la * T * da

Sneak Peek

2012-01-31T12:52:00.000-08:00

I am finally seeing the finish line at the "new" house. I have lots of little projects to write about. Looking at this picture, you can see a few of the projects: the orange stripes in the hallway, the mod-podged lampshade (with a cocktail napkin from Target), the DIY art above the sofa, the chevron striped coffee table, the "side-of-the road" bar cart turned side table, the thrift store chair in the left of the pic, and the DIY free chair printable on the wall (hard to see in this pic!). I've been super busy, but like I told my husband, "If I die tomorrow, I had a blast on my last day!"

Stay tuned....

I won! I won!!

2012-01-11T18:05:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks before Christmas, Simply Seleta hosted a giveaway. Because I never win anything, it's amazing that I even entered the giveaway. But lo and behold, I won the darn thing!! Exciting stuff!!

In my comment on the giveaway, I said that I would use the table in my bathroom next to the bathtub and that I'd put a candle and a book on it. However, it was WAAAAY too cute to hide it in my bathroom. I decided that it needed a little more attention, so I put it in our family room and it's perfect there!!

Thank you, Seleta, for such a generous giveaway and such a precious table/stool!!

Free Gallery Wall Art thanks to Pinterest

2012-01-08T18:50:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Pinterest, most of the "art" in the "Orange and Blue House" was free. I searched "Free Printables" and all sorts of fun printables popped up! They were all super easy to download and print from my home computer. I used cheap frames from Target (some were even in the Dollar Spot) to display the printables. And voila - more inexpensive, easy, fun art. Thanks, Pinterest!

Below - art in the bathroom Below - art in the kids' room

And a close-up:

Inexpensive, Easy Art

2012-01-05T18:10:00.001-08:00

Where has the time gone?! Lot's of happenings around here that I haven't told you about yet. In fact, the whole reason I haven't been blogging much lately is because of what I haven't even told you yet!! We have been super busy with a fixer-upper that we bought at the end of this past summer. It has been SO MUCH FUN fixing this little house and making her our very own. We won't be living in the house, but we'll be renting it out for Game Day weekends and such. Since we'll be renting it out, we needed to furnish it. That's where the real fun began!! We live in Auburn, Alabama and I decided to have a little fun with this house - I've decorated the entire house orange and blue. I can't wait to show it to you over the course of the next few weeks.

Y'all know by now that I love a good thrift store score and I love some DIY art. One of the blogs that I stalk daily for style inspiration is Simply Seleta. Love her style! She had a great post the other day on an easy DIY art project. Using her tutorial, I made my own art for the "Orange and Blue on Drake" house. Because Auburn fans are Auburn Tigers and their battle cry is "war Eagle", I chose a tiger and an eagle for my silhouette. I thought it turned out great and it was FREE because I used what I had as far as frames and background paper. For the background of the tiger, I tore out the page of the dictionary that had the word "tiger" on it. I think every word on that page began with tiger!

The picture below is an EAGLE (not a crow, as my eleven year old questioned!).

Rather than printing out the image as Seleta suggested, I just enlarged the image on my computer screen and traced it with a piece of typing paper over the image on the screen. I then put my black sheet of paper under the white paper and cut out both images (the white and black) at the same time. Super easy. And pretty cute, too. Can't wait to show you more of this house. Pinterest and blogs have been a HUGE source of inspiration for this house!!

#0 Days of Before and Afters - Day 2 - Hunting/Camo themed room

2011-10-15T17:59:00.000-07:00

I adore this room! This room was an attic space that my friend turned into a bedroom. Because it was attic space, it has a cool sloped room and an area that we made into a fort. Mark and I installed green metal roofing from Lowe's to the slope of the ceiling to help achieve the look of a hunter's camp. I used burlap on the windows and doors of the fort/camp, as well as on the bedskirt. Here's a BEFORE shot of the space.

I used a camo canopy from Academy Sports to make a canopy. This was CHEAP and EASY. I hung two cup hooks on the ceiling, then two nails at the top of the wall (where it meets the ceiling). I cut the canopy - didn't measure, just eye-balled it - and hooked it on the hooks and nails. So cute and really simple to do. I covered a piece of plywood (that was measured and cut at Home Depot) in a foam mattress cover and burlap. I attached a wire to the back of the plywood and hung it on the wall (like a picture) to make the headboard.

The burlap pillow was made with the freezer paper tutorial from earlier. Also super cheap and easy. I self-fringed the burlap so no money was spent on fringe.I love saving money!

The shadow box is waiting to be filled with outdoor goodies like rocks and junk! We arranged some of the little boy's old boots on the shelf, and he hung his pheasant feather thingy all by himself because I apparently forgot to do it! :)

This was an easy and inexpensive room to pull together. Hope you're inspired to try something similar!

30 Days of Before and Afters - AU/war Eagle room

2011-10-14T05:12:00.000-07:00

Wow! I'm looooong overdue for a post! So I'm going to make it up to you by posting 30 Days of Before and Afters starting today! I've had lots of projects going on over the last few months. Hopefully you'll see that my lack of posting hasn't been because I haven't been working on projects! It's had more to do with the fact that I've had so many projects going on that I haven't had time to blog about them!

I've been helping a friend decorate her children's bedrooms. It's a win/win situation for both of us. She's a photographer and has taken my kid's pictures in exchange for decorating her kid's bedrooms. Perfect!

I'll be honest. When she first mentioned that her 4 year old wanted an Auburn/War Eagle room, I felt a little sick. :) Not only am I not an Auburn football fan, but there colors are navy blue and bright orange and, well, I felt challenged. However, shortly after that conversation, I was eating in Zaxby's (yes, the fried chicken finger place), and I couldn't keep my eyes off their decor, which is basically vintage sports memorabilia. Lightbulb moment for me. Right then and there I decided that we'd decorate her son's room with a vintage Auburn football theme.

The first thing I did was to paint the walls in a faux finish to give them a slightly worn/vintagey feel. Then I found some blue and white quilted coverlets for the bed. But the stark white in the coverlets was too crisp against the worn walls. SO I dyed the coverlets and matching shams with RIT dye. I had never used Rit dye before, but my mother had some success in dying a coverlet before, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Not only was it super easy, it was super cheap and provided just the look that I needed!

