52 week project: week 19: knife block makeover

My apologies for being tardy with posting my week 19 project! This whole selling your house thing is no joke! We have learned how to hide toys in the matter of minutes, stuff mail in the silverware drawer, and cram laundry baskets in our trunk to achieve a “staged, but not lived in” look. Oi! Exhausting.

As we have spruced up each nook and cranny for the onlookers that voyeur their way throughout our home, I thought I could use the Pinterest-inspired idea of painting my knife butcher block to give the kitchen a little color and pizazz.

It’s hard to believe this was on our wedding registry six years ago!

I found a yellow ocre that matched the yellow in our mats and curtains and drenched the wood in it.

Then I used a stencil to add a design to the front for a little class and sass! I love the bookend role that it plays for my most used cookbooks!

52 week project: week 17: crayon & watercolor art

startling confession du jour: i’m pretty sure i watched sister act 2 before sister act 1. and of course, sister act 1 pales in comparison; because, how can you come close to touching the amazing vocal stylings of a young lauryn hill? you can’t. ever.

and since the moment i heard her sing his eye is on the sparrow, joyful joyful, and o happy day, i have been a fan. i was a fan through the fugees, through her miseducation, and through her unplugged days. (if that doesn’t tell you i was a teenager in the 90s, i don’t know what does!)

at any rate, i’ve sung his eye is on the sparrow to ava since she was a little baby; songs being the one and only thing to soothe her spirit every night. she still requests bedtime songs and is now able to sing along. which is why i chose a lyric for a canvas artwork piece for her toy room, a lyric that not only speaks to how much god loves us, but also describes how unabashedly happy my little ava is, as she skips around the house, singing.

week 17′s project involved materials i had in the house, as i wasn’t daring to exit our home on the most rainiest of weekends. i grabbed a blank canvas, a white crayon, and watercolor paints.

i scripted “i sing because i’m happy” with white crayon onto the blank canvas, then started to paint atop the canvas, with the paint rolling off the waxy crayon underneath.

it was the perfect project for her to help, as this method requires no technicality or perfection.

and the result is a muted, yet colorful reminder to sing because we’re happy, to sing because we’re free.

his eye is on the sparrow, and i know he watches me.

52 week project: week 15: repurposed yard sale find

the months of october and april have one thing in common: the highland creek yard sale. our neighborhood’s bi-annual yard sale event is much anticipated, especially for those who love a good deal (me) and have a rapidly growing toddler who needs a new summer wardrobe (me). my friend, tiffany, and i set out on a serious mission early saturday morning and both came home with lots of cute clothes for our little girls as well as miscellaneous goodies that had to be snagged.

i spotted this white cabinet at one vendor’s station and knew it matched much of the white ikea furniture already living in my house. as with most yard sales, some folks price their goods to sell; whereas others are seriously trying to make a buck. this little white cabinet could easily be as high as 50 (no, thank you) or as low as…….

five? five dollars?

sold.

i had no idea where i would put it, but i knew i had to have it. if nothing else, i could stash it in the garage to house odds and ends.

this morning, i set out to repurpose my 5.00 yard sale find. after trying it out in the bathroom (too big) and in the hallway (too small), i decided it was a most perfect fit in ava’s toyroom. it fit perfectly on a teeny space of wall in between the laundry room door and patio doors and was the perfect place to house her art supplies.

i organized her drawing utensils into mason jars, which allows for transparent viewing, organization, and easy transport to the table.

of course, she was enamored.

it blends in nicely with her white toyroom furniture and adds much-needed organization for a traditionally messy space.

and because i know you’re drying to know what’s behind the secret drawer? PAINT!

five dollars, well spent.

