Happy Birthday HH!

The Handsome/Handy Husband (HH) had a BIRTHDAY a couple weeks ago and I have to confess that I bought him something "new". Dang that boy! He is so hard to shop for and even harder to thrift for, so I broke down and bought a 'small' part of his gift new. Sometimes you do dumb things for those you love. ;)

I got this guitar pick from an "etsy" shop, and it cost me a whole whopping $5 and she actually sent me the wrong one the first time so she sent me another one, so I guess I actually paid $2.50 for it. ;)

I then put it in a frame that I've had since I was a teenager that I spray painted(I love that stuff!). Backed it up with some card stock and whoo-la.  A sentimental gift for my HH!  I do love him and all that he does for our family.  He makes our home a happier home and is so supportive of me and such an amazing Dad!  LOVE THAT GUY! 

"I Pick You"

In case you were thinking that I was a MAJOR cheapskate and would only spend $2.50 on the LOVE OF MY LIFE, let me set the record straight that he also got CASH to go towards his "new guitar fund" :)

Some More Mason Jar Love

I was going through pictures and found this little JEM.  I did this last Summer, and I love it.  Just spray painted a MASON JAR and threw in some wild flowers (thanks for sharing Ash!) and I had instant happiness.

Have I told you lately how much I love me some MASON JARS?

HAPPY EASTER!!

The Lorax

Mr. C had a Dr. Seuss day at school.  He wanted to dress up as the Lorax.  This is what we came up with the, night before. :) 

A mustache made out of left-over felt, some hot glue, some stretchy elastic, and a orange sweatshirt = The Lorax, at least in our minds. :) Lol! Did I spend a penny on it...nope. Did he love it...YES! Perfect.

SUPER Easy cake Stand

I wish I could say that I made this cake, but I can't.

I wish even more that I could say that I ate some of that cake, but I can't. :(

I CAN say that I made the cake stand though. :)  It cost me a whole $1.75 to make.  Cute right?  It was a birthday gift for My Sis-in law and it looks like it went to the right person if she's going to be putting things like this on it. I can only imagine how yummy that tasted!

I also made her a really cute yellow and gray one that I almost had to keep for myself. ;)  Hopefully I'll get a picture of that one on here too.

I recently saw this cake stand on Pinterest and it's pretty much exactly what I did, so go HERE for the tutorial.

She got her stuff at the Dollar Store, but I got my plate from a Thrift Store (has a lot more character) and bought my candle stick off my cousin.  I'm thinking she got hers from the dollar store also.

Really cute, cheap, and easy gift, and I'm ALL about that. :)

Who Doesn't Like a Little Cash

This is a Birthday gift that I made for Mr. C's cousin.  I got the idea from a friend (thanks Abby).  I usually make capes, but had already made 2 that month and struck -out at the Thrift Stores when trying to find more material so i had to get creative.  Who doesn't like cash though, right? 

Everything used was already stuff that I had at my house. 

Don't you just L.O.V.E. Mason jars?  I do!  Pinterest is full of really great ideas of ways to use them. 

Here are just a few that I loved.

Put an APRON in a jar with a recipe. Such a cute gift!

Mason Jar cup! Kids (well anyone) would love this!

i want one of these...but where?  Ew! Above a tub!  That's Dreamy!

I need to make me some of these!

Tempted!

Here I am...I'm blogging.  Why.  Because I can. :)  Because I have a full day without plans.  Because my 1 year old is napping.  Because my 6 & 3 year old are outside, still in their pajamas, playing.  Because I'm slightly crampy, and a little bit bloated (too much information? Maybe.), and I feel very much like NOT getting dressed today. Because I've decided NOT to workout today or clean or do much of anything else. Because...I CAN!!!!