Then the real fun began as I started scouring flea markets, thrifts stores, and yard sales looking for vintage sports stuff. The "WAR EAGLE" letters were the gold ones at Hobby Lobby that I simply spray-painted black. The lamps and shades were from Target. I spray painted the base of the lamps blue and added an ornage grosgrain ribbon to the bottom of the shade. I'll tell you about the chalkboard wall in the dormer window space in just a minute.

The lockers below were found on ebay and spray painted black. LOVE them! Bewtweent he "WAR EAGLE" on the wall and the lockers, the room is adorable! I had a ton of fun scouring flea markets, thrigt stores, and yard sales looking for vintage sports memorabilia! The old megaphone and awesome old football were found at a local flea market. $10 for the megaphone and just a few dollars for the football! I fould several old folding stadium cuchions and hung one on the wall as a shelf.Those cute little football boys were a few dollars at the thrift store. They're from the early seventies, I think, and remind me so much of the Holly Hobby figurines that I had hanging on my wall as a child. LOVE!

A place for all of his AU caps!
This is the small dormer window space. I decided to paint the entire space with black chalkboard paint. I hired a friend (who has awesome handwriting!) to write the 2011-2012 football schedule on the wall. The four year old has strict instructions to NOT draw on this side of the wall, but he has complete freedom to "chalk it up" on the opposing chalkboard wall!

I know I just said that the "War Eagle" letters anf the lockers " make" the room, but the chalkboard wall "makes" it, too!

Here are some BEFORE shots. It was already a cute "Fireman" room, but he was ready to move on.

Stay tuned for more!

Past Valentine Day Ideas

2011-02-07T19:16:00.001-08:00

I haven't had a whole lot of time this year to work on creative Valentine ideas (although I have a few in my mind!), so I thought I'd share some of last year's projects.
If you're interesting in making these Valentine Owls, click here. I have thought of some other cute Valentine quotes that would be cute with these: "Valentine, you're a hoot!" , "Owl be your Valentine!" "Whooooo loves you?! I do!!" These Cotton Candy Ice Cream Cones are still one of my favorites. Click HERE if you're interested.

DIY Trumeau

2010-09-29T18:54:00.000-07:00

I've been dying to wrap up this project so that I could share it with you. This may be my ALL TIME FAVORITE PROJECT I've ever completed and I did it all BY MYSELF!!! Using Susie Harris' tutorial as my guide, I finally (after 5 years of wanting to do this!) had the guts to make my own Trumeau mirrors! And I couldn't be more pleased!! I L-O-V-E them!! 1. I went to Lowe's and purchased a sheet of 3/4' plywood. I had my measurements in hand and had the guy at Lowe's cut the wood for me. I also bought my moulding while there, as well as Liquid Nails for mirrors, and a $10 Miter Saw kit. . I primed and painted the wood as soon as I walked in the door.

2. I purchased a beveled mirror from Wal-Mart. I think it was only $11.00. I applied the Liquid Nails to the back of the mirror as well as the plywood. I put some heavy stuff (like books and paint cans) on top of the mirror while I impatiently waited for the Liquid Nails to dry so that I could move on to the next step.

3. I was so anxious to finish this project that I forgot to take pics while working. However, Susie did...so take a look at hers. But i did just as she did. I didn't use a measuring tape, I just used a pencil and my eyeballs to mark the cuts on my moulding. The Miter Saw was very self explanatory, even to someone who has never used one. Of course, the miter saw is a hand-held saw, so it took a little while. However, I did this on the carpet of my daughter's bedroom (to give you an idea of how little you have to stress about this step!).

Then I used the same liquid nails to adhere the moulding to the edges of the mirror. And the same books and paint cans on top of the moulding to keep it in place.

Then...I taped off a 10 x 18' rectangle and painted the inside of the rectangle the same color of the dresser (which is one shade darker than the wall, by the way).

Then.......I ordered a fancy monogram to go inside the rectangle. I ordered it from a local shop (Fun and Fancy), but you can order them off of Etsy. Just type in monogram and all sorts of fun things come up!

This bedroom is FINALLY complete!!! (For now!)

Thank you, Susie Harris, for your step-by step tutorial!!

I'm linking to Transformation Thursdays at The Shabby Chic Cottage , Strut Your Stuff at

Somewhat Simple, and Thrilling Thursdays at Paisley Passions
.

Boo Bags

2010-09-22T15:51:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd re-post some Halloween stuff from last year.

These bags were super easy and I don't want to insult your intelligence by writing a tutorial. However....here goes. Cut the top of a white bag into a rounded shape. Glue on googly eyes. Now you have a "Boo Bag"!

Happy Halloween!

Linking to Transformation Thursdays at The Shabby Chic Cottage., Show Off Your Stuff at Fireflies and Jellybeans, Somewhat Simple, Frugal Fridays at The Shabby Nest.

DIY Cake Stands

2010-09-21T03:50:00.000-07:00

Last week, we celebrated my youngest child's 6th Birthday with a Little Chef Party. I made some quick, easy, and completely inexpensive cake stands for each of the little cakes. I wrapped different sized cans from my pantry in scrapbook paper that I secured with a glue gun. Then I spray painted burner covers (you know...the round things that go over the burners on a stovetop) a coordinating color and glued trim on the edges. The burner covers were from The Dollar Tree. There were two in a pack. They had 'not so cute" country images on them (like ducks!). But a little spray paint can go a long way!

I thought they turned out kinda cute.

This would be fun to do at Christmas for appetizers. Wrap your cans in different papers - or spray paint the empty cans and add polka dot grosgrain ribbon - and put your appetizers on coordinating sparypainted burner covers.

I actually did something similar at our school's Cake Walk. Instead of using the cans from my kitchen, I asked the ladies in the cafeteria to save their industrial-sized cans. I spray-painted them and hot-glued a 2 inch ribbon around the center. And rather then using burner covers, I used round pizza pans from the Dollar Tree.

Linking to Toot Your Horn Tuesday , These Creative Juices, The Creative Itch, Lucky Linky, Hope Studios

On Thursday, linking to Transformation Thursdays at The Shabby Chic Cottage, Show off Your Stuff at Fireflies and Jellybeans., Somewhat Simple. On Friday, linking to Frugal Fridays at The Shabby Nest.

