Project Photo Dump

Here are a few projects I worked on since I've been "off the grid."


About 20 origami stars. This was my "car craft" on the way to Kansas for Christmas. I used this tutorial from Charming Imperfections. I can't wait until next year, when I get to put them on the Christmas tree!

The notes behind the star are for closet shelves I installed FOR FREE in both of our boys' rooms. I used old trim for supports and old tile boards for shelves. They're not pretty, but let's be honest, the boys' closets are never much to look at anyway, so... I also put in a rod drop so Max can reach hung up clothes. No more dressers in the boys' rooms! They're all mine!

I made a light fixture from an old lampshade. I stripped it down to the frame, then wrapped it in random strips of fabric. I used an Ikea lamp cord and a cool Ikea light bulb.

We got new floors! Goodbye Barney pink carpet! I rearranged the furniture, sewed a table skirt to add storage under a desk, whitewashed the brick around our fireplace, and sprayed the ugly gold away with high heat fireplace spray paint.

Before

After

I sewed new kitchen curtains. They're exactly like the old ones, but a little larger check. The old ones looked pink from a distance. They'd bugged me for years, until I happened to find a cheap sheet set of larger check gingham at Ikea. The sheet was way cheaper than the fabric would have been, big enough for all new curtains, and bonus! I have a gingham pillow case, too!

Here is last Christmas's car craft: I punched a bajillion circles out of an old book, glued them back to back along thread, then tucked them into a drum shade I got at a garage sale for $2. I used another Ikea light cord to light 'er up. 

I used ping pong balls to make a cute light strand. Reed uses it as a night light.

Our plain red shower curtain finally got an update! I bought a polka dotted sheet at a garage sale for $1, and cut a strip to make sort of a valance at the top. Then, I tied different ribbons around the shower curtain hooks for a little extra somethin' somethin'.

I used the same sheet to make a little curtain for our laundry room window.

Making an Old Dresser Look . . . Older

When Reed was born, my brother bought a dresser for me to use as a changing table/baby clothes storage. I gave it a fresh coat of white paint, swapped out the wooden knobs for porcelain ones, folded a blanket on the top for a changing pad, and changed the heck out of some diapers on it for about seven years. 

When Max was potty trained, I did a happy dance and replaced the changing pad with some books. Soon, the dresser was swapped with a couple of small ones from Reed and Calvin's room and ended up shoved in their closet and topped with dart guns, books, and miscellaneous treasures. Over Christmas break this year, I installed shelves in both of the boys' room closets and they no longer needed dressers. Once again, the old faithful dresser was moved -- this time to the kitchen as a buffet of sorts. Well, a buffet that holds board games and craft supplies, but still. The dresser has lived its many lives well, but it was time for a makeover.

The before:

The inspiration:

Pinned from an etsy listing by The Lacy Peacock 

The process:

- distress edges with a power sander

- spray original wooden knobs (that I saved from the first time I replaced them) with oil-rubbed bronze spray paint

- paint top black

- smear wood stain over sanded spots

- try to wipe stain off; realize it just smears all over the white paint; decide to go for it

- smear stain all over, then decide it just looked dirty and try to wipe off with a wet rag; fail

- scrub and scrub until the dresser is a decent brown (see bottom drawer in picture below)

- accidentally discover that a dry rag rubs off what vigorous elbow grease with a wet rag would not; remove much of the brown (see top drawer in picture below)

The after:

When I showed it to Reed (I can count on a better reaction from him than anyone else in my house), his eyes were drawn above the dresser, to the garland I just made out of "Ninja stars." That's right. Coolest craftin' mom ever!

Bathroom Redo

Well, the crazy summer didn't see many projects from this girl, but I finally got around to one I've been dreaming up for a while. First, the before. Another one of those hideous towel rings flanked by redundant outlet action. I already eradicated the mirror image of this with my Rub a Dub pallet art on the other side of the bathroom.

First, I cut, sanded, and stained some cheap 1"x 2" wood for shelf support and 1" x 8" planks for shelves. I pre-drilled holes in the support wood and attached them to the wall. This is actually the same process I used to build the white shelves in my craft area, minus the corbels I used for support for those longer shelves.

