Monday, December 26, 2011

DIY SubWay Art.. Completely Addicting!!

 I love personalization. No.. really. It's a sick obsession of mine. Lately, I've been seeing these CA-UTE word pictures all over the place. I've played around on different websites and I've found several that I like. Picnik is probably the most fun because you can individualize the words, add pictures, and save easily. Oohh yeah!! Here are a few sites (and one is a great how-to-subway art guide). I've printed from each site (Wordle gives me a bit of trouble but it may be operator error. Heh.)  Have fun!!

http://www.themotherhuddle.com/tutorial-make-your-own-printable-subway-art/
http://www.picnik.com/app#/home/welcome (site the above link refers to)

http://www.wordle.net/create

http://www.tagxedo.com/





Christmas doesn't stop December 25..

Presents have been ripped apart, remnants of plastic wrapping and random toys are still scattered all over the floor. The tree is still up, but it's twinkle is not quite the same as it was just days ago. Leftover turkey and ham is in the fridge, the last of the wine is gone... now what? The Post Christmas Blues have set in, THAT'S WHAT!

As Americans, the thought of making yummy treats, buying the perfect gifts, creating that perfect beautiful Christmas living environment (which let's face it..most of us fail at doing) is drilled placed into our heads...24/7!! We worry so much about the little things that sometimes the things that matter just pass us by, unnoticed. THEN once December 25 has passed we think 'Oh CRAP. Where did the peaceful & relaxing holiday go?'

This year..lets make a plan to focus on what who matters. Our loved ones. Instead of worrying about taking the tree down, sit down with your child and play that new Candy Land Game. Instead of running to the mall to catch the great deals you've been emailed (I have recieved 20 emails today alone, informing me of great 'After Christmas Sales..' no wonder we're all shopping maniacs), watch a Christmas movie with your hubby over turkey sandwiches. 

Each day with our loved ones is a gift to be treasured, not taken for granted. I don't want to be one of those mothers who regrets not slowing down.. If my tree is still up on January 1, 2012.. so what? If I'm stepping on Barbie shoes for a week because my kids haven't picked them up yet, at least I have children who are able to appreciate & play

I believe our God has much more in store for us than shopping malls and crazy Christmas parties. 100 years from now it won't matter what kind of deal I got on my sweater..what will matter is that I taught my children to slow down & enjoy the holiday season in its entirety..all year long. 
Below are links I've found regarding Christmas, the blues, and feeling just plain down in the dumps. Check em out.. even if they don't benefit you, they may benefit someone you know. 




Sunday, December 25, 2011

DIY Hand Painted Decorative Wine Glass. Fun & Funky!

What girl  woman wouldn't LOVE one of these?! They are so much fun to make and super easy.

Supplies Needed:
-Wine glass (RUN to your local Hobby Lobby/Target/Walmart/Wherever Sells Wine Glass store
-Paint pens. These babies are good for SO many projects
-Feather Boa (again, Hobby Lobby). You can use one boa for multiple glasses
-Hot Glue

*************
Steps:
1-Clean & dry glass
2-Go to town decorating with your pens (for this one, I just copied the letter 'A' in Curlz font. If you've got a bit of a shaky hand, there are many stencils you can use to apply lettering. OR you can even use Scrapbook Stickers or Vinyl! It's your glass, decorate as you please!
3-Place the boa around the base of the glass, measuring how much you'll need (it's best to measure a little too much and then trim down than to underestimate and not have enough. Been there.)
4-Hot glue the boa down. Be generous with the amount of glue you use. If you're worried about the glue appearance underneath the glass, you could always Mod Podge some scrap book paper to it and write a personal note to the glass recipient.
5-Admire your work (this is the best step of all)


*Please note that this glass is for decorative purposes only. I wouldn't want to run a feather boa through my dishwasher..lol. I'd LOVE to see pictures!

DIY Painted Glass. Grab your paint pens!

Painting glass is so easy and FUN for all (except those who have butterfingers and tend to drop things..heh)

All you need is:
Clean glass *you don't want to paint over anything old & funky*
Paint Pens
Embellishments
Adhesive if you use embellishments

Steps
1-Clean glass
2-Open Pens (keep pens away from clothes--I'm here to tell ya it will STAIN)
3-Create!!
4-Allow to dry

I have only done these for decorative purposes.. I've yet to find a good sealer that would allow me to paint and then (a) wash in the dishwasher (b) not cause a cloudy/smudgy look (c) totally ruin the creation I was so proud of. If y'all find something good, puh-LEASE let me know what you've used.

The link below shows some of the different things I've done.
Have fun & be creative!!

http://sweetfairytaleprincesscreations.webs.com/apps/photos/album?albumid=8841572

DIY Ribbon Covered Lamp Shades. Perfect idea for all ages!

A few years ago, I purchased a few drum lamps from Pier One Kids for a FRACTION of the price. They were cute..nothing special. At the time, I only had my first two daughters but bought three..for some crazy reason. When I found out I was pregnant with our third princess, I decided to try to get creative with the lamps--they needed some flair! Light this baby up in style! I bought a gorgeous nursery set online that neglected to come with a lamp, so the following is my solution!!