Have fun!

Big Girl Bedroom

2010-09-20T04:08:00.000-07:00

My two youngest girls are only 15 months apart and have always enjoyed sharing a room together. Fortunately, the room is big enough for two full size beds. I adored the bedroom that they shared together! However, recently they decided that they each wanted their own room. I moved one of the full sized beds into our "extra" bedroom for one of the girls, then re-painted and re-decorated the other room (the one below) into something really special.

Here is a BEFORE shot: And here are the afters:

The chaise lounge below doesn't exactly work in this room, but I tried to make it work by removing the existing trim and gluing some blue ribbon along the bottom edge. The raw silk blue pillow was a steal for 50 cents at a yard sale. The blue throw hides marker and glitter glue that are at the foot of the chair.

I love this room as much as my little girl does! I must confess, however, that just about every idea for this room came straight from Janell at Isabell & Max Rooms. I was in love with her daughter's "Dream Bedroom", and Janell was generous enough to list all of her sources and even her paint color! Lucky me!

Stay tuned and I'll post pics of my other daughter's "big girl" room.

Padded Bulletin Board

2010-07-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a pic of a bulletin board I just finish in Sunshine's "Fancy Nancy" bedroom. I don't think you can tell from the pics, but the bulletin board has extra padding (batting, actually...2 layers) and is "puffy".
I found this old, gold, plastic-framed mirror at the thrift store. I removed the mirror and spray painted the frame pink. Using the mirror as my "pattern", I cut a piece of foam board the same size as the mirror. I added to layers of batting and then fabric. I actually used duct tape to secure the fabric to the back of the foamboard.

Because the bulletin board is "puffy", regular tacks wouldn't stay in place, so I used corsage pins as tacks. They are extra "fancy" because they have a pearl tip. The corsage pins can be found in the wedding section of your local craft store.

DIY "Silhouett-ish" Art

2010-07-17T06:43:00.000-07:00

I have been working on hard on my "soon-to-be-6" year old's room. She wanted a "big girl" room, but she wanted a Fancy Nancy room. Hmmmm. So I decided to do a "sophisticated" Fancy Nancy room. I started with this D-I-Y Eiffel Tower Silhouette that was super easy, very quick, and really cheap to do! I headed to Hobby Lobby and purchased a large canvas that was half-off. I painted it my base color (aqua blue).

I applied the Eiffel Tower vinyl decal (also half price at HL) on top of the dried base-coat paint.

Then I painted the entire surface pink.

After the paint dried, I removed the vinyl decal and...tah dah.....

Ooh la la!!

Sunshine likes it because it reminds her of Fancy Nancy and I like it because it was easy, quick, and cheap! Stay tuned for more projects from her room!

I'm linking to Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch, Making the World Cuter, Keeping It Simple , Under the Table and Dreaming, I Heart Naptime

On Tuesday, I'm linking to Toot Your Horn Tuesday and All Things Related, Take a Look Tuesday

On Wednesday, I'm linking to Works for Me Wednesday at We are That Family, The Thrify Home, Gettin Crafty on Hump Day, Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts.

On Friday, I'm linking to Frugal Fridays at The Shabby Nest.

I've missed you, little ol' blog!

2010-06-16T05:47:00.000-07:00

I've neglected this blog and I've missed her. The truth is...I've continued to complete projects, but I've had little time to blog about them. I purchased a new camera back in February, and while the picture quality is 100 x's better than my old camera, it takes FOREVER to upload my pictures. I've continued to update my other blog, but I haven't had the time to consistently update both. But now that summer is here, I'm hoping I can find the time to update more frequently. Here's to hoping...........

First up:

My oldest daughter's "Coca Cola" themed birthday party! It rocked!!

Blogging Break

2010-03-14T12:12:00.000-07:00

Taking a week off from blogging while I enjoy Spring Break with my family.

Have a great week, everybody!!

Modge Podge with Napkins??

2010-03-13T09:51:00.000-08:00

Yes!!

While scouring everywhere looking for fabric with the perfect color of blue and green, I spotted some napkins at Target that made me happy! I already had these shades that I had hot-glued rose petals to many years ago. I removed the petals and got to work.

I had no idea if the napkins would work, but for $2.99 for a pack of napkins, I didn't have much to lose.

I cut out my pattern.

Then my six year old and I Mod-Podged the shades.

I added some ribbon with a glue gun.

And Voila!

The room is still in progress, but I'll show you some "completed" projects in a few days (I hope!).

You're Gonna Love This!

2010-03-09T19:09:00.000-08:00

My $30.00 upholstered headboard!! Super EZ and super cheap and I think it looks awesome!Yesterday I decided that I wanted to upholster a headboard. But I never made it Lowe's before school was out, and I hated to take the kids to Lowe's with me because it was such a gorgeous day for them to play outside. I was hoping that I could find a leftover piece of plywood in the basement or in my husband's shed. I couldn't find a piece of plywood, but I found something better! I had a half sheet of insulation board left over from this project. I wondered if it would work as a headboard, then decided just to dive in head first.
I measured the board and measured the bed and decided that I had just enough board to make it work.

The great thing about insulation board is that you can cut it easily with a utility knife or other razor blade. I wrapped the insulation board in batting (which I duck taped to the back of the board!). Then I wrapped it in the fabric (which is actually a shower curtain from Target for $9.99). (By the way, a sheet of insulation board, which is 4' x 9', is about $7.00). My staple gun quit working about a third of the way into the project. I think this was divine intervention because the insulation board really isn't dense enough to held the staples in place very well. No worries...I plugged in the low temp glue gun and went to work.

Don't let that curve intimidate you! I used the top of a hat box to make a circular mark on the top corners of the board.

After I taped and glued the batting and fabric in place, I used a ruler to draw a thin pencil line around the border of the "headboard". I carefully inserted silver upholstery tacks into the board, following along the pencil line. By the way, the tacks were from Wal-mart. They were 97 cents for a pack of 30 and I think I used 5 packs.

The total time spent on this project was under three hours. Probably under two.

Oh Happy Day!

I'm linking to :

Get Your Craft on at Life as Lori

Strutt Your Stuff Thursday at Somewhat Simple

Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest

Frugaliscious Friday at Finding Fabulous

Show and Tell

The Inspired Room
Finished for Friday

By the way, this is my "soon to be 10 years old" daughter's bedroom. She REALLY likes her new headboard!

