DIY Memo Board (No Cork Required)

I'd like to show you how I changed old wall art into a memo board (bulletin board). No cork boards were harmed in this project.

Once upon a time there was a large cafe/bistro framed picture. And as much as we loved it when we purchased it ten years ago, alas, like all fads, the bistro style for interior design had long since faded.

I decided to reuse the frame to create a bulletin board (memo board). I did not want to use a cork board in this project for two reasons. #1 most cork boards are expensive. #2 most (not all) cork purchased by the roll or square for DIY projects is so thin that once installed, it hardly holds a push pin.

I decided to go to the fabric store, 50% off coupon in hand, and buy one yard of 1/2 inch green foam. This is the kind of foam that is on a roll and is purchased by the yard, not the prepackaged foam which often is more expensive.

From the bistro picture I removed the glass and art but kept the cardboard backing and frame. I traced around the cardboard piece onto the larger green foam and cut out a piece of foam the same size as the cardboard.

Next, I simply wrapped leftover scrap fabric around the foam and used packing tape to secure it onto the back of the cardboard. I had a fabric layer on the front, foam layer in the middle, and cardboard layer in the back.

Finally, I placed placed it back in the frame and folded the little frame staples back down to keep the memory board in place. Viola! Total Price: $5.50 for the foam.

Oh, and push pins remain in this board because the foam is 1/2 inch thick.



Dining Room Before and After

This is how I changed my formal dining room from luscious red to aged faux.

Before

After

I used these pictures found on Pinterest as my inspiration for technique (not color):



My husband used a roller to paint the ceiling with the Behr Paint in Shelburne Buff - full strength - not diluted and I worked on the walls. First I used Behr Paint and Primer In One (Benjamin Moore color in Shelburne Buff) diluted with water and Martha (Stewart) Living Faux Finishing Glaze (clear - no color).

I brushed that on using a 3 inch brush. Yes, I painted the entire room with a brush. I used mostly vertical strokes with some horizontal strokes too (no diagonals, no sponge, no swirls). I was going for a very specific look. I wanted the red to peek through so I wasn't trying to cover every bit of red color.

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Next, I hand-brushed on a layer of brown glaze. I used Valspar Translucent Color Glaze in Mocha.

This shows the buff paint/glaze layer plus the Mocha glaze layer. I also glazed the crown molding with the Mocha glaze wiping most of it off and leaving the rest in the molding details.



Finally, I brushed on a few swipes of Martha (Stewart) Living Metallic Paint in Vintage Gold mixed with the clear glaze. I didn't want the gold to overpower the rest of the colors. It was just an accent brushed on here and there to create a little more drama and light reflection.

And we ended up with this:

So, to recap --

Before - I know the red is pretty, but the light remained off almost all the time. The room was a dark, cold space and we never used it.

After - This room is being transformed into my new sewing room. It's brighter, lighter, warmer, and inviting. I basically live in this space now and love it!

DIY Tooth Fairy Pillow (Tutorial)

Sophie starts Kindergarten this fall. When we toured the classrooms at Kindergarten Roundup earlier this spring I noticed a chart listing all the teeth various students lost during their Kindergarten school year. That poster brought up all sorts of questions from Sophie. Will it hurt? Who is the Tooth Fairy? Why does she want teeth? Does she pull my teeth? Can she give me prizes instead of money? (The Tooth Fairy will be more than happy to give prizes instead of money).

When I was a child my sister and I both had special Tooth Fairy pillows. After realizing I could make at least three pillows (one for each of my girls) for less than the price of purchasing one pillow from Etsy or ebay, I went into DIY mode.

I let Sophie choose the fabric. I really like the print she chose for the main pillow portion. I personally would have chosen a different print for the pocket, but Sophie loved these two prints together. My only "rule" was that she could NOT pick any licensed fabric (e.g., Disney, Hello Kitty, etc.). I'm not a fan of highly commercialized cartoon images and feel prints and solids create a boutique quality product.

Items Needed:

• Two 6” x 6” squares of fabric for pillow
• One 4” x 5” contrasting fabric for pocket
• 27” of 5/8” grosgrain ribbon (12” for handle and 15” for bow embellishment.)
• Initial badge pin (Hobby Lobby $.99) 
• Poly-fil or pillow stuffing of your choice

Directions:
For the pocket, fold over all four edges, WRONG sides together 1/2" and sew.

Pin the WRONG side of pocket to the center of the RIGHT side of one pillow square (so both the pillow square and pocket are RIGHT side facing you). Sew sides and bottom of pocket to pillow square.

Pin 12” of grosgrain ribbon on the RIGHT side of the same pillow square at the 1” and 5” locations. Make sure your ribbon handle is pinned DOWN from the top edge looping down toward the pocket. Make sure your pins are lower than your seam allowance so you can remove them once you turn your pillow right side out.

Sew the pillow fabric RIGHT sides together leaving a small opening to turn the fabric right side out. Remove pins which held the ribbon in place.

Stuff the pillow with poly-fil, fabric scraps, recycled plastic sacks, or whatever you wish to use as your stuffing. Sophie enjoyed getting to do this part. Hand-sew opening closed.

