Hand Embroidered Loved Tee

Riley had her Valentine's Day party at school today. I found this cute red and white polka dot fabric at Joann's on clearance recently and knew it would be cute on a tee.

I made this tee the way I make all my own DIY tshirt projects.

I begin by drawing or in this case tracing the design or lettering I want to use.  You could find an image you like and print it and cut it out to use as a template.  I remove the printing step and usually trace (carefully) right from my laptop or iPad screen.  This time I found a heart image, enlarged it, traced onto computer paper, and then cut it out.

I always use heat n bond when I make t-shirts.  Following the package instructions I ironed a piece of pre cut Heat 'n bond to the back of the red and white polka dot fabric.  After it cooled to the touch, I used my template and traced the heart onto the still papered side of the Heat 'n Bond (now with the glue side attached to the red fabric).   Because it was a symmetrical shape I didn't have to worry about tracing the mirror image - keep that in mind if you're making a shirt with words or other things that aren't the same front to back.

I cut out the fabric heart using my good Fiskars fabric scissors.  This keeps the edge neat and limits fraying.  Following the Heat 'n Bond package directions I ironed the heart to my pre washed tee.

Before I started the hand embroidery I lined the back with Sulky Stiffy Stabilizer tear away paper. I discovered this when I was shopping for the supplies for Riley's birthday tee and it makes a huge difference.  Cut the stabilizer to size and slip it inside your tee backing the area that you will be sewing on.

I use a 9" embroidery hoop to hold the stabilizer in place and help get a nice taut surface for my needle and thread.  I use embroidery thread and an embroidery needle.  You can find all of these items at any local craft store.

I did a simple, imperfect running stitch using a coordinating pink thread around the edge of the heart.  Notice I said IMPERFECT - none of the stitches are the same or even perfectly even with the edge of the fabric.

The original plan was just to sew the heart onto the shirt, but it was large and I felt like it was missing something.  I asked Tata for her opinion on some ideas I had and with her help I decided to stitch 'loved' on the heart.

Using a piece of chalk I hand wrote 'loved' in the middle of the heart.  The first go round it was sloping down so I wiped it with a damp paper towel and tried again.  Nothing I do is ever perfect and that's okay.

I used the chalk as my guide and a smaller running stitch to embroider 'loved'.  You can still see the chalk a bit even after a quick rinse cycle wash if you're zoomed in, but in person it is not noticeable.

Even though we're in an awkward posing for photos stage I think she is cute as can be.  And certainly well loved.

Kid's Workspace

"I'm just a girl who wants a beautiful home, motivated by a lack of decorating funds."

That's how I responded to a dear friend's flattering Facebook comments about my DIY projects. I'm not a designer or interior decorator. I'm a mom and wife who wants to make our small space a beautiful place that we love. While I love being creative, it's also kind of mandatory that I be creative with funds and use of space.

Which leads me to our kids' workspace. Listen, given the space and money I would go for something like what the talented Shaunna at Perfectly Imperfect created. The floors, the soothing blue, the storage, the homemade x table...I swoon.

                                                via

I had a limited space to deal with when creating workspace for our kids, but big dreams for something functional and cute.  I'm in love with how it turned out.

Our kids' workspace is in the kitchen, between the counter and the dryer and directly below the window.  The tables and chairs fit perfectly there and since it's on the main level of the house I can keep an eye on them while they work or help them out when they need it.

The two white tables are IKEA Lack tables that I bought for 7.99 each last summer.  They are the perfect size for kid tables and durable too.  We've had daycare kids and preschool hordes alike use them for all manner of projects and activities and they look almost new.

The two matching chairs are from IKEA as well.  They are the perfect height for the tables.

All their coloring books, drawing pads and stickers are in the pink file holder on the right.  It works well for now, but I plan on adding a file sorter directly below their workstation.

The workstation as per usual with me was a combination of ideas over a long period of time.  The tables are small and I wanted to be able to give my kids all the work space I could.  In order to do that I knew I needed to put all their supplies somewhere where they wouldn't be in their way, but they could still access them.

