IKEA Children's table re-do

Sorry for the long break...my little man turned the big "2" this week and we took a very last minute trip to CA to visit my family for his birthday. A 2 month old + 2 year old= super exciting 12 hour drive...complete with exploding diapers and burp up eruptions. But it was so worth it! I"m sure missing the 70 degree weather...

Well, with his birthday, we decided he would love a table of his own size...and man, were we right...he loves this thing! He loves to drive his cars all over it (cars are his latest obsession). And I love that he no longer drives his cars on my poor scratched coffee table.

But, it didn't start out this way....it looked like this

 

It is seriously putting me to sleep just looking at it...bor-ing. And honestly with a 2 year old, how long is the top of that table gonna stay white? Who thought of that? Maybe Swedish kids are way neater....I doubt it....But, only 19.99 for the table and 2 chairs! Yeah, 20 bucks, I LOVE IKEA! And they don't even pay me to say that!

My little man saw me taking pictures of his table so he grabbed his camera and joined in...so fun!

So we made the amazing transformation for right around 25 bucks! I'm thinking in about a year I'll be flipping the top over and decorating the other side for my little lady with a tea party theme...love!

Here's how I did it if you'd like to make one for the little one in your life...

Easy Peasy St. Patty's Garland

So this morning my son has been playing with my scrapbooking paper, and I decided we should make something. I'm usually not a huge St. Patty's decorator, but it's the closest holiday...so...this is what we came up with...even with the added two-year old element, it only took about 45 mins from start to finish, and he loves that he helped make it!

It's fun, it's festive...it was cheap and easy!

Try to ignore the hideous-ness of the linoleum fake marble fireplace surround...I LOATHE it...but it's a rental so I'm just gonna be glad I have a fireplace...just know that it's not a reflection of my style, at all :).

My son helped trace the shamrocks from a template I made for him, then I cut them out and he handed them to me as I ran them through the sewing machine. Yes, the sewing machine. I iron fabric to walls and sew paper, what a weirdo...If you've never done it before, you just run one piece of the paper through the machine and after you finish, instead of cutting the string, just pull the paper out the back of the machine, while pressing the foot-pedal. After the string which runs through is the length you want, feed the next piece in. Should the string break, just cut it and re-sew over the last piece of attached paper. This is a super easy way of creating any garland....I did it for Valentines day and it was super cute!



What a Soup-er Idea! Delicious 1 Weight Watcher Point Mexican Soup!

So...it's snowing outside...again. I won't even begin to complain because I'd be afraid of a mob of east-coasters with pitchforks might show up at my door to teach me to be grateful for our "comparatively" warm winter...lets just say it's been nasty wherever you may live. It's even snowing at my parent's house in southern California right now...


So this calls for something warm, delicious, preferably healthy, and quick (I'm feeling a lazy Saturday). This takes 5 mins, one pot, and you can eat the whole pan without any guilt or added inches to those hips...

Basically you go to your pantry-

1 can shredded chicken (or boil up some then shred it)
1 can corn
1 can reduced sodium chicken broth
1 can drained and rinsed Black Beans
1 can Fat Free refried beans
1 small jar salsa

Mix it all together...and heat it up. This may not be any prize winning secret recipe, but it's yummy, healthy, and easy...It's even better the next day. So, you "can" :) do it! And it's guilt free...well, unless you smother it in cheese and sour cream like I do...

Thanks for the recipe Aunt Chris!

Iron on Fabric Wall Art...WAY cuter than Vinyl.

So...my hubby and I are both recent college grads, and we're saving up for a home of our own (well, as much saving as you can do with 2 kids in diapers)...Renting really puts a damper on what you can and can't do as far as home decor is concerned. Vinyl is amazing, clean, and crisp looking, and adds a lot of character to a room. And as a renter (and a re-modelholic) I love that it's removable. But, vinyl really doesn't have a huge variety of fun patterns...just a TON of plain colors. So I tried something kinda crazy. I ironed fabric to my walls.

