Valentine's Day craft

Valentine's Day for us has always been more of a holiday for the kids. I get rather annoyed that restaurants have a double waiting time and flowers are always a bit pricier JUST to take advantage of men who feel they need to "deliver." I am quite satisfied with the way my hubby "delivers" the rest of the year, and that is why you will see us buying more glue and glitter in the days before, rather than roses and chocolates.

Sticking to that belief, we found ourselves at Hob Lob, purchasing felt to create fun fortune cookies!  These are incredibly easy to make, and my 10-year-old did them all on her own.

First, you will want to cut out some medium-sized circles from felt. In the middle of your circles, glue a piece of pipe cleaner, like so:

You can type out sayings or fortunes in some cutesy font, but I wanted my daughter to practice her writing and spelling. (See... ANYTHING can turn into a lesson. haha)

Some of hers were cute and lovely, while others were.... well....

Yeah.

Next we placed our folded fortunes, along with small, wrapped chocolates into our cookies and folded them up like a taco. A bit of glue on the sides and top of the cookie held everything in place, but left enough room for someone to easily pull out their treats.

Easy peasy and under $5. Happy Valentine's Day!

Linking to : Living Life Intentionally

End of School Year Gifts

My baby is entering the fourth grade! And just like I did at her age, she will be starting the fourth grade at a new school. I am saddened to know that tomorrow we will be saying goodbye to the teachers, nurses, coaches, and principals that have been there for her since she first attended daycare at the age of four. Since this is our final goodbye, we wanted to make a special gift for some of her favorite people.

I have seen this particular craft all over blog land, but wanted to share it with some of my hometown friends and family. Many of them have school age children and have also been wondering what to make/give their teacher as a "thank you" for educating, loving, and caring for their children. Here is what you will need:

clay pot

clay saucer

permanent marker

paintbrush

acrylic paint

glue gun

gumballs

small round vase

ribbon (optional)

small wood dowel

You will be making a "gumball machine" for your special teacher, nurse, principal, etc, and the entire project costs less than five bucks! Michael's only had one short clay pot left, so I grabbed it along with two taller pots. Personally, I think the shorter pots look cuter, so grab those if you can.

First you will want to paint your clay pot and saucer a color of your choice. Once dry, paint a second coat to really cover up the deep terra cotta color. Next, wash your vase (because unwrapped candy will be in there) and glue it to the bottom of your clay pot, like so:

Next, paint your wood dowel a different color (again, two coats), and when dry, glue the dowel to the painted saucer. Your saucer will be upside down as well so that it looks like a lid and not a dish.  

Once all your paint is dry, fill your vase with gumballs and place, not glue, your "lid" on top. Here are the three we created and you can judge for yourself whether you prefer the taller pots or the smaller pot for your own project:

The ribbon is optional but I thought it gave the whole project a special touch. You can also specialize your gumball machine by adding the name of the teacher:

Good gracious, I wish I had cute handwriting like some of my female friends. Here is the cost breakdown:

Gumballs (already had) - $0

Paint, brush, glue, marker (already had) - $0

Clay pot - $1.19

Clay saucer - $0.89

Round vase - $1 at the Dollar Tree

wood dowel - $1.49 for a pack of 4

ribbon (already had) - $0

Total Project Cost per Gumball Machine: $3.45

and that, my friends, is a cute gift for those on a budget!

Linking up with:

Simple Wall Decor

Hello there, bloggers! Since we celebrated my littlest ladybugs' birthday this month, I thought I would give her empty walls a little attention. Here are two simple, inexpensive, DIY crafts you can hang in a child's room for under $5.

First craft was creating a monogram for her room. I found a craft wood circle at Michaels for under a dollar and painted it with colors that matched her room. I glued a ribbon on the back and hung it above her headboard. Easy peasy and under $1.

For the next project, I wanted to hang a "Paper Fan Banner." I first discovered it here and I loved the simplicity of it (that and I already had all the supplies).

