DIY: Reversible Painted Throw Pillow

I have a slight obsession with throw pillows. I love them. I was thinking of a new pillow design for this "new to us" vintage chair and I couldn't decide between two ideas, so that gave me an idea to use one pattern for each side. 

Materials:

plain fabric (cut into two panels for the front and back)

black fabric paint

foam paint brush

sewing machine

matching thread

For the first side, I traced squares in different sizes to make a geometric pattern. I painted them in with the black fabric paint and set aside.

For the second side, I took the end of the foam brush and made little crosses with it. You can use a paint brush for a more uniform look...but I liked the random variety better.

 Once both panels are completely dry (read the paint bottle for instructions), place both panels together with right sides facing and pin. Sew along the outer edge with a straight stitch along three sides.

Flip the case right side out, put your pillow inside, and hand stitch the bottom closed.

Done! A perfect pillow for my indecisive mind;)

DIY: Painted Herringbone Memo Board

I found this cork board on a walk with my mom one day. It was out in front of a neighbor's house in their pile of things to be picked up by the city for removal. I am always amazed at the perfectly useful items that people put out for "trash". 

So, obviously I picked it up and carried it another block back to my car.

I had the idea of a painted memo board in my head for some time. I taped off the frame of this one and spray painted it black. Then, once I decided on a herringbone pattern, I drew it out with a black marker.

I started with vertical lines:

    Next, I used a ruler to make alternating diagonal lines. A herringbone pattern is similar to a chevron pattern. The only difference is alternating the colors between the lines. I colored in the lines that needed to be painted so that I wouldn't loose track while painting.

I used regular acrylic paint to paint in all the lines. I redecorated my daughter's art nook and it makes for a fun and new way to hang her artwork:

She's in a rainbow and heart phase...if you can't tell;)

 I also wanted to incorporate my latest vintage find. This basket makes for the perfect place to keep her coloring books and crayons both organized, and away from her little brother;)

I originally created this board to hang horizontal, but found that it fit the space better if hung vertically. Oh well, it was a fun and free project and I love the way it turned out...no matter which direction:)

DIY: Sharpie Soap Dispenser

I thought I would pop in today and share a quick DIY! Drawing on ceramic items with Sharpie markers is all the rage right now, so I decided to give it a try.

I found this soap dispenser at the dollar store (the bottom part was already painted black) and I drew a diamond pattern on with the marker. Then, I baked it on a cookie sheet (with the pump top removed) at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

 

I let it cool overnight and filled it with dish soap!

 

NOTE: The design stayed permanent for a few months, but I have noticed that it is starting to wear off now since it gets wet every day. I think this method works best on items that will be left alone.

 

Have a wonderful Friday!

DIY: Numbered Coasters

I had been wanting to make a set of numbered coasters for a while but wanted them to look more vintage than shabby chic.

 

I found these blank wood coasters at Joann for $1 and I used a coupon that was about to expire on them...making them just $.60. Sweet!

 

I found a font I wanted to copy (this one is EcuyerDAX from dafont.com) and I printed the numbers out to create stencils. I traced each number with a sharpie marker and then free handed the boarders and lines.

 



I gave them two coats with a clear satin sealer that resists water and then one more coat of matte Mod Podge so I think they are well protected from our cold drinks;)

 



Now we have a new place for our newly thrifted owl glasses.

 



 

Hope you are having a lovely Tuesday!

DIY: Felt and Fleece Stockings

I made these Christmas stockings last year. Jack was only a few weeks old and I was feeling crafty. I made the whole set in less than an hour.

 

Materials:

 

1 yd of fleece

 

1/4 yard of felt

 

matching thread

 

hot glue gun

 

STEP 1: Cut stocking shapes out of fleece and sew around all sides (with wrong sides facing), leaving the top open. I liked the look of the raw edges.

 

STEP 2: Cut strips 1" by 4" strips of fleece. Fold in half and sew to the left inside corner of the stocking.

 

STEP 3: Cut embellishments out of felt and hot glue to the front. I cut strips for my husband's stocking, large flowers for mine, small flowers for my daughter's, and a chevron pattern for my son's.

 

Since I have no shelves to place the stockings on, I used some old shower curtain hooks to hang them on our curtain rod in the living room.

 

DIY: Advent Calendar

I've never been consistent with the yearly Christmas advent calendar. The wooden ones in the store are cute...but I don't want to pack one...or try to find little things to fit in the spaces (it just leads to more little things to find between the couch cushions or to step on in the middle of the night, right?).

 

This year I decided I would do an activity themed calendar, filled with things we can do as a family. 

 

 

Oh, and did you notice I only have 20 cards in my calendar? Well, I decided to do a few less, that way if we miss a day...it's all good. (Plus, I only had 20 clothespins...so win, win.)

