Becoming Martha

Must Pin Projects #41 - DIY Jar Ideas

2013-05-22T19:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Wednesday! Time to celebrate you - Yes YOU!

Thanks for linking up to our party every week, you guys just blow it out of the water every time!

~This week's features are: DIY Jar Ideas, and they're brought to you by Barbara at Chase the Star~

Healthy Cup of Dirt!

Mason Jar with a Spout

Dad's Snack & Surf Kit

Pig Pickin' Cake in a Jar

Pretty Blue Mason Jar

Dried Herbs and Spices in a Jar

Come back tomorrow night for the party! If you want more chances to be featured, visit our group blog, The Creative Headquarters and submit your latest and greatest creation (or even something older and fabulous!).

Let's Stay in Touch Cards - 2013 Version

2013-05-21T19:46:00.000-04:00

Last year, I shared these "Let's Stay in Touch" cards that I used for my daughter to share with her school friends so they had each other's contact information over the summer. (She attends a school that services several communities, so it's not like they all live in our neighbourhood - in fact, only one does.)

I decided to create a new set this year since she has made many new friends after being in a new class. Also, last years set weren't downloadable due to the clip art licenses, but this year I used clipart that allowed me to share it with you!

To create your own contact cards, download the blank image below. Print them out on white cardstock and use a paper trimmer to cut around the edges. You can cut them in half right away and give each person two cards, but what I do is use a rotary cutter that has a perforated blade. Then, it's obvious that they tear off the top, fill out the bottom, and return it to their friends before school ends.

Here's your version to download. Click to enlarge the photo and then right click and choose save image.

My daughter absolutely loved these last year, and she is going to be so excited to give them out again!

Minnie Mouse Party Decor

2013-05-20T19:36:00.000-04:00

Today, I am sharing the last post from my daughter's Minnie Mouse party that we held a couple of weeks ago. So far, I have posted about her party favors and the party games and activities. Today, I'm going to share some photos from the decor, and you can head over and download a set for your own Minnie Mouse party!

When I started planning the decor, I knew I didn't want either of the standard Minnie Mouse color themes - no black/red/white or black/hot pink/white for this party. I kind of went with a strawberry lemonade color scheme first, but when it started to look a little too babyish (from the colors being slightly pastel), I upped the brightness factor. I also used some black, grey, and white for neutrals.

My daughter loves polka dots, so I tried to incorporate them wherever I could - plus it ties in nicely with Minnie Mouse since her dress and bows often have polka dots. I created all of the printables myself, and had them printed at a local office supply store. I tried to use things I had on hand as much as possible to keep the cost down.

I created this welcome banner by cutting flag shapes out on my digital cutter and lining the edges with washi tape. I also cut the letters out of scrapbooking paper and then strung the banner on yellow ribbon. I hung it on the gate with a balloon banner. To make the balloon banner, simple blow up all of your balloons and use a needle and thread to string the balloons on the fishing line. Obviously, make sure you thread it at the bottom of the balloon, past the knot, so it doesn't pop! Then, I wrapped the string around the top of our gate.

On the reverse side of the banner, I cut the word "Toodles" which the guests saw as they were leaving.

Most of the decor focuses on the food table. To make the backdrop, I stapled vinyl tablecloths to the back of my deck. I tied the white vinyl tablecloths back with pink streamers with crepe paper bows. The wind was blowing like crazy, so it was hard to get a good shot of it all!

I made a pom pom garland to go along the back, and made a Minnie silhouette with embroidery hoops that I wrapped in black yarn. I cut a big bow out of scrapbooking paper and glued it on the top. The Minnie topiaries were made from styrofoam balls (from my SNAP swag bag!) that were spray painted black. And the cute chicken wire frames were created using this tutorial that I shared a few weeks ago,

The tablecloth was sprinkled with Minnie Mouse confetti that I ordered from an Etsy Store, Creations by Stephanie. I could have made my own, but I know when to say enough is enough and order in. There was no way I had time to create 300 pieces of Minnie Mouse silhouette confetti with bows glued on, especially when I could order them for $3.00!

Water bottle labels have to be my favorite element of any party - and I always create them! I think they are a very easy and simple touch that really top it all off. I have them included in the printables package that I'm sharing - in both yellow and pink colors!

I wanted to keep the food simple so that I could spend more time enjoying the party (which still didn't happen, it is apparently impossible!) I created Minnie Mouse rice krispie treats, which were supposed to get bows but since it was a last minute rush, the bows didn't make the boat. I simply used a Mickey Mouse cookie cutter that I ordered from Amazon.

The guests munched on hot dogs, personal veggie cups, and munchie mix. We had cupcakes and rice krispies for dessert.

The banner is also one of my favorite elements - it was a night before last minute addition that I was super happy with. It was super easy to create too - I will share a tutorial for it next week - and guess what? It's no sew!

In the chicken wire frames, I put pictures of Stella from her first and second birthday. I stuck more crepe paper bows on top of the frames.

The cupcakes were the semi-scratch/semi-boxed cupcakes that I shared when we had Cecelia's party - seriously the best cake recipe ever! I topped them with white (store bought) icing and made Minnie silhouettes with oreos, mini oreos, and pink frosting for the bows.

I usually use one 6 foot table for the food and have another 6 foot table in a separate location for the gifts and party favors, but there was so much wind that I put both behind the deck to offer some shelter. (The wind was very welcome though, since it was stifling hot.) And in case you missed seeing the party favors two weeks ago, here they are...

...and the party games and activities also added to the decor of the party...

And if you wanted to grab a free copy of the Minnie printables, head here for instructions on how to download them for yourself and how you can have them customized or order a matching invitation.

I hope you enjoy them! And if you use them for your party, feel free to send me some pictures of them in action. I love seeing party photos!

Quilting the Quilt {Quilt Along Series}

2013-05-17T06:00:00.000-04:00

How did you do last week? Not too hard, right? Now that you have the top pieced together and sewn, are you ready to start quilting the quilt? This is the most time consuming part but definitely adds the character and handmade quality that we all love in our quilts! So let's get started!

We are going to begin by sewing your backing together. You should have already cut the fabric for your backing in half. Lay the two pieces face to face and sew the length the fabric on one side. This is what it should look like once sewn together.

{Sorry for the poor lighting, it's the only room in my house that can accommodate such a large piece of fabric!} Flip the backing over so the "good" side of the fabric is face down. Press the seam. Once you are done pressing the seam, iron the entire backing. You want to make sure you get it as smooth as a baby's butt so your quilt does not have any wrinkles or bunching. Tip: I use an extension cord and just do this right on the floor. So much easier than the hassle of the ironing board.

Here is where your T pins and curved safety pins come into play! Once you have your backing as smooth as you can get it, pin the four corners into the carpet. It will help prevent shifting as we piece the layers together. If you have a hard wood floor, you can just use tape.

Once your backing is secure, start building your quilt sandwich. {Quilt sandwich is just the three layers of the quilt - the backing, the batting and the top.} Roll out your batting. Your backing will be bigger than the batting. Smooth it out. I just used my hands and Kyle's. He helps me with this part. <----- good husband!

