DIY Up-cycled Nightstand turned Toy Fridge!

Well, Jordan is out watching the Flyers game with some friends, Lily is in bed, and I am surprisingly not too tired yet, so I thought I'd update this bad boy and watch some vintage Dexter. 


For all those over achieving parents that need one last gift for their kiddos and actually have a spare minute to not only breathe, but tackle a new project, this post is for you! For the rest of us, this is a fun project to start after the holiday season is over…like in the spring. 

One of the very first projects I saw that I knew I wanted to tackle on Pinterest was an old television stand turned into a full kitchen play set! Every neighborhood yard sale, bulk trash night, or Sunday afternoon drive, I kept my eyes peeled for the perfect piece to turn into a play kitchen for Lily to use. Sure, the plastic ones are nice and durable, but where’s the fun in that? We stumbled upon this guy at Columbus Market one Saturday afternoon for only $15. 


We thought we could make a refrigerator out of it fairly easily and if that didn’t work, we could always use another piece of furniture to hide all our junk. We decided to make the top drawer into the freezer area We headed to Lowes to grab some supplies. 

Supply List:

Hinges we chose!

• Spray Paint (We went with a white primer (Velspar). I was feeling ambitious but also didn’t want to spend all day literally watching paint dry so I opted to use spray paint. We were also feeling thrifty so we only bought one. Needless to say, I made another trip back to Lowes for another can).
• Hinges (for the freezer door)
• Hardware for the doors
• Plywood (for shelves) 

Fridge door
(my foot's a photobomber)

Jordan tackled the hard work while I made Lily some lunch. He first cut a door for the freezer and attached it with the hinges. The door was a little snug but he sanded it down and that actually helps the door stay shut. Like I’ve said, we aren’t professionals, but we do what we can and we’re proud of our results! He added a shelf to the fridge since there was a gaping hole from where the drawer was by just measuring and cutting a piece of plywood. He also drilled holes for the hardware. 

My task was to paint the piece white. I ended up with spray painted hands (as per usual) but I liked the final look (on the door, not my hands). After it dried, we attached the hardware and admired our handy work so far. I decided I wanted to paint food on the both doors so even when the fridge was empty, it still looked like a fridge. I do not claim to be any sort of artist, but I like the way the food came out. It's very me! I also wasn’t a fan of the indented parts of the door, so I found a small wooden chalkboard at A.C. Moore for cheap, painted the outside white, and we used some 3M Velcro stickers to attach it. Jordan also made a shelf out of some left over plywood so Lily could keep her fridge stacked and stocked!




We couldn’t wait for Lily to see the final product! She loved it so much she climbed right in! I can’t wait to start round two of this project, the sink/stove! We bought a couple of trunks at a yard sale along with a nightstand. (I think this project will have to wait for spring). By that time, I should have cleaned out Lily’s room to make room for all of her Christmas loot! Speaking of loot, this project did not come close to breaking the bank either! We spent around a total of $50 on the piece of furniture and all the supplies! 

A Christmas Wish...

As I sit here finishing up addressing Christmas cards next to this pile of presents for Lily and our families (but mostly for Lily), I cannot help but let the tears stream down my face. On this day last year, in an elementary school in Sandy Hook, occurred such a horrific tragedy that it takes every fiber of my being to hold myself together when I even think about. I am sure the parents of those babies were doing the same things Jordan and I have been for the last month or so--finding the perfect gifts for each child, wrapping them with love, waiting to see those little faces light up on Christmas morning. I cannot (and don't want to imagine) the pain this time of year brings. My heart breaks for every family affected by that horrible event, and I just want to snuggle Lily even tighter and never let her out of my sight. 

I know the holidays bring out the best and worst in people. There are those awkward family parties you’d rather not attend, long lines and traffic everywhere, and everything becomes rushed and chaotic. People are rude, children are crazy, and everybody is on edge. I, myself, am guilty of snapping at Jordan or getting frustrated when the car in front of me is doing under the speed limit when I have so many places to go. But you know what? It's not important. Your kids will still love you even if you don't get them the hottest toy. Your significant other will love whatever gift you put thought in to because it is from you. You don't need to be first in line at the grocery store, and stop stalking me as I walk back toward my car because maybe the extra walk from your car to the mall entrance and back will help you breathe for a minute.

