Instant Embellished Onesies For Summer

Summer with a baby under 6 months is tricky because they're too little for sunscreen. After a bit of research, I decided on long sleeve white onsesies with UV babylegs and a sunhat to keep babe covered and cool. The only problem is that white onesies are bo-ring!

So, I did what any crafty mama would do and dove into my fabric stash! I cut darling little scraps out of my favorite fabrics and zig zag stiched them on. I didn't want them to look the same, all sewn in the center of the chest, so one has a tiny fox on the 'breast pocket' and another has a coordinating embellishment on the back as well.

So far, they've been awesome for keeping Asher cool and safe. Plus, it's a great scrap-stash buster.

I wish I was able to get better photos, but we are constantly using them!

Vintage Chair Make Over

 

 I bought this great/ugly vintage chair for $10 and couldn't wait to spruce it up. Just a couple coats of yellow spray paint and some new faux bois fabric on the seat. Voila! An updated chair for $20 and an easy half-days work. 

Unfortunately, I couldn't quite get a yellow that matched with the art in my bedroom (more on that next time...) so I sold it. For $40. Woo Hoo! I love DIY. But I am still looking for another chair...

Tutoria Upgrade- Making Your Own Labels the Smarter, Faster Way!

I had a very small amount of time to make a very large batch of labels and needed to make the process more efficient. I cannot believe I didn't think of doing it this way before.

Instead of cutting my ribbon or twill tape, I just ironed 5-6 onto the ribbon at a time. SO much faster! It keeps them way more organized for storage and cuts down on the amount of ribbon wasted. I've included the (extremely popular) original tutorial beneath for convenience, but with fewer steps, since I'm getting smarter.

Materials:
Iron on Transfer Paper (I just used the t shirt kind)
Printer
Scissors
Iron
Ribbon, twill tape or whatever you like best. Just make sure it's iron safe!

1.) In Keynote or Powerpoint, arrange your logo in rows. I printed out a few test sheets to get my labels just the right size. FLIP YOUR IMAGE! I may or may not have forgotten this step and wasted a sheet of transfer paper. If you're using a Mac, use keynote. Powerpoint for Mac has no 'flip' feature to make your logo a mirror image. Print onto transfer paper according to package directions.




2.) Cut out your transfer paper labels and position as many labels as your iron will cover (I managed 4-6 at a time) on the uncut ribbon or twill tape.

3.) Iron those suckers on. Like crazy. When you think you might be scorching the ribbon, wait another few seconds! Make sure to read the transfer paper directions so you know what heat setting to use and if you should use steam or not. I peeled off the paper backing at random intervals as a sort of quality control, to make sure they were stuck. The rest I left on when I rolled it back onto the spool to protect the tags.

Isn't that sooo much easier?

DIY Mother's Day Flower Pots

Here's a pretty, handmade gift for the mom in your life this Mother's Day. It cost us under $15 and can be finished in a lazy afternoon.

Supplies:
Clay Pot; big enough to hold your herbs or flowers
Dirt
Permanent Marker
Chalkboard Paint 
Masking Tape
Optional: acrylic paint for a border

We taped off a rectangle with the masking tape and painted it with blackboard paint according to the directions on the bottle. When it was dry, we peeled off the tape and wrote on the opposite side with Sharpies. Once we had planted our basil, we added the white border and left it to dry.

First I Spy Quilt for Sale

I finally got the nerve to list my 'Cotton Candy' I Spy quilt. I'm not sure why I was worried about posting. I think pricing quilts is just challenging! I'm hoping to have the boy quilt finished sometime this month, it's going to be adorable.

Tutorial: DIY Forward Facing Bookselves

I love forward facing bookshelves and have been wanting to buy some for quite a while. I'd been putting off making a purchase and snooping for tutorials for a while when I finally found a great tutorial on JOT.

In true Freya style, I skimmed the tut and winged it. Here's how I DIY'd all four of these shelves for under $25 including paint. It was actually really easy, especially since they did the cuts for free at the hardware store.

Supplies:
2x2x8 lumber (mine were cut into 4' lengths by the guy at Home Depot)
Trim, 2.5-3" tall and cut to the same length as your lumber. I used flat back baseboard trim with a simple profile.
Glossy Paint. Glossy is more durable. I used quick dry spray, but any kind you like works.
Flathead Wood Screws #12 x 3". We used 3 screws per 4' length
1.5" Finishing nails
Drill
Hammer or Nail Gun
Stud Finder
Level
Measuring Tape

1.) Paint your wood and trim the day before.

2.) Pick your spot on the wall. Use the stud finder to locate your studs and shift your position so the spacing is reasonably even. Using your level, make marks, on the studs, where you want the screws to go. We put the center screw on one stud and the outside screws into the next stud on either side.

3.) Pre-drill holes into the lumber and the wall. Staring in the center, screw the lumber to the wall. Check for level BEFORE you screw the end screws in!

4.) Decide on your spacing and continue on up the wall. We used 16" gaps between each of our 4 shelves.

