DIY Christmas Sign

I needed a Christmas sign to go in our living room but could not find one that I loved that didn't cost a million dollars. So, we made our own! Best part? It was less than $8 and super easy to make!

Step 1:
Purchase a print you love. I purchased mine from Caravan Shoppe. They had adorable prints that are formatted to print large. I've been buying from them for years and they are fabulous!

Step 2:
Have the print printed at your local copy center. Be sure to ask for an engineering blueprint. These are super inexpensive. Mine cost $1.44 and I had it printed 24 x 36. The paper is super thin so I don't expect to keep it after this year. The low price makes it disposable!

Step 3:
Go to Home Depot and purchase a 1 x 4 piece of wood. You can even cut it into 24 inch (or however wide your sign is) pieces there in the store.

Step 4:
Stain or paint wood. Cut 2 pieces the width of your sign- one for the top and one for the bottom.

Step 5:
Staple sign to the wood on the back. I used a regular stapler.

Five easy steps and less than 30 minutes and $8 and you have your very own super cute sign!

Paper Bows= Easy, Peasy!

I am a girl that loves bows- in all shapes and sizes.

And so when I saw a way to make bows using a page

 from a magazine I just had to try it.

And when I did and I found out how SUPER simple and fast it was-

I made a ton and figured I would share!

Here's what you'll need

(all of which you probably have in your house right this minute):

-a page from a magazine, a piece of scrapbook paper, a piece of wrapping paper or any other kind of paper you might have

-a pair of scissors (or a paper cutter)

-tape (regular Scotch tape or double sided  tape)

-a stapler (I used this type of stapler and it worked fabulously because I could open and close it without squishing the paper)

-a ruler

Step 1:
Use the ruler to mark the back of the page at 3/4 inch intervals and cut out 9 strips.
Set three strips aside as these will remain full-sized. Take three strips and cut 1 inch off of each strip and throw scraps away. Take two strips and cut 2 inches off of each and throw scraps away. Cut a three inch piece from the remaining strip to use for the center of the bow. When you finish cutting your strips will look like this:

Step 2:
Take each of the longer 8 strips and twist each one to form a loop at each end. Make sure that the side of the page that you want to show up is on the outside, not the inside. Staple each piece in the center after making the loops. Take the last piece- the smallest piece- and make it into a circle and tape it closed.

Step 3:
Lay the longer of the 3 strips over each other, spacing them apart. Staple them together in the center. Add the next three in the same manner, and secure with another staple. Repeat with the last two strips and staple one final time. Use a piece of tape rolled up (or use double sided tape) to secure the round loop in the center of the bow.

A few hints:

• scrapbook paper makes a fluffier bow which I love
• you can make a larger or smaller bow- just extend or shorten the length of your strips
• using a stapler that opens and closes easily is helpful because it keeps you from crushing the loops

These are so easy peasy and so inexpensive and quick! I don't think I'll ever buy another bow again. Trust me, if you make one, you'll want to make another and another and another and another...

 

10 Minute, $10 Linen Cabinet Redo

I have a confession. 

Although I am pretty tidy in most places, 

my closets are usually not so tidy. 

Case in point- this WAS one of my linen cabinets earlier today:

Shameful isn't it?

Well with less than 10 minutes of my time 

and less than $10 it now looks like this:

I bought these little cubes from Walmart - 3 in a pack for less than $5. 

{couldn't find them online but similar to these}. 

Refolded everything neatly, got rid of three things,

 added some tags I had with ribbon from my LARGE ribbon stash and voila! 

And now I wonder why in the world did I take so long to do this 

and what other closets can I organize this way? 

Ruffled Tree Skirt Tutorial and GIVEAWAY!

For the past month or two I had seen lots of ruffled Christmas skirts on Pinterest that I loved. 

{I big puffy heart ruffles of all kinds!}

So when my sweet cousin Amy and I planned a craft day for the Sat. after Thanksgiving,

 it was the first thing on our list of crafts to make.  

After spending quite some time figuring the best way to make ruffles on a sewing machine 

{tightest tension, longest stitch length} 

and fighting with Amy's sewing machine bobbin- 

we had finished our two ruffled skirts and they were super cute!  

And truthfully, super easy!

For those interested in making your own, here's how: 

Supplies:

• Canvas drop cloth or piece of canvas fabric {large enough to have a 4 ft x 4 ft square}
• 3 yards of fabric {I used muslin but cotton or linen would also work}
• sewing machine and thread
• glue gun and glue sticks {lots of glue sticks}
• scissors

1. Lay out your piece of canvas. We used a tree skirt of Amy's as a pattern, traced it, and cut it out.  If you don't have one to use as a pattern start by making sure your fabric is a square, fold it into quarters and then into a triangle. Then cut a piece off the end in a semi-circle. 

2.  Take and cut off the tip in a semi-circle for the center of the tree skirt. Choose one of the sides to cut up so that you have an opening in the skirt. 

3. Take your fabric and cut it into 3 inch strips.  I used a rotary cutter and mat which made  it go much faster.  If you don't have one- I totally suggest you add it to your Christmas list! 

