DIY--Menu Board

Today, I had the day off of work, and I decided to tackle a project that I had been contemplating for a while. That project being putting together a new menu board for our kitchen. So, I swung by Michael's to peruse craft supplies and pick out what I wanted to use. When I got home, I set up shop in the living to piece together my board. And I'm very happy and proud of the results.

To make your own:

Gather your supplies. Cork board, patterned paper, letters, "decor", double stick tape, glue, push pins, paper cutter/scissors. Cut your paper and arrange in a pattern that suits you leaving a space in the middle for the menu. Tape the paper pieces together and use the push pins to secure to the cork board. Add the letters and "decor". Hang and attach menu. Enjoy your menu board!

DIY--Easy Pillow Slip Covers

I’m dedicating this post to my good friend, Justin, who first encouraged me to start a blog. I’ve really been enjoying all aspects of blogging, from thinking up and doing posts, to designing and redesigning (and redesigning again lol) the look of my blog. I’ve really been striving to carry out what I originally stated as my blog’s purpose: to stop just being a wannabe and actually do some of the things I’ve been wanting to do. I’m not perfectly there; I definitely have some big areas that I want to start making waves in (namely being more organized at home and getting rid of the mess haha), but I’ve been pleased with my progress so far. So, thanks Justin; I gave you the blame when I first started this venture, and now I’ll give you the praise! :)

I LOVE being crafty! Really, I love being crafty with a purpose. There are a lot of simple craft ideas out there…..but a lot of them are things that I would never use. I don’t like to make a project that I ultimately won’t use just because I want something to do. So, I look for ideas that I think are useful or practical. My recent pattern has been to search Pinterest after I finish my Facebook time to see if I can find any good ideas. Which is how I found the project I’m blogging about today.

I think pillows are wonderful. They’re fun décor that add warmth to furniture. When I’m at a store, I could spend quite some time just looking at all the pillows. The only problem with them is that they are expensive! “You want HOW much for this pillow?” I feel like asking. I just look at them and know that I can’t really justify the expense, nor would my husband appreciate me spending that kind of money on pillows. So, I was really excited when I came across the tutorial for these easy pillow slip-covers.

The best part about these (other than being easy to make haha)? I was able to get 4 pillow forms for just over $20 total, plus approximately $10 for fabric…..voila! Four pillows done for around $30. Yay!

I followed this tutorial here. However, I'm also going to blog this tutorial myself.

To make your own:

Gather a pillow form, 1/2 to 1 yard of fabric (depending on how many pillows you'll be making and the size; I made 14" by 14" pillows and used about 3/4 of a yard for two), thread, and your sewing machine.

Wash and iron the fabric. Cut the fabric two times the width of the pillow form plus 6 inches by the height of the pillow plus 1 inch. For example, for a 14" by 14" pillow, the width would be 34" by a height of 15".

Iron and sew a rolled hem on both short sides of the fabric.

Place the pillow form in the middle of the fabric, right side up. Fold one side of the fabric over the pillow until centered and then fold the other over until snug around the pillow form. Pin the fabric together at the top and bottom.

Carefully remove the pillow form and repin all three layers of fabric. Sew the top and bottom edges with a half inch seam allowance (I cut my fabric a little larger than I meant to, so my seam allowances ended up being more like 1 inch each; if this happens to you, adjust the seam allowance as necessary).

Turn the slip cover right side out and poke out the corners with a point turner (or whatever pointy type instrument you happen to have on hand lol). Insert the pillow form, and you're done! You're very own homemade pillow!

DIY--Mason Jar Soap Dispenser

Like a lot of other people, I seem to have a fascination with mason jars. In fact, I like them so much, I used them in different sizes as vases for my wedding. 

In addition to this, though, I love all the different types of projects one can do with them. I’ve taken to pinning my favorite ideas to Pinterest for future use.

One of the ideas I came across but didn’t actually pin was for a Mason Jar Soap Dispenser. We had been leaving our large dish soap container on the counter because we didn’t have a nicer looking container to put the soap in, so when I initially came across this idea, I thought it was a great idea and hopefully a simple enough project to put together.

I searched several different websites while looking for a good (and easy!) way to make a mason jar soap dispenser. Some were definitely too complicated, but I finally found directions that were doable! It took me a month or so, but I finally gathered my supplies and took a half hour to make my new soap dispenser. Success! I LOVE the way it looks. Happy days!

To make your own:

Gather a medium sized mason jar (found at your local craft store or grocery store), a pump from an empty soap bottle, a hammer, a nail, and craft glue.

With the lid on the mason jar, place the nail in the center of the lid. Hammer until a hole breaks through the center. Continue to hammer the nail into the lid around the center, widening the hole until the soap pump fits into the lid.

Place the soap pump into the lid. Carefully lift the pump slightly and apply glue to secure pump to lid. Allow the glue to dry overnight. Add soap, and Voila! Your very own mason jar soap dispenser!