Faux Bead Board Chunky Frame....

I have always liked the look of bead board. I've seen frames with bead board in them or made from bead board itself, but when I went to look at bead board at the home improvement store I realized I had a few problems. First, it comes in a big sheet, so I would need a big vehicle to get it home. Second, trying to wrestle it out of the truck alone once I got home. (I guess my 4 and 2 year old would be really helpful too) Third, it is really big and I wasn't sure how to cut it without having a table saw.

So, one night I was thinking about it and I came up with an idea. Make my own bead board look-a-like using paint sticks and bamboo skewers! I tried it and it totally worked! Here is a look at the finished product:

 This is an 8x10 frame, I pulled out the glass, then measured and cut the paint sticks. (I got these from Walmart, obviously, and the paint guy just gave them to me--he thought I was a little crazy, but I don't care.) I cut the paint sticks using a utility knife, just score each side and then break the end off. Same with the bamboo skewers (they come in a pack of like 100 for $1).

Then I lined them up in the frame; paint stick, skewer, paint stick, skewer.... and so on. The last paint stick had to be trimmed a little, but I just used the utility knife for that too. Then I glued them in using hot glue. Replaced the back of the frame. Then painted and distressed the whole thing.

I wanted the chunky layered frame look, but I wasn't sure how to attach the other frame to the front without making it too permanent--I like to switch out pictures a lot. And then I had a somewhat brilliant idea!

VELCRO! Yup, sticky back velcro dots. I put the scratchy side on the small frame and soft side on the faux bead board. It works GREAT! I can swap out the pictures whenever I want, the 2nd frame stays put and it was hard or complicated! I love how they turned out---I actually made 3 for our mantel.

Dahlia Pillow

I have been wanting to create some new decorative pillows for our front room. Last week our youngest wasn't feeling well, so while Daddy and Brother went to visit Grandma and Grandpa I had time to work on a little something. I absolutely LOVE the way it turned out. And it was really EASY! A little time consuming, but not too bad, I had the whole thing finished in a couple hours.

What you need:
                              Felt (I had felt off the bolt, I had used it for something else, but I probably had about 1 yard         or so and I still have some left over. It depends on how big you want your pillow and how large you want your Dahlia.)
                              Pillow Form (I used a really ugly santa pillow that someone gave to us, made a perfect form and was free)
                              Scissors
                               Hot Glue Gun & Glue
                              Sewing Machine, to actually sew the pillow slipcover
                              Some decoration for the center, I used beads, but a big button or anything would work too.


First, figure out how big you are making your pillow. I simply took the ugly pillow laid it onto my felt and traced around it, then added a little for a seam allowance. This was my front. For the back you have 2 options. You could simply do the same thing again and have a completely solid pillow or you can make a slip cover. To do the slip cover I took the front I had just measured and traced it again, then added extra for over lap and seam allowance, about 3 1/2 inches, but only to ONE side. Then I simply folded that piece in half and cut along the fold making 2 equal halves.

**here is where I would do something different. I created my Dahlia first and then sewed the slipcover together, it worked but was extra tricky not to sew over the petals, so in the future I would quickly sew the slipcover together.

               1. Take the back halves and gently fold over just a bit and sew. This is the part where you slip your pillow form in and out, so it needs to be finished.
                2. Then lay both back halves onto your front piece, making sure that the outside corners are perfectly aligned. The back pieces will be bigger, so align the outside corners and then put one side of the halves under and the side over and pin around.
               3. Sew the entire way around the pillow, remember to back stitch. Clip the corners, turn right side out.


Now for the fun part. I traced a circle using a dinner plate where I wanted my Dahlia to be. I didn't want it center for a couple reasons, I was worried that it might become slightly offer center and drive me crazy and I actually really like the offer center look.

Then cut your triangles. Bigger for the outside and then getting slightly smaller as you work toward the center. I experimented a little, until I had about the size I wanted, but mine are not all the same or perfect. I just quickly cut triangles about the same size.

To make the petal, fold one bottom corner in to the center and glue (JUST A LITTLE GLUE) and then fold the other petal into the center and glue. And that is one petal. Then glue it onto your slipcover along the line you made. And repeat working slowly inward, until you get to the center and add your embellishments. I used beads and just hand sewed them on.