Just take a deep breath, and a step back for a minute and give your loved ones a hug. I am sure those parents wish every single day they could hold their sons and daughters even just one more time and have them here with them around the holidays. Think of them. Send positive thoughts their way. Send a simple text or email to let someone know you're love them. Burst into a random Christmas carol. Smile at a stranger. Let your kids eat way too many sugar cookies before bed. Laugh when family frustrates you. Appreciate everything in your life, and remember the most important things in your life are not things. Spread love, spread joy, and remember 'Christmas comes but once a year' (thankfully). 

Easy (and fun) Turkey Day Craft!

As soon as Halloween is done with, and the mall is suddenly decorated for Christmas complete with a Santa, I lose any sense of what day, week or month it even is. Preparation for any holiday becomes a whirl wind of red, green, a lost pumpkin here and there, and random turkeys.  I started some Christmas shopping, mostly for the kiddos in the family and I have been going back and forth between ‘is it too early to wrap presents’ and ‘ahhhh I need to buy wrapping paper ASAP!’ Right now, our bedroom looks like Santa’s workshop, and my handy dandy notebook is filled with gift ideas for everyone on our list, along with a budget I am desperately trying to stick to. I am excited for Christmas because Lily is at such a fun age, but I am not quite ready to decorate, shop, and be swept up in the hustle and bustle these next to months become. Perhaps some deep breaths, and a day of cleaning and reorganizing (while possibly listening to Christmas music) will ease me into the inevitable? 

With the Christmas season being shoved in our faces earlier and earlier each year, we tend to overlook Thanksgiving. A day dedicated to delicious food and a day to reflect on everything in our life we should be grateful for and all the things we take for granted. If you are able to sit at a table and break bread with family and friends, give thanks. Even for just a minute. Count your blessings. Hug whoever slaved over dinner. And then hurry out the door to shop. Just kidding. I'm waiting until midnight for that...


I have been trying to do a craft or project each month (well since September) with Lily and Tristan. I’m a big fan of handprint art. It’s usually pretty cute and it’s fun to look back and see how tiny their hands were, and the kids love the tickling of the paint brush! In September we did trees with handprint leaves, October was ghost footprints, and of course, November will be some sort of handprint turkey. These are simple and fun projects that can later be turned into some sort of gift (calendar? photo book?) or decorations for the fridge. I’ve been scanning in each project so I have a copy on here and one to show off. Once a preschool teacher, always a preschool teacher.

I decided to step up my game this month and make decorations for Thanksgiving using the kid’s handprints. First, I took a baby food jar and poured some brown paint into it, covering the inside.  Then I found foam paper (at the Dollar Tree) and traced each kid’s hand on yellow, red, green, and orange sheets. I cut them out, glued them together, and fastened them to the jar. We glued on googly eyes and a beak and VOILA! Turkey day table decorations, made with love from Lily and Tristan! Depending on the age (or skill level) of your little helpers, they could help with the cutting, gluing, AND painting. I let Tristan and Lily shake the jars to make sure the paint was on every inch of the inside of the jar. Easy little table decoration, only a little time spent making it, and super cheap.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving! Gobble gobble!

Photo Shoot Fridays!

Lily, 3 Months

Before I started watching Tristan, Lily and I had a lot of free time on our hands. She was three months old when Jordan had to return to work and I wanted to stay as busy as could be. When my daily chores were done and she was napping peacefully, I came up with some cute ideas for ‘photo shoots’ with her to send to family and friends for holidays and just because! We did the monthly photo shoots on her giraffe blanket and in her chair, but I wanted to do more! She is so photogenic and a genuinely happy and beautiful kid (I might be a little biased on that one) that I could not resist. I found a few cute ideas on Pinterest that used towels and household items to make a scene on the floor, and then you just lay the (usually) sleeping child on them. I did this surfing one with Lily that I just adore! 