Supplies Needed:
1-Ugly Lamp 
2-Lots and lots of cute & coordinating ribbon (varying sizes and textures looks great)
3-Glue Gun/Mod Podge may work BUT I've never tried it..just a thought
4-Lots of patience (and a steady hand. Burning your fingers with a glue gun will make you cuss like a sailor)

Steps:
1-Remove shade from base of lamp (seems obvious)
2-Begin to horizontally wrap the shade with your ribbon, gluing all the way along while wrapping. Try to keep the ends matching up at the same spot as the ribbon above it.
3-Wrap/Glue/Wrap/Glue (seriously..this can take some time)
4-You're getting there, I promise. It's almost done!
5- Once your entire base is covered, you'll want to take one longer piece of ribbon and glue it vertically along the shade, covering where the ribbon ends meet  *this is why matching the ends is so important*
6-Tuck the ends of the ribbon underneath the inside of the shade (I'd recommend gluing about 1/2 in. on both ends, ensuring it will stay for long periods of time)
7-Attach your shade to the base of lamp (again..obvious)
8-Admire!! You did it!

I'd love to see pics of your variations of these shades. The one pictured has beads hanging from fishing wire..I glued them to the bottom of the shade and secured it with ribbon on the inside and outside of the shade..I love the dangling effect it gave!

Have fun!

Don't forget to tie down the mattress!

*I wrote this two.five years ago..still makes me happy. 
Mattress Shenanigans
By Sara D. Simmons
My husband works for a national restaurant and our family recently relocated to Brandon, Mississippi from our long time home in Augusta, Georgia. Moving to a new state and leaving behind a multitude of family and friends can be very traumatic sad. The following is just one incident that occurred while our parents were helping us settle into our new home state.
Had to purchase new mattresses for the two older girls (potty training is never nice to a set of mattresses, I don't care who the kids are). So....my husband Jon and I went hunting all day Friday for new mattresses. Trying to shop for something “boring” like mattresses is not appealing to children. We received looks from several sales associates practically begging us to remove our litter of kids from their stores. Finally, we found two nice Serta sets at Cowboy Maloney’s (local store that sells everything on the planet) for a great price.
We pick up the beds in my mom & her friend John's trailer and proceed to drive home. We're driving down I-55 around 6:15 (yes...rush hour traffic in the Capitol of Mississippi) going around 65 mph (which I realize now was pretty stupid). I happen to look into my rear-view mirror and low and behold I see the box-springs THIRTY FEET IN THE AIR!!!! OH MY GOD!!! The poor guy driving the SUV behind the trailer had to soil his pants when he realized there was a twin-sized box-spring headed straight toward his windshield. Luckily, he was able to swiftly maneuver his vehicle safely to another lane...I was screaming in my car, Jon was furious and yelling colorful words (that children should NEVER hear…but let’s be honest..they sometimes do), the girls were crying, Bella had produced the biggest amount of stinky poop in her diaper I've ever seen in my LIFE, my mother and her boyfriend are running down the interstate waving like maniacs at the oncoming traffic to swerve.
Thank God, no one was hurt....with the exception of the poor, broken box-spring that skidded down the interstate at 65 mph and almost caused a 500 car pile-up during Friday evening rush hour. Sigh...Want to throw in a huge THANK YOU to the wonderful salesmen at Cowboy Maloney’s for the THIRD box spring they sold us. Never seen someone laugh quite that hard…

Our 'Elf on the Shelf'..headed home :)

To view more information on 'Elf on the Shelf' click here: http://www.elfontheshelf.com/?gclid=CMTik5iUnq0CFVSR7QodQjFzlg




Remodeled Doll House? Why yes..yes I will!

I found these dollhouses at a yard sale and just loved them..but had NO idea what to do with them. They sat in my garage for awhile... then HARK! After hours of googling 'painted dollhouse'...'diy dollhouse'...'paint the dollhouse pretty'...'for the LOVE give me an idea for these dollhouses'..
So after many failed attempts at finding what I wanted on Google Images, I decided to spray paint & decorate them however I pleased for a dear friends little girls..
P-R-O-J-E-C-T!
I found the cutest color blue..painted both then just went to town, decorating with embellished stickers, scrapbook paper, and that *magical* stuff called Mod Podge. I'm super proud of these little happy houses.
And, I'm sure they'll look adorable in their rooms!

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Who I am..

Heeyyy :)
My name is Sara.. I'm a mother, a wife, a Director of a childcare center, I'm easily distracted (I've been trying to write this first paragraph for two hours), and in my spare time (ie--when I should be sleeping) I LOVE to make stuff!
I was blessed to have three daughters (pray for me..they're drama princesses) and I married my best friend in 2002. He is super patient with me and encourages me to create whatever I want.
I look forward to new ideas, suggestions, and chatting with you all!!