Candy Corn Pillowcase Dress

I am a bit late adding this picture, but I think it turned out so cute. It is even cuter with little Miss Braylee in it, I'm sure, but I didn't get to see that. These pillowcase dresses are SO EASY that pretty much anyone can make them, I think. My DIL, Desarae, asked me last Spring if I could make these. I hadn't even heard of them until she asked. They were selling for $18 on Etsy! Seriously? They take less than 1/2 yard of fabric for her tiny body and maybe 1 1/2 hours to make! I watched a tutorial and used ribbon sewed onto elastic for the straps in the first one. The elastic seemed to stretch a little and I just didn't care for the way it turned out. I just used the orange fabric with polka dots to make one long "ribbon" and looped it through the casings. I figured this way the dress can be used for more years and maybe even for a top with leggings eventually. It just makes it more adjustable.

Fabric Covered Canvas with Photos

When I was working on the candy corn dress for Braylee (I posted it on facebook, but I forgot to post it here!) I needed some orange fabric with white polka dots for the straps. I made a quick run to Hobby Lobby to grab some, and this caught my eye! It is the PERFECT fabric for another project I wanted to make:

I have my "To Make" board on Pinterest and I love the idea of covering cavas with fabric and hanging it on the wall from kristendukephotography.com:

These are PERFECT in the "green room"! I bought the 8x10 canvas in 2 packs for $3.99 at Hobby Lobby-and, of course, I used my 40% off coupon so they were actually $2.39 for 2. The middle one is 11x14. I got a 2-pack of those for $5.99 (minus the 40% coupon) and am using one of them for another project (inspired by Pinterest) that I will post tomorrow. I bought 1/2 yard of each fabric (on sale 30% off) and I have extra that I can use as a ruffle on a pillow for the bed or some other project for the room.

What I loved most about this project is that you use clear photo corners and hang black and white photos on them:

LOVE IT!!! I debated which direction to hang them, but I seem to mostly take pictures in landscape rather than portrait. I can change these out so easily! The middle canvas will hold an 8x10 and the 4 outer canvas' will hold 5x7. I need to get busy ordering photos!

Craft Day #1

My goal for the month of November is to make or complete at least one project each day.

I wanted to make something to display to remind me to be thankful each day through Thanksgiving. Of course, my first place to check was on Pinterest! I really liked this one from jellybeanjunkyard.workpress.com:

It certaily would take a lot of work, but that doesn't usually stop me. I did realize, though, that I would have to store this the other 11 months out of the year, and (knowing that we will be moving again in July 2013) I am trying to minimize how much "stuff" I have to pack up and move! If this were 1998 and all 4 kids were still at home, I would probably choose this one and then turn the cards into some sort of keepsake ablum later.

I also like this idea (not sure where it came from):

But, I figured only Geno and I would be adding notes to it. I didn't want to be out searching for branches since we don't have trees in our yard. And I don't have a vinyl machine to cut out that cute little thing for the wall. Plus, since we are renting and the vinyl does sometimes take the paint off, I can't stick it on our wall. If I knew how to make those cute sayings with my computer, I could just print one out and frame it and use it each year. But, I don't know how...yet :o)

So, I decided on this one from tipjunkie.com:

It is perfect! It sits on the bar in an easel, so I don't have to put any holes in the wall. When I change it out, I can just store it behind whatever goes into the frame next. I had it printed in 11x14 at Sam's Club for less than $3. I just write what I am thankful for each day and cross of the days to countdown to Thanksgiving! I did realize AFTER I chose it that it will only work for those years when Thanksgiving is on the 24th, but I'm sure someone somewhere on the internet will share another awesome project next year ;o)

I posted a picture of the Subway art I had printed out for different seasons. I decided on this one for this month:

I LOVE it!

The plan is to eventually have a buffet below where this is hanging and add candles, jars, and whatever else will make it festive. Already stored behind this one is Christmas, Birthday (boy and girl), and Halloween. I simply have to change them out! My only decision right now is whether or not I want to use a brown frame for all of them. I am pretty sure that I will be looking for a white one for Christmas and the Birthdays. Off to Goodwill I must go...

Pinterest in Action!

This spot on the kitchen counter REALLY bothers me! I decided that the phone just needed to be moved into my scrapbook room, but the outlets just stuck out like a sore thumb. I found this free printable on Pinterest:

How perfect is that?

