Candy Corn Crossing

I am a little obsessed with Fall. And candy corn. I had so much fun creating this sign out of old wood and a little paint. I'm considering putting "Candy Cane Crossing" on the back! Wouldn't that be adorable?

Weekend Project Part 2 - Old Dresser Makeover and Art

The master bedroom makeover continues! I started with this headboard and decided to turn on my dresser. Before I painted it, this dresser was an ugly duckling to say the least. It was scratched, the drawers were falling out and it had been well loved by quite a few previous owners. But me, being the crazy hoarder that I am made my husband bring it with us in the move and to show him that it wasn't just going to be yet another project in the garage waiting to be done, I've actually been  using it as my dresser in our bedroom. Even though the drawers sagged every time I opened it and the scratches were sad to look at, I knew some day I would make it pretty. And that day was finally here. Joy of joys! 

Here she is before:

(sorry, I only remembered to take a picture after I had already removed the drawers)

And here she is after:

*sigh* I could stare at her all day. And since she's now located on the wall directly across from the foot of my bed - I can! Here's some pictures of how I got'er done with some sweet narration to go with them. You're welcome. :) 

First, I sanded it like crazy. And I did it by hand with an old school hand sander. Call me crazy, but I love getting a good workout in with a hand sander. 

Next, I painted it. A lot. Like, 3 coats and then I put a clear glaze on the top to protect it from people throwing keys and whatnot's on it. I bought just a sample sized thing of paint (less than $5) in "Canary Yellow" and when I got home I hated how bright it was so I added some white to it - which was great because that made it go further and I still have a lot leftover. 

Next, I spray painted my handles in brushed metallic (which I scored for only $1.35 on clearance!)

Here they are back on the dress. And yes, they will hold up great - I've used this spray paint on other projects and it works perfectly. 

Last, but not least, I'm sure you noticed my sweet art piece above the dresser. Yes, I did do it myself. :) That was a fun surprise for my husband because this is the first "real" piece of art I've done since before we got married and I got to sign it as Bennett! Pretty pathetic that it took me that long to do something this big, but that's what happens when you have 2 kids back-to-back, right? :) 

Framed Mason Jar

What do you do when you get married and your husband has an old nasty fake gold leafed 80's frame that he's obsessed with because it's sentimental? Well, you stick it in his office and then years later you "accidentally" drop it in the move. That's what. Kidding. Maybe. Okay, yes, It really was an accident and luckily I wasn't the one who broke it so he can't even blame me. So since there was no glass to go with the frame and it had some damage to the wood, he threw it away. I decided to re-claim it and give it a makeover. 

Now, after I painted it white and glued on some burlap and hung a mason jar in it, it looks like this:

 

Sorry I didn't take a before picture, but it looked something like this: 

Decorative Shelves

Okay, so Christmas has long since come and gone.  I have been so busy since then that I am just now getting around to posting this-even though I made them last year!

Thanksgiving was just coming to an end, and I was so antsy to decorate for Christmas. My house doesn't have a fireplace so I was trying to figure out somewhere to put my stockings.  The idea hit me!  "I have a miter saw in the garage and some random pallets lying around, I will make some shelves!".  An hour later I had these beauties hanging!

If you are into wood working, don't look too closely because the angles don't line up great, but heck I think it adds to the rustic charm!  I have since added some pegs (found at Joann's and then stained).  I forgot to take a picture of the stockings...darn!  Trust me though, it was cute!


Making something out of nothing!! LOVE IT!

Crayon Making - Recycle Those Broken Crayons

I work at a preschool, and we use crayons on a daily basis. Therefore, we end up with a ton of broken, or too short crayons, which is perfect for this project. I, however, went a bit crazy, and after I used up all of our nubby crayons, I went to the dollar store and bought a few more boxes. I thought it would be a fun Valentines gift for the preschool kids to have multicolored crayons in fun shapes. 

The most difficult part of this project is peeling the crayons. I ended up using an old kitchen knife to score the crayon wrapper, then it practically came off on its own. If you try it, just be sure to lay the crayon flat on the table, and pinch it with your thumb and index finger. Then gently slide the knife from tip to tip over the wrapper. It's definitely fine if you slice a little into the crayon, because you are going to break them up anyways.  

