Spring art for kids: Paint card flower

I was quickly walking practically running through Home Depot today in search of a drop cloth to make another DIY drop cloth bed skirt.  With both kids in tow, I finally realized it wasn't that the drop cloths had been moved, it was that I had gotten the original one at Lowe's.  But...my trip wasn't in vain because an hour or so later this was proudly hanging on the pantry door!


Is Behr paint screaming for crafty moms to sneak these things into their purse like a grandma with the leftover rolls at Olive Garden? I mean, why do they need to make them in this shape except for my 4 year old to make a perfect flower?

Add a green stem and some grass and you've got an adorable spring craft for kids! 

My daughter made this all by herself while I was getting dinner ready.  That's what I call a win-win-win.

New DIY Site Launched

Hi All,  
Just wanted to let you all know that due to the fact that I'd like to try to keep this blog about mommy-hood, parenting, and worry about things such as poop, lack of veggies, and napless days - I've decided to branch out with another site/blog.

My sister and I have created a new website called Two It Yourself where we will be showcasing DIY ideas and projects.

We'll have everything from DIY home decor to Halloween Costume Making ideas some favorite Pottery Barn hacks and and even DIY Party Planning ideas.   If you're interested in some easy and budget-friendly projects we hope you'll join us as we have DIY 2IY!

Check out the brand spankin' new Two It Yourself blog!

As always, thanks for reading!
-Melissa

How to make throw pillows: The 5 minute DIY version using standard shams

Now that the walls are painted a perfect shade of Revere Pewter and the upholstered headboard with nail head trim is done, I'm moving on in my master bedroom makeover with the details that really make a room.  My first project is a set of DIY throw pillows.

I ordered the $200 Poetical by Barbara Barry king size comforter.  (That was the sale price...yikes!) Usually, I wouldn't spend that much, but I really loved the look and I'm pretty picky about comforters so I splurged a bit there. (Click here for how I really made up for the cost with sheets and the coverlet.)

The comforter set came with two king size pillow shams.  Not only were they enormous and way oversized for our pillows, but I'm not a huge fan of pillow shams...so I decided to introduce them to my scissors and sewing machine to make four throw pillows.

These were seriously the easiest and cheapest pillows I've ever made.  Think about it, most of the work is done for you and you're left with only one side to sew.   The pillow shams were so large, they were each good to make two large throw pillows.  Here's a quick tutorial for how to make throw pillows out of standard shams - making them this way you can actually either stuff them yourself with fiber stuffing or use 20x20 or 18x18 pillow insert.   (This only works for shams that have a center envelope style closure as seen in the picture below.)

DIY Kitchen Art (and how to spray paint straight line letters on canvas)

I have a huge wall in my kitchen that has remained empty for the two years we've lived here.  We've considered buying a piece of art to put on it, but I'm just afraid a year from now I'm not going to like it so I really didn't want to spend a whole lot of money on it.

The other day I was in Target and I came across these huge silver utensils -- they're nearly 3' high (click here to see more oversized fork and spoon decor).   I thought they'd be perfect so I picked up a fork and spoon for about $40 total.  The way they are made, you can only hang them vertically, which I was kind of bummed about since I  thought they'd look better on my wall horizontally. 

When I put them on the wall, despite their size, they still
seemed lost.  I told you my wall is huge!  I kept them hanging there for a few days and was just about ready to return them when my husband urged me to keep them -- suggesting we could buy these $50 Pottery Barn letters EAT.  Obviously he's not a real DIYer.


That got me thinking that I could make something similar and it would be the perfect kitchen art and hopefully wouldn't look too hokey.   I experimented a little bit with getting the letters on the canvas until I finally figured out the perfect technique for getting straight lines.

The result when I taped cardboard letters to the canvas

Having first cut out cardboard letters and taping them to the canvas and spray painting, I realized the spray paint was getting under the cardboard letters except where the tape was.  That gave me the idea to simply use packing tape to form the letters.  Of course it worked because EAT only have straight lines, unlike an "S" or "D."  Not only would it keep the spray paint out and keep the area of the letter perfectly white, it would also guarantee a perfectly straight line.

Packing tape applied directly to canvas to form letters

'Before' touch up

I created three canvases E - A - T and then spray painted them red.  After I took the tape off I
realized some areas around the edges had let a small amount of paint spill into the white area.  I used
Q-Tips dipped in nail polish remover to clean up the edges.  On areas that still weren't perfectly white after removing the red paint, I used some white out. 

'After' touch up

When I put the three canvases on the wall I thought the spray painted area looked a little blotchy.  I actually put a second round of packing tape over the original letter area.  This time I made sure all the edges of the tape were really firm on the canvas to avoid any leaks.  I then re-spray painted and when I was happy with the dried product, removed the tape.   I liked that look better. 

My final step was to outline each letter with a black sharpie.  I did this to cover up any imperfections along the edge and I think it worked. 

After adding Black Sharpie to hide imperfections

They're not perfect by any means, but that's what makes my kitchen art DIY!  Plus, when my kids won't eat their dinner, I just tell them to turn around and read the sign - the kitchen made the rule, not me!

I got the wrong Valspar paint color...but there's good news

Note to self: NEVER take your 23 month old son to pick out paint colors.  I think I seriously just grabbed a paint swatch that was remotely in the rainbow of colors I'm considering and went with it.  I got two gallons of the stuff worth $75.

I got home and tested it on a small area and almost threw up in my mouth.  Um...I was looking for something in the gray family for my gray master bedroom makeover - this looks almost white with a hint of blue in it.

My first thought was to try to mix the paint with something that I already had in the basement to get the color more gray, but I didn't have anything that would even remotely work.  Then I went on Lowes' website to see about their paint return policy.  Turns out Valspar, not Lowes gives rushed, indecisive, or picky people, like me, who don't like the paint color a second chance - without having to shell out more money for another two gallons.  

Easy Easter crafts for toddlers and kids

After weeks of planning our 1st Annual Easter Egg Hunt and Potluck (I know I need to have a second to make it the first annual) went off without a hitch.  The kids had so much fun, the parents enjoyed a little adult conversation, we got to catch up with some old friend, and the weather couldn't have been better after snow just five days before. 

Not knowing if the weather would be nice enough to keep the kids outside for very long I had a few easy and toddler-friendly Easter crafts planned.  Everyone loved them and they were perfect for all the kids who ranged in age from 1-5 years old.

DIY Disney themed photo books

Minnie Mouse for a DIY Disney themed photo book

Disney themed photo books are not the easiest thing to make because, from what I've found, there's only one online scrapbooking service that offers Disney packages.  I looked around for awhile after our recent trip and found that Snapfish offers Disney themes for an added prices -- albeit not too much.  The only problem, and what stopped me from using that service, is you can only pick one theme for the entire book and you can't mix and match with other Disney-related photo themes.  If you want your entire Disney photo book with a Mickey theme or want your entire family vacation on a Princesses backdrop you're in luck.  I was not a fan of being limited by just one theme so I set out to make my own Disney themed book.

Beach Handprint Art ideas...these won't leave you crabby

About this time last year I started thinking about some unique Mother's Day gifts for my mom and my MIL.  We spend a lot of time at the beach and so I thought a nice gift might be some beach-themed artwork for my in law's beach house.

I always love handprint art because it seems to just capture the moment -- my kid's hand was just that size on this day! I was trying to incorporate my not-yet-1-year-old son into the beach themed hand print art, but...well, it didn't work out so well.  My three year old daughter was more than happy, however, to get her hands and feet all painted up.