Fun with the Kids--Clothespin Magnets

I am going to admit that I am a fridge Nazi.  I only let certain things on my fridge.  I told myself if i ever got stainless steal appliances I was never going to cover it all up with papers and magnets.  And now i have one, and so i have stuck to my guns.  I do use the side of my fridge for a few things here and there since the side is black and it won't cover up any of the silky sheen of the stainless steal.  But my magnets are not matching or even that strong and if I am going to have something hanging I want some form of unity for it all.   I decided, after an eye-numbing jaunt from blog to blog, to make some magnets.  I found myself mesmerized at Twice Remembered with her beautiful home photos and great makeover projects.  On Kim's sidebar and in some of studio pictures I saw these cute little jazzed up clothespins and since I couldn't find the post for just the the clothespins (although i am sure it is on there somewhere, i just didn't need more than the snapshot) I just sat down and made some myself.   I spent Sunday afternoon with my recently turned 4 year old and 5 year old working on these clothespin magnets and it was so fun.  It was something they could all do, and it looked better with their help than if i had done it myself.  Before you call them in to help, you will want to do a little adult prep work.  My fridge is stainless steel and black, so I sprayed the sides that would be exposed on my clothespins with just one coat of Krylon black spray paint. While they were drying I used a clothespin to measure and cut strips of card stock to fit both of the flat sides of the clothespins I wanted to use.  Once all that is done you are ready to bring in the kids for help. 

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED:

Spray Paint (for prep, if you want)

Clothespins (I am using the mini ones)
Scrapbook Paper
Mod Podge/small paint brush to spread it
Magnets (I used Rare Earth Magnets i found on Ebay, they are small and super strong)
E600 craft Glue
Sandpaper

HERE'S HOW YOU DO IT:

1. Once you have done your prep and your kids are ready to help.  Get out a paint brush for your little helpers and have them spread a thin layer of Mod Podge on the flat sides of the clothespins. Since we all know a thin layer is all relative when kids are gauging, then you can place the paper on it and wipe any excess, repeat step on the opposite side. 

2. Once they are all done, the first ones will probably be dry enough to sand.  I was doing this step with my kids trying to make the painted sides and the edges of the paper look nice and worn, and my kids clothespins were turning out so much cuter than mine i gave the job up to them.  I was being way to careful and organized about it, but their reckless method of sanding produced much better and authentic results.  So they sanded them down for me.  ( I wish i had a good close up picture, but my camera broke so i am back to the old one which is quite old and about as many mega pixels as a cell phone, so the pictures lately will be much less detailed until i can get a new camera).

3. After they are sanded down, brush them off with a very damp paper towel and have the kids Mod Podge over the rest of it and set it out to dry.  My 4 year old had pretty much given up at this point so after my 5 year old painted the Mod Podge on, i took a clean brush and evened it out while she went on to the next one. 

4. Once it is completely dry you can attach you magnets.  I think that the magnets they sell at Micheal's aren't worth it.  There is nothing worse than a magnet that can't hold anything, or ever worse, slides down your fridge without even having anything to hold.  So I did some strong magnet research and found these great strong magnets on ebay in a variety of sizes.  Just type Rare Earth Magnets into the search and you will find all sorts of disc and cube shaped little silver magnets that really are strong.  A lot of them offered free shipping.  I got 50, for $8 that are 1/4 inch, so tiny enough to fit on my clothespin without showing from the front, and it really does hold.  So, if you use those, glue them on with the E 6000 craft glue, that stuff is like nails, seriously strong.  But don't set them too close together to dry because the magnets will attract each other and it will slide them off the glue before it is dry. 

That's it!  Cute magnets, fun project, QT with the kids. . . hard to beat that!

A place to call home. . .

This is my disgusting make up bag.  My baby girl got into my dark blue eyeshadow, and everything has been covered in a film of City Night ever since.  It has gotten to the point where I am keeping all of the cleaned off makeup by the edge of my sink, just cluttering up my counterspace, so i don't have to put it back in that nasty mess. I really needed a new home for my most used posessions. The more i thought about it, I realized that i never really buy makeup bags.  I just stumble upon them.  I either get them as a gift, or a bonus with my clinque moisturizer, and i really didn't want to start today.  So, I thought, I have all this fabric, I will make a new one.  I was starting to worry that it would get dirty and gross, but then i remembered the clear plastic i bought to cover my white kitchen chair cushions and i got excited!  I dug it out of the basement and got to work making myself a new, stylish make up clutch, that has a wipeable interior. 

