TUTORIAL: Washi Tape Easter Wreath

Is it me or am I the only one wishing Spring would just get here already?  In Chicagoland it is still very much winter...at least once a week we get some kinda freakin' snow deal happening. It might be that we get dumped on by a full on storm or just an dusting of an inch but seriously, when will it end!?!  Well to bring Spring to my home since it just can't get here fast enough, I thought a pretty Spring-colored Easter wreath was necessary...and one that's all decked out in Washi Tape just made creating it all the more fun :-)

This wreath is so easy to make, my two girls ages 4 and 2 even helped with it.  Who knew punching out paper could be so fun for little hands...and so therapeutic for momma!

Washi Tape Easter Wreath

Plain card stock

Washi Tape

2-inch oval punch (or you could free-hand the eggs)

Empty cereal box

Hot glue gun and glue sticks

Ribbon

Scissors

To make this wreath you need plain card stock and a 2-inch oval paper punch.  You could totally cut out your egg shapes by hand with a pair of scissors but my little girls wanted to help me make this and a punch is so much less scary for me to watch my 2-year old handle!

You'll also need some Washi Tape in lots of fun Spring-y/Easter colors.  If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram you know how obsessed I am becoming about this stuff.  I bought a whole bunch of Washi Tape at Michaels on clearance recently...hey, 2 rolls for $1.49?  You can't beat that price! 

Take your Washi Tape and just tape it in rows to your card stock.  If you have average width Washi you will need about 4 rows per 2-inch egg shape.

After the girls and I taped 4 rows of the Washi down I cut that section of card stock and then we continued taping another 4 row section of Washi. I found it was easier for my girls to punch the oval shape when I had individual strips of the decorated paper. Then just punch out lots of prettily decorated oval shapes.  Go to town folks!

Next I used an empty cereal box to make my wreath form.  You could probably just use card stock but I wanted something a bit thicker that would hold up on my front door.

I made drew two half circles, one on each side of the cereal box, cut them out and hot glued them together.  Then I took the egg/oval shape and hot glued them all around my new wreath form.

Lastly, I took a 6-7 inch piece of coordinating ribbon I had on hand and hot glued it to the top backside of the wreath so I had something to hang it with...easy peasy!

 Then find a nice door...or maybe a mirror or mantel...and hang it up!

Oh how I love thee, Washi Tape.  You make everything so full of color.

And please Spring, I beg of you, please come fast!!!

Thanks for stopping by today!

XOXO,

Easter 2012

Happy Easter 2012!  Only a few days late but for a good reason as we were visiting my family out east and just returned home yesterday!  The car trip was a whopping 12 hours and the kids did fabulously, I am still shocked.  I think we made a good call when we decided to forego the long drive through the night we normally do and go for the drive during the day instead.  Last year, even though Eloise did awesome sleeping through the night, Noah and Penelope just did not sleep well in their carseats (hello uncomfortable being strapped into those darn 5 point harnesses, I think their long legs kept falling asleep on them!)  So this time around we decided to leave in the late morning so that we were at my parents doorstep by midnight.  It meant stopping for a few more breaks than usual but it wasn't so bad in the end, especially considering Clif and I weren't sleep deprived by the end of the trip!

My kids love visiting my parents, heck so do Clif and I, it's the closest thing to heaven on earth I think.  We had so much fun, my parents are seriously the best Camp Grandma and Grandpa a kid (or grandkid) could ask for.   There were non-stop activities to keep them all busy so Clif and I could relax a bit, awesome!  I really wish they lived closer...sigh.  Maybe one day?

{Eloise's Easter Dress}

I was able to speed sew a few Easter dresses for the girls' the night before we left, seriously just in the nick of time.  I decided to do a coordinating set based off of a pair of pretty vintage pillowcases I picked up last year at a flea market.  Unfortunately I didn't get around to making a matching tie for Noah but I don't think he would have been too keen on me making him a pink tie to coordinate with his little sisters this time around, lol :-)  If you want to see last year's outfits, click here and here!

Isn't the hand embroidery on these pillowcases just gorgeous?  There is no way I could ever put the time into doing this myself.  I have to admit I felt a little sad cutting into them but then figured they would get more use as sweet little dresses, plus the only people that would see the pillowcases would be us and this way we can show off the beautiful hand embroidery to the world.  Do you ever feel that way when you use vintage goods?