Next, add your quilt top. {Again - seasoned quilters beware. I think I'm about to do something that isn't allowed.} I iron my quilt top once it has been added to the top of the quilt sandwich. GASP! Won't that melt the batting? I have no idea. I've done this for all three of the quilts I have made and haven't lost one yet.

Now you are going to carefully T pin the corners of the quilt top to secure it before moving on to the pinning. And because I don't think that's enough, I always pin all the way around the edge of the quilt top too.

If you noticed, you have gobs of extra fabric. You can trim off the excess. Be sure to leave about two inches to accommodate for any shifting that may take place as part of the quilting process.

Get those fingers ready! It's time to start pinning this bad boy together! Using your curved safety pins, pin through all three layers of the quilt. You will want to do this every couple of inches or so. It is better to over pin than under pin. You will be really mad at yourself if you do not pin enough and the quilt starts bunching!! Trust me! I start in the middle of the quilt and work my way to the edge - pinning and smoothing as I go.

Give your fingers a rest! Good work!

Now you are ready to start quilting the quilt!

Preparation: I start by winding about 4 extra bobbins. It makes the process so much easier when you don't have to completely un-thread your sewing machine in the middle of quilting. {I didn't learn that until this quilt.} Make sure your magnet is handy to help with any spills, broken needles, missing pins, etc...

Grab something to drink and put in a good movie! You are going to need it! Let's begin quilting!

According to quilting guidelines, you are supposed to start in the center of the quilt and work your way to the edge to prevent bunching and puckering. For this quilt, I started on row 6 of my blocks and worked my way to one edge. Then I repeated the process for the other half.

To deal with the bulk of the quilt, it is easiest if you roll the quilt to feed it through the neck of your sewing machine.

I am using a straight line quilting technique with my regular foot. I have not progressed beyond this method. If you are more experienced, feel free to quilt this as you see fit. After all, it is an expression of your creativity! But for the purposes of this tutorial, I will be posting about straight line quilting.

Using the left side of your foot as a guide, begin sewing down each long seam of the quilt top. The left side of the foot will be running down the seam as pictured below.

You want to stop your thread as little as possible. If you run out of thread or the thread breaks, just start back where you left off. When moving between long seams, I stitched through the edge seam. You will be making a looping pattern as you move across the quilt.

Start at #1. Sew across the quilt to #2. Sew through edge seam to get to #3. Sew across the quilt to #4. Sew through the edge seam down to #5. And so on and so forth... I know that sounds so confusing, but I promise once you get started, it will all make sense.

For the edge, I just sewed around about three times to give it a little definition.

Here's what it looks like from the back. Very simple! But Reed LOVES it! That's what counts!

If you want to add more, be my guest! After all, it is your quilt! Personalize it as you see fit! This is a super easy quilting pattern. I was able to quilt this in one afternoon. Feel free to leave a comment with any questions or hit up my email! If you are part of the Facebook group, feel free to ask in there!

Have fun quilting and I will see you back next week for the final phase of the quilt - binding!

Keep Calm & Link Up #41

2013-05-16T19:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome back to another edition of Keep Calm & Link Up! Are you ready to show us what you've been up to this week? Before you do, let's all take a peek at last week's most clicked post...

This super cute Potted Garden Wall is from Gingerly Made - what a fun way to add color to your fence! This is on my to-do list now that spring is rolling around!

Now, onto this weeks party!

Must Pin Projects #40 {Keep Calm & Link Up Features}

2013-05-15T19:00:00.000-04:00

Well, last week marked party number 40 for us! Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy life to link up with us every week - it really is such a joy and inspiration to go through the links every week and share the great features with you!

This week, Sarah from Becoming Martha had the chance to pick her faves to share with our readers, and here they are:

Amethyst Memory Wire Bracelet - One Artsy Mama

Walkers Raspberry Shortbread Tart - Pint Sized Baker

Milk Bottle Photo Prop - Shaken Together

Wine Rack from a Pallet - Virginia Sweet Pea

Twig Wreath - The First Year Blog

Simple Teacher Gift with Printable - The Happy Scraps

Front Porch Spring Makeover - Echoes of Laughter

Handpainted Burlap Canvas Sign - Making Home Base

DIY Flower Earrings and Printables - Hubby Made Me

Campfire Smores Cookies - Farmer's Wife Rambles

Now how's that for ten treats and projects that demand pinning? I think I want to recreate every single one of them. I hope you'll join us again tomorrow for another week of sharing and gathering inspiration at the Keep Calm & Link Up Party - it goes live at 7 pm EST! See you then!

Minnie Mouse Party Games and Activities

2013-05-14T19:28:00.000-04:00

Last week, I shared some details about the favours we had at my daughters Minnie Mouse party. Today, I'm going to share the party activities with you!

The party activities were little carnival style games that I created, all matching the Minnie theme and colours. We had Drop the Clothespin (stand on a chair over a jar and drop the clothespin into the jar), which we created by putting washi tape on a clothespin and a ribbon around our spaghetti jar. Super simple!

The next game was Ping Pong Bounce. I bought some pink balls (they were actually golf practice balls) from the dollar store, and used an old container to throw them in. I wrapped the container in fancy polka dot wrapping paper that I bought from Target while I was at SNAP.

The third game was my favourite! It was Pin the Ears on Stella. I went to my local Staples and had them print a huge (24x36 inches) engineering print of Stella. Cost? 61 cents a square foot! So this huge picture cost about $3.50. A poster would have cost over $20.00. Engineered prints are printed on regular paper, so I used double sided tape to attach the picture to a sheet of foam board. Then, I grabbed a piece of wood and used gorilla tape to attach it to the foam board and stuck it in the ground.

The fourth game was Ring Toss. I used two embroidery hoops and wrapped them in pink washi tape. Then, I used a old frame that I bought at a thrift store a long time ago. This thing used to be the most hideous brassy color ever until I spray painted it black. I used double sided tape to attach some of the same wrapping paper over the ugly floral still life picture that was inside the frame, and then stuck some clear bottles on the frame which had been decorated with a small piece of the wrapping paper and some of uthe circles from the party printables.

We also had a Beanbag Toss, but I somehow managed to not get a picture of that one. Not sure how that happened, but I basically made a big Minnie head out of foamboard, glued on a big bow, and cut a hole in the center for the kids to throw the beanbags through.

At each games, their were canisters with prizes inside that they got to grab as they played the games - these were the treats that filled up their favour bags. I decorated the canisters with ribbon and Minnie silhouettes and stuffed some pink grass inside the jars with the prizes.

I loved that I didn't have to spend very much on all of these activities. The only cost was the foam board (dollar store - $1.00 a sheet x 3 sheets), the engineered print (about $3.50), and the pink balls ($1), so the total cost was well under $3.00. I love using things that I already own, because not only does it save money, but I don't have to worry about finding a new home for all of these random party supplies once the party is over. I also spent $10 on all of the games signs - they were $2 wooden plaques from the dollar store.

