So Close I Can Taste It!!!

Oh boy it is almost here!!!  I can see summer vacation in my horizon and I am loving it!!!  It has been another crazy week but I am coming out of it ok.  I am still in the “get everything closed for the teaching season” mode but “get ready for next year” is creeping in on me.  I made these cute little gifts for my kiddos yesterday to give them on Friday.

I found the idea on Pinterest from Classroom DIY.  Aren’t they cute?  They were super simple to make. I can’t wait to pass them out on Friday!!! 

This is going to be a short post since I feel like I have so much to do and only a day and half to do it all!!!  Also make sure you enter the GIVEAWAY from Lulu & Sweet Pea.  Entry here.  Hope everyone is having a great week!!!

Andi

DIY - Mirrored Starburst

So now that I have a few projects under my belt: couch table, blanket ladder, Eat in pennies, etc. I thought it was a good time to branch my DIY skills into more decorating for the house.  Well during all my previous walks through Pinterest I came across a ton of ideas to do in the future.  For some reason this one really struck a cord with me.  I mean come on who wouldn’t love a starburst mirror hanging in their house?!? So I studied Tamara’s post of her mirror over at the The Jolly James for a few days, did some research and made the decision that I too could make one.

I went to my 2 favorite stores as of lately Home Depot and Jo-Ann’s to get everything I needed.  I followed Tamara’s instructions almost to a T but swayed a bit when it came to a few things.  On the The Jolly James post she uses rods from Jo-Ann’s and hot glue.  I made the executive decision to use the famous E-6000 Quick Hold glue and I got my rods from Home Depot instead of the pre-packaged ones.  After some research I found getting them from Home Depot was my cheapest bet.  The nice thing about getting the pre-packaged ones is that they are already cut at 12” for you, the Home Depot ones are at 48”.  So I batted my eyelashes and nicely asked the gentlemen in the orange apron to cut each rod to 12” so now 1 rod turns into 4.  Now it wasn’t just 4 rods it was 20 and he gladly did it but needed to know what I was making to need 80 rods!!!  The rods were about 87¢ each so at 20 I am knocking on the door of a $20+ mirror…I hope it is worth it!!! I also picked up a can of matte silver spray paint while I was at Home Depot.  I got a 9” round mirror from Jo-Ann’s.  

This is when I followed The Jolly James instructions to that T.  I did measure out every 1/8” to know where to lay the rods and it was fairly simple drawing the lines, but placing those rods was an annoying task.  Since my mirror was 9” I probably should of measured out every 1/9” but didn’t think of that until after the lines were drawn and I started placing rods.  Staggering them and placing them evenly over the mirror was a challenge for me.  Luckily I embrace my challenges such as not being able to draw a straight line with a ruler that I was able to not harp on this imperfection for to long.  I figured it was me that was making this and not a machine and something to the fact that asymmetrical stuff is still considered art so…whatever.

Gluing the rods on was a pain in my ass because the rods liked to roll.  Who would have thunk that rods like to roll. I let the rods sit awhile to make sure they were nice and stuck on the back of the mirror.

I covered the mirror part up before I sprayed which was fun…not.  

I used spray paint to cover up the rods and it took a lot of applications to get the color I wanted.  So a mental note when I do this project again…use a primer first.  Instead of using a picture hanging “thing”, I reverted back to my favorite Command Strips.  I placed 4 on the back to make sure I had a strong hold.

Now where to hang it…I do not have a lot of pictures or "hung" things in the upstairs so I knew it could fit somewhere up there.  We had just moved a 3-legged table to the top of the stairs when we shuffled the living around and it was looking a little bare.  So the mirror found a new home. 

I like this project but I know it could have turned out better.  Luckily I have about 30 extra rods so I might make another one.  Just to see if I can make it better… What do you think? 

During my search I saw this one and this one so I might try one of these instead. Which one do you like best?

Thanks again to Tamara at The Jolly James for the wonderful idea.

Andi

Tutu Withdrawal...

 HELP!!!  I am falling into a dark hole and don’t know if I will be able to find my way out!!!  I have found a new love...and that would be tulle.  Yep, you read that correctly I LOVE TULLE. I have been a tutu-making machine lately and now it has now come to a complete STOP.  What am I to do?

 I got to make some awesome tutus for my nieces and I am so excited about them that I could not wait a month to show them off.  Yes I promise to not break my arm by patting myself on the back ; ) So here they are in all of their puffiness!!!

These babies took some time and a butt load of tulle, but they were so worth it, mostly because whom they were made for.  I then got an offer to make one for the daughter of one of the ladies I work with.  So this one had to be totally girly with pink, purple, pink and purple.  What 5 year old would not love to twirl in this?  I kind of wished I did it the way I did my niece’s tutus but I am still loving it.

So now what you might ask what am I doing?

Yep I am in a total withdrawal!!!  If you would like to help a girl out just let me know what color and size you want : D Hope you are having a wonderful week.

Andi

P.s. In all seriousness if you would like a tutu I am thinking of starting a little side biz of making them.  What is the best thing about my tutus?  Not only are they made with fun at heart but also with the wallet in mind!!! Let me know.

DIY - Tutulicious

VIA

Again this is another post that I did not get from Pinterest but I know a quick search on there or on Google you will find a million DIY tutorials on how to make one.  So I thought I would join the club and make one too.  So how did I learn how to make this crafty “skirt”?  Well now that you have asked I would love to share...one day taking my sweet little students to the LMC for parent pick-up, I see a mom easily making a tutu.  I mean come on she is sitting at a kid-sized table whipping this baby out!!!  So once my students are safely secure with their parents I bombard her with questions...how are you doing that, what do you need, is it really that easy, do you have to sew to make one?  Her responses went something like this.. ”Well you go like this and then like this and do this, you need tulle and elastic or ribbon, and yes it really is that easy, and there is no sewing involved.  Say what? A no sew project that I can wear!!! Whoot whoot!!! I think I just struck gold!!!

