Grandma's 80th Birthday Decorations

Week 11, Project 11

80th birthday decorations.

Yesterday was my Grandma Bouman's 80th birthday.  She had a fun weekend with all of her daughters.  We then a fun lunch and had everyone over for desert and a small party at my house.  Turning 80 is definitely something to celebrate, so I had a lot of fun decorating especially for it.  Here are a few of the things I made for her big day:

The first thing I made, with the help of my mom and aunts sending me pictures, was a Shutterfly photo book with pictures of her and everyone over the years.  It took quite some time to scan in the pictures, and layout everything, but it was worth it when I saw the look on her face how excited she was about it.  I'm not going to share the link of the finished copy though, for privacy reasons.

The next thing I made was this banner.  After scanning the pictures in to my computer, I used photo shop to crop her face out of pictures, set them to black and white, and had them printed on a 4x6 photo paper.  I then just cut around them, glued on cut out triangles of scrapbooking paper, added a fuzzy ball, and she had the perfect party hats.  I had extras, so I used them to decorate all over the house.  :)  I also used photo shop to transform the two pictures on the mantle to look like a pencil drawing.

I found a couple neat ideas on Pinterest for 80th birthdays.  Here are a couple that I thought were clever.  I used Scrabble letter pieces for the one on the left, and just used a word document for the one on the right.

I also made this sign, using the extra grandma heads, and scrapbook paper and stickers.

The next thing I made her was a a Scrabble theme frame with words that were family related.

I also had the great grandkids work on a couple of art pieces too for her.  I just painted the tree trunks, they did the rest with their fingers.

Zayden also made her and my aunt a plate and mug with Sharpie markers, but I must not have taken a picture of that.

Here are some other fun pictures from my grandma's birthday party:

  

Engagement Box of Goodies / Jazzing up a Bench Cushion

Week 10 Project 10

This past week I have been super busy with quite a few little projects instead of one big one.  So I'm going to break them up a little into 2 different weeks, and maybe take next week off. ;)  Probably not though, because we just found out the gender of our baby so I'm sure I will come up with some kind of decoration for the room or something for the new baby!!

For this post, here are 2 quick and very easy to do projects.

Engagement box of goodies.  Total cost = $20

I'm sure I'm not the first one to come up with this idea, and I'm sure the ideas are all over Pinterest.  But here was my version of a little nice box of goodies for the newly engaged couple-my sister and future brother in law.  I found a bunch of things that were either love, wedding, etc and then wrote them a little letter that incorporated each of those things in it. Even the box is a photo box that they can use to organize all of their wedding receipts and ideas.  If you can't read it the letter says:

"Happy Engagement Emily and Luke!

Emily, I’m so happy that you have found your MR. RIGHT!  If he is the SMARTIE pants that I think he is, he will know that you will always be MRS. NEVER WRONG.  Luke, you are one LUCKY DUCK, and we are all so glad you finally put a RING (that POPs) on it.  We can’t wait to celebrate with you, drinking margaritas with SEA SALT with our toes in the SAND.  In fact, after a few drinks, I might even embarrass you both with my WEDDING SINGER moves.  It might give you a good laugh!

Love, hugs, and KISSES to you both!

Your super excited sister, Kelly"

The Mr. Right and Mrs Never Wrong mugs were my first jab at the Sharpie marker on ceramics test.  Supposedly if you bake the mugs at 400 degrees and then let cool in oven, the marker should be permanent.  We will see if it works.  My handwriting is horrible too, but I just had to try it.  They were my guinea pigs for that. :)

Jazz up a cushion.

My second little project this week was reupholstering a cushion on a bench in my son's playroom.  Originally bought from Target a couple years ago in a tan color, it got stained rather quickly and it was driving me crazy.  I bought a yard of fabric that I liked at JoAnn's for only $5.  I just wrapped it around the cushion tight and secured it underneath.  Then used Velcro strips to secure the new cushion to the bench so it doesn't slide.  Quick, easy, and I think it looks so much better.

Before:

 After:

Countdown Chalkboard Signs

Week 9, Project 9

Finished Product!  Easy, quick, and cheap.

My little sister, who I guess is not so little anymore,  just got engaged this past weekend. Congratulations again Emily and Luke!  In other fun news, I am almost 4 months pregnant with baby #2.  So with much to look forward to, I started to think about countdowns to exciting things like weddings, birthdays, vacations, new babies, etc, which led me to this week's project: Days Until Chalkboard Signs.

I already had all the supplies: some left over plywood that was the perfect size, a can of chalkboard paint, wood letters, acrylic paint, wire and beads (for hanging it).

I made 2 so far, one for my sister, and one for me.  I will be selling others for $15 each at craft shows and through Etsy and my Facebook page soon! 

The process:

Before.... a blank canvas...my favorite.

