DIY Tutorial: Upcycled Headband Holder Board {ART}

Being a creator of headbands, you can just about imagine how many headbands I have for my own baby girl!  I'm not gonna lie, it's a little ridiculous!  And up until now, they'd been piled up in a little wicker basket in her room for no one to see....oh, the horror!!!!  Sooo....I wanted to come up with something ultra chic on which to display them in her room!

While you could always just hang hooks directly to the wall, I wanted something a bit more artsy and part of the room decor.  So I decided to turn some ultra ugly old cupboard doors (yes, a plural here - we need TWO boards to hold all hers! Ha!) into awesome displays/pieces of art for her walls {yes! upcycling at its finest!}.  My first step was heading to a salvage warehouse here in Phoenix.  And much to my liking, I snatched up two super ugly cupboard doors for like 5 bucks each! SCORE!  And while they were obviously from the same kitchen cupboards, they are NOT an exact match - one is from a horizontal opening door, and the other, a vertical.  I actually love this aspect - matching but not too "matchy-matchy"!!

So here's what you need to

{create your own headband board holder}:

*old cupboard door (or maybe get a few to make at the same time - these would not only make for fantastic gifts, but also be great for your own room - I'm wishing now I would have gotten more to hold my necklaces!)
*spray paint in color/s of choice
*lace
*hot glue gun
*hammer & nails
*decorative hooks
*fabric
*sandpaper
*cloth (to wipe clean)
*newspaper/kraft paper (large) for overspray of spray paint
*mounting hook/s
*spackle (optional)

1. Once you have your {cupboard} doors, you'll need to sand them down a little.  Not to completely remove the paint -- just to rough them up a little so that they can hold new paint on top.  So give them a good sanding (you might want to wear gloves and a mask for this - especially if working with old doors, as it may have lead paint on it!), then wipe clean. 

2.I also had to fill in a couple holes in my cupboard with some nail hole filler (a.k.a. spackle) at this point.  If you found old cupboard doors, you may have to do the same, if they happened to have handles on them before.  So if you do, do that now, and let dry (about 10 minutes).

3. Okay, now we're ready to {spray} paint!  So I wanted to make the inset part of my boards a different color than the border {This is one reason in particular why I LOVE using cupboard doors for this project - because it already has a nice "frame" for your creation, right from the get-go!}.  So since I knew I'd be painting the rest of the board after I had the inset color chosen, I didn't worry about covering the border portion of the board.  I just went to town, spraying about 3 coats of a light pink spray paint on the inset portion of the board {you'll probably need to wait about 30 minutes in between coats). 

4. Now you may want to add a stencil background to your inset.  I thought about sponging on some damask print or using doilies as stencils {which I know would be super cute!}, but ultimately decided on doing a subtle lace backdrop.  So I just cut some lace to fit the board, and then started spraying the entire board a creamy, vintage ivory color {right on over the lace}.  Again, about 3 coats for full coverage, with drying time in between coats.

5. Once dry, you can remove the lace.  Now it's time to distress and age our piece by sanding it down again!  But this time, we're going to focus on sanding edges and parts of it that you think might naturally wear off over time if left up to nature.  This is another HUGE REASON why you want to look for cupboard doors, as they have that border around the edge with grooves that make for interesting distressing points for your art!!  (NOTE: You can skip this part if you do NOT want a shabby chic, distressed finish!)  This will give a nice worn, vintage feel to your piece (which I just love myself!).

6. Now it's time for the most fun part: embellishing!  I had just purchased some amazing fabric and KNEW it would be perfect for these boards!  So I cut the fabric into a rectangle (but feel free to choose whatever shape {or non-shape}you want!), and then added some decorative stitched borders with my sewing machine to them.  {NOTE: The sewing part is totally UNnecessary, but I do have the machine with the capacity to do so, so I figured, "Why not?!"  Especially since I used some lace-looking borders to go with my vintage, old-fashioned feel to these lovelies!}.  Then I cut some hearts from totally different fabrics and stitched around their edges, too.  I love the eclectic look, so I went for the opposite of my rectangle fabric pieces here - I went bold and more geometric (versus the paler, non-patterened rectangle pieces).  I also decided to use some of the lace for a part of one of the boards, too.  I cut a strip from the lace as well as a heart to add some depth and texture.  I also added some lace trim to the board's backdrop, as well.  Feel free to GO WILD here!  Add doilies, buttons, stamps, jewels ~ whatever your little heart desires, just go for it!

