Showing posts with label DIY ideas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DIY ideas. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

DIY Idea: Magnet & Pin Boards

We recently purchased a new computer desk. Its the armoire-looking-type where you can swing the doors closed to hide clutter.  I was excited to have the doors as a place to keep important paperwork, receipts, schedules, etc. But also to display cute birth announcements and invitations.  

Originally I bought some simple cork board squares from the office supply store and stuck them up inside the doors. They served their purpose, but certainly were ugly. 
 The before -- yuck!

When I realized that the desk doors are usually left open (so much for hiding the clutter!), I decided we needed to pretty this space up ASAP, and set out to make some magnet boards.

It was a little challenging because the doors are long and narrow.  Not the size where I could use any a standard frame.  I bought a few frames I thought would work and they ended up being too wide. 

And then we found these at Michaels:
Perfect! Create-a-Frame sets that let us customize the size of the frames! (They were on sale too - score!) We purchased enough pieces to make two 12" x 24" frames for each of the two doors.  

My husband used a little muscle and glue to get them together. 

And then we painted them with primer, and a coat of green paint that matched our bedspread.

We found sheets of sheet metal at Home Depot that were 12" x 24" and secured them into the frames. I covered them with burlap first, to make them pretty. :) 
I love the way they turned out! So much better now, I don't mind when the doors are left open. 

I made some fun magnets by gluing buttons onto magnets from the craft store.  It took about 5 minutes, and they look great.  
A little close-up of a couple of the magnets. 

I used some of the left over cork boards to make a pin board for Mia's nursery. 
I used my paper cutter to cut cork pieces to fit onto the backing of a big frame from Ikea, and then glued them into place. 
I covered the whole thing with some extra nursery fabric.  
Now she has a fun pin board above her crib.  Yay! 
Next project? Some cute pins for her board!

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

DIY Idea: Candy Dessert Cups

Here's a fun idea for Mother's Day: candy dessert cups. 
One of my favorite things about these (beside how simple they are to make!) is that you can customize the color to match your table perfectly.  Yay!

DIY details here.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Celebrating Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year begins today. Even if you aren't Chinese, its the perfect excuse to throw another party. :)

I have lots of Chinese New Year style inspiration to share with you today! 

But first, make sure you check out my post about the Chinese New Year birthday party we threw last year, if you haven't seen it already. Lots of cute stuff.

 Have you seen this fun fortune cookie craft by Martha?
Well, I used them as placecards for my Chinese New Year tablescape.  And I found a shortcut!
Rather than gluing ribbon inside the fortune cookie, I used a strip of electrical tape over the floral wire.  No waiting for glue to dry! The electrical tape sticks quite well to the felt.
Perfect little Chinese New Year placecards!
(Or for any time of the year you are serving Chinese food!)

One more thing to share... My friend Johanna threw a dragon themed (as in Year of the Dragon) baby shower for her sister in law over the weekend.  Here's a few scenes from the party: 
I love the idea of "dragon egg" candies as favors. 
And that big paper dragon? Lindsay and I helped Johanna put him together last week.
We made a giant paper accordion for his body by gluing together multiple pieces of 8.5x11 inch card stock paper.  We scoured each section before folding them over since they were pretty thick.  Isn't he fun?

Happy Chinese New Year!
and Congratulations Tiffany & Braz! We can't wait to meet her!

Monday, December 12, 2011

DIY Idea: Holiday Wreath & an Introduction

Introducing: Mia Danielle
Born on Thanksgiving day...we are so thankful!
What a crazy whirlwind these last couple weeks have been.

I won't leave you completely hanging while I'm in baby land though...
Here's a fun idea for a DIY wreath! This one is super easy -- even a brand new mom can do it!

Check out all the details here.

Monday, November 28, 2011

DIY Ideas: Cranberry Holiday Decor!

Have you started decorating your house for Christmas yet?  I like to do it the weekend following Thanksgiving...I don't encroach on turkey day, but I get the maximum amount of time out of those decorations. 

Whatever your personal schedule is, I have a few ideas for you to try this year...all involving cranberries!
Check 'em out here! And let me know if you try any. 

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

{Nursery} Pink & Green Apples: Part 2 The Reveal

The nursery is done! And my baby girl should be here any day!
I had so much fun designing her room.  (Please see yesterday's post for more information about the process and inspiration). 

