Little Mermaid: A Blanket DIY!

Thank you to everyone for your kind words of congratulations!  We are excited to welcome baby #5-but honestly didn't know how everyone would react.  We've only received love and kindness; not a single sarcastic remark or eye-roll.  We have the best friends and family!

I decided to post quickly about a recent (not as exciting) project the girls and I worked on. One Sunday afternoon, Addie and I were perusing Pinterest...great parenting I know.  But, she found a mermaid blanket and instantly fell in love with the idea.  I clicked the link to read through the tutorial, and it looked easy enough so we decided to go for it!

 

 

The next day was President's Day, so we ventured out to the fabric store, where Addie picked out the colors of fleece she would like to use (pink and teal...that's my girl!).

We started on it later that day, and after a couple of evenings remembering how to use my sewing machine working on it, it was complete!

The tutorial was super easy to follow, and the whole process only took a few hours.  

(The first time through I did have to watch the attached to video to understand one step, I also changed the length of the body by a couple of inches to customize it to fit Addie)

 

Addie was pleased with the end results and we all felt very accomplished to finish a project so quickly!

It's basically a fleece sleeping bag with a tail.  In fact I was thinking maybe they'd be good for camping when it's cooler.  They could get in these first before their sleeping bags to stay extra cozy.

 

But, this blanket is made for lounging and for pretend play...who doesn't want to be a mermaid, especially one that is warm and fuzzy?! 

You can see I made a second one.  For the second one I didn't even need to use the tutorial, it was that simple.  I had my pattern already cut out and I was able to make it in one evening over about 2 hours. 

If you're interested, I spent about $15 to make the first blanket.  This also included coordinated colored thread for the tail fin.  For the second blanket I spent just under $10.  Thankfully fleece is on sale this time of year, but I think it's on sale quite a bit.

It's not pictured, but Ella actually worked beside me and made one for her "American Girl" doll.  Even with her imperfect cutting and sewing, it still turned out well.  She could just use scraps, so her cost was $0!

The second mermaid blanket wasn't for Ella though.  The girls together chose the colors, and we made one for my niece who was turning 8!

So, if you're needing a simple sewing project that daughters of all ages will love...here you go! 

(The tutorial does also include photos in case you want to make a shark for a boy.  My boy wasn't interested though).

A Wonder-fall Wreath.

Isn't this weather wonder-fall!

(my niece made up that word and I thought it was clever).

In the spirit of Autumn, I decided to get crafty and make a wreath.

 

My poor door is usually not decorated and left to bare its 1980s facade.  I love, love wreaths, but they are so, so expensive.  So, I took Matt's advice and "just made one myself".

 

sidenote: Matt has this amazing ability to make things that require real skills  himself.  A gift I'm quite thankful for.

So, after a quick visit to Pinterest I found a few inspirations (what did we do before Pinterest?).  

 

I really wanted something colorful to pop against the door, but I also liked the texture of burlap.  

I decided to combine the elements and came up with this:

In general I like the outcome.  

My biggest critique is that it looks a little more "country" than I normally like.  I think if I would have off-centered the "T" that would've help.  It also doesn't look as colorful as I would like from the street, but what to do...

It was super easy to make, and way less expensive than just buying a wreath!

  

I purchased a metal wreath form,

 

. 

burlap, artificial leaves/flowers, floral wire, and a metal T. The burlap just weaves in and out between the wires and around the wreath.  It's pretty easy to work with.  The stuff I bought had a funny, chemical-like smell that I didn't love, but I'm not sure if that's normal.  Then I attached some of the leaves with floral wire and others I hot-glued...then, viola!

This project sat in my living room for almost a week waiting to be finished, but actual hands on time was only about an hour and a half.  So it could easily be done in an afternoon (well, after I typed that I realized that nothing gets easily done in an afternoon around here...).

Here's to completed projects!  Now to just finish painting the house...

It is Well: Meaningful DIY

  I haven't posted about any projects lately, and there are actually a couple that we've completed (somewhat) recently.  Matt has done a larger scale project in the garage to increase our storage (which I'll have to blog about because it's awesome) as well as a few things outside.  

I've done a couple of smaller weekend projects inside the house.

For a long time I've wanted the words "It is Well With My Soul" somewhere in my house.   I love the words to this old hymn.  In fact it was during a church service in March 2001 when the Holy Spirit used this hymn to convict me that it was not well with my soul.  That day I decided to quit living for myself and start living for Jesus.

I want to decorate our home with things that are meaningful, so I was looking for a way to display these words in a way that would hopefully look not bad.  I decided to place them at the bottom of our stairs where they would be seen often.

I don't remember if I searched Pinterest or if a few ideas just showed up on my page.  Anyway there were a couple of different ideas that I particularly liked.

I loved the gold in this first idea.  I also liked that it was three-dimensional and not in another frame since I just hung a bunch of those.

(found here).

I also pinned this version, which is actually the same idea, just executed in a slightly different way.

 

 (found here).

My final design fell somewhere in the middle of these two ideas, but I was definitely more influenced by the first photo.  I loved the gold.

So, I went and bought all the letters at Michaels.  

