Lolly Jane- Craft tutorials & DIY home decor

WGW #50

2012-02-10T16:46:00.001-07:00

Welcome to Whatcha Got Weekend!

We are in Washington DC this weekend for the funeral of our grandmother at Arlington National Cemetery {thanks for the sweet comments to far; this is more of a "celebration of life" trip as she she was very ill and we are able to spend some time seeing the sites with our entire family.}

No worries, we will be back Monday with a furniture revamp.

In the meantime, take a peek at the top clicked links from last weekend:

DIY Sconces by That's My Letter

Display Lamp by 52 Mantels

Secret Garden Party by Sweet Rose Studio

And a few darling Valentine projects we had to share...

Ginger Crinkles {and tag printables} by Rebecca Cooper

Valentine Stuffed French Toast by Will Cook For Smiles

Thanks for linking up with us, gals! :)

Now let's see what you've been working on this week.

Snag a button, follow the blog and link up those pretty projects:

Valentine ombre specimen art

2012-02-08T05:00:00.081-07:00

In case you missed our Valentine ombre specimen art tutorial at cute iCandy Handmade, take a peek:

To make your own, you'll need just a few things... paint samples in Valentine hues, a ♥ hole punch, a white piece of cardstock, a few craft tools you probably already have on hand and an 8x10 picture frame.
Directions:

1♥ Gather paint samples at your fav home improvement store {free! score!} in coordinating colors2♥ Cut the samples up for easier punching3♥ Lay your freshly punched hearts in rows to keep colors organized4♥ Lay your hearts in rows of 8 by hue**Most ombre art is light to dark but we liked the way the paint sample was dark to light so we went with that instead... be creative!5♥ Fold each heart in half and add a dab of hot glue to hold in place6♥ Admire your work! This project took a whole nap time (1.5-2 hours) with the punching & folding but went quickly with my pal Hulu ;)
Warning: Don't attempt before naptime if you want your hearts to be piled together or help painting from your 19 month old! Hee hee!

I also think it would look super cute to have a subtle "I♥U" mixed in there...

...but naptime was ending and I didn't want to cut letters out by hand ;)
Easy as pie, right?

We ♥ that you pin our projects but we would also L♥VE to know you were here- say hello & don't be shy ;)

We'll see you Friday night at our link party!

XOXO

Book Page Wreath

2012-02-07T05:00:00.014-07:00

I promised I would share my Choose to Shine book page wreath tut during yesterday's post. They were actually easy to make once I nailed down the details...which was nice since I made THIRTEEN of them in one sitting!

To be honest, I've seen these cute wreaths around blogland forever but couldn't find a good, clear tutorial out there! And since I was in charge of decor for our shin-dig, I didn't want to screw up! Sooo...I took a million pics for YOUR benefit. You're welcome (:
How to Make a Book Page Wreath:

Step 1: Rip out pages [I used old Relief Society manuals since they're now online]

Step 2: Starting in lower right hand corner, tuck end inward then roll, keeping a cone shape.

Step 3: Glue corner into place with a glue stick.

Step 4: Again, note the CONE shape in the end...if it didn't turn out, just re-roll. Now repeat 19 more times for 1 wreath.

Next up, hot glue them in place: I cut out a 3" circle from yellow card stock as my base. Hot glue the first four cones at 12 o'clock, 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock and 9 o'clock. From there, just fill in as many as you can glue between the first 4 cones, [about 8-10] then create a second row so you end up with a fuller wreath.

Right picture: that was only HALF of my wreaths...long day, good thing hubby was home to tend kiddos and I had a marathon of CSI: Vegas to keep me company (:

I thought a pop of yellow to coordinate our Sunshine theme would be fun so I made paper lollys to go in the center of each wreath. [We've explained the tut before so if these pics aren't doin it for ya, click here!]

For the center of each lolly: Print "Choose to Shine" (in Word) onto regular copy paper, cut out into 2" circles, glue circles onto faux burlap scrapbook paper and cut into a 3" circle with edging scissors.

Total cost for 13 wreaths?

Just $7 for scrapbook paper [from HobLob] which comes out to less than $2/wreath.

Now that, my friends, makes our budget SMILE (:

YW/New Beginnings program {Arise & Shine Forth theme}

2012-02-06T10:56:00.005-07:00

I was recently called to serve in my church's Young Women presidency, which means I get to work with the female youth, ages 12-18... lots of babysitters to choose from, right? ;)
Each January we introduce the new year's theme/goals and welcome the girls that are entering into YW. Since this year's theme is Arise and Shine Forth, we decided on sunshine decor for the program:

{Table display where we would be speaking}

See?

There's ME!

Eek! My 1st time welcoming a large group, but l u c k i l y, everything went smoothly. Phew!

Here's a peek at our sunshine ray program outline that we coordinated with the invites:

Feel free to download the sunshine rays HERE :)
Of course there were sweets:

We also had a twist of sunflowers throughout the night since our YW President compared sunflowers to shining bright. She likened sunflowers' habits of following the sun to the girls, they have that ability to always follow God and choose to shine. So these sunflower cupcakes from Sam's Club were perfect, our president's daughter glittered them as well...so cute.

And what night would be complete without goodie bags to take home?

{Bags of yellow gumballs for each YW to keep}"Chews to Shine"
Did you notice these book page wreaths poking out in the pictures?

