HOLM Made

"How to Train Your Dragon" Party

2010-12-08T20:34:00.000-07:00

My little boy turned 7 this past weekend. He was so excited we started planning over a month in advance. He just HAD to have a "How To Train Your Dragon Party". So this is what we did.

First we had to make the invitations.... We found this silhouette (very similar to "Toothless" from the movie) and I turned it into a SVG file for my Sure Cuts Alot.

Then he put together the design & wording for his invitation using a "dragon" font we downloaded off the internet.

First, we ran to the dollar store and picked up all the children's size medium red t-shirts they had in stock (sorry, if anyone was looking for them) I used a freezer paper technique to paint "Toothless" on each shirt so each boy would have their own.

After watching the movie and more pizza & snacks than I thought was possible for little boys to digest, we started playing the games....

1: We need to shoot a dragon out of the sky!... Normally my first instinct would be a pinata. But apparently, at his school, they are so passe (he he he) So here's what we did. I printed out this picture of "Toothless" in flight. I used the program PosteRAZOR to blow up my little tiny jpg image into a larger print.

Then we purchased some "sticky bug sling shot thingy's" from Wal-mart's birthday section (I'm pretty sure that is the technical term for them). I laminated the picture and hung it as high up on our family room wall as it could go. The boys all took turns (well, at least in the beginning) throwing their "bugs" at "Toothless". It was pretty hilarious watching them figure out how to use a "sling shot bug" and then all trying, at once, to hit the same spot on toothless.

2: WE HAVE TO FEED THE DRAGONS: Ok, this one was pretty easy. I printed out some pictures of the dragons from the movie. Applied them to foam board and cut out "feeding spots"

Then, as we all know, dragons eat fish right???? (Alright, that is what I was informed) So I ran into the craft room and used some scrap shark material to make the boys bean bags. (Which they all got to take home with them)

3: Pin the Tooth on Toothless: Need we say anymore. I just tweaked the "donkey-tail" game. Printed out this adorable picture of Toothless and cut out some white triangles. It was adorable!

And we can't forget the CAKE! My son doesn't like chocolate cake or icing, and after many failed attempts we determined that Mommy just can't color white icing black (like Toothless) So he settled on green, as long as there were flames coming out of his mouth! (I admit it, the flames are a Christmas Decoration from Wal-mart) Inside we colored the cake Red & Blue (because dragons are different than other animals, they have red & blue stuff in them)

At the end of the party each boy was given their own bag (yup decorated with Toothless) to take home! Complete with too much candy, their sticky bug thingy & a shark bean bag!

Everyone had a blast, and somehow my family room survived the boys for an afternoon! What a great birthday party!

A Rose Bud Christmas Tree

2010-12-01T13:57:00.002-07:00

I've got a house full of girls (5 of them, not including me) and much to the chagrin of the boys (only 3, if you count my hubby) the girls are GIRLY GIRLS! I'm sure many of you know exactly what that means. Ruffles, lace, flowers, pink, purple, PINK, and girl stuff all over. While I was relaxing last night my adorable 5 year old asked me a question?????

"Mommy, why aren't Christmas Tree's PINK?" She was so serious it was cute. I gave her the generic answer of , "because their green sweetheart, that's the way god made them" Apparently that was not the appropriate answer. So today she asked if we could make her a "GIRL" tree. And then it hit me.

ROSES!

I figured out how to make really cute roses with my cricut & SURE CUTS ALOT software. Why not make a whole bunch of them and make her a little tree sign. Here is how I did it!

I tweeked a jpg that I found on google of a scalloped spiral so that it would cut on my cricut. (using inkscape and Sure Cuts Alot 2)

Then using some mauve (ok, fine, i'll call it pink) ink that I picked up at Roberts for $1 I just brushed it over the edges of the scallops.

Then I used my embossing stylus (but anything long and skinny like a skewer would work) and I started at the end and started rolling up the spiral.

When you get it all finished it looks like a really tight rose bud. You can glue it like that or I let go to loosen it up a bit.

Then just put some glue on the bottom to hold it all together.

After you get all your roses complete call in your favorite 5 year old helper to give you a hand.

Have her pose for a picture! Not that she wasn't already doing that.... Then decide what type of background you want. I originally wanted to go with a Black or darker background. But little girls can be pretty insistent. It had to be WOOD, after all it is a TREE!

So I pulled out some scrap flooring that I had laying around and i had her draw a light sketch of what she wanted her tree to look like.

Not too shabby if you ask me (especially for a 5 year old)

Then just start gluing away. (Don't worry, I was supervising the use of the hot glue gun with my little girl, no one got hurt in the production of this tutorial)

Stop for yet another posed picture.....

Add a ribbon bow at the bottom for the "tree stump" and VOILA! A Girly "pinkish" Tree..

It turned out better than I thought it would. She hasn't decided if she wants to add something else to it (It is her choice, because it's her "pink" Christmas Tree) But I like it just the way it is. I can't wait till Valentines day. I'm gonna make a heart out of Red velveteen paper!

Linking Up With
Blue Cricket Design
My Backyard Eden
Crafty Cierra
Seven Thrity Three
Fine Craft Guild
Krafty Kat

Teacher's Gifts

2010-11-29T12:50:00.000-07:00

I struggle every year with finding gifts. Gifts for my family, for my friends, my neighbors, the mailman...... you get the picture. I love to give gifts, cookies, etc. The one I struggle with the most is the gift for my kids teachers. I have a lot of friends who are teachers and I know they LOVE everything their students give them. I know that they are all heartfelt and loving, homemade and store bought. Everything is appreciated. But I have this desire beyond belief to always give them something that they have NEVER received before. It is getting increasingly harder and harder to find something unique each year.

Last year my kids were REALLY into mod podge. So we made some cute name plaques for each of their teachers and principles. I thought they turned out great! This year we've decided on something a little more out of the box....

RICE BAGS!

My kids each have their own rice bag. They are the best comfort (second to moi) that my kids could have. They heat them up in the microwave when they come in from playing in the snow. We've got them in the freezer for the little bonks and bruises. They stick them under their sheets before they hop into bed at night so their toes don't get cold (how cute is that)

But I figured I couldn't exactly just hand them any old bag. So my kids picked out the material and we pieced together the fronts. We then decided to write a poem to go along with them (since, apparently just writing a description or instructions is SO five minutes ago!)

This is what we ended up with....

The lizard one is for the one male teacher my kids have. My daughter INSISTED that he is obsessed with Lizards. So we had to go with that print. The others are made with a print from Mary Engelbreit. It just looked so happy and cheerful, I had to use that one!

Here they are all together! Now to get working on my sister gifts.... I'll show you those tomorrow!

Grapevine Pumpkin Tutorial

2010-11-15T13:30:00.002-07:00

I don't have alot of Fall or Thanksgiving Decor. But that is something I am definately trying to change. I absolutely adore the cute grapevine pumpkins that seem to be at every craft show I go to. But I can't aford the price tag. So I figured it out for myself.

First, I took some grapevine that I had laying around the house (It used to be ontop of the cupboards, but hey... I never throw anything away) Along with some old wire that was in the drawer (oops. forgot to take a picture of that!)

You want to start by making a loop. The size depends on how big you want your pumpkin, and how much grapvine you have. But the sky's the limit its up to you!

