What to do with all these hats?!

Yes, it's been forever since I posted. I'm spring cleaning - what can I say? It takes up a lot of time. Feel loved that you even got this posting out of me :p

So my husband has a lot of hats... and I mean a lot. I've only been able to find SOME so far, but I know there's a stash of them waiting to pop out like a gremlin (Ha! Remember that movie? I loved it..)

Anyhow, I've used his hat collection as decor before (in our room) with twine and clothes pins, but that's long gone now that I want to hang up pictures.... and maybe even *GASP* paint! So I've been trying to think of a clever way to hang these up where it's easily accessible, easy to remove, and (most important) easy for him to put away. I was using shower rings to store my scarves onto a hanger (see the idea I found here), but I noticed that the rings and the scarves would end up sliding down all together to one side of the hanger. Lame. So now, I figure those shower curtain rings are not as useful as I thought.... or are they...?

Get some binder clips that can slide over the shower curtain rings like so (not all binder clips are made equal. I had some binder clips the same size, but the shower rings would not fit through the opening. Of course I'm using cheap fat plastic shower rings... so this could have been easier if I had the skinny metal ones, but remember.... this is why they weren't being used - and I'm trying to re-purpose something so give me some credit):

I stacked 5 to each shower curtain ring just to give myself some leeway, but you're welcome to stack more. Then I clipped the brim of the hat into the binder clip. Here's a pic of 5 on a ring:

The hats without that adjustable strap in the back were the ones that I chose to put in the clips. The other hats that had the strap I just pulled through a shower curtain rod like so (if General M needs one of these he just can snap on or snap off):

Weave that shower curtain rod through a shelf holder, or use the tension to place between two walls. I was really tempted to put this close to the ceiling, but then I realized I'm short (which I've of course known all my life.... if it seemed like I forgot, someone was always there generously reminding me by putting their ginormous arm on my head), and that I need this rod accessible to me - 

just in case I find any stray hats ;)

The end result?

Oh yah, baby! It looks so beautiful! I may even sneak my scarves in between the hats because, you know, I'm worth it :)

HAPPY SPRING CLEANING!!

More easy projects

It's time I post some more quick crafts that satisfy your craft craving without having to dedicate a whole afternoon to a project that you'll just be disappointed in. This stuff was too easy to make...

The first thing I put together was a jean cuff bracelet. I had just finished hemming a few pairs of jeans, and I used the scraps to cover this old cuff that was tarnished beyond repair (at least it was in my eyes). All I did was wrap the jean fabric around the cuff and hot glued it to the bracelet. Easy peasy, no?

The best part? It goes with EVERYTHING!! You would have noticed it in my portland trip posting..... IF you were paying attention.... 

The next thing I made was a necklace, bracelet, and headband out of an old skinny tie I found at (where else?) Goodwill. All I did was sew a button hole at the bottom of each end, measured where I wanted it to be on my neck (and wrist), serged the end (you can cut it, then use fray check if you don't have a serger), and sewed a button on. For the headband, I was lazy and just sewed the ends together. My head is small enough for the middle to just be sewn. If you need some elasticity, you can sew a rubber band down between the ends. I was too lazy to show the headband though. Sorry!

This was made from the big end:

This was made from the smaller end:

GAH! I just realized how skinny my wrists are - haha!

Adjust your tie accordingly :)

Clutter, clutter.... Go away!

I love my beautiful black coat rack with a storage bench that stands by my front door. I found this beauty on Craigslist (my second favorite place to shop), and I found it for a ridiculously low price. However, lately I've been neglecting it... Things are piling up on it, and I'm thinking, that's gotta stop.

So I went from this:

Do we really need all that stuff up there looking so messy?

To this:

Besides clearing off the clutter, I made one of my favorite things.... Paper covered boxes. If you get a gift from me, you better know that you'll be getting a paper covered box. I'll either use cereal boxes (the big ones from Costco), boxes from my Mary Kay orders (yes, I just did a selfless plug there... but what can I say? I LOVE being a consultant!!), or any ol' box that crosses my path. For the paper/wrapping, I'll use anything from comic strips, to scrap-booking paper, to music sheets, to magazines.... Heck! Even the papers that my sons bring home from school works too! These boxes are a gift by themselves!

For the boxes above, I cut the top off of the box to fit the height I needed. If your box has flaps on it, cut those off so that it's a topless box (ooooh la-la). I really meant to make it an open box. You get it? Anyhow, I ususally use spray adhesive on the paper, and then press it onto the box. If you're making this a gift box, still cut off the top & wrap it, but then poke 2 holes on opposite sides, string some twine through and wha-la! You've got handles! Throw some tissue paper (or comic strip paper) in as your stuffing, and you're ready to rock :)

*GASP* - this was a short post. Imagine that!

Ruffle Skirt Tutorial

Om-goodness! Portland was a BLAST!! Loved every minute of it :) I'll do another posting about our trip, but I've been dying to post this since, oh.... last week?! My inspiration came from Alisa Burke's Petticoat Tutorial, but I changed mine a bit & made it shorter.

