Paper heart cutout poster

I have a pass through (that used to be a window) in my kitchen where I like to hang ornaments and other seasonal decor. I wanted to swap out winter's snowflakes for something valentiney, and came up with  this paper cutout idea. Mine is hanging and visible from both sides, but this could work in front of a window, mirror or anywhere you have some free space, really.

I found some red wrapping paper I got years ago at The Container Store. This stuff is thick and red on both sides. You could also use something like heavy kraft paper or poster board. I would definitely stick with paper that's a bit thicker than say, regular printer paper because it will be less prone to tearing.

I started off drawing a few hearts on the backside of my paper and cut them out with a razor blade. But it quickly became apparent that my drawing was unecessary. It was too hard to trace the lines with the blade and was easier to cut them out freehand.

I didn't spend a lot of time plotting out the design.. I just cut perfectly imperfect hearts here and there, big and small. If I screwed one up, I just trimmed it to be a little bigger. Easy to fix those kind of mistakes. When that was done, I cut a few of the almond sliver-type shapes to fill the gaps between the hearts.

This was super super easy and probably took less than half an hour start to finish. I might have to trot this idea out again for Elise's next birthday party.

p.s. Did you notice the creeper that sneaked into my photos? Little Miss Nosey!

Upcycled baby food jar ornaments: 12 ideas to try

If you're a crafty hoarder like me, it's possible you have a few baby food jars stowed away (even if your "baby" isn't a baby anymore). They are just too cute to recycle! They beg to be used for something awesome. (If you don't have baby food jars, you might have other small glass jars from spices or condiments that would work too.)

You've probably seen those clear glass ball ornaments that you can fill with whatever. Well, consider these clear ornaments you don't have to buy. Plus, they have much wider mouths than the glass bulbs so you can fit all sorts of things inside.

I had a couple of different sizes of baby food jars plus a lone glass spice jar in my stash. To prep them, I soaked off the labels, removed any residual glue and cleaned and dried the glass really well, scrubbing off any printed-on numbers that might be on the outside.

Next, I painted the lids. Spray paint is probably the best option here for good coverage. I used a champagne/gold color, but you could use whatever you might have.

Then the hunt was on to find things to fill the jars. I scrounged the house and found lots of options. Here are some ideas!

Scraps of wrapping paper, scrapbook paper or bits of old Christmas cards

Ribbons, yarn or fabric scraps

Jingle bells or snippets of garlands

Mini ball ornaments (how meta)

Elements of nature (twigs, acorns, pine cones, etc.)

Craft supplies (beads, small wood cutouts, foam shapes)

Photos or other keepsakes (wedding invites, baby announcements like I made here)

When you're done filling, pop the lid back on and tie a ribbon or piece of string around the neck of the jar and you're done! Easy!

You can fill them with anything, but I urge you to poke around your house before buying fillers. Just make sure it's nothing too heavy; the glass jars are semi-heavy already (though no heavier than many store-bought ornaments) and you probably don't want to weigh them down too much if you're going to hang them on the tree.

It's inexplicable, but sometimes things just look cooler in jars. I loved a couple of them so much, they made it into my current mantel display. 

But the very best thing about this idea? Nothing is permanent! You can take everything apart when Christmas is over or if you're tired of it. Love that.

Fabric camera strap cover (made from a scrap!)

Earlier this year, I made a fabric cover for my camera strap (another idea from Prudent Baby). I'm not one for logos, especially in bright yellow around my neck, so covering them up was necessary.

Before

But the cover wasn't attached to the strap itself and kept sliding around and scrunching up, revealing the logos beneath. I was constantly adjusting it. The strap looked messy and stupid and bothered me for nearly nine months before I decided to do something about it.

So I made a new cover; really, it's just a tube of fabric. This time, I made it a bit longer and sewed it to both ends across the strap. If I ever decide to take it off, it should be easy to pick out the stitches.

This project is so simple to make with a long skinny scrap of fabric. (Or you can annoy the ladies at the fabric store and ask them to cut an eighth of a yard. That's all you need!) It took me about 30-45 minutes, start to finish. A nice little beginner level project.

p.s. The fabric I used was a scrap of "Rose Garden" by Pink Light Design for Fabric Innovation, the same fabric I used to make this reversible pillowcase dress.

No-cost paint tray liner: Use a plastic shopping bag

When I posted my newly painted porch, did you spot this easy paint cleanup tip in the (seemingly endless) post?

I am too cheap to buy those disposable plastic paint tray liners at the hardware store. I know they are only a couple of bucks, but I have problems spending money on things that are just going to be thrown away hours later.