52 week project: week 14: diy growth chart

since pottery barn displayed a larger-than-life ruler that would double as both wall art and a practical measuring tool for human beings, the craft bloggers have gone nutso with trying to replicate their own versions of this do-it-yourself growth chart.

move over, measuring tape. take a seat, pediatrician’s growth curves. i just created my own method for measuring ava’s inches. and i did it for literally 0 dollars and 2 hours of time.

this is probably the most popular growth chart floating around pinterest and etsy:

because i was going to use this growth chart as an actual growth chart in ava’s room, i decided against using natural wood and wanted to paint it a fun color, inspired by these:

i pulled out two pieces of old pallet wood from the garage. i didn’t want to spend any money on this project, so i had to improvise. i didn’t have a 6-foot piece of wood, which one could easily purchase at lowe’s for a few bucks, but i chose to upcycle and had to piece together two, 3-foot pieces of pallets to make an extra-long ruler.

i used a robin’s egg blue from the valspar paint samples that we picked up for ava’s ombre dresser project and slathered it onto each board.

after painting it, it looked rather boring for a 2 year old’s room, so i thought i could liven it up with some punchy paper, which just happened to be 12-inches long and fit perfectly mod podged upon the board.

i cut out a number 6 to place atop the board, indicating the 6-foot mark. nobody in this house holds that title, so ava has a llloooonnngggg way to go (and many genetic odds with which to beat!)

i used a black sharpie to indicate 1-inch marks in between each foot.

i love the way the colors pop against her white door. (anton still has to help me hang it properly).

i’m going to use a nail with a tag to indicate the date and height of little ava, documenting the following questions on the back:
1. what is your favorite color? (ava’s answer: pink)
2. what do you want to be when you grow up? (ava’s answer: a bunny rabbit)
3. who is your best friend? (ava’s answer: mommy)

i also like how it looks against the wall, tucked neatly along the edge of the door frame. perhaps this would be a good home…

and here’s our little kitty cat girl trying out the growth chart, coming in at exactly 36 inches. pretty tall, for a cat. (this is quite normal at any given moment in the banks household. this girl loves to play dress up, whether it’s princess tiana, wearing an old halloween costume, or walking around in mommy’s shoes, she is on imagination steroids).

do you suppose if i put a brick atop her head, she would stop growing altogether? i’m thinking this whole growing up stages is happening far too quickly.

52 week project: week 11: easter basket

usually, my inspiration has been birthed from the rows of pinterest photos; however, this week, i was inspired by my favorite superstore: target.

last tuesday, i stopped after work to pick up an easter basket for ava. after scouring the easter aisles, i found a few cute baskets in pastel shades with fabric accents, but the price was a little earth-shattering. i couldn’t bring myself to paying 20 dollars for what appeared to be something i could make on a sunday afternoon. my real inspiration were the basket charms that they had to adorn and personalize your baskets – monogrammed letters, chicks, and bunnies were placed upon felt and fabric, ready to hang on the side of your basket for a little personal flair.

i promptly left target and jetted over to the dollar tree, where i picked up a 1.00 rainbow-colored basket. this morning, i spray painted it with leftover blue spray paint we used for our deck project last spring:

i snagged some cheery cherry blossom fabric from the 1.00 bin at ac moore a few weeks ago, waiting for the perfect project to use it – and the time had arrived. i hot glued the fabric around the edges and lined the inside of the basket.

i used some circle felt pieces and lace to make a basket charm, attaching it with a bow clip for versatility:

a string of pearls spelled an A for my little ava-girl and hangs from the top of the basket:

and when she awakes from her nap, i’m sure she’ll be excited to see a sweet bunny family living in her new easter basket until the real easter bunny comes to visit in a few weeks.

happy week 11!

a coaster cover-up

a few years ago, my mom and i picked out coasters at the corningware outlet at concord mills. i wanted something neutral, as we had just moved into our new home and didn’t know where our color scheme was going to take us. we decided on a white stone with a modern black line swooshed atop.

fast forward to lots of coffee stains and a crayon-happy toddler, and we have this: (go ahead and scoff in utter disgust)

i found an idea on pinterest for making your own coaster by buying cheap tiles at lowe’s or home depot, gluing felt onto the bottom, and mod podging (can that be a verb?) paper or photos on top. hmmm….