5.) Nail trim to the front of your shelves. Make sure the bottom and corners are flush and nail away. Space the nails differently than the screws so you don't nail into metal! We used 4 nails on each shelf.

6.) Done! I just touched up the nail heads with a little white craft paint and that was it. The project only took and hour and a half or so after the painting was done.

One of my best bang-for-the-buck DIY projects so far. $2 per 2x2x8, $0.59 per foot for the trim, $8 for screws and nails and $5 for paint = $22 total!

DIY Curtains for our New Kura Loft Bed

Daniel's room is very tiny and so we just just got a new Kura reversible/loft bed to try and open up some play space. I immediately knew that I wanted to make the space underneath into a fun little hideout. Curtains seemed like the right idea to soften and cozy up the space, while adding something interesting to look at. I sewed panels of fabric, in random widths, together for a patchwork look and pinned the 2 panels up with upholstery tacks/finishing nails. If you wanted to totally tent off the bottom, you could add a tension rod and an extra curtain across the front as well.

I was a little dark under the bed, so I bought 2 Larga Spotlights from Ikea and clamped them onto the bedposts at either end of the bed. They open just enough to fit on and they were only $4 each. It really brightened up the space, and once I'm finished the rest of his room, it will become a reading nook.

And for one last little custom touch, I added an old laundry bag to the end of the bed with a couple over-the-door hooks. It's full of our way-too-big collection of stuffed animals. One day, I might make a bag that co-ordinates with the curtain, but an already made bag was just too tempting to resist!

Hopefully you'll see more of this small space update soon. I have some great ideas!

Before and After: Updated Vintage Dresser Project

Now that my handsome handyman has installed the new handles, I have a before and after photo to show off. My $10 thrift store find had a face lift, and it looks 20 years younger!

The hardest part of this project was filling in the screw holes for the old handles, since they were not a standard size. I just used drywall mud, let it dry well, sanded the holes, primed the whole thing and painted it with 2 coats of high gloss paint. The paint and primer cost me about $25, the handles another $25 bringing the total to $60!

I was planning on putting this dresser in the hall by my bathroom, since we don't have a linen closet, but I changed my mind. I painted it in a friends garage and when I brought it home and saw it in the living room/entry (oh, the joys of small space living) I knew it was a perfect fit. It gives us extra storage for mittens, work bags, sunscreen and all those things you need when you're heading out.

I added a slightly retro lamp from Ikea, a mail sorter and invisible bookshelves by Umbra and a little tabletop organizer with compartments for our phones and wallets. Thanks to all my friends and FB fans for your color advice!

Easy Custom DIY Decor- Yarn and Twine Wrapped Ball Tutorial

Here's a super easy project that you can customize for your color scheme; yarn wrapped balls.

Materials:
Glue Gun or Glue Dots
Yarn/Twine/String/Rope
Styrofoam balls in desired sizes

Instructions:
1.) Glue one end of your yarn to the Styrofoam ball.
2.) Wrap and wrap until it's all covered and looks pretty.
3.) Cut the yarn and glue the other end down.

Yup, easy as 1-2-3. A cool DIY design project done in 20 minutes.

This would be a great housewarming or hostess gift! Easy, cheap, fast and made to co-ordinate with their decor!

Tutorial Trial: Dyed Mason Jars

I've been loving all the gorgeous vintage Ball jars in green and blue, but I figured that there must be a way to DIY it, and there is! There are lots of methods and tutorials all over the place and I read a ton and tried it myself.

Materials:
Mason Jars
Mod Podge
Food coloring

1) Mix your color. I used about a 1/2 cup of Mod Podge and added 3-5 drops of blue food coloring and 2-3 or green. I had to wing it a bit to get the shade/depth of color I wanted.

2.) Thin your mixture out a little with water. I swirled it around the jars and let the excess drip off. I should have painted it on though, I think. Mine had some drips and I think I'd rather brush strokes than drips.

3) Cure them in the oven for about an hour on the lowest setting it has. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out, although the real deal is way cuter!

A Favorite Christmas Tradition

Making paper chains is one of my favorite Christmas traditions. It's so simple, but I've loved it since I was a preschooler. From a child development point of view, it's a great way for little ones to visualize how long it will take before Christmas happens. It also takes me off the hook for doing the math in my morning-grogginess for the daily countdown interrogation.

We just cut 1 inch strips of paper and assembled them in a pattern with glue dots. We decided to make Christmas 'gold' this year, and the kids were very excited to cut their first link. Hopefully I'll be able to get my decorating done in the next few days!

Ikea Hack: Lack Coffee Table into a Headboard

I feel like a genius! I'm always checking out Ikea Hackers and thinking how clever all the designers are, and now I've done it myself in less than 30 minutes!

We have a guest for the next few months and needed somewhere temporary, but comfortable for her to stay. I wanted to buy a bed frame, but when I realized my old Lack tabletop is the same length as a single bed, I got pretty excited.

I used a Magic Eraser (awful chemicals, but it did resurrect my old dingy table) to shine it up, and spray glued pieces of fabric onto the frame. I pulled the mattress out a couple inches and rested the headboard on the the box spring. Simple is usually the best.