Well, December is here and Christmas prep is in full swing...sorta. As usual I’m a little behind, but this year I am totally okay with that. I have my tree up (but not decorated) and I may go crazy on the mantel...I’ve never had a fireplace or a mantel before this year and it’s begging for the full Christmas treatment.
So while I don’t foresee myself creating and blogging about and Christmas crafts this year (because, four kids) I have done a few in the past that I’m sure a lot of y’all have …
Read More
Simple Christmas Window Decor
I have a confession to make.
I haven't started decorating for Christmas yet. I haven't even thought about getting the boxes out of storage. We haven't been listing to Christmas music. I haven't baked a single thing. Gifts? What gifts?
Now I've always been strictly in the "no Christmas before Thanksgiving" camp, and this year I've done a particularly excellent job of holding out. My kids have been really patient, especially considering that they are ALL ABOUT Christmas decor. As soon as …
Read More
How to Make a Lego Table
I've been so concentrated on building the new house that I haven't done a project in a good long while. I finally have one for you today though, a Lego table!
Last month Levi (my middle son) turned four. Four. I remember blogging his birth story like it was yesterday, and now he's my four-year-old middle son. Crazy.
Anyway, I made him a Lego table for his birthday. He loves it, my other boys love it, and I kinda love it too...despite the fact that it lives in my living room and has a …
Read More
How to Make Personalized Sharpie Mugs
If you've ever used pinterest, then chances are you've seen these "sharpie mugs". The idea is that you buy a cheap plain mug, personalize it with a sharpie, and voila! Crazy easy personalized coffee cups. Now, I've been DIYing for a while now and I can tell you one thing for sure...if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. (You can actually apply that to life in general, not just DIY.) I mean, sharpies are great and all, but they're not magic. They may be nearly impossible to get off a …
Read More
Upcycled Giant Chalkboard
A couple of years ago I made a chalkboard for my kitchen/dining room area.
I use it every single day for my household to-do list. It's probably one of the things in my house I use most (that's not an appliance, computer, or sink). Recently the boys have taken an interest in it, and each day they drag their little step stool over to the chalkboard and go to town writing all over my list. I let them too, because seeing their little doodles and chicken scratch letters is way better than …
Read More
Nursery Sign Semi Success
So the saga of the nursery sign for my nephew continues. Two weeks ago I posted about my first attempt at a name sign for baby Chandler, and I ended up with a sign that was wasn't bad, but also wasn't my favorite. And then there was the fact that I couldn't bring myself to give it to my SIL because it was over eight feet long and completely ridiculous.
So I decided to try again. For the first sign I used the 12 inch letter stencils from Cutting Edge Stencils, in all different designs. I …
Read More
Nursery Sign Semi Fail
I mentioned in a previous post that my sister-in-law recently had a baby, little Chandler.
Less than two years ago his older sister was born, and I made her this name sign out of an old section of fence and lots and lots of buttons. (tutorial here)
I can't very well make Mallory a sign and not Chandler, so I did a little brainstorming on how I could make one without spending days gluing buttons. Buttons would be fine if his name was Bob or TJ or something, but "Chandler" in buttons …
Read More
How to Make Book Slings
If this sounds oddly familiar to you, it's because I've already done (and blogged about) this project. I made my first set of book slings a few years ago while pregnant with boy #2, but I'm going to throw it out there again since 98% of my current readers probably haven't seen that post. Plus these slings have been really great... I mean, we're renovating the room and these are the only things that are staying. So here is the new set....
and here is the old one.
I made this new set all …
Read More
Pac-Man Family – Easy Costume Idea
Pac-Man and our family have a long history together.
To be more specific, Ms. Pac-Man and Adam have a deep and meaningful relationship that developed long before our own (and that's saying something, cause I nabbed him young). It's an ongoing love affair. When Adam and I started dating in high school I had heard of and played Pac-Man, but really, he never made a significant impact on my life. Then I met Adam, and I learned a few things...
Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man are different, and the …
Read More
Bright & Rustic Button Sign
Last year I made something that I never blogged about. Saying I 'made something' is a really bad description though, what I mean is that I made something that is pretty stinking awesome and one of my favorite projects ever. And then I gave it away before taking pictures of it. Like a giant dork.
So what is it? It's a huge button monogram for my unborn niece...
