DIY by Wendy Bellissimo

 I am renovating my daughter´s room.

shes is growing..she is no longer mums little baby anymore..
(even if I think she is..)

anyway, all I had to transform in her little girl design into a big-girl room , was remove here small bed and furniture and pop a beautiful bunk bed..

Inspiration do I get from various favorite interior magazines

the picture below is from the book

*Nesting* by Wendy Bellissimo

beutiful girl bed from the NESTING by Wendy Bellissimo

Here is my daughter Sophies room, as it looks like right now..

I will reshuffling and enhance the color of green and goldbrown

She is with me in this and paint and select textile.

I think it is importend to listen to the childs own ideas, they love to decorate,

and they often have very good ideas.

The flags are from Shabby Chic stor no 1, Rachell Aswell, and they will stay in the room :)

In the beginning all this furniture were clean wood in pine when they were used in big brother Philips boy room.

She will still have her beautiful Pink kitchen in her room...

 I do agree with her, the kitchen is just adorable..who dosen´t want to play there?

Inspiration picture from POTTERY BARN



The process..We will build in the bed where we put liitle curtains so Sophie can draw on,
a *roof* should also be there with lighting lika a starry sky



just say yes

some good advice from wendy bellissimo

You cant always say yes, but use the word *no* sparingly. Negativity aside,opposing your child´s will without fair and honest explanation will undemine your bond and dimish their self-confidence. However young they may be,always give your children the opportunity to understand-they will respect you for it and trust themselves to do right thing next time.

DIY Wall Words

Do It Yourself

Have you ever dreamed of being able to write beautifully?
Stop think its a shame you never learned calligraphy

I have the solution !

Pregelatinized Wall words
 and why not put them on a roller.

Isn´t that great idea or what?

The roller is enje from IKEA

Picture above is one of the roller when its pulled down.

and this one when its up like a curtain..
source of this this pictures is from my mum & dad
they are really resourceful,
the wall words is from the swedish webbshop vinyldekor
Good Luck !!!

How To Create Personalized Subway Art~

When I decided to create the personalized subway art that I showed  you in this post, the first thing I had to decide is what I was going to create it on.  Originally, I thought that I would use wood, but while I was at JoAnn's one day I lucked onto a sale on painter's canvases. 

I chose one that is 15" x 30".  They had a larger one, but I knew that I was going to use my Silhouette Digital Cutter to create the words, and I wanted to stick with the existing size templates I had (which only go up to 12") so I thought that the 15" width would be perfect  - allowing me 1 1/2" margins on both sides.

To create Subway Art the way I did, you will need:

• Pre-stretched Painter's Canvas (available at most craft stores) or Wood cut to size
• Black Paint
• Fine-grit Sand Paper
• Adhesive Vinyl
• A Craft Cutting Machine (Silhouette or Cricut etc.) - Or there are many vinyl shops out there that can cut custom words for you
• Ruler
• Pencil
• PATIENCE

Here's what I did:

1. I made a list of a bunch of places that have personal significance to us as a family.

2. I typed each place into my  Silhouette software using the Arial Narrow font in Bold.  Then I resized each word so that they were all 12" long.  NOTE:  by making the words all 12" long, some will be larger than others.  This is normal and actually helps your sign look more authentic.  ANOTHER NOTE: Because you can't be sure exactly how tall the words will end up being once they are all the same length, it is wise to cut out more places than you think you will need...I learned this the hard way.

3. Here I taped the words to the canvas (still wrapped in plastic) so that I could get a rough idea of the order I wanted them in.  This is where I figured out that I needed more places...so I ended up cutting out 3 more.

4. Then I painted the canvas black and gave it a light sanding to give it a little character.

5. After I decided what order I wanted the places to go, I started by measuring down from the top of the canvas approximately 2 1/2", and in from the sides 1 1/2" and put light guide marks with my pencil.  Then I adhered the vinyl lettering the way I normally do.

6. For the next place name, I measured down from the bottom of the previous name 1/2" and in from the sides 1 1/2" just as I did for the first and put guide marks.  Then I adhered the vinyl lettering.

