Saturday, December 18, 2010

Alternatives to Special Occasion Glass Ornaments



Okay, I know people really like glass ornaments to commemorate special events. My mom was able to keep my Baby's First Christmas Ornament until a couple of years ago when it was dropped (by my sister no less) and shattered into a million little unrecognizable pieces). I was a little sad, but my mom was really sad. I have friends who have bought glass ornaments for their kids birthdays or for their first Christmas as a couple only to have them break at some point.

Please to alleviate this pain, go for an unbreakable ornament. Sure I ordered an "Our First Christmas" ornament with our names and wedding date engraved on it. We had only been married for a couple of months so we were still newlyweds. I went the pewter route. It's nice and heavy. It's nice to know it will always stay in one piece because I know it won't shatter. Next year for my daughter's first Christmas I may go the pewter route again.

Or we can try these:


  • A small ornament made out of felt with embroidery or applique
  • A wallet sized frame (yes they make those) or even a little wooden decorative piece you can buy from a craft store. Paint it and put a picture in it. 
  • For a Baby's First Christmas ornament, you can take a Lovey and applique or stencil a Christmas tree on it
Can you think of ways to make special ornaments out of unbreakable objects? 

Monday, December 13, 2010

A Dresser for Baby



Well I'll be 32 weeks pregnant this week, and I am happy to say the nursery is well on it's way. I still have a lot to do like make a mobile for starters (but shhh we'll keep that to ourselves). This room is full of things from our wonderful family. The dresser for example is from my husband's grandpa.

This dresser needed a little work because the sides were bowed (which you can still see if you look at the space between the sides of the outside drawers and the frame). So we sanded it down, and I decided to paint it. I didn't mean for it to be a John Deere green (which my in-laws quickly pointed out. You have to understand they like pretty anything except for John Deere).

There was some funky, brass type drawer pulls in a ring style. I could see our little girl grabbing them and banging them against the drawer, so we decided to replace them with these simple pulls from Menards. Plus they were 70 cents a piece!

So, we sanded the outside frame so it would be flush with the top of the dresser, and I sanded between the drawers because they were sticking. I then used two coats of primer and four coats of the green paint. I wanted a really deep color with this green so I went with the four coats. That may sound like a lot, but I was actually able to use just the 'sample' size from Sherwin Williams for about $5. Yup, a free dresser, a can of primer I already had, and a $5 container from Sherwin Williams. They're samples by the way are pretty big. They're much bigger than the ones you get from Lowes or Home Depot. Plus they're in a plastic container with a handle and twist lid. So if you're kind of a lazy painter/crafter like I am, you don't need one of those prying can lids things or a hammer to close it. Hooray!

This dresser is also doubling as my changing table, and I think I'm going to build some little window box like shelves to go above it for cloth diaper storage. Yup, cloth diapers, but that's a whole other post.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Picture frame turned message board

So, I made this a while back and couldn't figure out why I haven't posted it. I picked this out at work (don't worry they were giving them away). It's actually a mugshot of a prisoner from Leavenworth Penitentiary. I was going to hang it above our guest bed, but my husband's sense of humor can be pretty different from mine.

So, since we have a baby on the way, and I didn't want to just hang a tacky calendar there I decided to turn this into a ribbon message board/chalkboard. It was a pretty cheap metal frame (also not square) so I didn't feel like I was ruining any piece of great artwork.

There was already a nail there (from the aforementioned tacky calendar) so I hung the picture vertically to see if it would fit. Who knew it was exactly the size I pictured in my head. So, I clapped my hands, did my happy dance and then proceeded to take the frame apart.

I didn't have any cork board at the time (and when I have a project in mind, I want to start right now and finish it in the next half hour). First I measured and divided the frame in half so I would have to even pieces of board. So, the backing of the frame was actually foam board, so I cut a piece of thin cotton batting and then a plain piece of white fabric to fit the top half of the board and then taped them to the back using painters tape.

I had this big ol' chalkboard I had spray painted a long time ago. It was just the backing to a big poster frame I used for another project. So, I had my husband cut a piece to fit the bottom half of the foam board on his table saw. This is thin material, and I'm sure you could use a hand saw or a jigsaw if you had it. I didn't glue down the chalkboard, I just kind of set it there.

The ribbon is just black quilt binding. I know this thing looks kind of boring, but I knew I would have different shapes and colors of notes and messages on there. Plus I just didn't want it to stand out. I just laid the binding over the top half of the board from corner to corner and left about a half an inch extra on each side then cut. I did the same for the opposite corners to make an 'X.' I did the same with the other pieces (to make a diamond through the X). You can do any shape with the ribbon.

You can also use push pins or buttons and cover them with fabric or paint them to put where your ribbon pieces cross. I didn't bother (not until my daughter is old enough to start wanting to play with it and then maybe I'll have to make it more secure).