Check back tomorrow for a full tutorial!
Oh, and be sure to peek at our Young Womens pinterest board for other ideas :)

PS:

Linking up to these awesome parties!

You Are My Sunshine Printable + WGW #49

2012-02-03T19:00:00.020-07:00

Welcome to Whatcha Got Weekend!

We've been promising you this freebie since Kell's TODDLER BEDROOM MAKEOVER and it's time to deliver!

We made them in a variety of colors to match different color schemes:

Just click the color below to download high resolution versions:

Salmon Fuchsia Lavender Green Navy Orange Light Blue

Enjoy!

Now let's PARTY!

Earlier we featured YOUR Valentines projects and it was fun going through them. Be sure to check out all that talent, wow!

Now for the non-holiday top-clicked creations:

1.Organized Pantry Reveal by Every Creative Endeavor 2.Stomach Bug Prevention by I Should Be Mopping the Floor 3.DIY Curtains by Laughter and Grace 4.30 Minute Goodwill Challenge by 5 Days/5 Ways 5.Lyrics Nursery Wall Art by That's My Letter 6.Matthew Heller Art Knock Off by Gardners 2 Bergers

You know the drill: grab a button and/or link somewhere on your bloggity blog, bring as many items to this party as you please and have FUN!

Thanks for continually linking up, now let's see Whatcha Got!

Valentine's♥Day roundup by Y-O-U!

2012-02-03T05:00:00.001-07:00

Last weekends Whatcha Got Weekend party was so fun for us! It was one of our biggest parties yet {yay!} and it also had some super cute, very lovely Valentine projects we just HAD to share :)

Love love love these:

Simple Valentine's ♥ Banner by Rebecca Cooper

Valentine's Centerpiece by Little Lucy Lu

♥felt Wreath by Love Sweet Love

Valentine's Day Towels by A Pumpkin and A Princess

Felt ♥ Garland by Oopsie Daisy

Valentine Printable by I♥Naptime

Love Felt Art by Imprintalish

Wall Art by The Chamberlains

Valentines Decor by Crafty Scrappy Happy

Felt Flower Valentines Wreath by Mommy By Day Crafter By Night

Valentine Feather Wreath by The Diary of Dave's Wife

Simple & Chic Valentine Tree by Love Laughter & Decor

You Melt My ♥ {printable} by The Silly Pearl

Chocolate Nutella Vday ♥'s by Homespun With Love

Cupids Arrow Chocolates by My Own Road

Valentine Cake Pops by The Blackberry Vine

Majorly cute Valentine projects around Blogland!

Stop by tonight to see our home decor features and get ready for yet another linky party :)

XOXO

Pallet State Love

2012-01-31T05:00:00.208-07:00

We are excited to share the tutorial for our Pallet State Love project in collaboration with our talented team of crafters at The Creative Carousel, {more on that in a bit!}

But first, the tut!Everything was on hand either lying around in the garage or from our craft stash... no outta pocket cost. L♥ve that :)

This project is what you get when you combine our pallet EAT sign with our state art:

In case you missed our pallet EAT sign tut 2 years ago {and haven't seen our bff Katie @ Sweet Rose Studio's gorgeous pallet love most recently}, read on for the DIY on creating your own.
Let's get started, shall we?

1. Lay 4-2x4's (approx. 14" long each) flat on the ground.2. Grab 2 extra scrap pieces of wood (just long enough to nail onto,) a hammer and a handful (10-12) of nails.3. Hammer away until the newly created pallet is sturdy. Easy peasy!
Now to paint:

1. Acrylic paints & foam brush. 2. Brown base coat. 3. Gray top coat. 4. Cut vinyl lettering out, (I designed mine with our vinyl cutter,) and place on pallet where desired. 5. Lightly brush on paint, (I used 3 colors: state- white, heart- pink and quote- robin egg blue.) 6. Lightly sand if you like the shabby look... I personally love how the brown base coat pulled through!
And that's it:

I know our Valentine decor is more of a year-round display BUT, I recently moved 3 hours away from my entire family and this is a good reminder for me to see each day in my home that my heart is where I currently am... with my sweet husband and adorable chubby toddler :) _____________________________________
Okay, back to The Creative Carousel....check out these sites for more DIY's on some darn cute love projects:

1. Felt Valentine Banner by Creations by Kara 2. Valentine Treat Tags by Lil' Luna 3. Valentine Chair Pouch by Oopsie Daisy 4. Yours truly ;) 5. Personalized Valentine CD's by Every Creative Endeavor
As if 5 fresh Valentine tutorials aren't enough, The Creative Carousel isn't complete without a BIG giveaway! You won't want to miss out on all the crafting goodies so head on over and enter to win some ♥ by these uh-may-zing sponsors:

Go enter now!

Good luck :)

Got Lice?

2012-01-30T05:00:00.007-07:00

It's a gross topic but someone's gotta cover it! Has your kiddo had lice yet?? If so, you know how absolutely disgusting it is, not to mention embarrassing :/ Here's what I've learned as a lice surviving mama!
How to TREAT and PREVENT lice:

We had to learn how to TREAT it, unfortunately so I hope this post will help you PREVENT it!