7. I followed this same procedure 12 more times until I had all the places adhered to the canvas.  I found that the vinyl stuck very well to the painted canvas - I had been a little worried about that initially, but I was pleasantly surprised.  (Because someone is bound to notice, if you look at the photo above where I had taped the words to get an idea of placement, you'll see that I misspelled Niagara...oops!  Didn't even notice until I had put it on the canvas.  But you'll be happy to know, that it only took a bit of elbow grease  - and by that I mean fingernails - to pull the incorrect version off and replace it with the right one.)

8. Then I hung the canvas on the wall and admired it...just like I do everyday when I come into my dining room!!

The whole process was actually quite easy...just a bit time consuming.  But I love the result, and I'd do it again...in fact, maybe I will!

Happy-Subway-Art-Making!!

Linking to:

Creating a Gallery Wall~

There is a wall in this house that has been driving me crazy since we first moved in. It is at the end of a long hallway. It is quite large. And it is BORING.


I decided to create a gallery wall there some time ago, but I was dragging my feet a bit. I wasn't sure exactly what type of gallery wall I wanted. So I gathered inspiration and finally decided that I wanted something fairly cohesive but a bit organic.


Here's how I turned this wall (which, by the way, might be the most boring photo ever posted on the internet)....

Into this gallery wall....

First of all, I had to make a decision about the frames. Did I want black frames? White frames? Mismatched frames?

I finally decided that I wanted white frames...and not just any white frames. I wanted matching white frames. And I couldn't spend a fortune. So I went to IKEA and found some in a couple of different sizes (some for 5x7s and some for 8x10s).

I am ashamed to say that after I got the frames home they sat...for quite a while. Because I had decided that I wanted the gallery wall to be a bit organic, but I wasn't sure how I wanted to accomplish that task.

Remember when I told you yesterday that I had the perfect place for my sweet Lisa Leonard pennant banner? Well, once it arrived in the mail, it gave me the perfect idea for how I wanted to finish my wall.

So I gathered up my photos and filled those frames. Then, I laid the frame out on my bed to get an idea of how I wanted them to look on the wall.


I've seen a lot of gallery wall tutorials with kraft paper and carefully measured placement. And those are wonderful. But I am not that girl. Impatience is my middle name...and I love to eyeball things. (When I'm doing things for myself that is.) So I started with the middle photo in the collage and moved out from there. Eyeballing measurements as I went.

And to add to the organic/ eclectic feel of the wall, I threw in a couple of monogram "H"s. This metal one is from Anthropologie...it used to sit on the white buffet in my living room.

The white "H" came from JoAnn's.

And then, the piece de resistance my pennant banner. Love. it.

Here's the finished wall again. I'm so happy with the way it turned out.

There's still time to enter the $75 Lisa Leonard giveaway...just scroll down to yesterday's post and leave a comment!

Have a great day~

Rhinestones~

Hey out there in blogland!

This month, the good people at Silhouette sent me their rhinestone starter kit to try out. I must admit, I wasn't so sure about how it would work out...but let me tell you...after making the shirt I'm about to show you for the Princess, I was hooked. No really. I've got some other fun ideas cooking in this little old brain of mine now.

So without further ado, I present the Princess' blingy pennant tee shirt. How cute is that?

And seriously, by simply following the directions included with the kit, I made the whole thing in just about 20 minutes.

The Silhouette cuts a rhinestone template for you, then you just use the included brush and this amazing little tool called the Pick Me Up to position the rhinestones.





(seriously...if you are a paper crafter or use little crafting doodads like rhinestones...this tool is A.MAZ.ING. Love it!! It uses this sticky gum that reminds me of that adhesive stuff you can use on walls to help you pick up tiny little whatzits.)

After that you use the sticky rhinestone transfer paper - so well photographed below - to lift the rhinestones from the template and place them on whatever you want to transfer them to. It doesn't have to be fabric either...you can use them on paper if you want.

Iron them on and VOILA!

Love it!

If you'd like to try the rhinestones yourself, here is the fabulous deal Silhouette is running this month. A perfect Mother's Gift, might I add.