Tristan, 3 Months

When I started watching Tristan, he was three months old and just as adorable as Lily. I had Ashley bring over his Superman onsie and I designed a ‘city’ out of cardboard, some blankets, and toys. It was a hit! Everyone wanted to see more and with both kids. And so began photo shoot Fridays! They’ve gone from simple backgrounds and easy to photograph children to elaborate paintings, super active kids, and silly costumes but I thoroughly enjoy doing them and as soon as I send them to Ashley, RJ, and Jordan, I post them to Facebook and our friends and coworkers go crazy! It's all about having fun and being creative. It keeps my hands busy during nap, gives me one more use for the cardboard from the diaper boxes, and gives everyone a good chuckle during their day! I'll start posting more of those pictures on here very soon!

Quiet Books!

My phone has alerted me that I have almost no room left on it, once again. Could it be the 3000 pictures I have taken in the last year? Or the 893 recipes for all things yummy I have pinned and not yet made? Couldn’t be the boards labeled “Crafty” “Sew Buttons” or “Lilypad”, could it? Ugh. The life of a modern day woman. It’s that time again. Re-organizing my boards! Those without a Pinterest account, consider yourself lucky. It’s like going through your recipe books and deciding if you should keep or trash. Or looking at your DIY to do list (please tell me I am not the only one with one of those) and narrowing down the projects you want to do or have done. Or organzing old photographs back from a time when you actually sent them away to be printed out. What usually happens is I start going through and reorganizing, then I get excited and find something I want to do and BAM. New project started and the others are brushed to the side. 

I opened the Lilypad board and began to delete things I have done with her, to her, and for her. I stumbled across a pin about Quiet Books. How I haven’t at least started one of these yet is beyond me! After researching what materials worked best for different people, I decided on felt, stiff and regular. I like the look of the books on fabric, but I have a feeling my darling daughter would wreck some havoc on those at this age. I have scraps from previous sewing projects and things like buttons and snaps not being used. I want to have some pages that use magnets, some with Velcro, and whatever mixed media I can find! I made a list of all the ideas I saw, adding my own twists. Then I sketched out ten or so pages I wanted to try in my handy dandy notebook. 

My wonderful pretty much sister in law Becky gave me a Michael’s gift card for my birthday this year and I figured this would be a great way to use it! I took both babies on an adventure, very well knowing I could not spend all day wandering the aisles as I usually could do. We headed right to the felt aisle and there I spent almost the whole $25 card on felt. Sorry to the girl who had to ring me up! 


The first page I attempted was a simple tree made from felt on a blue background. I decided to attach apples to the tree with Velcro and a basket to the ground to keep the apples in. I used the circular pieces of Velcro and reinforced them with a few stitches. I glues the background down and then decided to stitch everything to the felt, just to be sure. For a second page, I made a beehive with three flowers as the background, and using yarn, I attached three bees with pipe cleaner wings. Once again I glued everything down, then reinforced with some stitches. I originally bought the rainbow in thread, but realized I don’t have enough bobbins that fit into my machine to be able to switch them out. So the bobbin stayed white while the thread changed. Hopefully Lily doesn’t mind too much.

I am not the best artist, and I tend to free hand cut, but I like the way my first two pages turned out! I have a lot more up my sleeve and I can’t wait to work on them! Drawing out the story board then cutting out the fabric are things that keep my hands busy during nap and then I can usually sneak away to glue and sew after dinner!

Now that I'm writing about these pages, I am ready to prep a few more! Since it's a rainy Friday, I am hoping the bambinos will nestle in for a little bit longer so I can cut and plan a little more! 

...cue one child crying.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

A Time Out For Some MUSHY LOVEY LOVE!

I don’t know if I tell Jordan enough how much I appreciate all he does for Lily and me, so I thought why not put my thoughts onto paper (or a Microsoft Works Document) and let him (the internet) know what an amazing and wonderful boyfriend, father, and partner he is. 

When I found out I was pregnant, I was scared beyond belief to tell Jordan. I had planned to take him to dinner at Chickie and Pete’s and ease into the bombshell there. I should have known nothing ever goes exactly according to plan. On the drive there, somehow the subject turned to my latest doctor’s appointment, he jokingly asked if I was pregnant and I burst into tears. He calmly pulled over to the side of the road, held back his vomit, and told me he loved me and we’d get through this together. I knew before this moment that he was the one for me, but this just solidified it. We got through telling our friends and family together, cramming nine months of planning and preparing for a new baby into two, and have been each others biggest fans and support systems since that moment. 

