DIY Guest Bathroom

Boy, oh boy, was this bathroom ugly. The walls were mustard yellow and the medicine cabinet had a missing mirror. And it took me four years of living here to turn the worst room in the house to one of my favorites!

Before:

During:

After:

What I did:

• I used Frog Tape (a brand of painter's tape) before painting and it worked so well!
• Behind the old medicine cabinet there were holes in the wall, so I used spackle and sanded it down. And for a big hole, I used a wall patch kit.
• Painted the walls a light grey color (the same I used in the master bedroom)
• Installed daylight light bulbs to get rid of the yellow glow (Check out the before pictures and how YELLOW the room looked!).
• Painted the vanity. I took off the cabinet doors, cleaned the vanity and doors. Did two coats of Kilz primer. And then painted it a dark grey/blue, using Valspar paint with a matte finish. 
• Added hardware to the vanity
• Hung a new mirror
• Added a new shower curtain, soap dispenser, and shelves.

DIY No-Sew Crib Rail Cover

I woke up to teeth marks and paint missing from Levi's crib railing. And I wanted a solution before he went to bed that night. I found a tutorial online and tweaked it a bit.

You need three things: fabric (fleece would work best), measuring tape, and scissors.

I measured the longest side and it was 51 inches.

Then, I measured the height of the and added 5 inches below the railing, which in my case was 10 inches. But I have to take into account the other side, so I need to double that. So that would be 20 inches.

Then I measured the length of the side rails. It was 28 inches.

And the height, adding 5 inches below the railing, was 6 inches. Double that, and it's 12 inches.

I cut the first piece of fabric to be 51 inches x 20 inches. I laid it over the railing to make sure I had the correct measurements. 

I then took a pair of scissors and cut along each vertical railing up to where it ends.

I did it to just the one side, then folded the fabric in half and laid it on the floor. I used my first cuts as guidelines and made the same cuts on the other side.

I tied the fabric that fell in between the open slots in double knots.

As you can see, every other strip of fabric was left hanging, so I tucked it in. 

First railing done!

I did the same thing for the sides.

All covered!!

No more bite marks and missing paint for this little guy!

DIY Paper Wreath

At MOPS a few weeks ago we were given the craft to make a paper wreath, and with two babies, I decided to take the craft home. I finally got the time to make it and it was surprisingly easy!

The materials needed are: 

• Pages of a book, ripped out. I took a black marker and colored the three exposed sides of the book before I ripped the pages out. 
• Marker with a flat and wide base (I used a dry erase marker)
• Glue gun and glue sticks
• Foam tube, ends taped together, approximately 12 inches in diameter
• Twine
• Sharpie (Or any pen-like object)

First, I tied a bow with the twine at the point of the foam circle where the two ends met and secured it with hot glue.

Then, I took one page and put the marker at the center and folded the page around the marker.

I then put a dab of hot glue on the flat end.

Lastly, I held the page to the wreath. You need to hold it in place for about half a minute and let the glue set. A third of the way through, I started to use a sharpie and inserted it into the middle of the page to push it into the wreath.

Completed wreath! It actually turned out pretty big, And it looks great!

DIY Blackout Curtains

Will and I bought "blackout" curtains from Menards and although we loved the color and how it looked in the nursery, it did not block out any light. 

I went to Joann fabrics and bought white blackout fabric. I wanted to do the nursery and our bedroom because Will sometimes works the midnight shift and has to sleep during the day. 

I ended up buying 15 1/2 yards, which came out to be $108. I used a 40% off coupon via RetailMeNot and saved $40! It came out to be around $30 per room. 

Steps:

1. I did not take pictures of the process, but I unrolled the blackout fabric, smooth side down (the side that will be facing the window) and then laid the curtain over it. I folded back the top portion of the curtain and folded over the blackout fabric where I wanted it, right below the rings (see above picture). 
2. I then used safety pins to secure the blackout fabric to the curtain. You could also use iron or sew on velcro or adhesive to bind the fabrics together. 
3. I then cut the blackout fabric along the bottom of the curtain and did the same along the side since the curtains were smaller than the blackout fabric. The master bedroom curtains fit perfectly across. 

The whole process was so easy! Will and I both love how they turned out :)

DIY Headband Holder

Grandma Wendy bought Lucy a bunch of headbands and I had no where to put them, so I decided to make a headband holder! I found a bunch of tutorials on Pinterest and was eager to make my own. 

