Remake Your Kids' Art: Finger Painting Bunting

Doesn't your heart sink when your kiddo goes to throw something in the recycling and sees their old art work in there? They get so offended and it breaks my heart.

So I am posting about things to do with your kiddo's art projects, since so far it seems ok if we chop them up and reuse them.

Preston loves to paint and finger paint. So we found a bunting template online simply by googling it and cut out Mr. P's finger paintings. We used hot glue and twine, gluing the back top of the flags to the twine.

Give it a whirl.

To learn about the Dictionary P go here.

Or to learn how to mount photos on canvas go here.

Happy repurposing!!

An organized baby girl closet!

As promised in my last post, I'm ready to share a project that we worked pretty hard on! The closet system for our nursery. 

I just LOVE how it turned out!

Did I mention that we did all of this for under $80?! 

To purchase something prefabricated would have been $120+!

As usual, we got to work pretty quickly, because when there are free time and materials we must get to work. There is mess in the first before shots from my bonus daughters as this was their room before we decided to make it the nursery. 

Before we get too deep, here is the before shot:

It was your typical builder grade closet with one bar the full length of the closet and a shelf at the top that you could only pile stuff on top of one another to fill. We ripped that out pretty quickly before we remembered to take our before shot, but I'm sure you get the gist. 

I did some research and started a pinterest board for kids' bedroom and closet inspiration.

I sat down with a trusty mechanical pencil and lined notebook paper and wrote out what we needed to accommodate in this closet. For example, we have a tiny house and this is the best closet to house the vacuum, so it was necessary to build a specific place for the vacuum cleaner. Other things were onesies, swaddle blankets and sleep sacks, pants of various sizes etc. 

I started getting hand me downs at an alarming rate and so grateful I was since it kicked our butts into gear! I sketched out an idea of what would work for us in this space. The sketch is embarrassing... I'm great at many things but drawing and even just sketching out is not one of those things

We measured the closet space and adapted my sketch to the measurements to make it work.

Here is a shot during the process: 

The details:

We used these simple plastic shoe boxes on the shelves. 

Since baby socks are so tiny and tend to get scattered all over the place I also didn't want to waste a whole drawer for these. 

We still have a shelf (reused) at the top of the closet, it is just more compact. I put swaddle blankets, the breast pump and two sleeping bags up there. Probably more of a temporary storage solution at the moment, but it works loads better than the last shelf with too much room.

I separated the clothes by size which is a tedious and exhausting task!

I used the closet hanging tabs that we'd purchased when Mr P was tiny, but I'm not the biggest fan. So I used the different levels of dowels to create a better visual separation.

0-3 month clothes on the bottom and 3-6 and 6-9 month clothing on top. 

I have a storage container in the garage filled with 9+ months clothes, but I figure by then I'll be ready to go through clothing again!

We incorporated this dresser that we found on the side of the road then painted. All I really did was add the fabric flowers I made behind the drawer pulls.

Off to the left up top we added pre drilled melamine to accommodate the navy baskets from Dollar Tree. If we choose to switch things up later, we can simply move the pegs and the shelves. 

Lastly, at the bottom I wanted to be able to contain laundry and toys.

I purchased two laundry baskets from Ikea, they were $4.99 each. After researching we designed this space for the two to nestle in here side by side. 

The one one the left will hold dirty clothes and the one on the right will house baby toys.

We took the doors off since you couldn't see the whole closet or get to the middle of it. We added a dowel kit to the top just under the track and these thrifted curtains that are Pottery Barn! They were only $7.99 for the pair! Now we can close it up or open it all the way up to get to the things we need!

This is the smallest bedroom in the house and needed to have the most organized closet to make sure that life with all four kids at home this summer will run smoothly!

All I have to do is make labels for all of the baskets and bins so that when mommy brain sets in I have a system of checks and balances!

One more look at it:

The girls and Mr P will be sharing a room for the summer! 

Stay tuned on how we will make that work!

Hope baby girl's closet inspires you!

A Valentine

I don't like Valentine's day!

But I love LOVE. I love my children, I love my husband, I love my friends. 

But I love them every day...

Nonetheless, I decided to make a valentine for a sweet friend.

I have been thinking about this concept for awhile and wanted to play with it. It is inspired by mixed media art, which I seem to be crazy about these days.