I'm waaaay too stoked that I made this ALL BY MYSELF! My first piece of clothing from scratch! Unbelieveable, I know :)

I started with a sheet I found at a garage sale. It kinda had an antique tinge to it already (which I loved from the start). Don't remember how much it cost (maybe $1?), but it's been sitting in my stash of fabrics that may see the light of day twice a year, and if they're lucky - they'll be made into something spectacular... I'm sure the other fabrics are beyond envious of this sheet. Lucky bloke!

I started with a sheet that had been washed, dried, and ironed out:

I laid my favorite jean skirt down as a pattern. I folded the sheet as well, so that I was cutting through two pieces of fabric (one for the front, and one for the back):

Then I cut around it. NOTE: Please leave yourself at least 1/4-1/2 inch seam allowance for sewing up the sides, and at least 1 inch for the casing at the top. I lazily eyeballed this just because it was early, this was my first time attempting this, I was sick, and I was eager to make it. I did have to modify it in the end. Don't be me :)

Here's my crooked base for the front and back of my skirt (no big deal since it was going to be covered in ruffles):

Since this was a fitted sheet I was working with, I cut the corners off so it would lay flat:

Next, cut strips of fabric for the ruffle. You can make these as wide or as narrow as you want them. I believe I made them 3 inches wide. Also, I folded my sheet in half and then cut it so that the strip of fabric was nice and even. Make the length of the fabric strips at least 2x longer than the width of your skirt.

Set your straight stitch to the longest stitch length:

Sew a straight line at the top of the ruffle. Do this with the remaining pieces of fabric as well:

Tie a knot at one end of the fabric:

At the other end, hold the top thread and push the fabric until it begins to ruffle being careful not to break the thread:

Gradually move the fabric and ruffles down to the end with the knot until the entire piece of fabric is ruffled to your liking. Do this with all the other pieces of fabric as well. I'm pre cutting and sewing some other sheets, so when I have friends over, we can just have a ruffle scrunching party - HA!

Pin your ruffle down beginning at the bottom of the skirt. Leave enough space for you to sew up the seams sides (about 1/4 inch away from the edge on the sides). Since I was in a rush & this was my first experience, I neglected to remember this... It still was okay, but it was just harder to sew up the sides.

Sew your ruffle onto the base of your skirt:

Pin, sew, repeat until you're finished with the front and back. 

Needs more... ruffle....

Just one more.... but Remember to leave enough space for your casing at the top

Then take your front and back panels, ruffle sides together, pin, & sew up your side seam (don't mind the pins at the top. I had taken this picture right before I sewed up the casing, then realized I forgot to take a picture of me sewing up the side seams - Oops!) Don't fold over the top when you sew up your side seams. Sew straight up, then pull the top down & make your casing. ALSO BE SURE YOU DON'T SEW YOUR RUFFLES IN THE SEAM! Take careful care and push them away from the seam before you pin & sew.

Then fold down the top & pin a casing for your elastic.

Sew:

Cut a small slit on the inside (not outside of your skirt) of your casing, and thread your elastic through using a safety pin:

I also used some old lace (from who knows what) & sewed it along the top, covering the top of the ruffle for a cleaner look

Pair with some cute boots (or flip flops in the summertime), and you're ready to go into the world looking cute!

Thank my iPhone for the grainy picture. Hey! I never said I was a professional photographer ;)

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I'm not freakin out.... I'm freakin in!

Can I just say I LOVE the movie Kung Fu Panda? Call me dorky, immature, or even down right weird. I don't care. I love Jack Black's style of comedy. What can I say? By the way... my title is from Kung Fu Panda 2 - thank you very much.

Anyhow, last Wednesday Don Juan was complaining of an ear ache, so we made a doctor's appointment for him (and myself since I had been sick for 2 weeks and counting. I was actually getting worse rather than better...). We saw the doctor on Friday and she said that Don Juan definitely had an ear infection, but since he wasn't running a fever, still eating, and still urinating, that she didn't want to give an antibiotic yet. Uh, could I have used more commas than that in the previous sentence? Whatever. Anyhow, she proceeded to tell me that she suspected that I may have whooping cough! Also, if I had it, my sons probably have it too (since we've all been dealing with the cough/cold issue for 2 weeks & counting). Fun. So she swabbed the back of my son's & my nose (which felt like she was swabbing my brain) to be sent off for testing. Mind you this was Friday.... Which means nothing will begin processing until Monday.. and I won't get the results until - oh - Thursday? To top all of this off... we have been stuck in the house already (from being sick), and now we are quarantined until we get these results?! My boys are going crazy being inside of the house! I've been distracting them with chores (laundry, dishes, and cleaning) and playing, but they can only take so much of being inside for so long... they're 4 & 5 years old for goodness sakes!