Slip your pillow form inside and you're done!

Save those Christmas Cards

And recycle them into a Christmas ABC book!

When we were expecting our first daughter, my husband's mom gave us an ABC book that she made out of Christmas cards. She had made one for each of her children when they were young and was passing down my husband's to us. I decided then I wanted to make one for my nephew. I started collecting our Christmas cards. And my parents'. And my husband's parents'.

Five years later, I had enough cards.  I'm telling you...it took forever because so many people send out family picture cards or Christmas emails.  So now it is no longer just my nephew in that family, but 2 nephews and a brand new niece.  I do have some left over cards, but you need a ton to be able to choose for each letter and then the number.

My husband's mom made hers in 1" binders with page protectors and red and green paper.  I made mine in an 8x8 scrapbook with page protectors (had to buy 2 refill packs to add to it) and Christmas scrapbook paper.  Both are super easy.  Hers has more room on a page and is cheaper by far.

The one I made for my nephews and niece

The one made for my husband

Here are some hints I used/realized:

• Group similar cards (i.e. angels, snowmen, etc.)
• Leave letters that have multiple words (S is for Shepards, Star, Snowman, Snow, Snowflake, etc) for last
• Use a business card template for the wording, I only had to cut a few smaller
• Wish I would have used less patterned paper for the backgrounds, some are too busy to read
• Let glue dry for a at least 45 minutes to ensure it doesn't make the page protectors go wavy.  (You can see it in mine on pages "X" & "Y")
• I had to go to the dollar store and pick up a few cards for letters I didn't have, like "Y" (yule log).

The kids loved these books and gazing at each picture.  It does take some effort in collecting and sorting out each letter, but it is pretty simple after that, just cutting and gluing.

Here is the Christmas ABC document I created to help me sort out cards.  It is just what I gathered from here and there so it is rough.  There are repeats, some very closely worded, and some without rhymes.  You can really do whatever you can come up with.  The ones in bold are the ones I ended up using with the cards I had.

Start collecting those Christmas cards now (ask family and neighbors for the fronts of theirs too), or your kids might be graduating from high school by the time you get enough.

Heads up: Also you may be able to score cheap some cards the day after Christmas at the store.  And  I saw a Christmas card at Wal-mart that had children holding hands around a world - perfect for letter "U".  Don't know how much it was though.  Some cards are way too expensive.

Eye Ball Frame

I had another organization post planned for this week, but I got the flu and have been SO sick. I'm finally feeling better, so here is quick Halloween Frame.

I used:   a wooden from from Walmart
                 craft paint
              lots of plastic eye balls (I got the variety pack, but you could use all the same size)
                hot glue and gun
1. Paint Frame
2. Start gluing on eyeballs.
           I started on the inside and then worked my out. I just wanted to have as many eyes as I could get on it.
3. Slip a favorite Halloween photo inside or anything Halloween sign.

Gourdy Faces

Hooray it is fall! Probably the best time of the year because it is the beginning of all the great stuff: leaves changing colors, oranges and reds, candles burning, fireplaces lit, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and family.

Of course I can't neglect the part where we buy pumpkins and gourds and put them all over the house, and this year I decided to add a little to the gourds. It is fun for your desk at work, or just to have around the house. I hope that it is cold enough today that I need to make some hot cocoa tonight with some fresh ground cinnamon. Yep it is.

Table centerpiece

For this project you will need a 4x6 picture frame, a coordinating color of paper to fill the frame, a candle globe, a candle, and any color or shape of rocks (I chose black river rocks and small white chips.)

It is very simple, I just replaced the picture frame with the color of paper, in this case I went with red. After that I placed the candle globe on the frame and then spread the river rocks around the globe. Finally I placed the candle inside the globe. As an after thought I put large pieces of cloves inside the globe to give it a fall smell when the candle is lit. In the future I would have also chosen larger candles, maybe a votive red. The neat thing about this centerpiece is it is very interchangeable with the seasons. The paper in the frame can be a darker color to coordinate with the coming fall or even a festive orange or a pastel for spring. The rocks can also be changed out for another kind giving you another look also. I struggle with commitment so this works very well for me!! I also chose to go with three and arrange them together. They aren't glued together so they can be placed alone in a room or together. I really liked how it can be changed around when I am feeling the need for something new.

