Scrapbooker Problems

Have you ever noticed how difficult it is to get a lot of use out of those chipboard letter packs from craft stores? It seems like I am constantly buying a new pack because I'm one letter short. 

 While looking through my scrapbook supplies I noticed an abundance of mismatched chipboard letters and decided to put them to good use. 

All you need is an empty (and clean) can, glue gun, spray paint, and chipboard letters. (Yep, it's as easy as it sounds!)

Notice the mismatched letters?? It's okay! You are going to spray paint right over them!...Woo-hoo!

Use your hot glue gun and glue the letters. I used a lot of glue to make sure they really stuck. Be sure to remove the glue "hair" before painting. And don't burn your finger like I did...ouch!

Olive was my photographer! She had a lot of fun taking pictures for me. She's talented! :)

Now it's time to paint! 

It was the perfect day to spray paint because there was absolutely no sign of a breeze...until I stepped outside to paint. Ugh! Of course the only time a cool breeze shows up in July would be when I am getting ready to use spray paint!! Oh well, I did it anyway and went to the gym with purple paint on my arms. I was not going to let a little wind stop me from finishing this project! (determination or stubbornness?? I'm not sure.)

I sprayed the can upside down because I didn't want to paint inside.

Olive wanted to pose with her new chalk can!

Now, what else can I glue chipboard to and spray paint??

~Meghan

I think I will put one on every wall...

We have really awesome high ceilings with a lot of wall space in our home, but they aren't so awesome when the walls are bare! I would love to decorate our walls without going broke. Big pieces tend to be expensive and I have a lot of space to cover.
I was shopping at a craft store when I stumbled upon this awesome (and BIG!) monogram F. The best part is it was on sale...SCORE! I brought it home where it sat on my craft table, a.k.a. the table where I put anything and everything that could be used in a future d.i.y. project. It sat there for weeks (months, maybe) while I thought about the best way to make it snazzy. Should I paint it? Use scrapbook paper? Tissue paper? Wrapping paper?? After too much thought I decided to use fabric and Mod Podge...two things I have very little experience using. Lucky for me, everything turned out just right! I just might put an "F" in every room in our home (I'm kind of kidding...)

Materials:

Monogram

Mod Podge

Fabric & Scissors

Paint & Brush

Sawtooth Picture Hangers

Paint a medium coat of Mod Podge on your fabric. This makes the fabric stiff and easier to work with. It also prevents fraying. Let it dry for an hour or two.
P.S. Walmart sells these 18 in. x 21 in. fabric singles for less
 than a buck!! 

 

 

While you wait for the fabric to dry paint the edges of your monogram. I am super indecisive and bought 3 different colors. I'm glad I did because I ended up really unhappy with this gold color; it looked too funky with the fabric (see pictures below). In the end I chose to paint the edges teal and was a lot happier! 

Enough with my project mishaps and on to step 2: paint! Apply 2 coats (wait about an hour in between coats: cook dinner, run errands, work out...multi task!)

Now that the paint and fabric are dry (and you've crossed a few things off your to-do list) you're ready for step 3: trace. I used a carpenter's pencil and wiped away any markings left of my monogram. Trace on the back of the fabric. You don't want markings to show after all your hard work. 

 

Hindsight is 20/20: trace first; paint second that way you don't 

have to worry about pencil on your letter because the paint will cover it! That's my DUH! Moment...

Cut along the lines. It helps to have a three year old hold the fabric tight with her stinky feet! :)

Now it's time to glue the fabric. First, apply a heavy coat of Mod Podge...

Then, cover the monogram with the fabric and slather it up with some more Mod Podge (a light coat this time). Pay special attention to the edges and make sure you really glue them down.

Let it dry over night before installing the picture hanging hardware. I purchased hammer in hardware and followed the directions on the back of the package (place and hammer...)

 

I found these picture frames packed away and decided to make a photo collage.

 

One wall finished, several more to go!

~Meghan

 



Bibbity Bobbity Boo!

My journey to make Olive's room the coolest in the house began a few months ago. I wanted to create a fun space for her to play, create, and sleep!  Up until a little bit ago, Olive would only venture to her room to poop! (TMI??). We'd hear her door shut and knew exactly what she was up to. I am happy to report that is no longer the case (thanks in part to the poop jar). 

I have spent most of my summer break turning her room into a fun space. Not to toot my own horn, but now that this project is complete, I feel like I have achieved my goal: Olive LOVES playing (not pooping!) in her room!!! (TOOT! TOOT!)

Little miss Olive loves to play dress up, but her costumes were everywhere throughout our house! Every where you looked you'd find a tutu, tiara, necklace, princess shoe, or magic wand! I can't tell you how many times I accidentally stepped on her tiara. Talk about painful! I needed to solve this dress up nightmare! I needed to find a way to store Olive's dress up clothes so she could easily locate everything AND easily put it away. I decided to make a costume rack to go with her princess shoe rack. It is really easy to make and pretty inexpensive (I paid 15 bucks for materials)! 

I bought an ugly, brown 2' x 4' pegboard from Lowe's for less than 5 bucks! I used the purple paint (from the princess shoe rack project) to make it pretty! I applied two coats over a 24 hour period and painted a top coat of Polycrylic to protect against scratches.

I also purchased a variety pack of peg hooks which came with spacers, screws, 27 hooks, and the little plastic things to secure the hooks. Basically, it came with everything you need for a costume rack and it cost less than $3! I realized I hadn't taken a picture of the peg hook package after all of the costumes were up.  I took a picture of the leftover materials...sorry! 

My handy hubby helped me attach the pegboard to the wall. It helps to have another person on this step. It's a little difficult (but not impossible) to hold the spacer between the wall and pegboard while screwing it to the wall.

Once the pegboard is secured to the wall you can begin inserting the hooks. Don't secure the hooks until you are sure they are all in the right place. They aren't difficult to remove, it's just a pain in the butt to move them after you have the hooks secure (yes, I'm speaking from experience!).

Olive loves her costume rack and I love not stepping on tiaras!

Enjoy!

~Meghan

"Laughter is timeless. Imagination has no age. Dreams are forever!"-Tinkerbell

Materials:

• 5x7 picture frame
• 5X7 card stock
• alphabet stamps
• ink

After a very busy couple of weeks, I finally found some time to get crafty! I thought it would be the perfect time to make something cute for Olive's room AND use my new stamps...

This project is quite simple...The most difficult part for me was finding the perfect quote. (This would be step 1: find words to stamp on your paper)! I found several that I really liked. I ended up choosing Tinkerbell's quote, "Laughter is timeless. Imagination has no age. Dreams are forever!" Olive LOVES Tink! There's a fairy "trap" hanging in her room and we've "caught" Tinkerbell twice (I'll save that story and "how-to" for a later blog post). Plus, isn't it every mom's wish for their child to always chase their dreams??? Perfect!

Step 2: Cut a 5x7 piece of card stock. I used a blank card and cut it in half.

Step 3: Get to stampin'! Keep a damp Q-tip handy to wipe ink off the edges of the stamp. It might be wise to practice on scrap paper first. It took me several tries (and cards!) to get in my stampin' groove. 

I spent HOURS coming up with a design that I loved. I experimented with glitter, markers, various fonts, etc. At one point I even considered typing the dang thang! Finally, I chose to only use stamps and am really happy with how it turned out! 

Step 4: Insert in the frame and enjoy! I trimmed the white card stock and glued it on purple paper to jazz it up a bit!

Here's what it looks like without all of the fancy photo edits:

Still cute, right?

It's hanging right above Olive's costume rack; the perfect place for her imagination to come to life!

Enjoy!

~Meghan