I have so many ideas & inspirations and so little extra time on my hands these days. So I figured I'd start here:

The back is white fabric with large pink polka dots. 

I adore how it turned out and I am flooded with inspiration for other projects!

These are great scrap bin busters, and they are so very fun to make, especially if you know exactly who you're making it for :)

I hope my dear friend knows I am grateful for her and my love runs deep.

After all, that's what valentines day is supposed to be about.

That's what every day is supposed to be about!

xo

DIY Water color fabric from an old sheet

Hey Friends!

Y'all know I'm no stranger to working with old sheets!

This time I am working on some additional fabric for Baby girl's nursery decor.

If you missed it, here is my inspiration board. 

I wanted something fun and not perfect to go with the main fabric that I'm using (behind the lettering at the top of my inspiration board.) I don't want to spend more money than I need to and I love to get creative during nap time!!

1. I cut off about 18" worth of fabric from the bottom of my off white sheet and ironed it.

2. I used masking tape to make very uneven lines.

3. I mixed turquoise and white fabric paints to get the color I desired (that complimented my other fabric) and mixed some water in so it got runny.

4. I laid my cut sheet out down the hallway with newspaper under it.

5. I sloppily painted between the masking tape. :) Then I smacked my head because I realized that this was a project the kids could have actually helped with, but they were not here/sleeping.

6. Take your painted sheet piece off of the newspaper while it's still wet and hang over the bare shower curtain rod, or the news paper will stick to the back- which is a hug pain.

7. Let it dry, Iron it to heat set according to paint instructions, then pop it in the dryer on HOT. Your paint is now perfectly imperfect water colored fabric to stitch up to your liking! 

8. I'll wash and dry my fabric again before cutting and stitching it up into my project for baby girl's room!

If you give it a shot, let me know. You inspire me too!!

A shirt for our music man

There are a million freezer stencil tutorials out there if you google it, so I will not post a tut for that.

I used the trace function on my Silhouette to get the image, cut it out, and painted it with fabric paint- lesson learned that white paint on dark fabric is tough. Not a perfect image, but since happy hubby has a shirt like this, Mr. P is thrilled to be just like his daddy!

Little tip if you want to do there:

Tshirts at Target are super inexpensive and seem to be the best quality, I've used them for appliqué, stenciling etc. This one was $4.

Lotsa girlie clothes will be posted soon, since we found out we are having a baby girl, I have been working hard on making Mr. P's old clothes a bit more girlie!

What have you been up to? Any cool toddler or baby projects these days?

I'm consumed lol

Sock Monkey Towel Hooks

I realize that I have not yet posted photos of full rooms, only glimpses of our bedroom here and here and our entry/mudroom - which those photos are terribly outdated...

One day, I am making that promise now... Please hold me to it!

I guess the point that I am trying to make is simply that you've never seen Preston's room, but the theme is traditional sock monkeys...

We wanted to run with that theme for the kids' bathroom as well, only make it more fun with more modern sock monkeys in brighter colors.

This was the only room that we hadn't painted and it was a very cold blue that made me feel not so warm and cozy.

Here is the before photo:

The photo actually makes the bathroom look better than it really is :P

I painted the wall straight ahead a color called Exotic Isle and made some hooks for the wall for the kids to hang their towels. Oh I as so tired of towels hanging over the banister, over chairs, balled up in corners and on door knobs.

Remember my birds on a wire coat hooks?

I decided to make something similar only square and with fabric! 

This Sock Monkey fabric is by Moda

In use! 3 kids' and the dog's towels hanging up = one happy mom!

Up close and probably the truest green to the color on the wall:

Washing the towels, the hooks look lonely but still adorable!

Paint

modpodge

fabric cut to size

modpodge on top of fabric

rustoleum enamel in gloss on top 2x

hooks screwed into the blocks and studs or anchors 

And here's what we get!

I'm loving this sock monkey bathroom. It needs a little more TLC and paint :) 

but nothing is ever quite done!

Tell me where you could use some hooks in your life?

DIY nightstand from old wood- a free project!

Some people see these old shipping crates and think, "junk."

I see these shipping crates and think, "victory!"

I found them on craigslist, and sent my amazing, willing, forgiving and oh-so-compassionate Happy Hubby to break them apart and bring it home to his creative wood loving wife. 