Originally, I had just nailed plastic buckets from Target's $1 section onto the wall.  It was a temporary solution that ended up staying for a year because I couldn't think of something that would fit.  Then I started seeing all the pegboard craft storage ideas on Pinterest and I knew that was how I could best utilize their space.

After some searching to find the right size frame for that weird section of wall I finally found one for  $5 at a yard sale last month.  The poor woman selling it saw me checking it out and came over to tell me about the artist and the print in hopes of making the sell.  Her face was priceless when I said, "Oh that's okay I'm going to rip the print out anyway, because I just need the frame and it's the perfect size!"  Not only was it the perfect size, but it also had the perfect depth for the pegboard to be framed and still have room for the hooks to hang in the back without being blocked by the wall.



Like all my projects this one came together slowly.  I gave the frame four good coats of Rustoleum Summer Squash while the kiddos played outside one evening.  Hubs took the matte from inside the frame to Home Depot one weekend to get a piece of pegboard cut to the exact size.  I picked up 4 yellow metal buckets from Target's $1 section on a weeknight shopping trip.  I bought the wire spice rack at a local antiques store on my Mother's Day outing.  And after two trips back to Home Depot we finally discovered they actually have a pegboard supplies section where we got all the hooks we needed to hang everything.

The wooden word was something I had purchased months ago with plans to hang it on the wall in the playroom, but I thought it was perfect for this frame.  I used a kids watercolor set to paint the letters and affixed it with my trusty hot glue.

I labeled the buckets with scraps I cut from leftover chalkboard labels I got on GroopDealz.  They are hanging from the pegboard hooks, but for extra support they also have small velcro pieces holding them down.

The spice rack originally purchased as mini wildflower vases became the perfect vessel for easy to access finger paints.  It hangs perfectly with the help of two pegboard hooks.

They have been using it for three weeks and I love it and so does Riley.  The first morning she saw it after I put it all up she grabbed both cheeks, gasped, turned to me and said, "Oh Mom.  Its wovewee."

"Wovewee" is exactly what I think it is too.

Butterfly Taxidermy

Almost a year ago one of my favorite design bloggers wrote a post about framed butterflies as art. There were people who loved it and those who didn't due to concern about using (once) live butterflies.

I was on the loved it side, but I knew I wanted to make mine myself somehow. I pinned the idea to Pinterest and forgot about it. Then I brought home my lovely Lucketts hutch turned craft storage and as I started to organize all my supplies I found a shadow box frame that I bought at a yard sale last spring.

Like all of my ideas once the light bulb finally comes on the process goes very quickly.

I thought about going old school and collecting butterflies and moths like I did for my 9th grade biology class, but then decided faux would be easier. I picked up 5 packages of fakies at AC Moore. The biggest butterfly was 2.99 and the rest were either 1.99 or .99 each.  I used three coupons to rein the cost in.  Did you know that most stores will accept competitors coupons?  I had 20% off a full priced item coupon from three different stores and was able to use all of them.

I gave the once black shadow box frame that was $3 in that yard sale a year ago a few coats of Rustoleum white in satin finish. I always have a can of white Rustoleum on hand.  I lined the back of the frame with a piece of white foam board.  I paid $2 for the sheet.

Using straight pins I had in my sewing supplies I carefully pinned through the body of each butterfly.

I'll concede my finished product is nowhere near as beautiful as the ones Jenny pinned as inspiration, but I love the color, texture and feeling of spring they add to my decor!  I'm sure mine is way cheaper too, coming in at $13.55 for the finished product.

AT Projects: The Playroom

So, here it is. The last of the alone time projects. I have to confess it's my favorite one.

Like most of my ideas it started randomly. A friend of mine had started finger knitting flowers and brought me some that she made. I had no idea what to do with them so I put them in a basket and left them there.