How to effectively treat lice first:

If you know your child (or yourself) has lice, soak your hair in Listerine (any kind) and cover with a shower cap for 2 HOURS.
Rinse, then do the same with Vinegar (yes, 2 MORE hours) Be sure to use a clean shower cap!
Rinse again then wash your hair with your normal shampoo but add 1 tablespoon of Tea Tree Oil into your shampoo bottle.
Condition with any brand of Coconut Conditioner.
Repeat 5 days later, then 5 days after that due to Lice laying Nits that hatch every 5 days.

To Prevent Lice:

Add 1 tablespoon of Tea Tree Oil to your regular shampoo bottle, the oil repels the lice.
Use any brand of Coconut smelling conditioner on a daily basis, lice don't like the smell.
Before the school year starts, follow the instructions for treating lice...I read that a military mom of 35 years did this every year her kids were in school and between all the weird and random places they lived, her kids NEVER picked up lice.

Note: It's been reported that lice are starting to become immune to the lice shampoo sold in stores. Just as well, those bottles are really pricey and didn't work the first 2 times my daughter had lice...which is why she get re-infected over and over until we heard about this treatment.

Cost: From the Dollar Store: 8 shower caps/$1, coconut conditioner/$1. Walmart: Tea Tree Oil/$8, Listerine $5, Vinegar/$1 so TOTAL COST: $16, less than 1 box of the whole preventative shampoo box!

Hope this works for you! Worked for my girls beautifully! Even my 2 1/2 year old kept her shower cap on the whole 4 hours without complaining.

BIG thank you to my good friend, Melissa, for tipping me off to these home remedy treatments. Sorry she had to suffer through it until she got it right but it benefits us all well, right?? (:

GOOD LUCK!

WGW #48 [featuring The Glitter Academy]

2012-01-27T18:31:00.008-07:00

Welcome to Whatcha Got Weekend!

So excited to attend & annouce:

More FOOD. More SPACE. More FUN!

Kim Stoegbauer of The TomKat Studio will be the special guest speaker.

including a Question and Answer session with her! If you have seen any of the adorable printables or amazing parties Kim has styled, you will know why!

This event will be held at My Noah's in Chandler, AZ on

Thursday, March 1st from 6:30- 11pm

Tickets for this event are only $20.

Bring your creative projects to work on or purchase any of the 7 Craft Kits:

(Craft kits available for purchase NOW!)

Yours truly will be there, of course (:

Hope to see you there!

__________________________________________________

Now let's take a looksie at the top-clicked links from the last party:

1. Side Shirt Gathered Shirt from Sugar Bee Crafts 2. Valentine Mantle from Landee See Landee DO 3. Curtains for Dummies by Tales of a Trophy Wife 4. Coffee Filter Wreath by Fox Hollow Cottage 5. Pinterest Inspired Craft Night from Destination: Craft 6. Be Mine Valentine Tree from Diary of Dave's Wife

Thanks for linkin up, gals!

Grab a featured button (:

You know the drill...

follow the blog, snag a button & get to linking!

Now let's see whatcha got:

Easy 3D Book Page Heart

2012-01-27T05:00:00.027-07:00

It's about time we get our love holiday decor on! Introducing a super simple paper craft that you can use for Valentine's Day or year round:

Here's a quick tutorial so you can make your own.
MATERIALS:

Book Pages
Epic 6 + Sweetheart Shape Dies
(If you don't own this fun gadget, cut by hand)
Glue (we prefer Elmers)
Bakers Twine
Beads (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Cut out hearts.
Fold 2 hearts in half with the edges pointing toward you.
Fold the 3rd hearts with the edges pointing away from you.
Glue the first 2 hearts together.
Lay bakers twine along the middle of the 2 glued hearts.
Glue the 3rd heart to the first two, also securing the twine in place.
*Optional: Knot a bead at the end of the twine for added bling.

See how easy that was?

You can use them as ornaments, jar fillers, garlands, wreaths, etc.

As always, Lolly Jane readers get an extra 20% off their Lifestyle Crafts purchase:

Just click the pic and use LOLLYJANE as your code (:

Gender reveal...

2012-01-26T09:24:00.000-07:00

Back in November, we posted about our dilemma to find out baby's gender or not. One of our sweet readers Carlee said it was one of life's only true surprises, which motivated us to wait until delivery day. We squirmed all through our 18-week appointment but did not peek when the ultrasound tech checked baby's "parts." We left clutching the sealed envelope with baby's gender.
Fast forward to New Years Eve... we do what we do every holiday season: watch the complete set of Seinfeld. We are huge fans and are naming the baby Seven. Just kidding :) Season 3 Episode 18 plays and we keep hearing "You gotta see the baby, Jerry! The baby!" to which my hubby turns to me and starts pestering me about opening the envelope. I told him he can find out but not to tell me (yeah right!) so we tore it open together but were left standing with blank pieces of paper. Ha ha- the tech tricked us!
............no, she didn't; it fell out of the envelope and our sweet 19-month old son was holding the card saying "It's A............"