i pulled out some paper that would work well with my the colors in the living/dining room and started my week 10 project!

i cut a piece of paper to just cover the top of each tile, applying a layer of mod podge to the bottom and top, brushing evenly, getting all wrinkles out.

ava was playing so well during my crafting time and was so interested in each step of the process that i thought i’d make her a kiddo-friendly coaster for her sippy cups. she chose this page out of her sticker book:

and four coasters later, we have a a HUGE improvement from the coffee-stained monstrosities from 10 minutes prior.

the final and most important step was to apply a clear, acrylic coat to the tops, assuring proper sealing as well as waterproofing.

i gave each of these bad boys, just one coat.

allow them to dry outside, as the sealer is quite fumalicious. how cute is ava’s little ice cream coaster? i love how fun it turned out!

this project was quick, easy, and aesthetically pleasing, which is always a plus. these would be a super cute house-warming gift for a friend, tied with a bow, accompanied with a mug and coffee beans? that’s definitely a gift worth giving!

trying it on for size with my sunday morning snickerdoodle roast from our neighborhood barista:

check out emily and maggie as they craft their way through 52 weeks.

Week 9: a-doorable Easter wreath

I’ve been working on this project since Wednesday and just now completed it, only to find out about 2 hours previously, that one of my 52-week project counterparts made the exact same project this week. Great minds?? Absolutely!

Since week 7′s felt flower project, I knew I wanted to plant some artsy, colorful flowers on a wreath to welcome both Easter and spring with much anticipation from my front door.

I decided on blue, gray, and cream, with pearl accents. Here is my shopping list:

6 sheets of felt, 2 of each in 3 colors -.29 cents per sheet
Straw wreath (cheaper than styrofoam which surprised me ) – 2.99
Hot glue gun (already purchased)
Pearls (in broken jewelry stash from Ava’s pulling on necklaces until they broke phase)
Yarn – I used two spools to cover a wreath. 1.89/ spool

Lucky for me, ac Moore gives education workers a 15 percent discount everyday, which took my total down to about 8.00 total. A great deal less than the 40-50 dollars that folks on etsy request for their creations.

Let me be honest. Wrapping the wreath in yarn was not fun -at all. My yarn tangled, knotted, and it just took forever – approximately 6 hours to wrap my wreath. I know there probably has to be an easier way, but this yarn amateur was not so brilliant at keeping the yarn untangled.

Once wrapped, I got busy making flowers, which was a breeze. It took less than an hour to make about 20 flowers.

I arranged the flowers and hot glued them into place. So cheery!

I love my girl, Emily’s wreath over at her blog.

Week 9, check check!

52 week project: week 7: felt flowers

felt flowers are everywhere. why? because they are simply adorable, a classic throwback to a simple fabric that reminds us of bible school crafts and holiday decorations.

felt has made a comeback in a HUGE way – with petite flowers flanking everything from hairpins to lampshades to wreaths to brooches, to pillows. and they have caught my eye with a fierceness.

in honor of valentine’s day, i thought i would attempt to make ava a “princess flower headband” (she automatically thinks she becomes a princess when a headband is atop her head).

there are oodles of tutorials online, outlining steps to make at least 7 variations of a felt flower. i tried four one evening, and after discovering how simple they were, i now have several future felt flower projects in store!

first, i picked up a few 29-cent sheets of felt from ac moore, a craft store i pass everyday on my way home (convenience is key for this working mama).

fold one side of the felt over about 2 inches (i totally used my 4th grade estimation skills by whipping out my finger to measure an inch. classy.).

then on the side that is NOT folded, you cut fringes about 1/2 to 3/4 down the remaining fabric. the thinner the fringe, the more “petals” you’ll have at the end.

then you start at one end and coil the fabric tightly, using an embroidery needle to secure the coil with a couple of stitches. i had to give my flower a haircut, since his fringes were entirely too long, making him look like some sort of monster from yo gabba gabba.