7. So here's my BIG TIP for the backdrop part: Layer and layer and layer and layer!!  In other words, do NOT just spread it all out, without some overlapping of your elements!!  It adds depth and character and really makes the piece!   Also, try some ANGLES - don't just square everything up!  Keep trying different layouts, and once you are satisfied with the positioning of all your embellishments, it's time to start hot-gluing them down, one by one!

8.  Then you just nail in your hooks and/or knobs (I found mine at Pier I Imports, by the way, but they also have some truly amazing knobs at both Hobby Lobby and Anthropologie!).

9.  And the final step (which I actually have yet to do) is to add some mounting hooks to the back of your boards, and then hang them up obviously.  I love that they are pieces of art in and of themselves, too!  And now her headbands just SCREAM to be worn!  Love, love, love!! {and hope you do, too!} :)

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Color Fad

Move over, Pink, and make way for PURPLE!

Is it just me, or have you all been noticing more and more purple around {been to Target lately? They have a whole slew of purple home decorative items}?  It seems that I have started to notice a trend of purple popping up here and there more and more....  From children's clothing to home decor, I think it just might be trying to give pink a run for its money!  And to this I say, "It's about stinkin' time!"  I mean, I love me some good pink and all, but seriously.  How. long. must. "it". be. PINK!?!!  {Although I'm STILL waiting for the "pink and brown" and "blue and brown" fad to leave the baby industry.  C'mon now! Any day, peeps!}

So I just recently made this custom headband for a friend of mine who's brother is getting married soon. It's for her 6 month old daughter to wear to the wedding.  The wedding color?  Yup, you guessed it ~ PURPLE!

I'm digging it, and am find myself wondering, "Hmmm...where can I add some purple in my house?"  I love plum purple with mustard yellow...so maybe once we redo the nursery, our daughter's room could be in those hues...mmmm...my mouth is almost. almost. salivating. ;)

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Owl Bookends: DIY Tutorial

I've seen many different versions of these cuties around, and when I saw them, I just knew that I'd have to make them! And beyond just being used as bookends, they obviously serve as cute decor, as well.  What's that mean?  These are well worth your time to make. :)

 {Materials Required}:
cotton fabric
felt {white, black and an additional color of choice is optional}
sewing machine
rice
fiberfill
scissors
pen
funnel

Okay, so first you need to decide how big you want your owl/s.  I decided to go with two different sizes: one baby and one mama owl.  (But please KEEP IN MIND: if you're using them for bookends, the bigger the better, to hold all that book weight.  I decided I only needed one bookend, and am going to use my smaller one as a play, beanbag sort of toy).  For the small one, I cut a rectangle about 7x8 inches, and for the larger one, a square about 11x11 inches.  Then I freehanded an owl shape onto the backside of one of my smaller cotton rectangular pieces of fabric.  I drew only HALF of the owl, then layed it on top of my other small rectangular pieces of fabric.  Next, I folded the fabric over (length-wise), and cut along my owl shape.  By using this folding & layering method, you'll get symmetrical sides for your owl and matching sides for the front and back of him, too.

half of my owl shape (the smaller owl)

how it looks folded, before cuting

Now place your two large rectangular pieces of fabric together, with the right sides facing each other.  Go ahead and take your cut out owl shape and pin it onto the wrong side of your large pieces of fabric.  Cut our your large owl shape, using the smaller one you already cut out as your pattern.  Basically, you're just going to cut the same shape as the one you already did, but go out a couple inches from the smaller one's edges.

Now take your white felt, and cut out 2 circles (layer two small squares together, and then cut the circles from that), which will make up part of the owl's eyes.  You're going to need to cut out 4 white circles altogether - one smaller pair for the baby owl, and one larger pair for the mama owl. (You can't go wrong with a size here...just eyeball what size you think looks best).  HINT: use some sort of round thing you have in your house to make the perfect circle...a biscuit cutter (as I did, shown below), tupperware lid, etc.

For the eyes & beak, you're going to use your felt.  Cut out two small black circles for the baby owl's pupils.  Cut out two larger black circles for the mama owl.  OPTIONAL: I decided to add another dimension to mama's eyes, by adding a pair of pink circles to her eyes...right in between the white & black circles for her eyes.  Now you can also cut out a beak to match: for the smaller owl, I did a little triangle, and for the mama owl, I did a diamond shape - both in an orangey-yellow color of felt.