I found this beautiful vintage lace trim at another flea market I visited almost 2 years ago!  I've been hoarding it for what seems like forever but felt this was the absolute perfect project to use it on.  Don't you love when things come together like that?  It was just meant to be a part of this dress for Penelope.

{Penelope's Easter Dress}

I made Penelope's dress a sweet little A-line with stretchy elastic at the top for easy on and off.  I added the vintage lace as shoulder straps to balance out the lace at the bottom of the pillowcase.  I love the sweet girly nature of it all.

And here it is on my little girlie.  She loved it so much and called it her 'Princess Dress' because of all the lace details.  She couldn't wait to put it on and twirl for Grandma and Grandpa. 

Here is one of the pictures I was able to take before the big Easter Egg hunt at my parents' house started.  We were supposedly going over the rules but let's be honest, Easter Egg hunts have no rules!  It was just our way of trying to get them all to stand still for a moment. 

Eloise loved carrying around her new 'purse' ha!

It was so warm out that after awhile she decided to just bask in the sun.

Penelope was ecstatic to find that some of the easter eggs contained lip gloss.  Eeek!  I thought her head 

was going to explode.

Noah had quite the haul by the end of the hunt.  He was such a nice big brother that he shared his finds with his sisters.  I love that about him, he really does have such a good heart.

I hope you had a wonderful Easter too.  Ours was perfect in every way, it always makes me happy to be able to spend time with my family...there is just something about being around your own family for the holidays isn't there!

We'll talk soon!

XOXO,

Rustic Chalkboard Easter Eggs-TUTORIAL

How's about a fun and functional craft for the Easter holiday and beyond?  With a week to go before Easter I've got just the quick project for you, believe it or not :-)  Last week I was at Michael's (again!  I was seriously shopping for a friend, true story.) with Eloise and I spotted these cute wooden board slices of tree trunk out of the corner of my eye while we were rolling down the wood aisle.  They totally reminded me of eggs in their oblong shape.  I snatched up two in different sizes and thought if I prettified them with some of that rad pastel Martha Stewart chalkboard paint I used to make these they would be perfect Easter-y/Spring-y goodness my lacking-in-Easter-decor walls were crying for plus they would have the grand function of being a chalkboard/note-taking space as well.  Boom.  There you have it.  Rustic Chalkboard Easter Eggs were born.  

Rustic Chalkboard Easter Eggs

Piece of wood tree trunk slice

Chalkboard paint

Painter's tape

Foam brush

Chalk

I used Martha Stewart's multi-surface chalkboard paint in green and blue.  They really are the perfect spring/Easter colors, nice and pastel-y.  You will also need a foam brush to apply the paint.

Grab a roll of Painter's tape and cut small pieces to go around the tree slice protecting the bark portion.  Then apply a nice even coat of chalkboard paint to the wood.  Let it dry for one hour and the re-apply the paint a second time.    

You will need to wait 24 hours for the chalkboard paint to cure...tick, tock, tick, tock...

Once 24 hours have come and gone, grab a piece of chalk and rub it all over the paint.  This will help condition the chalkboard so you can write on it!   Wipe it off and your rustic chalkboard easter egg is ready to use!  You could use a sawtooth picture hanger to hang it on your wall or even superglue a strong magnet on the back and hang it on your fridge.  Oh! Or just place it on a wire plate holder and keep it on your counter...the options are endless I tell ya!

Write up that grocery list for the week or maybe a cute Easter quote...

Happy crafting!

 XOXO,

Chalkboard Flower Baskets-TUTORIAL

Spring is officially here as of this week, who's excited?  Although here in Chicagoland it feels like summer has arrived as we've been enjoying temperatures well into the 80's...such un-midwestern weather for this time of year but I will take it over snow any day!  The kids have been playing outside with their friends every day, which I love!  We have a stock of popsicles in the freezer, we've been playing in the sandbox, and we even got the pool out and have been splashing around with our neighbors, truly unbelievable.  What's even more unbelievable is the number of mosquito bites I already have, I am one itchy pregnant lady but at least I  can still bend over enough to scratch my feet, holla!

Wait didn't I have a craft to share with you today?  Oh hey, I did!  So I was over at Michael's not too long ago and found the cutest little wooden flower baskets in their dollar section.  I thought they just shouted "Spring" (and double whammy) "Easter" so I picked up three for my kids...hmmm, maybe I should go back and get a fourth?  They are the perfect size for the kids to put crayons and little markers in to carry out to our porch or to fill with little treats if their momma is feeling generous (and ready for a sugar high!)  I painted them with chalkboard paint so that I could write their names or cute little messages on them...perfect for hiding on Easter so they know who's is who's don't ya think or even for a cute place setting for an Easter celebration!

