Boys' Room Wall Art

Don't forget about the Cherry On Top Giveaway- go here to enter!

Also, I am guest posting about my other love--music-- on Notes About Music Notes.  Go check it out! If you are a music lover, Lesa blogs about some great topics.

Now, on to the crafts!

I have to be honest- this idea is brought to you by MISTER Occasionally Crafty.  We wanted to put something cute up for our boys' room, and when we came across this frame at IKEA, the wheels started turning in my husband's head.  The frame comes finished or unfinished.  We bought the unfinished so we could paint it to match their room.

RIBBA Frame from IKEA- $14.99

Instead of using each opening for pictures, he decided to use each letter of my sons' names.  Now, granted, this only works if you have four or five letters in your name.  As it happens, all our kids have four letters in their name.  He filled in the remaining opening with a picture to match their baseball decor.

To make the letters, he found a free clipart image of a baseball bat.  Mr. OC is a computer engineer, and really knows his way around a computer.  He used Photoshop to resize and position the bat image into letters.  Basically, he used the Transform and Free Transform tools to get what he wanted.  

The first one was easier, as he has all angular letters.  My youngest son, however, proved a challenge with the rounded letters in his name.  The bats had to be manipulated a little more.  Yet I think they turned out great.

We printed out the letters on 4x6 photo paper, then mounted them on navy blue cardstock and placed them in the frame.  

We bought another frame for my oldest daughter.  I'm trying to think what image to use for her.  Magic wands, maybe?  

Bottom line- this is a great alternative to those fancy hand-drawn names you can get at theme parks and such.  If you know your way around Photoshop, you can create something similar.

Linking to some of these parties!

Giveaway- The Cherry On Top

*This Giveaway is Now Closed*

We did it!  Thank you for helping me reach 100+ followers!  I appreciate that you take time to visit my blog and check out some of my projects.  If they inspire anyone at all to try something, then I am happy.  Here's to 100 more!

In celebration, I am offering my first ever giveaway, sponsored by The Cherry On Top.

Sally offers amazing boutique bows,

adorable dresses,

crayon rolls,

and more!

Isn't this stuff adorable?  

Sally is giving away a holiday clippie set to one lucky reader.



Don't have any girls?  These make great gifts for that niece, granddaughter, or friend's daughter.

Ready to enter?  All you have to do is FOLLOW ME.  Leave me a comment telling me that you are a follower.

Want an extra entry?  Visit The Cherry On Top on Facebook and "Like" her shop, then leave a comment letting me know you have done it.

The winner will be chosen at random.  The giveaway will be open all week, and I'll announce the winner on Monday.

Good luck!

Hoppin'

It's Friday!  I'm participating in some of these blog hops this weekend.  Won't you stop on by and find some new friends?

And welcome to anyone visiting here for the first time!  Take some time to look around.

I'm hoping to get to 100 followers this weekend.  If I do, I will be holding my first GIVEAWAY next week!  So, follow me if you don't already, then come back next week for the details.

Happy Hopping!

Ruffle Shirt Attempt No.2

I know there is a plethora of ruffle shirts in craft-blog-land, but I'm not sure I've seen this one.  I know I saw a shirt like this in a store for 24.99, but can't remember the store.

I  bought two t-shirts from Old Navy, on clearance for about $5, and cut one up for ruffles.  I needed a lot of length to sew the diagonal ruffles, so I cut the shirt up one sideseam, through the sleeve, and up to the neckline.  This left me a nice long length.  I then cut five 1 1/2 inch strips.

I used a basting stitch on my machine, then pulled the bobbin thread to make the ruffles.  I then pinned the strips in place where I wanted them.

Sorry for the poor quality.  I really need a new camera.

Anyway, then I just sewed the ruffles on, trying to follow the line originally made by my basting stitch.

The bottom ruffle turned out a little goofy, but all in all, I like how it turned out.

Linking to some of these parties!






Check them out!

Bridal Shower Gift

I had a dilemma.  Since I got into crafting, I've been trying to save money by making gifts.  When I was invited to my sister-in-law's bridal shower, I knew I wanted to make her something cute to bring into her new home.  I also wanted it to be useful.  A bridal shower is really about getting the bride things to help her set up her new home and life with hubby.

Even though I like to do crafts, I am not always that great at them.  Plus, my husband's family is SUPER talented at sewing and stuff, so if I'm going to give something I made as a gift, I knew I had to keep it simple.

I decided to buy her something off her registry, then make something to match it.  So, I bought her these mixing bowls, then bought fabric to make these ruffled dishcloths (thank you Rebekah at McGee and Me).

These were simple and turned out so cute!  I did one thing differently than Rebekah's tutorial- I used my machine to create a basting stitch down the length of the fabric, then pulled the bobbin thread to create the ruffles.  I'd say each one took me about 20 minutes, and that was with interruptions from my children.

I know ruffles are all the rage these days, but I really like the double-edged ruffle tacked down like this.  It just gives it a feminine, yet timeless look.

I think these, given with the bowls and a coordinating dish drying mat, will meet all my guidelines:  cute, functional, frugal, and thoughtful.

Let's hope she thinks so too.

Somebody Loves Me.....

Thank you to Ruth at Living Well and Spending Less, and Dawn and Raphael at Just Married With Coupons for passing this lovely award on to me!  Go check out their blogs- they have great tips and ideas for living the frugal life and still having fun.

I also received a Life is Good Award from Leigh at Coastal Couponer.  It took me awhile to get to it!

