Picture Magnets

I haven't been crafting lately. But I have been budgeting a lot and de-junking our house. Turns out with 6 people and four years a lot of stuff can amass. In the process of downsize I put our Family Home Evening board in the bags of stuff to get rid of. We are considering a garage sale so everything is neatly piled in the garage and getting bigger every month. After two months of the FHE board in the garage, I pulled it back in and made new magnets.

We never really used the board much before, I usually didn't let them pick the treat, and my husband and I always gave the lesson. Plus its only been recently our two and half year old can conduct. So it was only the oldest two rotating conducting. But during Spring Break we were at my sister in law's and she actually let her kids do things during FHE, her kids that are younger than ours. So I pulled the board out again. They are having a blast actually getting to help. Plus the 9 year old loves to give lessons.
We are on our third set of hand made magnets. These are my favorite set so far!
We've had this board for 5 years. I wish I could redo the vinyl but I'm afraid it would mess up the board, after sitting for so long. I don't want a spot for scripture or activity. Activity makes the night too long when I'm hoping for pre-8 pm bedtime. They love conducting, song and treat so much we don't need the night any more fun.
Scripture... I'm not even sure about this one? A scripture story? that would take as long as our 2 minute lesson. Scripture reading? we do that at the end with prayer, and no one is in charge.

Pink Boy's Room

I have my second son in my daughter's pink room.  I had regrets painting the room pink even before I painted it.  That's a story for a different time, which I think I've blogged about in the past. Anyway.  My 5 year old and my 1 year old share a room, for now.  Even though the wall is pink, his corner isn't TOO bad for a little boy.  I found the temple print on pinterest.

For months I wanted pictures over my daughter's bed that matched. I never could find anything on pinterest so I ended up making my own. Now you are probably wondering why I used ghetto oak frames, because the crib, the bookcase, the dresser and the floor boards are all oak.  

 The Child of God isn't the best, but it works. I LOVE the Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam. The sun is the design from Tangled.  Even though she hasn't been a sunbeam for two years she still loves the song. (My oldest has refused to sing the song since he aged out of the class.) Overall I'm not sure I even like this.  But you know the cost of this project was free! Its been a long time since I've been happy with this room, overall we have TOO much junk!
I also remade the wreath, but I can't find an original, it was pink. It was too much pink.
 Here it is seeing both sides.

I use to have darling white sheer curtains that went to the floor, but those don't block the sun and this room faces east.  So now my window looks a little top heavy.  It use to look perfect....
I also wish I had a different light.  But you know, I've been pondering what to put there for three years.  The room probably needs a fan.

Here is some history on the room,
one
two 
three
four

Easter Bunting

I didn't like my old easter bunting very much, I wanted something more vintage-y feeling. (It was the common peep bunting.)  So I made new stuff, how I found the time is beyond me, because I mostly keep up on laundry and cleaning my kitchen. 

 Best part it was free, I was determined not to spend money on it, so I used what I had.  Plus its miserable going to the store with two babies. I wish the eggs were all different color polka dot, but I used what I had, plus the close quilt shop went out of business. I'm always sad about that.

I feel like it matches better with my easter bunny down there. 

I love my easter bunny, at the time it was a really hard decision, but I saw the price the other day-- $32.  $30 is now like a drop in the hat! (By the way I know my chair is too far to the right its pushed as far over as possible so my toddler can watch out the window.)

(That picture in the corner is my toddler's favorite picture, I think he knows its him, because we talk about the picture all the time.  He goes up and blows it kisses.)
Overall, all I really want to do is make more pillows for my couch.  I have the fabric I just need to get the pillow forms, I'm pushing it off to save my money for longer... Because you know $32 is a drop in the hat so I have to wait on some stuff, so its not ALL gone.  I have dreams in life, that require saving money.

My birthday

I changed the way I hung my birthday bunting for my birthday. I like it a lot better.

I know a cell phone pic in the dark is awesome. 

Boy Sign

Many months ago I made this sign for my boys' bedroom door.

I slightly copied the idea, but it wasn't in a sign form. My husband is 10 years younger than his older brother and my boys are 7 years apart. My 7 year old loves this sign, and asked for a picture on it. I on the other hand am not too happy with how it turned out. But such his life, now that I've done this type of craft I would have done many things different.

