Bella & the Hippo

My husband's cousin and his wife are expecting a baby in 6 weeks and the family had a baby shower for her last night. I did a baby book and a blanket for her. And like a spacey person I forgot to take pictures of the book, but got the blanket, so here it is. Her name is going to be Bella (based on family history, NOT after Twilight characters) and I was just so excited to give her this blanket (but at the same time loved it so much I almost hated to give it away). The cousin's sister bought the same fabric and made a carseat canopy for the baby. We did not collaborate on that. It just worked out that way. Of the 4 fabric stores in Cache Valley we go to the same one and pick out the same fabric. What are the odds? It is completely made out of fabric (with the eyes, nostrils, and flower center having been cut out from the SEI iron on transfer sheets with the LPF).

Make Your Own White Board-tutorial

The hubby found a white board in our basement a few months ago, and I thought, "Oh, this is going to be great. We can share." He filled up the majority of the board leaving almost no space for me. So I decided to make my own. I had seen several dry erase board tutorials, but they all included fabric. I wanted to be able to write on my board without worrying about what color the marker was. Here goes:

You will need:
1 Frame
1 Foam Core board (available at most craft stores)
Exacto Knife
Vinyl
Dry Erase markers

First, I started with a 16x20" frame I found at the thrift store. (It originally came with a mat board, but I forgot to take a picture before I threw that away.


Next, clean both sides of the glass with glass cleaner and a paper towel.

I forgot to take a picture of cutting out the board, so I'll just explain it. Remove the glass from the frame (if you removed the glass to clean it then you are already a step ahead :] ).

Lay glass on the piece of foam core board. Using an Exacto Knife cut around the glass piece.This ensures that the piece will be the same size and fit in the frame. It also ensures you will have straight cut lines (I don't know about you, but I have a really hard time cutting straight.)

Then, insert the glass and foam core board into the frame. Mine had the staples on the back so I just used those to hold the foam core and glass in.

Next, cut out a title in vinyl material. I used the LPF, and a raspberry colored vinyl for this one.

Viola!! You can start using the board right away.

And, it erases like it's no biggie. It also looks just like a dry erase board. That's what I love about it.

So, get out your markers and start making those lists.

Total cost for the project?

$2 (cost of the frame). I already had the vinyl, dry erase markers, foam core board and Exacto Knife.

Actual cost for someone doing the project could be more like $6. But, I found an 8.5x11" dry erase board that is $12.99.

Total savings: $11!!!

Happy Thursday!

I made these costumes for Halloween 2008 (that was the first year we were supposed to go as The Phantom and Christine Daae, but due to costume mishaps, it got put on hold. Click here to see the costumes). Well, We got to bust these babies out tonight to help with a book literacy night at my nephew's school. We were reading Little Red Riding Hood. We got the cafeteria which just happened to have a stage. With my background in drama and the hubby's dramatic background, we took advantage of the stage, and had a mixture of reading and acting. It was great. The kids loved it, and I know my SIL is thankful to us. We're going to Chinese on Saturday to celebrate it. It was a little thing, but fun, and the costumes got used again. Whew! Happy Thursday.

I Did. Have You?

Last week I signed up for a years subscription to Better Homes & Gardens. I am in serious need of a home makeover. Here's what you get:

for $5.99 you can get a one year subscription (I think it's 11 magazines) to BH&G. AND You also get the BH&G COOKBOOK!!! I should have my first volume in about a month. I can't wait. Go here to subscribe.

Here is the home to-do list:

NEW Curtains in:
Kitchen
Living Room
Bedroom
Craft Room
Laundry Room
Guest Room
(So basically everywhere needs new curtains)

I am going to re-upholster my couch, re-do my piano, radio, and rocking chair as well as add a bench seat under the window, and paint the hallway.

Whew! 2011 is going to be a busy year.

What are some things on your to-do lists?

Monday, Monday, Monday!

Kind of a silly title, I know, but I am a little excited this morning. I get to play with my new Cricut DesignStudio software (between it and some vinyl I bought, my allowance for this month is already gone :( . Oh, well, it's definitely worth it.) I am also excited about the fact that it is 10 am and I have been awake for over 2 hours!! I currently work graveyards 5 nights a week so on my days off I usually sleep in until the afternoon, but I slept so well last night, it was up and at 'em bright and early. Hooray!!

Anywho, have any of you picked up the Cricut DesignStudio yet? I can't wait to use it on the LPF.

image from cricutmachine.com