Friday, May 31, 2013

Overflowing With Joy

OK, This little project was going out on a limb just a bit.  It also really reveals my weird sense of humor, possibly a little too much :0}

I am finally getting around to blogging a couple of the projects I did back in Sioux Falls while we were homelessly waiting for school to get out so we could move to Minnesota with Papa Bear.  I made these back at that same time as the High Heel Cupcakes, while staying at my friend Lindsey's house.  Can I just say, I have the best friends EVER!  They know that when Vanessa makes a visit, there will be crafts and craft disaster everywhere.  Somehow...they still let me come over!

Anyway, I wanted a fun, and can I say CHEEP, little something that I could give my friends from Young Women's or that the kids could give to their favorite teachers.  That was when we came up with the plunger craft.

Just hang in there a little bit longer.  I promise, it gets better.

We visited Dollar Tree and found the plungers there for $1!
SaWeeEEeT!
Life living between two states was rather expensive and the budget didn't have a lot of room for extras.  I could totally do $1.

I unscrewed the handles.  When I say "I", I mean Madison.  Then I cut them down to about 12" {again, when I say "I" I mean Lindsey's husband.  Yep.  I even put him to work}

Here are my lovely plunger heads drying in the warm Worthington, Minnesota sun on Lindsey's lawn.  I am sure the neighbors thought them lovely lawn ornaments :0)

After that, it was an easy project to finish.  We just screwed the handles back onto the heads, put the plungers in treat bags purchased at Walmart, topped them off with a $1 box of candy {also Walmart}, tied them shut with curling ribbon, then glued on a flower magnet {as an added bonus-flowers purchased at the dollar store}  I am figuring the plungers costing me about $2.50 each.  Not bad!


So here is a close-up and tags to go with each!
The tags, as if anyone would want a tag to go with a gift plunger :0)
can be downloaded HERE!  The tags are the perfect size to print up as photos at your local photo lab.











And there you have it.  Crazy little gifts to show our appreciation to friends and teachers before moving on to wetter pastures.  I was seriously wondering if Minnesota HAD a sun in their sky until this morning.  There is finally sunlight streaming into my room this morning.  YES!  I am very tempted to throw everything off my schedule and just go outside to soak up a few much needed rays.
Sunny wishes to you too today!

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Mustache Art

The kids have decided to decorate their bathroom with a mustache theme.  I made up a couple of printable signs to frame and hang on the wall.  
Mine are waiting for me to pick them up over at Office Max right now!!!
Super Excited! 

We already had towels and a shower curtain in bright colors from our 
Tiki Time Bathroom back in Arizona.

I love the colors, so I thought it would be fun to use them all again in the mustache theme, 
that and I am not about to go buy a whole new color scheme for my kids bathroom to match a mustache ;0


For by the sink

For over the Toilette

So, I made these on 8 1/2 x 11 paper, but they are sized to be cut down to 8 x 10 for frames.  I decided in the end to go ahead and take the pattern paper all the way to the edge in case no frames are used or a frame happens to be off just a little.  I didn't want to end up with white showing up around my print.

As always, you can download any of these prints for free and they are available HERE with dropbox!!!

And now, I too MUSTACHE!

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Armoire Doors Finished At Last!!!

Remember my armoire I bought a year or two ago at the Goodwill Half Price Saturday sale???
Well, I have totally loved it.  After the two bigger moves this past year, the crown molding is a little worse for wear, but no worries.  That has been added to the new project list!

What has been pretty low on my to-do list is finishing the inside of the doors.  Don't ask me why it has escaped my attention for so long.  I guess after you stare at something day after day it kinda starts looking normal.

Today was the day for change!
I found this awesome printed fabric at Joanns and I was dying to try the whole starching fabric thing!

Here is what I did...
First, I measured the space for the fabric, then cut my fabric to fit.  
***Note- My fabric ended up shrinking a bit more than desired.  I cut the bias off the fabric, then used that edge for the height of the doors.  I should have cut the fabric a little longer to allow for shrinkage.  Know what direction your fabric shrinks and allow for an extra 2" or so of fabric.***

I grabbed my jug of liquid starch.  It is usually used for laundry, but I have never used it for that purpose ;0)
It also makes a great product to keep in your crafting closet for just such an occasion.

I poured starch into a bowl, un-diluted.  

With a regular sponge I coated the area where I wanted the fabric with the starch.

Starting from the top of the space, I placed the fabric in one corner, then smoothed to the opposite corner along the top of the door.  It is a good idea to secure your fabric with a push pin to keep it from falling.

Work your way down the door, being very careful not to pull the fabric with you.  

Now would be a good time to tell you, thinner fabric is easier to adhere with starch :0|
I realized this fact later, but it still worked with my duck-cloth-like fabric.  If I do this again, and I will!, I will go for the basic cotton fabric more from the quilters section than the home decor section.

When I got to the bottom of this door there was about a 1/4" over lap.  I noticed that the top had shrunk down a tad.  That is where the whole first door took a turn for the worse.  I ended up peeling the whole piece of fabric off and starting over.  During all of that process, the fabric REALLY SHRUNK.

OK, listen to me!  Do not use dry-clean only fabric for this project :0)
We all learn things the hard way some time or another, right?

I decided to just go with the flow.  I knew it was entirely too likely that I would be adding more later, like ribbon around the edge or huge fabric flowers or something, so I just let the shrinkage go.  

For some reason the second door didn't shrink like the first.  I am guessing it has something to do with me NOT ripping it off the door and starting over.  

In the end, I was super happy with how it turned out.  See?  Much better!

Before...

Love it!  My inner armoire doors, finally finished at last!


Tuesday, May 28, 2013

I {Heart} Cassidy

Check out this little dolly I got to photograph just before leaving Sioux Falls!  This is Cassidy, one of the yummy little munchkins that lived in the house we were staying at just before moving to Minnesota.  Cassidy was 10 months in these pictures.  We all miss her.  It was SO FUN having a baby around to play with.  Especially Cassidy.  She was so quiet, never crying, and loved to be held or played with.  I was totally amazed at how she could just play on the floor for hours with her little baby toys.  Not a single one of my kids would play with toys unless they were being held up by me...
Wait!  They are still that way!

Can you see why we miss her so much!?!  Who wouldn't miss the world's most agreeable baby :0)



My friend Mary, Cassidy's Mom, wanted to get a couple pictures of her little girlie in the doll bed they had, it once belonging to Mary's mom.  What a fun way to remember a family heirloom.  Cassidy was just the right size for it too.



I LOVE this girl's eyes!  From the first time I saw her I HAD to photograph her!  She was the cutest little baby I had ever seen with those great big eyes.  And I don't have to mention that she loved me ;0) 
 Who wouldn't? {tee-hee}


This bed was such a fabulous prop, I just about threw it in the back of my Tahoe when we moved out :0)

I have to admit I was a little worried about how the pictures would turn out.  Normally I would have turned on my umbrella lights to take the pictures.  I didn't have them at Mary's house, so we just picked a spot by the window, opened up all the blinds, and clicked away.  These pictures go to show you can still get fabulous catch lights with just the light from the window.


What a doll.  I miss her already.  
We might just have to go for a drive so I can get me some snuggle time!


Novelty Print Quilt Pattern

I have had a hard time finding good quilt patterns for novelty prints the past couple times I purchased them.  I made up this pattern so tha...