Now on to the goods.  Do you know that sometimes I don't like my project very much?  It's true, sometimes I DO NOT like it.  Those times usually hit when there are GIFTS involved.  Coming up with a second-hand present is HARD!!!!  Mister C my 6 year old was invited to a good friends birthday party and in two days I had to figure out a gift.  This is in the midst of being up at Girls Camp.  So in reality I had one day to create something awesome that a boy turning 7 would love.  I turned to the trusted Super Hero Cape.  (Remember it HERE.)  But this time I didn't have my Mom's help (who is an AMAZING seamstress), and it literally took me ALL DAY AND NIGHT to make!  My thread kept breaking and to stitch around the super hero emblems is beaslty to say the least!    YAAAAAAH!  There was a lot of stress and unpicking going on.  I was cursing my project and was TEMPTED immensely to just run on over to the Mart and pick him up something.  But I didn't I was strong.  'Cause ya know what?  I CAN DO HARD THINGS!!!  :)  I plugged through and at mid-night I finished!  I wrapped it up and prayed  he would like it.

Fast forward a week which was couple days before my nieces bridal shower. I had been picking my brain on what to give her for a good month.  But nothing was coming.  Late at night, 2 days before her shower, it hits me.  I remember that I had the cutest recipe cards that I'd been saving for 5 years.  Because I couldn't just use them for something ordinary they were WAY too cute for that.  See how my mind works? LOL.  Then I also remembered I had an extra wooden recipe box that my Grandpa had made.  Don't worry people I already had one that he had made for ME.  I would never give away my one and only handmade box from my Gramps.  Any who...I was so thrilled to do this for her.  I know when I first got married.   I was NOT a cook!  So to help her on her path of becoming a good cook made me feel happy.  I wrote down some of my favorite recipes and moved on to the painting of the box.  My first plan was to spray paint it a buttery yellow color.  But guess what? Couldn't find a butter yellow in a spray, but I did have one in a Acrylic paint.  BAD IDEA.  It takes 3x's as long to hand paint then it does to spray and it doesn't dry near as smooth, especially when you try and rush it, because you need to have it all done by 5 o'clock the next day along with 10 other things you need to do that day. BLAH!!!!  So once again I was tempted.  TEMPTED SO BAD!!!  Just let me go to the Mart, or better yet Target.  Ah target...:)  But NO!  On to plan B, I WILL make this work!  I sanded the box again.  Grabbed the Ocean Breeze spray paint that I had on hand and went to work.  It took me a total of 2 hours to respray and completely let dry ( I heart spray paint!!).  I added a cute twiggy tree rub-on to the side, an adorable little bird and the the word "recipe",  and woola!  It turned out so GREAT! I almost wanted to keep it for myself.  But the thought of having to come up with something else for a gift made me break out in cold sweats.  So into the gift bag it went.

BEFORE:

 AFTER:

Yeah, I really hated (strong word, yes.  It's how I felt.) my project but then I loved it once again when I got a text from the Mom of the Birthday Boy saying that he LOVED his cape so much and couldn't wait to show it to his dad, and When my Sister-in-law said "You might hate your project, but we all love it because we get awesome gifts".  Just knowing that the work I put into the gifts is appreciated really means the world to me!  Plus to know I'm using  things that have just been hanging around my house for years FEELS GREAT. :) I think I just need to plan a head so there is not so much pressure with a time schedule.

Anybody have any GREAT gift ideas?  Please say you do and that you'll share them with me!!!!  I NEED HELP PEOPLE!!!  In more ways then one but we won't get into that right now. ;)

Craft Day

"Frugality without creativity is deprivation." --Amy Dacyczyn

Got together with some of my favorite girls and had a craft day.  We made the cutest little flower wall decor that are made out of book pages!!! They are so very cute and didn't cost a thing!!!  Now that's THRIFTY!

 **Do you want to make one yourself?  Check out the tutorial HERE.

How great would these be at a wedding? Um, YES!

Handmade with LOVE

"Being frugal does not mean being cheap! It means being economical and avoiding waste." --Catherine Pulsifer

My biggest struggle this far is gifts.  I don't want people to think I'm a cheap-o.  I want them to like LOVE their gift and I want it to be something that I am proud to give.  So I spend  a lot time trying to come up with a inexpensive, second-hand, awesome, gifts.  Here are some that I worked on last week.

Graduations gifts for the girls in my ward... 