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED:

2 kinds of coordinating fabric (one will only be seen on the inside of the bag so you don't really need it, but if you have extra fabric laying around it is fun when you look inside the bag and see it looking cute in there)

Clear Plasic Vinyl (you can get it by the yard at walmart or joann's)

Sewing Machine

Pins

Velcro (approx 9 inches)

HERE IS HOW I DID IT:

(I tried to be really good at taking pictures so it would be easier to understand, hope it worked)

1. Cut out your first fabric, complimentary fabric, and vinyl each with these amounts and sizes (in inches) shown above.

2. Match up the pieces in each fabric and layer the matching pieces together in this order: on bottom, the clear plastic vinyl. In the middle, the fabric you have chosen for the outer fabric. And on top the fabric you chose for your inner fabric.

3. Sitch across the top (one of the long edges) of the two rectangle stacks and the top (the short 1/2 inch side) of the two triangle looking pieces.

4.  When you are done stitching, fold the vinyl over so the raw edge is now between the vinyl and the inner fabric, and the top edge is a nice fold.  These folded edges will form the top of your makeup bag.

5.  Next start piecing it together on the machine. {I would pin it together first, since there are so many layers, so you don't end up having one bunched up wrong.} Attach one triangular shaped side piece to the short side of the large rectangular front piece.  And continue around sewing all the 7 inch side together to make your bag edges.  The two rectangle pieces will be opposite each other, and the two triangular shaped pieces will be opposie each other.  Make sure all those nice folded edges are facing the same direction.

 

It will look like this at this point when the top part of the bag is all stitched together. 

6. Pin the bottom pieces onto the bag.  It takes a bit of working and maybe a bit of trimming to get it on there just right.  Now sew along the bottom.  When you come to a corner, lift up the presserfoot and needle, and reposision the bag on the next straight edge, making sure to sew from edge to edge so that your corners don't end up with little holes.

7.  Turn you bag to the right side and work it into the right shape.  Then with a zigzag stitch sew approx 9 inches of velcro just inside the top inner edge.

 Nothing to it. . . ahhh, look at how clean that is! 

A little tip:  The when i was sewing the bag pieces together the vinyl would sometimes stick to my presserfoot, so i really had to force it along sometimes.  I suppose a more meticulous sewer would make some bias tape {click here is a tutorial by the Angry Chicken on bias tape edges} to fold over the the edge you are sewing so it glides easier in the machine, but i just forced it along and it didn't even break my needle! 

This lovely picture above will show you that my sewing isn't perfect, but when your makeup is all in there and you have a stylin, sturdy bag you don't even think about the little imperfections that may be on it.  So, go clean out that crusty makeup bag {you know you all have one too}and make something new for all those things-you-wouldn't-be-stranded-on-an-island-without to go in. 

There is Nothing Like The Pitter-Patter of Cutely Dressed Feet

I have a friend who always has wonderful ideas for me. . and she was showing me the cutest shoes people were selling on etsy wondering if i could make anything of the same sort.  I didn't even realize you could make shoes.  I had never given it much thought, but the fabrics i was seeing people use for their homemade shoes were soo much cuter and more unique than the mary janes and leather shoes you can buy in the store. So i went looking around online and found this video with a corresponding free pattern.  I went to JoAnns, (which happened to have 50% off their clearence fabric) and purchased some faux leather for the soles and some cute fabric for the top.  Some helpful hints: I tried it out, and it was almost just as simple as the video makes it look.  When you connect the sole to the upper part of the shoe the girl in the video says you have to do some manipulating to fit it together, i think that was a bit of an understatment.  It was hard to get an even line to sew on at first, but after the first shoe was done i got the hang of it and the second i had assembled in a couple of minutes. Since my daughter is walking, i wanted a sole that would withstand some wear and tear, so i got a faux leather, and used a soft baby pink flannel for the second layer of sole, so when it was all finished i would have a nice sturdy leather (ish) sole and a nice soft inside. The pattern doesn't say what size they are, but after making these i am guessing they are a size 3. It doesn't seem like it would be hard to make bigger or smaller to fit It was pretty quick, i am excited to whip out a few more pair. Nothing like expanding your childs footwear for only a few bucks! It really is liberating to know how to make a pair of shoes, there really isn't anything that you can't make yourself. 