I created the cute signs by painting the edges of the plaque black, and then used Mod Podge to attach polka dot scrapbook to the plaque. I then added the Minnie silhouette (cut with my digital cutter), the bow, and the names of each game. You could Mod Podge over the top of it, but I wasn't concerned about it's durability so I didn't. (I took the picture after the party, so excuse the wear and tear!)

Next week, I'll share the last post from her party (the decor and food table) and I'll also share the printable package that I created for her party so that you can create your own Minnie party too! You won't want to miss it!

A Herringbone Wall + How NOT to Stencil a Wall

2013-05-13T10:31:00.001-04:00

Ah yes, stenciling You've seen it everywhere and in some really cool designs. I have too, and I have been dying to try it. When I was given the chance to review a stencil from Royal Design Studio, I knew I wanted to try a cool herringbone pattern on the one solid wall in my daughter Stella's room.

This is what her plain and boring grey wall looked like before I started the stenciling process:

At first, I planned to do the wall in colors pulled from her quilt that I was making. I custom mixed 6 tones of paint to match the fabrics, and read the instructions that accompanied the stencil. (By the way, Royal Design Studio sends super awesome and very detailed instructions along with all of their patterns.)

However, after I did one stencil of the multi-colored, I decided it wasn't for me. It was just too much. So, I got a baby wipe, and while it was still wet, washed all of that paint off. Then, I went to my closet full of paint cans and grabbed a can of cream colored paint and started over.

Now this is where I will get into the "How NOT to Stencil" portion of this post. I will be completely honest with you and tell you that I am not a patient crafter. Unlike my good friend Barbara over at Chase the Star who must have all the patience in the world to makeover that gorgeous furniture that she does, I want things done quick, quick, quick. I don't like waiting. I want it to be a constant, go go go flow.

Stenciling is not made for this type of personality. It requires you to take your time and use very little paint on your brush. Less paint = more coats = more time. Plus, since I was a dunce and painted my wall grey first, I had to paint a light color on top of a dark color. (Don't do this! Paint your light color first and then use the stencil with the dark color and save yourself quite a few coats of paint.)

This product is amazing - the first few times that I applied the very thin layer of paint to the stencil, I was amazed at how clean and crisp my lines were. However, that is where my love and patience for the project wore out. I had a toddler who wanted to be in her room, and even more bothersome, she wanted to help with the painting. I needed to come with a way that would at least feel like I was moving along quicker.

I will give a disclaimer that this is not the conventional, or even best, method of using a stencil, but if you are super impatient like me and you have a very straight edged stencil like mine, it works. Here's what I did:

I did my entire wall with the stencil in a light coat of paint with an almost dry brush. Then, I went back and taped the lines all off. It actually didn't take that long, since the lines were already created with paint and everything was very linear.

Now I know what you're thinking... if you're just going to use tape, why bother with the stencil at all? And here is my response: If I didn't use the stencil first, I would still be up there, leveling, measuring, and taping perfect herringbone shapes and it would have taken forever! The stencil gave me the outline and it was super easy to tape along the edges. (My favorite part of using the stencil was how easy it was to line up - there are dotted lines that you simply place over the portion you already did. So simple!) With my tape, I did a quick thin layer around the edges and let it dry, just to seal the tape so that it didn't bleed underneath. Then, I put on a slightly (ok, maybe more than slightly) thicker layer of paint. I got away with only 2-3 coats, instead of the 5-6 it was taking me with the stencil.

If you're considering using a stencil, I absolutely say go for it! But, I think planning ahead is key. I kinda went into it thinking, "Hey, I'm gonna slap this stencil on the wall during naptime and be on my way." Yeah... not so much. Plan your colors first of all - and do your best to try to paint the darker color on top of the lighter color. Second of all, give yourself enough time. Do it on a weekend when your kids are away or at least have someone else to entertain them while you paint. And lastly, relax, and take your time with the process - and if you can't, then adapt the rules to suit yourself. There's more than one way to do everything, right?

After I was done taping, I went back in a small foam brush and used the tip to touch up and small dribbles that may have happened as I was going along. You can just place the brush over the spot you need to touch up and you dont even need to brush it. The edge will keep it crisp.

Royal Design Studio also sends ceiling filler, so it is easy to finish off the pattern right to the top, but I liked the zig zag look without it. I actually painted a couple of squares and went back in and painted them grey again! Totally personal preference, but I liked it uneven!

Stella loved her new wall. She was so excited and said "Thank you for my pretty wall, Mommy!"

I only did it 3/4 of the way up the wall, because I wanted to add a high chair rail. However, when I went to look at chair rails, I didn't like the detail of them. I wanted something very simple, since the herringbone was quite graphic. I instead decided to grab two end corner pieces from the crown moulding section, and used a long piece of 1x4 MDF.

I bradnailed them in and then caulked the little holes and painted it the same color as the herringbone pattern. Now I just have to decide what to put above it. I have a few options, maybe you can help me decide. It was hard to find pictures of my ideas, but I tried! Here are the four ideas I'm mulling around in my head:

Source: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

What do you think? Leave your vote below! Hopefully I soon get it done and get to show you what I choose! And stop by Royal Design Studio too and pick our your favorite stencil!

**I was given a free stencil of my choice by Royal Design Studio to try out and review, but I did not receive any additional compensation for this post. All opinions are 100% mine.

Quilt Along Week Two {Piecing Your Quilt Top}

2013-05-10T06:00:00.000-04:00

Are you excited to get to sewing? I am! {If you missed any part of our Cutting the Fabric post, click here!} This week we are going to work on piecing the quilt top together. I apologize for the pictures in advance. The room big enough to lay this out has the worst lighting!

If you chose to work ahead last week, you can skip this first part.

For those of you who waited, you are going to need to do a little prep work prior piecing the quilt together. Begin laying out your rows. Start with the large rectangles. Each row will contain 7 large rectangles separated by 6 small rectangles. There will be 12 rows separated by a sash. {You will only use 84 out of the 88 large rectangles.} It will look like this.

Lay out the entire quilt top. Move pieces around until you like how it looks. This took me about an hour because I'm picky. Don't worry that the laid out rectangle rows are longer than the sash rows. Remember, once the rectangles are sewn together, they will be the same length as the sashes. This just gives you a general idea of how it will look.

Once you have it laid out how you want it, begin picking up the pieces - keeping them in order! I begin at the bottom right hand side {if you are looking at it} of the quilt. Place the first large rectangle on the bottom and then keep moving to the left and stacking the rectangles in order {right to left}. Next, fold the sash and lay it the opposite direction.

Keep moving up the quilt, collecting rectangles from each row {right to left} until all of the quilt is picked up.

I like to place that bundle in a gallon size freezer bag to keep it separated and in order. Then I gathered the borders and small rectangles and placed in another bag.

Now let's start piecing the quilt!

Grab that top row from your quilt pile. Place the first piece on your working space. Add your first small rectangle on the right hand side of the large rectangle. Remember for each row you will have seven large rectangles separated by six smaller rectangles.