 Headbands made from bright colored headbands I already had wrapped in one of the Handsome Hubby's church shirts. Don't worry he was getting rid of it anyways. ;)  The flowers are made from some old t-shirts and and old skirt of mine, topped off with some cute vintage buttons.  

I've been struggling finding anything at Yard Sales that I feel comfortable giving as a gift to little boys.  All the little boy stuff is trashed.  Maybe because boys are harder on their stuff?  I'm not sure but it's been impossible to find anything in good condition.  So I came up with the idea of making capes.  I found a tutorial HERE.  It turned out so cute and what little boy wouldn't love one of these?  The material was either bought at a Yard Sale, Thirft Shop, or from my Mom's stash (THANKS MOM).

 

 This cape was made for a little boy that is about half the size of Mister C (my model).

 Mister C is dying to have one too, but he'll have to wait until I strike gold with some more fabric.

**Anyone else have some other great ideas for gifts?  HELP PLEASE!

Weekend Finds, and Show and Tell

I put myself on a strict $10 budget this weekend.  I mostly went out to hunt for gifts for upcoming birthdays, weddings, and graduations.

My FAVORITE find of the day was this picture of the Salt Lake Temple and easel.  This sells for $59.95 right now in stores.  I paid...$5 for both!  Come to find out, the person I had in mind to give it too is not getting married in this temple.  So I might just have to find it a permanent place in my house. :)

I bought someones button collection for $2. :)  Just a small collection, but it had a handful of really great buttons.

It came with these vintage, wooden spools too.  I love them!

Bought this cute little doll complete with 6 outfits for $1.  It will make a perfect gift for my niece. :)

How sweet is that face?

I also bought a bag of clothes for a $1, and some ribbon, chipboard tags, and a brand new (still in the wrapper) Jenny Phillips Cd (she is an LDS artist...who I love) for $1.50.  Grand total for all my finds $10.50!  Not too bad, eh? 

My neighbor/friend bought this really cool game table for $40 she talked her down from $75.00!  Great job Kayley! :)  Better yet it is not just one game but 4!  Air hockey, Foosball, Pool, and Ping-pong.  Party at their house!!

My friends birthday is today (HAPPY BIRTHDAY STACY!!!! LOVE YA!!!) and since I didn't find her anything at the yard sales this weekend, I made this cute little sign for her.  The  picture on the front was sent to me from my cousin-in-law (THANKS ANGIE), and I've been dying to do something with it!  I also made me one and hung it out on my porch.  HaPpY SprInG everyone!

10 Min. and $0 Later

 

I had a need for one of these this week.  We were headed out of town for spring break to THIS AMAZING place. . .

It was over a 2 hour drive and with a baby who is now into throwing his binky across the room/car.  A binky clip was a must!  I didn't realize until 10:00 the night before the trip that I didn't have one.  So I whipped me one up by using a combination of  3 tutorials I found HERE, HERE and HERE. 

Items I used were: Name badge clip, ribbon, button, and flax cord.  

I love that I didn't have to spend $.01 on it, but was able to just use items I already had in my own home.  Things like that make me SMILE! :)  I heart being THRIFTY!

P.S.  I'll be at Yard Sales ALL weekend, hope you will be too.  Send me pictures of any great finds you get and I'll post them here on the blog.  I LOVE SHOW AND TELL!  Happy Yard Saling!

Sew CUTE!

While the handy husband was gone this weekend.  I made this.  Isn't it ADORABLE!  I was told about this great site Cluck. Cluck. Sew. from a friend (thanks Stacy!) and had to give this pillow a try.  I have so many toss pillows hanging around my house that this was the perfect thing to give one of them a quick update.  It was really, really easy.  You can get it done in less then 2 hours!  I'm not a great seamstress, I know the basics and that's all.  If I can make this anyone can!  Give it a try.  It cost me under $6 to make!  I think I might have to make me another one with a smaller flower in one the the corners.  Anyone know where I can get me some second-hand material? Preferably in coordinating colors to this pillow. :)  I also want to make some of these. It would be a great way to use up all my scraps.  I'd just use some of my old pillows I already have and take the stuffing out of them.  'Sew' super cute!