Fabric Boat Wall Art Tutorial

Here is the tutorial to make the Fabric Boat Wall Art I made for "Mister's" nursery. Posted here...




Supplies
Large T-shirt - I used one with only 1 side seam that way I didn't have a seam running up the middle of my boat
2 Pillowcases
Scissors
Craft/Fabric Glue
Sewing pins (optional - I used these in place of nails to secure the boat to the wall)


T-shirt section:
Cut your t-shirt as seen here (cut along the red dotted lines). Essentially, you are cutting off the top from the underarms up. You will be working with the bottom part of the shirt.


Unfold the rectangle shaped material and make 2 arched cuts to make the bottom of the boat as seen below (along the red dotted lines) OR keep the rectangle material folded and only make one arched cut (cutting through the layered fabric) for a symmetrical shape. Essentially, you are trying to make a somewhat half circle shape.

Lay out flat your half circle shaped fabric and apply a thin line of glue all along the cut edge. Fold in (about a half inch or so) to create a finished seam.
Allow to dry.



Pillowcase section:
Fold your pillowcase as seen below (fold along red dotted line):

The top right corner of the pillowcase will stick out after being folded. Tuck under until no longer visible.
Glue fabric in place.
Repeat with other pillowcase MAKING SURE TO FOLD IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION SO YOU HAVE MIRROR IMAGE SAILS!
Allow both "sails" to dry before moving.

Hang on wall once all pieces are dry. I used sewing pins as nails. They are strong enough to hold the fabric in place, yet small enough that you don't notice them.

Your DONE!

I LOVE this project because I was able to fill a LARGE wall space with something I made from materials lying around the house. I have already been dreaming up other fabric creations I could make for "Mister's" future Big Boy room. The possibilities are endless!

Until next time...

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Happy Easter!

On the hunt...













May you always find Happiness in all that surrounds you. Happy Easter!

The Nursery Journey

So, I originally started this post back in July of 2010. I had just created my Blog and had intended for this project to be my very 1st post. However, Life with a 6 month old and a 2 year old took over and here we are almost a year later. Time sure flies when you're having fun : ) Anywho, I really, really wanted to post about this project (even though it has been almost (still a few touch ups & a few other ideas) complete for awhile now) as it is something I have poured SO much of myself into and I absolutely LOVE IT! It holds a special place in my heart as it was "made with love" for my "Mister" : )
Here's a snippet from the draft of the post I began last July:
"OK, call me crazy - or we'll just chalk it up to postpartum hormones & a little bit of sleep deprivation : ) but with a 3 month old and a 2 year old running around the house I decided that our "gender neutral" nursery from 2 years ago just didn't seem "neutral" enough to me for our little guy. So I committed to redoing the room in my spare time - you know, the spare time you have between every 2 hour feedings, 2 yr old tantrums, diaper changes for both kiddos, & every day chaos :) This reminds me of one of my favorite quotes by Anton Chekhov: "Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out." So after countless hours of surfing the net, admiring so many wonderful, inspiring Blogs, drooling over Pottery Barn Kids catalogs (I think the pages are still damp), & a whole tree worth of paint swatches from the hardware store (don't worry, I reuse & recycle) I came up with the following: (It's still a work in progress)" OK, end of flashback!

I totally credit this project for leading me to the wonderful world of Blogland. Before this project the only places I knew where to go to find creative inspiration for anything decorative were Pottery Barn, PBK, Crate and Barrel, Land of Nod, Target, etc. You get the idea. The only time I had ever even heard of blogging was when one of my friends was talking about a friend of hers who was writing a blog about her and her husband's globe trotting adventures. I didn't know the girl so I had no interest finding out what a blog was and why I would want to read it. I had absolutely no idea that people used blogs for cool stuff that I would like to read about.

I, figuratively, tripped over and whacked my head on Blogland while surfing the net one night looking for ideas for "Mister's" room. I had fallen in love with a PBK room from a 2007 catalog - I tend to be a bit of a hoarder when it comes to PB catalogs : ) I was trying to find a picture of the room from the catalog online and in searching Google I accidentally clicked on what turned out to be a post from Thrifty Decor Chick. I remember feeling like I was Dorothy from the "Wizard of Oz" stepping out of my house and into a colorful world of new and beautiful things. I found myself clicking through post after post after post, almost as if I were walking step by step on my own yellow brick road. Every click led me to another new and intriguing creation.I was HOOKED! A long story short, after journeying through Blogland through many an adventure I finally came to realize that I don't have to do exactly what the box stores do to have a great looking home. I became totally inspired to create and do my OWN thing in "Mister's" room! And I did it without breaking the bank : )

Here's what I came up with...












