Unpacking, Decorating our Mantle and Making a Halloween Minion!

Tags

design, DIY, family, furniture, new, room, Things I've made, tutorial, upcycle, What I'm working on

Hi All!! We had our furniture delivered a little over a week ago now and we’re slowly unpacking and settling in.  We love our new home and are lucky to be in such a great and friendly neighborhood.  We’ve unpacked the main floor but I’m leaving my sewing and craft area for last…maybe. 

So far, I’ve been able to decorate a few spaces and am in love with our mantle.

The Mantle

I picked up the picture a while ago at Value Village for $15 and I’m so happy to finally be able to hang it!  The ceramic bust was a curbside find.  The birdcage was a clearance item and the letter A was a thrift store purchase.  Finally, the “Thumbs Up” I found at Winners.  And don’t forget the chairs that I re-upholstered this past spring. Don’t they look amazing in front of the fireplace?

On top of unpacking the house, I needed to get moving on finding costumes for the boys since Halloween is only a week away.  I came across this fantastic tutorial and just had to try it! 

Almost finished the Minion…just need to make the overalls!

What do you think? 

Just add child and be ready to have the best Halloween ever!

Ah-Mazing idea…and great tutorial by the owner of Mink’s Paperie!

Hopefully I’ll have the house unpacked before Christmas!
~Angie

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Backyard Giant Jenga

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2x4, backyard game, DIY, family time, fun, game, giant, handmade, jenga, project, stacking games, Things I've made, tower, tutorial, weekend, wood

Looking for something fun to do in your backyard this summer? A great family game? Or perhaps something to entertain your guests at a bbq? Backyard Jenga is super easy to make, costs less than $20, and provides hours of fun!

Backyard Fun!

All you need are some 2×4’s, a saw, and some sandpaper! I used six 2x4x8’s and measured and cut them into 12″ pieces. This gave me 48 pieces, but you could add more if you wanted. Then, I sanded each 12″ piece smooth to make it easier to slide and remove from the stack. It also helps if you round out the edges.

There are many different ways to make this giant version. If you wanted to make sure your blocks will stack into a perfect square (or cube), just lay three 2×4’s side by side and measure across them to determine how long the smaller pieces should be cut.

The rules are the same are regular Jenga, except that you can use two hands when removing pieces. You can even make your own variations to the rules! A quick google search will give you some ideas. Do what works for you and your family.

And for an easy way to keep score, we used our fence as a chalk board!

Keeping score on the fence…Best 3 out of 5?

Have fun!!
~Angie

Linking up with:

http://www.redouxinteriors.com/2013/07/link-party-114-and-le-fabulous-features/

http://www.homestoriesatoz.com/uncategorized/tutorials-tips-link-party-120.html

http://www.thecottagemarket.com/2013/08/junkin-joe-linky-party-features-and.html

Quick Craft: Water Squirter Target Practice

Tags

balls, DIY, family time, fun, golf tees, handmade, project, squirt sticks, summer, target, tees, tutorial, water fun, weekend

Here’s an easy craft to keep the kids busy on a hot summer day.

You will need:

Golf tees
Plastic golf balls
Scrap wood
Water squirters

I bought golf tees and plastic golf balls from the dollar store.

What you will need

Simply drill some holes in a scrap piece of pallet wood and put the golf tees in the holes. To set the game up, place the wood on a flat surface and place the golf balls on the golf tees…and now you’re ready for some fun!

Making the tee holder

Setting up

Get Ready

Get Set

Aaannnnnnd….GO!!!

Score!!!

Try using different colored balls, or write numbers on the balls for a different spin on the game or more of a challenge. Or set up a few target boards and have a race!

Have fun!

~Angie

Linking up with:

http://cupcakesandcrinoline.com/2013/07/project-inspired-linky-party-21/?fb_source=pubv1

http://www.redouxinteriors.com/2013/07/link-party-112-and-the-fabulous-features/

Quick Craft – Chalk Paint Mason Jars

Tags

chalk paint, collection, DIY, makeover, paint, project, quick craft, Things I've made, tutorial, What I'm working on

Chalk paint is all the rage in the crafting world at the moment. It is so easy to use and so versatile! You can paint anything with it with little prep and easy clean up (check out this pin). That makes it a win in my books.

I’ve seen this done around the web lately and decided to give it a try myself. I had picked up these mason jars at a local thrift store and had painted the inside with spray paint (super easy to do!) to match my decor. They sat displayed on the shelf for quite some time, and looked lovely just as they were. But I noticed that I was really enjoying all the decorating posts that used a lot of white with a few accent colors. So, I decided to paint them again, but this time on the outside and with chalk paint.

Mason Jars painted inside with spray paint

I wiped them down and gave them their first coat. Although I didn’t sand in between each coat, you could if you wanted to. When the first coat dried (20 min or so…super quick) I gave it another coat and let it dry again.

applying the first coat

drying

Once they were dry, I took out some sandpaper and lightly distresses in a few areas. What was nice about having already painted the insides of the jars, was that the color showed through in some distressed areas.

distressed and beautiful!

Chalk paint is a super easy way to update your decor! What would you paint?

