Easy projects inspired by dollar store items.

Since we have been moving in and unpacking I have acquired a lot of little items that I want to repurpose, decorate with, or finish working on. I've also been to my local dollar tree and 99 cent stores looking for cheap things we needed... And I swear every time I go in for one or two things I leave with $25 worth of stuff. But honestly- it's because I needed stuff and had no idea those stores carried them!! 

So I'm going to be sharing some of those dollar tree inspired projects and easy DIY ideas. Literally so easy that anyone can do them.

So first up is this vase set I bought at Michaels a month or so ago. I didn't know WHAT I was going to do with it, it just was on a really great sale and I pretty much just had to have it.

I kind of looked around my house and decided that the bathroom window sill was its new home. I've been trying to figure out how to decorate in this room because it is so narrow and kind of dark- so I really feel this actually kind of livens the room up. Next in this room is going to be art. Gotta figure out what style first though.

So I was headed to the dollar tree and figured I would see if there were any cute faux flowers. And there was! I was trying to decide if I wanted Spanish moss or some pebbles/ rocks... But decided it might look cluttered if I did that. 

It only took a few minutes to put this together and i love it. I helped the bathroom have some character and cleaned up my dining room a bit as well. I have another of these vases (different style) that I am most likely going to do the same with but use it in my laundry room.

Do you have any dead spaces that this could work for? All in all I probably spent $15 total on this including the vase set. But it gives me enough faux flowers to fill my other vase and probably one more. So this really was a more affordable project for me.

And honestly, at least I won't forget to water REAL flowers! 😂 I'm still working on my green thumb.

Handmade toddler friendly Christmas gifts.

Before I get into this- let me apologize for the crummy photos! I am using my phone for this post and my mom's house is kind of dark at the moment!!

Hi everyone! It is that time of year to spread joy and love. I really have been stumped on what to do for my in laws who live out of state and don't get to enjoy the kids year round. Opal is finally at the age to really be creative and she just LOVES to paint and color, so I figured we'd pull out some of my art/ craft stuff and see what we could put together. Here's a little list of things we've created together and what you need to make them. Almost everything you need can be found at the dollar tree so this really is affordable too. 

First off- these really easy snow globes!! I bought everything at target in the dollar bins. You will need a hot glue gun.

The mason jars are in 2 packs for $3 each. 

The little "snow" was $1 and I still have half of a bag left. 

I bought a 3 pack of ornaments for $3 in the Christmas section too. 

Glitter, stickers and Pom Poms were all $1 each there too. 

I hot glued the ornament down and used tongs from the kitchen to place them in the jar. I let Opal tell me where to place the stickers and then I let her go crazy filling them with everything else.

 It's a really easy dry snow globe that is safe to ship cross country or wrap and deliver on the special day. Easy least and I got 4 made for under $15! What a deal.

Next up are some really easy cards.

Now, I already had fingerpaint on hand so I used that. You can buy it at the dollar tree or a craft store or even Walmart or target. I have a big box from target that I got for probably less than $10. 

I also already had the gold paint pen in my junk drawer. 

Thick card stock or small poster board from dollar tree.

I helped her keep her hand flat and not to smear- but she was LOVING this one. She did such a good job. I let her decide pink for rudolphs nose was cuter. 

Cut them out and decorate the trees however. I was thinking of adding some sequins and Pom Poms but ran out of time. 

Next up are these cuties. Ornaments!! 

All you need for these guys are thin foam sheets (Michaels, joanns, dollar tree, etc) in black and white.

Pipe cleaners- even target has these in the dollar bins right now..

Googly eyes

String, ribbon, etc

Hole puncher 

Hot glue gun- because I'm impatient and hate to wait for glue to dry. I hot glue everything!!

After I glued these guys together for Opal I let her color on them. She decided to keep them simple and refused to use any other color but red.. But- that's okay! It's her project! 

Next were these cute little photo ornaments. 

I had the sticks on hand, you can use Popsicle sticks. 

I also had buttons. I kept these mess free and let Opal pick the buttons. I hot glued them down and glued their Christmas photo down in the middle. 

