My first T-Shirt Re-purpose!!

Since I have lost some weight, some of my old t-shirts no longer fit me. It's sad cause I really loved some of them and it's hard to just let them go. I found a great tutorial on how to do shirring or smocking of fabric, and now I can turn those old shirts into new dresses for my little girls!

It's actually pretty easy to do once you get the tension on your thread right. I have so many more t-shirts I want to transform...the possibilities are endless!

Silhouette Giveaway going on now!

Oh man I am so excited about this giveaway going on now over at Little Birdie Secrets!

They are giving away an amazing Silhouette Machine! Check it out now!

Travel Felt Mats= Lifesavers!

Another great idea from A Girl And A Glue Gun! 

My kids are noisy! {I think most kids are built that way.} Unless they are grossly entertained by something. Preferably something quiet. What's more quiet than FELT!!??

All you need to do is make a trip to JoAnnes and buy some felt by the yard...so cheap! I actually just bought the background to the mat and the border by the yard, everything else I just picked up by the sheets (more color options).

This is my daughter's Littlest Pet Shop mat. It's a small replica of her own little town that her LPS toys can live in. The houses on the bottom hold her toys so they don't get lost! Genius!

My daughter loved telling me what include in her town. Things like a garden, and above ground pool, a camp site, a park, the forest, a lake...and of course McDonalds! She's lost in a world of wonderment, which means...quiet time!!

My son's car mat was equally as fun to create! The things he wanted were hilarious, and I tried my best to create them for him. He loves the thing so I think it worked out well.

I love the gas station, but I also love the train tracks and sand dunes. I wanted to go into much more detail but he insisted that it was perfect the way it was.

Ahh...sweet little carrots growing at the farm! Right next door to McDonalds!! What can I say...my kid's love their happy meals!

Best part about these mats is that I hot glued on a strap so they easily roll up and come with us on car trips. It's nice when we go to visit dad in Texas{the downstairs neighbors appreciate it as well}!

Just cut out all your shapes, place them on the mat and hot glue them in place. Leave openings at the top for where your kid's toy will stay {house, garage, tunnel, etc}. Have fun and get creative!

Clipboard Chore Chart

Summer is here and the days are long and hot. Time to find more things to keep my kids productive indoors! I found this great idea at A Girl and a Glue Gun for a magnetic Chore Chart.

I made mine without putting the scrapbook paper over the magnetic paint because I just couldn't get the magnets to hold through the paper. So instead I just let my kids choose their favorite color of paint, and here's what I got!

On the back of the clip board is a pocket that holds all the other chores they can complete. I switch them out daily so there is always something for them to do!

When they complete each chore they are given a ticket/token to be put into their jar. Once they reach 10 tickets/tokens they can trade them in for a $1 {and a trip to the dollar store}, or if they hold out and reach 20 tickets/tokens that's a Happy Meal! 

It's amazing how clean things are around here, and how often my kids are asking for another chore! I love it!!

Re-Vamp your Glasses Case!

Is your hard cover case for your glasses just a little boring? Spice it up with just a little bit of fabric and ribbon! This craft was so fun, and it makes me want to wear those glasses more often!

Don't look too closely at those coke bottle lenses though! Just focus more on the cute new case!

Here is what you'll need:

Mod Podge

Glasses case

Enough fabric to cover both sides of your case

Craft Knife(exacto knife)

Ribbon

Hot Glue

Slather on a nice coat of Mod Podge to your case.

Take your fabric and smooth it over your case and get all the bubbles out.

Get your Mod Podge around all the edges leading into the case and smooth your fabric. Your case should look like this when you're done. Let it dry completely (15-20 min).

Next get out your craft knife and slowly cut the fabric to the inside edge.

Cleans up real nice!

Now finish up with another coat of Mod Podge and let dry completely again.

Don't worry if the cutting didn't turn out super clean. Your ribbon will cover up any imperfections!

Be sure to only put the bead of hot glue on ONE side of the case! You don't want to seal this baby shut!!

Finish off your ribbon trim by folding over the end 1/2 in and glue down.

You can add little fabric yo-yo's to your case for an extra punch of cuteness! I found this tutorial on how to make them here!  And....Voila! Now you have a case worthy to flash around!

I hope you can make your case match your personality! I sure had fun doing this one!

Double Your Closet Space!

I don't know about you, but aren't those closet bars a little high for your kids? My 5 year old has to get a chair, and stand on her tippy-toes to reach her shirts every morning! I thought I could do two things at once, make more hanging room in her closet, AND let her reach it! Here is how I did it:

{Here is my daughter's cramped closet in the beginning.}

To start off, I selected some pretty ribbon in 1 1/2" width. I measured the drop length I wanted my new bar to be, and cut my ribbon to that length. (60" worked for my closet) Be sure to cut two strips of ribbon!

Then I folded the ribbon over 3/4" on one end and stitched it on my sewing machine.

I took the other end and sewed a zig-zag stitch to connect them.

To cover up the stitching I hot glued a pretty flower I made. Repeat for the other strip of ribbon.

If you're like me and make your daughter and son share a room (hey, we have a small house) then you can do one for her and one for him... this is what I did for my son's side of the closet!

If you have a wooden dowel for a closet bar, then just slip the ribbon thru one end of the wooden dowel. If you have the type of closet bar that I do, then you'll have to do a knot. Put one end of the ribbon circle over the bar. Open the end towards the back and slip the ribbon in the front thru the loop, and pull down.

Should look like this...almost like a neck tie!

Slide a new wooden dowel, or in my case, an old shower curton rod thru the loops at the bottom. And there ya go! Double the hanging space! Plus now you can hang seasonal clothes at your little one's reach, and off-season clothes out of the way!

{You can even put your girl's hair clips on the ribbon so she can coordinate her outfits!}

{Here's my little man's side.}

This project was super easy and really inexpensive. Hopefully it can save you money and add space to your closets! Let me know if it worked for you!