happy valentine's day!

As much as I love decorating for the different holidays I don't really go all out for them when it comes to gifts.  We usually give the kids something small and then make something for eachother or do something together as a family.  We try not to get caught up in the materialistic aspect of these holidays.

My gift from my husband today is a fabulous homemade dinner.  I'm so excited.  And we are gonna surprise the kids with some chocolate fondue for dessert.  Yummmm....

Am I making you hungry? 

Sorry.

Another fun thing we like to do it make Valentine's Cards.

I saw this cute idea for valentine's day cards last year and my son LOVED it so we created them this year. 

Aren't they cute?

Unfortunately, my son is home sick today and is totally bummed about missing the Valentine's Day party at school.  Poor kid.  Luckily, his awesome dad stopped by school this morning to drop off his cards and arranged a time and pick up all his Valentine cards from his classmates.

I hope you have a great Valentine's Day!

masking tape art

I think the title says it all on this one.  I took great photos of the whole process to share with you but they disappeared when my hard drive crashed along with 5 years old of photos. 

Still wanna cry just thinkig about that.

Moving on...

My assistant was very happy to help me show you the goods used.

I grabbed a canvas 2 pack from Michaels (don't forget your coupon), some masking tape,  paint, paint brush, and this little decorative tree I got from Ikea a couple years back that has yet to find it's purpose in my home.

I basically followed the design of the tree with the tape making sure to split the tree in the middle of the two canvases.  After I was done taping the design I started painting.  I needed 2 coats.  When dry pull off the tape and wa-la.  My lines weren't perfect (which is what I was going for) but I bet if I used some green or blue painter's tape they would be.  I used the color we used on the opposite wall. 

You can read that post {here}

So there you have it.  For under $10 that blank spot on top of my dresser is finally filled.  Oh, and I must thank my fabulous hubby who saw that I hung these completely crooked and fixed them for me.   Thanks Honey! 

the gak attack

It's been raining nonstop for too long over a week and so we have gotten creative when it comes to indoor activities.  The other night I made my son some Gak to play with.  Remember that stuff?  My inner child came out as I was playing with making it.  Here's the link to the super easy recipe.  I got the idea from the Make and Love It blog (how does she find the time to be so creative?).  I used her suggestion and got the liquid starch at Wal-Mart in the detergent aisle.  It wasn't the cleanest idea but most fun ideas are messy.

I was called crazy when...

I spray painted fabric and sewed it up into pillows.  I wrote about it here.  I wish I was the brains behind this idea but it was Vanessa's idea! 

Well, I did it again, and again!  I LOVE the way they turned out with the white canvas material!  Love it!  I plan on changing them out for the different seasons.  Here are my spring and summer pillows.  The possibilities are endless!

Did you know...

that you can basically spray paint anything?  Seriously.  Of course, I haven't tried to spray paint every single item in or around my home but you get my point.  Surprisingly, I never thought to spray paint fabric.  I have painted fabric with a sponge and paint but I have never spray painted it.  So when I came across this tutorial on how to make yourself an easy pillow using spray paint, I knew I had to try it.

I just used some leftover fabric from some curtain panels I made and some spray paint I happened to have on hand to try it out.  Now that I know it works and looks good, I will be making a pillow that actually matches my living room.  Check out the rest of v & co.'s tutorials.  She is one crafty lady.

my pottery barn inspired mosaic

While browsing through tons of fabulous tutorials and crafty ideas online I came across the Remodelaholic's tutorial for a Pottery Barn inspired mosaic that she featured on U Create.  After you check out this tutorial be sure to check out her blog.  She has a ton of great ideas.  My husband is thinking about using her bathroom vanity tutorial for our bathroom remodel.  This mosaic idea was both crafty and thrifty and as you know that's right up my alley.  My total cost was under $10.00!!

The only things I did different was:

1. 
   
   I wanted to use a large square piece of plywood or board but they were all too bent and I was worried about the weight of it.  I went with a 18x24 in. stretched canvas from Michael's craft store.  I do however wish I would have gotten a bigger canvas (if such thing exists).
2. 
   
   She added the square pieces starting from the outside and working her way into the middle and I started on the left side and worked my way up to the top right side using an L shaped pattern.  I felt safer knowing I wouldn't run out of room this way but I am sure either way would work fine.

I am linking to A Soft Place DIY Day

leprechauns beware

My son's kindergarten class is hoping to catch some leprechauns tomorrow by building leprechaun traps.  The kids were instructed to use all their favorite things as bait.  You know, lucky charms, gold, rainbows, and clovers. 

Here's our trap.  We are hoping to lure the little guy in with some gold.