P.S.  Everyone had pretty good odds ;) but the winner of the giveaway is Melissa, cute little Tessa will look adoreable in this poofy tulle skirt. . Email me at projectprowler@gmail.com and I will ship it too you this week!

Yea, Yea. . . It's a Giveaway!! **(GIVEAWAY CLOSED)**

My Project piles are stacking up, and when it comes to clothes i have so many things i want to do, and currently no child to put them all on, because their wardrobes are currently full.  So, today i thought why not jump on the GIVEAWAY bandwagon!  Today the give away is made by yours truly.  It is a skirt made from repurposed jeans. . .that were once labled "mom jeans" by one of my friends. . .well, if it is possible for a baby to wear mom jeans.  They were pretty bad, but i thought that they were in such great shape and i thought they would make a great skirt, so i set them aside.  Then yesterday when i was looking for some girl clothes inspiration from one of my favorite little girls dress websites, chasing-fireflies.com, which i could never buy from, but i love to look and get inspired, and they had some great bustled skirts and dresses.  I wanted to try one so i made those jeans into this sweet bustled skirt. The fluff is chocolate brown tulle that is lined with a supersoft pink felt.  I love it, i tried it on my youngest and she loved it too, but she has enough skirts so this one is for you readers out there! Even if you don't have a little girl, chances are you know one that would look so cute in this skirt, so enter away! It is size 18 mos. but my daughter who is in 24mos clothes can fit in it with plenty of room, so i think it can span some sizes. 

So, here's how you enter. . . you can enter yourself twice.  . . First, just become a follower and post a comment to enter yourself once (if you already follow, then you can just post a comment to enter).  NEXT, If  you want to enter a second time, then put a post on your blog with a link to this blog and comment again leaving me the link to your post.  The giveaway will close 12pm EST on Saturday, so don't delay. . . get the word out and get this great little number for your little princess!

New Year's Resolution #3: To plan better Meals

I used to be so good at planning out my meals, and grocery shopping with my planned out meals. We would eat well balanced foods in abundance that my hubby would take to work for lunch the next day. Then my kids got older, and pickier, my hubby started going to school at night and I started making lots of Mac and Cheese and Chicken Nuggets (no one wants to bring those leftovers to work, ha).  But to show you I had good intentions, When we moved to this house i made this chalkboard to go in the biggest wall in the kitchen.  I was really wanting something on that space, knowing it would be near the table where little {most likely, messy} hands would be touching whatever was there, that was durable, cute and would take up a lot of space, and of course (it should go without saying) cheap.  My oldest sister has a chalkboard in her family room that looks great and seems so useful, so I thought a chalkboard would be perfect.  I imagined myself writing out the menu for the day all cute, like a cafe, and I would remember to add sides to the meals like vegetables or bread. . .

Alas, soon after we moved i found out i was pregnant and all that energy for making meals went right out the window.  So i used the chalkboard for writing cute quotes, and drawings for holidays, and i have loved it for that too.  We have even used it to draw out stories we are talking about, or teach the kids letters and numbers.  It has been such a functional piece and i am always asked where i got it.  Truth is, it is just chalboard paint with trim (chair rail) boarding it (which we already had in abundance), that i painted a rusty orange, nailed to the wall with a finishing gun.  It cost me $10 and that was it.  I had plenty of paint leftover for a kids chalkboard in our basement, and for a friend to use for a kitchen chalkboard of her own.  I wondered if the paint would wear out, but its been there over 2 years, and through plenty of cleanings and it hasn't chipped once.  There are so many uses for it, but for now, since there are no major holidays on the horizon, we are going to go back to the meals and see if i can keep it up!

(don't mind my creepy french chef, or crooked pot of boiling water)

New Year's Resolution #2: To be more organized

My husband may say otherwise ;) but I think my main problem with staying orgainzed is actually having a place for everything to go.  If i don't have a place for it, than it will just stay there, on the floor, kicking around until i move it to a dresser or countertop to create clutter and i hate clutter.  So, I am not going to let my lack of places to put things be an excuse anymore.  Saying, it isn't in the budget won't fly for me anymore because there are places busting at the seams with little gems that i can refinish and make my own. 