I am so excited to share her Pink and Green Apples Nursery with you!  

I've have a picture of each area of the nursery, and then I'll show close ups of the some of the details and sources.  

Crib
The quilt was a gift from a family friend.  It has a beautiful flower pattern on it that I just love. 
One of my favorite things in the room is the adorable apple mobile that my friend Lindsay made.  She gave it to me at my baby shower. Isn't it amazing?  Did you notice the one apple that has a worm? :) 

I hired someone to make a crib skirt for me with the fabric that I found.  I ended up having her make the skirt out of 3 panels that are tied to the crib separately, allowing them be adjusted as we lower the crib.  (I found this idea here).  I am so happy with this as it allows hidden storage.  I've got all kinds of plastic storage containers under there, and they'll stay hidden at every crib height without the skirt bunching up.  

Sources: 
Crib: Target
Crib Skirt: custom made by Sharon Bechtol
Crib sheet: Babies r Us

Dresser & Changing Table


We decided to use the top of the dresser as our changing to table to maximize space and function.  I knew I wanted to use a specific dresser from Ikea, and was stoked when I found it at a deep discount and in good condition on Craigslist. 

The curtains were the very first project I tackled for the space.  They are definitely the most complicated thing I've ever sewed.  They make the whole space seem cheerful.  (Just don't look too carefully at the stitching...there's some mistakes for sure!) 


The drawers in the dresser are packed to the brim with adorable little girl's clothes.  So to keep the top of the dresser from getting too cluttered, I made this little hanging pocket for the side to hold some of the diaper changing necessities.  (Thank you to Lindsay for this idea!)

Sources: 
Dresser: Ikea via Craigslist
Changing pad cover and organizer: Babies R Us

Storage Shelves & Rocking Chair
This shelving unit was ideal for this corner. It fit perfectly and gives us lots of storage options.  I love that the baskets hide the clutter of toys and blankets.  I've stashed extra sheets and changing pad covers in there also so I can grab them quickly.  This is definitely a piece that can grow with our baby. 
The chair was handed down from my mom. It was used when I was a little girl. I had the cushions custom made with more of the fabric.  
The heart picture is a pillow case that I found and framed.  
How could I resist this apple?  I'm using it as a bookend for now. 

Sources: 
Shelf: Ikea
Baskets: Ikea
Apple: Home Goods
Chair cushions:  custom made by Sharon Bechtol

The Guest Bed
I mentioned yesterday how we have a trundle bed in the nursery that will act as guest bed. 

I was going to sew some kind of duvet cover with some curtains I had...and then I stumbled upon some pink bedding and sheets that were on clearance.  That allowed me to cross an item off my long to do list.  The bedding was so cheap that if we don't end up using it for long it won't be a terrible thing.  
Though I do have to say that I giggled when one of my husband's friends stayed with us and crawled into the pink sheets to go to bed at night. :)

I used all the time I saved on the duvet cover to re-cover some throw pillows we had. 

And instead of making a duvet out of the curtains, I just shortened one and used it to at the closet. Its kind of small opening to this closet, and there hasn't been a door on it as long as we've lived here.  Now some of the inevitable closet clutter is hidden.  And the extra fabric from the curtain became a throw pillow on the bed.

I also framed some fabric swatches and added pictures of my husband and I and our dog to make a little collage above the bed.  The solid pink framed fabric is from the pillow sham in the clearance bedding set.  The fuchsia fabric is from the back of the heart pillow case framed above the  storage shelf.  No fabric went to waste in this nursery. :)

The two blankets were gifts handmade by my friends Drea and Megan.  I know my daughter will love them as much as I do.  
Do you see the green apples in the circle quilt? Love!

My other favorite item in the nursery is this print I had custom made.  The seller, Fern Tree Studios, was so great to work with!

Sources: 
Bedding: Target
Frames and shelf: Ikea
Apple of my Eye Print: Fern Tree Studio

Now all we need is a baby to add to the finished nursery! ;) 
PS If anyone that lives locally is looking for an amazing seamstress, email me and I'll pass along contact info for Sharon Bechtol.  She was incredible!!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

DIY Idea: Turkey Cupcakes

I am officially off work and awaiting the arrival of our little girl.  (I wish she'd hurry up! I'm notoriously early to events, and I'd love it if she'd take after me on this!)