Would you like to see the before? Many many months ago my friend was getting rid of stuff and told me I needed this sign. So I reluctantly took it. Months later I then turned into my boy's door sign. 

Obsessed

Today I decided I was finally bored of my easter decor. But just for the record, Easter the second Sunday in April, is my ideal. I took down the peeps banner, and then my window looked so boring. I thought about making some sort of valance but instead I made more bunting. So yes, I am a little obsessed with bunting. I can't help it, I love it so. I made it match with the wall to keep it understated, but still giving my wall a little somethin' somethin'. I tell everyone in my family individually they are my favorite. And in the moment I mean it, they really are my favorite.

By the way, I love crafts that are free and can be done within one or two tv episodes. I used card stock and handme down lace hem tape.

$7 Headboard

I really wanted a headboard, but more than that, I really wanted to spend $0 on a headboard. There are some great ideas online on how to make headboards for cheap, but by the time you buy the supplies, its at least $50, if not $100.  Cheaper than buying in a store, but still not $0.  Sure there are garage sales, but you then have to refinish and such, and that is also more than $0.  So what I ended up doing was buying one yard of material for $7, using some left over batting, an old cardboard box, glue gun and a box of command strips for $5.  Sure its not the highest quality, but it was pretty close to $0, so I'm pretty happy.

I'm very satisfied with my results. I figured if a hotel could just have their headboard glued to the wall so could I.  Not only that, when I sit in bed at night and feed my baby, that cardboard and batting, do a pretty fair job of cushioning my head from the wall.

We just bought our down comforter earlier in the season, we love it. Our old comforter was a handme down my mother in law gave my husband before we got married! About four years ago, I put that normal comforter in a duvet cover, but it turns out after years of using a duvet cover, I hate them.  So I used my duvet cover as a dust ruffle to cover our box frame, which works well because I don't have a dust ruffle.  (Apparently spending money on my bedroom is not a priority in my life.  Our dressers are handme downs, of handme downs, four times removed, from my husband's great Aunt Anna.) One day before my children stain my comforter, I hope to remember to buy some spare white flat sheets to put on top of my down comforter, just like in hotels.  Yes, after staying in a hotel last spring, I thought this bedding is what better than mine, why not copy it.

P.S. don't mind the wrinkles.

New wreath

All the Christmas decorations are boxed up so it's time for a new wreath. I love gray and ruffles.

 It matches well with the new years subway art. I wrapped the yarn while in the car on our way to Utah. It was a great use of time.

Also lets not forget my anniversary wreath outside for the post christmas decoration emptiness.

A big boy now

We set up the crib and now my baby sleeps about half the time in my other son's room. I guess it's now my boys' (pural) room. I feel like a new woman having my baby out of my room for half the night and during daytime naps. Point off all this... I finally hung up the nursery art I made. Now I just need to make a dust ruffle. It's so fun to have them share a room. My six year old loves it and sleeps through the crying.

Remember the bunting it was suppose to match.

New But Who Knows If Improved

Ends up I hated my last key hook.  I decided imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so just do it exactly like the girl did in the pin, and here is the results.

 I used the same H as in my other monograms.
I'll be honest I'm not sure I like this, but I definitely like it more than my last three attempts.  Attempt 1 and 2 were so bad I didn't even post them. Attempt 1 even broke my color printer.

Key Hook

I saw this key hook on pinterest and wanted one, but I thought I had plenty of monograms without more, so I went with something else in the frame.  I can not tell you how many times I redid the inside of this frame. Well actually I can, its my third attempt.  I still am not sure I like it. Maybe I should just go with the monogram after all. I'm also not sure I like my mini rosettes.  Maybe I should just chuck the whole craft.  Any thoughts...

