Handmade Wood Peg Dolls: A Cute 3 Year Old Girl Gift

Did you know I have a love for peg dolls? I don't know why, but when they are done well I think they are so adorable. A couple years ago I made a few superhero peg doll sets for my son and nephews and now that my baby is turning three soon, I've been dying to make her a little set. I decided to make her a set of three, and they are going to be the cake toppers on her birthday cake, each holding a candle. 

They started from this unfinished wood:

To THIS cuteness:

Bow and scalloped sock detail:

I loosely followed the tutorial from HERE.

No Sew DIY Tote Bag Makeover: Cute Pockets! (No Cost)

Supplies: Canvas tote bag with pockets, fabric scraps a little bigger than the pockets, iron, ruler, scissors, fabric glue, gluestick.

I started with this tote bag I had lying around and went through my fabric scraps for something that would make cute pockets. I cut the fabric to about 1/2" bigger than the actual pocket.

I ironed the fabric and then folded over each edge to exactly the pocket dimensions and ironed them down.

I used just a cheap gluestick, glueing and then pressing down the fabric, to make sure the under edges would stay down thus making it easier for the next step.

Using fabric glue, I applied to all edges then attached the fabric square on top of the existing pocket, pressing firmly then set a stack of books on top until dry.

And here she is in all her new pocket cuteness!

Fabric Pumpkins {DIY Easy No Cost Project}

This project has been on my pinterest to-do list since last Autumn. Since we had the day off and needed something to do, I decided the kids could help me do it. They each made 4 pumpkins mostly all by themselves with a little help from me. The pumpkins turned out so cute and it's super fun when you can make something entirely with stuff you already have and don't spend any money.

I followed the tutorials from here and here.

 I just grabbed fabric scraps from my stash in Autumn-ish colors in oranges, blacks and browns and let the kids pick which ones they wanted to use. Each one is different and I love that we made these together and they can play with them and they do double duty as decorations too. I love having meaningful "decor" rather than just junk you buy to fill up space.

I hope you are enjoying your Labor day holiday. Are you doing anything to get ready for the changing season?

~Rebecca

Pinned and Tried: DIY Boxwood Wreath with B&W Stripe Bow

A little bit ago, I was perusing images of DIY boxwood wreaths on Pinterest. I've been wanting a nice green wreath for my front door that would work all year long, for every season. For some reason, boxwood wreaths are insanely expensive and I've always wanted one but would never pay for one. I came across one image with a black and white striped bow and fell in love. Also, the bow gave me an idea: change it out for seasons/holidays and I would have the ultimate wreath that I would never have to worry about changing, storing, and I could get rid of all my other ones that take up so much space in the garage- triple win! 

The inspiration came from this picture here. I used an old wreath form I already had, I bought two boxwood garlands from Joann when they had a great sale, and I bought 1 yard of black and white striped ribbon. I just attached the garland to the form using twist ties starting from the inside and worked my way around and out. The bow is just clipped on so I can easily change it out. Here is how mine turned out:

Love. (We really need to paint that trim- yikes). As you can see it is a lovely rainy Spring day today.

I hope you enjoyed my DIY Boxwood wreath! ~Rebecca

DIY Wood Ruler Growth Chart (A Pottery Barn inspired no cost to me project!)

I have wanted one of these for awhile. Last week my 8 year old Ikea bed frame kinda fell apart (oops) so we had several large wood boards that we didn't want to throw away. My husband actually came up with the idea of repurposing one of them for the growth chart I've been wanting. Not only was it already the perfect size, but it was already stained. Woot! (They sell them for $100 here). This project was going to cost me $0! So I got to work.

I started by getting out a large ruler and figuring out where I wanted to mark the lines, how big to make them, and what font I wanted to use for my numbers.



I marked it every inch the entire length.

Then I drew a line with a sharpie about 1 inch long with every third line being 2 inches long and every foot mark 3 inches long.

For the numbers, I decided on one of my favorite fonts, Century Graphic in size 200. I printed and cut the numbers and used them as stencils, tracing onto the wood with a pencil, then filling in with the sharpie.

123

456

And then.... I hung it up! LOVE IT! Can't wait to measure and mark my kids' growth on it and keep it forever ;)

Have a GREAT week.
~Rebecca

Easy Kids DIY Butterfly Canvas and Girls Room Gallery Wall

You may have noticed in the back to school post that the girl's room has changed a bit. One of the things we did was take down all their art scattered all over their walls. Then we decided what we wanted to stay and created a gallery wall. After I laid everything out there was an open spot. Since one of my daughters loves horses and she already had her horse painting in the gallery, we decided we needed a butterfly painting for my other daughter who loves butterflies. I gathered materials I already had, googled a few butterfly templates and let her pick one and then she created this canvas.

Pretty cute! I love that we have something that represents each of them in their shared space and is meaningful.

Gallery wall:

Hope you had a great long weekend, is Summer over in your neck of the woods? Can't wait to pull out my fall stuff, what about you?

