Merry Christmas!

 Merry Christmas!!!!

Girls Bathroom Makeover

Yes I'm alive! I know I've been MIA for a while. I have no exciting excuses for it either. I have been sewing and crafting, just not blogging about. Here is one of the projects I did a few months ago. 

Sorry for the picture quality. I found these free printables here. The I am a child of God printable is from here.

I bought a bunch of picture frames from Goodwill for $1-$2 a piece. I spray painted them all white. I used the spray paint that has primer in it. I then printed out the pictures I wanted to use. I bought the shower curtain at Ross for a little under $6, it also came with the hooks. The basket on top of the toilet was $2 from goodwill, it is the perfect size to fit two rolls of toilet paper. 

I really did not like the aqua color of the walls (it's much brighter in person). I think the white frames and neutral colors in the shower curtain tone it down a lot. This was a very inexpensive project and it makes a big different to me. I don't hate the wall color anymore, so that's good! And it's not super kiddy either. Which is good since this doubles as our guest bathroom.

 

I also added a little something to our master bathroom wall. This pictures show the true wall color. Luckily there is some natural lighting in that bathroom so it photographs better. I found this metal wall hanging (not sure what to call it) at a yard sale for $1. I bought some silver spray paint and painted it. Then I hung it on the wall. It takes up a lot of space which is good. There is nothing else on the walls in that bathroom. The only other thing we bought for the bathroom is the cabinet over the toilet. We bought it at Bed Bath and Beyond. Total waste of money if you ask me. It's not deep enough for towels, which was really the reason I wanted it. If you need it for storing other things I'm sure it will be great. We also bought the basket sitting on the shelf for $5 at Marshall's. I think I'm going to get all my baskets from Goodwill from now on since they are so cheap. I do the love bluish gray paint in this bathroom. The silver matches all the fixtures so it looks nice.

I hope everyone is having fun getting ready for the holidays! 

Happy Crafting!

Check out my linky friend:
Sew Much Ado, Southern Lovely, My Girlish Whims, Someday Crafts,
 Some What Simple,  Shabby Creek Cottage, The 36th Avenue,
 A Glimpse Inside

Happy Halloween!

Glenda and the Wicked Witch

I bought these costumes last year at Target for 80% off. Glenda decided she wanted to be a butterfly, our compromise was dollar store wings. I did have to take the costumes in and the ribbons were already falling off, next year I might just make there costumes. But they loved them anyways! 

I hope you all had a Happy Halloween!

$1 Fall Wreath

I decided to make a wreath for my front door. It's the first one I've made since we moved in this past May. I bought this wreath at Dollar Tree, for $1! It's not huge so if you need a bigger one try Hobby Lobby and use a 40% off coupon. You should be able to get one for under $5. 

I used silk flowers I had leftover from making headbands to decorate it. You can also buy some at Dollar Tree or any craft/fabric store. All you do is pull the flower off the plastic stem and lay out the leaves and flowers in any pattern you desire. I attached the flowers using hot glue. I added a jewel to the middle, and that's it! I think it's pretty cute for $1! 

You could really use anything to decorate your wreath. Felt flowers would also be a great inexpensive idea. A great tutorial for making felt flowers can be found here.

And because one picture just is not enough, here are some pics of my girls with their pumpkins. Enjoy!

Happy Fall Ya'll!!

Check out my linky buddies!
 Sew Much Ado,
My Girlish Whims, 
 The Thrifty Home,
 Hubby Made Me,
 The Shabby Creek Cottage,
The 36th Avenue, 
 Blissful and Domestic,
A Glimpse Inside,

Getting Organized

I know I've been a lazy blogger lately! 

Is it just me or does life get crazier once you have a child in school? This year my oldest is in Kindergarten and afternoons are so busy now! I miss those days of not having to go anywhere. Waking up early and homework are not fun! 

Anyway, I have been doing some projects around the house. I decorated the girls bathroom and the hall bathroom for cheap! Thank you Goodwill! I will share those projects with you later. 

I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite organization pins from Pinterest. I've been trying to organize our home, it's always hard for me. But I have made some improvement. Here are some good idea's to get you started:

Tricks to use lingerie bags to keep sock organized.