Now stay with me here....Since I made both my kids bedding, I had fabric that coordinated perfectly, I figured out how to get my cricut to cut fabric, and I've become a tad obsessed with heat'n bond. These three combined had me standing on my son's bed with an iron in my hand, and Mr. Whitney walking by giving me  the "she's finally cracked" look... And, get this...it's totally 1. cheap 2. removable 3. doesn't damage the walls...three perfect reasons to iron fabric to your walls too!

The colored butterflies are the wall ones...you can make the mobile here

I know! What a strange yet fun idea! Here's a few tips should you choose to iron on your walls too!

Pottery Barn Inspired Butterfly Canopy

So, I saw this ah-dorable mobile in a baby boutique and it was love at first sight. It was cute, it was understated, it was elegant, it was just what I'd been looking for...until I looked at the price tag....60 bucks???? For some paper butterflies?!?! Do they make the baby sleep through the night, or change diapers? For 60 dollars they better do something amazing. Then it hit me, that DIY guilt that would never allow me to justify that purchase...I could make that for $10. And it would be made with love...and it would give my new little Cricut a job to do. And, I think it can stay with her well into her teens...So here's the results for less than 10 dollars...

I haven't decided if I like it with the netting or not....both look great over her crib though! And she loves watching them flutter around!

Want  to make one yourself? You'll need-

How to make baby Bloomers...

Here's a quick little post while I finish work on my next home decor project, I'm pretty excited about it!

So I recently had a baby girl, and I'm loving the chance to buy pretty frilly, fluffy, and flowered things. One of my biggest pet peeves has been buying skirts which are far too short to be worn alone, and don't come with a diaper cover (aka bloomers).

She looks adorable, until she sits and you see her saggy little mickey mouse diaper hanging out....not cute. Leggings work under some, but if I'm going for a more dressy look she just needs bloomers. I looked all over the Internet and couldn't find a posted pattern anywhere. So, I tinkered around till I came up with a SUPER easy pattern for some. I made them out of just basic white material, but I'm excited to make them to match all her fun outfits. Possibly covering the bum with fun ruffles or attaching some fun skirts...oh the possibilities!

Inexpensive flooring update for $300 bathroom re-do!

Sorry it took so long to post again! Had two flu sick kids...and man they love to share, so our house has been a hotbed of infection, but we're on the rebound now!

Here is the rest of my bathroom re-do for cheap...

Here's a reminder of the blah beginnings....note the boring sheet vinyl floor....

Here's another sad view of the boring, boring bathroom....which (in my sister's defence) isn't usually that messy

So...obviously the boring floor had to go, but I was terrified of tile and I knew it would take up a chunk of the budget...so I found these peel and stick vinyl floor tiles. All you do is well, peel and stick, and if you want...you can add grout! If you've never seen this tile before, the tops are actually textured and colored and it really does look and feel like tile (minus the freezing toes in the winter, which is a good thing). With the grout it looks pretty real.



So this is my son, he's not possessed- and he's almost 2 now....he was almost 1 in this picture of the floor. Note the tile and grout...looks great!

Faux Granite Countertop for less than 25 Bucks!

My VERY First post on my VERY first blog!!! Tell me what you think!



Okay....that being said....I'm going to post one of my seriously fave projects...a faux granite countertop that looks totally legit...and all for under 25 bucks, that's right, 25 bucks. Luckily my parents were brave enough to allow me to experiment redecorate a bathroom in their new house for less than 300 bucks. So, that meant real granite was out of the question, so I tried this super easy technique, and it had amazing results!
Here's the before, try to ignore the headband and focus on the boring-ness of the countertop....

I had obviously started to prep the bathroom...but was not planning on doing a tutorial...so excuse the terrible pictures...

But here's the after-

Look at the shine on that baby!!! Just like granite...and we do put our toilet paper ON the roll....usually.

This is the overall re-do, my parent's style is country/traditional, so I tried to do somethin' that fit the rest of their home...all for less than 300 bucks!