~Angie

Linking up to:

http://www.lizmarieblog.com/2013/06/inspire-me-linky-party-14/

http://www.thecottagemarket.com/2013/06/junkin-joe-features-and-linky-party.html

http://www.keepingitsimplecrafts.com/2013/06/motivate-me-monday-177.html

http://www.settingforfour.com/2013/06/project-inspired-linky-party-no_10.html

Vintage Suitcase Side Table

Tags

antique, bed room, DIY, furniture, makeover, project, Things I've made, tutorial, vintage, weekend, What I'm working on

Have you seen all the creative things people are doing with vintage suitcases? I am in love! I don’t know if it’s because I love anything vintage, or because of all the times I’ve moved in my life (let’s just say that currently, the record in one house is 4 years), or because of all the pins on Pinterest. There are so many possibilities! Besides the more common ‘stack of suitcases’, you can make a pet bed, a chair, or a table. You can even make shelves and drawers or medicine cabinets out of them. Look here for a bit of inspiration.

Needless to say, I have a small collection of vintage suitcases and trunks and this weekend, I finally got around to doing something with one of them.

The suitcase…

I decided to make an end table out of one of mine. You could try the hardware store for legs, but I like to see what I can reuse from something else. So, I hit up some thrift stores to see what I could find. Enter a cute little circle side table that had just the legs I was looking for! And for a whopping $5! Unfortunately, I forgot to take a before pic of the table, but I have a few ideas for repurposing the top.

I removed the legs from the table and set them aside while I gave the suitcase a little tlc.

Removing the legs

Next up was to position where I wanted the legs to be and drill pilot holes.

Positioning the legs

Drilling the pilot holes

Attach the legs, turn it over, and voila!! Perfect! You can even use the inside of the suitcase to store your journal, or some books, or whatever else you can think of.

Voila! A unique side table!

Depending on the suitcase, you may want to add a bit of plywood to the inside to make it sturdier. Just cover the plywood with a bit of pretty fabric. And if you’re worried about attaching the legs securely and esthetically, you could use Chicago screws, which will ensure a secure fit without any protruding screw ends.

I have plans for this table in our guest room. Can’t wait to be able to work on it.

What would you make out of a vintage suitcase?

~Angie

Linking up with:

http://www.artsychicksrule.com/2013/05/project-inspired-linky-party-15.html

http://www.redouxinteriors.com/2013/05/link-party-105-and-les-features-plus-i-am-hitting-the-road/

http://www.commonground-do.com/

http://www.lifewelive4.com/2013/05/linkyparty13.html

http://www.artsyfartsymama.com/2013/05/artsy-corner-link-party-3.html

http://www.housewifeeclectic.com/2013/05/creative-showcase-creative-link-up-with.html

Quick Craft: Accomplishment List

Tags

craft, design, DIY, handmade, lists, Things I've made, tutorial

I hate “To Do” lists. Just looking at all the things I have to get done over the course of a day or a week can be overwhelming. So I decided to make an “Accomplishment” list instead. That way, I can focus on the things I’ve done rather than what I have left to do.  

Check off all the things you’ve done throughout the day!

It was super easy to make.  I took a pretty piece of scrapbook paper and stuck it in a 12 x 12 frame. 

Then, with chipboard letter stickers, I stuck the phrase “what I did today” on the glass at the top of the frame. 

It still needed something, so I took some jute twine and wrapped it around the frame at the bottom and used some clothes pins to pin pictures, lists or whatever! 

You can use this idea for a memo board, a calendar, meal planning, or anything you can imagine!

I just love it!  And at the end of the day, just a squirt of glass cleaner and you’re ready to list all the things you’ve checked off the next day’s dreaded “to do” list!!  And seeing all the things I’ve actually completed is a great feeling at the end of the day.

~Angie

I was featured on:

http://www.theadoredhome.wordpress.com/

Weekend Makeover Project

Tags

antique, chair, damask, DIY, furniture, makeover, project, tutorial, upholstery

I love DIY and I love antiques.  Put those two together and you get some amazing furniture makeovers.  I rescued a pair of chairs this past fall that were on their way to the garbage pile.  They were worn, outdated, and dusty, but they had beautiful lines.  So they came home with me and waited for their make over.

Since I had never actually done a big upholstery job before, off I went to scour Pinterest for some inspiration and guidance.  I found this tutorial on reupholstering a chair which was exactly what I was looking for. I found the perfect fabric for this chair at our local fabric store. It is blackout curtain material and was on sale for $3 a meter!!! I picked up 10 meters in total for these chairs, plus two extra meters because I wanted to cover my dining room chairs in the same material…perhaps that will be another post.

Now on to the fun part. I had to strip the entire chair down to the bones while keeping the old material intact so it could be used as a pattern for the new material. This was a very well made chair with lots of hand stitched seams and lots of tacks and staples!

I took lots of pictures during the disassembly process to use as a reference later when putting it all back together again. Finally, she was ready for her new look!

Ready for a new look!

Luckily, I didn’t have to replace very much of the batting as most of it was still good. I positioned each pattern piece on the new material and started the transformation.

Using the old seat fabric as a template for the new seat fabric

With lots of hand stitching, staples, and a bit of blood, she is finally ready for her reveal! My talented neighbor Jody took the pictures for the reveal. I will be painting the legs when the weather warms up a little. Other than that, I think this is the most glamorous chair I have ever seen! And so comfy too. Considering the only thing I had to buy was the material and some cord for the piping, these chairs were made over for under $35 for both!!!!

Makeover Reveal

Glam!

What do you think?

~Angie

Linking up with:

http://www.redouxinteriors.com/2013/06/link-party-108-and-les-features/

http://www.lizmarieblog.com/2013/06/inspire-me-linky-party-15/

Featured on:

http://itsalwaysruetten.blogspot.ca/2013/06/finding-friday-my-favorite-finds_14.html

http://www.keepingitsimplecrafts.com/2013/06/motivate-me-monday-178.html