Easter Preview

I love the blog eighteen25.blogspot.com, and the other day they posted this . . . 

I immediately decided that I needed these cute vases in Easter colors to go with my Easter subway art.

So, off to the thrift store I went.  (I must have REALLY liked what she had done, because I even bought the almost exact same vases).  Anyway, the vases cost me all of $2.25. 

 I found some fun spring colors in paints I had at home.  I just used regular acrylic paint.  The trick here is that the paint needs to be thinned just a tad.  If you thin it too much, it doesn't stick, and if it's too thick, it doesn't spread evenly.  Green . . . too thin, yellow . . . too thick, pink . . . just right.  Third time is a charm right.  Just squeeze quite a bit of paint into the vase, and let gravity do most of the work.  Really, all you need to do is tip the vase in the right direction to get the paint where you want it.

Once everything is nicely coated, tip the vases upside down over night to dry.  This will help get rid of excess paint.

 I also got the frame for my subway art at the thrift store for only a dollar.  A coat of primer and a coat of white spray paint took care of it quickly.  Add the painted vases, and all finished!  See previous post for the Easter subway art image.

Easter Subway Art

I looked all over for an easter subway art that highlighted the true meaning of Easter, rather than just peeps, bunnies, etc.  I had no luck in finding one I liked, so I decided to make my own. 

A few weeks ago I made this onesie for my cousin, and decided that it needed something else with it.  I made a pair of shoes for my little girl last summer using a pattern from this brilliant lady . . . Lena.

So, I got online, found Lean's patterns again, and purchased this little shoe pattern and got busy.  Mine don't look quite as nice as hers, but I think they'll still do.  I also used fabric instead of the wool she used because I wanted the frayed edge look on these little cuties.

New onesies

I know a gazillion people who are prego right now, and I've been going crazy making things for them.  This is a hot pink pair of pants, with hot pink ric rac, and black and white polka dot fabric, but it looks red in the pic.  

And this cute little thing will hopefully look pretty cute with a pair of khaki pants.  I'm also waiting on a pattern to make some cute little matching shoes.

St. Patty's Day is on the Way

My goal this month:  Get working on more St. Patty decorations!

I had ZERO St. Patty day decorations last year, and decided I needed to be a bit more festive this year.  The pot of gold and shamrock tree was a piece of cake.  Basically the bones were already in place from my valentine heart tree, so I simply changed out the decor with some little things I found at hobby lobby.

 My lucky letters I picked up at wood connection, painted them green, added some paper, chalked the edges, and embellished with stickers and ribbon. The cute hat was also a wood connection piece.  You can't tell to well from the picture, but there is some really fun gold glitter on it!

 I bought this frame at the local thrift store for $2.00, gave it a good painting, added some subway art that I found online, and distressed it a little to match the Lucky letters. The pot of gold I got from Wood Connection, and I just added some fun gold glitter and a little paint to it.

I know this is VERY slim!  So, my goal is to continue to add to the collection.  On the docket . . . a St. Patty's day ribbon topiary, teacher gifts, and who knows what else.

Keep Calm and . . .

Anyone else sick of the keep calm and . . . posters!

Well, I am!  So, tonight I created a new one.

Baby Outfit

My cute cousin is having a baby in June, and I am so excited for her!  I've got a million fun things that I want to make for her, and here is the first of the bunch.  Cross your fingers she'll like it.  I think the tie onesie and the binki clip are fine, it's the baby leggings that have me a little worried.  I guess I'll have to wait and see!

Valentine Skirt & Necklace

It's really only  been 1 1/2 years since I got my sewing machine, and I really only know the basics.  So, I'm proud to let you know that I ventured out and attempted something new.  I made a skirt for my daughter yesterday.  (she's only 18 months old, so let's be honest, this really wasn't anything too difficult)
I was completely unsure that it would work out, so I didn't take any during picture.  But here is the procedure I followed:

1.  I took a pair of her pants, and measured the waste & length.
2.  Determined the approximate length I wanted the skirt, and cut a strip of material that width.
3.  I decided to make the waste of the skirt 1 1/2 times the measurement of her pant waste, then I cut the material to that length.
4.  Sew the material into a tube, sewing wrong sides together.
5.  Turn down the top about 1/2 inch (enough room to insert elastic), and sew leaving a small gap to later thread the elastic through.
6.  Do a roll hem on the bottom of the skirt.
7.  Put a safety pin on the end of a piece of elastic, thread it through, determine desired length of elastic and then sew the elastic together.  Next sew up the "hole" where you inserted the elastic.
8.  I added a ruffle of ribbon to the bottom of my skirt, but this step could be skipped.