That sentence was so easy to type, not as easy to do.  This simple step required three trips to Michaels!  I've now learned that Michaels only likes to have about one L and W in stock at a time.  I've also learned that they receive shipments on Tuesdays. So, you may just want to go on Wednesday and do this in one trip. Or if you're feeling extravagant pay the $6 in shipping and order online.

I also purchased some gold acrylic paint.  I went with acrylic because it was cheap.  A bottle was around $1.50 instead of $8 for a bottle of spray paint.  I was after all buying 18 letters at $2.50 a pop.

I was excited about the gold, the letters looked good (I just did a couple to test), but on the wall I wasn't sold.  Since we still have some '80's detailing here and we have gray walls  I decide gold was not the right fit. 

So, I painted them white.  Not as exciting, but clean and simple.

It then took one trip to Target (okay maybe two because I didn't count the letters) for Command strips, and it was time to hang.

I'm open to opinions.  I think it turned out okay, but not as well as I hoped.  Maybe it seems a little off balance to me, like something else need to be with it.  Or maybe "It Is" should be on one line?

 

Maybe it's ironic that it isn't well with me how this turned out?!  

This photo below helps show where it is in relation to the rest of the wall.

 Regardless of how it looks, I still love these words and I'm glad they're up.

  These words help remind me that no matter what circumstances are going on around me, these pains are temporary.  Jesus has paid the price for my sins, and I can experience peace like a river knowing that my eternal fate is sealed.

I couldn't end this post without including the words to this hymn.  

 If you haven't read them, you should.  If you have, read them again!

 

1. When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
   When sorrows like sea billows roll;
   Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
   It is well, it is well with my soul.
   • Refrain:
     It is well with my soul,
     It is well, it is well with my soul.
2. Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
   Let this blest assurance control,
   That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
   And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
3. My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!—
   My sin, not in part but the whole,
   Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
   Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
4. For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
   If Jordan above me shall roll,
   No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
   Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
5. But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
   The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
   Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
   Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!
6. And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
   The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
   The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
   Even so, it is well with my soul.

It Is Well?

I have another wall project in the works.  

I'm hoping that between my diy canvas and wall gallery(ish), our home will look cute and charming and not just cheap.  Though perhaps it is the triple threat.  

My new project is barely started, but I need the letters to spell "It is Well with My Soul."  However, Michaels apparently only likes to carry one two-inch wooden  "w" at a time, so I left with just the letters for "it is well".  

I left the letters on the counter, and this is what I found Sunday afternoon:

 

Life with my 8 year-old boy, it is not for the faint of heart.

Oops, I Did It Myself.

 Our house has a lot of blank walls.  Hopefully that doesn't speak to the condition of my mind, but it probably does speak for my lack of decision making abilities...and also Matt's dislike of putting any holes in the walls.  

So, amongst other things, I've been wanting something for behind our dining table.  I used to have three 16x20(ish) size Ribba frames (from Ikea) here holding different coordinating fabrics.  However, our kids like to run circles around the table and inevitably a shoulder would hit a frame as they were running by.  It happened not only once, not twice, but three times.  If you've ever seen a cheap Ikea frame hit the floor, you know the end result.  All three of them busted at the seams.  We tried some gluing, but to no avail.  I learned a $45 lesson in picture placement (and quality), and for almost a year the wall has sat blank.

 I didn't want to just put up three new frames (like I said I learned that lesson), so I waited for something larger.  The nails were still sitting in the wall, so I wanted to be able to just use the nails to hang up a new picture that would span the space of the three previous frames.

I'll try to cut to the chase...art is expensive.  Even "cheap" buy-it-at-a-big-box-store art in the size I wanted was over $100.  AND it was hard to find something in the colors I wanted.  So, after seeing this on Pinterest, I decided to go the DIY route.

I bought a canvas at Hobby Lobby with a 40% off coupon.  I wish I could remember the dimensions, or muster up the energy to go measure it, but I went big.  I also went for the thicker one because I wanted it to be nice and beefy (and not look cheap).  It was still somewhat of an investment.  I think I paid $35 for the canvas after coupon.

I then went to the craft section and picked out four acrylic craft paints.  These were each a little over a dollar.  

Then later after the kids had gone to bed, I just went for it! I started with dark on the bottom.

I used a three inch paint brush and was very casual about it.  You don't even want to clean your brush in between colors because you want the colors to mix and blend together.   So, I would paint a little then walk away for a little bit and then come back...I remember it was game 7 of the World Series, so I had to keep checking on that.  Total time I spent on it was probably around 30 minutes.

Here's the final result!

  I wasn't even trying but both Ella and I observed that it looks like an abstract painting of the sea, land, and sky.  It's not perfect (nor is it suppose to be), and perhaps it's just hard for me to really love something I made myself, but the great thing is that it's acrylic paint and you can always paint over or do touch-ups if you wish.  What I do love about it is that I got to choose my favorite colors (shades of blue and green which are pretty beachy).  You could choose any colors you love to match your home.  I also like that it cost $40, so until our kids are all out of college and we can afford great art, this will do.

{side note:  For whatever reason while painting this I kept singing "Oops I did it myself" to the tune of Brittany Spear's "Oops I did it Again"...hence the title of this post.}