diy dreamin’

Even though I haven’t done a personal DIY for you in a while, I thought I’d share some cute DIYs I’ve found!  This first is from Apartment Therapy…

If you’re planning to have any kind of outdoor party soon (or maybe even in the Fall), you’ll want to remember this cute DIY from A Subtle Revelry

And this last one isn’t necessarily a step-by-step  DIY, but it’s so easy, you don’t really need steps.

The only steps would be to take an exisiting picture frame and attach it to a painted board.  You’d have to add hooks if you wanted to hang it but you could also lean the boards somewhere. I would also suggest using some sort of heavy duty velcro strips to attach the frame to the board so that you could change out the picture if you wanted to.

Super cute and so easy!

asa’s big boy room–revealed!

This weekend, Melody and I installed {almost all of} Asa’s new big boy room!  I posted the idea boards HERE back in October.  We switched up some of the product for pricing purposes but kept the theme and it turned out great!

Here are some pictures of the finished product.

Play Corner

{in case you’re wondering…yes!  those 26  frames took FOREVER to hang!}

Magnet Wall!

This was Asa’s mommy’s favorite part of the room!  Their fridge isn’t magnetic so he will finally be able to play with all of those fun magnets!

Asa’s new “big boy” bed–it has stairs and he LOVES climbing up and down.

Since the bed didn’t have a headboard, we added a subtle stripe to the wall behind the behind using the same color paint in two different finishes–satin & gloss.

We are still waiting on the rug:

…and the second slipcover for the bean bag chair.

The fabric company shipped the wrong fabric…

the current fabric

the fabric we ordered

I love all of the playful elements in the room–I’m sure Asa will have lots of fun in here!

Have a great weekend!

diy: star mobile

It seems that everyone I know is having a baby!  Crazy.  Asa’s big-boy room installation is scheduled for this Saturday–I posted the idea boards in this post.  He’s moving out of the nursery to make space for his new baby brother, Kade, due in March.  And! My nephew is due in just one month!  Hudson should be arriving on or around February 16th!

My sister-in-law, Ally, and I have been trying to add some finishing touches to his room.  This week, Ally and I, along with my other two sisters-in-law, got together to make the mobile.  I know, some people say that mobiles are unnessecary or distracting, but we couldn’t resist {hopefully the sleep machine with heartbeat and ocean sound will make up for it!}

When we were deciding how to make the mobile, I pulled some inspiration from Pinterest–these are a few of our top picks

Here’s what you’ll need to make your own star mobile:

stamp in the shape you’d like or pre-cut die-cuts, embroidery hoop, ribbon, fishing line, hot glue, colored cardstock

Step 1:  Use the stamp to punch out the shape–we used 4 different colors of cardstock so we punched out stars from each color.  Set aside.

Step 2: Wrap the embroidery hoop with ribbon.

Step 3: Create ring stabalizers and hanging loop-use three long pieces of ribbon {be sure to measure how long the pieces need to be based on how high your ceilings are vs. how low you want the mobile to hang}.

Glue and wrap the end of each of the three pieces around the embroidery hoop.  Space them equa-distant at 3 different points on the ring.

Step 4: Punch 2 holes for stringing in each shape using a push pin.

Warning!  This can be tedious but will vary depending on the size of your shapes and the amount you will need to fill the mobile

Step 5: String multiple stars in a variety of colors onto each piece of fishing line.

We used fishing line at varrying lengths. Tie a knot at the end of the line before stringing.

Step 6: Tie each strand onto the embroidery hoop, spaced out evenly.

The number of strands you will need will vary based on the size of the embroidery hoop. We used 12-15 strands.

And you’re done!

What’s your take on mobiles?  Distracting or soothing?

Check back later this week–Meg over at Little Blue Prints has offered a great item from her Etsy shop as a giveaway!!

See you soon!

Jenna

top 10 in 2011

I have to say, I am a little excited about the end of 2011.  The end of this year has been rough, and 2012 seems like one, big, clean slate.  I need one, big, clean slate…I mean, don’t we all?

In the anticipation of a new year and a fresh start, I have compiled a list of the top 10 posts from 2011.  Everyday Clever celebrated it’s 1 year anniversary in 2011 and I’m proud of how far it’s come.  This list wasn’t created based on statistics or “hits”.  It’s just a list that I came up with (in no particular order) based on how satisfied I was with the post (well, and a little feedback from others, too).

1. top ten fabrics of 2011

2. diy| t-shirt scarf

3. printable| “a freebie & a confession”

4. tutorial| lemon sugar scrub

5. video| 25 ways to tie a scarf

6. recipe| my favorite dessert

7. boots!

8. asa’s room: idea boards

9. my very favorite blogs

10. tutorial| moss covered letter

I hope you’ll enjoy browsing through some old material.  You never know what you might’ve forgotten about.

Which one was your favorite?!  I’d love to get your feedback!

See you in 2012, friends!

diy: book page ornament

Today I am going to show you how to make a book page ornament.  You shouldn’t have to buy much for it and it makes a great gift or craft project for the kids.

What You’ll Need

- A round ornament–color doesn’t matter

- Mod Podge

- Glitter

- An old book (or book pages)

What You Do

1. Cut book pages into 1/2″ strips

2. Coat ornament with Modge Podge and attach strips of book pages

3. Once you’ve stuck the book page strip to the ornament, paint modge podge over it to seal it to the ornament.  Depending on how thick the paper is, you may have to add multiple coats–it’s ok, though, it dries clear!

Continue adding strips on top and coating with Modge Podge until the entire surface of the ornament is hidden. Then let it dry.

4. Once the ornament is dry, coat the top in glue.

5. Fill bowl with glitter, then dip the glue-coated top of the ornament in the glitter until it’s completely coated.  Let dry.

6. Embellish!–I added a piece of scrapbook paper with “Peace on Earth” stamped on it but you could add a berry sprig, some ribbon, or even a small picture.

Attach with twine and…Ta-Da!  You’re all done!

Happy Ornament-Making!