The link gives a FANtastic step-by-step tutorial and I don't know WHAT was going on with my camera that day, but I couldn't get a decent shot. I used soft colors for my scrapbook paper but they came out very dark and shadowy in the pictures.

The banner is cute and will do for now, until I can come up with a better way to fill up her wall. She, of course, at the innocent age of two has no clue on how much work I put into her banner and keeps wanting to grab it (this explains why I put it high up). My tween, though, loves it and wants to hang one in her room. ;)

Happy Easter!

What a glorious, wondrous day this is!!! Happy Easter, everyone!

I just finished doing some last minute Easter preparations and I'm getting ready to HOP into bed. First, I wanted to share a craft that my daughter created and she was pretty excited that I would be sharing it with all of you.

Felt Easter Frame!

She used items I already had in my craft storage and I bought the foam eggs from the dollar store. We cut them in half and glued them to the felt. Then, she adorned the border with all things pretty! We glued some heavy duty magnets to the back and attached an Easter photo. Sweet, easy, adorable Easter frame created by a nine year old for under $1.

Have a wonderful day!

Oh death, where is your sting?

Oh hell! Where is your victory?

Oh Church! Come stand in the light!

Our God is not dead! He's alive! He's alive!

- Matt Maher "Christ is Risen"

A Goodwill Love Story

I love me some Goodwill finds. Love.

I have been hunting for months for apothecary jars. Yes, Hobby Lobby sells them but the huge jars (my fav) are a bit too pricey for me. I have searched for them in thrift stores only to discover that these jars sell fast. I'm talking "you better buy it before you even know what to do with it" fast.

Now, try to imagine my excitement when I found this at Goodwill last week:

$3.99 and aaaaalllll mine. Ooooh yeah!

Never having actually owned an apothecary jar, I was stumped on what to fill it with. I have visions for this beauty in the fall and Christmas time. Visions. Going with what I already had around the house, I set forth with a small craft project. I found a huge bag of Styrofoam balls at the same Goodwill for $1.99. The bag had about 15 different sizes of foam balls. They were perfect for my jar. So, using some items from around the home:

I wrapped them in jute using tacky glue.

Add a moss ball and you have something to fill a jar:

Isn't it precious? I'm so desperate for spring to arrive (a first for me) and get giddy when I think about the adorable, colorful eggs I get to fill this with.

Project Breakdown:

Apothecary Jar $3.99

Styrofoam balls $1.99

Glue, jute, moss ball FREE (already had)

Total Cost: $5.98

What do you fill your apothecary jars with?

Valentines Day Craft: Magnets

Hello blogland!

If you're still following my posts, thank you! I'm nearly done wrapping up the crafts I made during our winter storm (desert style). So far I have shown you how I put together a catalog inspired display and clustered photos on our wall. I still have to show you my Craigslist transformations! Please continue to check back here often as I hope to post both of them up within the next week.

Now, let me make something clear. I do not decorate for every-single-holiday. Usually, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are about as "holiday decor" as I get. That and I try to decorate for seasons. But that's it. I have to admit, I'm feeling a little guilty about not creating a cute "Valentine Craft" like everyone else in blogland seems to be doing. So, this seems like the perfect time to share a craft I did during our winter storm that wasn't Valentine inspired, but could still be used as V-Day gifts.

This is how to create Valentine magnets...

Supplies you will need:

scrapbook paper

clear gems

glue gun

carving tool

heavy duty magnets

tacky glue

First, take a clear gem and place it onto your paper, finding a design that looks good through your gem. Using the carving tool, cut around it.

Once the paper is cut out, glue it to your gem using the tacky glue. You will want to place a heavy book on top for at least half an hour to make sure the glue really holds and your paper doesn't curl.

Finally, glue the gem to a magnet using your glue gun.

TIP: You will want to use a "heavy duty" magnet because your magnets will need to hold the weight of the gem, the scrapbook paper, and whatever you are hanging with the magnet. Nothing says cheap like watching your magnets slide down your fridge because they aren't strong enough to hold anything.

