I finally made one for myself:

Remember when I made the 50+ Saying block letters for my gift exchange partner? Well, I FINALLY made myself one. Sadly, I like the 2nd one a lot better than the first so I had to share it. This is the project I was working on when I ran out of Mod Podge and made some of my own.

(You can find the link to the FREE Downloadable Cheet Sheet here)

I changed a few things:

• Painted all my blocks black before staining. (If you choose to do this, you can paint just the corners that will show to save on paint and time.)
• Chose only 4 coordinating papers
• Added 1 extra block to put other seasonal pictures on it. (i.e. Shamrock, birdhouse, bunny, Christmas tree, etc. You can add what you like for the season.)
• Did not put paper on top. I decided it looked too busy.

I like how this one turned out. My only problem now is where am I going to put it? My mantle is too full and as of right now, it is covering my adorable baby. I need another shelf perhaps.

Home Made Mod Podge

Last night I ran out of Mod Podge in the middle of a project. I had seen a pin on Pinterest from Do It Yourself Divas on how to make your own. I thought it made complete sense, so at 10:30 pm last night, I tried it out.
She suggested to do just equal parts of elmers glue and water. I found this super mega runny. I didn't love how watery it was because I was worried it would ruin my paper. (And at 10:30, I couldn't run to the store to get more of the paper I was using.) I added a little more emlers glue. It was still pretty runny but it still worked and did the trick. I woke up this morning to perfectly glued paper. So Cool!!!

I just used a baby food jar. (I didn't want to make too much in case I didn't like it, or it didn't work.) This picture was taken after I used it to finish my project.

Halloween is right around the corner... YAY!!

I'm sad to see summer go, but I'm excited to get ready for Halloween at the same time. This is the first year I can dress my kid up and believe me, I'm so taking him trick-or-treating... Maybe just at the grandparents houses, but still, haha.

BUT, I'm also excited to start getting my Halloween Decor out and make new stuff too. This is just a few of my fav's that I took pics of last year. I don't have it up yet, don't worry. :)

This guy doesn't work on my fridge anymore, because the fridge is stainless steal. I tried it on the dishwasher (thats also stainless) and it worked great. Maybe it's not really stainless?

I'm not sure if I'm going to put this little lady up this year or not... I've had her for a few years and it might be time for a change. I do love her though. Tell me what you think.

Muga & Grandma Mothers Day Blocks

I know, I'm SO behind. That's what happens when you have a baby... over 6 months ago. :) I saw these adorable blocks on somebody elses blog. (Please tell me if it's yours. I want to give you credit.) I just tried searching for it with no such luck. They were super easy and really cheap! My husband said we didn't need to do anything for his mom for mother's day. I went ahead and made this for my mom and showed him. His response was, "Oh, my mom Would Love something like that." So I whipped out another one that morning for her. And of course, she did Love it!

I took 2 square blocks (some my dad had out in his wood shop.) And 1 larger block, the same width as the squares. Painted them an antique white. Sanded and stained them. Then Mod Podged 2 of my favorite pictures of my baby on the front of the squares. Cut the vinyl lettering with my fabulous Cricut. (Can't live without it.) And stuck that on the front of the larger block. I Mod Podged over the vinyl just to make sure it stayed on there. I finished it off by tying a wire lined ribbon (that was tied around a baby gift) around it and tied it in a bow on top. What do you think?

My mom had a great idea, that I'm still planning on doing for her... maybe for Christmas. :) Get 12 more blocks and put all the grand kids picture on each block. Then you can stack them around the saying block. Just an idea.

4th of July wreath

I saw this adorable 4th of July & (being in Utah) 24th of July wreath on Tatertots and Jello. Don't judge, hers turned out SOO much cuter than mine. :)

Items needed:

• a couple bags of red hots
• 2 festive scrapbook paper
• red ribbon (to wrap around the wreath)
• red & blue ribbon (to use on the rocket)
• coordinating red, white and blue ribbon (to tie at the top to hang on the door)
• (All of the above, I found at the dollar store)
• foam craft wreath
• hot glue gun & glue sticks
• toilet paper roll

Get Started on wreath:
Wrap the entire foam wreath with red ribbon hot glueing every couple of wraps to keep the ribbon nice and tight around the wreath. (this is the background so you dont see white through the candies.)
Next, begin glueing the red hots around the entire wreath. You want to cover the entire wreath minus the back that will be against the door. I think I did the inside ring, then the top and finished with the outside ring. (this is by far, the longest part of this project.)
Finish by sealing the candy with Mod Podge Dimensional Magic. I used a polyurethane spray and it did not dry clear. (I was not happy but hung it up anyway.)

