DIY: A Gift For Dad

I Made This Gift For My Husband's Birthday A Few Months Ago, But With Father's Day Coming Up, I Thought It Would Be Great To Share It With You All....

  

I'm Sure You Have All Seen This Saying Before, But Usually It Also Says "A Son's First HERO." Since Our Son Is Still Growing In My Belly, This Seemed Appropriate For Now!


I Had This Piece Of 2x4 Leftover From A Previous Project, But I Still Needed To Smooth The Edges With Sandpaper.

 

 

The Next Step Was To Stain It, So I Grabbed The First Can I Could Find.

 

 

Using A Sponge Brush, I Applied The Stain & Let It Dry

(I did not wipe the stain with a rag, just left it as is) 

 

 

I Then Created The Sign On My Computer (using Microsoft Word) & Printed It Out On Cardstock

 

 

 

I Trimmed The Sign & Then Measured It On The Center The Wood Block & Trimmed It More.

 

Mod Podge Time!

 

 

I Applied One Layer Of The Mod Podge Onto The Back Of The Sign To Adhere It To The Block & Turned It Upside Down To Dry

Once Dried, I Applied 2 More Layers Of Mod Podge, Letting It Dry Completely In Between Applications

 

 

Next, I Took Some Carpet Tacks I Had Left Over From A Previous Project & Hammered Them Into Each Corner Of The Sign (just for decor)!

 

 

 

 And Ta-Da! Project Complete & Ready To Give To Daddy!!!

Baby Diaper/Wipe Strap

I Was Thumbing Around On Pinterest & Saw This Fabulous Idea!!  If You Have Little Ones In Diapers, You Know That Your Diapers Are Just Floating All Around Your Diaper Bag & The Wipes Are Somewhere Deep Inside As Well, So Why Not Sew A Strap To Hold Them Both Together?!

This Is Such An Easy Project! I think It Took Me About 1 Hour To Bust Out 4 Straps! If You Can Sew A Straight Line, You Can Create These Straps.

The Original Idea Came From http://cally-cruze.blogspot.com/.  All The Measurements & Instructions Can Be Found On This Blog.

I Grabbed Scraps Of Material I Had & Found Matching Buttons To Go With Them

How Cute & Practical Is This Strap?!

Apparently, My Daughter Found Another Use For These Straps ;)

Happy Sewing....

A Gift For A Mother

Disclaimer: I Know This Post Would Have Been Handy To Send Out Prior To Mother's Day, But This Was The Gift I Gave This Year & I Needed To Wait Until Both Mom's Received The Gift. So, If Your Mom Has A Birthday Coming Up....This Would Be A Great Gift!

Every Year I Contemplate On What To Do For My Mother & Mother-In-Law For Mother's Day. And Now That I Have Become 'Creative' I Want To Make Them Something. So, Off To Michael's I Went For Inspiration....And I Found These Cute Trays

In Order To Match The Decor Of Each Mother, I Spray Painted One White & The Other Black

Since My Mother's Decor Is A Little Shabby Chic (depending on the room or even decor item), I Distressed Hers Using A Rag & Distress Ink.

I Found These Cute Mother's Day Free Printables At http://www.livinglocurto.com/. They Offer Them In Black & White As Well As Pink & White, Which Is Perfect For The Decor Of Each Mom!!!

I Printed Them Out On Cardstock & Mod Podged Them Onto The Tray. I Did A Light Coat To Adhere The Paper To The Tray & A Light Coat On Top (letting it completely dry in between coats).

Next, I Sprayed A Layer Of Shellac On Top So That If Something Wet Was Set On The Tray It Wouldn't Ruin It.

Once That Was Dry, I Added A Tag I Created Using My Cricut and Ta-Da....All Done!

The Drying Time On The Spray Paint, Mod Podge & Shellac Are Quick, So If You Need To Create Something Fast, Simple & Usable, This Would Be A Perfect Idea!!!

Happy Creating!

Co-Ed Baby Girl Shower

 Last Weekend I Was Part Of An Amazing Group Of Ladies Who Planned A Baby Girl Co-Ed Shower For Our Good Friends Eric & Rachel And It Turned Out Beautiful...Not To Mention It Was A Beautiful Day To Have A Party!

 

 

 

Our Friend Jessika Made These Banners. Simple & Pink!

She Also Has A Wonderfully Creative Blog Called Look What Jeff Did & She Posted Pictures Of The Shower Which Can Be Found Here.

 

 

 

You Can Never Go Wrong With A Bouquet Of Balloons!

 

 

Jessika Also Created This Garland Of Onsies & Baby Girl Dresses! So Cute!!

 

I Put These Centerpieces Together Using Mason Jars, Burlap & Silk Flowers. I Wrapped Pink & White Baker's Twine Around The Top & Tied It Off With Some Cute Pink Pacifiers!

 

Oh, The Necklace Mess....We Played The Game Where You Couldn't Say Certain Words Or Someone Would Take Your Necklace & Whoever Had The Most Necklaces At The End Won....

Well, Here Are Some Of The Girls Working Hard To Untangle The Mess That I Created! I'm Forever In Debt To Them!

