Nautical Souvenier Decor

My family and I took a vacation to Frisco, Colorado this past May and we picked up this little souvenier that's a little ship made out of seashells (since Frisco is on a reservoir). But I thought when I hung it up that it needed a little something to frame it. So this is what I came up with...

 

 

I got this gold frame from some relatives of mine who were moving and getting rid of "junk". So I painted it white and added white and navy blue cardstock to the back of the frame. I think it all came together quite nicely. It's going to be the superstar of my boring all-white bathroom in my basement! Once I get that all pimped out I will post the make over! 

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Tie Snake

 I haven't made many little boy crafts lately, but Jack's little friend had a birthday this past month and I just couldn't resist making this cute snake! My Jack loved this snake so much, I'm going to have to make one for him!

 

What you will need:

-one tie

-stuffing

-googly eyes

-small piece of felt (for tongue)

-small bottle filled with beans (for rattle)

-twine

-hot glue gun

 1. Starting from the small end, begin stuffing your tie ( I used scissors to push the stuffing in further).

2. Once you get a little more than halfway done with the stuffing. Begin the same process at the large end of the tie.

3. After you are finished with filling and evening out the tie stuffing, fill a small bottle with beans and put at the small end of the tie for the Rattlesnake's rattle. Hot glue twine all around it.

4. Add your googly eyes and your felt tongue!

Monday: Sew Can Do, Graphics Fairy,  Mad In Crafts, It's So Very Cheri, Skip To My Lou, The Girl Creative,  DIY Showoff, Making The World Cuter,  Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Keeping It Simple, Trendy Treehouse,   
Tuesday: Sweet Floweret, Hope Studios,
Wednesday: Sugar Bee,  Silly Little Sparrow, Today's Creative Blog,  
Thursday:Someday Crafts,  The Thrifty Home, 
Friday:Beyond The Picket Fence, Train To Crazy,  733,  Shabby Cottage,  Fireflies and Jellybeans, Somewhat Simple, Thirty Handmade Days,  Shabby Nest, 
Hodgepodge Friday,  Fun To Craft,  Tidy Mom, Finding Fabulous, Fingerprints on the Fridge,  Simply Sweet Home, 
Chic On a Shoe String,  Kojo Designs.
Saturday: Show and Tell,  I Am Only One Woman, The Hungry Hippo, Funky Junk Interiors, Saturday Spotlight @ Craft Envy. 

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DIY Men's Jewelry Valet

My hubby has been keeping all of his man bling in this old watch box. For Christmas, I decided to make something to keep everything organized.


John only wears cuff links and a watch. He was wearing some of the stuff when I took this picture, but the large space at the bottom can actually fit his watch.

The crazy thing about this little valet...it only costed me a buck!

I bought it as a "wood shelf" from the dollar store.

Then I simply painted it, mod podged some scrapbook paper in the bottom, and sanded a few edges! It was so easy and my hubby loves it! Read more

Tux and Tie Freezer Paper Onesies

These are just a few "dress up" onesies I made for a friend's baby. I have always had the hardest time finding church clothes for baby boys so I love this simple idea of stenciling a simple bow tie or tie onto a onesie!
For a little more detail on creating stencils with freezer paper, click here.

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Toddler/Baby Tie Rack

Here's my idea for a little man's tie rack...

Instead of scrapbook paper, I decorated the clothes pins with security envelope patterns.

What you will need:

-Scrap piece of wood

-paint

-hot glue gun

-clothes pins

-mod podge (not pictured)

-security envelopes

1. Paint your piece of wood and allow it to dry completely. I painted mine red since to go with my son's pirate themed room.

2. In the mean time, you can be measuring, cutting, and gluing security envelope patterns to your clothes pins.

3. Mod Podge the top and sides of your clothes pins for a nice protective coating. I added a little label that I mod podged to the wood as well.

4. Hot glue your clothes pins to the piece of wood.

And here's the finished product!

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Matching Tie and Hairbow

I found out this month that I'm having a little girl! 

Naturally, I had to make some sort of coordinates for my little boy and new baby girl to wear at church!

I made the bow from the fatter side of a men's tie (you can use the flower tutorial from the Tie Headband). And the little boy tie is made from the skinny part of a men's tie (tutorial here).

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Toddler/Baby Tie From a Men's Tie

Make a tie for your baby or toddler using a men's tie! It's simple and takes about 30 minutes!

What you will need:

-One men's tie

-Scissors

-Needle and thread

-Elastic

1. Tie a single windsor knot it your tie using the skinny end of the tie as the front. For you ladies who can never remember how to do it, I found a useful step by step image here.

2. Cut the loop down the center. Cut it down so there are only a couple of inches on each side.

3. Put a few stitches in the back of the knot.

4. Cut off the big fat part of the tie. You won't be needing that part.

5. Stitch on some elastic so the tie can slip over your little one's head.

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Thumbprint Height Board

So today, we have a tutorial on how to make a height board for your kids. This one is for a boy, actually, but you can easily adapt the idea. Your kids can help mark their height by using a thumbprint, and you get to preserve their thumbprint everytime you measure them! I'll show you how...

What you will need:

-1   1x6x8  pre-painted hardboard 

-6  themed foot markers

-self adhesive velcro

-1  ink pad

- scrapbook paper (lamination optional)

-square

-permanent marker

-paint and small brush (feet numbers)

-hot glue gun

1. Get your foot markers out:  I used six ship helms from Michael's. Peel the stickers off the back.

2. Paint the inside where your number is going to be. Once it's dried, paint the numbers in a contrasting color.

3. Have your board cut down to about seven feet or cut it down yourself.

4. Using a square or ruler,  measure and mark each inch with a pen or pencil. I made the inches, half foot, and foot marks progressively larger lines.

5. With your square, go over each inch mark with a permanent marker.

6. I used a peice of tape on the edge of my board to make cleaner marks with the permanent marker. I marked my board to about six feet five inches. No one in my family is that tall so I figure that's safe. But consider your family history when deciding how tall to make your board.

7. Hot glue your foot markers at the appropriate height. I placed one of the helm handles over the foot mark.

8. With your scrapbook paper and a printout of your childs name, create a cover for the inkpad to camoflage it. Laminate the cover since it's going to get touched with inky hands.

9. Hot glue the laminated cover to the ink pad lid.

10.  In order to get my velcro at the same level as the bottom of my ink pad, I cut a peice of wood to glue to the bottom so my velcro would work.

11. Peel the backing from the self adhesive velcro and attach at the top of the height board. This makes finding the ink when it's time to measure up very simple!

12. Have your child use the ink to mark their height (with your help) by creating a thumbprint! My little boy just turned one and so this is his first mark! I plan on measuring him each year so I will know each age by counting the thumbprints from the bottom up.

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Pirate Wall Art

So this project has been a long time coming. Ever since I've moved I have been thinking about doing this. This pirate ship is like my crowning achievement. To me this was just SO important to have in my little Jack's room. And....IT'S DONE!

I don't really have a tutorial for this because I just penciled it on the wall and then painted it. So...good luck?

I would love to see anything you have done free-hand on your walls! Read more