Just a little bit longer...

2010-03-08T22:03:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to touch base and let you know that I haven't forgotten about my crafty friends out there! I am busy and I can't wait to show you what I've been up to. I have several projects that are all about 90% complete. So just give me a little longer and as soon as I complete one of them (which will hopefully be tomorrow!), I'll be posting some fun stuff.

Here's what I'm working on:
a headboard for AA (you are gonna love this!)
chandelier shades for KitKat's rooms
Euro shams for KK's room
kid's kitchen re-do
cool mirror (x2!)

Can't wait to finish up and show you my stuff!

See you soon!

Teacher Appreciation Lunch

2010-02-26T03:57:00.001-08:00

We celebrated Teacher Appreciation Week a few weeks ago at our school. I LOVE being the chairperson for this committee!! I love spoiling our teachers and making them feel extra special. I try to get the point across to everyone on the committee to please pay attention to the little details and please bring only "homemade" food items during the week. Anyone can go to Wal-mart and buy a dozen cookies from the bakery. But to really show we care, bake those cookies (even if it's "slice and bake"!) The girls on the committee were awesome because they all like the special details. I kept telling them, "Martha would be so proud!"

The bags (which were only 6 cents a piece at Wal-Mart after Christmas!) were filled with containers of fruit salad, chicken salad, and pasta salad, as well as a croissant, two cookies, and mini muffins.

We made these labels from scrapbook paper and paper punches. They were so fun!

The teachers enjoyed themselves and really noticed the details. They had as much fun eating the lunches as we had making them. I will tell you this because it's too funny not to share. One of the girls who came to help assemble the lunches ( and who is a huge help and always ready to get to work), asked, "Okay, can we just start scooping?" I explained that we were going to scoop the salads into the containers, label each salad with a darling little label, put the cookies into clear bags and tie them with ribbon, fold the top of the bag down, fold the napkin in half and punch holes through the napkin and bag, thread a ribbon through the holes then tie the fork onto the ribbon. She looked at me like I had two heads. I said, "It's okay...you can laugh." She replied, "Oh thank God." Then she proceeded to die laughing! It was actually hilarious.

Celebrate the Boy Pirate-Style

2010-02-24T04:00:00.000-08:00

Since it's Celebrate the Boy month at MADE, I thought I'd show off a few boy rooms over the next few days. Here is my son's room when he was really into pirates.

Unfortunately, he decided he wasn't "into pirates" soon after I finished decorating his room.

(So now it's more of a UGA/sports theme. I'll post it tomorrow).

The lighting in the picture below is terrible. But one of my favorite things in his room was this row of wooden pirates that lined the window sill. They were each one dollar from the Dollar Tree!

I miss this room!! And I miss him being "into pirates"! He had a pirate-themed birthday party three years in a row! I was a pro by the time third pirate party rolled around.

Happy Looking!

Easter Buckets!

2010-02-21T12:51:00.000-08:00

Make this little cutie:

From these:

Other ideas:

The sheep dog may be my very favorite!

So easy to make! And relatively inexpensive, as well, if you have most of the items on hand.

You will need:
-metal pails (Home Depot and Lowe's have them in their paint section. You can also try a local hardware store)
-spray paint
-paint pens
-boas (these were from Hobby Lobby and Michaels)
-hot glue gun and glue sticks
-felt (optional)

I simply sprayed the cans with whatever spray paint I had. The slicker, shinier pails were harder to spray paint, as the paint seemed to drip. If you are patient and spray just a light coat and wait until the paint is dry before beginning your next coat, you will have better luck. I probably sprayed 5 or 6 light coats on these pails.

When the pails/buckets were dry, I glued the boas to the upper rim of the pail.

I then added eyes, nose whiskers using paint pens and felt. I am NOT an artist - anyone can do this.

You can have fun with this. Let me know if you come up with something else. I was trying to think of more "boyish" ideas. I tried making a clown with red trim and a red pom-pom for a nose, but it was U-G-L-Y.

Have fun and Happy Easter!

I first posted this post in my family blog. You can find it here.

I'm linking to Between Naps on the Porch (Metamorphosis Monday)

and Make Your Monday at The Twice Remembered Cottage

and It's So Very Cheri

and Make it for Monday at Cottage Instincts

and Making the World Cuter.

and Simply Sweet Home.

More Owls!

2010-02-06T07:20:00.001-08:00

I walked by this the other day at the thrift store and thought, "How ugly." It's thin brown plastic. It weighs about the same as a paper plate. The price was $3.99. I walked away.

As I was browsing the lamps, I couldn't get those owls out of my mind. I thought, "I bet with a coat of spray paint, they'd be cute."

I think I was right.

I pried off the orange eyeballs. I thought about keeping them, but then I replaced them with mirrored disks and they look a lot cuter in my 9 year old's room. Obviously I need to wipe the smudges off of Daddy owl's eyes. But not bad for $4.00.

Valentine Marshmallow Pops

2010-02-02T06:12:00.000-08:00

These aren't that original, but they sure are cute, yummy, quick, easy, and inexpensive! I purchased Wal-Mart brand regular and strawberry marshmallows, pushed them on a lollipop stick, melted some white chocolate, stuck the tip of the the top marshmallow in the melted chocolate, then dipped the tip in a small bowl of sprinkles. Ta Da!!

These are so easy that the kids can do them without you! My 9 year old even melted the chocolate by herself (in the microwave). Easy peasy! The only problem is this - my kids don't like sprinkles. Neither do I. They sure are cute, but they sure are yucky. And crunchy. And the red ones are the worst. They basically just taste like red dye.

But we really hope their friends like them! :)

Owl Be Your Valentine!

2010-01-29T06:46:00.000-08:00

I wish these were pink! If you are lucky enough to find strawberry Moon Pies, then lucky you!! The yellow ones make me think of Tweetie Bird and/or Big Bird. But hopefully if you attach a note to them saying, "Owl Be Your Valentine", then it is self explanatory. Regardless of their color, I still think they're adorable!

I used banana Moon Pies made by Little Debbie. (But if I had a choice, I'd use pink ones!)

