DIY EASY wooden headboard

Chris has tons of wonderful qualities, but being handy is not near the top of his list.  So if we can accomplish this, then I'm convinced that just about anyone can do it!  We are keeping our guest bed in the baby's room but I wanted it to match the rest of his room and am loving how it's turned out. I don't know why we didn't make a headboard sooner!  It really was so easy and cost under $30.  I looked up some tutorials on pinterest but none of them seemed super simple.  And I mean super, super simple like we needed.  

I thought it really can't be that hard, but I've been wrong about projects before.  But it really was! It doesn't really warrant a tutorial, and I don't have any pictures but figured it was worth a post to say how easy and cheap it was.  

We went to Home Depot and bought 2 1 x 4's that were 53 inches (the length from the floor to the top of the headboard) for the back of the headboard and then 8 1 x4's that were 56 inches, which is the width of our bed.  We also go small screws that could go through the back and not poke through, and stain for the wood.  That's it! I think it was $27. 

Here's an incredibly unnecessary drawing in case you can't picture that.  

Chris did all the work, which took less than an hour.  We made sure when we were picking out the wood that they all laid flat and lined up next to each other.  We had them cut at Home Depot, which was free and then we didn't have to worry about it at home.  He lined them all up, laid the two boards long ways down the back and drilled them in.  Stained it and then used two screws to secure it to the wall, where there were studs.  

I absolutely love how it turned it!  I found the little acorns at Hobby Lobby after Thanksgiving and thought I'd use them for a mobile but decided not to, so I made a little garland for it.  I searched forever for a comforter/quilt and this was exactly what I was looking for.  It's reversible and the perfect colors for this room.  I got it on Overstock for $55. The deer pillow I made!

I can't wait to take pictures and show off the rest of his room! It's become my favorite it our house.

Favorite Things Party

A few weekends ago I hosted a Favorite Things party and it was so much fun! I've seen a few posts or pins about a favorite things party and have wanted to have one for awhile.  It turned out great and was so much fun!!  Above are some of the things that the girls took home.  

I sent out an evite with directions.  Everyone was to find a favorite thing of theirs for $7 or less, and bring 5 of them.  I also asked people to bring a favorite appetizer or dessert, which made hosting so much easier for me!  Everyone came around 7:30 and we hung out and ate lots of yummy food.  I planned a craft for everyone.  We made canvas signs that said "Let it Snow." They turned out super cute!

My friend has a cricut machine and she cut out these "stencils" for us.  We used painter's tape to make the stripes.  We did this at the very beginning of the night so that it'd dry with enough time to do a second coat.  Later in the evening we went back and taped the stencil on top and painted the letters on.  My friend also cut out snowflakes for the O, which we taped on at the end.

 Before we shared our favorite things I had everyone write their names 5 times on little pieces of paper.  I put them all in a little tin.  Each person shared their favorite thing and then drew 5 names, and gave those 5 girls their item.  This way everyone left with five different things.

I found these super cute mugs at Target and filled them with a few apple cider packets.  Other favorite things were nail polish, journals, lotions, chocolate, a cute decoration.  So many cute, fun things!  It was such a great night and I'm pretty sure everyone had a fun time!  I'm excited to do it again sometime. 

Mystery Craft Challenge - I need your votes!

Jennifer has been a blogging friend since I started blogging years ago.  She is unbelievable talented and I want her to come decorate my house and plan my parties.  She came up with this super fun challenge where she sent participants old school crafting supplies and they had to be transformed into something you could use.  I was kind of stumped when I got my mystery item, but think it turned out pretty good.  Super easy and cheap.  My favorite kind of project.  Plus there is voting and a winner and prizes! (Check them out here and please vote for me - I'm number 8!) 

Spray paint the charms on both sides.  Let them dry and then personalize them.  There were a ton in the bag, so it'd be easy to make these for an event and sent them home with guests.  Or you can write numbers on them and keep them to be used again.  They are small so the numbers were definitely easier then the names!  Initials may be a better idea too!  