One day, several weeks later, while I was cleaning I came across the flowers and I knew what I wanted to do with them.   I got to work making several more flowers that became embellishments for my playroom tree.
 

I am not a freehand artist, so when I started the tree I used tape to make the outline.  I used regular brown acrylic paint and a foam brush to paint it in.  I'm sure you smart people quickly realized that there would be gaps where I made the branches.  When I pulled off the tape it looked wonky and did not at all have the look I was going for.


Enter twinnie.  She is an amazing freehand artist so she quickly got to work and used my original design to make it more free flowing and natural.  I drew the leaves with a pencil and used three shades of green acrylic paint to paint them in.  It seems tedious, but it was kind of therapeutic.  I watched my Sex and the City episodes on DVD while I worked.

After the paint was dry I used yellow and white push pins to put all the flowers on the tree.  I used a decal bird we have on the tree in Riley's room to trace the one on this tree.  I used two shades of blue acrylic to paint the bird.  The bird's nest is some raffia I got at Joann Fabrics and there is a clear push pin holding the  cluster to the wall.



A while ago I blogged about Riley's art work collage. It needs to be updated with her new work and Cam's work too.  In the meantime they both have one of those $2 IKEA frames that I put their recent artwork in.  Blue for him and pink for her.  I bought the multicolored craft supply cups and the metal rods at IKEA too.  They hold things like crayons, foam brushes, pencils, markers, and paint.  Underneath is a large whiteboard that has since been moved to the dumpster.  The kids often color off the board and I got tired of using Mr. Clean Magic Erasers.  I saved the frame with plans to make a chalkboard wall instead.



More $2 IKEA frames display Riley's artwork.  She has painting and coloring marathons and she loves for me to hang up her work.  The ABC's are paper scrapbook letters.  The mirror was at Home Depot in the college section 2 years ago for $4.  The kids love to sing and watch themselves in it.

The playroom is such a happy place in our house and even though it is valuable square footage in our small home our kids definitely needed a dedicated place for all their things.

Bring In The Spring

I love everything about the spring. Fresh flowers make me smile. I gush over blossoming trees. The spring smell of grass, rain and even dirt makes me giddy. And the sunshine, oh how I love the days of warm sunshine.

Spring came early here (and around the rest of the country it seems) and I couldn't help but bring the fresh feeling of the season into our home too.

A bright green carnation bouquet, blingy pear and yellow forsythia adorn our toy/storage dresser. For the first time I broke down and bought fake forsythia from AC Moore instead of cutting it off of rogue bushes on the side of the road. The real thing is lovely, but the flowers shed quickly. I wanted some yellow staying power this year. I anchored them in a block of floral foam that I covered with faux moss from Dollar Tree.
 

I added a few springy touches to my little white cabinet. Four faux spring books that I made by wrapping leftover conversation heart boxes in packaging paper are held in place by my votive bookend. A chalkboard paint clothespin tag I ordered in bulk from GroopDealz fits perfectly. I bought a $.50 pick at Michaels for St. Patrick's Day and dismantled it. I tied the green ribbon on our gold coin candy jar and put the shamrock in the cabinet.
 

I bought 3 bags of green paper grass from Target for $.49 a bag. I used it in several places like this trifle dish that I filled with fresh yellow tulips.  They were on their last legs in this picture, but they were lovely for almost two weeks.

I filled my lovely Lucketts planter with more Target grass and plastic eggs and moved it to our buffet turned cable box and PS3 holder under the wall mounted TV. It took me a while to decide what to write on my clothespin tags so they are still blank in this photo, but I finally settled on "He Is Risen".

My new hutch got an update too with more pops of green and a few Easter eggs.  I filled the basket on top with some fake hydrangea clusters from AC Moore.  They were half off and I had a coupon.  Score.  

My egg candles on my "fancy" candlesticks always make me grin.  I think they are fun.  The lovely no polish silver platter was a gift from Gigi and Papa for Christmas.  The Longaberger egg basket was a gift from my Mom.  I got the plastic plate from Target for $1.99  and my trendy chevron boxes were $4.99 a piece.