I always have my To Do List. If I don't write it down, it most likely doesn't get done! I usually start my Christmas list the day after Christmas the year before, so I can write down any awesome deals I get right after the holiday. I have a personal wish list. I have lists of scrapbook pages I want to make, handmade gifts I love to give, shopping lists, and so on. I have been told that I have lists of my lists :o)

I had this printed in an 8x10 at Sam's Club and just put it into one of the black frames I already had. Total cost: less than $1.50. I think this would be perfect printed on a transparency with some really cute scrapbook paper behind it or with a red, turquoise or bright yellow frame OR both of those ideas to together! Even with all of those options, you could go to garage sales or Goodwill and find a very nice wooden frame for $1 tops, print the list on a transparency and add some scrapbook paper from your stash. You can make a very personalized gift for less than $5 for sure.

At our Super Saturday last year, we made these cute tiles to hang on doors or walls to keep lists. I had requested Love Notes as the title for mine since I believe so strongly that leaving messages of love for your spouse or your children is so important. However, our new decor is blue, so I put this red design in the master bedroom closet. Still used but out of the way.

Pinterest solved my problem! I found this awesome free printable:

It comes in a pdf format with three other options that have a red heart. Since I could print this with a blue heart, it is perfect. I just printed it at home and used photo paper. The white mat came in a doulbe matted set and I used the black for the family pictures so this was just left-over. The frame was given to me by Mark. It had pictures of his dad's third wedding -which I didn't have an interest in keeping! I wanted the thinner frame for this project, though. So, I primed it and then sprayed it white. For some reason, just a few spots started to bubble up. I let those spots dry, sanded them smooth and tried again. They bubbled up again! I am thinking there is a curse on this frame ;o) I do have another project this next week that involves a big "s" and big "g" being attached to a frame. I will get a new frame at IKEA next week and then use this frame for the other project.

I was headed into the bathroom to leave a note for Geno and this is what I found:

How sweet is this man I love????

Antiqued Temple Pictures and Frames

I was recently reminded that I should have a picture of the temple in every room. (Of course, that is not a picture of the temple above! I can't seem to figure out how to put any text above that photo!)

About 2 years ago, I found an antiqued picture of the Salt Lake Temple that I LOVED. It was $59 and mounted on a black canvas. I have been searching for some new art of Christ and temples that fits better into my decor. (Okay, I know how that sounds! I can hear Missie now!)

She was teasing me about decorations I left when we moved from our home in Arkansas to our townhouse in Alabama. She said she was glad Jesus made the cut, since his portrait was in a wood-stained frame instead of black like everything else :o) I have yet to find the perfect portrait of Jesus to hang on my walls. It needs to speak to me in some way!

Back on topic...I found a beautiful antiqued picture of the Salt Lake Temple FREE while getting my daily Pinterest fix online here: http://carianthony.blogspot.com/p/free-artwork.html

I had it printed at Sam's Club in 11x14 size for less than $3! It isn't crystal clear, but that adds to the charm of it being antiqued and having a canvas look. I needed a frame for it, so I set out to find it at our local Goodwill. I found a nice wooden frame with that horrible plaid mat and greeting card in the first photo for $2.99. (A little tip-if the frame has the brown paper sealing the back, it is usually a very nice frame since someone went to the trouble of having it professionally framed.) I think I mentioned before that I have been busy painting all of my black frames white, so I did the same with this one.

It just didn't look right. So, I looked up "antiquing" since the photo is antiqued. You don't have to buy any special glaze to get it to work right. I found directions here http://www.myrepurposedlife.net/2010/07/glazing-101.html

I really started out only wanting a little bit of the darker color in just a few places. By the time I got done trying to "fix" my few places, I ended up with this:

I like it! I think it works perfectly with this photo. All for less than $6 instead of $59, and this is bigger. I wasn't sure exactly where this picture was going to go. I want a much larger picture of the Oklahoma City Temple for the wall above my couch in the living room.

So, I walked around until I found this by the door:

This was a Super Saturday craft that I still like, but I am not so attached that it has to stay. I like this so much better:

When we search for a new home in 2 years, I think I want the light gray walls. All of the colors I like seem to go better with gray than tan.

I do most of my crafting at the kitchen table. When I finally got done with the frame, I realized that I had been scratching up the kitchen table with the little metal pieces that hold the picture in! I really want a new table, but this was not a plan to get it faster!

While Geno was in surgery yesterday, I folded paper to make these Halloween flowers. I just wanted to learn how to make them in case I want to make the bigger ones for wall decorations or if we need them for a centerpiece for a party. I found the tutorial here: http://www.lilluna.com/2010/10/tutorial-tuesday-simple-halloween-gift.html

It was funny that when I hot glued the ends of the papers together, as soon as they were put together, they were STUCK instantly and there was no moving them around. But, when I was holding the flower together and waiting for the hot glue in the middle to dry, it seemed to take FOREVER!!! Another post to follow on what I do with these.