Now take some of your wire and twist it around TIGHTLY (trust me on this one, it will come undone if it's not tight) Then continue wrap the grapevine and twist your wire.

Once you've got it as full as you want your pumpkin just twist a couple extra times around the middle with your wire. Then separate & "fluf" up your pumpkin. My grapevine had these little twigs twisted around the vine to keep it together. I just snipped them off and separated all the vines.

I sent the kids outside to find some leaves for an added little touch. And put a piece of green scrap material around the center for a little color. I like it... What do you think?

Linking up with

Skip to my Lou

Keeping it Simple

The Girl Creative

Making the World Cuter

Mad in Crafts

C.R.A.F.T.

A Manly Office Space

2010-11-13T19:45:00.003-07:00

So, I am married to the most wonderful, perfect (at least to me), adoring & sensitive man alive. I am so incredibly blessed that he chose me to be his wife. He works so hard so that I can stay home with our delightful children.

I have to admit it, but our house is on the “crowded” side. So my husband (I’ll call him Mr. Sensitive”) only has a small “corner” in which he calls his office. Ok, it is a little bit more than a corner, but less than a room…. I’d say it is a wide hallway perhaps. A little over a year ago we tried to sell our home to move into a bigger one. So we packed up half the house to “stage” it to sell.

(oh how cute all nice and staged....)

Obviously that didn’t happen. Any way’s , my sweet hubby has spent the last year TRYING to unpack what we had put into boxes. He has been trying so hard but with his work schedule it wasn’t going very fast, but I wanted a way to show him that I noticed he was trying and I was grateful for it.

He really isn’t into a lot of frills, and around this house “frills” out votes "simple". (With 6 girls and only 3 boys, how else could it be) I wanted his office to portray what he loves most. So I went through all his “mission” memorabilia from Ponape, Guam. He had so much stuff that is all beautiful. Among it I found a great ‘mobile’ hand carved like dolphins & fish.

He has an actual sea turtle shell. But my favorite has to be the 2 hand carved shark with real shark teeth on them. (I knew that would make a manly space)

Then to round it out I figured that since he is such a perfect husband & father I would make him a “picture wall” He is after all "Mr Sensitive" and he honestly never throws away a picture or any type of drawing/note/scratch paper that the kids give him.

While he was at work one day I went downstairs and “stole” the most memorable of his pictures. I pulled out my trusty black spray paint and went to town on all the un-matching picture frames. Oh they looked beautiful. Then I used my nifty “Cricut” to cut out the perfect saying.

“Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved.” By Thomas Monson. It is perfect for my husband who sometimes gets so involved solving all the problems that he forgets to stop and “smell the roses” (or diapers in our situation)

I centered the quote on the wall and then surrounded it with his pictures of our family, his parents and everyone else.
I also added some more memorabilia from Ponape. Some really intricate hand carved wooden boats.

"Mr. Sensitive" was so excited when he got home. And I love that the walls are no longer bare. What a WIN WIN situation.

It is still a work in progress. I know now that it has a little "style" he'll work hard to get the rest of the boxes put away (hint hint hint)

Linking Up With

Cottage Instincts

*** Ok, so I should probably admit that I'm NOT the best speller (thanks Monica :)) Without even noticing I've misspelled PROBLEM (ok, so it only has one M) I ran downstairs to show my 17 year old daughter. Who, after laughing hysterically admitted that she didn't notice it was spelled wrong either. She wants to wait to see how long it takes "daddy" to notice that it is spelled wrong. Eventually, I promise, it will be fixed.

An apology and a new clock!

2010-11-09T14:10:00.000-07:00

I am SO sorry that I haven't posted for a while. Like I said before October is the MOST hectic month of the year for me. Luckily 3 of my girls are now another year older, and Halloween is finally past.

Here's 6 of the 7 kids (sorry, the "teenager" is just too cool to hang out with us anymore) I've got Harry Potter, Hermine Granger, a Beauty queen, A Mummy, Cinderella & a little dinosaur. AWWWW ..... How cute!

Any way's, now that October is gone, I can finally get back to what I love most. CRAFTING!!!! I've been keeping myself busy. My hubby found an old Rooster clock (not exactly my style). And I love turning Trash into Treasure

The original picture I took didn't turn out for some unknown reason (sorry) I found this one on Google images (it's the exact clock without the gaudy gold frame)

First things first. I took it apart (one of my favorite parts) and spray painted the gold frame black.

I decided that I really didn't want a boring back ground for my clock, but my front room really doesn't warrant any excitement. After long consideration I decided I wanted it to look OLD. Kinda like stucco maybe? So here is what I did. I covered the clock fact with...... wait for it..... little strips of masking tape. To give it that textured look.

Then I spray painted the face antique white. (Definitely one of my new favorite spray paint colors)

Next, I cut out a beautiful damask out of black vinyl as well as some dots and numbers for my clock face.

Once all the vinyl was applied just the way I liked it. I put the clock all back together. And hung it in the front room.

I really love how it turned out!

Updated Laundry Room

2010-10-16T18:57:00.000-06:00

I've said it once, i'll say it again... The laundry room is my LEAST favorite room in the house. Unfortunately it is the room I spend HOURS in. (Much to my chagrin) Well, I decided to do something about it.

Let me first explain to you what I have lived with for 4 years. Plain walls, nothing on them. No depth, just ~~filth~~ clutter. Open shelves that were an eyesore, and don't even get me started on the kitty litter box (I'm not a cat person, how on earth did I end up with one??? Oh, yea... little girls) It literally was a prison cell without the bars but with the washer and dryer.

First I had to add some dimension. I have seen tons of wainscotting tutorials out there, but I just loved this one from Newly Woodwards. But it was a little complex so I simplified. I didn't use the plywood behind it, just painted the walls white. I also used 1"x2" boards instead of 1"x3". But I love the way it looks.

And that little problem with the kitty litter box, See that curtain on the right. Yup, the litterbox is behind there and Mr. Kitty has no problem with it! I also made a burlap curtain for the window using this tutorial over at Brown Paper Packages.

Of course the whole design color scheme is based off this cute fabric I found at JoAnne's for the Ironing board cover.

I just couldn't resist the "Sock" exchange I found here

And would it really be a room in MY house without vinyl....

I picked up these boxes at Target when they were on sale (2/$7) And my girls added a little ribbon for "style"

Now every one has their own hook for backpacks and jackets. (and most the time they actually get hung up here!)

I made this cute little addition using a wire hanger and a strip of burlap. Then just hung it by ribbon in an old frame painted black

I needed a pop of color so we made this heart picture with felt and pins. I love how it turned out!

Well, It still isn't my favorite room. But at least it is a little bit more bearable now.

Linking Up With

Along for the Ride

Under the Table and Dreaming

Birthday Cakes!

2010-10-15T17:22:00.000-06:00

Sorry I haven't been posting. October is definately one of my bussier months. I've got 3 October birthdays (On the 2nd, 13th, and 19th) And each one has to be an extravaganza in their own right. The big one this year is my youngest girl turned 5 last week. and it was really a fiasco. I've always had "family" parties for each of my kids. But we reserve the "friend" parties till after they start Kindergarten. Well, my little girl barely missed that cutoff for Kindergarten this year and she REALLY wanted a party. But I held my ground (I've gotta make it fair for everyone) So we ended up just taking a few kids out for icecream that day (not technically a party!) Anyway's I've decided to share some of the cakes we've done in the past for the kids. They each choose their own style, and get exactly what they want...

