Craft On! {Marital Mugs; Shower/Wedding gift}

It's that time of year again... Wedding Season! 

Our family friends are getting married today, & since they are such a fun couple I wanted to give them a fun little something for their special day. I saw this "pin" a while back & stored it in my memory bank (& since I'm running out of room in there I had to get rid of something...I don't need to remember long division anymore, right?)

And being that things have been pretty busy round these parts lately (as I'm sure you noticed with the lack of posts that have been going up...more on that in another post), I had to save it until the very last minute...late at night the eve of the wedding. It always make me mad when I do this because then I am rushing & my eyes don't focus as well because it's late & it's never as good as I know it could have been. Oh well. It's done. It took a few minutes to get the creative juices flowing, but I eventually found my groove. 

I decided to take the original idea- HIS & HERS mugs, & make them more of a symbol of their new adventure together... Mr & Mrs Mugs. I bought 2 white coffee mugs from Target (you could even check a thrift store or dollar store for some nice mugs!) & an Enamel paint from Michael's Craft Store in Licorice. The total was less than $10.

First I wiped the areas to be painted 

down with some Alcohol Prep Pads 

(hope no one gets injured anytime soon...

they came from the medicine cabinet...)

Then I hand painted each one, this took a few tries.

When I did a shitty job wasn't satisfied I wiped it off again

with an alcohol pad. I tried with water but it made it worse.

I let them dry over night, then followed the paint directions 

& set them in a cold oven, turned it to 350, let them bake for

30 mins, then let them cool in the oven. And...

TA-DA!! Mr. & Mrs. Mugs :)

On the back of His (Morning Beautiful) I wrote "Do you?"

& on Hers (Hello Handsome) it says "I do!"

Then to really personalize it I wrote the 

wedding date on the base of the handle,

no excuses for ever forgetting it now! lol

True story, I have actually had to ask the Hubs "wait...when is our anniversary? Its the 4th, right?" The look in his eyes told me loud & clear that I was wrong, HAHA! I am not very good with dates, I suppose it may be another area that I toss out to make room for more craft idea storage...

I just noticed when I glanced at these pics again that I ASSUMED they were right handed...& now that I have permanently baked that assumption in the oven for 30 mins they will both end up being LEFT handed! Then these cups go from Marital mugs to Ego Boosting cups...

In case its early & you haven't had your coffee yet I'll paint you a picture...

The words will be facing THEM, not their spouse, so every time they pick up their mug for a sip of joe' they will see "Morning Beautiful" or "Hello Handsome"! LOL! Oh well, good thing I put the proposal on the back...which may now be the front....

Well, I better get my butt in gear, I have a wedding to get ready for!

Until next time, Craft On friends, Craft On!

Craft On! {DIY Color Clip Cards}

After seeing Sew Fantastics Paint Chip Matching Game on yesterdays Link Up, I just knew that I needed to get my hands on some Paint Chips!

So while out running errands 'J' & I made a pitstop at The 'Deeps (aka-Home Depot) to help ourselves to some 'complimentary' paint chips. Then had a sudden thought that there are SO many crafts out there revolved around paint chips right now that they are probably getting pissy about everyone clearing out their stash with no intentions of ever buying paint for any of the 50+ chips they just pocketed & started feeling like I was being watched & getting a "tisk tisk tisk"...

...so i bought a touch-up roller for $1.99. The bonus part is that I realized later that I actually needed that little roller. See, everyone wins.

Watch what happens when you take these:

...& cut off the ends...

...trim them to fit...

...& glue them on the ends!

Ta-Da!

 

This was so simple & quick that I actually did it while 'J' & I ate our lunch today! I think the next time I'm by The 'Deeps I'll pick up another set (or 2 or 3) of cards. If I put 2 back-to-back & wrap in clear packing tape to "laminate" it, they will be a lot sturdier & last longer.

'J' had a lot of fun playing with them after his "nap" (< I'm putting that in quotes because his sleeping has been sub-par as of late. Naps are averaging about an hour & only about 10hrs at night...ugh...). They are not only helping with fine motor skills, but with learning his colors & matching too. This is definitely getting added to my "DIY Toddler Gifties" folder! Once he masters these colors, I'll add more to the set (pink, light blue, light green, grey, etc) & may even draw a small square on each card for him to try & clip on to help with hand/eye coordination. 

All in all, this cost me $0 & took 5 mins of my time...thats a WIN folks!

A years worth of dates~

Today marks 3 yrs since the day we made it legal. 

1,095 days of wedded bliss.

It's weird how it doesn't feel like its been THAT long, yet at the same time it feels like longer. Not so much 'new' anymore, but still fresh. 

