Gingerbread House 2013

Every year my employer sponsors a gingerbread house contest, and employees can make a house for "examples." This year since I am much more busy than usual, I was going to make an igloo out of Marshmallows. Well, that idea kinda flopped, so I went and bought a kit. To much of my surprise when I got it home it was already pre assembled! Woo hoo! All I had to do was decorate. I used marshmallows since we had them, and the candy we sell. I did add the front porch/awning to make it look like I put some effort towards it.

My big helper!

Halloween Costume(s)! DIY

This year for Halloween, we went for some "easy" DIY costumes. Macyn had a few different costumes since she had her regular costume, and two separate parties at preschool/daycare.

Costume #1: Dr. Seuss's the Cat in the Hat featuring Thing 1 and Thing 2
Macyn's Cat in the Hat: Black shirt and pants from her closet, a red bow made out of ribbon, and a hat that I had from when I was a kid
Twin's Thing 1 and Thing 2 : Glued a blue feather boa to hats to make their wigs, and my friend from college made the onesies

Costume #2: Ballerina (worn to pre-school party)
Macyn wore a pair of tights we already owned, a dance costume from a garage sale for $1, and a hair bow she borrowed from the twins

Costume #3: Vikings Cheerleader (worn to daycare and trick or treating)
Macyn decided the night before (we don't procrastinate or anything) that she wanted to be a cheerleader. We already had a cheerleader dress that Grandma bought her. All she needed was some pom poms. I ran to Walmart and picked up some tablecloths and duct tape and went to town. The pom poms actually turned out pretty well and she still plays with them. We added some ribbon to her pigtails to complete the look. She insisted on wearing her cowboy boots to be a cheerleader (I think she has watched the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader show a few too many times)

The twins were still Thing 1 and Thing 2:

DIY: No Sew Headbands and Bows!

I have found a new favorite place to buy various headbands and bows for the girls - The Hairbow Company. I just placed my second order after falling in love with my items from my first order, which included the rompers and headbands the girls are wearing.

They have such a great selection and lots of unique pieces for super cheap prices! For example, the headbands the girls are wearing were only $1.19 each! So on my second order I was looking for specifically a yellow/gray headband for the twins to wear to my sister's wedding. After searching online, etsy, etc. I decided to go ahead and order some pieces from The Hairbow Company. I figured out a cost efficient way to customize headbands and flowers/bows for ALL occasions. So, here is what I did:

First, I ordered a 10 pack of satin headbands. This gives you a complete variety and they only end up being $.50/each. You can also buy them individually as well.

Satin headbands

Then I ordered a couple of flowers. The nice thing about this website is they have a lot of plain flowers so you can customize to your own liking. Here I have the Satin Poppy Flowers in Silver and a Large Shabby Flower in Mustard.

Now here's the fun part. Go buy some velcro dots. Mine were around $2 from Walmart.

Then place one dot on the headband, and the corresponding other dot onto the back of the bow of your choice.

Once you are finished, put the bow on the headband and you are finished! This is a cheap, easy, customizable way to create headbands for every outfit or occasion. You could also use feathers or whatever else you like to attach to the headband! Here are a couple other examples of the "interchangeable" headbands.

So, for 10 headbands and 2 flowers, you can create 20+ different looks (doubling up the flowers) and it comes out to about $0.35/headband. Sounds much better than a boutique headband for $7+, right?!

Bathtub Painting

We made pink, blue, purple, and green!

I found on pinterest the other night on how to make bathtub paints. All it involves is combining baby wash, cornstarch, and food coloring. We made a batch for Macyn and she LOVES it. She will spend an hour in the tub and we will often have to add more hot water since the water gets so cold. She is proud for her painting creations and it is easy to clean up – just use water. She also paints herself and it doesn't stain at all.

Kitchen Pics

It's official! I am DONE painting. Yes, done! It wasn't without being completely and utterly sick of it, or an extremely sore arm AND a cramp in my hand. But its done. There are 22 doors that had to be painted and 9 drawers. That leaves us with:

• 2 coats of primer each side of door (4 coats/door)
• 2 coats of paint each side of door (4 coats/door)
• 2 coats of primer on front of drawer (2 coats/drawer)
• 2 coats of paint on front of drawer (2 coats/drawer)

So that leaves us with a grand total of # with paint and primer of....212 coats! Holy smokes! The only thing left to do in the kitchen is finish hanging all the doors, tile, and install new countertop with sink/facets, etc. But PAINTING IS DONE! I know I already said that, but can't you tell I'm excited? Now if only my arm would quit hurting....

Doors with painted backsplash

Close up

Doll House = Done!

