Men's Shorts to Bag

The title of this post should actually read, "Men's Shorts to Indiana Jones Bag", because that is what my son has adopted it as! 

Chuck got a big hole in his favorite shorts...

So, I turned them into a bag.  You can't tell from these pictures, but it is very roomy inside and can hold a ton of stuff...

I added velcro to keep Indiana Jones' toys all safe and sound while he's running around attacking things...

Costco had the same shorts for sale this year, so we bought 3 pairs (in different colors) for Chuck....I told them that they will make great bags next year :O)...

For a complete list of parties we link to click HERE!

Thrift Store Wall Decor

Awhile back we when we took a trip to the DI (local thrift store), I picked up these three frames.  The two little square ones were a $1.50 each, and the box frame was $1.00. 

I got them out over the weekend.  I started by sanding the globs of paint off of the box frame...

Then I primed it and painted it white...

My sweet aunt just gave me a bunch of scrapbook paper and supplies.  She works for a scrapbook company and often brings home freebies.  I found this adorable green polka dot paper.  I've been wanting to add one more accent color to this room.  I decided green is a great color to add to the pink, brown, and white alread in there.  I Mod Podged the paper to the front of the box frame...

I still haven't decided exactly what to display in it, for now it's her teapot...but she wasn't very happy about that...

The two little frames started out silver...

I primed, spray painted, and added the pictures and bows (the white ribbon is from the scraps my mom gave me last week and I used the same can of spray paint for 3 projects)...

It's fun to have this little wall filled....

I'm excited to add more green now!...

My total expense for this project comes to $4.00

Click HERE for a full list of parties I've linked to!

Mens Polo Shirt To Skirt - Tutorial

I've been trying to keep my crafting to one project per day (I'm a bit obsessive with it lately) to keep a good balance in my life.  BUT, the other day when I was cleaning up from the Twirly Play Skirt project, I came across the shirt that I made the Rosette Cuff out of and the idea clicked to make a skirt, so I quickly whipped it up!

It was THEE easiest thing I've ever sewn.  I simply cut off a piece from the bottom of the shirt.  I had to go small because of a stain on the shirt, but really this could be made longer for an older girl or even adult.  This picture may look confusing.  I folded the shirt in half to cut the strip, but then unfolded the part I cut before I snapped the shot...

With the bottom hem and sides of the shirt already sewn for me the only thing I had to do was add an elastic at the top!  See?  SO EASY!  To put the elastic in you simply iron over about a 1/4 of an inch....

Then take that same fold and fold it over again to accommodate the thickness of your elastic.  I ironed it over about an inch...

Sew along the bottom edge of the fold to form your elastic casing.  Leave a hole for the elastic to thread through...

With your safety pin hooked to your elastic guide the elastic through the casing...

Pull through the other side (being careful not to lose each end).  Overlap the elastic and stitch together, then stitch your opening closed.  I stitch the elastic in a couple of places to prevent it from rolling. 

I LOVE the little side slits that were already in the shirt!...

This material is a bit silky and has a shimmer to it that you can't see in these pictures.  My 3 year old LOVES it - VERY twirly and swirly :O).

Click HERE for a full list of parties I link to!

Sneak Peak - Photo Display

I've got a work in progress going on around here.  The first piece to my plan is complete.  I no longer want my fridge covered in pictures and announcements, so I made this to hold those things on.  It is one of many things that will be going on the wall next to the fridge.  I primed, painted, and distressed the frame.  I took the glass out, used spray adhesive (that I already had on hand) to glue a piece of felt to that glass, used the same adhesive to apply the material (that I purchased in the scraps section of Wal-Mart).  Hot glued the ribbon, and put it in the frame...

The frame originally was the one with the butterfly in it that you see in the bottom edge of the below picture.  I bought it at the DI (local thrift store) for one dollar.  Funny thing is, this same butterfly decor and frame hung in my home as a child.  Makes me wonder if it's the same piece...

I can't wait to finish - and show you - the rest of the wall!!

I entered this in the $5 challenge over at...

For a full list of parties I link to click HERE!

Folded Material Flower Headband

There's a very good chance that I may have started a new addiction today.  These flowers were so easy and quick to whip up, and I LOVE how they turn out!  I had leftover material from the Picture/Bow/Card Display I made awhile back, and - of course - felt the need to create something today.  It ended up turning into a headband...

Here it is on the 3 year old...

And the 10 year old...

So fun!  Can't wait to make more :O).

For a full list of parties I link to click HERE!

Kid Project Fail....Or Not??

