Mail holder

Mail holder made from an oreo box and scrapbook paper. Magnets on the back.

BEFORE

AFTER!

Gift Bow

I found instructions on how to make a gift bow here. Mine didn't turn out quite as good as the one in the pictures but not too bad!! Also, save the packing paper that comes with your Amazon orders. It makes great wrapping paper!

Easy Craft Clay

How did people EVER survive without the internet??? I wouldn't know how to do anything without it. Like making clay ornaments. How do you learn that? Word of mouth? Anyway, we had a lot of fun doing this one. Although it was a little stressful because Brandon thought it was play dough and just wanted to smash everything. And then when they dried he thought they were cookies. Oh, Brandon.

Here's what you'll need...
• 1 box baking soda (about 2 cups)
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 1 1/2 cups water
• Sauce pan
• Bowl
• Spoon

Here's how you make it...  
1. Mix all the ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring consistently, until it is too thick to stir with a spoon (about the consistency of mashed potatoes)
2. Cool for 15 minutes, or until the dough is cool enough to touch. Knead it for about 5 minutes, or until smooth. Once you have molded it, it will take 1-2 days for the clay to dry. The length of time depends on how thick your craft is: If it is a flat ornament, it may only take 1 day, if it is thick it will take much longer. This clay can be painted with either Tempera or acrylic craft paints.


*Just so you know, the dough was a little sticky after we rolled it out and cut out the shapes with cookie cutters. So we floured the counter top and that seemed to help. And make sure to cut out a hole before they dry so you can hang them.

 I LOVE that we could make Katy's foot print ornament for her first Christmas. We tried to do a hand print of Brandon's but the ornament just fell apart when it dried :( But he liked painting his hand blue for this other one (which is made out of an old CD and covered with scrapbook paper).  

 

 

Christmas Ornaments

Last year we bought some ornaments at Walmart but never ended up putting them on our tree. I pulled them out again this year and just couldn't put them up on our tree. They're so boring! I have an old hymn book that I just couldn't throw away so I tore out all the Christmas songs, cut them into strips, and you guessed it, mod podged it to the ornaments. Then I added some glitter and ribbon and....

They turned out so beautiful. I love them!

Spice rack makeover

I'm so proud of this project because I didn't need Pinterest to be creative for me. I came up with this all on my own! My spices were in desperate need of a makeover. So I used my Cricut to cut out 1 1/2" circles. I printed out the words on the computer and glued them to the circles. Then I Mod Podged the circles to the container and voila! They're so cute now and SO much easier to read.

before

after

Fabric Magnets

This was one of those projects (that I got from Make it and Love it of course) that makes you think, "Why didn't I think of that??" So easy and so obvious. Our fridge is so cute now :)

Christmas Scripture Embroidery

Thanks again, Pinterest! I found this, printed it and traced it onto some muslin. I love embroidering words because it doesn't take long at all! I did this in one day. I love it!

Merry Christmas Board

A few years ago my sister Angie and BIL Joe gave me this Halloween "Spooky" board since one of my nick names is Spooky. But then I got another Halloween decoration as a gift that said Spooky too. So, I took the one that J+A gave me and gave it a face lift for Christmas. (Don't be mad!!)

BEFORE

I used tissue paper and Mod Podge to cover it and then used my Cricut for the letters and images. I kinda love it :)

AFTER!

Super Hero Cape

On Halloween Day I pulled out Brandon's super man costume that was way too big last year, thinking it would fit him perfectly this year. But it was too small! I had to think of a costume I could make him that day! I remember seeing on Pinterest how to make a super hero cape out of an old t-shirt so that's what I did! Sean used to work for Pepsi and he got a couple of T-shirts from them. They were plain on the back and had the Pepsi logo on the front. I cut out the Pepsi logo and hot glued it to the plan side of the shirt. Voila! Pepsi Boy! No sewing, no money :)

Conference Quilts

Every General Conference I get together with my SIL and MIL and make baby quilts. We made this one last conference. We were going to make a boy one this time but there was so much cute girl fabric too that we couldn't pick! So we made three :)

Baby Quilt #2

I know, project overload. This quilt gets another BIG thank you from my mom and mother-in-law. Thanks, LaNiece for showing me how to set up and tie a quilt and how to finish the edges. I'm so glad I know how to do that know. It's so much easier than I thought. I love that this quilt is nice and pink and feminine :)

Brandon wanted to be in the picture, too :)

Corner detail -- I'm so proud :)

Car seat cover

I figured that since this baby will be traveling in the car seat during the winter, it would be beneficial to make a car seat cover. I tried to find something that was gender neutral but then I fell in love with this blue floral patten. Oh well! I got instructions for this here. Love that website. It was relatively simple to put together. I bought 1-1/4 yard just like the tutorial said but I think just 1 yard would be enough. Maybe get 1-1/8 yard to be safe. The only thing I did differently was that I attached velcro to the ribbon instead of tying it into a bow.

Baby Quilt

First off I want to thank my mom for contributing to this baby quilt -- giving me a project to keep my mind off how uncomfortable I am. Thanks, Mom!! And I also want to thank my MIL for letting me borrow her quilting frame. I couldn't have done this without it!