I found the silicone molds at a store in the mall called Kitchen Collection. They had several different shapes, and each one was only two dollars. You can end up making five to eight crayons at a time, rather than two in the Crayola Melt'n Mold Factory (Which retails for around $40 or $50). 

I used my toaster oven to melt the crayons, because I wanted to keep a close eye on them, and I also didn't want to heat up my regular oven. I have a cookie sheet that fits my toaster oven, and I placed the silicone tray on that, so it was easier to pick up when the crayons were hot. 

Here is how I did it:

1. Choose your colors, and peel several crayons.
2. Break the crayons, or cut them up, and fill the silicone mold. Larger pieces take a little longer to melt, but tiny ones melt too quickly, and run together.
3. Place tray on a cookie sheet, and heat in a 325 degree oven for approx. 10-15 minutes. 
4. Keep an eye on the melting crayons, because you don't want the colors to mix and become a yucky gray color. Remove them from the oven when you no longer see any solid crayon pieces. 
5. Allow to cool. I usually sit them on the counter for a bit, and then move them to the fridge for ten to twenty minutes. 
6. Once they're solid again, they should just pop right out of the mold.

Baby food jar storage

My little girl just started eating solids and I'm so excited! Mainly because I get to have all of her finished empty glass baby food jars. They are SO useful!! I use them to store dried herbs and spices, craft accessories, and I make candles out of them for year supply. I just hate throwing away most glass jars when their empty, no matter what size.

First, you have to take off the labels and wash and sanitize them. Next, paint the lids with an all-surface paint (or one that won't come off - I like Martha Stuart brand all-surface paints). You'll have to do a few coats to cover all the words. Next, write your labels and stick them on (I found my labels for $.50 on clearance at Joanns!). EASY and fun! 

Making Something Out of Nothing...

My husband's parents live out in the country and always have a lot of  scrap wood lying around.  My husband teases me because I am always rummaging through it to find things I can use for "my projects".  These are my latest creations:

I made this out of old garden sticks:  5 pieces of wood nailed together, stained and dolled up!  Easy, Easy!!

It will now by my Christmas wreath on my door! I will most likely add an American Flag and use it again on Independence day!

The burlap bow was reused from a gift!

Still a work in progress but this is made from pallets.  It was just 5 same length pieces nailed to a slab of wood.  I painted the snowman and star freestyle but used a printout for the words and traced them onto by wood then painted over the tracing. 

Making Watercolor "Paint" with dried out markers

A few months ago I came across this blog post: Recycle old markers into watercolors, and I really wanted to try it. So today I sat down with my markers, and tested them. I got so excited every time I found a dry one.

I then separated them into like colors, and filled six cups half full with water. I didn't rubber band mine, and I wish I had the baby food jars for easy storage, but it worked just fine.

I then let my two year old paint. The only hiccup was that she wanted to use one paint brush, and I had to remind her to switch brushes when she wanted a new color, so that the colors wouldn't mix.

It looked so fun, that I decided to paint a picture too. 

The Patriotic Dress and Hair Bow

I made this dress out of an actual pillowcase purchased from a thrift store. It was my first attempt at a pillowcase dress (months ago), but when I finished it was too big for my daughter. I recently dug it back out, and embellished it with these bows I found at the dollar store. The hair bow is cut from a bandanna, and  wrapped with a red and white striped ribbon. I decided to take pictures now, because who knows if it will still fit her come July 4th.

Sock Zebra

I made this little guy out of one pair of socks and embroidery thread. He is a little too top heavy, so I need to figure out how to weigh him down, so that he doesn't fall over. I didn't use a pattern this time. I Googled zebra images, and just sort of went with it. This was the first time I used the fuzzy socks. It was frustrating using my sewing machine at first, but I got the hang of it. I think he turned out really cute, especially for a prototype. I'm excited to find some more zebra print socks for another one.

  
 

DIY Bins!

