Built In Desk Makeover

I have a built in desk in my family room right off the kitchen. It has been a source of frustration for me for awhile now. It seems to not only be a bit of an eyesore but a clutter catcher as well. Since ripping it out was not an option I had to get creative. What could I do that would take away my extreme dislike for this area is what I began to ask myself. Well... here is what I came up with for now. I do have to say the dislike has disappeared! Amazing what a little paint and some creative touches can do to transform frustration into a feeling of satisfaction.

One of the things I really did not like was the open cubbies. My sweet husband uses this desk as well. Though I don't think he has ever sat at it, he does "store" stuff here. So I knew the cubbies were one area I needed to tackle. The paint color matches the accent wall in my family room as well as the bit of green I have in the kitchen. The cubby curtain matches my kitchen window valance that you can see here, as well as pillows I made for my couch. The top wall above the cabinets I am still deciding if and what I will do up there. 

The memo board... can you keep a secret? It is a plastic bin lid that I turned into a memo board. Remember the plastic bins I made into drawers in my daughter's room? You can see them here. Well the lids were just sitting with out purpose. Purposeless no longer! The fabric matches pillows I made for my family room couch.






For the letter bin I used Word once again to create what I wanted inside the frames.

The toile back ground in the above picture was copied from a wall paper sample I found on the Internet. I just Googled toile and found different options. I then pasted it into Word and added the text I wanted.
For the roosters I also used the Internet and Word. I found the rooster prints I liked, copied them and pasted them. Each rooster is an individual print that I just stacked one on top of the other. The background I used for the roosters is the same one I used for my letter bin.
The frames for the pictures also found themselves made over with paint. gotta love black paint!

For the curtain here is what I did. I measured the fabric to the size I would need. I then pinned the edges and sewed them. To create the ruffle, as I was sewing the top I folded the fabric, reversing the fold each time. For example if I folded to the left the next one I folded to the right and so on. I used a zig zag stitch with silver thread. To attach the curtain I used double stick Velcro.

The folder cover is a background you can choose for a blog. I copied and pasted it into word and then added the words I wanted. The folder is a great solution for me and all my random ideas I come up with. It helps me keep my thoughts of what I would like to do around my home organized. I have each room or area in my house broken down and divided with dividers. Each section has a plastic insert where I can slide magazine clippings in of things that inspire me.

So there we have it! Simple touches that have taken my frustration away! Total cost for me to transform this desk area... my time and that is all.
May I encourage you, if you have an area around your house causing you frustration. Look around and see what you could do to improve upon it with what you already have. 

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4th of July Shirts and Headbands

Fourth of July is one of my favorite Holidays! I love spending the day with friends and family anticipating night fall bringing on fire works! This year I decided to add an extra touch of fun and make shirts and headbands for my kids. True to who I am on July 3rd I gathered everything I would need to create these fun shirts. That would explain why this post is past the 4th of July. But hey you can now  be way ahead of the game for next year!









I decided to make my supply shopping spree a one stop spot. So I headed to Walmart where I knew I could find inexpensive shirts for each of my kids. I originally thought I would use fabric to make the flags, but my Walmart did not have fabric that I liked, so I decided on ribbon. 

I cut my ribbon for the flag 4 1/2 inches long. The ribbon is 1 1/2 inches wide. I used two ribbons. Making the flag 4 1/2" X 3".

For the "stars" I used two 7/8" ribbon that were just about 2" long.
I first pinned everything to the shirt and then got wise. I  sewed the two flag ribbons together and the two star ribbons together. I then pined the flag to the shirt and the star ribbon to the flag. I then used a zig zag stich in white thread and sewed all the way around the flag. I then sewed the remaining edges of the stars to the flag.






This shirt is before I got "wise" and sewed each ribbon on individually. May I highly recommend not doing it this way!















For the baseball flag shirt it took 3 7/8" pieces of ribbon. Each 4" long. The "stars" are the same as before.

First sew the baseball ribbons together and then sew the  "star" ribbon together. Pin the baseball ribbon flag to the shirt and the "star" ribbon to the flag. Again using a zig zag stitch with white thread.

  If you notice I also reversed the order of the ribbon for the flags. My oldest daughter has polka dots on top and then the next daughter (by age) has stripes on top and so on. For the headbands, I used ones I already had that had seen better days, but you could purchase new ones. All I did was hot glue the ribbon on. For the smaller head band I used the 7/8" ribbon and for the larger ones I used the 1 1/2" ribbon.

Hope you had a happy 4th! We sure did!

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Easy Fun Desserts

Something fun to eat can be something fast to make. My kids love having fun as every kid does. They also love having fun desserts to devour!
Here are two very easy desserts that keep the fun happening and smiles shining!

Already made Nestle Toll House Cookie Dough makes for quick cookies! Top that warm out of the oven cookie with some ice cream and you have a super simple dessert sure to bring on a smile!

I am a California girl who spent her life at the beach! Summers were always filled with beach days ending in beach nights by the bon fire. Toasting marshmallows to slap on a graham cracker and Hershey chocolate bar were always a summertime treat! I am now a mountain girl missing my summer beach days. I may be missing the ocean and the bon fire but I am not missing the S'mores! With the use of my microwave I treated my girls to a summertime treat at home! Not quite the same taste, but definitely brought on smiles and fun!

You could use one big marshmallow but I thought the little ones added some extra fun for little kids. Just 15 seconds in the microwave the marshmallows puff up like this and the chocolate is just the right amount of melted.
YUM!

Oh my little girl keeps us laughing! I must warn you... your kids will enjoy eating it as much as they enjoy wearing it all over their face!

Happy Summer all!

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Adding A Bit of Ric Rac

A very simple addition to curtains really brings up the fun aspect! In this case adding a bit of Ric Rac to a pair of denim curtains brought about that bit of something extra  I was looking for. As well as adding some red to help break up a whole lot of blue.

 This is the part when I get to the how I did it. CAUTION... for any of you who are great sewers or posses amazing talents, this is not for you. Just scroll on down. Mom that includes you!!!

I thought about sewing on the Ric Rac and then I got wise! Do I want this very simple addition to turn into a two day project? So instead I got out my handy dandy hot glue gun.
Tuning my glue gun on low, I simply put my glue along the edge of the curtain and glued the Ric Rac right where I wanted it. SIMPLE!

Oh wait remember how simple this project was supposed to be? Well my little guy decided to add some extra effort to it by fussing at me. My solution stick him on the stroller next to me. Then each of my girls took a turn pushing him around (the only time I condone pushing in our family) to keep him content. For me this project took a bit of extra time, but for you minus the fussy baby it will be a matter of minutes!












Just a peak... here are the curtains hung in my daughter and baby boy's room. Soon the whole room will be revealed! Remember we are just waiting on my daughter's custom made bedding from my amazing mom! 


A very simple addition really added some extra fun to the room!

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A Star is Born

A wall so "blue" :(  nothing on it to make it shine like a star.
Okay I know I am a goof ball. But I sure do entertain myself!
This is the wall above my son's crib. Plain and boring and needing this...

Do you see my sweet little guy in his crib? He was so excited to see the transformation of a boring blue wall adorned with stars sparkling forth his name. Okay he slept through the whole ordeal... thank goodness or I would have never finished this project.
In my previous post I shared with you how I used Mod Podge and Scrapbook paper to cover his wooden letters for his name. I decided to brighten things up (you laugh here) and add painted stars under the letters. This is a shining example of how a little paint can make a big difference.
Here is what I did...

 I searched the internet for a star template I could print out. Printed it on card stock and cut it out.

 I traced the stars on the wall using a pencil.

I had to use three coats of paint to get the star to really cover over the blue paint. Painting the star white first would have been a bright idea. I used Acrylic paint... same paint I use for my wood projects. Can be purchased at any craft store.

I give this project five stars!

 I just love the way it turned out!

These are the picture hangers I attached to the back of each letter. I bought them at Lowe's for $1.94 for a package of six. On the letter "N" I used two so it would hang straight. These are so great, you just hammer them in, rather than hammering in a little nail to hold it in place.

And to think, I did all of this while still in my pajamas!

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Wooden Letters

Wooden craft letters crafted! There are so many things you can do to make over a wooden letter. In the past I have painted wooden letters by hand. See here  for my previous post. This time around I covered the letters in scrapbook paper. Here is what I did.

You can buy these letters at Hobby Lobby or any other craft store. I waited to buy mine at Hobby Lobby when they were 50% off.

First,  I  painted the letter using an acrylic paint. I choose a color that to coordinate with the main color of the scrapbook paper I was using. You could use white for every letter if you prefer. The part that matters most for the paint are the sides since that is the only part that will show.
I then placed my letter on the paper and traced around it. You could turn your paper over, turn you letter over and trace it that way if you prefer. Same result.









 Once your letter is cut out you are ready to glue it on using Mod Podge.
Mod Podge can be found at your craft store, I bought mine at Hobby Lobby.
  
You will use this to first paint your letter. Stick your
paper on your letter and then paint over it using nice even strokes with the Mod Podge. There are different finishes of Mod Podge, I choose to use the shiny kind.

You may have parts where the paper sticks out over the edge of the letter. Once dry, I used a bit of sandpaper to flatten the paper to the edge of the letter. Sand in one direction so you don't rip the paper.

For my letter A I used each paper used in my son''s name.
What I did...
Lay the paper you want on the part of the letter you want it. Trace around it and cut it out. At times you will need to hold the paper in place on the front, turn it over to trace on the back. Figure out what piece needs to be Mod Podged first.Once all the peices of your "puzzle" are in place paint the front with your Mod Podge.

To make it a bit more fun I added a horse charm for my horse loving daughter.

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A "Word" on Homemade Art

Using the help of the internet and Word I made very inexpensive art work.
I painted frames I already had, used scrapbook paper, printed out the pictures I wanted and viola!







Again backed with scrapbook paper I made a collage.

I painted this frame red, black and blue... it came out rather well for the look I wanted. Considering it used to be an unattractive laminate brown frame.

Word! Don't you just love what you can create using Word? To personalize these prints I added to the one on the left, Cowgirl and my daughter's name. To the one on the right I added my son's name to the top and bottom. To think I could have bought these prints on canvas for over a hundred dollars each! I am quite content with my print out version.

A thrift store frame that used to be natural wood... brown. Getting the idea... yup another print out backed with scrapbook paper.

What used to be an ugly green frame got a coat of black paint and topped with a coordinating ribbon. I love my hot glue gun!

Here is before adding some additional art work.

After. For being on a budget it came out fun!

My horse loving cowgirl is very pleased so that is all that matters! I did not need to spend hundreds of dollars on art work to make her smile and feel loved!

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