Now here's where my disclaimer comes in. Most of the experienced quilters may pass out when I divulge this next piece of information. I do not pin it. {I know! I know!} Here's why...it takes longer to pin it than to sew that 4 inch piece to the large rectangle. So I'm sorry if this upsets you but I didn't pin for this part.

Using your 1/4 inch seam allowance, stitch the length of the small rectangle.

Open up your piece that you just sewed. You will place the next large rectangle FACE DOWN on top of that piece. Line up the right hand edges and stitch again.

Continue this process until the entire row has been stitched together. Be sure to keep the rows in order!! I laid them face down across my dining room chair after I completed each row.

Once your twelve rows are sewn, press the seams open. I use a cute little Petite Press that I got from Joann Fabric for $20 and it has saved my fingers! When I was using the steam iron, I kept getting burned. It's a great investment if you are going to continue quilting after the Quilt Along!

Lay out your top row of rectangles. Place the first sash, face down, on top of it - aligning with the bottom of the rectangle row. Pin that edge.

Sew along the pinned edge. {Because I am anal retentive, I press my seams after it has been sewn. I want it to lay correctly.}

Now open up your sewn piece. Place the next row of rectangles, face down and upside down, aligned with the bottom of the sash. Line up your small rectangle seams. Pin along that bottom edge.

Sew along this pinned edge. Continue this process until all of the rows of rectangles and sashes are sewn together. You will end up with 12 rows of rectangles separated by 11 rows of sashes.

Once this piece has been sewn together, square off your edges using your acrylic ruler and rotary cutter.

Now you are ready to add your borders. Begin with the long border. Place border piece face down on top of the quilt. Make sure to line up your edges.

Pin the edges and sew. Repeat process for the other long edge border piece. Once sewn, press out the seams.

Place short border on top of the quilt, face down, lining up the edges. Pin and sew.

Repeat for the other short piece. Sew and press.

You have completed the quilt top! Great job! Next week, we will begin quilting the quilt!

Keep Calm & Link Up #40

2013-05-09T19:00:00.000-04:00

WOW! We cannot believe that this party has been going strong for 40 weeks now! It's all thanks to YOU - our awesome readers! Each week, we look forward to seeing what you have been up to! So thanks for sticking with us and inspiring us too!

Without further adieu - last week's most viewed link was....

Craft Room Reveal by Now At Home Mom

Congrats Ingrid!

Now let's party!!

Last Minute Mother's Day Ideas - Must Pin Projects #39

2013-05-08T19:00:00.000-04:00

Eek - it' almost Mother's Day! Are you ready? We were so inspired by all of the amazing link ups last week that we decided to dedicate this week to Mother's Day projects!

{This week, the features are brought to you by Jill over at Create.Craft.Love.}

Please remember to pin from the original source! Thanks friends!

Brush Embroidery Flower Cake Pops from Pint Sized Baker

Tea Bag Wrappers from The DIY Dreamer

GLAM Spray Painted Watering Can Vase from Making Home Base

Mother's Day Mini Card Printables from Titi Crafty

Milk Glass Bowl Update from Sweet Pea

Mother's Day Felt Flowers from Crafty Lumberjacks

Mother's Day Printable Coupon Book from I Should Be Mopping the Floor

Vintage Inspired Painted Mason Jars from Live.Laugh.Rowe

Flower Pots Decorated with Old Newspapers from Wesens-Art

Mother's Day Kid's Gift Project from The Happy Scraps

Mother's Day Thank You Card from Life-n-Reflection

DIY Inspirational Sign from Two Yellow Birds Decor

Heart Thumbprint Charm Necklaces from That's What Che Said

Congratulations ladies - these projects rock our socks off! Any mother would be tickled silly to be given these amazing gifts/projects! Don't forget to party with us tomorrow night! The Keep Calm and Link Up party goes live at 7pm EST - Bring a friend!

Sharing a New Find - FamilyShare.com

2013-05-08T09:13:00.000-04:00

One of the experiences that I loved at SNAP was meeting with all of the fabulous sponsors, some which I had never heard of before. It was great to network with them and make some new connections. One of those connections came from the folks over at Family Share.

Never heard of Family Share? Don't feel bad, neither did I, until SNAP! Let me tell you though, you are going to want to check out their site. It's basically a mecca for everything related to family life - money, marriage, parenting, and activities to do with your kids. Here's the (huge) list of covered topics:

I love this article on fun and free activities to do with the kids - I will definitely be using this over the long days of summer, in which "Moooom, I'm booooored" is heard way too often. I also found two articles that seem to be written personally for my two daughters: For my daughter who seriously never stops, there's 5 Ways to Keep Children Busy, and for my other daughter, who constantly has a messy room, there's 4 Ways to Stop the Slob Cycle.

Please tell me this looks familiar to someone besides me!

Family Share has a very vibrant and active community as well, where members can share stories that encourage and challenge readers. You can also join groups and discussions related to any stage of family life or parenting you may be experiencing right now. For instance, we are in the middle of potty training my youngest daughter. I was able to quickly find a group with other members who are also going through potty training at their house!

Here's where I get personal for a minute - I don't have my mom anymore. She passed away in 2009, and sometimes I feel that if she were still here, I wouldn't have a parenting problem in the world. She was my one stop advice shop. She helped me raise my first child through the baby, toddler, and preschool ages so smoothly, and I often wish I could pick up the phone and ask her for advice with my second child. As completely irreplaceable as my mom is, it's so nice to find a one-stop advice shop - where I can find advice, help, and encouragement from thousands of other moms who have been there, done this, and are eager to share their experiences. I love that!

One of the things that I really love about Family Share is their tagline - tools to strengthen families. That may seem like such a small thing to love, but I really do. If we're all really honest with ourselves, who couldn't use a few extra tools to strengthen their family? I know I could! So head over to Family Share and join the community and find some tools to strengthen your own family!

**This post was "sponsored" by FamilyShare.com, however, all opinions are 100% genuinely mine. I only share products and services with my readers that I truly believe in.**

Minnie Mouse Party Favors

2013-05-07T14:52:00.001-04:00

Here is the first part of Stella's Minnie Mouse party that I am going to share with you - a DIY tutorial on how to recreate the fun party favors that we gave the guests!

If you were around for my last party season (my girls and I are each 6 weeks apart in our birthdays, so I call it the party season), you know that I don't like to spend a lot on parties, and I try to find useful party favors that don't break the party budget - like the ideas shared in this post. For our Minnie party, we created Minnie and Mickey headbands, as well as a favor bag that guests got to fill by playing fun games.

The headbands were super easy to create - I found plain black headbands on Amazon for $6 for 24 headbands. Other then that, they just needed some scrap cardboard, black felt, and hot glue.

Start by cutting circles out of your cardboard. I made the circles 2 inches wide, since my ears were 3" wide and I wanted an edge to glue around the cardboard.

