Q-Tip ABC Painting

In our house "school work" is a usually a struggle! My little ones are pre-school age and I'm attempting to get them ready for school myself.. I know I'm nuts!!! My little girl likes learning and asks to do it, my son on the other hand begs to be done, there in lies the struggle! I have to scour the internet and pintrest for new ideas to keep things fun and more like games to keep his interest or it quickly turns into a fight!!!  And no one leaves the lesson happy ;)

So I tried something I saw on pinterest, it was just a picture and no link so I'm not sure where it came from, but the idea is great.  You use a piece of construction paper to write out the ABC's, you could also do the kids names or whatever you want to work on, then I let the kids pick their color of paint from my stash, gave them a q-tip and a wet wipe in case they smeared any paint and let them go!

They loved it! They were quiet.. which never happens!!! 

The were so focused, and very proud to show off their work when they finished.

They had a blast, and were learning a little something too!

If you are looking for a rainy day activity, we have a lot of those, or just another new thing to pull out of your mommy bag of tricks!  This is definitely a keeper!

Enjoy,

DIY Play Tea Set

Even since I made some little felt no sew play tea bags for a little friends birthday, (tutorial here) I have been wanting to do a full tea set for my little girl.  I looked all over for cute sets, but they were either cheesy plastic or miniature in size.  So I decide to give up on the toy sets and just go with the real thing and she loves it!  The best part is the whole things cost only a few dollars!!!

To start, I got these little wood blocks from the craft store, sprayed them with white spray paint, white primer would also work great too because the wood really soaked up the paint.  You just spray, let it set a few minutes roll them over and spray some more until all sides are covered. Once the paint was dry I used white spray glitter, found right near the spray paint and repeated the process.

The end result, adorable little sparkly "cubes".  I put them in a cute short little mason jar, to keep the lid in the ring I used a little glue to help little hands take it on and off without separating.  After all the spray paint they did smell a little strong, so I let them air out a day or two before closing them up in the jar and it worked great!

To keep the tea bags contained I found these little wood boxes at the dollar store and gave them a coat of turquoise paint.

I went a little crazy with my fabric scraps and made tons of tea bags so I painted two.

For the no sew tea bags I used the same method as my previous post (found here), but this time I did half in fabric, half in felt.

The tea pot, came from a thrift store for $2, I just used the same 50 cent bottle of turquoise craft paint to paint the wood handle and knob on the lid to tie it all together.

The cups were .29 cents from the same thrift store.  They are heavy and ever when dropped haven't chipped or broken yet, and even if they do for .29 cents I figure I will just go buy a few more.  The flowers are just dollar store fake flowers, in an old mason jar and the cloth napkins were her great grandmothers, I didn't have any use for them but it makes me smile that she is having so much fun with something of hers.

The wood tray came with another toy, I think it was instruments last Christmas, it also got a coat of paint.

And ta-dah!!! An adorable, unique tea set ready for hours of fun!

And it looks really cute on her little table in her room!  We have "tea" daily, even daddy has become quite the "tea" drinker :) It was so fun to make and cost just a few bucks! Way more fun than a $30 plastic set if you ask me!!!

Hope you love it as much as we do!!!

Enjoy,

No Sew No Tie Tennis Shoe Tutorial

I LOVE all of the cute little kids tennis shoes, especially the cute slip on converse, but I refuse to pay more for kids shoes than my own!!! Mine are twice as big... how can theirs cost so much? Sorry for the rant, it just bothers me because they grow out of them so fast, so I made my own with hand me down shoes, left over tutu elastic and some hot glue... total cost FREE in my book!

These are two pair of generic converse like canvas shoes my little boy wore once or twice before out growing so they were basically new.  I found them in the bottom of a kids clothes bin in the garage and was pretty proud of my hoarding ways, for once it paid off!

Because they were cheap to begin with and they had already served one kid I figured I had nothing to lose so I totally winged it and just started cutting.  I removed the laces and pulled the tongue forward, then used an exacto knife to make four small slits toward the other edge of the tongue where it would be hidden by the side of the shoe, just big enough for my elastic to slide thru.

The canvas is thick enough that I didn't have to worry about the holes ripping.  I just trimmed the elastic so that it reached the inside toward the sole on each side, put some hot glue on the top all four ends, pressed tight to the inside of the canvas until it cooled and sealed and that's it!

So cute, huh??  

From little boy to cute little girl in a couple minutes!  But these would work for a little boy too!

She's pretty proud of her new kicks!

She says they make her go super fast! I'm proud that they didn't cost me anything to make :)  So does that mean I get an extra pair for me?  I did technically "get" her a new pair ;)  In my mind craftiness should always be rewarded!!! ALWAYS!

Then again this face is a pretty great reward!

Stay tuned... I used the black pair for her DIY Clown Costume, I know I'm super behind on posting that one, but it is SO worth the wait!

Grab some old tennis shoes and give this a try, I'm going to try some in my size next.  Hey, a girl can never have to many shoes!

Enjoy,

Repurposed Window = Rustic Burlap Photo Collage Tutorial

Getting my family to "sit" for family pictures takes lots of nagging, even more bribing and a pinch of guilt thrown in just to seal the deal.  So when it did actually happen I had to find a way to prominently display the pictures, because lets be honest I'm not sure when it will happen again! 

