Happy Memorial Day!

There are a couple really good reasons to celebrate today,
1) Memorial Day. It's so important to me that we take time to reflect on those who have gone before us, and those who continue to fight for our safety and freedom. I have always been patriotic, and I feel even more privileged now as a wife, sister, and sister in law, of members of the United States Coast Guard. Hope you are all having/had a wonderful day, remember those who fought for, and gave their lives for our freedoms and continue to do so :)
Happy Memorial Day!
2) I now have 60 followers! This is still a "baby blog", just one month old and I have LOVED it so far. Getting to know some of you, and checking out your blogs has been so much fun! This last week was super busy and exciting at our house(hubby advanced in rank and Parker, my little guy started walking!), which made it hard to find time to craft but don't you worry... May seem silly, but THANK YOU for supporting me :)

Just about the only thing I made this week was another little guy tie:

He's thrilled!

Stay tuned for upcoming projects!

*Brittney*

Lamp Beautification

Lamp desk+ scrap fabric+ 35 mins while brownies are baking in the oven=

It's all in the details :)

*Brittney*

Little Guy Tie

Having a little boy is so much fun! I ordered this pattern from Make It and Love It because 1) I need a step by step pattern for sewing and 2) I couldn't resist anymore! I love little boys in ties! Here is how my first one turned out. I seriously can't wait to make more! I think it's hard to find cute/fun/handsome clothes for boys, girls are MUCH easier, but this was just too cute to pass up :) You only need a 1/4 yard of fabric, and the pattern is easy enough for anyone, even a really rusty sewer like myself, can follow!

*Brittney*

My First Blog Award!

Woke up this morning feeling tired, lazy, and looking forward to just spending time at the pool today with my kids (being lazy)...then I checked my e-mail...and found out about this blog award!
Now I'm feeling upbeat, ready to check something off my "Crafts To Do" list, but still looking forward to going to the pool with my kiddos :) Thanks SO much to Vanessa over at The Sewer, The Caker, The CopyCat Maker for the award! Her blog is a new one like mine, and has really cute stuff, hop over and check her out!

Rules of receiving this award:
1. Thank the person who gave you this award

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Pass the award along to 15 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic! (in no particular order...)

4. Contact the bloggers you've picked and let them know about the award.

Here we go:

7 things about Me...hmmm

1. I have two kids, a 3 year old girl named Skylee and a 1 year old boy, Parker. Like most mother's, they are my drive, life, stress, and comic relief :)

2. I dream about one day my house looking like some kind of showroom at each holiday/special occasion. I recently asked my husband "Do you think it's strange that I'm sad I can't decorate for the 4th of July?" (we're going out of town) He thought I had gone nuts, but told me I could decorate the houseboat we'll be on instead (HA, as if I would hall my craft supplies out there...on second thought, maybe I will!).

3. I LOVE Chocolate. Every night I have that craving that just nags at me until I give in. I bake chocolate chip cookies on a very regular basis, but my kids have no idea. We pull them out after they go to sleep. Shhhhh!

4. I grew up in Southern California and now call Southeast Georgia home. Thank you military :/ (My husband is in the Coast Guard) only about 3000 miles away from where I'd like to be, but it could be worse, right!?!

5. I craft because I love beautiful things, but don't have the money for some of the more pricey looks. I figured out that I could make the things I want for less money, and more practice. I took up crafting as a challenge to myself, it's a skill that I'm trying to develop. In the 3 weeks since my first post here, I have LOVED the comments, support, and people!

6. I like to bake sweets, but I don't like to cook dinner. I don't mind doing laundry, but I don't like to put the clothes away. I like a clean, well organized house, but I have 2 small children and a husband that's always on the go. That's life I guess :P

7. As a teenager in high school, I liked trying different sports. Cross country, water polo (my fav), pole vault, and cheerleading. Now I'm lucky to make it to the gym a couple days a week...it's just not as fun as it used to be, but with all those cookies, it's just as important ;)

The next blogs that I chose to continue the award love with, are ones that I enjoy spending some time, some I just found, and a couple I've been stalking for a while :) Each of them inspire me.

And the award goes to... (am I qualified to do this? ;) )

Whims and Trims
Mint & Clandy Create
GreenChicken31
Westbrooke Drive
Jagged Ideal
For Love or Funny
Pumpkin Seed Productions
Crazy Crafty Cousins
The Norman Five
A little of this, A little of that
A girl and a glue gun
Two Shades of Pink
theCraftInMe

*Brittney*

Korker Bows

I recently found a tutorial from Pink Tea for making these korker bows, and just had to share it. I have everything to make some (it's surprisingly easy!), now I just need to find the time ;)

*Brittney*

DIY Wall Decals

Wall decals are totally "IN" right now, and I totally LOVE them! The problem is I'm not willing to spend much money on them. My solution, I made my own for WAY less $$! I don't have a Cricut machine, and I didn't use vinyl, but it's the same idea. This post from The Craft Patch is what inspired me, and although it's completely different, it got me to thinkin'...