Since the kiddos arrived, we no longer exchange gifts & we don't really 'celebrate' much. We have parties for the kids, but nothing really for ourselves. It's not like "We're burnt out & can't even do anything for ourselves!" it's more of "We're grown-ups & had plenty of years celebrating ourselves, now we just want to shower our kids with celebration!"

For our 1st Anniversary I was 8+ months pregnant with 'J' & not exactly "comfortable", so we went out for Fondue. Just something fun that we hadn't done before.

Our 2nd Anniversary we took the train to Chicago for our 1st weekend away from 'J'. We rented Bicycles & biked the pier & around the city. Ate Sushi, read books laying in the park & relaxed. It was perfect (other than losing our brand new camera on the first night...I'm not going to say WHO lost it, but I will say that it wasn't me...).

And that brings us to now. We almost took the easy way out & used up a Groupon for dinner & movie passes for a show, but I decided to put my foot down. Even though we don't do much...we should at least do something somewhat special. It is our Wedding Anniversary after all! I looked around & found a movie theater that offers a special 'Dinner & a Movie' package. They set up a gourmet buffet & dessert table an hour & a half before the show, & you also get refreshments, popcorn & pop during the show. A show that you watch in a Premiere Theater with Temper-pedic Leather seats & wooden side tables! 

Perfect!

So we went ahead got tickets to see The Avengers this saturday night. I can't wait!

But what to do for a gift?

Not only do we have a budget of $0 for that area, but we kinda have a 'no gifts' policy in place. BUT- I'm not one to always follow the rules...
Then I remembered something I saw on Pinterest a while back, date envelopes...

I got out a stack of blank note cards I had laying around & got to work

At the beginning of each month you open the card 

& see what date you have planned. 

(or in our case you open it the month prior

so you can budget/plan a month ahead)

I did a mix of free/discount dates, older "memory" dates & new dates. Any coupons/gift certificates/vouchers we already had were also put in the card so we don't forget to use them. I put the most expensive ones in our birthday months so it will count as our birthday night out as well, win/win!

Heres what we have in store for the next year:

HUSBAND, IF YOU ARE READING THIS, NOW IS THE TIME YOU SHOULD LOOK AWAY!! DON'T RUIN A YEARS WORTH OF SURPRISES!! BUT ALSO DON'T BE A LAME-O BY NOT LETTING ME TELL THESE FINE FOLKS WHAT I CAME UP WITH!! WHY AM I STILL YELLING?!?! BACK TO WHAT I was saying in a normal tone...

JUNE- Dinner out (using Groupon that is going to expire)

JULY- Putt Putt Adventure

AUGUST- Movie Night *Gentleman's Choice, using vouchers

SEPTEMBER- Drinks at the new Speak Easy style bar (for Hubbys bday)

OCTOBER- Painting with a Twist (my bday)

NOVEMBER- Kids Sleepover at Grandparents *includes breakfast in bed ;)

DECEMBER- Night of Bowling Fun

JANUARY- Improv show at local comedy club

FEBRUARY- Candlelit dinner at home *Gentleman's Choice

MARCH- Movie Night in *includes popcorn & bottle of wine

APRIL- Pottery Painting at local studio

MAY-4th Anniversary, Dinner & a Movie at premiere theater

I think this would be super fun for a childs gift as well! You could put things like 'picnic in the park', 'zoo date', 'ice skating', etc. And each month they get to open the date envelope & have a special day ready & waiting for them :) I think we will definitely do something like this for 'J' when he gets a little older.

And there you have it, a DIY gift that keeps on giving...literally..for a year ;)

Craft On! Toddler gift- Part 3; {DIY Baby Legs}

Since the weather in these here parts is pretty Hot/Cold lately(literally, one day will be in the 70s, the next in the 40s) I wanted to give a fun gift that could work for both! *Lightbulb moment* BABY LEGS! In case you aren't familiar Baby Legs are a big thing in the kiddy world lately. From infant to toddler, they have several uses. Easy diaper changes without having to remove pants, protecting little knees as they learn to crawl & of course as a fun accessory to skirts or shorts :) 

But instead of buying a $15-$20 pair of trendy 'Baby Legs' I opted for some good old fashion DIY ones instead :) I found a great selection of knee high socks at Target, 2 for $5!! I have seen several different tutorials out there that give several different looks. I choose to do one with more of a bottom 'cuff'. (*this is not my design/pattern, but I looked at SO many before doing this project that I'm not certain who to give credit to...)

First I cut above & below the heal & also above the toes

Toss the heals & toes in the trash, turn the smaller pieces wrong sides together
& slip them over the socks. I sewed the edges together using a zigzag stitch
then trimmed any excess material off. Be sure to try & keep the 3 layers
together while sewing, they curl up like a mo' fo'

Ta-Da! Super FUNctional DIY 'Baby Legs'!
(well, Toddler Legs ;)

Of course I couldn't stop there, so I whipped up
a sweet little double strand headband :)

Put it all together & what do you get?
A Super Cute Spring Outfit!