To Do List

I am a list person. I like to check things off lists, but mostly I like to look back and see all things I got accomplished or what didn’t get done because I decided to play Rescue Heroes with my boys.
Unfortunately, most of my lists ended up on the back of envelopes, scrap paper or whatever else was handy. Here is an idea for a reusable/dry-erase To Do List that is cute enough to leave out all the time and maybe I will get more things done on the list because it is so cute!

The first thing is I got this downloadable printable from somewhere and I have been searching and searching trying to find where is came from and I can’t find it again, so if you find it or know who made it let me know so I can link them and give them credit. There are TONS of printable To-Do lists out there or you could make your own.
The frame had been lying around for years, it was just plain wood and I didn’t really like it, but I knew I would find something to do with it (do you have things like that?)  So first thing I painted it glossy red, probably 3 or 4 coats, once dry I took sand paper to it. (I know the picture is blurry, but I wanted to show the distressing, I think our camera is about to die, it keeps acting weird)

Then I just slipped the To-Do List behind the glass and put the whole thing back together. I already have dry-erase markers handy for use on our calendar, from here, so I am ready to start checking things off my list!

FONTS FONTS FONTS!

I LOVE fonts! I have HUNDREDS (probably THOUSANDS) of fonts on my computer and I LOVE finding new ones and thinking of projects to use them for. I use fonts to make cute additions to homemade cards, handouts for church, adding text to pictures in Photoshop, printables, making iron-on's for t-shirts (LOVE IT!), and of course using Sure Cuts A Lot and my Cricut to cut vinyl or freezer paper for stencils. The possibilities are ENDLESS!

What do I love more that cute fonts? FREE ONES! That is right, FREE! There are plenty of places where you can purchase fonts, doodlebats & SVG's, but there are some great places to  get free ones and really FREE is better.

Here are some links to some of my favorite places to find FREE FONTS:

http://kevinandamanda.com/fonts/fontsforpeas/

Spring Wreath....

I am SO ready for SPRING! (Especially since it snowed at our house yesterday!)

I wanted a new wreath for our front door, but I wanted something that I could leave up past Easter and I wanted something with a BRIGHT BOLD color. This was SUPER easy, a little time consuming, but not bad.

What you need:

I used 4 Forsythis Bushes from Michaels

One Large Grape vine wreath

Hot Glue Gun and Glue

Ribbon

Scissors

 What I did:
The Forsythia bushes I got made it really easy to take apart. Each stem just pulled off. So I pulled them all off so I had a lot of small sticks.  Then I dabbed a pit of hot glue on the end of one stick and stuck it unto the grape vine wreath. I worked around the wreath layering the sticks until the entire thing was full and beautiful.

Book Page Wall Art....

I'm not exactly sure what I should call this.... any ideas? I LOVE how it turned out, but I'm not sure what it is...

WHAT YOU NEED:

an old book (or one you don't like, I used a book I had to read in college and I will NEVER read again)

Styrofoam disc (2 pack/$1 from dollar store)

a lot of Hot Glue and Glue Gun

I started out by tearing pages out of the book, (GASP! I know I love books too) and the roll one page starting in the corner to make a skinny cone. One end will be bigger and more open and the other end will be smaller. Use hot glue to hold the edge then hot glue to the sytrofoam disc. The first layer was the longest out and I glued them right to the back of the disc. The next layers I folded the end to make them shorter and started gluing them in front in the side of the disc.

And I just went around and around until it was as full as I could get it.

Then for the Rosette Center. I followed a tutorial I found HERE. (I LOVE this wreath). And I just squashed as many rosettes as tightly as I could together to fill the center, Then I added a ribbon loop to the back of the disc so that I could hang it up.

 I just LOVE how it turned out and it is UNIQUE and AFFORDABLE wall art. Love it!

I linked up:

Christmas Wreath 2....

I had to smile when I saw Megan's post about her Christmas Wreath.... because I have been making some myself! I thought I would just add to her post the pictures of my wreaths. Christmas ornaments are on a HUGE sale right now (I acutally bought and made these all after Christmas and New Years). This first wreath is for Valentine's Day, I actually wrapped a foam wreath form with ribbon and then hot glued all the ornaments on, it was pretty time consuming, but I really like how it turned out.

