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Category: diy

Anthropologie Inspired Tote + Tutorial

posted in crafts, diy, inspiration, sewing, tutorial by Sara on
If you caught our Friday Find’s: Summer Essentials post last week you may remember seeing this adorable beachy tote bag from Anthropologie. And as most of you know, when I see something I love but don’t have the money for… I make it. It was literally a fourth of the price to make and I was able to whip in up in less than an hour (for less experienced sewers, this project can easily be done in two hours max)!
To make this yourself, all you need is:
–  1 yard of upholstery fabric
 –  1 yard of a lightweight cotton fabric
–  3-4 yards of webbing for the straps
–  coordinating thread
–  a sewing machine
Happy sewing!
~ SARA
 
Linked to:

Card Group

posted in crafts, diy, family, friends, inspiration by Sara on
Welcome to a little something we like to call “card group”! It’s a novel idea that allows you to build up a collection of adorable handmade cards, and is another excuse to get together with all your girl pals once a month. Let me explain…
First you need to get a group of friends or family to participate. Currently it is just Hanna, our mom, our sister-in-law and I who make up our card group. During each month you’ll make one of the same card for each member of the group including yourself. Then once a month plan a date when everyone in your group can get together to exchange cards. Each person in the group will then get one card  from each member. Since everyone in my card group now lives in a different state, we either mail them to each other or stock pile them until we see each other next– however you want to do it. 
The cards can be as simple or as intricate as you’d like them to be. Personally, I like simple (as you probably already knew from the other crafts and projects I’ve posted previously on the blog). If you don’t think of yourself as a crafty person, don’t count yourself out of card group quite yet. Sometimes I’ll come up with a grand idea for a card, but the majority of the time I find my inspiration from Pinterest or card magazines, as can you. There are tons of great ideas out there to get your crafty wheels turning if you need a little inspiration!
I love the collection of handmade cards I’ve built over the years. It has been a great resource when I need a quick card for a birthday party, baby shower, wedding, etc. Plus I love the personal touch a homemade card gives. 
All-in-all card group is a win win, not to mention it is so fun! I highly recommend giving it a try! 
As for Hanna and I, we’re headed off to southern California tomorrow for a girls’ weekend WITHOUT kids! I literally haven’t had one of those for almost a year now; needless to say I’m pretty darn excited. It’s always a blast when Hanna and I get together! We have plans to hit up the famous fabric district, do plenty of shopping, and even have a blog planning dinner date. Full trip review to come!
~ SARA

Linked To:
http://placeofmytaste.com/2014/06/work-wednesday-49.html

DIY Magnetic Paper Dolls

posted in diy, kids by Hanna on
My daughter, Mia is a total girly girl. She loves all things princess and dress up. Awhile back we were going on a long trip and I was looking for some cheap ideas and toys that would keep her entertained in the car when I got the idea to make these magnetic paper dolls. So for those of you with summer trips coming up now that school is almost out this is a great project to do for your little ones to entertain them in the car. 
The supplies for this quick project are pretty straight forward. For the magnet sheets I would recommend getting the Staples white magnetic sheets over the Avery brand. I feel like whatever you print on the Staples sheets hold up a lot better and are stronger magnets. This is pretty much the only thing you’ll have to buy and for a pack of 4 magnet sheets it’s around $10 but I only needed 2 sheets for this set so it only cost me about $5.
photo nativity3.jpg
The next step is to find some printable paper dolls. At the time I made this Mia was on a “Frog Princess” kick meaning we’d watch that movie at least 2-3 a week. So I went with a Frog Princess themed magnetic storyboard and paper dolls. I was able to find a set of printable paper dolls online and then just looked for a few more of the characters, accessories and a background through just searching in Google images. The amazing thing is that there are printable paper dolls for just about any of the Disney movies online if you look around. I found a lot of them on THIS website and for all those “Frozen” lovers there are some and many more you can download by Cory Jensen on his Facebook page HERE.

