This week I was inspired by a craft club blog called, Crafts in Bloom. The author gave out the project assignment to use old clothing to create something beautiful and new. (click here to see the club’s results)

I chose to make one last Valentine’s project. I used Ryan’s old shirt (he wore in his first school photo) and Molly’s old sweater (no special meaning, just had a hole in it).

What a fun way to keep the memory of Ry’s shirt without having to hold onto it in the attic!

Love,

Jess

Got Milk Cards?

Each year I reuse family photos from the cards that were so warmly given to us during the Christmas season.

During the rest of the year I collect freebie magnets where ever I go to make photo magnets.

State Fair, Dental Office, Pizza Place, you get the idea…

Glue the text side of the magnet to the back of the photo card. (To line it up, just hold the card and magnet up to a light source).

Use a scissor to cut around the magnet. For larger photos, cut out entire image,  glue two magnets on the back (toward the top and bottom).

Now, our friends and family will be on our minds all year long!

Love,

Jess

P.S. Here is another sneak peek for my advent calendar. Save your old greeting cards too!

I *Heart* empty frames. The transformation power is limitless.

Here is what I did with a pitiful oak 8X10…

Staple a sturdy ribbon to the back of the frame. (this will become the hanger)

Hang and enJOY!

Love,

Jess

Here is a good example…

I also clipped the huge raffia bow and wire hanger off of the sign.

Just as I was feeling proud that I was showing Molly about the alphabet…she stole sips of my pop because I was too busy taking blog tutorial photos. Opps!

Add the sign as a backdrop for a Christmas vignette. It adds a lot of color and a festive message without spending a fortune!

Wishing you Merry Days & Silent Nights!

Love,

Jess

P.S. My nights are a bit more silent as the twins (Claire and Leah, 2 months) are starting to sleep through the night more often! Yeh!

I made a new wreath for my front door using an old picture frame, old ice skates and old garland. Using items from around the house, attic and garage to create new decor has been a necessity for me because I have a tight non-existent budget for projects.  I use my blow money (Dave Ramsey envelope) on craft junk…which I usually spend at the thrift store. I am a bit obsessed with collecting “trash” to play with for homemaking. Someday, I may actually spend my blow money on coffee, c.d.s or makeup but for now I just love, love, love shopping a thrift stores.

I digress, you want to see the wreath now, I’m sure.

Now, just picture this “wreath” on a red door. Delicious. (I have to stick with white due to my association)

Tutorial

Find an ugly, tired frame and tell it to come home with you. Sooth its worries by explaining you will make it into something beautiful.

Do a little surgery to remove all the old hardware.

Give it a facelift with some spray paint. I had Krylon Ivory on hand. I didn't really bother doing primer because most of the frame will be covered with garland (and I didn't have any on hand).

Staple a garland onto the frame with a staple gun. Tug on the garland occasionally to make sure it is on securely. If not stable, add more staples.

Add wintery accents to at least two edges/corners of the frame. You can go "all out" on trimming, faux greens, feathers, berries, pinecones, etc. I kept this wreath's accents pretty basic and simple.

Tie the ice skate's laces to one another. Hang them from the top of the frame. I popped in a red Christmas floral pick ($1) for a little color.

So there you have it…go on…I know you are already thinking about raiding your Mom’s garage or the nearest thrift store for an ugly, tired old frame.

Love,

Jess

• Note: I’ll spare you the real before photo of our pre-attic closet disaster,  and go straight for the cute photos of how to make room for the play room. I know, it hurts my before-and-after loving gene, not to have documentation of my over burdened and buried craft table, and general dumping ground for stray belongings, but I will move on; mostly because I did this “transformation” on such a whim I forgot to take a photo. Most of you have already skipped to the rest of the blog post by now anyway.

1. Pile. Is it just my house or are your toys fertile and multiply? (kids’ room)

2. Sort. Plastic bins, plastic bins, plastic bins…oh sorry, I was busy rehearsing my organizing mantra. Isn’t my little helper so cute? Give, keep, sell…give, keep, sell…give, keep, sell…oops, there I go again!

3. Claim. This room is one 4 year old lying down by one 1 1/2 year old lying down. Nice square footage. I’ll take it; have my people talk to your people.

4. Gather. Move stuff around, aka fluff your nest, it is so much fun!

5. Conceal. Hi there attic! Wanna play hide-n-seek? Okay, you hide first. Good.

6. Learn. Making room for the play room includes making room for learning. The vintage ABC and 123 quilt was hung in my nursery when I was a wee one. Are the 70′s considered vintage yet? None-the-less, the vintage quilt, aka attic concealer, is a great tool for learning and general cheeriness.