Next, I made a template out of scrap cardboard that I traced onto the felt. I created the template by tracing two 3" circles with a small strip between them to wrap around the headband. I traced the templates onto the black felt (remember - you need two sets of the template for one set of ears) and cut them out.

I (along with the help of my handy helper) hot glued the cardboard circles onto one side of the black felt. The cardboard will make the ears stiffer so they stand up. Then, I wrapped it around the headband and glued them shut. You could sew it, but I felt this was easier.

If you are making Mickey ears (I did half and half, so the bows had ears too), then you're done. If you are making Minnie ears, add a bow. I created one by making a loop and then wrapping a small piece of white ribbon around the middle. I hot glued the bow to the top, and voila, Mickey becomes Minnie.

Stella refused to have her picture taken at all during her party (seriously... I have like no pictures of her! I was so sad), but here is my oldest daughter and one of her friends, sporting the cute Minnie headbands.

Along with the headbands, I gave guests a small favor bag that they got to fill by winning prizes at the party games. We had cute little prizes like Minnie and Mickey tattoos, stickers, bracelets, small tins of playdoh, mini notepads, and bubble tubes. All together, the favor bags cost about $20 - for 18 guests. The headbands cost about $10 to create, so that puts the favor total in at about $1.50 a guest. Not too shabby!

And make sure you tune in over the next few weeks for more details from her party, like how we manage to throw such a cute party on a strict budget. I will also be sharing the party printables that I created for her party - so if you have any Minnie fans in the house, you won't want to miss them!

The Quilt Along Week Two - Cutting Your Fabric

2013-05-03T06:00:00.000-04:00

**Today's post was written by my Quilt Along partner, Jill, from Create.Craft.Love**

Are you ready to get your quilt on? {If you missed the supply post of the series, you can catch it here!} Last year when I participated in the Mommy By Day Crafter By Night quilt along, I never dreamed I would be leading my own less than a year later. Let's just start with my disclaimer: I am not a quilting expert! I am a novice. However, this is my third quilt so I do know a few things. We are going to take this a step at a time. So just breathe...Today we will work on cutting the fabric for your quilt.

First, you want to iron all of the pieces from your fat quarter pack. {Trust me - this will make it way easier to cut properly.}

Once you have ironed all of your fabric, pull out your self healing cutting mat, acrylic ruler and rotary cutter.

Before we cut the "real" fabric, grab some scrap fabric from your fabric stash. We are going to practice using the rotary cutter. I am having you practice first so you don't make the same mistake I did last year and have to purchase extra fabric. Here's what you need to remember when using the rotary cutter.

Place your scrap fabric on the cutting mat. You will be using the acrylic ruler as a guide.
Hold your rotary cutter at a 45 degree angle. This is important. Do NOT try to do this at a 90 degree angle. You will lose control of the cutter and not cut a straight line.
I like to hold my cutter with my pointer finger on the curved, bumpy part for better control.
Don't cut too fast, you will lose control.
Make sure to apply pressure to the acrylic ruler to hold the fabric in place as you cut.
Practice this over and over until you get the feel for it. It will save you lots of heartache later.

OK - feeling good about the rotary cutter? Let's start cutting the fabric! To create the blocks in the middle, you need to cut 88 pieces of fabric measuring 4.5 inches by 7.5 inches. {You will be able to cut eight blocks out of each fat quarter. My fat quarter pack came with 12 pieces of fabric - I only cut 11 of them.}

Take a fat quarter, lay it out horizontally and square it up with the edges/lines on your cutting mat.

Cut four 4.5 inch strips.

Once you have your four strips, lay them on top of each other and place horizontally on the cutting mat. I cut and measure from left to right. So I always lay my fabric out with the selvage to the right. Does that make sense? Selvage is the self finished edge of the fabric to keep it from fraying. {See picture below.}

Line up the top edge of the stack with a line. Measure out 7.5 inches and cut through the stack. {Most rotary cutters will cut through 12 layers of fabric.} You will get two 7.5 inch sections {through 4 layers of fabric = 8 blocks} out of this. There will be about 6 inches extra.

Repeat this process for all 11 pieces fat quarters. Once this step is completed, set the blocks aside.

Next, you will begin cutting the smaller rectangles. For this you need 72 pieces measuring 1.5 inches by 4.5 inches. To do this, I cut 8 strips measuring 4.5 inches in width. Then I stacked all 8 pieces on top of each other and cut ten 1.5 inch sections.

Once you've finished the blocks, you will work on cutting your sashing, borders, binding and backing. For this particular quilt you need...

Borders - Cut (2) 6.25 inch by 87 inch pieces for the long edges. Cut (2) 6.25 inch by 67 inch pieces for the short edges. Set aside.
Sashes - Cut (11) 4 inch by 55.5 inch pieces. Set aside.
Backing - Cut your fabric exactly in half. Set aside.
Binding - Cut (9) 2.5 inches by 42 inch strips. Set aside.

And that's it! The fabric is all cut! At this point you can stop or work ahead for next week.

For the overachievers:

If you choose to work ahead, you can prep for piecing the quilt together. Begin laying out your rows. Start with the large rectangles. Each row will contain 7 large rectangles separated by 6 small rectangles. There will be 12 rows separated by a sash. {You will only use 84 out of the 88 large rectangles.} It will look like this.

Of course, that's not the whole quilt. I didn't have enough room to take the picture. LOL But you get the general idea. Lay out the entire quilt top. Move pieces around until you like how it looks. This took me about an hour because I'm picky. Don't worry that the laid out rectangle rows are longer than the sash rows. Remember, once the rectangles are sewn together, they will be the same length as the sashes. This just gives you a general idea of how it will look.

Keep moving up the quilt, collecting rectangles from each row {right to left} until all of the quilt is picked up.

I like to place that bundle in a gallon size freezer bag to keep it separated and in order. Then I gathered the borders and small rectangles and placed in another bag.

Great job - Now you are all set for next week when we will begin piecing the quilt! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask in the Quilt Along Facebook group!

Keep Calm & Link Up #39

2013-05-02T19:00:00.000-04:00

It's my favorite day again... time to link up and show us your latest and greatest projects, recipes, and crafts that you've been working on all week!

Last week's most viewed link was

Simple One Hour Bread from Peanut Life Adventures

Looks and sounds delicious! Congrats on being featured, Danielle!

Now on to this week's edition of

Keep Calm & Link Up

Happy partying!

Must Pin Projects #38 {Features from Keep Calm & Link Up}

2013-05-01T19:00:00.000-04:00

I was definitely loving all of the creative projects that were linked up this week! You are definitely inspiring me to get out of my SNAP-induced lethargy and start creating!

This week's Pinworthy Projects were chosen by Meredith @ Wait 'til Your Father Gets Home.

And remember - pin from the original source, please!