And finally (on my post, but not the last craft I did today), I LOVE this new subway art! You can find the links on my Pinterest account. I will add the specific ones when I show the final project. I had these printed at Sam's Club in 16x20, so I am in search of a frame. I am thinking that a thinner style will be best and not take away from the art. I may need to pick that up at IKEA next week ;o)

Feeling the Holiday Spirit

I love this time of year! I get excited about celebrating any holiday and try to come up with a reason to have company and make a party out of it. Who doesn't love crafting and baking and buying gifts and decorating?

Over the last couple of years, I have noticed that my taste in decorating has changed, though. I guess it is different when the kids are all home. You hang up every creation they bring home from school. I have divided those up now to hand out to them as they marry and move away. I figure it is up to them to throw them away if they don't want them either :o) Plus, the one year that I actually decided to decorate a tree with a theme, Derrick was pretty upset with me!

Dad cut some wood pieces for me from his scraps when I was there in May to help Mom after she had hip replacement surgery. I am leaving in a couple of weeks to help her out after she has the other hip replaced. I figured if I wanted to bum some wood from Dad again that I'd better have something to show for what I did with the first pieces! It is great having Mark here to do all of my sanding for me as he piddles around in the garage. I'd better take advantage of his free time before he meets some friends!

I bought two sets of these blocks after Halloween at T.J. Maxx two years ago for about $.50/block! They are 3" and a 1" block from Hobby Lobby is $.99. Plus, these are already painted black AND sanded around the edges. I am just not a glittery girl, so these were purchased with the intention of being made into another craft project:

I have seen many different countdown block sets , so I can't take credit for this being my original idea. The plan was to make a Halloween countdown set for my friend, Missie, since Halloween is her favorite holiday of all. I loved this paper collection, but once I got it all done, I knew this wasn't the one for Missie! I am making her another one with bright orange, purple, green, and black. I think this one is perfect for Little Miss Braylee :o)
I am doing a Christmas countdown for us. I probably should have 3 blocks, because first thing the morning after Christmas, Geno always is sad and says 364 more days until Christmas. Lol! I think this year I will try to add some blue to my decor, because it gives me the feeling of a Winter Wonderland. The long blocks will have those 3 green clips on the front holding photos of our 3 grandchildren with Santa. I haven't decided on the saying to go along the bottom board. Any suggestions?

Then, just for a little extra fun...

(Another idea I got from some very creative person's blog)

These are $1 frames from Michael's painted green and then they will be covered in googly eyes with some ribbon and "Eek". How cute is that? Yes, Missie, there are two there...another birthday gift for you ;o)

Quiet Books for Sacrament Meeting

My craft blog seems to be VERY lacking in posts! I have been so busy with Geno's medical issues AND moving, but everything is good now. Geno is off all medicines and doing very well. We spent the afternoon putting up shelves and photos in our new home.

I am READY TO CRAFT!!!

So this isn't really my "crafting" exactly, but I love these awesome quiet books. I went to theideadoor.com and downloaded the awesome 4x6 images she has posted for everyone to use. There are 3 files--ABC Gospel Mini Book, Latter-day Prophets, and several Mormonads. I uploaded all of them to be printed and the photos were delivered to my home. I already had 3 of the mini photo albums, so my cost was only the one photo album and the photos...about $17 for all 4! The 3 files just fill the 4 albums with no blank pages.

Invitations and Goodie Bags

My friend has two sons who both have birthdays in April. Over the last couple of years, their family has been focusing on a healthy lifestyle and bike riding is one of their family activities. Both of the boys are getting bikes for their birthday, so she asked that the theme be around that. After the call, I was showering and the first thing I thought of was Livestrong! This is what I came up with for the invites and goodie bags. I suggested she put trail mix, raisins, granola bars, and non-food treats like stickers and tatoos into the goodie bags. She is also giving each child a Livestrong wristband. How nice to help out a charity while celebrating with her children! The kids get the oppotunity to try the climbing wall at Lewis & Clark during the party.

Doing a "generic" type theme rather than choosing one from the store and buying all of the matching paper goods can save you some money! Now she can purchase a combo of black and yellow paper goods which are priced much less and you get more per package.

Birthday Cards

While coming up with the first set of cards, I made these cute presents. It was just too busy with the other patterned paper. The colors are much brighter than it shows here. (My scanning skills are better already!)

Flower cards with a bling center!

So my scanning talents are not as good as my papercrafting skills, but they will improve! This paper collection has been one of my favorites for a very long time. I have used it for MANY projects and still have some left. The colors are much brighter than the picture shows. I don't like to make exact duplicates, but I do use the same general patterns a lot.