Looking at these pictures I feel like my desire to bring a little Spring to our home was accomplished.  Do you change your decor seasonally?  Obviously I do and while it does make more work for me, it's the perfect creative outlet.

AT Projects Revisited: Gallery Wall

Remember almost a year ago when TG took the kids to Gigi and Papa's leaving me with three days of free cleaning, organizing and crafting time?

I just realized I never shared my two big projects on here due in large part to the fact that they weren't completely done until months after my family returned. So here's part one of the last two alone time projects.

I give you my gallery wall.  It's a work in progress.  Even now looking at this picture I'm feeling like there should be something to the top right of my 3 photo frame.  Maybe one or two of the things that this blogger used to make a complete hallway gallery?  Hers is pretty awesome.


I know, I know what's up with the blurred mess in the middle?!?  That piece is actually our name frame that I planned the whole wall around.  For safety reasons I blurred out our last name, but this piece of art is amazing.  My older sister gave it to us for Christmas two years ago.  The artist spelled out our last name using information about our family to form the letters.  For example the middle 'N' is made out of children's blocks spelling our kids' names.  The last 'N' is in d'nealian letter form on lined paper because TG and I both teach.

For the layout, I didn't draw a plan or tape a mock up which most tutorials suggest you do, but I did work the layout on my dining room table until I liked it and then transferred it down piece by piece.  I do things the super easy way like that all the time.

The rest of it I pieced together using ideas from Pinterest and family photos that I loved.  The frames are just a random collection of old frames and thrifting finds that I spray painted either with Rustoleum Hammered Silver or Satin Espresso to give them a unified look.

I picked up the "love" plaque at Joann's on deep discount and the mirror at Dollar Tree.

I made this sweet reminder of our wedding date with some remnant fabric from our couch pillows, wooden numbers that I dry brushed with white acrylic paint, and two sequins after I saw the one this blogger made.


I picked up two small plaques, also in the clearance aisle of Joann's. They had a green bird print on them and I just used mod podge and scrapbook paper to cover it.  I hand wrote and cut out the letters and used sky blue acrylic paint to paint a wooden number 4.  It's not as cute as Shelley's from House of Smiths, but I like it.


This last project took the longest for me to plan out and complete (sorry it's blurred for privacy reasons again).  I loved lots of subway art prints that I had seen in the blogosphere and I really wanted one for this wall, but I was unsure about how to make mine.  Shelley Smith made one using vinyl decals and this blogger actually made a poster print and placed it on a canvas.  I opted for neither of those and used an assortment of scrapbook stickers and just the thinnest layer of sky blue acrylic paint.  While it was still wet I carefully peeled off the stickers to reveal the places that were important to us.  Some of the stickers didn't come up cleanly so I had to touch it up with white acrylic paint and a small brush by hand.  It's not perfect, but I love it anyway.


Here's the finished product one more time. I realize the builder grade "white" kills the wow factor of it some, but I am completely stuck on what color to paint the hallways of our home.   I'm hoping this summer to make a decision and get them painted.  Anyone have a great neutral go to hallway
color for me?


 

OTC Valentine's Display

We don't have a fireplace in our house which means this lover of decorating is mantle-less. So lately I've started improvising by using our favorite buffet piece we bought many years ago at our favorite antique spot.

I started small with the addition of my sweet white cabinet.  It's full of little things that have meaning to our family.

Then I bought this huge glass vase on clearance at HomeGoods during the Christmas season for $7! It has a tiny imperfection near the bottom, but you can't see it. I also got my little apothecary jar at the same time. In January the big vase was still full of ornaments and my jar was full of epsom salt, cranberries and a votive.

At the beginning of this month while enjoying a kid free craft shopping trip with a friend I picked up the heart wreath for $2 and the mini bell jars for $.50 each without a clue of what I would do with them. I got the green branches (also on clearance for $2) on the same trip specifically for my vase. I have pops of green throughout our main floor and it was exactly what I needed in that corner.