Thankfully, I had this old window stashed away in my ever growing pile of treasures and I decided now would be a good time to use it.  The window already had great character with lots of white chipping paint from its former life, so I used little cup hooks and picture hanging wire on the back about 1/3 of the way down from the top so I could hang the finished product and then flipped it over.  

Sadly, I forgot to take pictures of the painting but here's what I did.  After wiping down the front and getting rid of the dust and dirt, I lightly sanded the wood to chip off any loose paint then just quickly brushed on a coat of dark brown paint, then a little turquoise and finally some white.  

This is meant to look rustic and aged so haphazardly painting it is perfect, I just kept painting and sanding a little in spots until I got the look I wanted.  Be creative, there are so many great color combos to try! For this I just used little bottles of craft paint for 59 cents, so it's a cheap, fun way to tie in some new colors without the commitment of buying a gallon of paint!

After the paint was dry and distressed, I cleaned both sides of the glass with windex and then used these inexpensive little photo corners to stick the photos to the window, which you can pick up from the scrap booking section of most stores.

 The photo corners are meant to slide on the photo with the sticky side to the back, but for this I flipped the stickers around backwards so the sticky faced the front and then pressed them from the back of the window to the glass.

To finish it off I used a piece of scrap burlap and some thumbtacks to attach it to the back of the window.  I was afraid of breaking the glass while hammering or stapling the fabric and the thumb tacks worked great!

The photos look great behind the glass, obviously I am a little biased I sort of love those mugs!!! 

Because the photos, which I just printed at Walmart, are attached directly to the glass instead of to the fabric behind, I've had no issues with them falling or slipping out of place.

The window is on my "intial wall" in the living room. It's still a work in progress, but it's getting there.  The metal letters and door knobs are from Hobby Lobby.  The metal stars I have had for years, I just decided to paint some turquoise on the white ones to tie in the color.

This "W" is a cheap wood letter that I painted with left over paint from the window, added a few antique color upholstery tacks and the stapled on some burlap ribbon to the back, tied it in a bow and hung it on one of the knobs.

It's been a really inexpensive way to fill a big wall in our living room with some personal "art".

We really love how it turned out, I hope you do too! Go grab a window, some paint and a few pictures and make one too ;)

Enjoy,

Kids Art Gallery Wall

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!  I know I'm a little late, but hey better late than never right??? I hope this finds you happy and healthy and enjoying 2014.  The holidays were wild and crazy for us, just the way we like it, still somehow time got away from me, hence the lack of posts.  But, it's a new year, and with that comes a new dedication to blogging and finally getting caught up on posting all the projects I've been working on. So here goes nothing ;)

When I painted my piano (tutorial here), which was a fabulous messy blast I might add, I needed something to go above it and a kids art gallery seemed like the perfect fit.  It was an inexpensive way to fill a large space, it got the "treasures" off of my fridge and the kids are so proud... win, win, win! So here is the quick run down on how I did it.

For the sign I just grabbed a piece of old barn wood from my stash that fit the space, so I settled on this piece which was about 3 ft. long. I was lazy and didn't want to have to cut anything.  Working with the stencils I had on hand I used 4 inch letters for the top line, tracing the outline with a pencil and then used slightly smaller 3 inch stick on letters on the bottom. 

Then I traced along the edge of the bottom letters as well, removed them and then using a small paint brush and white paint filled in all the letters.  I like that the top line is a little bigger and a different font, but you can use whatever stencils you have.  Then I lightly sanded the letters to rough them up a bit and then rubbed a dark walnut stain on the entire board, even covering the letters and the outside edges of the wood. The stain works fast so just cover the area and rub it off with a rag, if you want it darker do it a second time but once should be enough.  I love how it aged the letter, giving the sign a quick rustic look.  I also added a little Annie Sloan dark wax, but that step is totally optional.  I use it on almost everything.

The frames I had picked up at a church yard sale for 50 cents a piece over the summer and stashed away in my garage.  I grabbed anything with an interesting detail, because once it's painted the frames look amazing.  So for this I grabbed a few in different shapes and sizes, took out the glass and backing and painted them.  To hang the "art" I just hot glued twine, which you can find in any hardware section or even the dollar store, to the back on most and used a metal clip glued to another to mix it up.

Now you need clothes pins to attach the papers to the twine.  I grabbed some of the miniature ones from the office section, which I love to use, but I didn't like how "new" they looked.  A great way to fix that is vinegar and steel wool.  I've had this old jar of the mix for months and have used it on all kinds of different wood, it's a great thing to keep on hand.  To make just fill a jar 3/4 full of vinegar and then throw in a hand full of steel wool, let it sit overnight so it can do its thing and then use it forever.  I just give it a good shake and then paint it on the wood. 

But, since these are so small I just dropped them in the jar, put the lid back on gave it a few shakes and then fished them back out to dry on a paper towel. It's doesn't take long to give them a great aged look.

Then just hang them up in a pattern that you like and you are done.

Having them over a yellow piano, never hurts either ;)

This was such an easy, inexpensive project and I really am thrilled with how it turned out.

I loved the detail in this small frame and wanted to use it, but I knew it would be too small for "art" so I found this great quote chalkboard image on Google and used it.  Messy is always more fun!

Even without my little ones masterpieces I love how the empty frames look.

Twine and clothes pins, in my world you can never go wrong with those two..

no matter which way you string them!

And here it is after the "artists" took creative control of their space!

They are so proud to show off their work to anyone and everyone who walks through the door.

Changing out their work is quick and easy so the "exhibit" never gets old!

Grab some old frames and make one today! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!