I was never taught how to sew and nor did I ever aspire to want to learn.  But I have learned over the past few  years months I like crafting and sewing might come in handy.  So now that I know how to make one of these awesome wearable items I need to make one and make one now!!!  But when does a 30 year old need to wear a tutu?  Halloween maybe? Totally bumming that I now have this fun project and no one to make it for :  ( Then Smalls and I decided to do The Happiest 5k on the Planet and boom I now have a reason to make a tutu!  Why would you not wear a tutu running in the happiest race in the worldt?

So now its time to get a making this baby and boy is it easy. 

Okay what you need is:

         -scissors

         -tulle (any color you want), I used about one and half 25 yards spools of white

         -elastic or ribbon (I used elastic)

         -and Velcro or needle and thread if you use elastic

***You will need to cut stripes of tulle to your liking.  Remember you fold them in half.  Just ask yourself, long tutu or short?

I know I said there was no sewing involved and there doesn’t have to be if you use ribbon or Velcro.  I wanted to use elastic because I thought it would be better for running, but ribbon will work just fine. I started out using self adhesive Velcro but it kept getting in my way (sticking to the tulle) and it ended up falling off.  So I safety pinned it while making it and then put a few stiches in it to connect the ends together.  Luckily I know how to sew a button on.  What made this project so easy for me is that I tie my scarves on the same way you “tie” the tulle on. So you pretty much just follow the pictures below and voila your have yourself a tutu!!!

I hope you find the same kind of silly enjoyment I got out of making this tutu.  I know tutus are for little girls but we all have a child somewhere in us : ) I hope I get to make another one soon and maybe get to add a little bit of color next time.  Have you done any fun easy projects that bring the child out in you?  Would love to hear all about them!!!

VIA

Andi

DIY - A little bit of LOVE...

Making the EAT for the dining room was fairly addicting due to its ease, simplicity and prettiness. I wanted to do more letter projects and needed some guidance on what to do and where to hang it.  Off to Pinterest I went to see what I could find.  After a few minutes I came across this. Jamie from Kreyv posted a picture of it on her blog.  I had found my pinspiration!!!  Now where do I begin…

I knew it cost me $2.00 in just pennies to make EAT and that did not include the letters, paint, glue, etc. So I knew I wanted to do LOVE and nickels were enticing but looked a little pricey.  One thing I look for in life is inexpensive elegance. So over $20 in nickels would just not cut it. I looked into mirrors as well but those were pretty pricey too.  I decided to use the floral accent gems that you get at the dollar store.  I found mine here.  I also stopped at Jo-Ann Fabrics again for the letters and paint.  I had enough glue and protective spray from when I made EAT.  

I did the same steps in making these letters as I did in EAT.  Paint letters, let dry, add another coat, and then let dry.  Putting the gems was kind of a pain in my ass because they kept sliding off when I would lay them down.  I did a no-glue test run first so I knew how many gems to use per letter.  It took just over 1 bag for each letter.  Once those gems had the glue on them, they were not going anywhere.  I extra sprayed those letters knowing that the gems weighed more than the pennies. 

Now where to hang the LOVE… I figured the master bedroom would be the best place.  It was a good decision because I have not hung anything in that room yet.  I have a fear of nail holes in my plaster walls.  If I am putting something up with nails it better be permanent and expensive. Not that our LOVE isn’t life-long, but who knows how long I will be in this letter fascination phase. So back to the Command Strips I go. I was a little unsure how to hang the LOVE, vertical, horizontal.  I really liked how I had the EAT going vertical so I thought it would be a good choice for the LOVE too.  Let me know what you think.

This was another fun project and I have another one stewing.  Thanks to Jamie at Kreyv for the idea.

Andi

DIY - From Pennies to EAT

So this winter we got a LOT of snow/mud/ice days in our district.  We are allowed 6 days and that’s what we used.  After April 1^st we get to use more, but I am done with adjusting my lesson plans!!! Now coming off of an almost 2 week Holiday break and with a couple other days off such as MLK and Presidents day the 6 (snow/mud/ice) days we got because of Mother Nature, made me a bit stir-crazy.  I know that this is psycho talk but when your husband has to go to work, you don’t have any children of your own to entertain and all of your friends still have to report; you begin to do loopy things. Cleaning the house can get old, fast!!! So I decided to scroll Pinterest for something…not sure what, though.  

After hours of scrolling and scrolling I came across this this.  OMG!!! What an awesome idea for a fun DIY art project.  Plus my dining room was the perfect place to hang something like this.  So off to Jo-Ann Fabrics I go.  I got 8” Paper Mache letters in E, A, T, copper acrylic paint, a 1” brush, E-6000 Quick Hold glue and Krylon semi-gloss finishing spray. Then it was to the couch cushions to find pennies.  In total I needed 200 pennies.

Now how do I go about making this fun craft… I pretty much followed exactly what Rebecca said to do from the The Crafted Sparrow step by step.  The paint process only took about an hour to dry and the layout of pennies on each letter about 20 minutes.  So in total I finished this whole project in just a few hours!!! I gave it an extra spray the next morning just to make sure those copper pennies wouldn’t fall off. 

Now that it was done, I needed to hang it.  Hmmm… well I can’t nail it, so now what?  Then all of a sudden a TV add came on for Command Strips and the light bulb went off. So off to the drug store I go.  I place those babies on and I made sure I got the heavy duty ones just to be safe.

Next stop was to my dining room to hang!!! Super easy, super fun and I have to say it looks good in there.  What do you think?

Thanks again to Rebecca at The Crafted Sparrow for the wonderful idea.

Andi