This Rhinestone Bundle includes:

The Silhouette SD
2 sheets of rhinestone template material
2 sheets of rhinestone transfer tape
2 rhinestone backing boards
1 rhinestone placement brush
1 CD of rhinestone images
1 pack of clear 10ss rhinestones
1 pack of clear 16ss rhinestones
1 pack of clear 20ss rhinestones
1 pack of pink 10ss rhinestones
and
1 Pick-Me-Up tool
ALL FOR $229!

This is an incredible deal worth $125 in savings!

Click here to purchase, then click on the special bundle icon and use the code "SHABBY" to receive your discount.

If you already have a Silhouette Machine and want to try the rhinestones, Silhouette is offering 30% off all things rhinestone! You don't need a special code to receive this discount.

Happy Crafting!!

Frugal Friday goes live tonight at 10:00 pm EST as usual...See you there!!

Fabric Flowers~

This week I got my craft on. I was looking through some of my old Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion magazines (yes, I saved them all...) when I was inspired by a photo of a little girls bedroom with fabric flowers and books on the wall. And even though I've scoured the internet, I can't find the image - boo! (Feb-March 2007 if anyone has it.)

In any case, I thought it would be fun to do something similar in the Princess' bedroom.

First things first, I needed some fabric flowers. And I wanted them to coordinate with her room. Luckily I have some scraps of fabric left from making her bed pillows.

But then I had to figure out how I was going to make the flowers. Luckily, Silhouette sent me some of their fabric interfacing to try...so I pulled it out and followed the directions on the package. Then I just used my Silhouette machine to cut flowers right out of the fabric. Yep! You heard me right, the interfacing makes it possible to cut fabric with your Silhouette! Can I hear a "Woot Woot!"?

Since this was a hit or miss attempt (as is usually the case with my "crafting") I didn't photograph the process, but it was amazingly simple. After I cut out three flowers in varying sizes, I just gave them a little depth by pinching the back to define each petal.

Now here's where I prove I'm not a crafter. I couldn't figure out the best way to keep the pinches in place - sew them? glue them? - so I stapled them. Yes, with a stapler. Ha! But you know, it worked great and it gave each flower the 3D effect I was going for.

Then I just hot glued them together with the largest on the bottom and the smallest on the top.

They turned out darling! Of course, once I got them finished I realized I don't have the sort of books I wanted to use just hanging around the house (vintagey, small)..so now I'm on the lookout for some. But, once I got the flowers done I thought they were so cute, all kinds of other ideas started flitting through my head...curtain tie backs, pillow embellishments, stuck right to the wall. You get the idea.

So I'm posting these cute flowers and asking YOUR opinion...what would you do with them?

If you want to make some of your own, you're in luck!

This week (March 21-27) Silhouette is offering...

Silhouette SD, two rolls of fabric interfacing (clean cut and sewable) and one roll of flocked heat transfer material all for just $229.

If you already have a machine they're offering %25 off the interfacing!

Just use the code "SHABBY" at checkout.

Have a great day~

Easy (and removable) Chalkboard Wall~

So as I've told you before, we are renting this house. And it's a great house. I have no complaints other than the fact that I can't paint the walls. (I even got up the nerve to ask the landlords when they agreed to let me paint the fireplace... no go. Fireplace - yes. Walls - no. Sigh.) Oh, and the fact that there are no doors on the closets. Closets are for hiding clutter...are ya with me on that one? But I digress. Back to painting walls.

I have been wanting a chalkboard wall in my office/mom cave ever since I saw Emily's office. Swoon! And I have been toying with ideas of different ways to have the look of an entire chalkboard wall without painting the wall itself. I didn't want it to be just a big chalkboard...I wanted it to be a wall.

I came up with some ideas that I thought were pretty good, but I was never convinced...until I saw this post at Craftberry Bush.

ADHESIVE VINYL CHALKBOARD BABY!!!

I looked all over trying to find the long rolls that she talks about in her post, and was finally able to locate them at Michael's Craft. So I bought 4 rolls...they're each approximately 20" across and 60" long. They don't reach from the ceiling to the floor, but since the desk was going to be sitting in front of them I figured there would be the illusion that they reached the floor.

I was literally able to put them up in about 10 minutes. And they stick GREAT! AND...the most important part for renters...they remove just as easily. I am seriously just about giddy. So much so, in fact, that I didn't even style the photos...I just took 'em to show you the wall.