 This is our front door. I Love the bright green, I will probably leave it up through January. I love the bright pop of color it adds to the front of our house.

Here is a picture of where the Valentine's Wreath will be in our entryway.



Christmas Wreath

Yes I realize Christmas is over... but I have to back track and blog about all of the gifts I made so bear with me. This wreath just might be the perfect thing to make right now actually. I am pretty sure all the leftover Christmas bulbs are on clearance and there may be more time for projects now that the festivities are over. I found this super easy idea at Hope Studios... See her more detailed instructions HERE.

For this project you will need:
A wire hanger-- I would actually recommend skipping that and just getting regular wire at a craft store. Those wire hangers are seriously strong and hard to work with!
Tons of Christmas ornaments-- I bought all of mine (about 60-80 regular sizes bulbs) at dollar stores.
Glue gun! Don't skip this item!

First, hot glue all the tops of the ornaments together. I HIGHLY recommend you do this! We had a bit of a disaster when I dropped the wreath and lost most of my ornaments. It would have been so much easier to work with if the bulbs were all glued and stable!

After all the ornaments are glued, you just slide them one by one onto the wire. Ta Da! It's really that easy. Tie the top of the wire together and affix a ribbon to the top if you want. If you need more detailed instructions, check out Hope Studios blog. Merry Late Christmas!

Super Easy Wreath

I saw this idea on Studio 5 (to see the video follow this link:

http://studio5.ksl.com/index.php?nid=61&sid=11571711) and I knew I had to give it a try.

What you need:

one 12 inch foam wreath form (from dollar store)

2 pairs of tall (taller the better) socks

Ribbon for hanging and making a bow.

The socks that they come out with for the holidays and Christmas would be great. I found these at the dollar store too and they are just simple and cream so I can leave the wreath up all year.

The first thing you need to do is to cut your wreath form on the seam. I just used a sharp knife and it cute right through, be careful though.

Then cut the toe off your socks and the heal. So you will be left with two pieces like this.

Then start threading your socks onto your wreath form. I put a small piece, then large, then small, etc. So that it would be even, but it doesn't really matter. You have to pull the wreath form gentle open and then slip the sock onto it. I found it was easiest if I scrunched up the sock (just like you would put on a pair of tights) and slipped it on.

Once it is on you can smooth it out more.

Then to hide the edges, I just rolled over one edge and tucked the other sock into it and then fluffed them up a little bit. The seam between gets lost pretty good in the texture of the wreath. If you really wanted to you could sew them right sides together into a long tube and then there would be only one spot to hide under your bow/ribbon.

Add a bow or simple ribbon and you are done. I really love how the fabric gives the wreath a different texture than my other wreaths and I love how easy and quick it was.

Halloween Parties

I LOVE Halloween and I LOVE Halloween parties! They are probably my favorite type of party to throw. This year my neighbor and I teamed up to throw a Halloween party for our kids. I know it's a little late in the season but if any of you need some last minute ideas for your festivities, you may get some here!

THE FOOD

We found all our food ideas from Disney's Family Fun website. I really wanted to find fun snacks that weren't totally loaded with sugar. (Too many treats + a group of preschoolers = complete insanity!)

Go HERE for the how-to on these pumpkin fruit cups. My neighbor made these and the mummy pizzas below. She said they were a lot easier to make than they look and they were SOO adorable. Go HERE for the Mummy Pizzas. They were a definite hit as well.


My treats weren't near as yummy but the novelty of eating eyes and fingers was fun for the kids at least. :) Go HERE for the edible eyeballs and HERE for the cheese fingers.


The drink was apple cider with creepy apple faces floating in it. I bought store-bought cider and Martha Stewart had the how-to on the faces. Go HERE for that.

We let the kids decorate sugar cookies at the very end for a dessert.

THE GAMES

We played two actual games at the party and then painted mini pumpkins for a craft activity. All our game ideas came from Martha Stewart as well. Go HERE for more fun games from her!

THE DECORATIONS

Well I only have one picture of the decorations because they weren't too elaborate but you get the idea... Streamers, balloons, orange tablecloths. The kids don't care. :)

The party was pretty simple but perfect for a group of kids. Good luck on all your upcoming celebrations this season. Happy Halloween!