bird houses

While I was at Joanns today I found these darling little wood bird houses. While I was walking up and down the isles I was trying to think of something fun to do to them for my little girls new room. I came across some darling decorative papers, mod podge and away I went.  

Super Easy, Super Inexpensive & Super Fun! 

To make these bird houses you will NEED:

Mod Podge

scissors 

Pencil

Decorative paper

Wood Bird houses {found at Joanns for $1)

#1Trace the paper onto the bird house.

#2 Mod podge each side of the bird house and paste your paper.

#3 Wait 20 minutes

#4 Mod podge the the entire bird house once the papers have been glued down to give it a finished look.

Here is what I am trying to accomplish for my daughters new room. I would LOVE to cover one of her walls:

Mod Podge Blocks

Hi there! I am excited to be a part of this blog! I LOVE DIY projects and find myself doing them more and more each day. Here is a super easy and cheap and cute project anyone can do.

I made these for my friend Rebecca to go in her baby boy's nursery. I also made some that say "family" for my mom for Christmas. They are a great gift and add cute decor to any room!

Here's the low down:

Materials:
Wooden blocks - head to Home Depot and buy a "Cull" of wood. Don't leave before having them cut it for you! A cull is about 50 cents. Yes super cheap! I had the nice worker guy cut my cull into blocks that are 3", 4" and 5" to have a variety. I was able to get about 15 blocks from one cull.
Sand Paper - This isn't a must but it I sanded my blocks around the edges so they wouldn't be so sharp.
Cute scrap book paper
Mod podge
paint or spray paint - I used spray paint because it is super fast and cheap (1$)

How to make them:

After sanding your blocks, paint them or spray paint them. After letting them dry cut your scrap book paper to fit and use mod podge underneath and over the paper to seal it to the block. Next you can use a handy dandy Cricket to cut your letters OR you can make them on the computer, print and cut them out and then use it as a stencil OR you can simply draw and cut out your letters. Whichever way works best for you! Then you place the letter on the scrap book paper that has mod podge on top (before it dries) and use mod podge again on top of the letter. Let it dry for about 24 hours before transporting. You can also add felt to the bottom to protect the surface you'll be displaying them on.

And that's it! It's a fast and easy and definitely cheap project. I'm already making more!

Seasonal pillowcases

I can't take credit for these, my mom made them for the kids for Christmas. But I thought it was such a cute idea! A different pillowcase for each major holiday, then a sports one for everything in between. She even sewed the name of the child on each pillowcase, and they all have their own set. These could make fun gifts for birthdays or Christmas.

Organization... tip #3

This isn't crafty or anything, but I thought I'd throw it in here anyway. It has been a LIFE SAVER having these hooks in the kids' room. And total there are 30 hooks to hang stuff on! What more could you ever want. I bought them from Home Depot for about $15 each, worth every penny. With very little closet space, this was my solution for pretty much anything that can hang on a hook... backpacks, hats, coats, snow pants, sweatshirts... anything the kids might need on the go. Everything is easily accessible, and I make sure to put the older kids stuff on the bottom so they can get it themselves. When it comes to organization, a couple things I try to do is (1) make sure everything has a place, and (2) have things I use a lot in a place that is easy to get to. That way I have no excuse to leave things sitting all over the table, floor, wherever.

Organization... tip #2

I have finally come up with an idea that will (hopefully) free my desk and kitchen counter from all random papers, mail, bills, receipts, coupons... the endless clutter that accumulates that I don't really know what to do with. I call it a wall file. It takes everything that might be covering your desk/counter space and puts it on the wall, hidden inside folders, but still easily accessible and easy to find.


Here's how I made it:
-I started with a magazine/newspaper rack that I found a couple years ago at Ikea for $2-$3.
-Cut out 5 pieces (or however many racks there are) of foam core. I cut them to be 11 5/8" x 8 1/4". As wide as a manilla folder and short enough so you can see the top of the folders.
-Use spray adhesive to stick scrapbook paper onto the foam core. Choose colors that will go with your room.
-Place on rack, then put manilla folders behind each. Label for whatever loose papers you want to hide... bills, receipts, coupons, letters, etc.
-Enjoy feeling organized and still having the room look cute!

Organization... tip #1

As much as I like decorating and crafts, it doesn't compare to my LOVE for organization. My house certainly doesn't stay organized and clean on a day-to-day basis (how could it with 3 little tornados constantly running through the house?!), but I'm always searching for ways to simplify and organize my home. So I decided to start a series of organization tips... things that have worked for me and helped make my life easier.

I have a changing table and drawer full of diapers and wipes in my kids' room, but I have found that it's super handy to have a stash in our front room. I'm constantly needing to grab a diaper as I head out the door or changing the baby in the family room while the other kids are asleep in the bedroom. So I keep everything I might need on our bookshelf. Throw it in a basket and it even looks somewhat nice! If you don't have kids, this is a useful idea for anything you use often or need as you're heading out... umbrella, purse, lipstick, gloves, book... whatever. If you put random things that might always be lying on the counter into a basket, it all of the sudden doesn't look like clutter!

Hair clips

Just because I don't have any girls doesn't mean I can't make cute little clips :) I made these with my friends Tiffany and Liz today, and we got the idea here. All you need is felt, a scrap of material, needle, thread, buttons, clips, and a glue gun (to glue the clip onto the back) . No sewing machine required. With different colors of felt and material, the possibilities are endless! And they make great (and very inexpensive) gifts.


John was nice to model the clip for me. haha