So, just so we're all on the same page, I still need to accessorize the desk. But isn't that chalkboard fabulous??!!??

I'm going to say it again...ADHESIVE VINYL CHALKBOARD BABY!!

If you want a chalkboard wall...but don't want to paint...try it. You can thank me later. :-)

Have a great day~

Mini Pennant (and Cake Bunting) Tutorial~

Didja catch that people? Huh? Didja? That's 2 tutorials for the price of 1!! Which is free. Yep. Free. Cuz I'm not charging ya for 'em. I'm generous like that.

Actually, the truth of the matter is that the steps are all the same until the very end, so it would be silly to post them as two separate tutorials, and I don't want to bore you all stiff. That said, I have seen this idea floating around blogland, so I'm not taking credit for it. I'm just showing you how I put mine together. In case you want to do the same thing some time.

Oh yeah, and please ignore my ratty cuticles and dry hands - I'm certainly no hand model, that's for sure. Eeks, but I need a manicure.

Okay, so where were we? Oh yeah...pennant tutorial. Here we go.

First up...how to make mini pennant flags.

Aren't they just the cutest little things??

Here's what you're gonna need:

1. A paper cutter (you don't really need one, but it makes the whole process simpler.)
2. Scrapbook paper that coordinates with your color scheme.
3. A ruler.
4. A pen or pencil.
5. Scissors.
6. Lollipop sticks.
7. Stick Glue.
8. String.


Step One: Measure and cut your paper in a strip that is twice as wide as the length of the pennant flag you're making. (In the case of the flags, I wanted them 2" long so I cut my paper to 4". For the bunting, I wanted each flag 1" long so I cut the paper into a 2" strip.)

Step Two: Using your ruler, measure and draw a line all the way down the center of the paper strip. For the 4" wide strip, draw it at 2" (for the bunting, draw it at 1"). Then mark every 2" all the way down the center (every 1" for the bunting). Along one of the sides - it doesn't matter which one - start marking at 1" and then every 2" after that. (On the bunting strip, start marking at 1/2" and then every 1" after that.) These will be your cutting guides.

Step 3: Now fold the paper in half lengthwise along the line you drew making sure that you can see the markings you made. Begin cutting from the folded side starting at the edge and cutting diagonally up to the first marking on the open side. Move to the next marking on the folded edge and cut back up to the same marking you just cut to on the open edge. This will make a triangle (a diamond when you unfold it).

For your next diamond, start at the same mark you just cut from on the folded edge, begin cutting again up to the next marking on the open edge. You will continue cutting in this manner making diamonds as you go. (You can discard or recycle the pieces that are just triangles).

Step 4: Open each diamond and cover with stick glue on the wrong side of the paper.

Step 5: Take a lollipop stick and place one end inside the fold of your glued diamond.

Step 6: Wrap the diamond around the lollipop stick to form a triangle. Press firmly to make sure it is well glued together. I like to press along the stick to make sure the paper wraps around it leaving no air holes.

Now you have a finished flag. Make several flags in coordinating papers and place inside a small vase of some sort. I used a creamer...I just filled it with macaroni noodles to hold the sticks in place. You could use anything from rice to floral foam. Whatever you have lying around. If you are using a clear container, try filling it with something festive like candy.





If you're making a cake bunting...all the steps are the same until you get to Step 5. Rather than wrapping the diamond around a lollipop stick, you will take 2 lollipop sticks (or dowels if you need the bunting to be taller) and tie some string between the two. The length of the string will depend on the width of your cake.

I like to have two rows of bunting, so I tie two strings...the bottom a little shorter than the top. I secure the knots with glue, so the strings won't slide up and down the sticks. Then simply wrap the glued diamonds around the strings. It will take several small diamonds to create one string of bunting. For the bunting pictured below which measure approximately 8" across, I used 15 diamonds...8 on the top, and 7 on the bottom.

I hope the tutorial made sense. I think I made it sound more complicated than it is. They sure are easy and CUTE!!

I'd love to see how yours turn out if you try them!!

Have a great day~

Linking to these great parties.

Silhouette Fun....that's a pun~

See, it's a pun because I made a Silhouette with my Silhouette. Punny, huh? Okay, enough of my lame-o humor. You'll have to forgive me cuz I found my first gray hair today, and I'm in mourning, so my sense of humor is off.

