Girls Night In

Happy Sunday!  I wanted to drop by and share a couple pictures I took from a recent "girls night in" gathering we had at our friend's house.  We spent the evening hanging out and making coasters after eating a yummy dinner!    It was a great toddler-free evening just with the girls. 

The girls making coasters!

I made coasters for our room since we usually keep a glass of water besides our bed.  The Hub's coaster matches our room, but mine totally doesn't.  :D  This is a great, inexpensive gift idea!

All you need is:

-  Tiles

-  Scrapbook Paper

-  Cork (we bought the rolled up sheet)

-  Mod Podge

-  Glue gun

-  Scissors

-  Paintbrush

-  Polycrylic

1.  Trace or measure the scrapbook paper to fit your tile. 

2.  Spread mod podge onto the tile and lay your scrapbook paper onto it being careful to smooth out bubbles.

 3.  Trace or measure cork so that it's slightly smaller than your tile. 

4.  Use your hot glue gun to spread glue to the back of your tile.  Carefully lay your cork onto the tile.

 5.  Apply about three coats of mod podge onto the scrapbook paper, letting it dry between each coat. 

6. Apply two-three coats Polycrylic to help further seal the paper on the tiles.

Hope you enjoyed!  I think Mod Podge might possibly be the best invention ever!

What else can I put Mod Podge on?  Have an idea?  Put a link to your blog below!

Enjoy this post?  Here are some other crafts you might like!

 

Toddler Time - Coloring

We had a blast working on yesterday's "green themed" lesson plan!  We didn't read "Meet Mr. and Mrs. Green" because it ended up being a bigger kid book.  It looks like a cute one though!

Little Man had a blast watching mommy and daddy jump around like frogs saying "ribbit, ribbit!"  He didn't try to jump on his own yet, but I showed him how to at least move his hands like he was jumping and said "ribbit" and he would laugh. 

The Hubs showing Little Man how to jump like a frog!

He also enjoyed coloring the frog.  I need to get him some fat crayons so he can hold them in his hand a little easier (Easter basket idea!), but he still did a great job.  He liked using the markers to color his hands.  We talked about the frog while we were coloring our printouts.  (I was coloring a frog, too)

He definately enjoyed coloring:  We're going to have to be sure to add it into our lessons more often.

Here are some additional free printable coloring pages that have to do with the upcoming St. Patrick's Day celebration:
-  Leprechaun and pot of gold 
-  "Happy St. Patrick's Day" and Shamrock
-  Pot of Gold
-  Shamrock

Filing Cabinet Makeover

Filing cabinets always look soo dull and drab.  A little spray paint and some removable wall decals go a long way to bring a fresh look to your filing cabinet. 

Our filing cabinet currently lives in our room, but will probably be put back into our master closet.   I decided to paint our filing cabinet light blue to match our room.  I also added some flower decals in red, golden-yellow, green and blue to give it a pop of color. 


Here is our before picture:

and here is our after picture:

This project was super simple and didn't cost very much. 

Supplies:
-  1 Can Primer  (I used Krylon Primer in White )
-  Spray paint  (I can't remember what color blue I used.  I used the Krylon Glossy White for the  handles)
-  Painters tape
-  Wall Decals (I used the Jennifer Wall decals from Target)

Instructions:

-  Dust filing cabinet.

-  Take the handles off.  (Open drawer and push on the handle - It should  pop out the front of the cabinet)

-  Tape the lock so you don't get paint in it.

-  Follow instructions on primer and spray paint.  I ended up doing three coats of primer.

-  Wait until primer dries and then spraypaint.  I pretty much used the whole  can.

-  Primer and spray paint the handles your desired color. 

-  Wait for it to dry and put stickers on and handles back into the cabinet.

I didn't bother sanding the filing cabinet before primering it.  This was my first time spraypainting anything, so I made sure to start with the back of the filing cabinet just to make sure I had my technique down.

I hope you enjoy this project.  I think it's a nice, easy way to decorate furniture you might already have in your house. 


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(Note: The link in this post is my referral link.  I was not compensated to review this product.  Please view my disclosure policy for more details.)

Re-purposing Candles

I love having candles around the house.  They're pretty, they smell good, what's not to like?  However, those little suckers are expensive!  Today I'm going to write about how to get a little more use out of your candles!  By reusing the jar and leftover wax, you'll be extending the life of your candle!

The kind I'm talking about are the ones that come in some sort of glass jar.