After downloading the paper dolls I wanted I used Photoshop to get everything to fit on the 2 sheets. Once that was done I just printed it off onto the magnet sheets and cut them out. For the background I printed the one I found online out on card stock and mod-podged that to a cookie sheet making it easy for Mia to play with this in the car.
Mia couldn’t wait to get her hands on this as I was making it and when I finally got it all finished she was set for a good hour of entertainment in the car and of course this followed with having to watch the movie.
Since this set I have made 3 others when she needed something new to play with. Also, we now have a “Little Mermaid” magnetic paper doll set on our fridge which Mia loves to play with while I make dinner.

Linked To:
http://www.bravenewhome.com/diyers-link-party-2/
http://upcycledtreasures.com/2014/05/the-makers-link-party-week-19/
http://justagirlandherblog.com/hit-me-with-your-best-shot-20/
http://iputabirdonit.blogspot.com/2014/05/linkn-blogs-27.html

Bedroom Makeover Reveal

posted in decor, diy, home by Sara on
 Our bedroom makeover is finally complete! We’ve been piecing it together bit by bit over the last month and we love how it all came together. It’s become my new favorite place! Before, our bedroom had a very feminine feel so our main goal with this makeover was to make the space more gender neutral while still keeping things light and airy. Our second goal was to transform the space on a limited budget, which we successfully accomplished! The quilt is probably the most expensive piece in our bedroom. We bought it from Target for $70. Besides the sheets, the decorative pillow, the lamp, and the curtain, everything else you see here was either reused or upcylced.
Remember these dressers? They were given to us when we got married and I added some faux stainless steal contact paper to the front and spray painted the knobs to give them a sleek look. Since buying new furniture was not in the budget, this was a great alternative that only cost me about $30! For the full tutorial on how I transformed this dressers click HERE.
Both the shutters that we use as our headboard and the canvas painting I found at thrift stores some time ago. I would eventually like to get a different headboard, but haven’t found one I like yet for the right price.
These black frames I already had around the house and I found these cute free printables online to go in them.
Vintage Camera Free Printable  |  from Design Editor
So there you have it! I’m here to tell you that you CAN makeover a space on a very limited budget. Sometimes it takes a month or so to find everything your looking for (and for the price you want), but it is well worth it! Some great places that I like to shop for inexpensive home decor items are Target, TJ Maxx, Home Goods, and Goodwill. To save even more money, you may also consider re-using or re-purposing things you already have around your house.
Linked To:

Springtime Eyelet Blouse + Tutorial

posted in diy, sewing, tutorial, women's fashion by Sara on
To start out, I hope all you mommies had a wonderful Mother’s Day! I felt spoiled all week! My husband had the week off from school and did most of the cleaning and cooking… I didn’t even ask him too! It certainly made my days off much more enjoyable because I could simply relax with my two favorite people instead of having to stress out about housework. Truly it was fantastic, and I even got some sewing done over the weekend!
Maybe you’ve noticed the beautiful eyelet trend in all the stores this spring. I happen to love it! What I don’t love about it are some of the prices. While I would love to have any one of these eyelet blouses in my closet, I could never bring myself to pay $50+ for it. Having become a little more handing with my sewing machine, now my first thought when I see something in a store that I like but don’t want to pay the price for is, “I could make that”! So, that is exactly what I set out to do.

https://www.jcrew.com/womens_category/Collection/tops/PRDOVR~76799/76799.jsp Image Map
Here is what I used to make this top:
1 1/4 yard of eyelet fabric
1 yard of thin cotton fabric
1/4 inch double folded bias tape
7 inch closed bottom zipper
coordinating thread
I picked up this white eyelet material at Joann’s on sale for half price. They also gave me an addition 75% off of that because the very edge of the material was damaged. I think I ended up paying around $5.00 for a yard and a half!
Since I wanted a more fitted blouse I thought I’d stick to a pattern this time. To be honest, this is the first time I’ve ever used a store bought pattern, or one that I haven’t drafted myself… I was feeling a bit lazy. I really only used if for the basic fit of the shirt, then made a few alterations. Here is a FREE downloadable pattern by Colette Patterns that would also be a great pattern to use of a basic blouse like this. Once you have your basic pattern, here are the simple steps to follow:
Since I decided to line my shirt, I cut out both the front and back of the shirt twice. Once on the eyelet fabric and once on the lining fabric (illustrated above). I did not put a lining in the sleeves. I also added an exposed zipper to the back for embellishment.
I hope this tutorial was helpful and that you can away inspired. I can’t wait to see your creations!
Best of luck!

