Tuesday, December 3, 2013

DIY Advent Calendar

I can't say this was a quick or cheap project, but I LOVE the way that it turned out! Plus, we plan to get many years of use out of it considering Ben is only 19 months.
I had purchased the vinyl from Stampin Up! probably about 4 or 5 years ago but only now that I have Ben did I bother putting it all together. I bought a large frame from Michael's and put a white poster board inside of it. Using double sided tape, I adhered the red and green ribbons along the two borders of the frame (this wasn't initially part of my plan, but it developed as I felt the outside part looked too white). The containers are just little containers from Michaels from the wedding favours section and I put a piece of Stampin Up paper inside each and adhered the tins with glue dots. The numbers are on green and white paper and attached with a magnet so they can easily be switched out everyday - it's a bit early for Ben to do so (he'd probably just eat the magnet) so it's currently being kept out of his reach!

Monday, October 7, 2013

DIY Growth Chart

I've seen these wood growth charts all over pinterest and at baby expos, but I never like the colours of the ones you can purchase, and they wouldn't go with the wood/decor in our house, so I decided to make my own.
I bought a piece of 10" x 1" x 6' piece of knotty pine at our local hardware store. I stained it with some of the leftover stain that we had from when our house was built so that the colour wood match the other wood in our house. Once that dried I used a ruler, measuring tape, and silver sharpie to make all of the lines. I then printed out the numbers on my computer using a font I liked, traced over it onto the wood so that it would indent the wood and then coloured it in using my sharpie. I let the sharpie dry for a few days and then applied a coat of polyurethane (be careful which product you use or you may be starting over after this step like I had to the first time).

Once it was all done, Grant and I hung it where I wanted it and we plan to start marking Ben's growth yearly on his birthday. I have his measurement from his first birthday so I can add that one to it too!

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Cozy Coupe Batmobile

I've seen this idea all over pinterest and knew I had to make one for Benjamin. This whole project was really cheap to create. I bought the cozy coupe at a garage sale and then just had to buy some black spray paint (I think one can was enough) and the batman decal (which I purchased on ebay at Doctor Decal).
Ben is still too little to use this by himself, but he sure loves sitting in it while we push him around!

Monday, September 23, 2013

Upcycled Tires

Ben is a huge climber so I thought I would make a fun project that he could climb. I decided to spray paint some tires in fun colours and stack them various ways every time that we pull them out for him. He loves to climb them and down the road, when he's older, I'm sure he'll love using them as an obstacle course somehow.
This was super easy to do. I went to a local tire shop and got different sized tires from their garbage pile, spray painted them with primer and then with the colour.

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Personalized Hanger

A good friend of mine recently got married and seeing as I got her lingerie for her bridal shower, I wanted a nice way to present it. I saw these gorgeous personalized hangers that you could buy on etsy but they were ridiculously expensive once shipping was added on, so I thought I would try it out on my own!
To make it, I bought wooden hangers and drilled a hole on both sides of the hanger for the wire to sit it. I used 12 guage wire and sketched out a design on paper before trying to experiment with the wire. Once I had a design I liked, I copied it using mostly just my hands and needle-nose pliers to tighten up some of the loops. I tried doing her last name countless times, but I just couldn't get it to look good, so I opted just for "Mrs." Once the wire was arranged, I cut it down to size and super-glued each end into the holes.

I think it turned out pretty well, would have been nicer to have the new last name, but to pay an extra $30 for it on top of the lingerie and other gifts was just too much for me!

Friday, August 30, 2013

Been a Long Time...

It's been a long time since I've posted to my blog. I've made only a few paper crafts in the last while and never got pictures of them before giving them away. I have missed crafting a lot and have decided to try to do at least 1 project a week. My blog will change a bit though because I'm not just paper crafting (partly because I am no longer a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, but also making several DIY projects for around the house and play items for Benjamin.

I will start off with this peacock yarn wreath that I made for the front door. It was super easy to make and I made the whole thing while watching an hour long tv show!
Using a 16" wreath form, I wrapped the deep purple yarn around it tying it at the back to start and finish (I did this after painting the monogram so it would have time to dry). The tighter together you wrap the yarn, the better it looks. Then I just used my glue gun to adhere the feathers and monogram where I wanted them. Super easy. The feathers normally sit a little nicer, but it's really windy out today!