Take just one of the pieces of one of your owl bodies, and lay the eyes & beaks on it to see where you want them to be.  Now pin down the beak and remove the eyes from the body.  Sew the beak on - be sure you're sewing onto the RIGHT side of your fabric, and sewing onto only ONE of the body pieces!

Now take your white eyes, and pin them in place on your body, right above the beak.  Sew them on.  You can do a straight stitch or zigzag in a matching or contrasting color - whatever you prefer!  I chose a soft pink for my baby owl, and a green thread for my mama owl (to complement her baby green owl!), and did mine in a zigzag stitch for fun.

After you've stitched on the whites, stitch on the middle color (if you chose to do so), and last, the pupils.

Here is what your owl will look like so far:

Okay, time to put the owl together!  Go ahead and put the pieces of the owl's body together, being sure the "right" sides are together and matched up along the edges.  Pin in place. 

Sew (I chose about a 1/2" seam for my larger owl, and just 1/4" seam for my smaller one) along the edges, leaving about 2 inch opening at the bottom of your owl (be sure to backstitch when you start & stop, to secure your seams).

Clip the curves. (If you're new to sewing, this means that wherever there is a curve (at the top between the ears, and on both sides of the body), you're going to need to take your scissors and cut little slits just about to the seam.  This will allow for the curves to lay right).

Now turn your body right-sides out.  (You're almost there!)  You're going to take some of your fiberfill and stuff this into the head part of your owl.  Be sure to really get it into the ears and in their points. This will help your owl keep its shape and stay 3-dimensional.

Once you have enough fiberfill to fill the ears and about halfway down the eyes, you're going to start adding the rice.  This will help weigh him down...necessary if you want your owl to be able to "stand" and definitely necessary if you're using as bookends.  Use your funnel for less mess.

Once he's filled about 85 -90 percent of the way, you can stop filling.  Now you just need to turn in the seams, and either sew straight across with your sewing machine, or hand-stitch it shut, along the bottom.

 

Now just follow the above steps for your second owl, and you're done! Enjoy!

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The Kids' Birthday Parties : Celebrating 1 and 4

I'm not quite sure how I'm going to be able to handle two kids' birthday parties every March.  I just did my first set of them this year, as our little guy turned 4, and our sweet girl, 1!!   And, WHEW! what a crazy whirlwind of a couple weeks!  I've heard from numerous moms now, who have up to 3 kids (or more!) with birthdays just weeks, or even days, apart!  HOW do they do it?  I'm now understanding why some kids have joint birthday parties....and it's definitely a possibility for next year. Ha!  {I think the guest list likes it, too, as it's just one party to hit, instead of two in a row...at least for now, while the kids are young enough that the parents must come to the party, too.  Which begs the question, when do kids go to parties by themselves, sans Mom and Dad?}.  Anyway.  Our birthday parties are over! Makes me relieved...but, boy, were they fun!  So fun, in fact, that I already have an idea for next year!  {You'll just have to wait to hear more details on that ~ PLENTY of time!}

So this year we had a Curious George and a butterfly-garden party as our themes. Lots of details went into my planning...although, I hate to admit, all were certainly not successfully executed.  Now, in my defense, some of it was due to uncooperative weather {i.e., too much wind and heat}, but for the most part, I liked how they turned out.  The final consensus {when comparing the two we just had} is that home parties are the way to go if you're going to have lots of decorative details.  It's just too hard to transport and set it all up elsewhere.  Just hope your home {or yard, as in our case} is big enough to host all the attendees!

So our first party was our Curious George party. We had it at a local Train Park, per my son's request. {Curious George and trains don't really have anything to do with each other, but these are the things he wanted, so that's what Mommy did!}.  The wind was making our balloons go crazy and bump into our food, so much so that you couldn't even see the food, so I couldn't set up the table as I would have liked.  Additionally, we had to place heavy items on the napkins, as they kept blowing away.  Also, I couldn't put out some items, due to the heat that day {it was about 87 degrees}, which would have made them melt.  But, that's okay.  I'm sure I was the only one who this all mattered to, ha!