Image via Kelly Hicks

We are THRILLED :)
To tell our families, we printed New Years cards and subtly added, "...we are expecting another son..." into the 2011 wrap up. It was fun to get calls/texts of surprised grandparents/aunts/uncles of this baby who didn't think we were going to find out his gender.
We can't wait to meet him in 3 more months! :)XOXO

Dining Room Table Re-do

2012-01-24T22:41:00.002-07:00

I was going through old pictures and found the "before's" of that crazy stencil dining room. So I thought I'd share those, along with how I re-did that table. It went from a table seating 4 total to a table, chairs + bench that will sit 6-8 people (depending on how many little people I can pile on that bench!) ;)
Here she is in all her final glory [after all those hours and hours of re-finishing ALL those pieces!!!] :

And coupling it with the 4 matching bar stools, I finally have a completed dining room set! We got the table set from my in-laws when we were first married. Within a year I spray painted it black...but I didn't know what I was doing back then and it's continued to chip and scratch over the years.

Let's journey back to the beginning, shall we?
Before:
I can't tell you how many people would walk in at this point (above) and say, "I love your table!" to which I always chuckled. WHAT?? Seriously?! That was my side of laziness showing, I knew sanding it would take forever (the above was after 4 hours of sanding already) so I put it off and worked on other things around the beat up ol' house.
Then I finally got smart and STRIPPED it. Duh!!

SO much faster than sanding when you're trying to remove varnish. Note that and save yourself T-I-M-E.

After I stained the top of the table and applied 1 coat to the chair tops, I started painting the legs and chair backs SW Sea Salt blue. [Same color I used HERE and HERE. Slightly obsessed] ;)

Remember the custom stamp stencil bench? I did the same technique for the chairs but used No. 1-4, just for fun:

Left side: Applied Coat 1 of stain, then dried. I applied vinyl lettering, applied Coat 2 then picked vinyl off with tweezers. Right side: Completed look.

I'm diggin the look right now. What do you think?

Oh, I also found another old shot of the bay window we ripped out that I talked about HERE:

Whew! All that work and I'm finally done!

I'm always amazed how PAINT can change ANYTHING! (:

Valentine's♥Round-Up {and a featured blogger}

2012-01-23T13:06:00.000-07:00

We have been majorly slacking with the red & pink holiday this year! It's probably because we went a bit crazy with it last year and now have a boat load of Valentine's decor :) LOL Does that ever happen to you?
♥♥♥
We do have a few projects up our sleeves but in the meantime, since a lot of you are new to Lolly Jane, take a peek at our Valentine decor from last year:

1. Apothocary jar & plaques2. Bursting with love3. NY-inspired love board

4. CRUSH bottles5. Feather boa wreath6. Keep Calm Kiss On printable
Note: You can download our Keep Calm Kiss On printable for free {HERE}
Speaking of the printable, one of our very favorite Etsy shops, Clella Belle's Beads, recently created the CUTEST charm of it:

Daaaaarling!
Want to see something else that is darling?This necklace!

Correction: MY necklace I received from the sweet shop owner, Cat, and wore for our Christmas pictures this year.
She is so talented! I know not too many of our readers live in Northern Arizona, but if you do and want to stop by her boutique on Feb. 10-11th, she'd love to have you :)

For those that don't, you can sneak a peek on her FB page or blog.

♥♥♥
Hope you all are enjoying the last week of January and getting your love day craft on! Oh, and pop by our FB page later on today to see the lucky winner of the Cutting Edge Stencil giveaway. Yay!
XOXO

Happy Chinese New Year!

2012-01-23T05:00:00.072-07:00

Are YOU celebrating the Chinese New Year?
Check out these fun C.N.Y projects:

[Flying Dragon Puppet by Jellyfish Jelly]

[Paper Lanterns by Kaboose]

[Paper Dragon by Our Big Earth]

[Egg Carton Dragon by Kaboose]

[Felt Fortune Cookies by CraftSanity]

[Cardboard Fire Crackers bt Kaboose]

We thought it'd be fun to teach the kiddos something new so we had a little shin dig last night, courtesy of P.F. Chang's Red Envelope Celebration Kit.
The eve of Chinese New Year, January 22nd, is marked by having a feast with loved ones. What better way to teach the kids than SHOWING them by celebrating with our very own feast?!

According to the Chinese New Year traditions, after dinner is a very exciting time for the kids. They await a red envelope containing money from their parents. Then they put the red envelope under their pillow and they believe they will sleep well without bad dreams. Isn't that cute? They also believe by doing that, they'll become richer the next year (I need to start doing that, lol!)

We talked about the cool dragon calendar, dressed up our surroundings with awesome red lanterns, and cooked dinner [P.F. Chang's new Home Menus] in less than 10 mins.

To give our honest opinion of the Home Menus, they were delicious! I attempted to trick the hubby into thinking I made them by scratch but he knew I wasn't capable of getting all those flavors just right (; We will definitely get again, they were tasty! Juicy meat + crunchy veggies, just like their restaurants [without the hassle of driving, waiting in line + dragging the kids along]. Win-win = yum yum!!

P.F. Chang's is celebrating the new year BIG, good fortune for you! If you visit their restaurant between January 23rd - February 6th, you'll receive a red envelope with a surprise inside: anything from a free dessert to discount off your meal.

If you don't live close to one, you can still have good fortune! P.F. Chang's Facebook "Celebrate the Year of the Dragon" promotion will launch today at noon. Visit to open a virtual red envelope from January 24th-February 13th with a variety of goods to score! Keep up with them on Twitter too.