Stawberry Shortcake Birthday Cake

Gotta Love the child who only wants doughnuts (so much easier than baking a cake!)

Animal Print Birthday Cake

Neon Colors Birthday cake/cupcakes

Once again gotta love it when it is a basic Cheese Cake (nothing fancy!)

My little Pony Birthday Cake!

Green Dinosaur Birthday Cake!

Pirate Ship Birthday Cake!

Well, only one more birthday to go this month! Hopefully I can get back into the swing of posting again!

BOO!

2010-10-05T13:44:00.000-06:00

This is a super easy and cute way to “scare” up a shelf. I took the word BOO and changed out the O’s for eyeballs. Once again heading into the garage for scrap wood I used a piece of 1”x6” pine. I cut them at 3 different sized (just because I like a little chaos)

I sanded down the edges and painted it black.

Using my wonderful Sure Cuts Alot 2 I used the font Burton’s Nightmare to cut the B. I used a scrap of Halloween paper I had in my stash and Mod podge'd them onto the largest piece of wood.

Then I used this outline (I found on the web) to create a cutting file.

(Maybe I’ve just become lazy, but I pretty much use my Sure Cuts A lot and Cricut with everything I do!Seriously, it is worth the $60 for the program!)

Then I just Mod Podge’d everything all together. My little kids think they are great ( but not too spooky) but my bigger little kids loved them because they weren’t “cutesy”

Super Easy, and just what I needed for this shelf!

Linking Up With

Silly Little Sparrow

These Creative Juices

All Thingz Related

Today's Creative Blog

Chandelier Decor for a Little Girls Room

2010-10-03T20:48:00.000-06:00

My 2 youngest girls (ages 8 & 4) have been begging me for a chandelier for their room. Not necessarily a functioning one (although that would be nice) just one to hang in the corner with “pretty diamond thingy’s” on it. I've looked around and I just couldn't make myself spend upwards of $35 dollars for one. So I decided to make my own!

We used a piece of foam board (I think they are about $3 at the craft store). Using a template that I found here I cut out 2 of them with an X-acto knife.

Then I made a slit down the middle at the top of one and the bottom of the other. Then I just them together and added a little glue to hold them in place.

For the final touch I draped some of the plastic “diamond” necklaces all over them.

The best part was the squeals of joy from the little girls. I guess a chandelier in your room means you really are a princess!

I'm thinking I need to make one in black and hang some spider webs from it for Halloween.... We'll have to see what happens.

Linking Up With

Under the Table and Dreaming
Keeping it Simple
Cottage Instincts
The Girl Creative
I Heart Nap Time
Kuzak's Closet

Wow! A Blogging Award!!!

2010-09-28T15:27:00.000-06:00

Holy Cow! I got an award... Its my first one.... THANK YOU Beth at Sand To Pearl

So here are the rules...

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Pass the award along to 15 other bloggers who you recently discovered and think are fabulous.

4. Contact the bloggers you chose and let them know about the award.

Alrighty.... Lets see, I've thanked Beth! but once again for good measure.   THANK YOU BETH AT SAND TO PEARL! You're the best!

2- HMMM... 7 things about myself. I'm a pretty open book (sometimes too open, if you ask my "quiet & shy" husband)

     1- I have OCD when it comes to crafting. I just have to finish it NOW! It can't wait till tomorrow.

     2- I have 7 gorgeous children. 4 of them were born naturally by me, the other 3 were by the easy way (marriage) But I don't believe in the word "step" (ie. step-children) it is just another way of "labeling" kids that doesn't do any good for anyone.

     3- I met my husband while working and kept a HUGE secret from him for 5 months. I was recently divorced and found out I was pregnant right after the divorce was final. I just "forgot" to mention to my new Hubby (then cute boyfriend) that I was prego. I never stood up from behind the desk. Until I was about 7 months along, and I just stood up! He almost swallowed his tounge (sorry hun) But he stuck by me, and he adopted that little girl as his own shortly after we were married.

     4- I am addicted to SUGAR! Yup, that's right, sugar. I don't have a sweet tooth, I've got a whole sweet mouth. Especially sour, chewy ones. (My dentist hates me!)

     5- MOUNTAIN DEW! Need I say more. If I don't have one, i'm not a nice mommy

3- How do I narrow this down to 15 other bloggers! There are so many wonderful ones out there.... I guess i'll Try

     1-Keeping It Simple I adore what she can do with a few scraps of wood and some mod podge. Her name blocks are the perfect gift.

2-Creation Corner Such a great blog! Always something to do, and it inspired me to try shirring. Now I can't stop

3-Mad in Crafts She has postings under Shamefully Simple. What a great idea! I'm sending the kids out for leaves right now!

4-Living With Punks I had to post this one, if not just for the name of her blog. Wish I would have thought of that one! My kids all have their own aprons thanks to her!

5-Night Owl Crafting I'm not sure where she gets her ideas. But I love them all... I'm heading over to Home depot Right now to pick these up!

6-Craftiness is Not Optional I love the clothes she makes. What an inspiration!

7-Eighteen 25 They have some of the cutest downloads. I have got to try them all...

8- Crafty Cupboard Her spider web table runner is going to look great on my piano. I can't wait!

9-Executive Homemaker She has the greatest ideas for staying organized. And I could always be more organized! My husband is so excited over the monthly spending worksheet

10- The Crafters File Box Just the place to be inspired. I frequent over there for more ideas.

11- Craft Envy Her blog is great, and my kids LOVED the wing recipe!

12- Until Wednesday Calls I love her idea on organizing carded buttons. Now i've got to get more carded buttons!

13- My Frugal Family My daughters have been begging me to make them up some of these Skeleton hand hair bows. The best part is the dollar store price tag!

14- Blue Cricket Design Her Lunch Time Love Notes are so much cuter than my post it notes I stick in the kido's sacks.

15- Organize and Decorate Everything- She has the cutest window here that she changed up the whole look with just a little vinyl (and you know that's my favorite) I have got to try it!

What can you do with a $1 piece of particle board?

2010-09-21T09:44:00.000-06:00

While shopping at one of my favorite stores (The Home Depot) I often frequent the “left over” wood section. This is the place where the pieces of wood that have already been cut and they have odd shaped or measured wood that they can’t sell for full price. So I get to buy them cheap! They range anywhere from $0.50 to $3.00 a piece. I found 3 pieces of 3ft x 4 ft particle board for a $1 a piece. I thought to my self, “Self, buy them, Christmas is coming up” So I did!

Once home I’ve set out on a mission on figuring out all the great things you can make with a piece of particle board. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far…

Welcome sign (the words around the edges are Welcome in 8 different languages)

I showed this one in a previous post but it fit here too!

Proclamation for The Family

Halloween Subway art. I just love the look of this one!

More subway art, with a great message. My kids love this one.

What ideas do you have for the particle board?

Linking Up With

A Silly Little Sparrow

These Creative Juices

My Frugal Family

Today's Creative Blog

Skip to my Lou

Hope Studios

I finally did it!

