Hair Ties

You might be asking yourself..what's this?

Glad you asked...it's a hair tie.  

These are quite the hot item these days and people pay $5 for ONE!

Yes, it's true.

I found a much cheaper option.  

All I did was order 20 yards of elastic from here.  

It cost me $13 total for the elastic.

Let me remind you, people pay $5 for one hair tie!

I got about 90 hair ties from all this elastic. 

I measured the length I wanted each tie to be, then used that to cut them all.

I tied most of them while watching/listening to the presidential debate...

Can't beat those time management skills

To add a finishing touch, I burned the ends just a teeny bit, so they don't fray.
It's kind of hard to see, but I tried to take a close-up.

And then I stored them all in this cute little mason jar.

These are fun to use, and are also great for gifts
if you package them up cute.

Window Pane Creations

I was actually given these old frames (FREE) and couldn't figure out what to do with them.  

So where did I look for inspiration...well where else...pinterest.

I started my project by busting the glass out of the frames.  

The glass was already in pretty bad shape (pieces missing), 

which is why I decided to go ahead and bust it out.

Note: SAFETY FIRST...yes those are safety glasses my husband made me wear.

Once the glass was out and the window pane was hanging on the wall, 

it looked a little something like this...

Then all I did was tie some twine around each panel section

used some clothes pins (I already had) and...

there ya go, an expense free picture display.

Here is another window pane I was given.

The glass was actually in great condition for this one.  

Just needed a little reinforcement around the edges, so...

I got this guy on that part of the job.  

He caulked it around the glass on both sides of the pane for me.

The glass pane, I decided to put in my kitchen (where I spend most of my day) 

and turn into a 

Bible verse memory board. 
I just used a dry erase marker so the verses are easy to change out.

It's in a good location for me to see it every day and 

work on memorizing those verses.

The verses on the window at the moment are:

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24

Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live, and let me not be put to shame in my hope! Hold me up, that I may be safe and have regard for your statutes continually! 
Psalm 119:116-117

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.  And I will remove the heart of stone from our flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.  
Ezekiel 36:26-27

Wedding Gift anyone?

We are pretty much out of the wedding season in our life, for the most part.  But occasionally we get an invite.  If you know me well, you know weddings are my FAV! I love everything about them, the planning, shopping for the dress...especially the dress, the details, the production, the character of each one, pretty much the... everything.

Anyway...we just recently got invited to a wedding shower and here is what I copied from pinterest as part of their gift.

This is my version and steps on how to make it...

Start with a package of the clear glass ornaments.  It's a great time to get them NOW..because trust me, you won't be able to find them after Christmas...I tried.  I got the medium size ornaments but I really think the smaller size would have worked fine too.

Note:  I got these at Hobby Lobby. They actually weren't on sale when I got them, but if you have an iphone, you can pull up the 40% off coupon on their website, flash it at them at the register and they will give you the discount.

Next cut the wedding invitation into strips.  I didn't measure or anything, I just tried my hardest to keep a steady hand and cut the strips to where the important words stayed mostly intact (i.e. wedding date, their names, location...).

Then wrap the strips around a pen.  I was skeptical about this step, but it worked like a charm.

Stick the pieces into the ornament, 

put the top back on, 

tie some cute ribbon as the hanger, AND...

Final gift all put together...

This project seriously took me all of 20 minutes, maybe a little less and the longest part was curling the strips and sticking down in the ornament.  

Next time..I might would try getting some more paper or tinsel a similar shade to the wedding invitation and fill the ornament a little more.  I was still pleased with the final result.  I just think since I used the medium ornaments, there was a little more extra space than needed.

Overall it's a great way to put a personal touch on a wedding gift and something that couple will treasure forever.

Packaging

I'm always looking for things to share with my neighbors, because they are so awesome and b/c I just like sharing.  But...packaging is sometimes my challenge...so thought I would share some of my inspirational finds for packaging from pinterest.

Since I didn't have any cute fabric, I just cut a paper bag in strips and wrapped it around the loaf pans, then tied some rope around them...