 

I made these cards in Photoshop, folded them in half, and wrote down 20 different things we can do as a family. I used an old frame and strung them on yarn taped to the back. Most of our activities cost little to no money.

 

Some examples are:

 

-have a slumber party in the living room

-write letters to family members telling them what we love most about them

-watch a Christmas movie

-pick a child off the Angel Tree at church and shop for them

-have dinner out on the patio

-get hot chocolate at a cafe'

 

I'm really looking forward to our month of family activities and teaching our children that it's not about opening a present every day...but about being together as a family and giving to others.

 

Happy Tuesday!

 





DIY: Painted Oven Mitts

I needed some new oven mitts and while I liked the price of the dollar store ones...I didn't care for how plain they were. I found this old stamp in with my paints and decided to stamp my new mitts with some fabric paint.

 

MATERIALS:

fabric paint

paint brush

foam stamp

oven mitt(s)

 

STEP 1: Brush fabric paint onto stamp and press on oven mitt. Let sit for 24 hours (or however long the fabric paint bottle says) and then use!

 



 

These would make a great Christmas gift or hostess gift for the holiday season.

 

Happy Wednesday!

DIY: Painted Pumpkins

 

Can I make a confession?

 

I am not a seasonal decorator.

 

I know...decorating and crafting for the seasons is like blogger content gold, right? But, it's just not me. It has something to do with living in smaller quarters and not wanting to store it and not wanting to clean it and not wanting to clutter the home.

 

I know, sometimes it's difficult to live in my head.

 

But I am trying my best this year to add a few more seasonal items to our home without feeling like I live in Hobby Lobby. Plus, I already have an obsessive amount a few owl decor pieces in my house...so that passes for fall decorations, right?

 

I picked up three pumpkins from the dollar store and repainted them so they fit into our vintage/modern decor.

 

STEP 1: I painted all the pumpkins with ivory paint.

 

STEP 2: (for the chevron pumpkin) I drew a chevron design on the painted pumpkin with a pencil and then painted in the lines with a deep orange acrylic paint.

 

STEP 3: (for the polka dot pumpkin) I dipped the end of a pencil eraser in black acrylic paint and stamped it on the pumpkin creating a polka dot pattern.

 

STEP 4: (the yellow pumpkin) I painted the whole pumpkin with two coats of mustard yellow acrylic paint.

 

STEP 5: I painted all the "stems" brown and then sealed each pumpkin with two coats of clear glossy spray paint.

 

This was a a fun project and it helped ease me into seasonal decorating...which I hope to get better at, and enjoy too!

I'm linked to:
Tatertots and Jello

DIY: Potholder Hook

 

This craft was actually a failure as far as what I intended it to be (a mug rack), but it ended up serving a better purpose (a potholder rack).

 

You see, I kind of have an obsession with vintage mugs. I wanted to make a mug rack, but after I assembled this, I realized that most of the handles on my mugs wouldn't fit over the hooks.

 

Bummer.

 

But, then I spotted my potholders and realized it would be perfect for those. Plus, the rack can hold one of my smaller mugs (and my favorite!) so I have a quick cup to grab for cooking on the stove.

 

STEP 1: I took an old piece of wood from the garage and sanded down the edges.

 

STEP 2: I nailed in some picture hooks onto the back of the board and then used some silver hooks onto the front that I had leftover from my necklace holder.

I love the simplicity of it and that it was made with stuff I already had.

 



Have a lovely weekend!

DIY: Beads and Bow Onesie

Along with the ruffle onesie, I made this painted beads and bow onesie for my friend's baby girl.

 

Materials:

 

black fabric paint

black fabric marker

black ribbon

matching thread

pencil with eraser on the end

 

STEP 1: I made all the dots with the fabric paint by dipping the eraser end of a pencil into the paint and stamping it on the shirt. I made a few rows of "pearls" and let them dry overnight.

 

STEP 2: I took a fabric pen to draw in "strings" between the pearls.

 

STEP 3: I tied a bow with some ribbon and then held the raw edges over a burning candle to seal them from fraying. I sewed the ribbon onto the onesie.

 

I think you could do this with any size shirt! It does look especially cute on a onesie though:)



DIY: Stenciled Mickey Shirt Using Bleach

I made my husband a Jack Skellington shirt last time we went to Disneyland so this year I decided to go classic and make him a Mickey shirt.

 

I have been seeing stenciled shirts using bleach all over blog land and decided to give it a try myself.

Materials:

 

t-shirt

 

spray bottle

 

bleach

 

freezer paper

 

iron

 

cardboard

 

STEP 1: Cut out a stencil of what you want your design to be out of freezer paper. Iron the shiny side down onto your surface.