2010-09-17T16:15:00.000-06:00

I have been waiting for the new Cricut to come out. And I have to say after seeing it's capabilities, i'm really not that impressed. (I know, I'm horrible) I've got printer already, and I HATE to buy ink for it, so why would I go out and purchase a Cricut that I have to dump $ into for ink???

I'm cheap, I admit it, it's one of the things my husband loves most about me. So while surfing around on ebay the other day I found a fantastic deal on a brand new Cricut Expression. $200 for the expression, a mat, a couple of tools, some vinyl, transfer paper & glass etching stuff, and 2 new cartridges. So I bid on it. I'm going to call it an impulse buy! And I WON!!! I never win on ebay (cause i'm cheap) Then the thought hit me. I can't afford this.... what to do? I've got to sell some stuff. So I sold my old personal cricut (still in excellent working order) and some cartridges (I haven't used cartridges in over 9 months) and WHAM BAM THANKYOU MAM It was paid for!

Now one of my friends was asking me about selling my cartridges (since they work on all machines) and I told her that since I had purchased the Sure Cuts Alot 2 back at Christmas I hadn't used any of them. But it got me thinking. WHAT IF..... What if I find myself suddenly needing one of the images on a cricut cartridge???? So I set out to work and I figured it out. I can use my Design Studio (purchased before Sure Cuts Alot) to trace the image. Then use inkscape to turn it into an SVG and then I cut it out. I just opened up the whole Cricut library to my Sure Cuts Alot! (OOPS, sorry Provo Craft!)

Then earlier this morning, the UPS guy pulled infront of the house. I almost squeeled with excitement (only 2 days in shipping) My little 4 year old ran outside so fast I think she scared him. He smiled at her and stated.... "Gee, did you get a new toy?" To which she exclaimed, "NOPE, my mommy did!" and I am in love with it.

And she loves it too!

Kids enjoying CLEANING!

2010-09-14T18:54:00.000-06:00

I think I have finally lost it... At this exact moment, my kido's are in the other room actually "fighting" over who gets to CLEAN! I didn't think I would live to see this day. How did I do it??? Some new chore chart, or the best reward system around. NOPE. Rolling the dice.

Let me start at the beginning. I searched out, getting kids to clean on Google a while back and came across a few ideas. The best one was to turn it into a game. My kids favorite, the color game. I shout out a color and everyone scrambles to put away that color, who ever puts away the most things wins the game (and usually gets a cookie) They liked this so much I did some more research.

I saw these on a great blog, and for the life of me I can't remember which blog it was on (if it is yours let me know so I can link to it) It is the cleaning dice....

It is just a simple 4x4 post cut down into a dice. I sanded it and rough painted it (i figured why spend a lot of time on the finish, the kids would 'ding' it up rolling it) I then added the vinyl with the daily house hold cores (sweep, vacuum, family room, bath room, kitchen, and of course FREE DAY)

Here are the rules.

1) First one done with their rooms gets to roll the dice first.

2) Whatever it lands on that is your chore.

3) If you land on the Free Day, you don't have to do chores that day.

4) If a chore has already been rolled you must roll the dice again.

5) You can't get a Free Day 2 days in a row.

6) If you finish your chore you can earn an extra snack by rolling the dice again.

The kids LOVE it. Then I decided, why not make the colored dice. For when the play room is REALLY messy. They roll the dice and that's the color they pick up.

Linking Up With

Silly Little Sparrow

These Creative Juices

All Things Related

Today's Creative Blog

Skip to my Lou

Fun To Craft
Fingerprints On the Fridge
Tidy Mom

Quick Tooth Pillow

2010-09-08T09:13:00.000-06:00

At 8:00 pm last night my 6 year old little boy lost a tooth. Yup, right at bed time. Normally not a big deal, but when I went and got out our tooth pillow his little eyes went from joy to irritation.

"MOM, don't you think that's a little girlie???"

What to do? I've got 5 girls, he's my oldest boy! Why was I not more prepared....

So I attempted to just free hand cut a rough tooth outline on an old pillowcase and I even attempted a little pocket on it.

Needless to say, it was an EPIC FAILURE. There is a reason I use patterns....

Now it is 8:15, and it is past his bedtime (I HATE when they are off their schedules) So I put him to bed with the "bad tooth" pillow and PROMISED him there would be a much better, manly pillow when he woke up (kinda like Christmas!)

I immediately hopped online and searched through thousands of pictures of "girlie" little tooth pillows until I found this pattern at MMMCrafts. It was too "girlie" but it is something I could work with.

I downloaded the pattern and set out to work immediately using felt this time. It is so much easier to use for a project like this, but it means I have to pull out the "FELT BOX"

It scares me.... Why can't I throw a scrap away (but that's a whole different story)

Anyways, I made the ~~pocket~~ mouth a little bigger but it is basically the same pattern. The best part was deciding the style. I had to channel my inner 6 year old boy......

PIRATE!

It was SO simple just to add an eye patch. And it really makes it "manly" according to my son.

I absolutely love that it has a handle to hang it from, no more "tooth fairy" accidents. She can just fly right on up to the top bunk and switch out the tooth without fear.

Linking up with:

Updating a Kitchen on a Budget

2010-09-07T09:34:00.000-06:00

I’ve got an L shaped kitchen. Technically I've got an "eat-in" kitchen, but technically the dining area is around the corner, so if I want to be spiffy, i've got a separate dining area. I love my kitchen, but it drives me crazy. The floor doesn’t match the counters and vice versa. I can’t find a backsplash that will match both. I’ve thought about white subway tiles, but that conflicts with my “cheap” side. When we bought our home it had a basic white, laminate kitchen. No special lighting, nothing to make it stand out (except the old 1960’s style above the sink) So a little while ago I decided it HAD to change, maybe just a little more updated?

Our stove finally went kaput (seeing that it was a hand me down from my Mom’s house, not too bad, it was only 20+ years old)

So my hubby and I shopped around online and found a great stainless one for $150 and it's only a couple of years old. Yup, only $150, I couldn’t believe it either. It was filthy, but with A LOT of elbow grease it looks great.

In addition to that little number, I sold some of our old items that were gathering dust in the garage and was able to purchase an above the stove microwave. So I set out with a mission. How do I make the kitchen “pretty” without spending a lot of $$$$$
Here are my before pics….

And this is now!

(sorry my counter tops are RARELY spotlessly clean)

I moved the cabinet above the stove and installed the over-the-range microwave (CAUTION- ask for help, my back hurt for a week after this, and as a side note the correct way to install one of these puppies is to let your husband do it. The frustration just isn't worth it!) That cleared up a lot of counter space.

I removed the little wooden swag thingy above the sink and did a little touch up paint.

I had some under cabinet lighting hanging around in the garage, so I snapped that up and installed it under the cabinets

I ran down to Home Depot and picked up a thin piece of crown molding and put that around the tops of all the cabinets (it cost me about $20 for the molding)

Now on to the FUN stuff....

For the cabinets I ran to the dollar store and picked up a bunch of fake grass and put that in bunches on top of the cabinets (about $8). Using some scraps of wood in the garage I spray painted them red ($3) and used my vinyl to cut out words (Enjoy, Bon Appetit, Delicious, and Gourmet) Then I ran through the house looking for little nick naks to put up top. Some vases, little iron thingy's, ect. Finally I ran some rope lighting ($10) to brighten it all up.

