Mod-podge Clipbaords

Ah....clipboards!!!  As a teacher, I used them for several different things in the classroom.  But they are generally so, well, blah!!  That is, until, one of my favorite (I know a teacher isn't supposed to have favorites, but this girl was special) students, Elise, gave me a fancy clipboard.  She had glued some cute scrapbook paper to the front of the clipboard, tied a ribbon to the top, and had a sticker with my initial.  Really cute!!  Although I don't teach anymore, I still use that clipboard on a  regular basis.  I decided to give Abby's teachers the same gifts for Christmas.  I hope they will get as much use out of the clipboard as I did.

I purchased a pack of wooden clipboards (package of 3), scrapbook paper, mod-podge, letter stickers, and ribbon (not pictured.).

The hardest part of this project is measuring the paper.  There are two methods.  You can trace the clipboard outline and then trim off the excess once it has dried (generally the edges are filed for a smooth finish) or you can cut the paper slightly smaller then the clipboard and attach paperK.  This will leave the edges of the clipboard exposed.  If that bothers you, simply paint the clipboard first,allow to dry,and then attach paper.  I chose the second method, but didn't paint the clipboard first.

I also made sure the corners were rounded like the clipboard.

Once the paper was measured and cut, I applied a layer of mod-podge to the clipboard using a foam brush.  I discovered that too much of the mod-podge was better than not enough.  The excess can always be wiped away.

As soon as the paper is applied to the clipboard, smooth it out.  Although I could have used my hands, using another clipboard was ideal.

Allow it to dry for 15 minutes, then apply a thin layer of mod-podge over the top of the paper.  Allow to dry another 15 minutes and apply a second coat.  Once the second coat has completely dried, add the letter sticker and tie the ribbon on the top.   If bubbles show up during this part, don't panic, they will go away.

 I forgot to take a picture with the ribbon at the top, but I simply cut 6-7" inch strips and double tied the at the top around the hole.  It turned out really cute.

One thing that I discovered, if I used thicker scrapbook paper ( similar to card stock thickness),  it was much easier to smooth out and no bubbles appeared at all.

Simple, useful craft that is easy to make.  Happy crafting!!

Button Bracelets

A few years ago, I was attending a craft fair and saw a booth selling some button bracelets.  I immediately loved them and snatched up two, one black and one cream.  I knew that these bracelets would be simple to make, but I hadn't taken the time to sit down and actually complete the project.  With Christmas around the corner, I decided to make a couple of these for gifts.  It was an inexpensive project, easy to complete, but super cute.

I purchased some black elastic that was 3/4" but 1" would also work well, if not better.  The buttons were already selected and sold together in coordinating browns.  You could also hand select buttons, but this was the cheaper route.  I also chose to use black thread.

I used my own wrist as a guide to measure the bracelet size, but this project allows you to easily adjust for any size wrist.  I overlapped the ends and sewed them together and then start sewing on buttons.  Pack them on the elastic.  Also, you can stack a couple of buttons together.  You can choose to sew the buttons on in a pattern with similar sized buttons or use all sizes, colors, and sew them on randomly.  (That was my method!)  One thing I would have done differently...USE A THIMBLE!!  My fingers were sore from pushing the needle through those button holes!!  I forgot to take pictures throughout the process, but here are a couple of the end product. 

Rachel

J-O-Y Door Decor

In September, I made a post titled F-A-L-L Door Decoration.  It was a fun and simple craft to dress up a door for fall.  I decided to continue the craft, but geared the words more towards Christmas.  I made a J-O-Y door decoration.  I simply painted the letters white and used a red ribbon with white polka dots.  I also used smaller letters for this particular project because I liked the curly letters.  Since the letters were smaller, I also used a thinner ribbon.

This project could be completed for a variety of seasons.  Other words that could be used to decorate the door include: SNOW, NOEL, SPRING, EASTER, LOVE.  The letters can be simply painted or decorated using scrapbook paper and Mod-Podge.  (I know how this stuff works now:)  )  Lots of possibilities!!  Step-by-step instructions for this project can be found here.  Happy Crafting!!
Rachel

Pottery Barn NOEL Knock-off

Pottery Barn...sigh!!  I love almost everything in the store.  It is my style in home decor.  But you know what I don't love...the prices.  As a result, I simply window shop and use it as my muse for some homemade knock-offs.

For the holiday season, I ran across this Pottery Barn wall hanging.

 

 Super cute, with a super price tag of $149.  No, your eyes do not deceive you.  Those four letters cost $149.  So I decided to make my own.

Supplies:
N O E L--mdf letters
Crimson and raw Umber Paint
Paint brushes
Glue Gun and Glue Sticks

I painted all the letters in the Raw Umber first.  It doesn't have to be perfect.  In fact, if some white shows through or if the brush strokes are visible, that's okay.  It will add to the rustic look of the piece.

 

When the paint is almost dry, add a layer of crimson.  Once again, don't paint it solid.  Some of the umber needs to show through.  Keep layering the paints in this manner until you like it.

 Can you tell where I have been painting?


Once the letters have completely dried, arrange them to say NOEL.  You can be creative with the arrangement. 

 

Use hot glue to attach letters together.  I also used a staple gun to secure the letters more.

I spent a total of $13 to get the same look as the $149 original!!  Have a Merry Christmas and happy crafting!!

