DIY Bookcase Marketplace- IKEA Hack

Merry Christmas! I hope you and your family had a great time together. We hosted Christmas this year for the first time for about 20 of our close family members. Besides ruining half of the turkey, it went great. My usual over the top planning has left us eating leftovers all week- but isn't that the bonus of hosting a holiday?

Valentines' Day Picture Frame Wreath DIY

Valentines' Day is a month away. I've never been big on celebrating Valentines' Day-however, I always accept the awesome box of chocolate my husband likes to give me- but now that my girls are a little older, it's fun to decorate for the holiday to encourage their excitement. Although, let's face it-any holiday that I get to decorate in pink, is my fave. I wonder if I can spin Fourth of July into a pink decoration- we'll see.

Anyway, you may recognize the wreath above from an earlier post. This is the wreath I did for Christmas last year. I love it so much that I was sad to take it down, so I decided to make it interchangeable. I removed the ornaments, ribbon and the G and added some heart garland, beads and new ribbon to make it new. I'm so excited to be able to keep this on my door for 3 months instead of 5 weeks! I wonder if I can convert it to St. Patty's Day- any suggestions?









Here is how I did it...

DIY Magnetic Dry Erase Weekly Menu Planner

I try to keep my life organized but the craziness usually takes over and I succumb to the chaos that is around me. The one thing that I am consistent about is menu planning. If I don't write down my menu before I shop, I spend too much and often come home with boxed dinners that are easy, but not very healthy.

I've had a menu planner I made about six months ago that I wrote the meals down on strips of paper and clipped them to cute little paper clips on the side. It was cute, but not very practical. I needed something dry erase to limit waste and a place to write a shopping list of things I run out of during the week.

So I came up with this little dry erase calendar. It cost me about $2 in materials. If you have a spare frame, scrapbook paper and a printer, you can have your own dry erase menu in about 10 minutes. I have ten spaces for dinners, but adjust to your family's needs. Usually, I plan in a few nights of left overs or eating out.

Here is how I did it...

DIY Ruffled Tree Skirt

Happy Birthday Blog!

I've basically been blogging for one year now. In that year:

• I have 1 follower (thanks to my sister-in-law, Carrie)
• I've done 125 bog posts
• I've had 59 comments
• I have almost 14,000 page views.

I think that's pretty good considering I have a busy house with a 3 year old, 1 year old and a part-time 8 year old and I work about 60 hours a week including my commute. I have tried to make a commitment to blog at least once a week. Some weeks, I've made more; some weeks I've made less. Nevertheless, I have had a great time challenging myself to create new recipes and craft projects to better my family and my home. It's been great having all my recipes stored on my computer, especially my most-used recipes like my buttercream frosting and my chicken tortilla soup.  And, I'm most proud of my favorite creations: owl applique quilt, dinosaur hoodie, beer koozie  and my diaper bag.  

It's been a pretty good year and I'm excited to see what the next year has in store for me. It's very surreal that I've shared my crazy life and love for cooking, baking and everything crafty with so many people. 

Now...onto my current project. This actually took me a lot longer than I had thought it would. Finishing all the edges, ruffling and sewing it all together took about 2 weekends to complete. I love how it turned out and I plan to make matching Christmas stockings this week. Stay tuned...

For this project, I finished the edges of all my ruffles with my new rolled hem foot. This foot was really hard to figure out, but once I did-it's the best sewing accessory I've ever purchased. It makes finishing edges a breeze and cuts out a lot of time. The directions were confusing, but I watched a few YouTube videos and after about an hour of practice, I was a pro. One piece of advice if you buy this, you may have to adjust your stitch width so that your needle actually sews the hem. this wasn't in any of the instructions and took a while for me to figure out. This was the perfect tool to use with this project as there were a lot of edges to finish. 

Zulily- Greatest Discount Website for Kids

Today I'm posting about something different-Zulily. Zulily is my all time favorite website to find great deals for kids, home decor or kitchen gadgets and women's clothing. It features boutiques and pricey designer items at a big discount. Being on a budget, I could never afford the items I've purchased otherwise.

There are other websites similar to this one that I've tried and Zulily is by far the best. Everything ships out within 2 weeks- sometimes, I've received my items in as little as five days. One order in the last year took 3 weeks to ship. When I emailed Zulily about this, they gave me a credit on my account to make up for the inconvenience  That is great customer service.

Right now they're running a special through this link. Anyone who signs up through this link gets a $10 credit. If you have children, grandchildren, or you love shopping for clothing and home decor- you have to sign up for this website. I highly recommend it. Right now is the perfect time to start making your purchases for the holidays.