I used Necco wafers with M & Ms for the eyes. I attached them with basic Duncan Hines frosting in the tub.

The tricky part was finding Valentine candy corn. I finally found it at our local Hallmark store. Super cheap, by the way.

Then I inserted a lollipop stick (can be found at Hobby Lobby, Michaels, or even Wal-Mart) into the bottom end, stuck it in a cellophane bag, and tied a coordinating ribbon around the bag to secure it.

I think it's a "hoot" (no pun intended!). :)

Valentine Jigglers

2010-01-22T18:38:00.000-08:00

Last year I was asked to bring a snack of some type to one of the kid's Valentine party at school. So I decided to make Jell-O Jigglers. I wanted to use cookie cutters and cut them out in the shape of hearts. But of course I waited til the last minute to make these, and I could not find my heart-shaped cookie cutter anywhere. So I just cut the jello into small squares. I was disappointed in how boring they looked. Then I remembered that I had some cute picks that I could poke into them. However, the jigglers slip off the wooden skewer. So I decided to try straws and it worked! I cut the straws in half then cut 3 or 4 tiny slits into the end of each straw. The slits kind of "gripped" the jello and kept it from just sliding off the jello. It was actually cute with just the straws, but then I remembered these heart-shaped stickers and I stuck them on the tops of the straws. Then I really loved them, even more so than the original heart-shaped jigglers that I had in mind.

So last night when I decided to post this, I thought it would be fun to try different colors that could be used at times other than Valentine's Day.

I used colorful straws, cut them in half, cut slits in the end, then stuck them in the more colorful jigglers (I added green this time). I had these wooden skewers with windmills on the ends that I had purchased at World Market last year. I simply put the wooden skewer into the straw.

Here's an idea: Use them for a Girls Night out, if you know what I mean. How cute would that be?!

Here's another idea I just had. I can't wait til July! Make red and blue jigglers, put McDonald's straws in them (white straws with red striped), then insert those flag toothpicks into the straws! That sounds so cute to me! You could even add some whipped cream (in a can) to each jiggler, just to add some white to the red and blue (you patriot, you!).

If you do this for something, please let me know. I'd love to see what you come up with!

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream

2010-01-21T17:32:00.000-08:00

I've had this idea in my head for quite a while. I always thought this would be cute to use as a favor for an ice cream party. But, alas, none of my children want an ice cream party! So...I decided to turn this idea into a Valentine's gift.

It's a ball of cotton candy on a sugar cone.

I bought the cotton candy from the Dollar Tree. You could probably make 6 balls of cotton candy from one bag.

The sugar cones were from Kroger. You could also use larger waffle cones with a larger "scoop" of cotton candy. It would probably be even cuter than the ones in the regular sugar cones.

The cone-shaped bags were from Hobby Lobby. They were 1.99 for 26. Not bad!

I printed out a little saying on the computer and tied it to the ribbon around the cellophane bag.

I thought of another cheesy saying, "Valentine, My heart is like ICE CREAM. It MELTS for you."

More Valentine's Ideas to come. And most of them were inspired by findings from the Dollar Tree.

I'm linking to Toot Your Horn Tuesdays.http://www.sillylittlesparrow.com/

and Do It Yourself Day at A Soft Place to Land.

Progress...

2010-01-21T06:45:00.001-08:00

One down (or should I say, "One UP"?), one to go.

Just wanted to show you that I AM trying to complete this project.
My youngest ("Sunshine") is with my parents today and tomorrow, so I do have some extra "free" time to devote to sewing (as soon as I return from the "100th Day of School" activities!).

Wish me luck!

P.S. When I went upstairs this morning to wake up my other three, there sat Sunshine's suitcase. Yikes!

A little before and after

2010-01-18T10:35:00.000-08:00

Since I don't have a completed project to show you (yet), I'll leave you with a little before and after. I love a good "before and after" and I'm assuming that you do too.

This is a picture of our house taken the first day that I walked in the house, before it was even ours.

This is a picture of the house today:

Here's a picture of the foyer as it was the day I walked into the house:

The house was built in 1940. The couple who built the home had four children, all of whom their mother buried before she died in 2006. The mother had a sad life, really. Her husband died in the seventies, the same year that he retired. By the way, he was Dean of the Vet school here in Auburn. The school is now named after him. But it was really interesting walking into this house. It was like stepping into 1976. Notice the bicentennial wallpaper. I don't think that Mrs. Green touched the house after her husband's death in the seventies. In fact, the house still had no central air when we bought it.

But here it is today.

The only upgrades we made to the existing part of the house were cosmetic. The house was so well built that it required very little change. We added central heat and air, re-finished the floor, removed wallpaper, repaired the cracks in the plaster walls, and painted every square inch of the interior of the house.

It was a fun project, and I would do all over again. But it wasn't easy. I had four little ones, all under the age of 6. I'm exhausted just thinking about what all we did. But this is our "forever" house and it was well worth it.

I DIDN'T DO IT! DIDN"T EVEN COME CLOSE!

2010-01-13T08:13:00.000-08:00

What was I thinking? Why did I do that to myself? Why, of WHY, did I try to hold myself accountable by telling you that I would complete a project???!!!

Yes, my husband was out of town, and yes, I was really productive, but I did not even begin to tackle the task of sewing my window treatments. I had high hopes and good intentions. I even made my way to Home Depot and had them cut my boards for me that I will attach the fabric to. And M even screwed the L-brackets on them for me. But, alas, there they sit, propped up against the wall of my bedroom, just waiting on me to "get around to it."

Even though I didn't sew this weekend, I did organize and clean like crazy. That in itself was really fun. I'm making progress, and that's all that counts. (Right?)

I think I need to schedule a party at myself or something. Something that will force me to complete some projects!

Hmm. Wonder what kind of blog party I could schedule that might motivate me? If you have any ideas, let me know.

Also...I have 104 followers! I had decided long ago that when I reached 100 followers, I'd have my very first La*T*Da Give Away. I just have to come up with the perfect thing to give away.

Be on the look-out for a Give Away soon. I'll be searching for 8the perfect* item to give away.

Hope you are all enjoying your new year!

I CAN DO IT! I KNOW I CAN!!