I used to pour the paint straight into the tray, but that leads to a lot of cleanup. And then one day it hit me that I could put the paint tray inside of a plastic grocery bag so the paint never actually touches the tray. You could also use a trash bag, but a plastic shopping bag is the ultra-thrifty option.

Just make sure you turn the bag inside-out if it has any printing on it. I've found if the paint sits on top of the printed logos, the ink starts to run and mix with your paint.

The bag does cling to the roller sometimes, but for me it's a minor annoyance that is far outweighed by the fact that I don't have to wash out a messy paint tray. When I'm done, I pour any unused paint back into the can, then take off the bag and toss it. Super quick cleanup!

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Linked to: In My Own Style's Trick or Tip Party

Faux abstract kid painting: Round 2

After Elise's first couple of paintings (which we gave away as Mother's Day gifts), I wanted to create another piece for us to keep.

We started with this 11 x 14 inch fake painting I picked up on clearance from T.J.Maxx for 70 cents. Under the dog, it was a sturdy piece MDF, which I primed and painted a battleship grey color.

Then we layered each color one at a time with drying time in between just like we did for her earlier paintings. She was a little more patient this time around (for whatever reason), but still each layer took less than a minute. After all the layers were complete and dry, I sealed it with some polyurethane.

I hung it up on the wall and to my surprise, Elise seems very proud. I caught her admiring it a couple of times when she didn't know I was looking. She also touched it and expected the paint to be wet and come off on her hands. My girl's an action painter!

Detail

Detail

Numbers Birthday Party: The Invitations

Early on, I decided on a numbers theme for Elise's second birthday party. She can often be heard counting from one to ten over and over again or shouting out whatever digits she happens to see on an interstate exit sign or price tag. The girl loves numbers.

I found this number scrapbook paper and knew I had to use it for her invitations. It's so happy and festive. And it was on sale for 25 cents a sheet!

I found the coordinating orange paper in my stash, then discovered some leftover business-size envelopes, so I designed the invites to fit in those.

I took Elise's photo, cropped it to a square, changed it to black and white (the colors of the photo didn't really complement the colors of the paper), then printed a bunch of them out on photo paper. I left plenty of white space between the photos so I could cut them out to resemble a Polaroid.

I've been working on the same jumbo box of photo paper for like 10 years. The sheets have a bit of a curl to them, and I like how it pops the photo off the page a bit.

So the grand total for about 20 invites? 75 cents! Just three sheets of the numbers paper, and everything else I had on hand.

More Numbers Birthday Party posts

Decorations	Activities	Favors

Record the ridiculous: Kid quote notebook

Elise is jabbering away so much these days. I just know she's on the verge of saying something ridiculous and I don't want to forget any of it. I've kind of stopped filling out her baby book. I'm not sure there's a place in there for crazy toddler speak anyway, so I wanted to dedicate a notebook to record all those "kids say the darndest things" moments.

 

I found a small 4" x 5" blank book in my stash. I'm not quite sure when I bought it or what it was for. It was so long ago, it can now be considered free. Just to dress it up a little, I took a paper bar coaster I had laying around, covered it with a cute piece of scrapbook paper and hot glued it to the front cover. (A thin piece of cardboard or chipboard would work just as well if a bar coaster is unavailable.) Then I added a vinyl letter sticker in the corner.

I stamped labels for her age and the date on every page as reminders to actually include that info in each entry.

I used a printer's kit I bought a long time ago at an office supply store. With a little patience, you can put together your own stamps with your name, address or any words for a special project.

Of course, you don't need to make a cutesy notebook to record your kid's silly sayings; any notebook will do. The most important part of it is writing things down before they're forgotten!

Ugly craft makeover: Birdie cutout

One of my new favorite things to do is to take an outdated piece of craft and give it an update. I'm calling them my ugly craft makeovers. You can find more tagged as such.

I found this wooden bird cutout sign at a thrift store for 80 cents. Cute, maybe, in like 1986. But the wood was solid, his silhouette was nice and the price was right, so I decided to rescue him.

I detatched the "welcome" sign from the bottom and set that aside for a future project. I gave it a quick sand, then spray painted him in in Real Red by Valspar. (I should note that I could have used normal paint, but I had the spray paint on hand and two coats of spray paint vs. a bunch of regular paint just sounded appealing.)

I paired him with this 11 x 14 inch natural wood frame that I found in a closet at my grandma's house. It had never been stained or painted, had no glass or backing, so what you see is how I found it.

Clean and modern. Quick and easy. Nice that sometimes projects work out that way.

Click here to see the finished playroom!