Our Owl Flew away!

Do you remember the owl  from THIS project? Well, one day not too long ago, he went missing! My oldest was worried when she noticed, and asked me where the owl was. I told her he must have flown away (under the paint brush!). She said, "Hmm... we'll have to solve this mystery!" I sure do love her little mind! Well, the truth is, every since he was painted, I didn't like him. And everyday I had to look at him it got worse. For starters, he turned out way too bright for what I was going for. Then his ears started to look too pointy, and his wings were just all too wrong. Not to mention, he was just too big , and he didn't match the size of the whole in the tree. So, I decided to say goodbye to Hootie. Then I started looking for an owl more along the lines I was thinking in my head. I came across an old shirt of my daughters when I was cleaning out clothes, and found the perfect owl to refer to. The only thing is that is was a girl owl, and I had to change it a little to make it look more like a boy owl. It was alot smaller, which I wanted, more bubbly (if that's a word) and just more animated looking. I also wanted the colors to be completey different. If I could come up with one word to describe it, it would have to be that it is just more "Cutesy". So, this is what we came up with. I also painted a few more similar owls for some artwork on the gallery wall in baby's room. Pictures to come of those later. Anyways, please welcome our new baby owl, who is here to stay!
~Elisa~

His wings really aren't shiny. The paint is still a little wet in this pucture, so they look shiny.

A little more fabric

In our Bedroom, we have some black curtians. These help keep the light out when my husband is sleeping during the day.  (His job requires it!) Anyways, when we put up the curtain rod it was originally stretched too far, and we have just never (in 3 years) done anything to fix it. The other problem, is that when the drapes were closed all the way, light would still peek in the sides a little. I have been wanting to do something about it for awhile, and today I came up with an idea. I had 2 king size pillowcases that matched our duvet cover that I have never used, so I took them apart, and made 2 end  panels to add the to curtains. It helps bring in the duvet cover (matching) a little better, and helps alot with the light issue. I had to add a little black fabric to the end so the panels would all be the same length, but I think it blends in just fine. And it is just along the bottom, so it could easily look intentional!

 Here is the before (not long enough for the rod)

And here is the After: Fits much better!

~Elisa~

Painting Project 5

Sorry for the random before picture. It was all I could find of the dresser that used to be shoved in the closet. It never opened that well, and was used to hold random stuff. I thought I had taken a better before picture, but couldn't find it, so you can at least see the color, and black handles.

Here is the after. After many coats of primer and white paint, we were able to cover the very glossed stain. I sanded down the rails on the drawers so they would slide easier, and I also had to flip the bottoms of the drawers. When it was orgininally built by my husbands younger brother, he had put the nice smooth white sides down, and the ruff brown sides up. Clothes would always get caught and snagged, so to make it a little more useable, I had to switch it all around. But now it is in good working condition. I used a green spray paint that matched the walls to paint the handles, a toy basket, and a laundry basket.

~Elisa~

Painting Project 4

When my oldest (who is now 4) was an infant, we had purchased this bee shelf to go in her nursery. At the time I was against pink (but now it is her FAVORITE color, and i just had to give in since she has such a strong opinion!). Anyways, I have kept the shelf thinking I sould someday use it in a baby boys room (if I ever had one). Luckily for me, we have one coming in June!

I still liked the bee, but needed it a little simpler since there are alot of other patterns going on. So we painted plain white over the yellow plaid, and his sister picked out the prince frog to put on the shelf. She was really excited to help me, so I let her have this one decorating idea. The colors matched so I was ok with it. She points it out whenever we are in the nursery.

~Elisa~

Homemade Powdered Laundry Detergent

I google this recipe, and now I can't remember the exact website I got this from, but just so everyone knows, I did not make this recipe up. So... first you need to buy the following ingredients. I purchased them all at Winco in the laundry isle.
3 Boxes Super Washing Soda
2 Boxes Borax
4 Bars Fels Naptha (or another washing soap)
2 Cups Baking Soda

 Then, you want to grate the fels naptha bars. I did this in my Cuisinart, and it was REALLY fast.

 Finally, mix all the ingredients together in a large bucket.

Now, for the bonuses of making your own detergent. It is better for the environment, your clothes come out VERY clean, you only use a tiny bit (2 tablespoons for a small- regular load) and (1/8 cup for a regular to large load), the batch should last you 6-8 months or longer(I cant say for sure yet, since I just made it this week for the first time), and it is less expensive. To make the whol batch it cost me around $22, and I will have plenty of baking soda to last me 2 more batches. Also, it is supose to be able to work fine for HE since it has no suds. The water just looks kind of merky, so you don't have to add more if it isn't suddsing. It still works wonderfully. The Fels Naptha bar smells wonderful, but if you want to add more scent to it, you can add essential oils. I personally prefer the clean smell of the fels naptha over the lavender or tea tree oil. But it is toally up to you what you want to use. Let me know if you make it and how it turns out for you!
~Elisa~

Vintage Retro Aprons

The cute little girl wearing the Blue apron is my youngest daughter. The reason I am pointing her out, it because she is wearing my apron from when I was little. I love the little style, so I decided to copy it.