I honestly could not have done this with anyone else. He puts up with my moments of crazy, my passive aggressive ‘no it fine’s, shares pickles and Reese's with me, works full time so I can stay home with Lily, and is a loving, caring, and nurturing dad. What I love and appreciate most is how we do everything together as a team. If you knew me before Jordan, this would spark a smile. I loved (and still cherish) my alone time. I was never one to have to see a boyfriend all day, every day. To be able to have someone I want to spend every moment with is incredible. We are constantly on the go, and always side by side. We don’t keep score of who has done what, and we’re both there virtually all the time. I know Lily is an abnormally pleasant child who sleeps through the night and hardly fusses and we are very lucky for that, but I know that we could tackle any obstacle together. We are not perfect by any means, we drive each other crazy, and we may not have done things the so called ’right way’. All I know is that I am so incredibly blessed to not only have a beautiful and happy baby girl, but a partner who completes me. And for that, Jordan, I LOVE YOU. 


Well, I hear a child stirring...my next nap time project is a 'church coat' for Lily out of fleece I found in my closet. I think I actually bought it last year to do the same thing with...fingers crossed it comes out cute, cuz I'm editing a pattern meant for a 9-12 month old. 

Tristan's Halloween Costume!

Long time, no post! And I apologize for that. Fall has proven to be a very busy season thus far! We took a trip up to the cabin two weeks ago, where Lily began showing symptoms of croup. I have never felt so helpless in my life. She’s never been one to have to sleep in our bed with us but since we were sharing a room, she insisted the space between us was for her tiny coughing body. It broke my heart, even with my head on the nightstand for part of the first night. We were up with her all night for two nights, and yet she was still a pleasant little angel, ready to explore and enjoy the mountain air. We thankfully ended up going to a clinic in a grocery store up there and the doctor gave her a steroid to open up her airways. It worked like a charm and she was right back on her normal schedule as soon as her little head hit her own bed in her own room. It took us all the week to recover from loss of sleep, and we now all seem to be fighting something. Oh how lovely the weather change is. I bought an enormous container of Boogie wipes yesterday. And learned the hard way that black shirts show off boogers the best!

Anyway, as far as creative projects go, I have been all over the place! I took on the task of making my nephew Tristan’s Halloween costume this year since I finished Lily’s so quickly. We decided he would make an adorable owl! I was pumped to start this new project and test my creative and sewing skills. I browsed the internet for ideas and pieced together my favorite. It was pretty simple to make, even if the separate steps were a little tedious. It also did not break the bank. I purchased my fabric from Walmart. I picked out five colors that were all on sale, totaling $15. Not bad. Also if I had actually accurately measured out how many ‘feathers’ I would need, I probably could have cut the fabric cost in half. Now I just have extra fabric for my other current project…details on that soon!

I started by cutting out a feather template on a piece of cardboard. I had to chase the ever so active Tristan down to compare the size of the feather to the size of him. After I was satisfied with the template, I traced and cut, traced and traced and then cut some more. This part was the easiest to do during nap since, minus me dropping the scissors, it was relatively a silent task!




I purchased a cream colored almost plain onsie (also from Walmart) and made sure it was a little roomy so Tristan could wear at least a layer underneath it. I unbuttoned the bottom snaps, and started to pin my first layer of feathers, lining them up with the seam of the leg holes. I pinned the layer around the entire onsie and once I was happy with the look of it, I began to sew. I decided I wanted to use the tan color I bought to be the belly of the costume. That became a little tricky to line up with the other colors, but I just kept pinning until it looked right. 



I wasn’t sure if I was going to do some sort of cape for the wings especially since I did not want Tristan to be uncomfortable. I opted to sew some feathers on the front and back of the sleeves that will flap when he moves, and keep him entertained if nothing else. I used felt and elastic to make owl feet to cover his sneakers. I can pretty much guarantee these will not last long, but they’ll be cute for a picture at least! 