The $10 credit offer ends Nov 16- but if you're reading this afterwards, I still recommend signing up..its a great site!

Pumpkin Spice Sugar Scrub- Bridal Shower Favors

What is more fall than pumpkin? As I've said in the past, I LOVE all things pumpkin. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin air freshener... So when I was wracking my brain trying to decide what to give for my sister's bridal shower favor (that matched the adorable polka dot matchbook emery boards I bought over a year ago), I was ecstatic when the light bulb went on and I thought about making a sugar scrub.

My sister-in-law, Jamie, had just given me a case of small 4 oz mason jars- which made the perfect package for the sugar scrub. I found this website that detailed how to make a sugar scrub and created the perfect little fall favor. It took my mom about an hour to make 36 of these cute little favors. I'm super sad I didn't get one to take home, but I'll just make some for myself when I have some free time.

Total cost of this project: $33...about $1 a piece. What a great affordable favor!

Here is the recipe...

Cloth Napkins DIY

I try to be green as much as realistically possible. I try to buy local, I always recycle, I don't use paper goods in my house, except paper towels...with two kids and a dog, I can't cut those out! When it came to my sister's shower, I've had a lot of time to plan. One of my goals was to make cloth napkins instead of using paper ones.

When I first thought of this, I multiplied how much it would cost and decided it wasn't possible. I couldn't spend $60 of my party budget on napkins. Then, I scoured all my miscellaneous fabric and realized I had enough fabric to make 41 napkins. I was shocked! My goal was 50 napkins, so I just needed to purchase a few yards. This brought the cost down to about what it would be if I purchased paper napkins. I was ecstatic! The added bonus of this project is now I have enough napkins to use for all my future birthday parties and showers. They are a smattering of colors and patterns that create a fun, bright party atmosphere.

As far as cloth options, I used what I had on hand. I know that they may fray, that is why I double folded the seams. A co-worker of mine suggested broad cloth. Experiment to find what fabric you like the best.

Here is how I did it...

Baby Boy Boxing Nursery Update

Lee has finally finished with the nursery! I can't believe how adorable it is and super fun that it's so unique.

Here are the final pics...

Baby Boy Nursery: Boxing Glove Applique Strip Quilt

My best friend since middle school, Lee, is having a baby boy in September. In true Lee form, rather than going with the usual teddy bear or  jungle themes, she chose a unique theme: boxing. In choosing this, she has destined herself to completely decorate the nursery with no inspiration other than her very creative mind.

I offered to make her baby quilt for her since she couldn't find any matching bedding. This was a little nerve wracking since I couldn't find any boxing appliques to model my quilt after. So I had to wing it and hope it somewhat resembled a pair of boxing gloves. My favorite part about this quilt is the light blue strips, which I made using the fabric from the bridesmaid dress I wore in her wedding. I wish I had thought of that for all my family and friends!

Strip Quilt Tutorial with Owl Applique

This was my first attempt at an applique. Another reason why I'm so glad I purchased a new sewing machine back in February! This new machine has opened up so many new craft possibilities, its a little overwhelming. For the first time in my life, I'm using my sewing machine on a weekly basis. I don't think I've ever used an entire spool of thread in my life until two months ago!

Anyway, back to the quilt. My sister-in-law is having a baby girl in a few weeks and since I just made this Monkey Quilt for her sister's baby that was born in April, I wanted to do something a little different. While researching baby quilts online, I continually came across strip quilts. I had been given a quilt like this when Evelyn was born last year and loved it. So, I decided this was the avenue I would take for this quilt. For the applique, I googled owl appliques and drew a pattern for one with my favorite elements from all the pictures I found.

Don't get overwheled by all the steps...from start to finish, this quilt took me five days to complete. At most, I was able to devote 2 hours a day to it. So, its completely doable to finish this in a week if you're motivated.

Repourposing an Old Suitcase into a Dog Bed

My little fox terrier, Bella, likes to sleep on top of the back of the couch. I'm not a huge fan of this, so I needed to find her another comfy spot to sleep. I found this old suitcase at Goodwill for $4. Along with some old pillows, spray paint and cute fabric, I made a chic dog bed for Bella for under $20. Here is how I did it:

DIY Car Trash Can

I have seen these all over Pinterest and I finally made myself one. This is a cute little trash can that cost me $2 from Goodwill. Here is how I did it:

Kid's drawer Organization Tip

Just a quick tip today...