Ready & waiting for the Birthday Girl

Don't think this is just for girls, though. You can find Knee High socks all over the place, even at some Dollar Stores. Just get some solid color/boyish patterns & you can make them for a little fella too! And if you want to make some for an infant or new crawler, just shorten the length of the leg before adding the cuff.

There you have it, a versatile, comfy spring outfit complete with 2 pair of custom leggings for $15!

In case you missed it, heres Part 1- Color Coins & Part 2- Travel Coloring Case :)

Craft On! DIY Toddler gift- Part 2; {Travel Color Case}

Once again, Big Ups to Pinterest for getting my creative juices flowin'. I came across this Tutorial on Handmade by Stacy Vaughn for a dvd Coloring Case! I immediately knew I would be making lots of these in my future. But I wanted to gear them more toward young toddlers, something to keep in the diaper bag/car for some Fun on the go. And as luck would have it we have a SURPLUS of old dvds in the Black Hole Basement. I picked up some fabric squares for less then $1.50 each at Walmart, a pack of Scrapbook paper & I was ready to go.

1st I took out the cover sleeve,
measured it on my decorative paper
& cut it out

Next I cut out the dvd place holder on a self-healing mat.
Be sure to slip the mat in between the plastic sleeve and hard case,
you want to keep the sleeve whole to slip the paper into.
(This proved to be harder than you imagine. Some cases
cut easier than others. Some just suck in general)

Then I took a piece of thin card board,
cut out a slightly larger piece of fabric
& glued it on with craft glue.
I cut 2 smaller strips of fabric, ran a bead of glue along the edge
& folded it over slightly to give the top a finished edge
 then glued them on to create 2 pockets.
The last part of this step is hot gluing the fabric board
into the case to cover the hole.
*Don't forget to measure your cardboard!! LOL!

I used a piece of SUPER fancy tape to affix a piece of
thin scrap cardboard to the backside
of the cover paper to help add some support where
I cut the giant hole.

I added some pieces of Construction Paper
that I cut to fit, a box of crayons & some stickers

 Slipped in the cover paper to make it all purdy

And there you have it- A cute Travel Coloring Case! I have done this also with larger Crayola Twist-Up Crayons, but it was with a single pocket & it was a snug fit. I really like the way it came out the the double pockets, high five to me!

This has moved to the top of my Go To Toddler Gift List. The only thing I needed to buy was a small piece of fabric & piece of decorative paper, everything else I already had. Next time I think I will cut out the 1st letter of the kiddo's name in the fabric and glue it to the cover paper, add a little personal touch :)

I can't wait to give this to the Birthday Girl this weekend :)
Check back tomorrow for Part 3 of her gift- DIY Baby Legs!
And if you missed Part 1 (Color Coins) Click here!

Craft On! DIY Toddler Gift- Part 1 {Color Coins}

I have had (& still have) a lot of Toddler Birthdays lately. I have been coming up with Fun DIY gifts to give instead of an obnoxious toy or the same old same old.

This weekend we get to celebrate with our close friends, Jill & Nate & their ONE Year Old little girl 'C'! So excited!! Jill, if you are reading this, LOOK AWAY, HURRY, THERE'S STILL TIME WOMAN, LOOK AWAY!!!

Here is one of the projects I have made this week for Little 'C' :) Color Coins! In the beginning they will help her to learn colors, then she can match up the colors side by side, & eventually play the Memory Match-Up Game.

It's a super easy craft to whip together while the kids are sleeping. I got the discs from Michaels Craft Store for less than $3 & I already had the paint & clear coat spray paint in my craft supplies. 

 1.5" Wooden Discs

Rainbow paint selection:
I used White, Yellow, Orange, Red, Blue, Green, Purple, Brown & Black

Paint one side of two discs with same color
I painted a rim with a slightly darker shade

Afterward use a clear finish Spray Paint to seal
I did two coats, front & back.

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy Ya'll :) (<- don't know WHERE that came from! I am NOT from the South, I'm actually in the OPPOSITE region...)

A fun, educational, grow-with-them toy that you can easily make yourself! And the bonus is, you can do many variations of this. You can paint shapes, you could glue a picture of an animal on one disk & write the name on the other, you could paint a number on one & corresponding number of dots on the other- the possibilities are huge! I plan on sewing a  little pouch to keep them in as well, then it can be tossed in the Diaper Bag for on the go fun~

This is just Part 1 of her gift, Part 2 & 3 are still to come, stay posted!