2010-01-07T19:10:00.001-08:00

I'm only posting this right now so I'll be motivated to BE PRODUCTIVE during this cold weather that is keeping me inside!

I have had my master bedroom 90% complete for MANY months now. But I just haven't been motivated to finish that last 10%. This isn't surprising. Just about every room in my house is the same way. But it's a new year and things are going to change, dang it! I'm not allowing myself to spend another dollar on a new project until I finish each of my existing projects. (Gulp.) I'm going to go through each room with a pen and a piece of paper and make a list of every little thing that needs to be finished and then...................................deep breath...................I"M GOING TO FINISH THE THINGS ON MY LIST! Yes ma'am, I sure am. With you as my witness. So Monday morning (if not sooner!) expect to see a picture of my completed bedroom. That means that I am going to finish sewing and HANG my new window treatments. They're already pinned together - and have been for several months - so it won't take too much effort. And when I finish the window treatments, I'm going to put a poly-coat on my "new to me" dresser. And I need to scrape the paint off my mirror. I painted the frame a while back but never took the time to finish the job by cleaning up the mess.

Anyway...I'm super excited about this new resolution to FINISH ONE PROJECT BEFORE STARTING ANOTHER!

After I make my "MASTER LIST OF INCOMPLETE PROJECTS", I'll share them with you. It'll be fun to finally check things off my list!

Happy Weekend! See ya soon with some finished projects!

My Favorite Room Re-Do

2009-12-31T06:12:00.000-08:00

From Doo-doo

To Re-do:

Happy New Year!

I'm linking to one of my very favorite blogs, The Lettered Cottage.

We bought our home about three years ago. It still had window units - no central air conditioning system (in Alabama- ugh!! Can you imagine!?). The house had been built in 1940 and had been lived in by the same family the entire time. The owner's husband died in the 1970s, and everything remained the same from then on. When you walked into the foyer, bi-centennial wallpaper greeted you. The walls were all plaster and were covered in layers upon layers of wallpaper. It was really interesting to remove one layer of wallpaper only to see the previous decade 's wallpaper completely reflective of that decade. I remember wondering if we would EVER finish. M and I completed most of the labor ourselves. We were adding an addition that we contracted out, but to save $$, we decided to "do" most of the existing house ourselves. The house was VERY well built, but it needed lots of TLC.

The bedroom above seemed overwhelming. M (my husband) really wanted to just take the built-ins to the side of the curb. Honestly, I kind of wanted to, too. There was SO much work to do and I wasn't sure I had it in me to approach this seemingly overwhelming task. But I decided that I would try to tackle the project and it soon became a labor of love. And it is now my favorite room in the house!

Alright...I've just decided....I'm going to commit the month of January to blogging about the process of transforming this old house. I love my house. There, I said it. I love it. That felt great. :)

So stay tuned. I can't wait to show you the Before and After of the outside of the house. Unreal.

(p.s. If it sounds like I'm "bragging" on my house...I totally am! I am so sorry! I can't help it! It was HARD WORK and I'm so proud of the finished result! So now I'm bragging and I'm proud!?

Yikes! I'll work on these "issues" in 2010 - I promise. Resloution #1: Find some humility, please.)

New Year's Eve Gift Baskets

2009-12-29T13:38:00.000-08:00

Need a quick, easy, cute, and inexpensive gift for someone by New Year's Day? How about a hostess gift for the New Year's Eve party? A gift for a neighbor? Or a gift for the friend who unexpectedly gave you a Christmas gift but you didn't have one for him/her? Well I've gotcha covered! I transformed these old baskets:

Into the above New Year''s Day gift baskets.

I made MANY of these baskets this morning with just a few ingredients and just a few steps.

I transferred store bought bags of black-eyes peas and rice to clear cellophane bags that I then tied off with half-price Christmas ribbon.
Then I added a bow to a box of Jiffy corn bread mix (49 cents - can't beat that!)
A added a little curly ribbon around a bottle of Tabasco.

And voila!

I went to the thrift store this morning and bought several 50 cent wicker and Easter baskets. I sprayed them with gold paint (I didn't worry about spraying the bottom of the baskets or even the inside of the basket because I lined it with gold tissue paper - also half off from Christmas). I added the "Happy New Year" hat in the larger baskets. I found them for 59 cents at Walgreens. You could also add some noisemakers or blowers, just for fun.

I made up this little poem that I attached to the top of each basket:

In the South, it is tradition

to get your black-eyed pea nutrition

So simmer the peas,

Boil the rice,

Bake the cornbread,

then add some spice.

From our house to yours, Happy New Year, friend.

Best Wishes to you in 2010!

(FYI - I just heard this today. We are supposed to pronounce the year "2010" "Twenty ten" not "two thousand and ten).

Have fun! And Happy New Year to you and yours!

Linking to Today's Creative Blog
A Soft Place to Land ,
and Toot Your Horn Tuesday.

On Wednesday, I'm linking to We are that Family, The Thrifty Homehttp://www.thethriftyhome.com/2009/12/14th-penny-pinching-party.html,

Reindeer Moonpie

2009-12-07T13:39:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends! I'm sooooo sorry that it has been so long since I've posted! I just haven't had a whole lot of time to blog, but I've got a lot of stuff to show you over the next few days.

We're making these Reindeer Moon pies for all of the kids in my daughter's kindergarten class. I thought they turned out pretty cute and they were super EZ to make!

If you are "Room Mom of the Year", you could do these as a craft during their Christmas party!

I buy my MoonPies from the Cracker Barrel. If you don't have a Cracker Barrel in your town, just drive a little further. You're bound to come across one in just a few miles. :)

You'll also need some Nilla Wafers that you will "glue" to the MoonPie with regular white icing (Betty Crocker, in the tub container).

I used these Atomic Fire Bombs from Cracker Barrel for Rudolph's nose. But you could also use a red gumball or even an M & M (although I think that the bigger nose it what makes it so cute).

Once you've assembled the face with the Nilla wafers, red nose, and M & Ms for eyes, you can serve it "as is", or you can put it on a lollipop stick. I think they're a little cuter on a stick.

For the "antlers", I used Kroger brand pretzel twist. I simply broke off the top portion so that they were no longer connected. They don't have to be perfect and the pair of antlers don't even have to match. It's kind of hard to break them off with your fingers, so if you are doing these for your own family, just bite them off! It's much easier!