I was tired of finding my girls' dresser a mess due to the -male adult that lives in my home who shall remain nameless- so I reorganized their drawers. Instead of folding the clothes and stacking them on top of one another, I folded them so that you can see each pair of pants, PJ's, etc upon opening the drawer.

This has saved me a lot of time  by not cleaning drawers on the weekends.

Easter Wreath DIY

In an effort to keep my front door decorated throughout the year, I made this fun Easter Wreath. Michaels and Hobby Lobby both had their Easter decor for 40% off this week, but I didn't love anything they had. So I took elements from a few wreaths and made it my own. This wreath cost about $13 to make. I could have bought one a little cheaper with the discount, but then I wouldn't have had the fun of making it. :)

FYI- I used the metal wreath frame and affixed card board to it because I wanted the strength of the frame and the surface to glue on from the cardboard. You can just figure out what works best for you. I purchased the biggest frame I could get- it had about a 12 inch diameter inside the wreath.

DIY Dry Erase Calendar

My husband has the worst memory of anyone I know. Many fights have begun with him saying "You never told me that..." I've actually resorted to not telling him about anything until the last minute and telling him that I told him weeks ago to save me the aggravation of thinking he doesn't care enough to listen.  Enter our dry erase calendar...

I made this dry erase calendar in January and I put all our important dates on it each month. He is responsible for keeping up on what is on it and it's saving our marriage :). This is made from a picture frame I bought at Goodwill for $3.  So, not only does it match my new laundry room perfectly, but it was the right price too!

Homeade Liquid Laundry Detergent

Last November, I made laundry detergent for the first time. I was very proud of myself. Laundry detergent is the one thing I loath purchasing. I hate that it adds $13 onto my grocery bill. Even though it lasts me a month, I absolutley hate spending the money. So, when my friend told me that she had made her own detergent, I was so excited to try it for myself.

Gallery Wall

Clinton and I moved into our house in April 2009.  It was built in 1934 and we are the third owner.  The last family that lived in our house was here for 65 years.  The husband was a beloved basketball coach for the high school and everyone in town knows of them and our house. I love that our house has such a history, however, a long time owner, also means a long time since its been renovated.

Our house needs a lot of work and since I've been either pregnant or caring for a newborn, a lot of projects have been put on hold. Now that Evelyn just had her first birthday, I finally feel like I have a little time to start working on our house renovations. Evelyn's first birthday party was a catalyst to get a few easy projects out of the way over the last few weeks.  It was fun to hear everyone's reactions to the few things we have done and has motivated me to start planning my next project.

My new laundry room

My laundry room went from this:

To this:

Gutter Book Shelf DIY

I admit it, I have a book fetish. I am addicted to buying books- especially children's books. Even before I had the girls and Logan, I would use babysitting as an excuse to run to the bookstore and pick up a new book. Over the years, I've gathered quite a collection. When I started renovating the girls' room, one of the first things we did after painting was hang the gutter book display.

I got this idea via Pinterest.  I love this concept because it's great for the soft-cover books that don't sit well on a book shelf. I love that it's close to the floor so that both Evelyn and Elsie can access it at all times. It was cheap, too. The most expensive part about it was the gutter hangers, so if you can think of a way to hang it without the hangers, you'll save about $20. Otherwise, this project was under $30 for the entire display. It was an added bonus that the stock color matched my room decor.

Curtains on a dime tutorial

 

Let me start by saying I am a novice seamstress. Before this year, I hadn't had my sewing machine out in years. And when I did use it, it was for quilts that only required a straight stitch. Pinterest has inspired me to clean the dust off my sewing machine and learn how to use it. So, with the help of countless blogs, I have started to using my sewing machine for something other than a foot rest.

I'm in the process of renovating the girls' room and window coverings, as always, had me stumped. I couldn't find any curtains that I loved and I definitely didn't want to spend $20 a panel for four windows for any of the curtains that I liked. In talking this over with my friend Lee, she suggested that I make curtains from a flat sheet. So, I went to Wal-mart and found that they had flat sheets for $5. I had fabric in my stash at home for the ruffle, which made my window treatments only $10. I will be adding a valance in a few weeks to dress them up a bit.

The great thing about using a flat sheet is that I only had to finish two sides. If I wouldn't have added the ruffle, I would have only had to finish one side. I have very large windows in my house and I only needed two twin size sheets to cover them. You may notice that they are a little thin. I decided to add light-filtering blinds to the window instead of lining the curtains. These blinds were under $4 at Wal-mart. I would perfer my daughter's room not be totally dark because I don't want them to need total darkness to sleep. Just my preference, the room darkening blinds were only a few dollars more. Do what's best for your family.