~ Rebecca

Quick Fix: Family Scrabble Letter Magnets {Organization Craft DIY}

In preparation for the kids going back to school, I decided I wanted to take advantage of the side of my fridge for a "command center." I love these magnetic clips, I've had a few that I bought since we got married and I decided I needed more of them so I could quickly hang up a bunch of school papers or whatnot at once, and that everyone in our family needs their own. (That's my idea of organization, ha!) I had a $5 off any purchase rewards thing from True Value so I went and bought 4 more magnets which ended up being free. I have a box of old scrabble tiles and plenty of hot glue, so I went to work!

I love 'em. And it cost me nothing. And now everyone has their own "spot" on the fridge. Triple win.

Happy Monday everyone! Our last week of Summer~

Pipe Cleaner and Popsicle Stick Art!

Every year our community does a Children's Art Festival. This week I get to teach a pipe cleaners and popsicle sticks art class to 2nd and 3rd graders. I never knew popsicle sticks and pipe cleaners could be so much fun! (Thank goodness for pinterest!) These are just a few of the crafts we will be doing. Hopefully the kids will think it is as fun as I do :) (From left to right: popsicle stick fence flower garden, pipe cleaner rainbow, popsicle stick person, pipe cleaner art picture, popsicle stick and pipe cleaner bug/ant, pipe cleaner flower stem, pipe cleaner cheerio bird feeder, popsicle stick and pipe cleaner picture frame, pipe cleaner and popsicle stick butterfly.) Have a great week!

I Can Make That: World Market Pie Sign Knock Off {No Cost DIY}

I saw this sign in the kitchen of a couple bloggers and at Cost Plus World Market and I fell in love with it. I love the vintage look and PIES are my favorite! I contemplated buying it for $15 but then I thought "I can make that!" Using supplies I already had, I created one of my own.

World Market Pie Sign 

First I found an old 8x10" frame. It was actually already white like the original but I wanted some sage green in my kitchen so I painted it with acrylic that I already had. Then I cleaned the glass with Windex and then made sure it was dry. Obviously, you'll need to take out the backing of the frame.

For those of us who are OLD SCHOOL and do NOT have a fancy schmancy vinyl cutter, you can print your letters and cut them out and use them as stencils. I went into my word program and just found a font that I liked and that was the most similar to the original sign. After printing, I cut each one then placed them on the glass where they should go. I used a salad plate as a template to get the curved letters on top.

I used washi tape to place them since washi wouldn't get sticky all over the glass. Then I used a thin Sharpie permanent marker to outline all the letters. Next I used a small paint brush and black acrylic paint to paint the letters. This is where PATIENCE comes in and I always WISH I had a vinyl machine. It took three coats until I could hold it up to the light and not see through the letters. Even though it was tedious, I love the way it turned out and the real hand-painted letters reminded me of authentic old signs. I was able to put the glass in the frame and press down the metal thingies that hold the backing in and that worked great and you couldn't see them through the glass, but you might need to glue the glass in place.

Ta-dah!!! Not bad compared to the original, right? And it cost me NOTHING!

And this is what it looks like hung up in our kitchen! (Ignore the dumb cord that hangs down and drives me nuts.)

Hope you are enjoying your summer and have a great week!

linked to 
http://www.lizmarieblog.com/2014/06/inspire-please-linky-party-14/

Late Night Crafting and a bit of Easter Decor

Kids are in bed, husband's at a meeting, two nights before Easter, what better to do than some late night crafting! I made this little burlap banner tonight with some burlap scraps, ribbon, letter stencils, white paint and hot glue. {Inspiration from here.}

I thought I'd share it with you and show a few pics of our Easter decor before the holiday is over! Just some super simple quick pictures....

I got this chalkboard idea {from Dear Lillie Blog}

Here is our Easter tree that the kids decorate. As I took this picture I thought it looked more like a "minimalist Easter tree", kinda boring. It needs the grass and village all around it... maybe when the kids are older. 

{The coffee table tray} filled with kids Easter books and my tulips from Hobby Lobby.

And I just couldn't resist this cute shot of our Velveteen Rabbit who keeps{ our comfy chair }cozy.

We are headed to an Easter Egg hunt tomorrow morning! Watch out for that crazy bunny! Have a very Happy Easter!

DIY Tray {Repurposed Frame No Cost Project}

To make this tray, I used an old frame that was thick and deep.

I started by painting it a gray/black because I was going for a finish similar to this, a vintage looking rubbed white I saw in my Ballard designs catalogue on their letter plaques:

I let it dry then painted it white and let that dry. Then I sanded it to get that vintage rubbed look. I must say I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was and proud of myself for getting the exact "look" I wanted when I have never layered paint like that before! And I just made it up as I went along :)

I then took a cardboard box and using the frame as my template, cut a piece that would fit inside the bottom and covered it with fabric by hot gluing it to the back of the cardboard. Then I put it inside the frame.

I again made used the frame as a template to cut felt for the bottom of the tray so it won't scratch my coffee table. I turned the whole thing over and hot glued the felt to the bottom.

I put a few cute accessories on it and put it on the table and I was done! And I love it! (And it didn't cost a thing!)