For the 2 windows I found some clearance material at Home Fabrics for $2/yard and made some faux shades.

For the light above the sink I picked up a hanging light from IKEA (i think it was $8) and hung it myself. I even took a little black paint and painted the brass light fixtures to make them a little more updated.

Total: $53

It may not be perfect, but it is definitely a little better than before.

Ideas for Craft Meeting

2010-09-06T11:09:00.000-06:00

I've been working on a couple of ideas for our October Relief Society Meeting. And I figured I would get your opinion of a few of them. We only have a half hour for each craft, and we have a large variance in ages (from cute little 21 year old newly weds, to well established grandma's) What do you think?

Establish a House- I figure to fit into our time frame I would have the wood plaques already painted either white, black, or brown. And the vinyl is precut (should fit into a half hour)

Pretty self explanatory, White plate, precut vinyl

Temple vinyl (thanks Kaseys Kreations) on Glass Block

This one I could have the blocks pre-painted, they bring their own craft paper. Really easy, just modpodge & tie raffia. Vinyl wording is pre-cut (hopefully only a half hour) Thanks Curly Q Crafts for the great idea!

I just loved this "family tree" over at Peak View Enrichment I'm pretty sure it isn't a half hour (mine took about 1.5 hrs, but I just loved it)

Just a little something cutsie from my home. I downsized a burlap wreath (its supposed to be a heart) and hung it by ribbon inside a frame.

Organizing Homework

2010-09-01T14:17:00.000-06:00

I figure that there must be a lot of mom's (and dad's) out there that have the same dilemma I do with homework. HOW DO I KEEP EACH CHILDS HOMEWORK SEPARATE, AND IN GOOD CONDITION TO RETURN TO SCHOOL? Now I’m not necessarily talking about the “quick” homework they get every night, that goes right back the next day. I’m talking about the packets, or spelling lists, or items that need to be used over the week or even the month. Nothing that stays in the backpack, or especially the counter looks good after about 12 hours. So, I’ve tried to figure out an inexpensive way to solve my dilemma.

Well, at Target today I found my inspiration.

(sorry, camera phone!)

The only problem is these little babies are $10 each (with 7 kids, that wasn’t going to happen, and to be honest… if I only had one I still wouldn’t have spent $10 on it) And they really have no “design” to them. To put it bluntly, they are blah…

Once I got home I got to work. I cut apart a fairly stiff box into 10” x 12” pieces.

I used my spray adhesive to adhere some neutral fabric onto the cardboard.

Now put that aside while we work on the folder part. Take a regular manila file folder and cut it down to 7 ½” x 11 ½” (basically I cut off the top)

Next ou want to measure out both on the front & back 2” & 5” from the bottom on both sides

Cut 4 pieces of elastic (I used 1/8” elastic) into 1 ½” pieces and adhere them with hot glue to the back of your file folder.

Now you want to adhere the file folder to the fabric covered backer. I just stapled mine right onto the back

Now using your decorative paper, you want to cut 2 pieces, one that is 2" x 11 1/2" and another that is 7 1/2" x 11 1/2". Glue the 2" piece along the top edge of the back of the file folder.

Now close the folder and glue the ends of the 4 pieces of elastic to the front of the folder

Take your larger paper (the 7 1/2" x 11 1/2") and adhere it to the front of the file folder, over the top of the elastic straps.

Now you can hang these where ever you want, I chose in the laundry room right next to the backpack/coat hooks.

The entire cost of this project was ZERO, everything used I already had in my stash or garage.

An Updated Wreath

2010-08-30T20:55:00.000-06:00

I have been trying to make my front door more inviting. It was originally white, then green & now I've painted it black. (Finally a door I like!) The biggest problem I have is I don't have an actuall front porch. Don't get me wrong, there are steps leading up to the door an a small cement square to stand on before you enter. But it isn't big enough to decorate. It drives me crazy. I would love to have one of those inviting doors with cute little things set to the side welcoming visitors to my home, but no such luck....

I have probably tried out at least 25 different wreaths and various door hangings. But once again.... nothing that would "stick" That got me thinking.... stick.... VINYL! Of course, it is everywhere else in the house, why not the front door! So up went the WELCOME sign

Now onto the wreath. I picked up a cheap vine wreath at Michaels using a coupon that I had and spray painted it white so it would really pop against the black door

Next, I headed over to Roberts and picked up a vine with some cute yellowish-purplish berries, leaves, & twigs. (using the 40% off coupon it only came to $3.50) When I got home I had the little ones help me tear apart the vine so I could start gluing. First I put on the leaves using a little dab of hot glue

Then I followed it up with the berries and vines

I hung it to the door using a clear, over the door wreath hanger (I love this one, it actually has 2 hooks, one for each side of the door so I can hang something on the inside of the door)

I'm thinking of adding a wooden letter hanging in the center of the wreath, but my creative side wants to create some sort of holiday hanging for that spot. That I can change out with the seasons/holidays. I guess we'll see what comes.

Down East Basics Inspired T-shirt

2010-08-26T13:55:00.000-06:00

My beautiful daughter came home the other day from a back to school shopping extravaganza with some adorable clothes. One in particular is a really cute shirt from Down East Basics

It is called their Soft & Pretty Top (which it is) and it costs about $25. Not TOO extravagant but still more than I would spend on a shirt for myself. I kinda chuckled when she showed it to me and then set out to make one of my own. I hit the dollar store yesterday and they had just refilled their t-shirt bins!!! Yea, for me. I picked up a couple white t-shirts for $1.

First I decided that I really didn’t want the longer short sleeves, I really wanted more of a cap sleeve. So I cut of the sleeves.

Next I decided where I wanted the neckline to fall and drew it out with one of my quilting pencils,

Then, take one of your extra t-shirts and cut strips off the bottom. Just a little note here, my first attempt I used 1” strips and when I got it all sewed together it was WAY too heavy and pulled the shirt down. I would recommend ¼” – ½” wide strips.

Take these a sew them onto the top edge of your shirt then braid as you sew. I guess you could braid and then sew it on, but I was trying to hide the stitching so I would sew and then cross in front of the stitching. (sorry, my pic’s here didn’t turn out) Continue around until you have a 2 “ gap between the start & finish of the braided neckline. (you want this gap for the flower)

I took some of the scraps from the extra t-shirt and turned them into a few simple ruffled flowers (I’ve seen so many tutorials on this, I won’t add one here, unless you really need one! Let me know)

Then just sew them into the gap on the neckline… I added a few strands just for some dimension, but it would be up to you.

I really wanted some texture on the sleeves, so I made a couple slits and tied some small knots.
I love it, What do you think! (My daughter was kinda irked that mine cost $1 and she paid $25)

Vinyl Hallway Tree

2010-08-23T14:23:00.000-06:00

Well, 5 out of the 7 little ones started school today and I am beside myself trying to figure out which project to conquer first. I decided to start in the hallway. I have this spot in my hallway that I have re-decorated every few months for the past 4 years. I’ve had shelves, coat hooks, pictures, etc… Nothing seems to be just right.