A personal message is always nice...and then Briggs and I delivered them.

It was inexpensive and a quick way to spread a little love to our neighbors.

Garbage Disposal Cleaner

Another pinterest project...it was quick, easy, and I'm liking it so far...

If any of you have garbage disposals...you know what kind of a smell can come up from one of those things...I know..GROSS!  I found an inexpensive homemade cleaner and gave it a try.

All you need is a bag of lemons (or you could just buy a couple individual ones b/c doesn't take many), bottle of vinegar, and we already had ice cube trays.

I used one lemon per tray, covered the sliced lemons with vinegar, popped them in the freezer and...

You come out with something looking like this.  

Note:  I'll definitely do this again, but next time I think I'm going to put  a little less vinegar in each tray slot...just so there is more lemon verses vinegar smell when I use them.

Picture Art

I found a version of this idea here, and decided it would be a cute thing to do with Briggs, so here it goes...

It's pretty self explanatory.  We got some paint, put it on our hands...

handprint on paper...

We let ours dry completely and then for the real challenge...

It was pretty tricky getting Briggs to hold his hand open and then to the paper...but we did it (got a little messy, but I think it gives the picture character).  Looks like somebody was having fun :)

Final product...

Another angle....

This was fast, simple, cheap...and I think turned out pretty cute.  I didn't write Mommy/Daddy on the pictures.  I might do that later, but I just wanted to keep it simple for now.

Homemade Nap Mat

Now that everyone is back in school...I wonder how many of you had a nap mat on your child's school supply list?

We are now to that age where we have graduated from the baby bed (only at MDO), to a nap mat....tear :(

Anyway, in preparation for this year at Mother's Day Out, I was looking around the internet for nap mats and was finding prices from $60-100...YIKES!  My grandma knows I've been interested in learning to sew, so she insisted on buying me a sewing machine...even though I had no clue how to even thread the thing.

I am so grateful to Gramme for such a thoughtful and generous gift b/c she is right, I do think I will use it a lot.  Unfortunately, the timing of this gift was right when we found out #2 was on the way.  Needless to say, I was doing good just to get the bare necessities done around here and get our family fed.  Now that I'm in the second trimester...FINALLY...deep sigh...I decided to tackle the sewing machine orientation and nap mat project at the same time.

I know I probably should have started with something smaller but...oh well..I'm a girl who is always up for a challenge.  I was also thinking...how hard can it be, it's just a bunch of strait lines.  And those were her last famous words...

Let's get started...

You will need a few supplies which include: tape measure, ruler, thread (that matches your fabric), strait pins, fabric pen/pencil, 20" of 5/8 velcro, and scissors.

For fabric...because I did a few different colors, I ended up getting:

• 2 yards of tan cotton
• 2 yards of the airplane print (1 for the the mat cover and 1 for the blanket) 
• 1 yard of the brown cotton
•  1 yard of the brown dot minky

Note: you could probably get away with a little less of the cotton fabric, but I wanted to make sure I had enough. And just for the record, I didn't have a ton of scraps leftover.

Then you need whatever you are going to use for your mat.  I went with the Quilter's batting, but some people just buy the kinder-mats.  I wanted my mat to roll and not fold, which is why I went with the batting.  I bought pillow stuffing, but didn't end up making a pillow (because Briggs doesn't use one yet).  So that part is up to you.

 First of all, let's just start off by saying..there is NO WAY this project would have happened without this lovely lady (pictured below).  That's Ms. Timmie from across the street.  She came over to help get me started (she is a very seasoned seamstress).

We started off by deciding what size we wanted the mat.  We just unrolled the batting from the package and left it folding as it came.  We cut it at 45" long (it measured 19.5" wide).

In order to get the front pieces (pictured below), we cut one longer piece 34" by 23" and a shorter piece 15" x 23".  Put them face down, with right sides together, pin and sew together with a 1/2" seam allowance.

To make the two back pieces, measure and cut two pieces 27.5" by 23".  You need to allow for the overlap with the velcro, the thickness of the batting and 1/2" seam.