Wow, I did just type that...

I know pallet projects are all over the place, and I love it!
They are cheap, they reuse/recycle (I'm a huge fan!), and they are so darn cute!

My side of the bed has sadly been looking like this for awhile:

Yikes! That's embarrassing! 

Looks like a dorm room. 

Needless to say I was eager to turn free loot from the pile of crap above into a functional less of an eye sore nightstand... 

So, we got to work.

we cut.

we screwed.

we sanded.

and sanded.

um, and sanded.

we painted.

we sanded.

we sealed.

and here she is...

The shelf to the right is going to go soon...

We are looking less like a dorm room! Yipee!

Not bad for free huh?!

free wood.

white ceiling paint left over.

spare screws.

left over poly-acrylic. 

(Yes, it yellowed a little, which was fine for this project.)

I'm considering adding a little something to the front of the shelves... 

we will see how that goes, you know you'll hear about it when it happens ;)

It compliments our homemade headboard and our luxurious pin tucked duvet cover from old Rit dyed sheets! 

Happy, happy homemaking- one project at a time!

Do you have any free projects or pallet projects you'd like to share? 

Post a link in the comments, I'd love to see 'em!

Dining light update

Here is a quick DIY fix to recover your lampshades!

It's no secret that I have a thing for black and white...

It is classy and it is always in style... and browns/beiges remind me of dirt and poop.  But that's my opinion. Just saying'.

I don't think I have ever shown you my little intimate dining area right off of the kitchen. 

Well, here she is!

The folks who owned the house before us had the weirdest light up there above the table... It was a little Ikea strip light that you'd expect to sees showcasing artwork. So we went to Ikea and my lovely mother purchased this chandelier for us shortly after we moved in. I thought the top of the light (where it meets the ceiling) looked kinda weird so we affixed a light medallion that I have had for years just waiting to use.

These lampshades are perfect for the space, but they were starting to look too plain, and even a little dingy so every time I walked by them they started to bug me. And considering all of the time that I spend in the downstairs of our home, I was basically bugged by these lights all of the time.

Time for an update! Bye-bye plain looking shades, you're getting a face lift!

One more before shot with the lights on:

 I found this Black and white fabric at Ikea, I loved the big writing and thought it was cool that it was numbers. Since we do constantly walk through this area and see these lights, I feel they should inspire me. I feel everything should inspire me really. 

The numbers on those shades will remind me of the number of ways we are blessed and the multitude of things that we have to be grateful for.

Since I didn't want the number words to be diagonal, I laid the fabric over my shade with the word straight and then basically cut around the fabric leaving excess around the edges for tucking...

Here is what it looked like: 

I used this first one as a template and cut out the rest.

(BTW: I can think of a million other projects I'd like to do with this black and white fabric!)

The wrapping was pretty tough. I sat there with my iron to make crisp & clean seams that lined up with the seams already on the shades. 

I used fabritac glue (my favorite fabric glue) only on the seam and the part of the fabric that tucks under/over the shade since I know that it can show through the fabric. I recommend playing with this glue and some fabric beforehand to test it out and get comfortable with it. 

There is a little lip on the inside of these shades that I was able to use my fingernail and tuck the edges of this fabric into. No need to cover raw edges!!

The frustration factor of this project was a solid 9 out of 10, but it only took about 2.5 hours total. 

And once it was done our light looks amazing, so I really can't complain!

After shot!

And with the lights on!

I love our little dining area.

The table (has 2 leaf inserts, only one installed) is from Craigslist $25, the buffet/desk from Craigslist $free, and the chairs from Goodwill $8/each painted and recovered by yours truly! 

Life happens one project at a time!

Burlap Covered Diaper Boxes

**There are tons of photos in this post, consider yourself warned!**

We cloth diaper, except at night and on days where we are really lazy- about one day a month.

With that said, we have bought maybe 6 boxes of diapers total. Why? Well, they are expensive and toxic. If you don't know the details on how awful disposable diapers are you should look them up. 

I am not here to rant and rave, I am here to tell you about how I am reusing my disposable diaper boxes since the diapers themselves are so wasteful.