Diaper Box Upcycle by Silver Boxes//Smash Cake How To by One Little Project

DIY Spring Door Hanging by Second Chance to Dream//Butter Dish Makeover by Clean & Scentsible

Ribbon Storage by Fynes Designs//Paper Doily Decoupaged Bottles by Craftiments

Scrappy Sunshine Garland by Tales of the Scotts//Summer Pajama Pants by Occasionally Crafty

Easy Jute Projects by Two Yellow Birds Decor//Anthropologie Inspired DIY Rope Bracelets by Made in a Day

Now how is that for being pinworthy? Totally! Congrats to all of those that were featured - you can grab a featured button under the buttons tab in the menu bar. Come back tomorrow evening at 7pm EST for the latest edition of Keep Calm & Link Up!

Quick and Simple Chicken Wire Frames

2013-04-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

Did you forget about mothers day? Haven't had a chance to make something for Grandma yet from the kiddo's? Here is a cute photo holder that you can whip up in less than 10 minutes (not including paint drying time, if you need to paint your frames).

These frames, believe it or not, were a hideous, bright, aggressive gold color when I picked them up at a yard sale. They're also really deep, almost like a shadow box, so they stand up nicely on their own. They sat in my shed for months (maybe even over a year) until I finally grabbed them this weekend. I had seen chicken wire at the dollar store and suddenly inspiration struck. Boy, was I thankful I didn't let my husband throw out that box of random craft stuff that I had been ~~hoarding~~ saving in the shed!

I spray painted them a matte black, and once the paint dried, I followed these three ~~special~~ simple steps (sorry, too much Special Agent Oso).

Once the frames were assembled, I grabbed a couple of mini clothespins, covered them with a fun washi tape, and clipped on a cute picture of my girls. I like them so much, I just might keep them for myself. Wouldn't this be a super cute way to display pictures at a birthday party? You could also add a backing, but I like the open back, it takes up less visual space.

On an unrelated note, don't you just want to squeeze the cheeks off this cutie?

40 Non-Cake Funfetti Recipes

2013-04-29T08:00:00.000-04:00

I'm gearing up for my daughters birthday party next weekend - and funfetti is one of her favorite cakes. I was poking around the internet looking for a homemade funfetti cake recipe, which I did find, but I also found so many yummy looking recipes using funfetti cake batter.

I thought I would compile them into one spot so you can ooh and aah over all of the funfetti goodness and pick one or two (or three or four) to make this week - let me know which you make!

Funfetti Cupcakes from Scratch - Shugary Sweets

Cake Batter Cheesecake Brownies - Inside BruCrew Life

Funfetti Oreo Stacks - Jen's Favorite Cookies

Funfetti Cake Batter Buddies - The Recipe Critic

Funfetti Cake Batter Martini - She Knows

Funfetti Cool Whip Cookies - Girl Loves Glam

Birthday Cake Rice Krispie Treats - Better in Bulk

Homemade Funfetti Cookies - Hoosier Homemade

Funfetti Dessert Waffles - Celebrations.com

Cake Batter Dip - Daisy Cottage Designs

Funfetti Cake Batter Fudge - Pursuit of Hippieness

Funfetti Whoopie Pies - Cookies & Cups

Funfetti Popcorn - Erica's Sweet Tooth

Skinny Funfetti Cupcakes - Six Sisters Stuff

Funfetti Cheesecake Cookies - Kitchen Meets Girl

Funfetti Bark - Chocolate & Carrots

Funfetti Pancakes - The Kitchen Magpie

Funfetti Blondies - Lil Luna

Funfetti Marshmallows with Oreo Crust - Raspberri Cupcakes

Brown Butter Funfetti Sugar Cookies - The Little Kitchen

Skinny Funfetti Cheesecake - The Skinny Fork

Double Glazed Baked Funfetti Doughnuts - Lovin From the Oven

Funfetti Milkshakes - Beautifully Chaotic

Mini Lemon Funfetti Cakes - Created by Diane

Funfetti Cheesecake Cookie Cups - Sally's Baking Addiction

Funfetti Chocolate Chip Scones - Crazy for Crust

Funfetti Cake Batter Ice Cream Pie - Life Love and Sugar

Funfetti Ice Cream - Foodie Misadventures

Funfetti Twinkies - Tartlet Sweets

Funfetti Cake Batter Pretzel Bites - The Domestic Rebel

Cookie Butter Funfetti Triple Chip Bars - Averie Cooks

Oreo Stuffed Funfetti Cookies - Baker's Royale

Easy Funfetti Ice Cream Squares - Lauren's Latest

Sweet Funfetti Rolls - Bakeaholic Mama

Funfetti Cake Batter Yogurt - Knead to Cook

Funfetti Cannoli's - Megan's Munchies

Funfetti Salt Water Taffy - Cupcake Project

Funfetti Cake Batter Cinnamon Roll Casserole - Life Love and Sugar

Funfetti Piewiches - Crazy for Crust

Funfetti Cheesecake Pops - Baker's Royale

Are you hungry or what? My sweet tooth is going nuts! I definitely need to try some of these this week! What about you, which ones appealed to your sweet tooth the most?

SNAP! Recap {SNAP! Break Conclusion}

2013-04-26T08:22:00.001-04:00

I know you are all dying to hear about SNAP - and believe me, I am dying to share all of the details! There are so many pictures to choose from and details to narrow down, that's a little overwhelming to decide what to include in this recap post. Since today is usually 5+5 Fridays, I decided to use that for a layout and share my Top 10 SNAP moments (these are in no particular order, it would be impossible to rank these!) It's a doozie... lots of pictures here folks! You ready? Here we go...

(1) The Swag

Yes, you know it, we got so much swag, it was crazy! I went with half of my big suitcase empty and half of my carry on roller suitcase empty as well. On the way back, it was STUFFED! And I mean stuffed. There wasn't room for even one more roll of washi tape. Want to see some of the sweet goods we got? Here are some of my faves...

I also really, really loved this adorable necklace that we were each given by the ladies at R House Couture. The theme for the conference was "Create Joy" and that's what this necklace says. I ended up going back to see them at the Queen Bee Market and buying a custom one for my friend Melanie that read "I Can Do Hard Things". (If you have been around awhile, you know all about Mel's cancer battle.)

(2) The 1-Hour Lowe's Creativity Challenge

50 of us were selected to compete in a craft wars style challenge - in one hour, use the materials under your drop cloth to create something awesome. It was crazy - we had a hammer, but no nails. Screws, but no drill bit to fit the screws. We had a random selection of products like felt furniture pads, j-cloths, and zip ties. We created a puppet theater out of some pieces of wood and a drop cloth. We used felt pads to make the polka dots, and j-clothes and zip ties to make the puppets and flowers.

We won the "Most Likely to Go Viral" award and a Lowe's gift card. It was so, so, SO much fun!

Here are a few of the other cute projects that were created by the other teams:

(3) Pajama Crafting Party

Pajamas and crafts? What could be better! All of us got to get together in our PJs for a night of great crafting, snacking, networking, and all around fun!

(Sorry for the poor quality - the lighting wasn't great and I only had my cell!)

Back: Jessica from Mom 4 Real, Jill from Create.Craft.Love, Me, Jen from Tatertots & Jello / Front: Kelly from Live Laugh Rowe, Meredith from Wait Til Your Father Gets Home, Barbara from Chase the Star.

