I considered (would have been faster and eaiser), but I was afraid of little fingers picking and peeling off the vinyl . So paper and glue it is!

All done! 

Here it is hanging up in their house, tucked in nicely behind the front door. And complete with measurements of the kids. :) On Rachel's 2nd Birthday, she measured 2'11"--she really tall!  

Thanks for reading!

Bedroom Makeover: My Crafty Corner

One of my favorite parts of moving to the master bedroom has been that I have more space for a crafty corner. YAY!

I decided that I was going to take the opportunity to go through my stuff, purge, and organize everything. Most of it is scrapbook supplies and those really needed to be wrangled in. I had a couple of large boxes I picked up at IKEA that I really liked and so I decided to get more so everything matched.

I spent a whole afternoon one Saturday organizing and filling the boxes. It is so nice to have a specific place to put everything. Hopefully this will help me keep my desk a little more clutter free. Um, maybe. :) (update: Yes it has! It's AH-MAZING!)

I decided to use one of my bookcases to store the boxes and my scrapbook paper. Remember my epic fail with them? Yeah. So fabric for this bookcase too. Pretty! I just wish I could see more of it! 

Everything looks so tidy boxed up!

Right now I have 10 boxes: 2 Embellishment boxes, and then 1 for each of the following: Alphabets, Tools, Hardware, Adhesives, Stamps, Powders and Glitter, Sewing, and Inks & Sprays. They fit perfectly on the bookcase. 

Each box is pretty organized. For my glitter glue, I glued together some plumbing round things (that's the technical term) and they hold the glitter glue upside down. 

For my inks, I decided to put the blending pads velcroed to the lid of the box. It makes it easier to find the right color. All my inks and sprays fit nicely in the box. Yay!

Then I took on the task of organizing my paper. I actually don't have that much paper, but there's still enough that it took awhile. My paper was already fairly organized, but I didn't like the system since I just wasn't using the paper as much as I should. It was just easier to buy new paper. Which, as fun as that is, just is me spending more money. I needed to really go through my paper and donate what I don't want, or won't use, and start over again.

I really wanted these fancy paper holders, but at $8 for one, it was out of my budget. Then, I read on a scrapbook forum (I'm such a nerd), someone had used the free priority mail boxes from the post office to make their own. GENIUS!

So I ordered some boxes (it came in a package of 10--and hello free shipping!) that were the size I was looking for and then cut them into the shape I wanted. After lots of white spray paint to cover up the priority mail markings, I attached some fun label pulls that I had spray painted silver. I wanted them to match the white boxes so I picked up some adhesive silver foil and put it along the edges. This also helped the paper not to catch as much. So for about $20 (spray paint, label pulls, and foil) I made 8 magazine holders--vs. $64. I win. I could have made 10, but right now I only need 8.

Pretty awesome, right?!

The answer is yes. :)

So I organized my paper and it is lovely now. The scraps are in the ziplock bags that I used for the paper before and go in the box with the rest of that color.

I needed more light in the corner, so I hung up my paper lantern with a light in it. It made a big difference. I wanted to spice up the lantern a bit and found a pretty inspiration picture on pinterest and started cutting away on my cameo.

I really like how it turned out.

I finally was able to put up this pretty organizer that I bought on clearance at Michaels months ago...way before I knew I was moving. Normally it's over a $100, but it was on sale for $20. I knew that someday, somewhere, I would find a place for it, so I snagged it and it's been sitting in my garage ever since. I love having it up and excited fill it with pretty things. :)

I was able to squeeze my ribbon holder in the corner. It was exactly the right size. Above it I put my bulletin board. Eventually I do want a new, bigger table. But that will happen in time.

So that's my crafty corner. I now feel like I have a studio area in my bedroom, instead of a bed in my studio. haha. It's nice to feel like I can breath in my room. :)

Rachel's 2013 ABC's Book

I had Caitlin and her family for Christmas (we're poor so we do name exchanges). Yay! That means presents for the bay-bays!

Funds were a bit scarce this year (ya know, with the unexpected surprise trip to Chicago! Ahh! So fun! :) ) and so I had to get a bit creative with what to give my sister and her family. Rachel probably won't remember this Christmas, so I knew it didn't have to be very fancy and I know that Caitlin is working with Rachel to help her learn (the kid already knows her body parts--including ones that no one taught her!) and since Rachel is turning 2, I thought I would make her a little ABC book to re-count her 2nd year of life. Almost like a scrapbook mini-album.