I have to get some of these bags! I think they can be found at Wal-mart and dollar tree. The link explains that you give each child a bag for their socks, so they don't get lost in the wash. What a great idea! I just fixed our washing machine last night. We had a sock in the hose, for the second time! Luckily this time I found out how to fix it by watching a video on youtube. Last time it was $75 for the repair! These dang socks are driving me nuts. So from now on our socks will be washed in these bags. I might have to make my own depending on the price. If I do I will make a tutorial.

Dollar Tree Baskets

I bought two of these $1 baskets from Dollar Tree for my girls to keep their shoes in. They are a good size to hold quite a few pair of shoes, or toys if you like. They are so inexpensive and a great size. The picture below is of smaller baskets from Dollar Tree. Many come 2-3 per pack. I recently organized my junk drawer in the kitchen with two sets. You can't beat $2! 

Pocket Shoe Rack used to Organize

This is just genius! You can use this pocket organizer under your sinks, or in your hallway closet! I've seen picture on pinterest of them being used for cleaning supplies, pantry items, and children's art supplies.

The link for this pin was not working, so I don't know where the idea originated. It is a spice rack made out of a mop holder and attached to the inside of a pantry door or cabinet. Another great idea!

Organizing Drawers with Ikea

These storage boxes are awesome! I wish I had these when my girl were babies! Their drawers were always a mess because everything was so tiny and was easily lost. I'm sure they are great for older kids too, and even for organizing crafting supplies! 

My sisters are coming to visit me in December and we are going on an Ikea trip (my first time!) any suggestions on what I should buy? I'm thinking just organization stuff and home decor.

I feel like organization is a never ending battle, but it feels good to have an organized home. Check out one of my favorite organization blogs over at Simple Organized Living.

Happy Organizing!


Linky Buddies:
 Not Just a Housewife,  Sugar Bee Crafts,  Vintage Wanna Bee,  The Winthrop Chronicles,
 Sumo's Sweet Stuff, I Should Be Moppin The Floor

No Sew Curtain Ties

 

 I love my new curtains! 

The only problem is they are a little snug on the rod and do not want to move over to let light in. So I had to find a solution. I didn't want to screw more holes in the wall and use metal curtain holds. Weird name, but that's what they are called. I also didn't want to spend the money on the metal holds. 

So I decided to make no sew curtain ties. I used fabric left over from the fabric blind I made.

What you will need:

1/2 yard or so of fabric

hot glue

Velcro

iron/ ironing board

 

You may need to use different measurements depending on the width of your curtains. So just wrap the fabric around the curtain to get an idea of how long you will want your tie to be. I cut my strips to 7inches x 23 inches.

I used heat n bond tape instead of sewing. As you can see I placed and ironed on a piece of tape to the ends of the material. Then I removed it, folded the material over and ironed it down. (Remember to follow the directions on the heat n bond. If you iron too long it will not work as well.)

Then I folded the top over 1/2 inch or so and ironed it down (not using any tape).

I flipped the material over and ironed on a piece of tape to the top. 

The folded under piece is on the bottom now as seen below.

The I flipped the material back over and pulled the tape off and ironed the sticky side over the other end of the material.

Then I hot glued the Velcro to the ends of the tie.

All done! Now just repeat this process for the amount of ties you will need.

Sorry for the picture quality, the sun coming in through the curtains made it tricky. I might need a lesson or two on taking pictures, lol!

Check out my linky friends! :

A Glimpse Inside, Hubby Made Me, The 36th Ave, The Shabby Creek Cottage,
House of Hepworths,  Shabby Nest,  At The Picket Fence, Craftionary,
Blissful and Domestic, Western Warmth, 
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, 
 Nap Time Crafters,  Six Sisters Stuff,  Too Much Time,
Tatertots and Jello,  Sumo's Sweet Stuff,   I Should Be Mopping The Floor
 Sew Can Do, Skip To My Lou

DIY Key Fob

What is a key fob? Well it's a stylish key chain! The reason I love key fobs is because they make it so much easier to find your keys! Especially when you are digging through your purse or diaper bag. I just look for the bright colors and I've found my keys. 

  I noticed the one I made two years ago was getting really nasty, so I decided to make a new one. This one is much easier to make!