If you look here and here you will see the inspiration for my girls' room. This is another low cost project to promote their organization while they live with us full time over the summer! They also helped make them :)

What you will need:

Cardboard (diaper) box

burlap

spray paint

cheap wooden picture frame from Craft store

thin wood to cut (or cardboard might even work!)

E6000 (the best craft glue ever!)

scissors

spray glue

chalkboard spray paint

I primed my boxes.

Here is where I would do it differently if I did it again...

I would spray paint my boxes brown first, since the primer and Luvs label showed through after I adhered the burlap. Which I ended up "fixing" by spray painting the whole box and burlap a nutmeg brown after they were covered...

Awful photo above, sorry, but it was the only one I had of the process :)

Cut your burlap to cover the box and spray the whole box with spray adhesive outside! That stuff is a sticky mess, but it works. I wore gloves, that stuff is sooooo hard to get off of your hands.

Once my box was covered, I spray painted them nutmeg color- and I don't have a photo of this step.

I spray painted a $1 wooden frame blue. 

Happy Hubby used the cardboard insert of this cheap Michaels wooden frame as a template to cut out this thin wood to fit in the frame. I primed it with spray primer and then 2 coats of chalkboard paint.

I glued the frame in with this:

Then glued the frames onto the burlap covered boxes with the same glue and put them face down with heavy books inside of the box to make sure the frames stuck.

Happy Hubby added eyelets to the sides which I intend to add braided jute handles to.

And they fit perfectly on our shelves in the girls' room.

All that is left is to write in chalk what we keep in the boxes and add handles!

Great way to up cycle! 

Dictionary Art

Brought to you by the letter:

Isn't that P awesome?!?!

I got a paper mache P from Joann on sale a couple weeks ago.

In this post I talked about the gallery wall that I am working on in Mr. P's room. 

My vision is letters and numbers, and keeping things pretty classic. 

I love things that are timeless, that way we are not wasting and tossing etc.

I kinda feel guilty for ripping up a dictionary since I just read the other day that no more will be published due to the availability of definitions on the world wide web... Sad!

But I ripped it up anyway... and then lamented that I should have made copies to use instead, and then I thought, well, this is a great way to preserve history right?!  See my dilemma here? :)

Anyhow, the P is covered in ripped up dictionary pages of all P words and will make a lovely addition to Mr. P's room/gallery wall.

I also made this cute little guy:

My lil man is soooooo into bike rides these days!

This is a little 4x4 canvas that I adhered a dictionary page with the word bicycle onto and used my radical bicycle stamp.

I might be able to sell these, what do you think?

Here they are side by side:

I can not wait to get them up on the wall.

Katie from Creatively Living has certainly inspired me with her lovely gallery walls in her home. You should check em out! However making the decision where to hang everything is pretty overwhelming!

We will have it up soon, and photos to brag inspire :P

Wine bottle to vase! A quick project tutorial

I am going to tell you how to turn a wine bottle into a vase!

Remember this post? 

There was really just a smattering of color in the form of fabric and fake flowers that were inspiring me for A & B's bedroom. Whimsical really.

I could not pass up these huge daisies at Michaels at 50% off a couple of weeks ago, but we needed a vase and I really did not want to buy anything. I already hadn't purchased enough fabric with my coupon stash and had to go back to buy more for a measly 10% off. 

I do not like buying things that are not on sale. I think I inherited that from my father...

Ok, on to the tut.

So simple:

1. Raid your recycling (or someone else's!) and select a bottle.

2. Soak it in hot water to scrape curse peel the label off.

3. To get the excess gunk off from the label you can use goo gone, vegetable oil,

 or rubbing alcohol and some salt is a great little abrasive.

4. Wash the bottle very well with dish soap. 

5. Let your bottle dry all the way. 

I waited a whole day, and I lived to tell about it ;) 

6. Spray primer! 

Cover the whole bottle.

7. After your primer has dried (usually about 20 mins or so), 

spray paint your bottle your chosen color. 

In our case it is white.

8. This is the most important part: 

Put your bottle someplace safe and relatively warm and let the paint cure for at least a week. 

This will keep your paint from chipping, peeling or cracking.

**If you choose to add huge whimsical flowers, set them up in varying heights, as seen in the photo, and trim the stems with burley wire cutters. You may have to twist them slightly to get them into the bottle.