Subway Sign

 For Fathers day I really wanted to get something cool for the hubby. He is a little obsessed with biking and I really wanted to get him something cool. I love the look of subway signs these days and they are very popular. So I searched everywhere, but could not find anything. So the next best thing, make it my self. So I got out my silhouette and got to work. 

 So I bought a canvas board from Joann's. It came in a 3 pack for $14.99, used a 40% off coupon and paid $9.00.  Then I spray painted the board black.

I then brainstormed a bunch of words that described  what biking was like for my hubby. and then arranged them so they would fit on to the vinyl. Since my vinyl is only 8 inches wide and built it using 2 pieces. I lined it up on the board and stuck it down.

 Once it was all stuck down as best as it would, (I think I used some old vinyl cause it didn't want to stick very well)I put tape on the edges as to not get paint on them. Then I sprayed over the front with white paint.

 Then after a few lite coats of spray paint. I pulled the vinyl off. If you look close you could see that the spray paint did bleed a little bit under the vinyl. This mad me very up set being that I had already spend many hours on this project. Then I had an idea. I decided to lightly sand they whole board. I was worried that the paint would really come off but it didn't. I sanded quite a bit till I got the desired look I wanted.  I like how this also gave it a little bit of an aged look. 

The finished product! I love it and so did my hubby. This project really was so easy and so I have many more plans for more signs.

Lisa

Eggs

 Have you seen these super cute eggs made of embrodiery floss? They are all over pintrest right now and I really thought that it would be a fun idea to do with the kids. These eggs were from crafts-for-all-seasons.com and she has instructions on that web site also. She suggested using fabric stiffener which I didn't have on hand so I opted to use good old Elmers Glue and I think I got the same results.

 First I started by rounding up all of my string. I think the thinner the better on this but we did use a variety of sizes. I cut it into manageable strips about 18 inches or so but it doesn't need to be exact by any means.

 Second, round up some helpers. It is a little bit of a task to get the string dunked in the glue and then nicely on the balloon with out too much dripping on the table but it was fun.

 Once you get the desired amount of string on the balloon, Or your kids start to lose interest,  you let the glue dry. We let it dry a few hours before popping the balloon. Now I read somewhere that someone used large balloons and they made these amazing huge eggs. this did not turn out so well for us. The string was not strong enough to keep its shape once the balloon popped it pulled it all in with it.  So the little water balloons are definitely what worked best for us.

Here is our finished project.....

I loved how they were perfect egg shaped and the fun colors that we made. Happy Easter!

Lisa

St. Patty's Banner

 I have been wanting some new holiday decor and with St. Patricks day coming up soon I thought I would get in the green spirit. I found these fun Banner cut pieces of would at a local shop, Wood connection for just $1.50 each. I bought 7, because I wanted it to spell LUCKY with an extra on each side.

 First I painted the wood with some green paint I had on hand. Then I cut our a piece of scrapbook paper to match the triangle shape. I then Modge Podged it to the triangle. I used a different pieces of scrapbook paper for each piece of wood but you could easily get 2 shapes on one pieces.

 Then I tied them together with some Jute I had on hand. Finally, I cut out the vinyl lettering of the word LUCKY in white and put it on the banner.

 I think it turned out really cute and it is fun to have a little green around the house for St. Patty's day!

Lisa

Canvas Photos {part 2}

 Now that I have made all 4 of the canvas pictures, I need to hang them up. You can check out the previous post on how to make these [Canvas Photos]. I am so excited with the way all 4 of them turned out.
Since the canvas doesn't come with hooks on it to hang, I had to buy a picture hanging kit. This kit was great because it had everything. The eye screws, wire and the wall hooks.

 First, I screwed the eye screws into the backs. Then I twisted the wire on from side to side. It was so easy to do. Just remember to make each one the exact same size, therefore allowing them to all hang at the same height. 

 And here is the finished product on the wall. I really love the way they turned out! Aren't they the cutest kids. There is still more to add to the wall so I will show you as it come along.

Lisa

Canvas photos

 Have you seen those awesome photographs printed on canvas. Yeah, they are everywhere these days. But have you seen the prices? Outrageous - $100 and up.  I've been drooling over the "Groupons" offering some good deals but even at half price they could be really pricey, especially when I want 4 of them. So I did the next best thing. I did it my self for a tenth of the price! And they look amazing! Here how we do it.