Once he goes up the ladder to get to the gold he will fall through our invisible trap floor and into our jar for safe keeping.  We won't know until tomorrow if the trap works though.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

quality fabric

I LOVE rag quilts.  They have a loved and worn look to them that makes me want to cuddle up in one.  When we lived in Arizona a cozy blanket was really only needed for 2 months a year so it wasn't until we moved up to North Dakota did I really value my beloved rag quilts.  And it wasn't until we moved up here that I started making more of them.

One thing I have realized when making them is that if you use poor quality fabric it will make a HUGE mess in your washer and dryer.  I've had to clean the lint trap out several times in one cycle.  Not only that but the fabric (especially the flannel) will fade and pill so fast.  It's really a shame after all the work you put into them.

This last quilt was made with good quality fabrics and it really shows.  I didn't even have to clean my lint trap out and the colors are still so vibrant and the flannel looks new after two washes.  I didn't have all the fabric choices I wanted to use and didn't want to buy it online and wait for it to ship so I was resourceful.  I cut up an old sheet we can't use anymore and used that. 

I also used some minky fabirc because minky fabric is so soft and deserves to be used in almost every blanket. 

I used Sandi Henderson's Farmer's Market line for this quilt (including the flannel) and I just never get sick of this collection.  I love it and now that I have a little girl I am constantly using the scraps pieces of what I have left from her line.  It's just too precious.  Here are a few other things I have made from her fabric.

 I'm linking to:

  

getting there

Remember my console table that my husband and I built?  If not, scroll down a few posts to read all about it and see the plans.  I have been trying to find the right decor to compliment the table and haven't had as much luck as I would like.

I bought these mirrors on sale for $9 each at Target a few months back thinking they would go in my bedroom but that didn't work out so I painted them black and used them for this table.  I think they add some height to the room.  Target now sells these mirrors in black for $20 /each.

Next up was a lamp.  I needed some light and have been drooling over fillable base lamps for some time but they were always too big for my tables.  And then, I came across this one at Pier 1 (on sale) and had to have it.  I love the thought of being able to fill it with different items for seasons and holidays. 

I think the decor on this table will change frequently with the seasons but I wanted a few staples to work around.  As you can see in the picture I have a St. Patrick's Day theme going on.  It's a little scarce because I don't have many St. Patrick's Day decorations.  It seems like everyone around here is already putting up Easter decorations.  So that's it for now.  When I get more done I'll share again.

happy birthday dr. seuss!

If you have school aged children you probably already know that today is Dr. Seuss' birthday.  A good friend of mine called me yesterday asking if we had any Dr. Seuss dress up items because her daughter's preschool class is gonna have a Dr. Seuss dress up day on Thursday.  I didn't but told her if she picked up some felt I would be happy to help her make something great.

She came over today with some red and white felt and in less than 2 hours we had a fabulous hat and bowtie.  My friend also glued on some white felt to a black shirt.  I bet her daughter is gonna look so cute.  My son loved the hat I made her daughter so much that I might be making another one soon.

our new console table

I got hooked on Knock off Wood the first time I checked out that blog (thanks Kristin for letting me know about it).  She has a ton of plans for fantastic furnture that you would normally pay 10 times as much for from Pottery Barn, Land of Nod, etc.  I can't resist a good deal BUT...I also have never built a piece of furniture in my life.  Luckily I had my husband to help and we were both excited to figure it out.  We did however choose a pretty easy table.  It's the Rustic Modern Console Table.  Here is photo from her blog.

I mentioned in this previous post about how I wanted to build a set of small bookshelves from Knock off Wood but after seeing this table on her blog we decided it would work out better for our needs IF it had a shelf.

We decided paint it would keep it more modern. Here's a picture of the table before we painted it.

After talking to a friend who knows all about this building stuff I figured out how to add a shelf and modified the size to make the table a bit taller (taller than a little one's reach).  If this picture is confusing just scroll down for more pictures that I added later.

We used one 1x12x12, and one 1x12x8 pine board and had the kind associate at Lowe's cut it for us.  My total cost for the table alone (baskets not included) was $31.90 which includes paint (divided it up by 3 projects I am using the paint on), wood glue, and of course the wood.

The baskets were from Michael's and cost me about $20 for all 3 thanks to some coupons.  Never mind the cords in the picture...act like they aren't there, ok?  So my total for everything was $51.90!

That's about all the crafting I have in me for this week.  My mom is coming to visit from Arizona so I'll get back to work next week!

*Edited to add:*

I have been asked for better or more clear measurements so here is my sorry attempt at that.  If you need actual instructions for the original table go to Ana's instructions here.

patchwork wall art

Remember my Must Make List for 2010?  If not, you can read it here.  On my list I have a link and picture to a ballard designs inspired wall art tutorial by Hope Studios. 

