DIY Artwork

I wanted to add a piece of art above my desk so I went looking for something that had a punch of yellow since that was my accent color for the room.  Shopping for the last couple of weeks was a bust so I decided that I would try to make my own artwork.

One night, A. started to sing "you are my sunshine" to me and I thought the words to that song were perfect.  I thought, every time I see the words to that song, it will remind of me of the song I sing to my kids.  I typed out the lyrics, playing with the font using Fireworks and came up with some samples.

Since my screen color is always vastly different than the printed product, I decided to have it printed in various shades.  I narrowed down the selection to these.

The four got narrowed down to two.  I didn't know if I wanted a huge pop of color or just a subtle one.

I thought the dark grey on top of the grey walls looked better.  Enlarged, it will give me the subtle pops of yellow that I want without being over powering.

Once I made my decision, I made it into a 16x20 print. 

Total cost was only $5.99, the price of the enlargement.  I love how it turned out.  What do you think?

It makes me giddy every time I look at it, knowing my kids love that song as much as I do.  All I need to find is a silver or white frame for the print and then it will be complete. 

Mouse Candy Canes

In middle school, I made these mouse candy cane treats as a fundraiser for the Spanish club. It seems like eons ago (maybe because it was). As I was thumbing through my latest purchase, Martha Stewart's Handmade Holiday Crafts book, I came across the exact same idea. It brought back such memories that I decided to make these for my kids classroom friends. I don't know what was crazier, cutting out 50 of these, or cutting them out the night before (and finishing it the morning of their party - which was also the morning I had to make R.'s birthday cake!). I know, I am crazy like that (hence the lack of sleep this past week). My husband thinks I am nuts for spending so much time on things like this, but I just can't help it.

All you need is felt (color of your choice), glue and candy canes.

Cut out a template. I drew it on paper and then started cutting away.



Glue the ear lobe (green piece) onto the ears (long bone shape piece).

Make a slit on the body and slide the ears into the slit.

Next cut some eyes with the felt and slide the candy cane through the ears (on the back) and voila, you have a cute mouse. Ah...such memories.

Caramel Corn Wreath

I had so much fun making my candy corn wreath that I also made one out of caramel corn as well.

Just as before, I used a straw wreath, caramel corn and ribbon to create the wreath.

Glue the caramel corn around the wreath, each row going in opposite directions.

Continue until the entire front wreath is covered.

Add a thick ribbon, and you have a nice fall wreath.

Best of all, it smells delicious!

Candy Corn Wreath

I was at the store the other day and I saw candy corn. I was so excited because I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. Last year, I read a magazine article about making a Candy Corn Wreath and knew I wanted to make one, but never got around to doing it. I was determined to make one this year.

All you need is a wreath, black duct tape, a wide ribbon and candy corn. The article has you buying a styrofoam wreath, but I couldn't find one larger than 12 inches so I decided to buy this straw wreath since it would be covered up anyway. It's a 14" straw wreath I found at Hobby Lobby for $1.79 (50% sale).

Wrap the black duct tape around the wreath.

Then, start gluing.

Alternate the direction of the candy corn row by row until you have covered the wreath.

Attach a ribbon when you are done and you have a cute Halloweenish wreath.

I really like the way it turned out.

Total price for my wreath was $9.26 ($1.79 - wreath, $3.49 - duct tape, $1.99 - black ribbon, $1.99 - candy corn).

I love it so much, can you believe I made one out of Caramel Corn as well?

Flower headbands

I've been loving flowered headbands lately. So much so that I bought this one at Target for $10.

I looked at it and realized that, yes I can make that, but I didn't want to so I went ahead and bought it. Then my sister bought me this at H&M for only $3.95.

I think it looks absolutely gorgeous. I decided to make my own flower headband this weekend. This is what I came up with.

To make this, you will need tulle, beads, thread and a headband.

Layer the tulle 20-30 times by folding it back and forth, the size of your flower template.

Pin the tulle down around the edges and in the center of the tulle.

Cut the tulle, following the flower template.

Once cut, it should look something like this:

Rotate the layers of tulle in different directions.

Sew the center of the flower so that it doesn't shift.

Now thread the glass beads.

You can bead them straight to the thread of the flower.

When you are done, you have a cute tulle flower.

Put it on a headband, and voila!

My sister modeling my product.

I decided to make a smaller one for me.

Perfect!

I simply love how it turned out.

Free Alphabet Cards

How cute are those Alphabet Flash Cards!! Want them? Your in luck because they are free to download. Head on over to Homemade by Jill here and get this super cute download. There are two of each letter too. You will need to print on your own printer. These would be great to print on Card stock.