While I was at the pajama party, I also met and got to chat with the Shanty 2 Chic sisters, who are two of my biggest blog idols. I love their blog and it was one of the first ones I ever fell in love with. They definitely inspired me to start my own blog!

The Fab Classes with (4) Ana White and (5) Beckie Farrant

My two favorite classes were Ana White's class on Power Tools (where I won a 6 piece power tool combo from Ryobi!) and Advanced Monetization with Beckie Farrant (one of my other big blog crushes)!

(6) The Closing Party Photo Booth

One of the best things about the closing party was the rockin' photo booth that the committee rented. It was so much fun to grab some fun props and ham it up for the camera. Here are a couple of strips that we did:

The strip on the left includes Abbey (The Cards We Drew), Tarryn (Design Dining + Diapers), Kelly, Lindsay (Artsy Fartsy Mama), Jessica K, Jessica (Cox's Corner), Jenn (Clean & Scentsible), along with all of us on the right (The CHQ Girls) - Meredith, Jill, and Barbara.

(7) Meeting New Friends and (8) Meeting the CHQ Girls

I think this would have to be my favorite part of SNAP. I made some really amazing new friends, who I know I will be friends with for a long, long time!

Back: Cheryl (That's What Che Said), Meredith, Rachel (Lines Across), Emily (52 Mantels). Front: Jessica, Me, Barbara, Jill. We were missing Jenn (Four Marrs and One Venus) and Kelly, who we also hung around with all weekend.

The absolute best friends that I met though? My CHQ girls! It was so awesome to spend the weekend sharing the room with them, and it wasn't even like we were meeting for the first time. It was like seeing old friends after a long break. I miss them so much now!

(9) Sight Seeing

Utah really is a gorgeous place. The mountains offer a breath taking backdrop to the towns, and the venue (Thanksgiving Point) was sooo amazing. Want to see some of the sights we saw?

First, we went to take some pictures of the mountains. We had no idea where to go, and literally drove around trying to find the highest point we could. No lie. We just kept saying "We need to go higher". All the driving was worth it!

We also went downtown Salt Lake City to see the temple. Now, I'm not Mormon so I have never seen a temple, and had no idea what to expect. To say my mind was blown would be an understatement. What a beautiful building, and so huge!

And lastly, here's a quick peak of the gorgeous venue where we got to spend the weekend:

(10) Being surrounded by total creativity for an entire weekend!

No laundry, no crying, no cooking - although I did miss my babies, it was nice to totally submerse myself in my blog and the creative process with other amazing and creative minds. It was such an inspiration and such a wonderful experience. That was something that you definitely couldn't put a price on... (well, unless you count the cost of the conference!) But it was definitely a priceless experience. If you can make it, I highly recommend you go sometime. You'll be totally exhausted when you leave (hey, crafting in your pjs til 11 PM takes its toll!) but you'll never, ever regret a moment!

Here are a few last shots from around SNAP before I sign off - including the gorgeous decor and the Queen Bee Market! Hope you have enjoyed my (looong) recap!

Keep Calm & Link Up #37

2013-04-25T19:00:00.001-04:00

What do you know, it's Thursday already! That means it's time for another party! WOO HOO!

I'm still trying to recover from the Snap conference this past weekend--what an amazing time! The rest of The Creative Headquarters girls and I had a blast! So while I'm happy to have slept in my own cozy bed the last few nights, I can honestly say that I miss my roomies! I will share more with you tomorrow as I recap the experience. Without further ado...

The most viewed link last week was:

Office/Craft Re-do Inspiration Round Up by Atop Serenity Hill

Congrats! Now on with the party!

Projects to Pin #36 {Keep Calm & Link Up Features}

2013-04-24T19:00:00.001-04:00

Happy Wednesday! It's time for some party features!

But first, have you been keeping up with the special guests that held down the fort while I was away at SNAP? You can check all of the wonderful posts out here:

Washi Tape Welcome Sign from Reasons to Skip The Housework / Spring Wreath from The Girl Creative Seashell Push Pins from Making Home Base / Ice Cream in a Bag from Simply Designing

And now, on to the party features!

{This week's features are brought to you by Barbara at Chase the Star}

With so many beautiful projects it was really hard to narrow it down to just a handful. You guys are amazing!

Organizing Buckets by Mellywood's Mansion

`No Sew Table Linens by The NY Melrose

Frosted Ice Cream by Smart School House

Chalk-Bird Flower Pots by Missy Inspired

Earth Day Cupcakes by Pint Sized Baker

Vintage Purse Makeover by The Thinking Closet

Don't forget to join us tomorrow night for the party!

Want more chances to be featured? Submit your best projects at The Creative Headquarters too!

{SNAP Break with The Girl Creative}

2013-04-23T06:00:00.000-04:00

Phew! I am home safe and sound! What a whirlwind week!

While I unwind, enjoy this great project from one of the kindest, most helpful bloggers out there - Diana from The Girl Creative!

Hello Becoming Martha friends! I'm so happy to be here with you guys! I'm Diana, the crazy chick who blogs over at The Girl Creative where I share free printables, recipes and simple projects that anyone can do! While Sarah is off galavanting at SNAP, I'm hijacking her blog to share with you my spring wreath and to help keep my mind off the fact that I am NOT at SNAP. Boo hoo, I know! Now, it's probably a lot like many spring wreaths you see around blog land lately but I added a little extra splash of color using those cabochans I've had for like EVER and finally found a use for them!

In my typical, unorganized, chaos-living, 2 year old chasin' fashion, I didn't take any progress pictures. BUT I can tell you what I did!

I picked up a cheapy straw wreath form and kept the plastic wrappng on. I did try to cover it in layers of felt but I'm always in a rush, trying to get everything done quick before my son does a number on my house so I went with wrapping it in strips of the only spring-like fabric I could find: pink minky! It took a few minutes to cut my fabric in thick strips (about 6 inches wide) and then secured the ends with hot glue.

I took some white felt and made a bunch of felt flowers. I made a few rosettes using my pinking shears to give the edges some texture. (Thanks Ashley from Simply Designing for that little tip!) I also made a few of these kinds of flowers just to change it up a bit. I used my hot glue gun to glue them on and used my pinking shears to create a few green leaves from green felt I had in my stash.

I loved how the flowers turned out and how it they all looked on the wreath but it was just looking so plain to me. Then I remembered these cabochans I had in my stash that I was wondering what I could use them for and decided this was the perfect project. I hot glued random colors in the center of my rosettes.

This little change just really brightened up the whole wreath! This is a craft that you could bang out during nap time.

HERE'S A TIP FOR HOW TO HANG IT ON YOUR DOOR: I took some bakers twine and strung it through the top of the wreath and tied the 2 ends together. You'll want to make it pretty long and I'll tell you why. I attached a clear hook upside down to the back of my door. I hung the wreath on the front of my door and brought my string over the top of the door and looped it right under the clear hook. You might have to play around with the length of the string a bit until you get your wreath in the right place.

