Fireplace Makeover!

We have never really liked the fireplace in our family room, it really isn't our style. I don't know what you would classify our style as, but this fireplace definitely didn't fit in. So, we decided to do something about it! We didn't want to do anything major, just something simple to give it an update! Also, something that would be easy on the budget. After some researching, we decided to paint it.

 Here is our fireplace before. It is pretty much the same fireplace that the builder put in all the houses in our neighborhood. It is fine but BORING!

 Supplies:

 2 medium sanding blocks- one for me and one for my Hubby!

 1 gallon of Behr Premium Plus Paint and Primer in one in Black Suede

A new paint brush

a roll of painters tape

             

We started by wiping down the wood with a damp cloth. Then, we used the sanding blocks to sand the wood. Next, we wiped everything down with a damp cloth againg to get rid of all the dust from sanding.

We taped around all of the edges. Then, we did 3 coats of the paint, letting it dry in between each coat. Then, I went back and distressed all of the edges with the sanding block to give it a worn in look.

I really like how it turned out!

Look out Kitchen Cabinets! You are next!

New purse pattern!

Just downloaded this purse pattern the other day. I have been wanting to make a new purse for a while, but was having a hard time finding one I liked. Then I saw an awesome bag on pinterest, and I had to find a pattern for it. This pattern worked out great because it was so similar to the one I like on pintrest and you can use fat quarters! Let me know what you think! I even added a little cell phone pocket on the inside!

Mustache!

This mustache craze has caught on at my house! My boys think that the mustache is just about the coolest thing! J says that he will have a mustache when he is 25, and G just laughs whenever he sees one. So whenever I see something with a mustache, I think of how funny my boys are about them. Like the time G tried to sprout one by grunting! When he realized that it was't working he just shrugged and said, "Not today!"

So my twin went to FL with her family over spring break and she brought me back this SWEET mustache ring! Thanks, KWeb!

Baby Sundress T-shirt Refashion!

I had been hanging on to some of my daughter's old t-shirts, with the idea to make something out of them, but I didn't know what. I was about to give them away when it came to me... a sundress for my new niece! (We can't wait to meet her she is due to be born later this month!) So, I got to work!
I started by cutting the shirts into 3 inch wide strips starting from the bottom. As I got to the top of the 1st shirt I cut a wider strip. Then, I folded that strip in half width-wise, to make the "bust" area of the dress. I had to guess on how big to make it to fit around a baby, but if you have a dress or top that fits the child, you can use that as a pattern. Then, I took the remaining strips and gathered them with a loose stitch, pinned them together and sewed them up. For the straps, I just cut thinner strips from the first shrit and stitced them in place. I will adjust them when she gets here and tries it on!!!!

Scrabble tile pillows DIY

My good friend, Andrea, came to me with an idea of making these cute pillows that she saw online. Pillows that look like scrabble tiles. We got together to make them and they turned out super cute!
She bought 4 pillow forms, fabric enough to make covers, and matching thread. I had the sewing machine ready, the cricut machine set up an we were ready to go.
First, we measured out all of our pieces. Andrea decided that she wanted to have an envelope back on the pillows so that they would be easy to remove for washing. To learn more about making an envelope back, check this out: Sew envelope back pillows!. So we cut 4 squares for the front panels, then 8 pieces for the envelope back panels. Then, we sewed them together on the machine.
Once the pillow cases were constructed, we cut out the letters on freezer paper using the cricut machine. To learn about freezer paper stenciling check this out: Freezer paper stenciling. Using the freezer paper cutouts as stencils, we sprayed the fabric paint onto the pillow covers. It took about an hour for the paint to dry. I think they turned out so awesome! Great job on a sewing project, Andrea!

New charging station!

I saw this idea to make your own charging station on the Better Homes and Gardens website and I thought it was so cute that I had to make one for myself.

Convert a bread box into a charging station for small electronic devices.This will even fit a kindle or kindle fire! Just drill a hole in the back, insert a rubber grommet, and thread the power-strip cord through. Cut small slits in a piece of cardboard to create a divider that conceals the power strip and chargers behind it. Decorate the cardboard piece to match your decor! I just love how it turned out! Mine is on my kitchen counter. It's great that it looks like something that belongs in my kitchen! Not some hi-tech thing!

Bailey's Irish Shakes!

I am posting this for my wonderful Mother-in-law so she can pin it on Pinterest!;)
These are Awesome! It's such a great recipe to make for St. Patrick's Day, Or Christmas.... Any holiday...or Just an Adult Treat! Yummy! We had these on vacation one time and they were so good that we COULD NOT wait for our next trip so we had to duplicate them at home! Give them a try!

Bailey's Irish Shakes

 

1 cup vanilla ice cream

1/4 cup chocolate syrup

3/4 cup milk

Whipped cream

Bailey's Irish Cream to taste

Mix ingredients in blender

Drizzle chocolate syrup in cup

Pour into cup

Top with whipped cream

Enjoy!

St. Patrick's Day Shirts for my Kiddos! NO SEWING!

My Kiddos wanted to wear Shamrock shirts to school today. They liked the idea of homemade ones so I had to get going last week and get out to buy some supplies. I found some cheap grey shits at Wal-Mart. I already had a green T-shirt in the give away pile that I snatched for the shamrocks! So I got to work! I went for a NO SEWING project because I didn't want to have to drag out the sewing maching because of this...

I have a sress fracture! So much for getting into shape!

Supplies: T-shirt(s)
                Fabric Glue
                Green material
                green fabric paint
                Freezer Paper
                Rhinestones (for the girls shirt)
                scissors
                packaging tape (clear)
For G's shirt I measured where his elbows would be and marked it with a pen.

