Project: Party supplies from the Dollar Store

My daughter just turned 4 today, and told me she would love an Ariel themed birthday party...not in those exact words...but I got it. :0) After googling a few birthday cake sights for ideas, this is my cake I came up with. My daughter had the flounder and Ariel doll, and I found the shells at the dollar store! I also split one frosting container in half, mixed one half turquoise and one half peach. Then I crushed some Graham Crackers for a 'sandy look'. 

The Ariel themed birthday is stuck here and there, but really it turned into a Princess party. :0) I found the foam crowns, ribbon and foam glitter stickers at the dollar store as well! 

 

Matching Princess decor? Another Dollar Store find. :0) 

Pin the Crown on the Princess game= ONE dolla. 

Had the glitter craft string on hand, but the beads were another find...score!

The velvet coloring Ariel's were found at the--what?...yes...the Dollar Store.

The grab bags I made from some scrap fabric, and they were filled with some of my daughters most favorite things. :0)

Nail polish, chapstick, play doh and Junior Mints. :0) ...and candy canes...not really her favorite, but I had them already...

Everything altogether cost a whopping 25 bucks. Not bad in trade of some fabulous memories. :0)

Project: Festive Fridge Magnets

I was scrambling to find something to give to the ladies I visit teach. Then I thought I would make them a craft. :0) This project was fast and easy...just my style!

I cut some triangles out of an old cereal box. 

Then I went digging through my scrapbook paper and found these lovely shades of green and ivory. Perfect for a Christmas tree...I cut the first strip, then eye balled a couple centimeters bigger for every piece. 

Then I grabbed a pencil and started rolling, I then hot glued the end and let it sit while I made all the other rolls. 

After I placed and glued down the rolled strips of paper. I cut off the excess cardboard. I could have done more rolls, but I was in a hurry! 

I then cut some more pieces of cardboard for the trunk and top, and covered and glued some cute paper on those. Then I added a button. It would look super cute with more buttons all down the tree...but I didn't have any. :0) 

These honestly weren't going to be fridge magnets when I first started out. I thought these would be super cute framed, but I didn't have any extra (cute) frames either. So, magnets they would be!  

Tree #1 

...and Tree #2

I can't decide which tree top I like better. Have fun with this one! Take it and ROLL with it. hahaha. I would love to see your spin on this project.

Project: Accent Pillows

 So I told you I'm working on my bed.  I finished it today!!  And I'm in love with my headboard now :0)

For the small pillows I just made a quick envelope case.  SUPER easy and removable.  With 4 kids I like that!  You can find a tutorial here.

 For the big pillows I made just a regular pillow case.  I used a different material on the front and back so they are reversible!  Mostly it was because I was piecing together fabric, but shhhhh....don't tell :)  I was going to tie the ends together with ribbon - which I still think would be super cute - but I decided it wasn't necessary.  I love them the way they are!

I knew the dimensions of my pillow so I just added 1 inch to the height (short measurement) and about 3 to the width (long side) and cut a rectangle.  I hemmed the two sides that would be open - just a regular 5/8" hem.  Then put I right sides together and sewed the other three sides!  I didn't want a cuff or anything as I was going to do the ribbon thing - but like I said....I never got that far.

 Sorry about the horrible lighting.  My room has no overhead lighting and we are facing some pretty gloomy days of late.  The white one is furry fleece (left over polar bear costume)  The black one has fabric flowers all over it (an old pair of dress pants) and the zebra one has a little sequin embellishing.....okay so I bought that....

Wanna see?!

 Ta-dah!!  

Yay!  I am very pleased with it.  I ran onto the comforter set on clearance at Meijer.  I weighed my options and decided that it cost about $250 less than my dream (one day I will have a down comforter and duvet!!) and only about $10 more than my frugal idea.  So I went with the less sewing option and it turned out great.

 And I've decided to leave the headboard the way it is :0)

So, I'm not a spokesperson for Ikea by any means, but really.  I can't imagine my craft room without these Expedit shelves!  If you look you'll see that I have them on either side of my bed.....every inch of them is full of fabric, paper, embellishments, tools, etc.  They are the PERFECT size for 12x12 paper and books.  And the bins are great for folded fabric and silk flowers and all that jazz.

Notice I didn't show you the other side of the room.....I promise its coming....

Project: Master Bedroom Makeover....Part 1

We have moved into this great rental town home that we just love.  One thing I kinda love and kinda hate is that there isn't a single white wall in it!!  

Well the master bedroom is blue.  Luckily its a pretty blue.

I am the kind of person that needs my bedroom to be a relaxing place.  For me that means organized and clean.  My bedroom is NOT the catch all place like so many parents I know.....thats my office!  Haha.  I like to walk in and feel like "ahhhh....I can breathe.....relax.....sleep" 

So I'm giving it a makeover!  Because nothing I have matches with blue.

Step 1:  Headboard

My bed doesn't have a frame.  Which I actually love!  Nothing gets lost under it....its not so high that my kids need help climbing on it......my kids aren't afraid to sleep on the floor next to it (I like my sleep) .....but the wall above it is very plain :0)  I decided to make a headboard.  My goal here was to spend $0.  Which I did.....but only because I have loads of extra things lying around.  Even if I didn't though - this is a very budget friendly project.  And you don't have to sew!

You will need some picture frames.  These 3 are 16x20 inch frames.  They fit PERFECTLY above a queen sized bed.  My first step was to paint them black.....I didn't take a picture of that though!

 You could just use the back of the frame to wrap your material around, but because of the way mine fit into the front I couldn't do that.  So I cut some scrap cardboard to fit.

 I cut a piece of batting the same size as the cardboard, and a piece of material an inch or two bigger than the cardboard on each side.  I cut up some old white drapes and covered them with some white chiffon to make it look a little nicer.  Place the batting on the cardboard and cover with your fabric.

 Wrap the edges of the fabric around the cardboard (or frame back) and tape it.  I used packing tape.  Put the frames back together and hang them on the wall!

 I attached the bottom of the frames to the wall with mounting tape.  I can sit up against them or knock them in my sleep and they aren't going anywhere!  

The possibilities really are endless.  There are any number of black and white prints I would have loved to put in there.  Pick a fabric you love that matches the decor and you have a beautiful headboard!

Ignore the messy bed.  I haven't gotten to the bedding makeover part yet.  The yellow plaid quilt from grandma wouldn't have done justice - I figured the plain white sheets were better :0)   I still might add something to the headboard to make a design.....black ribbon.....flowers.....I'm not sure.  It depends on whether I love it once the bedding is all finally put together.

On a side note, my room ended up with the 'leftover' lamps....its amazing what a new shade will do.  We went from wicker and bronze to white and damask.  So much better!!  And you'd be amazed how cheaply you can find shades if you look hard/long enough.  Thats really the key to frugal makeovers, I think....patience!

Next Step:  Craft Cabinet and Table

(yes, my bedroom is also my craft room.....one day!......)