Button Initials

I'm pretty sure EVERYONE is making these button letters. I might actually be the last one, but when I saw them floating around Pinterest I knew I needed one (or two!). I decided that I wanted them free standing (hanging?) rather than framed or on a surface, so I thought about buying a pre-cut letter and gluing the buttons on. Unfortunately I couldn't find the exact size or font I wanted, so of course I decided to make the letter. I'm sharing a tutorial, but I think it's more of a what not to do...

Step 1: Draw letter onto foam core board. (Please excuse the poorly lit pictures!)

Step 2: Cut letter out with Exacto knife or box cutter.  This will result in yucky edges... yeah, wasn't anticipating that.  I almost threw it away said forget it, but I got creative...

Step 3: Glue grosgrain ribbon to edges of letter with hot glue!  This part wasn't too bad...

Step 4: I realized there would be no gluing the ribbon down with cutting little slits in it.  This is where it started to get unpleasant (there were some burnt fingers).



Step 5: Start gluing down buttons.  (Notice I didn't ribbonize the inside of the letter... figured that out after this picture.  Don't forget the middles!)

Step 6: Admire your hard work!   

These are going in the girls' bathroom, which might be my favorite room in the house.  I wish I could've taken a picture of them in the room, but there is zero natural light.  Bummer.  I love how they turned out, but I would suggest just buying pre-made letters! :)



Linking up to...
WhipperBerry

Toy Bin Labels

I'm trying to teach my little ones to clean up after themselves.  Not an easy task!  Their play area has a bunch of bins and baskets and they only kind of know where things are supposed to go.  It doesn't help that my older daughter's favorite game is to dump every toy she has into a big pile.  It drives me nuts to say the least.  Instead of trying to keep her from doing it (which is futile, believe me), I just limit the number of toys that are out at any one time.  Toy circulation also makes toys seem new!  To help encourage them to put away the toys instead of just leaving them in a huge pile in the middle of the floor, I decided to make labels for the bins and attach them with velcro, so I can switch the labels based on which toys I've put out.

I took pictures of some toys, labeled them in Photoshop, and printed them on cardstock.  I found these laminating sheets in my office to protect the finished product.

After I put the labels between two sheets of laminate, I cut them out.

I ended up sticking the labels in the backs of the bins because they sit on the shelf at an angle.

Maybe having a picture label will make clean up more fun??  I can dream! :)

Has anyone tried something like this?  Has it worked for you??

Linking up to...

Lines Across My Face

Chronicles of a Big Girl Room: Ribbon Trimmed Mirror

I wanted to share a super quick and easy (and inexpensive!) project that I put together for the big girl room.  Camille loves to check out her outfits so I knew it was important to put a mirror in her room.  Although she's one of the girliest little girls I've ever met, she's also a climber, dismantler and all around destroyer of things.  If something can be scaled, knocked down, taken apart, or mutilated in any way, Camille is right there.  Therefore the mirror needed to be as indestructible as possible, which is why I decided to use one of those cheap (not actual glass?) mirrors you can buy at Target, Home Depot etc. for about $5.  It was a little blah, so originally I thought about sewing a REALLY long ruffle and gluing it around the frame.  During a trip to JoAnn's I happened to find some pink ribbon trim that was already ruffled!  Perfect!  I brought it home and glued it around the mirror in about 5 minutes.  Hopefully she won't decide to peel the ribbon off, but so far it's been okay!



Once we figure out the layout of the room, we'll hang it on the wall!



Linking up to...
Design Dazzle
The Grant Life
Six Sisters Stuff

Chronicles of a Big Girl Room: Scrapbook Paper Dress Art



Our almost 3 year old is ready for a big girl room.  A princess big girl room.  I forget that she's growing up and has her own opinions.  I wanted her big girl room to have a dress theme because she loves dresses and it seems a little more unique.  But thanks to Disney (which I'm certain had absolutely nothing to do with us taking her on multiple Disney vacations and watching every princess movie with her...) she wants a princess room.  I'm compromising by creating a "princess dress boutique" theme. 