We took a trip to the DI (local thrift store) the other evening.  The whole fam damily.  The kids had never been and thought it was AMAZING!  LOL!  I told them they couldn't buy any toys (since we saw a handful on display that we'd donated there).  The 3 year old found her way to the far corner and set up a town of 3 Barbie houses, a car, and a horse...it took me a solid 30 minutes to coax her away....who needs McDonald's playland anyway???  My 10 year old is getting quite the kick out of all of this crafting going on.  She picked out the above item for 75 cents with intentions of fixing it up for her own room.  It was filthy and - you can't see it in that picture - but it had globs of paint all down each side that needed to be sanded off.  She got to work this afternoon and sanded, primed, and painted.  She removed the metal piece and I threw it in the dishwasher.  She brought in her block tonight and was crushed when she pulled the metal out of the dishwasher and it was completely covered in RUST!  "You RUINED it MOM!!!"

We put it together anyway.  Dad walked passed and - without knowing the drama - exclaimed, "WOW!  I love it!"....

It may not be what she pictured for her bedroom, but I think it looks great on my mantel :O)...

So, what do you think...trash or treasure?

Speaking of finding AMAZING things at the thrift stores - have I got some fun posts coming up soon with all the junk I found to fix up!  SO FUN!!

For a full list of parties I link to click HERE!

Mens Shirt to Jewelry Cuff

I saw the most adorable Rolled Fabric Cuff over at Sugar Bee.  I felt like putting something together this afternoon, so I gave it a try.  Chuck (my husband) was cleaning out his closet yesterday so I snatched up one of the shirts he was getting rid of. 

You start with an empty toilet paper roll or paper towel roll.  Cut a strip...

Here is the shirt I used...

Cut a strip of material to hot glue to the empty paper towel roll strip (that's a mouth full, I should just go with "cuff").  Cut strips of material to roll your rosettes out of, glue them to the cuff as you go...

My cuff was too loose so I glued a cream grosgrain ribbon to the back, leaving tails to be tied...

I used the lighter to seal the ends of the ribbon to keep them from fraying...

Here is the end result.  My girls enjoyed wearing it...I may have to make a matching skirt out of the rest of the shirt for them!...

For a full list of parties I link to click HERE!

Black Shutters - Fixer Up

I'll be the first to admit that the front of our house is a bit of an eyesore.  We've worked on many other things in our home, but not much on the outside of our home has been done.  The list is very long out there.  The hubby decided to fix up the shutters.  We've looked at just buying new ones (they aren't really that pricey), but figured why not try a $10 can of exterior paint first.  Here is what they looked like before...

They were SO BAD!  Paint chipping and falling off UGLY....as well as an outdated forest green.  We decided  to do like any professional would -- flipped 'em over to the good non-weathered side and painted them black.  We tried using a fancy shmancy outdoor/primer/finish all-in-one can of Krylon black spray paint (I believe it was called Fusion), but the finish it left was a bit blotchy.  He decided to go with Valspar and use a brush.  He did say that having the coat of spray paint on first made it easy to quickly brush on the good stuff and not have to worry about getting in those little corners that are prone to drips....

See how much smoother the backside is, much less work!...

Love this guy...

We thought about going with white, but I am thrilled with how the black looks...

One of these days the front of our house will look nice enough to post a picture of more than just the windows.  Ignore the finger prints and dog nose smears - I am...

I love that he did this!  It makes me smile :O).

For a full list of parties I link to click HERE!

Lucky Sign - St. Patricks Day Decoration

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I have this really sweet friend that just so happens to have a birthday this week, AND her absolute FAVORITE holiday is St. Patricks Day!  She is also the Activity Day's leader for our ward, and my daughter adores her.  She always goes way above and beyond when it comes to helping out our daughter's...so, I figured who better to make this sign for! 

I started with an old frame we weren't using.  My daughter sanded it, then I primed it, sprayed it white, and distressed it.  Here is the before...

I love that the backing of the frame has this fantastic texture - almost like a canvas...

I used my Silhouette to cut "LUCKY" out of some coordinating green scrapbook paper I had on hand.  Then I used the same paper to make Mod Podge rosettes.  I also had some white scrapbook paper flowers on hand.  I inked the edges then added a scrap of white chenille I had from a quilt I made.  Held them together with a cute fastener...

I added some buttons and bling to the rosettes and hot glued them to the frame...

Then hot glued the white flower on the opposite side of the frame...

I hung it in various places throughout my house and took pictures.  The front door...

The garden, LOL!  I know, not realistic, but I did love how it looked against the rustic fence...

Now I just wish I'd made two!  Happy Birthday Julie!!  Thanks for all that you do!...

For a full list of parties I link to click HERE!