Linked to:
http://www.dreamalittlebigger.com/post/link-lump-37.html
http://www.thegirlcreative.com/2014/05/11/sunday-best-linky-party-14.html
http://homecomingmn.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-diyers-61.html
http://www.persialou.com/2014/05/just-got-back-from-great-trip-to-orange.html
http://thediydreamer.com/from-dream-to-reality/117-link-up-your-projects/
http://ladybug-blessings.com/?p=4448
http://funkypolkadotgiraffe.blogspot.com/2014/05/too-cute-tuesday-linky-par-tay-188.html
http://justagirlandherblog.com/hit-me-with-your-best-shot-18/

Friday Finds #10: Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

posted in crafts, diy, Friday Finds, inspiration, motherhood by Sara on
Mother’s Day is right around the corner, in fact it is in THREE days! If  you’re a last minute gifter like us, don’t worry, we’ve got some truly special Mother’s Day gift ideas for you that are sure to impress. This first idea is something Hanna and I put together that will provide your mother a peaceful day of relaxation. Who doesn’t love a good book and chocolate?! If that special woman in your life doesn’t like to read much, no problem, put in their favorite movie instead. The great thing about gift baskets is that they are completely customizable. Hopefully some of the ideas below with get the wheels turning in regards to what your mother would enjoy most. 
Once you’ve gathered up the items for your ultimate relaxation gift basket, you could deliver them in this beautiful DIY “Best Mom Ever” tote created by Jess over at Style Me Pretty. She has even included a FREE printable of the “Best Mom Ever” illustration so all you have to do is print it onto iron-on transfer paper, then iron it onto a canvas tote bag. How simple is that?! 
Below are a few other inexpensive Mother’s Day gift ideas that we absolutely adore. 
Mother’s Day Breakfast + FREE Printables |  by Jennifer at Hostess with Mostess Blog
Easy DIY Painted Flower Pots  |  by Bright Bold & Beautiful

Flowers seem to be a big tradition on Mother’s Day, so why not customize a flower pot to give the gift a little more meaning and thought. We love this simple color block DIY painted pot from Bright Bold & Beautiful!
We hope these easy ideas were inspiring and helpful. Happy (early) Mother’s Day to all you wonderful mommies out there who make this world a more wonderful and joyous place. Without a doubt, we would not be the women or mothers we are today without the loving example of our own mother and all the other influential women in our lives. We love you! 

Friday Finds #9: Budget Friendly Party Ideas

posted in diy, Friday Finds, party, Pinterest Challenge by Sara on
 It has been a while since we have done a Friday Finds due to the Pinterest Challenge, but we wanted to bring it back this week for some more party fun! Today we’ve rounded up some budget friendly party theme and decoration ideas that would suite any party. You may remember us saying earlier in the week that we love to throw parties for all ages. We believe kid’s parties can have all the thrills and cuteness expected but with grown up touches. 
1.  Easy DIY Streamer Garlands |  by Oh Happy Day
2.  Streamer Over Hang |  at Style Me Pretty
3.  Party Thank Yous (filled with candy) |  by Make it & Love It
4.  Confetti Balloons |  by Ko-Jo Designs
5.  Breakfast Birthday Party |  by Thoughtfully Simple
6.  Colorful DIY Art Birthday Party |  by Studio DIY

For those of you who are wondering about the Pinterest Challenge, the final results will be up soon! Be sure to check out all of the other talented bloggers who join us in the challenge. They are:
These Cake Batter Truffles make by Stephanie would certainly be a tasty, mouth-watering addition to your party!
And this DIY Geometric Canvas Wall made by Amy would be a great way to add eye-catching color and pattern to your party’s backdrop!
And, dare I say, these totally chic DIY Animal Keychains made by Katelyn would make excellent party favors!