STEP 2: Place cardboard in the middle of your shirt so the bleach doesn't soak into the back.

Mix a solution of 60% bleach and 40% water in a spray bottle (use more bleach depending on the color of your shirt. This shirt was dark...so I knew not much bleach would be needed.)

 

STEP 3: Spray bleach solution evenly over stencil and wherever else on the shirt you want. I sprayed evenly over the front to make it look more even. Depending on the color of you fabric...you will see the change in a few minutes.

 

STEP 4: Peel off the freezer paper after a few minutes so that it doesn't get soggy.

STEP 5: Once you are done applying bleach, soak the shirt in water for about 30 minutes to an hour. Then wring out thoroughly and wash in the washing machine to ensure all the bleach is out. I washed it with some of my cleaning towels just so I didn't waste a whole load on one item;)

 

I think it was quite an upgrade for the $.50 shirt I found at Joann!

DIY: Love Your State Wall Art

When thinking up new wall art ideas for our master bedroom, I wanted something simple and personal. I've been seeing a lot of state themed art online and we love where we live...so it only seemed natural to incorporate it into our room somehow.

Wanna make your own? It's super simple! Here's how I made mine:

1. Traced the outline of our state off the computer.

2. Traced my template onto some cardstock and traced the edges with a black marker.

3. Cut out a tiny heart where our city is and glued it on. Then I glued it to another piece of cardstock and framed it.

Done!

We love our state! Do you?

DIY: Paper Heart Wall Art

This wall art idea came to me a few days ago and I was so excited to make it for my little girl. She LOVES hearts, and I picked out a bunch of her favorite colors (because, if you are the parent of a toddler, you know how their favorite color changes every day).

Best part of all, this cost $2 to make. We already had some of this wood in the garage, leftover from making slats for our bed, and I also had the lace to cover the front. I bought some scrapbook paper while on sale at Michael's.

STEP 1: I made a heart template out of posterboard and then traced and cut out all my hearts (88 total).

STEP 2: I divided the hearts into 8 secitons of 11 and staggered the colors so they would look random.

STEP 3: I sewed each strand together, leaving a 1" gap between each heart and long threads at the top of each row to wrap around the wood.

STEP 4: I wrapped each line around the wood and secured the string on the top and back with tape.

STEP 5: I cut some lace and hot glued it over the front of the wood, making sure to seal each string.

I'm really happy with how it turned out and my daughter loves it...so that makes me even happier.

It's colorful and sweet, just like her.

I'm linked to:

The Southern Institute

Tatertots and Jello

DIY: Custom iPhone Case

Naturally, while my husband was playing with his new iPhone and downloading lots of apps...I was trying to find a cute case for mine.

Fail.

Don't get me wrong, there are many cute cases out there...just nothing in my price range. $40 for a case, Apple Store? No thanks...there is much more fun to be had at Goodwill with that money!

Plus, there is the whole issue where I change my mind about every other day.

But that's another issue for another day.

I ordered myself a clear iPhone case off eBay for $6 (including shipping and it also came with screen protectors) and decided to make my own insert for the clear case.

STEP 1: Start with a clear case for your phone and paper of your choice (I chose some vintage wrapping paper). Also, grab a pen and some scissors.

STEP 2: Trace the back of the case onto your paper and cut out...you now have an insert for your phone case.

STEP 3: Snap the phone case onto the phone and enjoy your new case cover for just pennies!

I love being able to customize this whenever I want. Holidays, different seasons, and you know I'm going to be rockin' a Little Mermaid one on our next trip to Disneyland!

I'm linked to:

Tatertots and Jello

DIY Twisted Turban Headband (from an old t-shirt)

I had an old shirt that I was about to donate, but I loved the print so much I wanted to find something to do with it. I love the twisted headbands I have been seeing everywhere and decided to make one of my own.

Materials:

knit fabric (or old t-shirt)

matching thread

STEP 1: Cut two strips out of the knit fabric. that are double the final width you want your headband straps to be. My strips were approximately 4 in x 20 in.

STEP 2: Fold each strip in half (with right sides facing) and sew down the long side of raw edges. Flip right side out. Now you will have two "tubes".

STEP 3: Lay out tubes (seam sides up) in the shape of an "X". 

STEP 4: Fold strips over so that they are linked together, matching up the raw edges.

STEP 5: Take the unfinished headband and wrap around your head to see how tight to make it. Line up all raw edges and sew together with a straight stitch. Cut off any excess.

STEP 6: Flip seam to the inside of headband and wear!

Happy Thursday!

I'm linked to:

Tatertots and Jello

The Southern Institute