Tangled Inspired dress

Our Disney World vacation is fast approaching. I have been trying to finish all of my projects and shopping for it...you would think that having planned this since March I would be a little more prepared. Not the case, my friends.

I was very proud of myself for finishing my daughter's 'princess' dress for our trip last week. I wanted her to have something special and princess themed for when we have breakfast with the princesses.  I didn't really want her to wear a dress up dress or anything that looked like one of the princess dresses. I figured there would be plenty of those there and I wanted her to stand out :)

I got the idea from etsy. I go there for inspiration and figure out how to make it myself for much cheapper. I found a sundress with appliques on it and made my own version. I found pictures on Google of the sun and Pascal and free handed the tower myself.
I made the dress in a pillowcase fashion for my own sanity. I am not crazy about them but I knew how easy they were. So I did it. Except I used a flat sheet. I found it for $2.99 at Salvation army and now I have plenty of fabric left for yet another Tangled idea I have for her. I used pieces of scrap out of my stash for the rest. It's all Steam a Seam on there and then hand stitched in place.  I also used the top of the flat sheet, you know where you would fold it down on the bed, for the bottom of the dress so it already had a hem and I didn't have to sew it myself.

I know it looks homemade and very amatuer but I'm happy with it. But, the best part is so is she!

Adding two feet to my living room :)

I've finally gotten around to this little project. It only took me six months. Three months to (find time to) make it and three months to (find time to) hang it

I could have sworn I have showcased this idea before since I made one for my daughter two years ago. But, if you can find the old post, good for you :)

I have a huge wall in my living room that was designated for portraits of my children.

Emphasis on huge. And mostly empty with only two children.

I came up with this idea to fill in the space around the pictures.I have no idea when I made my daughters since I didn't write anything on it. I THINK it was somewhere around three months so that is when I did my son's.

And, then I wrote the date on the back.

Each frame cost $1 each since they are Salvation Army finds that I spray painted black to go with my living room. My daughter being the girl has pink scrapbook paper and my son therefor has blue. I'm traditional.

I originally wanted to do an actual print of each hand and foot. The foot was so easy but have you ever tried to make a handprint of an infant?? Hard! So each hand was just traced while they slept and cut out.

Such beautiful and cute keepsakes :)

Big Girl Room Revealed!

I thought I would display some shots of how the BGR ended up looking. I am so happy with it and my daughter has a whimsical, girly place to lay her head every night :)

The white sleigh bed was the inspiration starting point. I found it at Salvation Army before we even got pregnant with Miss C's sibling. I went home and researched the company that was on the plaque on the bottom of the headboard. It turns out they are big on childrens furniture and all of their trundle beds are priced over $700!! I told my husband what I found and we went back that night and brought it home for $117 since all furniture was 25% off that day. It really is a good solid, heavy piece of furniture and will allow us to use it for many years in her room.  Of course, there are the curtains, nightstand and mobile I made her as well. She got a pink and green comforter that looks like a patchwork quilt so we stuck with pink with bits of green for the rest of the room.

The princess rug is another something I found at a mom2mom sale for $8. It comes with teacups, saucers and a teapot so you can have princess tea parties. I can't wait until the day we do that :)

Both of these toys were rummage sale finds. The doll set has a high chair, rocking cradle, bathtub, sink and lots of storage underneath it. I got it for $10 and it is starting to overflow with not only her few dolls but any stuffed animals that may need loving. The desk is a little tikes piece that my mom found for $5 and Miss C LOVES to sit in that chair and color or cause other trouble. On the wall is the vinyl sticker I like to call 'paint by numbers from hell'. It was 105 separate little pieces that took me over an hour to figure out. I had to find each piece on the 'map' they give you to help put it together and then go and find it on the sticker sheet. Of course none of these numbers could go in any order. I promised my husband this thing was staying up for YEARS after all that work! We got it at Target for less than $20.

This is a better shot of the curtains with the nightstand. But, this is an even better closeup shot of the nightstand that I took while it dried.

 Once again, the dresser we redid. It holds her name blocks and picture frames I made. The top of this thing is always covered in stuff now. I try to stay on top of keeping her room neater than mine but nobody's perfect. The shelf on the wall is also a project I re-did and the butterflies are more vinyl stickers we got at Jo-Ann's for 40%.

My husband is also very happy with it alll but most especially on how much I saved him. I think he is finally impressed with how much I am able to do with so little to spend :)

Thrifty updates

The big girl bedroom was finally finished a few weeks ago!