Well a couple of months ago while perusing the craft blogs I found it. The vinyl tree!!! These are everywhere, but I refuse to pay upwards of $50 for one of them (sorry, I’m cheap)

First things first, you have to know where to get vinyl cheap. But you want to make sure it is good stuff. I order mine through 2 different places. First is Expressions Vinyl I order tons of various colors by the SHEET (12”x24”) for only $1.89 a sheet. LOVE IT! Even with the shipping it is still cheaper than buying the name brand sheets at the stores and it is the same stuff. Second I use to buy rolls of vinyl CnCSigns it costs roughly $8.99 a roll (12” x 300”) It is SO worth it! Both places are great, I’ve never had a problem with either of them. And their shipping is quick!

Second I knew that I wanted a large tree, and after a really bad “flop” at trying to freehand one I decided I needed to find a better way.

So I figuredwould print one out. I found one on Google images that I liked and decided to blow it up and print it out as a stencil. I love this program, PosteRazor You just download your jpeg and then it resizes it into letter sized sheets. And it's FREE! Gotta love that! I just set my sizes at 4.5 feet tall and it did the rest. Then I printed out my stencil.
After a lot of cutting, and maneuvering and piecing it all together I set out and went to work.

Yes, this is why you don't have the 4 year old taking pictures...

I LOVE THE FINAL PRODUCT!

Sorry

2010-08-19T09:17:00.000-06:00

Sorry I haven't been posting. It is one crazy week we've had registration, one of my girls is in the fair (3 days in Weber County), finishing our back to school shopping, we've been potty training my little one, and it was my anniversary yesterday! I promise we'll be up and running next week when school finally starts again! YEA!!!!!!!!

Just for fun here's a cute photo, and YES those are his big boy underpants.... on his HEAD (where do you put them?)

Lookie What I Found

2010-08-16T15:27:00.000-06:00

I am SO excited. I have been looking for the perfect dresser to turn into an Entertainment center (hopefully the wallmounted TV will eventually come) I've searched every DI from here to forever almost everyweekend. I've hit too many garage sales to mention. And when I had finally given up I found this...

It's PERFECT, of course it was once again sitting in room filled with "fido's" little presents but hey it was FREE!

You can't get better than that! And it is SO sturdy. The wood around the base is trashed (once again thanks fido-seriously people, if you have a dog train it!) It was obviously in a teenagers room (thanks to the graffiti on the walls) so it was all scratched up, but it is PERFECT!

My kido's and I headed out and started sanding... It took hours but we finally got it done. A couple coats of paint and VOILA! I love it!

I am tempted to find some specialized hinges for the middle drawers. The kind that slide out and then down. Then I would be able to open those drawers like cupboards and keep the cablebox, dvd, WII ect in them. But hey, that will come....

Heavenly Samoa Bars

2010-08-15T14:45:00.000-06:00

So one of my other passions is cooking.... Baking to be more precise.... and if you want to get technical I LOVE to bake goodies with TONS of sugar! So I thought I would show off one of my favorite recipes. I found this one online sometime last year (sorry I forgot where, but if it is you let me know so I can give you the credit) It is for Samoa cookies, you know, the heavenly Girl Scout cookies. Well, according to my kids and most of the young women in my ward these are even better!

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
3 cups shredded coconut
12-oz good-quality chewy caramels
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp milk
10 oz. milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan, .In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly. like .Pour crumbly dough into pre-pared pan and press into an even layer. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack before topping.

Preheat oven to 300. Place coconut evenly on a lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut. Put dollops of the topping all over the shortbread base. and spread topping into an even layer. Let topping set until cooled.

When cooled, cut into 30 bars Once bars are cut, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment or wax paper. Drizzle remaining chocolate on bars.

PURE HEAVEN!

The 'STINKY' Chair

2010-08-11T20:48:00.000-06:00

Ok, confession time. My favorite chair in the WHOLE house is affectionatly called (between my hubby and me) as the 'Stinky Dog Pee Chew Toy' Chair. I know kinda long winded, but it is really a true statement.

First let me let me take you back a few month ago. My husband and I were in an abandoned house (don't worry it was completely legal) It was DISGUSTING. Seriously, I have come to believe that the dog ran the place. It was truly so filthy that even the mice and cockroaches went elsewhere. There was no electricity or water (but that didn't stop people from using the restroom...) and it was HOT and muggy inside this house. Now I like to think that I have a really strong gag reflex, nothing makes me gag.... Untill this house. Anyway's, I digress.... Upstairs in the west facing room (so it gets the most direct sunlight) was apparently the dogs 'haven' (don't people teach their dogs to go OUTSIDE) This is what the room looked like...

(See all that brown dirt on the floor, yup that's not dirt that's cute little fido's 'stains')

Anyways, do you see the chair turned over in the bottom left corner. That's my favorite chair. I truly think my husband almost passed out when I said I want THAT chair. At first I think he thought I was joking, till I told him to pick it up and put it in the car (note, he had to pick it up, there was NO WAY I was going to touch it without gloves)

So he threw it in the back of the van and we drove strait home with the windows down and our heads out so we wouldn't pass out from the smell. He kept looking at me funny (don't know why) and all I could say was it had 'good bones' and i'm so happy I did.

He helped me strip off the rotting baby blue velvet, and we removed all 988 billion staples. The padding was so soaked that.... we'll this is a family site so i'll stop there. It took 2 days of working, gagging, working more, gagging, sanding painting and then..... finally.... off to Home Fabrics (seriously, can I get some sort of advertising discount) I bought 1.5 yards of this great fabric for under $5/yd.

This is what I've got now... My FAVORITE Chair. I ended up having to redecorate the front room to match the chair.

Linking with

Stay Put Bookmark Tutorial

2010-08-10T12:30:00.000-06:00

I have seen these elastic bookmarks all over, so I figured I would try to make one too. They are really easy to make and WORK.

(On a side note, don't you love the old book I picked up for free at a garage sale!)

First you need to gather your supplies. You will need elastic cording, beads, small pliers, and wire

Cut a 17” piece of Elastic Cord. I have used the thin, clear jewelry elastic and that’s really pretty, but I prefer the Thick cord because I feel less likely to break it. I picked up this set at Michaels for $3.99 (so worth it)

Use your wire to create this shape

I actually had a bunch of earring making supplies, so I just straightened out one of the earring loops.

Put your beads on it and make a loop on the other end. Now for the tricky part. You want a knot that isn’t going to come undone, my personal preference is a Uni-Knot that is used for fishing. Florida Sportsman is the best site for fishing knots. (Don't ask me how I know) 3 steps pretty simple…

The only difference is you only need to loop it 2-3 times and pull it tight. If you pull the long end it tightens up the loop. Then do the same knot on the other end of the beads. Clip the excess elastic off the knot, and voila!

A stretchy bookmark that stays put if your kids happen to ‘accidentally’ pick up your book.

If I’m making these for my kids I put a little drop of super glue on the knot to give it a little extra strength, but I’ve never had a knot come undone yet.

