Earlier today, I dropped a box of crayons on my keyboard, and I tweeted my cry of frustration. Then I was asked if it looked anything like minifanfan’s. No, but I wish!
p.s. How cute are these stickers?
Tag: DIY
-
Winter Birds Free Printables
These birds were painted last year by Becca Kallem. Visit her blog to grab the full set (there are twelve birds in all), and you can print them out to use as ornaments or gift toppers.
-
DIY Chalkboard Holiday Favors
I was asked to contribute to her Holiday Guide by Emily Henderson, so I came up with this DIY chalkboard holiday favor. They look cute at each place setting, and you could use them as place cards too.
After dinner, your guests could write their New Year’s Resolutions on them. Then you, as party host, can impose your iron will upon everyone to make them pose with their chalkboards as photo props. Pose, unsuspecting party guests, POSE!
I think party favors can be a little silly sometimes. What do you do with them after the party? That’s why the holiday doodad is removable — so the favor can be hung as a simple chalkboard the rest of the year.
It’s a simple craft that doesn’t cost much, and doesn’t take much time (other than waiting for paint to dry). Want to give it a try? See page 228 in The Holiday Guide by Emily Henderson for a list of materials needed and the full instructions.
-
Happy Halloween from the Gruffalo’s Child and the Big Bad Mouse
Eleanor is still little enough to let Brandon and I choose her costume for her, but she’s big enough now at 2-1/2 to be excited about Halloween and the chance to dress up. August, being eight months old, goes along for the ride.
I had a hard time coming up with ideas for Halloween costumes this year. I don’t know why it took so long to settle on the Gruffalo, since Eleanor’s favorite books right now are The Gruffalo, and The Gruffalo’s Child, but E was all over the idea. With one modification: She wanted to be the Gruffalo’s child.
Happy to oblige, I set about figuring out how to make her costume. Because of course I was going to make Halloween costumes for both kids. No matter that I’m busier than ever, borderline overwhelmed with work as it is, and oh yeah… I have two kids now, not just one. And I’m not that great at sewing. And I’ve never worked with fake fur. And Halloween was coming up fast. And our house has been a hot zone with one of more persons here being sick for the last two weeks.
What? Awesome! Bring it on.
I started the costumes on Friday night. The fabric store had been pretty well picked over by the time I had gotten around to shopping for fabric. I had more than enough fleece for August’s mouse costume, but it was going to be tight for E’s. I started with the mouse so that I could get a little practice in, which helped. I made a few (mostly minor) mistakes that I learned from before starting on Eleanor’s.
I had a pattern for the costumes, but when I opened it and saw eight pages of instructions, plus confusing and tissue paper thin templates, I gave up on the pattern pretty quickly. The diagrams did help for making the hat though, so it wasn’t a total waste. I just held up the kids’ pajamas to get the sizing right on the rest of the costumes.
You guys, I did it. Yes, those costumes took hours upon hours, but it was worth it.
August’s pants were too short so I had to pull his socks up to cover his legs, but I decided he looked cute. Like Angus Young as a mouse.
Eleanor had been nursing a cold, and she exemplifies the worst toddler traits when she isn’t feeling well, so I was afraid she wouldn’t want to wear her costume. She refused to try on the hat when I asked her to the night before. She woke up feeling better though, and she wore the costume all day!
August is still pretty sick, so he stayed home with Brandon while I took Eleanor out to trick-or-treat. We had been practicing our Halloween etiquette at home (and teaching her the whole “smell my feet” song), but she gets shy and quiet around strangers so she just stood there and thrust out her bucket at each house.
August was out of his costume by the time we got back, but Eleanor stayed in hers all night. I think she enjoyed answering the door for people more than she liked hitting up the neighbors houses. She went to the door each time, yelling “hi kids!” and passing out candy. She did ask later though, “Mama, we trick-or-treat tomorrow?”
Being a parent is so good.
-
How to Find a Wall Stud (Video)
I put up my almost Hang-it-All in the basement stairwell yesterday. To make sure it would stay put, I needed to be sure I hit the studs in the wall.
If you ever want to hang something heavy in your home, you’ll want to know how to find the studs too. I thought it might be helpful to show you a few methods for finding them: using an electronic stud finder*, knocking and listening, or swiss cheesing your walls. Can you guess which method you probably want to avoid?
* This is the stud sensor I use. We bought it years ago. It’s more expensive than most, but I’ve used cheaper models and have found that this one is worth the price.
-
The Porch Rug (Revisited)
I thought I’d talk about painting the porch rug in a bit more detail today. So many of you loved the project (thanks!), and it really is something that can be easily done in your own home if you’re so inclined.
I started by sketching the pattern on paper first. As I had mentioned before, I was inspired by a rug from Urban Outfitters (no longer available) and the flower petal patterns my Grandma Rose used to draw with me.
Once we were ready to begin, Brandon and I cleaned the porch and marked off the area for the rug with painter’s tape. We didn’t sand the floor first, though I’d recommend it if you have the time. Two coats of the base color (green) came next, and then it was time to figure out how to get the pattern drawn out on a large scale.
I ended up putting in some rough guidelines with white chalk. I focused on placing the flower centers where I wanted them and then sketching out the general movement of the petals from there. I then painted everything freehand, stepping back every so often to make sure that the petal shapes and sizes were remaining consistent.
If you’re considering a similar project, I’d say just go for it! It’s just paint — you’ll get a huge impact for very little money. And painting the rug while nine months pregnant was difficult (to say the least), but if I was able to handle it then the more able-bodied among you should have no problem!
If you liked my porch redo (all done in 48 hours with just $500), please take a moment to vote for it. There are two and a half weeks left, and I’d really appreciate your support during this time. And remember, you can vote once each day!