All credit for the hat goes to Tristan’s talented Mommy, Ashley. She whipped that thing up during our big Friday night of ordering pizza and watching The Lost Boys on cable. It matches the costume perfectly and if we can get Tristan to wear it, it’ll be the icing on the cake of this simple and adorable costume!!

I’ll post pictures of the kiddos dressed up at some point this weekend! We’re headed to the Philly Zoo tomorrow for Boo at the Zoo! 

Happy Friday!

Easy Halloween Costume Idea and Caffeinated Mommy Rambling…

Well our room and dining room table might look like a bachlorette party gone wild, but Lily’s Halloween costume is finished and it’s not even October yet! Okay, okay it’s October tomorrow and I still don’t have the costume in it’s entirety but 90% of it is done 31 days before it has to be. If you know me, this is a huge deal. What’s next, start my Christmas shopping before December 20?! HA!

Last year since Lily was only 3 months old and could not score us loot trick or treat on her own, we opted for a cute family costume. We went as the Flintstones and I made our costumes out of t-shirts from A.C. Moore. I cut a dress out of a hot green shirt for Lily, sewed some black triangles on her dress and Jordan’s orange shirt, and merged two shirts together to make Wilma’s dress for me. Pretty easy and pretty cheap.

This year we decided Lily would make an adorable lady bug! I wanted to keep it simple (and slightly cheaper then buying one) so during nap time I sketched out what I needed to buy and make to put this all together. My nap time idea sketchbook is the next best thing to going out and shopping for all my supplies! It's where my ideas start flowing, and my shopping list starts. As soon as Tristan was picked up, we took a family trip to JoAnn's to gather materials!

Side note: Honestly the hardest part of this project is finding a black long sleeve onsie! I know I’d die if I was a toddler because most of my wardrobe is black and you cannot find plain black kids clothes any where! But I digress..

Lily’s just starting to get into playing dress up so I’m hoping that by Halloween she will want to wear her wings and antenna. I also know that I have a bit of karma coming back to me in that department so this could be a hilarious disaster. You see, when I was a kid, my mom made my brother and I costumes every year until middle school. Each year we would go to the party store, talk with our friends, peruse catalogs until we found what we wanted to be. And every year, my poor mother would sew and glue and cut and size our costumes until they were just right. They were always very creative and adorable. And I would be so excited to wear them until the moment came when I actually had to put them on. I would cry and cry because I did not look like myself. Of course I still wore the costumes and got many compliments and tons of candy. But those epic battles are going to come back to haunt me, I know. 

For the skirt, I decided on a huge tutu. While picking out fabric at Joann’s I saw the type of skirt I wanted to create. It’s pretty easy to make and it’s no sew! I took pictures along the way and I’ll try my best to explain my steps! 

First, cut your selected tulle fabric into strips. I did not take any precise measurements of Lily because every time I got near her with the tulle or elastic, she wanted to run away with it. I snuck in real fast and wrapped some elastic around her waist, then gave myself another inch for error. I also guesstimated how long the skirt should be and doubled that. The easiest way to cut your fabric is to use the fold that’s already there. My fabric was almost folded exactly in half to the length I wanted to I just cut (unmeasured and slightly uneven) strips right from there. I had to cut a little off of the bottom, but I used the leftovers to add more volume to the skirt. 

To attach the strips to the elastic, you just use the good old loop, swoop and pull method. Place one strip of tulle under your elastic band. Hold the folded end open and with the two open ends, go over the elastic into the ‘loop’ you have made with the folded end. Carefully pull the tulle tight to make a knot. After each piece is knotted securely on the elastic, push it as close as you can get it to the other knots. Continue to loop, swoop and pull until you are satisfied with the volume of your tutu. I used the entire 3 yards of tulle I purchased and got a super fluffy tutu. 

I chose to knot my tulle onto the elastic while it was laying flat on my table then I sewed the ends together when I ran out of fabric. After the ends were sewn, I rearranged the tulle to cover the seam. But you could also sew the ends together first and rig up an elastic holder (your leg)? Whatever makes your life easier!