Last for a while

 I have very conscientious babies.  They don't come until I finish my crafts.  My daughter came three days late, and I think it might have been because it took that long to finish the Christmas crafts that year (she is a  December birthday).
I spent months agonizing how to style wise fit a baby into my 6 year old's bedroom.  I didn't want to turn it into a baby nursery, and make him the visitor, but yet I did want the crib to "fit" in the whole scheme.  This is what I came up with, after searching pinterest many many times.
Unfinished quilt blocks that I am going to put on the wall above the crib.  The yellows are left over from the bunting over the window. The rest of the fabric was also left overs, so the project was FREE. I think the animals are an odd mix.  I would have liked to do all exotic zoo animals, which would have fit with the circus theme of bunting, but I wanted my older son to actually like the animals I was hanging on his walls.  So that is why the fish and the bunny got squares.  The giraffe was one of the few mammals my son actually enjoyed watching at the zoo, and the elephant, well he doesn't mind them, and I love them.

A close up.  I just used heat and bond for the animals.

Subway Art

There are only so many lifetimes you can spend on pinterest before you start to feel left out that your house has no subway art.  Actually I just really liked the Fourth of July subway art and wanted to embrace the fad. Plus I'm low on Fourth of July crafts/decorations.

Also this year I'm on the Relief Society Activities committee, which means I had to come up with a craft for Freaky Friday.  That is not the name, I can never remember it, they changed it from Super Saturday to Friday night.  I was really quite trilled, I couldn't wait to find a hip new craft, not the same ol' same ol'. By the way I was suppose to come up with multiple ideas.  I thought of a subway art frame, where you can change the pages.  Here is what I made.  As I stayed up finishing this craft the night before the meeting, at 11 o'clock that night I knew they wouldn't pick it.

I think overall it was too hip.  Instead, I am in charge helping ladies of making my wreath. Maybe I was just more bossy when it came to a wreath, pretty much every Mormon who walks into my house, tells me we should make a wreath like that for a RS craft. Funny thing is a wreath is hardly the new hip craft, but they have made a resurgence in the craft community and a widely popular. 
Back to the subway art though, don't you love that summer subway art?!  I think its fabulous! I'm sure my idea is not original but I realized, why.. why why why would you want a different frame for each holiday, who wants one more thing to store even if its only an 8x10 frame, plus why buy 10 or 12 frames?!  That is a waste of money.  So this frame matches with my kitchen, and I can just trade them out from behind, its perfect.  I love the rosette I made for it, it is left over fabric from my kitchen curtains. Plus I decided to add pearls this time.  Here is the tutorial for the rosettes, I don't use fabric glue, I just use glue gun on low, and burn my finger tips.

Although the frame is not that easy to open, so maybe, one day I will change it up.  Its on top of my hutch.  I also spent hours pinning all the most perfect subway art pictures in my opinion.  Slightly a waste, but I didn't realize it was too hip of a craft until the night before, hours after I searched down a unique subway art design for each month. Check out my subway art board.  (I mean unique as in I didn't want the same designer month after month.)

Remember These

Remember these?  I made them for my sisters/sister in laws I that I saw last Christmas.  Well my mom felt real left out she didn't get one.  So we bought frames at goodwill, since I wanted one too, and then I couldn't bare to sand the frames, oh the thought of it sounded so nauseating to me.  Finally a month ago, I just grinned and bared it, outside during nice weather.  Oh course it only took about 5 minutes to sand them, but then a good 15 minutes to clean the glass. The frame color and painting is definitely different then the last set, but that's the way I craft.

This is my mom's, she wanted a big one.  The print is only 8.5x11, but I think the frame is a 11x14.

 Here is mine.  I used a different background then the others, I'm not sure if I like it better. There is a pretty good chance, I just like mine the least amount, maybe I need a mat.

Last Minute Sister Gifts

At the last minute I decided I wanted to make all the sister/sister in laws that I would see at christmas a present.  So a week before christmas I began franticly searching Pinterest for something I could make for cheap.  Then I thought just get over yourself, get them monogrammed note cards, at least its something.  But then all at once, or not at fast, it came to me, and I got super lucky and found four frames at Goodwill, and three quart-sized bags of legos for 6.50 each.  I sanded and painted the frames the same afternoon, I found the frames. Then used this tutorial to help me make the fabric rosettes.

  I absolutely love them, and can't wait to find another frame to make one for myself, I know exactly where I'm going to hang it.

