Children's easel

We've had these two old "bachelor days" end tables laying around in our basement just waiting to either be given away or re purposed into something spectacular.

At a recent craft fair I saw these cute little flannel boards with felt dolls for kiddos.

I loved the idea but the price tag was a little out of my budget.  I knew I could easily (and on the cheap) recreate them.

So I simply took the top off one of those not so beautiful end tables and covered it with flannel.  It took me about 5 minutes and the flannel only cost about $2.

Then I went searching online for felt dolls when I came across some adorable ones on Amazon that were already cut out and were half the price of the others.  I don't want to be spending hours and hours cutting out little intricate doll pieces.

These are just a few of the pieces it came with...there's all kinds of outfits to piece together.

For the other side of the easel all I did was spray paint it with chalkboard paint.  Easy enough.

After attaching some hinges and chains, it sets up nice as a little floor easel for my little one to play with.

A perfect gift for very little cost!

If you don't have two end table, you could buy a cheap piece of wood too and it would still be a very inexpensive project.

Dollar Store Christmas Wreath

I'm a fan of the dollar store as much as the next person but many times dollar store items can look....well....cheap.

After looking at different Christmas wreaths, I decided I could make a unique one for much less.

While picking up some wrapping paper at the dollar store, I came across wreaths that looked decent but skimping a bit on the fullness.

Take two and add a little of your own homemade decor and you can have your very own unique handmade wreath for under $5.

What you will need:

Two dollar store wreaths

Red and white felt

A long strip of scrap fabric

Small bells or buttons

First take your two wreaths and attach them back to back...

to make a fuller wreath by wrapping the "evergreen" around the middle to connect them.

Then follow this tutorial to make your own poinsettias.  Make whatever size and however many you feel looks good.

Use your extra fabric strip by tying a bow to hang your wreath and you are done!

So many other decorations could be used to make your very own unique wreath as well.

Christmas Stockings

I finally finished my stockings!  Yay!  I'm so happy they are done!

After seeing many ideas floating around the web, I decided to recreate a bunch of different ideas and add my own little inspiration.

The first two, for my husband and I were made from burlap and white satin.  I had both the burlap and satin that I was waiting to use so this was perfect!

For my daughter I wanted something a little different but that still matched the whole scheme.  This way should our family happen to grow, I can add on and it won't be too difficult to find fabric that matches.

With no pattern, stockings were a little more difficult to make than I had planned.  There are some great tutorials out there for free on the web to help you along though.  With some time and patience, you can have simple handmade stocking too!

A little hint: For a quicker version, skip the lining and they would be so easy and simple to make!

Pocket Pillow Covers

Being in the Christmas spirit, I have totally taken on Christmas decorating.  Usually I put up the tree and a few other things and call it good.

This year I have really been in the mood of transforming our house into a Christmas wonderland.  Not really but much more than I ever have tried before.

While looking at Christmas decorating ideas I noticed how much a difference simple pillows make.  I didn't want to make a whole set of new pillows just for Christmas so pocket pillow covers were the perfect solution.

If you haven't tried the pocket pillow cover, you should!  It is so simple and quick, you'll be making all kinds of covers!  Seriously, I have already made some for my daughters room, our basement and now moving to our living room.

Here's what you will need:

Fabric (amount depends on the size of your pillow, I used about a half yard for each)

Pillow or Pillow Form

First, take your pillow and measure the sides.  My measurements were one 16" square pillow and one 15" square pillow.

Then you will need to cut your fabric.  You will want the width of your cut to be the size of your pillow plus 1" for seem allowance.  The length of your fabric should be about 3 1/2 times the size of your pillow.

These are the measurements I ended up with:

17" (16+1) X 56" (16 X 3.5)

16" (15+1) X 52.5" (15X3.5)

Don't get hung up on making sure the length of your fabric is perfect.  You just need it to be about 3.5 to 4 times the length of your pillow.

Next fold and press each short edge 4 inches.

Then comes the tricky part, it is a bit hard to explain.  You will want your two ends (folded over 4 inches) to overlap in the middle and make your width the size of your pillow.  Below my pillow was 16 inches so I played around with it until it lined up nice.

Then simply pin and sew the two open sides.

Now you simply turn your pillow cover right side out using the pocket you created.

And insert your pillow.

Once finished, your pillow will be completely covered.

Such a quick and simple project to add to your Christmas decorating.

Recycled Jars: Christmas Style

If you've been following my blog for awhile you know I've been saving up my glass jars in the hopes of recycling them into something amazing. :)

I was thinking Christmas would be the perfect time to put some of these gems to use.  I had been saving quite the collection on top of our fridge.

Here's a couple ideas to inspire you to recycle your glass jars.

First, is my favorite...these apothecary jars.  These are all over Pinterest so you're sure to find a tutorial for something similar.

For these, I simply gathered up some wood pieces I had from previous projects (originally from Hobby Lobby) and glued them together.  The jar and the lid are simply old spaghetti sauce jars.  Paint them in the color of your choice and you have you're very own apothecary jars.

I painted mine brown because I plan to use them year round and fill them with different items depending on the season.  For free...these will get lots of use!

Second, a tealight centerpiece.  This idea is also all over Pinterest.  Simply pour some Epsom salt in a jar and add a candle and you're done.  It's a dramatic look for very little work!

Go create some holiday decor of you're own.  This year I'm really getting into the Christmas spirit.  Not sure what is in the air but I'm loving it!  More Christmas ideas to come....