Then, like any project I undertake, things didn't go as planned, and I had to use some creative engineering. First, the shelves didn't want to stay on the supports, so I had to use tiny nails to attach them. Then, I couldn't figure out how to attractively camouflage the outlet collection. I went to my favorite source of wisdom, inspiration (and time wastage): Pinterest, and found this idea (the one on the right. There was no image or directions for just the basket of light bulbs, but the picture was all I needed):

Image found at: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/25-diy-lamp-ideas-blue-velvet-158867

Tinkering around with the idea caused all kinds of new problems. How do you get power to one of the light bulbs?  Answer: use wire cutters to remove a few of the wire sections so you can stick the light bulb's bootie out.

How do you hide all the excess cord from the Ikea light bulb cord? Answer: Shove it in a jar and disguise it with cotton balls.

And when the basket didn't look right on the shelf by the outlets, how do you get the cord to the plug in? Answer: Use a drill and a screw driver to hack a really tacky hole in one of the shelves and hope you don't change your mind about it.

I folded up some towels to cover up those unsightly outlets and attached a plank of wood below with vintage red faucet handles (actually drawer pulls) for a towel hook. 

And here's the whole shebang  (and the little shebanger in pirate pants who walked right into my picture...)

There's just one final set of problems to solve. What do you do when your husband declares it's too dangerous to keep the light bulb lamp plugged in and constantly takes the towels off of the shelf instead of from the way more convenient stack under the sink (and behind a step stool)? Answer: Shake your head. And fist.

Children's Church: Valentine's Day Love

I've been teaching children's church for over a year now, and in that time, I've come to an even deeper love of Pinterest and homeschool mom/sunday school blogs. I need me some ideas! So, I thought it might be fun to post some of the ideas I've collected here, in case there's another Sunday school teacher out there in need of inspiration. I'll start with a Valentine's themed lesson.

Valentine's Centers:

1) Snack and lesson with me

While the kids munch on this yumminess:

Valentine's Day Strawberries and Cream Puppy Chow from Life, Love, and Sugar (I added heart-shaped sprinkled to the chow)

... I lead them through a discussion of God's love using conversation hearts. This lesson was inspired by a pin that only led to a photo, so I can't credit it. I cut out pastel-colored hearts and wrote a typical conversation heart saying on one side and a corresponding Bible verse on the other. We discuss different kinds of love on earth. Then, the kids each got a heart to read to the group and we discussed how God's love is unbeatable. They get a pack of conversation hearts as I send them to the next station and encourage them to "Have a conversation with God."

Be Mine  - John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

All Mine - John 10:29b "...no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand."

True Love - Jeremiah 31:3 "The Lord appeared in the past, saying, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness."

Love Me - Luke 10:27 "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' and 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

Be True - John 14:15  "If you love me, you will obey what I command."

I'm Sure - John 14:1-2 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you."

Sweet Talk - Psalm 119:103 "How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"

Cutie Pie - Psalm 139:13-14 "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful. I know that full well."

Call Me - Jeremiah 33:3 "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."

2) Valentine Puzzle

Since Miss Pam first sent this cute message home on Reed's first Valentine's Day, I've seen this same idea used 1,000 times. I turned it into a riddle for the kids. They had to look up John 3:16 (or recite it from memory) and fill in blanks to reveal the secret words. I used an outline font and added hearts to color to help fill time at this quick center. My printer is sketchy and so are my hearts, but kids are easy to please, so it'll work.

3) Handprint Heart craft

Here, I employ my awesome big kids (my group ranges from four-year-olds to seventh graders, with an occasional high school helper) to paint hands for me. First, kids write a verse or message (or color a design) along a penciled heart. After they erase the pencil line, each hand gets painted a different color to be stamped into a heart shape. Then they report straight to the bathroom to wash up (and hopefully not trash the sink!) If they need to kill time, stencils and heart-shaped hole punches let them add more embellishments.

Handprint heart idea from Decorating by Day




Check out other children's church ideas here.

