Let Them Eat Cake!

I thought I'd share these super easy cupcakes I put together for our church bake sale last weekend.  All of the goodies were supposed to be individually wrapped, and I'd seen this idea on Pinterest, so I knew what I was making! :) 

 

 

It really is a quick, inexpensive idea that could also be used as party favors.  In addition to the baking supplies, the packaging only cost $5 total.  The clear bags were $2 from Walmart, the ribbon was $2 from Walmart, and the punch cups were $1 for a pack of 10 from the Dollar Tree.  I made the tags myself, punched a hole in them, and tied them on!  The whole project only took about 10 minutes, not including baking time.

 

So, there you have it!  A quick, easy, and cost-effective idea for bake sales, showers, and birthday parties alike!

 

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! :)

 

 

DIY Necklace Holder

I have a confession to make.  I might have a slight addiction to "high fashion" jewelry. ;)  In other words, I'm in love with big, chunky, bright, colorful necklaces.  They're generally not that expensive, so that's not the problem.  Unless you have over fifty of them. :)  The problem I've encountered with my jewelry collection is storage.  I have a nice jewelry armoire that does a great job storing all of my bracelets, earrings, rings, and more slender necklaces.  Meanwhile, my larger necklaces have slowly taken over two whole shelves in our linen closet. 

 

I've been meaning to do something about it for a while now, but finally got around to it today.  Yay! :)

 

These are the supplies I started with:

 

 

The wood plaque and gold paint came from Michaels, the stickers and gold knobs came from Walmart, and I already had the spray paint. (Valspar La Fonda Mirage from Lowes)

I found these really cute knobs from Anthropologie, but they were $8 a piece and I needed 6.  $48?  No thank you!  So, I decided to try a similar DIY version.

 

 

I took the brass knobs from Walmart and put one of the circle stickers in the middle.  Then, I taped off the end and got to spray painting! :)  Here's how they turned out!

 

 

They're not perfect, but I like them!  And it only cost me $15 to make all 6 knobs!  If you want to save even more money, you can make all 6 for $8 if you buy unfinished wood knobs, but I opted for the quickest method. :)

 

I then spray painted the wood plaque white, but it was looking a little plain to me, so I freehanded a stencil and used a gold sharpie to add a little pattern.  Once again, it's definitely not perfect, but that's where being an impatient perfectionist causes problems. ;)

 

 

I actually drilled the holes myself and then screwed on the knobs. :)  It was finally ready for necklaces!  I took 13 of my favorite necklaces that took up the most space and added them to my new jewelry holder/artwork. ;)

 

And here's the final product!

 

 

I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out, especially since the cost of the whole project was less than $25! :)  Now I just have to figure out what to do with the rest of my necklaces. ;)

 

Hope everyone had a great Saturday!

 

So pinspiring!

Last Saturday we had a great time at our Pinterest ladies fellowship at church.  We ate brunch, had a time of prayer and praise, and then got to crafting.  There's nothing like sitting at a table crafting with sweet ladies while holding a hot glue gun in your hand!  Ahhh, good times!  We made spring wreaths, and they all turned out adorable!  I put mine on the front door and then decided to hang it in the hallway until the pollen dies down. ;)

 

Here's how my project turned out!

 

 

I found the unfinished wood frame at Michael's for $7.99, but with my coupons, I ended up only paying $4.50.  Two sweet young boys at church spray painted it for me. :)  I bought the spray paint at Lowe's for $5, and the color is La Fonda Mirage by Valspar.  I couldn't find a wreath form that was the size I needed, so I bought some hard backed felt from Walmart for $1 and cut it to size.  I then covered it with a Vera Bradley Peacock fabric napkin that I had stashed in my closet.  I used a fabric headband in the same pattern, but reversed for the ribbon to hang the frame.  I dug both of these out of my closet where they hadn't been used for years!  Yay for repurposing! :)  I found the turquoise flowers at Michaels for $1.50.  They're actually hair clips, so I just clipped them right on to the fabric. :)  The only thing I actually made was the yellow felt rose, which only took about 5 minutes.

 

Total cost: $12!

 

I love the way it turned out, and I think I might have to add some of these adorable frames to a gallery wall one day.  Wouldn't they be amazing to display kids artwork in? 

This project is truly a testament to the fact that anything is possible with a little spray paint and a lot of hot glue! ;)

 

 

 



Valentine's Day Inspiration

Tomorrow we're taking the boys to do a Valentine's mini session with Brandi from Immeasurable Moments Photography.  I'm so excited!  I have their outfits all ready to go, now let's hope they cooperate! :)  Since it's officially February now, I thought I'd share some great Valentine's day ideas I've found recently.

 

This link is seriously the treasure trove of cute valentines for kids.  I can't wait for school parties! :)

 via

 

And how adorable is this newborn shoot?  Oh my word, I need a Valentine's baby!  Ok, not really, but this is too too cute!! ;)

 

via

 

I pretty much love anything with a chalkboard!  Must be the teacher in me. ;)  I might try a DIY version of this with the boys and their flirty little Valentine's Day tees. :)

via

 

And if you don't have kids, here's a neat idea for a couples session.  Gorgeous!  Check out the link below for the full post with even more great ideas.  Think "The Notebook" themed session. :)

 

via

 

Do you guys have any neat ideas to share?  I know Pinterest is bursting with them, so if you have a favorite, please share the link in the comments section! :)

 

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!