Chalkboard Flower Baskets

Little wooden flower baskets 

ScotchBlue Painter's Tape

Chalkboard paint

Sponge brush

Chalk

Here are the cute little flower baskets I bought at Michael's...they are tiny and just perfect for little ones, Ellie wears hers on her wrist like a purse!

Just enough space in there for a few little treats or some crayons :-)

I love Martha Stewart's new line of craft paints, especially loving her chalkboard paint as it comes in a few pretty pastel colors not just plain 'ol black!  I also used ScotchBlue Advanced Painter's Tape with Edge-Lock.  Love this stuff!  It let's you achieve super sharp lines and comes off cleanly from your project with no icky residue left behind...a crafter's dream come true!  And I'm also lovin' those cheapy sponge brushes you can buy for like 50 cents!  That's all you really need for this project :-)

Tape off the handle of your flower baskets like so and then apply one coat of chalkboard paint all over.  I also painted inside too just cause I like the uniform look of it all.  Wait an hour and then give it a good second coat.  I waited another hour before taking off the Painter's tape and then applied a coat of green paint to the handle.  The directions on the chalkboard paint bottle say to let it cure for a day so that is what I did....you just have to wait a bit before having at the chalk!

After 24 hours you need to condition the chalkboard paint which means you grab a piece of chalk and rub it all over the surface and then wipe it clean.  Now it's ready to write or draw on!  So simple and easy!

You could write fun little messages on them like, "Spring is Here!"

And fill them with crayons!  My kids felt like they were in a restaurant where they get their own little cup of crayons to color their kids menu with, lol!

Since I painted the insides of the flower baskets, I place little mini muffin liners inside them before filling them with treats.  Just to be safe ya know!

Oooh, jelly beans!  Easter is coming upon us quickly isn't it...these are all over the stores now!

Fun little flower baskets full of tiny treats...my kids are in heaven!

Have a great weekend, we'll talk soon!

**I was sent samples of ScotchBlue Painter's Tape for review purposes but all opinions are 100% my own!

XOXO,

Easter!...the Reveal.

If you can believe it, I actually completed an Easter outfit for each member of my family just in time for the big day...yippee for getting it all done!  I thought I would share the final looks with all of you so you can see that I am not lying ;-)

I tried my best to get a few pictures of the girls standing, not running or crawling away, so you could see the lengths and the fit of the dresses I made them from this earlier post here which by the way Thank You so much for all the sweet comments and emails about how much you liked them!  Some of you had asked about the fit as well as if there is a pattern available.  I actually drafted both of these dresses off of a vintage dress I had seen in a very old magazine a few months back but I can try to get something up for you on the blog sometime soon-ish. 

Happy Easter for our family to yours!!  Here is our Easter 2011 family picture.  These are getting so much harder to do with three kids, aiyayay!  Trying to get all my littles to look and smile at the camera at the same time is definitely a challenge, I don't know if we will ever be able to do this if we have #4.

The weather was absolutely perfect...sunny, warm and bright!  We had a huge Easter egg hunt and Noah and Penelope had a blast searching for eggs.

Here's a view of Penny in her Easter dress.  I made it so it lays above her knee, totally 1950's little girl vintage, I'm loving it!

Little Miss E wanted nothing more than to jump up and down...my sweet little babe is getting so big.  I also made both girls coordinating hair bow clips.  I think they gave their dresses the perfect touch!

I made Mr. Smashed Peas and Carrots this tie...yup, I actually made him a real TIE!  It was so easy too!  I used the tutorial from The Purl Bee found here.  

It matches Noah's tie applique shirt.  Noah was so excited to have something that matched his daddy, so sweet!

I made myself a skirt which you can see in the first picture along with this coordinating brooch.  I think it tied my outfit nicely with all my littles!  

We had such a wonderful Easter celebration full of amazing food, too much candy and enjoying being with family.  I hope you did too!  Here's to more beautiful weather!!

Also, make sure you stop back tomorrow to find out the winner of the JoTotes giveaway as well as to find out what my next exciting giveaway is going to be!!  Woot!

XOXO,