It's not the greatest skirt in the world, but it will do for valentine's day, and it looks pretty cute with her pink shirt and the necklace I made for her (which by the way you can purchase at bobbinsnbeads.weebly.com)

Spiderman Room?

My little guy is obsessed with spiderman.  This year his grandma and grandpa gave him a spiderman blanket and a spiderman lamp, so his little room is slowly starting to be overtaken with spiderman.  He's turning 4 in a couple of weeks, and I'm thinking we could easily convert his room into a spiderman room.   He's got a denim bedspread already, so add a spiderman pillow or two, take down the mickey mouse border and decor, add some spiderman prints to the wall, etc.

I'm thinking that I'd like to get posters made of the following 3 images.  The first is a subway art print that I made tonight, and the other 2 are minimalist posters that I found online.  I think they'd be fun in a wall arrangement.  Wish me luck on the changes!

Valentine's day dishtowel

What you'll need:

2 Bar Mop Towels - I found mine at Smith's (3 pack) for $3.99

Cute ribbon

Sewing Machine

 First I measured and pinned my ribbon onto 1 of the bar mop towels, and quickly sewed it on.

 Then I pinned the towel with ribbon to a plain towel (right sides out) and sewed across the top of the towels.  Then I hung the towels over my oven handle, and used a strip of matching ribbon to tie it so it wouldn't fall off the oven!  Then I decided I wanted to add a little ric rac to the bottom, so back to the sewing machine I went.  Here is the finished product.

Thrift store lamp upcycle

I am in LOVE with the DI lately.  I've found all sorts of great items that I can use as bones for craft projects.  Last time I went I spotted this lamp for $2.00.  I wasn't sure if it worked our not, so I was super happy when I got home and plugged it in and there was light!  

I knew I wanted to put this in Addy's room, so I spray painted the base white, and then hot glued ribbon onto the shade.  It turned out super cute and really only took me about 30 minutes to make.  I LOVE IT!

birthday calendar

I am HORRIBLE at remembering birthdays.  Quite some time ago I even created a birthday binder, but who pulls out a binder all the time to look at birthdays?  Not me.  So, I was browsing the DI the other day (becoming my favorite hangout) when I came across this little gem. . .

Nice huh?  It was only $1.00, and I immediately thought birthday calendar! And, here is the finished product.  There is a page for each month with all the birthdays for the month listed.  With this on my counter every single day I am bound to notice and remember to send cards or gifts right?

Valentine Tree

This was a fun and inexpensive project.  I purchased the red glitter love at target for $2.50.  Cut the branch from a tree in my yard, used a bucket and styrofoam I had in my basement, and bought the ornaments at Hobby Lobby for 40% off which came to about $2.00.  Then I cut up a piece of red scrapbook paper into really thin strips and crinkled them up a bit to cover up the styrofoam in the bucket.  

This was

styrofoam & crepe paper rosettes

What you'll need:

glue gun

crepe paper

styrofoam balls

some patience because this takes a while!

Rip about 18 inches of crepe paper, and begin rolling the paper.  I sort of fold it in half a little, and then start wrapping around the center. Use the glue gun to add small dobs of glue to attach everything together as you go.

 Once your rosette is finished, glue it to your styrofoam ball.  Continue until the styrofoam is covered.  This takes quite a bit of time and quite a few rosettes.

Find a place to display!  I put mine on top of my TV!  I found the subway art here: http://printable.tipjunkie.com/valentine-subway-art/

I purchased the frame at the DI, added a little paint, and matted the subway art with some scrapbook paper.  

Then I cut 2x4 blocks, painted them black, added some scrapbook paper I found at hobby lobby, and used my cricut to cut letters.  I glued on some buttons and ribbon to finish them off.  

The large candlestick I purchased at the DI for a dollar.  It was in rough shape, but a little sanding and spray paint made it look brand new.  The small candlestick is glass, and I found it at Dollar Tree.  I also spray pained that as well with Rustoleum paint and primer in one.  It works wonders!

Happy Crafting!