My hubby and I decided a few months back that we are tired of having a thrown together master bedroom.  We are no longer newlyweds using hand me down furniture.  It's about time we make our room what it should be.  So we have been working hard on creating the perfect master bedroom.  The patchwork art is one of the new additions to our room.    You can find different tutorials on this project online and they are probably similar.  Here is how I created mine.

Supplies:

1. 
   
   1x8x8 pine board cut into 8x8in. squares
2. 
   
   mod podge (I used a matte finish)
3. 
   
   foam brush to apply mod podge
4. 
   
   9 sheets of scrapbook paper or pictures
5. 
   
   black laytex based paint satin finish (got my quart in the paint department at Lowe's for $9)
6. 
   
   picture hanging hardware for back of squares, you'll need 9
7. 
   
   paint brush
8. 
   
   sand paper

Click on the pictures to make them larger

I went to Lowe's and picked up the straightest 8 in wide by 1 in deep by 8 ft long pine board.  It cost me about $5.  I had the Lowe's employee (who was super nice) cut it in as many 8 in. squares possible.  I did this so I would have a back up in case there were any defects in one of them.  I picked up 9 sheets of 12 by 12 in. scrapbook paper that compliment eachother in colors/ patterns I like.

I sanded the wood squares by hand until they were semi smooth.  My husband has a sander but I didn't have time to mess with that out in the garage (my garage is 30 degrees with a heater and I can't bring the baby out there).

I painted 2 coats around the outside of the squares using paint that I had bought for another project.  Placing them on styrofoam cups to dry worked great (unless you have little ones who will hit the table or cups).

I added picture hanger hardware to the back of the squares next.  Use a ruler and try to make them as even as possible so they are easy to hang later.

Next I turned the square over and traced it onto the back side of the paper.  Even though each square should be 8x8 in. they are all a little different so I cut each paper to fit the square it goes on.

The last two steps are decoupaging the paper onto the wood.

Apply an even coat of mod podge on your sqare making sure it covers the whole area the paper will cover.  Apply the paper and do it quickly because the the glue dries fast.  Once you get it on smooth it out with your hand or a card to make sure there are no bubbles.

Repeat this step with all of them and by the time you are done the 1st one should be dry and ready for a top coat.  Once again apply a smooth even layer to the top of the paper with the mod podge.  Make sure you cover the edges of the paper and don't worry about getting it on the wood cause it dries clear.  They will dry pretty fast.

Once they are dry you can hang them.  That happened to be the hardest part.  Luckily my husband hung them for me and he's a perfectionist when it comes to those things so they are as close to even and spaced out as you could get.  Thanks honey!

Nevermind the blinding white snow out my window.  I am hoping it melts sometime in the next month so I can see outside without going blind again.

And here is the original patchwork wall art from Ballard Designs. I like my version better and I paid quite a bit less for mine (under $20)  Oh, and I was thinking this would also look great using black and white photos. I may have to try that next.

valentine's day wreath

While searching the blogosphere for something I came across this great idea of using old Christmas beaded garland to make a Valentine's Day wreath. My local store had the garland on sale for 40 cents each (I used three 18 ft. strands). I had the foam wreath, glue gun, ribbon, and spray paint so this project costs me under $2. I found the idea here on Frills Fluff & Trucks.

I'm sorry for the bad lighting for the picture but it's late and if I didn't take it tonight it probably wouldn't happen.

easy peasy weekend project

I have been wanting a clipboard to hang by my sewing table for a while now. But just any clipboard just wouldn't do so the project had to wait until I had time. And well, I still don't have time so I just didn't do the laundry so I could finally complete this. Hey, something had to give.

I bough the clipboard and the scrapbook paper. If you sew you probably know this paper is also a fabric by Heather Bailey and she makes FABULOUS prints. I bought the paper on sale for 40 cents at the scrapbook store in the Mall of America (the name escapes me at the moment) when we went to Minneapolis last month.

I had the white acrylic paint, the foam brush, and mod podge.

I painted around the outside of the clipboard with the white paint. The paper wasn't long enough so I used the backside of the paper (that was trimmed from the side) in the middle of the clipboard to add a little something. If you plan on writing on the clipboard this isn't a great idea cause there will be a small bump where the papers overlap.

Once it's all ready just put a layer of modge podge on the board and add your paper. I used a stack of flash cards (cause that's what I had handy) to push out all the air bubbles but you can use a credit card or something similar. Wait until the glue dries (at least 30 minutes) before you coat the top of the paper with the modge podge. The glue dries fast but if you do it too soon it makes a mess. This stuff gets on your hands whether you want it to or not so it could mess up your whole project of you don't wait.


And here it is in all it's glory just hanging there waiting to be used. I still need to finish bringing stuff back in my craft room after painting and organizing it all so if may be a while before I get to use my new clipboard. Luckily, it's beautiful and matches my wall color as it hangs there waiting to be used.