I then wrapped them in cellophane and added a bow.

Helpful hint: Let the icing dry completely before attempting to wrap the MoonPie in cellophane. The nose tends to come off if the icing isn't completely dry.

Enjoy!

Hope you're all having a great holiday season!

I'm linking up to Reinvented, http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/2009/11/welcome-to-46th-metamorphosis-monday.htmlBetween Naps on the Porch

Last Minute Kid's Dessert for Thanksgiving

2009-11-25T09:31:00.000-08:00

Cornucopia Cupcake!

If your kids (or grandkids) are anything like mine, they won't touch a pecan pie or a pumpkin pie with a ten-foot pole. ( I still won't taste a pumpkin pie!) As I was trying to decide what type of kid-friendly dessert to have for Thanksgiving, I remembered a cupcake that I had when I was little. I honestly don't think I've seen one on over 20 years.

The "cornucopia" is actually a Bugle. Hint: These are hard to find! In my grocery store, they are not sold by the chips. They are sold by the roasted peanuts and other nuts. The "fruit and veg tables" are Runts candy. These can be hard to find, too. If you can't find them at your grocery store, try a gas station/convenient store. I have even seen them sold out of a bubblegum type dispenser for 25 cents a handful.

Happy Turkey Day!!

Easy Christmas Countdown

2009-11-24T05:29:00.001-08:00

Here's a quick and easy (and very cheap!) Christmas countdown:

I used the webbing (I really don't know what it's called) that is used for reupholstering furniture. You can find it at Hobby Lobby or at the fabric section in Wal-Mart. It comes on a roll and is sold by the yard (under $1.00 per yard).

I then hot-glued 25 strips of ribbon to the burlap strip. I found this ribbon at Hobby Lobby for half off (so that's 10 yards for $1.50. Wow!)

Then I tied the ribbon around the peppermints. I was trying to think of what else you could use instead of peppermint. You could use candy canes or lollipops, or even sticks of gum.

I attached 25 pieces of candy. On December 1st, we will begin counting down the days to Christmas by untying one piece of candy.

Hope you have a wonderful Holiday Season!!

I'm linking to Today's Creative Blog ,

A Soft Place to Land, Reinvented, and Tackle it Tuesday, and The DIY Showoff and Between Naps on the Porch.

Fun Thanksgiving Kid's Table

2009-11-18T20:05:00.001-08:00

This was such a fun table to assemble!! The placemats are actually chalkboards that I made from 1/4" plywood. Don't let that scare you! This was EZ and cheap!! Buy a piece of finsihed 1/4" plywood from Lowes or HomeDepot and have them cut it for you (for free) before you leave. Two coats of chalkboard paint, and you're ready to go! I tied a pice of chalk to the little bag that holds their napkin and utensils. Hopefully this will keep the little turkeys busy while Mommy and Daddy enjoy some adult conversation!

I wrote their names on the placemat in chalk, as well. I used paper plates from Wal-MArt. The brown paper bags were free from the local gas station. I noticed them on the counter and asked the attendant if I could have a few.

I couldn't come up with a clever centerpice, so I just propped one of the chalkboards on an easel and wrote a fun message on it. I used the Turkey Moon Pies from this post to add a little fun to the place setting. I tried to coordiate the table around the ribbon that I tied onto the lollipop stick of the Turkey Moon Pie.

I hot glued a coordianting grosgrain ribbon onto the Gatorade bottle. I had some sunflower trim, so I added that, as well.

The kids were really excited when they walked in the kitchen tonight! Maybe I'll let them start using the chalkboard placemats tomorrow. Maybe.

I'm linking to Between Naps on the Porch and The Shabby Nest. Enjoy!

Turkey Moon Pies (yes,you read that correctly)

2009-11-16T14:01:00.000-08:00

How fun are these turkey Moon Pies!?

My sister shared a picture with me a few weeks ago of Moon Pies made to look like owls. Which got me thinking...how can I make them look like turkeys for Thanksgiving?!

It was actually really simple! Cracker Barrel sells a box of Moon Pies (12) for $4.99. I used leftover Halloween candy corn for the tail feathers. I dipped the ends in white icing (just regular Duncan Hines) to act as glue. I inserted them into the marshmallow part of the Moon Pie. Then I spread a little white icing on the back of a Nutter Butter cookie. I used white icing to attach mini M&M's as eyes, and a red Jelly Belly as the gobbler-thingy.

I think they'd be cute with a name card attached to the stick (lollipop sticks from Hobby Lobby or Michael's), then just set on a plate on the "kid's table" at your Thanksgiving feast!

Some weekend eye candy

2009-11-14T06:03:00.000-08:00

Now that the chaos of the Holidays is almost among us, sit back and enjoy the simplicity of this house. This is my younger sister's house. Her style is a mix of modern and fine antiques. The entire house is painted the same shade of white. Her furnishings really "pop" against her white background.

When you first open the front door, this is what you see straight ahead. The mirror is actually a door to the powder room. So rather than being greeted by a bathroom door when you first walk in, you are greeted with a n antiqued full-length mirror. Cool, huh?!

This is actually her dining room. The round table in the center of the room has 6 leaves that convert this small table into a substantial-sized dining room table. When it's not functioning as a dining room, it's looking good as a sitting room.

LOVE the antique screens against the back wall. She hung them rather than keeping them ion the floor.

This little area is one end of her breakfast nook. The adjacent wall looks the very same.

Take a look at this room!

Here's a close up of the chandelier hanging above the pool table. Notice the white beams, as well.

Here's a picture of the pool table that they had bleached so that would fit into their neutral color scheme. They had the green felt replaced with a taupe colored felt.

She loves her angel painting!

The following pics are of the angel staues that she has placed in her courtyard.

Hope you enjoyed!

Have a lovely weekend!

Pegboard Advent Calendar

2009-11-12T08:33:00.001-08:00

I found a frame a few weeks ago at the local thrift store. It was dirty and brown and the glass front was missing. In other words...it was perfect!! :). I spray painted it a fresh green. I took the frame to Lowe's, purchased a half sheet of pegboard for about $6.oo and asked them to cut it for me. I brought it home and inserted the board into the frames opening and it was that easy!
I've been using it my laundry room to organize things like paintbrushes, masking tape, etc. But in the back of my mind, I kept thinking...that would make a great Advent calendar! So here we go...