Using different paper designs, I was able to make magnets in sets of four so that I can give them away as little gifts. 

Sorry for the poor photo quality, but shiny gems are impossible to photograph. ;)

I think these would make perfect gifts for older kids who are leaving for college or your younger kids' teachers.

Total Project Cost: $7.00

gems = $1 (sale at Michaels)

scrapbook paper = already had

magnets = $6 for a pack of 50 

So, there ya have it. My one and only V-Day craft. I did see an adorable burlap wreath, but really, with Valentines Day being 4 days away... why bother?  ;)  

For now, I'll sit here and "oooh" and "aaah" over all the cute crafts ya'll are doing.

Happy Valentines Day!

Linking up to:

House of Hepworths

Christina's Adventures

Catalog Inspired Display

Baby, it's cold outside!

Is anyone else getting hit with snow or frigid temperatures? Here in the desert, we were hit with some of the coldest temps we have seen since almost half a century ago.

It. is. freezing.

With the bad temps, snow, electric and gas outages came great news: school and business closings throughout our city. I can't tell you what a joy it was to stay home for 48 hours straight! I was able to enjoy my family, play board games, and enjoy some hot cocoa. Not only that, I was able to do FIVE crafts/projects! I am so excited to share the things I did! However, so that this post isn't "craft overload," I'll space out my posts over the next week or so. So, please come back often and see what a snowy day can bring.

My first project was inspired by all the catalogs I love to flip through, mainly "Pottery Barn" and "Crate and Barrel." With every coffee table you see, there is almost always a beautiful tray, filled with books and a flower pot. Something about that setting whispers "cozy" and "inviting."

First, I needed a tray. I made an inexpensive monogrammed one before, using a Goodwill find,

but I didn't want to cover up the monogram. So, I used one that I found at Ross for $4.99.

It was the perfect height and the colors fit beautifully within our living room.

Next, I used a vase from Goodwill.

It was crisp, white, beautiful, and at $3.99, just perfect.

I stuffed it with some floral foam that I had from a previous project:

Then, added a lovely flower ($3.50 at Michaels) and some moss balls ($4.99 Michaels):

Then...

I needed a stack of books to complete my "catalog inspired look." I would have normally stacked any books together, but then this really wouldn't be a "craft post." Plus, I absolutely fell head over heels in love with this project by Christina.

First, I found some paperback books around the house that I didn't mind giving up and ripped off their covers.

Next, make yourself some tea, and while you sip your warm beverage, save the tea bags. Squeeze out any excess water until the bags are damp. Then simply rub them on your book pages for an "aged" look. You can be as liberal as you want with the "coloring." I wanted my books to really look old.

Once they have the desired look, tie them using string, jute, or ribbon (whichever you want). I had jute left over from a previous project so went with it.


Behold, my aged books:

And finally, my complete Catalog Inspired Display:

Be still, My heart.

Total project cost: $17.50 (would have been lower if I had remembered to use my Michaels coupons... grrr)

Linking up with:

Christina's Adventures

Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

Thrifty Decor Chick

House of Hepworths

Last Minute Christmas Crafts

Is everyone ready for Christmas? Well, if not, don't worry. You still have 9 days left.


As for me, I am finished!! I finished putting up all my Christmas decorations, finished wrapping presents, finished creating my menu, finished baking goodies. Yes, I am DONE! (letting out a sigh of relief). This is the first year this has ever happened too, so please forgive the pride in me. It's really nice to be able to really enjoy these next 9 days without any fuss. Aaaaannnnd, I have some cute Christmas crafts to share.


There is this local women's group I am part of called MOPS. Maybe ya've heard of it. Anyway, for our December meeting, we made these incredibly cute and easy coasters!