 

Here is what we need

Photo

Siccors

Ruler

Pen

Canvas

Black paint

Mod Podge 

Wax Paper

Sponge brush

Sponge

Find a photo and have it enlarged - BIG! I took my photo's to Costco and had them blown up to 16x20 - each photo was $5.75. Which is an amazing deal for the high quality the pictures are. Cut it down to fit on your canvas, I cut mine just an 1/8" smaller so that it wasn't right to the edge. I knew I wanted the picture to be square and I originally wanted a canvas 14x14 but of course it was hard to find. So I got a canvas that was 16x16, I figured the bigger the better and luckily my picture was at already that size.  The canvas was $9.99 (with 50% discount).

 Then, paint the edges of the canvas black, I also painted in a little bit on the front of the canvas just so there would not be any white showing at all. Paint (already had) = free

 Next I put a good layer of Mod Podge all over the front of the canvas. Also, already had this = Free.

 I put the wax paper down so that when I set the photo face down it would not get any crap on it. Then I also, put a layer of the Mod Podge on the back of the photo and carefully matched it on top of the canvas. 

 Since my canvas is 2" thick it was a little hard to push it down, so I flipped it over so I could smooth it out and glue it down tight. Make sure to put a towel underneath.

 Next, I added a thin layer of Mod Podge on the front of the photo. It goes on creamy but it will dry clear so don't worry. I like how it adds a little layer of texture to the photo, more like real canvas.

 Last step, I took the dry sponge and put a little amount of paint around the edges just to blend in the picture.

I love, love, LOVE how it turned out. They look so amazing and drum roll please.... total cost $15.74! That probably wouldn't even cover the shipping from the online stores. What a truly amazing project! I have to give a shout out to my friend {britneyb} for taking these amazing pictures. I'm so glad that I finally am getting around to displaying them in my home. Go and check her out! Want to see them all finished and hanging on the wall?? I will post about that soon.

Lisa

Barbie's Dream House Project .. Part 1

 For Christmas my little girl had her heart set on a Princess Castle or Barbie dream house she saw in the Toy 'R' Us catalog. She talked about it for months. Then she stopped talking about it and wished about other things. Well just a few days before Christmas she brings it up again, asking if I had her Castle hidden under by bed and stuff like that. Well this wasn't in our plans for Christmas, they can be so expensive in the stores and honestly sometimes just really cheap in quality. Oh boy I knew we were in for it come Christmas morning, and she did wonder where it was but quickly forgot and was happy with her other presents. Not so lucky for us her Birthday is just a week later and the Castle was questioned once again.

Luckily, though back in the good year of 1985, my dad made me an amazing Barbie Doll House. We have moved this puppy around from house to house and it was currently sitting in our storage unit. Here it is in all it's glory in 1985, yes that is me as a super excited 6 year old on Christmas morning. (mann, picture have come a long way.) 

 I wish I had more pictures of the inside and the different rooms. There was a kitchen with cabinets, stove and frig. Also a bathroom with tub and sink. It was awesome I loved it, I spent so many hours playing with this house.

This house is really massive actually, and we really debated about getting it out again for Bella, cause we don't have much space but we know that she would love it. We decided to fix it up, but not as a birthday present so that down the road both girls could play with it and it's not just for her. So this is my current project I have embarked on.  Lets just say that the last 25+ years hasn't been too good to her. I remember putting stickers on the walls and roof, and just being stored for this long it got really beat up.  


The minute we brought it home Logan wanted to start demolition, and he did. I had it in my mind that we were just going to fix a few things and get it ready for playing quickly.  Pretty soon out is coming the carpet and all fixtures. I actually got emotional there for a second. But then once I really looked at the horrible state the house was in, I knew it had to be done.

 The front

 The kitchen - minus the upper cabinets

 The Bathroom

 The back of the house showing all rooms.

Since this is going to be a huge project, I will show you the progress we make along the way. So stay tuned for more results and the big revile. I have found some amazing Barbie House re-dues online that have inspired me like this one Inside the Barbie Craft Room. Yeah, I'm not going to that extreme but it does give me some fun ideas!

Lisa