SUPER easy, SUPER cheap, SUPER cute.

Next- a painted canvas! I had a bunch of these from a huge sale Michaels had a while back, so I figured why not? I let Opal go to town on this. I had more of them but I don't want to spoil the surprises for those people so you get the simple one as an example! 

This can be done on paper and framed too! How cute and special would that be!!

Last but not least- salt dough ornaments. I still have to paint these and add a string or ribbon- but don't want to spoil that surprise either. I'll update this post with extra photos later on. 

So there you have it! 5 super easy and cheap toddler crafting gift perfect for their grandparents or your spouse or even for decor for your home! Happy crafting!! 

Storybook camp out birthday party prep.

Hey y'all. Geez, I'm always starting my posts with "long time, no see." These days. Well, I've been gone a lot lately, my bad! It has been so hard to get time to myself lately. I started an Etsy recently and Dillon started school... So trying to get adjusted to our life right now has been the priority. But- it is Halloween eve, and I am wanting to share my party prep so far.

So because December is really busy with birthdays and Christmas I realllllly need to get working on Opal's birthday decor. Now y'all know when I throw a party, I go hard. I go all in- full force. I go straight into DIY mode AT LEAST a month ahead of time. 

Well this time around, I'm a little late. I really couldn't decide on what theme to go with. Opal asked for a petting zoo, but I couldn't get a hold of any of the ones around me and got tired of waiting for them to return my call so I ditched that plan. She also wanted Minnie Mouse but i didn't want to go with the traditional pink or red polka dots and black. It's just so overused and I want it to be more special. 

So after days on Pinterest during my nursing sessions I think I've come to a decision. Well, I can't say that "I think" I have, I HAVE!!!!!!! I even have some stuff to show you guys a preview of some of the tabletop decor. 

Oh, I forgot to mention the theme... A storybook camp out!!! I am going to add some Minnie Mouse stuff- but probably things like mouse ear headbands with flannel print bows! The games are going to be play on words that correspond with story book characters. I am going to have some sort of party favor that is a coloring project. I am also going to have some tents set up, you know the tee-pee kind? A-frame style though. 

Tonight I'm working on some of the art for it. I want to paint some storybook characters on parchment paper, then glue it to cardboard so that it is sturdy. 

I am hosting it early at 10 am so I plan to turn two of my mom's regular canopy tents into an enclosed tent. I'm going to zip tie 2 together, then use 4 white tarps along the back and sides to enclose it. It'll create a warmer shelter for the tables and food. Thankfully my mom has a really big backyard so I have room for that and plenty more for games and the camp out set up. (Tents and blankets)

For the food, I'm going to do a cute display of breakfast foods and pies. We picked out some cute dishes from the thrift store to hold paper straws, treats and more. Some cute vintage pans that will hold trail mix ingredients so that we can have a "trail mix bar" too. 

Okay- I'll stop jabbering on and show you some of the photos. My next post will probably have some of the painted characters. :-)

Peace y'all. 

Xoxo, Chelsea. 

I spent $21 but filled up my entire cart! Gotta love thrift stores.

I found this XL plate that will be used for donuts or something, and a matching lil creamer dispenser thing.

I also found these for coffee and cookies. Trying to keep things simple but still in the color scheme and the idea that it is something you'd have in a cabin or at a campsite. 

I'm using these cups for my trail mix bar. I'll have chocolate chips, raisins and little things in them.

These are also for the trail mix bar. I will make a post with all of the Pinterest pins and their sources of my inspiration for this party soon too.

We found this little basket too. It will hold the utensils and the duck napkin holder was just too funny not to grab.

I got this awesome old dark green metal tray for like $5. I'm using it as the birthday cake (or pie) tray. 

Last but not least, these are the two blankets I found to put the little tent /tee pee things on. I don't want the kids (or rather the parents) to worry about their clothes getting dirty while playing around.

Okay, well that's all I've got for today! 

Our ever changing nursery.

