Back to basics: Texture

For added texture try tearing the edges of the cardstock. You can also ink the torn edges for added depth.

DIY Alphabet Magnet Board

A few months ago I found a magnetic alphabet toy at a second hand store. I was really excited because I knew Austin would love it. The excitement wore off when he started to play with it. He only played with it while I was in the kitchen so I was always having to move him out of the way so I could open the fridge. He also would push all the letters to the ground and I would step on them. The letters also spent a lot of time under the fridge. I got really frustrated and I almost just packed it up and gave it away. I'm glad I didn't because I came up with a great solution.

 

I took a magnet board that I already had and turned it into a place for Austin to play with his alphabet set. It is out of the way for me but keeps him close. He hasn't thrown any of them on the floor since I put them in the frame. This would look great in a playroom too. I don't have a playroom so I just put it on this wall. 

Back to the Basics: General sentiment

It's your day. I may have told you before that is my favorite sentiment. It is my favorite because it can mean so many things. My husband likes to tease me about it. Whenever there is a special occasion in our house he says "It's your day." If you don't have an It's your day stamp you can just print the sentiment onto white cardstock with your computer and printer. Then you can cut it out and then put colored cardstock behind it. I just did a bunch of layers of regular cardstock and then added a bow. I like this layout because you can give it a different look very easily and it is a good use of scraps and small pieces of ribbon. Give it a try! After all...It's Your Day.

Dresser Makeover: Take Two

I don't know if you remember this beauty.

I got this from craigslist when I first moved to Indiana two years ago. It cost me $35.00.

 

It was a weird greenish brown color. It also was a weird wood that had almost a vinyl finish on it.

We added two coats of buttercream paint and new hardware.

Then we moved to Florida and I changed the coloring of my room a bit. With another few coats of paint on the dresser and the hardware we have a whole new look.

 The color is slate blue.

 My husband made the frame for the mirror above the dresser. We got the glass free at a yard sale.

 We painted the knob heritage white.

There is one thing I don't like about it. The top poly coat is not even at all. We used polyurethane in a spray can. DON'T make our same mistake. Get the stuff in a regular can and apply it with a brush. You can see some of the top is shinier then other parts. Oh well....we live and learn. I'm sure I'll be either getting a new bedroom suite in the future or giving this bad boy another facelift.

Back to Basics: raised sentiment

I've posted about using a raised embellishment before. All you got to do is put some cardboard behind your sentiment and it gives it a nice raised effect. I also took my black ink pad and rubbed it along the edges of my cardstock around my sentiment. It is called inking your edges and I do it all the time. As for the bow. That one is a little harder to describe so I'll be doing a tutorial on how I made that bow.

Back to the Basics

I've had a few readers express that they like my posts about simple projects. I decided to make my next few projects basic crafts/cards that anyone can do. I love it when I hear that one of you has re-created one of my projects. That is part of why I have this blog. The number one reason though...is to inspire you. I want my blog to sparks your creative fire.

Ok it is a tiny bit funny that the card I am going to show you today is a winter themed card since I was just using a fire analogy :)

Behold....Winter Wishes. Hold on...I know what you may be thinking...Christmas stuff already, give me a break. I just wanted to give you an example of something you can easily replicate. For this card I used

• white cardstock for card base
• $1.00 stamp at Joanns
• Colored pencils
• Black stamp pad ($1.00 at Joanns)
• Blue cardstock scrap and white scrap to stamp on
• corner punch (you can easily use scissors)

Almost all the supplies I used are interchangeable and you can just substitute the supplies you have at home to create this simple, yet adorable card.  Focus on the layout and colors I used and the techniques. I rounded the corners and it looks really nice with the stamp I used. It all goes together. I also used a shading technique with colored pencils. I could make a bunch of these cards and just change the color of the snowman's accessories for a completely different look.

Piece of cake...mmm...cake.

Now get off the computer and make something!

Theres a hole in the Bucket

Not really...but I used to sing that song when I was little so it came to mind while I was working on this project. I was at Target when I stumbled onto these beauties. They were $2.50 each. I didn't like the salmony pink color or the letters on the buckets but they were metal and a good size so I grabbed them up.

With two coats of spray paint they were just what I wanted!

The green one will go in Austin's room for storage and the heritage white one will go on my craft table to hold my stamps. I already had the spray paint so I really only paid $5 for this entire project. Austin loves his new bucket.

Don't you love the chalk graffiti on the wall?

What a silly boy!

Guest Feature: Pleated Mary Jane Tutorial

A little while back I was reading my friend Sue's blog. She always has awesome pictures of her two boys and new baby girl. She also shares fun things she does with her kids. Sue has been published multiple times in Family Fun magazine for her fun ideas.

Sue was kind enough to let me feature her on my blog. If you want to learn how to make these adorable Pleated Mary Jane baby shoes you need to check out her blog.

If only I had a little baby girl :)

And I couldn't resist sharing another photo of her little princess in her tiny shoes....so cute!!!

So hop on over to Sue's blog so you can read her full tutorial and get started on making some adorable little Mary Janes for the special little person in your life.

DIY paint chip wall art

I got this idea for this project from tatertotsandjello

She used a bigger white frame with yellow paint swatches. I used three smaller frames I had in my closet. These were the frames before I did the project. I used them in my son's room but not it doesn't fit in his room.

These are the frames after I finished.

 

I used a 1 inch paper punch. I started at the bottom of the paper and put each row of circles on top of the one below it. I guess you could always start at the top and then just flip it over once you are done :) Either way works. You could even get a larger frame and get a lot of different colors to do a gradient look on one frame. That would look cool too. I just had a small area on the wall I wanted something for and I had everything I needed for the project so this didn't cost me anything to make. 

3 year old Birthday Cake

When I was a kid my Mom always made us a cake that was in the shape of how old we were. All six of us always got an awesome number cake. When I got married my oldest sister got me the number pan that my Mom used to make our cakes. Now I use it for our Birthdays. It is really easy to use but not so easy to get a smooth look :) It is like icing a cake full of corner...because it is full of corners.

 

This is what the pan looks like. You can purchase it here