I decided to post all of my halloween crafts before revealing any new projects though. But, with Christmas projects on the horizon I have to get them in now. Plus, everyday gets me one day closer to my due date and I have so much to do before then :)

I bought this bookshelf storage thingy at a garage sale for $3 about 2 years ago for my mom. She had those colorful plastic bins on it to store toys in the playroom in her house. But, as the number of her grandchildren grows, so does the number of toys! We had been looking for something to use as a nightstand of sorts in Miss C's room when we were at their house one weekend and it was sitting in the hall. My mom said she was waiting for someone to take it to the curb. It was pretty beat up when I bought it and our kids had added to it so she was just going to trash it.

It came home with me and we got to work. My before picture was taken AFTER my husband had sanded it down:

We painted it white to match the other furniture and I found some scrapbooking paper I liked and Mod Podged it on there. This was a big project for me. I had never done such a big area of mod podge before or on something that I needed to be perfect. I re-did the top twice-thank goodness it's water soluble! Then I did research and got out an old credit card and used that to smooth it out and I was happy with my second attempt. I really love the overall final look of it:

It has many more of her books and trinkets on it now and is the perfect size for what we wanted. That pretty cool lamp was found at a mom2mom sale and I think it adds the perfect bit of diva :)

The last project for the big girl room took me forever to finally get to. And, it was the easiest-there is no method to my craft madness!

I found a 52x90 curtain panel at Salvation Army a long time ago. It was $2.99 and I thought it was beautiful and of course a great quality; very thick and sturdy. I really had no idea what I would use it for but I thought it would come in handy eventually.

I had brainstormed over a few ideas of how to use it in the BGR and finally decided to just use it as a window treatment just like it was intended. Except I needed two short panels so I cute it in half and made a spot for the rod to go through on the bottom half and just did a basic hem on the top half that I cut. I added some pink rick rack along the bottom that I got for $3 at Jo-Ann's. For $6 I got beautiful curtains for my daughter's room.

A ghostly re-purpose

This is one of my favorite Halloween decorations this year and I don't know why. I made it last year-maybe it's because it was so cheap and easy. Or maybe it's because it's spooky but in a cute way.

I'm talking about that ghostly guy on the right :)

He started out as a $1 purchse from Salvation Army-it's a sconce cover, I think.

I simply painted the inside with mod podge and then sprinkled it with TONS of white glitter-be sure you do this over a piece of paper or a box top or something because this project got extra glitter everywhere! I used my black paint pen again to make the face and tied some halloween ribbons around the little piece at the top and was done. So quick and inexpensive. I put one of those LED battery operated tea lights underneath him too...that's the best part! My daughter makes me turn him on everyday...she even wants him on during the day when you can't even really tell he is lit up but he's cute nonetheless so who wouldn't want him glowing? :)

More big girl bedroom updates!

We have gotten alot done this week :)

I have SO many updates to post about but I am going to try to do them a few at a time so if I run into a decorating/creativity lull I can still post and make it look like I am doing something!

The first thing I did was incredibly simple.

I found this piece of uhhh, whatever at a church rummage sale for $3.

I bought it not even knowing where I would put it in my house. But, I knew with a bit of spray paint it could be magical.

I was right. I decided it would go in Miss C's new big girl room. My mom helped me dismantle it (the teeny tiny screw heads were so stripped it wasn't even funny) and I got to work with my spray paint.

We managed to get the crappy old screws that came out of it back into it. We couldn't find screws that size anywhere! The hubby hung it for me and I am glad I asked him. I would have just popped two nails into the wall and called it a day. Turns out it is way too heavy for that and he installed anchors for me too.

I used it as a place to for some special mementos from her baptism right alongside one of my very favorite bible verses which she also got on her special day.

The next thing was also quite simple. No, it was easier than anything I have ever done before.

I found this piece on a trip to Salvation Army. Shocking, I know. Believe it or not I am NOT in there everyday and I do happen to shop in other stores as well.

All it took was some spray paint to make it perfect.  I know, yet another surprise from me.

I thought I could just use it on top of her dresser to hold trinkets or something and that is currently how it is being used. My creativity stopped flowing with the spray paint on this one. Any better ideas than to hold her hair accessories?? (of course I made all those too. And, my daughter refuses to wear any of them yet.)

Fancy Picture Frames

Well, at least I think they're fancy.

My little girl will be a big sister in about four months. From the beginning we always said we would have one nursery and the children would use it until they were either a.)too big or b.)the next baby came along and needed it.

We had a twin bed for my daughter for a long time knowing that whether another baby would ever come she would not sleep in a crib forever. A few weeks ago she forced us to put her in a 'big girl room'.