Happy Chinese New Year, friends! Are you celebrating?

WGW #47

2012-01-20T17:45:00.003-07:00

Welcome to Whatcha Got Weekend!

This weekend will wrap up our popular giveaway from Cutting Edge Stencils (you still have a few days left to enter!) and Kelli's dining room tutorials will come to an end... for now :)

Take one more peek at her fab dining room reveal:

Too stinkin' cute :)

Alright ladies, we had one of our biggest parties yet and just love love love to see your creations. Thanks SO much for linking with us each week! Here's the top viewed from last weekends party:

1. Ribbon & lace mason jars by I{Heart}Naptime 2. Home decor by Fox Hollow Cottage 3. Filing trunk by PB&J Stories 4. Ruffled table runner by Creations by Kara 5. Ruffled crib skirt by Positively Splendid 6. Snickerdoodle bread by Lil' Luna

Valentine's Day is coming near and we had a lot of cute red & pink projects shared:

1. Framed glitter heart by The Diary of Dave's Wife 2. Valentines love by Clean & Sensible 3. Lovebird specimen art by Shaken Together 4. Valentines Day printable by Sweet Rose Studio 5. Classroom Valentines by Uncommon Events 6. Sweetheart banner by Every Creative Endeavor

You know the drill...

follow the blog, snag a button & get to linking!

Now let's see whatcha got:

Me and my big mouth...

2012-01-19T00:05:00.003-07:00

Do you ever think you're ~~the queen of the craft world~~ an experienced crafter and give an honest opinion that you find out is later NOT appreciated?

Well, I did and it changed the whole look of Kelli's master bedroom she is currently redoing to surprise her working-out-of-the-country hubby.

D'oh!

Let me explain... Kelli started a hot conversation via our FB regarding a dresser she found on Craigslist and had big plans for. I know you've all seen the latest in furniture revamping, which Kelli has successfully pulled off, 2-tone paint:

Yeah, she's pretty darn good :)

Anyway, she called this morning and excitedly explained her findings in a furniture eBook she read and wanted to try the euro paint style on her new piece...

source, source & source via European Paint Finishes

After she asked my opinion (because, after all, I think I'm ~~the queen of the craft world~~ an experienced crafter, remember?} I immediately dismissed the idea because I was unfamiliar with the technique and tend to be more traditional than Kelli's bold style. I was WAY too honest on how I would treat the piece if it were mine but of course, ended with a sincere but-do-what-you-want, (aka: don't blame me if you actually take my advice.)

Not thinking much about our earlier convo, I checked out the FB and while ACTUALLY LOOKING at the piece, I texted her to encourage her to try the technique...

She then explains it's not working out the way she planned... and that she was now completely frustrated.

D'oh!

I was so embarrassed!

I wanted to run next door to Kelli's and throw a bucket of paint thinner over her dresser and help her paint it the way she originally planned before I opened my big mouth.... then I remembered I moved 3 hours away and Kelli's stuck with a piece of furniture she went over her average Craig's budget to purchase and is not completely in love with anymore :(

So now, we're both frustrated.

Does that ever happen to you?

Maybe sometimes? Oh, no?

Okay good... because I felt like a royal idiot!

Sigh. Thanks for letting me vent.

(And publicly apologize to Kelli! Sorry sis!)

If she forgives me AND finishes the dresser, you will see it on here soon ;)

________________________

Well, we'll see you this evening for our link party & features... pretty cute stuff being strutted, I might add!

See ya then.

XOXO

DIY Large Beadboard Molding Mirror

2012-01-18T05:00:00.092-07:00

After my stencil wall was completed, I knew I needed to beef up my mirror. Solution for a bigger mirror?...a larger frame behind the original. Best part: FREE!
You might be surprised what supplies I used to create this big ol' chunky mirror:

Let's back it up real quick...my generous twinner, Kristi, gave me this cute, simple creamy mirror when I first moved into my new home 7 months ago [warning: cruddy cell phone pic]

Love the mirror, but it needed to be BIGGER on that big, busy wall. I originally planned on 3 crown molding 5' shelves for the wall but after I stenciled it, I knew the knick knacks on the shelf would be too cluttery.

An after shot:

Here's what I did, and what you can do too!!

1. Start with a standard mirror, 1/8" MDF, bead-board wallpaper, trim [wallpaper+trim were leftover goods]

2. Cut MDF 8" larger than your mirror so it has a nice, chunky base.

3. Apply wallpaper to edges of MDF. This is nice because you can save your wallpaper and are virtually using scraps. Score.

4. Center + liquid nail original frame onto newly bead-boarded MDF.

5. Liquid nail trim. Secure with screws behind [optional].

6. Caulk, paint, glaze. [In the last picture you can see how thin the whole frame is from the side which is nice because it's lighter.]

Here it is next to my 7 year old son for comparison:

Side view and Accessorized:

My sis-in-law/neighbor walked in after I completed the room and said "I don't get the wreath?" Haha!-do you agree or disagree?? I didn't put the mirror up to look at myself while I cook, I put it up for decor only. What do you think?!

