Fabric Button Accessories Tutorial

I've been bitten by the accessory making bug. BIG time. They're so fast, easy and fun that I've made way more than I will ever be able to wear. I will most definitely be adding a bunch to my Etsy store (grand re-opening very soon!) for those of you who don't have the time to make them yourselves. But, if you're a crafty do-it-yourself kind of girl like me, here's the lowdown on how to make your own: 

First, gather your supplies. You'll need some fabric scraps, bobby pin or ring blanks, scissors, a button covering kit (available here - I'm using flat-backed size 30 buttons), and some E-6000 Adhesive. I purchased my fabric scraps, bobby pins and ring blanks from Mindy Mae's Market.

Mindy Mae's doesn't alway have fabric scraps, and when they get them in stock they sell out quickly, but they are soooo worth it! If you "like" Mindy Mae's Market on Facebook you'll get the inside scoop on when they'll be available. I just had to show off some of these prints because they're totally adorable!

Cut a fabric scrap into a circle (or circle-ish! it doesn't have to be precise at all) large enough to cover the entire button and wrap around the edges. Lay the fabric circle over the larger sized bottom piece of the button making tool (print side down).

Place the button top face down into the bottom of the tool with the fabric. You may need to trim off the excess fabric a bit at this point. There should be enough fabric left that it fills the button and overlaps the edges, but not so much that you can't get the button backing to fit on. Place the button backing on top of the fabric, and use the small part of the tool to push the back into place. It will snap into place easily as long as you don't have too much excess fabric. Finally, use your E-6000 to glue the button on to the bobby pin. Easy peasy! It literally only takes about a minute and a half to make each hair pin!

Now go make them in every color and pattern you can think of ! I'm warning you though, it's highly addictive!

Fabric buttons also make super cute rings! I got these filigree ring blanks from Mindy Mae's Market as well. You'll want to stock up so that you can make rings to go with every outfit, naturally!

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Ice Cream Sandwich Fun

Whew, we've been busy around here! This guy just turned FIVE (wow!), and we celebrated with a super fun and messy art party. I was working on party prep right up until guests arrived, so I didn't get as many pictures as I usually like to...as soon as I round up pictures from everyone else's camera, I'll post them up!

In the meantime, check out Sutton's awesome ice cream sandwich that he made using the Wilton Ice Cream Sandwich Pan that his Grandma brought for us to try. They are SO much fun and super easy to make - a HUGE hit with the kiddos! Highly recommended for Summer fun (we're counting down the days til Summer Break already!)!

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Lawn & Garden: Snap Spreader System by Scotts

This post brought to you by Scotts®. All opinions are 100% mine.

Have you heard about the Scotts® Snap® Spreader System yet? I love anything that makes my life easier, and this new product line looks awesome!

The Snap Pacs quickly and easily lock into the spreader, so there's no more need to cut open and pour fertilizer or grass seed like you would with a traditional spreader. That also means a lot less mess since I can never seem to keep the cutting and pouring of other heavier bags contained to just one small area! The Snap Pacs self-seal when you remove them from the spreader, so there's no spillage, waste or clean up involved. LOVE it!

Between baseball games, birthday parties and other obligations, weekend family time is at a premium these days, and  I like to take advantage of every single extra minute I can spend with my husband and kids. Scotts® Snap® Spreader System seems like it would be a great addition to our weekend lawn care routine, making fast and easy work of seeding and fertilizing.

Scotts recently launched a new program - Snap perks on Facebook - if you "like" them you will have the opportunity to win all sorts of fantastic prizes including patio furniture, gift cards and even a trip to the 2012 World Series! Not to mention that there's loads of great information about Scotts products and tips and tricks for taking care of your lawn!

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The Start of a Gallery Wall

This post brought to you by Leviton. All opinions are 100% mine.

Every day I stare at the same wall about a zillion times a day. It's directly across from my kitchen island where we spend a good part of the day, so I decided to use that space to create a gallery wall of photos and artwork. I figure that if I have to constantly look at it, I might as well dress up the space with things that make me happy.

I spent a couple of weeks hunting down a frame that would accommodate the non-standard size of my new Katie Daisy art print, but as soon as I hung my lovely new artwork on the wall I couldn't help but be distracted by those ugly light switches!  I certainly don't want to waste my time creating a wall full of whimsical frames and bright cheery colors only to be overshadowed by those dingy plates that stick out like a sore thumb!