On another note, My husband and I have a wedding to go to in Portland, OR this weekend. Notice I said... my husband and I.... YES! NO KIDS!! Don't get me wrong... I love my chilllllren, but sometimes as a mother, you just need your time away from them. God knew what he was doing because I'll be beyond ready to leave by the time Friday morning hits - HA! In case you haven't guessed it, I won't be blogging any of those days that I'll be gone... so sorry! But I'll have a nice juicy tutorial when I get back, so stay tuned! I have been working on it all week. Yes I know it's only Tuesday... okay, so all weekend? Who cares. I've just been working on the dang thing okay!

Seeings that I have a wedding to go to, I was scouring pinterest for a simple homemade wedding gift for these people (whom my husband knows, I don't). I found a few cute ideas, and I've come up with this (as long as my hubby gets the goods on where these people met & where they live... we already know they're getting married in Portland - duh!):

I found the tutorial HERE

Now don't get all mad at me because I didn't find your tutorial on pinterest. I'm just going by what I found. It's easy enough to do, and fairly personal. I'm also going to add this from my previous post:

Except it won't have the button bobby pins, and of course, it will say something different lol! This time I'll paint the whole board. Nice and neat. I'm tossing up between the cliche saying: 

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 

or 

Colossians 3:13-14

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Unless I find something else to put on there. I haven't asked the hubby yet. Maybe he has something else in mind. Either way, I think wedding gift wise - we're good. I'll do my best to post the pic of the frame I make if that's the route we go. Hopefully traveling with this thing will prove to be easy. We are taking the train (which I've never ridden on before....). It sounds promising. We don't have to drive, and we can relax together the whole way. I'm so excited! I can't wait until this weekend!

Easy Laundry Basket

This was too easy for me not to post. During the garage sale season (my absolute FAVORITE time of the year might I add) I snagged a few burlap sacks, wood pant hangers, and a slew of other things. So when I was faced with the dilemma of clothes being thrown on the bathroom floor with no space for a laundry basket, I came up with this quick and easy fix!

All I did was lay newspaper on the inside of the bag (so that the letters didn't bleed through to the back), lay the letter stencil on the bag, and then I used a sharpie marker to fill in the letters. I just made this, so I haven't had a chance to wash it (after stenciling the letters on), so I'm not sure if the letters will bleed or not. I will do my best to update you if they do. 

After you stencil your letters on, clip the back of the bag with the pant hanger, slam a nail into the wall, hang your hanger on it, and call it good! Now you have a laundry bag that you don't trip over, AND it's easy enough for a guy to use!! I think I'm going to add this to my boys bathroom behind the door (it's a smaller bathroom) for them to drop their skivvies into before they take a bath. 

By the way, if something like this has been done before - please accept my apologies for not giving you credit. If you leave your link in the comments section I'll be happy to link you to this post. Thanks!

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Uh... Where Do I Start?!

Happy Valentine's Day

(or Happy Singles Awareness Day)

Whatever floats your boat... I wish I could post what I did for my boys valentine's, but I need to figure out how to blur our their faces. I'm just not ready to exploit them on the internet yet lol!

Okay... So here's a sneak peek at a few things I WANT to post a tutorial on (or just brag about). Some of these I'm sure you can figure out yourself - however, if you can not & would like to see a tutorial on it THEN ASK! Yep, I'm going to make you comment on this blog darn it! :)

Jewelry Holder

made from an empty picture frame, canvas bag, and hemp string

Bracelet Holder

from old soda bottles

Diaper and Diaper Wipe Clutch

The diaper wipes are accessible from both sides 

when the clutch is closed... HOW COOL IS THAT?!)

Going from a dirrrrrrrrrty microwave

(Mmm Hmm! Don't act like you've never had a dirty microwave!)

To a ridiculously clean microwave in 10 minutes WITHOUT SCRUBBING!!!

Find out how to do this: here

GORGEOUS FLOWERS!

Results from rag rolls overnight pulled back into a classy updo:

Sun-dried tomatoes - YUM!

Making a Caesar costume (Christmas Play) out of a pillow case and felt

Putting those annoying credit card offers to use

and make a wallet key holder

I also made some wallets out of a Rice Krispies box, but never to a final picture (go figure!), as well as 5 Minute Artesian Bread.... ooooh I can smell it now... 

Where are the stories you ask? When I get over my ever-so-fun sickness, I'll be more inclined to follow up with that too. I have way too much I want to say on here, but my skinny fingers can't keep up with my mind :) I need one of those programs where I can just talk & it will type out stuff for me (which would also eliminate spelling errors lol!). I'm just afraid if I had one of those programs I would get carried away talking, get off track, and forget where I began. Or I would end up rambling on about how my mom & I found the coolest place to treasure dig while she was visiting, how we found a Wii balance board & game on Craigslist for $25, how we spent 8 hours in JCPenny's on black friday and I managed to walk out with only 2 pillows that cost a total of $0.25 each (THAT was hard!!).... or how my husband (General M) ended up getting the tip of his middle finger cut off while running around the house with my boys when I was getting ready to leave the house! Or when we lost power because of an insane snow storm that got so cold the following night that ice froze on the tree branches which was causing them to fall (creating a lot of damage & a huge mess - thankfully not around our house)! Yah... I could get carried away talking about all that... just not today :) I'm out for now!