I would love for you to stop by The Girl Creative some time and say Hi! Every Thursday I co-host The Weekly Creative where you can share some projects that you've been working on. I'd love to have you visit me on my social media sites too!

Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Google+

Wow, Diana, you are so full of talent! You will love her blog - she shares a love of graphic design like I do, and she did a great job redesigning her new blog after her switch to WordPress. I also love these adorable canvases that she created...

...and this cute gift wrap idea!

How adorable, right?! Well, you better head over to The Girl Creative to keep up-to-date on all of Diana's projects. Tomorrow I'll be sharing the party features from last week, which you won't want to miss, followed by the weekly link up on Thursday - and of course, I'll be back on Friday with a recap of how SNAP went! See you then lovelies!

{SNAP Break with Reasons to Skip the Housework}

2013-04-22T21:51:00.000-04:00

Today is Monday, which means SNAP is over and I am starting the long trip home.

It's bittersweet because I am eager to get home to my family but the past few days have been AH-MAZE-ING! I will be spending today travelling and tomorrow and Wednesday recovering and hanging out with my family. In the meantime, today, we have the very awesome and talented Melanie from Reasons to Skip the Housework here to share with you! Take it away, Melanie!

I'm so honored to be posting here on Becoming Martha today with my Washi Tape Welcome Sign! I'm super jealous of Sarah for getting to go to SNAP, but someday, I'll be headed that way, so I'll keep my jealousy at bay for now! For those of you who may not know me yet, I'm Melanie and I blog over at Reasons To Skip The Housework. I host a Creative Link Party on Thursdays 8AM EST and you can read about your favorite bloggers every Friday with the Housework Tell All - a behind the scenes with your favorite bloggers series! You can read past interviews with Rachelle Czuk and Jamielyn Nye - and check in every Friday for more fun!

I'm a full time mom and part time trainer at Apple {in the evenings} Before becoming a mom, I was a teacher for 12 years. When I was a teacher, I was the one with the three jars of Sharpies on my desk. All different points - all different styles - all different colors. I've still got that addiction, but I've started to channel my addiction into home decor projects!

I have to admit a teensy, tiny obsession with a little thing called Washi Tape - maybe you've heard of it, eh? I really think if there was a show similar to Hoarders, but for people who decorate too much with Washi, this girl here {fingers pointed to me!} would be nominated by just about everyone! I just wish wash tape had been around when I was 8. My entire notebook would have been covered in it! It would have been even cooler if they had invented Michael Schoeffling Washi Tape...swoon! If you're not too sure about who he was, I'll let ya Google that one....what a dreamboat!

Ah, you'll soon find out I have a tendency to birdwalk a bit in my posts. I talk about all kinds of stuff, and let my brain wander all over the place!

Back to the topic at hand - my Washi addiction...

This time, it led me to make a new Welcome sign for my front door. Instead of a wreath obsession that many bloggers have, I have a welcome sign obsession. My latest creation is of course, made with Washi!

It was a "done in one nap time" kind of craft - which is totally my fav-o-rite!

I picked up a $2.50 blank wooden sign at Michaels.

I covered it with strips of Washi and then turned it over and trimmed off the excess Washi - all the while wondering, "Could I make something with these scraps of Washi?"

To finish is up , I glued on some jersey fabric flowers { I can't link any tutorial - I followed one years ago and just remember how to do it!}, and topped it off with a vinyl "Welcome" made with my Cricut.

First you cut out 8 largish circles. You fold in 1/2 one time, and then a second time, adding a dab of hot glue to the second fold.

Put the flowers down on your sign in a "quadrant. The second layer gets placed in the middle of the first petal, point to middle of the flower petal. This causes it to be a fuller flower.

The flowers pics are kind of tacky and dark. Was a "craft on the couch" while watching Grimm kind of night. No judging allowed! It was an easy project - and would make a great gift! {think Mother's Day, people!} The perfect art to display on your front door, or even in the entry way! Welcome...welcome all! If you'd like to see what other fun stuff I've been up to, here are three wildly famous posts I've done before over at my place. Do stop by, won't you? {Downton Abbey on the brain over here!}

Isn't she super? I love her blog, where she shares so many of her great ideas. My faves? This kids play table that she created...

...and this kids art easel that she made over!

Her kids must have the cutest playroom, don't you think? Thanks so much Melanie for stopping by, and make sure you head over to check out her other great projects!

{SNAP Break with Making Home Base}

2013-04-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

SNAP is well under way now - today is the second day! It is so much fun, you wouldn't believe! You've been keeping up with all of the photos right?

Today we have one of my favorite "newer" bloggers stopping by to share a project with us - it's Chelsea from Making Home Base. Chelsea is super sweet and very creative, so I am sure you will love what she has to show you!

Well hello there Becoming Martha readers! How awesome is this!? I am so excited to be filling in here while our friend Sarah is enjoying herself at the SNAP conference.

I'm Chelsea, a wife and stay at home mama to an adorable almost one year old (how did that happen already?) and the girl behind the blog, Making Home Base. I share lots of fun crafts and DIY projects and from time to time, I share yummy desserts (my sweet tooth is slightly out of control).

So enough about me, why don't I share one of those fun crafts I was telling you about?

With spring break in full swing (beach anyone?) and summer right around the corner I thought it would be fun to come up with a way to use those seashells you collect on beach days. So... I created some super cute DIY Sea Shell Push Pins!

Fun fact about me, I used to live in Hawaii. It's true! My husband was stationed there for three years at the very beginning of our marriage. It was lovely. I didn't go to the beach nearly enough looking back on it now but it turns out we went enough to collect some beautiful sea shells and sea glass. We have been holding onto this collection for years! So it was about time that I did something with these beauties.

For materials you need three things. I know, it's too easy right?

You'll need:

Thumb Tacks

Sea Shells by the way if you LOVE this project and just haven't been to the beach lately you can certainly go to walmart and buy a bag of seashells. No shame in that!

Glue Gun (not pictured)

Super easy directions here. Carefully, dab some hot clue to the flat part of the thumb tack and stick your sea shell to it. Hold firm for a few seconds to ensure it sticks nicely.

That's it. Now you can go make a million. Or as many as you have sea shells.

Here's a few of mine! It's such a fun way to display your pretty finds don't you think?

Thank you so much, Sarah for inviting me over today! It's been so fun hanging out at Becoming Martha today, a real treat :)

Thanks, Chelsea! If you aren't following Chelsea already, make sure you are so you don't miss great projects like her stamped mini pots...

...and her ombre beaded bracelet!

Thanks so much for sharing with us today, Chelsea! And I wish you were all here at SNAP with me - but I will be back soon with some updates and more great photos!

Keep Calm & Link Up #36

2013-04-18T19:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome back to the Keep Calm and Link Up Party!

We are so excited you are joining us this evening!

Every week, we look forward to seeing what you have been up to and being inspired!

Last week's most viewed link

Why You Should Always Use Vinegar in Your Dishwasher from Cupcake-n-Bake

OK - who's ready to party! Ready, set, go!!