This is the text of the photo: 

In this home...

We do second chances.

We do Grace.

We do real.

We do mistakes.

We do I'm sorrys.

We do loud really well.

We do hugs.

We do fun.

We do family.

We do love.

I have been so in love with the text for a few months.  I appreciate the idea to say its ok to make mistakes, but emphasis the sorries.  I am like giddy in anticipation to make myself one.  I'm going to make mine a little bigger. 

Grammy's Present

I have a sickness.  I think Christmas should be more about sharing with people, then spending money.  So then I end up making pathetic homemade gifts.  There are lots of good things about homemade gifts but the worst is you feel bad getting rid of them.  So I'm sorry all you out there who receive homemade gifts, probably the best is you know the person actually cares enough to spend way too much time on something that would be very cheap if it came from another country. This is obviously for my mom, when I saw the idea on Pinterest I thought it would be perfect since my mom got to have five out of her seven children at her house in December.  Its probably been close to 10 years since that has happened.

And now we know now that I'm no longer making christmas gifts that I should spend my time touching up my baseboards.

I'm going there someday...

If you remember how in April of this year during General Conference, President Monson said,

To you parents of young children, may I share with you some sage advice from President Spencer W. Kimball. Said he: “It would be a fine thing if … parents would have in every bedroom in their house a picture of the temple so [their children] from the time [they are] infant[s] could look at the picture every day [until] it becomes a part of [their lives]. When [they reach] the age that [they need] to make [the] very important decision [concerning going to the temple], it will have already been made.” 

Well needless to say I've felt like a sinner since we moved in, because my daughter didn't have a picture of the temple in her room. My son has a picture of the Logan Temple, so I wanted my daughter to have the Salt Lake Temple.

  Lil' Luna has a great tutorial of cute temple art. I've been waiting to try it for probably a year.  I mixed it up a bit, you know I can't follow directions!  Anyway, I "save as"-ed the picture from Lil' Luna, then turned it a pink/purple-ish hue, printed for 10 cents on Winkflash, to a 5x7.  Then bought a frame at Hobby Lobby, painted it green and purple, with purple/pinkish sparkles.  I love variegated paint jobs. Then I found some ribbon in my closet that was first used on the vases from by brother's wedding lunch, right after his marriage in the Salt Lake Temple.  But the green was too green with variegated paint, so I streaked purple paint on the ribbon to match the frame.  

 I added the ribbon because I thought oh, it needs to hang on the wall, then it looked so perfect on her dresser, so thank goodness the ribbon is wired, because I love the bow.

I love it!
Lil' Luna's tutorial is so great, its everything that is wonderful about the internet.  Great free pictures of the temple. I wanted a picture of the Denver Temple so I used the antique non- word for my living room.

Alpha Wall

Here is my last creation/completion.  It took a few months, but I love it, and so glad I spent the money collecting the alphabet in our game room. I got the idea here.

I was so pleased with myself, when I hung 24 letters and had to finish making the last two.  Two friends were over and one said, oh my sister-in-law did that but, all her letters matched color scheme, it didn't quite work.  But I could see where she was going with it, I love the way yours turned out.

I think mine is actually extremely chaotic in comparison to the examples, but that is me right?!

The real eyesore, is that R S U are so large all together, but I loved them all, so they stayed. 

P.S. I know this picture is too big for the template, but it needed to be done.

A Stenciling Plan

I decided today that I want to stencil over my son's closet:

Scripture Power

everyday I need the power that I get each time I read 

Although stencil is a loose term for me, more like free hand with a pencil, then paint.

Circus Flags

For my five year old son's room, I sewed circus flags or bunting for his window.  His room is a light yellow, then his window well and corresponding wall is the darker yellow. The window forms this little nook/ cut out from the rest of his rectangle room.  Anyway I thought circus flags would be a fun thing for the room to make it juvenile without making it babish or girly. If you have a beef with the material bring it up with the 5 year old, he picked out the fat quarters himself. I bet you would never guess his favorite color is yellow.

 Then while we were at Jo-Ann's getting interfacing, he saw a mini quilt on display.  He wanted to buy it, so I made him one with left over material from the flags.