I am starting with my kids books.  They are everywhere.  We just keep getting them.  They LOVE to read, and we have collecet so many odd shaped books, it's hard to find a place that they can all fit attractively.  There's this magazine rack style bookshelf at Pottery Barn Kids that i have eyed for a while.  . . . need I say more?  Of course it's cute, functional, downright perfect and. . .  perfectly out of my budget.  Let me say that I have asked my husband attempt some projects before, but nothing that required this kind of specific detail, without even having a 360 look at it.  I showed him the picture and he was pretty hesitant about it.  More tools than we had would be needed, the scalloped edges needed just the right saw, etc.  But, after a few days he reluctantly started gathering the materials.  One good thing about working in the lumber industry these days is we have aquired lots of wood.  So we had a lot of stuff we needed and went to Lowes for the dowells.  My Hubby took a few hours on a couple of saturdays and camped himself in the garage.  This past saturday he unveilled his project.  He is amazing (he is even without being able to build the shelf. . . but having it turn out, not only beautiful but functional too, adds to my amazement). His gamble payed off big, and it cost him under $30 {we were meant for each other}. He hung it up today in the kids room . . Isn't is dreamy??  

So the moral of this story is, you never know what you are capable of making unless you give it a try!

New Year's Resolution #1: To be Better at Remembering Birthdays

Here is a great solution for our first resolution.  I saw the idea at my mom's house.  On of my sisters made my mom a great little display for her family birthdays.  It hangs on the wall with a cute little picket fence and flowers for each month. Ropes hang down from each flower and little bird and butterfly clips display everyone's name and day.  It has been fun to watch as people get added to it, and see at a glance which month is packed with more birthdays.  I thought my mother-in-law might enjoy one, but i did not know where to start, it was seeming a little overwhelming.   I decided to engineered my own simplier version. I love the way it turned out, i think i may need one for myself now:)  It took me the better part of an evening (since i had to let the paint dry) but it was quite easy. 

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED:

A plaque or board

Wooden letter

wooden discs

mini clothes pins

a strong bonding glue

12- 15 inch pieces of small rope or twine
drill

paint/brush

sharpie

HERE'S HOW I DID IT:

Start by sanding the board and the letter so you have a smooth painting surface.  Next measure, mark, and drill your holes (you will need 12 along the bottom, one for each month). Drill up in the bottom edge of the wood in at a 45 degree angle so that your hole comes out the back of the board.  Sand around the holes, and paint.  I painted my board black and sanded it for a distressed finish.  Paint your letter too, i did mine in a color called sand that is really just a glorified name for a light tan. 

sorry this picture is blurry, i wanted you to see how the holes from the drill come out at the back of the board, it doesnt need to be pretty on the back, only functional ;)

While you are waiting for you paint to dry glue your clothespins on the wooden disks with a strong glue.  Do this before you paint them so you have a place to hold while you paint, and you can get the edges easier.  After they are dry and holding firm you can hold them by the clothespin and paint the front and sides of each disk in the same color you used for your letter. 

By the time you finish with that you can probably put a second coat of paint on the letter and wooden board. Now that all your things are wet with paint and you have nothing else to work on you can stop to make some cookies for yourself.  By the time your first batch is out of the oven you can snack on them while you finish up :). 

Come back to your dried project and sand down the edges of your board and letter (if you want it to have a distressed finish).  Tie a knot at the end of each rope and from the back of the board thread it through the predrilled holes.  The knot will hold it in place at the back (you may need to tie the knot twice to make it hold better). 

Next write the names of the months centered above each hole.  For this step I actually painted the abbreviations of each month, but i was thinking there was probably an easier way than that, a paint pen or vinyl, but i was working with what i had, so i used a very thin but firm bristled paint brush and just took my time writing each month. 

Finally, you can use the sharpie to write the names of your family members (or anyone who's birthday you want to remember) centered in each disc with the number day under each name.  You won't need the month because it will hang on the month rope that it belongs to.  When you write them all you can clip them in their place on the ropes.  {it may be helpful for yourself, or the person you give it too if you have extra discs that are ready to go, so that as your family grows you can easily keep it up to date.  Projects like this can fall flat fast if you have to go to the store for more clothespins, discs, and paint every time you need to update it, so just plan now to make extras so you will beable to enjoy it for a long time.}

To finish you can add any decorative touches, like the wooden monogram.  Glue your letter in place or whatever else you might think of to make it match your decor and style and it's ready to go.  Nail some picture hanging hardware on the back and place it on the wall.  I think it is so nice not only to have your birthdays all in a handy place but to have a little spot in your home to showcase all those people we love so much.