 Tip: It's best to lay out the fabric with the velcro pinned BEFORE sewing...b/c you will be sewing the velcro, one to the front of the fabric and one to the back of the fabric...so they will close the right way...don't ask how I learned that...just trust me :)

Before pinning the velcro on the fabric, iron down a 1" piece, where you will pin the velcro.

Pin the velro to the ironed edge.  

 And get to sewing...I was trying to act like I knew what I was doing, but I was freaking out on the inside..just a little bit :)

Ms. Timmie was a great teacher and very patient with my 101 questions.  What I appreciated the most is, she just kind of threw me in there.  She didn't do any of the sewing...she helped me prep the fabric, got me on my way and she went home to drink herself a glass of tea :)

I'm an advocate of getting in there and getting your hands dirty...makes you learn better..so that's just what I did.

During my process of learning to sew, my thread got tangled and I had to do surgery on my new  sewing machine.  At one point, Justin walked through the dining room and said..."I sure hope you know what you're doing b/c I'm not watching you so don't know if I can figure out how to put that thing back together"....

It was kind of funny coming from him...because Justin can fix ANYTHING..no joke, so I don't worry too much if I break something something breaks.

To put all of your minds at ease...I did proceed with great caution during this operation and followed the instruction manual to a tee in order to ensure I would be able to put things back together properly.

 

When I FINALLY got the machine back up and running... it was time to work on the straps.

 Cut four pieces of fabric (I used the fabric I had the most leftover).  

Dimensions for the pieces are:  2 pieces 26" by 5" and 2 pieces 16.5" by 5"

Fold in half (right sides together).  I ironed prior to sewing b/c it helped me to have a good edge to sew and made the fabric easier to handle.  Sew down the side and across one end and turn right side out.

Take both big pieces you made (front and back of the cover) and lay right sides together.  Place one short and one long strap together at whichever end you choose to have your straps.  You can also choose how close together or far apart you want your straps, but measure from each end to make them even.

  Sew around the entire perimeter of the fabric with 1/2" seam allowance.  

Last but not least, it's time for the blanket.  

Cut a piece of dot minky 30" by 36" and a coordinating fabric the same size. Turn the fabric right sides facing each other.

Pin around the entire edge.  

Here is my rookie-move...because I'm not that great at sewing a strait line...I used a fabric pencil and made my own little line to follow with the machine.  For all you new sewers out there...this helps..I promise!

Final product (unrolled) with the blanket:

Here is my little model..you can fill in the blank with what he is thinking :)

And we don't quite have the hang of what we are suppose to be doing with this thing...

For my first project...I think it turned out pretty good.  

BUT...for my next project I'm going to stick to throw pillows :)

Burlap Wreath

I'm getting crafty again...decided to try this wreath at home...here is how it went..

I started out with:

• a straw wreath (didn't take the wrapper off it)
• burlap
• hot glue gun (make sure to have extra glue...you're gonna need it)
  
• scissors
• strait pins
  

wrap strips of burlap around the wreath and glue into place...



Cut strips of burlap about 4-6 inches in width and start to wrap around the wreath. Glue the beginning of the strip to the wreath and start twisting as you wrap it around the wreath...that's what gives it the full look. Glue throughout this process...in different places to help secure the burlap...

Keep going until you wrap the whole wreath to your liking. I wrapped it twice...the second time I tried to cover the holes I found and it just made it look more full.



To make the rosettes...cut a long strip and fold in half and then in half again...


Start rolling at one end...once you get the first couple of rolls, start twisting and rolling..it's not easy but when you finally get it rolled, hot glue it to a piece of fabric or board or whatever you want (I used fabric and just cut the excess after the glue was cooled off)


The finished rosette should look something like this...and then I pinned them to the wreath...


Finished product...


I have a friend who made one similar to this and she had the nifty idea to pin the rosettes to the wreath and she changes that part out depending on the season. She did red roses for Valentine's day, a metal cross for Easter...you get the idea...

Anyway, an inexpensive, very cute wreath that can be used for all seasons and pretty easy to make.