And another:

I made a quick trip (no, really) to Michael's where I purchased these tiny paper bags and some Christmas stickers. The bags come 25 to a pack for $1.99 - perfect!

Then I used the handy-dandy hole puncher to make a hole in the top of each little bag. I then adhered the stickers to the front of each bag.

I used these pegboard hooks from Lowe's. They come in assorted sizes, so I had to buy three packs (at $2.59/pack) so that I'd have enough of the same size hooks. I could've used assorted sizes, but I wanted this to be a little neater than that.

After placing the pegs in the board and sliding the bags onto the hooks, I tied a little red ribbon to each hook. If I had neat handwriting, I'd probably write a number on each bag, but I was scared I'd mess up my "neat" look, so I left them alone.

You can imagine the possibilities with this. You can use fun stickers, fun ribbon, fun colors. You could even spray paint your peg board to coordinate! If you make one cuter than this, let me know. I'd love to see it. Another idea I had but couldn't fin what I was looking for - I really wanted the tiny galvanized buckets to hang from the hooks instead of the bags, but I settled for bags when I couldn't find the buckets.

Have fun!!

Some playful eye candy...

2009-11-09T18:54:00.000-08:00

I'm a bit busy this week but I leave you with these pictures from my ten year old nephew's bedroom. The theme is "lodge" - he's all about hunting, fishing, and "exploring". Enjoy!

This picture below is one of my favorite things in her entire house! It's all of his cowboy boots arranged by size, from his very first pair to his latest pair. How cute is that?!

This is in the nook in her hallway between her kids' rooms. I just love the bright, colorful art created by her kiddos.

"Give Thanks" burlap pillow

2009-11-03T06:11:00.000-08:00

I'm going to re-post this tutorial now that Halloween is over and we can focus on Thanksgiving. You'll have to use your imagination and pretend that the "Boo" says "give thanks". I originally took pics for the "Boo" and "Boo Y'all" pillows, but the directions are the same except for the phrase.

Step One: Print out your word or phrase that you want on your pillow. Enlarge the word/phrase on a copy machine. (My home copy machine does not enlarge so I my print -outs it to the local Office Max self-serve copy machine).

Step Two: You can either trace your word/phrase onto freezer paper, or cut your freezer paper to 8 1/2 x 11 and run it through your home copy machine. (see more info about this in an earlier post by clicking HERE).

Step Three: Using your handy dandy Exacto knife, cut out your word/phrase from the freezer paper. With the waxy side facing the burlap, iron the freezer paper into place. I usually iron my big piece first, then add the "island pieces".

Step Four: Using regular acrylic paint and a sponge brush, carefully paint the inside of the stencil. Don't forget to put a piece of paper between the two layers to prevent the paint from bleeding through.

Step Five: Carefully remove the freezer paper. It is not necessary to wait until the paint dries.

Step Six: Enjoy!!

To see how to make the actual pillow with the self-fringe, click HERE.

I'm linking to Today's Creative Blog and A Soft Place to Land,

and It's So Very Cheri

Fun and Kid-Friendly Bathroom on a Budget!

2009-11-02T08:33:00.000-08:00

Here's a shot of the "before": (Notice the plaster peeling off the wall and ceiling...lovely):

After:

Don't forget the before (makes you appreciate the "after" so much more!):

This bathroom was AWFUL when we purchased this house. However, for very little money, we were able to transform it into something really fun. My husband sanded and repaired the plaster on the ceiling, we painted the ceiling a fresh white, the walls a fun green, and added pops of red to make it more fun. We did replace the light fixture, sink, and faucets, but we kept the tile floor, walls, and toilet (although for $12 we did replace the toilet seat). I needed to make this a unisex bathroom so that all of my children could use without them feeling like it was a "boy" or a "girl" bathroom. So green paint was a good choice. My favorite thing about this bathroom? The row of ceramic rubber duckies on the window ledge.

Now if I could just kick the kids out of MY bathroom!

Beautiful Toile

2009-10-30T12:50:00.001-07:00

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

2009-10-28T08:20:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-27T04:54:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-19T18:56:00.001-07:00

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

2009-10-19T12:33:00.001-07:00

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!

2009-10-19T06:56:00.001-07:00

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

2009-10-11T10:24:00.003-07:00

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

2009-10-08T06:16:00.003-07:00

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

2009-10-01T20:08:00.000-07:00

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!

Pumpkin Pillow Tutorial

2009-09-29T07:43:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!! Step One: Fold your piece of orange burlap fabric in half and draw half of a pumpkin on the fold.

Step Two: Cut through both layers of fabric.

Step Three: Unfold your fabric and you will have a cute little pumpkin. Don't try to be precise when you are drawing and cutting your pumpkins. Pumpkins come in different shapes and sizes -there is no perfect pumpkin. Just have fun with it!

Steps Four and Five: Pin your two pumpkin pieces together. Burlap doesn't have a "right side", so just pin them together as is. Sew your two pieces together using a very short stitch. Burlap has a tendency to fray easily so keep your stitch small to prevent fraying. Leave a 3 - 4 inch opening at the bottom of the pumpkin so that you can stuff it with polyfil later.

Steps Six and Seven:(Sorry about the lighting! I guess I shouldn't have used my flash!) Cut out the face of your jack-o-lantern on freezer paper (found by the aluminum foil in your grocery store). Using an Exacto knife, cut out the image. Again, have fun and be creative!

Step Eight: Iron your pumpkin face to your fabric. Freezer paper has a thin layer of wax on one side of the paper. You want the shiny side to lay against your fabric. Place your iron on the non-shiny side.

Step Nine: Using regular acrylic paint, paint the inside of your image.

Step Ten: Peel the freezer paper away from the fabric. You c ould do this while the paint is still wet,or you can wait til it dries if you prefer. Thanks to the freezer paper, your pumpkin face will have such clean, crisp edges.

Steps Eleven and Twelve: Paint your stem brown and/or green. When paint dries, fill pillow with fluff and sew the opening closed.

Step Twelve: Smile!

Welcome!

2009-09-21T14:57:00.000-07:00

Welcome friends!

Now I can really show off!