Luckily for me, Leviton has come out with Renu, a new line of switches, wall plates and dimmers in 20 different designer colors! I was so excited to discover that they offer switches in a Pebble Gray color that will match my family room walls perfectly. They also offer yellow Corn Silk that would be fantastic in my kitchen, a Granny Smith Apple green that would be a fun contrast to the turquoise walls in my boys' bedroom, and Sea Spray that would look lovely in my bathroom!

No need to paint = no mess, which is always an added bonus when trying to convince my hubby that I've added something new to his "Honey Do" list. When I told him that I want to change out our switches and plates to Renu switches, he had nothing but great things to say about how nice they look and how easy they are to install...he's an electrical contractor, so he knows what he's talking about!

 

Check out the Renu collection, and like Leviton on Facebook. They are hosting three different Twitter parties on Wednesday, April 18th @ 9pm EST, Thursday, April 26th @ 9pm EST, and Wednesday, May 2nd @ 9pm EST where you can have the chance to win Home Depot gift cards (to purchase your Renu switches, of course!). Just follow @Leviton and #Renu for your chance to win!

 

 

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Bunkbed Pirate Fort

Last weekend at our Easter party my aunt, "F.A.J." (that's short for Favorite Aunt Judi!) gave me a whole bunch of great pirate themed fabric she'd been saving in her stash for awhile. Once I got home and opened up the yardage, I was super excited to discover that there was enough to make a pirate hideout for the boys' bunk bed!

At first Sutton wasn't sure if the skull and crossbones motif was super cool or if it might look a bit too scary at night time, but a closer look at those skulls revealed that they have hearts for eyes...naturally, that isn't scary at all!

I measured how wide the bed was between the post and the side of the ladder, and then doubled that number to give the curtain some ruffle. I kept the fabric at its 44" width and sewed a 3" casing along one edge. I slipped an adjustable shower curtain rod through the casing, and it was ready to be hung up and turned into a pirate fort. We also added some fun party lights to his back wall (also courtesy of Aunt Judi).

Yep, those are parrot lights! Amazingly, these little lights have kept Sutton quietly in bed at bedtime for the past four nights! After months of non-stop talking and an in-and-out-of-bed dance routine every night, I'm calling it a miracle! Who knew that plastic parrots would be my sanity saver!?!

I used the 10-minute pillowcase tutorial from Little Bit Funky to make the big boys each their own pirate pillowcase with trim that matches their new fort. I might truly be the world's slowest seamstress (all that fabric cutting and ironing takes time!), so it actually took me about 30 minutes per pillow. I didn't even realize that I had cut the pattern on the blue pillow sideways until I was slipping Sutton's pillow into it. Oops.

This kiddo loves his new pirate bunkbed, and he thinks that his pillow is "super awesome...even with the trees going sideways! It's really cool!" That's all the approval I need ♥

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Buggy Tic Tac Toe Chalkboard

These days it's all about tic tac toe in our house. My older boys play every chance they get, and since they will play it for an hour it's great when I'm running around trying to get dinner ready. I saw an idea on Joann.com awhile back for a ladybug tic tac toe set made with a chalkboard and rocks, and I knew I had to make it.

I had some chalkboard vinyl from Mindy Mae's Market leftover after making the boys art armoire chalkboard, so I simply cut a piece to size and wrapped it around a scrap piece of wood I found in the garage. I used my favorite chalk markers to draw a quick tic tac toe grid for the boys, but since it's all erasable we can use the board for messages or other purposes in the future as well.

We painted some rocks from our garden to look like bugs, but since the boys wanted to play ASAP our poor little buggies still need to have their black paint and eyes painted on. Oh well, in time.

Tic tac toe, I win! These guys love our new game, and it was so quick and easy to create!

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Candlestick Ribbon Holder

Look at that lovely tower of ribbon! It reminds me of a tall and skinny layer cake set upon a fancy cake stand. I have seen a lot of great horizontal ribbon organizers, but I decided to take that concept and turn it vertically! This ribbon holder stands nearly 3 feet tall and holds an impressive 27 rolls of ribbon (which is only about half of my ribbon collection, so I foresee another one in my near crafty future)!