My sister had given me this adorable vintage like fabric from Ikea, and I was never sure what to use it on. Then, the lightbulb went off. So I made 3 of them, and still have some leftover fabric to play around with and make something else! I made 2 aprons ( a little bigger than the blue one) for my girls, and a matching one for their cousin. It was fun trying to figure out how to put it all together, because they were no seams showing on the original blue one. I came pretty close, and I am happy with the end results.

~Elisa~

Aprons

I made these aprons for my nephews to use at art aprons, or cooking aprons. They Love to do crafts and cook with their mom. It was very easy to make, and a very simple pattern. I didn't use a pattern, so here is a little tutorial on what I did.
First, find a piece of fabric you want to use, and lay it out flat.

 Second, Cut the side to where the neck will go up, and the sides will go under the arms (I just did what i thought looked about right).

 Third, fold in half to cut other side, so you know it will be even.

 Fourth, Cut a pocket, and 4 straps. use whatever size you want.

 Fifth, sew the pocket onto the apron, sew and turn your straps, and then pin to the front of the fabric.

 Sixth, Lay the back (right sides together) ontop of the fron piece, and pin in place. Sew around the edge of the apron, leaving an opening on top.

 Seventh, see the opening, now turn the apron inside out through the opening.

 Eighth, sew the opening closed, and top stitch along the outer edge of the apron.

 Tenth, Try them on your kids (or you if you make a larger version) and start cooking!

~Elisa~

Curling Ribbon

I had someone ask me the other day how to make the curled ribbon bows. So, here you go. I have yet to take a picture of the finished project, because I haven't finished them yet. But here are the pictures of the hard part (and it is very simple).
First, you need to get some 1/4 inch dowels and some wooden close pins. I purchased mine at home depot, and then cut them to the length of a cookie sheet.

 Then, you take your ribbon (you can use gross grain, or other), and loop it around the end like the picture.

 Secure it with a clothespin, and then start wrapping the ribbon around the dowel.

 When you reach the bottom, secure with another clothespin.

 Place dowels on a cookie sheet, and then put in a 275 degree preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.

 Remove ribbons from dowels after cool, and cut to desired length. Then, place 6-12 ribbons together (depending on how full you want your clip) and tie or sew soem thread around the middle to hold together. Place on a clip, and you have yourself a some fun hair accessories, You can do all one color, or mix and match. Just be creative!

~Elisa~

The "Girls" Bathroom

Since My Hubby sleeps during the day, I have basically taken over the girls bathroom with them. So for 3 of us sharing the bathroom, we had to make things work and fit a bit better. The before picture is of the bathroom when we first built the house. Very simple and builder grade-ish. I wanted it to be more clean and open feeling, and I LOVE white cabinets. The color the cabinets were are my least favorite color (I think). I prefer white, dark wood, or painted. I for some reason, am just not a fan of the oak. So.... I finally convinced my hubby to let me paint the cabinets white. And I LOVE how much brighter it is in there.

~Elisa~
Before: (the walls were all the same beige, and the shower curtain was brown.)

 After: I found the white shelf above the toilet at a thriftstore for $6(I painted it white, it was a nasty old beat up wood), added a shelf ($0) I had above the towelrack (baskets filled with hair accessories for the princesses), painted ($9) the turquoise accent walls and made a curtain to match the recovered step stool (a fabric remnant for $3), put up a new shower curtain ($12)

 Primed and painted the cabinets (leftover paint $0), added the decorative sticks ($2), hung 2 hooks for towels ($3) and blew up a picture of one of my girls ($3).

So... the grand total for this makeover was: $38. Not bad on the budget at all!

The Perfect Project Dinner

So I have been working on many different projects all at once, and inbetween cleaning out closets and stuff like that. So at the moment I don't have much to show for it in pictures. They are coming though, I promise! The other day for Dinner I made this Orange Chicken for Dummies Recipe, and it was really fast to make. Which was perfect for my day of projects, because I didn't have much time left to make dinner. All you need is:
1 cup Catalina Dressing
1 cup Apricot Preserves
1 package Dry Onion Soup Mix
2 lbs, or 6-8 chicken Breasts

All you do is mix all ingredients excpet chicken together, and then pour the sauce over the chicken breast in a crockpot. Cook until done. I threw mine in when they were frozen, and cooked on high 4 hours, but they were finished before then. Serve over rice, and with your side of Veggies.
~Elisa~