I had a brown sheet that was perfect for this idea, a search on google, and some felt to finish it up would do the trick. Sorry I didn't take too many pictures again (didn't have this little blog), but you'll get the idea. If you have questions I'd be happy to answer them :) I'd still like to add more leaves, maybe add some more color to it, and I wish I would have made the trunk wider. Overall, I'm really happy with how this experiment turned out!

This is how I did it:
1. From queen size or full size sheet, cut out the shape. I'm no artist but I looked at a picture and did it free-hand (probably why the trunk turned out a little funny?)

2. Using push pins, I hung the now "decal" to the wall for placements. Then I used spray starch (like the kind you use for clothes) to adhere the decal on the wall (almost like wall paper). My decal is big, and I drenched the fabric, still had plenty of starch left over :) If you do this,make sure to re-pin the decal once the starch is on, until it dries. When it's completely dry, remove push pins.
3. From felt, I cut leaves/birds (or any other desired shapes). I didn't want to waste my time trying to starch-spray these to the wall...I put a little tape on the back, and stuck those little birdies up there! :)

I simply wiped any starch residue on the wall away with a wet cloth.
This works great for me since we are guaranteed to move in the next 6-18 months! The decals will peel off the wall with ease, leaving no residue! Perfect for renters on a budget, and a 3 year old girl who doesn't care about the imperfections!!!

Linking up to:
Keeping it Simple
Craftastic Monday @ Sew Can Do
Tip Me Tuesday @ Tip Junkie
Today's Creative Blog
You're So Crafty Mondays @ Miss Crafty Pants
We Did It Wednesdays @ Sew Much Ado
Whatever Goes Wednesdays @ Someday Crafts
Idea Sharin' Wednesdays @ Women Who Do It All
Hook'n up with HoH
Pumpkin Seed Productions
*Brittney*

The Desire to Create!

Happy Belated Mother's Day!

^This is my beautiful Mother :) The woman who "mold it(ME) into something of beauty..."

^These are my kids that make me a Mother and continue to inspire me to create :)

My Mom sent me a gift in the mail for my Mother's Day, "The Remarkable Soul of a Woman" by Deiter F. Uchtdorf. I found a few quotes that I just LOVE, well the whole book is FULL of them, great stuff I tell ya!

"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before. "

"Everyone can create. We don't need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty."

"Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment .We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty..."

Isn't that so true! It is for me at least ;) You don't have to be a "crafter" to create, we can all create something of beauty around us. A smile on your child's face, a loving home, or a meaningful relationship/friendship. Hope you all enjoyed your Mother's Day! I love you Mom, thanks for all your support.

*Brittney*

Refinished desk

I've been "needing" a desk for my crafts, and I found just the right one on Craigslist a few weeks ago, begging me to give it a make-over. You'll remember from this post, using the same yard of fabric to reupholster the office chair. Here's how the matching desk turned out! I spent $15 on the desk (shouldn't have paid that much,the picture posted on CL was MUCH different, but that's another story...) spray paint, a 1/2 yard of fabric and some Modge Podge! Not too bad to create a unique piece for my little creativity corner of the house :)

Before:

Some sanding, painting, cutting, and gluing...
AFTER:

I had been wanting to try using fabric on furniture, I'm so happy it turned out well :) Be brave, give it a try!

*Brittney*

Linking up to:
Keeping it Simple
Sew Much Ado
Penny Pinching Party
Someday Crafts
Idea Sharin' Wednesday

Diaper Cake

There are about a million tutorials online for this project...BUT for the sake of building up my blog I thought I'd show ya how I do it :)

Supplies You'll Need
56- 63 size Diapers ( I use size 1)
lots of small rubber-bands and a couple large ones
receiving blanket(optional)
ribbon: at least 1 inch think
embellishments: flowers/buttons/bows

hot glue gun/glue
wooden dowel

*I use size 1 diapers so the recipient can "enjoy" the cake for a while before having to use the diapers. You can use whatever size you'd like, it will turn out the same :)
*You'll need 56 diapers if you want to use the receiving blanket for the top, and 63 if you want the entire cake to be diapers. Totally up to you.
*Get creative with decorating! Try replacing some of the diapers with wash cloths, rattles, bottles, bows, pacifiers, soap, shampoo, race cars...ANYTHING! It's fun to play around a little!
*Please excuse my rug/floor for the back-drop. I do a lot of my crafting on the floor where my kids are when they're awake. ;)
*For the small rubber-bands I picked some hair ties up at the dollar store, I got the flowers there too! The dollar store is a great place for the little extras like shampoo, powder...
*For a resourceful new mommy, she can use the ribbon for making hair bows, and the flowers to make clips. It's a gift that keeps giving!