Lego Table

If you know our boys, then you know there's not much they like better than Legos. The two bigguns, especially, are obsessed! As a result, we have mountains of the tiny pieces. When Reed started becoming interested in Legos, largely due to an impressive collection at Mrs. Pam's day care, I decided to copy Mrs. Pam's organizational strategy for the plastic pieces: store 'em all mishmashed together on a Lego table. I took two end tables, set them side-by-side, hammered a little trim around the surface and, voila, an instant surface to play and store Legos. 

This did not last long. I swear Legos multiply at night (oftentimes on the floor). We soon had two  large storage tubs filled with the bricks under the end tables. The tabletop was still constantly loaded. The only purpose it served was a good place to aim when putting toys away Calvin-style (chucking them in the general direction of some receptacle).  So, this year for Christmas, I made a new, improved Lego table for myself the boys. I basically copied the table top for my pallet desk. I used two 1"x 12" boards, following the same painting technique I used on the pallet desk (red craft paint, sanding, stain/black paint mixture) to achieve rustic, barn-looking wood. I used mending plates to fasten the two boards side by side. Then, I nailed trim on the outside edge of all four sides so there would be a ledge to keep any rogue Ninjas from jumping off unassisted. The table is about eight feet long, so there's plenty of room for all three boys to play.

Whether there's plenty of room for all of their Legos remains to be seen. We still have the two storage tubs under the end tables. At this point you can see some of the surface of the table, which is more than you could say for the last one. However, they still have Christmas money to burn and I know what they'll spend it on. 

I'm not too worried, though. The boys received about 10 Lego sets for Christmas. Guess where they assembled nine of them?



All over the floor...


Linking up to: Hunt and Host: boys' room tour

Cheapskate Christmas

It would sound so much better to title this "Handmade Christmas," but who am I kidding? Most of the decorations on my tree are there because I was too poor or cheap to buy real ones. But as I sit here admiring my Christmas tree, I'm glad it's slowly grown over time. I added a garland this year, and it's my favorite tree yet. "Minus the fakeness" the boys would add. It's our first falsie tree. I have mixed emotions about that, but I'm choosing to celebrate that we could put it up on a whim in early December instead of having to wait until we were close enough to Christmas that the needles wouldn't be brown on the 25th.

The decorations:

Bling - I made these out of my old jewelry supplies. They totally disappear on our trees now, but we used to have to cram an itty bitty tree into our even bittier living room. Oh well, the boys still like them and they're fun to look at while we're putting them on and taking them off.

Stars/doves - I copied sheet music onto cardstock, then traced cookie cutters, cut out shapes, and attached ribbon. Would be so much easier with a Cricut or Silhouette, though!

Crocheted snowflakes - Wish I could say I made these, but I didn't. I could've though, if I knew how to crochet...

Picture frames: Found them at a dollar store. I think I gave $1 for a two or three pack. Anyway, I replaced their boring ribbon for my cute polka-dots and added tiny pictures, which I've left in their for three Christmases now. I'm just gonna roll with it and say it's for the nostalgia factor...

Boxes - These may be my favorites! My cousin, Samantha, makes these out of adorable papers. I followed her tutorial to make a bunch of tiny ones out of book pages and tied them up with twine.

Garland - string, fabric scraps cut with pinking shears, jingle bells, and paper hearts punched out of sheet music, maps, and book

There are also some cinnamon ornaments hiding on the tree somewhere, but a certain little elf ran around the house shaking the tin full of them and broke the majority of those...

The secret ingredient to this tree, despite the cinnamon mishap, is the child labor I employed to get it decked. These elves are actually pretty good decorators. I only had to move a few ornaments (unless you count the string of Christmas crap they left all over the house).

 My cheapness extends to my wrapping paper, too. I mean, really, it's just going to get ripped apart in a few days. I use a little bit of regular wrapping paper to add pattern under the tree, but for the rest of the packages, I have family save comic sections for me all year. I've also used newspaper, but I think I'd prefer the classified or some other section with fewer pictures. Those brown paper packages tied up with string are from packing paper shoved in every Amazon box I've gotten this month. It's a little wrinkly, but let's just say it adds to the charm. I also use brown paper lunch sacks for little, hard to wrap items. I just fold a little scrap of paper over the top and staple it. This year, I also decorated with twine, jingle bells, and monograms cut out of different papers.