Baby Boy Gifts

2010-08-09T13:55:00.000-06:00

So my neighborhood seems to go in stages. Everyone has girls, then everyone has boys. Kinda nice for them, unfortunately it wasn't that way when I had my babies. Anyways... One of my sweet, caring, perfect neighbors just had twin boys. And my 'just' I mean about 2 weeks ago, i'm kinda behind. They are about 6 weeks premature and teeny (about 4 lbs each) so I knew I had to make something extra cute. AND I get to make 2 of them. (I admit, it is an excuse to craft & sew, but hey any excuse will do)

So I found the cutest soft cordory material over at Hobby lobby, and figured I would make them matching (but not matching) blankets. I decided to do an extra soft flannel on the otherside one blue and one green. I just cut the material to the size I wanted them Then to personalized it a little more I found this adorable dinosaur applique over at Little Lizard King. Then, with right sides together I sewed around the edges leaving a 3 inch opening to turn it right side out. After ironing I did a quick stitch around the outside edge to hold it all together and this is what I got!

I think they turned out great!

Now I had to roll them up cute, because as we all know delivery is everything

But my creative juices were still flowing, and I really wasn't ready to stop, so I decided to pull out the onsies and make them matching 'tie' onsies. I used the tutorial and pattern over at Crap I've Made (I just love the name of that blog) and the leftover scraps from the dinosaur applique's.

Awwww... how precious!

Cricut & Sure Cuts Alot 2

2010-08-08T14:55:00.000-06:00

So if you haven't heard yet one of the greatest inventions since the cricut by Provo Craft is definately the Sure Cuts Alot Software

It is amazing. For the cost of less than 2 Cricut cartridges you can use all the True Type Fonts on your computer (and the millions you can download free online) Along with the numerous fonts you can cut pictures and shapes, design your own things and have them cut. I purchased this at Christmas time, and have used it daily since. I use it for scrapbooking, vinyl, crafting and even sewing. I haven't purchased a cricut cartridge since. I LOVE IT! You've got to try it. Just click on the link on my sidebar and it will take you to it. It is worth the cost as it has probably saved me hundreds over the past couple of months and it has opened it up so that I no longer am limited to the cuts on the cricut cartridges.

P.S. I was asked about it negating the warranty on your cricut. I'm not sure if it does or not, though I have no idea how Provo Craft would know if you used it or not, but I can tell you this. The Cricut Warranty is one year, my machine is older than that so it wasn't even a worry for me. I've had no problems with it. And my cartridges that I had previous to the Sure Cuts alot still work just fine.

Bunk Bed Shelf

2010-08-06T12:37:00.000-06:00

So having 7 kids in a 1960's house sometimes prove challenging. The bedrooms are small, I mean REALLY small. So, with 2 kids to a room bunkbeds were the only option.

(Yup, that's the whole room, wall to almost wall)

Anyways, my kids on the top bunk are ALWAYS complaining about no where to put their "stuff".

Seriously, where do they sleep?

So we decided to make them these...

(we took down the side rails- because the kids are "too big" for them, to quote their words, but they worked with the rails up too)

It was really simple too. I took a piece of scrap wood (found in the Home Depot scrap bin for $1) and cut it to roughly 9"x13". I also used some scrap 1x2's and scrap molding we had laying around in the garage.

First, I used my husbands air compressor & nail gun to attach everything, but it would be just as easy with a hammer & nails, or screws (you'd want to pre-drill)

I took the 9x13 piece of wood and nailed the 1x2's down the sides as follows. I left roughly 2 feet of wood sticking out the back (that's what is going to hold it to the bed)

I then attached a piece across the front (I was making sides for the shelf, so nothing would fall off)

(excuse my filthy feet)

This next part is totally up to you. My daughter wanted it a little fancy, so we used the molding to cover the rough edges. My son wanted it really "boy" which means no fills, we we just sanded, and caulked and make it look good. Then we covered it in a good coating of spray paint.

Once it's good and dry. Lift up the mattress on the top bunk and slide the shelf supports under the mattress, You can screw it into the wood slats under the mattress, but I didn't want it to permanently fixed. (be sure to warn the kids not to put too much on it, and not to stand or hang on it)

Now the "top bunkers" each have their own little night stand to put their stuff on. (on a side note, don't you just love the little scripture covers my daughter designed for her scriptures)

Linking up with

Sister Sister Sunday

Sillouhette Giveaway

2010-08-05T13:36:00.000-06:00

So i've entered this giveaway over at Infarrantly Creative for a Sillouhette. I figured everyone should try for one of these. They are incredible. You can do almost everything with them. I NEED it! Head on over to her site for more details!

Just for laughs!

2010-08-04T15:02:00.000-06:00

I could use a good laugh today, so I thought I would share with you!

And haven't we all felt like this...

Thanks to Traci at Beneath My Heart for sharing these hillarious video's

Hoo are you #9

2010-08-03T19:53:00.000-06:00

So over at Night Owl Crafting they are doing a "linky" asking HOO ARE YOU.

Here are this weeks questions!And here are my answeres

1. What is your natural hair color?
2. Which do you prefer, sunrises or sunsets?
3. What is the first thing you notice about people?
4. Do you prefer talking or texting on your cell phone?
5. What size of shoes do you wear?

1. What is your natural hair color?

     I'm a blonde, sometimes light, sometimes dark, it really changes with how much sun I get. But even without the highlights it is naturally blonde/

2. Which do you prefer, sunrises or sunsets?

     Definately sunsets, I'm just not a morning person

3. What is the first thing you notice about people?

     Their eyes. It really bugs me when people don't look me in the eye, not sure why

4. Do you prefer talking or texting on your cell phone?

   Talking, I guess i'm old fashioned. I just really crave that audible conversation. And it is my major pet peeve if someone is texting while you are trying to have a conversation with them (just ask my teenager, who lost her phone because of it!)

5. What size of shoes do you wear?

Now that's a hard one... I used to wear an 8 before I had kids. I own some size 9 boot, but thats just because I like to wear the really thick socks in the winter. But I also have some size 7's because they were really cute and on SALE!

Quilted Table Runner

2010-08-03T19:40:00.000-06:00

So I decided to join in the fun with U Create with Me and their monthly tutorials. The tutorial for August is this great quilted table runner by Amy over at Diary of a Quilter. I just had to make one for our kitchen table.

I have one of those square bar height tables that seem to be all the rage. The problem is they are SQUARE. Nothing fits them, table cloths are round or rectangle, so i'm always "fixing" things for the table. Don't get me wrong I LOVE the table. It almost fits the whole family (Hey, it's hard to fit 9 around a table in the small dining area we've got)

Since this tutorial is all based on YOUR measurements I decided to make mine square. And it looks great!

I decided to go ahead and use the free motion foot on mine instead of quilting in a strait line. What can I say i'm really liking the results.

And I love that it is reversable, so if I get sick of the stripes, I can go with the cute little floral pattern

What a great tutorial, I'm going to have to make one for my mother (only round) for her kitchen table.

The Perfect Kid Spot Pillow

2010-08-02T12:24:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I have seen a TON of floor pillows out in the stores and online lately. They look so nice, especially if you have a large family and only one sofa. But really, $35+ for one oversized pillow. I know I could make one of those for a portion of the cost. So me and the kido's headed over to "Home Fabrics" (can you tell I love that store, they should offer a frequent shopper discount) We always attack the Clearance section. and each one of the kids picked out their own pattern (except for my 16 year old, who is just TOO cool to do that!)

