Hanger Re-do!

So, like ten years ago, my mom gave me this hanger. She used to use it to hang all of her necklaces on. It was cool enough, but it was kind of this dark pink color... Not really my thing. So I decided to paint it! 

 See? Dark pink color... not happening. 

So I decided to go with a green base, and alternate between blue and yellow for the pegs. 

Here is what it looks like now hanging up in my room!

I quite like it! And it will match the colors I will eventually paint my little girl's room, and then I can pass it on to her! CUTE! 

Perfect, right?

Time: maybe an hour total painting, plus a few hours drying

Cost: few buck for paint (the stuff I used was given to me)

PUZZLES

Because it's worth bragging about... 

I totally did a 3000 piece puzzle. Yes, there are THREE zeros behind that, making it a THOUSAND not hundred. I am a puzzler. I love doing puzzles, and as my close friends and family will tell you, I will shame just about anybody with the speed at which I do my puzzles. I usually pound out a thousand piece in a few hours. But, thousand, to 1500 is just about where the puzzles kind of plateu... it's hard to find much bigger in a regular store, so to have had and finished a 3000 is pretty great! Thus, my bragging :)

So here you go, proof! 

Time: FOREVER! No, but seriously, probably a good 30-40 hours, if not a few more. 

Cost: FREE! Yay for hand-me-downs!

Baby Mobile... Of Sorts

You may remember my baby girl 

Isn't she the cutest?! 

So, being poor (yes, it's a common theme right now) we didn't really have money for toys for our cute girl, so one day my husband comes to me and says "You should just whip together a mobile with some fabric toys from the scraps you have so she has something she can look at."
Well, okay... 

So, with that as background understanding, here is what I came up with:

Not the best, cutest, or most easy to deal with mobile ever, but it keeps her happy. 

So here's what I have to work with:

 My fabric

 My ribbon

Raffia

 And a sewing machine. 

As you can see, I just stuffed raffia in the middle to give them dimension.

And sewed them up... 

All around the machine... I am a dork!

All sewn up

For the final part, I just wrapped the end ribbon pieces around a cane my husband used for our wedding. Not too bad for an on-the-spot project!

Time: less than an hour

Cost: free!

Back with Christmas!

I have not written in quite some time! I would give you all sorts of excuses, but the truth is, I'm just not a writer. The good news is I have been crafting the whole time I've been absent, so I will have lots to share today! And from now on, this is how I will probably update my blog, one big heaping pile of posts every now and again. :)

SO! To start back up, I thought I would show you the cute stockings I made last Christmas.

Aren't they cute? My husband had specified that he wanted a BIG stocking, and since we're poor, I decided to make some. My mom had a box of Christmas fabric (thank heavens!) and I made up the patter by tracing a stocking my mom had hanging up, and then adding to it a little. 

I used the green ones as a pattern for the red. I just used the left overs to add the trim on top. 

This is me trying to figure out the logistics and seeing how it will turn out. 

 The finished product!

One of the best parts, both sides work! These were actually pretty simple to make, and for not having a pattern, I think they turned out splendidly! 

Time: 3-4 hours
Cost: For me, nothing, but if you wanted to do this, maybe $30? If you got the quilted fabric I used, and I have NO idea how much the white fluffy material would cost.

Birthday Liter

So, as many of you out there probably can relate, I have become a lover of Pinterest. So, when my brother's birthday rolled around in October (I know, so long ago!) I perused my boards and found this nifty idea. 

So, what you do is you get a two (or in this case three) liter bottle of soda (preferably one you enjoy) and empty the contents. Of course if you have a bottle just laying around, that's probably best. Anyway, once emptied, you clean the bottle out so it's not sticky, an cut a hole in the side where the name of the soda is. I recall this being tricky. I believe I had to stab it with a knife, then try and wiggle my scissors into it to cut it open, so be careful when you attempt this. I made three cuts so it could open like a lid and proceeded to fill it. My brother is a sugar-holic, so I just filled it with lots of candy from the dollar store. Depending on your recipient though, you could fill it with yo-yo's, bouncy balls, small dolls, coins, dollar bills, chap stick, make-up, cards... anything you think they would like that will fit. Next, you tape up the hole, cover the side with cute paper, and add a label if you would like. I just turned the wrapping paper around and used the white side. Also, I would suggest writing on it before you tape it to the bottle-much easier that way. Then I got some fun matching ribbons and tied them on top and added a bow and voila! A cute birthday present that everyone can love!

Time: An hour or so
Cost: I spent about $10 but it could easily cost more or less depending on what you fill it with.

Paper Flowers

A few months ago, a friend of the family died. I wanted to do something special for the family that would stand out from what everyone else does-which in my mind is buy flowers. So, being the poor, married, pregnant college student that I was, I decided to make a bouquet out of what I had lying around.

This was fairly simple. I made it out of five pieces of 12x12" paper for the flowers, and two smaller pieces for the base. I cute the 12" paper into four pieces (except the green), cut those smaller pieces into circular shapes, then cut a spiral in them, leaving a small circle in the middle where the spiral ended. Then I rolled the spiral up, and glued it to the circle in the middle. Next I cut out leaf shapes in the green, with a wide base so I could fold it in half to give it a creased look (which you can't really see). Then I bought some wires (the only part I bought. It was like $2 at the craft store), cut them in half, and glued them between the leaf and the flower. Next, I cleaned out an old asparagus can, melted wax from candles I had lying around, and poured it into my clean can. Then I stuck my wires down in the wax, and added the grassy stuff, and finally covered the can with paper for a nice vase look. 

Overall, it was pretty quick and easy. Done in less than half a day. But be warned, all that paper curling left my fingers a tad bit sore. But, I'm pleased with the result, and I think my friend will appreciate having it for years to come. (I hope... I'm bad with this whole memories of the dead thing) 

This shows the crease in the green a little better. 

Time: couple of hours, including gathering supplies.
Cost: $2- but varies based on how many supplies you have and how many you need to buy.

Kaitlyn

Wondering why I haven't posted lately? 

Isn't she beautiful? 

She is my latest creation. And when she gives me a wee bit more time, I'll be sure to post the last few projects I made before she was born.

Also, I finally have another camera, so hopefully my pictures will be better than the ones from my phone! (Which is what I have used to document the latest projects)