We originally had planned to give Macyn her dollhouse for her birthday, but since we weren't super busy this past weekend and was an extremely well behaved child, we decided to give it to her early. Let me tell you, this has kept her busy all weekend! It is nice to see that it doesn't matter to her if it is home made, if the beds are made out of cereal boxes or the couch made out of kleenex. She loves it all the same as a store bought one. Here are the final pictures:

Finished house! Includes baby room, bedroom, loft area, and living room.

When we gave this to her she exclaimed "A BARBIE HOUSE!"

How she arranged everything :)

Here is the lowdown of all the supplies used:
 • Peel and stick floor tiles (leftovers) - Free
 • Purple shag rug from the dollar store ($6)
 • Walls - gift bags and scrapbook paper ($3)
 • Paint - leftover from Macyn's nursery -Free
 • Chandelier was a Christmas ornament I found at Walmart ($2)
 • Furniture was made out of cereal boxes, kleenex boxes - Free
 • Materials for furniture was used out of my mom's old fabric scraps.
 • Stuffing for the pillows and couch a giant bag ($3)
 • Flatscreen TV - template I desgined - Free!

So with a grand total of $14, I think this was a pretty cheap way to make something Macyn loves. It was such a fun project to do!

DIY Dollhouse - the "Dutch" way

At work we are going to be moving into a new building shortly, so we have been busy purging and throwing stuff we don't need to bring over there. In one of the giant mounds of trash, I grabbed an old floor stand made out of corrugate. These are the types that you can see in convenience stores, etc. that hold bags of candy or other items. Here is a "before" picture of it on its side. I only had the top part, not the base.

Floorstand on it's side

I was trying to figure out what I could make or use this for. And then it dawned on me - how about a Barbie house? So I brought it home and tried debating if it would work or not. I figured out a "floor plan" which includes 2 bed rooms, a living room, and a storage area for accessories. I then deconstructed the floor stand, removed some of the grids, and grabbed the utility knife to make my own pattern to make the grids more sturdy. They were a little flimsy, but I added more strength by adding tabs and reinforced cardboard to make it a little stronger. Sounds complicated, but I do similar things as part of my job, so it wasn't too difficult.

Grids removed, and rooms created!

Once I had this floorplan established, I painted each room a different color. I used leftover paint from Macyn's nursery. I then laid some carpet and tile. I used some peel and stick tile that was leftover from my bedroom in high school, and I picked up a purple shag rug from the dollar store for $6. In fact, the tile made the shelves stronger.

 I still need to "wallpaper" the walls, create furniture, and possibly some curtains. So, here is a rundown of the supplies and cost so far:

* Floor stand = Free

* Paint = Leftovers

* Tile = Leftovers

* Carpet = $6 (and I have over half left)

Actual money spent so far  = $6. .....and just think, this thing was going in the trash!

....to be continued.

Labor Day Rundown

Here is a quick rundown of our fun-filled-super-full weekend!

Friday Night:

We primed all the lower cabinets in our kitchen. This included wiping them all down, removing all doors, handles, and hinges. We gave it two coats of primer and let it dry overnight to be ready to paint in the morning. (Make sure you check out our new range - woo hoo for 5 burners and matching appliances!)

Saturday:

Painted 2 coats of paint on lower cabinets. We also primed 2 coats on about half the doors - front and back. Let me tell you, this is time consuming!

I needed a break from painting, so I decided to try a pinterest project where you paint letters onto glass votives. The paint didn't stick to the glass so I gave up. I did, however, try another idea I saw on Pinterest. This included filling a vase with pine cones, and using a toilet paper roll in the middle so you don't have to use so many to fill the vase. I then filled the rest of the top with ribbon, and added flowers. I like how it turned out, but I wish the flowers were taller. I think I am going to switch out the filled vase for the Christmas season as well.

Sunday:

We decided to visit my Grandpa in the hospital. Macyn wasn't exactly an angel, but tolerable. Better than when she pees her pants when we put her in time out (that's a whole 'nother story). But, Grandpa was happy to see her and us. I am not quite sure what the next steps with his Leukemia is, but all I know is they stopped his chemo, and he has 90% bad white cells. His total white blood count is 300. Earlier in the week they told him if he decides to not treat his AML, he would have 2 weeks is all. This makes me nervous knowing how his blood work is turning out. That being said, we are still taking it one day at a time, praying, and hoping for the best.

Monday:

We decided to hit up my hometown parade. It was a parade full of fire trucks and random stuff. Seriously one of the longest parades with nothing that memorable. There were some clowns, horses, and Steve King was there. I always think its kinda cool to see him in person instead of only on CSPAN or the town hall meetings I get on my phone all the time. I also made the 125th brochure for the town. I was asked, and I think it turned out pretty well. I also had to draw out the map - it was tedious! (It is a gatefold, which is why it looks weird flat)

We also had some good home made ice cream in the park and checked out the craft fair. It was a very busy, hot weekend!