Anyway's we headed homw with 1 yard of each fabric and went to town with the sewing machine. This is what we ended up with.

I put handles on them so the kids could lug them around (sorry, i'm NOT a pack mule contrary to public opinion)

The rules of the floor pillows are simple
     1- No one is allowed to touch anyone elses floor pillow
     2- Floor pillows are not allowed to touch each other
     3- Keep your hands & feet inside the floor pillow area at all times :)
     4- This is YOUR spot, cherish it as a small piece of privacy

Its great, if we're watching a movie the kids are hanging out on the pillows instead of fighting over the couch. If there needs to be a "time-out" the floor pillow heads to the corner and they stay on it (AMAZING) The little ones even use it to take a nap on. It's great!

Only 1 Year Behind!

2010-08-01T14:18:00.000-06:00

I am SO excited.... I can finally say that I am officially only 1 year behind on my scrapbooking. I know that there are many of you out there that faithfully scrapbook all the important events in your lives and place them neatly in the appropriate binders. But i'm not exactly that person.

When I started scrapbooking there was just me. It was easy to keep up. In fact I had to go searching for things to scrapbook. I scrapped for me, my family & my friends. Now years later (I stopped counting how many) I've go 7 children, a wonderful husband and WAY too much on my plate sometimes. My adorably wonderful beautiful smart (I digress) children keep doing scrapbook worthy activities. So for me to say only 1 year behind is probably the most exciting thing that has happened all month! (Ok, I realize it is only the 1st but hey, it has been a REALLY busy day)

Anyway's here are some of the latest additions to the scrapbooks. (Bear with me, I have to post one for each kid or there is going to be big problems at 'holm')

The BEST kid glue in town!

2010-07-30T10:24:00.000-06:00

Ok, I don't know about you but my 6 year old little boy is FULL of energy. (I'm not just saying that!) He doesn't sleep, he constantly runs, he is kinda a little terror! (but oh so cute and wonderful) I don't think he has actually sat down in at least the last 3 years. Anyway.... yesterday we headed over to Roberts so he could spend his $5 on something creative. After roughly 45 minutes wandering the store with all 4 of the little ones (ages 2, 4, 6 & 8) He finally found something...... Drumroll please.......

Yup, popsicle sticks.... 45 minutes for these babies. Now if you are like me you have a love/hate relationship with Elmers glue. I LOVE the clean up, but actually getting the kids to hold something in place while it dries is worse than pulling teeth. I just couldn't fathom that! So I thought... maybe some wood glue? They were having a sale on adhesives so I headed over to the "glue section" and found this!

I am in Love again.... It bonds almost instantly, but doesn't dry that quick. So my little man could put it together and it stuck, but if he changed his mind (which happens alot!) he could move the stick. The best part... It cleans up just like Elmers, water and soap & poof! CLEAN!

He has now been working on his masterpiece for over a day now. And he's still going strong. He just keeps adding new parts to his creation. I'm gonna have to head back over to Roberts and get more glue & sticks!

Sewing Cady (Pincushion & Garbage Can)

2010-07-28T19:25:00.000-06:00

Ok, so this is my first tutorial. I'll try my best but bear with me.... My sewing floor is always littered with threads, scraps & pins. I've seen these around so I decided to have a go at it

Pick 2 coordinating fabric’s, a small piece of coordinating ribbon (I like gross grain) thread, and rice (or some type of weighted filler), and either a button, snap or Velcro. For this tutorial I used the following measurements, but you can tweak them for whatever size you want.

You need 1 4.5” piece of ribbon and the following cuts of each fabric

1- 7” x 15”
2- 4.5” x 7.5”

Lets start out with the pincushion. You will need your two pieces of 4.5” x 7.5” fabric and your fastener (I’m using a snap closure). On one of your pieces of fabric sew your fastener onto it (where ever you want your “trash can” to hang from

Then sew the 2 pieces of fabric right sides together leaving a 2” opening.

Clip the corners and turn the square right side out. Fill 2/3 of the way full with rice (or whatever your filler is) Sew the opening shut, turning in the edges for a finished look.

Now on to the basket. Take your two larger fabrics and fold them in half (right sides in)

Sew down both sides leaving the top open. Now pinch the corners and measure in about an inch and sew across (creating a triangle) Cut the triangle off. Do this to both pieces of fabric.

Now leave one inside out and turn the other one right side out. Now slip them together. Sew around the upper edge leaving about a 2 inch opening.

Turn them right side out through the opening. Place the ribbon in the opening and sew around the top edge, closing the opening and stitching the ribbon in place.

Sew the other half of your fastener onto the ribbon. Now embellish to your hearts content!

Linking up with:
Night Owl Crafting
It's a Hodgepodge Life
Organize & Decorate Everything

Button Storage

2010-07-27T21:04:00.000-06:00

Ok, so everyone keeps asking me how I store the TONS of buttons that i've seemed to collected over the last few years. Well, here it is.

I hit the local dollar store and picked up a 4 pack of little white buckets for a $1 (gotta love that!) I came home and had the kido's separate all the buttons by color (it was a great way to keep the kids entertained for a while) I used a glue dot to stick one of the buttons on the outside of the bucket

Then I hung them using small binder clips from a metal dowel I had laying around. The dowel is hanging from my metal shelves by.... safety pins (I know i'm cheap) I love it, they are right where I need them. No more searching for the color I need, and it is high enough that the little hands hanging around the room aren't constantly getting into them!

Blog Button

2010-07-27T16:25:00.000-06:00

Ok so i'm going to try this "techy" thing and attempt to make a blog button. We'll see how well this goes. If all goes well I may try adding this signature!

Craft Room Re-do

2010-07-27T10:20:00.000-06:00

I finally decided to re-do my Craft Room. I just needed a place that was grown up... So with a little imagination and less than $50 i've made it my own. and I LOVE IT!

This is the beautiful fabric that my then 6 year old daughter picked out for my craft room. Perfect for the girls... not so perfect for the Mommy. So I decided to upgrade to a "big girl" room.

First things first, the walls were just plain white. I couldn't handle that! So I headedover to the Home Depot and found the perfect color paint in their mis-tint section. The best part about it is it was only $5 for a gallon of paint!

Next I grabbed a can of black high gloss spray paint and went to town on my old DI dresser. It looks great now and after adding vinyl lettering to it I can tell just where my fabric's are. Nice and organized (till my little one's get ahold of it) I pretty much spray painted a TON of things, picture frames, boxes, shelves, a chair... Anything that couldn't defend itself :) (I'm pretty sure my 2 year old has a few spray painted fingers & toes as well)

Next I headed over to "Home Fabrics" to grab some "grown up" material. I found this great black & white print for only $4.99 a yard. LOVE IT! I turned it into all the window coverings by making up these faux roman shades. Then I took some more spray paint and covered a few more of my containers so they would match the room.
I found this incredible green & white print at "Home Fabrics" as well but it wasn't on sale so I decided to accent in it. I covered all the cork boards in it. I love it! (My hubby thought it was hillarious that I "mod-podged) the light switch cover, but by that point I was truly out of control!)
I put this cork board up on the outside door. I used a little ribbon to hang it and then put a couple of magnets on the back so it wouldn't swing everytime we opened the door.

I just love it! What do you think???

Linking up with
The House in the Roses