We used tile, yes the small tiles you would probably use as a back splash in a kitchen or somewhere, and we stamped them with rubber stamps. First, you have to clean the tile really well and remove any dust with a baby wipe. Then, once it dries, stamp your design using permanent ink. If the design smears or doesn't look right, you can quickly wipe it off with the baby wipe. Just remember to let the tile dry before attempting again. Finally, spray your tile with shellac to protect it from heat and liquids. Simple. Adorable. Perfect gifts!

The two on the left have my daughters names spelled out (blotted out for privacy) and the two on the right will be used as gifts. I even made one for my daughter's teacher. Some women were creating themes with theirs or making individual tiles to give away. I am definitely going to do this again next year and give away as presents! Also, you might want to put some felt or other protection on the bottom of the tile to prevent scratching surfaces.

Another last minute Christmas idea was inspired by these babies I found in my Christmas storage box...

With a $1 vase from Goodwill and presents that needed something extra, I found a use for them:

I found that gorgeous wrapping paper months ago at Goodwill! It was meant to be used for a birthday present, but I think it looks quite "Christmasy" with some jute and those mini ornaments! Again, sorry for the blotting, but had to erase the names on that present. I tied all my presents like that and for what was left, I filled my Goodwill vase with some of my favorite ornaments passed down to me from my Mom.

The vase, along with some poinsettia votive holders, will be our table centerpiece, but those pics will come later.

And finally, I am halfway done with covering our garage windows!

I did the same thing in this project (with instructions), but these windows are so big that I find myself doing a window once every few days.

With the lights off, you can see across the street to my neighbors home (and people can peek into my garage, no doubt). To the right is with the contact paper. Privacy is a splendid thing when you are in the garage loading the washer late at night.

Once again, from the outside looking in...

Please come back tomorrow as I am posting about our annual Bake Day, with the perfect recipe for a Mexican dessert called Biscochos (or Biscoches).

New Uses for Old Things

Happy Wednesday!

Yesterday, the hubby and I took a break from unpacking and I was finally able to work on some of my projects.

Here is a random fact. I looove shopping at thrift stores. Sometimes I walk away empty-handed, while other times I find some great items that I can use in my decor. My daughter gets a kick out of them too because I always let her buy a toy. It's the one store she knows I won't turn her down for another doll. Seriously, at $1 for another Barbie... knock yourself out child.


Recently, I found a glass jar at my local Goodwill.

Nothing fancy, but for $2.99, it was exactly what I wanted for our bathroom! Target sells bathroom jars just like this one for $7.99. So, I couldn't give it up. I came home, washed it, and behold...

A simple Q-tip jar. I could have copied my favorite catalogs and filled the jar with some cotton balls, but seriously, I don't use cotton balls enough that they need to be easily accessible.


I also found this...

Ah! First, I need to apologize for the poor photo quality. I am praying for a new camera. *cough cough* My birthday *cough* is this month by the way.

This bronze metal tub was $3.99 and I knew I wanted it, but couldn't figure out what to do with it.

First, I thought I could fill it with magazines and stick it next to the couch in our living room. Then visions of my 1 year old pulling out the magazines and ripping out all the pages killed that idea.

Next, I thought, "this would make a really cool tub to store drinks for get-togethers." I was going to paint a pretty monogram on the front..... and then toss it in the garage for whenever we throw a party?

Nope. I wanted it to be used everyday. So, with some beady things and ribbon I already had, it became this:

Love it!! It's autumn, and warm, and orange, and pumpkiny, and all the things I love about October. Swoon.

I filled the tub with some floral foam I had and randomly stuck in the beady twigs. Then, I placed a foam pumpkin from Walmart inside and scattered some leaves around. The leaves were from an autumn garland I had and I just snipped off a few leaves. I think it needs a couple of pine cones in there as well. Easy peasy.

The pumpkin was $5, the tub was $3.99, the ribbon was from Jo-Ann Fabrics, and the beads I already had from Hobby Lobby. Total project cost: $8.99!

I am linking this post to Sarah's Before and After Party. Check out her blog.