Now for the rocket:
Measure, cut & wrap the first scrapbook paper around toilet paper roll.
Then, measure and cut about a 1" circle from the 2nd paper. Cut the circle about half way to the center. Overlap the paper at the cut to form a cone. At desired shape and size, either glue or staple the cone in place. Glue the cone on top of the toilet paper roll.
Use ribbon to finish off the bottom edge of toilet paper roll.
With remaining ribbon, take 2 or 3 coordinating colors and make loops to give the rocket a "take off" feel. Glue to the inside of the bottom of the rocket. Play with the loops to make it your style.
Finally, glue the rocket on to the bottom of the rocket. Where ever you like it best.

Hang it up:
To hang it up, I took a thicker red, white and blue ribbon and tied a bow. With the same ribbon, I wrapped a loop around the top and tied a know. I took my bow and glued it to the front. That made sure the bow was always facing front.

Car Seat Canopy Tutorial

This is a car seat canopy I made for my friend. These are super simple to make.

What will you need?

2 1/4 yards of coordinating fabrics

Velcro (Be sure its not the kind of the sticky back)

Matching thread for your decorative finishing.

• Simply pin 2 coordinating fabrics measuring 35x43 (or whatever the width of the fabric is). You can make it as wide or long as you'd like, really.
• Using a kitchenaide mixer (nice measurement huh?), trace a rounded edge on all 4 corners. Cut the fabric and pin together.
• Beginning on the TOP edge, about 3 inches from the center, begin sewing 2 pieces (right sides together) about 1/4 inch seem AWAY from the center point all the way around the fabric. Be sure to stop about 3 inches away from center on the top edge where you started. (You need a hole to turn the fabric right side out.)
• Turn the Fabric right sides out.
• Finish off the opening, either by a technical blind stitch (that people claim is easy) or a simple top stich close to the edge. If you want it just for fun, this technique works great, but if you are professional, you will want to hide the stitch. :)
• Finish the canopy by picking a fun stitch and sew about 1/4-1/2 inch from the edge, depending on your stitch and your style. If you dont want a fun stitch, or dont have the capability, just sew a straight line about 1/4 inch from the edge all the way around.

Now, on to the Straps. Besides the cutting, this is the hardest part. This is usually just made out of the bottom fabric. I like to use both. You want more of the bottom fabric showing than the top to get the contrast.

• With the remaining fabric, cut 2 pieces of the bottom fabric about 2" x 6".
• Cut 2 pieces of the top fabric about 1/2" x 6".
• Take 1 piece of the 2x6 and 1 piece of the 1/2 x6 and sew right sides together to make a tube.
• Before turning right side out, iron the tube flat so it has equal sides of the bottom fabric on top.
• Sew one end of the tube and turn right side out.
• Fold the other end in to give it a finished look. (It might be easier to work with if you iron this fold down.)
• Take the rough side of your velcro and sew it on the top of the strap on the side that needs to be sewn together. (The side that you can see both fabrics)
• Take the fuzzy side of the velcro (The side that only has the bottom fabric) and sew it on the bottom of the same strap on the end that is already finished the same distance away as you did the other piece. This is the top of the strap that will attach to the car seat handle.
• Repeat each step above for the 2nd strap.
• Once both straps are completed, sew them to the canopy 2 inches from the center point. The longer half will be your front side.

Its time for another Handmade Gift Exchange!

I'm so excited! Linda from Craftaholics Anonymous is hosting your semi-annual Handmade Gift Exchange! I got to participate last November too. Here is the link to what I made and also received. If you want to participate as well, which I think you should, click the link below and it will take you there. Happy Exchanging. =)

Spring wreath

There are so many cute and adorable spring wreaths that have popped up all over blog land. I have been adoring them for so long. Today, I finally decided it was time to make mine. My door has been bare for too long.

I started by taking some scraps of fabric I had from a nursing cover I just made. I took 4 strips about 4x44 inches. I didn't measure these, it was just the length of the fabric by a couple inches think. I pinned one end of the strips in a styrofoam ring and started wrapping. And repeated until it was fully wrapped.



