Beautiful Toile

This may be the last week that I get to enjoy this room! I LOVE this room. It is home to my two youngest girls. But sadly, they are ready to have their "own" rooms. They no longer want to share! They are growing up and I am so sad! So next week we'll move Kit Kat to the spare bedroom and rearrange this room. The girls have each shown me pictures of what they want their new rooms to look like. Ugh!

Bye Bye Beautiful Room!

Silhouette Name Cards

Hi Friends - I have to get out of town quickly this morning, but I promised to show you what I was going to do with Baby Girl's silhouette, so I quickly did this little project this morning. It could actually be a lot cuter with scalloped edges and/or ribbons and bows, but you will get the general idea. then you can go and make yours cuter than mine!



I started with this silhouette that I had drawn at Disney World last year for only $8.00. (I hope Mickey Mouse doesn't "get me" for some sort of copyright infringement!). I reduced it on the copy machine til it was the size that I wanted.

I then printed her name in a fancy font and printed it out on my computer. I cut and pasted (literally - with scissors and a glue stick, not with a mouse and cursor) the copies of her silhouettes and her name. I photocopied three to a page (of white carsdtock).

Using my Creative Memories oval cutter, I cut her silhouette and name out in an oval shape.

I embellished it by adding a contrasting border and a self-adhesive rhinestone in the center of the hair bow. This is where you could really have fun! you could use scalloped edges and/or really decorative paper for your border. You could punch a hole through the top and add a coordinating ribbon(s). Have fun with it! If yours turns out cuter than mine, blog about it and let me know! I'd love to see it!

Happy Wednesday!

I'm linking up to The Shabby Chic Cottage

Message Board with Mirrored Tacks

I made this fabric message board with mirrored tacks from a frame that I found at the thrift store. The frame was super cheap because it didn't have a pice of glass or a back, which is actually perfect for what I was planning. Cost of frame: $1.00!

Using a utlity knife, I cut a piece of foam board to fit into the frame's openeing. I also cut a pice of plain white cotton duck fabric and attached it to the foam board with this spray glue.

Using something I already had on hand (Mirror Mastic), I attached the small round mirrors to the tops of the tacks. You could easily use Liquid Nails in the tube if you don't just happen to have some Mirror Mastic lying around!

And Voila!

(P.S. Did you notice that cute silhouette of my baby girl? Come back tomorrow and I'll show you what I'm going to do with her!)

Happy Tuesday!

I'm linking to A Soft Place to Land for DIY Day.

Nautical Bathroom on a Budget

M and I share a lake "place" with M's brother and his family. They also have four kids, so it's a full house (but fun!) when we are all there at the same time. To call this place a lake "house" makes it sound too nice. To call it a lake "cabin" suggest that it is cute and quaint. And it is neither. It is basically a 70's style home with bare bones - no charm, no personality, no "cuteness." When I started decorating this "place", I knew that it needed to be both kid-friendly and budget-friendly.

The first place I started was in the upstairs bathroom. I found the red and white ticking at Wal-Mart for super cheap. I then cut a very thin piece of plywood the width of the bathtub. I printed off the nautical alphabet and using a ruler and a pencil (and a bowl for the blue circle!), I drew some of the nautical letters onto the plywood. I then used regular acrylic paint and a foam brush to paint the flags. I sealed it with a coat of polyurethane and attached to the wall with right angle brackets. Total cost: under $10.00.

I've always felt like "nautical" should be used at the beach and not at the lake, but I've always loved the bright, cheery, nautical colors and I really wanted to use them in the lake "place". I'm glad I did- it's happy and fun!

Happy Tuesday!!

I'm linking to Today's Creative Blog and A Soft Place to Landhttp://asoftplacetoland-kimba.blogspot.com/2009/10/diy-day-and-giveaway_19.html

and also tohttp://todayscreativeblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/get-your-craft-on.html

"I'm a Flea Marketeer" party

This is by far one of my favorite thrift store finds. It's an old/vintage solid wood library card catalogue.

Not only do I love the look, but I LOVE THE STORAGE! Each drawer holds different craft supplies: paint, glue, scissors, hole punchers, glue, glue sticks, glue dots, glue guns,glue pens, liquid nails...you name it!

The piece is much bigger than it appears in the photo. It measures almost 4 ft high and 41 inches wide. Probably 2 ft deep (but that's just a guess). I thought about stripping it, painting it, distressing it, etc. But I put it in it's spot in the house and it's original state has actually "grown" on me - I'm keeping it just like it is.
Happy Monday!

I'm linking to http://fleamarketstylemag.blogspot.com/2009/10/join-im-flea-marketeer-party.html Flea Market Style for their first linky party! Take a look!

From Drab to Fab!

When we bought this house three years ago, the "to do" list was extensive and exhausting. The picture below is the "Before" of one of the upstairs bedrooms. The thought of painting the built-ins was overwhelming. We seriously considered just ripping them out. However, sanding, priming, and painting the wood soon became a "labor of love" for me.

And I think the end result was well worth it. I intended for this to be my third-born's bedroom, but she had other plans (as usual). She didn't want to leave her little sister, so the two of them share a room. So this sweet room remains unoccupied. I keep hoping that one day one of the girls will ask to move into this room, but no such luck (yet!).

I'm linking up to http://http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/2009/10/welcome-to-40th-metamorphosis-monday.htm lBetween Nap's On the Porch Metamorphasis Monday.

Whimsical Frames

From insulation board to whimsical frame, with only three ingredients: a piece of insulation board from your local hardware store, a utility or Exacto knife, and a can of spray paint!

These frames are perfect for a playroom or other very casual place in your home. I actually took the idea of these frames from the elementary school art teacher. She made several of these frames to display her student's artwork during the art show last year. The frames are made out of insulation board!! But let me give you a hint. You will not find them at Home Depot or Lowes. I found these at a local True Value Hardware store. The brand name of the board is "Atlas", and it is actually compressed insulation. They are sold in 4' x 8' sheets. I had them cut it in half for me at the hardware store so that I could fit it into my car. Please don't try to use the foam insulation boards at HD and/or Lowe's. Trust me...they do not cut well! Anyway, the insulation board runs about $10 and I made 8 frames out of one piece.
Step One: Cut a template for your frame out of a regular piece of paper (or newspaper or poster board).
Step 2: Copy it onto your insulation board.
Step Three: Using a jigsaw or a utility knife, cut the shape out. I used a jigsaw on these, but afterwards, I wondered if it would cut better with an Exacto knife. It actually cut much smoother with the utility knife. I wish I had know that before I cut them out with the jigsaw!
Step Four: Using regular ole spray paint, spray your frames the desired color.

Step Five: Cut a piece of posterboard (color of your choice - I chose black) to fit the opening of your frame. I attached mine with masking tape.

Step 6: Hang on your wall. I used that sticky putty stuff to hang mine. I also used the sticky putty tp attach the artwork to the inside of the frame so that I can change out the artwork easily.

Step 7: Enjoy! (I was just thinking as I was typing this post...you could embellish your frames with glitter and/or jewels...Have fun!).

I'm participating in Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday. Click http://http://www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/HERE to see more before and afters!

"Boo" Bags

These are really TOO easy for a tutorial - I'm scared I'd insult you. But you get the idea - take a white bag, round off the top with a pair of scissors, glue googly eyes onto the bag (with glue dots or a glue gun). Depending on what (if anything) you put in the bag, how cute would it be to attach the eyes to a vellum bag - seems a little more "ghostly".

Quick and Easy (and cheap!) "Self Fringe" Pillow

Step One: Cut burlap to size you prefer. Add one inch per side for "fringe".

Step Two: Pin two pieces of burlap together. Remember, there is no right side or wrong side to burlap, so just pin together.

Step Three: Because burlap tends to fray very easily, you will want to use a small stitch (I set my machine on "1" for stitch length) to sew your pieces together. You do not want the burlap to fray beyond the line that you are sewing. Sew your line one inch from the raw edge. Remember to leave an opening at the bottom of the pillow so that you can add poly-fil.

Step Four: Do NOT turn your pillow inside out. That is why this pillow is so quick and easy! Simply stuff your pillow as is.

Step Five: Pin your opening then sew it closed.

Step Six: The fun part! Simply pull one piece of string at a time from the raw edge to create your fringe. Do this all the way around the pillow. This is quick, easy, and fun. You can even enlist your children's help!

Step Seven: Voila!

Come back tomorrow! I can't wait to show you what else you can do with this pillow!