When I'm at Work and I Miss My Baby

This is kinda random and off topic from my usually craft tutorials.  I just wanted to share a video that makes me smile.  I know I mention my kids a lot but don't really go into detail about them.  Alexis is almost four months now and I resumed work again about a week ago.  Every time I miss her I would watch this video of her... which actually makes me miss her more, but brings a smile to my face.

Hope you guys have a day full of smiles!

Kids Art Display Monogram Idea

I just found a really old post from 2011 that I never published.  I really need to organize my blog better! I'm publishing it now, back then I didn't have a Cricut so I hand cut out the monogram with a craft knife.  You could probably do cooler cutouts with a die cut machine.

I'm at the point in parenting where I have to figure out what to do with all the "art" Avery makes for me. I am not usually a sentimental person, but since I became a mom I have become more sentimental. Here is what I came up with on how to display one of her pieces of art.

I created a letter cutout using her art as the backdrop and the frame backing as the letter.

Avery's artwork on the left.  Finished piece on right.

Print out large letter on paper and place on top of artwork.  Tape in place and using an exacto knife, cut out the letter.  If your knife is not sharp you have to apply more pressure because you have to cut through two layers (the template and the art). If you have a fancy cutting machine you could use that too.  

How to Make a Personalized Name Bracelet

I made this bracelet a while back when I was making the personalized name tag key chain for Avery's lunch box.  Shrink plastic is my new favorite craft supply.  It's so easy to work with and hardens into a relatively durable plastic, that the creative possibilities are endless.  To make this bracelet I punched two holes on each end of the shrink plastic (before shrinking) and then threaded through a leather bracelet.  Check out the tutorial on how to make personalized name tag key chain to see exact details on making the shrink plastic name.

This is the shrink plastic after shrunk.  You want to read the instructions on your shrink plastic to see how much it will shrink.  You could also do a test strip to test also.

Use a needle and nylon thread to sew the name tag onto the leather. 

Shrink plastic can be purchased at ConsumerCrafts.com, Amazon.com or at a local crafts store like Michaels.

How to French Manicure Nails the Salon Way

I've been falling behind on posts since my maternity leave ended.  This is a quick tutorial I created a while back on how to french manicure nails the salon way.  It's a video tutorial so I hope it will be easier to follow. They key to french manicuring is pure acetone nail polish remover, good white polish and a rounded brush.  I used a concealer brush that I purchased at Rite Aid for less than 3 dollars.  The brush is really bad for concealer, but works wonderfully for french manicuring nails.

I love doing my nails like this for weddings and work.  I rarely go get manicures now because doing it myself is so much easier and cheaper. It's even easier to do on your toes because you don't have to worry about working on your dominant hand.  One thing I forgot to mention on the tutorial is that you could also add a base coat after you clean off the white tips (right before you put your top coat).  This will help the top coat from staying on better.

I use Orly French White for the white, and Seche Vite for the top coat.

A Little Dollhouse Update (DIY and New Dollhouse Furniture)

I've been having lots of fun decorating Avery's new dollhouse.  Dollhouse furniture is surprisingly very expensive, so I decided to make my own.  This dollhouse is very addicting   If you love making things, you could spend hours crafting stuff for a dollhouse.  Below I made the sofa, lamp, side chair and pouf.  The rug is a piece of fur that I cut to size and the coffee table is a small table that I found at Dollar Tree.  Dollar Tree does sell cheap dollhouse furniture, but it is the wrong scale.  My dollhouse is 1:12, but the Dollar Tree/Dollar General dollhouse furniture is 1:18 scale I think.  So the coffee table was suppose to be a dining table, but since it was too small I cut the legs shorter and made it into a coffee table.  The pieces I cut off I actually used for the legs of the sofa.

I'm still experimenting with layout of the house.  

I also purchased a kitchen from Hobby Lobby for the dollhouse.  I love this dollhouse modern kitchen, it has a french door refrigerator!  All the cabinet doors open and its pretty well made.  The modern kitchen was on the pricey side, $44.99 (in store), but they had a 40% off coupon (which you can just show them on your mobile phone), so it came out ot 30 dollars.  Thirty dollars is still pricey but cheaper than any other dollhouse kitchen set I found.  Ebay has some sets from China, but with shipping all the sets were over 40 dollars.

Hobby Lobby modern kitchen.   Pots, pans and baskets were not part of the set.

All of the cabinets open which is pretty cool.

I will publish tutorials (when I have time) on the furniture, which can be scaled for Barbie also.

Building a Real Dollhouse

I've been building a dollhouse.  Not a premade easy assembly Costco dollhouse. This is a real dollhouse,  one where you have to paint every wall, stain the floors and shingle the roof.  I have to admit when I first saw this dollhouse online I was super excited.  Then when I received it and opened the box I felt overwhelmed.  The dollhouse sat in the corner of our room for months (8 months to be exact) before I opened the box again and decided that I had the confidence to build it.  The dollhouse had what felt like a million pieces all which needed to be primed, sanded, painted, assembled, sanded again, and touched up.  The interior needed to be wallpapered and all the moldings needed to be put together.  The floor sanded, stained, sanded again, cleaned off for a top coat.  This was a real serious dollhouse.  It was just as much work as my real house (except I couldn't hire a contractor to do the work).


Here is timelapse video of all the work.  It isn't a tutorial, but it will give you an idea of how much work goes into building this house, if you ever decided you want to build one.

Finished dollhouse.  I picked colors like the Disney movie "Up" house.

Each shingle needed to be hand cut to get the angle on the roof!

The house isn't furnished yet.  The current furniture is too small a scale for the house.

Purple room for my Avery who loves purple.

I still need to wallpaper one last room with the crazy angles.  I'm saving that for another day.

I got the dollhouse is from ConsumerCrafts.com.

Magnetic Paper Dolls(Liddle Kiddles Paper Dolls)

I found this free paper doll printable online and thought it was adorable.  I loved playing with paper dolls as a child and decided to print some out for my daughter   Avery is getting to the age where she is starting to enjoy toys like this.  To make the paper dolls sturdier and easier to play with I decided to back them with magnetic paper.  This magnetic paper has adhesive so no gluing is needed.  You could also get printable magnetic paper and print the dolls right on.  The printable had a lot of white space so I decided to cut out the dolls and position them to utilize the paper better.

Print out paper dolls.  Link here: http://tpettit.best.vwh.net/dolls/pd_scans/kiddles/index.html

Cut out paper leaving a little white space around (this will help for a cleaner cut when you stick  it on the magnetic paper.

Place on paper (I tried not to waste a square inch)

Cut out the dolls and clothes.  You can off the tabs on the clothes because they aren't needed.

Stick on fridge or baking sheet and let your little one enjoy.