Well, she was unborn when I made it...now she is very much born and almost walking. Even though I made the sign over a year …
Read More
Carving Pumpkins with a Drill
I haven't carved pumpkins in a really long time. Why? Well, because this is how pumpkin carving seems to go...
First you cut open the pumpkin and clean out all the guts. Lets face it...no one really likes this task. It's kinda nasty. Then you carve it up, put it out on your front porch, throw a candle in, and enjoy knowing it's out there for a few nights. Halloween passes and since the pumpkin has been sitting on your porch for a while you don't really notice it anymore. Thanksgiving comes and …
Read More
Poured Paint Pots
Today I have a super easy project for y'all....so easy, in fact, that you should round-up your kids and have them help you. They will love it. Not that I let mine help... I waited till they were napping to do this, haha. I'm not crazy after all. Also, I am giving away a $250 Home Depot gift card! If any of you are at Home Depot half as much as I am then you just got really excited.
So here is what we are making today...
Yup, poured paint pots. You probably don't even need a tutorial to do …
Read More
Kids Step Stool (with Yardstick Steps)
I do projects around here when there is a need. Or a want, wants are project-worthy too. In this particular case I needed Elijah (who's in full potty training mode) to be able to turn on the bathroom light by himself. Enter - the need for a step stool. Or the want, cause I don't want to stop what I'm doing every twenty minutes to turn the lights on for him. So perhaps the motives behind the step stool were actually selfish. Whatever, I'm okay with that.
I told Adam my selfish desire for a …
Read More
Yardstick Framed Kid Art
Happy Friday! I had fully intended to post three easy projects this week, but then Friday was here and I hadn't blogged about anything. Ahh, life. It happens. So I'm in the process of decorating my new kitchen shelving and have been doing lots of small projects for them. This particular project started when I was cleaning out my craft closet and came across a painting done by Elijah, it's the first time he had ever painted. I remember stuffing it in a bag full of scrapbook paper because I …
Read More
Custom Name Growth Charts
I'm back, and I actually finished a project! Did you think I was going to leave you hanging till after Christmas? I thought about it... December has been a hard month so far, it feels like one or both of the kids has been sick the whole month. Just this morning Elijah threw up twice..once in my bed and once all over my lap/the couch. It's just a barrel of fun around here!
The project I managed to complete was some custom growth charts for Christmas gifts. These were fairly easy and really …
Read More
A Robber and A Bag of Money
We don't do Halloween around here (what a weird creepy holiday) but we do do Harvest Fest, which is really just an alternative to Halloween at our church. There's lots of candy, games, and costumes and no severed body parts. It's a beautiful thing.
So while perusing pinterest for a costume, I found this...
Awesome, right? And how adorable is that kid? That baby costume was store bought, but I figured I could make a Domestic Imperfection version pretty easily.
I started with an old …
Read More
Puff Paint Easter Eggs
I know Easter is tomorrow and you have all probably decorated eggs already, but I'll go ahead and share my mini tutorial anyway. It's now or never right? So a few weeks ago Aimee over at It's Overflowing asked me to be part of her Easter Egg Hunt series. She asked me to decorate some eggs and share the tutorial with her readers. Here is what I came up with...they are seriously the lazy girls Easter egg.
For my eggs I decided to go simple, no messy dye or egg boiling required. Besides the no …
Read More
Fabric Scrap and Ric Rac Roses
A couple weeks ago I made some gifts for a friends daughter. It was her second birthday and I decided to jazz up some accessories with fabric roses.
Try as I may, I just can't bring myself to do crafty things and not take pictures, so I'm here to share a tutorial with y'all.
I had first attempted these when I made my guest bedroom frame wall...
I looked up a few tutorials online, but none of them worked out quite the way I hoped they would. So I scraped the tutorials and just went with …
Read More
The BEST Homemade Play Dough
I've done it, I've found the perfect play dough recipe. The other times I've tried to make play dough it turned out too gritty, too slimy, or too dry. This one is smooth, moldable, and stores great. Here is what you will need...
.
1 cup white flour
1/2 cup salt
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
1 tablespoon oil
1 cup water
food coloring
First, mix together flour, salt, tartar and oil.
.
Next, add the water and mix well.
Cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring the …
Read More