And one last shot:

Okay okay, I swear, the last one (:

Original mirror size: 29" tall x 41" long.My chunky frame mirror: 46" tall x 58" long.
Cost Breakdown:

Mirror [free]
MDF [$6: used Home Depot gift card], usable amount leftover
Beadboard Wallpaper [free: leftover from here]
2" Trim [free: leftover from here]

PS: Enter the giveaway for the cute wall stencil HERE :)

Dining Room Reveal + Cutting Edge Stencil Giveaway

2012-01-16T05:00:00.121-07:00

Another big week here on Lolly Jane, starting with a major before/after. Last time I shared my house with you, the room of choice was my daughter's inexpensive bedroom makeover. This week I'm revealing a main room in my house...

My completed dining room!

SO glad to have this room checked off my list. I think I'll get a bigger rug eventually but other than that, I'm happy with it!

When I moved in 7 months ago, here is what I had to work with:

Left picture: you can see a bay window on the right side of the room. We tore that out, opening it up into the previous "AZ Room" (which is now apart of the house). Taking out that wall has added a couple hundred sq ft to the house and is the kids' new playroom/music room (piano on one side of the room). Right picture: the back of the pop out bay window which was torn out.

In this picture you can see how it flows from the front door now:

Loving it.
Do you remember my turquoise hutch makeover? I love it paired with the top layer of mustard yellow on the wall...that mustard yellow bowl in the hutch was from my wedding nearly 10 years ago and it ties the colors together nicely, I think.

I couldn't have completed the final look without the help of Cutting Edge Stencils. And my honest-to-goodness review? A+! They're fabulous. I truly think the stencil was very, very easy to use.

BEFORE I got started, I actually took the time to read every page on the website. Note: This is something I NEVER do, but I wanted to do it the right way instead of my typical impatient way ;) I used the Julia All Over Stencil and studied all the tips before I began:

Pretty right?? I opted for one color this round but since the stencils are reusable, I'll go for the 2-tone next time.

It was ridiculously easy. Everyone that sees it thinks it's wallpaper. All you do is tape the stencil up, starting at the top of your wall. Use that level provided for accuracy!! You don't have to wait for it to dry before you gently remove it and start the next block. It's very forgiving and hard to mess up (:

If you're a nervous nelly, there are some awesome videos and tutorials they offer to help you along the way, such as this guy:

If I messed up, it was easy to hide (: Also, the whole project start to finish was just 3 hours. I timed one row, just for fun: 9 minutes! Not too shabby. Keep in mind my 4 kiddos were sleeping soundly as I worked alongside a movie.

I love the dining room now, such a fun and bright space to gather as a family for our meals:

* * * GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED * * *

Cutting Edge Stencils has lots of samples, check them out!

[We party hard HERE and HERE]

WGW #46 with All Through the Night CD Giveaway

2012-01-13T20:17:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Whatcha Got Weekend!

Kristi took over this week, making LJ all things BABY!

She shared how to distress furniture with candle wax, started a great conversation about epidural vs natural birth and made custom curtains for her little boy's room. And we're ending the week with another baby item: soothing music!

Dr Steve Alder & Julie Keyes, also known as Opus2, created these peaceful lullabies for their grandkids but it grew into this:

"Throughout the production + with future planned projects, the goal of soft, peaceful music for little ones just arriving in the world, has been met."

Our kids really love this CD. It's so nice to listen to in the car as it provides a calming feel amist chaotic life. Your little ones will love it too!

To Enter:

Simply "Like" Opus2 on Facebook.

That's it! Leave a comment letting us know you did so and you'll be entered to win this fabulous CD.

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We love seeing what you've all been up too.
Creating beautiful + crafty items warms our souls!

Take a peek at the top viewed posts from last weekend:

1. Pallet Loveby Sweet Rose Studio 2. Liz Marie 2011 Re-Cap by Liz Marie 3. Pinterest Inspired Birthday Board by Sugar Bee Crafts 4. DIY Dish Soap Packets by Lady with the Red Rocker 5. What a Tease by Junk in Their Trunk 6. Valentines Day Mantle by Natural Nester

Now let's party!

Ya know the drill: follow the blog, snag a button & strut your stuff ;)

Now let's see whatcha got:

Thermal football curtains DIY

2012-01-12T05:00:00.003-07:00

Thank you SO much for your sweet comments, advice and very appreciated input on the dilemma with my upcoming labor & delivery. We are so grateful to have such absolutely amazing readers and just ♥ you gals!
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So you remember my little guy's football themed nursery? He will soon be transitioning to a toddler bed {whaa! time flies!} and for now, I am keeping with the theme. I've decided, after 18 months and 2 moves, to add curtains to his room:

I'm on top of things, I know! Thank Heaven for nesting ;)

Supplies:

I stopped by Target and snagged a 2-pack of 42x84 cream panels, a clearanced brown flat sheet, 2 packs of white sport shoe laces, acrylic paint, foam brush and had my vinyl ready use as a stencil for the helmet design.

To make the curtains:

1. Cut one panel in half to make two panels.
Note: I wanted thermal curtains to block out light but they were a separate purchase over $30 and I'm too ~~cheap~~ frugal to pay that so I settled on backing the cream panel with my brown clearanced sheet instead.
2. Cut sheet in half & stitch to the inside of the cream curtain panel, leaving roughly 20 inches of sheet.
3. Fold the remaining sheet fabric behind.
4. Sew it to the bottom of the cream panel.

