Rustic Wood Container

Once again I was snooping around my mom's house, and I came across this old wooden container. It looked rather weather beaten, so I decided that I would clean it up, paint it, and give it some rustic appeal. I like the way it turned out, and the star embellishment really brought this forgotten piece of wood back to life. Cute, huh?

Supplies: wood container, acrylic paint, fine sand paper, polyurethane, foam brush, hot glue, and embellishment(optional).

Sand the container first. Wipe clean with damp rag. Apply paint with foam brush. Once dry, apply polyurethane( do this outside). Let dry about 1 hour. With fine sand paper work entire container gently. Along edges rub sand paper until it lighten to your liking. Wipe clean with damp rag again. Attach embellishment with hot glue gun. Pretty easy, but the painting is the fun part.

Kaya's Creation

Kaya brought home this gigantic picture she made of her family. Oh I love it! Since my walls are blank in our craft room I thought it would be nice to create a border, and get this beauty up on the wall. Thank you Kaya!

Decorative Corkboard for Computer Armoire

I am so tired of writing down information on a billion pieces of paper, and then forgetting where I put that note! I'm getting old, and I need some help! Well I've taken the large corkboard idea, and minimized it to fit inside my computer armoire. I've decided that I need to maximum every inch of this craft/computer/office room because I can't stand the clutter! I so wish it's was Fall. I really need to get down to IKEA in Phoenix! Well here's what you will need.

Supplies: Package of precut square corkboard( I found mine at Walmart), fabric, spray adhesive, scissors, box cutter, ribbons, decorative nails(Joann's), and hammer.
Cut corkboard to size using a box cutter. Cut fabric a little larger than corkboard pieces. Spray adhesive on wrong side of fabric. Lay corkboard on top and press down firmly. Fold fabric edges in until sides are all taut. I sprayed adhesive onto surface I was attaching square corkboards too. Decorate edges with ribbon, and fasten with decorative nails. This project is not to time consuming, and it will help with my overall need for organization.

Decorative Letters in Detail

I thought I would show this project with alittle more detail since I've received a few requests.
I purchased letters from Michael's craft store.
I painted letters, and turned over to trace onto scrapbook paper.
Don't cut on line. Move x-acto knife inside of template and cut inside pattern.
Place scrapbook paper image on to painted letter, and decoupage.
Completed decorative letter ready to be hung.

Personalize Coffee Mugs

When Remy was a little monkey I placed his foot print on coffee mugs to give to his grandparents as Christmas gifts. The only problem was I didn't make any for me! After Kaya was born I wasn't about to make the same mistake. John and I use these mugs everyday. They are our favorite. We love seeing her tiny hand print each morning. It still makes me sad that I never captured Sage prints. Good thing I have another opportunity with Carla expecting in December. I purchased these cold/hot mugs at World Market. Michael's has a great selection of no bake glass paint. I wash by hand, and the clean in the dishwasher. I've never had a problem with peeling. I hope you preserve your little monkey prints before it's too late!

Mircowave Carmel Corn Popcorn

I saw this Carmel corn recipe on the Angry Chicken website. I decide to make this one night for our outdoor movie night. The monkeys loved it, but John and I like the lighter version of this recipe. Which means we used just half of the syrup for coating. This was a great treat. I think I will make more for holiday gifts.

Applique baby bibs

Yesterday I watched Martha Stewart's Craft Show on making applique baby bibs. I'm so excited to give this one a try! My sister Carla is pregnant, and I would love to make her a few of these cute applique bibs.

Fabric Silhouette

I found this worn piece of wood at my mother's house, and I decided it would make a good sign. At first I was going to paint it and make it look rustic, but I decided to try a fabric silhouette treatment on it instead. I was pretty happy with the results,but I kept changing the paint color(little mistake). I think it would have looked better to the naked eye if I had stuck to one color. Oh well, I think I'll be the only one who really notices. I blogged about Anna Marie Horner Fabric Silhouette, and I followed those directions. The only thing I added was making my own stencil which I also recently blogged about. My next silhouette will be of an image of some sort for the monkey's rooms.

Supplies: wood board, fabric, scissors, heavy duty staple gun, freezer wrap paper, x-acto knife, foam brush, mod podge, acrylic paint, paint brush, painter tape, sawtooth hangers, leveler, and hammer.