It all came together on a trip to Z Gallerie (oh how I love it there) when I found these gorgeous white candlesticks. Except I knew I wasn't going to use them for candles.

 

Their wide tops were the perfect base for my mini bell jars. I filled one with an "XO" I made using scrapbook paper and scrap ribbon from the glitter hearts that are in the other jar. The glitter hearts were actually part of a pick that I dismantled. I just used a little hot glue to stack them and help them stand up on the candlestick.  I filled my bell jar with large conversation hearts.  I let the kids have one or two as a reward during the day for good behavior.



I hung my wreath with a little pink rick rack from my craft supply box.  Using the same red glitter scrapbook paper I used for the "XO" I made a simple bunting.  A friend gave me the stickers from her stash.  I attached the bunting to the wreath with these cute pink clothespins that were on clearance at Michaels for $.80.



So what do you think?  Cheap, easy and festive is my favorite combination.  Do you change up seasonal decor in your home?

Oh Sugar, Sugar

And flour too!

When we first moved in I had all my baking things stored on the top shelf of our pantry. I knew I wanted to have some canisters on the counter, but after searching online and in the outlet mall I wasn't able to find anything that I liked for a price I was willing to pay.

I started trolling a few secondhand stores hoping to stumble across something that I might be able to use. And wouldn't you know one day I found these two glass canisters with plain wooden lids for the bargain price of $1.50 each.

I saw a few people eyeing me warily as I stood at the checkout with my 1980's looking glass jars, but I knew they could be salvaged.

First, I gave the jars several thorough washings. Then I spray painted the lids apple green and attempted to paint a quatrefoil stencil on top and failed miserably...twice.  I'm like that with my projects.  I'll have this amazing vision and 95% of the time the first few go rounds are complete failures.  Then one day (maybe weeks or months later) I'll figure it out.  This time it took a week of me staring at those lids before the idea came to me.

I sanded the lids a bit and resprayed them pink. Then I traced them on some of the scrap fabric from my DIY roman shade and used spray adhesive to cover the tops. (Remember to let the spray adhesive air dry for a moment or two after you initially spray for optimal tackiness).

I added these cute chalkboard stickers from GroopDealz to label them and voila!  Cutie pop canisters on my counter.  Speaking of GroopDealz if you've never heard of it you need to check it out.  It's like a groupon and etsy mashup with daily deals on darling handmade and crafty items.   I've ordered several cute things through their site and have loved them all!  

The edges of the fabric are starting to fray just a bit, but I kind of like the look.  Also I can change up the fabric easily if it rips or gets stained.


I had everything I needed for this project on hand except for my $3.00 canister purchase and the measuring cup set I picked up at the dollar store to use as scoops.


 

Sweet Home Button Sign

A few months ago, I was browsing around on Pinterest (my new favorite online addiction) and I noticed that button art was trending.

This was my inspiration.  I loved the look of the buttons on the gorgeous fabric print.

via this Etsy shop

Keeping this beauty in mind I started thinking through how I could make something like this work on a larger scale for our "living area" in our town home.  To clarify, I refer to the middle floor of our house as the living area.  Basically it's one open space that we use both as a living room and our dining area where we eat all our meals.  I struggle all the time with how to define the two spaces and the design just kills me.  I have one very large wall that the living room and dining area share that particularly makes me bonkers.  

Prior to this point I had a large piece of framed art (an oil painting of three potted orchids) hanging on the wall above the couch.  One day I was looking at it and the plan all came together.  

Step one.  I bought 1 yard of this fabric at JoAnns and using my handy JoAnns cell phone app I got it for 50% off so it was only 3.99.  I also bought 5 packages of the cranberry colored Favorite Findings Basic Buttons in assorted sizes.  Each package came with 130 buttons.

 .  