I debated on whether or not I should have bought this nursery panel because it's blue, green and yellow...boyish colors. But then I figured it's Winnie the Pooh which is gender neutral. So I bought it. And I love the old novelty Winnie the Pooh. I quilted the inside (which was so fun) and used bias tape to bind the edges. I always think single fold is going to be the right size and it never is. Always, always, always get double fold! It turned out so great though! Although, It's not as puffy as I wanted it to be. I think I bought the wrong kind of batting. Oh, well. Can't wait to put it in the baby's bed!

 

Detail

Detail

Baby girl blessing dress, cont.

Well, I compared the dress I made to another dress we have for the baby that is size 3-6 months. My dress looks like it could be worn by a 1-year old! Devastating. The thought of taking that dress apart and re-doing it a smaller size was just too much to consider! My mom had the genius idea to buy some ribbon and attach it to the dress so that when it's tied I can make whatever size I want to fit the baby. So, I did! Thanks, Mom! And I think it adds a nice touch to the dress, too. Now it's even more beautiful!

Baby girl blessing dress

When I made Brandon's blessing outfit it was just about the hardest thing I've ever done (besides taking care of a newborn). It literally took my blood, sweat, and tears. But I loved all the compliments I got on the day he wore it. And he looked so cute in it. So, I decided it was worth it to make a dress for this new baby girl. I used this pattern from Simplicity.

I was planning on doing the one that's on the front with the collar but since I've never made a dress before I decided to go with the simplest one on the bottom left. I'm so glad I did. It was definitely easier than making Brandon's outfit but still took a lot of work and patience. I wished my mom had been here to tell me what to do! So, here is the finished product. It didn't turn out quite the way I wash hoping but is still a very beautiful dress. I heart that fabric (30% off at Joann's!)

Front

front detail (yes, that's piping! I piped!)

back detail (the buttons are uneven because I ripped straight through the last button hole and had to stitch the fabric back together. Sniffle)

Back

Felt Baby Hair Accessories

I've been having a hard time finding baby hair accessories that I like (or finding them, period. I have no idea where to even look!) so I decided to make my own. You can get instructions for these here and here. I also found some soft elastic at Joann's that I will probably attach some of these to. Yay!!

Oh, and for that pointed flower, the website doesn't give a pic. So, here's one that makes it easier to visualize.

ABC book

I've been needing a good project and with suggestions from Sean and my own ideas, this is what I came up with. This was a really fun project for me. I got to use my Cricut a lot! It was a lot of work, too. But I had fun. I would take pics of every page but there are just too many so here are a few of my (and Brandon's favorites). It kept Brandon occupied for a good little while in church today.

Brandon loves the balloon. He tried to take it off the page so he can hold it :)

I love that monkey the most!

Bobby pin holder

I am still trying to be resourceful and finding new uses for things. I use that razor with the soap on the blade and it comes in a little plastic container. I always wonder to myself if that container could be used for something else.

If you're like me, you have a plethora of bobby pins with no real place to store them. I usually keep them on the piece of cardboard they come on but after a while pieces of it tear off, gets flimsy and there's hardly any space left.

Well, it turns out the plastic containers that my razor blades come in are just the right size for bobby pins! I'm not sure if this really counts as a craft but I was just so excited to find a solution to all the bobby pins I have. Hooray!
You could store all kinds of little things in these containers. Buttons, toothpicks, M&Ms, etc.

Sidewalk Chalk Paint

Another big thank you to Pinterest.com where I found this! Brandon had a much easier time painting on the cement than using chalk.

Here's the recipe:
1/4 cup cold water and
1/4 cornstarch
you can add some food coloring if you want. Beware, though, because I read that it can stain the cement a little. So don't use very much.

Enjoy!!

Crafty Flag

A few weeks ago I bought a baby book for baby girl and saved the box it came in. I knew it would be useful for something. I trimmed down the sides and turned it into a crafty patriotic flag using mod podge (of course) and a foam star sticker. Pretty fun :)

4th of July decorated jars

I've had this project on my mind for a few weeks now. I originally wanted to spray paint them but I figured tissue paper would give the same effect and it's a lot cheaper too. So, I did just that. I mod podged tissue paper to the jars (old spaghetti sauce jars) and then added some ribbon to the rim of the jar. I bought a 4th of July decoration forever ago that was like half off but wasn't really sure what to do with it. *Lightbulb* So I took it apart and attached it to the my jars. I also put some battery operated tea lights inside. Love them!

Reusable Swiffer Pad

I'm so glad I found this tutorial! Thank you Pinterest.com! I haven't used my swiffer for months because I didn't want to keep buying and throwing away those swiffer pads. It felt like a waste of money to me. This was so easy to do. I made 4 pads today and even tried one out. It works good! Now all I have to do is find out a way to reuse those Swiffer cleaning solution bottles so I don't have to keep buying those too.

For instructions on making this, go here.
The only thing I did differently was that I didn't do a top stitch around the entire pad in step 9. The pad wouldn't fit on my Swiffer with that extra top stitch on it. I just sewed that hole closed and that was it.

For the fabric I used 2 old hand towels and the black is from a pair of old maternity pants from Brandon's pregnancy that got a bunch of holes in them. So glad I didn't throw them away!

Clorox Wipes container

I am trying to be more resourceful by throwing less things away and finding new uses for them. Today I was about to throw away an empty container of Clorox Wipes but realized what a great sized container it was and there's got to be a way to reuse this. So...

before

I got out my trusty Mod Podge and added a ribbon to top and transformed it.

after!

I have yet to find a use for it though... Right now it holds my scissors.