In the mean time, I'm staying busy running errands and finishing up her nursery.  (Which I can't wait to share with you!)

Its strange this year to not make any real Thanksgiving plans. We could be in the hospital at that point, or we could be still waiting for her to make an appearance.  (Her dad and I would definitely prefer to not be eating hospital food on this holiday, for the record).

I did make some cute turkey cupcakes though.  These guys are easy & cute, and would be the perfect to bring wherever you are spending your holiday.  And the kiddos can help, which is always a bonus.  
You can get all the instructions for making these guys here

And seriously, check back sooooon for my nursery reveal!

Monday, October 24, 2011

DIY Idea: Thank You Gifts

My coworkers threw me an amazing surprise baby shower last week.  And I was completely surprised, which was so much fun.
I wanted to do something nice to thank everyone who contributed and bought our baby girl gifts, and I wanted to do something more than just standard thank you notes.  But there were a lot of people I needed to thank.  
So, I decided to whip up simple little treats and package them to hand out.  They went over SO well that I thought I'd better share them! 

I made Pretzel Turtles, which are quick & easy...and people loved them. 
I essentially followed this recipe.  These were perfect little treats because its easy to make a huge batch all at once. 

Paired with some printables from a blog I love: InkSpot Workshop, they looked pretty darn cute! 

Pretzel Turtles would be a great addition to any holiday baking you may have planned!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Tea Party Sip and See Party Favors

Yesterday I shared a tea party sip and see that I had attended recently.  
The hostess Julie asked me to help with the party favors. 
I decided to make cupcakes in mason jars.  
Didn't they turn out cute?

I put stickers on the top..."Welcome Addison" over a subtle teapot graphic, as a nod to our tea house location.  

They were a hit! 
I used this cupcake recipe, and this frosting recipe. 

Thursday, September 8, 2011

DIY Idea: Baby Shower Gift

I've mentioned a few times how many baby showers I have coming up.  This weekend they are officially starting.  I have one on Saturday and one on Sunday.  

Purchasing gifts for all these showers in such a short time can get expensive (especially when I'm getting ready for my own baby!).  So I decided to make something to go along with store-bought gifts, to make my money go a little farther.  I settled on ribbon tie baby blankets. What a fun little project! And I hear babies love them, with all the colors and textures. 

Let me warn you that I am not a seamstress by any stretch of the imagination. I have a basic skills with a very basic sewing machine.  (I've never even used a pattern before.)  I took a few wrong turns with this project, but I finally figured out a method that works well and doesn't take too long. Thought I'd share it with you!

1.  Cut the front and back panels of fabric.  (I did 13 inches x 13 inches)  I used a soft material (which I'll refer to as the back) and a regular cotton (which I'll refer to as the front).

2. Use an iron to crease the edges of the front fabric. 

3.  Pin loops of ribbon around the outside of the front fabric.  Place the pin near the base of the ribbon loop.
I used 16 total ribbon loops, or 4 on each side.  Use a variety of colors, textures, and patterns.  

4.  Sew each ribbon loop to the front panel.  
Sew the outside edge first. Then remove the pin. 
Continue sewing around the base of the ribbon loop to anchor it. Lift the "foot" at each corner and swivel the fabric around the needle until you have sewn a complete square. 

5. Repeat until all 16 ribbon loops have been sewn to the front panel. 

6.  Place the front and back panel together. The back panel will be slightly larger, which is what you want.  
Pin them in place with a few pins.
 
7.  Switch your sewing machine to a zig-zag stitch. Stitch the front and back panels together.  Try to get the stitch at the very edge of the front panel.  

8. When the panels are sewn together, cut the extra fabric from the back panel as close to the front panel as possible. 

Ta-da! 
Here's the finished product from the front and back: 

And I made a second one, since I have two showers to attend this weekend: 

I love the way they turned out with all the different ribbons! So many fun color combos you can use.  I have plans to make many more in the next month or so... :)

 ***

And...we have a winner of last week's giveaway
I'm happy to inform Bethany Freitag that she has won a $25 credit to Sweet'n Treats! Congratulations Bethany! And thank you to everyone who entered!