Decorative Pencil Holder

I've been wanted to make this decorative pencil holder that I saw on my neighbor's blog, but I kept forgetting to buy a place mat! Well now I finally remembered, and I purchased this cute place mat at World Market. It was really simple to make, and it gave me a chance to practice my sewing. Here's how.

Supplies: Place mat, chalk, ruler, iron, sewing machine, and thread.

I just folded two sides inward, and ironed. I stitched the sides first by hand since my machine wasn't doing a great job. Then I used chalk and a ruler to draw my lines. I just eyeballed it. Then I used my sewing machine to stitch straight lines. I used a ribbon to hold it together. I think Kaya is really going to like this on the go pencil holder for her art work. Thanks Amber!



Decorative Art Supply holder
This is the same concept as the pencil holder, but it's for the art tools I use the most. Now I don't have to search for these items everytime I want to do a craft project.

Applique hats

I was recently in Target looking around their dollar section. I came across these sun visors. I thought I could spruce them up a bit with my scrap fabric. I think they came out pretty cute. I used the same technique for making them as I did the fabric applique t-shirts. Now the monkeys have something to wear to the creek. Here's how...

Supplies: Hat, heat-n-bond lite, scissors, and iron.
Iron adhesive to fabric as directed. Cut out image. Remove heat-n-bond backing and iron on to visor. That's it! Easy, and Simple.

I miss Scrapbooking

It's been almost two years since I really sat down, and did some scrapping. I really miss it. I was looking through some scrapbook albums, and was happy to see such happy, little monkeys looking back at me. Oh I wish, their could be small again! I don't care if the craft room isn't completed yet. I really need to get back to scrapbooking before my memory fades anymore(Bad Mommy). Here are some scrapbook pages I would like to share.

Ceramic plates

I love to paint! It doesn't matter if it's walls,or Easter Eggs. There is just something about the peacefulness of painting that makes you feel in tune. I wanted to show you two examples of ceramic plates I've done in the past. I have this kiln that I've been lugging around with me for two years. I really need to put some energy into getting it set up. Now that we are settled for good? (I hope) I would love to create new fun pieces. Take a look...


Yeah, I know I need practice, but I still like them.

Solar Smores Maker

I saw this article in a Family Fun Magazine about how to make your own solar smores maker. I knew I had to try this out for the monkeys! It's a project that Sage helped me create. I was at Sam's Club one day, and I asked for an unused pizza box. We took it home, and we assembled everything. The only problem was all the smore ingredients kept turning up empty. First the marshmallows went missing than the graham crackers. I was lucky enough to finally get enough of everything to try to do this project! The kids thought this was a fun thing to do on a boring, hot, afternoon. One change I would make in assembling ingredients is I would melt the marshmallow first than placed the chocolate on last. The chocolate melted really fast, and caused a lot of mess. I can see us using this for camp outs, and the monkeys can use this independently without any help from their old, and tired parents.
Supplies: Pizza box, foil, black construction paper, hot glue, clear plastic, tape, stick, and x- acto knife.
Ingredients: graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows.

Cut out a "U" shape on top of pizza box using an x-acto knife. Fold uncut edge away from from box. Cover opening with clear plastic wrap. Use tape,or hot glue to secure. On inside of pizza box. Line with foil, and glue down. Place black construction paper on top of foil. Then on the top of pizza box which has been bent back. Cover this area with foil, and glue down. Secure all box edges with tape. Take outside on wind free day. Place on ground. Place graham crackers on construction paper. Then place marshmallows on top. Cover with plastic pizza top. Use stick to hold foil lid to angle sunlight on to smores. Once marshmallow have almost done. Add chocolate. The chocolate melts fast. Take out, and enjoy!

Bedroom, or Craft Room?

We have a down stair bedroom that we thought we would use for a guest room, but it seems that it's turned into the catch all room, hockey room, computer room, and work out room. It's looks a messy! The decision has been made by me to scrap the guest room. After seeing these great craft room on YouTube.com (thanks Shoot991!), and other blogs. I've decided to create a craft room for everyone. I can't wait to get down to the IKEA store in Phoenix (too bad they don't deliver to Flag)!!! So here' are some before photos, and progress photos. I can't wait to share my finished photos.
Has anyone ever painted a room red? I've painted many a house in my day, but this was the hardest paint job I've ever experienced. Just to paint one room red I used a primer coat, and four coats of red paint to get my finished results. It's was a pain, but I think well worth it.