Macyn and myself waiting for the parade to start

Baptism Present

DH's cousin gets baptized on Sunday (yes, his cousin is 2 years younger than our child). So I was trying to come up with a gift we could give her, and I found these name crosses on the internet. I decided to create one myself, print it out, and frame it. I think it turned out pretty cool, and I might just have to make one for Macyn. It says her name, along with God's Precious Gift with the date on the bottom. This was an inexpensive, unique gift to give. I can't wait for them to open it on Sunday!

Minnie Mouse Cupcakes

Cake pans with cut off tops

For Macyn's party,  I made simple cupcakes - boxed cake mix and canned frosting. I did buy the pink fun-fetti frosting and added a little bit of pink food coloring to make it more saturated. I also put white pearl sprinkles on the pink cupcakes, and pink pears on the white cupcakes. I stuck 2 mini oreos in each cupcake to make it look like Minnie ears. I also created the giant cupcake with a pan I borrowed from work. It looks nice, but it was big mess! I filled both pans up to the top and they proceeded to overflow in the oven. I would scoop out extra batter ever 10 minutes or so. After they were completely cooked, I cut off the tops, so they would be flat when I put the giant cupcake together. Sooo happy it turned out (and that the cakes didn't stick!) Here is how everything turned out!

Minnie Mouse Shirt - DIY

Since the dress Macyn wore for her Minnie Mouse pictures is too big, I came up with another idea as to what she should wear for her pictures - I would make her a shirt! I ran over to Walmart and picked up a white shirt, iron on letters, and ink jet iron on transfers. I also had ribbon and stick on jewels leftover from other projects.

I made a pattern of Minnie Mouse ears and printed them out on the transfer paper. I also laid out the way I wanted Macyn's name.

After that, I ironed everything on and added jewel stickers to make the 2. I wasn't sure if they would stick, but i figured I wouldn't wash it anyways. In fact, the iron on transfers do not suggest washing the garment! Crazy! I added a Minnie Mouse bow, and ta-da! A custom Minnie Mouse shirt on a budget!

Can't wait for her to wear it!

Minnie Mouse Ears - DIY

I thought it would be a cute idea to have the guests at Macyn's party to wear Minnie Mouse/ Mickey ears instead of birthday hats. I still think it was a good idea, but had no idea how time consuming it was! But I did this on a pretty cheap budget and was happy with the way they turned out. I first bought some cheap-o headbands from Gordmans. Then, you cut out long strips (I used felt) that will cover the entire headband. Use hot glue to attach. Then, you make an ear pattern by making two circles with a rectangle in the middle. Dimensions will vary, according to what kind of headbands you purchase or how big you want your ears.

Then, you cut out 2 ears for each headband. You also need craft foam to cut out circles 1/2" smaller than the felt ears. You glue this circle to the center of the ears. Fold the other side over to cover up the other side of the foam and glue, but not the bottoms yet!

Once you have all the headbands covered, slide the ears onto the headbands using the loop you created when you made the ears. If my directions don't make sense, go here. Way more detailed than I am :)

And you are done! If you wanted just Mickey ears, don't add a bow. If you want Minnie ones, add one. I created the bows myself using ribbon (see previous post) That simple. Here is how mine turned out.

And here is how they look on my 2 year old!

I made enough ears for everyone at the party. We have decided if the guests refuse to wear them, they will have to donate $20 to her college fund :)

Cupcake Tower - DIY

Remember when I blogged a couple of weeks ago about the Halloween cupcake stand I bought for $1? Well, it is officially finished and it turned out great! I started out by wrapping white pieces of cardstock to cover up the centers of the platforms where there were holes. Then, I wrapped zebra & pink ribbon around the canned goods that will work as the support for the tower.

There was also a topper that I decided to modify and put on top of the giant cupcake on the top tier. I first measured how large to make the ears, which I cut out of craft foam. I then bought stick on jewels to make the 2 on the center of the ears.

All that was missing was the bow! You can make a simple bow by making a loop with whatever ribbon you like, pinch in the middle, and tie off. I also hot glued it so it would stay.

After I attached the bow to the ears, it was time to assemble the topper. I just hot glued it to the bat and covered the bottom with some zebra ribbon.

Before and After

Here is how everything turned out all together. I couldn't be more happier. I also found some cupcake wrappers from Hobby Lobby that match the Minnie Mouse theme.

Birthday Invite

Macyn turns two today! She is getting so big! Even though her birthday is today, we are having her party tomorrow. Here is the invite (and a little sneak peek of what her party will look like). I took the pictures and designed the card myself and had them printed at Hills. Can't go wrong with 10 invitations for $3!

Pink, Zebra print, Minnie Mouse ears, what more could a girl want?