4. Get your sewing machine out. I filled three bobbins so that when I needed them I could easily and quickly change them.  Set the tension to the highest and the stitch length on your machine to the longest.  Stitch about 1/2 inch from one side. As you sew....voila! You have ruffles.  Continue stitching until you have a pile o' ruffles!!!

5. Starting at the outside edge of the canvas circle, hot glue the ruffles onto the canvas. Once you finish one layer, start a new one that slightly overlaps the previous one- covering the stitching. 

At the end of each row, I went over the edge of the slit a bit,

 so that it was more finished on the edges of the opening. 

My sweet friend Dory loved the ruffled skirt

 {she loves ruffles as much as I do}

 so I decided to make one for her.  

Since I was going to purchase the supplies to make one, 

I decided to buy enough and made a second one to give away! 

So if you'd like a chance to win your very own ruffled tree skirt, 

just leave a comment telling me your favorite thing about Christmas! 


*Only one entry per person please and if you comment anonymously, please make sure to leave your name and email for me to contact you if you win!

The giveaway ends at 5pm on Friday. 

I'll pick a winner that evening 

and get it in the mail to the winner on Saturday morning! 

Pincushion Frame

I recently saw the cutest framed pincushion on Pinterest. 

{if you don't know about Pinterest....you must learn! It's super fun and super addicting!  If you'd like an invite leave a comment and I'll send one to you! You can follow my boards here.}

It was such a smart idea and looked so easy.....that I decided to make one!

Here's how! 

Supplies:

$1 frames from Michael's

spray paint

batting

glue gun/glue

scissors

ice pick

vintage pillow case/fabric

This is a project that other than waiting for the paint to dry only took about 15 minutes.

How cute and easy is that?

Scripture Rings

My sweet friend Susan asked me to make some scripture rings 

for a retreat she and two other ladies are hosting this weekend. 

 The retreat is a very special retreat- 

only for those mothers who have lost children

 and I was honored to do something to help.

 Although a tad time consuming, 

these are super easy to make and a great way to

share scriptures with someone.  

Here's how to make them:

1. Print out the scriptures

 {see printables below or make your own using a business card template}

and cut them out. 

2. Cut out scrapbook paper into rectangles a

 tiny bit larger than your scripture cards.

I used a different kind of paper for each verse.

{I used a paper cutter and it was much faster!}

3. Glue the scripture cards on top of the scrapbook rectangles. 

4. Take the string off of the tags

{I used these tags}

and glue the scrapbook rectangle in the center of the tag. 

5. Take a book ring and put thru the hole in a set of tags. 

6. Grab a few pieces of ribbon and tie to the ring

and you are done. 

These are awesome to put on your desk,

in your purse or to give as a gift!

You can download the verses HERE. 

I {heart} you because................

I saw this idea on the internet somewhere 

{I don't remember where I saw it, if it was you
 please comment and I'll be happy to give you credit}

and I immediately loved it and knew I had to do it! 

So easy and so inexpensive and such a fun idea! 

You just buy a frame,

 {Walmart or the Dollar Store or even spray paint a frame you already have}

print out the card below in whatever size your frame is,
{there are four different styles in the download- 
the polka dot one shown above is number 3}

place it in the frame. 

Add a thin dry erase with a cute ribbon

and it's ready to go! 

You just write on the glass the reason you love someone
along with their name, and simply erase when you want to change it!
How fun is that?

You could make a big one and hang it on the wall 

or small ones and place them on the dining room table

or even make one for each member of your family 

and hang them on their bedroom doors. 

i heart you

Big Girl Panties

I love the saying

Put on your big girl panties and deal with it! 

and say it fairly often. 

{usually in regards to myself}

As I mentioned the other day our school district is doing some major cuts and my position is being cut from 6 ladies down to 3.  I work with some amazing and fabulous ladies and this situation is difficult because we all truly love our jobs.  Knowing that only half of us will remain in our current position next year is hard and the not knowing until this summer is REALLY hard. 

We are getting together this week for a belated Christmas celebration

 {two of us were out for surgery in December} 

and I decided that perhaps we could all use some "big girl panties" 

so that is part of my gift for them.  

Here's what I did:

First I grabbed one of the tons of Crystal Light

 containers I have saved 

{I drink LOTS of it and the containers are awesome- 

you just have to cut off the wrapper and 

you have a perfectly clear cute little container!}

and cut off the wrapper. 

Next I purchased some plain ladies underwear. 

{of course you could use any kind of panties}

Next I rolled each pair of panties into a tight little pantie burrito

 and taped them with a piece of scotch tape.

Then I typed up a little paper with a cute pair of panties 

and the big girl pantie saying. 

{I'll post it below in case anyone wants a copy}

I printed them on a regular sized piece of white paper

 and cut off the space at the bottom. 

I took a pantie burrito and wrapped the piece of paper around it 

and secured it with a piece of double stick tape.

I slid the pantie burrito into the Crystal Light 

container and put the lid on. 

I then added some fun ribbon and my big girl panties were ready to go!

big girl panties

 

Disclaimer: This is meant to be purely a visual representation of a very 

COMMON silly expression and is certainly NOT meant to offend anyone.