Then, on the computer I printed out a Shamrock shape about 2inches by 2 inches.  I cut out the shape with scissors. Next, I used clear packaging tape to place the shamrock on the green material.

This is not a necessary step, but it really makes cutting the shape SUPER EASY!

You will get a really nice clean edge. Repeat this step for all of the shapes you need to cut out. You could also do this for the letters if you wanted instead of the freeze paper method.

Then, I used the fabric glue and put the shamrocks on the marks I had made for the elbows. Cute little shamrock "elbow patches". I let that dry for about an hour and I got to work on the words for the front. I used freezer paper as a stencil. This is a great way to make really nice lettering for your shirts if you are going to paint the lettering on. I found a really great tutorial on this on a really great blog I Am Momma Hear Me Roar. Here is the link to the tut... http://www.iammommahearmeroar.net/2010/04/freezer-paper-stenciling-in-depth.html

I just used green t-shirt paint for my shirt and this is how it turned out

J opted for a short sleeve version...

L's shirt went a little differntly... I made a big shamrock and placed it right in the front of the shirt on the chest. Then I  used the fabric glue to put the rhinestones on the edge of the shamrock.

She wore it to school today so I will have to get a pic of the finished shirt later!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Here it is!

Painting Light Fixtures!

I had such a great result when I restyled my dining room chandelier, that I was inspirest to do something with the other fixtures in my house.

This is what my flush mount lighting fixtures used to look like. I really wasn't in to the gold rim that they had. Other than that they were fine. So, I bought some oil rubbed bronze metallic spray paint. I took the fixtures down and removed the glass domes. I did a little light sanding to the golden rim and wiped it clean with a damp cloth. Then, I took them outside and sprayed them. I gave them 2 good coats.

This is how they turned out! It cost me like $15.00 in Spray paint to do 3 of these. To buy new ones, it would have cost me at the very least $80.00! I love how they turned out!

Marble Nail Polish!

Marble Nail Polish! I saw this awesome nail design on Pintrest! Here is the link http://heynicenails.com/post/2766491113/water-marble-tutorial-supplies-orange-stick-or
I totally loved this idea so I gave it a try! Here are the supplies: Various nail polishes, base coat, top coat, cup of room temp water, tape, toothpicks and some cotton balls.

Paint nails with a base coat, then with white as a base for the marble design.

Then put scotch tape around the nail so the clean up will be much easier!

Load up the brush with the first color and put a drop into the water, repeat quickly with the other colors.

Then drag atoothpick across the colors to make a design. Then dip your nail down in the water, With the nail still in the water, take another toothpick and remove the rest of the polish that is still on the water surface. Pull your finger out of the water.

Remove the tape and clean up around the edges with a cotton ball and some nail polish remover. Repeat the steps for all of the nails!

I had a fun time doing this and it was way easier than I thought it would be. I did the pink and black for my sister-in-law's baby shower! I can't wait to try some other colors!

T-shirt to a drapped front top! Easy!

I saw this really cute sleeveless drape top online the other day and had to have it. But by the time I go around to actually buying it it was sold out! It was probably a good thing because I didn't need to spend the $92.00 for it.

So I did a little research... I saw this post by Anne on her blog WobiSobi. ( it is really great... thanks Anne for this inspiration) http://wobisobi.blogspot.com/2012/01/re-style54-five-minute-draped-vest-2.html Then, I thought if I added one stitch for the front, I could make a draped front top! So, I started with a basic black tee. Then I cut the neck out and the sleeves off and cut up the sides.

Then, I tried it on, inside out. I brought the bottom togetherto get the size for around my waist. I left it a little loose for taking on and off. Then, I carefully took the top off and laid it flat. From where I pinned I went straight across to the other side with a row of pins. Then, I machine sewed the line making sure to reinforce the ends of the stich by going backwards at the begining and the ending. Sorry I was so excited that I didn't take pics and I had to draw diagrams!

Next, I cut away the excess at the bottom of my stitch line.

Finally, I turned it right-side-out, And put it on!

I love it! I think it turned out so cute! I can't wait to wear it out and I think in warmer weather it will look so cute with a tank underneath. The best part is it only took me about 20 minutes and cost $3.00! Sweet!

Homemade Communion Veil How-to

First communion veil!
My daughter is making her First Communion this year! Super exciting so we decided that she would wear a home-made veil. I started with my supplies.
A communion veil (purchased at craft store)
A plain white head band (Also purchased at craft store)
Some white flowers and some lacey beaded ribbon or other embellishment that you like.
Curved needle
Thread
Possibly some craft glue
Pins

First, I pinned the veil where I wanted it on the headband.

Next, using a curved needle I hand sewed the veil in place. It was a little tricky because my hand sewing is not that great, but the stitches won’t be seen so it’s OK! I tried only going through the satin covering that is on the headband.

Next, I used fray check on my lace so make sure that the ends don unravel.

Then, I pinned the lace onto the headband.

Then, I stitched it into place. I used a regular needle but you could use the curved one. I also took some craft glue and dabbed it on to make sure the edges stayed down.


Then, I pinned the flowers in place and stitched them into place.

Here it is! The finished product!!

Pin It

The best part is my daughter thinks it's too pouffy at the top... so back to the old drawing board!

OK...so my dining room!

So this is the before pic of my dining room. It was a place to put furniture that didn't have a home yet and all of the kids toys. It is right by the foyer so when you walk in, this is what you see. It was like this for 6 YEARS! This is like a pic from when we first moved in so imagine that it got worse with toys!!! WAY WORSE! I couldn't stand it anymore.

Yea! I love it! Finally a nice looking room not a huge mess when you come into the house! See my chandy!!! I've got some Halloween decorations out because that is when the pic is from. Not finished decorating yet but HUGE improvement!