I found the perfect sized board book at a thrift store for $1.49--along with two others of same type, which I also got her. The books are "I Spy" books (which I love!) and I just took the one that I liked the least and recovered the pictures. There were exactly enough pages to do an ABC book.

So using a photoediting program, I edited pictures of Rachel and her family and put words on them for each letter. Then I measured the book so I knew what size to print the pictures, sized the pictures, printed, and then adhered them to the book using my trusty ATG tape gun. And because Rachel is 2 and has a drooly little brother (he's teething), I covered the pages with clear contact paper. And it was finished.

Here are the pictures I used.

(Note: when I put the collages together, the edges got cut off. They aren't in the actual book. And yes...I did stretch a couple of the letters. There are not that many words--as in none--in a 2-year old's world that start with X, okay?)

And here is a picture of the final book.

I thought it turned out really cute. Very easy, and pretty quick. Deciding on pictures and words to go with the letters was definitely the hardest part.

Merry Christmas to Rachel!

Bedroom Makeover: Master Bathroom

One of the perks to having the master bedroom is having my own bathroom! Yay!

I didn't really do too much, especially since the walls were already painted a awesome blue color and the white shelves were already in place.

I had some white netted curtains (ikea) that I thought I was going to use to over the sliding glass door, but ended up not using. And since I had an extra shower curtain rod, I decided to hang those up over the shower doors. The curtains were really long so I put the rod right at the ceiling. I love the way it looks!

I also wanted some glass jars to hold my cotton balls and q-tips, but I was running low on funds so I found some candle jars that were left behind when my roommates moved out and emptied out the wax. They smelled nasty.

Once they were clean, I used them, but thought they were kind of boring. I wanted to bring some color to the counter so I looked up ways to paint glass. In my hunt, I came across a Martha Stewart paint that is for glass, but is frosted so it looks like sea glass. Perfect!

I picked some up and, after reading directions online, began painting. I really like how they turned out. The only thing I would change was that I put on two layers because I wasn't sure what it would look like when they were done baking. I should have just done one layer. But not a big deal.

Then I found a scrap of cream ribbon that was exactly the right length to split between the two jars, cut a cardboard circle, covered it in teal glitter, and hot glued some starfish I had laying around from a different project.

My bamboo plant was in the kitchen, but was in the way so I moved it to the bathroom. I love it in there. The mirror makes the plant feel a lot bigger than it really is, and it's pretty big.

I really love how my bathroom turned out.

Bedroom Makeover: Short Bookcase

Finally some results! Yay! Remember my empty room? Yeah, well things are moved in and camp is set up! Yay!

I was debating if I wanted to start showing stuff off in over the period of this next week (there's lots!) or if I should spread it out over time. I've decided to show what I have done and then post what gets done later...later.

So here's one of the first things I did.

Next to my dresser, I had space for a small book case that has been sitting unused in my garage for the past two years. So glad that I finally have room for it. Somehow one of the shelves disappeared and so I got one cut at Home Depot from MDF. Of course, now that it's all painted and done, I found the shelf hiding in a random closet. Weird. Anyway....

The bookcase was a boring brown fake wood look that desperately needed a makeover. Yay for spray paint!! This also would cover up the fact that one of the shelves didn't match. 

I painted it with my favorite cream, Heirloom White. I did learn a lesson. Spray paint, while easier, definitely was not the right medium for this project. If I'm not careful, it scrapes off easy and didn't lay color down evenly--and it took 3 cans. I should have just painted it with regular wall paint or chalk paint. Oh well. It still works if I'm gentle.

It needed something fun on top to go with my new decor.

As part of me learning to sew, I made a burlap table runner (complete with tassels!) to go on top. I got real fancy with the machine and did a pretty scallop stitching on top to add a little sumthin' to it. Just don't look too close... :) And ignore that it slightly too wide and not long enough. Have I ever mentioned that math is not my friend? I really don't know how I mis-measured or whatever I did to mess it up. Oh well. It's not perfect, but considering that it was my first real sewing project by myself (as in I didn't call anyone in a panic because I don't know what I'm doing) and it has tassels...I'll let it go. I'm really proud of myself that I figured out how to put tassels in it. :)

The bookcase and runner needed something pretty and preferably green to go on it.
Thus the succulent terrarium was born. I've seen lots of them, including at Home Goods where I got the glass jar. The night I picked up the glass, I found one on clearance for $49 (normally  $79) and it was smaller. Mine was $32 total and bigger. Yay!