Not too bad, if I do say so myself, especially since this is what it started off as...




See what I mean about not being "gender neutral" enough?!?

It's truly AMAZING what paint can do to a room.

Here's what was used in the transformation...
Wall Paint,Trim for chair rail and molding - these were the 2 biggest expenses (I don't remember the exact cost but it was no more than $100)http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Navy Blue Spray paint - shelf, round table, small wicker table, picture frame mats
White Spray Paint - clearance collage picture frames from Michael's
DIY Fabric Boat Wall Mural - made from an old T-shirt and pillow cases; Here's the Tutorial
DIY Canvas Sailboat Art - Tutorial coming soon!
Scrapbook Paper - used as a mat in existing white picture frames
Striped curtains - found on Craigslist for $10
Sailboat on table - my MIL found at Hobby Lobby; it was red,white, and blue for Independence Day decor, I painted it with acrylic craft paint
And other little odds and ends that make it boy for my "Mister" : )

I still have a few things I'd like to finish/do for the room. Such as I have "Mister's" name in wood letters that I need to finish and I've been thinking of adding some scrapbook paper fish to the fabric boat wall but the jury's still out on that one!

Until next time...

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Cupcake Liner Spring Flowers

This fun Spring craft idea came from "Buggy's" Storytime program at our local library. This project is GREAT for "Littles"! Buggy was able to do it ALL by her 3-year-old self after creating the first one together. It's super easy, quick, and almost mess free.
The only thing I did differently than the library was use pompoms in place of the paper punch circles. You can see examples of both in this picture.


Supplies needed for this quick and easy project:

Cupcake liners
Pompoms or paper punch circles; you could also use sequins or beads - I opted for the pompoms as they were less likely to get swallowed by "Mister" if dropped on the floor :)
Paper for leaves - cut out leaf shapes
Popsicle sticks
Markers
Glue stick - I would use regular old Elmers glue if using sequins and beads

Steps:
1) Decorate the popsicle stick (flower stem) with markers.
2) Glue pompoms (or whatever you choose to use for the flower center) into cupcake liner (flower petals)
3) Glue liner onto popsicle stick
4) Glue on paper leaves
That's it! Pretty easy, right?!?

Here's how they look hanging on one of our "Art Show" walls.


Until next time...



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Hair Bow/Clip/Headband Organizer

So, does anyone else out there have a little girl who comes with a zillion hair bows that end up ALL over the house and in deep dark baskets and you find yourself spending all of your precious time in the morning searching the entire house or digging through deep, dark baskets hunting for the perfect bow to compliment the perfect outfit all while trying to make breakfast, get everyone dressed, brush everyone's hair & teeth, change diapers, slap on some deoderant and lipgloss and make it to Preschool, gymnastics, playdates, and library programs on time?!?

If you said "YES", then this is the project for you!
And if you said "NO", then this is still the project for you because who doesn't love making something cute & practical for their "Little(s)" : )

Here it is... My Hair Bow/Clip/Headband Organizer (below the "dream" sign)


I LOVE it!!! It has been a HUGE time saver! I find what I'm looking for with just a glance.
Now, every time a bow/clip comes off of "Buggy" it goes here. (I still need to hang the headbands.)

I hung it on the backside of "Buggy's" bedroom door (see below) - there was already a hook for the "dream" sign. I have visions of hanging it on the wall near the vanity area that I want to make for her room - someday : )

Here's what you'll need to make your own:
Supplies
Painting canvas - I used a 16 x 20 size canvas. I purchased a 5-pack at Michael's for $15 awhile back for some other projects I made and hope to post soon.
Paint (optional) - I chose to paint my canvas a yellow color to match the color of "Buggy's" room. I was going to use the leftover paint from her room but it had spoiled. I ended up using acrylic craft paint. You could easily skip this part and keep your canvas white as the ribbon will/can add a lot of color.
Paint brush (if you choose to paint your canvas)
Ribbon - I used ribbon of different widths and coordinating colors (I used what I had on hand). By the way, did you know you can iron extremely wrinkled ribbon and make it look good as new?!? I gave it a go and it worked wonderfully!
Masking/Painters Tape
Staple gun

