Being Crafty!

Lately I've been on, what I'll refer to as, a "crafty" kick. I read a few blogs, mainly written by other Moms, about reusing items or making things yourself, partly to save money but also for the satisfaction of creating. I love the thought of saving something from the landfill. There are so much we throw out that is still perfectly good. I can't tell you how many things I keep with the thought in mind that it can be used for something. I just have to figure out what that "something" is. And who doesn't enjoy making something with their own two hands? I love hands on projects, so fulfilling! Well, these blogs have given me a couple ideas and inspiration to become more crafty. I thought this week I would share some of those projects with you.

The first idea that has come to realization I actually borrowed from a Pottery Barn Kids catalog. I loved these covered cork boards they had but not crazy about $25/panel price tag. Soon after I was inspired, I found a set of 4 cork boards at Target on clearance for $5. (You'll find the clearance isle is a big theme when I'm talking about crafty stuff. Remember what I said about a good deal? ) I then sat on the stupid things for 2 years. I guess I had lost my inspiration. After painting the playroom a couple months ago I decided it was time to tackle them. I headed to the fabric store and found out they sell cute "singles" which are individual squares of fabric about 18"x24" or so. Aidan helped pick out two patterns and we were on our way! I came home and ironed all 4 panels. I feel this is an incredibly important step you don't want to skip or you will forever stare at those suckers on the wall and be annoyed by the lines in the fabric. Don't skip the ironing. Then I used the fabric glue I got at the store as well and glued a square of fabric on each piece of cork board. I pulled the fabric tight but not too tight. You don't want it to stretch too much but you don't want it to sag when you hang it either. After the glue was dry, I cut a piece of cardboard to mount the squares on. The reason I did this and not attach them directly to the wall was for a couple reasons; one reason was I didn't want a bunch of holes in my freshly painted wall. Another reason was I was sure at some point I would want to rearrange how these were hung. Right now they are in a big square, alternating patterns. But I could see me wanting to hang them all horizontally in a line. If I attach them to the cardboard then it would be easy to do this, without messing up my wall. And the cardboard was another instance of me saving something because I knew it would be useful in another way. It had come with a picture frame I had bought and had tips on the back on how to arrange frames on the wall. I found the info useful so I decided to keep it. Now it serves two uses. Anyway, I used Velcro to attach each square to the cardboard backing and then used Command picture hangers on the cardboard. (Not only to keep the wall nice but it seemed to be the easiest way to hang it.) So it's now on the wall in the playroom. Someday I will get thumb tacks and actually use it. :) (Guess what I forget every time I'm at the store?) Next post I'll show you Olivia's new bow/barrette holder!