I have a confession - I drive my husband crazy! Why? Because whenever I need something for the house I drag him with me to search for the right object only to say time after time "why buy that when I could make it myself?" So, when I needed storage bins for our laundry room I just couldn't bring myself to pay $20 per bin. And I hated all the cheap, flimsy, fabric bins. So what is a girl left to do? Make it myself, obviously!



I took to the web and couldn't find the right tutorial for what I was looking for but I finally found one close to it. I wish I had saved the site but, sadly, I can't find it. Here's what I did:

What You will need: large cardboard boxes, scissors, razor blade, cute paper, hot glue gun, elmer's glue, mod podge, and a paintbrush. 

Step 1.) Find some old boxes. Doesn't really matter what shape they are in, as long as they are big enough.

Step 2.) Measure your cubby and leave just enough space to be able to push the bin in and out with ease.

Step 3.) Make the first cut into your cardboard using your measurements and use that square as a template to trace the rest of the pieces. Depending on how thick your cardboard is and how sturdy you want your box, you may need to use two pieces to make one side.

Step 4.) Glue your pieces together. I used a hot glue gun and I also glued two pieces of cardboard together per side for extra sturdiness. Don't worry about it looking pretty, just make sure everything is straight.

Step 5.) Find some fun paper and cover your boxes! I just used regular elmer's glue and some scrapbook paper. Glue the heck out of it, you want the paper to stay put! I also cut some of my paper into strips and did a striped pattern on the sides (see image below).

Step 6.) Cut out your handle. I used a razor blade and then wrapped my paper around to cover the cut.

Step 7.) Cover with Mod Podge to give it a durable finish. (FYI, I make my own Mod Podge. There are lots of wonderful tutorials online about this! Check out my post here.)

Let dry and enjoy your savings! Depending on what paper you use, this project should be very inexpensive. It cost me about $2 per bin.

Step up...

In August of 2012, I took a big financial risk and quit my full time job to be a stay at home mom. One of the best decisions of my life! My husband was still in school and working part time. Our budget was tight. So I decided to try to help ease the burden. I had a few pieces of furniture around the house that I had intended on re-finishing for my own home. At that moment, I decided I would instead re-finish them and sell them. I never realized how much I would enjoy it! I took the money from the sells to buy more furniture and supplies. It doesn't produce a lot of extra income, but enough for those extra diapers the budget didn't cover or a nice night out with my husband. But, the best part of it all is seeing the excitement on my buyer's face!

Most challenging project but I loved the results!

I used rope for the handles to save. I made a $75 profit!         

The Pillow Case Dress

Probably one of the easiest projects for a beginner. You can use an actual pillow case, or two coordinating fabrics. I really wanted to use the circle appliques and buttons to match my multicolored fabric (bottom strip), so I paired it with this orange fabric cut from an old bed sheet. Poor Macy was teething, but she still let me dress her up and take pictures.

This is the tutorial I used:

Pillow Case Dress Tutorial

Ashley does a great job of explaining and taking pictures along the way. Plus she has an adorable model showing off the finished project! So cute.

The Bed Skirt Skirt and the Valance Skirt

The Bed Skirt Skirt:

No, I am not stuttering! I just don't know what else to call it. I made a skirt from a thrift store bed skirt. Not a fan of the name "dust ruffle". Since I am just cutting my teeth on this sewing adventure, I thought I would start with simple projects... (you know, where most of the sewing is already done for me). I think it came out pretty cute, but it has issues. The first issue is that my daughter must have gotten bigger in the day it took me to finish it, because I did the whole "measure twice-cut once" thing. (Okay, so maybe she didn't get bigger, but that is my excuse.) I tried to put in an invisible zipper, and I even watched three different tutorials on You Tube, but my zipper is kinda sorta visible. For the most part though, I am pretty happy with the results. Bed skirts have a ton of fabric, so you get a lot of bang for your buck (or fifty cents). Got that tip from my Aunt Patty.

The Valance Skirt:

This started out as a thrift store valance. I love gingham! I added a little peek-a-boo ruffle underneath using a bed skirt (I also found at the thrift store). It was very simple, because I just threaded the elastic through the slot that was sewn for the curtain rod. To me it still has the look of a curtain, but I think Macy can make any outfit seem haute couture! Yes, I do wear mom goggles.