Alphabet Photography Sign

I made this Alphabet Photography sign as a wedding gift for my cousin. It says “Harris” with the classic “EST 2010” for the year they were married.

I had fun scouring my town and the mountain to find the pictures to take.  Then I ran out of time to put it together at my house, so I had fun trying to use what I quickly packed with me to make it look nice.  I also forgot my wall hanging kit at home (350 miles away) so then I had to decide how on earth were they going to hang it on the wall.  I then came up with the idea of using some barbwire as the hanger; I just had to get my dad to help me attach it to the board!!!

How to:

I used a 7”x32”x1” scrap board that I had.

I took the pictures and then edited them to all have the same look (you can also find pictures online, but me being a photographer myself I wanted to use my own pictures).

I painted the board brown and then glued the scrapbook paper strip along the bottom. 

Because my dad was all out of sandpaper I distressed my board using a metal/wood file and a wire brush.

I then evenly spaced out all my pictures and glued them down.

I used my sister’s vinyl cutting machine to cut out the “EST 2010” and placed it on the green scrapbook paper that I cut to the same size as the photographs.  (FYI if you need any custom vinyl cut let me know as she just started her business called Got Vynl?)

Then I covered the entire board with mod podge to give it a protective coating.

My dad did wonders with the barb wire.  He measured out a piece of barb wire and then made a loop at each end around a screw and then screwed it into the top of the board.

That was it!!!

Oh and just for fun here’s a picture of the newlyweds…

Kids Craft: Sea Shell Frames

We had the opportunity to visit the beach while on vacation to Pennsylvania.  We visited the Island Beach State Park in New Jersey.  After Grandpa brought them over some nice sea shells they started collecting any and every little piece of a shell they found around our beach blanket.

Then today while visiting my sister at her In-laws house my daughter pointed out to me a picture frame that had little turritella shells lined around it and so we decided to use their shells from our trip (plus the leftovers that I had from another project) to decorate old frames we found at the DI (local thrift store).  The purple one was $0.50 and the brown one was $0.75.

I armed my kiddos with paintbrushes and some cream acrylic paint.  TIP:  Dad’s old short sleeved dress shirts make for great painting aprons.

I helped some to make sure all the frame was covered.

Then we glued on the sea shells.  I had the kids arrange the larger shells where they wanted them and then I used the hot glue gun to attach them.  Then I spread Elmer's glue in the open places and the kids put the little one’s on wherever they wanted.

 (They really were enjoying themselves they just didn’t like the picture taking)

I then removed the inner picture and we covered a cardboard square with fabric using Mod Podge.  I let the kids spread the glue out and then we smoothed the fabric together.  After the mod podge dried I then ironed the appliqué starfish and ship using Wonder Under.

I used my Cricut and Sure Cuts A Lot to do the vinyl saying “Remember what you were born to become.”   This is located between the front door and living room window so as we leave the house we remember we were all born to become Kings or Queens and to act accordingly.

With the help of my kids I think this is our first decorating success, YEA!!!

Holiday Gift Extravaganza: oTHeR HoLiDaY GiFTS & CRaFTs

To finish up our Extravaganza Week here’s some ideas for Holiday Decor, Cards, Gift Bags, Pet gifts, etc.

**Don’t forget to leave a comment to be entered into the Giveaway. You can also get a one time entry by spreading the word through e-mail, facebook or your blog!! If you are a follower be sure to leave a comment for another one time entry!!**

Nativity Scene Blocks

Dog Toy

Seasonal Word Blocks

Heritage Blocks

Cards

Gift Bag

Block Ornament

Glass Ornaments

Front Computer Panel Recycled

My husband saved these front panels from a couple of old computers.  He thought maybe I could use them for something and well I decided to turn them into picture frames. (Please disregard the little papers all over the floor as my son decided it would be fun to spread the shredded paper on the floor and I was to lazy to vacuum it up.)

Before:

After:

Ribbon Holder

I made myself a ribbon holder. All I used was 4 Carnation Instant Breakfast Canisters, 2 wood dowels (1/4” x 12”),scrap wood, scrapbook paper, and paint.

I cut the wood into 2 strips 3” x 15” and 2 strips 3” x 12”. Then I cut what was suppose to be just an “L” shape but I messed up on one strip and had to cut “T” shapes for it to work right.

I then used wood glue and some nails to put the frame together and painted it.

In between coats of paint I worked on the actual holders. I cut the metal part off the bottom of each canister and then stuck two together with duck tape. Then I punched holes into the lids for the dowel to go through.

Then I covered the canisters using Mod Podge and scrapbook paper. Then using an x-acto knife I cut a slit for the ribbon to come out of.

A couple of coats of varnish and the ribbon in place and she’s ready to hang!! I’m now one step closer to an organized office/craft room.

I'm participating in:

The Dollhouse

The dollhouse is done! Okay so it's not complete but it's as done as it's going to get for now.

I started with this bookshelf:

I made all the room dividers and the additional peak out of scrap wood from another item we had in our house but was falling apart. I glued and nailed all the walls in place. I used a jigsaw to cut out the windows on the side of the house (that is NOT my favorite power tool). I cut the doorways between rooms out before I glued the walls in place. I'm eventually going to put railing along the top next to the attic room but I'm going to wait until Ari is older as she's still a little rough with things and I'm afraid it would just break off. I then painted it white.
Then I gathered up all my scrapbook papers and some Mod Pogde and started decorating. I also used acrylic paint to do the base colors. Make sure that when you adhere your papers to the wall that you put the glue on the paper first otherwise you will get bubbles in your paper (you might still get some bubbles the larger your paper is, but not nearly as bad). Oh, and don't forget to coat over your papers after they are in place with more Mod Podge. I'm still figuring out what I want to do for the flooring in the top rooms. I also plan to do wall hangings and other small trinkit but I'll probably have Ari help me make them.

As you can see Ari has lots of dolls but is sparse on the furniture. That will come later. My Mom is talking about getting her some for her birthday and I'll probably make some also to give to here for her b-day.
Bedroom
Attic

This room makes me think of a bathroom. I'll probably get some scrap linoleum to finish the floor with.
Bedroom
Living Room
I plan to make this room the kitchen/dinning room.
I know some of you requested instructions, so if you have any questions leave a comment and I will try to answer them as best as I can!

Oh and here are some links for some more ideas for the dollhouse:
Make your own Dollhouse Furniture
Another Homemade Dollhouse
Dollhouse Furniture with Everyday Objects
Homemade Miniature Villa