Next were the flowers. Again, more scraps that I had from my nursing cover. I took some strips about 2x44 (the width of the fabric x a few inches.) To begin, I tied a knot at the end of the strip for a starting point. Then started wrapping the fabric around the knot using hot glue every so often to keep the flower in tact. There are tutorials for this all over blog land too. They all intimidated me. I just did it and didn't worry about how any others looked. They probably aren't great, but they looked good to me. One of the flowers, I put a straight pin near the knot and wrapped the flower around it. It did hide the pin a little better, however, I only did this on one because I didn't think it helped that much.

 

Baby Nursery

I had this done before my little man came. I have been a little... pre-occupied for the last several weeks. I started by painting the walls with the blue and brown stripes around the whole room. I used the Martha Stewart brand for the blue and a cheaper Walmart kind for the brown. (In case you were wondering, I wouldnt recommend walmart paint for thin strips like this. Even with the green Frog Tape, it still blead down in to the tape. We had to go around the whole room and touch up the main wall color.) My sister-in-law gave me the "Baby" vinyl lettering on the wall, purchased from Roberts. I didn't quite know what I wanted to do there so this worked perfectly. The bedding is the Jackson by the CoCaLo Collection. I just hung the bedding quilt above the glider the other night when we moved little man in there at night. The last thing I need to do is curtains.

Below is the view when you first walk in the room.

 Below is the view looking at the crib from the wall with the window.

Below is the vinyl frame that is above his crib that I cut on my cricut. I found a frame outline online and used the fabulous SCAL to cut it along with his name in the center (blocked out in the center.)

MIA...

I've been a little tired the past few (or more) weeks. Haven't really felt like blogging or crafting or doing much else but looking at this little cutie! My baby was born on Feb 8th. I'm pretty use to my new schedule now so I'll start getting back to the swing of things. Until my next post, I'll let you enjoy looking at my handsome little fella.

Nesting...

I guess it's finally starting. I'm starting to nest. I didn't believe it was real. I guess I proved myself wrong. We have lived in our house for just over a year. Below is the wall above our couch in our main room. This is the room where we spend most of our time in. Also a main focal point in our house. I decorate the shelf above it for the different holidays but the space between the couch and the shelf has always been... Blah. 

Using my new Cricut Expressions and the fabulous SCAL program, I cut out these lovelies below. The wall was still just missing something. I thought about re-doing the words and making them bigger.

 I finally decided on adding some more pictures. Once the baby comes, I'll probably change some out to pictures of the baby. But for now, it's just my husband and I. You can't see the actual pics too well, but one is a fairly recent picture of the 2 of us. Another is one of our engagements. The other is just a cute one when we were dating.

I linked up to:



Birthday & Anniversary Board

A while back, I saw something similar to this but can't remember for the life of me where.

I'm really sorry! I wish I could give her credit!

I decided months ago that I was going to make one for my mom for Christmas. The original one I saw only had birthday's but I decided to take it a step further and include anniversaries as well. Even though I decided months ago to do it, I really didn't make it until the few days before Christmas. I bought the frame and metal board from the wonderful Wood Connection and just painted the board black. 

I am not very good at scrap booking, so I cheated and created the months all on the computer and had them printed as a 4x6 picture at Walmart. I downloaded a whole bunch of really cute FREE digital scrapbook pages from the Shabby Princess. Did I mention, it was all FREE?? Best part! Then I took put a magnet on the back of each picture to put them on the metal board. If you didn't want to do the metal board, you could Mod Podge them on to the back of a normal frame or even on the glass of it.

Because I know our family is not complete, and probably never will be. My mom will want to continue adding names even for her great grand kids. I decided to print all the names on the same background I put the month on... Then Mod Podged them on the pictures. (Extra step that didn't need to be taken.) I didn't love how that turned out. If I had more time, I would have changed it before I gave it to her. If I liked my handwriting, I would have just written them all on with a black permanent marker. (Makes it the easiest way to add more names.) I'm still going to fix and re-do the months. I had the great idea just last night of printing the names on a clear label. That makes it an even easier way to add names to it. My mom can still write the new names on, or you can always print a new label for a new birth or marriage. 

To finish it off, I cut out our family name along with "Birthdays & Anniversaries" with the Cricut in white vinyl and stuck them on the top and bottom of the board. (Sorry I didn't take pictures of everything along the way. I actually finished this on Christmas day so I could give it to my mom.)



I'm linked up on: