MONOGRAMMED PARTY FAVORS

I love to make fun party favors. But they really have to practical. I can't tell you how many times I have found the little squiggly eyed poppers at the bottom of a closet or in the car, and they eventually made it into the trash. So when it was time to start planning Pre-teen's birthday party, my creative wheel's started turning. She decided that she wanted to have a swim party, and it had to be a Luau theme. Okay perfect, since at the time the Dollar Store had lots of cute Luau themed items. From tiki cups and leis, to fun little signs and grass skirts. We did it all. But when it came to the party favors, I wanted the girls to be able to really use them. It's my mommy side... if I'm going to pay for it, I want them to be used.

So I decided to make some monogrammed towels. Now I don't have a fancy sewing machine that does monogramming so I had to get creative. And I really wanted to include some fun fabric. I found a fun black and white polka dot fabric and used it to add each girl's initial to their favorite colored towel.

What do you think?

I love how they came out. Each towel cost about $5 to make, and was totally worth it. The girls loved their towels and were so surprised to find that they got their favorite colors.

My daughters are now asking for all their things to be monogrammed. I think I'm kind of having a Laverne and Shirley flashback.

NOTE: Make sure to follow me on FACEBOOK. You never know when I'm going to do a giveaway there. Don't miss out!

Linking to these parties... Go check them out!

BACK TO SCHOOL ALREADY?? ALMOST

We only have 28 days left until our little ones head back to school in our little part of the world... not that I'm counting, and I was itching to make something cute for Drama Queen to use as her backpack this year. Last year it was a combined use of a "roller" backpack, which can cause some minor accidents and pileups in the hallway at school... not my favorite backpack, and this tote bag that I made for her last year. I still love to see my girls use them.... So in true Drama Queen fashion, this year's bag had to be stylish, fun, and different. 

After a visit to my favorite (hubby's least favorite) store - HobLob - I was back home with this...

and this...

After a little sewing (only to make the ruffles) and a lot of fabric glue (made it so much easier) I came up with this.  

 You've gotta personalize this tote, I mean someone might get it mixed up with theirs.

So how stylish, fun and different is this??

SUPER fun and a super easy way to create something unique for your little one to go back to school with.  How fun would one be with tulle all around it for a ballet bag?  

*ciao*

Deb

I'm linking up to these parties... Go check them out! 

Home Stories at AtoZ

A VALENTINE PILLOW... MY WAY

We seriously had a hard weather week last week. We were iced in... and snowed in... and we really need to get out of here. Don't get me wrong, I love being at home, but seriously - we were going on our 4th day of being at home and not because we wanted to. We just weren't brave enough or maybe it's crazy enough to venture out on those crazy streets out there. Although the crazy was starting to set in at one point, and if we were forced to stay in another day we would have had to have found us a sled and some dogs somewhere.

I wish I could say I was super productive and cleaned my house from top to bottom and was just super crafty... but I wasn't. I spent WAY too much time on a little site called Facebook. Have you heard of it?? It's evil. Too bad Zuckerberg doesn't make money based on how much time people spend on Facebook, because he would be so much richer than he already is I tell you. (The Junie B. Jones hasn't worn off yet... sorry!)

Anyway, I figured that since I was at home I should at least attempt to do something creative. Hmm, what to do, what to do... when you can't run to Hobby Lobby because you might get stranded and the hubster would so not be happy about that.

Once again I was forced to use what I had on hand. I'm starting to realize that I have a lot on hand.

I used this...



and this...



and a template from this blog...

Then I used this...



and cut off this...



to make this...




and in the end I had made this....



I love it!! And it looks so pretty on my chair. I loved it so much that I had a little drawing on my FB page and gave one away. So now I'm thinking I need to make some more of these for other parts of my house...



*ciao*
Deb

WHERE HAVE I BEEN?

As much as I wish I was better at blogging I'm just not lately. I think about what I will post and I get started and then am easily distracted. I seriously think I need ADD meds or something. I just have so much trouble getting things accomplished sometimes and it is soooo frustrating. I have gotten some things done over the past few months... some little and some big. Some for me, and some for others...

My friend Alexa bought a beeeaaauuutiful house a few months ago and asked me to help her with the decorating and drapes. It is an ongoing process but here are some drapes I made for her.


These are the drapes for her living room. Beautiful fabric.


These are in her dining room. These medalions were found at HobLob for like $2.50 on sale. They are fabulous!



Then here and there I've done a few things at my house. Nothing too major.



Some fun and inexpensive candle bling...






And finally, after seeing this post on Shanty2Chic, I had to try it out. A set of 3 canisters for about $17. Super fun and different.



I love them. They are so fun, and since the lids are screw tops, the food inside doesn't get stale.

So now that I am back to blogging I am thinking of all these other things that I want to post about. Hmmm... what to post next???

A LITTLE BURLAP GOES A LONG WAY

When I think of burlap, I've always pictured fall decorations (scarecrows, pumpkins, etc.) I never really considered it as a decorator fabric until a few years ago. A friend of mine needed a window treatment for her son's room. To go along with the fishing theme, I used burlap to cover a cornice board, then attached a fish net from HobLob and some random fish thingies from the tackle box to it. It looked great. To carry the theme in the room, I also made a burlap dust ruffle for his bed. Super, super cute!!

Fast foward to our laundry room. Our laundry room is... well large... which is nice, but the room does double duty as an exercise room, which means I had to really think about the decor in there. I had to make the room somewhat masculine since my hubby is in there so much. So I started by painting the room a medium camel color, which is sooooo much better than the dirty white that was in there before. At least now I want to do the laundry.

As for the windows, I needed to make a valance of some kind so as not to have them ripped down with the weights. BINGO!! I opted for a yard and half of burlap which set me back a whole $4.78. Wow, talk about breaking the bank. Having sewn burlap before, I didn't want to have my "mistreatment" curling up on me, so... I glued it. Have I ever mentioned that I love my glue gun.


Anyway, I folded my burlap in half ... longways, and cut at an angle to make a pointed end. Then I cut two strips of another fabric and glued it to the ends all the way around. I made a pocket at the top to slide the repurposed and newly spray painted rod through. Have I mentioned I love spray paint?

The result, a pretty, but masculine window valance that didn't break the bank.


With the extra burlap, I decided to recover a bulletin board I had made that just didn't thrill me. Then I hung it from a rod iron scroll. Love the new look of the laundry room.




I plan to make a cushion for the two boxes below the hanging rack where the girls can sit and put their shoes on. I'm still thinking I need to find something else for that though. I'm thinking maybe a narrow coffee table converted into a bench. I may have to make a trip to Salvation Army once school starts again.

I just love cheap redos.

Have a great day. Stay cool... it's HOT outside!!

*ciao*
deb

DRAB to FAB"ULOUS"

My little Drama Queen has a habit of asking me, "Mama, do I look FABULOUS?" She's got a whole lot of attitude in that little body of hers. So the other day, I found these denim totes at HobLob for 50% off which made them $2 each. I thought they would looks super "FABULOUS" if we just added some fun fabric to them. Luckily, I had some left over scraps from a previous project that would be perfect. Well as usual, my wheels start turning and I end up doing much more than I intended, but in the end... they are "FABULOUS!!!" What do you think??



So I start with this... plain Jane denim tote.



Then I found a "peace" symbol online and cut and pasted in into a Word document.




Printed it and cut it out. Then I traced it onto the fabric and cut it out...(sorry I didn't take a picture of that.)

Then I glued it (yes glued since I didn't have any of that sticky iron on stuff that you put on fabrics). But I did use fabric glue, so at least I wasn't totally off the wall with that. Anyway, back to my story, I glued and then stitched the "peace sign" on the bag.



Then because everything is so much more "FABULOUS" when it is blinged out even more, and because I just can't stop at mere cuteness, I decided to go on and do the inside too. So I measured (professional seamstresses turn away from the monitor and cover your eyes... I am about to do something that may make you spit!) This is my way of measuring... I put the bag on top of the fabric and just eyed it.



Then I added in some pockets for water bottles, crayons, stuff...



I then sewed up the side that was open and the bottom and made a little pouch, that then slips into the tote like this...



Then you pin the inside pouch to the outside tote (again, you seamstresses out there, just close your eyes and save yourself the frustration. I know, I know, just breathe in and breathe out!)



oh, and one more thing... don't forget to change out your bobbin thread (is that what the bottom circle thing is called? I forgot and had to go back and remove all the "white" thread that was showing on my denim bag... aaahhhh!!! So yeah, don't forget to do that.



Then you sew, sew, sew and in the end you have a fun tote that is lined with fun fabric...



and a little girl who thinks it looks "FABULOUS!!"



My girls like their bags so much, and Pre-Teen is even asking if she can use it as her back pack this year. Guess I saved myself some bucks with that one.

Have a great afternoon.

*ciao*
Deb