Now is where I need your help!  Jennifer shared my craft as well as the 8 other ladies who participated.  The winner gets some pretty sweet prizes, like a Michael's gift card and some awesome prizes from generous etsy shops.  Can you do me a huge favor and vote for me?  Vote HERE!  (click on the link and I'm number 8!)

THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

DIY Flower Pots

I could count on one hand how many weeks I've kept a plant alive before, but I am determined to change that this summer! I think because we spend some much time at home now that we have Addilyn, I'm more motivated to make our house, both inside and out, more appealing.  I also am always looking for things for Addilyn and I do to together, so making flower pots and planting flowers was perfect!  

I had no idea how expensive planters were, so we just made our own.  These ceramic pots were under $1.50.  I bought a bunch of them and already had stickers and paint at home.  Addilyn helped me put dots all over a few of the pots and I did just a strip of painters tape on the others. 

 I thought spray paint would be the easiest, but after doing one I used acrylic paint instead.  The acrylic paint was much brighter and looked way better.  After the paint dried I took off the stickers and tape and they looked great!  Not perfect, but good enough!

I found a little shovel for Addilyn and she was thrilled to "help" put it in the pots.  My deck was a disaster, but it was so worth it.  We were covered in dirt but were happy!  

Besides flowers, we got basil and cilantro to plant as well.  One year I tried to plant a garden and failed quite miserably, so we're starting small this summer and maybe I'll try a big garden next year. The grey bigger pots I got at Target for under $3 and just decorated them with a gold Sharpie to make them cuter!

 

That little stand in the corner used to be in our house and was about to go to Goodwill after sitting in our garage for awhile.  I'm glad I didn't get rid of it, because after some spray paint it's perfect for our deck!  (Next up is some stain for our patio furniture!) 

 

 We made some pots for our moms as a Mother's Day gift, and planted some flowers in them too!

 I found a cute little Frozen watering can at Target and Addi loves it!  We water all of the plants at least once a day, over and over.  I surely hope we don't kill them from too much water!! I'm thankful for a new hobby for Addilyn and I and a pretty deck, porch and yard!!

DIY Wooden Tassel Necklace

sweater & jeans: old navy   sneakers: target

I saw this necklace a few weeks ago and loved it, but couldn't handle paying $37 for it.  I figured it wouldn't be too hard to make my own version.  All together it took me less than two hours and I love it. 

copy: $37   diy version: $12

Supplies: string, wooden beads, thicker string/rope for necklace, spray paint

I spray painted my beads similar to this tutorial and forgot to take a picture.  I only did one coat.

String your wooden bead and then another tassel and keep going until you want your 

colored beads to start.  I made eight tassels. 

I used a wooden bead at the end, tied a knot around it, then made a loop on the other side to 

make a closing.  

And that's it! I now would like to spray paint a ton more beads and make a million more tassels.

Our Easter craft that made us both cry

I saw this tutorial for salt dough eggs and thought we'd be brave and attempt this.  Turns out I shouldn't have been so brave.  At one point Addilyn and I were both in tears.  
So if your kid is older than 20 months, or if they know the difference between ornaments and paint verses cookies and frosting you're good.  
Thankfully they still turned out cute and make for a good Easter decoration.  And I promise she is wearing a diaper.  

We followed the directions in the tutorial (here).  I used a measuring cup for the shapes and just pinched the top in a little to make the egg shape.  

Christmas pjs forever

I didn't spray paint them but just used acrylic paint. Letting Addi do whatever she'd like to her few, except eat them, cue her tears.  (Okay and mine too because why don't toddlers listen and throw things everywhere and projects turn out how you want? I better man up in this whole parenting thing. It was a bad day already.) 
I just used a paintbrush and white paint to make the designs although I'm sure a white sharpie would've made them a little cuter. 

It's all fun and games until you decide to eat the ornament and paint a hundred times.  Then get mad that it tastes like paint and not a cookie.  

If you want to know a project that didn't make me cry, here's my Easter egg garland.  I had no idea that Easter eggs already have little holes in the top and bottom so this was super easy.  It even kept Addilyn entertained for a solid three minutes.  Two dollar bag of plastic eggs, strung through a string.