Updated Birdhouse

We had an exchange of household items at a church activity the other week.  You bring some stuff you don't want, I bring some stuff I don't want and we swap.  I picked up this beauty knowing I needed some more spring decor.

The colors weren't what I wanted and the style was not really my taste, but I knew it had potential (and it was free!)  Here's how it turned out after a little paint (several coats) and some cute paper (attached with mod podge).

Love it!

Headband Holder

Instead of a free for all mess on my daughters dresser, I saw a perfect solution for keeping her headbands organized.  ( I need to make myself one next).  I used an empty Countrytime lemonade canister.

I covered it with some cute paper using mod podge

Then I hot glued some lace around the top for a little added frill and it's done.

The headbands fit snugly around the canister and stay put until you need them.

This is a much better feature on her dresser than a jumbled mess of headbands.

Beach Themed Mantle

I've seen so many cute beachy mantles and I wanted to try it out.  I'm finally getting around to taking down my Fourth of July summer decor and it's too early to put up my fall stuff, so  I went for it.  I was able to put this together with all stuff I had lying around - including a new "Relax" sign that Jared and I picked up in Catalina.  I need to think of something to put in the glass at the back though.  Might need to go looking for a pretty candle or something.  hmmmm. . . .

I made this sign out of an old board in my garage. It was cut all crooked which gives it a little more character.  I painted it white then used a dry brush technique with some brown to antique it.  I cut the letters out of some scrapbook paper using my silhouette and mod podged them on.   I would have rather done it with vinyl to be quicker, but the only colors I have are white, black and red.  I wanted a beachier color.  Anyways, I  think it turned out pretty good.  Jared said, "It's almost there, but not quite"  Thanks for the support, honey.

Toy Box Into Bench Makeover

When Jared was little, his father built this toy box for their toys.  It was given to us when we started having kids. It was a dark wood color to begin with.  When we got it, I painted it white and padded the inside for my kids to use as a toy box.  Years have gone by and the toy box has traveled along with us but it's usually just filled with whatever junk we need to store.  It has been moved from room to room trying to find a place that we have space for it.  Still, my husband can't bear to part with it because his father built it and it has sentimental value. 

I've thought for a long time that I'd make it nice again and turn it into a bench seat, but I finally started the project.  As you can see (above) it had nicks and scratches in the paint.  So I started with that.  a fresh coat of white paint.

Already a huge improvement.  Next, I used my Silhouette cutter to give it a little flair.  I mod podged the letters on.  (It probably would have been easier to use vinyl, but I only have a white roll and didn't want the extra expense right now)

A huge improvement.  Next, I'm going some fabric to make a pad for the top.  It looks so much nicer, I am not so embarrassed to have it in our front room now.

Temple Block

Made this for my sister for Christmas. I love how it turned out!  I think I will make myself one, too.  Anyways, I got the picture from Lil Luna.   She has all kinds of temple pics on there to use. 

Baby Gifts - "Touch and Feel Book" and "Bibs"

My baby girl likes the touch and feel books.  I know all of you are thinking, "Okay, Shelly, so just go and buy one."  Well, I'm weird.  I love home made stuff and why buy when you can make.  It's more fun for me.  I realized that I had a lot of good fabrics with different textures and I wanted to try out making a book out of mod podge, so here is what I came up with.
I started with some super cute paper.

It is double sided with cute patterns. I used the mod podge to put animals on the pages, then sewed fabric swatches for the texture over the top of the animals.

For the back sides of the pages, I mod podged shapes over the stitches so that they aren't as noticeable.

The fun thing is that the mod podge makes the paper flexible without tearing or getting creases. I let Aliza test out a couple of the pages and they held up quite well.

Here's the orange one after she crumpled it.  You can just smooth it back to it's shape.

I bound them together (and forgot to take a picture before I wrapped it).  Hopefully I'll take a picture for you and post it later.

I also made some fun bibs for her.  The colors are a little funky because I used a lot of my left overs, but they will just get gooey anyways, right?

I especially like the apple and splat bibs.  I thought they came out cute.

Christmas Wish Can

During the holidays, the kids always are changing their minds about what they want. It's hard to keep track of all their thoughts.  So this year, we made a Christmas Wish Can for them to put all their little hearts' desires in.

I started with an empty can, mod podge and a variety of christmas papers I had left over.

I spread a layer of pod podge over the whole can and put my base paper on.

( I put it on too thick, that's why I have a bumpy result.  Be more patient than me) I added a navy trim around the top.

I wrote Christmas wishes on my paper and cut it to the size I wanted, then used mod podge to stick it to the can.

First the bottom, then the top of the sign.

Once you are finished, cover the whole thing with mod podge and let it dry.  The podge will dry clear when you are done

P.S. if you are more patient with drying between layers and don't put the podge on so thick, you will have a lot flatter and nicer can than mine. I was trying to do this way too quick) 

"Doll" House Furniture part 1

I picked up some fun items at Michaels.  Each thing was about $1.  Here is what I got:

For a table I got a package of two big cirlces and 3 spools.  Though I  am only using 1 circle and 2 spools.  I can keep the extras for something else fun.

For some stools, I got a package of small circles (6 of them) and 2 packages of these knobby things with 7 in each.

I'm using 4 circles and 12 of the knobs for the stools.






I painted the legs blue and used mod podge to add the yellow paper to the tops.  Then I glued them together like so (I used tacky glue since it's sticky enough for the legs of the stools to stand up on their own)

Here is the finished product

I also picked up one of these premade cabinets at Michaels (I think they are like $2) and painted it to match the kitchen furniture.  It's going to be the food cabinet.

 

For the pet beds I got three of these.

I painted them blue then put a little bit of stuffing inside topped with a circle piece of fabric for the pillow. I used my hot glue to keep it in.

I didn't take a picture but I also used some mod podge on top to stick some little star and moon punches on top (seen below)




And here are her Littlest Petshop pals enjoying their new spaces.  My daughter is so excited to have a place for her little animals to play.

"Doll" House

When we took apart our terrible closet made of particle board, we had this piece left over.

I thought it would be fun to make something out of it.  I soon decided to make it into a play doll house for Mikyla.  I spray painted around the edges.

Then I used some mod podge to create wall paper.

We decided the top floor will be the bedroom.  Next is the bathroom(blue), then the kitchen(green) and the living room will be on the bottom.  Now I have a whole new world of creating to do as we come up with fun furniture and things to fill our house with.

To Do:
Find a idea for the roof
add windows with mod podge
create furniture for each room

Several weeks have gone by since I started.  Mikyla and I have been a little at odds about who gets to use the house.  Ultimately she wins, though, because she will be the one to play there, not me.  I orginally wanted a Barbie house, but evidently this is no good since Barbie can't stand up in the rooms (they just aren't tall enough).  So, it will be a house for her Littlest Petshop Animals.  She plays with them more anyways.  My little animal lover.  I already have some ideas for furniture.  Keep your eyes peeled for more on our "doll" house.