 

 

 

The Cupcakes Were Made By Our Friend Kristen's Mom.  She Makes The Best Cupcakes.  We Had Chocolate & Carrot Cake Flavored With Vanilla Butter Cream Frosting (requests from the expecting parents)!!!  They Were Topped With Pink Chocolate Booties & They Were Delicious!!!

 

 

A Baby Shower Wouldn't Be Complete Without Gifts For The Baby (and her parents)!

 The Beauty Of Where The Baby Shower Was Held Was That The Volleyball Court Was Right Next To The Gazebo, So Of Course We Played! 

 

 

Here Are The Amazing Parents To Be! They Were So Blessed That Day By All The Wonderful Gifts They Received, Which Goes To Show How Wonderful They Are To Have So Many Who Love Them!

 

 

 Also At Their Request, Guests Brought Their Favorite Book & Signed Them, Which Was A Wonderful Way To Not Only Build Their Little Girl's Library, But Also Count As A Guest Book!

 

 

It Was Such A Lovely Day & It Couldn't Have Been More Lovely For Eric & Rachel.

Congratulations On Your Baby Girl!!!

'Hugs' For A Teacher

Recently, We Had Teacher Appreciation Week At My Daughter's Preschool & After Some Research, I Found This Super Cute Idea & Of Course Put My Own Twist On It...

 

 

The Original Idea Can Be Found Here:http://www.littlepumpkingrace.com.

 

 

 

Here's My Twist!!!

Mason, Ball & Kerr Jars Are In, So I Went With That Instead Of A Basket.

Plus, The Teachers Can Always Reuse The Jars! 

 

 

 

 I Used My Wonderful Cricut For The 'Hugs'.

And Who Can't Go Wrong With A Little Baker's Twine?!

 

 

 

I Changed Up The Verbiage On The Tag Because I Didn't Have A Lot Of Room & I Don't Have The Best Penmanship To Write Small!  But I Think It Gets The Message Across!

 

 

 

You Can Always Tweak This Idea To Make It Your Own, But It's True That Teachers Need Hugs Just A Much As They Give Them!

 

Pallet Decor

Everywhere You Look There Are New And Creative Things To Do With Pallets And I Saw One I Would Like To Share With You. I Copied It & Elaborated On It (of course)...

I Saw This Photo When Googling Ideas.  It Came From This Link.

I Had A Ton Of Black & White Photos On My Hallway Wall Of My & My Husband's Grandparents From Years Ago And I Thought It Would Work Wonderfully In The Living Room On This Pallet.

So, Fortunately, I Have A Friend Who Was Able To Get His Hands On A Free Pallet (here in So. Cal they don't come easy) & I Had My Husband Move The Slats Around To Look Like The One Above.

I Didn't Have Enough Space On The Pallet For All The Photos I Had & I Felt I Needed More Than Just The Pallet On That Wall, So I Purchased This Chalkboard Shelf From Target.  Then I Framed The Photos & Began Arranging Them.

I Am Not A Fan Of My Penmanship, So Instead Of Handwriting L-O-V-E On The Shelf I Used My Cricut & Cut Out The Letters.

I Wanted To Add Some Color Somewhere & I Had Seen This Phrase (which is part of a hymn) In Someone's Home & Knew I Wanted To Use It Too!

I Had My Husband Chop Off The End Of The Board I Chose From All The Scraps In Our Garage To Make It Look Like Driftwood.  Then Using A Color I Already Had, I Grabbed A 'Throw-Away' Paint Brush &  Slopped It On...Literally, Slopped It On.  In Order To Make It Look Distressed, I Didn't Prep The Wood Nor Care To Paint On A Nice Coat (which is why I used the 'throw-away' paint brush).

It Turned Out Pretty Good!

Using My Handy Cricut, I Cut Out The Letters To The Phrase of the Hymn, Stuck Them On & Hung It! (well, my husband hung it!!)

Now I Need To Get The Rest Of The Living Room To Match The Blue....

This Was A VERY Easy Creation, Especially If You Have Access To The Materials. The Only Item I Purchased Was The Chalkboard Shelf!!!  YAY!!!

Although I'm Very Happy With This Project, It Leaves My Hallway Wall Needing Some TLC!!!

Pinterest Test: BIG PASS!!!!

Okay...This Is By Far THE BEST Dessert I Have Ever Made & The Best Part Is That It Is Really Easy.

 

 

 

I Pinned It A While Ago And Decided To Make It For Our Easter Dessert (yes, I realize it's been a while since I made it)

 

Here Is The Link To My Pinterest Page Where I Pinned It & Here Is The Link To The Recipie On All Recipies.Com. 

 

The Beauty Of This Recipie Is The Only Baking You Do Is To Prepare The Crust & Even Better, You Can Keep It In Your Frezer Until You Are Ready To Serve It....Which Means You Can Make It A Head!

 

You Will Need A Spring Form Pan. If You Don't Have One, Invest!  They Are Not Expensive And They Are Wonderful To Have Around If You Bake.

 

 

I Thought I Would Make This In A Pie Tin, But I Went With What The Recipie Said And I'm Glad I Did Because There Is No Way It Would Have Stayed Formed In A Pie Tin!

 

I Will Make This Again For Sure And I Encourage All Of You Carmel Lovers To Make It As Well...

 

ENJOY!