You’re all in for a treat today because my good friend, Michelle, from Just Watching My Garden Grow is here to share with us a tutorial for her recent gender reveal. Michelle is pregnant with baby #3, and despite being a teacher and taking care of her family, she also finds time to craft on a regular basis; and, she ‘s one of the craftiest ladies I know! So take it away, Michelle…
When greeting cards jumped to $3.99 and above, I decided a boycott was in order. I can’t justify spending almost $5 on something that gets read and quickly thrown out. I’m pretty sure my gift recipient would rather I spend that $5 on their gift instead of a card, anyways.
I’m not sure if I can claim photography as a true hobby, but I definitely aspire to be a better photographer and practice often. I took a photography class a couple of years ago that taught me a lot about lighting, perspective, and developing photos. We actually had to step into a darkroom and develop film, which seems a little archaic these days; and although it wasn’t my favorite part of the process, it taught me a lot about the creative elements of a photograph.
While finding ideas for the 4th of July for my Link Love posts, I came across a headband that really inspired me (see it here). I wanted something for my daughter’s hair to match her cute plaid dress for the 4th and this seemed like an easy headband to recreate. It only took about a half hour to make.
Post-baby boobs. Most moms I know (myself included) have a little bit of an obsession with them. Mainly because we are all so fascinated with how they’ve shrunk, grown, flattened, migrated… you get the picture.
Last week I got an old window from a girlfriend and quickly went to work hanging and decorating it. I have been dying to hang old windows in my house, and when she offered me some, I practically pounced on her!
Coupons have become a way of life for me. When you live on a tight budget and try to stretch every dollar, you become addicted to those pennies and dimes you save. And then when I can score an incredible deal and save $5, $10, even $20 on something, watch out!
A while back I decided to paint some embroidery hoops I had, fill them with fabric, and hang them up as part of the gallery wall I was creating. But lately I’ve been seeing so many amazing embroidery hoop art creations, that I decided my originals were a little boring. So this weekend I set out to spice up one of my hoops.
Here’s how it unfolded (and how you can do it yourself):
My mother is a huge fan of both takeout. [sidenote: In her defense, she works the graveyard shift, so when she wakes up after a day of sleeping there isn’t much time for her to cook a meal before getting ready for work] She also loves herself some coupons; I guess that’s where I get my frugal nature from.
So for Mother’s Day this year, I thought I would make her a takeout menu/coupon binder to hold all her goodies (especially since her current organization method consists of an old, decrepit paper folder). The materials only cost me around $7.50, and assembly was no more than an hour or two process. I’ve seen these online and in bookstores for around $20, and they are half the size of the one I made, which just isn’t big enough for some coupon flyers.
Last Christmas, I used a tutorial I found on Craftily Ever After to make frames covered with wrapping paper and filled them with a family photo for my parents. Since then, I’ve adapted the process a bit and used some different materials to create fun frames that add a bit of character to any room. They’re great to give as gifts, and only cost about $2 each to make, assuming you have some of the materials (they’re even cheaper if you buy materials in bulk and make multiples to have on hand).
