Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Snow White, Cinderella and Belle - Oh my!

Ellie and I were VERY excited to go see Disney Live! performing three of Ellie's favorite princess fairy tales this past weekend. We were invited by one of her really good friends so I decided to make some goody bags for them to enjoy on this special day.








I've been eyeing tulle pom-pom tutorials all over Pinterest so I decided to give them a chance. I used this tutorial and I thought they turned out okay. There are more complicated tutorials that I might try next time but for a toddler fairy wand these were fine. 



I picked three thin ribbons to tie the center of my pom-poms and left the ends long - part of the "look" I wanted for these. 


Next I painted two unsharpened pencils with leftover paint from this project




I previously mentioned that I like Valspar brand spray paint better because it goes on thicker and more evenly. However, it does take a little longer to dry. I let the pencils dry overnight and then hot glued the pom-poms to them the next day.




I bought a few other goodies for the girls and put them all together for the trip. We had tiaras, glow sticks, and candy. Needless to say, we had a blast! The girls held their wands the. entire. time. 




I'll be linking up with...



Saturday, October 22, 2011

Fall Garland

Laaaate last night I shared a sneak peek of this post on my facebook page. I found these fall-themed paper doilies at the Dollar Tree. Love them! They had a few other colors and patterns but I liked these three the best.


I had been eyeing this garland for awhile on Pinterest and still plan to create it for Valentine's day but I really like the different colored doilies I found at the Dollar Tree against the white lights:




I had the hubby pick me up a strand of 50 white lights and that was the perfect length for the three packs of doilies. I put two of the same pattern on each bulb so that the colorful side is showing even if the garland shifts. The holes in the doilies were just the right size for poking the light bulbs through them. However if your Dollar Tree doesn't have the same fall paper doilies, I'm sure there are leaf printables and templates floating around Pinterest that you could print or trace on colored paper. Then you could just use a paper hole punch for placing the lights. Just an idea ;-)



 You may notice that the window is bare in the new kitchen. Umm yeah...I have more important things to focus on like...making paper doily garland than making decisions on window treatments ;-)


And did you notice my centerpiece? I had some leftover supplies from the fall wreath I made so I basically just dumped the tulle, pumpkins and leaves into my trifle bowl. I think my trifle bowl was just glad to be used for once. Maybe I'll make this Peanut Butter Brownie Trifle from Taste of Home. It looks sooo good!





Linking up with....




It's Overflowing


Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Painted Bottles

I have seen different types of painted bottles all over Pinterest and this was my favorite. I bought blue, green and white acrylic paint for mine - half the fun was experimenting with different ratios of the color combinations. All you do is pour the paint into the bottles, swirl it around and then pour out the excess. Quick and easy = my favorite craft! The only downside is acrylic paint is not water proof so you can't use the painted bottles as vases for fresh flowers. However, I l-o-v-e dried hydrangeas (I'm sure none of you knew that. They weren't in this post, or this one and definitely not this one. They just like appearing in my blog photos. They're sneaky like that.) and they are perfect for these vases.

 Here they are in my kitchen window over the sink. I think they are enjoying their upgrade. They are pictured in this post in the old kitchen window prior to the paint makeover.


And here are some more above the...ahem...commode.


This was super easy and cheap. I think they would be a lot of fun for different events and gift giving. I hope you feel inspired to craft :)

I'm linking up with...


Monday, October 17, 2011

Rosette Lamp

 I have been seeing rosette tutorials all over Pinterest and when I realized how easy they are to make, I knew it was exactly what I needed for my lamp makeover. Why oh why do I never remember to get a "before" picture? Well, Chase didn't think my flea market find was worth keeping during the move. I had been on the fence about giving it a makeover so when he suggested it was outdated, I knew that was my cue. By the way, have all my spray paint happy friends discovered the Valspar brand? I just discovered Valspar brand spray paint at Lowe's and I love it. It goes on much more evenly and requires less coats than I typically use with Krylon for the same price. The color I used is called "Mediterranean." It is bold but I think it works well since most of the house is white and very light colors. I'm using this same color on some other projects that I will need to share with you soon. I just love the pop of color it gives.

Next I made my rosettes using this tutorial. Who knew rosettes were so easy to make?!



I hot glued mine directly to the lamp and only blistered one finger ;-)


I used an old fabric remnant from my stash but, unfortunately, ran short! I decided to just add some lace to the bare spots and I like the way it turned out.



I'm linking up with...



Friday, October 14, 2011

Soul Knitting

Many of you are probably familiar with the command in Hebrews 10:24 that we "stimulate one another to love and good deeds." I think we all recognize the importance of encouraging one another and the value in it but are we actually doing it?