I started with a wooden candlestick from Mindy Mae's Market, a 1.5" wooden disk and a 3/8" dowel (cut to approximately 26" long, but you could make it any size you want - just don't go too much taller or it will get wobbly) and gave them all a few coats of watermelon spray paint.

Drill a hole in the center of your wood disk and slide the end of your dowel through the hole about 1". It should be a snug fit to ensure that the dowel will sit straightly and not lean to one side.  Fill the well and the rim of the candle holder with hot glue, and attach both the disk and the dowel to the candleholder at the same time. You may need to hold it in place for a few minutes until the hot glue starts to set and firm up. 

Start stacking up all that pretty ribbon, just like a layer cake. Easy peasy, fun and totally functional! I might just have to make myself another one for my growing collection of washi tape as well!

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DIY: Mercury Glass Revisited

A couple of weeks ago I showed you how I made my own mercury glass, and I mentioned that you could get really shiny results if you use Krylon's Looking Glass spray paint instead of the metallic silver paint that I had used. I wanted this to be one of those projects that I love as-is, but I have to admit that my curiosity got the better of me, and I went out and purchased the Looking Glass spray to see what kind of "mercury glass" it would produce.

Wow!

I am SO glad I tried it! The new paint made for a super shiny mirror-like finish, and I think that I really love the new glass better than my original pieces. In these photos, the square vase was made using the original method, the small votive holder has one coat of Looking Glass paint, and the cylinder vase has two coats.

You can see that the glass gets shinier with each coat of paint, but don't forget that you will also have to spray your water again before each additional coat of paint. I used a 50/50 mix of water and vinegar this time (based on a tip from a reader!), and I like that it produced more irregular shaped blotches instead of just water-drop spots. I waited until the Looking Glass spray paint was tacky, and then I used a paper towel to very gently blot the water inside of the glass.

Here's one taken with a flash, just so you can really see the difference in shine. The two on the left are done with standard silver metallic spray paint; the right with Looking Glass spray paint. They both look really nice, so use whichever method works best with your decor or go crazy and mix it up!

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Tattoo Eggs

I {LOVE} dyeing Easter eggs. My boys and I could easily dye a dozen a day during Easter time (luckily Sutton loves to eat eggs almost as much as I like to dye them!), so we've tried plenty of different techniques for making our eggs fun and fancy.

Today we tried decorating our eggs with a stash of temporary tattoos we had leftover from my nephew's birthday party. I saw this idea over at Country Living - they used gorgeous nature designs printed on tattoo paper and applied to blown eggs, but we went with the rock star tattoos we already had and some neon food coloring (our eggs were hard boiled). 

Apply your tattoo to a clean, dry and undyed egg. Use a lot of water and gentle pressure. It takes a little practice to get the tattoos to lay flat against the curve of the eggs. Let it dry completely before dyeing or else the tattoo won't stay stuck to the egg.  

We also like to add secret messages to our eggs using white crayon. The boys love watching their doodles appear like magic in the dye bath.

I alway dye my eggs in mugs...just like we did when I was a kid!

Love it! The tattoos worked great, but you do need to be careful not to stir them around in the dye too much. They need to be treated rather delicately any time the tattoo is wet so that they don't start to peel up at the edges, but they set up perfectly when they were dry!

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Bird Seed Ornaments

Last year the boys and I made pinecone bird feeders, but since we were running low on peanut butter this time around I went in search of a new recipe for bird seed treats. I found this great recipe from Infarrantly Creative that was super easy to whip up (my nearly-five and six-year-olds mixed it up all by themselves), and the results were fantastic!

You'll need:

4 cups of bird seed

1/2 cup of warm water

1 envelope of Knox gelatin

3/4 a cup of flour

bundt pan (we used a mini pan)

nonstick spray

3 tbl. light corn syrup

Combine the water and the gelatin, then whisk in the flour and corn syrup. Finish by mixing in the bird seed and pressing the mixture into a lightly greased pan.

Let dry for a few hours in the bundt pan, and then pop 'em out of the mold so they can dry out completely for the next 24 hours. Add a length of ribbon for hanging, and go outside to deliver your birdie treats!

Note: these do NOT hold up in the rain, so be sure to hang them somewhere covered or be prepared for them to end up as bird seed cake chunks on the ground after the next storm (not that I'm speaking from experience or anything) :)

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