No really, I screamed when I found it...nearly gave the poor hubby a heart attack. He didn't get what I was all worked up about. See, the hubby started going gray in his twenties. But me? Until today, I prided myself that I've made it to the age of 30 without any gray hair...okay, okay, you caught me...I'm not 30...I'm 38...but that's even better, no gray hair. Until today that is. Darn it all.

But I digress. Where was I again? Oh yeah, silhouettes.

A while ago I saw these darling vases in the Ballards Catalog. Love them. And since my little DIY-loving self gets a thrill out of doing cost-next-to-nothing knock-offs, I just had to share with you what I made.

The former inhabitants of this house left us a storage room brimming with canning jars. So I went down to said storage room and dug up a couple of pretty ones that didn't have embossing on them.

Then using my Silhouette Digital Cutter I cut out a Silhouette using their Frosted Vinyl, which I then place on one of the jars.



Of course, after I removed the Silhouette and the oval ring I was left with a pretty reverse silhouette, which I then placed on the other jar. (Waste not, want not.)

I really like the way they turned out. Not quite as elegant as the Ballard's version. But cute nonetheless...and my version was FREE people. Can't beat that.

If you want to make some of these yourself, the good people of Silhouette are offering a fabulous deal right now...

Silhouette SD machine
1 roll black premium vinyl
1 roll frosted vinyl
1 roll transfer paper
Home Décor CD

all for $225

That's a huge savings! $395 worth of product for only $225!!

Already have a machine? No worries. They're also offering 25% off premium vinyl.

Just use the code SHABBY at check out to receive either of these great discounts!

Here's the link.

Then you can have some Silhouette punny fun too!!

Catch y'all later...I'm off to search for more gray hairs.

DIY Spa Birthday Party Invitations~

It's a big birthday for the Princess this year. She's turning 8! To celebrate we decided to throw a Spa party. We're going to have a whole gaggle of little girls over to be pampered...facial masks, painted nails, the works!


Of course, every great party starts with a great invitation. And since I was making the invitations anyway...the blogger in me decided to photograph the process so that I can give you all a tutorial on how to make cute Spa Birthday party invitations. You know, just in case you should ever be throwing a Spa party. ;-)

These invitations were adapted from some I found on Martha Stewart.com... because I believe in giving
credit where credit is due.

First up: The Supplies

You will need:

colored cardstock - now, I just happened upon some cute oval notecards at Target that I knew would make my life easier for this project. They were just the right size, in the right colors, and they included envelopes. So I bought two packages.

stick glue - my glue of choice when doing paper crafting.

scallop edge scissors

regular scissors

ribbon

Next: The Process:

1. The first thing I did was cut out a template. I should probably have done this using printer paper or something. But because I trust too much in my mad skills, I just started cutting one of the notecards. Then I ended up having to fold it in half to get it even, so I couldn't use it. Luckily, I had more cards than I needed, but HELLO?

2. Then I traced the template onto the other cards. You will trace as many as the number of invitations you are going to make. (makes sense, right?)

3. Cut out all the pieces you just traced. Since you probably wont be using notecards like I did, you will also want to cut rectangular pieces of cardstock in a coordinating color that are big enough to glue the cut pieces on and still have a border around the edge.

4. Now cut lengths of ribbon. I cut them long enough so that they could actually tie around a person's head. Of course you can cut them shorter if you so choose...just make sure that they are long enough to fit across the width of your sleepmask and still have ribbon dangling on both sides.

5. Using the stick glue, cover the back of your cut pieces entirely, then put a stripe of glue across the approximate center of your rectangle (remember I'm using the oval notecards...that's why there's no rectangle pictured). Lay the ribbon across the stripe of glue and then place the cut piece over the top.

6. Now using your scallop edge scissors, cut the rectangular piece to the same shape as the cut piece leaving approximately 1/4 inch showing.

7. Tie a card with the party details onto one of the strings.

8. Stuff your finished invitation into a cute envelope for delivery.

There you have it. Easy peasy Spa-themed invites. Enjoy!

linking to these parties:


Get Your Craft On Tuesday at Today's Creative Blog.