 What you will need:

Scrap Ribbon- 9 inches

D ring- found in the craft section of Wal-mart and fabric stores, they are around $1-$2 for a pack of two. 

Sewing Machine

Embroidery Machine- optional

 I decided to use this ribbon that I had left over from another sewing project. It's from Hobby Lobby. 

As you can see I embroidered mine, you don't have to do that. You can always 

try freezer paper stenciling, or sewing on a felt letter if you want.

 After I embroidered my name on the ribbon I folded it over.

 I then cut it, my ribbon was 4 1/2 inches folded over. So that's nine inches before you fold it.

 Then I simply sewed down both sides of the ribbon. 

I pulled the open end through the D ring and folded it over once.

 Then I folded it one more time and sewed it straight across using my sewing machine. It's that easy! Remember to back stitch!

 Now you have a pretty boutique key fob of your own! These are great as gifts too! 

Happy sewing!

Check out my linky friends:

Not Just a Housewife, Sugar Bee Crafts, Vintage Wanna Bee, Sweet Little Gals, 

The Winthrop Chronicles, My Girlish Whims, 
 Sew Much Ado, Southern Lovely, 
Somewhat Simple, The Shabby Creek Cottage, The 36th Ave, Hubby Made Me,
A Glimpse Inside, 
Shabby Nest, At The Picket Fence, Craftionary, Blissful and Domestic,
Chic on a Shoe String Decorating,  Naptime Crafters, Six Sisters Stuff,
Too Much Time, Tatertots and Jello, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, I Should Be Mopping The Floor,
sew can do, Skip To My Lou

Gallery Wall

 We have a large wall in our dining room and we have no large pieces of art. I knew I needed some way to fill the space.

I found all of these picture frames at Goodwill. They were only $1.50 each! They were all a light wood color so I spray painted them black. 

The first picture frame on the left is holding a dot drawing done by my 5 year old. I just scanned the picture and printed it off on photo paper. I found my photo paper at Dollar Tree months ago. So that was a great deal! 

I removed the glass in the two chevron picture frames. I covered the board with left over chevron fabric from my couch pillows. I secured the fabric with painter's tape in the back. I can easily change the material out if I decide to change the colors in the room. I bought these two clips at Wal-mart for $1.88.  I hot glued them to the fabric. Now I can change the pictures out easily, or even use them as brag board for my kids artwork.

The middle photo is from The Vintage Lemon, she has a ton of adorable state printables. The best part is that they are free! 

I bought the photo mat boards at Joann's. With a coupon it was around $5 for four. I think they make the frames look nicer.

This is my wall art for around $15. Our past two family photo shoots are still on CD. I will eventually replace these photo's with more recent ones of our family. 

Have a great Day!

Check out my linky friends! 

Not Just A Housewife, Sugar Bee Crafts, Vintage Wanna Bee, The Winthrop Chronicles,
Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Krafty Kat,  Sew Can Do, Such Much Ado, My Girlish Whims,
Southern Lovely,  A Glimpse Inside, Hubby Made Me, The 36th Ave,
The Shabby Creek Cottage, Johnny In A Dress, Some What Simple, Mine For The Making,
House of Hepworths,  Shabby Nest, At The Picket Fence, Craftionary,
 Six Sisters Stuff, Too Much Time, Tatertots and Jello

Ashley Suzanne

I've been featured on Ashley Suzanne's blog, check it out here.

You can also enter to win two cloth burp cloths made by me 

here. She's always having a great giveaway, check her out! 

Have a great weekend! : )

Dresser Makeover

My Mother in law brought us two dressers when she came to visit recently. Previously, I had mentioned we needed some, and she happened to have two in the attic. This one was my husband's in high school. It was spray painted silver, which totally went with his tye dye/smiley face room. Ha! 

I decided to use this dresser as a buffet in the dinning room as I needed storage for the girls art supplies and place mats. 

I wanted the pull to be in the middle of each drawer, so it would look less like a dresser and more like a buffet. We used wood filler and it worked awesome! 

First, I sanded the drawer, and then applied the filler. It took a few applications and a day in between each to dry. Then I sanded the whole thing. Thank heavens for electric sanders! 

I applied one coat of primer; looking back it probably needed two since the wood was really dark. 