Add the initial badge pin to the pocket and hand-sew a bow (made from 15” of 5/8” grosgrain ribbon) onto the pillow at a diagonal.

The back looks like this...



Sophie, Piper, and Riley love the way their Tooth Fairy pillows turned out. It was a fun and quick little project in which they could participate. Now I better let the Tooth Fairy know she needs to stock up on prizes rather than money for the teeth in this household.

DIY Initial t-shirt

Two years ago I began a little Christmas tradition. I made my 3 little chicks matching t-shirts with their initials on them. My inspiration was this adorable shirt which came from frogsandfairydreams.com

I love the items they sell. I wanted three long sleeved shirts, but that would have cost me $90+. So...I decided to do it myself -- with a few alterations. I created a similar look on my computer simply using my inexpensive printshop software (my hubby helped me tweak the design) and we printed it onto transfer (iron on) paper which I bought at Hobby Lobby using my 40% off coupon.

I followed the directions and ironed the designs onto white long sleeved shirts the girls already owned. Each year I can tweak the design, color, font, etc. and can easily make new matching t-shirts. I chose pink and green so the girls could continue to wear them long after Christmas is over.

I may embellish each shirt this year with a bow. If I do, I'll attach the bow with a snap so it can be removed when the shirt is washed.

The total for all three shirts was only $7.

Simple. Frugal. Fun.

Pumpkin, Moss, and Burlap Wreath

Weeks ago I fell in love with this wreath I found on Pinterest

Coupon in hand, my 3 little chicks and I headed to our local Hobby Lobby to buy our supplies.


Supplies:
1 large bag Spanish Moss - $3 (it was 50% off $6)
5 mini pumpkins - $3 total (they were 80% off)
Wooden floral picks - $1.80 (were $3 but I use my 40% off coupon)
18"  of 45" wide burlap ($2)
Wreath - free (left over from a previous project)
Hot glue gun and several glue sticks (already owned)

Total: $10

Sophie helped me make our wreath while the twins napped. I worked in small sections applying lots of hot glue. Sophie laid the moss on top of the glue and I smashed it down (burning my fingers countless times). After we covered all but the very back of the wreath with moss, it was time to add the pumpkins. I hot glued a wooden floral pick to the bottom of each mini pumpkin. Then, I simply jabbed the pumpkin pick into the wreath creating a cluster with the pumpkins rather than spreading them apart.

I'm not thrilled with my burlap bow. There's probably a better way to make it. I cut a 6" by 20" section of burlap, made a large loop around the top of the wreath and hot glued the two overlapping burlap ends together. Then I took a 6" by 45" section of burlap to create the bow part. I attached the bow to the loop with a little floral wire. My burlap is fraying, so there must be some secret to keeping it intact. I kind of like the fraying though since this is sort of a rustic wreath.

I'm sorry about the poor picture quality. In reality, my wreath does look quite similar to the original. My moss looks Christmas tree green in the picture, but it's not. The pumpkins on my wreath were the "sugared" kind which look goofy in this picture. With so many beautiful finds on Pinterest, I'm glad I finally got around to actually making something I pinned and loved.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Jennifer

DIY Party Banner

My friend, Tessa, loves to eat Mexican food. She may love it almost as much as she loves the man she is about to marry. Tessa's upcoming bridal shower will have a Mexican fiesta theme. I was asked to create a banner of some sort. I thought about using take out menus from local Mexican restaurants but realized the font size would be too small to read once the banner is hung. Plus, take out menus are not very colorful. I'll tuck that idea into my back pocket for some future project.

I found some pictures of Papel Picado - hand cut paper banners crafted from tissue paper. Images are created within the cutouts - all by hand.

Using the photos above as my launching point, I decided I had neither the time nor the skill required to actually cut out 15 feet worth of images, from tissue paper, by hand. If I tried, the banner would end up looking like a cluster of snowflakes - at best - if you squinted, and tilted your head, and jumped up and down. Also, living in Oklahoma, I doubted tissue paper on thread would hold up to wind gusts we experience here. As I am typing this, the tornado warning we were under expired. The sirens sounded a while ago, but now the storm has passed over and a beautiful rainbow can be seen out my breakfast nook window. Tissue paper ain't gonna cut it, baby. Yes, I could pay the $20 + shipping and handling for a real strand of Papel Picado, but what fun is that? I'm a do-it-yourself kind of girl and thrive on finding beautiful decorating ideas and making them myself for less money.

So, I perused my local Hobby Lobby and purchased bold, bright 12" x 12" textured card stock paper from the scrapbook supply section.

I cut the pages into 9" x 6" pieces.

Then I hand cut pointed edges on the yellow sheets, curved edges on the pink sheets, and cut the edges of the blue pages with fancy design cutting scrapbook scissors.

Alternating colors, I sewed each piece of paper onto yellow grosgrain ribbon.



Finally, I tied on two handmade tissue paper flower pom-poms.

Viola! I hope she likes it.

This banner took me about an hour to make, with Sophie's "help", and only cost $5. Hobby Lobby didn't have their card stock paper on sale this week, but the ribbon is was only $1 - half off the 18 ft. spool. I recycled the tissue paper from my birthday presents.