Happy Almost Mother's Day 2014

Hi!!  We had a lot going on last week - like getting ready for Hadley's big third birthday party (more on that later this week) and having family visiting/staying with us.  Since Hadley's birthday is usually close to Mother's Day I try to have the grandmothers' (Noni and Grandma) gifts ready so the girls can give it to them in person.   Last year, Hadley and Layla made special boxes that we filled with photos and other handmade gifts. This year we stayed on the handmade track but with a slightly bigger undertaking - painted pillows!!!

I had seen a watercolored pillow somewhere on Pinterest awhile ago and thought it would be a fun activity for the girls to try.  It didn't take much prep, just a few Martha Stewart craft paints (in colors I thought would best coordinate with both decors), paintbrushes, two 20" Ikea pillow covers and lots of drying time!

 

I had the girls start out painting with foam brushes (I thought it would distribute the paint better on the fabric) but Layla quickly asked for a regular paint brush.  So they used both.

Layla created a color-block design, while Hadley opted for a more color-washed look: ) 

 

I had them each paint one side of each pillow that way Noni and Grandma would have piece of artwork from both of them! 

Layla's sides!

After about 24 hours of drying time, per side, I threw the pillows into the washer on the gentle cycle with cold water.  And then they both went into the dryer on low heat.  A quick once-over with the iron (low steam) and they were ready to go!

 

Hadley's sides!

I love how they turned out and can't wait for them to make one for our house!!

Noni and Grandma loved their gifts and now have a functional piece of art from both of their girls!!
xxoo!
Kendra Pin It

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DIY Hanging Barrette Organizer

Hi!  Last month, we were invited to celebrate the first birthday of Bobby and Natalie's cutie pie, Juliet.  When I asked Natalie what to get her she mentioned barrettes.  So, armed with that info,  I jumped on Etsy and searched for little alligator clips that I thought would be perfect for her and her two sisters.   I found this shop and went kinda crazy - they have to most adorable little felt faces and animal barrettes - it was hard to just pick a few!!

Once the clips were purchased I knew they would need a place to live (so Natalie wouldn't go crazy keeping track of them)  so I made a simple hanging ribbon organizer to hold them.  Below is how I did it: )

The supplies:
+Scissors
+Ribbon
+D Hook (hardware store or cut one of those ribbon belts!)
+Hot Glue Gun
+Wood Topper (I used a heart from Michaels)



 First I laid out the ribbon under the heart to see how long I wanted it to be. Once I determined the length I snipped the end of the ribbon on a slant.

Next I flipped over the heart and looped the ribbon through the D hook.  When I had the right amount of length I added a dot of hot glue to the inside of the ribbon and then attached the ribbon to the heart with another dot of hot glue.

 

 

 

All that was left to do was add a wooden 'J' to the heart (for the birthday girl) and clip on the lovely little barrettes!

Have a great Thursday!!
xo!
Kendra Pin It

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Word Phrase Art ~ DIY

Today I thought I word try using Festisite to make a little framed word art. 
It was a simple project, and I loved the results!

What I did~
Using the Festisite site, I created a heart with the words "I love you to the moon and back" ~ a special sentence between my grandchildren and me.

Once it was printed, I used a cookie cutter to make a heart shape.

I wanted a gray background to coordinate with my room, so I cut a textured fabric the size of my frame.

Just a little red ric rac, little fabric glue, and my art was complete.

Enjoy! ♥



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Amazingly Fun DIY Ideas for the Home

Wish I have known about these ideas when I was first decorating my home.....



signs ~ could easily be created with your own choice of fonts

wine bottles to small gardens

a 3-D paper covered lamp

embroidered shower curtain

wall paper covered book shelves

Hope that you found one (or two) ideas that you like too! ♥ 

  

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Wreath Season by Season - Valentine's Day Edition

Hi there!! Last week I mentioned the girls and I were busying ourselves making hearts, painting hearts and hanging hearts in order to stave off cabin fever.  One of those hearts projects was for the latest wreath currently adorning our front door.  It cost me about a dollar to make and took 10 minutes.

I started with (4) 8"x10" sheets of light pink, bright pink, super bright pink and white felt - purchased at Michaels for $.24/each.

I folded sections of two pieces of felt together and traced half a heart on one side.

 

 I cut those out and repeated the process by folding the felt again and again to get as making hearts out of the felt as possible.

 

 

I kept same white yarn covered "base" and just overlapped the felt hearts in a circular patternand attached them with hot glue. 

I wish the weather would be a cheery as my front door - it's gloomy/freezing here!!

xo!
Kendra Pin It

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Pinterest Challenge ~ "Love" tea towel

I always seem to need new kitchen towels!  And I love the colorful styles that are available, but they can be expensive especially when they need to be washed so frequently.

When I happened across Somewhat Simple's tutorial, I couldn't resist! 

 

The directions were clearly written and easy to follow...

...and the tea towel came together quickly!

Besides the fabric, the only thing I changed was the stitching around the appliques.  Rather than straight stitches, I used small zig zag.   I thought that it might help reduce fraying since mine get washed so often.

I love the way the finished towel looks in my kitchen!

Enjoy!  ♥
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Fun with Tagxedo

I am constantly amazed by all the incredible (and free) creative sites the computer offers!  One of my all-time favorites is Tagxedo.  I could easily spend hours creating personalized "word clouds."  I know once you try it, you will be hooked too!

My "whale" using words that I associate with my family's time at the shore:

Or a favorite poem:

Wouldn't a teacher love a gift using the names of the children in her/his class?

The possibilities are endless ~

There are many tutorials available for using tagxedo ~ here is just one

Enjoy!  ♥ Pin It

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Dot Dot Dot (Part 2)

Happy Friday all!!  So earlier this week I shared the DIY paint dot runner I made, today its a DIY bleach pen dot tablecloth. 

I'm always on the hunt for a good, durable tablecloth. And after seeing paint drop cloths used in so many ways (drapes, rugs)  I decided to pick up a canvas drop cloth ($5.99) from Lowes and try it out.

I just grabbed my bleach pen (a must in this house!) and made medium-sized dots all over the cloth using the brush side of the pen.

 

 

Once I had all my dots painted on I took the cloth outside to dry in the sun for about 30 minutes.

 

 

Then I just threw in the washer and dryer and done!

 



 An easy (cheap) tablecloth - perfect for this messy little family...

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Dot Dot Dot (Part 1)

Hi there and happy Tuesday!  Today will be the first of two "dot" posts - so stay tuned for the second one coming up later this week.  So, once we got back from our semi-relaxing vacation I looked around the house and decided it needed a little brightening, a smidgen of color and some parts just needed to look a bit more polished. 

First, I focused my attention on the dining room.  The table has been home to various items under or in the glass light fixtures I picked up at ReStore a few months ago.  When I was doing a closet clean out I found cream-colored runner that I hadn't used since moving here.  It was on the plain side but I thought with some gold paint stamped in a playful shape it could look pretty and chic.

So I pulled out my trusty metallic gold craft paint by Martha Stewart and cut a regular old kitchen sponge into a kind of circular shape - I actually think that not having it be perfectly round made the runner look more modern.

I just randomly stamped the gold paint covered sponge onto the runner until it looked finished.

I didn't iron it because I was being lazy: ) and I liked the rumpled look of it under all the glass.  Ironing it on the opposite side of the paint will help set the paint though so I will probably do this - at some point!

Have a great day all!
xo!
Kendra

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