She won't sleep in a crib anymore :( I was not emotionally prepared and we certainly were NOT physically prepared for this.  Her room looks like a prison. The only thing in it is her bed and our printer/printer stand (looking for a new spot to put that one!). Most of our free time is now spent redecorating her big girl room.

I have been storing away ideas for this magical, sweet, youthful room and in all honesty most of the supplies have been in my basement for MONTHS. I just needed a good kick to get them started. Well, my daughter is growing up and that was the 'kick' I needed. But, it feels so good to be crafting anyways.

My husband is painting some furniture from my old bedroom at my parents house to put in C's room. I never thought I would end up with white furniture anywhere in my house but when I found her (white) bed for a STEAL at Salvation Army I couldn't pass it up. Until that is done, she will have no place to place things other than the floor but I will be ready.

On another visit to Salvation Army I found some picture frames and wooden candlesticks. The picture frames came to about $2 total (I had my mom with me and it was senior discout day-she was so happy to help!) and the candlesticks cost another $2 total.

We had wonderful weather this past week/weekend and while my husband sprayed the furniture with primer I got a can of pink spray paint and turned this:

And with the help of my handy-dandy glue gun I turned them into these:

As soon as she has a dresser in the room these will be on top. They both contain pictures of the three of us but as soon as the baby is born I plan on changing them out.

Easy, cheap and incrdibly cute. I like that combination.

I have more projects done for the room and will be adding them in the coming weeks and hopefully have one big final reveal :) It feels great to have this energy back!

Bathroom Decor

This is another project that I did a few months ago. It took me about six months to pull it all together but it's been done for awhile.

The only room in the house that has a 'theme' going on in it other than the nursery is the downstairs bathroom. I don't know why I ended up putting all of our 'nautical' stuff in there but it's a 'oceany/beachside/boat-y' bathroom now. The crazy thing is that except for two things I put on the walls everything else was scattered throughout the home when it was a bachelor pad so I didn't have to do much.

The space I am showcasing today however is a piecs of HUGE space between the door and the sink. My husband used to have this small three tier shelf that was wire and wicker-ish but it was flimsy and totally NOT my style so it had to be replaced, plus it was much too small for the space.

We bought a cabinet at Garden Ridge. They were moving about a mile away from their location and the entire store was on sale. We scored big time with this one, it fit perfectly in the bathroom.

I made the cloche from a covered cheese dome and chunky candle holder I got at Salvation Army. This one cost me $3 to make. I sprayed it without even knowing where I would put it but when I thought of the bathroom it fit in quite well. I got the pieces inside of it at the Dollar Tree of all places! The little bird came from there as well and I had thought about spraying him too but when I put him in there I think I like him as is. The vase was exactly what I had envisioned in my head so I didn't mind paying $2.99 for it at T.J. Maxx. I had a stem of the flowers left ove from another project and thought they looked perfect so they are staying for now. I did this little bit of decor on the VERY cheap and I love it!

More Easter Decor

I finally found some spare time and crafted a few more things for Easter. Our house looks so festive and  spring-y now :) If only the weather on the outside would cooperate now.

I never host Easter dinner or brunch or anything. I never usually get to host any holidays really since my mom and sister 'claimed' them years before I had a house of my own. I'm not complaining though. I've hosted Thanksgiving ONE time and I don't ever need to do anything like that ever again. Still, I like to have festive touches here and there and especially on my dinin room table. I saw a picture of this online or in a magazine-somewhere. I did not come up with this all on my own. I've had this glass cube for ages and I love the versatility of it. I got the candy at Dollar Tree. One bag of jelly beans and two packs of Peeps (8 in a pack) and then added some of the million plastic eggs I had. I want to put real flowers in the middle but haven't gotten any yet so I stuck some silk ones in there. I like it :)

 This guy finally has some company...

I made the cloche from a covered cheese plate I foud at SA for $2 and glued it to a wooden candlestick also found at SA for $1. Glued them together and sprayed them...$3 of cuteness! I didn't make this one specifically for Easter. I'll keep it out in my kitchen all the time and just change up what's inside. It's the second one I've made for my house and I may be obessed with this one now...

I also made that nest in there. I bought two different kinds of moss at Dollar Tree and a three pack of small glass bowl as well. I covered the outside of one of the bowls with spray adhesive and stuck one kind of moss all over it. WARNING...this is SO messy! After it dried completely I flipped it right side up and sprayed the inside and stuck the other kind of moss on the inside. Again, $3 of cuteness! Not even since I didn't use all $3 worth of supplies! I removed the dowels from my last two egg picks and put them in there for now. I think I may keep this out after Easter and replace the Easter eggs with ones that look like true bird eggs.

