Dry Erase Calendar

This is one of my favorite new things! I am striving little by little to have our family go paperless. The last project that I showed was the dry erase board found Here. I promised to follow up with this calendar. I followed the tutorial on Infarrantly Creative found Here. I love hers more! Mine is not magnetic, yet. I haven't found the metal for the right price. Total cost of this project $4!! Here's how I made mine;

16x20 picture frame bought at a garage sale for $4

Black Spray Paint for the frame

Cream-Colored Cardstock

Polka Dot Ribbon

For the grid I used our old calendar. I set the glass on top of it and used a black Sharpie to trace it. I added a 6th row of squares so I would never have to double the numbers on one square. Make sure when you put the glass in the frame that the Sharpie side is not facing out. It will wipe off.

An alternative would be to use vinyl instead.

I plan on making it magnetic and adding Magnetic numbers. I also want to change out the cardstock for some neutral fabric.

Another tip is to buy fine tip dry erase markers. They are much easier to read. I bought a multi-colored pack so, I can write Pay Day in green and Birthdays in Red, for example.

Now, go have some fun and make your own personal dry erase calendar for your family!

Dry Erase Board

Disclaimer: Please exuse the crap-tastic photo. My camera and I are on the outs. I'm in the market for a new one. Any suggestions?

I first saw this idea on http://www.makeit-loveit.com/. I just love her site. You must check it out! She makes the most adorable baby and toddler things. Anyway, this is a photo frame that I purchased on sale at Michaels for $5. Then, I cut scrapbook paper to size and slid it on in. I added velcro to the side and to the marker. Then, I glued magnets to the back. I placed it on our fridge so, as soon as we are running low on something we write it down. I also put to-do lists on it and notes to my hubby. I love it because you can change out the scrapbook paper to whatever you want. I am looking for a big frame to make a big dry-erase, magnetic calendar for our very busy little family. That project can be found at http://www.infarrantlycreative.net/. She does amazing things with home decorating and you have to check out her awesome Road Kill Rescues.

Naptime Sign

I don't know about anyone else but, I have a definite fear of someone knocking on my front door or ringing the doorbell while my lil man is napping. This is an extremely important part of my day. My personal freedom to do what I want and it can all be sucked down the tubes with one knock on the door (it sets our dog into hysterics). So, I recently acquired a very awesome gadget called a Silhouette SD. It can do so many things that I was overwhelmed and didn't know quite where to start. I happened to come across a cute little sign about naptime. Inspiration hit and I knew exactly what I wanted my first vinyl project would be. Here is my first project.

I didn't spend a dime on this project. I already had all the materials and since it was the first project and I was super afraid of screwing it up in some way I used unlikely materials. Mostly, you see these signs on a piece of wood that's been painted. I got a little more creative (or cheap whichever you prefer).

Materials:

piece of cardboard. This was actually a flap off of a diaper box.

Black construction paper

Vinyl Lettering

Ribbon

Mod Podge-the greatest stuff ever!

All I did was apply my vinyl to the construction paper. Then, cut the construction paper to fit the cardboard. Coated the cardboard with mod podge and applied the construction paper. Then, I coated the top with 2 coats of mod podge. I used a Philips head screwdriver to punch holes in it and then added the ribbon hanger. And there you have a cheap Naptime warning sign. I am going to add a sign to the back of it about removing your shoes upon entering. That way I make use of both sides.

The real kicker of this project is this is the second day that I've hung the sign at naptime and someone had the nerve to ring my doorbell! My husband of course told me that he knew this would happen and found it to be quite funny. I wasn't amused due to the fact that I was dead asleep because I worked until 3am. Plus it of course woke up my son and then naptime was over. I wanted to cry.

Moral of the story: Please call before showing up on someone's doorstep or at least read their signs.

Happy Crafting

~Tabitha~

Mother's Day Gift

I wanted to personalize our Mother's Day gifts this year. All of our moms like flowers so, I bought 3 sets of terra cotta pots with their plates. Then, lil man helped me pick out beautiful flowers. He chose Impatiens. Then, we picked out some paint. Of course that weekend had to be freezing cold and super windy so, these gifts truly were a labor of LOVE! Here's the finished product.

First, paint your pot and base. I chose white because it goes with everything. You can get as creative as you want. I applied 4 coats. Then, comes the hard part. I painted lil man's hands and put them on the pots. They definitely aren't perfect but, I think that's what makes them special. After the handprints dry spray them with a clear coat paint sealer. After all of that then we planted the flowers and gave them a good watering. We had my husband's family over for Mother's Day and we used them as the centerpiece on the table during lunch. I think they turned out super cute.

Happy Crafting,

~Tabitha~