Then I used 2 coats of white semi-gloss paint. Some of the drawers were hard to open and close so my husband sanded the inside of the dresser and I rubbed a bar of soap on all the area's that touch the drawer. It worked like a dream! 

I used a piece of sand paper to distress the edges. I bought the pulls at Lowe's. It cost a little over $20 for all six. 

I love the way it turned out! 

I want to steal it for our bedroom, but we need the storage in the dinning room. 

Check out where I'm linking up! 

Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Skip To My Lou, I Should Be Mopping The Floor, Sew Can Do,
Sew Much Ado, Someday Crafts, My Girlish Whims, Southern Lovely, Not Just a Housewife,
Vintage Wanna Bee, A Glimpse Inside, Hubby Made Me, The 36th Ave, The Shabby Creek Cottage,
Johnny In A Dress, Craftionary, Shabby Nest, At The Picket Fence, Blissful and Domestic,
Six Sisters Stuff, Too Much Time, Tatertots and Jello

Goodwill FInds

 The girls and I went to Goodwill this afternoon. We actually found some great stuff! I am so excited! 

I found Salmon colored New York Company crop pants for $1! I also found a cotton slip for $1. I am going to refashion the slip to fit for my three year old. She loves wearing slips, and the one she has is too short. It's probably an adult size extra small or small. I found this rocking chair bench for $4.50. Both the girls can fit on it together. It's super sturdy. I am going to paint it. I'm not sure if I will keep it in one of their room or the living room. 

I found a large embroidery hoop for $1.50. 

The two wicker baskets were $2 a piece. The large one will be for DVDs and remotes. I think I am going to spray paint it black. The smaller one will probably be used for storage in one of the bathrooms. 

I think I got a great deal! All of this stuff for $12!!! 

DIY Curtains Made from Shower Curtains

After two curtain exchanges I decided to make my own! I needed matching curtains to put up on the living room and dinning room windows. They are both on the same wall, that's why I needed them to match. I bought panels at Ross and ended up needing three panels instead of two on each window, but there were no more left when I went back. The same thing happened at Marshall's. 

I went to target and found these white shower curtains on sale for $12 each. I bought 4 of them. 

I wanted my curtains to hit the floor so I knew I needed some material to add to the curtains. I needed them to be 20 inches long and they had to be the width of the curtains. I ended up getting 4 yards of gray cotton from Joann's. I had a 50% coupon, so it cost a little under $10. 

I had exactly the right amount of fabric, no extra at all! 

So the first thing I did was fold over the button hole part of the shower curtain and sew it down. I used this to hang the curtains on the rods. I bought my rods for $9.99 each at Ross. 

After I cut my gray fabric I laid it at the bottom of the curtain. I left a little extra on the sides, around 2 inches. Then I pinned it, and sew it to the curtain. 

I am not a fan of sewing huge pieces of material. So instead of hemming the sides and bottom of the gray cotton I used heat n bond! It saved my sanity! And it was so easy! 

This is where that extra 2 inches of material comes in handy. Just follow the heat n bond directions. Iron on the tape, peal it back, fold it over, and iron again. Then you have the perfect hem!

I needed a little over one roll of heat n bond. I made 4 curtains, so if you only have two to make one roll should be enough. 

I think the hem line looks much better than if I would have sewed it. 

I love the finished product!! 

I still wish it would have been cheaper, but it turned out great! 

Here's the run down on the cost: 

2 rods from Ross- $20

4 fabric shower curtains- $50

4 yards of fabric- $10

So around $80 for the finished product. 

I guess it's still better than those $30 a panel curtains though. 

Check out my linky party friends!: 

Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Sew Can Do, I Should be Mopping The Floor, Skip To My Lou, Krafty Kat, Not Just A Housewife, Vintage Wanna Bee, Sweet Little Gals, Sew Much Ado, My Girlish Whims,
Southern Lovely, Someday Crafts, Some What Simple, A Glimpse Inside, Hubby Made Me,
the 36th ave, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Johnny In A Dress, House Of Hepworths,
Mine For the Making, Shabby Nest, At The Picket Fence, Craftionary, Blissful and Domestic, Too Much Time, Six Sisters Stuff