Here's a peek at a panel before it's embellished:

Kinda bland, I know...

let's football-ify them!

1. Sew 2 laces horizontally across the curtain where the panel meets the sheet... this hides the stitching of the two fabrics but also mocks football laces ;)
2. To make the mock football laces I just cut the extra shoelaces in 1 inch pieces and stitched vertically roughly every 1.25 inches.
3. All done sewing. Easy peasy!

To finish off the curtains, and to add a bit of personalization, I painted on a helmet {the #13 is the day my son was born} then cut it out on vinyl lettering to use as a stencil:

No fancy fabric paint or medium here but instead simple red & brown acrylic paint... the #1 bled a smidge but oh well. I then sanded the whole design down a bit to shabby it up a bit.

After it was dry I hung them and was impressed with the mock thermal curtains... see the difference with the original cream panel on the right? Yay!
Simple + inexpensive = happy Lolly Janer
:)

{See our DIY football lampshade HERE}

PS: Imagine the PB Catalina toddler bed in this space...

....can't wait to have the hubbs finish building it!

I'm sure posts for the rest of my to-do-before-baby#2-arrives list will be popping up very soon! :)

Epidural or à la naturale?

2012-01-11T05:00:00.007-07:00

My toddler room project I've been working on since Monday isn't coming along as fast as I would like {I warned you, I'm no Kelli!} but I'm hoping to post it tomorrow.

For today, let's chat....

I had my 6 month check up yesterday and while listening to baby's sweet heartbeat, I got to thinking about ~~the scariest thing ever~~ labor & delivery.

Hospital survival kit via My Own Road

Here's a personal {~~slightly~~ nosey} question:

Did you have a epidural or go à la naturale?

I have been debating about this for some time now and a few words of advice keep chanting in my head...

"Women have been bearing children without drugs since the beginning of time; it's what your body is made for and it knows what to do."

"You don't get a prize for having a natural birth."

"Don't be stuck on going natural; be open minded to the possibility that you may end up wanting pain relief."

"Why, when we have modern medicine available to you to make labor comfortable, would you NOT want the drugs?!"

"I won't be in there if you don't get an epidural!"

Oh, that last one wasn't advice but a warning from my husband who is as nervous as me! Hee hee :)

Maternity delivery hospital gown via ModMod

I'm doing a lot of research and trying to prepare my body for what it is going to experience, as frightening as it may appear, and plan on taking a good lamaze class soon. Not sure if you can really prepare for childbirth, right? Wrong? {I don't know! My sweet son was placed in my arms by his loving birthmom so I don't know what I'm doing!} I guess we shall see.

Either way, I know the end result is worth it :)

In-hospital photo session by Ayla Rios

PS: Can't wait to copy this shot with my little family!

♥

Alright, I'll see you tomorrow with a tutorial :)

Distressed crib using candle wax

2012-01-09T05:00:00.181-07:00

Best Christmas present to date?

A handmade crib from my sweet father-in-law :)

Inspired from The Land of Nod's chocolate Meadowbrook crib, he modified the design a smidge and added his personal touch, European style. {He was born & raised in Holland and the crib has a Dutch feel to it... which is appropriate since this baby will have a Dutch name. TBA!} Anyhoo, Kelli had mentioned a way to distress furniture using candle wax and I wanted to give it a try. I found a great tutorial here but I wanted the original wood to show through, not an undercoat of paint, so I tailored the tute for my project.

Take a peek at the before, raw & smelling like fresh cut wood... mmm!

This was a fairly quick process but I had to take lots of breaks with little hands around so it took me a few nap times and getting up really early one morning to finish up ;)

Supplies:

To distress furniture using candle wax you will need a candle* paint, roller, sander, foam brush/water and polyurethane.
{*I'm a Scentsy girl and don't have any wick candles in the house. Little hands, remember? Anyway I snagged a handful of used votives in a baggie at GW for $1.99 that included 2 unused Scentsy bar sets. Score!}

1. After wiping down leftover sawdust, rub candle wax on the areas you want the original wood to show through... corners, sides, etc:

2. Paint at least 2 coats and let dry... you can see how one coat shows the wax really well:

Note: The more coats, the shabbier the look when sanded :)

3. Sand the areas of the wax down l i g h t l y as the paint comes right off the waxed areas:

I didn't like how bright the original wood now looked in contrast to the dark paint:

{Glazed wood on left, sanded raw wood on right}

I used a tip from Misses-Know-It-All {Kelli} and simply watered down my paint to make a glaze {Measurements: 3 parts water to 1 part paint} and rubbed it over the raw wood with a foam brush. Perfect:

After 3 coats of poly to polish it off, the crib is done:

Not the nursery, or crib bedding, but the crib itself ;)

Kelli & I, although twins, are not the same when it comes to decorating. She can bust out a project lickity split {like last week's tornado of starting and finishing her daughters room in a couple of days} but alas, I cannot. I am indecisive and too picky about how to stage things. Drives her nuts, I'm sure :)

In the meantime, here's an updated belly shot:

I know, super cheesy face but my hubby has no patience taking pics! lol

In all honesty, I am surprised at how crazy pregnancy is that it automatically takes over your body. Pretty amazing, actually, how it's doing all this work without my help. I thought women just gained a bit of weight and that was that... boy, was I wrong! I carry Tums around and eat them up like candy, toss & turn most nights due to discomfort, stopped wearing heels because my swollen feet won't fit in them and pretty much gave up on dressing stylish... lol. It's worth every pound of weight gain and ache though. I ♥ it! :)

Whatcha Got Weekend #45

2012-01-06T19:33:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Whatcha Got Weekend!