7. Sit. {whimper, sigh!} Why did I let this a.dor.a.ble step bench be cluttered in old taxes and fall decor for waaaay too long? Well, no guilt, just pleasure now. I love the littleness of this space! Place a few books around to promote reading.

8. Add a family photo board in the playroom. It provides friendly faces to look at when Mommy  puts the baby-gate up outside her own room and instructs everyone it is now “Play Time” just so she can blog. er…I mean, because when kids look at the familiar faces, it encourages family connectivity, creativity and community.  Yeah, that’s it!

9. Relax and enjoy your hard work! Play!

The tree is looking a bit stressed:

• The manger scene under the tree looks more like a bus station with people littered all about.
• The, “No, Molly!”, effect has long lost its ability to thwart my little one from thinking all the ornaments are her play things, so the the tree looks like it is not wearing any pants.
• I found more mini-ornaments from the kids’ tree in the tuper-ware drawer than on the mini-tree.
• Even the mini artificial tree decorating the bathroom is starting to shed its needles. Is that even possible?

So to help me ease out of Christmastime and into this new year, besides clearance shopping myself into the poor house, I thought of a few projects to do with leftovers. No, not old ham and potatoes. Crafts, what else?

Leftover Cards

Ornament shown was made by my Aunt Mary Jo.

When I was a kid, my Aunt Mary Jo taught me how to make a circle-triangle patterned sphere ornament. I thought of publishing a tutorial here at Just a Blink, but why reinvent the wheel?

I searched the web and found an Icosahedron Ornament tutorial from a math teacher’s blog called, The Quilted Turtle, that makes this project formerly know as, Old Christmas Card Balls, sound way cool. Check it out if you want to re-purpose your Christmas cards this season.

Used Advent Nativity Calendar

Q: Want to make a fun Christmas scene for your felt board but don’t want to cut it out of felt?

A: Reuse an old advent calendar or buy one at an after Christmas close-out sale to create such a scene.

Items Needed:

• Felt board
• Old advent calender with nativity scene or other winter-y/Christmas-y illustrations
• Scissors
• Just Hooks (one sided Velcro; sold in office supply stores)
• Lamination or Clear contact paper (for longer lasting pieces)

Directions:

1. Cut out desired pieces
2. Laminate
3. Apply self-sticking, one-sided Velcro to each piece
4. Stick pieces onto felt board for a removable and playable Christmas or Nativity felt board scene

Someday Blankets

**I Heart Target** I picked-up two King flannel sheet sets, on Christmas clearance, for $5 a piece. Yes, I said King. I saw the cozy and wintry patterns on the flannel and I knew that they had to come home with me. They hopped in my cart like a match made in heaven. Little do they know, they’ll be cut-up and poked with a needle a couple thousand times.

Oh wait, I don’t know where my bobbin is or how to get sheets to become blankets for my darling little ones.

But for now I’ll keep the sheets tucked away, by my absurdly large, decor shelf collection (I just seem to attract them at every garage sale I see), in the corner of my closet for the someday blankets I know they have the destiny to become.

Ryan's Nature Box

Nature Box

1. Cut a hole in the top lid of a shoe box. We have a flip top kid’s size shoe box for our nature box.
2. Cover box with butcher paper (brown craft paper or a grocery bag). Use a bit of tape and wrap the paper on the box like a gift. Wrap the lid and bottom separately.
3. Adhere a piece of felt under the lid hole. Slit felt with an exacto knife to create a hand passage way into the box.
4. Decorate box with stickers, magazine clippings or drawings. Label with letter stickers or marker.
5. Cover box with clear packing tape or clear contact paper to help the box hold up over time.
6. Bring box outside and start collecting!

Molly on our nature collection tour of the yard. Notice she brought a book.

Ryan shows off his collection of twigs.

Mini Fall Trees

Materials: Branches or twigs, old play-doh, fall colored tissue paper, glue, and brown paper
Directions:
1.    Stick little branches or twigs in a ball of old play-doh.
2.    Glue bits of fall colored tissue on the twigs for leaves.
3.    Wrap the ball in a piece of brown paper.
4.    Tie a piece of string or yarn around the brown paper.

Ryan starts his tree with green play-doh.

Even Molly creates a mini tree glob. I only had to fish play-doh out of her mouth 3 times!

Target had awesome jewel and metallic toned tissue paper.

The mini trees are great for my seasonal hound Ry. He loves decorations but sometimes I just don’t want him playing with the ceramic tiles, glass urns and faux berries. You know? So, Ry decorates his table with his own mini trees Win! Win!