Step 1:  Freeze Jar

1.  Put the candle in the freezer for 1 hour (at least).  This will help the wax come out very easily.

2.  Use a butter knife to crack the wax. 

3.  Peel the clear plastic label off the front of the jar.  (it came off really easily when the glass was cold)

4.  Peel label off the bottom of the jar.  (There will still be stickly glue left on the bottom.  Don't worry - just get the bulk of the paper off)

5.  When the jar has come to room temperature stuff a paper towel or napkin into the jar and put it in the microwave for 25 seconds or so.  Use the paper towel to wipe up any wax that was left over in the jar.  (microwaving the jar with the papertowel in it will help to absorb some of the wax)

6.  Use same paper towel to wipe off some of the smoke from the rim of the glass (this seemed to come off easier when warmed.  Don't worry if you don't get it all.)

7.  Soak room temperature jar in warm soapy water for awhile.  Use a spounge to wipe off the glue on the underside of the jar and wash the inside of the jar to get rid of any extra wax. 

8.  Use a paper towel to wipe the rest of the smoke off the upper part of the jar.

Viola: a clean glass! 

9.  The leftover wax can be put into a burner so your house can stay smelling pretty.

10.  The jars can be used for any number of things from storage, to decorations, or even by placing more candles into it.

Shared with:

Today's Creative Blog

Not Just a Housewife

Christmas Ornament

Made with Love, Little Man

Before we get too far past the Christmas Season (sniff, sniff) I wanted to share the Christmas Ornament Little Man and I made!  We made three, one for each set of Grandparents, and one for us.  They were super easy to make - and very inexpensive!

First off, let me say what a saga this was finding the perfect "canvas" to put Little Man's handprint on! 

First, we went to Painted Earth, a place where you can paint and fire your own ceramics.  They were out of the one we wanted and only had some really, really heavy plate things left.  Not so good for hanging on a tree!  They had some other bulb ornaments that may have worked, but they were about $15 a piece, plus we would have paid $7 each for The Hubs and I to sit down to help Little Man.  No thank you!

Sent The Hubs to Michaels to see if he could find some ornament to put Little Man's prints on..he came back with already glazed ornaments that were too small for Little Man's hands.  Nice try, Hubs. 

Then I decided to try making Salt Dough and bake them in the oven.  I don't know what happened,  but they blew up like biscuits!  Tabitha made some, and hers came out just fine.  Who knows??? Would have been cute though, I even got one of Charlie's little paw prints. 

Then I went to the hobby lobby, and it was closed (see, told ya it was a saga)

Finally to Michael's, where I didn't think I would have any luck because The Hubs already tried looking there.  I really did trust that he looked really hard.  (But really, I think men don't know their way around Michael's like women do....it'd be like sending me into an autoparts strore.  I get it.) 

I just happen to find the last set of wooden cutouts!  Then, because I'm a Libra and can't make up my mind to save my life, I looked at paints forever, then ended up just using leftover paint I already had. Go figure. 

The Cost:
1.  Four ornamates:   $1.79
2.  Acrylic Paint (2): $.79 each (I already had mine)
3.  Glitter Paint: $1.19
4.  Ribbon:  $.79

So if I had paid for it out of pocket it would have cost me $5.35 total.  I already had everything but the wooden cutouts, so it costs me $1.79. 

To make:
1.  Paint entire circle the color you want.  I ended up adding several coats.  (works good with a dark color incase you mess up the handprint.  That way it's really easy to repaint over it and try again)
2.  Paint your little one's hand using a paintbrush.
3.  Stamp their hand on the cutout - making sure not to take too long (they'll wiggle their fingers around too much!)
4.  Wait until it dries.
5.  I painted around his handprint with glitter paint.  You can omit if you wish.
6.  I wrote Little Man's name, age, and the date on the back of the ornament.  
7.  I sprayed a clear varnish around it.  But you probably don't really need to.
8.  Used ribbon to make a loop in the back so we could hang it on the tree.  I guled it with super glue
9.  Made a bow and superglue it to the front of the ornament. 

Little Man had a great time making these.  We did end up redoing the handprint a couple of times.  At first he didn't really get the concept (he's 15 Months) but once we did it a few times he knew to hold his hand out flat.  He would also let me paint his hand and would sit very quietly while I did so.  After I showed him the print on the cutout, he got really excited about it!  For a younger baby, a footprint might be better. 

This will make a very nice keepsake that I know I'll enjoy seeing in the years to come!