O' Christmas Tree

When I was a child, the start of the Christmas season was marked with a family trek to the woods to find the perfect tree.  All five of us would load up in the old farm truck and drive to various corners of the woods until we spotted the tree.  Dad would then cut it down and place it in the bed of the truck.  Mom and Dad would bring it inside, find the best looking side, and the tree decorating would begin.  Such fond memories revolve around my childhood Christmas tree, not because the tree was important but because spending time with family was important.

When Josh and I were married, we started our family tradition with an artificial tree.  I enjoy putting it up early and not having to water the tree.  However, our tree is very large and since we are living in a condo, we didn't have room to store the tree.  As a result, our tree is in Kentucky and we needed to purchase a real tree this year.  Since we live in the Christmas tree capital of the world--or so it seems-- we had our own family trek to the woods  a Christmas tree farm to find that perfect tree.  Not only is it the kids first real tree, it's Josh's too!!  Hopefully this will become a family tradition each year and our children will reflect on these as happy memories, just like me.

 On a hayride to the trees...this is pretty much how every picture I try to take turns out.  There must be some trick to get ALL three looking at the camera AND smiling at the same time...I just haven't learned it yet!!

 Abby like this tree....

 ...and Micah liked this one.  They were excited to find a tree that was "my size."

 Micah is ready to saw.  Of course, all parenting advice would tell you to NOT let your children play with sharp objects!!

 Another example of the kids NOT looking at the camera in unison!!

 Daddy cutting down the tree.  It takes talent to cut down a tree while NOT getting your church clothes dirty!!!

 Hauling the tree back to the truck

 Every tree needs a star!!

Micah's Birthday Party...I mean parties!!

Since Micah's birthday is so close to Thanksgiving and our families were probably not going to travel to the mountains for a birthday party, we decided to celebrate at each grandparents over Thanksgiving.  So Micah had two Batman birthday parties, one in Illinois and one in Kentucky.

We also didn't want to skip over his ACTUAL birthday, so we had a small family celebration at the house on December 4.  Here are some pictures from his MULTIPLE parties!!!

 Did you know that Batman actual attends "Batman" birthday parties?!?!  He is a pretty cool super hero!!

 The cake at Mamaw and Papaw Steve's

 The cake at Nana and Papaw Jeff's.

This cake was made by my sister-in-law Pam....she is REALLY good.  Just like her cakes!

 Batman showed up again!!!  Amazing!!

 Note that the exciting cakes, as well as Batman, have vanished away!!  Just some homemade brownies.

 We didn't wrap Micah's present because ol' super mom here forgot the wrapping paper.  So we just set his present in his room and covered his eyes.  This is his face when he first saw THE BATCAVE!!  He has been asking for it for several months.

His face says it all!!!

Happy 4th Birthday, Micah!!

Time is such a funny thing.  It's hard to remember a time before Micah joined our family, but it is equally hard to believe he is four.  But time marches on, our kids continue to grow, and today Micah is turning four!!  He brings so much joy and humor to our family.

We have been celebrating for two weeks.  Micah had two birthday celebrations over Thanksgiving, one in Illinois and one in Kentucky.  Today we had a small family celebration and on Saturday we are celebrating with our church friends.  It is more of a birthday month instead of a birthday:)  But it has been fun and hopefully one that Micah will remember.

So Micah, what type of boy are you?

• You insist on being referred to as a "handsome, big boy".  We can't call you cute or pretty...it must be handsome.  In fact, all things that you like must be handsome...dogs, flowers, deer, pictures...it doesn't matter, it must be called handsome.
• You have recently become infatuated with Batman.  It all started at Halloween when you chose a Batman costume.  It then spilled over into pajamas, Batman figurines, even a bat cave.  But what makes it SO funny, is you can't say Batman.  You say "fatman"!!  You can say "bat" and you can say "man", but when you put them together, it comes out "fatman".  Makes me smile every time.
• You love to snuggle, especially at night.  After Abby goes to bed, you always say "just five more minutes" and you spend that time snuggling with Daddy on the couch.
• You frequently say this line.  "Mommy, I want to tell you sumpin'....I wuv you!"  It melts my heart!!!
• You love your brother and sister.  You are always so excited when Abby comes home from school and you love to talk to Jude and make him smile.
• I love all the funny ways you say things:  
• Fatman is Batman.
• "All by my wone" means all alone or all by myself.
• Hairhawk is mohawk.
• All birds are referred to as "My birds"...why I don't know.
• Anything brown is referred to as chocolate.
•  You LOVE chocolate milk.  And I do mean LOVE.  You and Papaw Jeff will always tease each other about who the chocolate milk belongs to.
• Since you were old enough to walk, you have always been attached to something, it just changes all the time.  You will carry around the item of the week for days and a time, even at night, until something else grabs you attention.  Some things you like have been rubber balls, Cars Go Fish cards, Finn McMissile.  As of late it has been weiner dogs or "Fatman"
• You want to wear sweatpants and cowboy boots almost everyday.  In fact, if I can get you in tennis shoes, it is pretty big deal.
• You don't really cry that much, so when you do, it pretty much breaks my heart.

You are one of the sweetest boys in the world.  You light up the room as soon as you walk into it.  You are so special to all of us.  We love you more than you will ever know.

Happy 4th Birthday, Micah!!
Love, Daddy, Mommy, Abby, and Jude