 Opal and Oliver's nursery has been mostly used as a play room and storage for baby things thus far. Since moving here, Opal has been afraid to sleep in her own room, so we've just kept a crib in our room for her. But recently she has been more comfortable with her toddler bed, so we actually moved the crib to the nursery and the big girl bed to our room. So the bedrooms now look different, but I wanted to share some photos of her room BEFORE we moved everything around, along with links to wear I found some of the ideas for projects I've done.

I got Opal's bed from IKEA. It is called the MINNEN.

I really love this bed because it will grow with her. It starts out as

a toddler bed but can actually extend 2 more times and eventually be a twin size bed.

Peeking out from underneath her bed you can see the extendable mattress pieces.

This is super helpful for me, and will actually be a comfy bed for my sister to sleep on 

this summer while she visits. Way better than an air mattress. :-)

I made the "Scout Oli" banner before moving here. 

You can see the tutorial here.

My mom and I made the faux bear rug! It is my favorite of our DIY projects.

I first saw it on pinterest, and found a tutorial on a fellow Marine Wife's blog.

We ended up not following her's exactly and pretty much hand drew our own pattern.

We also gave our bear extra padding and what not. 

But for those that need a tutorial with step by step instructions THIS ONE is great! :-)

Here's a little close up image of our bear.

I got this bookcase and toy organizer from Target last summer. I think they've discontinued it, because I can't seem to find it online. I totally wish I could though, because I want another one.

I love this fabric bin so much. I use it as a toy box for Opal. I found it at home goods and plan to get another one for Oliver once we get moved into our next home. 

This is the other wall in her room. I got this chalkboard from IKEA. 

I will definitely have to take some photos of this room now that I have yet again changed it. 

It is now full with the crib, Oliver's little clothes, and I've moved around all of Opal's toys and things.

It wont be like that for long either though- because soon everything will be boxed up and on its way to our new home. Wherever in the world that may be. Hopefully I can let you guys know by the end of this month! :-)

XOXO- Chelsea.

Printable Teacher Appreciation Day Cards!

Hey everyone, so Teacher Appreciation Day is May 5th this year! I don't have a little one in school right now, but I do have a lot of friends and family who are educators. I think what they do is so very important. I don't think you have to go all out to show a little appreciation, and want to provide an easy thoughtful solution to help your little ones say "thanks!" to someone who spends so much of their day with them.

You can put a hole punch through these simple little cards and tie them to a gift bag.. You can stick them to the front of a gift card for their favorite coffee joint.. or even just give them to your kids to pass along however they please! Whether they're given by themselves or with a little something special (like baked goods that your little ones bake especially for them!) I am sure they will bring a smile to their teacher's face and they'll know they are appreciated.

They will print off as a set of four. I couldn't decide on one card, so I made options for everyone with a little water colored apple that I painted the other day. This works well for those of you with multiple kids (or teachers to thank)! These are for personal use only.

Download and print off from my Dropbox. CLICK HERE TO OPEN.

 Enjoy! xoxo- Chels.

DIY Banners for the nursery.

"Scout Opal"

 *sorry for the poor lighting of these last minute photos*

 I've been working on little projects for Opal and Oliver's nursery this week before my move. I saw something similar on Pinterest, and even noted them here on this blog post. I didn't want to be a total copy cat, so I made this my own.

I also did notttttt want them to look like I personally made them. (insert how crazy for detail I can be about things being straight/ even) So, because of this preference for a handmade look I free hand cut the letters out and let it be.

We are going with a cabin theme for their room, so I loved the idea of calling them "scouts". Especially because we hope they will want to go to summer camps and maybe even cub/ girl scouts in the future.

"Scout Oli"

I plan to hang these over their bed/ crib. I'm excited to see them on the walls of the new apartment. I really hope that we can pull the whole "woodsy" look in their room. I don't want it to be too many brown tones though, that is why I used some bright pops of colors. I plan to use turquoise and apricot a lot in their room.

I actually already bought the fabric for their custom quilts that will be put together by my wonderful mom. I am just so darn excited for this. I love being a mom because I get to plan and execute things like this. Growing up, I never really got to decorate my room, so that's something I plan to always do with these 2. I want them to express themselves freely, for sure.

close up of Opal's banner.