Step two.  I fired up my trusty hot glue gun and wrapped the fabric around the existing board that the orchid painting was on.  I glued and tugged to make it tight being very careful to keep the print as centered as I could.

Step three.  I started laying out the buttons (without glue) trying to decide which type of lettering I wanted.  I even polled my Facebook friends.  The almost unanimous choice was the block style lettering.

Step four.  Without any gluing I started laying out the buttons to form the word 'home'.  I know now I could have used a pattern or traced the word on there lightly, but I (like to do things the hard way) felt that was the most organic way to do it at the time.  It wouldn't have been so painstaking except that there were a few times I bumped the board and sent hundreds of hand placed buttons sliding.  Also, I would like to point out that I used 575 of the 650 buttons I purchased which leaves me some extras to replace them if little hands should pry one off (which has already happened once).  I thought when I bought them I was buying too many, but turns out I had just enough.

Step five.  Once I had it centered on the board I started picking up buttons and gluing them on one by one with hot glue.  I burned myself a few (or five hundred) times.  This was mind numbing work, but I did it while watching Real Housewives so it wasn't too bad.  Then I decided that I wanted mine to have a more layered look than my inspiration piece so I went back a second time and one by one glued one more layer of buttons on top of the buttons.  This was easier, but I did spend some time trying to variegate the sizes and sheens of the buttons to get the right look.

Step six.  The old frame was pretty with lots of detailed carving, but it was gold.  So I got my trusty Rustoleum out and gave it two coats of antique gloss white.  Then I sanded it a bit to make it look "distressed" which is the word I always come across on design blogs these days.

Step seven.  You could stop at step six and have a beautiful piece of button artwork, but once I hung mine up I just felt like there was something missing.  After lots of thought and a few other tries with embroidery floss and vinyl I finally came upon some crafting wire at JoAnns that was the same cranberry color as the buttons.  Using a pair of needle nose pliers I freehand scripted the word 'sweet' to hang.  I used just the tiniest bit of hot glue to stick the word on the fabric.

Now that it's complete I love it and it only cost me about $15 to make it if you factor in a bag of hot glue sticks and the spray paint for the frame.  And it always makes me smile when I see it.

 

Christmas Tour

I. LOVE. CHRISTMAS. So what you're about to see is a whole lot of Christmas cheer packed into an "itty bitty living space"...Part 1.  I blame Pinterest.  :)

Come on in. Our tree is lit and lovingly decorated with all the ornaments we've collected since TG and I met.


Even our "home" sign has gotten a sprucing because in my heart I'm always home for Christmas.

We may be tight on space, but I've managed to put 7 trees up. Including this one that's full of my childhood Winnie the Poohs.
 

I like hanging wreaths indoors, especially if they wish you a happy holiday even though they are on a wall that's still not finished.

Our OTC PB inspired advent calendar is up and our table is decked with things new and old and our little table is full of Christmas decor including my jingle bells, two Christmas trees, three Home Goods glass containers, my little IKEA lantern and a DIY Christmas bedazzled monogram.

Every seat has a different view, but lucky Camden gets to see my favorite red reindeer at all his meals.  This year (thanks to Pinterest) I was dying to use cranberries in my decor so I filled a large glass jar with water, faux garland, a floating candle and of course the crans.


Our family rules remain, a perfect reminder for this time of year, but it's been joined by some merry new friends.
 

Our bannisters have been greened and are just waiting for your Christmas card.

My favorite buffet is so jolly!  I kept my beautiful Jim Shore angels, coffee filter tree, and DIY noel banner from last year.  But I edited a little and added my Lucketts votive holder, fresh boxwood from Cox Farms, some height in the form of an ornament vase, mini framed Santa pictures from every year, and of course our dear Elfie.
 

As you leave don't miss your chance to get a chuckle at this year's Santa picture. It features a very pretty little lady with a very mad little man who is the spitting image of his sister a mere two years ago.  And have yourself a Merry Christmas.

What's your house look like this time of year?  Has the invention of Pinterest inspired your decor like it did mine?