Wall Box

So I was at the DI looking for crafts I could spice up. (And cheap baby toys that were still in good shape!) I picked up this ugly blue wall box for $1.50 and made it into something new for my baby's room!! It was surprisingly easy too!

Before (Sorry, you must suffer the gloss of my table cover, I was too lazy to move it.)

After!!

I got the paper at Heartland. Just a warning: Don't go in there if you don't want to spend money!! You'll want to buy the whole store!!

What I did:

1. Measure and cut all sides of paper.
2. Sand as much paint off as I could. (It was on there pretty thick too. I didn't get to the base wood but I wanted to at least get the glossy finish off so my paper would stick.)
3. Paint parts that are going to show. (I always paint the seams too, like where two pieces of paper will meet.) I also did 3 coats.
4. Mod Podge the paper to the inside of the box first, then 2 of the sides. Let it dry for 1 day then do the other 2 sides.
5. Let it all dry for another day before spraying with Acrylic Spray.

Chore Chart

I've had this piece of sheet metal sitting on top of my fridge for MONTHS. I finally figured out what to do with it and made a chore chart to help my kids visualize what they need to get done. (Actually it's more for me so I don't just do crafts ALL day!)

I used 2 colors of scrapbook paper and Mod Podge for the background. You can actually drill through the sheet metal with a regular old drill, just use a little bit of oil in the spot you're drilling. (ANY oil, even Pam!) I Mod Podged clipart pictures to the back of glass bubbles then hot glued a magnet onto each one. I then Mod Podged ribbon to separate everybody's rows. I used stickers from American Crafts for the words and I used clothes pins and printed pictures for the name tags. It really wasn't that hard, I just took forever to finish!!

(YAH, I know I have to remind myself to give the 2 youngers a bath, thus it goes on the chore chart.....that's how you know you have too many kids!)

Family Home Evening Chart #2

Out with the old in with the new! I have been so busy making FHE Charts for other people I finally got around to making ours!! Here is the old:

And the new!

So cute!!!

Blankets

For a beginner at the sewing machine, I felt like these turned out not so bad! Each of my kids got a blanket for Christmas this year. I cut 6 inch squares because I am lazy and the clear thing that goes over my rotary board is 6 inches wide.....6 inches on a TWIN size quilt is small. Next time I'll be less lazy!

Girl #1

Girl #2

Boy #1

Boy #2 (The baby, that's why it's smaller.)

Doggie Cake

My daughter chose this cake from Family Fun for her birthday last year. We used 2 rounds for the body and 2 cupcakes for the feet. The eyes and collar gem are smushed Tootsie Rolls (Couldn't find Necco's) and the collar and tongue are Fruit By The Foot. His toe nails are Junior Mints and spots are mint cookies/Junior Mints. Didn't take too long and turned out fabulous!

Hamburger Cake

So I was able to convine my son this year that we could do some other party cake besides trains, so after showing him some COOL cakes on Family Fun, he opted for the Hamburger! We used a metal bowl for the top, a round cake pan for the bottom, a round cake pan for the middle meat, smushed green Tootsie Rolls for the lettuce, and sunflower seeds for the bun. His cousins thought it was the best cake ever! It didn't taste too bad either because we did each layer a different flavor! (I also LOVE Smith's for always giving me a cake box FOR FREE!)

Train Cake

I made this cake last summer for our then turning 4 year old train addict. I picked up a lot of different ideas online and threw them all together into something that worked for me!! The Engine is shaped with cake, an ice cream cone, and marshmallows for smoke. The train cars were baked in a miniature loaf pan I bought at Michael's (Cooks 12 at one time. Perfect for Christmas bread or mini meat loafs!) We used Oreo's and M&M's for the wheels. The toppings on the train cars were Oreo's (coal), M&M's, Tootsie Rolls (logs), Pretzels (logs), and animal crackers. We used graham crackers and frosting for the tracks. Such a cute cake and worth every 5 hours it took to make!