Supplies:

- 22" Glass Jar: $16 (Home Goods)
- Lots of fake succulents: $9 on clearance (Michaels)
- Foam block: $2.50 (Michaels)
- 2 bags of River Rocks: $2 each
- sand (on hand)
- Hot glue (on hand)--I didn't really use it much though

So I put it together just evenly layering the succulents. I mixed in a few that I had leftover from a different project. Worked pretty well. 

I wanted it a little taller than it was so I grabbed some books that I was going to donate and wrapped them in kraft paper and then because there needed to be more blue, wrapped some teal baker's twine around them. I love baker's twine.

Now I still need to decide about the black dresser. I don't like the color anymore, but I'm not ready to dismantle it and paint it yet. Hmmm...

Coming soon...nightstands, trunks, and lamps, oh my! And more sewing... :D

Framed Chicken Wire Photo "Tack Board"

I've been quiet here because I've been working on projects and have a couple still in the works. But I have finished one...well three, actually. But they were the same thing. So here it is.

Waaaay back in April, I came across a picture on pinterest (shock!) that caught my interest. I clicked through and found it on this fun blog.

Those instructions were a little more than I could do at the moment seeing as I don't have power tools. So I made it my own.

I started looking for fun, fancy, vintagey frames. I wanted one that was pretty thick (wide?) and was for 16x20" pictures...so about 20x24". I started looking way back in April. I had several birthdays/events coming up that I wanted to make something special for. But because I am cheap, er thrifty, I didn't want to pay full price--or anything more than $10 for each frame.

Yeah, by the time I found frames, each of those three birthdays/events had already passed. Better late than never, right? I decided that I was just extending the celebration....um, yeah.

Then a couple of weeks ago I finally found $50 frames for $10! I picked up one to buy (it was marked down to $18--I was getting tired of not finding anything I liked--and I liked these), but then when I realized it was only $10, I went and bought the other two--which was great because I needed three total. :)

I forgot to take a picture of the frames before I spray painted them, but they were originally a dark brown with a hint of gold. Pretty, but not the color I wanted. Yay for spray paint!

Here's a picture when it was mostly done.

The color is Rustoleum's Heirloom White. It's a favorite right now. I taped off the back a bit so the edges would have crisp lines on it. The backs of the frames were silver and I wanted to keep it that way.

The frames came with hangy-things on the back so I got brave and removed them (they were in the way of the wire and the fabric. But I wasn't sure how I was going to be able to put them back in. Don't worry. I figured it out.

I got the smallest roll of chicken wire from Home Depot and cut a piece that was a little smaller than the outer edge of the frame. I first tried to staple it using a staple gun to the very inside edge of the frame (where the glass sits), but the staples I got were too long and poked through the front of the frame. Oops! Fortunately I realized the problem pretty quick so there were only a few spots. I re-spray painted them to try to cover it up a bit.

So I started stapling around the middle of the back of the frame.

I started at the corners, pulling the opposite corner, so it was tight. Then I stapled in the middle of each edge, while pulling the opposite side to keep it tight. Once the middle of each side was stapled, I stapled each side while pulling it tightly.

 

I tried to keep the staples in the thickest part of the frame (see above problem) which was also close to the inside edge. So I trimmed off the excess wire so the fabric would cover it up once that was tacked down. 

 

There were some nasty sharp pieces left from when I cut it down so I just bent them over so they wouldn't poke out. 

 

I learned a valuable lesson. Using a staple gun so that the staples are actually in all the way and flush with the wood is hard. Or maybe it is just for me. My wrists were not happy with this project. And I need to work on my staple gun skills. Good thing most of them are covered up and the ones that aren't are on the back. 

Moving on.....I picked out some fat fabric quarters in patterns and colors I thought the recipients might like, ironed them to perfection (which is saying something because I actually despise ironing--this just shows how much I LOVE the three recipients...I even ironed for them. It has nothing to do with my OCD for perfection) and then used a staple gun to attach the fabric to the back of frame, over the chicken wire. Again, stapling opposite corners and then middles to keep it taught.