What I used:

• Fabric from Joann Fabrics (it was 50% off, and I used a 40% off coupon from the Retail Me Not App! It was $2.00 even.) You'll need 17.5 inches by 10.5 inches. 
• 42 oz container of oatmeal
• Candle stick holder (I bought mine from Target, but you could always check out Goodwill for a bargain!)
• Hot glue gun and about 3-4 glue sticks
• Spray paint 

Before I started working with the fabric and oatmeal container, I did 3 things: spray painted the oatmeal container lid and candle stick holder, empty out the contents of the oatmeal container into a gallon plastic bag, and took the paper off the oatmeal container.

I then began by warming up the hot glue gun and laid the empty container along the fabric. I lined the top of the fabric at the opening of the container. 

I put hot glue along the edge of the fabric and then pressed it on the container. 

I continued to add small lines of hot glue along the top and bottom of the container and then roll the container along the fabric.

When I neared the end, I cut the fabric, leaving some room to overlap. I then put a line of glue along the edge of the fabric and folded it over so that I would have a clean edge on the headband holder (No frays!)

All done with the fabric! The top of the headband holder is on the bottom and the bottom of the holder is upwards, where I need to secure the extra fabric.

I started by putting glue along the inside lip and pushing the fabric over the lip.

I then added glue here and there and pressed the fabric down so that it was flat. There is no special technique to this step, I was just adding glue and pushing the fabric down.

I applied a generous amount of glue along the outside ring of the base and then placed the candlestick holder into place. The fabric made it fit perfectly!

I topped it off with the lid and it was complete! At this stage, you could embellish the stand and lid with flowers, ribbons, etc. I kept it simple so that if I wanted to be able to put stuff inside the container, I could take the lid off without any problems.

It worked wonderfully!! All of the headbands look amazing on it!

Can't wait to start using them :)

DIY: Burlap Rose Accessory

My sister-in-law Katie got Will and I the cutest burlap pin board and I wanted to add a little embellishment! I thought I had some store bought floral accessories, but I forgot I had used them on another project. Lo and behold -- I remembered a burlap rose tutorial I saw on Pinterest.

I followed the video and made about 6 flowers and chose the best 3 to embellish the board! I think it turned out great :)

DIY: Burlap Placecards

Can you see a theme in my recent posts? Burlap, folks. I'm obsessed with it right now.

For Thanksgiving, I wanted to make my own place cards instead of going out and buying them.

For this craft, I used:

• Hot glue gun & glue sticks
• Card stock
• Scissors
• Felt Pens
• Ruler
• Scorer/Box Cutter/Credit Card
• Burlap (or whatever you want to embellish your place cards!)

I cut the card stock paper in 3in x 3 1/2in rectangles. I got about 6 place cards per 8x11in paper.

I then marked the halfway point on the 3 1/2in side, which is 1 3/4 in.

I then scored it across using my cutter/scorer template (Martha Stewart from Michael's). If you don't have one, you could lightly score the place card with scissors, bow cutter, or a credit card.

I then wrote out the names of my guests and then folded the place cards. Then, I cut little squares of burlap and then folded them in half. 

At this point, you could customize your place cards with whatever you'd like! For instance, I made my own place cards for my wedding and embellished them with buttons in our wedding colors:

(Aren't they super cute!?)

Okay, let's get back to business!

I took my hot glue gun and put it inside the burlap and then glued them on the place cards! They turned out so cute!

If you end up making your own -- let me know and share a picture!

DIY: Burlap Napkin Ring

I just bought napkins for the Thanksgiving meal Will and I will be hosting -- but I just couldn't find napkin rings that I liked enough to buy. I called my friend Aly who suggested I make them from paper towel rolls! I love that girl - she is so creative!

After some trial & error, here are my finished napkin rings:

Supplies:

• Burlap, or fabric/ribbon
• Glue gun & glue sticks
• Marker
• Tape measure
• Box cutter
• Scissors
• Paper Towel Roll

I started by marking the paper towel roll at 1 inch intervals.

All marked up!

Before I cut the rolls with my scissors, I had to make a small incision with a box cutter.

After making the incisions, the roll was super easy to cut.

The roll yielded about 11 rings.

I cut about 3/4 inch wide chevron burlap ribbon about 20 inches long.

I started by putting a dab of glue inside the roll.

I then placed the ribbon inside and made sure it was secure.

I then wrapped it around, making sure it was tight.

Then I added another dab of hot glue and continued to wrap the roll, overlapping just a little.

All done!

They are the perfect size for the napkins!

I tried different burlap fabric I had. I found that the burlap that had a painted print held better than plain burlap. 

I think it would be so cute to make these again but with a solid ribbon color and then add buttons!

They looked amazing on the napkins! 

And the cost? Practically nothing! I had all the supplies at home :)

If you make your own, let me know how they turned out! Feel free to include pictures!