A few months back I heard a devotional related to the life of David. The text came from 1 Samuel 18 and and verse one really stood out to me because it reads that "the soul of Jonathon was knit to the soul of David and Jonathon loved him as himself." If we want to encourage one another, we have to genuinely care and love each other. We have to remember to "think souls." If we start viewing those we come in contact with each day as souls and not merely people, maybe we will learn to encourage them, care for them and share the gospel with them. Perhaps we will care enough to share the most valuable substance in this world with them - the blood of Christ. And for our brothers and sisters who are in Christ, maybe we will begin fulfilling Hebrews 10:24 because we love their souls and long to grow in unity and strength of our Savior.

Today I pray that I will see souls and not just people; that I will take a good hard look at myself and honestly answer if my soul is knit to yours. I hope you will do the same. Is your soul knit to mine? Let's work on some soul knitting!



Newspaper Vase

One of my favorite things is entertaining. I love having people in my home. I especially enjoy feeding people in my home - be it a three course meal, a hotdog dinner or simply a plate of cookies. Given the opportunity, I also enjoy decorating for the occasion. These vases are perfect for entertaining because there is nearly no cost involved and they could be matched to whatever color scheme you are using. I actually shared these on Facebook almost two years ago but just found one of the vases as I was packing boxes for the move.



I originally got the idea from an issue of Parents Magazine. Basically, you cut the top off of a water bottle and use a water-glue mixture (Mod Podge would also work) to adhere torn up pieces of newspaper. This would be a fun project to do with the kids - even a toddler would enjoy tearing apart the newspaper! You could even use colored tissue paper for a different look. I put a final coat of the glue mixture over the vase and let it dry. I made several of these vases for a ladies' brunch and lined the table with them and some pink votives.

This time of year they would look lovely with orange tulle and burlap accents for a harvest themed party. Be creative and have fun!

Linking up with...


Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Another Fort Kit...

One of Ellie's friends recently had a Princess themed birthday party so I modified this super hero fort kit for a "princess fort kit." I included a Disney princess activity pack and made some pink glittery clothespins. The clothespins are my favorite part.

They turned out so cute and would be fun to use for other gifts as well. However, the glitter does seem to find its way onto everything - sorry mother of the birthday girl! ;-)



Linking up with...


Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Fall Wreath

Even though we are still getting settled from the move, I really have been wanting to get out my fall decor. Unfortunately when I opened my very small fall decor box, this is all I found:


::insert disappointed face here::

Since the tablecloth won't fit my new table (I'll share pictures once everything is in order!), I decided to use it and the brown and orange tulle to make a wreath. I got the idea from my good friend Katie who made this wreath for my baby shower.

All I had to do was grab an old wire hanger, shape it into a circle and tie with fabric and tulle strips - alternating the colors.  {I will admit, shaping a wire hanger is a little difficult. I used pliers and my husband's assistance after nearly taking my eye out three times.} I wanted a more shabby look so I ripped the tablecloth strips so that the edges would fray as opposed to cutting them. When I finished, I hot glued some pumpkins and silk leaves to it. I had enough materials that I was able to make a second wreath for a friend.




Linking up with...
  

Monday, October 10, 2011

Fall Leaves

Today I took the girls for a walk through our new neighborhood. Ellie was quick to notice the fall and halloween decor so we took our time spotting and pointing out pumpkins and such along the way. Counting pumpkins was a fun way to practice our numbers too. As we walked, I explained to Ellie that it is fall and that the leaves are changing colors. We would watch for trees with changing leaves and stop and pick up different colored fallen leaves. When we got home, we read "Corduroy's Halloween" by B.G. Henessy and created a leaf collage with the collection from our walk.


To make gluing easier, I squirted some in a Crystal Light plastic container and gave Ellie a q-tip as an applicator. Thanks Kim for the great idea to use all those little containers I've collected :-)




And we always display the masterpiece artwork on the fridge :) 


Sunday, October 2, 2011

Another boy craft

Not that long ago I attempted to make a jet pack and, once again, a boy craft caught my eye on Pinterest. I love this fabric road because it cost nearly nothing to make, takes up no space and gave a new use to an old pair of jeans that we're being thrown out anyway. Unfortunately, my two and a half year old princess daughter isn't too interested in playing with cars - at least we have nephews :)


The fabric road is just pieces of denim cut into strips. I made one intersection and several straight, curvy, long and short pieces to put together. I used acrylic yellow paint for the dotted line on the road and it didn't show up very well. If you go here, you'll see my Pinterest inspiration and a much better version of this project. I chose not to finish the edges partly because my sewing machine and I don't see eye to eye but mostly because I'm a tad bit lazy ;-)

It was fun to make and I did try to get Ellie to put the pieces together with me and then drive her lone race car around the track. Instead, she ran to get her camera so she could take a picture of it ;-)


Saturday, October 1, 2011

Fall Fun from the Past

I hope y'all are enjoying cooler temperatures wherever you may be. As a tribute to the cooler fall weather we are finally having, here is a picture that just makes me smile and I had to share it with you all.


And since my mom's birthday is just around the corner, here is an early birthday message. (Please feel free to disregard my obnoxious laugh in the background. I promise you that I laugh just like that every single time I replay this video. True story.)