I love creating my own art whether it's a painting on a canvas or photography or something multimedia.  Once while looking through the Pottery Barn Kids catalog, I spotted these patterned elephants:



Aha!  Scrapbook paper dress art!  Here's what I did:

1. Bought 2 canvases size 22x28 (on sale!) at JoAnn's, and some scrapbook paper
2. Painted the background a mixture of white and cream with tiny pink polka dots (I didn't want a busy background and her walls are very pink!)
3. Sketched dresses on notebook paper and then created stencils for the bodices out of cardstock
4. Cut pieces from scrapbook paper
5. Made little hangers from florist wire I happened to have, and painted them pink
6. Glued everything onto canvas with a combination of Elmers and hot glue- This process was tricky because the Elmer's glue didn't work very well on the canvas.  I don't mind the paper not being completely glued down because it looks a little more fluid, like fabric, but I want everything to stay put!





I love how they turned out and I can't wait to get to work on more projects for her room! 

 

Linking up to...

Color Me Glamorous

Oopsey Daisy

Cherished Bliss

Domestically Speaking

It's Overflowing

Primp

Handy Man, Crafty Woman

Someday Crafts

Blue Cricket Design

The Shabby Creek Cottage

The 36th Avenue

My Repurposed Life

The Shabby Nest

Design Dazzle

Whipperberry

The Grant Life

Serenity Now

Days of Chalk and Chocolate

Crafty Moms Share

Tatertots and Jello

Six Sisters Stuff

I Heart Naptime

Positively Splendid

Lines Across My Face

Barstool Makeover

At one point we had two cats, both with all claws intact.  We also had a pair of faux leather barstools from Target.  You see where this is going?  This is what the stools looked like originally:

Now imagine the cushions with holes and claw marks all over them and the wood scuffed and chipped.  Not very attractive.  When we moved, the stools didn't quite go with the new kitchen, so I knew it was the perfect opportunity to transform them!  Since the kitchen was mainly black and white and our dining set was black, I decided to spray paint the wood frames black.  Originally I had planned to make slipcovers for the cushions out of a colorful fabric because I really needed to be able to wash them easily.  Unfortunately my first attempt at slipcovers failed, but then my mom mentioned that I would need something to help the slipcover grip the vinyl of the cushion to keep it from sliding (especially important with little munchkins constantly climbing on them.)

I started thinking about re-covering them instead and discovered oil cloth, which is wipeable!  Oil cloth comes in the most adorable designs so I was excited to buy some until I saw this:

WARNING: This product may contain chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.

Yikes.  It's probably not as bad as it sounds, but I was a little leery of putting it on the barstools that we use CONSTANTLY.  That's when I discovered laminated fabric!  I ended up choosing the black and white polka dots and bought a few yards.  Here's how I did it:

1. Unscrewed cushion from base
2. Spray painted bases, first with spray primer, then with black and last with a few coats of Polycrylic
3. Cut circles out of the laminated fabric a few inches larger than the cushions (I think I used less than a yard total)
4. Used a staple gun to attach the fabric to the underneath side of the cushion

I love my "new" stools!  They get used and abused every day and they still look great!  I was a little concerned that the laminated fabric might not hold up, which is why I bought extra, but it still looks as good as new!  Oh, and now we're down to one cat, and so far we've been lucky!

Linking up to...

Craft-o-maniac
Lines Across My Face
Cherished Bliss
Primitive and Proper

Photo Valentine



We wear a lot of tutus in our house.  And by we, I do mean all of us.  Dress-up is quite popular here.  So when I was thinking about what to do for my 2 year olds valentines it was almost a no-brainer.  I LOVE the lollipop in the fist photo Valentine, but I knew there was no way I was going to get my 2 year old to do that in a picture.  I'm lucky if she even looks at the camera!  There's a lot of bribing when I take her picture which may or may not involve a lot of candy...  Anyway, one thing I do not have to bribe her to do is wear a tutu, which is how I came up with this.  Now I can't stop thinking of adorable dress-up valentine ideas.  Have a bee costume lying around?  Bee Mine!  Kiddo was an animal for Halloween?  I'm Wild About You!  Apparently I need to stock up on costumes! 

This card was very easy to make in Photoshop Elements.  I just opened the picture and added the words.  I'll have them printed at Costco, although I could just as easily print them at home.  I took 85 pictures to get this one, by the way.  85!!  Thank goodness for digital photography!

Linking up to...
Tatertots and Jello
Six Sisters Stuff
Serenity Now
Homemaker in Heels
Positively Splendid
I Heart Naptime
Michelle Paige
The Grant Life
Craft-o-maniac
Decor Chick