Pinterest to Real Life

Isn't Pinterest the best thing ever!  I love all the fabulous ideas that are just waiting to be discovered.  Usually the things I pin don't make it into my real life but it is always so fun when they do.

I just came across this Pinterest to Real Life link up over at Simple Organic and thought I would share one of my favorite creations that came from a Pinterest idea.

It is a canvas that I stretched myself in college oil painting class and never loved what was painted on it.  So after coming across this pin for a wall paper pattern template, courtesy of Jones Design Company, I thought why not do it on the canvas and see how it looks.

I painted over the previous mistake of a painting with acrylic paint.  Since the original art was done in oil, some of the previous color bleed through which was an unexpected but nice effect.  Once it dried I traced the template onto the canvas.  The template was super easy to trace with a pencil and then trace again with a paintbrush.  After it was dry I traced again with my Krylon Gold Leafing Pen (which is awesome!) and voila!  A really cheap and really big piece of original art for my bare wall!  Thanks Pinterest!!

Make at Home: Simple Display Solution for Children's Art

Arts and crafts are such a fun part of childhood but can be a challenge to display.  My daughter LOVES for her art work to be appreciated and cherished!  I will never forget the time I was decluttering our (cluttery) art display during nap time and forgot to cover the evidence before Audrey woke up.  She saw her prized creation in the trash and I wanted to sink into the floor.  I felt like the worst mom ever!  I just had to weed out some of the art to make room to display new pieces.  I had no idea it was such a special piece and we immediately made a new one.  Thank God I had the supplies we needed!  I learned how special her art is to her and will never make that mistake again!  I have been trying to find a way to show off more of her art in a way that is playful and fun just like the art itself.  I didn't want to spend a lot or be stuck with something unattractive so I decided to just stick push pins in the wall and string ribbon between them.  Art can be clipped to the ribbon with clothes pins and they can be easily changed out as new pieces are created.  I am also planning on buying a large acid free box to store the pieces that I take down (most of them anyway).  The art adds a fun, child friendly feel to her play room and makes her feel so special!

Make at Home: Hair Bows

Making your own hair bows and clips for your children is so simple and frugal!  My daughter has never been very happy to wear a hair accessory for more than a few minutes and even used to pull them out of other little girl's hair as a baby!  Now that she is two and has more hair to hold them, she will wear a clip or bow for an hour or more if she forgets it is in.  She loves to hold them and can't see them when they are on her head I guess.  For this reason, I have not wanted to spend much on cute little bows that will be pulled out and possibly lost.  In two years I have only purchased 5 clips and bows for her and we are now down to 2.  With her hair in a growing out stage it was time to do something! 

So I ordered Alligator Clipsonline (my local beauty supply store did not have what I was looking for) and went to my favorite fabric store for ribbon.  I purchased a small bag full of ribbon for around $20 and the box of 80 clips was about $13 shipped.  Despite my desire to keep chemicals out of our home, I did break down and purchase fray check when I realized that the non toxic glue I planned to treat the ends with would not securely keep the ribbons from fraying. Fray Check cost me roughly $3 at a local craft store and Amazon also has it.  (I got rid of all my nail polish a few years ago or I would have used clear nail polish instead.)  With these supplies and a hot glue gun I can make dozens of hair bows to coordinate with her outfits.  The bows and clips I have purchased in the past ranged from $3 to $5 so it really is a significant savings over purchasing them pre-made.  So far they have all been simple embellished clips but I hope to make some actual bows soon! 

This was a great mommy craft that I enjoyed one afternoon during nap time.  I ended up with 7 new bows and a holder for the wall!  To make a simple bow display just cut two pieces of ribbon to your desired length.  Treat the ends with clear nail polish or Fray Checkand hot glue one over the other.  Sew a simple loop on the back for hanging by a nail and you are finished!  This keeps your bows out to be enjoyed and easily accessed.  Audrey loves her new bows and holder and I had fun making them!

Make at Home: Refreshing Mouthwash

I have been making my own personal care products for the last few months and have had mixed results.  Occasionally something will turn out better than what I have been buying.  There have also been times I have had to throw my concoction out and start over, or repurpose it (for example sticky lotion can become shaving cream).  I mixed up this mouthwash yesterday and am so happy with it!  It really left my mouth minty fresh with a slightly herbal taste.  It is made of simple ingredients and you can tweak it to fit your individual preference.  Here is what I combined in a glass jar:

• water
• baking soda (aluminum free if possible)
• aloe gel
• vegetable glycerin
• peppermint oil
• clove oil
• lemon oil
• tea tree oil

I did not measure the ingredients, but this is roughly organized by largest quantity to smallest.  Once combined, shake well and try it!  I had to tweak mine a few times to get that strong peppermint flavor I was looking for.  Make sure to use organic or high quality oils that can be used internally (not labeled external use only).  I found my peppermint oil and baking soda in the baking isle of my grocery store and the rest I have purchased from Mountain Rose Herbs or Whole Foods.  It is so fun to make your own products, especially when they really work well!  I would love to hear what adjustments you have made to make this recipe work for you!

Make at Home: Simple Art for the Artistically Challenged

I have a degree in interior design and when I was pregnant with my daughter I was really excited about getting her nursery just right!  I knew I wanted it to be girly and creative and not feel cold and uniform as so many nurseries today are.  I wanted bright colors and beautiful decor that would not be outgrown too quickly.  I found the most beautiful art online from Oopsy Daisy.  If the sky was the limit I could have placed quite an order with them, but I decided to keep it simple (I purchased a growth chart and two small bird prints shown here and here- LOVE them all!)  As I thought of ways to fill the other walls I had the idea to make my own art for my daughter, something personal that would hopefully be meaningful to her.  I took oil painting in college and was not all that thrilled with my work and I also didn't want to use something toxic in the nursery. 

I noticed that so many of the pieces I loved were simple shapes layered over each other.  I have stacks and stacks of paint chips from hardware stores and I went and got even more.  I purchased a large canvas (24x36 I believe) and some mod podge from a local art store and that was it (total cost was under $30).  The paint chips were free and gave me a great selection of colors to work with.  I decided to do the tree because it was cheerful and because of the associations with life that trees have.  I included our dog (at the time) and some birds and butterflies. 

The flowers were a pain, but the whole thing was worth it!  It was fun to work on something like that, anticipating my daughter's arrival!  I hope to do more art like this in the future and maybe even incorporate other elements (shells, buttons, ribbon, glitter, etc) so it is more of a collage. This is such a forgiving project- so easy to just cut out another piece if one doesn't look right.  If you try this let me know how it turns out!  I would love to see your creative ideas!