 

I then cut a piece of cream felt just larger than the piece of fabric (about 19"x23"). I found the holes where the hangy-things screwed into the wood and punched holes in the colored fabric and the felt. It made re-attaching them much easier. I then stapled that to the frame. Yeah, there were a lot of staples.

 

But the felt is great. It keeps the wire from scratching up the wall behind it, should that be an issue. The printed fabric is just a thin cotton that would probably fall apart if you sneezed too hard.

 

Once that was done, I screwed the hangy-things (there has got to be another--better-- word that I totally can't think of right now) back into the frame using the holes I had poked. Made it super easy.

 

Ta Da!

 

 

I put this against the wall to admire my handy work and decided, that while this is cute, it needed to be funner. I like to give fun gifts and so I thought this frame needs a party on it. So I made one for each of my recipients.

 

It took a just few minutes perusing each of their facebook pages to find  fun pictures to attach to show the potential of their new decor item. It worked. :)

 

Alyssa's:

 

 

Detail pic of the banner and little flowers glued to mini clothespins. So adorbs. :)

 

 

 

For my momma: It has pics of us and her grandbabies. Also super adorbs. For the banner, I used some paint chips that I found left over from a different project a few years ago. They were convenient and perfect.

 



 

For Monica: Yeah, her kid is so adorable!

 



 

I was going to wrap each of them, but then I ran out of time when I was going to give Lys her frame and just tied some tulle around with a big fluffy bow. I liked it and did it to the other two frames too.

 





 

Monica's frame was a birthday present. And her birthday was in APRIL. I felt guilty. So I made a little tag to attach to her frame. Just so she knew this was actually a VERY belated present. 

 

 

I loved the frame so much that I really wanted to keep each of them and hang them all up in my room. But I resisted. :)

 

However, that doesn't mean that I won't make a GIGANTIC one for me. I do have a lot of chicken wire left....

 





Flower Mobile

Before I even knew I was going to throw Fallon a shower, I decided I was going to make her something fun for the Nursery. Caitlin suggested I make her a mobile like I did for Rachel.

 

But this one has some improvements so I thought I would update how I did it. It was definitely easier this time, but it did cost a bit more.

 

I used a 12" embroidery hoop and wrapped it with 1" wide cream ribbon. For the tied part, I bought 1/2" wide cream and light pink ribbed ribbon to tie around it. I also threw in 1" wide stips of burlap to add a bit of rustic charm to it. (The nursery colors are light pink, cream, and oatmeal tan. With a vintage-y vibe.) I cut 8-9" strips of ribbon and then started tieing them around the hoop. I was worried that the ribbon was going to be too long, but Cait convinced me it looked better that way. I used the same cream ribbon tied in 4 places to create a hanger. I loved how it turned out. I liked the frayed ribbon and burlap. 

 

 For the flowers, I used a pattern that I had done before for some wedding invitations I had helped with. And yes, I used my Cameo to cut them out. :) They are about 2" in diameter.

2/3 of the flowers are pink and the rest are creamy white with a tan back. The centers are are black fringy look with black glitter to add a bit of sparkle. Each flower has two layers of the paper and then a third layer of sparkily vellum.

 

Once the flowers were all dry, I curled up the edges of the petals to make them a bit more 3D. I was trying to figure out how to thread the strands through the flowers when I came up with using scrapbooking 3D foam adhesive squares. Then I put an adhesive foam square on half of them and stuck a flower on the back. Yay!

 

To make a strand, I cut a long piece of jewelery thread (little bit thicker than regular sewing thread) and tied a crystal jewel at the end. Then I started alternating round crystal beads (the most expensive part!) with flowers, using a needle to thread through the foam square on the flowers. To keep everything in place, I used jewelery crimp beads. 

 

The strands are all different lengths. I think for Rachel's I did 20 strands, but this time I only did 16. I think I like 16 better. I also made it so there was a lot more space between each item on the strand.  Sorry for the terrible picture, I didn't have anywhere in my house to hang it up when it was done except here.

 

When I was all done I packed it up in a perfectly sized box and very carefully wrapped up the box so it wouldn't get all tangled. That didn't work out so well, but it was easy to fix at the party. 

 

 

Fortunately Fallon loved it and was really excited about it. Several girls came up after and were wanting directions. It did take a little time to do it, but that is because I am really slow at things and wasn't sure what I wanted while I was doing it. :)

 

I loved how it turned out too and think I just have to make another. The great thing is that this is totally customizable and so the "flowers" can be anything you want. :)