Now we just wait for the Easter Bunny!

First Easter Decorations

My brother and his wife are having a baby; the shower is this weekend and I am helping host it. I decided to make most of the things I am giving them so that has occupied most of my time lately. As soon as the shower is over I can post pictures of what I made them and move on to more fun crafts :)

I can't wait to decorate for Easter. Even if it isn't Spring outside, decorating for Easter at least allows spring to be inside. Again, once I have more time on my hands my Easter decor will begin to come together.

I hosted a Craft-In night with my sister and two girlfriends this weekend so I did get to work on some fun things for Easter then. I have so many things bookmarked to make it isn't even funny!

First, I found this guy for $1 at Salvation Army

I knew just what to do to make him ready for Easter. A whole bunch of primer, yellow spray paint and a few coats of Pearl Enamel and he is ready! As soon as I pull all of my other decorations out he will have some buddies. Until then, this is all I have to show for him:

Much better in my opinion!

I also threw this together after perusing Dollar Tree and coming up with an idea. I LOVE topiary's and saw these little picks and really liked them. I knew I could use them somehow! The pots came three to a pack so I was all set. I painted them white, added the ribbon (had on hand) around the top, put some styrofoam (had on hand) in each one, topped with Easter grass and I have a cute decoration for about $2!

They were supposed to be taller :( I liked them much better with the longer sticks but alas, I was a klutz. I do my crafts in an area of our basement and when I brought them upstairs I had too many things balanced between my two hands and one of the pots fell! It landed on the egg end and the stick cracked <tear>. The picks come 5 in a pack but the blue and purple ones (while my favorite colors) just weren't soft and spring-y looking enough for me. So I just cut down the other two picks and they are all short now. Still cute but I am considering going to find another pack and maybe redoing it but then I couldn't say it only cost me $2 to make :)

Can't wait to put all the Easter stuff around the house!



C marks the spot.

While 'Little Miss C' was still our 'C-baby' I wanted to make a personalized something for her bedroom door.

Once more I found myself at Salvation Army looking for treasures. I had gotten a glittery foam 'C' at Joann's a while back for next to nothing so that would be my base. I found a $2 wooden picture frame at SA with a floral print in it. I took it home and discarded the glass...more on that at the end.I removed the mat and floral print and worked with just the cardboard backing. I sprayed the frame with yellow spray paint, attached a fun piece of scrapbook paper to the cardboard backing and affixed my foam 'C' to it so it would be 3-D like. I took some white ribbon I already had on hand and made a cute hanger with a bow for it. This is the end result and it cost me about $3 to make and only took about 10 minutes total not including drying time!
I don't hae a picture of it hanging because it took my husband about 4 months to put a nail in the door for me :)

Now, if you do ever try something like this here is my unsolicited advice. If you can't figure out what to do with the glass from the frame and you just want to pitch it, when you discard it please, please, for the love all that is right, please put it in a box or something sturdy BEFORE putting it in your garbage can. And take the time to walk it out to the garage or wherever the big cans are and not put it right in your kitchen garbage can. If you don't, you may take some extra time to run to urgent care after you finish your project. Then, you'll come home and look like this:

I still have an ugly scar but you can bet I am more careful when crafting though. You can also bet that I am now afraid of my garbage can when I go to put something in it and push stuff down to make more room :)

Holiday Candy Jar

I love my local thrift store. I try to go about once a week. I have bought so much for Miss C and the house from there. My favorite thing to do though is to wander the aisles and find things I can turn into something else. I am semi-good at this. It also helps alot that my favorite thrift store is right next door to the Dollar Tree. I find my hidden treasure then head to the DT next door to get my supplies on the cheap! This is something that I made right before Christmas. I only took the one picture after making it which is why it is decorated as such.

I simply found all of these things at Salvation Army:

A $3 candle stick and a $2 glass jar with lid. The small wooden knob I got at michaels for $1. Altogether it cost me $6 to make.

I simply took my go to black spray paint that I keep on hand and painted the candlestick, lid and wooden knob. I did rough up the candlestick with sandpaper before spraying; so far nothing has chipped or come off!

I used my gorilla glue (LOVE that stuff!) to glue the knob to the lid to make a handle. I originally thought about gluing the jar to the candlestick but since it already has that little indentation where the candle would go I figured I would just sit the jar in there and make it removable for easy cleaning.

I change out the ribbon, decorations and candy for the current holiday/season and I have a year round use for it! The final look: