Wall Decor

Our apartment has really high walls (which I love), and I had an empty spot right above our TV that I didn't exactly want to hang pictures on. I saw something that Make it and Love it did and decide to copy her idea. I didn't follow exactly what she had done, I just made up something that I thought would work for me.

I went and bought 3 foam board's from Hobby Lobby. I used an exacto knife and cut the boards to 19". With the rest of the board I cut it into three strips (I didn't measure them very good at all cause I didn't think it would matter but it did when I went to hang them on the wall. So if you do something like this make sure to measure it and make it straight so it will hang evenly.) I super-glued the strips to the board. Oh and just to let you know the reason I did the strips of foam board on the back was because I was nailing the fabric on, and with just a single board the nails would go all the way through.

Then I cut the fabric to the size of the board with an added 2" on each side.

Then I took my staple gun (that my Dad gave me as a going away present!) and put one staple in the middle on all four sides. Then you go through and closely staple the fabric on pulling it as evenly as possible. You want to make sure the staples are close or else the fabric pulls unevenly and it looks dumb. (Trust me, I did that on my first project).

Here is my finished project! I really like how it turned out! The middle one I screwed up on (I cut the fabric the wrong size), but I had to make it work. Hopefully it looks alright.

A cheap Decoration

I had a little date jar that I made for Brian a few Christmases ago. Well I am making a new one so I decided to use this jar for a bathroom decoration. I took some brown scrap material I had and ripped it up into strips and shoved it into the jar.Then I used some cute ribbon and tied it around the top of the jar. It's small, and I just might add something to that corner but I don't know what that might be. But this is a start! Oh, and I don't know how I did it, but I tied the nicest bow I've ever made in my life!

Scrapbook Paper Holder

Melissa found this idea on Smart-Bottom Enterprises. I thought it'd be a great idea and wanted to make my own. I went to the post office and got 3 of the medium sized flat rate boxes. (To tell you the truth I kind of felt like I was stealing, but I was assured by many that it was OK. It must have been cause no one said anything to me, but you probably shouldn't go get 20!).

I did the project differently than Smart-Bottom Enterprises for two reasons. The first reason was because I didn't follow the directions and cut the lids off the boxes, and secondly I didn't have cute duct tape.

Anyways so I first cut off the lids on one side of the box, and the other side I put together to make the box.

Then I put the boxes on top of each other and duct taped the boxes together like the pictures below.

I used wrapping paper and wrapped my box up like a Christmas present, leaving a little hanging off the front opening.

And I didn't cover the bottom because I knew it wouldn't ever be shown.

Then I chose some scrapbook paper to cover the front with. I used clear tape on the edges of the paper so it didn't show. It was kind of a hit and miss for how it was going to work out. I just had to figure out how to make the pieces of paper work and tape them so they'd stay. I know, not much help, sorry.

But I think it turned out pretty good. The only thing I don't like about it is if you have packs of paper it bends in the middle cause it's not super sturdy. But it does the trick!

Thanks Melissa for telling me about this!

Not your ordinary bow holder-actual post!!!

I saw this idea in California when I was pregnant with Lilly. It has always been on my crafting-to-do list. I FINALLY made it and I love it! Here is the picture without bows:

Here is the picture with bows! I overloaded it with all of the bows and flowers I have made for Lilly. There are even more that wouldn't fit on here!
I went to California this past month and the same store still sells these bow holders! I am going to tweak mine a little to look a little better. I'll post the pics with a tutorial when I do that.

Little Boy Neck Tie

This project is so fun and extremely addicting! The entire tie can be made in just an hour - and it requires very little materials (fabric remnants are perfect for this project).



Here are the materials:
• 1/4 yard of Fabric (cotton works best) - depending on the print of your fabric, it could take even less
• Velcro (4.5 inches)
• Felt (1/2 a sheet)
• Double Sided Fusible Web

The tie velcros around the neck.

I purchased the pattern here from Make-It-and-Love-It. I have already made several ties for my little guy as well as several for gifts. Hope you love it as much as I do!

Wedding Place Cards

My sister asked me to make some place cards for her upcoming wedding. In total there were just under 20 place cards, one for each member of the Wedding Party. I made each one a little different.

Here's a sampling of the place cards.

Wedding Guest Book

My sister is getting married, so I made her a personalized guest book. This way people can personalize their messages to the bride and groom, and they will have a fun scrapbook at the end to take home!

Here are a few of the pages. I made sure to leave at least 1/2 the page available for signing.

**Sorry about the poor picture quality - I don't have a fancy camera so this will have to do!