The wings were fairly easy to make too. I found fabric that was red with black spots already in the leftover fabric bin at Joann’s. I decided to buy wings at the dollar store and cover them with this fabric. I made sort of a slip cover for each wing by tracing and cutting two pieces of fabric for each wing. I sewed them together and left some room to slip the wire wing into and hand sewed them closed. I also bought two boas for a little extra oomph. I know, I know. Ladybugs don’t have feathers. But diva ladybugs do. I used red thread to sew the boa to the edges of the wings and voila! The boa covered my uneven hand sewn section and completed the look. I originally wanted a black boa but my pickings were slim at the Dollar Tree. 

All I need now are some antenna which I plan to make out of pipe cleaners and pom poms, a black long sleeve onsie, and some fun red shoes. I’ll post the final look when I have got all of the parts!!

Puff Ball Lanterns

My original plan for these tissue paper puff ball lanterns were decorations at Lily’s birthday party. In my mind full of ideas, her party was going to have all the frou and frou one little girl’s first birthday party could have. I was pinning decorations, cake ideas, even fun games for the kids to play. Flash forward to realizing summer birthdays are hard with friends and family on vacations and a mix up with the baptism date and so we settled on a simple at home cake and presents kind of thing. There’s always her second birthday. J I decided to use this puff ball lanterns as decorations in her room instead since I was proud of how they turned out!

I first saw a tutorial on Pinterest on how to make gorgeous fabric lanterns for a nursery. I figured I’d try to make some on a dollar store budget first for her party and if they came out cute enough I‘d consider tackling the fabric ones. I found paper lanterns and tissue paper in the colors I wanted at the dollar store and cracked open a new bottle of Modge Podge. Total cost so far--$12. I still have tissue paper out the wazoo. 

 First I experimented with the size of the circles. The lanterns were not that large so I didn’t want to overwhelm them with huge tissue paper flowers. These next steps where the most tedious. While the babies napped, I cut circles out of pink, red, blue, and green tissue paper and then made each circle into a little flower. To do so, I folded each circle in half, then in half again to make a pie slice. I twisted the pointed end a few times, then opened up the “flower” part.The twisted end served as an anchor to glue onto the lantern. Once the flowers were twisted and ready to go, gluing did not take that long. I painted glue around the top of the lantern and stuck as many flowers as I could. 

I looped ribbon through the handle of the lantern and with some help from Jordan hung cup hooks on Lily’s ceiling. I like the way they turned out. It kept my hands busy during nap time and downtime at night while we watched TV. And it didn’t break the bank at all! I probably spent under $20 and have some supplies left over for future projects and wrapping presents!

This would also be a good project for an older child to help out with. If you wanted the final project to be a bit more precise, they could at least help with the tedious task of folded the tissue paper. 

Pinned It, Did It...

Hello and welcome to my blog! I’ll admit I was a little hesitant to start one of these things bad boys. Another stay at home mom telling her tales of laundry, diapers, and naptimes, all while sewing curtains and making her own organic baby food? Phhht. Not so much me. Then I realized I could use this as another creative outlet and a place to share my fun projects (like Photo Shoot Fridays), upcycle ideas, and crafty craftness with my family and friends near and far.

I am very lucky to be able to stay at home with my beautiful, very mobile and extra curious thirteen month old baby girl, Lily. I also watch my eight month old cute as can be crawling all around nephew Tristan during the week. Needless to say, I don’t get much “me” time during the day and when I do, I’m usually trying to grab a shower, do a load of laundry, prep food for the babies, or straighten up, very quietly. But on those rare days when both children decide to not only nap at the same time, but take a nice long one, I usually find myself itching to work on a project. I do my best thinking in the morning and often jot down a list of projects I either dreamed up myself or I saw on Pinterest that I want to do during the week.

In my opinion, Pinterest is the best invention since sliced bread. Or the wheel. I’ll admit, my ratio of ‘Pinned It’ to ‘Did It’ DIY projects is a little out of proportion. And let’s not even mention the ’Pinned Fails’. But I can usually find some creative inspiration from the DIY/Craft or Kids section and go from there. Sometimes I follow the instructions and other times I wing it and add my own interpretations of the project. Either way it’s a nice creative outlet during nap times.

This blog will document my attempts, successes and failures in the crafty crafting world. Enjoy!