Here's what you'll need to do:
Steps
1) Paint your canvas (if you choose to do so) and let it dry. (I let mine dry for about an hour.)
2) Lay out and play around with ribbon to create desired pattern. (I stacked some ribbon - wide on bottom, skinny on top - to give it a little more oomph as the majority of the ribbon I used was solid colored.
3) Once the desired pattern is created, use a pencil to mark ribbon placement on the outer edge of the canvas. This will create a helpful guide for the stapling part of the project.
4) Cut ribbon into strips making sure they are long enough to both cover the front AND wrap around to the back side far enough to cover the canvas frame.
5) Set canvas upright on your work surface - using one of your hands to hold the TOP and with the bottom propped on your work surface (as it would hang on the wall). Use your other hand to line up a piece of ribbon to the corresponding ribbon placement guide mark on the canvas. Align ribbon so that it begins at/covers the back side of the canvas frame. Tape to canvas frame.
6) Lay canvas back-side up on a flat work surface. Staple ribbon to canvas frame using a staple gun. Leave other end loose for now.
7) Repeat steps 5 & 6 until all of the ribbon has been attached to the TOP back-side only.
8) Pull/smooth stapled, loose ribbon over front of canvas (until taught if just for bows and clips; just slightly loose if you plan to hang headbands) and wrap around to the BOTTOM back-side of the canvas frame. Tape to secure. Staple. Repeat until all ribbon is secure.
9) To add a ribbon hanger, cut ribbon of choice to appropriate length and secure to the TOP back-side corners of the canvas with staple gun.
YOUR DONE!



No more running around the house trying to remember where you put that pink and white polka dot bow : )

Until next time...

My first Fun Food attempt

I am a huge fan of "fun food friday" at Meet the Dubiens! They all look so fun and tasty! I decided to try it out the other day.
Here is my first (unprepared) attempt at creating a playful meal for my 3 year old.

A PB&J house shaped sandwich with carrot accents, a carrot and pretzel tree, and an applesauce cup sun. It's not great but I don't think it turned out too bad for being totally unplanned and rushed. Anywho... "Buggy" LOVED it:) She actually ate ALL of her carrot - a first! So, needless to say, fun food will be part of our mealtimes more often.

Until next time...

Housewarming Gift & Card

My Brother-in-law recently purchased and moved into his first home. We gave him a Welcome mat as a housewarming gift. I wrapped it in a large box and used construction paper, scissors, glue, & a white crayon to create the "gift wrap".

Here is the card I made using Microsoft Word.

Here's how I made the card:
Opened up a new Microsoft Word document.
Started at the beginning of the document and typed the word "Congratulations" until the 1st line was full.
Copy and pasted to create 4 lines.
Applied staggering fonts and font colors to text.
Copy and pasted 4 line paragraph until entire page was full.
Saved document.
Used "Snipping Tool" found in Windows, Accessories tab...

...to select font and saved as JPEG image onto my desktop.
Opened a new document in Microsoft Word.
Inserted shapes - a square and a triangle.
Moved shapes around to create a house shape.
In Format tab, selected shape fill...

Now select "Picture"...

Found and selected my saved "Congratulations font text" JPEG image I saved onto my Desktop.
Added a Congrats & Love message below the house. DONE!

I have used this technique to make a Bridal Shower Card using a "heart" shape and alternating love & wedding text. Ex: "Mr. & Mrs. Smith, The Smith's, Jane & John" "Love, Amor, Amore" "Love Birds, Soul Mates, Sweethearts"
I have also used the text, snipping tool, JPEG technique to create a picture print card using Picasa and Picnik to create/edit.

Until next time...

"Carrot" Suckers

Here is another fun treat I made for our in-home Easter Egg Hunt.
Inspiration from Martha Stewart. I didn't read her tutorial. I just winged it.

These were super easy to make and I was able to produce 15 in hardly any time at all - once I figured out my technique : )

Here's what you need:

Orange colored crepe paper
Green construction paper
Scissors
Tape
Suckers

First step, cut/tear off a strip of crepe paper. I didn't measure but I'd say around 12 to 14 inches. Lay your sucker at the end like so:

Now, twist until you create a carrot-like shape. Tape to secure.

Next, cut a longish, thin strip from your green paper. Hold onto the middle of the strip with your thumb and forefinger. Use scissors to cut both sides down the middle stopping at your fingers.

Fold strip in half, at an angle.

Apply to top of "carrot" with tape. I gently crinkle folded my tops but you could leave them as is.

Viola! Your Done!

I'm planning on making more for Easter Basket fillers.
I also made "carrots" out of Baby Biter Biscuits (Teething biscuits) for the Baby Section of the Easter Egg Hunt. Some other "carrot" filler ideas would be to use granola bars, cereal bars, string cheese (keep refrigerated), or fruit roll-ups. Pretty much anything long and skinny should work.
Some paper, tape, and 15 minutes of my time to make something a little healthier than candy fun to eat is worth the extra time in my book!

Until next time...

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And somehow managed to delete the post title as I submitted : )









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