Poor Kelli has had a biz-zay week with re-doing her toddler's bedroom:

Next week Kristi will be taking over with a preview of the nursery, newly built/painted crib {and baby bump!} as well as a few other fun projects... stay tuned!
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We love love love our linkers!
Thanks for showing off your projects at our party :) Take a peek at the top viewed posts from last weekend:

1. Decorative pillow by Bliss Images... and Beyond 2. Vintage chairs by Too Much Time on My Hands 3. Drop leaf table by Picked & Painted 4. Chalkboard frame by Salvaged Whimsy

Let's party!
Ya know the drill: follow the blog, snag a button & strut your stuff ;)

Now let's see whatcha got:

Toddler Bedroom Makeover [REVEAL]

2012-01-06T05:00:00.074-07:00

I'm done with the bedroom, hurrah!

I'm happy to say I met my Friday deadline...I started Tuesday at noon and finished Thursday at 4pm. Best part? Total cost was less than $30! Love that.

My favorite accessory in this very small space is the printable I created for my daughter. Every night I sing "You are My Sunshine" to Laney. She's memorized the 1st & 2nd verses, it's adorable to hear her sing along (:

I'll offer up the printable in more colors next week...today's post is pretty darn full! Loving that cute frame? Me too, get it here.

Note: If you've been following along my saga, lol, here are Day 1 and Day 2's progress. Here are some more final shots:

Today's progress:

Created chain & hung birdcage.
Created frame and matte + hung Laney's pic.
Painted & put up shelf on shabby hooks.
Painted piggy turquoise, no more baby look.
Created garland above window.
Painted & hung planters to toy/book storage.
Bought new sheets + pillowcases.
Recycled chicken wire window frame to bow storage.
Accessorized. [Funnest part!]

Loving her room. The pink mirror in the closet is fun for her to check herself out. The chicken wire frame helps display her too-many-bows-and-flowers, the headband holder fits perfect tucked inside her closet too. Organization is cleansing ;) Here are all the mini projects that pulled this room together. What do you think?? Is a bum knee and sore shoulder worth it??

Flower Planter to Toy Storage:

Recycled Fabric Bunting:

This is pretty self explanitory [triangles.hot glue.jute] BUT the twist is that I made it recycling the fabric that the sheet & pillowcases came in along with a little chenille fabric.

Recycled Frame:

The pic I had of my little missy is an 11x14 but the recycled frame I wanted to use is a 12x14. What to do? Using 2 Elmer's foam boards [no glass], I cut it to size, hot glued it in place and double-sided the pic onto my homemade mat. Not too shabby. Tip: No hanger in the back of the frame? 2 eyehooks + jute is a quick replacement!

Hanging a Birdcage:

Tip: Leftover jewelry parts make great looking chains for hanging your birdcage. Easy.

Painted Piggy Bank

I needed a pop of turquoise and this baby-ish but still cute piggy bank was perfect!

Monogram Initial:

Love this "D" I picked up at Joann's when my babe was born. To hang, I screwed in 2 eye hooks, looped in some coordinating ribbon & hung from a crystal knob. Simple customization.

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So glad to get Delaney's bedroom decor checked off my [long] to-do list. My little girl said to me after her bath tonight, "I like my room, Mommy. Thank you!" Bah!-I almost died. She THANKED me on her own!!

Cutie.

[We party HERE]

Toddler Bedroom Makeover [Part 2]

2012-01-05T05:00:00.007-07:00

I made a lot of progress today....and bonus: NO injuries, wahoo!! ;)

Day 1/yesterday's progress: clean up her crap! My little messy girl loves to pull her clothes out of her drawers during nap time. I got them all organized and donated the excess. *Exhale* Wow, that felt good. I also halfway wallpaper beadboarded her walls and completed all the painting minus edges.

Day 2/today's progress: Completed painting. Completed beadboard. Applied chair rail ALL BY MYSELF!! (Don't look too closely m'kay?! My hubby came home and complimented me so it must be decent, right??) Spray painted accessories...to be finished manana for the final reveal.

Chair rail: This was so easy, I'm gonna do more projects with molding I've decided. If you've got a brad nailer, this is easy peasy. Just cut your wood to size [I love my chop saw], verify it's straight with a level and brad nail away. Simple.

I know, the lampshade has got to go AND the bed is pitiful. That will soon change. Moving on, one of the many spray painting projects today was reviving an end table. I was excited to resurrect this baby as I got it at KMart almost 9 years ago and have to say, it's been a great piece of furniture surprisingly!

Before: Meet the queen of this room, my sweet Laney [with the side table]. She currently stashes her My Little Ponies close to her bed so no one will steal them [like my older 3 are even tempted?!].

During: Drilled holes for the new feet, secured with wood glue, coated with spray paint, lightly distressed and after a quick coat of poly, we're in business.

A fun pop of ol' yeller for my lil girly. Be back tomorrow with the Chapter 3 of the Toddler Bedroom Makeover Saga ;)