 Materials needed:

• printed fabric of choice
• felt in one or more colors
• one large piece of felt (can be purchased at Michael's in individual packaged pieces)
• scissors
• hot glue gun
• dowel rod
• yarn, string, ribbon, or whatever you choose for hanging purposes.

close up of Oli's banner.

Directions:

1. Cut your banner out of the large prepackaged piece of felt. 
2. At the top, glue your dowel rod to the back. Best to roll the fabric over it so that it is hidden.
3. Next, cut your background shape/ image out of your patterned fabric. (I chose a heart)
4. Hot glue your shape down to the fabric.
5. Cut out your letters for whatever phrase, saying, name etc.. that you chose.
6. Lay the pieces down to make sure they fit. 
7. Glue them to the proper places you want.
8. Lastly, glue the yarn with an appropriate amount of slack to hang.

These are two other banners that I did in hopes they will look like a younger child made them. I didn't use any patterns or anything, kind of just rolled with it. I hope my bear and bunny actually look like a bear and bunny!! (haha!) I plan to use these over their dresser with a collage of framed photos, art pieces and maybe a shelf with some special treasures on it.

I hope this gives you inspiration to make a banner of your own. I think I am going to make something for my bedroom and living room next. A little less handmade-by-a-child though. Maybe some nice family or marriage quotes? hmmm! Now to plan my next project!

xoxo,

 Chelsea

Favorite things Friday.

So I've been gone for a while, but I promise I am back. Opal has been giving me such a rough time with a horrible sleep regression and teething with a molar. I have had a lot of sleep-less nights the past 2 months. It has given me a lot of time to surf Pinterest around for some neat DIY projects, beautiful room decor inspiration for Opal's next room, and of course plenty of things I can task to my husband. ;-)

First off, my favorite things to pin to my boards are decor, projects, and plans for Opal's next room. We definitely see another baby in the near future so we are going ahead and planning on transitioning her from the crib to a toddler bed once we move in. I want to have the crib in the room as an option for her, but also so that she doesn't have to go through a weird process of bringing the crib back in once the new baby is on their way.


I also can feel it in my bones that we will have a boy next, so I plan to decorate her room with a gender neutral palette. I am going to keep her side very girly, but I don't want to overwhelm the entire room with pink or purple. Here is my room inspiration for our child(ren). I found the pin on pinterest, and have bookmarked the original author on my computer, phone, ipad, etc.. Go check out Laybabylay.com for some amazing ideas on this shared room inspiration. I absolutely adore the styling and can't wait to order some of these gorgeous pieces. 

I just cannot get over how gorgeous the colors flow together. I hope that our base housing has a nice big room that our babies can share and grow up together in.

I am definitely going to have to make some wall decor similar to the one on the door. It is so cute and looks so easy to do. I can just picture "Opal" and "Oliver" on the pillows and everything else.

I need to find a nice big dresser for their room, that I can redo. I've been considering going with painting the dresser so that it provides a pop of color to the room.

 I probably wont be able to paint their walls, (something base housing generally frowns upon).. So I have been looking up different places that I can order cute wall decals from too.

I'll go ahead and share some photos and links to some of my room decor inspirations and wish list.

I truly cannot wait for the day we receive orders so that I can pull the trigger and order all of this truly amazing and cute stuff. If only Dillon would let me decorate our master bedroom like the kids' rooms! So whimsical and exciting!!

:)

Have a blessed Friday everyone!

xoxo -Chelsea.

WALLS:

Arrow wall decals -Trendypeasdecals on Etsy. 

 Ice Cream Decal- Madeofsundays on Etsy

Donut wall art- Milkandcookies on Etsy.

BEDDING:

Asher Duvet Ser- Petitevintagebel (follow them on instagram too!)

 Hampshire toddler bed (clay) -The Land of Nod

Larkin Metal bed (mint)- The Land of Nod 

 FLOOR:

Gulort rug- Ikea

 

PLAY:

 

Pavillion Play home- The Land of Nod