1) If you blog anonymously are you happy doing it that way; if you are not anonymous do you wish you had started out anonymously so you could be anonymous now?
I've never even thought about being anonymous 

2) Describe one incident that shows your inner stubborn side.
Once in college I was trying to carry my bike up some steps and was impeded by my instrument and a cup of soda I was carrying.  A guy offered to help me, and I asked him to hold my soda!  I was being "independent" by lifting the heavy bike all by myself.  It's always been hard for me to ask for help.

3) What do you see when you really look at yourself in the mirror?
A fun, happy woman who really needs a little break from the kids.

4) What is your favorite summer cold drink?
Diet Coke from McDonald's.  I don't know why, but they have the best fountain sodas.

5) When you take time for yourself, what do you do?
Read.  Or craft.

6) Is there something you still want to accomplish in your life? What is it?
At this point, I just want to keep my family strong and help my children achieve their fullest potential.

7) When you attended school, were you the class clown, the class overachiever , the shy person, or always ditching?
I was the good girl who never got in trouble and worked hard to achieve the things I wanted- drum major in band, lead in a play in drama, A's on report cards and scholarships to college.

8) If you close your eyes and want to visualize a very poignant moment of your life what would you see?
The birth of my first child, when I became a mother.  Life hasn't been the same since.

9) Is it easy for you to share your true self in your blog or are you more comfortable writing posts about other people or events?
Since I mostly showcase what I make, I rarely talk "about" myself, but my personality comes through.

10) If you had the choice to sit down and read or talk on the phone, which would you do and why?
Read - I love to read! 

Now the award needs to be passed on to 6 people, and contact them :)

This is the hard part for me but here are my choices in no particular order:
Crafting and Creativity

Project Naptime
Momma's Kinda Crafty
Atelier Caroline
Ten June
Young and Crafty

Go check them out!

Another Fall Project and some Fall Decor

Well, here in the Valley of the Sun, it won't truly feel like fall for another few months, but the mornings are cooler, the nights are cooler, and school is in session.  That's "fall" enough for me!  This weekend I am breaking out the fall decor!  But first, another fall project had to be completed.

I found this tutorial for a rag wreath at Moda Bake Shop sometime last year.  I bought the wreath frame and.....it sat for a year.  First I couldn't find fabric I liked.  Then I thought I would make a Christmas one.  But then Christmas passed, and I thought, okay, maybe a spring one.  You get the picture.  Finally, this summer, I decided to bite the bullet and pick out some fall fabric.  I found these cute rolls of fabric at Hobby Lobby for $4.99.  I love how they are fall colors, but not "fall fabric"- if you know what I mean.

I put this monogrammed pumpkin on our sofa table.  

This is super easy to make.  I printed out a letter in a cute font, taped it to the front of my pumpkin, then used a pushpin to make a dot outline of the letter on the pumpkin.  Then I removed the letter and "connected-the-dots" with a Sharpie, then filled in the letter with the marker.  You could also use a paint marker.  Or even Vinyl.  This was BS:  Before Silhouette!

I found a place for my Fall Jars:

I hung my favorite fall wall hanging  (I wish I could say I made this, but I bought it at TJ Maxx for $8.99)

I put out my basket of pumpkins that I LOVE from Joann-

I have a lot more ideas and inspiration to keep me going.  I love to see everyone's fall decor, so send me a link if you have something you love!

Also, if you love fall as much as I do- go to the Fall Nesting Party at The Inspired Room.  I love this blog.

Cute Halloween Giveaway

They're giving this away over at Tatertots and Jello.  Isn't it adorable?  If I don't win I will definitely have to make one myself.




Head on over and check it out.

Dollar Store Sign to Fall Sign

I now make it a habit to dig through the Dollar Store bins for usable signs.  It's amazing what you can find if you look at things with a creative eye.  I saw this sign at a store and immediately thought "What can I make this into?"

It's cheap, has scratched paint, and isn't really my style- even at Easter time!  With fall coming up, I decided to make a little fall wall hanging.  

I painted it, added a little ribbon, some vinyl, and some wood stickers from Michaels.  Here's the end result:

Simple, cheap, and great for fall.  Linking up to some of THESE PARTIES.

    

Making some Friends

I'm participating in some New Friend parties today- check them out if you haven't already!

Bird Pillow

Thank you, Jessica from Running With Scissors.  I love the bird pillow cover she designed and wanted to do a version of it for my entryway bench.  I chose to do things a little differently than her tutorial, but again, a huge shout-out for providing the pattern FREE!

To start with, I wanted a white pillow cover.  Well, I found this Restyle pillow form at Target for $4.99- so I bought it and decided to forgo a cover and do my design directly on the pillow.

Instead of using freezer paper stenciling, I chose to use my Silhouette and cut a heat transfer image.  For detailed instructions, the Silhouette blog has great tutorials for all their projects.


I used Paint to slightly tweak the design, then change her image into a JPEG file.  I then uploaded it to my Silhouette software.  I then changed the image to an outline.

I then mirrored the image horizontally, since I am using it with heat transfer.

I cut it out on my trusty Silhouette, then removed the negative space around the image, which left me with this.

I then ironed it on to my pillow, following the instructions on the box.

From there on, instead of sewing the fabric leaves on, I used Heat N Bond to iron them on.

I love it!  Since I used scraps from other pillows, I have a real "collection" of pillows.

This project was SO EASY because of my Silhouette!  And, since I had all the materials on hand, the total cost was $4.99- the cost of the pillow form.

If you don't have a craft cutter, start saving up for one!  I initially balked at getting one since I don't scrapbook or make cards.  But I use it all the time for home decor and gifts, and I use it for things such as gift tags, baby shower favors and decorations, church activities, and handouts.  Where I might spend have previously spent $25 on a gift for someone, now I spend a fraction of that on supplies for a homemade gift.  Seriously- research it.  Think about it.  Buy one.  You'll be glad you did.