Painted wood letters and stars.

3 coats of chalkboard paint.

Glued on wood pieces, painted white box for #s and drilled holes and used beading wire and beads for hanging. 

Spring Floral Arrangements

Week 8, Project 8

The heat wave rolling in this week (mid 40s) in Chicago, put me in the mood to "think spring".  I am not breaking out all of my Easter decorations just yet, but I thought a few floral arrangements would brighten up the house. Most of the silk flowers and vases were actually found at the dollar store. My big expenses were a glass pitcher for the fresh flowers ($10) and bright rain boots and umbrella ($5ea.). It may be back in the 20s today,  but it definitely feels like spring inside my house. :-)

Little bird nests (all items found at Dollar Store)

Dollar store silk flowers and vases.  Sweet Tart Jelly beans to add more fun color.

Dollar Store little purse, stuffed with Dollar Store silk flowers. 

$5 Below Store yellow umbrella, with $4 silk flowers from Walmart

$5 Below Store green boots, $4 silk flowers from Walmart. 

$10 Glass pitcher from Walmart, 3 fresh lemons, fresh bouquet of flowers.

I used a foam wreath from the Dollar Store and took apart a couple silk flowers and used a ribbon to wrap the bottom to create this centerpiece.

I had leftover plywood so I painted it, then used chipboard flowers and drilled holes for wire to hang.

DIY Headboard

Week 7, Project 7

We have a California King bed in our master bedroom because my husband is so tall.  They are hard to find, and to be honest, I don't even know if they make them anymore!  The only difference from a king bed is that it is longer than it is wider. We like it, but it is always so hard to find sheets to fit, and I have NEVER been able to find a bed frame and headboard for it.  They just don't make them, or they are a million dollars!  Last year we bought a really nice furniture set for our bedroom that included everything but the bed frame/headboard.  So, unhappy with the way our bed looks, I looked to the home websites including Pinterest to figure out a way to make my own without it costing an arm and a leg.  I set my budget at $50, and I actually stayed in it!  I forgot to take a before picture (since we have been in our new house) but here is what our bed looked like at our old house (before our new furniture).

I found a few different ideas that I liked and wanted to work with, so without much planning, (or measuring) I went to Home Depot and spent $20 on 2 8'x4' pieces of particle board.  I had the guy there cut 1 piece 6'x4' and the other one to be 6'x2' . I wanted the headboard to be big, so my husband helped me screw the boards together in a way that the measurement of the headboard would be 6'x6' , 6 feet was the width of the bed, and 6 feet is how tall I wanted the headboard to be from standing on the floor.  By having the board stand on the floor, I wouldn't have to worry about finding a frame for the bed or worry about finding a way to screw it into the frame.  I'm all about easy, and cheap!

After screwing the boards together I went and bought a king size brown sheet from Walmart for $15, and some batting from Hobby Lobby for $20 (with a 40% off coupon).  I technically went over my budget by $5, but I didn't use all of the batting, or particle board, and I can use both for other projects, so I'm considering it "staying in budget."  When I got home I laid the sheet on the ground, laid the batting on top, then laid the board down on top of that.  Then, with my trusty staple gun, I pulled and stapled the sheet nice and tight around the edges.  When everything was stapled and even, I flipped the board over and ironed out the wrinkles.  I then stapled every foot to give the look of a bunched look.  Last but not least, I just need to go and get some brown buttons to glue on to hide the staples.

I moved some metal flower art work that I had bought on sale from Bed Bath and Beyond last year to the sides of the bed above the nightstands.  The room looks so much nicer and grown-up.  It didn't take very long and didn't cost that much money.  I may still go back and frame the board with the same color wood that is in the bedroom furniture, but I am undecided and depends on how much that is going to cost!  It will look much better when I glue the buttons on the staples.  I'll finish and add a picture tomorrow.

Organized My Craft Room

Week 6 Project 6

Today, my project is not as exciting and interesting as my previous projects, but completing it really gave me a sense of accomplishment.  I cleaned and organized my craft room!  With my two year old's help, (putting things into bins for me, which he loved), and $30 worth of plastic bins and hardware, we were able to knock it out in just about 6 hours.  I feel so organized now that I know where everything is and am ready to start brainstorming future projects for this year.  

Here is how it looked before:

and here is after:

I made a shelf just for Zayden with all of his crayons, markers, and other art tools, and brought in his table so he can enjoy the room with me.I'm excited to have all of my most used supplies all together and easy to find.

 I organized my closest, one side all jewelry supplies, displays, etc, and the other side misc. craft supplies.

 I used a dollar store door shoe holder for all of my ribbon, and all the plastic bins are also from the dollar store. 

  Wow! I can finally see the top of my desk!  Who knows how long it will stay that way. 

I found a couple craft inspired vinyl quotes at the dollar store too!