 

A Car-Themed Birthday Party

 I believe I've already shared with you all that my husband is very frugal, right?  Combine that with my love of decorating and you have a wonderful mix...or a huge battle! ;)  I love party planning as well, and I knew when I started planning Blake's 2nd birthday party that I was going to have to find some budget-friendly ideas.  So, I thought I'd share some practical tips on how to reduce the amont of money spent on decorating for a birthday party. :)

I knew I wanted to do a cars theme since Blake is obsessed with cars, so I started browsing for invitations and party packages.  I found the invitation on the left on Etsy.com.  It was a digital printable file for $15.  Then, on top of that, printable party collections range anywhere from $30-$50.  So, my tight-wad wheels start turning, and I search Etsy for transportation-themed digital scapbooking paper.  Lo and behold, I find a set of twelve papers and bonus clip art for $6 from Goodness and Fun: http://www.etsy.com/shop/goodnessandfun. 

I then designed Blake's birthday party invitation on Microsoft Publisher.  It's not exactly the same, but it's close enough for me! :)  The invitation became the inspiration for the rest of the party decor. 

Here's Blake in front of his dessert buffet (which he thoroughly enjoyed!)

The backdrop is a cheap presentation board from Walmart covered in colored computer paper with lines of black Gorilla tape.  I already had the board from a baby shower I decorated, my mom had the paper, so all I had to buy was the $3 tape. :)  Cheap and easy!

The plates ($1 for 20) and the napkins ($.50 for 20) were all from Walmart.

I designed the racetrack initial on Publisher, printed it, and hot glued little cars to it.  I then framed it in a white frame I already had.

The candy, cookies, and cupcakes were from Walmart and Dollar Tree.  The only thing I actually baked were the traffic light sugar cookies, which cost all of $6 total.  I just used frozen Pillsbury sugar cookie dough and Betty Crocker cookie icing.  The orange cones were also form Dollar Tree.  The sucker stands are upside down buckets from the dollar section at Target.  The suckers came from Oriental Trading ($6 for 12).  The tablecloth was $1 from Walmart and I added sticky yellow post-it notes down the center.  The cake came from Rachel's Cakes, http://www.facebook.com/#!/rachels.cakes1.  Her cakes are always delicious! :)  One way I saved money on the cake was by going with buttercream icing instead of fondant for the layers.  This actually cut the cost of the cake in half.  The topper came from Blake's toy box (I cleaned it off, of course.) ;)

I used the same digital scrapbooking paper to design the cupcake toppers, jar labels, and favor labels on Publisher.  This truck also came from the toy box, and the bubbles are from Dollar Tree.

 

We also had some inexpensive activities for the kids and adults outside such as a little pool, sprinkler, slip and slide, bubbles, and corn hole.  Most importantly, Blake and all of our guests had a great time, and that's what really matters! :)

Beauty on a Budget

It's not always easy to decorate on a small budget, but it is possible!  Our budget for the entire guest bedroom/nursery makeover was $500, including furniture.  To accomplish this, I used six different tactics. 

1.  Start out by browsing designer rooms to get inspiration and ideas.  Familiarizing yourself with high-end looks will enable you to spot budget look-a-likes.

2.  Reuse as many items as possible from the previous room and the rest of the house. 

3.  Frequently scour thrift stores and consignment shops.

4.  Shop yard sales, Craigslist, Ebay, etc.

5.  Check out home decor discount stores such as T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, etc.

6.  Don't be afraid to use spray paint! ;)

Here's a breakdown of the budget for the guest bedroom side.  We already had the headboard, which was a DIY project from a few years ago, I just recovered it.  The chandelier and navy blanket were also items we already had.  The side tables were handed down from my mom and painted pink. :)

Mirror - Martha Stewart Home for Home Depot

Curtains - Target, 95" for $12.99 a panel

Fabric for headboard - Waverly curtain panel from Lowe's

Pink pillows - Ross

Trellis pillows - Target

Coverlet - T.J. Maxx

Lampshade - Lowe's

Lamp base - Goodwill (spray painted white)

And here's a before and after picture that shows the complete transformation:

All for under $200!  With a little creative thinking, a little DIY craftiness, and a lot of budget brainstorming, it is possible to design on a dime!  Or in our case, a penny! ;)

Thursday's Featured Nursery

I love this adorable nursery with a subtle transportation theme...and so does Blake!  He's pointing and yelling "CAR" when I found these pictures earlier tonight. :)  I guess we know what to do when I redecorate his room. ;)  There are a ton of budget-friendly DIY projects in this room, including the gallery wall of transportation art from istockphoto hung in inexpensive Ikea frames.

But my favorite project has to be the wainscotting, which is actually just strips of plain MDF topped with casing, nailed and glued to the wall and then painted white.  It's an inexpensive way to add an expensive, custom look to the room.  What a great idea!  Now if I can convince Josh to try it in Cole's nursery...I mean, wouldn't it look amazing with the navy walls? ;)

For more images and details, check out Janette Droust at http://janette.drost.ca/2012/03/calebs-nursery/.

Amazing DIY Projects

Chic & Cheap Nursery has put together "2011′s Best DIY Projects for the Nursery", featuring twelve inspiring DIY projects.  One of my favorites is the painted rug tutorial:

Amazing! :)  To view all of the DIY projects and tutorials, visit:  http://www.chiccheapnursery.com/2012/do-it-yourself/best-of-2011-diy-projects/.