you can also use the same steps as above, but cut the FOLDED side into strips, which makes this lovely loopy flower, which is much cuter (in my opinion).

my favorite design, though, is the rosette. start out by free-handing a 4-inch diameter circle.

cut a spiral through the felt, leaving a little tab at the center.

starting on the outermost spiral, roll it tightly until you get to the center and you’ll have a cute little rosette cupcake at the end!

the tab fits perfectly at the bottom, which is the anchor for stitching a few stitches around the layers of the felt, making sure it will stay in place (please disregard my very unmanicured nails. eek).

you can use the same steps for the rosette, but cut wavy spirals, which will make the rosette have waves of petals instead of straight lines. this actually turned out quite well, which is what i decided to sew onto a sparkly pink headband for miss ava’s valentine princess headgear.

she loved it and immediately said, “i’ll be ariel and you be cinderella.”

my next felt project idea? a springtime wreath? i think, yes!

check out my 52-week amigas:
emily
maggie

52 week project: week 5 – cereal box storage

quick! we’re leaving on saturday morning for 4 days to celebrate the nuptials of andy (anton’s best friend) and his bride-to-be erica in punta cana. i’ve had data meetings on 187 children this week, met with 24 teachers, tested 3 kiddos, made it to the gym 3 days, made dinner 3 nights, have packed ava’s suitcase for a longer-than-ever stay at my parents, and have been in work overdrive, preparing to be out of commission (and the united states) for the next 5 days.

and then, last night, in a fit of trying to find a travel-size tube of toothpaste and cursing the fact that i have to be in a swimsuit in february, a whole 3 months before swimsuit season begins, i realize – my 52 week project isn’t done! i thought about using my pass card (do those exist for this game?), i thought about writing an elaborate excuse as to why i just couldn’t meet the week 5 deadline. but, i just couldn’t do it.

and so, here it is – my week 5 project. it was both literally and figuratively healing, as it brought a much-needed organization to our junk drawer; but also allowed me to see some balance with my overly-chaotic life right now.

i found this tutorial for cereal box organizers and fell in love. these little dividers sell for 4-5 dollars a pop within the doors of target and tj maxx and i can never bring myself to parting with 20 dollars for drawer dividers.

so here was our problem. our junk drawer. it houses everything from ava’s hair bows to loose coins to screws to stamps to a staple gun to chapstick. it’s a catchall. and a vortex-like pit that will literally attract any piece of random material into its magnetic force of a drawer. it was time for some action.

i gathered 2 cereal boxes, 2 celestial seasonings tea boxes, a cracker box, and a printer cartridge box for this project. i had a stash of scrapbooking paper that i used to camouflage the boxes.

i started by wrapping the boxes by taping down one side, and gluing the paper over each edge of the box, creasing the sides in each corner.

after wrapping each box, i filled each divider with synonymous contents:

it’s like a breath of fresh junk drawer air.

organization – check.
repurposing – check.
recycling – check.

stay tuned for some highlights from paradise!

the look for less: gift tags

raise your hand if you:
1. have old pieces of scribbled-scrabbled artwork from your overly-ambitious toddler lying around the house, stashed in piles, as your heart can’t bear to part with a budding van gogh’s artwork?
2. want to spice up your christmas packaging for, well, free.

tonight’s project? christmas tags by way of 2-year-old.

step 1. position said 2-year-old at table.
step 2. squeeze a dabble of paint into a container.
step 3. spread blank paper or brown paper bag onto table.
step 4. let their creative juices flow!

step 5. let dry and choose a selection of cookie cutters
step 6. trace cookie cutters (ava chose a christmas tree and snowman) onto the paper and cut out, writing the recipient’s name on the back of the tag.

step 7. step back and admire the elementary school-ish craft that you just created, but marvel in the fact that you actually kind of like it, for real!

ava loved helping me attach these to the gifts beneath the tree, which is helping to teach the oh-so-difficult lesson that all gifts are not hers. ouch.