Pegboard Advent Calendar

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...

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

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!

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

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.