Cheap Mama's Crafts

Spencer's Project: Learning to Cut

2011-08-07T07:59:00.000-07:00

My son is 3. Every safety scissor in the world says ages 4 and up.

I'm a rebel. This week I bought my son some safety scissors (hello, back to school sales!). I figured he will only be using them under my direct supervision. I take full responsibility if he cuts himself...or anything important. I just don't think it's going to happen. So, I let him do his own craft. I showed him (numerous times) how to hold the scissors and let him go to town on a poor, unsuspecting piece of construction paper.

He had a blast. While I'm still finding tiny little shreds of construction paper all over (I now see why my dad called it destruction paper lol) I am so glad that he likes making things. Little kid art projects are one of my favorite things, so I am so excited that he's finally entering the stage where he likes making stuff!

So, how old were your kids when they started doing crafts?

The Tale Of The Hideous Bathroom And Cabinetless Kitchen

2011-08-04T09:55:00.000-07:00

Gather 'round kids, and let me tell you the story of my hideous bathroom.

When my ex and I first moved into this duplex, the bathroom was a disaster. Not only was there Pepto Bismol pink tile EVERYWHERE, but the remaining walls were covered in something far, far worse. Hideous 80s or early 90s wallpaper. When I say hideous, I mean completely hideous. Remember the paint splatter look? It sort of looked like that. It was white with pink, purple, gold, teal and country blue splashes. There were beige splotches, too. The accessories were wooden. Not like a sleek, finished wood. Looked like someone chopped down a tree and sanded a little bit. We had a teal shower curtain rod that fell down every 3rd or 4th time you took a shower. One of the conditions of us moving in was that the landlord promise to fix it.

So you may wonder why I told you this story. I would be wondering, too. No, I didn't redo the bathroom myself, although I got to pick out colors and give them the general idea of what I wanted. I told you this because I chose a beige fabric shower curtain at the time. Since the remodel, I haven't needed it, but being the ~~cheap~~ frugal girl I am, I have held onto it and the crazy shower curtain rod. Keep this in your mind for now.

My kitchen has barely any cupboards and had a huge empty space behind the door to the basement. To combat this problem, I bought a book shelf. It fits in the space perfectly, and strangely doesn't look out of place in my kitchen. It has really bugged me, though, that my little makeshift pantry didn't have a door or anything and that people could just see the shelves. It looks messy and cluttered, even when the rest of the kitchen is not.

I have been living with these two things in my head for 3 years, but the two thoughts never collided until today. I can just hang the old shower curtain and tension rod in front of my shelf! I now feel completely silly. I even have a tie back I can use if I will need in there a lot on a particular day, but since it is mainly just small appliance storage (since the baby food/formula/bottle station isn't there anymore) it really shouldn't be a problem. It's such a simple fix, I'm sort of embarrassed that I didn't think of it sooner!

So, please tell me that you guys have had one of these moments, too!

Bathroom Organization

2011-07-29T19:13:00.000-07:00

This is a big problem for me. I end up with hair ties littering the bathroom sink and little bottles of stuff everywhere. I need some organization. I saw some adorable glass containers on eBay. The thing is, I do not now nor will I ever have $150 to spend on glass containers.

So, I was thinking about what I could make that could be just as cute. I could use empty jars and decorate them somehow, but I am sort of at a loss for HOW to decorate them so that people don't look at them and think, "Why is there a pickle jar in her bathroom?"

I said I may need help sometimes, so here's the first opportunity for you guys to chime in! What would you guys use to organize the mess on my counter?

Spencer's Curtains

2011-07-27T10:18:00.000-07:00

This is my son's window (I know it looks dirty, it's on the inside of the glass. My landlord is supposed to fix it. Supposed to.) See how it's all naked? It's been like that forever. His dad and I agreed that mini blinds above the crib were a bad idea (strings), but those windows are seriously oddly sized. Nothing fits them. The options were custom order something or make curtains. I set out to make the curtains. I found really cute fabric for about $2 a yard. I bought it. I pinned it. Then I had a baby and found out just how little time I would have to make curtains! Today I pulled out the partially completed project and, in an effort to sleep after the sun has come up, I got it finished. The fabric was a completely wrinkled mess:

So I had to iron it. Then I had to find where I left off. I don't have a sewing machine, so I found it and stuck my needle in:

And set off to finish the thing up. I stabbed myself numerous times. I even drew blood. However, after a few hours of back stitching my brains out this morning, I FINALLY did it. I finished the curtains. I hung up the curtain rod. Then? I did this:

After I hung them up, I noticed that they are all wrinkled again and an inch or two longer than I wanted them. I can fix that all later, though. For now I am just thrilled that they are actually hanging up. They are by no means fancy, but they fit perfectly in my $5 curtain budget!

Have you guys ever made curtains? Did you have a pattern? I think that may have been a lot easier. How long did it take you?

Also, does anyone know where I can find a cheap sewing machine?

Welcome!

2011-07-26T14:28:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! Welcome! I've been slowly teaching myself how to make things over the past two years, and while I may not know it all, I have figured out a lot. I wanted a place to show you guys what I'm working on (because Spencer doesn't care and there's nobody else here) and to also get some feedback and suggestions. Sometimes I get stuck. Perhaps one day I'll show you the graveyard of projects I got stuck on! Just to get things started, I thought I'd show you my son's favorite project so far! On Saturday we were hot and cranky because it was nearly 100 degrees and our power was out. To take our minds off the crankiness we started coloring. Then I realized we could very easily make these:

It was the simplest craft ever, but it sure did make him happy!

Don't worry, I DO do more complicated things than this! It will be more interesting, I promise!

I look forward to all of you guys helping me out along the way and letting me know what you think of what I'm up to over here!