Here we GO:

1.The prep work:

*Start from the top of the diaper (where it opens) and roll it tightly until you get to the end, then wrap a small rubber-band around to hold it securely. Repeat with ALL diapers :)


2."Baking" your cake:
* Once you have all your diapers done, start putting the "cake layers" together by grouping them in a circle with a large rubber-band to hold them all in place. Start the group with 1 in the middle, and 6 around(that will make the top layer).

*This^ would be enough for the top layer. This below is how you start the next layer, just add another circle of diapers. For the bottom layer add yet another round of diapers.

All 3 completed layers. Top layer=7 diapers Middle=19, and Bottom=37
You'll need the wooden dowel to hold the cake together, it's up to you if you want to put it in now or later.

Make it your own:
3. When your "cake" is done, it's time to embellish. You should have large rubber-bands holding the cake together. Start by measuring
Wrap the ribbon around the cake layers, with a slight overlap (for gluing together) and cut the ribbon accordingly.
Using your hot glue gun, place a dab of glue on the end of the ribbon, wrap around the rubber-band (pretty tight so it stays) and close the ribbon. Be careful not to get the glue on the diapers :)
I decided to use a receiving blanket for the top layer of this cake.
To add flowers, take the flower apart and glue the pieces together individually, that way it will be flush with the ribbon.
Add the flowers where you want them, and put your dowel in to hold the layers in place.
I wrapped washcloths around a few of the diapers, and replaced a couple with baby wash and a rattle.
Isn't it pretty!?!
Hope this helps :)
*Brittney*

Cake/Cupcake Stand

For my little man's birthday last month I wanted to have a cupcake stand, but didn't want to spend the money on something I wouldn't really use too often. I didn't take a picture at each step, since I didn't have this blog, but here is what I did:

Supplies You'll Need:
salad plate
dinner plate
platter
2 canisters (I used empty formula cans)
empty paper towel roll
Cardboard
Foam-board
Epoxy glue and hot glue gun/glue
scissors or x-acto knife (or something similar, I actually used a box cutter)
Ribbon
Buttons or other accessories

1 .From cardboard, cut 3 circles out using your plates/platter as your template. Cut down the paper towel roll to the height you want. Then cut the3 same size circles from the foam-board.

(pay no attention to the 3rd canister)

2. Glue the cardboard and foam board together to make one piece with the foam board on top. Don't expect your edges to be perfect, we'll cover them up :)

3. Using hot glue, wrap the ribbon around the canisters, paper towel roll,and the edges of the boards.
4. Measure out where the middle of your circles are and place the canisters in the appropriate area. (I measured, but ended up eying it, works just as well for me!). To attach the canisters to the foam board and cardboard, use the epoxy glue if using formula cans. Hot glue won't hold it...believe me ;) Do the same for the top with the paper towel roll.

5. Stack it up and embellish with buttons, flowers...whatever!

It's inexpensive enough to make one for every occasion :)

*Brittney*

Office Chair Face-Lift

I've had this little office chair for a few years, it's never been too pretty...but it does it's job just fine :) I just got a "new" desk off of craigslist that needs a face lift, so I thought I'd give the chair one too. I don't own a staple gun, so I used a...HOT GLUE GUN :) It worked like a charm, and holds up just great. Reupholstering is pretty self explanatory, especially for something this simple. Here's how I did mine:

1. Take the chair apart

2. Lay the seat and back of the chair on the fabric, both facing down. Cut the fabric big enough that when you fold up the sides, all the edges are covered. I only used 1/2 yard of fabric for the whole project.

3. Fold up all around the chair parts and pin in place. Careful not to pull the fabric too tight (but tight enough so the fabric is smooth) and with as few pleats showing as possible.
4. Go back and remove a couple pins at a time and glue the fabric to the wood/existing fabric piece. I did fairly small areas at a time, and held the fabric down until the glue cooled, making sure it was secure.
5. Trim the excess fabric., I didn't have to worry about it on this piece (the back) since it was going to be hidden,but the seat of the chair needed more.


6. Put the chair back together... and there ya have it!Not too bad for a little hot glue, and now it's not SO ugly :)
next week I'll show you how I use the other 1/2 yard of fabric to refinish my "new" desk :)

*Brittney*

linked up to:
Drab to Fab