Curious George Birthday Party
 {COLORS}:
*Primary colors with a twist: red, yellow, turquoise and brown

{FOOD}:
*Banana Split Bar {instead of cake and ice cream} ~ afterall, what monkey doesn't love bananas?!
*Banana Split Cupcakes.  I know I said we wouldn't have cake.  But my friend just opened her own cake/cupcake business {Little Sister Cupcakes}, and so she brought these!  Too cute!
*Fresh-squeezed lemonade.  Always refreshing...and better than processed sugars and chemicals in soda.  Oh, and it's yellow...gotta match the drinks, too!
*Juicy Juice boxes.  I prefer cute cups to match, but with a "destination party," if you will, sometimes, you just take the easy way out and simplify.
*Home-made Banana Bread
*Chocolate-Pops shaped like "Curious George"
*Tropical Monkey Trail mix {dried fruits, M&Ms, pretzels}

Our fresh-squeezed lemonade dispenser {from Home Goods - LOVE that store!}

Banana Split Bar

Banana Split Cupcakes

Banana Bread & Tropical Trail Mix

 {DECOR & DESIGN}:
*Balloons.  Always a fave for kiddos, and a key element in the Curious George movie! {If you haven't seen it yet, go rent it!  George goes for a crazy balloon ride with Ted {a.k.a., the Man in the Yellow Hat}}!
*Banana bunches to hold down the balloons...and later be used in our banana splits {love it when decor can double up to be fully functional, as well!}
*Party printables, to include food labels, "thank yous" and a hangable banner

  {FAVORS}:
*Favor bags: red bags tied shut with a "thank you for coming!" scalloped circle. inside were crayons {from Gourmet Play}, a hand-made Curious George coloring book {blank pages}, Curious George stickers and some monkey gummy fruit chews.

party favors

Among the many lessons learned through this one, be sure to add lots of HEIGHT to your table!  It just looks so much better.  Meaning, go to a local home store, and stock up on neutral-toned {ideally white or cream} cake plates, platters and serving dishes, etcetera..especially TALL ones! {Will do better next year!}

Next up was our 1-year olds Butterfly-Garden Party.  We had a bit cooler weather, but still wind {and who says we never have wind in Arizona?!!}.  Aside from the wind, though, this party was easier.  Mainly because it was at home, so I could get everything ready in my own time.  But also, since our backyard is contained and much smaller than a train park, you could give the kids a bit more freedom and not have to watch them like a hawk!

Butterfly-Garden Party
{COLORS}:
*Red, pinks {light and hot}, orange, yellow and keylime green with just a hint of black

{FOOD & DRINK}:
*Cupcakes: Chocolate and Strawberry Shortcake
*Fresh fruit salad
*Rock candy {nicknamed "Sweet Sugar Sticks" for our party!}
*Butter-fly sugar cookie "snackers" {bite-size}
*White-chocolate-covered Spring Oreo cookies
*Fresh-squeezed strawberry lemonade
*Strawberry milk for the kiddos {in Starbucks bottles with striped paper straws ~ so cute!}

bite-size butterfly sugar cookies

white chocolate-covered & drizzled Spring Oreo cookies

Rock Candy

Strawberry Milk

{DECOR & DESIGN}:
*Bloom wooden double-bowl for cookie display
*Seed bomb bags {from Anthropologie} for table decor
*Felt butterfly stickers strewn on tops of tables
*Large Tree Branch with paper butterflies attached
*Hanging Butterflies & Paper Bloom Balls {pattern available at adams blankie}
*Butterflies on Sticks {in ground by backyard gate}
*Anthropologie-inspired fabric "tulip" flowers {in ground by backyard gate}
*Cupcake liner white wreath (on backyard gate} with "Welcome!" sign
*Party Printables, including food labels, "thank you" tags, banner and cupcake toppers
*A "Wish Bowl" Time Capsule with guest-written sentiments for our sweet girl to open/read on her 18th Birthday!
*One HUGE hand-made tutu by Mama...she's gonna LAUGH at these pictures when she's older! :)

painted tree branch with paper butterflies {and you can see one of the hanging paper blooms}

Cupcake Liner Wreath

Fabric "Tulips" {with burlap butterflies} - Anthropologie-inspired

"Wish Bowl" for time capsule guests' sentiments {to open at 18th birthday!}

birthday banner...the wind blew all the letters together :(

 {FAVORS}:
*Large butterfly sugar cookies in cellophane bags with "thank you for coming!" scalloped circle tags.  These were basically my first sugar cookie experiment {I had done a practice set about a month ago}.  You can definitely tell they weren't professionally done, but they weren't bad for my first go.  And they saved me about $50  or so from ordering elsewhere!

Party Favor Butterfly Sugar Cookies

I hope you enjoyed the pictures and ideas from our parties this year.  Please feel free to share your party theme ideas - would love to hear them, as I'm sure all we party-planning parents would!

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