I reassembled the frame and had to use a bench scraper to tuck the ribbon pieces tightly into the frame. That was it. Oh, and I decided to put the chalk board on the bottom half of the frame because when you go to write or erase the chalkboard the messy stuff won't fall onto your ribbon board. See I actually put some thought into this!


Make one and send pictures! I found a large ribbon board and my parents house I'm going to recover and hang in my daughter's room. So, more pictures to come!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Sorry to Keep You Waiting

You know, I had no idea I would feel overwhelmed at starting a blog. I realized I should just share what is going on in my life (rather what goes on in my head). So, there are a couple of things. I'm creating an Etsy shop where I'm going to make baby things. Secondly, I'm 29 weeks pregnant, so sorry if you're not interested in baby stuff right now. Third, I realized I need another creative outlet (okay a therapeutic journal where people can comment on the things I do).

Sound good?

First of all, awesome deals. Since Black Friday (and oh yea Thanksgiving) is in a few short days I wanted to help everyone with gifts and/or just awesome things they've been waiting to buy.

1. Amazon.com- If you have not tried Amazon, I urge you to go there. They have Daily Deals, Lightning Deal, and all kinds of other deals. Their Black Friday deals are going on all week, and they do have themes at least part of the time. So, check it out. You'll never know what you'll find. http://www.amazon.com/

2. I've been telling people about this lately because why should I keep it to myself. Let's face it, there's only so much room in my kitchen for small appliances. Kitchenaid.com. Yes, they have a website where you can actually buy stuff. There is an Outlet site where they sell overstock, refurbished, and just fund ol' weekly deals. Here's their site:: http://shopkitchenaid.com/category.asp?CAT=OUTLET&siteReferrer=kitchenaid&.

3. I would suggest if you're not already on a mailing list for your favorite store sites, sign up now. I can't tell you how many coupon codes and Black Friday deals I've received in the last two days.

Don't be overwhelmed. This Black Friday thing can be really great as long as you don't get sucked into feeling like you have to buy one of everything. It helps me if I pick out a couple of my top things like a camcorder and cloth diapers for example. That helps me narrow down the stores I'm looking at.

Do you have any great websites or stores you've been watching for a while now? Share with us. Happy shopping everyone!

Friday, October 1, 2010

Who Said Cheesecake?

Oh, that was me! For some reason people tell me cheesecake is a winter food. I know it's heavy and decadent. It's also extremely delicious, and I don't care if it's 200 degrees outside, I will enjoy my graham cracker crust treat. I have developed my own recipe for cheesecake. For now, I'll post a picture of someone else's cheesecake until I can make my own again. Enjoy!

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

America's Test Kitchen


I have to say this is my new favorite show. I know it's in the tenth season, and there is a 'Cook's Country' edition as well. Just a week ago I was given The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook. It includes every recipe from all ten seasons, plus equipment ratings, and taste testing as featured on the show.

I've made a handful of recipes from this cookbook so far, and let me tell you they've been amazing. Sure, some of them look like they may be a lot of work, but after making it once, somehow the time is cut in half.

My favorite recipe is the Baked Ziti so far. It's simple, delicious, and probably the only meatless dish I made that my husband loves (okay so he was raised on a hog farm).

You should try the book, or any of their others for that matter. America's Test Kitchen, along with their companion show, Cook's Country air on PBS.  

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

But that's a door!

I was looking for a coat rack after my last one broke. Well, the top broke, but we'll get to the bottom half later. So, that put me in the market for something crafty. I decided to visit my local Habitat for Humanity ReStore.

For anyone who doesn't know, this place is amazing. They are all over the country and growing. Their sales go directly to building houses for the Habitat for Humanity program. It's kind of like a thirft store with lots of furniture, building goods, and amazing things you thought you would only be able to get at Home Depot. They even have an online store now!

Thinking about what style of coat rack I wanted, I was looking through the Pottery Barn website and always admired the hallway coat racks with benches. I knew the bench style wouldn't work because I have a floor vent right in the middle of the wall, but I wanted the big wall part so there is plenty of room for big, chunky coats.  I found a solid wood panel closet door at the ReStore for $15. Amazing right? 

I took it home, sanded it (this was before I became privy to paint stripper) and primed it. I decided to hang this horizontally. I used a black latex paint and attached two L brackets to the top.

**Caution: This is a solid wood door, and it will have the weight of several winter coats. You will need to attach the door to wall studs so it does not fall off of your wall. That would be bad.**

There is also the hole for the door knob. My husband (who is much faster and safer with his power tools than I am) made a wood disk to fit in the whole. I then filled around it with wood putty, waited until it dried, and then sanded. Ah, I don't like sanding.

I also added a small ledge to the top of the door (added support for the L brackets) and for a small ledge to set sunglasses on. I bought 8 brushed steel coat hooks from the HD and attached those down the middle of the door. 

I had my husband help with hanging the door since it was a little heavy and also very bulky. We've had lots of compliments on it. When we're not in the winter, I hang my purse and rain jacket on it. Instant love.

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